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.
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
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
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
Carmel @ Rabid Reads
My Top Ten Tuesday
Thanks for participating! We really appreciate it! :)
Love,
Frl. Irene Plafy
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.