Friday, December 31, 2010

2010 -- A Book Year in Review

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Another year has come to an end, and a few more books have been read.
This is what I accomplished this year:
  1. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
  2. Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace
  3. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
  4. Sugar by Bernice McFadden
  5. Murder at Longbourne by Tracy Kiely
  6. Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, by Maud Hart Lovelace
  7. Skin and other Stories by Roald Dahl
  8. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
  9. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
  10. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by
  11. Lift by Kelly Corrigan
  12. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  13. The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran
  14. The Secret of the Old Clock (#1 Nancy Drew) by Carolyn Keene
  15. Glorious by Bernice McFadden
  16. The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
  17. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
  18. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
  19. A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh
  20. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
  21. My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
  22. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt
  23. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
  24. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
  25. The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross
  26. Embers by Sandor Marai
  27. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
  28. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
  29. Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman
  30. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly McNees
  31. Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
  32. Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
  33. Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson
  34. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
  35. A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon
  36. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
  37. One Day by David Nicholls
  38. Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart
  39. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
  40. The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson
  41. Wildflower by Mark Seal
  42. The Many Secret Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
  43. The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans
  44. Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
  45. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
  46. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
  47. Zoo Story by Thomas French
  48. True Grit by Charles Portis
  49. Little Heathens by Mildren Armstrong Kalish
Did Not Finish
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard
The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis


I must admit, this was not a banner year of great reads, only a few deserve any further mentioning:

My favorites of the year:
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt (juv fiction)
One Crazy Summer by Rita Willimas Garcia (juv fiction)
Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel (read along)
Bad Mother by Aylete Waldman
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Wildflower by Mark Seal
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (read along)
True Grit by Charles Portis (movie was AWESOME too)

Challenges:

I committed to and completed ONE challenge in 2010 -- Women Unbound:


NON FICTION:
Nine Parts of Desire, by Geraldine Brooks
A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon
Wildflower by Mark Seal


FICTION:
Sugar by Bernice McFadden
Glorious by Bernice McFadden
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

I didn't read as many this year as last, and I hold my volunteer position in the PTA personally responsible.  Hopefully, once my service is done next spring, I can increase my reading hours.

Happy New Year everyone -- I hope 2011 is full of many literary accomplishments.

8 comments:

Helen's Book Blog said...

I received the Cellist of Sarajevo for Christmas and am really looking forward to reading it! It looks like you had a wonderful year of reading with a good variety of books. Here's to a great 2011!

Shirley said...

You certainly had a full year! I really don't know how you accomplish so much! Have you read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett yet? It is on my to read list. I can't wait!

Gerbera Daisy Diaries said...

Helen: I absolutely LOVED The Cellist -- I think that was THE favorite of the year, the only reason being it was so unexpected and without any previous recommendation.

Shirley: I have read The Help, and I am the only reader on the planet who didn't enjoy it. But that is the beauty of the written word -- everyone can discern a book on their own.

Happy readings!

Amused said...

Considering all you have going on I think you had a great reading year and I am so glad to see the read alongs favored so well! I still didn't like Wolf Hall but I LOVED Lonesome Dove :)

mpartyka said...

Happy New Year!

I haven't looked to see how many books I read in 2010 - for me I believe it will be more than I have even read... only because I have listened to so many books (with prepping the house for the move, post move, and training for next weeks run).

I'm looking forward to having more time to sit with a book in 2011!

Bernice L. McFadden said...

Just wanted to drop in to wish you and yours a happy and prosperous 2011! xoxo

Julie said...

You did wonderfully well! I have Glorious (still) on my TBR pile, but have committed to reading it for an off-the-shelf challenge, so I will at least read it sometime this year!

Joanne said...

Wow, I think that's great! Whenever I talk to my friends or family about books, I always forget the name of book I want to recommend. I love that you have a list that you can look back on and reread your reviews so you can remember them if you want to. I'm totally going to do that this year.
I love your blog...I awarded you a Stylish Blogger Award at http://figuringoutthesmallstuff.com/2011/01/stylish-blogger-award/
Please stop by to accept it when you get the chance!