Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
How it works:
I assign each Tuesday a topic and then post my top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join me and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you!
This week’s topic – 10 Most recent reads
- All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque (1929) 5/5
Classic war literature showing the horror of the trenches and the sacrifice of a generation. Very affecting.
2. Machines Like Me – Ian McEwan (2019) – 2/5
Disappointing attempt at speculative fiction with unconvincing plot and characters.
3. The Problem with Men: When is International Men’s Day (and Why it Matters) – Richard Herring (2021) 4/5
A light hearted look at the reasons why some men are only concerned about International Men’s Day on International Women’s Day and what the ramifications might be. Very funny and intelligent.
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John Le Carre (1974) 4/5
Classic spy novel with George Smiley trying to uncover a mole in the secret service. Very twisty and clever.
5. The Buddha of Suburbia – Hanif Kureishi (1990) 4/5
Coming of age in London in the seventies. Raises issues around race, sexuality and class.
6. Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens (2018) 2/5
The ending spoiled this for me. Up until that point, this was an okay thriller with a sweet love story at the heart.
7. Middlemarch – George Eliot (1871) – 3/5
Very well written classic description of small town life. Characters are well drawn but the writing style was too long winded for me to really enjoy.
8. Utopia Avenue – David Mitchell (2020) 2/5
Not one of Mitchell’s best. Reasonable story spoiled by all the cameos of dead pop stars.
9. The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway (1952) 3/5
I enjoyed Hemingway’s sparse writing style but the story of an old man catching his last fish did not appeal.
10 Take Nothing With You – Patrick Gale (2018) 5/5
My favourite read of the year so far. A combination of bildungsroman and romance with a lovely uplifting ending.
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All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the best war time stories I’ve read. Happy reading, my TTT https://readwithstefani.com/my-ten-most-recent-reads/
I’ve liked a few of Ian McEwan’s books, but he’s gotten really pretentious. ‘Nutshell’ was unbearable. Great list! 🙂
Yeah, I should have known better really. The last one I read before Machines Like Me was Solar and I hated it. Really pretentious as you say.
TAKE NOTHING WITH YOU sounds excellent. I’d never heard of it before, so thanks for the heads-up!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I love Patrick Gale. He’s one of my favourite writers. It was a lovely read.
I might have to pick up The Problem with Men! Interesting that you rated Where the Crawdads Sing so lowly. I haven’t read it, but literally everyone I know who has read it, loved it. Always nice to have a differing opinion!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
I don’t tend to do well with books that other people love. I often feel like the lone dissenting voice.
Richard Herring’s book sounds fun.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/05/04/top-ten-tuesday-314/
The Problem with Men sounds great!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-my-ten-most-recent-reads/