2010 in Review: Books

My goal for 2010 was to read 52 books.

I started a total of 58 books, but I quit reading 15 of them somewhere in the middle.

So that means I completed 43 books.

I'll take it. I didn't want to cram in a bunch of books at the last minute, or read books just for the sake of adding them to my list. Nor did I want to intentionally read super-easy, quick reads and/or add children's picture books to my list. The whole point is to read for pleasure, not to achieve some dumb goal.

Anyway, I'll start by talking about the books I liked best, and then talk about the books I liked least. I'm declaring my favorite book of 2010 to be:

Room by Emma Donoghue! It's the story of a woman and her son who are imprisoned in an 11x11 shed by a creepy captor/rapist, until they make a daring escape and then try to adjust to the outside world. This book transcends any genre; it's a bit of a horror story, but also an interesting look at how children are raised. The book is narrated by the boy, Jack, who is 5 years old and therefore not privy to some of the graphic details that would make this book too heavy.

Following Room, my top 5 runners-up, in no particular order, are:

1. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
2. I'll Mature When I'm Dead: Dave Barry's Amazing Tales of Adulthood by Dave Barry
3. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
5. Roses by Laila Meacham

Now onto the books I didn't like. Keeping in mind that there were 15 books that I hated so much that I didn't finish them, here are the ones I completed but liked the least:

1. A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White
2. Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
3. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
4. The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross
5. Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

And then there are 32 books in between. In all, I think I had a good year, reading-wise. (Though I will say that my book completion rate slowed down in November and December when I was writing on this blog every single day.) I read a nice variety in terms of genre, and also a variety in terms of medium. What I mean is, I read some in e-book form, some in paper form, some from the library, and some that I purchased. I have friends who are exclusively library users, and others who never use the library, but I myself like to mix it up. I figure every book I get from the library saves me money, and everything I get from the library or in e-book form is good for the environment, but I also can't wait patiently for certain books. Or maybe I'm going to be in a situation where I think a library book might get lost/damaged. And some books work great in e-book form, and e-books are especially good for travel because they don't take up as much space. But I also have a quirk wherein if I read two out of three books in a trilogy in hard copy form, I have to read the third one in hard copy and not on the Kindle. That was the case with Mockingjay, where I wanted it in book form and I wanted to go to Borders on the release day and be part of the excitement.

Anyway, sorry to disappoint all 5 of my loyal readers, but I will not be doing NaBloPoMo in January. I have posted for almost 61 days straight, and I can't do it every single day anymore. I love writing this blog, but, much like the situation with the 52-books goal, when you do something out of obligation it ceases to be fun. I'm sure I will still write most days, just not every day. All of this is to say that I might have more reading time in 2011. But I'm not setting any kind of numerical goal for books I want to read in 2011. That takes all the fun out of it.