<p>xcgirl, I’ve read* Ender’s Game* several times, but probably not in 2010. For some reason I’ve been having a really hard time remembering anything I read in 2010 that was worth mentioning. I don’t read a great deal of non-genre fiction anyway. </p>
<p>I think by far the most enjoyable thing I did was reread all the Liaden Universe books by Stephen Miller and Sharon Lee. Big juicy space opera. The new ones are fun, but it had been long enough since I’d read the ones that came before that I decided to read the whole series again.</p>
<p>I also enjoyed the new Lois McMasters Bujold book Cryoburn, though it’s not her best.</p>
<p>I’m slowly rereading War and Peace. I had more patience as a teenager.</p>
<p>I read Superfreakonomics. Fun, but it seemed very unfocused. </p>
<p>Finally - sort of surprised it hasn’t been mentioned - I am reading One Day by David Nicholls. I like the structure - one day a year in the lives of two friends. I just wish they weren’t such doofuses. I’m over half way through - they are in their thirties and they are only just beginning to behave half way like grown ups.</p>
<p>I loved One Day, mathmom! The imperfections of the characters are part of the book’s appeal. I also appreciated the humor found throughout. I’m thinking about using it as my book club’s April selection. Do you think it lends itself to some decent discussion? (well, let me know when you’re done.)</p>
<p>When I first started reading The Passage I didn’t realize that it was the first in a trilogy (that I will probably still be working on in the nursing home). I’m still a little cranky that there were so many loose ends still dangling after I’d invested in 750+ pages–seems like a sneaky way to assure sales of the next volume, and I’m sure by the time the second installment comes out I’ll have forgotten everything and have to start all over again. Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants is another a huge book (an easy to swallow historical novel) that is also the first of a trilogy, but it stands alone just fine–no dangling threads.</p>
<p>Not sure if anyone’s mentioned Half Broke Horses–it was fascinating.</p>
<p>I think One Day would make a great book club discussion. Looking through the reviews on Amazon it seems to elicit pretty strong opinions. There were things I liked very much about the book, I just couldn’t stand Dex and I didn’t like the woman that much either. I have found that I just really dislike reading books about characters I dislike. I also wasn’t too keen on his easy out ending either.</p>
<p>The best book I read in 2010 was The Embers and the Stars by Erazim Kohak. He is a Czech philosopher and some of the language is technical but the book should be appealing to anyone who wonders about the place of humans in creation.</p>
<p>On a different note, I have to say I am surprised by the several mentions here of the Outlander books. I did find the main characters in the first book to be interesting and well-developed but I did not connect with any of the other characters who seemed to take over the later books (disclaimer: I only read the next three; well, really the next two and a half). The author seemed truly not to know what to do with Jamie and Claire except have ridiculous things happen all around them. For anyone who at all liked these books, I would recommend Sharon Kay Penman’s series that starts with Here Be Dragons. A similarly compelling love story, but many times better.</p>
<p>I just finished “Blackwater Lightship” by Colm Toibin, an Irish writer. It’s about ten years old, but I just found it. Beautiful, quiet story about families set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic as it touched Ireland. REally great writing.</p>
<p>^Brooklyn is my favorite Toibin book. Loved it!</p>
<p>I had two favorites for 2010. The Help by by Kathryn Stockett and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.</p>
<p>Teri, glad you’re enjoying Tracy Kidder’s book about Partners in Health. I’ve recommended that one for years and it’s one that I have given as a gift to many friends.</p>
<p>p.s. This is assuming that I’m remembering correctly and read Let the Great World Spin in 2009, because that is one of my favorites of all time and not just of one year. :)</p>
<p>I ran across this essay from the NY Times Book Review the other day, and thought you readers out there might enjoy it. I find that the older I get, the more I suffer from Collins’ “affliction.” :)</p>
<p>Great article! Not only do I not remember what happened in books I read, I also have a terrible time remembering *what *books I read. That’s why I really can’t say what was my favorite book from last year–I just don’t know what I read! Thanks for posting this.</p>
<p>Thanks goodness you posted this article, Mary - it’s one of my fears that I have some weird variant of Alzheimer’s where I forget what I read. Now I know I’m not alone AND that I never wasted my time by reading in the first place!</p>
<p>My son (yes, he has Aspergers) reads his favorite books over and over and over again. He can’t believe that the rest of us only read them once. I read a book quickly to find out what happens, how it ends, so my retention is typically very low. </p>
<p>Last year in AP English Lit, my D’s exams were all “quote” tests…who said that phrase in the assigned reading. I would have been terrible at those tests.</p>
<p>Mary, thanks for posting the article. It hit home!</p>
<p>Last year I began keeping a list of “Books Read in 2010”, just so I’d have a reference point. I have been known to buy the same book over and over. I’ll try to keep up my list this year, too.</p>
<p>I think there is a certain charm in rereading books; I have to think that the different phases of our lives lead to different interpretations. I just reread “To Kill a Mockingbird” and I have a whole new appreciation for it.</p>