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Time to Vote for the Top 10 Books of 2020
Mexican Gothic - Moreno-GarciaThe Nickel Boys - Whitehead
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - McCullers
Cold Sassy Tree - Burns
The Splendid and the Vile - Larson
Circe - Miller
The Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck
The Water Dancer - Coates
Ellen Foster - Gibbons
2001: A Space Odyssey - Clarke
I read twelve books with five-star rating, which I distilled to the top ten. . With the exception of Mexican Gothic, all were authors I have never read before. Four below are from Southern writers and four are considered classics. The genres include horror, historical fiction, literary classics, history, fantasy, magical realism, and science fiction, which is par for the course since I consider myself an eclectic reader. .
I read one book which received a 1-star rating, which I came close to not finishing, was:
Now, Then, & Everywhen - Walker
When We Were Vikings - MacDonaldPersepolis - Satrapi
Remembrance of Things Past - Proust
Porgy - Heyward
Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton - Phelan
His Majesty's Dragon - Novik
Out of the Dust - Hesse
The Best We Could Do - Bui
Notes of a Cowardly Lion - Lahr
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic - Bechdel
You will notice there are several graphic novels listed - this was the year I discovered them and in fact each is a memoir of one kind or another. This is a very unusual list for me with little fiction. That's because Proust took up a lot of my reading for the first 6 months and Poll Tally took up the rest pushing me to a very different reading list.
The worst - a series entry whose characters behaved in a totally unbelievable manner given the back story - it was so bad:
The Grilling Season - Davidson
Recursion - CrouchThe Institute - King
News of the World - Jiles
March: Book Three - Lewis
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Malcolm X and Haley
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - Green and Levithan
Spinning Silver - Novik
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South - Twitty
Seabiscuit - Hillenbrand
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America - Kendi
My worst read of the year was Ghostsitter by Tommy Krappweis. It was a free audible audio book and I really did not enjoy listening to it. Both the story and the audio production were below average.
This was a record-breaking year for me, with 250+ books, and I read more good books than ever. In the end I decided to keep the ones that touched me the most personally, and those I continue to think about, even months later. *Dear Edward - Napolitano
A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers Series) - Becky Chambers
Still Alice - Genova
Station Eleven - Mandel
Law of Moses - Harmon
Nothing More Dangerous - Eskins
The Lager Queen of Minnesota - Stradal
The Rosie Project - Simsion
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - Richardson
Lab Girl - Jahren
The next 10 (fiction):
News of the World -Jiles
Big Lies in a Small Town - Chamberlin
Nickel Boys - Whitehead
This Tender Land - Krueger
Adulthood rites (Xenogenesis series) -Butler
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Fowler
Exhalation Stories - Chiang
A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarers Series) - Chambers
Dark Matter
An American Marriage - Jones
Non-Fiction Favorites:
*Lab Girl - Jahren
Death and Life of the Great Lakes -Egan
She Said -Kantor
Just Mercy - Stevenson
How to be an Anti-racist - Kendi
Too Much and Never Enough - Trump
Targeted: The Cambridge Analytica whistleblower - Kaiser
Code Girls - Mundy
The Ride of a Lifetime - Iger
Bottle of Lies - Eban
Notorious RBG
Well-loved re-reads:
Language of Flowers - Diffenbaugh
Where the Crawdads Sing
Bird and the Sword - Harmon
Little Princess
Art of Racing in the rain
*Dear Edward is a wonderful book about friendship and healing. I know many people avoided it because it starts with a tragic plane crash, but it's worth considering.
My worst read was Poor Unfortunate Soul, by Serena Valentino, part of the Villains series. The main character was Ursula (from A little Mermaid), but it mashed up her story with other villains from Disney, Shakespeare and Mythology. It was a mess. I read it solely for the Disney tag. (I also had more DNF's this year than ever.)
The World That We Knew - HoffmanBecoming - Obama
A Woman in the Polar Night - Ritter
The Invention of Wings - Kidd
The Art of Racing in the Rain - Stein
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - Satrapi
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle- Turton
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind - Kamkwamba
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling
Killers of the Flower Moon - Grann
My least favorite read this year was In the Land of the Grasshopper Song by Mary Ellicott Arnold and Mabel Reed. I was so disappointed in it that I did not post it to PBT because I didn't want to write a review.
EDITED: December 27, Changed Soul of an Octopus to The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Midnight Sun - MeyerThe Winter of the Witch - Arden
The Girl in the Tower - Arden
The Bear and the Nightingale - Arden
Educated - Westover
Resistance - Nielsen
I don't have a full ten as I've only read a total of 19 books this year due to depression and ... 2020 (need I say more). A lot of those 19 were rereads and I don't want to count them towards my top 10 either. I did list my books in order from most favorite first. I'd gladly recommend any of these books, except maybe Midnight Sun, to anyone.
I thankfully haven't had any awful reads this year. My least favorite, however, was a book I gave 3 stars to for keeping me engaged the entire time but not quite turning out the way I wanted it to/felt it should. It was The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix.
If I want to add to my top 10 list should I edit this post with the following:
EDITED: date, added Title A ?
The Girl with All the Gifts - CareyThe Unhoneymooners - Lauren
Ninth House - Bardugo
Crooked Kingdom - Bardugo
Mexican Gothic - Moreno-Garcia
Troubled Blood - Galbraith
Rebecca - du Maurier
Locked In - Scalzi
The worst book I've read this year was by far The Devil's Fire by Matt Tomerlin for reasons I won't even state because there are too many. See my review for details. Apart from this, I have one two stars - Casino Royale by Ian Flemming. I prefer Bond movies to books.
American Gods - GaimanNews of the World - Jiles
Virgil Wander - Enger
That Old Ace in the Hole - Proulx
In the Distance - Diaz
Caste - Wilkerson
How to Be an Antiracist - Kendi
This Tender Land - Krueger
Hillbilly Elegy - Vance
Cannery Row - Steinbeck
My worst book was The Last Man by Mary Shelley. I read it with a classics group on GR. It is the only other novel she wrote besides Frankenstein. It is quite long and all the language is extremely flowery. Even in dramatic moments, everyone talks as if they are declaiming a great speech. The characters don't have much personality and they make sudden irrational decisions. Part of it is about a pandemic so that had some interest in how the government and the characters coped. But I would not recommend it to anyone.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - Stephen KingThe Travelling Cat Chronicles - Hiro Arikawa
Room - Emma Donoghue
Hard Times - Charles Dickens
Travels With My Aunt - Graham Greene
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day - Winifred Watson
Chomp - Carl Hiassen
Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt - Beth Hoffman
I have about 25 five star reads this year so I narrowed it down to 10 by choosing the ones that surprised me by how much I liked them.
My worst read, or at least the 50% I got through, was The Mysteries of Udolpho. I love the scenery of France but not that much!
Bunny - Mona Awad
Speaking Truth to Power - Anita Hill
The Silver Collar - Antonia Hodgson
The Secret Piano - Zhu Xiet Mei
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
Mythos - Stephen Fry
Akata Witch - Nnedi Okorafor
The Road to Unfreedom - Timothy Snyder
The Eighth Life - Nina Haratschvili
Moonstone - Sjón
Worst two:
How to be like Walt - Pat Williams
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Speaking Truth to Power - Anita Hill
The Silver Collar - Antonia Hodgson
The Secret Piano - Zhu Xiet Mei
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
Mythos - Stephen Fry
Akata Witch - Nnedi Okorafor
The Road to Unfreedom - Timothy Snyder
The Eighth Life - Nina Haratschvili
Moonstone - Sjón
Worst two:
How to be like Walt - Pat Williams
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
White Fragility - DiAngeloIdiot - Clery
Sea Prayer - Hosseini
Greenlights - McConaughey
The Egg - Weir
A Long Way Gone - Beah
The Universe in Your Hand- Galford
Scorecasting - Moskowitz,
Truman - McCullough
The Splendid and the Vile - Larson
This Tender Land - KruegerHave You Seen Luis Velez - Hyde
Silent Wife - Slaughter
Kingdom of Ash - Maas
Helter Skelter - Bugliosi
Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Chambers
Rebecca - du Maurier
Bull Mountain - Panowich
Rules of Civility - Towles
Three Day Road - Boyden
I read a lot of crap for Poll Ballot so it waa hard to narrow down my least favorite book. The loser of the year goes to:
Hollywood Assassin - Kelly
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock - GowarNews of the World - Jiles
My Family and Other Animals - Durrell
Florence Adler Swims Forever - Beanland
Esperanza's Box of Saints - Escandon
The Vanishing Half - Bennett
Harry's Trees - Cohen
Lab Girl - Jahren
Long Bright River - Moore
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement - Kantor
*Honorable Mentions:
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies - Philyaw
Henry, Himself - O'Nan
*Least Favorite book:
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories - Wilson
Comments: Due to the pandemic and libraries being closed, I found it harder to find good books this past year. Browsing and looking at actual books in the library has always helped me find unexpected gems to read. I miss that!
