LIST: Best Reads of the Year 2007

Did I get this done too early? Is there one more book left to blow me away? Probably not, because these were la creme de la creme, of an amazing reading year. I have no reasoning to explain how I picked these books, and next week I could pick differently. But I read all of these quickly; generally late into the night; I want to recommend all of these to people; and maybe they surprised me by sneaking up on me and being so darn entertaining.

I read so many books this year that making a top ten list of books is very difficult. I read over 130 books, so I have to pick the top 10%, and I feel the quality of my reading improved immensely this year, making this task all the harder. I looked at my librarything account and only the highest rated books, and then had to whittle that list down to ten.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling This was the best book, especially if you look at how long it took me to read - not very long at all, and was such a great end to the series. It wasn't just this book, it was all seven in the series, and the ten years it took to read them all. I knew it about Snape!



2. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory Best page turner and historical fiction, made me interested in The Tudors, which I watched on CBC. Excellent entertainment, and I've added The Boleyn Inheritance to my tbr for next year.



3. the perks of being a wallflower - Stephen Chbosky Best tearjerker and heartwarming novel, Charlie's voice was wonderful.



4. I Am the Messenger - Markus Zusak Best message of faith and believing in yourself



5. Cloud of Bone - Bernice Morgan Best Canadian historical fiction, from an author who hasn't written enough yet.



6. The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie Best action adventure, rip roaring yarn, with comedy



7. Never Let Me Go - Kazou Ishiguro Best dystopian novel, beautifully written and paced



8. The Bone People - Keri Hulme Best award winner, I was completely swept into this dysfunctional threesome of terrible people, written in a style I've never read before, both beautifully lyrical and poetic



9. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman Best fantasy. I read a few Gaiman books, but this was my favorite. Underground London and the parallel universe he created were fabulous.



10. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Copeland Best Coupland book, as he is going to make my favorite author list after this year. I read a few of his and this was my favorite of the bunch. I like how all his books are so different, and I have few left to read next year. Yay!

Books that were still really really good, but didn't make top ten:

Best Children's Books I Can't Believe I Didn't Read Before:

A Wrinkle in Time
Bridge to Terabithia
The Giver
A Child's Christmas in Wales

Books I Read Quickly Because They Were So Good:

Half a Yellow Sun
My Sister's Keeper
Something Blue
Good Omens

Really Good Books That I Can't Find a Common Theme to Describe:

Arthur and George
Ordinary People
The Big Sleep
Veronika Decides to Die
The Lost Salt Gift of Blood
Istanbul: Memories and the City

LIST: Nonfiction Books of 2007

Inspired by 3m, I'm going to make some more summary lists of my 2007 reading. (I have made a list of lists to make, mwah ha ha). It turns out I read 14 nonfiction books this year, which is more than ten percent, and I wouldn't have thought I read that many. I must thank Joy for hosting the Nonfiction challenge from May to September, which inspired me to look for nonfiction books.

Longitude - Dava Sobel

Dispatches from the Edge - Anderson Cooper

Istanbul - Orhan Pamuk

Night - Elie Wiesel

A Man Without a Country - Kurt Vonnegut

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

Assassination Vacation - Sarah Vowell

So Many Books, So Little Time - Sara Nelson

The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson

Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic

Galileo's Daughter - Dava Sobel

Other Colors - Orhan Pamuk

Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman - Richard P Feynman

Hockey Dreams - David Adams Richards

I can't decide which was the best book. I can manage a top 3:

In Cold Blood Capote's masterpiece of murder in the midwest

Devil in the White City Larson ties up a serial killer and the Chicago World Fair

Istanbul Pamuk's memoir of a city and his life