Sunday, February 14, 2010

Top 10 Reads - Part 2

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Why did I wait so long to read this brilliant book?


I got this Man Booker prize winner as a present in 2002 and for some reason just let it sit on my bookshelf........for quite a while.


So, some seven years later I finally got around to reading it and absolutely loved it.

It’s the story of 16-year-old Pi Patel who is adrift trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.


This book is magical realism at its best - completly taking you away on this amazing journey. It is a real feat of story telling. And there is just a wonderful humanity in the book as the story connects religion, science, families and faith.

Shōgun - James Clavell
Clavell can sure tell a story! This blockbuster, at over 1000 pages long, had me staying up until all hours the night for marathon reading sessions.

Shogun is the engrossing story of a shipwrecked British sailor, John Blackthorne, who ends up playing a central role in the power struggle between two daimyos Toranaga and Ishido.

The characters are not only believable, but the narrative twist and turns quite breath taking. Indeed, plots and counter plots and political manuoevring between the characters makes it a gripping read.


But be warned, if you start this book it will take over your life.

The Sweet Life in Paris - David Lebovitz

I have previously blogged about The Sweet Life in Paris and how Lebovitz's funny and insightful take on living in Paris. Having visited and stayed with family in Paris, he is soooo spot on about their little quirks and contradictions!

Lebovtiz is the David Sedaris of food writing. Enough said.

On the topic of list and of course being a huge list maker myself, I found the Guardian's Top Ten Series fantastic. Check out for the instance the Top 10 Vampire books or Top 10 Victorian detective stories.

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