As Father Time closed the book on 2009, many of my fellow bloggers were posting “Best of the Decade” lists, covering everything from film to literature. These lists sparked a lot of lively debate as well as good-natured, and not-so-good-natured derision regarding whether or not 2010 was actually the start of a new decade or the last full year in the first decade of the 2000’s.

Although I hate missing an opportunity to talk about good books, there were too many other things I had in my posting schedule at the close of 2009 and start of 2010 to participate and so I gave up on the idea. Thanks to the courage of Joe Sherry, who recently jumped into the fray with his “19 Books of the Decade” post, I decided to resurrect the idea as a Friday Favorites post and list my own personal Top 20 reads of the 2000’s.

The criteria I used for this is that the book had to be published in the year 2000 up through the present and, of course, I had to have read it! Hardly the scientific method! In looking over what I had read for the last 10 years I looked for books that have stayed with me in some form or other since I first read them. These are books that I rated highly, raved about (when I did a review, which I have done for almost all of them), and books that I would happily reread safe in the knowledge that I would continue to find them an immensely pleasurable experience.

This is not THE best of the decade, this is MY top twenty of the decade. Chances are there are incredible, amazing books published in the last ten years that I have yet to discover, books that you passionately believe I should read, and read NOW, and I hope you’ll take the time in the comments to not only praise/deride my choices but to speak about your choices as well.

For every book that I’ve reviewed I have linked said review to the book title. Feel free to click over there if you want to find out why these books have made a lasting impression and why you might just want to give them a try yourself.

The Time Traveler’s Wife ~Audrey Niffenegger

In August 2005 I said:

“It is no secret that reading is one of my great loves and I have a pretty good knack for choosing books that I end up enjoying. That being said the books that grab on to me and won’t let go…those that talk to me while I am sleeping and say “Quit wasting time, read me!” are few and far between. The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of those books. Despite clocking in at a hearty 536 pages the time literally flew by as I was lost in its pages.”

The Time Traveler’s Wife remains one of the most emotionally engaging reading experiences I have ever had. Fantastic character development in a page-turning format.

The Knight/The Wizard ~Gene Wolfe

This two book collection is meant to be read as one book, thus its sharing a spot in my Top 20.

I followed up The Time Traveler’s Wife in August of ’05 with a September ’05 reading of this incredible fantasy, my first experience with the writing of Gene Wolfe. My thoughts:

“It is very hard to describe Gene Wolfe’s writing style as it is like nothing I have read before. It is obvious that there is a classic mythology and folklore running throughout the story and it is written so well that one is tempted to do research to see if this mythology exists or if it was simply made up in Wolfe’s imagination. Although there is a linear progression to the story Wolfe does not write everything in a dry “this happened and then that happened” format. Instead the reader is sometimes given sketchy or incomplete information from the narrator that is fleshed out later on. This makes for a more intelligent, thought provoking read and compels the reader to continue on devouring the books to see what happens next. Though written only a few years ago these books had the feel of classic literature in the vein of Dickens or Stoker and yet Wolfe’s voice is quite unique.”

The Graveyard Book ~Neil Gaiman

This multiple-award-winning coming of age tale, written as an homage to the work of Rudyard Kipling, can be argued by some (myself included depending on my mood for the day) to be Neil Gaiman’s best work to date. I read this one cover-to-cover on October 1st, 2008 and, as pretentious as this may seem, actually spent some of my time that day reading this book in our local graveyard.

What I said then holds true today:

“Very early into the pages of the novel I let out an audible sigh of contentment, here, in my very hands, was a true Neil Gaiman story. It was a simple turn of phrase, but I heard it in Neil’s voice and it took me back more than ten years to a moment early in Neverwhere in which I knew my literary life had changed and I had discovered an author who knew just how to write a story for me. We have all had those moments, at least I certainly hope we have. For me it was with Neil Gaiman and Neverwhere and a door opened within me that has never been closed. I changed as a reader and I changed in the way I viewed the world and what I wanted out of the world. That is why I get excited for each and every new Neil Gaiman novel. That is also why I enter into each book with fear and trepidation. I am a faithful worshiper, but I believe I do so with a critical and honest eye. And I am positively glowing with satisfaction over my experience with this book. I feel full, I feel content, and I feel like I have made new life-long friends.

