Book of brilliant things

It's probably 20 years since we solely looked back on the last decade, as ten years ago we were distracted by reviewing the previous Century! This will be the first of three blogs, reviewing my favourite books, films and albums of the last ten years.

I read all the time and have therefore have read hundreds of books since 2000. Many of these have drifted in and out of my life, but some have made an impact and here are my top ten books for the last ten years.

1. The Crusaders - Richard T Kelly: One of three books in this list for which the Books Podcast from the Simon Mayo show on Radio 5 Live is entirely responsible for me reading. It’s a huge book 500+ pages and tells the story of an Anglican Vicar who is sent to “plant” a church on a Newcastle estate. It mixes corruption, gangsters, the miner’s strike and Christianity into a story that flows beautifully and is well told with rich use of language.

2. Salmon fishing in the Yemen – Paul Torday: Another Books podcast entry. This is was a first novel for Torday, who took up writing in 2006 aged 60 having previously worked in industry and engineering . The book is a satire on modern politics and revolves around as the title suggests the unlikely premise of being able to fish for Salmon in the Yemen, which it appears becomes essential for Anglo/Middle-East relations to continue. A middle ranking Whitehall career civil servant is given the job and the book follows his efforts to show everyone, unsuccessfully, how completely unrealistic the task is. It has a love story in it, pompous politicians, Middle East billionaires and Salmon fishing! The book is written in part as an exchange of e-mails and in part as evidence from the resultant public enquiry! A great mixture of politics and gentle comedy

3. Velvet Elvis – Rob Bell: Bell is a hero of mine who runs a “mega-church” in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a rare thing in the American church, a liberal Christian far more at home in the UK than parts of the US. This was his first book and it is sub-titled “repainting the Christian Faith”. It is a series of chapters in which Bell explores Christianity and how he sees its relevance in the post modern age. It is a very “modern” book with its look and printing style having a very “Apple” feel to it! It makes you think but is also a book you can dip in and out of as well.

4. Past Mortem – Ben Elton: One of two of his books to make my list. This is essentially a murder mystery “detective” novel with a love story thrown in. Elton co-wrote the successful BBC series “The Thin Blue Line” which looked at a local police station and starred Rowan Atkinson. This book is its big brother. I like detective novels and comedy and this book is a glorious mixture of the two.

5. How to be good – Nick Hornby: One of my favourite novelists, this is, in my view, his best book of the last ten years. It follows the lives of David and Kate. David starts the book as “the world’s angriest man” but decides to change his life completely and be “good” to everyone he encounters. There then follows a series of amusing events which includes inviting a homeless man to move into the spare room. This is met with incredulity by Kate, who as a Doctor, always considered herself to be doing “good” and the book explores how the two views of “doing good” relate to our modern world. It’s funny, well written and thought provoking.

6. The Lincoln Lawyer – Michael Connelly: A well known American crime novelist, who started as crime reporter on the LA Times. This is his 16th novel and was published in 2006. Most of his books are crime novels based around Detective Harry Bosch, but this one is a departure as it features US defence lawyer Mickey Haller, the “Lincoln Lawyer”, so called as he lives in his Lincoln Continental. The story is fairly straight-forward legal drama, but it is Connelly’s writing and storytelling which make this a cut above the rest. The “hero” is down on his luck, but has an ex-wife who “can’t live with him, can’t live without him” and a daughter who dotes on her father, fairly standard legal fare, but Connelly draws pictures of the participants which bring it all to life. The story involves defending a Beverley Hills “rich boy” who beats up a woman, but all is not as it seems!

7. Tell no one- Harlan Coben – Another US Crime novelist, he has sold 47 million books world-wide, which is a good start to his writing career! His first seven novels featured sports agent “Myron Bolitar” (and his best friend Win) and their involvement with crimes which his sports stars get caught up in. This was his eighth novel and the first “stand alone” one. It’s an “everything is not as it seems” book, based on the story of Dr David Beck, whose wife is abducted and murdered while on holiday. Eight years later he receives an e-mail, which when opened shows a picture of his wife, who appears anything but dead! The story then follows his pursuit of “what the hell is going on?” It was also made into a very good French film starring Kristen Scott Thomas, worth seeing for no other reason than she is in it!!

8. Ghost – Robert Harris: This is Harris 6th novel and revolves around an ex-Prime Minister, his memoires and the truth of what really happened when he was in power and in charge of the countries fight against terrorism. (Sound familiar?). The “hero” is a journalist who is drafted in to take over the “ghost-writing” of the memoires after the original ghost writer dies in suspicious circumstances. The ex PM is holed up in a borrowed home on Martha’s Vineyard and that means that the Americans can also keep an eye on what is being written. The story follows the revealing of secrets which mean that the writing of the memoires becomes a matter of life and death!! A great contemporary novel and soon to be a film, starring George Clooney and Ewan McGregor. Oh and it’s the 3rd Books podcast entry.

9. Exit Music – Ian Rankin: Rankin is a Scottish writer, best known for his series of “Rebus” novels that all feature D I John Rebus, who is based in Edinburgh. This is his 17th Rebus and to date his last. That is mainly as it features Rebus retiring from the Police and while Rankin may use him in the future with him looking after “cold cases” at present he has no plans to do so. Rebus is a hard drinking, divorced, rock loving; loner and his fan love him for it. After reading one or two of the novels, reading a Rebus novel takes on the familiarity of a comfortable pair of shoes. This story involves the last few days before Rebus retires and the death of a Russian dissident, which he believes has more to it. More that is, than his superiors, who are trying to keep a visiting group of Russian businessmen happy, want him to look into? There is a good backdrop of rotten Bankers (RBS thinly disguised???) and Rebus manages to get himself suspended, yet still solves the case.

10. Chart Throb – Ben Elton: Finally another Ben Elton book. This one because it changed the way I watch the X Factor and Simon Cowell must have hated it being published. The story follows the TV series “Chart Throb” (X Factor) and how its judges and production team manipulate the entrants to provide the top ratings it requires. It tells of the fights between the judges (one of whom is a “former Rock star” partially through a sex change operation into becoming a woman”) and builds to the climax of the winner being announced. Along the way you get to meet all human life and it’s all told using Elton’s caustic humour.



So there is my list, it’s not perfect and in reality for at least half of the authors I could have chosen many of their novels. This is also my list of my favourite novels of this century!