One of my favorite things about the end of the year is the “best of” lists – best books of the year, best movies, best web sites and best services. So here are a couple lists of some of my favorite things that I read, watched, saw, or did in 2010.
Top Five Favorite Books of 2010
2010 was a pretty good reading year for me. I started listening to e-audiobooks, and found myself wishing that my commute was longer. On top of that, I read a number of books on, first, my iPod touch (a device I got for work) and then my iPhone 3G (my unlocked, jailbroken, personal device). The books I enjoyed were not necessarily books that came out in 2010, but books I read (or listened to) in 2010 that were outstanding.
1. Skulduggery Pleasant (series) by Derek Landy – Magic, mystery, and a dry sense of humor (these books had me laughing out loud more often than anything else I’ve read in memory). I listened to books 1-3 on audiobook, which I highly recommend as they are very nearly perfect. Book 4-5 aren’t out in the States, yet, so if you want them you’ll have to get them like I did – using questionable techniques to download them as e-books.
2. Bloody Jack (series) by L.A. Meyer – Adventure on the high seas as a London orphan cons herself onto a British Naval ship by masquerading as a boy. Again, the audiobooks are perfection – reading the books themselves is fine, but not the same experience.
3. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow – Again, an excellent audiobook – I listened to most of this and then got impatient and finished it off by reading it on my iPod touch. My first exposure to Cory Doctorow, which was thoroughly enjoyable. I tried to follow-up by reading “For the Win” which I didn’t care for half as much. Too scattered.
4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley – Another fantastic audiobook that is also perfectly readable in print. Abby also really enjoyed this book, so it gets top marks from both of us as does its sequel, The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag. The audiobooks for both are absolutely delicious.
5. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest – This is kind of an honorable mention, because it’s set in a post-apocalyptic Seattle and is by a local author. Also, it has both airships, and zombies, so it’s hard to go wrong, really. A very readable book, and an enjoyable one, even if it didn’t wow me. Steampunk, as a book genre, made a big showing in 2010, and if you’re unfamiliar with it then this is a very accessible entry point.
Honorable mentions – these are some of my favorite books of all time, I just happened to read them prior to this year:
- The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
- The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
- Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
- Possession by A.S. Byatt
Most of my favorite books of 2010 were discovered thanks to other people recommending them. I hope that these, in turn, will serve as recommendations to some of you, and that you’ll enjoy them. In the meantime, let me know in the comments, what were some of your favorite books that you read in 2010?
2 replies on “Best of 2010 – Books”
I am still haunted by McCarthy’s The Road, though I read it almost a year ago. I finally received the DVD recently & returned it unwatched because I couldn’t bear to see the images so vividly, or have them replace the ones created by my own interpretation. And that’s saying a lot, because Viggo is my #1 celebrity crush!
Kate – I was interested in reading The Road, and mentioned that to our book group (back when we had such a thing). I was advised that it is NOT a good book to read when expecting a child, I think because it was just too damned dark and depressing. By that token, perhaps not a good book to read after just having had a child, either – but it’s definitely on my “to read” list somewhere down the road.
Thanks for your note!