Not every author can successfully navigate the waters of young adult fiction and produce something that works on many levels for readers at all different stages of growth and maturity. Neil Gaiman can, and Neil Gaiman does. When Gaiman is at his best, on top of his game as he is in The Graveyard Book, one gets the sense that there is something lingering there, just under the surface, that he is not quite telling you. That feeling is the delicious ecstasy that makes Neil Gaiman my favorite living author. Whether real or simply well-crafted you get the sense that references and characters are based on real, perhaps even forgotten, history and mythology. Writing in that way is truly a gift and I must express my most sincere thanks to Neil Gaiman for another story that will join the elite list of books I re-read regularly.”

Chasm City ~Alastair Reynolds

If you are like me, you are forever looking for new authors that excite you so much you cannot wait to devour everything they have ever written. The reason I feel this way is partially because so many of my favorite living authors are not writing fast enough for me! 😉 In this one book, read late in 2009, Alastair Reynolds has become one of those authors whose work I will be savoring. My review in a nutshell:

“There is so much going on in this nearly 700 page novel (paperback edition) that it would be impossible to write a decent synopsis without recreating a good deal of the novel itself. Suffice it to say that this is an adventure novel set in a science fiction universe that is diverse and complex without being difficult for the lay reader to access. Alastair Reynolds packs so much into this book without it ever getting away from the main storyline, the threads of which he weaves together with such precision that one cannot help getting lost in the wonder of it all. Chasm City is chock-full of action, adventure, mystery, wonder and discovery. There are twists and turns and revelations that keep the story moving, and when that final page is turned I guarantee that the reader will sit back with the same big sigh of satisfaction that I experienced when I finished it in the wee hours of this morning.”

The Thirteenth Tale ~Diane Setterfield

I love classic, gothic literature, and to read a contemporary story with a gothic feel gave me no end of pleasure. The Thirteenth Tale is a book that sits on my shelf, forever whispering of the delights to be had in a re-read. I read it upon its release in September of 2006 and said:

“It is a dark and stormy night as I write this. Or, to be more accurate, a dark and stormy morning. The weather reflects the exquisite melancholy that has settled itself upon me at the completion of The Thirteenth Tale. Diane Setterfield’s debut novel is one of those all-too-rare stories that gets under your skin, that grabs hold of your imagination with both hands and won’t let go.

I have cherised the reading of this book over the last week. All other books were set aside. When I wasn’t reading The Thirteenth Tale, I was thinking about it, remembering it. I looked forward to those stolen moments when I might be able to read but a few pages as much as I did those hours that I could devote to the tale. I hung on every word and savored The Thirteenth Tale as one would a well-prepared meal. And now it has ended and, contrary to my normal habits I am not anxious to pick up the next story. I am not yet ready to move on.”

Sword Edged Blonde / Burn Me Deadly ~Alex Bledsoe

Over the last several years I have developed a deep affection for the Sword and Sorcery genre AND for hard-boiled/noir/detective fiction. When I read that Alex Bledsoe was combining these genres I had my doubts about its success. I love being proved wrong:

“I can say with unequivocal delight that it lived up to my expectations and, quite frankly, exceeded them. Allow me to elaborate. Back cover quotes indicating a humorous aspect to this book had me wondering if it would play out more along the lines of a parody, a spoof of these various genres. While I love a good parody, I was hoping for something more with this book. Alex Bledsoe delivered. He manages to take a concept that could have easily crossed the line from fun to farcical and instead creates a gripping noir detective novel set in the lush fantasy realm of the sword and sorcery genre. Throughout the tale Bledsoe manages the fine-line-walking act of immersing the reader in this medieval setting while staying true to the drama and suspense of a good mystery.”

