Goodreads users have selected the best books of the year, and their top fiction pick comes from "Fangirl" and "Eleanor & Park" author Rainbow Rowell. In "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F18081809-landline" target="_blank" target="_blank">Landline,</a>" Rowell tells the story of a TV writer in a crumbling marriage who discovers a way to talk to her husband in his younger years, giving her the chance to rethink her marriage before the trouble started. Here are 11 other titles that Goodreads users loved this year.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Goodreads users have selected the best books of the year, and their top fiction pick comes from "Fangirl" and "Eleanor & Park" author Rainbow Rowell. In "Landline," Rowell tells the story of a TV writer in a crumbling marriage who discovers a way to talk to her husband in his younger years, giving her the chance to rethink her marriage before the trouble started. Here are 11 other titles that Goodreads users loved this year.
St. Martin's Press
<strong>Nonfiction:</strong> Yale graduate and budding writer Marina Keegan was only 22 when she died in a car accident in May 2012. But the work she left behind, which has been gathered into an essay collection called "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F18143905-the-opposite-of-loneliness" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Opposite of Loneliness</a>," shows wisdom and talent far beyond her years.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Nonfiction: Yale graduate and budding writer Marina Keegan was only 22 when she died in a car accident in May 2012. But the work she left behind, which has been gathered into an essay collection called "The Opposite of Loneliness," shows wisdom and talent far beyond her years.
Scribner
<strong>Science fiction: </strong>This year's pick for best science fiction book comes from Anthony Weir. In "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F18007564-the-martian" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Martian</a>," Weir tells a gripping story of an astronaut who becomes one of the first people to walk on Mars -- only to realize that he may become one of the first people to die there after his crew accidentally leaves him behind.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Science fiction: This year's pick for best science fiction book comes from Anthony Weir. In "The Martian," Weir tells a gripping story of an astronaut who becomes one of the first people to walk on Mars -- only to realize that he may become one of the first people to die there after his crew accidentally leaves him behind.
Broadway Books
<strong>Historical fiction: </strong>Anthony Doerr's "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see" target="_blank" target="_blank">All The Light We Cannot See</a>" has been a favorite with critics and casual readers alike. Doerr's novel takes readers back to Paris during World War II, when a blind young woman fatefully crosses paths with a German orphan.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Historical fiction: Anthony Doerr's "All The Light We Cannot See" has been a favorite with critics and casual readers alike. Doerr's novel takes readers back to Paris during World War II, when a blind young woman fatefully crosses paths with a German orphan.
Scribner
<strong>Fantasy: </strong>Deborah Harkness first captured our imaginations with 2011's "A Discovery of Witches." This year, she released <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F16054217-the-book-of-life" target="_blank" target="_blank">the third and final installment</a> in the "All Souls" series, which brings the rollicking story of historian and witch Diana Bishop to a close.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Fantasy: Deborah Harkness first captured our imaginations with 2011's "A Discovery of Witches." This year, she released the third and final installment in the "All Souls" series, which brings the rollicking story of historian and witch Diana Bishop to a close.
Viking Adult
<strong>Romance: </strong>If you're obsessed with Starz's "Outlander," then you should definitely check out Goodreads' top pick for best romance novel. "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F11710373-written-in-my-own-heart-s-blood" target="_blank" target="_blank">Written in My Own Heart's Blood</a>" is the eighth installment of Diana Gabaldon's absorbing series, which follows a WWII nurse who time-travels back to 18th-century Scotland while vacationing in the country on her second honeymoon.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Romance: If you're obsessed with Starz's "Outlander," then you should definitely check out Goodreads' top pick for best romance novel. "Written in My Own Heart's Blood" is the eighth installment of Diana Gabaldon's absorbing series, which follows a WWII nurse who time-travels back to 18th-century Scotland while vacationing in the country on her second honeymoon.
Delacorte Press
<strong>Humor: </strong>Lena Dunham, Neil Patrick Harris and Chelsea Handler were all competing with Amy Poehler for the title of Goodreads' best humor book of 2014, but Poehler left them in the dust with a landslide of votes. Poehler's "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F20910157-yes-please" target="_blank" target="_blank">Yes Please</a>" is part memoir, part advice book and part love letter to "Saturday Night Live," all of which make for one inspiring and hilarious read.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Humor: Lena Dunham, Neil Patrick Harris and Chelsea Handler were all competing with Amy Poehler for the title of Goodreads' best humor book of 2014, but Poehler left them in the dust with a landslide of votes. Poehler's "Yes Please" is part memoir, part advice book and part love letter to "Saturday Night Live," all of which make for one inspiring and hilarious read.
HarperCollins
<strong>Young adult: </strong>E. Lockhart's suspenseful "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F16143347-we-were-liars" target="_blank" target="_blank">We Were Liars</a>" centers on a wealthy New England family rife with secrets. When that family heads to its private island one summer, an accident has devastating effects.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Young adult: E. Lockhart's suspenseful "We Were Liars" centers on a wealthy New England family rife with secrets. When that family heads to its private island one summer, an accident has devastating effects.
Delacorte Press
<strong>Horror: </strong>Anne Rice returned this year with one of vampire lore's best characters: "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F21412673-prince-lestat" target="_blank" target="_blank">Prince Lestat</a>." Rice has encouraged readers to think of it as a "true sequel" to 1988's "The Queen of the Damned."
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Horror: Anne Rice returned this year with one of vampire lore's best characters: "Prince Lestat." Rice has encouraged readers to think of it as a "true sequel" to 1988's "The Queen of the Damned."
Random House
<strong>Memoir & autobiography: </strong>John Green dedicated his moving bestseller "The Fault In Our Stars" to a 16-year-old named Esther Grace Earl, who died of thyroid cancer in 2010. In "This Star Won't Go Out,"<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F17675031-this-star-won-t-go-out" target="_blank" target="_blank"> a collection of essays</a> from family and friends that includes journal entries and letters from Earl herself, we can get to know the young woman who inspired Green's work.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Memoir & autobiography: John Green dedicated his moving bestseller "The Fault In Our Stars" to a 16-year-old named Esther Grace Earl, who died of thyroid cancer in 2010. In "This Star Won't Go Out," a collection of essays from family and friends that includes journal entries and letters from Earl herself, we can get to know the young woman who inspired Green's work.
Dutton Children's
<strong>History: </strong>Sometimes, the truth can be better than fiction, and that's the case with Helen Rappaport's <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F18404173-the-romanov-sisters" target="_blank" target="_blank">in-depth look into the lives</a> of the four Romanov sisters: Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
History: Sometimes, the truth can be better than fiction, and that's the case with Helen Rappaport's in-depth look into the lives of the four Romanov sisters: Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.
St. Martin's Press
<strong>Mystery & thriller: </strong>Sorry, Tana French, Jo Nesbo and Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling): The suspense master, Stephen King, wins this year's Goodreads pick for best mystery or thriller. In "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F18775247-mr-mercedes" target="_blank" target="_blank">Mr. Mercedes</a>," a diabolical killer who loves the rush of mowing down people in his pricey vehicle is on the loose, and a retired cop is determined to stop him.
Goodreads best of 2014 —
Mystery & thriller: Sorry, Tana French, Jo Nesbo and Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling): The suspense master, Stephen King, wins this year's Goodreads pick for best mystery or thriller. In "Mr. Mercedes," a diabolical killer who loves the rush of mowing down people in his pricey vehicle is on the loose, and a retired cop is determined to stop him.
Scribner