Today is a great day for readers everywhere: Both Goodreads and the NY Times have released their best of 2014 picks just in time for your christmas wish list.
If you’re like all of us at Larkable, you enjoy a good book. But you totally judge books by their covers, so how, out of this amazing age of digital media, do you choose the best book? Easy: with our help!
On December 2nd, Goodreads announced their 2014 Goodreads Choice Awards. This list is definitely worth a look because these books got on this list by votes from other obsessive readers like you.
Young Adult Fantasy: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. ~Goodreads
Fantasy: The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches–with one significant exception. ~Google Books
Middle Grade & Children’s: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen-all of them-and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood-the blood of Olympus-in order to wake. ~Amazon.com
Graphic Novels & Comics: Serenity: Leaves on the Wind by Zack Whedon
In the film Serenity, outlaw Malcolm Reynolds and his crew revealed to the entire ‘verse the crimes against humanity undertaken by the sinister government—the Alliance. Here, in the official follow-up to the film, the crew has been in hiding since becoming everyone’s most wanted, and now they are forced to come out. River uncovers more secrets, leading these former Browncoats on a dangerous mission against the Alliance that, with hope, will bring them together again . . . ~Barnes and Noble
Humor: Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central’s Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy’s one-liners? ~Amazon.com
Not enough? Can’t blame you. That’s why we’re also including a link to the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2014. Being the NY Times and all, they are undoubtedly mature, but still, a good read is a good read, no? So what are some of the big reads on that list that you’d like to get your mitts on?
Fiction: The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
The stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy Quentin Coldwater has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. ~Barnes and Noble
Fiction: Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel: A Graphic Novel by Anya Ulinich
Anya Ulinich turns her sharp eye toward the strange, often unmooring world of “grown-up” dating in this darkly comic graphic novel. After her fifteen-year marriage ends, Lena Finkle gets an eye-opening education in love, sex, and loss when she embarks on a string of online dates, all while raising her two teenage daughters. The Vampire of Bensonhurst, the Orphan, Disaster Man, and the Diamond Psychiatrist are just a few of the unforgettable characters she meets along the way. Evoking Louis C. K.’s humor and Amy Winehouse’s longing and anguish, and paying homage to Malamud and Chekhov, Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel is a funny and moving story, beautifully told. ~Amazon.com
For more books, follow the links to the lists and check more out for yourself!
What are some of your favorite reads of 2014? Tell us in the comments!