Top ten reading picks for 2010

[twickster]

Just went back through a year's worth of "Whatcha Readin'" threads to figure out what my top ten books this year were. Drumroll, please:

1. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
2. Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche by Ethan Watters
3. Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor
4. Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
5. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
6. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
7. Terrible Lizard: The First Dinosaur Hunters and the Birth of a New Science by Deborah Cadbury
8. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
9. The Forger's Spell by Edward Dolnick [20th-century forger of Vermeers]
10. Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin ['08 election]

These are pretty much in order of enthusiasm. Nos. 3 and 5 were Doper recommendations, for which thanks. #6 is a historical novel that led me to read more about the period and personalities (#7).

[Athena]

This year for me was the Year of North Korea. Here's the best 3 that I read:

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea

The Aquariums of Pyongyang

[AuntiePam]

The Aubrey-Maturin series was my favorite, by far.

Others that stood out:

A Distant Flame – Philip Lee Williams
Exiles – Ron Hansen
The Lonely Polygamist – Brady Udall
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – David Mitchell
Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese
The Photograph – Penelope Lively
The Good Wife – Stewart O’Nan
So Brave Young and Handsome – Leif Enger
Songs for the Missing – Stewart O’Nan
The Salterton Trilogy – Robertson Davies

If I had to choose one, it'd probably be A Distant Flame. It reminded me of Flanders by Patricia Anthony, except that it's set in the Civil War rather than WWI. Very personal and emotional, without being sappy.

[Dung Beetle]

Well, the first thing I notice when I look at my Goodreads list is that I read about ten fewer books than usual this year. Grrrrr! But I did get some good ones. In no particular order, here’s ten:

1. The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer. I never saw either of the movie versions, thank goodness. Although I knew how this must end, it still blew me away.
2. This was my year for Joe R. Lansdale. I’ve read him before, but this year I had the Best Of collection, plus I finally started the Hap & Leonard series, so I’m going to cheat and put all of his books as one item on my list.
3. Stephen King’s newest, Full Dark, No Stars. I’m always jazzed to get a new book from my favorite author, and this particular one is a step above the other things he’s churned out lately. Hope for the future!
4. Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.
5. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta.
6. I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells. Interesting beginning of a trilogy.
7. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. A young adult novel with a Groundhog Day premise; I couldn’t put it down.
8. Never After by Dan Elconin. A dark retelling of Peter Pan. Great story, weak ending. The author is very young and this is his first book…I really hope he has more like this in him.
9. Horns by Joe Hill.
10. Top Dog by Jerry Jay Carroll. A recommendation from Auntie Pam. I liked this one a lot, although the sequel wasn’t as good.

[Elendil's Heir]

Originally Posted by twickster

Just went back through a year's worth of "Whatcha Readin'" threads to figure out what my top ten books this year were....

The December thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=587468

I'll come back to post my top ten after I think about it a bit more.

[Erdosain]

Mine are also listed in order of enthusiasm.

1. Your Face Tomorrow by Javier Marias
2. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
3. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
4. The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5. The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
6. City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer
7. Future Missionaries of America by Matthew Vollmer
8. Nox by Anne Carson
9. Novels in Three Lines by Felix Feneon
10. Far North by Marcel Theroux

Your Face Tomorrow is actually a trilogy, but I read all three volumes this year. It starts slow, but builds into something amazing. Now I have to track down everything else that Marias has written. I am pretty happy with what I read this year-- some dreck, but these ten books more than made up for the rest of them. I highly recommend all of them.

[TheMerchandise]

Mine, in no particular order:

1. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
2. Strange Wine, Harlan Ellison
3. Prince of Tides, Pat Conroy
4. Johannes Cabal the Detective, Jonathan Howard
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
6. Before They are Hanged, Joe Abercrombie
7. Carrie, Stephen King
8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie
9. The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, Charlie Huston
10. City of Thieves, David Benioff

[Chum]

1. Home, Marilynne Robinson
2. The Hours, Michael Cunningham
3. The Sea, The Sea, Iris Murdoch
4. Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami
5. The Road Home, Rose Tremain
6. War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
7. The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt
8. The Invisible Circus, Jennifer Egan
9. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz
10. The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

I didn't do nearly enough reading this year. A paltry 27 books. Lame-o. I'm aiming for 52 next year.

[delphica]

It's funny how my ratings on goodreads don't exactly add up to my top ten.

In no order, or actually, it seems to be the order in which I read them according to goodreads:

1. Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan (dark depressing YA fantasy)
2. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver (YA, this book is so much better than it has any right to be)
3. Wind, Sand and Stars, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (classic essays)
4. Lips Touch: Three Times, by Laini Taylor (more dark depressing YA fantasy)
5. The Magicians, by Lev Grossman (fiction)
6. Faithful Place, by Tana French (mystery)
7. Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness (awesome end to an awesome trilogy, YA science fiction)
8. Ransom, by David Malouf (fiction)
9. Mirror, Mirror, by Gregory Maguire (fiction)
10. Confederates in the Attic, by Tony Horowitz (essays)

[Khadaji]

I don't have time right now to finish my list - but what fun it was to go back and read the threads! I found that some books got better reviews from me than my memory would give them and some good reads were forgotten.

[Justin_Bailey]

I only read between 15-20 books a year (18.5 for this year), so my top ten is more or less just a ranking of everything I read.

1. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame Smith

2. Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
Not just a reprinting of the Twitter feed, a real memoir of Halpern's memories of his dad. It was great.

3. The God Engines by John Scalzi

4. Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber
Star Wars zombies! Be still my heart.

5. Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
I haven't seen The Social Network yet, but the book it was based on was thoroughly entertaining for a story where nothing happened and the "villain" was a saint.

6. Game Change by John Heinemann & Mark Halperin

7. Horns by Joe Hill
Would have been higher, but the flashbacks were pretty lame and the secret villain was obvious from his first appearance.

8. Under the Dome by Stephen King
Would have been higher, but that ending was pretty fucking dumb.

9. Feed by Mira Grant

10. Ancestor by Scott Sigler

[Dung Beetle]

Originally Posted by delphica

7. Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness (awesome end to an awesome trilogy, YA science fiction)

It's in my TBR pile, and thanks for the original recommendation!

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

I read about 130 books this year. Goodreads has a handy statistics page - here are my 5-star books for 2010:

1. The First Law trilogy, beginning with The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie. Swords & Horses fantasy, but with a gritty realism that I really enjoyed.
2. Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog), Jerome K. Jerome. Classic comedy of a trip down the Thames.
3. In the Garden of Iden, Kage Baker (although I've been a little disappointed in the rest of her books). Time travel fiction set in Tudor England.
4. Flashman and the Redskins, George MacDonald Fraser. My favorite so far of the outrageous historical adventures of Flashman.
5. Blackout and All Clear, Connie Willis. Time travel to WWII England during the Blitz.

Other notable 2010 reads:
1. A Deepness in the Sky, Vernor Vinge. Space opera.
2. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch. Fantasy, sort of Oliver Twist meets Ocean's Eleven.
3. A Free Man of Color, Barbara Hambly. Historical mystery set in New Orleans in the early 1800's.
4. Boiling a Frog, Christopher Brookmyre. So-called "Tartan Noir", hilarious crime fiction set in Scotland.
5. My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell. Classic comedy/memoir.

[Elendil's Heir]

I've read 53 books this year. Assuming I don't finish any in the next two days, which seems likely, these would be my Top Ten (in no particular order):

Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer - The curmudgeonly British barrister recounts his very first case.

Hell to Pay by D.M. Giangreco - Detailed history of U.S. plans to invade Japan at the end of WW2.

Legionary by Philip Matyszak - Written as if it were a recruiting manual for a Roman soldier.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon - Absolutely gripping novel about identity theft and the tenuous and sometimes deceptive bonds of family.

First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer - Re-read this favorite novel about the rise of three British politicians over the span of thirty years, each eventually vying to become Prime Minister.

Addie Pray by Joe David Brown - The inspiration for the movie Paper Moon, but has so much more good stuff in it you'll be amazed.

Victory at Yorktown by Richard M. Ketchum - Good overview of the decisive last campaign of the American Revolution.

Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures by Menno Metselaar and Ruud van der Rol - Provides wonderful context, with great illustrations, for Frank's story.

Ultimate Punishment by Scott Turow - A quiet, thoughtful, concise exploration of the death penalty today.

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth - Really fun, readable novel about a vampire working as a secret agent for the President of the United States, with clever asides on the secret history of Watergate, Friday the 13th, the 1981 Reagan assassination attempt, etc. Would make a terrific movie.

[Busy Scissors]

Done v little reading this year, but did manage to read one top quality novel - The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano - a stunner, really demands superlatives.

Read Pynchon's last one 'Inherent vice' as well. Not great to be honest, but probably worth it if you're a Pynchon fan. Extremely easy to read in comparison to his previous two. It's one of those late period offerings from a Grand Master who has nothing to prove in particular, and is more interested in ironing a few things out, stretching the limbs etc.

[elfkin477]

I don't think I'd highly recommend ten books from this year's 50 (I wasted a lot of reading time on George RR Martin this year), but how's five grab you?

1. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame Smith
I wasn't expecting much from a guy who basically became famous by boldly plagiarizing, but this book was utterly fantastic. It's one of those historical fiction novels where you have to occasionally remind yourself that [insert event] did not really happen that way, because the fiction was masterfully woven in with what we all know about ole Abe.

2. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Yes, all of them. I read 2-12 this year, and they're all a lot better than the first book. I found the most recent one, Changes, a bit heartbreaking because presumably the 14th book is going to find Harry having to deal with everything that's different. (you probably know why I didn't say the 13th, but I won't elaborate in case you don't know and want to remain spoiler-free about what it's going to be about.)

3. Twilight by Meg Cabot
The final book in the Mediator series ends just the way everyone's inner teenage girl wanted it to. Sure, it's completely wish fulfillment, but so what? The girl and her favorite ghost deserve their happy ending, dammit!

4. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
In this YA novel Jessica was just your average high school senior, who occasionally wondered about her birth parents and if the boy she liked was interested in return. But only up until an arrogant, pushy exchange student moved into her family's garage apartment...and insisted that she was a vampire princess in their native land. Oh, and had been promised as his wife while they were still infants. She expected her parents to tell her that it's not true, but they don't...

5. In the Woods by Tana French
I'm happier with the ending of this mystery now that I know that some of the characters have been reused in other books. Perhaps that's the reason why only one of the two mysteries was tied up neatly at the end. Lack of a completely satisfying ending aside, this was a fairly compelling novel.


Everyone is also invited to talk about their bottom five reads here.