I finished 77 books in 2014, which is right in line with my average the past few years. Another 30 or so I gave up on after my 50-75 page limit. I find it interesting to look back at the end of the year to see where my tastes veered. A horror kick morphed into an interest in old noir. I upped my graphic novel intake while diminishing the time I spent on fantasy and sci-fi. Non-fiction was non-existent. If November and December are any indication, I’m choosing more literary works. As before, not all were released in 2014. Here are my 10 favorite reads:
10. Mind MGMT Volume 1: The Manager by Matt Kindt: A puzzle box narrative that gave me strange dreams. I’ve never read anything quite like the first volume of this series. I’m looking forward to digging in more.
9. Tribesmen by Adam Cesare: My favorite horror read of the year is a throwback to the gritty 70s cannibal films of Lucio Fulci. A tight, gripping novella.
8. Country Hardball by Steve Weddle: I’ve enjoyed several books over the years with a similar connected stories structure. Pollack’s Knockemstiff and Frank Bill’s Crimes in Southern Indiana come to mind. Country Hardball joins them at the top of the list.
7. Zero Volume 1 by Ales Kot: Saga is still my favorite series, but Zero was the most electric graphic novel I read this year. The decision to change the artist for each issue was genius.
6. Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer: The most intriguing, perplexing, hard-to-classify weirdness I read all year. I couldn’t put it down.
5. The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler: A classic Chandler I’d somehow never read. Brilliant.
4. The Name of the Game is Death by Dan J. Marlowe: I read both books in this volume, and while the second one is good, Name is astounding. One of the best old-school, noir yarns ever.
3. An Untamed State by Roxane Gay: A gut-punch novel, exquisitely written and compelling despite the tough subject matter.
2. The Last Time I Died by Joe Nelms: Another dark, tough read, but one I tore through in a fury.
1. Cold Quiet Country by Clayton Lindemuth: My favorite read of the year. Great, real characters, incredible atmosphere, tight plot — every thriller should aspire to be this good.
What books did you enjoy reading most this year?