2010 Books

I kinda overdid it this year when it came to books. No doubt, helped in part by my Nero Wolfe Corpus project, I read 78 more books than 2009. Which is just insane. I didn't think I was reading more or anything--I was just plowing through stuff. I can't imagine I'll even come close this year, but you never know... Here's the list, for those who are interested.

Now for my personal rankings...

As I looked over my list, I gotta say I was surprised and chagrined to see how little non-fiction I read last year. I wasn't consciously avoiding it, it just happened. Even if I hadn't, I can't imagine much being better than Stephen King's Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I should also note that Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History by Andrew P. Napolitano is great fodder for paranoia, as well as a nice little history primer.

• The Scott Pilgrim series - Bryan Lee O'Malley. There's no way to pick one, gotta think of them as a package deal
• Changes - Jim Butcher
• One Day - David Nicholls--best book I read all year
• Anasi Boys - Neil Gaiman
• Boy Proof - Cecil Castellucci
• Cursor's Fury - Jim Butcher
• Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner
• How I Became a Famous Novelist - Steve Hely
• The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle - Patrick Rothfuss (not really a novel, but trust me folks, this is worth the read)

Reading so much, however, leads to more than one stinker. Do yourself a favor and avoid these:

• Point Omega - Don DeLillo
• The Ask - Sam Lipsyte
• Bite Me: A Love Story - Christopher Moore. And I really liked the first two in the series
• Chemistry for Beginners - Anthony Strong. This thing just didn't know what it wanted to be, and ended up being nothing.
• Batman: The Ultimate Evil - Andrew H. Vachss I can't even explain how horrible this would-be expose of child sex slavery disguised as a super hero story. It was as bad as it was well-intentioned and misguided.
• Youth in Revolt - C. D. Payne
• Zorro - Isabel Allende
• Hello Kitty Must Die - Angela S. Choi
• Starter for Ten - David Nicholls. Yup, same Nicholls that wrote my favorite book from 2010.
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
• The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson