these are my books of the year, they havent all necessarily been published in 2010 but i have read them in 2010
My Favourites
1. Room – Emma Donoghue – beautiful book, the first few chapters are harrowingly hard to read but after that it really sucks you in
2. Alone in Berlin – Hans Fallada – really good edge of the seat novel about German resistance to Nazism published originally in 1947 but just recently translated to English
3. Brooklyn – Colm Toibin – Not usually a fan of Toibin but really enjoyed this sparse novel
4. Truth Commissioner – David Park – got this book in the bargain bin and it was a real find, best novel I have read on the Northern Irish troubles
5. Let the Great World Spin -Colum McCann – very contemporary and enjoyable romp through New York in the 70s
Honourable Mentions
Rough Ride – Paul Kimmage – great read about cyclings problems especially relevant due to this years revelations
Apathy for the Devil – Nick Kent – a must for any music fan of the 70s to 90s although Kent is sometimes full of himself
The Tin Drum – Gunter Grass – been meaning to read this for years and it’s a bizarre tale but alluring all the same
Stoner – John Williams – a sometimes depressing but very evocative book
The Northern Clemency – Philip Hensher – a good snapshot of 70s britain
My Unenjoyable Reads
For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemmingway – said I would give Hemmingway another go but just don’t like his style
I curse the river of time – Per Petterson – loved his book Out Stealing Horses but this was pretentious and non eventful
The Heart of the Matter – Graham Greene – the first Greene book I have read and the last, not my cup of tea
Freakeconomics – Levitt & Dubner – overhyped and in my opinion economists change the facts to suit themselves in any case