This has been my year to discover Historical Fiction, a genre I had been lukewarm about before. I read several books in this category and really liked them.
EDITED on 12-25-20: I replaced "Henry, Himself - O'Nan" with "Long Bright River - Moore".
Jenny wrote: "1. Bunny - Mona Awad2. Speaking Truth to Power - Anita Hill
3. The Silver Collar - Antonia Hodgson
4. The Secret Piano - Zhu Xiet Mei
5. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
6...."
Hi Jenny, will you please edit your post and remove the numbers? Thanks!
Also, The Eighth Life will for sure be in my Top 10. It was a doorstopper, but I could not put it down. I am such a sucker for a multi-generational family drama and throw in a touch of magical realism and I am a sucker. It actually may have a shot at the top spot.
John wrote: "Mexican Gothic - Moreno-GarciaThe Nickel Boys - Whitehead
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - McCullers
Cold Sassy Tree - Burns
The Splendid and the Vile - Larson
Circe - Miller
The Grapes of Wrath - S..."
I love reading new authors! So glad it worked out so well for you. Do you think you'll be trying other books by some of those new-to-you authors?
Theresa wrote: "When We Were Vikings - MacDonaldPersepolis - Satrapi
Remembrance of Things Past - Proust
Porgy - Heyward
Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton - Phelan
His Majesty's Dragon - Novik
Out of the Du..."
I feel like I need to get to His Majesty's Dragon at some point. It seems like a book I would enjoy!
I also keep seeing When We Were Vikings (I bet it makes several other lists as well based on reviews) but I honestly do not even know what it is about! Maybe it is time to look closer at it....
Cora wrote: "Recursion - Blake CrouchThe Institute - Stephen King
News of the World - Paulette Jiles
March: Book Three - John Lewis
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Malcolm X and Alex Haley
Will Grayson, Will ..."
Malcolm X is 100% making my list too.
I don't think Recursion will make my Top 10, but I really enjoyed that one as well!
NancyJ wrote: "This was a heavy reading year for me, so I had more 5 star books than ever. (I also had more DNF's than ever.) I'll shorten this list later this week. A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers Series)..."
Lots of great options! It will be hard to narrow that list down!
Lyn wrote: "The World That We Knew - Alice HoffmanBecoming - Michelle Obama
A Woman in the Polar Night - Christine Ritter
The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd
The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
Per..."
You have several books on your list that have made my Top 10 in years past! Becoming, Invention of Wings, Prisoner of Azkaban, Killers of the Flower Moon.
I was not thrilled with The World That We Knew, but it has excellent rating so I think that was just a miss for me. Also, I listened to the audio narrated by Judith Light and I was massively underwhelmed.
Jenni Elyse wrote: "If I want to add to my top 10 list should I edit this post with the following:EDITED: date, added Title A ?"
Yep!
I think Educated will also make my list, but some of those final spots in my Top 10 are turning out to be pretty competitive!
We should add that, like you did, no one is required to do a full Top 10 if they didn't read tons of books or just feel like they don't have 10 worthy books! 10 is just the upper limit.
