Tuesday, December 23, 2014

2014 In Review: The Long List

I never post my yearly Best Of list until January, because what if I discover something truly amazing right at the end of December? It's happened before. It could happen again.

But, I used to this thing where I'd prep a Long List; a bunch of titles I adored and was considering for my ultimate, no-squee-restrained Best Of list. The Long List is open to additions, should I read some more amazing stuff, and it's, well, long. The longest Best Of list I've ever had was 2013's Top 10, but the Long List can stretch to as many titles as I want to include.

I figured I'd revisit the practice this year, partly because the runners-up section of my Year In Review post is liable to be a behemoth otherwise and partly because I really do enjoy squeeing about books and would like to stretch the experience out.

So here goes. Let's begin with my best rereads of 2014, with "reread" meaning any book I've read more than once within the last fifteen years. They're listed alphabetically by author but in publication order within each series, with links to my reviews:

  • The Magicians by Lev Grossman - steady at 4.5 stars
  • The Magician King by Lev Grossman - steady at 4.5 stars
  • Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb - steady at 4.5 stars
  • Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • Mad Ship by Robin Hobb - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb - 4.5 stars, down from 5
  • The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb - steady at 4.5 stars
  • Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb - steady at 4.5 stars
  • Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox - 4.5 stars, up from 4
  • The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice - unrateable, up from 5 stars
  • The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - steady at 4.5 stars
  • The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater - 5 stars, up from 4.5
  • The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud - 4.5 stars, up from 3.5
  • Saga, vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples - steady at 5 stars
  • Saga, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples - steady at 5 stars

2014 was the Year of the Awesome Reread.

And now, every new-to-me book I rated 4.5 stars or above, with "new-to-me" meaning any book I read for the first time within the last fifteen years and 4.5 stars being my "I loved the hell out of this" rating:

Any guesses which books will make my Top 5 of 2014? What were your best books of the year?

Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)