And the winner is....
It's that time of year again. Time to look back over the year that's just gone, to give bouquets where appropriate, and brickbats where necessary. On a personal level, I am amazed, but rather pleased that I have blogged for a year on every book I've read (except for one - a book about the American composer, Elliott Carter - which I reviewed for a publication, so didn't include here).
In 2010 I read 127 books, 113 of which were fiction - unusually there were quite a number of cross-over reads this year: books which were a blend of fiction and non-fiction, and also several books of short stories. Most of what I read was originally written in English, but there were also translations from Spanish, Swedish, Geman, Russian, Danish, Italian, Icelandic, Turkish, French, Norwegian, Finnish, and Mandarin (the first books by Chinese and Finnish authors I think I've ever read). Of the total : 82 were new reads, and 49 were from public libraries (a big round of applause for these biblio-temples)
And as is customary at the end of the year it seems like a good idea to present awards to the great and the dreadful so get out your bow tie and party frock, and welcome to the First Annual Bookhounds.
New read of the Year
Nominees : Far from the madding crowd / Thomas Hardy ; A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi ; William again / Richmal Crompton
And the winner is : A beginner's guide to acting English - very difficult category this, there were so many good reads - I discovered this year, for instance, that I liked Thomas Hardy, Richmal Crompton and Mark Twain, three authors that had previously left me unmoved. Shappi Khorsandi's book however is quite unique and very special.
Re-read of the Year
Nominees : The siege / Helen Dunmore ; The moving toyshop / Edmund Crispin ; The Master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov.
And the winner is : The siege - poignant, moving, quite brilliant. Honourable mention goes to The Master and Margarita.
And now for the three awards that nobody wants to win....
The why did I read that? Award for Worst read of the Year
Nominees : The pure in heart / Susan Hill ; Songs my mother never taught me / Selcuk Altun ; Stage fright / Alan Dunn.
And the winner is : Songs my mother never taught me - interminable, incomprehensible balderdash.
Disappointment of the Year
This award is for books which came highly recommended but failed to please.
And the nominees are : Like water for chocolate / Laura Esquivel ; Rebels and traitors / Lindsay Davis ; The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society / Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
And the winner is : Rebels and traitors - Davis usually sure touch deserts her in this ponderous tale of the English Civil War.
Daftest book of the Year (unintentionally so)
Nominees : Death of a Chancellor / David Dickinson ; Tartan tragedy / Antonia Fraser ; The Exodus quest / Will Adams
And the winner is : Death of a Chancellor - sublimely silly, there could be no other winner...
Funniest moment of the Year
Nominees : The pursuit of love / Nancy Mitford (Uncle Matthew and the power-cut); A pony in the luggage / Gunnel Linde (The "porter" in the cupboard); A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi (The undercover picnic with assorted Iranians, extended family, and undercover policemen)
And the winner is : The pursuit of love - pure Basil Fawlty and extremely funny.
Impact. An award for books that make you think differently
Nominees : A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi ; What if? / edited by Robert Cowley ; Death by design / Barbara Nadel.
And the winner is : What if? - its combination of true history and speculation reveals how thin the line is between what happened and what could have been.
Best performance by a fictional animal
Nominees : Un-named boa constrictor in Venus in Copper / Lindsay Davis ; Justin the rat in Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH / Robert C. O'Brien ; Behemoth the sinister cat in The Master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov.
And the winner is : Behemoth in The Master and Margarita for a compelling and hilarious performance - honourable mention goes to the non-fictional Tiktaalik for changing everyones' lives by taking up his fins and walking.
Surprise/Shock of the Year, awarded for a single surprising/shocking moment/statement in a book
Nominees : The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society / Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows - for mention of the mass-euthanising of animals in the Channel Islands during the Second World War ; The adventures of Tom Sawyer / Mark Twain - for the murder of Dr. Robinson ; 44 Scotland Street / Alexander McCall Smith - for the falling man.
And the winner is : The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.
Bookhound read of the Year
Nominees : The siege / Helen Dunmore ; A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi ; The Master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov.
And the winner is : A beginner's guide to acting English - this made a real impression on me; funny, warm, sad, and thought-provoking. It really made you think about what it means to be British, and what it means to be in exile. Honourable mention must go to the runners-up, both of which were fabulous books, and highly recommended.