Teodora wrote: "The Girl with All the Gifts - CareyThe Unhoneymooners - Lauren
Ninth House - Bardugo
Crooked Kingdom - Bardugo
Mexican Gothic - Moreno-Garcia
Troubled Blood - Galbraith
Rebecca - du Maurier
Locked..."
Ninth House was the very first book I read this year, and I think it may make my Top 10 too! I really liked it! I think the second book comes out in 2021 (?) and I cannot wait to read more!
Robin P wrote: "American Gods - GaimanNews of the World - Jiles
Virgil Wander - Enger
That Old Ace in the Hole - Proulx
In the Distance - Diaz
Caste - Wilkerson
How to Be an Antiracist - Kendi
This Tender Land - ..."
Two books that I REALLY wanted to get to this year and didn't are Caste and This Tender Land.
I own Caste and didn't get to it because Fall Flurries kicked in, but I bet it will be one of the first books I get to in 2021.
For some reason I always hesitate when it comes time to pick up This Tender Land despite the fact that I JUST KNOW that I will love it. Not sure what my hesitation is though...
ShazM wrote: "I have about 25 five star reads this year so I narrowed it down to 10 by choosing the ones that surprised me by how much I liked them."I like this as a deciding factor!
I haven't read many of the books on your list, but am definitely going to give them a look. I have never read Hiassen, which I feel like is a major oversight in my reading experience!
Jason wrote: "White Fragility - DiAngeloIdiot - Clery
Sea Prayer - Hosseini
Greenlights - McConaughey
The Egg - Weir
A Long Way Gone - Beah
The Universe in Your Hand- Galford
Scorecasting - Moskowitz,
Truman -..."
I have to get to Greenlights. Also, glad to see Truman on your list even though I know you thought it was a bit long!
I also liked White Fragility, but I think it will miss my Top 10 because I loved The Color of Law so much more. I read several books to provide insight to BLM and while I enjoyed almost all of them, I don't want them to dominate my Top 10, so I think I will stick with just one.
Olivermagnus wrote: "This Tender Land - KruegerHave You Seen Luis Velez - Hyde
Silent Wife - Slaughter
Kingdom of Ash - Maas
Helter Skelter - Bugliosi
Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Chambers
Rebecca - du Maurier
B..."
This Tender Land is on your list too! Ugh, I seriously need to get to it.
I also still need to watch the Rebecca movie on Netflix....
Holly R W wrote: "The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock - GowarNews of the World - Jiles
My Family and Other Animals - Durrell
Florence Adler Swims Forever - Beanland
Esperanza's Box of Saints - Escandon
The Vanishing Half ..."
I was super underwhelmed by News of the World, but I already see it on a couple of lists here! I am in the minority on that book.
Your honorable mention is on my TBR already thanks to you! Now, just to find time to fit it in....
I had a very slow and underwhelming reading year this year, ready to move on and start over in 2021. Only four books to contribute this year:The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
Lab Girl - Jahren
A Man Called Ove - Backman
The Hate U Give - Thomas
Ninth House - BardugoAlexander Hamilton - Chernow
Normal People - Rooney
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Haley and Malcolm X
The Eighth Life - Haratischvili
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland - Keefe
Educated - Westover
Her Last Flight - Williams
Hamnet - O'Farrell
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America - Rothstein
Worst Book(s) - I literally could not decide between Starless Sea by Morgenstern and The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Harrow. They were both in the exact same genre (a genre I typically enjoy!) and I didn't like either of them. Loathed would be a better descriptor. Starless Sea was a HUGE disappointment for me, and I was physically angry that Doors of January wasn't better when it had so much potential.
Excellent books that barely missed the cut -
A Promised Land by Obama - I really enjoyed this book, but opted for more objective biographies of past presidents over this autobio/memoir.
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Meacham - I seriously was digging the US history books this year, but it was just impossible to top Hamilton. I was also constantly disappointed that Daveed Diggs was not on the cover. lol
Only Plane in the Sky by Graff - I am SO GLAD I finally got to this book, but when it came to a head-to-head comparison with Say Nothing, I had to give the edge to the mind-blowing story of Northern Ireland.
