It’s that time of year again when I reveal what my favorite reads from the year are. Instead of talking about the books I disliked, I’m just going to focus on those that I really enjoyed out of the more than 100 books I read this year and break them down by category. You can click on titles for my reviews.
For those of you signing up for the Fearless Poetry Exploration Challenge in 2011, I hope my Best of Poetry 2010 helps you. I selected three our of the 16 poetry books I read this year:
- The Brontes by Pamela Norris
- Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa
- The Wrong Miracle by Liz Gallagher
For the Best Audiobooks of 2010, I selected two of the 9 I listened to:
- 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
- Ravens by George Dawes Green
For the Best Historical Fiction of 2010, I selected three out of 16:
- Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
- Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran
- Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner
For the Best of Vietnam War Fiction 2010, out of the 15 I’ve read, I selected three:
- Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes (review coming at 5 p.m.)
- The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
- Paco’s Story by Larry Heinemann
For the Best Young Adult Fiction 2010, I selected three out of the 6 I read:
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
- Undercover by Beth Kephart
- Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
For the Best Nonfiction 2010, I selected 2 out of 6 I read:
- A Hundred Feet Over Hell by Jim Hooper
- Government Girl by Stacy Parker Aab
For the Best Chicklit of 2010, I selected one out of 4 I read:
- Take a Chance on Me by Jill Mansell
For the Best Reference of 2010, I selected one out of 5 I read:
- The Nighttime Novelist by Joseph Bates
For the Best Fiction of 2010, I selected three of the 47 I read:
- Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye
- Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa
- City of Refuge by Tom Piazza
None of these selections are in a particular order, but these are the ones that I enjoyed the most and that have stuck with me throughout the year.
I agree with a lot of these, especially Matterhorn. I hope to post my list and The Girl’s list later today. Wishing you a year of exciting reads. You’ll certainly be reading a lot more kid’s books soon. 😉
Still not sure that I’ll be reviewing the kids books though.
Why not? At least the ones you really enjoy and would recommend. It’s not like anyone would mistake you for a kidlit blog. 😉
I’m not really good at gauging whether kids books are good.
Great picks!
I read 95 books, not bad, considering I was in a reading slump for more than four months.
Happy New Year to you and your family. Have a great reading year in 2011!!!
Here are my Best Reads of 2010
Happy New Year Serena! I love seeing your favorites. I almost listed Shanghai Girls… That was a good one.
Hope you’ll read a lot of fabulous books this year too!
What an interesting list of books. I like that you broke it out by genre like that.
I do love the best of lists. 🙂 I always keep my pen and paper handy to write down titles that catch my interest.
Shanghai Girls is one I do hope to get to this next year. And I have a copy of Matterhorn here that I still have to get to. Safe From the Sea is another title I would love to read. I am glad you enjoyed them so much!
I hope you have a Happy New Year, Serena!
All three of those are excellent books. Matterhorn will be my last review of the year.
What a lovely surprise! Thank you so much for selecting CeeCee as one of your favorite 2010 reads. It’s truly an honor, and I know Oletta and all the gals of Gaston Street will be tickled pink.
Happy New Year, Serena!
I don’t think you should be surprised, since I raved about the book in my review. 🙂 Have a great new year…the gals on Gaston Street too!
You read an incredible amount of books throughout the year that I really AM surprised … and delighted! Thank you again. *giggles*
I don’t read as many books as other bloggers, believe me! just over 100 books is a drop in the bucket to some! 🙂 I still get happy when I reach 100 books.
Hi Serena, just popping in to wish you and your family a Happy New Year. May 2011 be filled with good books, good friends, good health and much happiness.
That’s a good way to highlight your faves by breaking it into categories. Gotta agree with you on the Jill Mansell book – she is a hoot!
I really enjoy Mansells’ books. They just make me giggle.
I really like the way you divided this up!
Happy New Year to the three of you!!!
Thanks! Happy New Year to you as well.
Great list 🙂
Some new to me, some I want to read, some I have read
I really had a good reading year. There weren’t too many books that I didn’t like this year.