Top Ten Books I Read in 2010

I have read 68 books in 2010!
Mostly a delightful experience, some weeks it was a drag. But the bad ones just make you appreciate the really good books.

It was hard to pick just my top ten, but here goes:
(They are in no real order)

TOP BOOKS OF 2010:

Still Alice by: Lisa Genova
Woman 50 diagnosed with early on set Alzheimer’s. She is a brilliant Harvard professor. Book told from Her, Alice’s, perspective. It’s about husband relationships, family, hardships. It is a fabulous book with a great look inside this awful disease. Beautifully written.
What I learned: you can be strong even in the heart of a terrible circumstance.


The Art of Racing in the Rain by: Garth Stein
Good, moral person in very heavy circumstances, loves his dog; book told from dog perspective
What I learned: keep your standards high even if other around you don't!

Girl in Translation by: Jean Kwok
Well written, Chinese girl & mother come to US with help from aunt. Hard life; how they live; school, learn, work. Difference from Chinese culture and ours. Very good.
What I learned: keep pressing forward, you can get to the other side, keep moving

Every Last One by: Anna Quindlen
There are some difficult parts to the book, BUT I loved it! It is a REAL think piece! It is how my brain works, thinks; this book deals with death, how everyone reacts to it. Book about a mother with 3 children; their different needs and how she sees and deals with them.
What I learned: listen to your instincts, be strong, choose wisely, press forward

The Happiness Project by: Gretchen Rubin
Non-fiction - Highly recommend! I will read again. I recommend this book to everybody. It is a delightful read, very thought provoking.
What I learned: Keep improving!

Eat Pray Love by: Elizabeth Gilbert
If you saw the movie, this is NOT the movie! Movie = yuck, Book = great!
Sad, sad divorce; she goes to Italy-eat/food, India-an ashram; Bali–-balance/love Non-fiction. Very insightful.
What I learned: so glad to understand and know why I am on this earth; what the purpose of it all is, without that knowledge you could drown. If you want to know more, go to: mormon.org


Unwind by: Neal Shusterman
Sci/fi no more abortion, but at 13 yrs old parents can consent to have their child unwound. All would be better if the child used its parts on others than be whole…that is the premise. 3 kids run away; story is about their life. Choices, forgiveness, going too far in any direction. I really liked it! YA Fiction
What I Learned: glad I am loved

The Maze Runner by: James Dashner
Sci fi YA – I really enjoyed this book! Future; boy wakes up and finds himself in an odd community of teens. They live in an area, just outside the gates is a huge maze that they have to figure out. They do not know why they are they, but are trying to understand and figure out how to get out. This is in the same vein as The Hunger Games. The second book is The Scorch Trials. Out Oct 2010
What I learned: sometimes it is nice to read Young Adult Fiction

Heir to Sevenwaters by: Juliet Marillier
Read the other 3 earlier books. Clodagh’s baby brother gets kidnapped, she meets Aidan & Cathal; she must find her brother & falls in love
What I learned: it is so nice to go back to a series that you love and find out that the next book is just as good.

Heart’s Blood by: Juliet Marillier
Fairies; humans; girl in bad situation, runs away, finds job in castle; kind like re-telling of beauty & Beast
What I learned: nothing, really; just enjoyed the story; oh and romance in books is really romantic and ugly beasts in books can really be handsome.

These next 2 books were so good, they had to be mentioned:

Pictures of Hollis Woods by: Patricia Reilly Giff
Really YA book. Very short. LOVED. Many years ago, little girl from ages 6 – 10 going through the foster care system. How she copes, what happens to her, people she meets. I loved it. Very short. Please read.
I just fell upon this book; I felt lucky.

Crank by: Ellen Hopkins
Daughter visits missing father; while there meets boy who shows her meth amphetamine…the monster, insight into teenage mind and choices, drugs, lieing, quick read; recommend to mothers. I do not think it is appropriate for teenagers. Teenagers are very impressionable. I think it great for mothers to read the books and and great discussions with their children.


Non-Fiction Honorable Mentions. I really loved these books!
Born to Run by: Christopher McDougall
Enjoyed 9! Full of info running information. I really enjoyed it.Guy, runner, finds hidden people in Mexico, wants to race

Not Without Hope by: Nick Schuyler
2 pro nfl & 2 others got together; fishing; stuck anchor; capsized boat; storm one survived

Easy/enjoyable….I know will not appeal to the masses:
The Second Short life of Bree Tanner by: Stephenie Meyers
I know, I know; but I really liked this book and it got me to re-read her whole series again. I really liked that too.

OTHER TOP BOOKS IN 2010:
The Enemy by: Lee Childs Don’t know 9 really enjoyed
Gone Tomorrow by: Lee Childs Jan 10 9 really enjoyed
The Killing Floor by: Lee Childs Jan 10 9 really enjoyed
Worth Dieing For by: Lee Childs Dec 10 really enjoyed
One Amazing Thing by: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Mar 10 Liked 8-9
The School of Essential Ingredients by: Erica Bauermeister april 10 Enjoyed 9
Secrets of Eden by: Chris Bohjalian may 10 Enjoyed 8 well written
A Plague of Secrets by: John Lescroart July 10 9 Enjoyed!
Glass by: Ellen Hopkins July 10 LIKED 9 sequal to Crank
Stolen by: Lucy Christopher August 10 9 REALLY LIKED!
City of Tranquil Light by: Bo Caldwell Oct 10 Liked a Lot 9
The Housekeeper and the Professor by: Yoko Ogawa Oct 10 Like a Lot 9
Lost by: Alice Lichtenstein Oct 10 Liked 8
Mockingjay by: Suzanne Collins Oct 10 Liked a lot! 9-10


YUCK! DO NOT READ:
Listen by: Rene Gutteridge feb 10
Mini shopaholic by: Sophie Kinsella Nov 10 DNF 1
Fall of Giants by: Ken Follett Nov 10 ok…6-7
Listen by: Rene Gutteridge feb 10 Yuck 2; slow, could have been good
Dexter by: ?mar 10 sorry 3
Perfection by: Julie Metz June 10 awful 3 NF
Before You Know Kindness by: Chris Bohjalian June 10 a drag 3 can’t even remember
Thirteen Reasons Why by: Jay Asher June 10 3 whinny
Burned by: Ellen Hopkins
Dr. Stranger by: Meg Mullins
Peony in Love by: Lisa See
Why I Became a Famous Novelist by: Steve Heley Sept 10
Last Night in Montreal by: Emily St. John Mandel sept 10 dark 3
McNally’s Alibi by: Lawrence Sanders