Books Read in 2010/2011

Okay, okay, I know I was really bad about keep track of the books I read last year. But it’s a new year, right, with lots of opportunity to do things right.

1. With Hitler to the End: The memoirs of Adolf Hitler’s Valet – Heinz Linge.  Rather an odd book to get started with, I know, and yet there it is. It’s an interesting look at a brief period in Hitler’s life, and I will confess to having asked myself, while reading, more than once just how truthful Linge was in these memoirs. He claims to have known nothing about the death camps. Is that possible? Yes, I suppose so.
2. Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop – Jennifer Allison.  This really isn’t only the second book I’ve read this year, and I’m a little embarrassed that I have already fallen behind in listing what I’ve read. But I’ll get caught back up. Anyway, the Gilda Joyce books are about a young self-proclaimed psychic investigator. This summer she’s interning at the Spy Museum in Washington D.C., and quickly finds herself embroiled in a psychic mystery that needs her special combination of skills to be solved. My library has this in the juvenile section, but it’s more a tween book. Not a gushy romancey one that makes you want to throw up. It’s a good fun read no matter how old you aren’t.
3. Ruby’s Slippers – Leanna Ellis.  I met Ms. Ellis at a book signing on Saturday. The title intrigued me, and I do enjoy Christian/faith-based fiction, so I bought it. Loved it.  Dottie (Dorothy) and Abby’s (Abigail’s) mother is dead; their father left a very long time ago. Dottie has safely ensconced herself on the farm left to both women by their mother, while Abby is making a splash in Hollywood.  But a tornado sweeps through and destroys the farm and everything Dottie had planned to do with her life. This is a great story about following one’s dreams, and finding new dreams, and finding family. As I said, I loved it. I’ll definitely be checking out the other books by Ms. Ellis.
4. 365: Your date with history – W.B. Marsh & Bruce Carrick.  You could read this in a week, as I did, or you could read it day by day. For example, today is March 5th.  On this day in 1776, “Colonial rebels drive the British out of Boston.” That’s their main story for the day, and a few other events are listed. It’s written in a free and easy style, somewhat like a newspaper story, so it’s accessible to anyone. I didn’t like that none of their sources are listed, and I also felt like they bought into too much spin. How could they talk of the death of evil Richard III at Bosworth without mentioning the poignant homage made by his people? Nonetheless, it’s worth reading, and you’ll enjoy it.
5. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: a Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century – Ian Mortimer.  This is a delicious look at daily life in fourteenth century England. Fantastic.
6. Gilda Joyce: the dead drop – Jennifer Allison.  I adore Gilda Joyce. You’ll find her in the Juvenile Fiction section, and you should really go check it out. She’s a young psychic investigator/spy who gets into all kinds of trouble, and manages to find her way out whilst simultaneously helping those in need.
7. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan.  I read this years ago, and had to go re-read it after multiple watchings of the excellent movie adaptation.
8. Titanic’s Last Secrets: the further adventures of shadow divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler – Brad Matsen.  This was a fascinating read.  Did Titanic sink the way that popular wisdom has insisted it did, by getting punched in the side over and over as it scraped past the iceberg? Did it really have the spectacular rising and sinking as shown in the film? Or did the sinking actually happen incredibly quickly and relatively painfully? Read the book, see what Chatterton & Kohler discovered, and find out for yourself.
9. A Brief History of Montmaray – Michelle Cooper. This is a dark YA novel about an independent island kingdom in the days of its late decay and the early days of Nazi Germany, told in diary form.  It’s well worth the read.
10. The Girl With the Mermaid Hair – Delia Ephron
11. The Little Black Book of Style – Nina Garcia
12. The Other Side of Darkness – Melody Carlson. This is a terrifying look at a very religious woman afflicted with severe OCD. It is respectful of Christianity and the disease. I had trouble sleeping after reading it.
13. Hallie’s Heart – Shelly Beach
14. Just Between You and Me – Jenny Jones
15. Fablehaven – Brandon Mull. I checked this out on the advisement of my friend Chase, who was honoured by the author Brandon Mull at a pivotal point in Chase’s life. It’s fantastic. If you like middle-grade fiction that explores the darker side of fantasy, you’ll enjoy it.
