Last year around this time I posted my reading list, I enjoy reflecting on the books I read, so I figured I’d do it again. I’m not the quickest reader, so I set myself a goal of thirty books. Not only did I hit my goal I surpassed it ending up with thirty-seven. I also took a challenge. In January my editor, Lola Landekic, tweeted:

I dare you to read more books by women than men this year

If you look at my list from last year you’ll see it was pretty bro-heavy and to be honest, an author’s gender isn’t something I’ve paid attention too when selecting a book. But 2014 was the year of reading women, so I took Lola’s challenge and I made an effort. Here at the end it looks like 60% of my reading came from women authors! Not bad.

Since my list is so much longer than last year I’ll avoid reviews, however I will select some of my favorites at the end. Follow me over on Goodreads to see what I thought of others. Links will go to Amazon.

  1. Pallitine Rising (Pallitine’s Path Book #1)
    by Roderick Davidson
  2. Something More Than Night
    by Ian Tregillis
  3. The Strain (The Strain Trilogy Book #1)
    by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan
  4. Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence Book #1)
    by Max Gladstone
  5. The Man in the High Castle
    by Philip K. Dick
  6. The Rithmatist
    by Brandon Sanderson
  7. Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1)
    by Ann Leckie
  8. Dust (Silo Saga #3)
    by Hugh Howey
  9. Vicious
    by V.E. Schwab
  10. The Waking Engine
    by David Edison
  11. Sand: Omnibus Edition
    by Hugh Howey
  12. Bitter Seeds (Milkweed Book #1)
    by Ian Tregillis
  13. Fourth Uncle in the Mountain: A Memoir of a Barefoot Doctor in Vietnam
    by Marjorie Pivar & Quang Van Nguyen
  14. Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy Book #1)
    by Sally Green
  15. Forsworn: A Powder Mage Novella (Powder Mage Trilogy Book #1)
    by Brian McClellan
  16. Range of Ghosts (The Eternal Sky Book #1)
    by Elizabeth Bear
  17. The Mystery Knight (Current Available in Warriors #1)
    by George R.R. Martin
  18. Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles Book #1)
    by Kevin Hearne
  19. A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle Book #1)
    by Ursula K. Le Guin
  20. Promise of Blood (Powder Mage Trilogy Book #1)
    by Brian McClellan
  21. Doomsday Book (Oxford Time Travel #1)
    by Connie Willis
  22. Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky Trilogy Book #1)
    by Veronica Rossi
  23. A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet Book #1)
    by Madeleine L’Engle
  24. Windhaven
    by George R.R. Martin & Lisa Tuttle
  25. Jagannath: Stories
    by Karin Tidbeck
  26. The Giver (Giver Quartet Book #1)
    by Lois Lowry
  27. One Night in Sixes (The Children of the Drought Book #1)
    by Arianne “Tex” Thompson
  28. Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century Book #1)
    by Cherie Priest
  29. Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate Book #1)
    by Gail Carriger
  30. Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches Book #1)
    by Cherie Priest
  31. Gone Girl
    by Gillian Flynn
  32. The Planet Savers
    by Marion Zimmer Bradley
  33. Assassin’s Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book #1)
    by Robin Hobb
  34. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth’s Children, Book #1)
    by Jean M. Auel
  35. The Killing Moon (Dreamblood Book #1)
    by N.K. Jemisin
  36. Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone Book #1)
    by Laini Taylor
  37. The Witching Elm (Memento Mori Series Book #1)
    by C.N. Crawford

Favorite novel of 2014:

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le GuinA Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin

This was a tough one, but in the end Le Guin won out. She’s a marvelous writer and A Wizard of Earthsea really shines throughout. I’d easily compare it with The Lord of the Rings or C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.

 

Favorite novel runners-up of 2014:

There’s two other books that really stood out to me and since I didn’t read many short stories or graphic novels this year I figured I’d take some space to hit the two runners up to my favorite novel of 2014.

Doomsday Book by Connie WillisDoomsday Book
by Connie Willis

Time travel + the plague = good reading. Connie Willis’ exploration of a future where historians travel back in time enthralled me from beginning to end. I look forward to reading more in the series.

Maplecroft by Cherie PriestMaplecroft
by Cherie Priest

If there is anyone who could be considered writing proper new mythos it’s Cherie Priest. I had expect Maplecroft to be another alternate history thing similar to Seth Grahame-Smith’s books. Instead I got an enthralling tale of a Lizzie Borden who is fighting an unseen evil, not unlike the protagonists in a Lovecraft’s work. It was hard for me to put this down.

So there’s my list for 2014! If you’re interested you can check out my list from 2013 as well. How was your year of reading? Did anything stand out? Did you discover a new favorite? What’s on queue for next year? Is there a book you’re really excited to read? Leave a comment and let me know!

2 Comments

  1. That’s a pretty impressive list. I so want to read Maplecroft. I’m still trying to finish one more book by the end of the year to make a measly 26 books for 2014. I read slowly, too. More slowly than you apparently. Only eight of those were by women, though. But one was an anthology, which included women writers, so I’m not sure how to count that. Question: do you read mostly digital or print? And if digital, what kind of device do you use?

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