I'm stealing this idea from Jeff Tell, although I'm positive there will be no overlap. . .
I was going to do a list of the top 10 books I read this year, but I'm going to go with the top 10% (ish) of books I read this year, so I'll do 20, since I've read about 236 books to date. (Notice this is my list thus far, as there are still a couple more weeks, in which I could manage to read quite a few more books.)
So here there are, in the order in which I read them:
1. Watership Down by Richard Adams (RABBERTS! This is what came out when I tried to tell Cy this book was about "adventuring rabbits" - somehow it came out "rabberts")
2. Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn - 3rd in the Lady Julia Gray series. Loved it so much I read it straight through twice as soon as I bought it.
3. Dog On It by Spencer Quinn - Really clever detective story told from the point of view of a dog. Sounds cheesy, but it is really well done. There is a sequel coming out next month.
4. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - sad, beautiful, and touching.
5. The Virgin Queen's Daughter by Ella March Chase - sounds much more scandalous than it is. A really great story about what might have happened if Queen Elizabeth I had secretly had a daughter with Robert Dudley (as is often rumored).
6. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert - great historical fiction about a leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i.
7. Honolulu by Alan Brennert - another great historical fiction offering from Brennert.
8. Beloved Counterfeit by Kathleen Y'Barbo - the latest in the Fairweather Keys series. Love anything by Kathleen Y'Barbo, but especially love the historical Caribbean setting of these books.
9. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian - it would probably freak me out if I read it again right now since I'm pregnant, but this was a really well-written, engaging story. I love his books in general though.
10. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - One of the most amazing books I've ever read (and I've read it twice in the past year). The writing is beautiful, and I love the way she blends religion with the story of a family and a town.
11. The Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers - amazing. Definitely her best.
12. Down River by John Hart - North Carolina mystery writer. Couldn't put this down.
13. The Last Child by John Hart - Loved this one too. Read all of his books back to back.
14. The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster - actually had to read this one for a class. I've since read some of his other books and hated them, but this one was really great. The plot was so intricate, and it was really amazing how he tied it all together.
15. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson - great 2nd installment of the posthumously published Millennium Trilogy. LOVE these books.
16. The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen
17. Legacy by Cayla Kluver - Left me hanging. I'm ready for the second one. And the author's only like 16 years old - really impressive.
18. Ruined by Paula Morris - Great YA read, not your typical ghost story. Loved the New Orleans setting and the historical subplot.
19. The Observations by Jane Harris - kind of a neo-Victorian Gothic type thing. Brilliantly written.
20. I'm saving this space for one more great read!
2 comments:
You're right, I didn't read any of those this year.
So in the space I left open, I've decided to add the book The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen. It wasn't due out until 2010 but it came out early, so I got it for Christmas and managed to read it before the New Year. I LOVE her books. This one was very Bronte-esque, so of course it was fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Post a Comment