The Best Books of 2010

Now, the Top 10 Books Of The Year. According to me.  🙂

I’ve been reading like a maniac in 2010, and – just in time for holiday gift giving (ahem) – let me share with you the ten fiction books that I truly enjoyed.  In order.

#1 – The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer.  It’s a beautiful coming of age story set in Europe before WWII – a young Hungarian Jew wins a scholarship to Paris, falls in love, and then the war comes.  Truly, it’s about the indomitable human spirit, and the meaning of love.

#2 – Father of the Rain by Lily King. What it’s like to have a difficult, manipulative father… who you love anyway.  I’ve not met Lily King, but if I did I’d bow to her.  This girl can write.

#3 – Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann.  One day, a Frenchman threw a cable between the Twin Towers and walked across. The impact of that moment on New Yorkers.  Brilliant.

#4 – The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville.  In 1788, the First Fleet sailed to Australia.  This fictional retelling of the experience of William Dawes, an Englishman that fell in love with the bush, brings history alive.

#5 – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  Loved it.  Gripping. Compelling.  Fascinating.  Brutal.  LOVE Lisabeth Salander.

#6 – The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson.  Moodier, but I loved this one, too.

#7 – The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson.  Had to see the trilogy through, and glad I did.  Of course, there’s an unpublished manuscript on the late Larsson’s laptop…

#8 – The Black Cat by Martha Grimes.  I love Grimes’ writing.  If you like British mysteries in the tradition of Christie and Sayers, you will adore this book and the brooding hero, Richard Jury.

#9 – Night Soldiers by Alan Furst.  Kristo is born in Bulgaria, gets recruited by the Soviet espionage establishment, goes undercover in Spain, drifts to Paris, and ends up working for the American OSS.  Set in the run-up to WWII, it’s a compelling and intriguing look at intrigue.

#10 – Composed by Rosanne Cash (OK, it’s not fiction but it’s gorgeous and well-written and amazing anyway).  Her story of her life as a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who just happened to have a famous father Johnny Cash and a famous stepmother, June Carter Cash, and a dear mother, Vivian Liberto. The book is not all about family – it’s about growing up and living life and making choices – but her perspective on her parents is smart and perceptive.  Great book.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention another important book of 2010 – my own, I Am Not Superwoman: Further Essays On Happier Living.  Thank you all for the support you’ve given me and the book this year. You have been the best part of my year.