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2010 Other Recommended books

The Best Books of 2010

This time last year I produced a list of my favourite books of 2009 . I found the comments really useful for highlighting some fantastic books that has passed me by and so I thought I’d repeat the process this year. I’ll produce a post with my favourite reads of 2010 at the end of the year, but here is a list of my favourite books published in 2010.

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…asks important questions about what makes us happy and the way we look after our children.

Room – Emma Donoghue

I will remember this book for the rest of my life.

Beside the Sea – Veronique Olmi

I loved the way my initial opinions were slowly changed, leading me to question the way I look at crime and how often the perpetrator is a victim too.

Rupture – Simon Lelic stars51

The astonishing twists were reminiscent of Fingersmith and I am sure I will remember this book for a very long time.

Stone’s Fall – Iain Pears stars51 (2010 paperback)

It captured my heart from the very first sentence.

The Wilderness – Samantha Harvey stars51 (2010 paperback)

The writing was impressive, managing to make me laugh out loud as often as I found myself thinking deeply about our society.

Generation A – Douglas Coupland stars51 (2010 paperback)

I felt as though I was part of the story.

The Book of Negroes – Lawrence Hill (2010 Paperback)

I could spend hours discussing it.

The Cuckoo Boy – Grant Gillespie

…it added a whole new dimension to the typical crime novel.

The City & The City – China Miéville (2010 paperback)

This book works on so many levels…

Skippy Dies – Paul Murray

…it is rich in period detail and the plot is gripping throughout.

The Harlot’s Progress: Yorkshire Molly – Peter Mottley

….an amusing, insightful and ultimately uplifting tale.

I Do Not Come To You By Chance – Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

If you have any interest in child birth then this is the book for you.

The Birth of Love – Joanna Kavenna

…one of the most original books I’ve ever read.

Bad Karma – David Safier

….a must-read for anyone interested in Hitler or the causes of WWII.

Young Hitler – Claus Hant

Note: Several of the books were published in hardback in 2009, but in paperback in 2010. I was torn about what to do about these books as I read half of them in 2009 and half in 2010. In the end I decided to include them all and have made a note beside the title.

Other books that I have heard wonderful things about, but haven’t managed to read yet:

Which is your favourite book published in 2010?

Are there any 2010 releases that you think I should squeeze in before the end of the year?

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Other

October Summary and Plans for November

October was a slow reading month for me. I completed nine books, but they were almost all short, light reads. A lot of the books were quite disappointing, which might be another reason for my slower progress.

Book of the Month

Books reviewed in October

The Cuckoo Boy – Grant Gillespie 

Solo by Rana Dasgupta 

Paprika – Yasutaka Tsutsui 

The School of Essential Ingredients – Erica Bauermeister (Audio Book) 

How Late It Was, How Late – James Kelman 

Stone in a Landslide – Maria Barbal 

Operation Mincemeat – Ben Macintyre 

Tinkers – Paul Harding 

Stonehenge – Bernard Cornwell 

The Crying Tree – Naseem Rakha 

Pretties – Scott Westerfeld  

Plans for November

I’m still working my way through The Dark Side of Love. I’m really enjoying it, but level of detail means that it is slow going. I’m going to make a big effort to finish it this week so that I can start on My Friend Amy’s Lonesome Dove readalong. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with them and finish in time to compare notes at the beginning of December.

I’m also going to try to read a few of these books:

Wolf Totem – Jiang Rong

Star Gazing – Linda Gillard

Fordlandia – Greg Grandin

The Road – Cormac McCarthy

The Harmony Silk Factory – Tash Aw

Hand Me Down World – Lloyd Jones

The Wilding – Maria McCann

The Well and the Mine – Gin Phillips

The Snowman – Jo Nesbo

The Lotus Eaters – Tatjana Soli

Let’s hope we read some fantastic books in November!

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Other

Links I Like

Bookish news

Jay Rubin, Murakami’s translator gives an interesting interview

Webcomic Fans Boost Self-Published Book to Amazon’s #1 Spot

Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry battles censorship in India

Fiction Uncovered, a new book award, has been launched.

Six scientists tell us about the most accurate science fiction in their fields

A new digital-only publishing house, specializing in short stories has been launched.

The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize has just launched a facebook page

An interesting article on the art of bookselling.

A Book Club for Readers Who Will Pay to be First

Death mask study reveals ‘real’ William Shakespeare

Glimpses of the new Water for Elephants film are creeping onto the Internet. I can’t imagine it being as good as the book, but it looks as though they’ve captured the right atmosphere.

Just for fun!

How good are you at recognising book covers made from lego?

