I read a lot of books this year. Most of them I listed on this homepage, but I read a lot before this particular page came into existance. Here are my favourites of this year.
Of Marriageable Age - Sharon Maas (June 6, 2004) I've never read a book quite like this before. A tale that moves all over the world, about an Indian family and a forbidden romance. Simply wonderful. I didn't want to the story to end. To call it a romance is a misnomer though, it showed me a world that I had never entered before. Excellent.
The Adventure of English - Melvyn Bragg (August 28, 2004) NF A non fiction book that was just fascinating. As an English teacher, and as a person who often wonders "How did we get that word?" I thought it was an amazing ride through this language of mine.
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz (November 12, 2004) I've been reading Dean Koontz for years, but this one really stuck in my memory. A young man who sees dead people, and tries to help them with the help of his friends, both dead and undead.
Tipping the Velvet - Sarah Waters (October 18, 2004) I read three novels by Sarah Waters and this was my favourite. She is a modern writer writing about the Victorian times. The heroine of this novel goes from an oyster restaurant to the stages of London to being a kept woman to being destitute, finally to end up on a political platform. Well written, and very very interesting. All three of her books have been good reads.
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (August 2, 2004) A story told by a ghost of her life, murder and her family's life after the crime. Un-putdown-able.
And now, the worst of the year.
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown (November 3, 2004) I was going to choose The Davinci Code, but this one was even worse. Dan Brown can tell a good yarn, but his writing is terrible and characterizations are non-existant. This is some nonsense about the pope dying and the struggle to elect another one. However, the leading Cardinals have been taken hostage and then are killed in various nasty ways. Bleck.
