1. Best book of 2010? Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer
2. Worst book of 2010? The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho. This might be the most overrated book ever.
3. Most Disappointing Book of 2010? The Secret of Lost Things, Sheridan Hay
4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010? Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood. This book blew me away.
5. Book you recommended to people most in 2010? Zeitoun, Dave Eggers. Utterly heartbreaking and incredibly eye-opening.
6. Best series you discovered in 2010? Rabbit series, John Updike
7. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2010? Francoise Sagan, Jonathan Safran Foer, Paul Auster, Henry James
8. Most hilarious read of 2010? Then We Came to The End, Joshua Ferris
9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010? The Book of Illusions, Paul Auster
10. Book you most anticipated in 2010? One Day, David Nicholls
11. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2010? The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood, Bonjour Tristesse, Francoise Sagan
12. Most memorable character in 2010? Tie: Leo Gurkey from The History of Love and Oskar Shell from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
13. Most beautifully written book in 2010? Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
14. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2010? Zeitoun, Dave Eggers
15. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2010 to finally read? Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
Great list! It sounds as though I should be finding myself a copy of Zeitoun :-) I read a Paulo Coelho book either this year and I think it would be one of my worst reads of 2010 too - it is so bad i can't even remember the name of it :-)
ReplyDeletefarmlane, Thanks! And about Paulo Coelho, it's good to know I'm not the only one who doesn't think he is brilliant. I know I'm in the minority but still don't understand why.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I can't believe I waited until this year to read Wuthering Heights either. Other than that, I could possibly transcribe your entire list into my "want list" - with the exception of The Alchemist. It was recommended to me, and I never felt the need to read it.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree about The Alchemist. I never got the hype.
ReplyDeleteSo doing this next week. But Brenna. Dave Eggers, tell me about him?
ReplyDeleteSarah, Unless you read it in high school like most people it's easy to skip. I picked it up because I was coming across so many references I wanted to know the story.
ReplyDeleteLeica, Glad you agree too!
Ben, Dave Eggers. I've read two of his books: What is the What and Zeitoun. Loved Zeitoun, didn't care much for What is the What. I've got An Incredible Work of Staggering Genius on my TBR pile. That will be the tie breaker.
I completely agree with your best character- Love those (ficitonal) guys! Especially Oskar! Such heavy boots... this has prompted me to partcipate. I can't even remember everything I've read. Thanks! Always love your posts.
ReplyDeleteI chose Incredible Work of... in my 2011 Sarah Reading Challenge as "21st Century Classic" can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteBeth, Heavy boots! Oh Oskar is so great. I'm glad you are going to participate!
ReplyDeleteBen, I worried I'm going to cry like a baby when I read it. Eggers has a way of making me do that. Two for two so far.
So many snaps for # 1 & 4!!!!! I've never read The Alchemist, but it was never something that bleeped on my radar... doesn't seem like something I will be picking up anytime soon either.
ReplyDeleteAs for Wuthering Heights, my friend was reading it while we travelled this summer and she was so, so, so frustrated by it that I don't think I'll ever be able to read it!
historyofshe, I got frustrated as well, mostly by Catherine, but it the end it's worth the read. Really.
ReplyDeleteGreat answers! I hope to read more substantial books like you did in 2011 :)
ReplyDeleteDanielle, Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH. I love your list! Can we just talk about how EL&IC is one of my FAVORITE books EVER! That just made me so excited. Oskar is such a wonderful character.
ReplyDeleteI have The Alchemist and I've heard a lot of people saying the same thing. It's really worked its way to the bottom of my TBR list. lol
Thanks for joining in!
I completely agree with you about The Alchemist. I read it this year and I think it was my most scathing review of 2010.
ReplyDeleteJamie, I loved loved loved EL&IC. Amazing! I can't wait to read Everything Is Illuminated.
ReplyDeleteBeachreader, Good to know I'm no the only one! It was the book I gave the worst review to in 2010.
I'm interested to see what you think about Man Walks... I received it as a gift from my boyfriend after I finished, and raved about, The History of Love. Both he and I tried to finish to no avail. I'm not necessarily discounting the fact that I may have had high expectations, but I won't completely submit to the idea that it was the sole reason for incompletion.
ReplyDeleteI love this list! I completely agree with the Leo Gurkey character being one of the most memorable - he belongs to a brilliant book with stunning character development. I'm glad you've also come to love Jonathan Safron Foer - he's one of my very favorite authors. Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteI just did this survey too! I love your answers for 1, 12, 13, 14. Extremely Loud and History of Love are two of my favorite books.
ReplyDeleteYour list of favorites contains many books I've read and loved!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Best Of list: http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2010/12/sunday-salon-best-of-2010-in-books.html
Nice list of books. I put The Book of Illusions on my TBR list based on your review. Looking forward to reading more reviews from you in 2011.
ReplyDeleteZeitoun? No... just no.
ReplyDeleteThe Alchemist was much better (and no, I am not a high school student).
Matthew, Sorry you didn't enjoy Zeitoun. I thought it was fantastic. Also, about The Alchemist - I that was a terrible book that would work better as a bedtime story for children. I guess we just don't share the same literary tastes.
ReplyDelete