One Down, Three to Go

I won’t lie, 2010 has been my best reading year so far in terms of numbers; I’ve read 74 books since January 1st, for a total of 18,979 pages.

As far as quality of books though, well, it has left something to be desired. Who knew so many terrible books could find a publisher?

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
   Good program, dull book. And I stand by that.
2. Willow by Julia Hoban
   Despite the topic (teenage cutting; ick), I stayed up late into the night reading this.
3. Trudy by Jessica Lee Anderson
   Sweet; made me not want to have kids when I’m in my fifties.
4. The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
   A new Roald Dahl for me. Not my favorite. Why do my book reviews make me sound like an animal hater?
5. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E. L. Konigsburg
   Loved “The View from Saturday.” Most everything else by her has left me cold.
6. The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan
   Graphic novel in the finest possible way.
7. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
   Dave Ramsey is an excellent narrator.
8. How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
   I am not cool enough for this book. I don’t want fake, non-romance.
9. The Great and Only Barnum by Candace Fleming
   I still am amazed by how well done this book was.
10. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
    Loved this book – I talk about it more than I should.
11. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
    I think it was trying to be Diary of a Wimpy Kid/Judy Moody. Didn’t quite make it. Longest two CDs of my life.
12. Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
    Richard Peck, you need Grandma Dowdel.
13. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
    Far better than I’d expected. Funny and quite sweet. Also I sort of now understand Dungeons and Dragons. Sort of.
14. Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
    These books won’t stay on my shelves. I love it.
15. Lost and Found by Andrew Clements
    As a kid who dreamed of having a twin, this book totally spoke to my soul.
16. Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti
    I hate to say it, but every book of hers is less appealing to me than the last.
17. The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
    Read it in a day. Glad it was over.
18. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
    Not nearly as good as the first book. Which was total teen romance to begin with, so it’s not like the bar was all that high.
19. For Keeps by Natasha Friend
    Helloooooo, Gilmore Girls. Without the awesome.
20. Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett J. Korsoczka
    I love a book done all in yellow, black, and gray.
21. It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
    Another disappointing sequel. Why? Why must you torture me?
22. Flush by Carl Hiaasen
    Oh, did you have an agenda, sir? I never would have noticed (except for every other sentence).
23. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
    A hugely-hyped book, it took me a good 300 pages to stop despising every character. That’s a hard sell, friends.
24. A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
    Cute-ish, but slow.
25. Tangled by Carolyn Mackler
    Blah. Have tried to put this book out of my mind. I have read all of her books and liked exactly one.
26. Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson
    I had so many gripes with this book, I could have written my own book.
27. Frankly, Frannie by A. J. Stern
    Great for the Judy Moody crowd.
28. The Get Rich Quick Club by Dan Gutman
    Annoying narrator, irritating ending.
29. The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone GREAT premise, kind of a flat delivery of that premise.
30. The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
    The first decent book I read from ALA. I am staggered by how many lousy books there were.
31. The Mark by Jen Nadol – When I went back to my list of books for the year, I couldn’t even remember what this book was about. So yeah, not that good.
32. The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
    So well-written. I need to dig up the sequel.
33. My Life in France by Julia Child
    Julia’s negativity has, unfortunately, been the most memorable thing about this book for me.
34. The Wild Wild West by Geronimo Stilton
    Meh.
35. The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
    Dear Kelly, I’m still so sorry I didn’t love this book.
36. The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry
    Lois Lowry is a master.
37. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
    Very funny. My Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans (which is basically every kid at both my schools) will love this.
38. Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski
    Fast and amusing.
39. The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg
    This book has got huge publicity behind it. I think it will do well, even though I didn’t really love it.
40. Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A. Meyer
    Great audio. Don’t think there is any way I’ll make it through all eight books, though.
41. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
    I will neither confirm nor deny that I currently have 45 pounds of flour under my kitchen counter.
42. Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman
    It seems kind of tacky to have your characters watching a movie version of one of your other books. Or am I too sensitive?
43. Candor by Pam Bachorz
    Clever. Clever, clever, clever.
44. Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
    Such a nice premise. Kind of a slow production of it, though.
45. Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien
    The Giver meets The Hunger Games. Read it.
46. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
    So much better than I expected.
47. The Secret to Lying by Todd Mitchell
    Probably wouldn’t have finished this if it hadn’t been the only book I had on the airplane.
48. This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
    Hopeful. . . I think.
49. NurtureShock: New Thinking about Children by Po Bronson
    Frankly made me feel a little stressed about trying to raise my own children.
50. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
    Blew Shiver out of the water. Desperate for the next book. . .
51. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
    Darling.
    
52. Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick Laugh, sob, repeat. Bart and I both loved it.
53. January (Conspiracy 365) by Gabrielle Lord
    I expected to hate this book. Then I went and requested the next two. So I guess I liked it.
54. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
    Twilight meets Harry Potter. Not in a really great way.
55. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
    Glad to finally have read this. I deserve a gold star or something.
56. The Killer’s Cousin by Nancy Werlin
    This book was just so awesome. But why must all Nancy Werlin books be on scratched, non-working CDs? It is a CURSE!
57. The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman by Louise Plummer
    I like my romance a little more romance-y than this, I think.
58. There’s A Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar
    How had I never read this before? I am ashamed.
59. The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
    This man can write. The Chocolate War was better, though, even if it was a little grungier.
60. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
    Deserves to be a best-seller. Really nicely done.
61. Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
    I can’t decide if I enjoyed or hated this book. A little of both, I guess (hint: pick the guy who is alive).
62. Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
    Can’t stop singing the song from “The Court Jester” when I think about this book.
63. Lunch Money by Andrew Clements
    Probably done with Andrew Clements for a while.
64. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
    Meeeeeeh.
65. Three Quarters Dead by Richard Peck
    This book was downright terrible. And I was probably harder on it than I might have been because I expect big things from Richard Peck.
66. Well Witched by Francis Hardinge
    On the edge of being really terrific. Didn’t quite make it there, though.
67. The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller
    This was a YA romance that felt like WORK. And I don’t like my YA romances to feel like that.
68. What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson
    Dear Kayla. I’m sorry I didn’t like this book. Can we still be friends?
69. The Hole We’re In by Gabrielle Zevin
    You definitely should read this if you want to hate everyone and everything in it.
70. Conspiracy 365: February by Gabrielle Lord
    Fine. Probably won’t read the rest of the series.

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