books in review, 2010

i had set a goal for myself to read 50 books last year. I did not make that goal--mostly life got in the way! we bought a condo and then we got a dog. neither of these things allowed for the amount of time i needed to be able to read 50 books in 2010. i continued on my english literature education path and enjoyed plenty more books in that genre (perhaps reading about 2000 pages of annotated sherlock holmes also did not help me get to my goal of 50 books!). i now feel that i've read enough english literature to make up for that lack in my high school experience. i do think i'm done with that for now, though! i don't know if i'll have a theme this year... but here's the definite list, with my star ratings on them:

1. dracula by bram stoker--english literature, 5 stars
2. work by louisa may alcott--read for work, 3 stars
3. yellow journalism: scandal, sensationalism, and gossip in the media by daniel cohen--read for work, 3 stars
4. the last american man by elizabeth gilbert--saw her speak at the ala midwinter in boston and so checked out this book (surprisingly a really good read!), 4 stars
5. we two: victoria and albert: rulers, partners, rivals by gillian gill--read for work, but also gave me a lot of context into the english lit i had been reading, 4 stars
6. alice's adventures in wonderland by lewis carroll--english lit, 4 stars
7. mennonite in a little black dress: a memoir of going home by rhoda janzen--hilarious, but plotless, 3 1/2 stars
8. dissolution by c.j. sansom--historical fiction that takes place in england during henry VIII, so kind of contemporary english lit and fun, 1st book of the "matthew shardlake series," 3 stars
9. a history of the wife by marilyn yalom--saw it on the shelf at work and was intrigued, 4 stars
10. dark fire by c.j. sansom--2nd book of the "matthew shardlake series," 4 stars
11. jacques cousteau: the sea king by brad matsen--i like good biographies, but this one made me realize that jacques was an asshole, 3 stars
12. the new annotated sherlock holmes (v. 1) by sir arthur conan doyle, edited by leslie s. klinger--the first 1000 pages, so much fun!, 4 stars
13. we beat the street: how a friendship pact led to success by the three doctors--i read as part of the promising pals program, 3 stars
14. i am nujood, age 10 and divorced by nujood ali with delphine minoui--i find so many interesting books for free after the cs monitor reviews them (they get thrown on a table and are up for grabs), heart-rending but good, 4 stars
15. king arthur and his knights of the round table by roger lancelyn green--english lit, 5 stars
16. georgiana, duchess of devonshire by amanda foreman--english history, 5 stars
17. murder of a medici princess by caroline p. murphy--another free monitor throw-away, 5 stars
18. scratch beginnings: me, $25, and the search for the american dream by adam shepard--yup, another monitor book, 4 stars
19. the blue sweater: bridging the gap between rich and poor in an interconnected world by jacqueline novogratz--we bought it for the library at work, fantastic but another book that makes you feel like you need to give more in your life, 5 stars
20. a walk in the woods: rediscovering america on the appalachian trail by bill bryson--because we hiked 30 miles of the appalachian trail, 5 stars
21. the new annotated sherlock holmes (v. 2) by sir arthur conan doyle, edited by leslie s. klinger--the rest of it!, 5 stars
22. spymom: the true story of a soccer mom turned private eye by val agosta--said something about nancy drew on the back, 3 stars
23. the greatest english classic: a study of the king james version of the bible and its influence on life and literature by cleland boyd mcafee--for work, 3 stars
24. god's secretaries: the making of the king james bible by adam nicolson--for work, snoozer, 3 stars
25. in the beginning: the story of the king james bible and how it changed a nation, a language, and a culture by alister mcgrath--for work, but these kjv books fit nicely into my english lit/history year, 4 1/2 stars
26. the life of elizabeth i by alison weir--english history and just a great read!, 5 stars
27. mapping the world: stories of geography by caroline & martine laffon--i love maps and map books, but this sucked, 1 star
28. madame bovary by gustave flaubert--loved it, 5 stars
29. inferno by dante alighieri--one of my favorite books, 4 stars because i didn't like this translation as much
30. purgatorio by dante alighieri--don't really like this translation, same as the inferno and we have it at work, 3 stars
31. laika by nick abadzis--a great graphic novel, but it made me sad, 5 stars
32. the diary of a teenage girl: an account in words and pictures by phoebe gloeckner--a little too gratuitously graphic for my taste, 3 stars

so there you have it. 32 books, 13 of them from the genre of english literature or history, 13 fiction, 19 non-fiction, many of them free books that i picked up for free from the christian science monitor offices.

here's to trying to read 50 books in 2011!