Top Books of the Noughties - vote now.

Eason's are carrying out a poll to determine their top books of the Noughties. Some interesting choices in there - as well as some that aren't fit even to line a budgie's cage.

Vote for your top 5 and you're in with a chance of winning the Top 50.

There weren't too many Crime or Science Fiction novels (now there's a surprise) but some of the books I really enjoyed were included. For what it's worth my 5 were:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonatahn Lethem
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

It's probably esy to get all arty and literary and pick the most highbrow and critically acclaimed but I just plumped for the five on the list that I enjoyed the most - which, when it comes to reading, is the only criteria I use.

If there's any justice The Sea won't make the final list but I wouldn't be holding my breath!

Oh and I added The Enemy by Charlie Higson (zombies - of a sort) and Winterland by Alan Glynn (Irish Crime writer) to my to-be-read pile. That book token pile is decreasing slowly.

Books, Books Everywhere

As usual, Santa delivered the goods and a bagful of books descended on the Burke household. Yours truly didn't get as many as in previous years (but did get a wodge of book tokens) but I did receive Under the Dome - a real return to form by Stephen King - and Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett.

N1S picked up Changeling by Steve Feasey (which I have now read and saw that it was good), Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (I read the first few chapters online and it's very promising) and Silvertongue by Charlie Fletcher (last volume in his excellent Stoneheart triology and also on the to-be-read list).



N2S got a Horrible Histories boxed set (nice!), Dreadnought the latest HIVE novel by Mark Walden and Syren the latest in Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series.

N3S got a boxed set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and has not only read each of them over and over but insisted we get him the latest book as well. Result!

All in all there's plenty there to keep all of us going for the foreseeable future.

And a good start to the New Year

Last Week's Top Ten eBooks at Waterstone's
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1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Transworld Digital)
2. The Third Pig Detective Agency by Bob Burke (HarperCollins e-books)
3. Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
4. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Hachette Digital)
5. Not Dead Enough by Peter James
6. FlashForward by Robert J. Sawyer (Gollancz)
7. The Unlacing of Miss Leigh by Diane Gaston (Mills & Boon)
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Hachette Digital)
9. The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Hachette Digital)

Bloody Dan Brown and his mega-seller :o)