My best reads in 2010

1. The Hunger Games trilogy – Suzanne Collins
(Well, technically I’ve only read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire so far and both were brilliant. So good that I’m willing to get my copy of Mockingjay at full price. Having previously worked in a bargain bookstore, this is big.)
2. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series – Ann Brashares
3. The Library of Shadows – Mikkel Birkegaard
4. Un Lun Dun – China Miéville
5. Temeraire – Naomi Novik

What about you? I could use some recommendations for the next reading year. 🙂

100 Killer Thrillers

This list of recommended thrillers was recently compiled by NPR. Bold are the ones I’ve read, italics are the one I want to read. I’m not much of a thriller fan, evidently. What I find interesting about this list is the number of books I see in it that I had no idea are thrillers. I thought books like No Country for Old Men and The Count of Monte Cristo fall under the literary fiction/literature genres.

* 1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
* 2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
* 3. Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson
* 4. The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
* 5. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
* 6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
* 7. The Shining, by Stephen King
* 8. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
* 9. The Hunt tor Red October, by Tom Clancy
* 10. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

* 11. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
* 12. The Stand, by Stephen King
* 13. The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver
* 14. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
* 15. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown
* 16. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
* 17. The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton
* 18. Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane
* 19. The Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth
* 20. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier

* 21. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett
* 22. It, by Stephen King
* 23. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
* 24. The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson
* 25. Jaws, by Peter Benchley
* 26. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
* 27. Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris
* 28. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow
* 29. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett
* 30. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larsson

* 31. No Country For Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
* 32. Gone Baby Gone, by Dennis Lehane
* 33. Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith
* 34. Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin
* 35. Subterranean, by James Rollins
* 36. Clear and Present Danger, by Tom Clancy
* 37. Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King
* 38. Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane
* 39. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre
* 40. The Poet, by Michael Connelly

* 41. The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin
* 42. Cape Fear, by John MacDonald
* 43. The Bride Collector, by Ted Dekker
* 44. Pet Sematary, by Stephen King
* 45. Dead Zone, by Stephen King
* 46. The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon
* 47. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John Le Carre
* 48. The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith
* 49. Tell No One, by Harlan Coben
* 50. Consent to Kill, by Vince Flynn

* 51. The 39 Steps, by John Buchan
* 52. Blowback, by Brad Thor
* 53. The Children of Men, by P.D. James
* 54. 61 Hours, by Lee Child
* 55. Marathon Man, by William Goldman
* 56. The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
* 57. 206 Bones, by Kathy Reichs
* 58. Psycho, by Robert Bloch
* 59. The Killing Floor, by Lee Child
* 60. Rules of Prey, by John Sandford

* 61. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
* 62. In the Woods, by Tana French
* 63. Shogun, by James Clavell
* 64. The Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
* 65. Intensity, by Dean Koontz
* 66. Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
* 67. Metzger’s Dog, by Thomas Perry
* 68. Timeline, by Michael Crichton
* 69. Contact, by Carl Sagan
* 70. What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman

* 71. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
* 72. The Cabinet of Curiosities, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
* 73. Charm School, by Nelson DeMille
* 74. Feed, by Mira Grant
* 75. Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child
* 76. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
* 77. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
* 78. The First Deadly Sin, by Lawrence Sanders
* 79. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
* 80. The Brotherhood of the Rose, by David Morrell

* 81. Primal Fear, by William Diehl
* 82. The Templar Legacy, by Steve Berry
* 82. The Hard Way, by Lee Child [tie]
* 84. The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
* 85. Six Days of the Condor, by James Grady
* 86. Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler
* 87. Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith
* 88. The Eight, by Katherine Neville
* 89. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
* 90. Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming

* 91. Bangkok 8, by John Burdett
* 92. The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva
* 93. Hardball, by Sara Paretsky
* 94. The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
* 95. The Deep Blue Good-by, by John MacDonald
* 96. The Monkey’s Raincoat, by Robert Crais
* 96. Berlin Game, by Len Deighton [tie]
* 98. A Simple Plan, by Scott Smith
* 99. Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
* 100. Heartsick, by Chelsea Cain

50 Worthwhile Chick Lit Novels

List taken from this link; visit the site for synopsis of all 50 titles. I’m not sure if some of the books listed qualify as chick lit. However, I find this a pretty good list of chick lit titles. If you’re looking to delve into this genre, pick any book from this list for a start.

Bolded titles are the ones I’ve read. Titles struck through are ones that I read and did not like it. Italicised ones are books I would like to read.

Historical Fiction
1. Emma by Jane Austen.
2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.
3. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan.
5. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
6. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
8. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
9. The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan.
10. Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence.

Classics
11. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos.
12. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote.
13. Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes.
14. Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes.
15. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann.
16. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
17. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.
18. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.
19. Summer Sisters: by Judy Blume.
20. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.
21. The Jane Austen Book Club: by Karen Joy Fowler.
22. Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes.
23. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger.
24. The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank.
25. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller.

Pop Culture Phenomena
26. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding.
27. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger.
28. In Her Shoes: by Jennifer Weiner.
29. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.
30. Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell.
31. Peyton Place by Grace Metalious.
32. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells.
33. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar.
34. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.
35. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

Social Commentary
36. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
37. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner.
38. Trading Up by Candace Bushnell.
39. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin.
40. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
41. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys.
42. L’Affaire by Diane Johnson.
43. Jemima J.: A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans by Jane Green.
44. The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Self-Discovery
45. The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein.
46. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
47. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
48. Open House: by Elizabeth Berg.
49. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding.
50. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

I’ve read 17 books from the list and want to read 5.

Puffin’s Best 70 Children’s Books

For children’s book publisher Puffin’s 70th anniversary they named their top 70 children’s books. The ones in bold are the ones I’ve read.

The Best Mischief and Mayhem
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

The Best Weepies
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Truth about Leo by David Yelland
Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Best to Cuddle-Up With
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis & Gwen Millward
Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

The Best Blood and Guts
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Being by Kevin Brooks
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Best Swashbucklers and Derring-Do
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andreae & Russell Ayto
Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

The Best Heroes
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Young Bond: SilverFin by Charlie Higson
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Best Characters
Charlie and Lola: Excuse Me But That is My Book by Lauren Child
Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski
Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird & Helen Craig
Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs

The Best Sugar and Spice
Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child & Polly Borland

The Best Animals
Spy Dog by Andrew Cope
The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Lionboy by Zizou Corder

The Best Friends and Family
Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

The Best Phizzwhizzers
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

The Best War and Conflict
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Once by Morris Gleitzman
Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden

The Best BEST BEST BEST!
Stig of the Dump by Clive King
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Junk by Melvin Burgess

The Best Fantasy and Adventure
TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow
Dot Robot by Jason Bradbury
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

The Best Weird and Wonderful
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Five Children and It by E Nesbitt
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

The Best Rhymes and Verse
Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg
Michael Rosen’s A-Z The best children’s poetry from Agard to Zephaniah
Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah
Bad Bad Cats by Roger McGough

The Best Alternatives to Twilight
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen