Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without – Books of the Year

[callmemadam]

I used this picture last year but I like it so here it is again.



I’m having a very difficult i.e. picky reading month; can’t seem to settle to anything. So I thought I might as well do books of the year now. To get on the list a book has to be new to me though not necessarily new; it must have some originality about it which grabbed me; I probably read it quickly, wanting to get back to it all the time. Considering the numbers of new books published each year and all the old books out there still waiting to be read, I can’t say it’s been a vintage year.

Miracles of Life, J G Ballard
The Mysterious Benedict Society , Trenton Lee Stewart
Singled Out , Virginia Nicholson
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie , Alan Bradley
The Graveyard Book , Neil Gaiman
Popular Music , Mikael Niemi
Someone at A Distance , Dorothy Whipple
The Spy Game , Georgina Harding
Cold Cream , Ferdinand Mount
Standing in the Rainbow , Fannie Flagg
Their Finest Hour and a Half , Lissa Evans
After the Armistice Ball, Catriona McPherson

Series I’ll read more of: The Gill Cunningham Murder Mysteries by Pat McIntosh

Comments

[cornflowerbooks.livejournal.com]

You have some goodies there, and I do like that picture!

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

The artist is still managing to find an idea a fortnight: such professionalism!

Books

[(Anonymous)]

The Fannie Flagg is a fave of mine, and I have the Bradley book ordered from book depository for when it comes out in pb. Do you know you have ads popping up now?

Re: Books

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I'm going to get the Bradley paperback when it comes out because I know I'll want to read the book again.

I think I'll lose the ads, they only annoy people.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Highly recommended. The way he combined writing, whisky and bringing up chldren alone was really remarkable.

[lethe1]

Thank you for this timely post, it inspired me to buy The Mysterious Benedict Society at my favourite bookshop The American Book Center. With my 10% discount card and the €5 voucher they gave me for Thanksgiving (to be used before the end of the year) I only had to pay 4 euros. It seems like a nice holiday read. :) If I like it, I may even buy the sequels! I love the look of the series.

And the cartoon still made me giggle.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I hope you like it! I didn't know there were sequels until I saw the books featuring in a summer holiday children's project at our library.

[(Anonymous)]

Someone At A Distance is one of my very favourite Persephones, and the only one on your list that I've read...

[(Anonymous)]

Forgot to add my name... I'm Simon T.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Hello Simon. I love Dorothy Whipple and I'm lucky that there are still some titles of hers I haven't read.