20 Worst Children’s Book covers. My favourite is Cooking with Pooh!!

UN ‘to appoint space ambassador to greet alien visitors’ I’m not convinced that aliens will wait around long enough for the space ambassador to come and greet them!

The Machine Stops by EM Forster.A short story written in 1909 which impressively predicts the future.

An example of how poor advert placement can be very amusing!

I hope you enjoy browsing these links.

Have a great weekend!!

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Discussions Other

Cold weather is reducing my reading time!

As Winter draws nearer I had expected to find myself reading an increasing number of books. I envisioned myself curled up with my favourite blanket, spending the cold, dark nights immersed in fictional worlds. This doesn’t appear to be happening. Instead I find myself reading less and I am currently finishing about half the number of books that I did in the Summer months. This goes against everything I believed to be true about seasonal reading.

Reading in the garden.

I thought that in the Summer I would be so busy enjoying the sunshine that I wouldn’t have much time for reading, but it seems that while I was busy during the day I was quite happy to spend each evening quietly reading. I was also able to get out into the garden and read during the day. This isn’t the case now.

My youngest son enjoying his first whoopie pie!

It isn’t that I have less free time in the Winter – I am just spending it doing different things. On these cold days I have found myself wanting to spend more time cooking: baking cakes and making other comfort foods. I have also been drawn towards the television: watching more films and keeping up with the X-Factor. 

I’m sorry if this means I have less books to review on this blog – you’ll just have to wait for the warmth of Spring to persuade me to read a bit more!

Hopefully I’ll make up for this by being a bit more creative with my blog and I may come up with a few more excuses to post photos of my family 😉

Am I alone in this seasonal shift?

Do you read more in Summer or Winter?

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Other

An Evening with Bernard Cornwell

Photo by Nathusius, Flickr

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to attend a rare live appearance from Bernard Cornwell. The event was organised by Foyles and took place in Westminster, Central London – right next to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The talk took place in a beautiful, old room packed with oil paintings and so the atmosphere was fantastic before the authors even arrived.

Bernard Cornwell is the most popular writer of historical fiction in the UK. He has written more than 40 books, selling over 5 million copies worldwide. I had always been intrigued by his books, but hadn’t read any until I decided to go and see him talk. I had mixed feelings about my first Cornwell book, but I’ll save those for my review next week.

Bernard Cornwell was sharing the stage with Richard Kemp, a former British commander of troops in Afganistan (and author of Attack State Red). Together they talked about the role of the soldier in both fiction and non-fiction. Both were fantastic public speakers and I had an entertaining evening listening to their anecdotes.


Bernard Cornwell talked almost exclusively about his new book, The Fort. Set in Massachusetts during the War of Independence it describes the Penobscot Expedition in which a less than thousand British infantry managed to successfully stand up to a fleet of more than 40 vessels.

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The audience consisted mainly of people twice my age and of the opposite sex. I presume that the talk of war put off many women and I have to admit that there were several moments when it was too much for me. You definitely have to have certain qualities to become a soldier and I don’t have any of them! Both authors described how the best soldiers in history were recruited from bar fights – they were the “scum of the Earth”, “larger louts who were given pride and discipline”. It was interesting to hear them talk, but I think it just confirmed my suspicions that military history isn’t for me.

A few Bernard Cornwell facts revealed that evening

  • He wanted to give The Fort the title Captivate, Kill or Destroy but the publishers insisted on the boring title.
  • The stupidest thing he ever did was kill off Hatesville (don’t ask me who he is – I have no idea!)
  • He hates the word “task” and wishes people would stick to using the word “job”.
  • His favourite author of military fact is Antony Beevor
  • His favourite military fiction book is Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

The most amusing question of the night came from a man near the front who asked how often Bernard Cornwell is confused with Bill Bryson – I noted that he sidestepped the question!

I was most struck by how knowledgeable Bernard Cornwell is. He has a detailed knowledge of the history surrounding all his books and a clear enthusiasm for his subjects. Talking about war may not have been to my taste, but he managed to hold my attention throughout and make me laugh on several occasions. I will definitely go and hear him talk again if given the opportunity – especially if he talks about some of his other historical fiction titles.

Have you read any of Bernard Cornwell’s books?

If so, which did you enjoy the most?

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Other Recommended books

The Best Books for 4-Year-Old Boys

This month my oldest son is 5-years-old. To celebrate I thought I’d share the books he has most enjoyed in the last year.

