Top Ten Books Lists ... and What Is Your List?

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
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"Books Are More Precious Than Gold!"

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.

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

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

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

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

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

I loved: March by Geraldine Brooks, Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, The Peony of Love by Lisa and Firefly Cloak.

How do you find the books that you read. I am always looking for new ways to research something good to read.

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

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