2010 Wrap Up

Wow, I can't believe it's 2011!  I'm still deciding on my reading goals for 2011 (I know I'm late to the party), so let's wrap up some loose ends from 2010.  It was a busy year.

2010 Recap:

- Started this blog in April 2010. My first real attempt at blogging.

- Started graduate school in the fall for a Masters in Library Science (MLS) so I can become a librarian. The program runs through Summer 2012.

- 2010 was my first full year on BookCrossing!  I joined in August 2009.

- Became a regular attendee of the Audubon BookCrossing group.

- My first two wild releases caught by an anonymous finder:

• Shoot Him If He Runs (Stone Barrington) by Stuart Woods, caught on 11/22/10
• The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz, caught on 11/22/10

- Participated in 5 BookCrossing bookrings/rays/boxes:

• Green Angel by Alice Hoffman
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
• The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen
• Manga/Graphic Novel Bookbox!

- Participated in 3 read-a-thons (two 24-hour Dewey read-a-thons and the HUGE TBR Read-a-thon in June)

- Received my first ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in the mail!

• The King's Mistress by Emma Campion
• Plus, five more ARCs.

- Read my first manga and graphic novel.

• My first graphic novel: The Courageous Princess by Rod Espinosa
• My first manga: Crescent Moon, Vol. 1 by Haruko Iida

Reading Challenges:

• 2010 Pages Read Challenge: My goal was 15,000 pages.  My final tally was 13,600 pages, 90.6% of my goal. However, this number doesn't really represent all I've read.  One issue I struggled with was determining what types of materials to count as pages read.  I read a lot of manga this year and did not record most of it...thousands of pages worth.  At first, I didn't think I should incorporate them in this challenge, but I ended up adding a few in the total.  So if I did include all the manga, this number would be way beyond 15,000.  I have to decide if I will include them in my 2011 goal.
• