Books Read in 2010

The new year has begun (and the new decade, which is still hard to get my head around.) What avid reader doesn't begin the new year wanting to make a list of the books read. Let's see how long I can keep this up. (I'm betting on March.)
All books marked with a * were assigned by the books editor at the Star-Ledger. Bold are YA

1. Ruby and the Stone Age Diet by Martin Millar. A fast read, and I'm not sure what I thought of it. Odd, and disjointed, but magical and colorful. I think what made it almost lyrical was the fractured, sometimes mythic imagery, and the fact that Millar seemed never to use contractions, not for dialogue, not for narration.


2. Under the Covers and between the Sheets: Facts and Trivia about the World's Greatest Books by C. Alan Joyce and Sarah Janssen. A collection of quotations and odd facts about books and writers (Ernest Hemingway stood up to write at his desk, Mark Twain couldn't stand Pride and Prejudice) that was probably not intended to be read cover-to-cover. But I did. Fun!


3. Faces of the Gone: A Mystery by Brad Parks. Set in Newark, and written by a former Star-Ledger reporter, this was a gritty, fun mystery and a fast read. Touches of humor tempering scenes that got somewhat grisly, reminded me of Last Call, by James Grippando. I think it's the start of a series (what mystery isn't, lately?) and I'd definitely read more.


4. * Betrayal of the Blood Lily- Lauren Willig (may have loved it too much to review! ack)


5. *Decoding Love: Why It Takes Twelve Frogs to Find a Prince, and Other Revelations from the Science of Attraction- Andrew Trees


6. * Whom Not To Marry- Father Pat Connor


7. * Us: Americans Talk About Love (edited by John Bowe) A collection of interviews about first love, or most important love.


8. *Through The Heart- Kate Morgenstern (a mystery that is only sort of a love story)


9. Rosanna of the Amish- Joseph W. Yoder. Picked it up at a book sale for a dollar. Anthropologically fascinating look at Amish culture and beliefs. Reminded me of Little House on the Prairie with a different religious outlook.


10. *A Love Alchemist's Notebook- Jessica Shepherd. Being a book reviewer leads to the oddest reading choices.


11. *Black Angels- Linda Beatrice Brown


12. *Sweethearts of Rhythm-Marilyn Nelson


13. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker- Leanna Renee Hieber. Strangely beautiful indeed! Gothic and magical.


14. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation- Lauren Willig (a lovely reread!)


15. The Masque of the Black Tulip- Lauren Willig


16. The Deception of the Emerald Ring- Lauren Willig


17. Nothing but a Smile- Steve Arnick. Review here


18. The Pint Man- Steve Rushin


19. Dawn of the Dreadfuls- Steve Hockensmith. Prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Review here.


20. Alone in the Kitchen With An Eggplant- edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler. Here's my review.


21. The Gun Seller, by Hugh Laurie. I reviewed it here.


22. In the Bleak Midwinter- Julia Spencer-Fleming. Reviewed here.


23. The Seasoning of a Chef- Doug Psaltis. Reviewed here.


24. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey Reviewed here. Loved it!
    


25. Epitaph Road, by David Patineaude,


26. The Sapphire Flute- Karen E Hoover


27. Tender Morsels- Margo Lanagan
    


28. To Come and Go Like Magic, Kate Rickard Fawcett


29. Choppy-Socky Blues Ed Briant


30. Over The End Line- Alfred C. Martino


31. Ashes- Kathryn Lasky


32. Finally- Wendy Mass


33. Rikers High, Paul Volponi


34. The Secret Year Jennifer R. Hubbard


35. Saving Maddie Varian Johnson


36. The River, by Mary Jane Beaufrand
    


37. Two by Mike Lupica. The Batboy, and


38. Shoot Out, a Comeback Kids Novel.


39. Spitfire Women of World War II- Giles Whittell. Reviewed here.


40. Julie and Julia- Julie Powell. Loved it! though aspic scares me.


41. Cum Laude by Cecily von Ziegsar. ARC from Allison at Hyperion. Review coming soon.


42. On a Dollar a Day: One Couple's Unlikely Adventures in Eating in America


43. Little Tiny Teeth.- Aaron Elkins. Gideon Oliver mystery, set in the Amazon. Good mystery though I could've done without the bit with the spider the size of a beagle. Brr! Taking Amazon vacation off my to-do list.


44. Plain Kate- Erin Bow. Got an advance copy at Book Expo. It was excellent. Pre-order this if you love a good magical tale.


45. Girl Parts Review here (posting 8/1/10)


46. Diary of a Confessions Queen-Kathy Carmichael. Reviewed here.


47. Bewitching Season- Marissa Doyle. Just stayed up WAY too late reading it. Fantastic, sophisticated YA, like a hybrid of Lauren Willig and Tamora Pierce. Smart late-Regency romance, with magic! Totally worth being sleepy tomorrow.


48. The Science of Sherlock Holmes by E.J. Wagner. Fascinating tracing the roots of forensics and criminology.


49. Betraying Season- Marissa Doyle. The sequel to Bewitching Season (see above) and just as good. Wish there were more!

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Little Brown <--- my favorite both cover and story.

Epitaph Road, by David Patineaude, Egmont,

The Sapphire Flute- Karen E Hoover, Valor Publishing Group

To Come and Go Like Magic, Kate Rickard Fawcett, Knopf Young Readers

Choppy-Socky Blues Ed Briant, Flux,

Over The End Line- Alfred C. Martino, Harcourt. <--- Jersey! Cover's actually a little dark. But.... Jersey!

Ashes- Kathryn Lasky, Viking

Finally- Wendy Mass, Scholastic <--- Jersey!

Rikers High, Paul Volponi, Viking

The Secret Year (Jennifer R. Hubbard, Viking

Saving Maddie,(Varian Johnson, Delacorte,

The River, by Mary Jane Beaufrand (Little Brown

Two by Mike Lupica. The Batboy, and Shoot Out, a Comeback Kids Novel.Cum Laude<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401310184?ie=UTF8&tag=esden-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1401310184">On a Dollar a Day: One Couple's Unlikely Adventures in Eating in America</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=esden-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1401310184" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />
On a Dollar a Day: One Couple's Unlikely Adventures in Eating in America