In no particular order.
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: probably one of the best books I've ever read. The intertwined stories are interesting and clever, and Mitchell's way of playing with language is fabulous. It's a book that could be read over and over again, with new realisations on each reread.
- Little Hands Clapping by Dan Rhodes: a newly discovered author for me, and I've now read everything he's written so far (I think), apart from the one he wrote under the pen name Danuta De Rhodes. I want to read that, though. This book is kooky, fun, and infectious. Also a little creepy and gruesome. I love it.
- Escher's Loops by Zoran Živkovi?: a complete mind-twister of a story. Clever is too mild a word for this book. The name is perfect.
- Under the Skin by Michel Faber: such an atmospheric novel. Faber is another author who compells me to read everything he's written. This book is a delicately revealed mystery, and subtle challenge of our preconceptions, and a psychological thriller.
- Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman: A short collection of very short stories about the possibilities of the after life. Fuuny, sad, moving, distressing, and very, very clever. It's a tiny book that will make you think.
- Skin and Other Stories by Roald Dahl: I didn't know that Dahl had written stories for adults. These are just as gloroius as his children's books, and perhaps unsurprisingly dark.
- Replay by Ken Grimwood: I don't know how to explain this choice without using words I've already overused. It is incredibly clever, it's beautifully written, it's a little surprising, and it's probably the best imagination of a relived life I've read. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book. It's wonderful.
- Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi: a truly lyrical story of love, loss, change and courage. Another book that would welcome frequent rereading. It's gorgeous.
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery: I love the tenderness of this book, the gradual blossoming of the main character, and the philosophy. I love the elegance of the language, and I really, really want to learn French so I can read it in the original.
- Blameless by Gail Carriger: the best of the three that have been published so far, hence the choice of this one rather than the first. These books are like Michelin-starred desserts. They're so much fun, with a very quirky sense of humour, and a beautiful imagining of a Victorian England inhabited by supernaturals. They are comfort reading at its best, and I cannot rave about them enough.
Honourable mentions also to: Fathers and Sons by Turgenev, Blindsighted by Karrin Slaughter, and City of Fear by Alafair Burke.
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: probably one of the best books I've ever read. The intertwined stories are interesting and clever, and Mitchell's way of playing with language is fabulous. It's a book that could be read over and over again, with new realisations on each reread.
- Little Hands Clapping by Dan Rhodes: a newly discovered author for me, and I've now read everything he's written so far (I think), apart from the one he wrote under the pen name Danuta De Rhodes. I want to read that, though. This book is kooky, fun, and infectious. Also a little creepy and gruesome. I love it.
- Escher's Loops by Zoran Živkovi?: a complete mind-twister of a story. Clever is too mild a word for this book. The name is perfect.
- Under the Skin by Michel Faber: such an atmospheric novel. Faber is another author who compells me to read everything he's written. This book is a delicately revealed mystery, and subtle challenge of our preconceptions, and a psychological thriller.
- Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman: A short collection of very short stories about the possibilities of the after life. Fuuny, sad, moving, distressing, and very, very clever. It's a tiny book that will make you think.
- Skin and Other Stories by Roald Dahl: I didn't know that Dahl had written stories for adults. These are just as gloroius as his children's books, and perhaps unsurprisingly dark.
- Replay by Ken Grimwood: I don't know how to explain this choice without using words I've already overused. It is incredibly clever, it's beautifully written, it's a little surprising, and it's probably the best imagination of a relived life I've read. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book. It's wonderful.
- Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi: a truly lyrical story of love, loss, change and courage. Another book that would welcome frequent rereading. It's gorgeous.
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery: I love the tenderness of this book, the gradual blossoming of the main character, and the philosophy. I love the elegance of the language, and I really, really want to learn French so I can read it in the original.
- Blameless by Gail Carriger: the best of the three that have been published so far, hence the choice of this one rather than the first. These books are like Michelin-starred desserts. They're so much fun, with a very quirky sense of humour, and a beautiful imagining of a Victorian England inhabited by supernaturals. They are comfort reading at its best, and I cannot rave about them enough.
Honourable mentions also to: Fathers and Sons by Turgenev, Blindsighted by Karrin Slaughter, and City of Fear by Alafair Burke.
*MySmiley*
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
What are your top ten reads of 2010?
20/12/2010 12:07:54 PM
- 1247 Views
My top 10.
20/12/2010 12:43:04 PM
- 1128 Views
I'll give you a top five. I only read about 25 books so the top 10 isn't necessarily "good".
20/12/2010 07:26:41 PM
- 775 Views
Let's see, this is an interesting exercise...
20/12/2010 08:48:20 PM
- 1051 Views
I enjoyed Mahfouz, but I agree the translation wasn't stellar
20/12/2010 11:27:39 PM
- 657 Views
I read a Dutch translation, so presumably not the same one as yours.
21/12/2010 06:38:29 PM
- 655 Views
Okay, have to add Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian in there somewhere, see my review. *NM*
29/12/2010 09:41:22 PM
- 314 Views
Hmm.(New)
21/12/2010 02:21:40 AM
- 954 Views
You have to be the only person I've ever met who prefers Erikson's first book over the second.
21/12/2010 06:42:40 PM
- 688 Views
Well.
21/12/2010 09:19:42 PM
- 831 Views
Re: I'm with you on Felisin. Boring.
25/12/2010 12:45:03 AM
- 682 Views
Yeah. Whenever I think of DH- it's always the Chain of Dogs.
26/12/2010 09:47:49 PM
- 772 Views
Re: Yeah. Whenever I think of DH- it's always the Chain of Dogs.
26/12/2010 11:49:49 PM
- 638 Views
850? So you have the best 200 pages left? *NM*
27/12/2010 11:55:21 AM
- 324 Views
Hey hey hey no.
27/12/2010 02:07:38 PM
- 662 Views
My top eight in no particular order, as well as my two most disappointing books for the year.
21/12/2010 06:19:00 AM
- 989 Views