Sunday, December 26, 2010

claire's favorite books of 2010

i read 15 books in 2010 (not a bad number, if i do say so myself - a large number of them read over the summer when there is less tv to watch and much traveling to do - i find that that's conducive to me reading books).  of those 15 books, my 4 favorites - my recommendations to you - are:

4. (don't you just love a good countdown?  i know the anxiety is building just by THINKING of this countdown) the hour i first believed, by wally lamb.  i LOVE wally lamb - he's one of my favorite writers - and this is just his third novel.  i had been waiting for it to come out, and i found it in a bookstore in oxford this summer.  the book takes a real life event (the columbine shootings) and creates a fictional story around it.  i know this doesn't sound like a cheery book, and it's not really, but it was a good read.

3. the blind assassin, by margaret atwood.  i bought this for $3 at a used book sale, and really enjoyed it.  while reading it, people would ask me what it was about and i couldn't really tell them.  i know this sounds like a bad sign, but there were two parallel story lines and the reader doesn't find out how they connect until the end.  it's the kind of book you want to stay up late to keep reading.  i think that's a good sign.

2. superfreakonomics, by levitt and dubner.  do you want fun facts to share with your friends who probably don't care, but will say "oh, how interesting!" anyway?  read this book.  really really interesting stuff.  maybe read freakonomics first, but they don't build on one another.  i read this over thanksgiving break, and it's the perfect book to read over the holidays - you don't have to concentrate as much as with a novel, so i was able to read it in a room with lots of people around.

1. city of thieves, by david benioff.  aunt monica recommended this to me a long time ago and i just got around to reading it this year and OHMYGOD I LOVED IT.  best book of the year for sure - a simple premise, great writing, characters that you fall in love with.  read this book.

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