Friday, November 12, 2010

What was your Favorite Read this year?

I'm actually doing it.  I'm whittling down my TBR pile, spine by spine, at a remarkably rapid pace!  Go me!  I've been trying to do this for years.  I've been very good about buying books this year (But let's be serious; I haven't stopped.  Please.) and have tried to keep the TBR tamed.  So, it's getting there.

But now, I find myself longing for those things I do not have.  Which is always the case, isn't it?  Sure, I've still got TBRs, but I want something shiny and new.  So I need some recommendations from everyone.  I'm going to list a few of my favorite reads this year, and then I want everyone to pick one or two of their favorite reads from this year and tell us about them.

THE MIND'S EYE by Oliver Sacks.  Is it wrong to worship a 70-something, slightly blind, intensely engaging neurologist who writes about other people's misery?  I love Sacks.  He writes about neurological disorders with insight and fascination.  It is like reading fantastical fiction, and yet the case studies he focuses on are very real people with conditions that marvel, disturb and teach.  I have read all his books, and can't wait for the next.  THE MIND'S EYE looks at a woman who has lost her stereoscopic vision, an aphasic woman who cannot speak, and a novelist who suddenly develops the inability to read.  I think if Sacks ever appeared in the area signing books I'd go, then probably act like some foolish teenager in front of a rock star.  He rocks!

THE GREYFRIAR: VAMPIRE EMPIRE Book 1 by Clay & Susan Griffith.  I read this book for review, and frankly decided to do so because I was in the mood for something different, even though straight fantasy is not really my cup of tea.  This story is filled with adventure, action and even romance, set in the near future of an alternate universe that sees the vampires having taken over the world, and mortals their slaves.  And it's steampunk!  It was so good, I'm eagerly awaiting the next book, which I know the writers are still working on.  Hurry up and write!  Oh, and this one also gets my vote for Perfect Cover.  Nicely matches the characters and the mood with the grays and blacks and the goggles on the hero—yay!

HELLO, CUPCAKE! by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson.  Yes, cookbooks counts.  I don't actually use them to cook, you see.  I buy them for the pretty pictures and read them much like a book, searching for possibly one easy recipe I could attempt, but then sighing, and deciding it's much more fun just to look at the pictures.  This cupcake book is mostly about decorating them in the most adorable ways.  I convinced my daughter to make the cupcakes with the peas and carrots on top (you use soft candies like Starburst).  So cute!  Anyone want to bake me a cupcake?

ADDICTED by Charlotte Featherstone.  Sometimes you read a book to the end, close the cover, then sit back and sigh a little.  The characters are compelling, the situations are interesting, and the sex (yes, sometimes you just want some great sex scenes) is smoldering.  I have a fascination for heroes who have an addiction, so I grabbed this book when it was first issued, and I was not disappointed.  Great read.  Dark, but well written and a satisfying tale.  This one gets my Gorgeous Cover vote because it is another thing that attracted me to this book.  That wispy red smoke and the fluffy dress and the corset.  It lured me in like opium to the addict.

Okay, that's just a few of my favs.  Now tell me what your top picks were for this year.  I need some ideas for new reading material!

Michele

13 comments:

Playground Monitor said...

I have to admit I haven't read as much as usual this year (but more than the pitiful 10 books I read last year). Divorce makes it as hard to concentrate on reading as it is to create words to write.

Anyway, I LOVED Pamela Morsi's Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar, Baggage Claim by Tanya Michna and Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire.

I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this month to force myself to write. The end product ain't pretty, but that's what revisions are for. ::grin:: After November 30, I plan to tackle my TBR pile.

Marilyn

Colleen Thompson said...

I love Oliver Sacks' books, too. Will have to check out that one. Sounds like my cuppa!

Cindy Gerard said...

I've been heavy into thrillers this past year - some of my favs: DOWN AMONG THE DEADMEN, Robert Gregory Browne. Original, fast paced, surprising (always a plus) and compelling characters.
Just finished Lee Child's 61 Hours. Possibly his best Reacher book yet.
Really enjoyed Rick Mofina's Vengeance road.

Terry Odell said...

Of course, my "favorite" was my July release of Nowhere to Hide, but I don't think that's what you're looking for!

I loved everything by all my favorite authors - could never narrow it down for fear of forgetting someone. Most recent memorable read was PJ Tracy's newest Monkeewrench book.

Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery

Michele Hauf said...

Marilyn, I'm doing NaNo for the first time this year. The words are coming, but the story is not fully plotted yet, so I"m at a point where I'm just following my characters around (which is not necessarily a good thing).

Colleen, yes do! Anything Sacks writes is so interesting.

Cindy, I think I've read a Reacher book. One was free at Amazon a few months back. I liked it!

Terry, the Monkeewrench book was great! I think that's written by Twin Cities mother and daughter pair, if I recall correctly?

Christie Ridgway said...

Cool books! I read =a lot= so it's really hard for me to pick my fave. Among them:

Anne Stuart's historical romance series about The House of Rohan.

The Hunger Games trilogy.

The latest from Robyn Carr's Virgin River series, as well as her backlist titles.

Hope said...

Since I read A LOT, it is really hard to pick a single book that is my favorite. Soooo, I will pick a series. I LOVED Dee Davis' A-Tac series. Very fast paced, lots of twists and turns and the romance was great.

Michele Hauf said...

Oh, Christie, I haven't read an Anne Stuart in so long. Shame on me! I love her dark, tormented heroes. Is the House of Rohan dark and tormented?

Hope, I love the name of that series! So is it like romantic suspense?

Hope said...

Michelle, yes it is a romantic suspense series. The first 3 came out this year. She said the next 3 will be out summer/fall of next year. GREAT series, I highly recommend it. (Dangerous Desires, Desperate Deeds & Dark Deceptions)

Janga said...

I haven't even been able to narrow my favorite romances of 2010 to a top ten for my blog, so I can't possibly choose a top two. From among other books I've read, Jean Brashear's The Goddess of Fried Okra, a wonderful Southern novel with a cast of endearing eccentrics, and Susan Holloway Scott's The Countess and the King: A Novel of the Countess of Dorchester and King James II, historical fiction that brings to life a fascinating woman and era. are at the top of my list.

Michele Hauf said...

Janga, and the cover for Fried Okra rocked! The Holloway Scott one intrigues me.

Thanks for all the great recs today, ladies!

Terry Odell said...

Michele - yes, PJ Tracy is a mother-daughter team. I've thoroughly enjoyed their books, which I found when a friend gave me the second in the series. Being anal, I set it aside until I read the first, and I HIGHLY recommend reading them in order.

Mikaela said...

Kay Hooper! I got one of her books from the library, earlier this year. Just, wow. It was great. Of course, it would have been even better if I had read the first books in the triology before. LOL!