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Larson - 80% of this book was excellent! The remaining 20% literally described aerial battles and I just couldn't take it.
Ask Again Yes by Keane - Thoroughly enjoyable, but definitely a just-above-average family drama. I just love family dramas though.
The Man Who Saw Everything by Levy - I have no idea why this isn't in my Top 10, but when I look at my list, I am not sure what I would bump to make room for it.
Conversations with Friends by Rooney - It was easily the year of Rooney for me.
The Girl Beneath the Sea by Mayne - this trashy underwater thriller was a huge cut above the rest! I want it in my Top 10 for pure, unadulterated enjoyment, but there just wasn't room!
I had a REALLY hard time narrowing down my list (as evidenced by the 8 books I felt like I still needed to talk about), but realized that my reading year started out great and then slowly went down hill. A few themes characterize my reading this year:
BLM - With all of the turmoil in society following the death of George Floyd and others, I really wanted to read more books that provided insight to issues. I read 8 books (6 nonfiction and 2 fiction) and have plans for several more starting with Caste by Wilkerson.
Reading enhanced by watching - Y'all, I will forever associate Normal People with COVID. I was OBSESSED. I watched the miniseries, read the book, and wanted to talk about it endlessly. I also FINALLY got to see Hamilton, though, granted, it was on Disney+. Don't care. It was brilliant. I have watched it numerous times, read the original source material, and listen to the soundtrack on loop. The screen-book pairings were at their best here.
Nonfiction - partially driven by my BLM reading, I read a crap ton of nonfiction books this year. Well, 20. Which is a crap ton for me. A full 25% of my reading. And not just nonfiction light memoirs (of which there were several), but dense history nonfiction.
Mediocrity - I did read many excellent books, but the bulk of the books I read this year just felt mediocre. They were entertaining and took me away from the dumpster fire that is 2020, and apparently that is all I was really looking for.
Nicole wrote: "I had a very slow and underwhelming reading year this year, ready to move on and start over in 2021. Only four books to contribute this year:The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
Lab Girl - Jahren..."
Nicole wrote: "I had a very slow and underwhelming reading year this year, ready to move on and start over in 2021. Only four books to contribute this year:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
Lab Girl - Jahren..."
I 1000% agree with you that I am ready to start over in 2021. And not just with reading. I feel like I need a life reset. Surviving not thriving was my mantra in 2020 and I am ready to thrive again!
Even though you only have 4 books on your list, those are excellent books. Loved Lab Girl and would like to get to her new one too.
Jenny wrote: "Will go and edit now!"Thanks, ma'am!
I had a fantastic year of reading, a lot of 4 and 5 stars that were surprising to me. I would say 95% of books were read for Poll Tally, and so it surprises me that I liked so many of them. These are not in any particular order, just the favorites for this year:Boys In The Boat,The-Daniel J Brown
Elephant Company-Vicki Croke
Great Deluge, The - Douglas Brinkley
Seabiscuit-Laura Hillenbrand
Splendid and The Vile, The-Erik Larson
Say Nothing-Patrick R. Keefe
Only Plane In The Sky, The-Garrett M. Graff
Deadly Education, A-Naomi Novik
Long Petal Of The Sea, A-Isabel Allende
My least favorite is a toss up between
The League of Wives -Heath H. Lee
The Bird King -G. Willow Wilson
Joanne wrote: "I had a fantastic year of reading, a lot of 4 and 5 stars that were surprising to me. I would say 95% of books were read for Poll Tally, and so it surprises me that I liked so many of them. These a..."Oh man! You have a great list. The Boys in the Boat and Seabiscuit are among two of my favorites. I should look and see if those authors have anything in the works for 2021.
The Great Deluge is amazing. I read it back in...2007? 2008? 2009? I think 2008. It blew my mind and I STILL think about things I read in that book. Have you read Five Days at Memorial? I think it is a nice book to pair with that. I read them many years apart and wish I would have read them closer together.
Say Nothing was on my list this year, and The Splendid and the Vile and The Only Plane in the Sky both barely missed by Top 10.
I am going to have to read Naomi Novik....
