Ever since I could read, I’ve always been in the midst of a book. I seriously cannot remember a time where I wasn’t beginning, in the middle of or ending a book. While I do watch the occasional TV show, I’m much more of a reader and would rather escape into a book than a movie. It always makes me sad to see younger generations not loving books as much as I do and my heart bleeds a little when I hear a teen say they hate reading. Say what you want about Harry Potter (never read it) or Twilight (have read), the one thing they have done is sparked an interest in reading in kids and that’s a great thing.
Almost two years ago I bought myself a Kindle for my 30th birthday. Oh my heavens, I fell in love with it immediately. I really thought that I would miss holding a book and the whole sensory experience with reading the actual book. While I miss the smell and the feel of it from time to time, it is SO much easier to read on a Kindle and I now prefer to read on a Kindle than an actual book. This year I upgraded to the K3 and I love it even MORE. It’s seriously been my most used (and loved) item after my beloved computer.
I am constantly on the hunt for new reads and I know that at least a few of my readers out there are book lovers as well so I thought I would put together a list of my favorite books that I read in 2010. If you are a fellow reader, join Goodreads and friend me! I always love stalking people’s reading lists!
I read 140 books in 2010. I’d hope for 150 next year but I don’t know that I could really read THAT much more.
Here’s my top 10 books of 2010. Be warned, I read for enjoyment and I don’t care that I’m not reading the next best american novel. I read that stuff too but this is purely what I enjoyed most!
1. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim.
By FAR my favorite book of 2010. I haven’t blogged the images yet, but I was lucky enough to see her stand up act and meet her in October in Boston. This is Alison’s autobiography about growing up in Hollywood, acting on Little House on the Prairie (with some hilarious behind the scene tidbits) and life after the prairie. Even if you aren’t a huge ‘Bonnethead’ you still will love this book. I highly recommend it.
2. My Fair Lazy by Jennifer Lancaster.
There is a trend you may see here and that is that I love writers that are hilarious and witty with a dash of sarcasm. I’ve been a huge fan of Jennifer’s for a while now, her blog is on my Google Reader and I follow her on Twitter. She’s hilarious. The latest installment was another awesome addition to the series and in my opinion one of the best. While you can pick up her books and read even if you haven’t read the previous ones, I highly recommend reading them all from the beginning to get all the jokes and innuendos.
3. The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross.
This novel really surprised me. I expected it to be a fluffy chick lit read to occupy my mind while taking a break from heavier novels. I was quite pleasantly surprised how MUCH I ended up liking this novel! It’s still definitely a chick lit book but quite enjoyable!
4. The Endless Forest by Sarah Donati.
I hate to see favorite series end but when they do, I hope they end as beautifully as this one did. If you enjoy the “Outlander” series by Diana Gabaldon, you should check out this series by Sarah Donati (do NOT read any of these out of order or you will be completely and utterly lost, it starts with Into the Wilderness) as they actually overlap a bit with some minor characters. One thing I LOVED about this final book in the series is how every loose end is tied up, which isn’t often done and if it is, it’s not done this well.
5. Secret Lives by Diane Chamberlain.
Pretty much every single Diane Chamberlain book I read I adore. She’s rereleased some of her older works on Kindle and I’m SO glad because this novel grabbed me from the word go and I enjoyed it so much. While some things are somewhat predictable, there is enough mystery to keep the pages turning. If you like Jodi Picoult, you will LOVE Diane Chamberlain.
6. Promise Bridge by Eileen Clymer Schwab.
I actually didn’t expect to like this book. I had it in the (virtual) to-read pile for ages and kept passing over it but eventually read it lacking anything else that sparked my fancy in the pile. I’m so glad that I did! This is one of the few novels that I absolutely HATED to put down when reading. It follows the story of Hannah whom finds some runaway slaves and does everything in her power to save them. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys Civil War era novels.
7. One Wore Blue, And One Wore Grey, And One Rode West by Heather Graham.
When I was visiting a friend in New Orleans she found a used copy of One Wore Blue in a bookstore and snatched it up, elated to have found it after loosing her copy in Katrina. She told me that I should read it, knowing how much we both love the North & South series (RIP Patrick Swayze). She said it reminded her of it so I immediately sought out a copy and lucked out in finding the trilogy fairly cheap. This series is 3 full novels about 2 brothers and a sister during the Civil War. It may not be an epic award winning novel but I LOVED them all and was caught up from the first chapter until the end. The books are available separately.
8. Promises to Keep by Jane Green.
Oh god, this one ripped my heart out and threw it down some stairs, then stomped on it a bit to make sure it was tortured. It is the story of a portrait photographer, Callie, and her fight against breast cancer. It was really hard for me to read with my father passing from cancer and my sister in law recently beating her breast cancer (sadly since I read this book it has returned and she’s currently fighting a battle very similar to the heroine of this novel) however I felt that this novel dealt VERY well and realistically with cancer and how it not only affects the victim but the family and loved ones as well. I don’t often cry during books, but this one did bring me to tears. If you need a good cry (or just want to read a really good book) pick this one up, just be sure to bring tissues
9. The Department of Lost and Found by Allison Winn Scotch.
This novel, while dealing with cancer similar to Promises to Keep, manages to keep things a bit lighter and more humorous. There are dark moments but there are definite more silver linings to be read here. It’s a really well written novel dealing with cancer and it was another book that I found hard to put down. It also left me thinking a lot afterwards which is always a great sign that it was a good novel.
10. Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter by Lisa Patton.
This novel may not be the most well written on my list. Heck it may not be the best of anything on most people’s lists even. I however ADORED it and it was such a fun, fluffy read. I saw it at Target and spent about a day trying to recall the name so I could buy it on my Kindle and ended up going BACK to Target to find the name b/c I wanted to read it that badly. LOL! Sometimes you just need a read that is fun to read, full of giggles and lots of laughs. There’s enough drama so it’s not too slap happy and enough silliness to tamper the drama. If you like chick lit, pick it up!
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