Needless to say I was thrilled when Alex Bledsoe chose to continue the adventures of Eddie LaCrosse. Imagine my excitement when Burn Me Deadly turned out to be every bit as much fun as its predecessor:

“Alex Bledsoe had merged the genres of sword-and-sorcery and pulp noir so successfully that I was unsure if such an amalgam could ever be topped. To which Mr. Bledsoe has now replied (to the voices in my head, at any rate), “Take that!”…

Alex Bledsoe proved in his first novel that he could deftly interweave the kind of literary worlds created by authors like Robert E. Howard and Ian Fleming, infuse it with a witty sense of humor that respects both genres, and in the course of so doing breathe life into these well-worn literary conventions. Then he went out and did it again.”

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie ~Alan Bradley

“When a book with a lovely apple-green cover locks eyes with you on an innocent stroll through your local purveyor of books, and then continues to whisper insistently at the back of your mind for days upon days upon days, what is a person to do? I submit that the only thing to do is to adopt the little beauty, for a small fee, and give it a loving home.

Pardon my french, dear readers, but To Be Read pile be damned, this book needs to find a home with you, immediately!”

I fell hard, very hard, for this book and since September of 2009 have continued to sing its praises.

“If you took the most charming parts of Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple, and Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle and mixed in a dash of Sherlock Holmes the result of that concoction would be Flavia de Luce. She, and her story, are a true delight. The words “captivating”, “enchanting”, “charming” are bandied about in a cavalier fashion far too often–and I am chief among sinners in that department–but believe me when I tell you that they are at most merely adequate descriptors of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.”

Hunter’s Run ~Dozois, Abraham, Martin

I mentioned in my review that despite some positive experiences, I tend to look askance at collaborative novels and had some real concerns about the quality of a novel worked on by three authors, over the period of thirty years. A few pages in I realized that I had an extreme dislike for the main character and wondered just how I could possibly remain engaged with him for the length of the entire novel. I did:

“What follows is a story that is made up of equal parts adventure/survival tale and psychological drama, set against the backdrop of a future world in which man is struggling to survive amidst much more powerful alien races. One of the first things I noticed about Hunter’s Run is that in no place did I feel like this novel was written by more than one person. It flows so well and is written with such consistency that I have to give kudos to these three authors for crafting such a complete story. Hunter’s Run is certainly science fiction in terms of the world it is set in and the presence of aliens and future technology, but those details integrated seamlessly into the background of a familiar and yet well-told tale of self-discovery.

Hunter’s Run may not be a deep and life-altering work of science fiction. That is just fine. Hunter’s Run turns out to be an interesting psychological drama ensconced in a fast-paced adventure story that more than lives up to the fantastic Stephan Martiniere image that graces its cover. This is collaboration at its finest. If you are looking for an engaging and entertaining read, you cannot go wrong with this story.”

After I finished this book I mentally added it to the list that includes Alfred Bester’s classics, The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man of books with rough, hard to like protagonists whose stories end up being re-readable favorites.

Old Man’s War / The Ghost Brigades ~John Scalzi

I included the these two books together because I personally like The Ghost Brigades a smidge better than Old Man’s War, but both books are amazing and, in my opinion, TGB doesn’t work as well without OMW.

From my original review:

“For me this novel was the very best of what I have read of both Robert A. Heinlein and Harry Harrison. Romance, adventure, and humor are mixed with standard science fiction elements to produce a very entertaining novel. This is John Scalzi’s debut novel and at this year’s Hugo Awards he won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for Old Man’s War. I personally think it was a well-deserved honor. Publisher’s Weekly, in their starred review of Old Man’s War, said it better than I ever could: “The story obviously resembles such novels as Starship Troopers and Time Enough for Love, but Scalzi is not just recycling classic Heinlein. He’s working out new twists, variations that startle even as they satisfy. The novel’s tone is right on target, too: sentimentality balanced by hardheaded calculation, know-it-all smugness moderated by innocent wonder. This virtuoso debut pays tribute to SF’s past while showing that well-worn tropes still can have real zip when they’re approached with ingenuity. I look forward to reading more of John Scalzi’s work in the near future.”

With OMW, John Scalzi rekindled that first love feeling for science fiction that was birthed in my early years. With TGB he proved that it need not be a fond remembrance of former love, but a long and enduring relationship.

Freaks ~Annette Curtis Klause

In July of 2007 I wrote:

“There are moments when you go to the bookstore with a specific purpose in mind, and you come home with the treasure you set out to find. There are other moments when one can wander around the bookstore experiencing myriad temptations, but nothing speaks to you. And then there are times like I had yesterday afternoon. Times in which you wander quite aimlessly to and fro and then a book catches your eye and you feel its pull and you just know that you will have to leave with that book. Yesterday that book was Freaks by Annette Curtis Klause…

Within a few pages, Freaks becomes a page turner. Mystery, suspense, and danger rub shoulders with romance, adventure, and intrigue. Powerful messages about acceptance of those around us lie just at the surface and yet those messages are never preachy or forced. Klause uses her words to provoke such an immediate sense of caring about these characters that you feel their plight and from the very beginning you are rooting for their success…

I highly recommend this book. It is a fascinating look into a part of our past that no longer exists wrapped up in a wonderful, adventure-filled romance. I look forward to reading more of Annette Curtis Klause’s work soon.”

Klause penned a story worthy of its fantastic James Jean cover. It is one of my little treasures that frequently finds its way to some part of my home decorating so that I can catch a glimpse at the cover whenever I walk by.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane ~Kate DiCamillo

I practically burst into tears whenever I see Kate DiCamillo’s name on a book. She has the ability to tug at my heart strings like no one else. For those who have read DiCamillo’s works, each has their favorite. This just happens to be mine.

“Some writers are good, some are entertaining, some talented, and some are truly gifted. Kate DiCamillo is a truly gifted writer. If you have children or ever will have children you owe it to them to purchase DiCamillo’s books now, in their nice hardback editions, as they should be shared and treasured. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is no exception.

The School Library Journal calls this story “achingly beautiful” and those two words are as apt a description as you can get. It is a story that both hurts and heals as you read it…

Even if you do not have children, I encourage you to partake of this wonderful story. It is 228 short pages (big words, few words to a page) and it goes by far too quickly. I read it from start to finish this morning. Good literature is simply that…its good…and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a complex piece of literature presented in a simple, yet profound story that I know you will love. Get to the library or the bookstore and read it. It is wonderful.”

The Book of Flying ~Keith Miller

My one-day, cover-to-cover read of this book in March of 2006 remains one of my most vivid reading experiences. This strange, melancholy tale (another stories within stories book) was profoundly moving. It is a book in which many of the characters loved books and reading which is one of the many reasons The Book of Flying endeared itself to me. One day I must re-read this not only to revisit the many characters who I bonded with during their brief moments on the page, but also to give it the kind of proper review I was lax in giving it the first time around.

Baltimore, Or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire ~Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden

This gem came out in August of 2007 and despite my initial thoughts about the ending, something that changed after a re-read of the final chapters, I considered this an instant classic in the gothic tradition:

“Baltimore is a book written in the old gothic style. It is a novel dripping with old-timey atmosphere and the writing style has such a nice flow to it that I was instantly swept up into the tale. As I read chapter after chapter I found Baltimore to be a book that I hated to have to put aside to resume life responsibilities. I just wanted to keep being told stories. That may be the reason I find myself lost in this type of story so easily, it feels as if I am sitting at the feet of a master storyteller, enraptured as they weave tale after delicious tale. That is certainly the cord that Baltimore struck with me. The tension builds and builds as each man in turns shares their own gothic tale, all the while becoming more and more anxious that Lord Baltimore himself has not shown up for their gathering. As darkness falls and all the stories are told, the suspense in the air is palpable.”

