I have forgotten about my blogiversary mostly over the last few years but was reminded this year because of the upcoming event in the US; my third post was about Obama's inauguration and how positive the mood was generally at the time, compared to the dread and horror that will accompany the ceremony tomorrow.
Anyway, not wanting to dwell on the bad shit I was thinking about a post that I wrote when I reached 1000 posts back in 2016, and I decided I would do another little recap and list the top ten books, of the now 659 book review posts, that I have loved since then.
Now, as then, in no particular order, because ranking favourite books is an impossible task; books are too different for such direct comparison:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (from 2016)(no idea why this was not on the other list)
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (from 2021)
Bewilderment by Richard Powers (from 2022)
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (from 2024)
The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett (also 2024)
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (from 2017)
A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr (from 2018)
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (from 2019, not a review, just a mention)
The Trick to Time by Kit De Waal (from 2018)
And OMG, how come Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (from 2015) is also missing from the other list. What was I thinking.
I realise that's more than ten, but who's counting. And here is a little extra one, not included above since it is not fiction, but The Book of Delights gave me much joy, so I could not miss it out.
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay (from 2021)
I feel sad for 2023, so few books read that year, and nothing stood out and yelled 'pick me'.
Stay safe. Be kind. Read some good books this year.
Artwork at the top by Hondartza Fraga, a print that I bought after seeing her art in the Manchester Art Gallery.
I couldn't believe the orange one would be elected the first time. The second time is even more unbelievable.
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