It's the end of the year, so time for all the critics to publish their best books lists. Long-time subscribers know that we conduct an in-depth analysis of these lists and print a comprehensive chart and our findings in our Mar/Apr issue. In the meantime, feel free to take a look at lists from The New York Times Book Review, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Time, New York, Los Angeles Times, and Salon.
We'll get around to our own list (Then We Came to the End? yes. Tree of Smoke? no.) , but I'm more interested in what YOUR best books of the year were. Please reply to this post and let us know!
Jon
Editor & Publisher
Top Ten Books Published in 2007
By scottnelson (not verified)Sat, 12/15/2007 - 20:44
I haven't read all of the new books I bought this year, and some of my favorite books I read this year were from years past. So far, my list would be:
Honorable mention - Kockroach by Tyler Knox.
10 - I Am America (And So Can You!) - Stephen Colbert
09 - The Every Boy - Dana Adam Shapiro
08 - Crooked Little Vein - Warren Ellis
07 - The Stuff of Thought - Stephen Pinker
06 - Everything Is Miscellaneous - David Weinberger
05 - Then We Came To The End - Joshua Ferris
04 - Not That You Asked - Steve Almond
03 - Gonzo - Jann Wenner
02 - I Am A Strange Loop - Douglas Hofstadter
01 - Bad Monkeys - Matt Ruff
_______________________________________
My Library: http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=princemuchao
favorite books of my book club
By glendamadrid (not verified)Tue, 01/01/2008 - 17:11
Every year my book club votes on our Favorite Book of the Year. Thought you might enjoy reading our picks in years past. We haven't voted yet on 2007 - we skipped our December meeting.
1997 - Angelas Ashes, McCourt
1998 - Tortilla Curtin, T.C. Boyle
1999 - Scarlett Letter/Poisonwood Bible (tie) Hawthorne, Kingsolver
2000 - Angle of Repose/Tess of the D'Urbervilles (tie) Stegner, Hardy
2001 - Human Stain - Phillip Roth
2002 - The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
2003 - The Hours/Atonement (tie) Cunningham, McEwan
2004 - The Photograph, Penelope Lively
2005 - Kite Runner, Housseini
2006 - The March, E.L. Doctorow
Glenda
That's a great list, Glenda
By jon (not verified)Thu, 01/03/2008 - 11:08
That's a great list, Glenda ... your group has good taste!
Jon Phillips
Editor & Publisher, Bookmarks
Book List
By deb (not verified)Mon, 12/17/2007 - 17:40
How do you find the books that you read. I am always looking for new ways to research something good to read.
How to Find Good Books
By panzy11 (not verified)Fri, 12/21/2007 - 14:17
Hi Deb,
I utilize several sources for my book finds -
Some online sources: Bookmarks.com, Amazon.com, B&N.com - you can search by award winners, genre, new releases, editor's picks and so on.
Many larger independent bookstores issue email newsletters - do a Google search by genre/store/location or whatever criteria is important to you. From there, you can browse sites and select ones that you like and sign up for their newsletters.
Hard copy publications (in addition to Bookmarks) are NY Times Book Review (Sunday edition), New Yorker Book Review, Entertainment Weekly magazine, genre magazines (for ex: Mystery Scene Magazine, Sci Fi/Fantasy etc.)
Also check with your local library - my local branch just started offering recommended books via email - all you do is select your preferences (thriller, children's, nonfiction etc) and they will send you noteworthy books for consideration every month.
Hope this helps ...
panzy11
My Favorite
By deb (not verified)Mon, 12/17/2007 - 17:42
I loved: March by Geraldine Brooks, Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, The Peony of Love by Lisa and Firefly Cloak.
Top Ten List
By panzy11 (not verified)Fri, 12/21/2007 - 14:09
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalad Hosseini
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Red Cat by Peter Spiegelman
Voices by Arnuldar Indridason
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Lost Echoes by Joe Lansdale
Top Ten Books
By cid (not verified)Fri, 12/21/2007 - 21:02
My Top Ten
By C.C. (not verified)Fri, 12/21/2007 - 23:20
Here's my list, from the suburban mother of two who reads in small doses between activities, or staying up too late at night!
