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Meme: Top Ten Books I've Read in 2010

Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme organised by The Broke and the Bookish. This week we are looking at the 10 best reads of the year 2010. Please visit the originating blog and click on the links to visit some of the other participating blogs to see more great reads.

I decided to exclude any re-reads from this list. It was still quite hard to draw up, since I actually read at least a dozen books this year that I would have liked to include. I haven’t put them in order of preference, but chose to put them in alphabetical order by title instead.

Aska (English title: Ashes to Dust) by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. This is possibly Yrsa's best novel to date, although I must admit that I still have the last two of her books left to read.
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee. Such a wonderfully rich narrative of childhood in the early 20th century.
Empires of the Indus: The Story of a river by Alice Albinia. A combination of travelogue and history that spans 2 millenia and several countries.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James. My discovery of the year - I will definitely be reading more of his tales and re-reading these.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Dense and detailed and altogether a great slow read.
Maps & Legends: Reading and writing along the borderlands by Michael Chabon. Gives an interesting insight in to the twin processes of reading and writing and made me want to read the author's novels.
Nation by Terry Pratchett. A nice break from Discworld, but with typical Pratchettian humour and insight.
The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill. Gruesome and funny with an irresistible lead character.
The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham. Very tense and taut thriller.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. A deeply disturbing and chilling psychological thriller.

I really would have liked to see a list of the disappointing reads of 2010 in this meme, but maybe I’ll just list those for myself.

Comments

Nice list. I read Cider with Rosie...was it last year? Anyway, it was fabulous.

I did a meme on Sunday that is a more comprehensive survey. It is here: http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2010/12/sunday-salon-best-of-2010-in-books.html

Here is my Top Ten of 2010 post: http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-ten-books-ive-read-in-2010.html
You have the first list where I'm not familiar with any of the titles! Several sound very intriguing, and I'll add them to my TBR list!
Dorte H said…
Of these I have only read Colin Cotterill´s story, but I bought We Have Always Lived in the Castle for my daughter. Now I wonder if it may be too much for her, but let´s see. (At least she got 11 other books most of which were from her own wish list).
Anonymous said…
Top 10 Books I Read in 2010

1. The Trophy Bride's Tale by Cyrilla Barr
2. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
3. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
4. Ghost Hunt: Chilling Tales of the Unknown by Jason Dawes & Grant Wilson
5. The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner
6. A Man and His Maniac: The Bunkie Story by Charles Franklin Emery III
7. Citizen Mitten by William Voedisch
8. High on a Mountain by Tommie Lyn
9. Expiation by Greg Messel
10. A Season of Seduction by Jennifer Haymore
Unknown said…
Reading everyone's top ten list today is making my TBR pile grow by the second. I'm finding so many good books to read on this week's top ten and your list is no exception. Great picks!

Carmel @ Rabid Reads
My Top Ten Tuesday
Jen said…
I agree with Sarah, I haven't heard of any of these books! Cider with Rosie sounds interesting though!

Thanks for participating! We really appreciate it! :)
Irene Palfy said…
Oh - I liked Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell very much!!

Love,

Frl. Irene Plafy
Good ones!


I could read only 96 books in 2010. But that's ok. I was in a reading slump for more than four months.

Here are my Best Reads of 2010.

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