Top Ten Tuesday is the weekly meme hosted by the excellent blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is the best books I’ve read so far this year. We’re not quite at the halfway point of 2014 yet, but I just finished reading book number 50 last week. My reading this year has been a good mix of adult and YA, re-reads and new books, books I had to read and books I want to read. And, so far this year, I have given 11 books 5 stars on Shelfari, and only 7 books (mostly read for a tween book club I co-host where the kids and I don't agree on anything) 1 or 2 stars. That’s a pretty good spread for me. Last year I read a lot of mediocre books, and I’m thrilled that 2014 has been a much more pleasant reading experience.
1) Night Broken by Patricia Briggs – The newest Mercy Thompson book. Briggs had me worried for a few pages there, but this was an incredibly satisfying addition to the series.
3) The Animal Book by Steve Jenkins – A juvenile nonfiction book that I picked up after reading possible award buzz about it. It was an easy read, but the information was fascinating and the illustrations were gorgeous.
4) Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour – One of my favorite reads of the year so far. A perfect novel.
5) For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund – This post-apocalyptic retelling of Persuasion, my favorite of Austen’s novels, was amazing. A creative and compelling introduction to Peterfreund’s world.
6) Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James – So far, I have read and loved all three books Simone St. James has written. But her latest book is my favorite, by far. A riveting, emotional read.
7) Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson – An interesting take on what might happen if some people were suddenly gifted with super powers, and chose to use them for evil. Sanderson certainly has the ability to take dark worlds and imbue them with humor and action.
8) Winger by Andrew Smith – For as crass as this book sometimes was (it was about teenage boys in a boarding school, after all), it certainly ripped my heart out and stomped on it. A well-written, if depressing, novel.
9) Easy by Tammara Weber – My first foray into New Adult. This book had a lot to say on a powerful subject, but Weber did a great job balancing a serious subject with a steamy romance.
10) The Distance Between Us by Kasie West – A highly enjoyable YA contemporary romance with a snarky heroine and a sweet, earnest love interest.
Honorable Re-read Mentions:
1) The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier – I hadn’t read this book in a few years, but it was just as perfect and beautiful as I remembered.
2) Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs – This book is one of the best in the series. Mercy and Adam are amazing together in this novel, and the pack figures heavily in the story. So, so good.
3) Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl – When I realized that I had read the book three times in less than two years, I decided it was time to buy it for my collection. It’s just such a happy book!
Come find me on Shelfari!
