Best of the Decade - Jocelyn's Young Adult Picks

Graceling (2008) by Kristin Cashore

I've written about this one before: it has a fantastic plot, a wonderfully strong and independent female lead, and lots of action/adventure mixed with a nice amount of romance. Just a great read.

Jellicoe Road (2006) by Melina Marchetta

One of my all-time favourite books: it defies description but it's beautiful and heartbreaking.

The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins

A popular title, this one's being talked up by lots of people right now, but deservedly so. It's a vicious, darker version of Survivor with much higher stakes. It has shades of the short story, "The Most Dangerous Game"

Harry Potter (end of series) by J.K. Rowling
Do I seriously need to tell anyone about these books? In a recent Literary Smackdown at the Keshen Goodman branch, HP beat out Twilight as the better and more enduring series. I believe the winning debaters were right.

Would You? (2008)

by Marthe Jocelyn
This was one of my first introductions to YA lit and I went in expecting very little. This book kept me up way past my bedtime, because I couldn't possibly go to sleep without knowing what would happen to the sisters. It's a heartbreaker and as much as I *swore* that it was not gonna make me cry, once I turned the last page I sat and bawled my eyes out.

Artemis Fowl series (2001-08) by Eoin Colfer
Artemis is a great character and these books are just pure fun and entertainment. As much as I admire Artie, and as fond as I am of the Elf Captain, Holly, my favourite character would be Mulch, the super stealthy dwarf robber who tunnels through rock and dirt by gulping it in and, well, expelling it in great bursts of air!

Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (2008) by E. Lockhart
Another strong female lead, Frankie is smarter, funnier, and way more clever than the boys she attends school with. The fun is in proving it.

Uglies series (2005-07) by Scott Westerfeld
A great dystopic series that comments on consumerism, our fascination with celebrity and beauty, and our growing dependence on technology and gadgets. It's also a rollicking adventure.

Georgia Nicolson series (2000-09)

by Louise Rennison
Georgia consistently makes me laugh out loud in a way no book has ever managed. Her relationship with her insufferably embarrassing parents, the way she devolves into complete teenager self-focus and drama queen-ishness, and that she visits a guy who has selflessly offered his services as a practice snogger (for a small fee for his time): it's all awesome.

The Crazy Man (2005) by Pamela Paige Porter
Written in free verse, Porter's book won a slew of awards for its story of a young Saskatchewan girl, badly hurt in the accident that scared her father off, and the giant of a man her mother hires from the local psychiatric hospital to help them work the farm. It's a beautiful story of fear, anger, heartbreak, discrimination, and acceptance.

Best of the Decade - Eric's Top Ten Graphic Novels for the Oughts

These are not necessarily the best of the best of '00 to '09. I'm sure I've forgotten a tonne and missed even more. And I know for a fact that I am heavily biased towards any character in a cape. Take the following with a grain of salt. In no particular order:

* Mark Millar became my new writer-to-watch when I discovered Wanted (Top Cow Comics, 2003/2004). Forget the movie adaptation; an Earth run by super-villains is both intriguing and violent. Our "hero" is a failure of a man, until he's informed he's the son of the world's greatest killer. Then the bullets fly. But he's also on my watch list because of...

* ...The Civil War mini-series (Marvel Comics, 2006/2007). All super-people are blamed for the tragic deaths of hundreds of civilians. America demands government control: the Super-Human Registration Act. Any Cape that does not publicly register their secret identity is branded a traitor. Teams are torn apart, bizarre allegiances are made. And it all leads up to some of the darkest moments in Marvel history.

* Neil Gaiman, whose works are often more dreamlike than super-heroic, surprised everyone with his re-envisioning of the Marvel universe. Four hundred years early. Marvel 1602 (Marvel Comics, 2003) takes our post-modern Capes and places them in the court of Queen Elizabeth. Beautifully illustrated and curiously plotted, this tale remains true to the characters and yet true to the period.

* Speaking of history, Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (America's Best Comics, 2000 / Top Shelf, 2002) is a mash-up of the best Victorian adventure tales . Like most of Moore's work, the first two volumes are compelling and clever, but quickly turns indulgent and weird. Nonetheless, this series dazzles with its literary references.

