After keeping track of what I read in 2008, I didn’t meet my goal in 2009 to read, on average, a book a week. The reason behind the goal wasn’t for the sake of reading 52 books, but because I wanted to establish a regular habit of reading instead of going through spurts of books. I love to read and it’s one of the best ways that I can unwind and relax, so I think it’s healthy to set aside some time every night to get lost in a book. I got through a lot of pages in 2010, but I still didn’t quite make it to 52.
So just like the past couple years, here is what I read in 2010. And just like last year…
bold = read it! it’s good.
normal = neutral. neither highly recommended nor disliked.
strikethrough= bad. don’t bother.
- The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
- The Glass Castle (Jeannette Wells)
- Daughter of China (Hope C. Flinchbaugh)
- Across the China Sky (Hope C. Flinchbaugh)
- I’ll Cross The River (Hope C. Flinchbaugh)
- Safely Home (Randy Alcorn)
- The Bronze Bow (Elizabeth George Spear)
- Dear John (Nicholas Sparks)
- The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
- The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)
- Change of Heart (Jodi Picoult)
- Keeping Faith (Jodi Picoult)
- The Righteous Men (Sam Bourne)
- Into The Wild (Jon Krakauer)
- Living Water (Brother Yun)
- Julie (Catherine Marshall)
- Sarah’s Key (Tatiana de Rosnay)
- Water For Elephants (Sara Gruen)
- Half Broke Horses (Jeannette Wells)
- Travels With Herodotus (Ryszard Kapuscinski)
- Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Speed, and Lived to Tell The Tale (Brian ‘Head’ Welch)
- Serve The People!: A Novel (Yan Lianke)
- Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices (Mosab Hassan Yousef)
- Growing Up bin Laden: Osama’s Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World (Najwa bin Laden)
- The Lost Daughters of China (Karin Evans)
- The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding Of Facebook (Ben Mezrich)
- The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
- Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity In Iran (Roxana Saberi)
- I Am Nujood, Age 10 And Divorced (Nujood Ali)
- Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan (Greg Mortenson)
- Shanghai Girls (Lisa See)
- The Five Love Languages For Singles (Gary Chapman)
- Men Are Like Waffles – Women Are Like Spaghetti (Bill Farrel)
- Father Fiction: Chapters For a Fatherless Generation (Donald Miller)
- Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe In Christ (Brother Andrew)
- Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home (Laura Ling)
- Peony In Love (Lisa See)
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
- Honeymoon In Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger In Iran (Azadeh Moaveni)
- Slave (Mende Nazer)
- In The Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom (Qanta A. Ahmed)
- A Time To Betray (Reza Kahlili)
- Plain Truth (Jodi Picoult)
- My Prison, My Home (Haleh Esfandiari)
- In The Name of Honor (Mukhtar Mai)
- Juliet (Anne Fortier)
- True Believer (Nicholas Sparks)
- America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, And Flag (Sarah Palin)
- Life In Spite Of Me (Kristen J. Andersen)
What are some good books you read this year? I keep track of the books I read at Goodreads, a sort of social networking site for readers. If you want, create your own account, see what everyone’s reading, and follow me there.
in a place between places 
I’ve seen the movie for True Believer and enjoyed it! Unless I’m thinking a completely different story. Does it have to do with lawyers and such?
I still want to read that book Slave. Hopefully this year. You read a LOT of good books this year, it seems. That’s excellent. I love when you put out your lists. I put out my list today too. I guess I liked the Nujood book more than you did. I need to eventually read the rest of the Percy Jackson books. I’m thinking I will watch Water For Elephants the movie when it comes out and afterwards read the book. I tend to feel better reading books after seeing their films rather than complaining and being mad while watching a movie because it isn’t like the book. hahaha. I’m more of a movie person than book person though, I think. I hated the Dear John movie. Would I like the book more?
I find it cute that you read a book called Julie.
I look forward to seeing what more you read!! If you ever want, you can borrow my Dug Down Deep book.
I think the book True Believer and the movie share the same name by chance. The book is by Nicholas Sparks, and I don’t think it’s been converted to the big screen yet.
It is fun to see what others read. I’ll have to check out your list! I haven’t seen the Dear John movie, but the book was decent. If I remember correctly, I think the movie and the book have different endings.
My goal is to first finish the books I have out of the library, and then read the books I own that I haven’t read yet… and then work on my “to-read” list. So when all that is done, I would love to borrow your copy of Dug Down Deep! Is it good?