Loyal readers may recall that last January, inspired by the movie Julie & Julia I decided to take on my own project that would require similar daily dedication. Well, as 2010 comes to a close, I’m sure many of you are on the edge of your seats waiting to hear what happened with my 365 Days Scrapbook project.
Umm, yah, about that… I did it for a while, and then, well, you know how life is, things got busy, more urgent projects arose, and the scrapbook fell by the wayside.
However, as 2010 comes to a close, I must make it known that I have quite unintentionally completed a separate project. A few weeks ago, as I was talking to a friend about books I’ve read recently she remarked on how much I have been reading this past year. That got me wondering, “How many have I read?” A careful look through my Nook, our bookshelf at home, and my classroom bookshelves revealed that I had read 49 books. Last night at 1 AM as I closed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I cheered for myself, 52 books in 52 weeks!
Now, before you glance over the list and say to yourself, “Oh, well she really only read about 20 books, most of these are kid’s books!” keep in mind that children’s literature can be just as gratifying as literature written for an adult audience. Lois Lowry’s The Giver certainly contains more complex questions and advanced themes than some of the romance novels on the list below! (Romance novels were like candy, I knew it wasn’t good for me or even really worthwhile, but they were enjoyable to read nevertheless).
Glancing over the list, it didn’t take more than 10 seconds for me to decide what my all-time favorite book of the year was. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen was certainly the best book I read all year. However, you are not here for me to pontificate my musings about books, so onward to the list!
1. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
2. Boy by Roald Dahl
3. Going Solo by Roald Dahl
4. Diary of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
7. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
8. Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurty
9. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty
10. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
11. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
12. Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins
13. Too Good to Be True by Kristan Higgins
14. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
15. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
16. Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins
17. The Lost City of Z by David Grann
18. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
19. Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins
20. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
21. Out of Patience by Brian Meehl
22. The Lemonade Wars by Jacqueline Davies
23. Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
24. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
25. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
26. Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
27. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
28. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
29. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
30. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
31. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
32. Tex by S.E. Hinton
33. Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton
34. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
35. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
36. Holes by Louis Sachar
37. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
38. Blue by Lois Lowry
39. The Calder Games by Blue Balliett
40. Hoops by Walter Dean Myers
41. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
42. The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell
43. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
44. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
45. Going Rogue by Sarah Palin
46. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
47. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
48. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
49. The True Tale of Zachary Beaver by Kimberly Willis Holt
50. At Home by Bill Bryson
51. The Wizard’s Map by Jane Yolen
52. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
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