1. Peeling the Onion by Gunter Grass
2. Trespass by Valerie Martin
3. Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
4. Brick Lane by Monica Ali
5. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
6. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
7. Homestead by Rosina Lippi
8. Mendelssohn is on the Roof by Jiri Weil
9. The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
10. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
Top Ten for 2007
By lynn (not verified)Thu, 12/27/2007 - 14:07
I had a very hard time finding books I really liked this year, but some were:
Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan
The Worst Hard Time, by Tim Egan
Nine Parts of Desire, by Geraldine Brooks
Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
The Kite Runner, by Hosseini
Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt
The Ultimate List
By jon (not verified)Thu, 01/03/2008 - 11:10
For those of us on this thread interested in top ten lists, we just put together our 2007 "Ultimate Lists." It's our annual compilation of over 25 published "Best of 2007" lists by the critics ... we've broken it out by fiction and nonfiction. Check them out!
Jon
Jon Phillips
Editor & Publisher, Bookmarks
top 10 books
By dianam167 (not verified)Tue, 01/08/2008 - 18:21
this is actually 11 books but the first "set" is a memoir and i couldn't decide between the 2!
blackbird and still waters...jennifer lauch..stunning memoirs
the color of water...james mcbride...who didn't love this?
the kite runner...again..who didn't love this?
nineteen minutes..jodi picoult..i'd read her grocery lists
ocean's apart...karen kinsbury....a "christian" writer but her stories are excellent
pavilian of women..pearl s buck...such an interesting look at the culture
blue water...a. manette ansay...so sad...such emotion
abide with me...elizabeth strout...beautiful writing
tortilla curtain....very timely and thought provoking
motherland...fern schumer chapman...horrifying look at the holocaust
the miracle life of edgar mint...brady udall...beautiful book
My Top Ten Books For 2007
By PYRAMIDKING (not verified)Fri, 01/11/2008 - 18:17
While these lists may aid some in finding a new favorite book, or at least trying something new, they must be approached with the understanding that everyone has different tastes, including the critics. Anyway, here are the best books I read in 2007 (not necessarily in order):
1. On Chesil Beach (Ian McEwan)
2. Falling Man (Don DeLillo)
3. The Welsh Girl (Peter Ho Davies)
4. 20th Century Ghosts (Joe Hill)
5. Christine Falls (Benjamin Black aka John Banville)
6. A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
7. Cheating At Canasta (William Trevor)
8. Mister Pip (Lloyd Jones)
9. Later, At The Bar (Rebecca Barry)
10. Fire In The Blood (Irene Nemirovsky)
11. Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee)
12. The Best Day The Worst Day (Donald Hall)
13. Atonement (Ian McEwan) Ok, not from 2007. A must read or the movie makes no sense (actually, skip the movie and read the book).
I guess there were more than ten. Actually, there were more than thirteen.
My Top 10
By Neil-BookHobby.Com (not verified)Sat, 01/19/2008 - 13:05
Hi Jon --
Top 10 lists are always so hard to do, so many books almost make it and you always forget a few. But, off the cuff:
1. On Kingdom Mountain by Howard Mosher
2. The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer
3. H.A.R.M. by Brian Aldiss (a book that should it have been shelved in General Fiction instead of SciFi might well have become a modern classic along the lines of 1984).
4. Voices From the Street by Philip K. Dick
5. Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida
6. Bowl of Cherries by Millard Kaufman
7. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
8. ABC by David Plante
9. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolno
10. Two Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Not so much rated 1-10 but just the top 10 that come to mind!
Neil Shapiro
neil@bookhobby.com
http://www.bookhobby.com
http://feeds.feedburner.com/bookhobbycom
"Books Are More Precious Than Gold!"