16. The Candy Shop War – Brandon Mull. Not in the Fablehaven series, this book takes a group of kids on the adventure of their lives, torn between some practitioners of magic who are willing to do anything to achieve their dark ends.
17. The Sea of Monsters – Rick Riordan. This is the second adventure of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and is as good as the first.
18. Age Before Beauty – Virginia Smith.
19. Abide With Me – Delia Parr
20. A Time to Mend – Sally John, with Gary Smalley.
21. A Time to Gather – Sally John with Gary Smalley.
22. Fat Cat – Robin Brande. As someone who’s struggled with obesity since I was 16, I find myself irresistibly drawn to stories of teenagers who manage to overcome their demons. This is a really fun story of a girl who takes a science project and manages to change her life.
23. DWEEB: Burgers, Beasts, and Brainwashed Bullies – Aaron Starmer. Loved it.
24. The Titan’s Curse – Rick Riordan. The third Percy Jackson book. yep, I loved it.
25. Hamlet – John Marsden.  Marsden places Shakespeare’s play into modern times and into prose. It’s an interesting read, but I think I’ll stick with Shakespeare.
26. Leaving Yesterday – Kathryn Cushman
27. Fablehaven Book 2: Rise of the Evening Star – Brandon Mull.
28. Fablehaven Book 3: Grip of the Shadow Plague – Brandon Mull.
29. Fablehaven Book 4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary – Brandon Mull.
30. Fablehaven Book 5: Keys to the Demon Prison – Brandon Mull. You’ve got to read this series. It’s seriously good.
31. Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads – Christine Avanti.  I was intrigued by the premise, but the book devolved quickly into just another diet plan.
32. Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney. I read it after watching the movie. I kinda liked the movie better, but it was all right.
33. Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have – Allen Zadoff. Another book about a teenager struggling with obesity. This time it’s a boy, and how he comes to terms with himself makes for a great novel.
34. Pretty Face – Mary Hogan.
35. The Battle of the Labyrinth- Rick Riordan. The fourth and possibly best Percy Jackson story thus far. I’m waiting for the next one. Is it out yet? Makes a mental note to check.
36. The Little Secret – Kate Saunders
37. The Witch’s Guide to Cooking with Children – Keith McGowan. I was disappointed with this retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
38. Living Oprah: My one-year experiment to walk the walk of the queen of talk – Robyn Okrant.  I’m also a sucker for books where the author walks with Jesus, or goes without China, or cooks with Julia, etc., for a year. This one was interesting, as they all are, but I found myself getting really irritated with Oprah. Not that I’m a fan anyway, but I’m even less of a fan than I was before. I admire Okrant for sticking it out. I’d have quit by March, if not sooner.
39. Oh. My. Gods. – Tera Lynn Childs. Another book about demigods in modern times. It was good, if predictable. I’ll read the next in the series.
40. The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg – Helen Rappaport.  I’ve been fascinated by the last days of the Romanovs since I was in 6th grade. Nothing has changed.
41. Better Homes and Gardens Great Cooking for Two.
42. For One or Two: Simple and Delicious Easy-to-Make Recipes – Bernice Hurst.
43. 5-Minute Feasts: Fast, fabulous recipes for two – Karl Wurzer
44. Just the Two of Us
45. The Truth Seeker – Dee Henderson.
46. Pendragon: The Soldiers of Halla (Book 10) – D.J. MacHale. An exciting conclusion to an exciting series that I now have to go back and re-read.
47. The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Victor Hugo. Far easier to listen to than to read. And thanks to my long commute, I have plenty of time to listen.
48. Hazardous to My Health: The Marlboro Man I Knew – Marcia N. Hill.  Reviewed on the main blog.
49. Oh wow, I’ve read a kajillion more books. And I haven’t been keeping track of them, either. Shame, shame.  Let’s see what I can do, though:Think of a Number – John Verdon. This was one of those under $5 deals from BN, for my Nook, and I just finished reading it today (July 27th). Really, really good suspense thriller, and I didn’t figure it out until the author did the big reveal.  I’ll be looking for more of Verdon’s books–I understand this was his debut novel, but I could be wrong.