The stories within stories style of this book is one of my favorite methods of storytelling and this one works very, very well.

Peter Jackson: A Film Maker’s Journey ~Brian Sibley

Since I couldn’t manage to convince anyone that The Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Silmarillion came out in the 2000’s, is it any surprise that I managed to somehow get it into the “Top” conversation?!?! 🙂

Seriously though, despite its connections with this beloved fantasy, Brian Sibley’s extensive look into the life of Peter Jackson deserves all the accolades I have heaped on it and more.

“It may seem to be an exaggeration to say that a biography was a ‘couldn’t-put-it-down’ book but that is exactly what this book turned out to be…It is written in the kind of conversational tone that just pulls you right in and has you anticipating each new event in Peter Jackson’s film-making career.

And that is what makes this such a superb biography–it is called “A Film-Maker’s Journey” for a reason: it is about Peter Jackson the film-maker. Not Peter Jackson the son, the father, the partner, etc. Sure, all those things get treated in one from or another but are only touched on in ways that serve the main premise of the book: to showcase the rise of Peter Jackson as New Zealand’s premiere film-maker. As such you don’t get loads of introductory chapters explaining the gritty details of Peter Jackson’s upbringing. There is just enough detail there to give you an idea of his heritage and to later showcase just how important his parent’s patience and support was to his career.

This is a biography about a man’s passion and how he pursued that passion. It is evident early on that Peter Jackson has that genius touch when it comes to film-making…All throughout the book you get glimpses of just how creative and visionary Peter Jackson is. And yet all this is told in a way that isn’t an over-the-top Peter Jackson love-fest. Instead you get a very honest look into his growth and the creation of his films.

It is no great secret that I am immensely fond of Peter Jackson. I consider myself to be just on the sane side of being obsessed about him and his work. It doesn’t take too much searching to find a vocal and occasionally intelligent group of haters out there who delight in branding all fans of Peter Jackson as sheep, as band-wagon fans, etc. I disagree and honestly don’t mind their misguided criticism. Peter Jackson has earned my devotion. He did so with both with his spectacular rendering of the Lord of the Rings novels on the silver screen and with his equally spectacular behind the scenes access made available in the appendices of the the extended editions of all three films.”

Kabuki: The Alchemy ~David Mack

“This review is as much a statement on creativity and change as it is a review of David Mack’s latest graphic novel. Why? Because Kabuki: The Alchemy is as much a treatise on the creative process and an encouragement to “move your ass and make it happen” as it is the next chapter in the life of Mack’s seminal creation.

One of the many points David Mack makes in this semi-autobiographical work is that we often wait for some form of external validation before we will overcome the many and varied barriers that we erect to keep us from exploring our talents, from reaching our creative potential, and from being an agent of change in our own lives. Many forms of literature and art have layers of meaning. I am not sure that I have seen anything quite as obviously multi-layered that works so well from start to finish. The execution of this story is incredible.

Though the seventh volume in the graphic novel series chronicling the life of this female Japanese assassin, it is meant to function as a starting off point for new readers as well as a rewarding new direction in the storyline for those who have faithfully followed the series. Mack expertly weaves threads from the previous graphic novels into this tale and does so in a way that propels the story forward instead of it feeling like a series of flashbacks. I promise you this, The Alchemy is like nothing you have ever read before.”

I’ve not read all of the previous Kabuki volumes, but had read enough at the time this was released to both enjoy the continuation of the story and the motivational aspects of this book.

“I have a deep and abiding love for comic books, for graphic novels. That being said, only a handful of them have impacted me with the sort of “can’t-put-it-down, overwhelmed-with-the-beauty-of-it-all” feeling that I got from reading Kabuki: The Alchemy (and Kabuki: Metamorphosis, for that matter). David Mack’s work inspires me on so many levels that it is difficult to begin and to end a discussion of his creativity.”

