Here is the last list of my favorite books – my most recent faves. I added links to the author’s websites as well as any pertinent award sites.
Let me know what your favorites are!
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, by Stieg Larsson.
This thriller trilogy follows a feisty character based loosely on what Pippy Longstocking would have been like as a grown up. She is smart, resourceful and a loner with an intriguing past. Her interactions with a brilliant newspaper reporter help solve a myriad of interlaced mysteries throughout the three books. The third novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest isn’t going to be released in the United States until May, 2010. I couldn’t wait to finish – so I ordered it from England. That’s how hooky these books are! |
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The Hearts of Horses, by Molly Gloss. Looking to escape to Oregon in the early 1900’s? With a little twist on the traditional western, Gloss creates a enchanting novel with the central character a young, tough woman. Her vocation as a horse breaker is a fascinating backdrop in rural, eastern Oregon. Gloss’ other novel, The Jump Off Creek is equally as charming. They are both good old-fashioned westerns that can be enjoyed by anyone. |
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The Pale Blue Eye, by Louis Bayard. This enthralling murder mystery takes place at Westpoint academy in the mid 1800’s. All the great mystery elements are present in this captivating story, including a moody sidekick named Edgar Allan Poe. The presence of Poe turns the book into a historical mystery, as the events presented around Poe are all true. If you like this novel, Bayard has crafted two more mysteries with appearances by Dicken’s Tiny Tim Cratchit in Mr. Timothy and Eugéne François Vidocq, history’s first great detective in The Black Tower. |
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March, Geraldine Brooks. I thought the premise of this novel was so unique. The story follows March, the father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women through his trials in the civil war as an idealistic chaplain. He is little mentioned in Alcott’s novel, but here you get an understanding of his very kind and forward-thinking nature. March is the recipient of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Brooks other works, The Year of Wonders and People of the Book are notable works as well. |
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Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan. Taking place just after World War II in rural Mississippi, this story contains the timeless fundamentals that will make it a classic of its time; tragedy, truth, social justice, and thoughts about the human conditionMudbound won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for Fiction, awarded biannually to a first literary novel that addresses issues of social justice. |
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The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins.
These are the best young adult books I have read in a long time. I am eagerly awaiting the third and final book in this trilogy (with millions of other readers!). There is action, adventure, a smattering of politics and of course a love story in these books. Be careful – once you start, you can’t put these down! |
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Oh, I have a lot of those on my TBR list. I also loved The Hunger Games, and Catching Fire. I can’t wait for the third book to come out!
Interesting books! I have heard two different views on Stieg Larsson’s trilogy – most of my friends who read it raved about while there was one dissonant voice – and so it was nice to see it in your list of favourites. Molly Gloss’ ‘The Heart of Horses’ is an interesting discovery for me. Thanks for writing about it. I will add it to my ‘TBR’ list. I have ‘The Hunger Games’ on my reading list for this year.
Mudbound, March and The Hunger Games are among my favorites too — you have good taste.
I definitely want to read some Larsson soon.
The remote chance there might be a fourth Stieg Larsson is a compelling reason for eating right and getting lots of exercise to be alive and in shape to read it when it ocmes.