Top 10 - Books read in 2014

This year I read 45 books and it is a number I'm quite happy with! These ten were my favorites of the year in order:

1. The arrival by Shaun Tan
This graphic novels was absolutely gorgeous and I have never read anything quite like it. All the illustrations are in sepia tones and the drawings are very suggestive. The story is that of an immigrant who arrives in a country he does not speak the language of and no words are used in the book, which I think is an great concept.

2. The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
After seeing the movie of the first book in the cinema, which I enjoyed, I decided to give the books a go and I read all 6 of them within a week. The books just got better and better as the serie progressed and the main character was sassy and bad ass. You can read my full review of the first book here.

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth
This book was very action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the idea of the factions and the world Roth created was very interesting and I wanted to know a lot more about it. Although I enjoyed this first book in the trilogy, I found the sequel to be quite boring, so I'm hoping the last book will make up on that with lots of action! You can read my full review here.

4. The lightning thief by Rick Riordan
 I read this book because it was the read of the month of a Goodreads group that I'm part of. I have read it before and not enjoyed it that much, but somehow this time around I loved it! Percy was a fun main character and I loved the relationship he had with his mom. You can read my full review here.

5. The hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
This was the first book I read this year, after seeing the the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug. I really enjoyed the world Tolkien created and because I enjoyed this one so much it encouraged me to have another try at reading The lord of the rings, which I'm currently reading and so far really enjoying.

6. A storm of swords by George R.R. Martin
The first two books of the A song of ice and fire series were a bit of a struggle for me to get through, but this one was different and definitely the best one so far. I really enjoyed how all the seperate storylines started to intertwine and also some of the characters that I didn't like that much in the beginning of the series changed for the better.


7. The fault in our stars by John Green
Because of all the hype around this book I was reluctant to start it, but I am glad I did. Allthough I don't think it is one of the best books of all time, as a lot of people say, I thought it was a great book. I hardly ever 'love' contemporary books, so that is quite an acomplishment.

8. Aristotle & Dante discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The plot of this book was maybe not the most exciting one ever, but it was just so beautifully written! Many passages I reread more than once because they really resonated with me. You can read my full review here.

9. The book thief by Markus Zusak
This book was not a very happy one, but like Aristotle & Dante it was beautifully written. As a book lover it was great to see a main character who was also really into books. The fact that the narrator of this book is Death himself, makes that it stands out from other WOII books I have read.

10. How I live now by Meg Rosoff
Buying this book for only €0,20 at a second hand store I didn't expect this book to be so gripping. I have read quite a lot of dystopian books before, but the writingstyle of this one was very different from any other dystopian books I have read.

What were your favorite books of the year?