Nicole R wrote: "Theresa wrote: "When We Were Vikings - MacDonaldPersepolis - Satrapi
Remembrance of Things Past - Proust
Porgy - Heyward
Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton - Phelan
His Majesty's Dragon - Nov..."
When We Were Vikings is one of those rare occasions for me where a flawed book ... and it is flawed ... had such a wonderful compelling character and story that I could not give it fewer than 5 stars.
His Majesty's Dragon is all Joanne's fault! Well and Poll Tally. I am not a fantasy reader unless it reads like historical fiction or Dickens or such. When Jade Dragons did Here Be Dragons month as a team during Poll Tally, she convinced me to read it. Of course it was perfect and I am in love with a dragon fantasy series!
I think you would like both.
@ Nicole, I did read 5 Days at Memorial, in 2018-If I did not have it on my top ten it was a close runner-up. The Great Deluge really told the story, like nothing else I have read. It really held me captive and I read it in less than a week-Novik knows how to story-tell. She is one of my favorite authors.
Joanne wrote: "@ Nicole, I did read 5 Days at Memorial, in 2018-If I did not have it on my top ten it was a close runner-up. The Great Deluge really told the story, like nothing else I have read. It really held m..."Uprooted is the Novak that has been on my radar forever.
I only had 8, 5 star books. I changed one of my 4 stars to 5 so now have 9 and chose the one of the 4 stars, which I liked the best for the 10th of the list. For once this was not a hard list for me to do.Behold the Dreamers - Imbolo Mbue
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Chicken Chronicles - Alice Walker
Apeirogon - Colum McCann
Sin Eater - Megan Campisi
Love, Death and Rarebooks - Robert Hellenga
The Splendid and The Vile - Erik Larson
Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel
Five Little Indians - Michelle Good
And I have added, because apparently, I cannot count :
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows - Balli Kaur Jaswal
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle-TurtonA Darker Shade of Magic-Schwab
The Silmarillion-Tolkien
They Both Die at the End-Silvera
Still Life-Penny
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal-Moore
Manhattan in Reverse-Hamilton
Plan of Attack-Woodward
The Andromeda Strain-Crichton
The Overstory-Powers
I’m still reading The Overstory, but I can tell it’s going to be a favorite for the year.
Worst book: The Conference of the Birds-Attar. It took me three years to read which was probably a red flag. I’m just glad it’s over.
Booknblues wrote: "I only had 8, 5 star books. I changed one of my 4 stars to 5 so now have 9 and chose the one of the 4 stars, which I liked the best for the 10th of the list. For once this was not a hard list for m..."Okay, I need to revisit Behold the Dreamers. I had it on my TBR forever and then it just kind of drifted off. Seems like I should reconsider.
I also started Apeirogon this year on audio and quickly realized that it is not a format super suited to audio! So, I have the ebook and just need to fit it in.
Nicole R wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I only had 8, 5 star books. I changed one of my 4 stars to 5 so now have 9 and chose the one of the 4 stars, which I liked the best for the 10th of the list. For once this was no..."I think you would like Behold the Dreamers, but maybe not love it. The characters are complex and imperfect. There is not one of them that didn't do something that made me mad as hell, except Mighty who is just a kid and pretty lovable.
Both Apeirogon and Behold the Dreamers relates to interactions of cultures and crossing and mending bridges.
Apeirogon does revisit emotionally horrible scenes, so be prepared for that.
Booknblues wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I only had 8, 5 star books. I changed one of my 4 stars to 5 so now have 9 and chose the one of the 4 stars, which I liked the best for the 10th of the list. For..."Thanks for the head's up on Aperiogon. I did know that about it, so I am mentally prepared. But that aspect does mean I really have to be in the right mindset to actually pick it up!
The Library Book-OrleanYou're Never Weird on the Internet-Day
Finding Dorothy-Letts
The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma's Table-Bragg
Me & Patsy Kickin' Up Dust: My Friendship with Patsy Cline-Lynn
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11-Graff
Dog On It-Quinn
Christmas Cow Bells-Bryan
A Life in Parts-Cranston
Daughter of Moloka'i-Brennert
This year I discovered I really like cozy mysteries. I have read a few in the past and they were good but I just did not find myself searching more right away to read. Dog On It and Christmas Cow Bells now has me looking in the mystery section.
