Top Ten books of 2011

Here are my top ten books that I read in 2011 (in no particular order):

1. State of Wonder - Ann Patchett
2. An Irish Country Doctor - Patrick Taylor
3. Minding Frankie - Maeve Binchy
4. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
5. Needles and Pearls - Gil McNeil
6. Bride of New France - Suzanne DesRochers
7. The Sea Captain's Wife - Beth Powning
8-10. The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins

Top Ten books in 2010

The following is a list of my top 10 favourite books I read in 2010. Most of them were NOT published in 2010, it's just when I read them! I have also linked to my reviews of each. Enjoy!

Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosnay

The Magicians – Lev Grossman

Her Fearful Symmetry – Audrey Niffenegger

Day After Night – Anita Diamant

The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway

Crow Lake – Mary Lawson

The Unholy Book of Mischeif –Elle Newmark

The Book Of Lost Things – John Connolly

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – Katherine Howe

Room – Emma Donoghue

Have you read any of those books? What did you think? Have any of them now caught your eye? What were your favourite reads of 2010?

Canada Reads 2011-Top10

CBC announced the top ten books from 40 today! The five celebrity panelists and their selections for Canada Reads 2011 will be announced November 24th.

The top are:

• Bottle Rocket Hearts, by Zoe Whittall
• Essex County, by Jeff Lemire
• Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
• Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
• The Best Laid Plans, by Terry Fallis
• The Birth House, by Ami McKay
• The Bone Cage, by Angie Abdou
• The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill
• Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden
• Unless, by Carol Shields

I think I will probably read the final five again..anybody else??

On another note-the winner of the Giller Prize will be announced tonight!
**UPDATE: And the winner is...Johanna Skibsrud for The Sentimentalists!!**

Books to read after Harry Potter

 Oprah has listed the top books to read after Harry Potter.
 Awesome! Let's take a look at her list, and how I feel about her picks:

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins - haven't read it
2. Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan - saw the movie, it was great
3.  The Magicians by Lev Grossman - LOVED IT!! 
4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - Loved all of the books-and the movies so far!
5. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - Enjoyed the ones I read, and the movies were exactly as I pictured things in my head!!
6. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling - haven't read it 
7. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - Fantastic! The movie of the first book was great-unfortunately I don't think they're making any more!
8. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - this is one of the books that got me interested in sci-fi thanks Dad!
9. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - on my to be read list
10. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini - another great series, looking forward to the 4th book

my favourite canadian books

This week's Booking Through Thursday question asked about favourite foreign books. I am pretty sure it's an American site so I answered with books that were neither American nor Canadian-see here for the list. I had a new visitor to my site, a fellow Canadian with an interesting blog of her own-and on her reply to that question she mentions that she can't think of any Canadian books that she loves. Well let me help  you Ms. C!!! Here is a list of my favourite Canadian books!!

•  The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
• The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
• The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor - Sally Armstrong
• The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay
• The Cellist of Sarajevo - Stephen Galloway
• Good to a Fault - Marina Endicott
• L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gable series
•  Come, thou tortoise by Jessica Grant was amusing

As for Canadian short stories, (I've recently discovered I like short stories)

• What Boys Like by Amy Jones
• Once by Rebecca Rosenblum

SEE!! SEE!!! Plenty of amazing Canadian fiction!! If you have any other MUST READ Canadian books please comment below. Unless you suggest Miriam Toews. I'm sorry I just don't like her work.

Amazon.ca 50 best books of the decade

Amazon.ca recently released a list of the Books of the Decade, here are the top ten:

1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: A Novel
by Michael Chabon

2.The Assassin's Song
by M.G. Vassanji

3.Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett I've read this one on recommendation from a friend-it was pretty good.

4.Black Bird
by Michel Basilieres

5,Blackstrap Hawco
by Kenneth J. Harvey

6.The Blind Assassin
by Margaret Atwood I think I read this one a loooong time ago-but not 100% sure

7.The Book Of Negroes
by Lawrence Hill BOOK OF MY LIFE

8.Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao
by Junot Diaz Another recommendation from a friend-glad I read it!

9.Caesar: Life of a Colossus
by Adrian Goldsworthy

10.The Cellist of Sarajevo
by Steven Galloway This is the book for my bookclub meeting in May!

How many of these have you read (either the top ten or any books on the list)?


how many have you read?

Canada's 100 Greatest Books

I just came across this new project to create a book listing Canada's 100 Greatest Books on facebook today! They are asking CANADIANS to email (canadas100greatestbooks@gmail.com) their top 10 Canadian books written by "Canadian authors and that involve Canada in some capacity" (fiction and non-fiction). They also have a blog: http://www.canadasgreatestbooks.blogspot.com/

Here are MY top 10 Canadian books in no particular order:

1. Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery (All of the Anne books really)
2. The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill
3. The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay
4. The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor - Sally Armstrong
5. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson (not sure if it counts because I'm not sure if/how it involves Canada but I LOVE this book!)
6. Good To A Fault - Marina Endicott
7. Late Nights on Air - Elizabeth Hay
8. Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-City Shantytown – Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall
9. The Girls - Lori Lansens
10. Love You Forever - Robert Munsch (Again-not sure if it counts)

What are your top CANADIAN books??

My top 10 books of 2009

1. The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill
2. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
4. The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor - Sally Armstrong
5. Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson
6. The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
7. The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay
8. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
9. Shanghai Girls - Lisa See
10. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

What did you think about these books?
What was your favorite book of 2009?