50. Code Name Cassandra – Meg Cabot. I’ll confess it here, I’ve been on a huge Meg Cabot binge. It started when I was watching episodes of “Witness” and liked them okay, and noted that it was based on a series by Meg Cabot. So I went and looked up her books. Not being interested in all the princess crap (no offense), I had been surprised to see that she also wrote thrillers with an element of the otherworldly.  Cabot plays, in this series (the 1-800-Where-R-U), with the creation of a tv series based on the protagonist’s life, and does so beautifully.
51. Shadowland (Mediator Series #1) – Meg Cabot. See above. Only this series is about a NewYorker transplanted to Carmel who just happens to be a mediator, someone to help the deceased finish up their business and help send them on their way to whatever lies next. Delicious. I bought the rest of the series today (again, 7/26/10).
52. Missing You – Meg Cabot.
53. Safe House – Meg Cabot
54. Never After – Laurell K. Hamilton et al. I enjoyed it. Fairy tales for grown-up women, but not por.ny, because I don’t care for por.n.
55. Me and Emma – Elizabeth Flock.  Another of Barnes & Nobles’s under $5 finds, and a really good book, although very hard to read. I refuse to spoil anyone, but I will just say that you’ll finish the book as outraged as you were when you started it, and your heart will ache for the protagonist.
56. And Then There Were None – I’m not sure why I started wanting to read Agatha Christie’s novels again. I suppose it was due to the Dr. Who episode I recently re-watched (mmmm. . . David Tennant. huh? wha-oh, yeah) that explained what *really* happened when Agatha Christie disappeared for those two weeks way back when. Her books are $6.99 for the e-books for my Nook, so I figure I’ll get one or two a month.
57. The Pale Horse – Agatha Christie. See above.
58. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer.
59. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer.
60. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer.  Um, Twilight and I broke up for a while, but we’re back together and it’s all good.
61. Aunt Jane’s Nieces Out West – Edith Van Dyne (who is also L. Frank Baum).  I also read at least 4 or 5 of the preceding Aunt Jane novels, if I haven’t listed them above, but I don’t feel like listing them now.
62. Enchanted Inc. – Shanna Swendson.  Lovely lovely fun paranormal romance thriller fun stuff.
63. The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan. Yeah, it’s a re-read. Wanna make something of it?
64. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
65. A Little Housekeeping Book – Caroline French Benton. I love reading old cookbooks and etiquette books and housekeeping books from the 19th & early 20th century. They’re fun. Hence approximately 40 old cookbooks and etiquette books and housekeeping books on my Nook waiting for me to dive in.
66. The Fun of Cooking – Caroline French Benton.
67. Pretty Little Liars – Sara Shepard. It’s okayish. I didn’t hate it, and if I came across it for a buck or two I’d buy it for my Nook. And I want to read the sequels just because I want to know, even though I think I know, for sure who’s playing all the mind games.  But I have to confess that I’m sick to death of books and tv series about spoiled rotten troubled rich kids. I can’t relate to it, beyond being nauseated that these teenagers can afford handbags I can only dream of.  So that’s my update for now, and I’ll try to be more diligent in listing the books, because some of them are really good. In fact, I’ll go back and bold the ones that I liked the best, just so you can go read them on account of how much you trust me.
68. The Lost Hero – Rick Riordan. LOVED it.  It’s the next phase of the heros of Olympus series, and there is plenty to love about it.
69. The Space Between Trees – Katie Williams
70. Split Second – Alex Kava
71. A Perfect Evil – Alex Kava
72. Huge  – Sasha Paley
73. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – Katherine Howe.
74. Blue Moon – Alyson Noel
75. Evermore – Alyson Noel
76. Gala Day Luncheons – unknown author. I’m a fan of cookbooks, and I’ve downloaded dozens from Project Gutenberg, but this is one of the few I’ve actually raed thus far.
