Favorite Books of 2010

I've read a lot of books in the past year. And, I do mean A LOT! So I thought I'd share some of the ones that I liked the very most....and a few that I really hated too. I started using the website Shelfari.com because I can keep track of the books I've read (great for when people ask for a recommendation) and the books I want to remember to read later.

Favorite Fiction:

1) Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins. I know there are some who didn't think this final book of the hunger games lived up to all the hype, but I liked it. It wasn't as good as the Hunger Games, but it was still satisfying to me. I do wish the closure with the boy she didn't choose (no spoilers here!) had been a little more complete.

2) The Help - Kathryn Stockett. A story about black maids around the time of the civil rights movement. Really loved this one!

3) The Book Thief - Markus Zusak. At first I didn't like this book. It is very unique. But somehow I felt compelled to keep reading and now I can't seem to get it out of my head. It just haunts you I guess.

4) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society - Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows. This is perfect for book club.

5) Austenland - Shannon Hale. Total chick lit but its a good light-hearted read. I love Jane Austen and this was modern day Austen.

6) The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley. I love Fantasy and this is a great fantasy book. A teensy bit unbelievable at the end, but still a great book.

7) The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and the Conspiracy of Kings - By Megan Whalen Turner. I've mentioned these on here before, but they are so awesome I have to just remind you of them.

Non-Fiction

1) Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics - By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Fascinating facts and myth breakers. I find myself constantly referring to these books in conversations with friends and family.

2) The Same Kind of Different as Me - a real life story of a friendship between a rich white art dealer and a black homeless man.

3) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Steven Covey. I don't usually read self help books (people who are already perfect usually don't :) ) but this one was great.

Books to read to your kids:

1) Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine
2) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (my kids favorite) - Roald Dahl
3) Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo
4) Frindle - Andrew Clements
5) Rules - Cynthia Lord
6) The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo

Spiritual/Inspirational:

1) The Undaunted - Gerald Lund. A fictional story based on the Hole in the Rock Pioneers. A little long winded but overall a good book.

2) Standing for something - Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley. Written by an LDS prophet but not just for members of the church. A good reminder all religions on how to live a good life.

3) The Peacegiver - James Ferrell. A book about a man trying to heal his relationship with his wife. A book to help you think from a different perspective.

Books I didn't like:

1) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - I'd heard a lot about this book and since I like P & P I thought I'd try it. What a stupid attempt to hack apart a piece of literary genius. Ick!

2) The girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson. I know...a book everyone is talking about. I got about a hundred and fifty pages in and decided it was not only too adult (F words) but also boring as watching paint dry.

3) The Maze Runner - James Dashner. I think James Dashner's blog is really funny, but the book totally let me down. It had such potential too and in the end the premise just didn't hold water.

4) How to Eat Fried Worms - How in the world did this book ever get published and why in the heck has everyone heard of it. It's absolutely a terrible book. Nothing happens, it's totally choppy and half the time it makes no sense!

If you made it to the end of this post you are either a dear, dear friend or you love books as much as I do!