Thursday, December 30, 2010

My Favourite Books of 2010

I've read a lot of books this year.  Perhaps more importantly, I've read quite a lot of good books this year.  Last year, I came up with a list of my top ten books of the year (see My Favourite Books of 2009), but because of the sheer volume of books I've read this year, I've had a hard time narrowing it down to the top ten.  So...presenting...

My Top 17 Books of 2010:
(in no particular order)
  • Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
  • Cry, The Beloved Country, by Alan Paton
  • The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova
  • The Language of Bees, by Laurie R. King
  • Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann
  • Lunch in Paris, by Elizabeth Bard
  • Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, by Rhoda Janzen
  • Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls
  • Stones into Schools, by Greg Mortenson
  • Dancing for Degas, by Kathryn Wagner
  • City of Veils, by Zoe Ferraris
  • The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  • Lives of the Saints, by Nino Ricci
  • Through Black Spruce, by Joseph Boyden
  • Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
  • I Shall Not Hate, by Izzeldin Abuelaish
  • February, by Lisa Moore
If tortured into refining the list a little more, I would propose...

My Top 8 Books of 2010:
  • Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
  • Cry, The Beloved Country, by Alan Paton
  • The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova
  • Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann
  • Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls
  • The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  • Through Black Spruce, by Joseph Boyden
  • February, by Lisa Moore
I can slice and dice no further; this is as much as I can bear.  I hope you find something in that list to enjoy!  Happy Reading.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks Ruth! I have a few to share with you, one I am really loving reading and am almost done is "Other People's Houses" by Lore Segal, and two others that were very good were "The Friday Night Knitting Club" and "Stitch two" by Kate Jacobs. Happy New Year! Katie H

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  2. Ooooh...I am so happy to see some on this list that are on my reading pile. I am really excited to read them now!

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  3. Katie, thanks for the suggestions - MUCH appreciated!!

    Sharla, glad to confirm some of your upcoming picks - I hope you like them as much as I did!

    Blessings,

    Ruth

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  4. you've done better than me... I read a lot of really DULL books in 2010. From your review below - I'd really like to read 'february' - that sounds great!

    Thanks for the list - I love finding out what other people have been reading!

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