77. No Mercy – John Gilstrap
78. Soul Identity – Dennis Batchelder
79. Beyond reach – Karin Slaughter
80. Marked – Elisabeth Naughton
81. Shadowland – Alyson Noel
82. The Girl Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson
83. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Stieg Larsson
84. Mockinjay – Suzanne Collins
85. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
86. the Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
87. Dark Flame – Alyson Noel
88. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson.  Yes, I know I’m listing series books out of order, but that’s how they’re coming up on my Nook, so you’ll just have to bear with it.   I did actually read them in order.
89. The 19th Wife – David Ebershoff
90. Early Warning – Michael Walsh
91. Sanctuary – Meg Cabot
92. Hostile Intent – Michael Walsh
93. The Merchant of Death – D.J. MacHale
94. The Seance – John Harwood
95. Case Histories – Kate Atkinson
96. Room – Emma Donoghue.  You’ve got to read this one.  It’s about a girl who was kidnapped and is bringing up her young son locked in the storage shed her captor has imprisoned her in
97. Hiding Place – Karen Harper
98. The Lost City of Faar – D.J. MacHale
99. Village life in America, 1852-1872 – Caroline Cowles Richards
100. Shadow Bound – Erin Kellison
101. The Never War – D.J. MacHale
102. Life Blood – Thomas Hoover
103. The Reality Bug – D.J. MacHale
104. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder – Joanne Fluke
105. Quicksand – Iris Johansen
106. Black Water – D.J. MacHale
107. Strawberry Shortcake Murder – Joanne Fluke
108. Blueberry Muffin Murder – Joanne Fluke
109. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder – Joanne Fluke
110. Sugar Cookie Murder – Joanne Fluke
111. Peach Cobbler Murder – Joanne Fluke
112. Cherry Cheesecake Murder – Joanne Fluke.
113. Key Lime Pie Murder – Joanne Fluke
114. Carrot Cake Murder – Joanne Fluke
115. Cream Puff Murder – Joanne Fluke.  A note in passing–the only thing more aggravating than getting hooked on a series and obsessively reading them is that moment when you’ve read them all and you’re now waiting for the author to do another one. If the author even plans to do another one.
116. Fudge Cupcake Murder – Joanne Fluke
117. Plum Pudding Murder – Joanne Fluke
118. Apple Turnover Murder – Joanne Fluke (whew. We’re done. For now.)
119. The Rivers of Zadaa – D.J. MacHale
120. The Quillan Games – D.J. MacHale
121. The Pilgrims of Rayne – D.J. MacHale
122. The Face of Deception – Iris Johansen
123. Raven Rise – D.J. MacHale
124. The Soldiers of Halla – D.J. MacHale.  Another series bites the dust.
125. Grave Witch – Kalayna Price
126. See How She Dies – Lisa Jackson
127. Beyond Justice – Joshua Graham
128. When Will There Be Good News – Kate Atkinson.
129. Covenant – John Everson
130. The Cruelest Cut – Rick Reed
131. The Search – Iris Johansen
132. The Killing Game  – Iris Johansen
133. Body of Lies – Iris Johansen
134. Night Star – Alyson Noel
135. Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble – H.P. Mallory
136. Dead Simple – Peter James
137. The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper
138. 7th Victim – Alan Jacobsen
139. Crush – Alan Jacobsen
140. Ordeal by Innocence – Agatha Christie
141. Problem at Pollensa Bay – Agatha Christie
142. Think of a Number – John Verdon
143. Beauiful Lies – Lisa Unger
144. The Ritual Bath- Faye Kellerman
145. Torn – Amanda Hocking
146. Silent Victim – C.E. Lawrence
147. Blind Alley – Iris Johansen
148. Switched – Amanda Hocking
149. Countdown – Iris Johansen
150. The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook – Dinah Bucholz
151. Stalemate  – Iris Johansen
152. Blood Game  – Iris Johansen
153. The Grey King  – Susan Cooper
154. Ammie, Come Home  – Barbara Michaels
155. Dime Store Magic  – Kelley Armstrong
156. Water for Elephants  – Sara Gruen
157. Greenwitch  – Susan Cooper
158. Shattered Silk  -  Barbara Michaels
159.  Stitches in Time  – Barbara Michaels
160. Eight Days to Live – Iris Johansen.
161. Chasing the Night – Iris Johansen. And I have to say that the series just got kind of silly.  I’m not sure I’ll read the next one, if there is a next one.
