End-of-Year Favorites List

[Mary]

Miranda wrote today that she would LOVE to compile our annual Favorite Books list again. I haven't been a part of organizing this in the past so am not sure how to proceed. Maybe Stacey or Annika could weigh in and help kick this off? Or Miranda, give us some guidelines on what you need from us.

[Mary]

An email from Miranda to me this morning suggested people either post their lists here or email them to her at Miranda_d@shaw.ca. Who remembers how many favorites (Fiction and Nonfiction) we included on our lists in the past?

[Gretchen]

Don't we usually do our top ten?

[Annika]

I think we usually include our top 10 fiction and top 10 non-fiction. Thanks for starting this mary:)

[Mary]

Glad to, Annika. I really love those yearly lists!! I didn't have 10 outstanding F or NF books this year, but I'll post the ones I loved within the next couple of days.

[Melissa]

Non-fiction:
1.) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
2.) Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny by Marlo Thomas
3.) ]Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner
4.) After the Falls by Catherine Gildiner
5.) Sammy Davis Jr.: My Father by Tracey Davis
6.) What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love by Carole Radziwill
7.) Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro by Michele Kort
8.) Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller
9.) The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
10.) The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David A. Kessler

Fiction:
1.) True Believers: A Novel by Linda Dorrell
2.) The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
3.) Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
4.) The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
5.) The Trees of Eden: A Novel by Linda Dorrell
6.) Run by Ann Patchett
7.) Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
8.) The Lost Diaries of Iris Weed by Janice Law
9.) Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
10.) Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates

[Mary]

Melissa, the books you list as your favorites for this year don't have to have been PUBLISHED this year, just read this year. Without that restriction (being published just this year), I'll bet you can come up with more favorites because it sounds like you read quite a lot!

[Miranda]

Mary wrote: "An email from Miranda to me this morning suggested people either post their lists here or email them to her at Miranda_d@shaw.ca. Who remembers how many favorites (Fiction and Nonfiction) we inclu..."

Hi everyone! Simply post or send your top 10 (ten is the max) fiction and non-fiction (two lists). Just your favorite reads from this year, not necessarily published this year. Can we post files here do you know? I can always mail the excel lists.

[Melissa]

Mary wrote: "Melissa, the books you list as your favorites for this year don't have to have been PUBLISHED this year, just read this year. Without that restriction (being published just this year), I'll bet yo..."

Opps...well, that certainly makes it easier:-)

[Stacey]

We did the top 10 fiction and top 5 non-fiction(since it was a fiction board). I would love to see the top 10 nonfiction. I don't think I've read that many this year, lol.

[Stacey]

Miranda wrote: "Mary wrote: "An email from Miranda to me this morning suggested people either post their lists here or email them to her at Miranda_d@shaw.ca. Who remembers how many favorites (Fiction and Nonfict..."

I'll bet Jenn knows the answer to your excel question.

[Jennifer]

I know that there is a way to share documents, but I don't know if you can post a file directly. I've seen it done with google word and spreadsheet files (through gmail).

Let me look into it...

Edit to add link...
https://spreadsheets0.google.com/ccc?...


OK - the link works. You can share documents through google documents. If you have a gmail account, log in and then click on "documents" in the upper left hand corner. You can then create word or spreadsheets (even databases!). To share, you have to change the privacy settings to "share with everyone who has the link", then copy the link from the top of the page and paste it into your message here on goodreads.

Hope this helps...let me know if you need some more info or clearer instructions.

[Sara]

I love these lists! I have printed off the ones from FL and am working my way through them!! LOL! So I will post mine!!!

Fiction:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger games series)
Mockingjay by Suzanne collins (Hunger Games Series)
Ice Station by Matthew Rielly
My Antonia by Will Carther
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Lion by Nelson DeMille
Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah
A Quilters Holiday by Jennnifer Chiaveriri

Non-Fiction
Have a little faith by Mitch Albom
Three Wishes
The Lost Girls
From Baghdad with Love

I only read 4 non-fiction, depressing! I will read more next year!!

[Julie]

I too love these lists! It makes my own TBR list grow by leaps and bounds! Sorry I couldn't come up with 10 Non-fiction titles.

