Saturday, January 1, 2011

A Year of Reading : 2010

In the spirit of tradition, here is a list of all the books I read in 2010:

1. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
4. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
5. The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (graphic novel)
6. Isn't It Romantic? by Ron Hanson
7. Blame by Michelle Huneven
8. Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher*
9. Silverfish by David Lapham (graphic novel)
10. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
11. Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian
12. The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens
13. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
14. The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter
15. The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To by D.C. Pierson
16. The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders
17. Normal People Don't Live Like This by Dylan Landis
18. Bound by Sally Gunning
19. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
20. Serena by Ron Rash
21. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
22. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
23. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
24. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffen (audio)
25. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters*
26. This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
27. French Milk by Lucy Knisley (graphic)
28. The Art of Eating In by Cathy Erway
29. The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken
30. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
31. Home is Where the Wine Is by Laurie Perry
32. Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
33. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
34. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese*
35. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
36. How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
37. The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
38. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
39. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
40. The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker
41. Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
42. Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner*
43. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
44. Tinkers by Paul Harding
45. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
46. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
47. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
48. It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
49. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Desson
50. This Is Just Exactly Like You by Drew Perry
51. I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman*
52. Strategies for Successful Career Change by Martha E. Mangelsdorf
53. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
54. Hopeless Savages Greatest Hits 2000-2010 by Jen Van Meter
55. Finding Your Own North Star: claiming the life you were meant to live by Martha Beck
56. The Tower the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart*
57. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (audio)
58. A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry
59. One Day by David Nicholls*
60. World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler
61. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
62. Room by Emma Donoghue*
63. Strangers at the Feast by Jennifer Vanderbes
64. Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
65. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
66. Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
67. A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry
68. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr*
69. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger (graphic)*
70. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
71. Lowboy by John Wray
72. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Although my intention was to review every book I read, it seems that I missed a couple. Also, the list is in the order that I read the books, not necessarily the order in which I reviewed them. Although I post the reviews here and keep track on goodreads, I still write down all the titles in a little notebook and that's what I used to create my list.

I started and ended the year with Dickens, which is kind of lovely. My count is 72, but since I read A Christmas Carol twice, I guess it is only 71 books. I'm not sure how to count that. As an interesting note, I read a beautifully illustrated version I found at the library the first time, and the second time I read it on my new nook. Reading it on an ereader and without photos was definitely a different experience!

My favorites are starred above. I find it very difficult to choose favorites, but I forced myself to select a top ten. I didn't star books that I've read before - the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and A Giant's House are some of my favorite books of all time, but I wanted to highlight books I read this year for the first time.

So what's ahead for me in 2011? You can expect more non-fiction because one of my goals is to learn more about U.S. history. I'm also hoping to finally read some things that have been on my list for a while - either read them or delete them from the list. And there are a few that are priorities this year, such as Little Women and Tipping the Velvet, both of which I've wanted to read for so long I have no idea why I haven't yet. I'm wondering if having an ereader will change the way I read. I certainly hope not, but it will be interesting to see how many books I read that way versus in print.

Happy new year and happy reading!

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