My social media feed is full of people comparing their 2016 selves to their 2026 selves, posting pictures of themselves 10 years ago and reflecting on where they are now. And I thought I’d quite like to do a book blogging equivalent of it – looking back to my best books from the past ten years.
So, in no particular order, here we go.
- The Complete Maus – Art Spiegelman
- The Mirror and the Light – Hilary Mantel
- Voyager – Diana Gabaldon
- The Dark Forest – Cixin Liu
- The Running Grave – Robert Galbraith
- A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J.Maas
- Shōgun – James Clavell
- Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi
- Lord of Shadows – Cassandra Clare
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Looking back, I find this list surprising. If asked, I would not have picked these off the top of my head. But while going through my reading list, these books brought back some fond memories. Sarah J.Maas and Cassandra Clare kept me going through the thick of child rearing when I really did not have the mindspace for anything beyond Fantasy.
Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike books were great big chunks of London life that I never thought I’d get to experience. It’s crazy, but last year, I was just casually strolling through the city when I looked up and saw the sign for Denmark Street – Strike’s headquarters. And this has caused me to obsessively reread the series last year as I identified all the landmarks mentioned in the books in real life. I have even tried Strike’s favorite beer – Doom Bar (not to my taste).
The Complete Maus was an eye-opening look at what good non-fantasy graphic novels look like. Cixin Liu’s science fiction surprised me with its uniqueness.
Hilary Mantel (Thomas Cromwell series) and Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) were two extremely different but equally enjoyable historical fiction series. Homegoing and Shōgun were glimpses into historical fiction from places, cultures, and eras that I am not very familiar with.
So, that’s why these were my favorite books over the past decade. How about you? What books do you have the fondest memories of?