* More modern, and for Canadian content, check out Darwyn Cooke's DC: the New Frontier (DC comics, 2004). Two volumes summarize the entire Silver Age of DC comics...15 years in a solid, 50's kitch epic!

* And looking to the future, WE3 (Vertigo, 2004) is Grant Morrison's terrifying take on the future of war. Imagine: An Incredible Journey (Carl Burger, 1961) where the pets are armed with guns and cyber-implants! Bloody and tragic, and sadly not outside the realm of possibility. But then, who wouldn't want a robo-bunny with grenades?

* Fables and Jack of Fables, by Bill Willingham (Vertigo, 2002). See my previous post to know how much I love these series.

Fans of fairy tales, legends and lore, myth, magic and mayhem will find exactly all these things and more in the on-going comic book series Fables....

* Fans of writer/director/producer Joss Whedon received two amazing surprises in the Oughts. With his TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer canceled in its 7th season, the gang re-appeared in Buffy: Season 8 (Dark Horse Comics, 2007). What happens to the world when any girl could be a slayer? What happens when vampires become media darlings? What happens when the military declares war on magic? And also from Joss Whedon...

* ...Astonishing X-Men Series 3 (Marvel comics, 2004). Spanning four volumes, the world's mightiest mutants revel in John Cassaday's wonderful art and Whedon's exceptional writing. The team reforms, new and old villains arise, a dead hero returns and another dies. And Wolverine makes dollies.

* Last on my list (and quite possibly my number 1) is an entirely new series, practically its own brand. Running strong since its inception in 2000, Ultimate Marvel is a re-imagining of key characters, distilled and modernized. Top-rated artists and writers bring classic super-human stories to a new generation by darkening the heroes, sympathizing with the villains, and telling tales avoided in the core Marvel series.

Best of the decade - Kristina's Picks

I learned a lot about my reading habits when I sat down and tried to compile a list of my ten favourite books of the last decade. In terms of fiction, I realized that characters are probably the most important aspect of a book to me: if you asked me about these books I would inevitably talk about their characters first. Additionally, I like fiction that leaves me thinking. Which makes it unsurprising that I also like a bit of nonfiction. I don’t need a pacey plot or a lot of action but I like a good exploration of the human condition. I’m a fan of quirky stylistic decisions and a story with a bit of dark humour in it doesn't bother me in the least.

I haven’t put these books in a rank order because that would take me a really .... long .... time, so I took a short cut and put them in date order instead.

White Teeth (2000) by Zadie Smith: The decade started well with this ambitious yet comical look at life in modern Britain.

The Dark Room (2001) by Rachel Seiffert: three novellas of the impact of World War II on the lives of ordinary Germans

Fast Food Nation: the dark sSide of the all American meal (2001) by Eric Schlosser: There are several other food issue books that could have made this but Schlosser’s book was largely responsible for getting me interested in food issues in the first place.

Clara Callan (2002) by Richard Wright: A novel of two sisters living in depression era Canada and New York. Probably the first epistolary novel I’ve really liked. The male author creates vivid and believable female characters.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005) by Jonathan Safran Foer: The NYC crossing adventure of an eccentric young boy grieving the loss of his father in the Sept 11th attacks that is the very definition of bittersweet.

Consider the lobster and other essays (2005) by David Foster Wallace: I will resist the urge to include a foot note in my description of this book of wonderful, intelligent, funny essays.

Half of A Yellow Sun (2006) by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie: historical fiction of the 1960s Nigerian Civil War and its impact on two sisters and their families.

Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic (2006) by Alison Bechdel:. A graphic novel autobiography of family turmoil with simple, black and white line drawings.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics (2006) by Marisha Pessl: I’ve talked about this book a lot in other places, including here.

The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy: A man and a boy walk through a destroyed America after an unnamed postapocalyptic event. Beautiful and unnerving.

Best of the Decade - Maureen's Picks

2000 The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood - I do enjoy a long complex family saga which gives you the opportunity to see the full scope of a character's life. The Blind Assassin was especially complicated with it's novel within a novel structure and its revelations of family secrets.

