Note: these are books I read in 2010, as opposed to books released in 2010.
So here’s my contribution to the meme, in response to Cameron Schaefer’s post. Although my to-read list kept getting larger, I didn’t read this year as much as I did last year. But I did read a lot more fiction.
I stumbled across James Meek at the Emirates Literature Festival in March 2010. He had some great insights on the writer’s craft, emphasizing especially how important it was for a writer to read good writers. In person, he wished me luck in writing the great “Emirati” novel. I didn’t have the heart to explain I was an expatriate 
The People’s Act of Love by James Meek is probably the greatest Russian novel written by a Scotsman. It is an original story about a Czech regiment stuck in Siberia, a town with no children, and an escaped convict on the run from a cannibalistic fellow-convict. I can’t wait to see how it’s adapted for the screen, and how Johnny Depp fares
For this slot, however, I’ll go with Meek’s next novel, We Are Now Beginning Our Descent
, which although less polished than TPAOL, bursts with beautiful writing. It is the story of a foreign correspondent’s unusual love affair, which moves between Afghanistan and the West. It will make you laugh, it will make you sad, it will even irritate you, but I loved it. Read my goodreads review of this book. Oh, and this book is heading for the screen, too.
Yes, you can live in the middle-east and grow blind and numb to it because you take it for granted. Or, you don’t take interest in it because you don’t like it. Either way, I live in the nearby (very-different) Emirates but never really bothered to acquaint myself with Saudi Arabia. But wow, Robert Lacey’s book lifts the veil from an opaque society, chronicling the ideological, political and cultural progress of Saudi Arabia since the 1970s. Highly recommended.
Talent is a myth. I’ve learnt this in 10 different ways this year, hard and easy. Former British Table-Tennis champion Matthew Syed’s Bounce may be the most fierce and passionate demolition of the Talent Myth. The author acknowledges his debt to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, and for the first chapter Bounce does feel like a second Outliers. But then, Syed changes gears and dives into detailed explanations of how sportsmen achieve success in a world deluded by “Talent”. His assertions are backed by scientific proof, if you can call Psychology a science, that is. I love this book. It’s amazing how the illusion that talent exists (and even worse that we don’t have it) cripples us.
Stendhal, master of the narrative, displays his deep understanding of human nature with his tight, merciless story of Julien Sorel, probably the most fascinating anti-hero in modern literature. I was hooked. Read my goodreads review.
What was Machiavelli, that misunderstood man, upto? What was he really saying in The Prince? Why does he contradict himself so often? What does he really mean? Who is his primary enemy? This is Leo Paul De Alvarez’s scholarly (but never boring) chapter-by-chapter analysis of The Prince. Patiently, the author analyzes Machiavelli’s every assertion, reaching a most interesting conclusion. You cannot appreciate how bold The Prince is until you understand who he was targeting, and what The Prince really is (as opposed to an education for a Prince). I cannot say more – greatness cannot be simplified.
This is a fresh look at Stalin in his younger days, based on new material excavated from Russian archives. From Student to Poet to Bank Robber to Revolutionary to Stalin. A chilling look at what ideology can do to a man – for the worse, in this case, but it also shows how Stalin develops the skills that he later used to rule Russia with an iron fist.
Your body’s talking, all the time. Do you know what it’s saying? Written by a former FBI agent. Very readable and a quick read. I’ll be watching you.
A personal chronicle of his journey from chess prodigy to Tai Chi Master. It’s much more than that. Waitzkin first describes how he learnt chess, how he failed to deal with the resulting fame and why, and how he evolved into a martial arts practitioner (Tai Chi Pushing Hands). I think the book is mistitled; Waitzkin is not offering a formula but his reflections on how he has achieved, and continues to achieve, mental evolution. Moving on from Pushing Hands, he is currently training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
Control has four suspects. One of them is a double-agent who has infiltrated the Circus (the British Secret Service). Who is the culprit? An intricately plotted novel based on an elegant premise. George Smiley battles it out with his Russian counterpart, Karla. I choose this over The Spy Who Came In From the Cold simply because this book has more pages and so the excitement lasted longer. The other book was just as awesome! Oh, and these are my first Le Carre books. I now regret how I wasted my early youth on Robert Ludlum 
Yes, yes, I deserve to be whipped for ignoring Stephen King for so long. *cringe* My first Stephen King read *end cringe*. This was a highly enjoyable read – the kind you just can’t stop reading. A great writer can glue you to a book. Salute, Stephen King!
Thanks for reading. Feel free to connect with me on goodreads.
