Wednesday, January 05, 2011

What I Read Last Year

In 2010 I decided to write down each book as I read it so I could keep a record. As you can see, I have some favorite authors whose books I read whenever I find a new one, or one that is old that I haven't read. Harlan Coben is a favorite and so is Lisa Scottoline. They both write good mysteries and each has an enjoyable sense of humor, which goes a long way when fictitious people are getting murdered. Michael Connelly also writes good mysteries with interesting characters. Maeve Binchey and Jacqueline Winspear are wonderful, with characters and places that you really warm up to. I highly recommend them both.

 I also really enjoy historical fiction and this year I have had some really good books recommended, or loaned to me, and I would also recommend these to you. I "bolded" the best ones in the list below. I am not sure they all fall under historical fiction, but they were out of the ordinary and very good!
  • New York by Edward Rutherford
  • 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly
  • The Other Side of the Sky -Farah Ahmedi
  • The Reversal-Michael Connelly
  • Sarah's Key-Tatiana de Rosnay
  • Play Dead-Harlen Coben
  • The Burning Wire-Jeffery Deaver
  • Bad Things Happen-Harry Dolan
  • Mistaken Identity-Lisa Scottoline
  • I Capture the Castle-Dodie Smith
  • 1000 White Women-Jim Fergus
  • Daddy's Girl-Lisa Scottoline
  • Among the Mad-J. Winspear
  • The Faithful Spy-Alex Berenson
  • What Matters Most-Luanne Rice
  • An Incomplete Revenge-J. Winspear
  • The Forgotten Garden-Kate Morton
  • The Scarecrow-Michael Connelly
  • Heart and Soul-Maeve Binchy
  • Caught-Harlan Coben
  • The Second Opinion-Michael Palmer
  • The First Family-David Baldacci
  • Suite Francaise-Irene Nemirovsky
  • Messenger of Truth-Jacqueline Winspear
  • The Boleyn Inheritance-Philippa Gregory
  • True Blue-David Baldacci
  • The Help-Kathryn Stockett
  • The Lincoln Lawyer-Michael Connelly
  • Bone By Bone-Carole O'Connell
  • Water for Elepants-Sara Gruen
  • Shanghai Girls-Lisa See
  • The Lost Symbol-Dan Brown
  • Pursuit of Honor-Vince Flynn
I am currently reading Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. It is a gripping story about a young girl captured and taken on a slave ship to America. It is very well written and extremely interesting, not to mention heartbreaking and touching. If you are looking for a good book, don't miss this  one!


So what have you been reading and what recommendations do you have to share?


20 comments:

Nancy said...

I'm not much of a mystery reader, but about 5 months ago I found Faye Kellerman and her set of Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus mystery series. I am devouring them... And they are older...so I can get them on Paperbackswap.com..
I also love all of Philippa Gregory's books...so fascinating..

Pat / Silver Thimble Quilt Co. said...

I just finished reading These Is my Words by Nancy Martin spool good and it is the first of 3. I'm going to read the next 2! Not much time to read..Salt Lake is right around the corner!

Pat

Cathy said...

The Help was my favorite book of 2010 and I like Jacqueline Winspear's books too. For historical fiction, I recommend Fall of Giants by Ken Follett - excellent and will keep you busy as over 900 pages long! Another book I really liked is The Art of Racing In the Rain, by Garth Stein.

Happy reading!

Shelley said...

I have been using the site Shelfari.com for over a year now to keep a record of my reading. It enables a person to put books on their "shelf" and mark them as "want to read", "reading now" or "have read". Thanks for your list!

Quilts And Pieces said...

I"m reading "The Help" right now! I'm so happy to have this list! Thanks!

Becky Pitcher said...

Oh my goodness, no one reads quite as much as our family! That's a long and impressive list.

onlymehere said...

Of all the things I miss as I age and work on a computer all day reading is #1. I used to read all the time. Now my eyes just can't handle it after eight hours on a computer. The eye doctor said that this was normal and that my eyes are "over 40 now." I always laugh at the last comment bz I'm actually over 50 now but I think he's being kind. I have to read in short snippets now but I still love Ann Rule's writing the best. Yup, I'm a bizarre true crime (but mostly just Ann Rule) and autobiography/biography buff. I love to see what makes people tick and how they live their lives.
Me

quiltmom anna said...

