A big year for reading at Halifax Public Libraries. As we do every year at The Reader, we polled our staff all across our entire library system to see their favourite books of 2014.

What a response! Stay tuned over the next few days for lists of our picks from the best published in fiction, nonfiction and children’s and young adult books.  I know they’ve piqued my interest and have lengthened my “to read” list!

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
“zombie thriller for people who think they don’t want to read zombie thrillers: smart and thoughtful and a page turner” Kristina

Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
“Featuring the razor-sharp humor and acute psychological insight that made The Dinner an international phenomenon, Summer House with Swimming Pool is a controversial, thought-provoking novel that showcases Herman Koch at his finest” publisher

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
“After the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding, in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Long ago, Kelsea’s forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea’s nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen’s Guard have appeared to escort the princess to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.” publisher

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
“Brilliantly constructed, Wolf in White Van unfolds in reverse until we arrive at both the beginning and the climax: the event that has shaped so much of Sean’s life. Beautifully written and unexpectedly moving, John Darnielle’s Wolf in White Van is an audacious and gripping debut novel, a marvel of storytelling brio and genuine literary delicacy.” publisher

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
“An internationally heralded debut novel of extraordinary warmth, insight and humanity that will appeal to readers who loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Still Alice: Elizabeth Is Missing is at once a page-turning mystery that takes us from post-war Britain to the present day and a piercingly honest portrait of love and memory, families and aging through the lens of an unforgettable protagonist who will seize your heart–an elderly woman descending into forgetfulness, as she embarks alone on a quest to find the best friend she believes has disappeared.” publisher

Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer
“Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization, and the government is involved in sending secret missions to explore Area X. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.” publisher

Hang Wire by Adam Christopher
“Ted Hall is worried. He’s been sleepwalking, and his somnambulant travels appear to coincide with murders by the notorious Hang Wire Killer. Meanwhile, the circus has come to town, but the Celtic dancers are taking their pagan act a little too seriously, the manager of the Olde Worlde Funfair has started talking to his vintage machines, and the new acrobat’s frequent absences are causing tension among the performers. Out in the city there are other new arrivals – immortals searching for an ancient power – a primal evil which, if unopposed, could destroy the world!” publisher

Us Conductors by Sean Michaels
“surprise Giller winner: poetic historical fiction about the Russian inventor of the theremin who was also a spy” Kristina

Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains: a tale of travel and darkness with pictures of all kinds by Neil Gaiman
“Beautifully illustrated by renowned artist Eddie Campbell, this is a four-color edition of Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novelette “The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains” — a haunting story of family, the otherworld, and retribution” publisher.

Skin Game by Jim Butcher
“The Dresden Files is a great paranormal/ hard boiled detective series.” Ashley