Fans pick 100 books like 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

A murder mystery and so much more. Set in the marshlands of North Carolina in the United States, it’s an unusual read with the emotional content tugging at my heartstrings. It describes life in the marsh and a child’s heartbreaking struggle to survive.

Nevertheless, I found the author’s description of the natural world in the marshlands brilliant and the haunting tale stayed with me long after I finished reading the book.

I fell in love with Katniss from the very beginning. I was the oldest daughter in a single-parent family and had to take over and care for my younger sisters a lot of times because my father was dysfunctional. So I get it. The whole concept is horrifying to me—children forced to kill each other—but following along as Katniss manages to defeat the fate waiting for her inspired me.

I related to how she did most of it on her own, seeing as she had been let down by her mother, her country, and, later, those she thought were friends. Trust is so important and valuable for young people to have, and so easy to destroy.

This wonderful novel features a journalist, Mikala Blomkvist, searching for a highly respected, long-lost member of a notable family. Once again, government corruption is rampant in the investigation.

A special aspect of this novel is the introduction of Lisbeth Salander, a brash, tattooed young woman with an abrasive personality matched only by her singular skills. I loved this character, who is incredibly unique.

One of my favourites, this story is narrated by Elly, a girl who befriends Mr. Golan, her elderly neighbour. But their friendship takes a dark turn, and only Elly’s brother, Joe, knows her secret. Joe gives Elly a pet rabbit, which she names God, to alleviate the loneliness of her childhood. 

As an adult, Elly finds her calling as a newspaper columnist, writing about the relationships she has lost and found, and eventually learns to rely on the family and friends who have stood by her during her years of silence about what happened to her as a child.

Elly as a child is innocent but no-nonsense, learning to rely on herself when the family moves, causing her to lose touch with her best friend. The story is both funny and tragic, but it’s Elly who makes it such a good novel.

Eric Ambler was the first author to write with realism and authenticity about the world of spies. His work often features ordinary people who are not criminals or professional spies, but who suddenly find themselves caught up in that murky world. In this novel, while in Turkey, mystery writer Charles Latimer meets Colonel Haki, who shows him the body of a notorious criminal, Dimitrios, in the Istanbul morgue. Intrigued and sensing a story, Latimer investigates Dimitrios’ career, which will turn out to be a lot more intriguing and dangerous than anything he bargained for. Ambler’s thrillers keep you on the edge and this one, which includes a ride on the Orient Express, will have you furiously turning the pages. Dimitrios set the standard for every spy thriller that followed. 

I love the craggy Maine coast, and I love spy stories, so this book thrilled me from page one. I was intrigued and unnerved when a dead body showed up on retired CIA agent Maggie Bird’s snowy front yard. I was scared by the clear warning that Maggie’s past as a spy was about to suck her back into the spy trade and into mortal danger.

I felt disaster about to strike as the story took me to exotic and scary locales, from mini streets in Bangkok and Istanbul to more urban settings from London to Malta. I struggled to figure out who the real murderer was, and I was shocked to learn the truth.

For Istanbul the best walking guide ever. This book seamlessly conducts a visitor around the city’s sights, weaving stories from its history into street-by-street locations and managing above all else to avoid the sin of becoming boring. It makes you want to see every stretch of pavement and every building mentioned in the book. The only warning is it’s a thick paperback and you’ll want to take notes from it in advance rather than carrying it around with you.

I love the senses in my books. I want to know what the setting smells like, what it sounds like, and how much indigestion I am going to get from the local fare. If you do as well, Joesph Kanon is your guy, and this is your book.

I found this book before I traveled to Istanbul, and honestly, I liked it better than the city, which was chaotic and dirty. But Istanbul Passage is anything but chaotic and dirty; you’re going to love it.

I confess, I like food. I’m also keen to use cafes and restaurants where the emphasis is on cheap, tasty, and nutritious fare rather than forking out for establishments where a hefty bill is occasioned as much by expenditure on the decoration, linen, and silverware as the quality of the cooking. This is not a book about the westernised hotels and restaurants but about back street locantas serving lentil soup and stewed chicken with bottles of Turkish red wine or even just Coca-Cola and selling satisfying lunches for a pittance (thanks of course in part due to the impact of Turkish inflation on the exchange rate). This book is why even if you’re on a city break in Istanbul as a family you won’t need to rely on self-catering or standardised hotel dinners. There’s a wonderful English language bookshop near the Grand Bazaar that’ll sell you a copy of this… show more.

A big fat, fact-packed but readable history of the city as it changed from Constantinople into Byzantium and finally Istanbul. This is the book that places Viking immigrants alongside Romans, Goths, Moors, Ottomans, Venetians, and so many other races in a glorious cultural stew that makes the history of most other cities seem linear and dull by comparison.