So here is my list of Top 10 Books Read in 2010. Same rules as always - no re-reads (I must have read it for the first time in 2010); books published in any year are accepted though. Fiction or non-fiction, Canadian or international, kids books, poetry - all are admissible in this list!
1. The Matter with Morris - David Bergen
2. Essex County - Jeff Lemire
3. The Book of Secrets - M. G. Vassanji
4. Sailor Girl - Sheree-Lee Olson
5. The Cellist of Sarajavo - Steven Galloway
6. Room - Emma Donoghue
7. Motorcycles and Sweetgrass - Drew Hayden Taylor
8. Streams of Faith - Lois M. Wilson
9. Yellowknife - Steve Zipp
10. Annabel - Kathleen Winters
And, in case you're interested, the books that made the longlist but had to be cut to come up with my top ten were (in no particular order): Light Lifting (Alexander MacLeod); The Boy in the Moon (Ian Brown); The Wife's Tale (Lori Lansens); and The Mistress of Nothing (Kate Pullinger).
A few random observations about this list:
- All of the books (including the longlist) are Canadian!
- I didn't read much non-fiction in 2010. I should probably work on that this year...
- Not only was the quality better, but after a slow-ish start I ended up reading more books in 2010 than in 2009.
- I have not yet read the 2010 Giller or GG winners, but both books are sitting on my TBR list and I should get to them in the next month or so.
I haven't posted any new reviews in the past few weeks - I'm actually part-way through 3 different books right now, including one that I left behind in the airport when traveling over the holidays!
Wishing everyone a happy 2011 filled with wonderful books to read!
2 comments:
From those on your list that I've read, I'd say nice picks (though I wasn't a fan of Book of Secrets.) I'm glad to see your number 2-- have you read any of the Canada Reads contenders?
John - other than Essex County, the only other Canada Reads contender that I've read is Unless. I'm not a huge Carol Shields fan, so when I say that I liked Unless better than any of her other books, that isn't much of a recommendation! I do want to read The Best Laid Plans as I sat next to Terry Fallis for lunch at the Sleeping Giant Writer's Festival in August and he is quite entertaining in person.
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