Week 4 - Tops and Duds of the Decade

[Joanna]

As January comes to a close, let’s talk about our tops and duds of the decade. 10 years is a long time with a lot of books. If you’re like me, most of what you read was good, neither exceptional nor terrible. But there are always those few.

What were your top reads of the decade?

What were your duds of the decade?

I had a few top (5 star) reads: Lost Stars, The Name of the Wind, Persuasion, You’re Never Weird on the Internet, A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Starless Sea, Ink and Bone, and The Golem and the Jinni. As you can see, fantasy books are the predominate top reads for me. Also, I rarely give 5 stars. It was super odd for me to have 3 of them last year. I think it had been a couple years since my last one.



Sadly, there is always a dud (1 or 2 stars). Again, super rare for me. I don’t think I had any last year. Duds of the decade included Gulliver’s Travels, Supergods, Butterfly Palace, and Twilight.



Tell us yours!

[Ann]

I've had quite a few 5 stars, some of them nonfiction: The Mutual Admiration Society, Wolfpack, Becoming, The Jazz of Physics, Find Me Unafraid, and Alexander Hamilton. The 5 star fiction included some new to me authors, as well as new authors and some old favorites (mostly mystery or fantasy authors). The new to me authors included Elizabeth Gilbert, KateQuinn, Amanda Carmack, and Susan Elia MacNeal.



Not many duds, and only 1 did not finish that I remember: Fifty Shades of Grey (DNF) and Twilight.

[Ashley]

Top reads are a little too hard for me. I was just looking through my list and found so many that were good! I would say that the two that surprised me most with being top reads for me were Exit, Pursued by a Bear and Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. They were both just super stellar contemporary YA books.



As for duds, there were two very disappointing ones. They both have mostly positive reviews, and I knew people who were very hyped on them. Bone Gap and Carry On were massive disappointments for me. The former bored me to tears, and the latter was just too on-the-nose with the "let's make this as close to Harry Potter fanfiction as possible" bit.

[[deleted user]]

I can honestly say I have never had a "dud" book. I have enjoyed most of what I have read over the years.

I am currently reading "Goodbye Sweet Girl: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival" and "The Book Thief."

[Zachary]

I've largely eliminated duds, thanks to the reviews and advice of friends like you all. One that was a dud to me was Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance.

[Zachary]

Reflecting on a whole decade--I discovered so many authors and books that it's hard to narrow down. I discovered the Saga graphic novel series, I'll be Gone in the Dark by the late Michelle McNamara, the Song of Ice and Fire series, Ready Player One, and Colson Whitehead. Those are just a few highlights.

[Elizabeth]

It appears I rate books a lot higher than I thought. I had quite a few five stars that were more likely four-star worthy. My top books as far as I can remember were I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, The Grapes of Wrath, and All the Light We Cannot See. Biggest dud was Lying in Wait. I’m sure I have more, but my goodreads doesn’t go back a decade, so I’m not sure what I read when.

[Arlice]

My top reads of the decade were


I had four duds, really disappointed reading these books: