Books I've Read, 2010

While reviewing my reading list of the past year, I made a couple of interesting observations.

1. I didn't reread a single book this year. This is a little odd since I have favorites that I read very often ( Harry Potter series, Falling Angels, Bridget Jones's Diary). On the other hand, I've been using my library card like crazy, which makes it easy and affordable to read something new.

2. I read way more books this year than I did in the past two. This is very odd, since I was mostly unemployed during those years. I also wasn't taking classes or establishing myself on Etsy. Strange how a lack of free time has actually made me more productive.


+ Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
+1491 by Charles C. Mann (Wow. Apparently even archeology suffers from partisan politics.)
+When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead  (Such a great young adult novel! Totally deserving of it's Newbery award.)
+Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. by Chelsea Handler
+The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
+We Two: Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill
+The Dig Tree by Sarah Murgatroyd (To paraphrase Arrested Development, THIS is why you always leave a note.)
+L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
+Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
+Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
+Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Highly highly recommended! Everyone- especially world leaders- needs to read this book.)
+Living Oprah by Robyn Okrant (Decent book. Somehow I think I'd have liked it better if A.J. Jacobs had spent a year following Oprah's advice.)
+The Surrogates by Robert Venditti & Brett Weldele
+First Light by Rebecca Stead
+Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
+Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
+Stones into School by Greg Mortenson (Even better than 'Three Cups of Tea!' Truly inspiring!)
+The Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos and Joseph Lagos
+Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
+Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
+Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
+Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
+Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (Who thought science writing could be this funny? Can't wait until I get her newest book from the library!)
+Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
+Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Extremely funny, even though I've heard a few of these before on This American Life)
+Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
+When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (The last chapter made me miss Tokyo. I so need to go back.)
+I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore


Best Book: Hands down, Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools both by Greg Mortenson were the best books I've read in a long time. Mortenson is a true inspiration, and a hero to the thousands of children now receiving an education in Pakistan and Afghanistan thanks to his tireless efforts. Please check out the Central Asia Institute's website for ways you can help. (Buy the books through their site and a portion of your purchase will benefit the non-profit.)

Worst Book: L.A. Candy. You may be wondering what possessed me to read this book in the first place. The best explanation I can give is that I've started to view my library card and Netflix account in the same light: a great way to indulge in guilty pleasures in the privacy of my own home.* So while I've come to love some books I might not have otherwise read (i.e., Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series), there inevitably will be stinkers like this one. The weak conflict established in this book is left completely unresolved, and the story presumably picks up in the second and third installments of the series. Maybe if I were a teenager just discovering reruns of Laguna Beach or The Hills, I'd be riveted. But as a 20-something who should have known better in the first place, I will not being staying tuned for the "exciting" conclusion.

Looking Forward to in 2011:  I really enjoyed I am Number Four, so I'm looking forward to continuing with that series.  Still waiting for a copy of Mary Roach's latest, Packing for Mars, and will probably continue with Charlaine Harris' books as well.




* (Seriously, my rental history reads like Kate Hudson's or Katherine Heigl's IMDB page. And I don't particularly care for either of them.)