April 2013
Mahoosive apologies for the delay in updating this site - it's not been an easy few months and I can only thank you all ( especially those lovely authors waiting patiently to see their names on the top ten list) for your untiring patience. Hopefully I will get the chance to update this on a monthly basis from now on ... I'm just not promising anything. There are a COUPLE of changes this month, a few new entries too. Some of those new entries will be given a review in the next few days so keep your eyes open for that. Here it is at last! :-)
Adults
Children's
If you have sent me a book which you want to be considered for the top ten, please bear in mind two things: One, I lead a HECTIC life at the moment so getting through your book MAY take a while. Secondly, the list is constantly in flux - my panel of readers and I discuss the list on a monthly basis - I have 40 children's and 40 adults (I don't read them all) to choose from and the panel put them in order. I have to declare an expression of interest if I put one forward - I have the deciding decision on number one but that is as far as it goes ... so if you make it into the charts, you have done so on your own merits. Having said that, one or two people ask why their positions are not where they expected ... this is because I have not been able to update the site on a monthly basis for some time - this is the up to date list. I do have a co-editor who is willing to step in - in the future, she will take over if I am unable to update the site.
Well done to those who got into the top ten this month. Until next time.
Adults
- Kiss her Goodbye - Harvey Burgess (can ANYONE knock this guy off the top spot?)
- Einstein's Dice - Geoffrey Owen
- Caly's Piece - Jennifer Miller
- Silenced - RaeBeth McGee-Buda
- 9/11 - Michael Rowland
- The Boy Named Lucifer - Christi Kari
- My Mom My Hero - Lisa Hirsch
- Deadly Recall - Donnell Ann Bell
- The Danish Pastry - LaRae Perry
- Bridging The Gaps - Kate Warren
Children's
- Dreams, Ghosts and Coffins - Jeanette Andersen
- Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynn Jones
- Gabriella, The Tale of a Misfit Fairy - Nancy Hill
- Elias and the Legend of Sirok - Edward G Kardos
- Leap Year - Daniel M Warloch
- The Kingdom Keepers - Ridley Pearson
- Forty Days and Forty Nights, Rain Rain Rain - Joan Goss
- The Children of the Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
- Emerald Star - Jacqueline Wilson
- Angels and Warriors, The Awakening - Dawn Tevy
If you have sent me a book which you want to be considered for the top ten, please bear in mind two things: One, I lead a HECTIC life at the moment so getting through your book MAY take a while. Secondly, the list is constantly in flux - my panel of readers and I discuss the list on a monthly basis - I have 40 children's and 40 adults (I don't read them all) to choose from and the panel put them in order. I have to declare an expression of interest if I put one forward - I have the deciding decision on number one but that is as far as it goes ... so if you make it into the charts, you have done so on your own merits. Having said that, one or two people ask why their positions are not where they expected ... this is because I have not been able to update the site on a monthly basis for some time - this is the up to date list. I do have a co-editor who is willing to step in - in the future, she will take over if I am unable to update the site.
Well done to those who got into the top ten this month. Until next time.
January 2013
Happy New Year! Sorry it's a bit late but I've had a hectic few weeks. Here is the top ten list for adults and children. Let me know if you have any other suggestions my panel and myself should consider. Most have moved this month but a few are still the same: Some movers and shakers too ...
Adults
Children's
Adults
- Kiss her Goodbye - Harvey Burgess
- 9/11 - Michael Rowland
- I, Michael Bennett - James Patterson
- The Casting of Einsteins Dice - Geoffrey Owen
- Angels and Warriors, The Awakening - Dawn Tevy
- The Affair - Lee Childs
- Rhanna at War - Christine Marion Fraser
- The Other Side of the Glass - Cristi Kari
- The Drop - Michael Connelly
- Dead Tomorrow - Peter James
Children's
- Leap Year - Daniel M Warloch
- Tom's Midnight Garden - Philippa Pearce
- Room on the Broom - Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheff
- The Diddakoi - Rumer Godden
- Whispered Secret - Obert Skye
- Sapphire Battersea - Jacqueline Wilson
- Sammy Cricket Gets Into Trouble - Annie Bessant
- Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg - Gail Carson Levine
- The Snail and the Whale - Julia Donaldson
- Mixed up Fairies - Hilary Robinson and Nick Sharratt
Top Ten Books
December 2012
You asked for it, so you've got it here is the top ten books for 2012 for adults - the children's will be announced tomorrow (the voting for that section will be jointly decided between myself and Amanda George who runs a website which includes reviews of children's books. I will include a link to her site tomorrow. This will be a monthly list of the top ten best books WE HAVE READ each month.
