Book Review 2010

As many of you know, I am a lover of the written word. Last year, I started keeping track of the books I read as well as a 'wish list' of books I want to read. I found that people often recommended books but I never remembered them so I recorded them and refer back to the list when I need a new read. I am a very list-oriented person. If it is not written down it is out of my mind.

For fun, I compiled a list of my favourite reads from the 19 books I read over the past year.

Here goes.

Favourite Read of 2010

This goes to The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

The book is very easy to read and addresses historical issues in a way that keeps even non-history buffs wanting to know more about the time period. I fell in love with all of Kathryn's characters and am waiting on pins and needles for her to author another book. Rumour has it that this book is being made into a movie sometime in the next year.

A very close second favourite book of the year was The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill.

This book took me nine months to read. It is historical fiction written in a very different way than the previous book. It is rip-your-heart-out devastating, very graphic and at times disturbing. I would read a bit, then put it away and read something 'lighter', then read a bit more, etc. That being said, this book is change your life good. It affected me the same way as The Kite Runner....it is a book that stays with you and resonates with you for weeks after you finish the final page.

Favourite Chick Lit/Romance 2010

This goes to the book One Day by David Nicholls.

In this book, two young people meet on July 15th in the 1980s. Nicholls then writes only about July 15th over the next 20 years and the reader is given snapshots of the young couples lives throughout the years. It is such a different way to write a love story. I heart this novel. It is being made into a movie sometime in 2011 and is said to star Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess (of Across the Universe fame). I literally can't wait  and will most likely re-read the book or force my book club to read along with me. 

Best Page Turner 2010

Hands-down The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

A continuation of the journey of Robert Langdon. Not as good as the previous two, but I still had no semblance of a social life after reading the first few pages.

Favourite Series 2010

With absolutely no hesitation, it is the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

The young adult series is futuristic, graphic, disturbing at times but very readable. I was shocked to find out that its target audience is adolescents as the book is very violent and the premise is essentially a fight-to-the-death of a country's youth. The series has all the ingredients for a delicious page turner and is a movie in the making. 

Favourite Book-to-Movie Adaptation 2010

I am torn between many. I am a sucker for movie adaptations of books. I narrowed my favs down to 3:

Eat, Pray, Love. I know, I know....so cliche. The book and movie are quite different and there are many parts (as in most book-to-movie-adaptations) that are left out. However. Julia Roberts? Good. Javier Bardem? Good. Watching a few hours of great food, beautiful scenery, and living vicariously through Ms. Roberts and her many gorgeous suitors? Worth the price of a movie ticket.

Another fav movie adaptation:

Each movie version of Stephanie Meyer's series keeps getting better and better....and the men keep getting hotter and hotter.

And finally, I loved this movie adaptation.

Again, the movie is different from the book as it eliminated a few parts and essentially re-wrote the ending, but the movie was great and the chemistry between the two characters was perfect (or maybe that was just my boyfriend Channing Tatum).

Most Unexpected Good Read 2010.

This goes to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

The title threw me off and I was incredibly skeptic of this book (for the sole reason of the crazy title). I was happy to discover that it was a very entertaining, very easy, very short read. Perfect for a quick plane ride.

Worst Book of the Year 2010

Sadly, this goes to a book that was picked in my book club. The book is called I Remember You by Harriet Evans.

The writing is not great, I had to keep looking back at characters as they were not well developed, and because they were not well developed....I just didn't care about them. The book club was unanimous on hating the book and a few of the book club members didn't even finish it because of their ambiguity towards to book. Give this one a miss.

Besides the last one, it was a great year for books!

Currently on my Shelf

This is January's Book Club pick and it was my choice this month! My choice was based on my want for an atypical murder mystery. The story is told from the viewpoint of an eleven year old girl; however, I feel like I have to read with a dictionary beside me as the words used are rather large and complex. Ill keep you posted!

What were your favourite books of 2010? Any recommendations?

Happy Reading!

ADELLE