The first half of 2014 is over, so we - a group on another reading platform - decided to check which books were our favourites so far. Especially since it's really interesting to compare this list to the one at the end of the year.

 

I read a lot of really good books in the last couple of months and there was only one major disappointment, so it wasn't quite that easy to only choose five of them. But I did my best to narrow it down, so here is my list of my favourite books (in no particular order):

 

S. by Doug Dorst and J. J. Abrams

"One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire.
A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown. [...]" (Source)

I just had to choose this book, because I enjoyed each and every page of it. This is one of the few books I'm definitely going to read another time and I'm sure I'll discover new stuff every time. Here's the link to my short review of it.

 

Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes

"With more than five million copies sold, Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?" (Source)

I had a lot of problems with other scifi classics, so I would have never thought that Flowers For Algernon is such a good book - but it really is! It's an unbelieveable sad and also thought-provoking story. It's definitely one of my highlights this year!

 

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman

"A man returns to the site of his childhood home where, years before, he knew a girl named Lettie Hempstock who showed him the most marvelous, dangerous, and outrageous things, but when he gets there he learns that nothing is as he remembered." (Source)

Somewhere I read that this story is a fairytale for adults and after reading it, I can only agree. Even though the book is with its 180 pages quite short, the story was really captivating from cover to cover.

 

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham

"Ten years after graduating from high school in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, crime, and corruption. She’s traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case. [...]" (Source)

I loved the tv series Veronica Mars and enjoyed the movie which aired previously this year. So how could I not list this book? It's like an episode of the tv series but only in form of a book. I loved it! I hope I don't have to wait too long for a sequel. 

 

Last but not least...

 

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

"[...] A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields. But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on criminal that no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy - the magic that lies in all metals.[...]" (Source)

It was really difficult for me to choose between this one and the third part of the Shadowmarch series by Tad Williams. I absolutely enjoyed both of them, but in the end, The Final Empire won, because it's the first part of a series and in my opinion they are always way more interesting and exiting, since you encounter everyone and everything for the first time :) After this series Sanderson definitely is one of my favourite authors and I can't wait to start with another of his books as soon as possible. 

 

Well, this is my list of my top 5 books so far. As you can see, I didn't really concentrate on only one genre which is new for me :) What are your favourite books of the first half of 2014? Is it difficult for you to decide on only five or did you not have a lot of luck this year concerning books? I'm really looking forward to your list :)