Fiction:
Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender
Pray for Silence - Linda Castillo
Love and Other Natural Disasters - Holly Shumas
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brady Udall
Room - Emma Donaghue
Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich


Non-Fiction
The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls
Sh*t My Dad Says - Justin Halpern
How to Sleep Alone in a King Size Bed - Theo Pauline Nestor
Prairie Cooks: Glorified Rice, Three-Day Buns & Other Recipes and Reminiscenses - Carrie Young
Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog - Lisa Scottoline
The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin

Miranda, I hope I didn't mess you up. I edited my fiction list to remove Away and add Room. I will finish it today and it's definitely in the Top 10!

[Gretchen]

Fiction:
1. Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. Dream of a Blue Room by Michelle Richmond
4. The Mammy by Brendan O'Carroll
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
7. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
8. As God Commands by Niccolo Ammaniti
9. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
10. Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Wall

Non-fiction
1. Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
2. Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang, Bang by Chelsea Handler
3. Unbearable Lightness by Portia deRossi

[Laurel]

I didn't read that many books this year; I'm so embarrassed. But here are some that were particularly meaningful:

Fiction:
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
Room
The Help

Non-fiction:
Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption
Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans

[Miranda]

Jennifer L. wrote: "I know that there is a way to share documents, but I don't know if you can post a file directly. I've seen it done with google word and spreadsheet files (through gmail).

Let me look into it......"

Thank you!! Once I've got the list I'll just post the whole thing as well as a summary!

[Miranda]

Julie wrote: "I too love these lists! It makes my own TBR list grow by leaps and bounds! Sorry I couldn't come up with 10 Non-fiction titles.

Fiction:
Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
The Help - Kathryn Stoc..."

No Worries!! I was looking at that book (Room) glad to hear it's a keeper!

[Miranda]

Okay I think this is my list (I reserve the right to edit if I read anything fabulous before the end of the year!!)
[I had to edit to add The Bucolic Plague - I adored that book!]

Fiction
1) The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
3) Still Alice by Lisa Genova
4) What Is the What (Vintage) by Dave Eggers
5) The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2) by Stieg Larsson
6) Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
7) The Pilo Family Circus by Will Elliott
8) The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
9) Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
10)The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Non-Fiction

1) Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan
2) Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Steven D. Levitt
3) The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple, Brilliant Things by Neil Pasricha
4) Hockeynomics by Darcy Norman
5) The Bucolic Plague: How two Manhattanites became Gentleman Farmers by Josh Kilmer-Purcell

[Stacey]

In the order that I read them:

1. Breath by Tim Winton
2. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Wells
3. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
6. Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas
7. Hidden Wives Claire Avery
8. Room by Emma Donahue
9. The Last Child by John Hart
10. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

N/F

1. Look Me In the Eye by John Elder Robison
2. The Hunger by John DeLucie
3. Making Toast by Roger Rosenblat
4. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
5. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs

and Waiter Rant by The Waiter was quite entertaining :)

[Stacey]

After reading over all the lists, I'm going to try and squeeze in Sh*t My Dad Says.

[Julie]

Stacey wrote: "After reading over all the lists, I'm going to try and squeeze in Sh*t My Dad Says."

Just don't be alarmed by the F-bomb. It was over used IMO.

[Theresa]

Here are mine, in the order I read them:
1. Disguise by Hugo Hamilton
2. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
3. The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee
4. The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst
5. The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell
6. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
7. Rebellion of Jane Clarke by Sally Gunning
8. Room by Emma Donoghue
9. Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
10. My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

[Stacey]

Julie wrote: "Stacey wrote: "After reading over all the lists, I'm going to try and squeeze in Sh*t My Dad Says."

Just don't be alarmed by the F-bomb. It was over used IMO."

Haha...it's like white noise after a while. Have you seen the TV show?

[Andrea]

my top ten fiction titles for 2010 are:

The girl who played with fire - Larsson
South of Broad - Conroy
The Lotus Eaters - Soli
Dragon House - Shors
Someone Knows My Name - Hill
The Crying Tree - Rakha
The Lottery - Wood
Two Rivers - Greenwood
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet - Ford
Little Bee - Cleeve

[Dannielle]

Alas, when my computer crashed in September, I lost my list for 2010.

