End of Year Round Up 2010

Here we are at the end of another year, and once more Paperback City has been neglected in favour of the endless frivolities of the Christmas season. I've been more focused on eating and drinking and family time than reading of late, but I'm pretty pleased overall that I've managed a few good reviews and read a pile of excellent books this year.

A big book highlight of the year was Adelaide Writers' Week back in March, where I was thoroughly inspired by some excellent authors who braved the hot day to talk to the crowd about their craft. I got to attend sessions by Irvine Welsh, Audrey Niffenegger, Sarah Waters, Markus Zusak and Sarah Dunant and they were all marvellous.

I've also been very happy with my own writing efforts this year. The Great Write Off Challenge in October was particularly inspiring and great fun. I'm not sure that I'm all that happy with my rough ramblings, but I'm pretty pleased with some of my ideas and the overall amount of writing I'm churning out in drafts. 2010 has certainly reminded me how much I love writing, and I hope to devote a lot more time to it in the coming year (which will also mean improvement, one would hope!).

Here's a list of the books I have read this year. I was going to pick out my favourites, but I've decided you can dive in and figure that out on your own. I have linked to reviews if I wrote one in case you missed any along the way...

 1. Pirate Latitudes - Michael Crichton
2. I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
3. The Witches of Eastwick - John Updike
4. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
5. The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies Detectives Agency Book 5) - Alexander McCall Smith
6. The Man Who Fell to Earth - Walter Tevis
7. The White Lioness - Henning Mankell
8. Orpheus Lost - Janette Turner Hospital
9. Interview With the Vampire - Anne Rice
10. The House on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier
11. The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
12. How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff
13. Flying Too High (Phryne Fisher Mysteries Book 2) - Kerry Greenwood
14. The Road - Cormac McCarthy
15. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson
16. Dead in the Family (Southern Vampire Mysteries / Sookie Stackhouse Book 10) - Charlaine Harris
17. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Book 6) - Alexander McCall Smith
18. Fevre Dream - George RR Martin
19. The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
20. The Girl Who Played With Fire - Steig Larsson
21. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
22. Faceless Killers - Henning Mankell
23. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mankell
24. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
25. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
26. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan
27. Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan
28. Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan
29. Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian - Rick Riordan
30. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Steig Larsson
31. Let the Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist
32. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
33. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams
34. Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

I'm currently reading a very fun Crichton-esque adventure romp called Neanderthal by John Darnton. Look out for my review early in the new year!

Happy new year to all of you. I hope you celebrate in style! 


xx