Books I Read in 2010

Well here is the list of the books that I read in 2010 - 95 books.

My top ten were:

1. Obviously the Hunger Games
2. Also obviously, Catching Fire
3. The Help
4. Peace Like a River
5. Hattie Big Sky
6. The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had
7. Crime and Punishment
8. I am the Messenger
9. The Memory Keeper's Daughter
10. Once Was Lost

Honorable Mention - Juliet

Strangest book I read this year - Don't Forget to Call Your Mama

Worst book I read this year - The Magicians

Crocodile Tears - Anthony Horowitz - Cam loves this (Alex Rider) series so we listened to this one on the drive back to Utah.

Juliet - Anne Fortier - started slow for me but ended up fabulous! Would highly recommend for Shakespear lovers.

The Last Time I Saw You - Elizabeth Berg - enjoyed it!

Matched - Allyson Condie - I really enjoyed it all but the end.

Maze Runner - James Dashner - suggested by one of my young women - pretty good, kind of annoying writing style.

White Houst Autumn - Ellen Emerson White - not as good as the first (with many strange errors that editors and proofreaders should have found before publishing).

The Ice Queen - Alice Hoffman - strange

The President's Daughter - Ellen Emerson White - part of a set that I will be finishing. I enjoyed it a lot!

Finding Noel - Richard Paul Evans - nice holiday mush!

Before You Know Kindness - Chris Bohjalian - some parts were to drawn out but for the most part I enjoyed it - and I do like a nice wrap up at the end.

I Am the Messenger - Markus Zusak - very unusual and wonderful. I enjoyed it completely!

To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf - more blathering on by a crazy female character. I think I give up on Virginia - I don't know how she is so revered.

Any Bitter Thing - Monica Wood - see review.

Cat's Eye - Margaret Atwood - a tale about growing up and how we are affected by our experiences in childhood.

Story Sisters - Alice Hoffman - kind of life altering. What a girl (and her family) goes through because of her secret abuse.

Widow of the South - Robert Hicks - based of actual history. A woman removes soldiers from a mass war grave to give them a more meaningful and documented burial.

My Double Life - Janette Rallison - I am becoming a big fan of hers! Every book is perfect for the teen reader (not to mention middle aged housewifes looking for an easy read.

When We Were Bad - Charlotte Mendelson - I think I missed plenty because of all the jewish jargon but it was still worth it. The moral of the story life is only worth living if you are true to yourself!

Still Summer - Jacquelyn Mitchard - excellent, I was on the edge of my seat after a somewhat slow start.

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe - excellent and very spiritual as only the classics seem to be able to pull off.

The Lost Quilter - Jennifer Chiaverini - see review.

How to Take the "Ex" Out of "Ex-boyfriend" - Jeanette Rallison - she has an awesome sense of humor and write nice clean teen books - which I seem to enjoy.

The Appeal - John Grisham - I will never think about elections in quite the same way. This book will make you paranoid!

Don't Forget to Call Your Mama - Lewis Grizzard - Cory's friend gave this book to Cory to give to me and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. About a 50+ year old guy who misses his dead "mama".

Playing for Pizza - John Grisham - I enjoyed this, even the descriptive football talk, maybe because I love Italy too.

Education of Bet - Lauren Baratz-Logsted - this formula works, the girl disguises herself as a boy to get an education. I enjoyed it!

The Shack - William P. Young - I thought it was spiritual in it's way - I took issue with a few points but for those looking for a relationship with God it is a good place to start.

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls - I don't usually like memoirs - but this one was very interesting about a real writer who lives in NY - and her parents are homeless and want to live that way.

The Red Queen - Phillippa Gregory - I wish she could write faster cause I totally love her books!

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins - Wonderful - and she ended up with who I thought she should and for the same reasons I saw as relevant.

Charmed Thirds - Megan McCafferty - I think this will be my last in the 5 book series. Just not great.

Second Helpings - Megan McCafferty - as expected, just entertainment, nothing valuable.

Burned - P.C. Cast etc. - alright. I am pretty much done with this series but she keeps them coming.

Every Last One - Anna Quindlen - loved the whole thing! I was rivited because I had never really thought about how a person goes on after such a tragedy.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J.K. Rowling - Cam and I listened to this while driving on several recent trips. I love the books almost as much as I love listening to them with my son who loves them the same way!

The Help - Kathryn Stockett - see review

Sloppy Firsts - Megan McCafferty - kind of witty teen angst.

Roses - Leila Meacham - a Texas author and a story about Texas makes for a good book!

Run - Ann Patchett- okay, nothing all that compelling.

The Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer - Yes, I went to see Eclipse and got so excited I came home and read the entire series again in 5 days! I know, they aren't brilliant literature but they do something for me - I love them and I love Edward!

Dark Angels - Karleen Koen - excellent! I love english court stories and this one was right on!

Oxygen - Carol Wiley Cassella - a very smart book. I enjoyed all of the medical jargon and information about anesthesiology, I also enjoyed trying to figure out what exactly happened during that surgery to cause the little girls death - riveting!

The Patron Saint of Liars - Ann Patchett - a good read although I can't say I related very well to any of the characters specifically, I still enjoyed it.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards -excellent! It amazed me how far we have come in the treatment of downs - the child in this book was born the year before me! I loved it! At

First Sight - Nicholas Sparks - alright, I'm off my N. Sparks kick. I did enjoy it except for the predictable sap!

One Was Lost - Sara Zarr - excellent, I loved this book! Deep spiritual questions, normal teenage confusion, realistic family dynamic etc. Most people don't realize what a treasure trove can be found in the young adult genre.

The Magicians - Lev Grossman - see review

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Excellent! Cam just read this in English and it took me this long to get it from the library - very much worth the wait and happy to know they read it because of all the potential for moral discussion.

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott - excellent! It always amazes me how truly spiritual these older books are, I enjoyed every minute of it!

The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier - was so impressed with "Girl With a Pearl Earring" thought I'd give her another shot and I am glad I did. Even some geneology thrown in!

House Rules - Jodi Picoult - another favorite author and again, she did not disappoint! I was trying to solve it the whole time.

The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks - don't usually go for the sappy love stories but this one hit the mark. Now I want to see the movie!

After This - Alice McDermott - a meandering account of what I assume to be a typical Catholic family in New York, I enjoyed it.

The Chocolate Wars - Robert Cormier - has been banned many times in High Schools - I think the moral is good - it is sometimes very difficult to be an individual and to stand your ground.

Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout - see review.

Dear John - Nicholas Sparks - I think I will go see the movie that came out recently, I like a little romantic heartache every once in a while.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins - awesome! I am on the waiting list for the next installment. . .when it comes out!

Jackaroo - Cynthia Voigt - dumb name but decent read.

The Killer's Cousin - Nancy Werlin - very good insight into what we may be capable of, even by accident.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - see review

Across the River and Into the Trees - Ernest Hemingway - I got hung up on the idea of a 50+ man in love with a 19 year old girl (and vice versa) and could never really get past my incredulity and disgust! But it was pure Hemingway in Europe during the war.

City of Glass - Cassandra Clare - I was really into this one and I kept hoping that what I wanted to happen would happen and it did - so I was happy. This series kind of puts me in the mind of Twilight - not quite as good, but still worth the reading.

Noah's Compass - Anne Tyler - see review

Winter Garden -Kristin Hannah - another slow start for me - but there were parts of this that really moved me. I really can't relate to a distant mother but it was all explained. A thumbs up.

City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare - alright, I am into it now! I requested the next at the library and am trying to be patient but I want to know what happens next??

Secrets of Eden - Chris Bohjalian - slow start for me - but once I realized that the first point of view wasn't necessarily the truth I really got into it - surprised!

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare - recommended by my new sister - I thought it was a good read but was annoyed by something that I can't give away and it made me put the book down hard when it ended.

Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - see review

PS, I Love You - Cecelia Ahern - Funny and sweet and for some reason I love all things Irish! A good read.

Letter from Home - Carolyn Hart - okay, nothing to write home about (he he).

The House on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier - I kept comparing it to "Rebecca" and it wasn't as good. Still glad I read it and am reading another right now.

The Love Letter - Cathleen Schine - kind of witty but not all that for me - just okay.

The Last Summer (of you and me) - Ann Brashares - I loved this book! It was pure nostalgia. I didn't want it to end - but I was happy with the end.

Fire - Kristin Cashore - wonderful! It is the sequel to Graceling which I haven't read but it was good on it's own merit. I will now read the other.

As I Lay Dying - William Falkner - see review.

Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta - took awhile to understand what was going on and to get into, but once I did I didn't want it to end. I think the author is from Australia and she used some different slang.

Peace Like a River - Leif Enger - Wonderful! Spiritual and beautifully written. I can't say enough, loved it!

Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitsgerald - this is a very adult book. Alcoholism, adultery, marriage and insanity make for very adult reading. Perhaps it was too adult for me.

Hattie Big Sky -Kirby Larson - Awesome! I am having some good reading lately! This is about a 16 year old orphan girl traveling to Montana and trying to homestead by herself and based on a true story. It was superb!

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had - Kristin Levine - I adored this book! It reminded me of my grandpa (his youth experience). I had a smile on my face the whole way through! When I went to sleep last night my last thoughts were how thankful I am for good books!

The Everafter - Amy Huntley - never read anything quite like it, thought provoking! It is about death and our connection to material things after we are gone. Very worth the read if only to think about unusual afterlife concepts.

Splendor - A Luxe Novel - Anna Godbersen - wonderful, not completely happy about the ending - won't ruin it for you.