[Mary]

Can you remember some that you especially liked, Dani, ones that have stayed with you?

[Stacey]

Does reading our lists jog your memory at all? You can't leave us hangin'!

[Liz]

Ok, I managed to whittle my Fiction down to 15 (but there were some other really good ones too). But for Non-Fiction it looks like I only managed to read 4 this year (so much for 1 per month) & the other 2 were biographies that I didn't really care that much for.

FICTION:
Alice I Have Been - Benjamin, Melanie
The Girl Who Played with Fire - Larsson, Steig
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt - Hoffman, Beth
Hannah’s Dream - Hammond, Diane
Invisible Boy - Read, Cornelia
My Name is Mary Sutter - Oliveira, Robin
Juliet - Fortier, Anne
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest - Larsson, Steig
Half-Broke Horses - Walls, Jeannette
The Ape House - Gruen, Sara
Girl in Translation - Kwok, Jean
Think Twice - Scottoline, Lisa
Liars Anonymous - Ure, Louise
The Hunger Games - Collins, Suzanne
Act of Will - Hartley, A.J.

NON-FICTION:
Word Freak: a Year in International Scrabble Competition = Fatsis, Stefan
American on Purpose - Ferguson, Craig

[Tina]

I have to comprise my list but just from reading all of these, I have added to my TBR pile!

[Mary]

I read a few more than those I'll list here but I still came up embarrassingly short -- far fewer than the rest of you! You can probably guess what one of my primary New Year's resolutions will be (as always!).

In the order read:

1. THE HELP - Kathryn Stockett
2. THE SWIMMING POOL - Holly LeCraw
3. EVERY LAST ONE - Anna Quindlen (my #1 favorite)
4. THE STORMCHASERS - Jenna Blum
5. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS - Sara Gruen
6. HUSBAND AND WIFE - Leah Stewart

I really expected to be finished with THE LOTUS EATERS (Tatjana Soli) by now but am far from it. I'll be shocked if it's not on next year's list. I'm really loving it!

[Caroline]

I think I only read about ten books total the entire year, but here's the list of my favorites from that pile:

Fiction:
1) The Help
2) Catching Fire
3) Mockingjay
4) The 19th Wife

Nonfiction:
1) The Glass Castle
2) Columbine (AMAZING BOOK!)
3) Outliers
4) Without Conscience (by Robert D. Hare)

[Miranda]

Okay, well I've been tracking all the lists, but figured I'd post the final list in the new year to give everyone a chance to read that last book, or add any to their list. I know you can edit your post to switch up your list (I did exactly that) but can you just tell me if you edited it so I know to make sure I've included any edited books? Thanks all!!

[Miranda]

Oh, and I was wondering whether anyone would be interested in posting their top 5 of the last decade since we're closing out 2010?

[Jennifer]

In no particular order...

1...The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2...The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
3...The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
4...The Book Of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
5...The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
6...A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
7...Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
8...The Giver by Lois Lowry
9...Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
10..The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

I only read 4 non-fiction books this year and I would only rate 2 of them as favourites this year...

1...The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett
2...Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt

[Mary]

Only FIVE, Miranda??!! I just went over my lists and I have at least 10 huge favorites. I can't seem to whittle it down further than about my top 7 or 8!

[Andrea]

the 19th wife made my top ten last year - loved it.

[Carol]

I forgot what I read this year until I checked my booklist here. Very convenient!

I enjoyed:
The Help
Fly Away Home
To Kill a Mockingbird--reminded me why I loved the book and the movie so much.
The Wife's Tale: A Novel
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
The Mapping of Love and Death
Non-Fiction
Reading Jesus: A Writer's Encounter with the Gospels
Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way

[Miranda]

Mary wrote: "Only FIVE, Miranda??!! I just went over my lists and I have at least 10 huge favorites. I can't seem to whittle it down further than about my top 7 or 8!"

Mary top 10 of course is great! I just didn't want to overburden people with list requests! LOL I was just going through all my book lists and remembering all the fab reads from the last few years, then realized we're actually at the end of a decade already!

