What I read in 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope 2011 brings everyone lots of blessings and wonderful books to read. :o)

I decided a long time ago that I won't make New Year's resolutions because they only just end up making you feel bad about yourself when you don't stick to them. As a voracious reader, I just like to be open to new experiences, and maybe make the goal to pick up a few books that I normally wouldn't give the time of day. I actually did that in 2010 because for the first time this past September, I introduced to my literature class a genre requirement list of 20 books. They get to choose whatever books they want to read, as long as they fit within the confines of the genres they're required to read. This forces them to challenge themselves and read books outside their comfort zone (or for some kids, read books at all). I have been completing the form with my students, and let me tell you, it has challenged me too. I am so used to just choosing contemporary fiction that I hardly ever pick up fantasy, mystery, or science fiction. The great thing about this genre requirement is that everyone ends up reading books that they enjoyed that they never would have given the time of day had it not been for this requirement. A perfect example for me is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Unless it's dystopian, I really dislike science fiction. I picked this book up (well actually, I listened to the audiobook) because I knew it was a cult classic and wanted to give it a try. I loved every minute of it. Who knew that science fiction could be humorous? Certainly not me.

I JUST BARELY missed making it to 100 books in 2010. What a bummer! Although, if I counted all the picture books I read this year, I'd have made it well past that mark. I just don't think it's fair to count books that take you all of five minutes to read - so I don't. Oh well. I am determined to make it to 100 in 2011.

Without further ado, I bring you my list of books read (and listened to) in 2010:

1. How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor
2. Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko*
3. Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For by Thomas Newkirk
4. What Do Fish Have to Do with Anything? by Avi
5. Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman*
6. A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg*
7. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
8. Making History Mine: Meaningful Connections for Grades 5-9 by Sarah Cooper
9. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore*
11. In Mozart's Shadow: His Sister's Story by Carolyn Meyer
12. Going Bovine by Libba Bray*
13. Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
14. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo*
15. The Bear Makers by Andrea Cheng
16. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson*
17. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
18. City of Thieves by David Benioff*
19. The Dog in the Wood by Monika Schröder
20. Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan*
21. Stitches by David Small
22. Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor*
23. "Is It Done Yet?" Teaching Adolescents the Art of Revision by Barry Gilmore
24. Shug by Jenny Han*
25. The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker
26. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller
27. 360 Degrees Longitude: One Family's Journey Around the World by John Higham
28. Fat Cat by Robin Brande*
29. Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves
30. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood*
31. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
32. Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It by Michael J. Trinklein
33. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle*
34. Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year by Esme Raji Codell
35. Smile by Raina Tegelmeier
36. Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World by Diane MacEachern
37. Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen
38. Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr*
39. Impossible by Nancy Werlin*
40. Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan
41. Mockingbird by Kathyrn Erskine
42. Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins
43. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
44. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt*
45. Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce*
46. No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty
47. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster*
48. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister*
49. Honeymoon with my Brother by Franz Wisner
50. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan*
51. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks*
52. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
53. Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
54. Wish by Alexandra Bullen
55. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson*
56. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes*
57. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
58. Peak by Roland Smith
59. The Life You've Imagined by Kristina Riggle
60. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See*
61. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
62. Beastly by Alex Flinn*
63. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
64. Real Food Has Curves by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
65. The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian
66. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
67. Guinea Dog by Patrick Jennings
68. Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson*
69. Radiance by Alyson Noel
70. Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert*
71. Speak by Laure Halse Anderson
72. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli*
73. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
74. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
75. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink*
76. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
77. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams*
78. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume*
79. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
80. The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
81. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson*
82. Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
83. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech*
84. Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield*
85. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
86. Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
87. Savvy by Ingrid Law*
88. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott*
89. Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
90. Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda by J.P. Stassen
91. Ice Story: Shackleton's Lost Expedition by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
92. Perfect by Natasha Friend
93. All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
94. The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry* by Kathleen Flinn*
95. Dante's Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation by Seymour Chwast

*Indicates audiobook