2010 Book Total

15,277 Pages

47 Books

This year's reading wound up consisting of mostly fantasies and science fiction, largely in part because I kept winding up choosing books that belonged to different series. It was a fun reading year though. It's been a stressful year for me in other areas and reading was a great escape, a way to relax and enjoy other worlds and adventures. Next year my goal is to try to be a more well-rounded reader, but I make no promises!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, 485 pages

"When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons - and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It's also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know..." -Back Cover

Okay, this is a total guilty-pleasure book/series, like right up there with Twilight guilty pleasure, especially with that Fabio-esque cover. My sister gave it to me for Christmas and...being a frequent guilty-pleasure reader I couldn't put it down. The characters were fun. I especially loved the smart-alec banter between several of them. I liked the concept of the book. There were some great action "scenes" in this, like when Clary and Jace battle the vampires to save rat-Simon and then escape on the flying motorcycle.

*SPOILER ALERT*
Being a sucker for a good romance I was totally bummed when Jace and Clary suddenly think their siblings. I loved his birthday surprise for her and the subsequent run-in with Simon in the hall. Not wanting to be totally disappointed through the next one (and not convinced they actually are siblings), I have to admit that I cheated and went online to find out. I'm not ashamed. Now I can patiently wait for the next two to come in the mail...and hopefully be able to put them down every now and then to get some work done around here.

Matched by Ally Condie, 366 pages

"In the Society, Officials decide.
Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It's hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one...until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path no one else has ever dared follow - between perfection and passion." -Book Jacket

I kind of stumbled into hearing about this one and then immediately put it on my Christmas wish list. It's been hyped as a book for Twilight and Hunger Game lovers. It's the first in a planned trilogy. There is a lot of internal dialogue in this book as Cassia analyzes all of her actions, feelings, and choices, trying to decide between being safe and living. The love triangle is very similar to the one in The Hunger Games. You like both guys and, like the Twilight series, you wind up picking the one you like most, or the one you think is best for her. I still haven't completely decided who that is. This book is kind of slow until about 40 pages before the end but I didn't mind that. You know that there will be more action in the books to come. I'm just bummed I have to wait a year. I don't know why I keep winding up reading books that are part of a series - or so much science fiction/fantasy for that matter! The other books I got for Christmas are the first in their series also. So many books...so little time.

The Missing Series, Books 1 & 2

My oldest daughter has started a few books by Margaret Peterson Haddix and then hasn't finished them, but I knew they are pretty popular among tweens so I thought I'd give this series a try. It didn't capture my attention like some young adult books do. This series is about teenagers who discover that they are actually missing children from history, "kidnapped" to protect them and save them from untimely, sometimes violent deaths. The time travel elements would probably be confusing to my 11-year-old. I have the third book reserved for me at the library (I'm curious to know who Jonah really is) but this is probably not a series I would buy for my own library.

Ranger's Apprentice Series, Books 1-9

I finished the entire series a while back. They were a ton of fun. Some I liked better than others, but I'd definitely recommend the series. (Read it, read it, read it.) The characters are well-written and multi-dimensional. By the 9th book I felt like I knew them really well and I really like them.

I read the books in numerical order according to how they were published, but if you want to read the story in chronological order you should read them in this order: 1,2,3,4,7,5,6,8,9. That's what I'm going to do next time I read them. (Yes, it's absolutely a series I will read again.) There's a 5-year gap in between books 4 and 5. I thought it was odd when I read it and the author includes a note in the beginning of book 7 saying that he realized he'd left out a lot of the story. I couldn't have agreed more and I'm glad he went back and filled in the gaps.

Can't wait for book 10!