The Manual of Detection ~Jedediah Berry

I picked up Jedediah Berry’s debut novel early in 2009 and then saved it to take on our annual anniversary trip. I knew it was going to be special. And it was. Time passed, our vacation ended, and I got busy and never did a review for this book. A true regret since it ended up being one of my top books for last year and deservedly belongs on this list. The Manual of Detection is yet another book that deserves a re-read and a review, not because I am some great addition to the literary critique landscape, but because one of my reasons for writing blog reviews is to share my passion for good books. Treating books somewhat anthropomorphically, this is one that I feel I’ve let down by not singing its praises.

Jedediah Berry has created a surreal, bizarre, imagination-fueling landscape and placed the most unlikely of heroes, a file clerk, right in the midst of a reality-twisting mystery. Publisher’s Weekly compares the work to Franz Kafka and Paul Auster, both are right on the money. The Manual of Detection is also an homage of sorts to Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man. I love the films so much that after reading Berry’s book I quickly devoured Hammett’s and loved seeing the way they complemented each other.

The Manual of Detection won the 2010 William L. Crawford Award for first novel, deservedly so in my opinion, and I hope to see it make the short list for other awards throughout the year.

The Alchemy of Stone ~Ekaterina Sedia

This was a book I purchased immediately upon release and then relinquished it to the To Be Read pile for many months. In August of 2009 the mood struck and I finally discovered for myself that Ekaterina Sedia deserves the praise she has received.

“From the opening chapter I was captivated with Mattie, with the story, and with Ekaterina Sedia’s writing style. Sedia writes her novels in English, they are not written in Russian and then translated. I cannot help but wonder if writing in her second language is part of what gives Sedia her unique voice. All speculation aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the manner in which she told Mattie’s tale.

As a machine with a desire to be free, learning how to make choices for herself and interact in a largely human world, Mattie becomes a vessel in which the concepts of free will, of humanity, of freedom, etc can be examined. She also is a unique character through which to view the positive and negative aspects of an industrial revolution. It wasn’t until I was finished with the novel that I read the back and saw those words ‘industrial revolution’ used to describe this tale. However, the entire time I was reading the story I was feeling a spirit of kinship between what Sedia was exploring and the environmental vs. industrial aspects of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. That feeling certainly mingled with the other feelings the story evoked to make this a very pleasurable read. Like The Lord of the Rings, at least my interpretation of it, there is a sense of loss and sadness–a melancholy mood–that pervades Mattie’s tale, as there is in any story that deals with the idea of change. Change, whether it be that brought on by growing up, as in [the movie] Labyrinth, for instance, or whether it be change brought about by progress, brings with it a sense of loss. Old things are often left behind, sometimes to the detriment of the individual, of society, or of both.”

Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror ~Chris Priestley

Discovered this past October, I wrote:

“Reading Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror was like opening a portal back to my childhood and days spent reading ghost story collections with illustrations by Edward Gorey. I read this book cover to cover, occasionally reading a story aloud to my wife, and it was a thrilling way to spend a long Sunday afternoon.

Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror is an homage to the kind of gothic storytelling that I find most pleasurable. Chris Priestley hearkened back to his own childhood reading for inspiration for this collection of tales and the influences and references are plentiful. The name Montague is a nod to Montague Rhodes James (M.R. James)…[and the] stories in this collection pay respect to stories by M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, and others.

This is exactly the kind of collection that would have made my spine tingle as a child and I am happy to report that I had that same experience as an adult. Chris Priestley is an immensely talented writer who is able to capture the spirit of an earlier time in terrifying literature for young imaginations and makes it alive in a way that grabs the attention of the contemporary reader. There was never any question of my finishing the book [in one day]. I just had to find out what was going on in Uncle Montague’s house and, like young Edgar [the book’s protagonist], was hungry for the next story as well.”