HI Marcie,
I absolutely loved the book " the Help"- it was such a great read.
I am currently reading the book" The Passage.
I have seen Water for Elephants on other's lists. A friend read Sarah's Key and I do want to read that book. Another recommended book was a book called "The Book Thief"
I love Luanne Rice, Julie Garwood, Iris Johansen, Catherine Coulter, Lisa Jackson and Carla Neggers as authors.
If you like Quilting type stories then read all the Benni Harper mysteries by Earlene Fowler.
One of my favorite books is These is My words by Nancy Turner- She has two other books in the series - one is called Sarah's quilt and the third has Star and garden in the title.
I really enjoyed Kate Morton's book - she has a new one called " The Distant Hours".
There are lots of great books out there and not enough time to read quilt etc.
My list could go on and on for awhile yet - I have read Philippa Gregory's series about Henry VIII's wives including the Other Boleyn Girl.
There is book called the Secret Daughter that looks interesting.
One book that is nonfiction called Three Cups of Tea was fabulous. There is a second book by the Three cups of Tea fellow Greg ? called Stones for School that my husband bought me for Christmas..
If you like Knitting stories you might want to check out The Friday Night Knitting club by Kate Jacobs or a book by Ann Hood that is called the Knitting Circle ( I think).
The last books I will recommend are some books by Jennifer Wiener that include a book called In my shoes and Good in Bed.
Some of the books on the list are easy reads (fluff, escape, trash - take your pick as to how you label your light reading VBG) and others will make you think and stay with you a long time. I like a mix of reading especially when I am teaching.
Thanks for letting me view your reading list.
Happy New Year.
Regards,
Anna

sewprimitive karen said...

Wow, what a reader you are, Marcie! I still remember reading I Capture the Castle from when I was little; what a great story!

Sue said...

And you have time to sew. I am impressed!!!!

Kelli said...

WOW! Thanks for the list! I think I found someone who reads as much as I do :)

If you like historical fiction, try reading The Zion Chronicles by Brock and Bodie Thoene - a series set during WWII; they also wrote a series called The Zion Covenant - both series are wonderful. Another historical fiction series is called The Russians written by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella. All of these are not new so they should be easy to find.

If you want a little break from something heavy - try the endearing series Tales from Grace Chapel Inn - three sisters open a B&B - their tales are interesting. I think there is about 40 different ones.

And last but not least, Around the Quilting Frame is a wonderful book of short stories related in some way to quilting.

Happy Reading!

Carol said...

Thanks for the great list Marcie...The Help was one of my very favorite books of all time. Sarah's Key is next on my list.

Lori said...

I am always on the lookout for good books! Thanks. Right now I am finishing up Decision Points by Geo Bush. I find it fascinating and it has helped me understand the complicated political world we live in.

Linda said...

I like thrillers and mysteries too...and read Harlan Coben, Lisa Scottoline, Michael Palmer and Michael Connelly. I just finished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand which was out of my preferred genre but a fascinating read. I have recommended it to everyone I know who enjoys reading.

Shirley said...

Thanks for the list Marcie. I am always interested in new authors.
You may enjoy Nancy E. Turner's books - the Star Garden, Sarah's Quilt and These Is My Words. Also Gilbert Morris has several great series of books "The Winslow Series", The Lone Star Legacy, Wagon Wheel Series plus many more. And don't forget Emile Richard's Shenandoah Valley series. Last year I read 97 books total - just short of 2 a week. I also quilt a lot. I really enjoy reading your blog also.

Julie in the Barn said...

Great list, Marcie. I read many of the same books during the year. My favorite was Old Filth. I really enjoyed The Help also. It seems I don't read as much as I did when I was still working. I used to read on my lunch hours. Now I quilt.

Ms. Jan said...

I see you've been bitten by the Michael Connelly bug, and if you've not read his "Harry Bosch" series, I highly recommend it, but do start at the beginning. I've kept a book journal for over 20 years, and have now converted it to an Excel spreadsheet. That certainly helps prevent me from "re-reads!"

Annette said...

Thanks for the great list Marcie. I love to read and am always looking for a good book.

Angie said...

Hmmmm, looks like we have the same taste in books/authors. I wish we lived closer to each other; we could just swap out. :)

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your book list and saw some familiar names. I enjoyed 1000 WHite Women so much, it is one of my most favorite books. I also enjoy Michael Connelly, will read anything written by him. Also, Phillipa Gregory's other books are very good.
Kathy B
Yolo CA