I am still adding more Nonfiction than fiction in my top ten but if I recall correct, it is more fiction than I have ever added.
I did not like this book even a little bit. It was a waste of not only my time but of a tree.
Wild by Nature: One Woman, One Trek, One Thousand Nights by Sarah Marquis
SouthWestZippy wrote: "The Library Book-OrleanYou're Never Weird on the Internet-Day
Finding Dorothy-Letts
The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma's Table-Bragg
Me & Patsy Kickin' Up Dust: My Friendship with Pat..."
I need to add The Library Book to my TBR.
And I love that you discovered a love of cozy mysteries! They sound like a great way to have fun, relaxing reading to get your mind off the seriousness of the world right now. Cheesy romcom romance novels do that for me!
Love and Other Thought Experiments- WardLiar's Dictionary- Williams
Caste- Wilkerson
Swimming in the Dark- Jedrowski
Interior Chinatown- Yu
Apeirogon- McCann
Just Above My Head- Baldwin
Cakes and Ale- Maugham
Animalia- Del Amo
Why We Can't Sleep- Calhoun
This was a big reading year for me- but I didn't have very many 5 star reads. I read a lot of non-fiction, especially focussed on prejudices, as well as a lot of history (they seem to go hand in hand). I also tried to get in more poetry and plays.
My big spirituality read was the Tao Te Ching by Laotzu, and I'm going to try to get more of the religious texts next year, so that I can broaden my horizons about the world's beliefs.
The worst reads: Crash by Ballard and
New Wilderness by Cook.
Tracy wrote: "Love and Other Thought Experiments- WardLiar's Dictionary- Williams
Caste- Wilkerson
Swimming in the Dark- Jedrowski
Interior Chinatown- Yu
Apeirogon- McCann
Just Above My Head- Baldwin
Cakes and ..."
Love and Other Thought Experiments saying on my TBR....The New Wilderness coming off.....
I'm holding out, in hope I get another 5 star before the end of the year!!
Joi wrote: "I'm holding out, in hope I get another 5 star before the end of the year!!"Me too. I have Behold the Dreamers coming up.
When I looked back I had 32 5-star reads. Narrowing down to the top ten:Ask Again, Yes - Keane
Mildred Pierce - Cain
A History of Loneliness - Boyne
The City & the City - Meiville
Embassytown - Meiville
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Orczy
The Day the World Came to Town - DeFede
The Only Plane in the Sky - Graff
Born a Crime - Noah
Before We Were Yours - Wingate
Worst book for me: a tie between The Alchemist by Coelho and Heart of Darkness by Conrad
I "discovered" 4 out of my top 10 from everyone else's Top 10 last year. And I've again been adding to my TBR as I'm looking at the 2020 lists.
Joi wrote: "I'm holding out, in hope I get another 5 star before the end of the year!!"Me, too. I always wait to figure mine out on Jan. 1!
Not that I'm likely to have another 5 stars book (I have so few of those), but I just finished a 4.25 star (those sometimes make my top 10), so you never know!
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If you would copy the format I use in my example below, that would be great.
You do not need to post your top ten in any specific order, but you are certainly free to do so, but please don't include numbers in your list.
We'd love to hear your comments on your top 10. Please post them below your list.
If you must make a change to your list after it is posted, please just note it by editing your existing post at the bottom to read:
EDITED: date, changed Title A to Title B
For fun, please post your least favorite title of the year at the bottom of your message.
****EXAMPLE ONLY**** Please post your choices using this exact same format.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies of a Silicon Valley Startup - Carreyou
Born a Crime - Noah
The Heart's Invisible Furies - Boyne
A Ladder to the Sky - Boyne
Educated - Westover
The Collector - Fowles
Blood Meridian - McCarthy
Do Not Say We Have Nothing - Thien
Three Little Words - Rhodes-Courter
From a Low and Quiet Sea - Ryan