Tuesday 9 December 2008

Top Stuff 2008


Saturday brought good news for Sam Millar in the form of much lauding. The Belfast Telegraph (or Belly Telly in some quarters) did a top-ten-reads-in-2008 piece. Millar’s Bloodstorm took the top spot. To put this in perspective, he beat Maeve Binchy and Frank McCourt to get there.

Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking about my own top ten for 2008. Declan Burke over at Crime Always Pays beat me to the punch last week. John McFetridge did well there, didn’t he? Note to self; hurry the hell up and read his books. I’ve started reading his meta-fiction series on his Bouchercon road trip with Dec Burke to tide me over. It’s a lot of fun.

Also, Adrian McKinty posted Stephen King’s top ten albums for 2008, which is a bit of a cop-out if you ask me (sorry, Ade, going for that controversy thing). However, since a precedent has been set, I’ll give myself a bit of a cop-out top ten. You see, I’ve read a lot of great books this year, and it’d take ages to judge my best reads of 2008. And I don't have that kind of time. So, here’s a list of my favourite CSNI interviews – and it’s a baker’s dozen, rather than a top ten:

Ken Bruen
Colin Bateman
John Connolly
Lucy Caldwell
Ian Sansom
Declan Burke
Adrian McKinty
Brian McGilloway
Garbhan Downey
Arlene Hunt
Neville Thompson
Stuart Neville
Aifric Campbell

Honourable mention to Sam Millar for being the first CSNI interviewee. And the circle is complete.

14 comments:

adrian mckinty said...

How about Top 10 beers of 2008

1.Westvleteren 12 (yellow cap)
2.Westvleteren 8 (blue cap)
3.Guinness (in the Joymount Arms)
4.Black Sheep Ale
5.Theakston Old P
6.Dogfish Head Festina Peche
7.Smutty Noise Maibock
8.Petrus Oud Bruin
9.Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout
10.Chimay Blue

Gerard Brennan said...

Adrian - I like that. And I think I'll print it off and make it my mission to sample a pint (or six) of each in 2009. So far from your list, I've tried Guinness, but not in the Joymount Arms.

gb

col2910 said...

Top ten sperm trumpets of 2008

Russell Brand - total waste of skin,
Jonathan Ross - smug toss wank
Roy Keane - quitter
Timmy Mallett - annoying git
Kevin Keegan - ditto Keane minus the dodgy beard
Andy Murray - seriously bad hair
Chris Moyles - unfunny Northerner
Alex Ferguson - surly, mean-spirited curmudgeon (much like myself really)
Jamie Oliver - nuisance
Graham Norton - self explanatory

Anonymous said...

You did drink all these beers in 2008?
It must have cost you a fortune-most aren't distributed in the U.S. or Australia,right?
And how did you grab the Westvleterens?
Through the black market?

adrian mckinty said...

Marco

If I tell you will you blab it all over, or will you keep it quiet? (just the readers of Ger's blog) You have a worrying social conscience at times, mate.

Ger

You should be able to get Black Sheep, Theakston, Sam Smith, Chimay pretty easily.

Colman

Not Fergie surely.

Michael Stone said...

Colman-
Graham Norton - self explanatory
Hahaha!

adrian mckinty said...

Ger

Thats not to say that you dont have thousands of readers. Of course you do. I meant "relatively" quiet.

Anonymous said...

I would gag my vociferous social conscience for once.
And I wouldn't want to set the Westvleteren monks, scary motherfuckers as they are,on your trail:Michael Forsythe was lucky he only had to deal with Irish hoods,IRA terrorists and Peruvian gangsters.

adrian mckinty said...

Marco

Ok, I'm trusting you here. Westies can be got from these people. Please dont mention my name or tell too many other people.

I know for a fact that the monks hate this and I'm not sure if its 100 percent legal, but in small numbers I cant see that its that harmful.

Enjoy.

a...

Gerard Brennan said...

Colman - I want to argue with you over Keane, but this year and that beard... He's given you too much ammo.

Adrian - Cool link. Thanks. They came for the books and stayed for the beer.

gb

col2910 said...

Mike -I reckon 5 mins in a room with GN and I d be clubbin him like a baby seal

col2910 said...

Ger > thats twice he has chucked the towel in.I am still a bit peeved that the Republic had him back after he threw his toys out in 2002

Gerard Brennan said...

Colman - Keane's behaviour in 02 split the Country's opinion in half. I sided with those who gave him the benefit of the doubt and saw it as striving to do better and frustration at a team that didn't share his passion. This time, I don't think it's such an even split. I've lost interest in the subject at this point, but I'm leaning towards your opinion now.

gb

Gerard Brennan said...

And one for good luck.

gb