Though writing forms a very small part of my life, getting my thoughts out (and off my chest), takes up most of my free time.

Between writing and having a life, I get left with very little time to do what I truly love, which is reading the way it's meant to be – you know, the old fashioned style reading of books which have been printed on actual paper, the type that can get wet and tattered, that have real pages not scroll bars, the type you read from cover to cover, for pleasure not knowledge, the type that you don't just scan through but read word for word, the type that you cherish on your bookshelf forever and sometimes return to for some nostalgic reading. Oh! how I love it.

Though 2010 didn't offer me much time to indulge in this wordy pleasure, two of the books that I managed to read this year, were truly worth writing home about:

Towards the beginning of summer I read "The Women's Room" by Marilyn French (1977) - a feminist classic that I had heard about but never read. This year I finally got round to it and right from the start it turned out to be one of those books you can't put it down.

Disappointingly however, at one point, when the plot thickened and the story was about to climax, the author seemed to lose the plot (quite literally). On page 275 the story stopped making sense and I couldn't make head or tails anymore. I felt betrayed and angry and wondered how the editors had not noticed this chasm in the storyline. Then, finally, just as I was about to give up and slam the book down, I realised that my copy had 53 pages missing. I immediately went online and ordered a second copy, waited with bathed breath until it arrived, and read the rest of the book as I walked back home from the post office.

Marylyn French died at 79 years of age and though she published other works, "The Women's Room", which was her very first, remains her greatest success. Set in America's 50s, it is not one of those books that you have to try to get into - it just happens – by the second sentence you're enthralled and engaged and you just know you're in for a hell of a ride.

I guess the best way to sum up its essence is to quote its most known sentence - "All men are rapists, and that's all they are". This sentence was said in anger by a radical character in the storyline - a woman whose daughter has been gang-raped. Unfortunately, it is often quoted out of context, and conveniently pinned to modern feminism.

Somewhat autobiographical, "The Women's Room" is a genuine narration of a strong woman's plight. It is written with such passion and emotional intelligence, that it's a must have for every woman with a mind of her own.... and in some cases only two copies will suffice!

Towards the end of the year, I started feeling washed out, burnt out and drained out, so I wanted something light and easy to get my head off the fact that another year has just gone by. When I'm in this mood I look no further but towards Miriam Keyes, Helen Fielding, Gerri Hill, or Nora Ephron - the latter being the author of "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle".

Being familiar with most of Ephron's works, this year, I went back to the 80s and dug out Heartburn - an autobiographical novel written mostly in the first person and in which Ephron magically merges her real life heartbreak with perfect comical flippancy.

Rachel Samstat, the main character, is a cookbook author. At seven months pregnant she finds out that her husband Mark is having an affair with one of their common friends. The narrative alternates from offering us some of the author's favourite recipes (admittedly I only scanned through those), to Rachel wishing her husband dead and/or that his mistress chokes on a grape. She struggles between wanting to get back into his arms to raise the child they're about to have, and wishing to win him back only to be able to reject him herself.

Set in the late 80s, the style is fluent, humorous and very contemporary. Ephron's biggest writing talent is probably that of making readers feel like the events she's mouthing are happening to them. Even though the main character and the events that surround her are farfetched and unlikely, as a reader you don't realise this until a few days after you've put the book down.

Here's a hilarious quote from Ephron's 'Heartburn' – I think it's wickedly appropriate to end my blogging year in style with: "That's the catch about betrayal, of course! That it feels good, and there's something immensely pleasurable about moving from a complicated relationship which involves minor atrocities on both sides to a nice, neat, simple one where one person has done something so horrible and unforgivable that the other person is immediately absolved of all the low-grade sins of sloth, envy, gluttony, avarice and I forgot the other three."

Oh by the way, I'm currently half way round the world... in a hot air balloon in Tanzania (hopefully spotting wildlife), so read me next year folks, and have a great end of year.