Amanda Patterson's Top Five Books of 2014


  1. The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick (Picador). This was my favourite book of 2014. Bartholomew Neil’s mother always loved to celebrate the little things and she had a gift for making the ordinary extraordinary. She believed in the good luck of right now. How will Bartholomew make sense of her death and find meaning again? Read it. It's worth every word.
  2. Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin (Orion). John Rebus has come out of retirement. Rankin, my favourite crime novelist, has crafted a brilliant crime novel with interesting topical threads.
  3. The Circle by Dave Eggers (Hamish Hamilton). This is Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World filled with too much information, coupled with George Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’ from 1984. This dark satire is thought-provoking, well-written and worth reading. The Circle is probably just around the corner.
  4. Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (Penguin/Michael Joseph). This is part suburban mystery, part women’s drama and completely compulsive reading. I loved this witty, clever novel.
  5. Incognito: The Memoirs of Ben Trovato by Mark Verbaan (Macmillan). Reading this memoir felt like drowning – in a good way. I went on a journey to a place I had almost forgotten. My memories of South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s range from black and white snapshots to garish Polaroid blurs. My emotions are varied, bruised and confused, much like the author’s. Highly recommended.

by Amanda Patterson. Amanda is the founder of Writers Write. Follow her on Pinterest, Facebook,  Google+,  Tumblr  and Twitter.  Read her writing blogs.

Amanda Patterson's Top Five Books of 2013


  1. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson – What if you could go back and start again? Beautifully written, with complex, interesting, and fulfilling characters. 
  2. Standing in Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin – Rebus is back. I never realised how much I missed him until I read this book. I never realised how much I missed the writing skills of Ian Rankin writing about Rebus. I do now.
  3. Levels of Life by Julian Barnes - The story of the profound love Barnes has for his wife, Pat Kavanagh, who died in 2008. It is also the story of the opposite of that love, which is a grief equal in depth.
  4. Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas - The book is readable, as charming and seductive as the sociopath who is writing it
  5. Night Film by Marisha Pessl - Beautifully-written. Pessl’s intelligence shines through her words. She is profound and funny. This psychological mystery and thriller is vivid, mind-bending and makes you wonder about everything.

I want to mention three books I loved by South African Authors: Back to the Bush by James Hendry - If you simply want to read good South African fiction & The Space Race by Alex Latimer - The novel is a funny, thrilling, completely South African caper & A Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz - Schwarz creates a Steampunk world that includes history, magic, alchemy, romance, and fantasy. 

Amanda Patterson's Top 10 Books of 2012

  1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  2. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
  3. XO by Jeffery Deaver
  4. Lost At Sea by Jon Ronson
  5. Live By Night by Dennis Lehane
  6. In One Person by John Irving
  7. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
  8. A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
  9. Spud – Exit, Pursued by a Bear by John van de Ruit
  10. Between A Mother and Her Child by Elizabeth Noble

I thought there weren’t that many great books in 2012 but these were my favourite ‘good reads’ of the year. 

by Amanda Patterson. Amanda is the founder of Writers Write. Follow her on Pinterest, Facebook,  Google+,  Tumblr  and Twitter.  Read her writing blogs.