Dewey's Read-a-thon was a few weeks ago, and one of the challenges was
to list your favourite books published each year that the readathon has
operated. I didn't participate in the readathon, but I would like to
make my list! This was tricky, because I was picking books published in
that year, not when I read the book. It turned out I picked quite a few books that I read this year. I wonder if it was because the memory of them is so recent, or were they great books I've had on my radar since that year and just finally got around to?
2017 Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
A mystery for mystery lovers. If you've read your fair share of Agatha Christie books, you really need to read this. It was excellent!
2016 Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Really well written memoir of a scientist for people of all interests, not just science. But science people will really like it. Also touches on mental health, and working women.
2015 Girl at War by Sara Novic
Very well done recent war novel, set during the Serbian-Croatian dispute war.
2014 The Martian by Andy Weir (I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short)
I'm not sure when to consider The Martian published - it was self-published in 2011 and then redone in 2014. I picked another 2014 book, Martin Short's memoir as an alternate. I've always liked Short, but found he could be exhausting at times. This book will make you appreciate him all the more.
2013 The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Such a well done mystery with great characters. I read the next two in the series soon after this first one and am eagerly awaiting the fourth. JK Rowling is no one-trick pony. The only author to make my list twice.
2012 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Introverts will identify so much and be able to put into words all their feelings after reading this book. Also good for extroverts with introverts in their lives. It feels like so many people are introverts even though extroverts seem to control the discussions. It's pretty much a problem inherent to the two types of people.
2011 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline/ Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz
I absolutely had to include both of these books from 2011, and is why I couldn't put The Martian in 2011 consideration. Both are unique in their point of view and in their structure. Ready Player one is science fiction with a dash of 80s nostalgia, but Heads You Lose is a rollicking good time of mystery/meta fiction.
2010 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
I still have extremely fond memories of this book as a gentle yet fun look at older romances and British life. If you get mixed up and accidentally read Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, you won't be disappointed either.
2009 Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
You can't go wrong with a Sophie Kinsella novel. This one was lovely, funny, and poignant. A ghost inhabits a young girl and wrecks some havoc before everyone learns to appreciate what they have.
2008 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
World building extraordinaire along with dystopian future. It's hard to believe this book is almost a decade old. On the other hand, the characters and story are an ingrained part of popular culture.
2007 The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
HP and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
The Deathly Hallows itself was good, but the inclusion on my (and everyone else's) list is as much a tribute to all seven books as its own merits. Again, I couldn't go with just one book, and Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret was so original, so wonderfully sweet, I had to include it.
This list pretty much sums up my reading style - mystery, nonfiction, dystopian, feel-good, young adult, and humour. Have you read all of these yet?