162. Silver on the Tree – Susan Cooper
163. Sprinkle With Murder – Jenn McKinlay
164. Houses of Stone – Barbara Michaels
165. Silent Screams  – C.E. Lawrence
166. Sacred and Profane  – Faye Kellerman
167. Carved in Bone – Jefferson Bass
168. Marked – P.C. Cast
169. Toil and Trouble – H.P. Mallory.  The paranormal romance stories aren’t bad, but there’s just a little too much hard manhood and heaving bosoms for me.
170. Milk and Honey – Faye Kellerman
171. The Other Daughter  – Lisa Gardner
172. What the Night Knows  – Dean Koontz
173. Day of Atonement  – Faye Kellerman
174. Flesh and Bone  – Jefferson Bass
175. Barefood  – Elin Hildebrand
176.  False Prophet  – Faye Kellerman
177. Devil’s Bones  – Jefferson Bass
178. Bones of Betrayal  – Jefferson Bass
179. Grievous Sin – Faye Kellerman
180. The I Hate to Cook Book  – Peg Bracken
181. Sanctuary - Faye Kellerman
182. Justice – Faye Kellerman
183. The Bone Thief  – Jefferson Bass
184. Rite  – Matt Baglio
185. Bone Cold – Erica Spindler
186. BYU Cougar’s Cookbook  – Jenny Stanger
187. Hungry Girl – Lisa Lillien
188. Don’t Scream – Wendy Corsi Staub
189. Prayers for the Dead – Faye Kellerman
190. the Blackstone Chronicles Omnibus - John Saul
191. Second Child – John Saul
192. Suffer the Children – John Saul
193. Perfect Nightmare – John Saul
194. Shadows – John Saul.  John Saul writes the kind of book I’d have enjoyed as a teenager, but I don’t recall reading any of them. They’re brain candy, fluffy slightly scary slightly suspenseful but predictable.
195. Serpent’s Tooth – Faye Kellerman. 
196. Jupiter’s Bones – Faye Kellerman
197. Stalker  – Faye Kellerman
198. the Burnt House - Faye Kellerman.  I wrote Faye Kellerman a fan e-mail and told her that I was going to buy every book she had written and would write.  I think I’ve got just about all of them now.  She wrote me a very nice e-mail back.  So I decided to start reading her husband’s books.  I haven’t written him a fan e-mail yet, but I think one’s probably percolating.
199. The Forgotten – Faye Kellerman.
200. Street Dreams – Faye Kellerman
201. The Mercedes Coffin – Faye Kellerman
202. Blindman’s Bluff – Faye Kellerman.  Ms. Kellerman really, really needs to write another Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus book so I can read it.
203. Hangman – Faye Kellerman
204. Deadly Sanctuary – Sylvia Nobel
205. Straight into Darkness – Faye Kellerman.  A historical novel set in pre-WWII Germany, that brings in a mystery referred to in one of the Decker/Lazarus series. Absolutely outstanding.
206. Prism – Faye Kellerman & Aliza Kellerman.
207. When the Bough Breaks – Jonathan Kellerman
208. House of Reckoning - John Saul
209. Deeper Water  – Robert Whitlow
210. Food Rules – Michael Pollan.
211. The Little Pink Book of Elegance – Jodi Kahn
212. The Morning After – Lisa Jackson
213. Blood test – Jonathan Kellerman
214. The Night Before – Lisa Jackson
215. Over the Edge – Jonathan Kellerman
216. Stone Kiss - Faye Kellerman
217. Time Bomb – Jonathan Kellerman
218. Private Eyes – Jonathan Kellerman