12.30.2010

top favorites of 2010: books

I achieved my goal of reading 52 books this year. Huzzah! It's not much compared to some others, I know, but good enough for me. :D Here are my absolute favorites of this year that I would recommend to all:

YA/MG

East by Edith Pattou
A beautiful fairytale retelling with lyrical and soft language, lovely romance, engaging main characters, and a magnificent cover. While each retelling of the old Norse tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon were fabulous in their own way, I absolutely adored this one. :)

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
Add a tablespoon of Jane Austen, another tablespoon of Harry Potter-style magic, and a heap load of humor and you'll get S & C. An enchanting story (told through letters) of two cousins and the wacky adventures and mischief that they get through in Regency England. It was just spectacular.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
The last book in the MBS series! It has it all- exciting story, unsolvable riddles, endearing characters, and awesome chase sequences. It was a great ending to a delightful series.

The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson
Like I said in my review, Mary Pearson wrote this realistic/contemporary story in a rather magical way. The characters were captivating; I loved the attachment between all of them, and how they grow together during their road trip. And the ending is so brilliant and lovely and magical and wonderful and all the other adjectives for the previous words. I really, really liked this one.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
So...I raved about it a lot during the last couple of months. Need I say more? :P I guess I just really liked how it was a WWI retelling (that era is fascinating), and the characters were beyond awesome, and though I'm really not into all that technological machinery type of things, I liked reading about them too.




Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
It just felt so refreshing, reading this book. It didn't have the main character fall in love with a Werewolf OR a Vampire, and she wasn't head over heels in love. Everything in this book felt so real. Loved the light-heartedness of it all, though the ending was really, really strange.

Heist Society by Ally Carter
I've loved fictional thieves or spies ever since I was little, and that's why Ally Carter's new book was perfect for me. It had everything a great heist story needs- a weird but loyal crew for the hero/heroine, a crazy villain, and a seemingly impossible heist that the crew needs to pull off by the end. It was riveting to the very end.

Classics

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
While I avoided Jane's book in freshmen year when I was supposed to, the story kept following me around, and I even promised Jane that I would read it one day (umm...I just felt guilty about putting it aside). And lo, that day came when I sprained my ankle one day and had to stay home. I don't think I need to say more about it since it's been out for about 200 years, but no wonder it's a classic and well-loved all around the world even today. The characters are hilarious and very relatable to. It's just timeless.



Plays

You Can't Take It With You by Moss Hart, George Kaufman
The characters are absolutely ridiculous, the predicaments they get into, hilarious. Loved this play when I saw it onstage, and loved it when I got the script and read it for myself.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller
This is probably the best story/play written about the Salem Witchtrials, and depressing, but
umm...bewitching nevertheless (ha ha). The character development was top notch, and it was a riot acting it out. :D

Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan
I had to watch this movie for a project in US History, and was immediately enthralled by it. Sure, maybe the Frost/Nixon interviews were not as important as the play or movie make them out to be, and sure, maybe some of it was inaccurate, but it's a BRILLIANT script, and a BRILLIANT movie (acting-wise, script-wise, technically, etc). I'm interested in journalism, media and films, so being able to study and take apart the script that had it all was amazing. (And um...I love this movie poster to pieces ---->)


Honorable mentions: Paper Towns by John Green, Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve, Behemoth (Leviathan #2) by Scott Westerfeld, and Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie



4 comments:

  1. Hmm, well it's kind of hard to say what my favorite book I read this year was. Well, I think the George Orwell's Animal Farm was pretty good. It's educational and pretty short compared to all those current YA novels and such. Okay, I was required to read it but it was still prety good.

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  2. I love Patricia C. Wrede! Maybe I should check out "East." I keep looking at it but never actually get it.

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  3. You're right, we have such similar tastes. :) Happy New Year, Nonie!

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  4. @Rishi: Nice...Animal Farm? Your favorite book of the year. :D For some reason, it doesn't surprise me much. ;)

    @Bea: Patricia Wrede is amazing. I hope you do eventually pick up East. It's such a good book (and so is Sorcery & Cecelia). :)

    @Priya: It's kind of scary actually. :D Happy New Year to you too, Priya!

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