My Books of 2010 Post

So, in 2010, I read a total of 68 books, cover to cover (with one except, though I read four hundred pages of it, so I counted it). Go me! However, if I included the number of books I started and put down for one reason or another, well, the count would be much higher. That makes me sad, for a variety of reasons, but rather than dwell on that, let's dwell on the good stuff!

I read some fantastic books this year. The standouts for me were:

On the Jellicoe Road – Melina Marchetta (my favorite book of the year)

Why I Wake Early – Mary Oliver

Writing the Breakout Novel - Donald Maass (why oh why didn't I read this sooner?)

The Pricker Boy – Reade Scott Whinnem (the spookiest book I read this year)

The Magician's Elephant – Kate di Camillo (magical!)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson – John Green and David Levithan

Some Girls Are – Courtney Summers (made me cry)

Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott (also made me cry, but for very different (yet good) reasons)

Saving Francesca – Melina Marchetta

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures – Anne Fadiman

Reckless - Cornelia Funke

The Magic Thief – Sarah Prineas

And the rest:

Tam Lin - Pamela Dean

Catwings – Ursula le Guin

Hawksong – Amelia Atwater Rhodes

The Truth Teller's Tale – Sharon Shin

Return to Bone Tree Hill - Kristin Butcher

Dressage Masters: Techniques and Philosophies – David Collins

A Breath of Snow and Ashes – Diana Gabaldon

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken

An Echo in the Bone – Diana Gabaldon

Coventry – Helen Humphreys

Booklife - Jeff Vandermeer

When the Body Says No – Gaber Maté

The Body Sacred – Diane Sylvan

The War Diary of Clare Gass – Clare Gass

Heal Your Body – Louise L. Hay

Spirits of the Earth – Bobby Lake-Thorn

The Night Tourist - Katherine Marsh

The Natural Remedy Book for Women – Diane Stein

Women Overseas: Memoirs of the Canadian Red Cross Corp - ed. Day, Spence,

LaDouceur

Light Beneath Ferns – Anne Spollen

Eating in the Light of the Moon – Anita Johnston

Joan – Donald Spoto

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K Rowling

Song of the Sparrow - Lisa Ann Sandell

Archangel – Sharon Shinn

Finnikin of the Rock – Melina Marchetta

Roxie and the Hooligans – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

The White Darkness – Geraldine McCaughrean

Maybe – Brent Runyon

The Magicians – Lev Grossman

Mistwood – Leah Cypess

The Line – Teri Hall

Matched – Allie Condie

Prophecy of Days – Christy Raedeke

Hourglass – Claudia Gray

Paper Towns - John Green

Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins

Nomansland - Lesley Hauge

Three Day Road – Joseph Boyden

Leviathan – Scott Westerfeld

Delirium – Lauren Oliver

Revolution – Jennifer Donnelly

Ravensong: A Natural and Fabulous History of Ravens and Crows – Catherine Feher-Elston

Eating for Acid Reflux – Hill Sklar and Annabel Cohen

Chronic Heartburn: Managing Acid Reflux and GERD – Wendland/Ruffalo

Blood Roses - Francesca Lia Block

Wasteland – Francesca Lia Block

Solving Horse and Pony Problems – Guay/Schlinkert

Dressage Training Customized – Britta Schoffmann

The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova (okay, so, I only read 400 pages of this thing – the first 300, and the last 100. I skipped the middle 400 pages…and didn't miss a thing…)

Twenty Boy Summer – Sarah Ockler

Heartsinger – Karljin Stoffels

Witch Child – Celia Rees

Between Shades of Gray – Ruta Sepetys

The Thief – Megan Whalen Turner

All in all, I read a lot of enjoyable books this year. There are exciting things happening in contemporary YA, and I think adult fiction could learn a thing or two or seven from what YA authors are doing. It is possible, believe it or not, to write beautiful literary work that is exciting, compelling, and non-navel gazing.

However…(yes, there is a however), I really am troubled by how many books I put down. I'm not going to mention them, because…well, because. But I will say this: maybe it's because I read and write fantasy, or maybe I just don't enjoy the paranormal stuff, but, by and large, the books I put down most often were YA fantasy and paranormal fantasy. To me, they read like the same book with different covers, for one. Another other issue is that concept often seemed to trump good writing, and with the ones I did finish, I couldn't help thinking, "So what?" at the end. Fantasy shouldn't do that, in my opinion. Good fantasy – the best kind of fantasy – opens a window into ourselves at some level. At least, the kind of fantasy I enjoy (and prize) does. However, there's no accounting for taste, right?

And, I did have some quibbles about a few trends in YA (trends as a whole worry me), but I'm not sure if that's because I'm old and jaded, or because I've been stuck in the revision trench most of the year, or what. I need to think about this a bit more – a post for a later date, perhaps.

Anyhow, my book shelves are full of new books ready to be devoured. My reading goals this year include reading more non-fiction just for the sake of reading it and not because I'm researching or trolling for story ideas, and to read more historical fiction, especially YA historical, simply because!

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