This year I read many adult fiction titles, but also some other genres, including a graphic novel, young adult fiction, an autobiography, and children's books. I picked up most of these at the library, but I also read some of the books I received for free at ALA, some were borrowed from friends, and others were on my bookshelves unread. I also spent a lot of time reading books and articles for graduate school.
I really got into audio books this year. I actually look forward to driving when I’m listening to a good story. They also make less enjoyable tasks (like cleaning and exercising) more bearable. I’ve learned that the narrator really makes a difference, too.
My favorite book of 2010 was the bestseller, “The Help,” a first novel by Kathryn Stockett about a young woman who becomes interested in the plight of black maids working for white families in Mississippi in the 1960s. I’m glad I listened to this book in audio. Narrated by four women - Cassandra Campbell, Jenna Lamia, Octavia Spencer, and Bahni Turpin - it really captures the spirit of the characters. A movie version of this book is currently in post-production!
I also read many books for children thanks to my niece and nephew and recommendations from my friend Merritt, a school librarian. My favorite children’s books are “Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library!” by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, and “It’s a Book” by Lane Smith.
I would like to start tracking the books I read online, rate them, and write book reviews. There are several sites to do this very thing, including Goodreads and LibraryThing. I'd love to hear if anyone has experience using one of these or other library sites.
Goodreads is my personal favorite. I've used Library Thing for a library account and you (at the time I used it) had to pay if you wanted to add more than 200 books! Ugh. Goodreads, I'm up to 600 books that I want to read or have read, and you can add categories. Plus, I find there are some fun things to do socially on Goodreads (there's a lot of book giveaways on there if you poke around and publishers seem to use that for their book giveaways), or you can ignore all that and just use it to keep track of when you read/finished reading a book.
ReplyDelete