Tomorrow I will launch the Children's Top Ten of December 2012. These books will NOT necessarily only have been published within the last month, they are simply the ones we have read and agree are excellent.. It has been incredibly difficult to separate the top four books in this section - technically it was felt they were ALL well deserving number ones but we had to place them in an order so we looked for various criterion!
If you have read a book and you would like to see it listed up here, feel free to contact me (via the contact page - the areas marked with an asterisk are COMPULSORY - I cannot respond unless you give me a clue - your telephone number or email address. I do get back to people but I would ask that you bear with me as I have hit a particularly busy time. If you recommend a book make sure to tell me the full name and the author, whether it is available on Kindle/Kobo or if it is in paperback - if you could tell me the ISBN number that would be great but it's not essential. I look forward to hearing from you.
Enjoy browsing through this list - I would be interested in your feedback on whether you agree that they have earned a place in the top ten, and what you thought of them. Have I tempted you to try an author you have never read before? Who is your favourite author and why? What is your favourite genre?
If you don't get back before New Year's Day, let me take this opportunity to wish you a happy and prosperous new year.
You asked for it, so you've got it here is the top ten books for 2012 for adults - the children's will be announced tomorrow (the voting for that section will be jointly decided between myself and Amanda George who runs a website which includes reviews of children's books. I will include a link to her site tomorrow. This will be a monthly list of the top ten best books WE HAVE READ each month.
- Kiss Her Goodbye - Harvey Burgess
- 9/11 - Michael Rowland
- On The Other Side of the Glass - Christi Kari
- House of Echoes - Barbara Erskine
- My Life in Pieces - Simon Callow
- Rhanna - Christine Marion Fraser
- Angels and Warriors, The Awakening - Dawn Tevy (This can fit into both adult and children's categories - if you like Harry Potter, you'll love this)
- Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
- Dead Simple - Peter James
- Circus of Ghosts - Barbara Ewing
Tomorrow I will launch the Children's Top Ten of December 2012. These books will NOT necessarily only have been published within the last month, they are simply the ones we have read and agree are excellent.. It has been incredibly difficult to separate the top four books in this section - technically it was felt they were ALL well deserving number ones but we had to place them in an order so we looked for various criterion!
If you have read a book and you would like to see it listed up here, feel free to contact me (via the contact page - the areas marked with an asterisk are COMPULSORY - I cannot respond unless you give me a clue - your telephone number or email address. I do get back to people but I would ask that you bear with me as I have hit a particularly busy time. If you recommend a book make sure to tell me the full name and the author, whether it is available on Kindle/Kobo or if it is in paperback - if you could tell me the ISBN number that would be great but it's not essential. I look forward to hearing from you.
Enjoy browsing through this list - I would be interested in your feedback on whether you agree that they have earned a place in the top ten, and what you thought of them. Have I tempted you to try an author you have never read before? Who is your favourite author and why? What is your favourite genre?
If you don't get back before New Year's Day, let me take this opportunity to wish you a happy and prosperous new year.
Top Ten Children's Books
- Scrap the Car - Paul McKane AND Leap Year - Daniel M Warloch
- Christmas Presence - Daniel M Warloch
- Middle School, the Worst Years of my Life - James Patterson
- The Faraway Tree Series - Enid Blyton
- Sammy Cricket Gets Into Trouble - Annie Bessant
- The Great Dragon Rescue - M P Robertson
- Tale of the Custard Dragon - Lyn Munsinger
- I'm Dougal Trump and it's not my fault - D Trump
- Hetty Feather - Jacqueline Wilson
- My SIster Jodie - Jacqueline WIlson
Amanda and I have worked together to give you this list. Amanda has her own site which I sometimes add reviews to - take a look at it - http://stories4childrengroup.com/