required reading

I promised a countdown of the Top-Ten books I wished I'd read in 2007, but never delivered on that promise. I'm sorry. I forgot what going to the parental home for holidays does to the rhythms of my daily life. My mobile lies abandoned in the corner of a room; I leave my current interests and return to old obsessions; I pick up books I read as a child and read them again; I forget not only what is going on at work, but actually what job I do; I begin by waking at 7.30am but end the holidays getting up at 10am. And worst of all: I neglect my blog.

But with the New Year come those ill-fated Resolutions. I made about 20 of them this year, and many of them are destined to be broken. Obviously the most important Resolution is to improve my writing and review more books on this blog.

Before that begins, though, I simply have to finish off the Top-Ten list from last year. So here it is, in one fell swoop:

Six.

Self-Help by Edward Docx

I started this doorstop of a book back in August, and quite enjoyed it. The problem? I put it down, and it was so big and so involved that I couldn't be bothered to pick it up again. I'm fairly certain that Docx's ambition was to write the new Great Russian Novel, so perhaps I will revive it this year in connection with the Russian Reading Challenge.

Five.

Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith

Ali Smith is one of my absolute favourite writers. I first encountered her when I read The Accidental which made the Booker shortlist in 2006. And then I picked up a copy of Hotel World, which is maybe even better. Smith writes with real verve, succeeding in being both stylistically flamboyant and engaging. I didn't read this in 2007 because I wanted to add it onto my Christmas list, along with

Four.

The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies

The Welsh Girl got such outstanding reviews from the good people of Palimpsest that it was rather shocking when it wasn't shortlisted for the Booker. However, it has been selected for Richard & Judy's Book Club this year, so I doubt that Mr Ho Davies is crying his eyes out. And I got my nice hardback copy for Christmas, sans R&J sticker. We're all happy.

Three.

Light Years by James Salter

Another one that the Palimpers have been shouting about. They're usually right, after all.

Two.

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing

When the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature is announced my guilt and embarrassment is usually assuaged by the fact that the author is barely known in the UK, and their work is often not available. This year I have no excuse. The Golden Notebook is the seminal Lessing work, but I might pick up a copy of The Cleft, simply because of the (rather bad, but rather interesting) review it got on Eve's Alexandria.

and drum roll please:

One.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Gilead was my book of 2007, so I'm saving this up for some dark moment when I'm most in need.