I like the idea other bloggers have had to list their ‘books of the decade’, so here is my list, with links to my posts (some are very short notes). These are books I’ve read during the decade and loved, but not necessarily books that were published during the decade. They are all books that kept me wondering what happens next, that kept me engrossed, that have remained in my memory ever since I read them and that in ideal world I’d like to re-read. And, of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg as there are many more that I could have chosen.
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
- A Dark Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
- Blood Harvest by S J Bolton
- The Long Song by Andrea Levy
- Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
- The Secret River by Kate Grenville
- Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
- Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
- Shakespeare’s Restless World by Neil MacGregor
- A Whispered Name by William Brodrick
- The Dance of Love by Angela Young
- The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
- Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
- Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie Mallowan
- The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman
- South Riding by Winifred Holtby
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- On Beulah Height by Reginald Hill
- People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
This list shows I like a lot of fiction, mainly historical and crime fiction with a few non-fiction books as well. Which books would you have on your list?
Those are some excellent books, Margaret! I’m so glad to see The Secret River among them. I thought that was a truly fine novel (did you read Sarah Thornhill?) And, of course, it’s hard to go wrong with a Christie book! Or a Reginald Hill novel, for the matter of that. There are a few here I’ve not (yet) read, so some new things for me to explore, too!
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You have 2 of my all-time favorites on your list: Life After Life and The Grapes of Wrath. Thanks for sharing your favorites!
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A great selection, thanks for sharing them. I tried to make lists but I found it too exhausting so I decided to just not 🙂
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I’m only 25 so I haven’t lived for enough decades for things to get really interesting. I haven’t read any of the books on your list but I’ve read a few of the books by John Steinbeck that you didn’t include and I agree he was an excellent writer.
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So happy to see Come, Tell Me How You Live on your list. And your post had the effect of making me take Little Boy Lost off my general shelves and put it on the ‘to read this year’ section.
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Nice list, Margaret! I’ve read 5 of your 25, but you’ve included one of my favorite Christie books – Cards On The Table. I’ve read that one many times. I’m not even sure which books I’d put on a list for myself. Maybe I should think about it. 🙂
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That’s a great selection of books and quite a few of them are amongst my books of the decade too. I think Blood Harvest is actually the only Sharon Bolton book I still haven’t read! Maybe I’ll get round to it in 2020.
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Some great books there, Margaret – some that I’ve read and some that I really want to read. Of course I’m horrified that you’ve included TWO Steinbecks but I forgive you since you’ve also included Reginald Hill and Agatha Christie… 😉 Hope the next decade brings forth just as many delights! 😀
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My introduction to Sharon Bolton was through you listing Blood Harvest as a one of your books of the year some time ago. Now she’s one of those authors my daughters and I fight over about who gets to read her first, so many thanks! I’d agree absolutely about Wolf Hall (I’m now listening to a fabulous audio version as well) and Life After Life, South Riding is in the TBR pile.
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[…] opportunity to look at their Books of the Decade. I certainly would not argue with Margaret at Books Please selection of “Life After Life” by Kate Atkinson and “The Grapes Of Wrath” […]
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