Adam owns almost as many books as me and he also gets books from the library, so in the past year we have probably read several hundred picture books together. Most go straight back on the shelves, but a few are memorable and come out over-and-over again. Here are the books we have most enjoyed reading in the last year:


The Gruffalo Jigsaw Book by Julia Donaldson

The Gruffalo is the best children’s story I’ve found and the The Gruffalo DVD will entertain your whole family. I think this jigsaw version is the most beautiful edition, although I prefer it if they don’t attempt to do the jigsaws!


Where’s Wally? The Solid Gold Collection by Martin Handford

Some four-year-olds get frustrated by these books as I think they are aimed at older children, but my son loves spending time examining the beautifully illustrated pages and gets enormous satisfaction whenever he finds Wally. I think it is a great way to teach patience – if you can get them to sit still enough to find their first Wally!

Man on the Moon by Simon Bartram

A lovely story about a man who works on the moon. He doesn’t believe in aliens, but children love spotting the tiny space creatures hiding on each page!


Thomas and the Blackout

There are lots of different Thomas books available (you’ll probably find yourself reading the entire series anyway!) and so I thought I’d highlight this lesser known book. Thomas and the Blackout features special plastic pages which can only be viewed using Harold’s searchlight. Children love moving his light to reveal the pictures on each page.

Where’s the Dragon? by Richard Hook

This book is beautifully illustrated, with dragons hiding in the scenery of each page. Children love the way that the grandfather fails to notice the dragons all around him!


The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss

First published in 1957 it is easy to see why this book has stood the test of time. The simple words are great for those just starting to read, whilst the funny story will appeal to everyone. Fantastic!


What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

Each page of this book is packed with detailed illustrations of various workplaces. Children spend ages studying the pictures and then ask great questions about the numerous jobs adults do. A great discussion starter.


The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr

A classic book that young children find very entertaining. I did get a few questions about how a tiger could drink all the water in the taps, but it is probably best not to mention that!


Aliens Love Underpants! by Claire Freedman

I’m afraid that boys love talking about bottoms, but this means that they love this slightly naughty book. It is a very funny story which includes every kind of underwear you can imagine!


Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andreae

Pirates and dinosaurs combine with vibrant illustrations to grab the attention of little boys. The whole series is good, but I think this one is the best.

Harry and the Dinosaurs Collection by Ian Whybrow

Boys seem to have a fascination with dinosaurs and this is the best series I’ve found – it even taught me a few dinosaur names!


Stinky! by Ian Whybrow

This is such a lovely story. It is all about how a smelly warthog finally found a friend. The rhyming makes it easy to read and children find it very funny.


Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt

A wonderful book that encourages children to try new things. The rest of the series is great too.


Q Pootle 5 in Space by Nick Butterworth

A book in which dangerous aliens are persuaded to be blown up like balloons which then fart off into space –  the sort of thing young boys find very funny!


Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway

A sweet story about an inquisitive little fish. Great for learning about all the different sea creatures too!


Calm Down Boris! by Sam Lloyd

A book and a hand puppet in one. What’s not to love?!

Winnie the Witch by Valerie Thomas

A children’s classic that you shouldn’t miss out on. The whole series is great, but the original is the best. A fantastic story which is beautifully illustrated. Wonderful!


The Story of the Little Mole – Plop-up Edition by Werner Holzwarth

I’m afraid that young boys often have an obsession with poo. If you’d like to encourage this (or want to an amusing present!) then this book is perfect! It compares the shape and size of various animal poo, leading to interesting?! inspections of any poo you might find when you’re out and about.

Usborne Phonics Readers – 12 book box set by Phil Roxbee Cox

This is a fantastic set of books for children who are just starting to read. They get enormous satisfaction from reading their first words and children who can’t quite manage the words can still enjoy looking for the Usborne duck on each page. If you decide to only buy one book then I recommend Ted’s Shed – it is the easiest to read and I think it has the cutest story.


Harvey the Carpenter by Lars Klinting

A fantastic series of books that teach children all about different jobs. If you’re child is a fan of DIY then this is for you!

Cat’s Cake by Richard Fowler
Cat bakes a cake, but all the other animals keep adding their favourite food to the mixture, resulting in a disgusting cake that only goat will eat! Children find this one really funny and it helps to teach them about which foods do taste nice together.


The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems

Lots of silly rhymes and poems to entertain young children. I guarantee they will be repeating them to you after a few days.

Mr. Men: My Complete Collection by Roger Hargreaves

Four-year-olds are just old enough to begin appreciating the Mr. Men stories. Some of the more complex ideas go over their heads, but I think it is worth investing in this classic series now, before they become too old – you wouldn’t want to miss out on reading these wonderful stories to your children.

Can you recommend any other books I’ve missed?

Which of these does your 4-year-old enjoy most?