[Mary]

It was fun to look back over my last 10 years of lists and remember so happily some of those great books! Just because I had several more than five I was crazy about, I'm glad we'll have that leeway. Miranda, why don't you start a new thread for the decade favorites and we can start listing them!

[Leslie]

Hello all. I have finally migrated over here as well. Well actually had an account for a long time but had not used it. I got over busy and distracted and did not even realize Fiction lovers did not exist anymore until today. (oops) I am sad I missed the bookmark exchange too! Anyways-please be patient I don't know how to use this so I don't know if I'm responding correctly. -Leslie

Fiction (Kind of in order)

1. The Help-Kathryn Stockett
2. The Passage-Justin Cronin
3. Room-Emma Donahue
4. Handling the Undead-John Lindqvist
5. Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins
6. The Millenium Trilogy-Stiegg Larson (cheating?)
7. Alice I have Been-Melanie Benjamin
8. Bloodroot-Amy Greene
9. The Walking Dead Graphic Novels. (geeky?)
10. Homer and Langley-E.L. Doctorrow
honorable mention-Matched-Allie Condie

I did not read that much non fiction this year-even less than usual-I did enjoy Lost City of Z though.

Glad to find you all again.
Happy New Year

[Jennifer]

Leslie wrote: "Hello all. I have finally migrated over here as well. Well actually had an account for a long time but had not used it. I got over busy and distracted and did not even realize Fiction lovers did no..."

I don't think it's cheating to lump the Stieg Larsson books together - I was going to do it myself, but couldn't come up with a top 10 if I did! ;)

So glad you found us!

[Elise]

Miranda, I WAS trying to finish one more before the 1st, but it looks like I won't make it, so here's my list. I had quite a few re-reads this year, but I didn't include those books because I had them on my list last year!

The Postmistress
Claude and Camille
Hunger Games Trilogy (I'll cheat, too!)
Lonely Polygamist
Room
Little Bee
Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
One Amazing Thing
Let the Great World Spin
Girl in a Blue Dress
Blame

Oh, shoot, that's 11. Ok, if I had to lose one, it would be Girl in a Blue Dress or Lonely Polygamist. Hmmm, hard to choose!

Only one non-fiction of any merit:

Anti-Cancer

[Kate]

I'm going to put together my End on Year Favorite list.

[Kate]

Here are my Favorites:

Every Last One
Sarah's Key
The Art of Racing In The Rain
South of Broad
Broke Back Horses
Still Alice
The Help
The Girl with The Dragon Tatoo
The Girl Who Played With Fire
City of Thieves

[Annika]

Here's my list in no particular order:
fiction
Still Alice
The Passage
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Let Me In
the Scent of Rain and Lightning
The Lost Child
The Book of Negroes

Nonfiction:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Columbine
Accidental Billionaires

[Leslie]

Miranda I don't know how to edit. But I forgot for non fiction I absolutely loved unbearable lightness!! Still pondering my faves of the decade!! Annika I saw you loved let me in. You should read " handling the undead" this year!! I'm also glad to see the passage on someone elses list!!

[Miranda]

Leslie wrote: "Miranda I don't know how to edit. But I forgot for non fiction I absolutely loved unbearable lightness!! Still pondering my faves of the decade!! Annika I saw you loved let me in. You should read ..."

Okay, I've got it!

[Tina]

Fiction

Still Missing-Chevy Stevens
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
Sleep Toward Heaven- Amanda Erye Ward
Room - Emma Donaghue
Water for Elephants- Sara Gruen
Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockinjay - Suzanne Collins
Little Bee-Chris Cleave
I'd Know You Anywhere-Laura Lippman

Non-Fiction (didn't read many)

Columbine- Dave Cullen
Unbearable Lightness- Portia deRossi
Life Among The Dead-Lisa Williams

[Annika]

Leslie wrote: Still pondering my faves of the decade!! Annika I saw you loved let me in. You should read ..."

Leslie- I'm so glad to hear that you liked it! I saw Handling the Undead at the bookstore, which is how I found out that Let Me In is a book:) After liking Let Me In so much, I'll definitely read HTU. Have you read Let me In yet?

BTW-I'm so glad you found your way here!