Lovely Little Shelf

If everyone else jumped off a bridge, I doubt that I’d be far behind.

After seeing so many great “best of” lists I decided to make my own.  Narrowing it down was by no means easy, but I think I came up with ten (plus change) that really made my year. You’ll notice that few of these were published this year.  I probably only read 5 or 6 books that came out in 2010, so this is just the books that I read and loved the most.  There’s no way that I could rank these 1-10 so this is just kind of a hodge podge.  Here ya go!

(A Note:  If you click on the cover, it will take you to my review.)

We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver

This is a weird one to be on a top 10 list, I’m sure.  It’s dark and creepy and kind of goes to a place that most books, most people, avoid.  I’m including this one because 11 months after reading it, it is still stuck firmly in my mind.  This book played with my emotions in a way that very few books do.

Columbine, by Dave Cullen

Figured if I was going to include both of these, they may as well be side-by-side.  This is another one that was genuinely hard to read but just stuck with me.  Dave Cullen investigated the shootings at Columbine at the time of the shootings, and then for the 10 following years to just get a handle on what happened and how it can be prevented from happening again.  A hard look at a tough story.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

This was possibly the best fiction I read this year, and I read a lot of fiction.  You guys know that I love a giant book, but I was scared of this one after seeing it on B&N’s bargain table so much.  Next time you see it, pick it up. It’s amazing.

Cash, by Johnny Cash

An autobiography of the man in black?  Yes, please.  We listened to a lot of Johnny Cash while I was growing up and when he got popular again, I was so excited.  This was written late in his life and it’s retrospective and perfect.

Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer

This is one of those books that was hyped until I didn’t even want to read it, and then when I did I was way, way impressed.  I loved the unique style and just the heart that was put into this book.  I haven’t read anything else by him yet, but that’s one of my 2011 goals.

The Lost City Of Z, by David Grann

I just read this recently and haven’t gotten to the review yet.  It’s about men looking for civilization in the Amazon. As a little preview of my review: I loved this and couldn’t get enough of it and it made me want to learn more.  So good.

Jungle, by Yossi Ghinsberg

I got on a huge survival-books kick this year and made myself only pick one for my top ten.  This one stood out for me.  I talked about it with everyone I saw for the next few weeks and just went on and on about how these guys got lost in the Amazon and blah blah blah.  Also awesome:  they made an episode of the show I Shouldn’t Be Alive based on this, so after I read it I got to hear the guy talking about it and watch a pretty horrible reenactment.  Fun stuff

Operating Instructions, by Anne Lamott

I love Anne Lamott.  I’m seriously crazy about her.  She’s real and honest and gritty and wonderful.  This was a perfect example of all of that and, through these first few months of motherhood, have helped me feel very, very normal.  This is maybe the best baby shower present ever.

The Passage, by Justin Cronin

I knew I was going to love this and I absolutely did.  Government screw up that leads to most of the country dying and the rest of the people fighting for survival?  Yes, please.  This was one of those books that absolutely deserved all the hype that it got.

The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss

I know that this was a re-read so maybe it shouldn’t count on my list for 2010, but it’s my list so I can do what I want, right? Right.  I am crazy about this book and I am just about counting the days until the second in the series comes out.  I am not at all into fantasy but this was such an exception that it kind of blew me away.  Really, really good stuff.

I also have a couple of honorable mentions: The Night Listener, Flyboys, Full Dark No Stars, and Mockingjay.