Top Ten in No Particular Order
By melinda_parker (not verified)Fri, 01/02/2009 - 20:46
Steve Martin - Born Standing Up
Leif Enger - So Brave, So Young and Handsome
Daniel Hecht - Skull Session
Karen Fisher - A Sudden Country
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Jane Gardam - Flight of the Maidens
Erik Larson - The Devil in White City
Kate Atkinson - Case Histories
Joan Didion - The Year of Magical Thinking
Joseph Dabney - Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking
MY DEBATABLE TOP 10+++ BOOKS OF 2008 (in no particular order)
By travelingmamma (not verified)Sun, 03/08/2009 - 10:44
1. Those Who Save Us - Jenna Blum
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
3. Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: An African Childhood - Robyn Scott
4. Late Nights on Air - Elizabeth Hay
5. Runner - Thomas Perry
6. Songs for the Missing - Stewart O'Nan
7. I See You Everywhere - Julia Glass
8. Brass Verdict - Michael Connelly
9. To Siberia - Per Petterson
10. The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng
11. Whistling Season - Ivan Doig
12. Skeletons at the Feast - Chris Bohjalian
13. The Well and the Mine - Jin Phillips
14. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout
15 Gardens of Water - Alan Drew
My Top books so far
By pam_say (not verified)Sun, 05/17/2009 - 01:12
1. Pursuit of Happyness
2.The Richest man in Babylon
--
I love reading and the bible is my all time favorite book to read and reread.
My Top ttEN\\\ven from my Favorite Genre
By bkharr (not verified)Thu, 05/21/2009 - 20:33
One of the most powerful books I ever read was When Rabbit Howls about a child abuse victim
with multiple personality disorder. It was recommended to me about fifteen years ago; so began my love
memoir. I almost thought: these are the realities themes and symbols COME from -- where literature is and probably always
has been born. A lot my faves can be a bit dark, I admit, but my search for great additions to the list continues. Here are ten (o.k. . . . eleven) greats to get you started if you like this kind of book.
1. When Rabbit Howls, Trudi Chase
2. Hungry Hill, Carole O'Malley
3. Piece of Cake, Cupcake Brown
4. The Mole People, Jennifer Toth
5. Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
6. The Girls who went Away, Ann Fessler
7. The State Boys Rebellion, Michael D'Antonio
8. Three Little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter
9. The Lost Children of Wilder, Nina Bernstein
10. Conversations with a Pedophile, Amy Hemmel-Zebin
11. The Years of Silence are Past, Stephen Hinshaw
My Top ttEN\\\ven from my Favorite Genre
By bkharr (not verified)Thu, 05/21/2009 - 20:33
One of the most powerful books I ever read was When Rabbit Howls about a child abuse victim
with multiple personality disorder. It was recommended to me about fifteen years ago; so began my love
memoir. I almost thought: these are the realities themes and symbols COME from -- where literature is and probably always
has been born. A lot my faves can be a bit dark, I admit, but my search for great additions to the list continues. Here are ten (o.k. . . . eleven) greats to get you started if you like this kind of book.
1. When Rabbit Howls, Trudi Chase
2. Hungry Hill, Carole O'Malley
3. Piece of Cake, Cupcake Brown
4. The Mole People, Jennifer Toth
5. Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
6. The Girls who went Away, Ann Fessler
7. The State Boys Rebellion, Michael D'Antonio
8. Three Little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter
9. The Lost Children of Wilder, Nina Bernstein
10. Conversations with a Pedophile, Amy Hemmel-Zebin
11. The Years of Silence are Past, Stephen Hinshaw
10 I would recommend . . .
By bkharr (not verified)Thu, 05/21/2009 - 23:24
1. The Reader
2. American Savior
3. Sophie's World
4. Running with Scissors
5. When Rabbit Howls
6. The Mammy
7. Rapture of Canann
8. She's Come Undone
9. The Road
10. Lovely Bones
My favorite 10
By lawtoc (not verified)Tue, 06/02/2009 - 13:30
1. Cutting for Stone
2. A Gracious Plenty
3. The Syringa Tree
3. A Girl Named Zippy
4. Sweetness in the Belly
5. The Vanishing of Esme Lennox
6. A Mighty Heart
7. Last Days of Summer
8. The Know-it-all
9. The Kite Runner
10. Waterwoman
My Top 10 Favorite Reads
By Melinda (not verified)Mon, 07/06/2009 - 19:56
In no particular order:
1) To Kill A Mockingbird
2) The Dogs of Babel
3) Mrs. Dalloway
4) The Time Traveller's Wife
5) Sarah's Key
6) Cannery Row
7) Bel Canto
8) Angle of Repose
9) All The King's Men
10) I Know This Much Is True
10 BEST BOOKS READ 2009 and hard to choose!
By keywestlori (not verified)Mon, 11/23/2009 - 15:31
1. SKELETONS ON THE ZAHARA by DEAN KING
2. THE AMATEUR AMERICAN by J SAUNDERS ELMORE
3. SPIN by ROBERT CHARLES WILSON
4. THE FARMING OF BONES by EDWIDGE DANTICAT
5. THE WORST HARD TIME by TIMOTHY EGAN
6. THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES by STEF PENNEY
7. THE GOD OF WAR by MARISA SILVER
8. THE ICE MASTER by JENNIFER NIVEN
9. CITY OF THIEVES by DAVID BENIOFF
10. LAND OF A THOUSAND HILLS by ROSAMUND HALSEY CARR
Ten Favorite Books - not "top ten" - just ten
By Ivan Sondel (not verified)Wed, 11/25/2009 - 16:51
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
Hindoo Holiday by J. R. Ackerley
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp
my current top ten favorite books
By bkrdr63 (not verified)Wed, 12/02/2009 - 00:23
1.The Secret History by Donna Tartt
2.The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver
3. Rebecca by Daphne DeMauier
4. Jude the Obscure by William Hardy
5.The Tall Woman by Wilma Dykeman
6.Ghost Story by Peter Straub
7. The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve (an ending that you will NEVER see coming!)
8. Chiefs by Stuart Woods (the first novel he ever published and one of the best mysteries ever)
9. Bridges of Madison County by Robert Waller ( a wonderful romantic story and I am definately NOT a reader of the "romance" genre!)
10. The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille (still my favorite book by DeMille and after you read this be sure and read "The Gate House" which is the sequel that picks up 10 yrs later)
Thanks everyone for your suggestions!
By bkrdr63 (not verified)Wed, 12/02/2009 - 00:27
I love everyone's recommendations because my list of "books to read before I die"cannot be too long!LOL! I hope that I live a long time 'cuz I got a lotta reading to do!
Top 10 Reads of 2009
By LiteraryLass (not verified)Thu, 12/10/2009 - 16:11
The Adderall Diaries, Stephen Elliott---a gripping memoir wrapped around a murder trial.
Going Bovine, Libba Bray---a complete departure from her trilogy and one of the funniest books I've read
The Book Thief, Marckus Zusak---an interesting, lively, and touching fictional take on life during WWII Germany
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson---what a mystery/suspense novel should be
Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Martin Millar---Witty, biting, entertaining, nostalgic from page one until the end
This Year I Will..., MJ Ryan---excellent tips on setting goals and keeping them
The Outsiders, HE Hinton---(revisited) Just as good as it was when I read it in my teens, 20+ years ago
Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes (graphic novel)---(revisited) The start of one of the best graphic novels to ever be published (IMHO)
City of Glass, Cassandra Clare---One of the better YA novels out there, third in a series. Plenty of action, sass, and interesting characters
Garlic & Sapphires, Ruth Reichl---Hilarious, touching, edgy account of Reichl's time as an undercover food critic
Online reading..
By OKlanP (not verified)Mon, 12/14/2009 - 03:50
Thanks for the top ten book lists. But some are not personally engaged with books as I know, some relies in Internet for some online readings. Thats how I know it. And one more thing, finding partners in INternet.Research has indicated that people concentrate more on what's "truly important" in times of recession. According to eHarmony.com, when people need debt relief, and are worried about money, they turn to love. The website reports that membership sales are up 20%, despite monthly fees of $ 60. Co -founder of the datingservice Nerds At Heart, Bathsheba Birman, said, “They’re looking for something that’s genuine in a world that isn’t very secure. With headlines full of why you can’t trust established institutions that you thought you could…people are re-examining their own values.”
Top 10 (ok 11) of 2009
By Alisons Book Marks (not verified)Wed, 02/03/2010 - 20:08
Of the books I read in 2009, not necessarily those that were released in 2009, here are my favorites.
1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #5) by Rick Riordan
5. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
6. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
8. South of Broad by Pat Conroy
9. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
10. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
11. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
To read the reviews for each of these books, you may go to http://www.alisonsbookmarks.com/2009/12/best-books-of-2009.html
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http://www.alisonsbookmarks.com