It's time once again for me to choose my favorites from among the 42 books I've blogged this year. It's always a hard choice, especially when I've read great authors like Updike, Roth and Welty. But I've tried to pick books that caught me by surprise, made me laugh, touched my heart – made an impression that has stayed with me. Once again, I tried to pick three and ended up with six, and there are at least three more that could easily have made the list. And that doesn't even include my journey through five Rabbit books! It was a good year:
Brooklyn (A Simple Story)– because Colm Tóibín created a character that resonated for me as if she were my long lost sister.
Lucky Jim (Academic Satire) – very simple – it made me laugh out loud.
City of Thieves (A Russian Coincidence) – because David Benioff turned the Siege of Leningrad into both a riveting thriller and a tale of friendship.
Love and Summer (Summer In Ireland) – ah, the Irish. My bias is clear. William Trevor is a master at telling a simple story in beautiful prose.
The Vagrants (The People of Muddy River) – the most powerful book I read this year – a haunting story of China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution.
Sag Harbor (Summer Vacation) – a coming-of-age story like none I've read. Funny and honest.
My list of "Books I Want to Read" never gets any shorter, so I am looking forward to a 2010 full of great reading.
My list of "Books I Want to Read" never gets any shorter, so I am looking forward to a 2010 full of great reading.
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