Thanks to all the authors who have made my reading life enjoyable throughout 2010. It's been a pleasure.
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| Hoping that Balto will forgive me for using him as the face of the Bookhounds. For his amazing story read The cruellest miles by Gay & Laney Salisbury |
In 2010 I read 127 books, 113 of which were fiction - unusually there were quite a number of cross-over reads this year: books which were a blend of fiction and non-fiction, and also several books of short stories. Most of what I read was originally written in English, but there were also translations from Spanish, Swedish, Geman, Russian, Danish, Italian, Icelandic, Turkish, French, Norwegian, Finnish, and Mandarin (the first books by Chinese and Finnish authors I think I've ever read). Of the total : 82 were new reads, and 49 were from public libraries (a big round of applause for these biblio-temples)
And as is customary at the end of the year it seems like a good idea to present awards to the great and the dreadful so get out your bow tie and party frock, and welcome to the First Annual Bookhounds.
New read of the Year
Nominees : Far from the madding crowd / Thomas Hardy ; A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi ; William again / Richmal Crompton
And the winner is : A beginner's guide to acting English - very difficult category this, there were so many good reads - I discovered this year, for instance, that I liked Thomas Hardy, Richmal Crompton and Mark Twain, three authors that had previously left me unmoved. Shappi Khorsandi's book however is quite unique and very special.
Re-read of the Year
Nominees : The siege / Helen Dunmore ; The moving toyshop / Edmund Crispin ; The Master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov.
And the winner is : The siege - poignant, moving, quite brilliant. Honourable mention goes to The Master and Margarita.
And now for the three awards that nobody wants to win....
The why did I read that? Award for Worst read of the Year
Nominees : The pure in heart / Susan Hill ; Songs my mother never taught me / Selcuk Altun ; Stage fright / Alan Dunn.
And the winner is : Songs my mother never taught me - interminable, incomprehensible balderdash.
Disappointment of the Year
This award is for books which came highly recommended but failed to please.
And the nominees are : Like water for chocolate / Laura Esquivel ; Rebels and traitors / Lindsay Davis ; The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society / Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
And the winner is : Rebels and traitors - Davis usually sure touch deserts her in this ponderous tale of the English Civil War.
Daftest book of the Year (unintentionally so)
Nominees : Death of a Chancellor / David Dickinson ; Tartan tragedy / Antonia Fraser ; The Exodus quest / Will Adams
And the winner is : Death of a Chancellor - sublimely silly, there could be no other winner...
Funniest moment of the Year
Nominees : The pursuit of love / Nancy Mitford (Uncle Matthew and the power-cut); A pony in the luggage / Gunnel Linde (The "porter" in the cupboard); A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi (The undercover picnic with assorted Iranians, extended family, and undercover policemen)
And the winner is : The pursuit of love - pure Basil Fawlty and extremely funny.
Impact. An award for books that make you think differently
Nominees : A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi ; What if? / edited by Robert Cowley ; Death by design / Barbara Nadel.
And the winner is : What if? - its combination of true history and speculation reveals how thin the line is between what happened and what could have been.
Best performance by a fictional animal
Nominees : Un-named boa constrictor in Venus in Copper / Lindsay Davis ; Justin the rat in Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH / Robert C. O'Brien ; Behemoth the sinister cat in The Master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov.
And the winner is : Behemoth in The Master and Margarita for a compelling and hilarious performance - honourable mention goes to the non-fictional Tiktaalik for changing everyones' lives by taking up his fins and walking.
Surprise/Shock of the Year, awarded for a single surprising/shocking moment/statement in a book
Nominees : The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society / Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows - for mention of the mass-euthanising of animals in the Channel Islands during the Second World War ; The adventures of Tom Sawyer / Mark Twain - for the murder of Dr. Robinson ; 44 Scotland Street / Alexander McCall Smith - for the falling man.
And the winner is : The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.
Bookhound read of the Year
Nominees : The siege / Helen Dunmore ; A beginner's guide to acting English / Shappi Khorsandi ; The Master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov.
And the winner is : A beginner's guide to acting English - this made a real impression on me; funny, warm, sad, and thought-provoking. It really made you think about what it means to be British, and what it means to be in exile. Honourable mention must go to the runners-up, both of which were fabulous books, and highly recommended.
Thanks to all the authors who have made my reading life enjoyable throughout 2010. It's been a pleasure.
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