Five Best Books Read in 2010

2010 was not what I would call a banner reading year for me.  Only 25 books.  I know, I know, if any of you actually go back through my 2010 posts, you will find posts on 24, not 25, books.  I also finished “Hunger Games,” the first in the trilogy, late in the year but determined not to blog on the novel until I had completed all three.  I am expecting that to occur in the first half of 2010.

Here is the only rule:  I must have completed a book in 2010 to be eligible for consideration.

Last year, I did get some “best five” emails and comments from blog followers.  I would LOVE to be able to post additional “best five” lists—bring ‘em on.

I was also going to add a bonus to this post, but I decided to split the bonus into a future post.  The “Top Five Books I Meant to Read in 2010.”  My Amazon wish list (which has become my Night Table o’ Books) currently lists 71 books.  I look through the list periodically—in connection with book selection or just for fun.  I have zero idea how some of these books ended up on the wish list.  There are a number of books, however, that I REALLY REALLY want to read, and I am going to select the five that I most want to read, list them and tell you why.

I actually thought that picking five books would be difficult because I don’t think that the overall quality of the books I read in 2010 was as good as the books I read in 2009.  When I went back through the books, though, I came up with seven “finalists” and about 2-3 others which would have gotten an “honorable mention” if I really wanted to stretch the list.

My Best Five Books Read in 2010 are listed below in alphabetical order.  I cannot rank them 1-5, though as you’ll see below, I could give you my No. 1.  Links are to my earlier blog posts (which, in turn, link to the books).

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – This book rightfully showed up on a number of year-end best lists.  The story of the woman responsible for the HeLa cell line and her family, interwoven with scientific information accessible to non-doctors, was a riveting, interesting and fun read.

The Imperfectionists – I appreciate this book more as I reflect on it.  My main criticism of the book when I first read it was that I do not generally love short stories, and the fact that The Imperfectionists presents a unified construction comprised of related, but not integrated, character stories was problematic for me.  However, I read this book in early 2010, and a number of the characters and their stories stuck with me while there were other books I read in 2010 that I honestly barely remembered.

The Instructions – As I initially posted, this 1,080 page behemoth (not available on Kindle) is not for every reader.  Plus, I didn’t love the ending.  Any author of a 1,000+ page novel can be accused of being “self-indulgent,” and perhaps Adam Levin is guilty.  However, the protagonist is unforgettable, and the language and style are layered with levels of meaning.  Part of me wanted to start the behemoth all over again when I finished.

Matterhorn– If I had to pick a No. 1, Matterhorn would be it. Karl Marlantes' incredible story of Lieutenant Mellas and his company during a portion of the Vietnam War was an extremely emotional read.  Great story, great writing.  Many parts grab a reader.  Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys war fiction.

The Passage – Justin Cronin’s post-apocalyptic novel about a science experiment that went horribly wrong rounds out my Best Five for 2010.  I am certain that some of you are “done” with post-apocalyptic fiction.  And this is sort of a vampire novel, too (though the “vampires” are called “virals” in Cronin’s book)—vampires, we can all agree, have been overdone.  But this is one fun read, and I anxiously await Book 2 (due 2012) and Book 3 (due 2014) which are expected to complete the trilogy.

So that's it.  Again, not a great year for me.  Shooting for 35 books in 2011.

Live long, read and prosper.  We'll leave the lights on for you.