The Ladies of Grace Adieu ~Susanna Clarke

I had a real hard time when it came to choosing between the three anthologies that made my long-list, this one, Eclipse One, edited by Jonathan Strahan, and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams. In the end I chose the one that I have read more than once, including reading stories aloud to my wife: The Ladies of Grace Adieu.

“The conceit of The Ladies of Grace Adieu is that it is a collection of stories based in a world in which Faerie is every bit as real as the common world. Like Tolkien and others who have followed, Clarke’s works seek to establish a mythology and folklore for England based around the true existence of a magical realm. This volume begins with a fake introduction by Professor James Sutherland, Director of Sidhe studies at the University of Aberdeen. He proceeds to describe how one should approach the eight stories in this collection….

As the collection progresses one finds enchanting stories of strong, determined women, men befriended by faeries of renown, and tales in which the creatures of this magical realm trick and befuddle mankind. Included also are more light and easy-going stories that “describe the somewhat easier, less fraught relationship with fairies and magic which our English and Scottish ancestors once enjoyed”, a story set in the world created by Neil Gaiman for Stardust, and a very intriguing historical narrative concerning Mary, Queen of Scots.

Throughout all Clarke’s language delights. I personally felt as if I was reading stories written in the early part of the nineteenth century. More than once I compared the style to that of Jane Austen, most especially in one of my favorite stories of the collection, Mr. Simonelli or The Fairy Widower, whose introducing letter reads every bit like the letter Mr. Darcy leaves with Elizabeth Bennett after she has hurled accusations at him. The story then proceeds in diary format with characters named from a variety of Jane Austen novels and situations too similar at times to be anything but an homage to her work.”

Throughout several re-readings, the stories in this collection maintain their magic and I look forward to sampling from it each year for the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Halting State ~Charles Stross

“A post cyberpunk, near-future caper. A spy-vs-spy story of greed, fraud and deception set in and among the world of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). A police procedural techno-thriller with undercurrents of espionage and a healthy dose of so-near-you-can-almost-taste-it technology. A tale filled with hi-tech big-brother-is-watching-you gadgetry and gaming in-jokes with a dash of geek-on-geek romance thrown in for good measure.

These run on sentence, sound bite descriptions of Hugo and Locus award-winning author Charles Stross’ novel Halting State barely scratch the surface of the genres and sub-genres of storytelling that Stross successively incorporates into this arresting (pardon the pun) tale. Halting State is a novel whose technical achievement and craft is no doubt more readily apparent to those with a heady knowledge of computer science and online gaming and yet the novel maintains a sense of accessibility for the newbie throughout because of the backbone that this structure is built on: a good old fashioned heist story.”

This was not only my first experience with Charles Stross, it was my first experience reading a novel told in the second person narrative voice. While initially jarring, I quickly got into the flow of the book and I ended up enjoying it tremendously. This is one I checked out from the library yet have every intention of adding to my own personal library soon.
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Well, there you have it, my “as of now” list of the best books published in the last 10 years which I’ve read. Over the course of the next several years I will no doubt read other books published within this time frame that may give one of more of these books a run for their money. I sincerely hope that I do, after all, we all want our reading experiences to be first-rate! There are many other books that I had difficulty leaving off this list, but I made the determination to pick 20…and quite frankly, I cheated a bit with some dual entries! Ha!

One of my most tempting cheats, which I’ll mention here, is the desire to include J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumous work, The Children of Hurin. Though published in the 2000s, I decided that since most of it was written well before this century that it would end up being an asterisk entry to the list. It certainly was one of my favorite reads of the last decade and led to a conversation in the comments of the review that were so fantastic that I have a link to this post listed in with my Blog Links.

Now it is your turn, what are your favorite reads of the last decade? I’d love to know. After all, the to be read pile is starting to trim down….*cough* 😉 …okay, I couldn’t even type that and keep a straight face.