2001 Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey - For me, a great book is all about the characters and the human relationships. I enjoy thrillers and mysteries too, but they would not fall in my list of best books. Donna Morrissey creates characters, which are not always pretty, but are certainly intense and honest. For me, her books have a Thomas Hardy feel.

2002 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - I picked up this book because everyone was talking about it. I was reluctant at first because I thought I would find a story from the perspective of a murdered child to be too sad. Of course it was sad. A wasted life and wasted opportunities. Sad, but not maudlin or sentimental. A touching picture of a family in mourning.

2003 The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin - I initially chose this book because I enjoy Steve Martin so much. Stories about eccentrics are very appealing to me and Martin's characters are certainly quirky. He's a wild and crazy guy.

2004 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth - In this novel the examination of character moves in scale from the individual to the nation. A big novel with a lot of big ideas to consider. In this alternate history Lindbergh (an isolationist and suspected Nazi sympathizer) defeats Roosevelt in the 1940 election.

2005 The Sea by John Banville - I listened to The Sea on cd while spending the day doing a mundane task. Again, the examination of a life. I'm beginning to see a trend here. Following the death of his wife, Max returns to a seaside locale where he and his family spent the summer. Intense memories are relived triggering one distant but shocking event.

2006 Old Filth by Jane Gardam - Hmmm....relflection of an elderly man on his life. I wrote about it here.

2007 Bloodletting and Other Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam - Lam's book is not a reflection of a long life lived, but of events that are immediate and urgent. More here. I am normally not a fan of medical movies, television shows or books. This one is the exception.

2008 Deaf Sentence by David Lodge - Lodge has been writing fiction, largely funny campus novels, for many years. This is the one I've enjoyed the most. From what can only be personal experience, he describes the life of person growing more deaf in a hearing world. A funny and modest tale of growing older.

2009 You Better Watch Out by Greg Malone - I have mention this one before as well. I stand by opinion that is a memoir that not only captures the perspective of a child but also entertains and amuses. It was also made meaningful since the location and its history is intimate for me also.

and 2010 we'll just to wait and see.

Best of the Decade: Laurel's Picks

As the Collection Access (aka “Cataloguing”) Librarian at HPL, I see a lot of books, CDs and DVDs as they make their way out into our library branches. Although I’m usually a chick lit and romance reader, I really enjoy reading any kind of fiction, if the story line catches my interest. Romance or mystery, I tend to gravitate toward fiction that feels “real” as if it could really happen or is based around true events or situations. If I do stray into non-fiction, they tend to be memoirs.

In compiling this list, I’ve realized that in the past 10 years, my reading habits have changed. While still a fan of the romance genre, I have found myself moving out of my self-defined reading patterns, exploring new genres, authors or topics. In particular, I’ve started exploring Canadian fiction and authors.

While the titles on my list are primarily fiction, they cover a broad range of topics and authors. I’ve done this on purpose, listing a variety of books I’ve read in the past ten years, rather than the “best”. Each book was chosen with care because, in their own way, each has influenced my reading habits of today.

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill

Ava Comes Home by Leslie Crew

Black Snow: a story of love and destruction by Jon Tattrie

The Only Girl in the Car: a memoir by Kathy Dobie

Stolen lives: twenty years in a desert jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi

But wait…it was at this point in writing and thinking about this blog post that I realized that while 5 books came easily to mind, coming up with an additional 5 was nearly impossible. Confession: while I read a lot of books, many are purely for the sake of relaxation. Wanting to make this list meaningful, the five that I’ve listed above are books that stayed with me after I read them. So, while I’ve read more than 5 books published in the last 10 years, these are the most noteworthy to me!

So, the following 5 titles are books that I want to read based on reviews, have made a major “splash” in the literary world (or at least in my literary circles), or books that friends highly recommend.

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Attack by Yasmina Khadra

The Lovely Bones: a novel by Alice Sebold

*Fox Girl by Nora Okja Keller (HPL only has this title in Korean at this time, but we are

attempting to obtain an English edition too)

At first I thought this was going to be easy. The first couple of titles were, but trying to make it to 10 wasn’t as simple as I thought. What about you? When you really think about it, what are the top 10 books in the past 10 years that have influenced you, had an impact or have you considered the “best”?