52 Books 2010

Happy New Year everyone! To celebrate the passing of the year, let’s talk books and reading.

In 2009, I started keeping track of the books I read for the 52 Book challenge – a challenge that encouraged people to read a book a week.

Though I’ve always read regularly, it was fun to track my progress. Within my first year of participating, I learned a lot more about why reading was important to me. Furthermore, taking note of books and pages provided me with an added sense of accomplishment akin to those kindergarten days when teachers would add a sticker to your reading worm with each book read. As a result, I took up the challenge again in 2010. Below is a recap of my progress.

Hardest Book to Read: The Household Guide to Dying. No offence to the author, but this was the slowest, most uninteresting book I’ve read all year. Trying to finish this book was painful and slow.

Most read author of 2010: Kazu Kibuishi. Thanks to Scholastic, I received the first three books in the Amulet series. I really enjoyed all three, and wrote a review of Amulet Book 1 for C&G Monthly this year.

Most fun book: Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. I’m definitely not much of a sci-fi fan, but Ender’s Shadow had me hooked. I’m now in the process of reading the rest of the Ender series, and my first book of 2011 was Ender’s Game!

Most beautiful book: Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa, which I also reviewed for C&G Monthly.

Perception-altering reads: Reading like a Writer by Francine Prose. I read this book while I was in the midst of a writer’s block dry spell. Francine Prose was the kick in the butt that I needed, infusing me with renewed excitement to write and read.

Most Informational: How We Die by Sherwin B Nuland. I don’t generally enjoy non-fiction, but Nuland’s book was factual while being beautifully written and philosophical enough to keep my attention.

Notable reading: A Thread of Sky by Deanna Fei. I’ve already written two glowing reviews of Fei’s novel, one in the Side Street Review and another on this blog. Check it out!

I’m a tad disappointed that I couldn’t read more books than I read last year, but at least I didn’t read less. Like I realized last year, reading isn’t about the quantity of books that you read anyways, but the quality.

For a more in-depth recap of my year of reading, somewhat similar to my 2009 recap on MiaHerrera.com, check out my blog posts on YorkScene.com and NerdGirlPinups.com.

2011 marks another new year of reading. So far I’ve only read one book – Ender’s Game. I’m pretty hooked on the Ender series. It’s not a bad way to start off another 52 book year! Care to join me for 2011?