Best Reads of 2010

To borrow an idea from a friend who is an even more avid reader than myself (thanks, Bridget!), I wanted to list some of my top reads of 2010.

I have meant to read Atlas Shrugged for years. I finally got around to it this summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. While I don't agree with every tenet of Ayn Rand's philosophy, her insights into the political and social problems of today are frighteningly realistic (especially given that she wrote this over 50 years ago).
I may not have picked this up (or even heard of it) if it hadn't been for my book club. But it was a great read. An interesting perspective on the Holocaust taken from the viewpoint of the occupants of a small German town.

I may have actually finished this book the end of 2009, I can't remember for certain, but it's worth a mention. It's a fantastic read. I really enjoy McCall's other (more well-known) books such as the "Ladies Detective Agency", "Sunday Philosophy Club" and "44 Scotland Street". He is a great writer and I enjoy the journey as much as the destination. This book has perhaps a bit more "meat" than his others and some deeper thought and meaning. I'm sorry it hasn't been more popular, it's a very worthwhile read.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It took me a while to get around to reading it because I read "Wives and Daughters" by the same author and didn't think much of it. However, this is different. It has a great story and is based enough in the realities of the time period that I learned and thought a lot about the difficulties people faced.

Another book club read, this was also a great story and one that raised my awareness as to individual's lives in the time period it takes place. The discussion made the read even better. Definitely a good book-club choice!

I have to include a couple of kids books because I do so much reading aloud! To confess, though, I really enjoy reading YA books in general. Having kids is just an excuse for indulging in them!

We were definitely obsessed with the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series at our house this year. The characters are interesting, the stories compelling, and best of all, they are based (like my favorite childrens books) in some reality so that it gets your kids interested in actual history. My kids have wanted to hear more and more about mythology and Greek and Roman history, and James even checked out a "kids version" of the Odyssey from the school library and has enjoyed reading it. Too bad the movie was so poorly done. Or maybe not--I'd rather have my kids read than watch a movie any day and James just finished reading this for the 2nd time!

This is far and above my favorite picture book of the year. We picked it up at the school book fair, and I have to say (shallow me?) I initially picked it up because of the illustrations. And the illustrations are AMAZING. But the story is really clever and it's a very fun read. For a while, we were reading it several times a day!

So, while I clearly preferred fiction to non-fiction this year, I learned a lot. Here's to more great books in 2011 . . .