Favourite Books: 2010

I’ve been recording the books I read on goodreads and making a top-ten(ish) list since 2006, so in anticipation of publishing my 2013 top ten on December 31st, I’ll be posting my older lists here. The numbering is only an approximate order.

3. Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann
4. How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson
5. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
6. Natural Flights of the Human Mind by Clare Morrall
7. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
8. The World to Come by Dara Horn
10. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

How many books did you read this year? 107.

How have these books stood the test of time? I’m assuming I used Mockingjay as a stand in for the whole Hunger Games trilogy, but even so, I’m not sure I’d include so many books about teen girls now. Maybe I’d replace 4, 7, and 9 with The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem, and Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger or The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter.

Let’s give it a go!: Twilight Struggle

[Note: We’ve been on a boardgames kick, so other posts about trying out other boardgames will follow. Unfortunately, we haven’t yet thought ahead to take a photo of the board to accompany our post.]

Why? We’ve wanted to try this for awhile because it’s the top-rated game on boardgamegeek.com. It’s also strictly two player game, so we could try it out without enlisting anyone.

How’d it go? The game is a competitive two-player game in which one person plays the United States and the other plays the Soviets, and the game takes place over the Cold War, with cards representing real events. We like board games but are not board-game-geeks, and it took us a couple nights and glancing a bit through the very long rulebook to get up the nerve to dive in and give it a go. All the cards and the different ways that you stage coups and compete in a Space Race are extremely cool, so we can see why people adore it.

Playing was very slow going for us, and we finished the game only because I had amassed a big advantage as the Soviets and won in Round #4, as opposed it going the full 10 rounds. Various online sources note the early part of the game is tilted toward the Soviets, especially for newbies, so I didn’t take this as indicative of a particular strategic triumph (if anything, Beckie seemed to grasp the strategy better, which might say even more about how big the hammer-and-sickle advantage is).

Will you do it again? I don’t think either of us would say “no” to this, but probably one of the things we realized while playing this is how we don’t really like competing against each other that much (touching, I know, but we both get regretful in seeing the other person lose). Given the large time investment required and that it seems like one of those games that becomes really awesome after you fully understand the strategy, I don’t know if it will make it back on an evening’s roster or not.

Favourite Books: 2009

I’ve been recording the books I read on goodreads and making a top-ten(ish) list since 2006, so in anticipation of publishing my 2013 top ten on December 31st, I’ll be posting my older lists here. The numbering is only an approximate order.

1. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.

2. The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan.

3. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld.

4. Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

5. The End by Salvatore Scibona.

6. The Missing by Tim Gautraux.

7. Oyster by Janette Turner Hospital.

8. Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon.

9. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.

10. The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer.

How many books did you read this year? 99.

How have these books stood the test of time?  I just watched the movie of Admission recently, and it made me wonder why I loved the book so much. I really did love the book, though.

Jeremy uses a variety of means to ‘read’ Theodosia and the Serpents of Choas by R.L. LaFevers

Why did you read this book? This was another book chosen from the car for our New Zealand trip. My recollection is that we were looking for a young adult crime book, inspired maybe by our joint fondness for the Enola Holmes series. Due to timing and technological experimentation, some of this book was read aloud to me by Beckie while I was driving, read aloud using Audible.com, and simply read on the Kindle.

Has Beckie read it? I’m not sure she’s finished it.

42 word review11-year old girl is Indiana Jones in story that takes place in 1906 London and Egypt. Her sidekick is a street urchin named Sticky Will. It’s fun! (Remaining 15 words unnecessary, but I’ll write a sentence of appropriate length for consistency’s sake.)

Overall rating: 4 cursed kittens (out of 5)

Favourite Books: 2008

I’ve been recording the books I read on goodreads and making a top-ten(ish) list since 2006, so in anticipation of publishing my 2013 top ten on December 31st, I’ll be posting my older lists here. The numbering is only an approximate order.

1. Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

2. What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn

3. The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle

4. The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu

5. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

6. Bookhunter by Jason Shiga

7. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson

8. The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

9. Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda

10. Stranger on a Train by Jenny Diski

How many books did you read this year? 167, so this is only my top 6%

How have these books stood the test of time?  I’ve read additional books by most of these authors, so these books have definitely stuck with me.

Favourite Books: 2007

I’ve been recording the books I read on goodreads and making a top-ten(ish) list since 2006, so in anticipation of publishing my 2013 top ten on December 31st, I’ll be posting my older lists here. The numbering is only an approximate order.

1. Day by A.L. Kennedy (#59)

2. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt

3. The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville

4. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July

5. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

6. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

7. Robot Dreams by Sara Varon

8. How to Be Good by Nick Hornby

9. Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall

10. Anthropology by Dan Rhodes

How many books did you read this year? 133, so 10 books is only 7.5%.

How have these books stood the test of time? Pretty well. I do remember all of these. There are others I remember loving, but not enough to be sure they should push out one of these.