In no particular order.
The Children's Book -- A.S. Byatt
I am not wholeheartedly behind all of this book, but it has the best texture I have ever come across, I think. And I really like how it treats history. And the characters figured heavily in my dreams for a while. That must mean it has made an impression.
Possession -- A.S. Byatt
Again, I am not entirely behind this book, but there are so many interesting experiments, lovely sides and fun with literature in there I cannot help but like it. If only a few of the characters could have been slightly warmer, I would have loved it more.
Canterbury Tales -- Geoffrey Chaucer
People tend to think of Renaissance writing as dull, but this book (and the rest of them, actually) proves it is not. It is so varied and strange. I like it.
Cloud Atlas -- David Mitchell
Wonderful book, though I still have reservations about the first and last of the narratives. It does great things with language and has a lot of fun with narrative levels.
The Rosicrucian Enlightenment -- Frances Yates
I loved it. It made history fit together and made me ground some stuff that had only been hinted at elsewhere. I like how it ties literature and other arts together with a moment of history that I find interesting, and how it ties that to the myth of the secret society.
Fathers and Sons -- Ivan Turgenev
It is funny and well written with a couple of very interesting characters, and I love the portrayal of nihilism.
The Red House Mystery -- A.A. Milne
A perfectly plotted whodunnit with a healthy ironic distance. It is not a masterpiece in character writing, or a comment on the universal human condition, but it treats the detective genre very well. And I think it is funny that it is written by the creator of Winnie the Pooh.
Solaris -- Stanislaw Lem
Lem is always good. This is not my favourite among his books, but I liked it. I love how it leaves you guessing, and how it is so full of strange things that you can read any which way you like.
The Storyteller's Tale -- Omair Ahmad
A strange collection of developing tales, where each story is built on and changed as they go along.
A Room with a View -- E.M. Forster
Again, I won't wholeheartedly endorse it, because I had some issues with the ending (I should write a review), but it is sweet and lovely and I liked the characters along the way. Most of them.
The Children's Book -- A.S. Byatt
I am not wholeheartedly behind all of this book, but it has the best texture I have ever come across, I think. And I really like how it treats history. And the characters figured heavily in my dreams for a while. That must mean it has made an impression.
Possession -- A.S. Byatt
Again, I am not entirely behind this book, but there are so many interesting experiments, lovely sides and fun with literature in there I cannot help but like it. If only a few of the characters could have been slightly warmer, I would have loved it more.
Canterbury Tales -- Geoffrey Chaucer
People tend to think of Renaissance writing as dull, but this book (and the rest of them, actually) proves it is not. It is so varied and strange. I like it.
Cloud Atlas -- David Mitchell
Wonderful book, though I still have reservations about the first and last of the narratives. It does great things with language and has a lot of fun with narrative levels.
The Rosicrucian Enlightenment -- Frances Yates
I loved it. It made history fit together and made me ground some stuff that had only been hinted at elsewhere. I like how it ties literature and other arts together with a moment of history that I find interesting, and how it ties that to the myth of the secret society.
Fathers and Sons -- Ivan Turgenev
It is funny and well written with a couple of very interesting characters, and I love the portrayal of nihilism.
The Red House Mystery -- A.A. Milne
A perfectly plotted whodunnit with a healthy ironic distance. It is not a masterpiece in character writing, or a comment on the universal human condition, but it treats the detective genre very well. And I think it is funny that it is written by the creator of Winnie the Pooh.
Solaris -- Stanislaw Lem
Lem is always good. This is not my favourite among his books, but I liked it. I love how it leaves you guessing, and how it is so full of strange things that you can read any which way you like.
The Storyteller's Tale -- Omair Ahmad
A strange collection of developing tales, where each story is built on and changed as they go along.
A Room with a View -- E.M. Forster
Again, I won't wholeheartedly endorse it, because I had some issues with the ending (I should write a review), but it is sweet and lovely and I liked the characters along the way. Most of them.
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
structured procrastinator
This message last edited by Camilla on 21/12/2010 at 03:14:12 PM
What are your top ten reads of 2010?
20/12/2010 12:07:54 PM
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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
- 785 Views
Let's see, this is an interesting exercise...
20/12/2010 08:48:20 PM
- 1056 Views
I enjoyed Mahfouz, but I agree the translation wasn't stellar
20/12/2010 11:27:39 PM
- 664 Views
I read a Dutch translation, so presumably not the same one as yours.
21/12/2010 06:38:29 PM
- 663 Views
Okay, have to add Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian in there somewhere, see my review. *NM*
29/12/2010 09:41:22 PM
- 317 Views
Hmm.(New)
21/12/2010 02:21:40 AM
- 959 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
- 695 Views
Well.
21/12/2010 09:19:42 PM
- 837 Views
Re: I'm with you on Felisin. Boring.
25/12/2010 12:45:03 AM
- 687 Views
Yeah. Whenever I think of DH- it's always the Chain of Dogs.
26/12/2010 09:47:49 PM
- 779 Views
Re: Yeah. Whenever I think of DH- it's always the Chain of Dogs.
26/12/2010 11:49:49 PM
- 646 Views
850? So you have the best 200 pages left? *NM*
27/12/2010 11:55:21 AM
- 329 Views
Hey hey hey no.
27/12/2010 02:07:38 PM
- 675 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
- 998 Views
So far... (because the year is not yet over)
21/12/2010 03:12:06 PM
- 959 Views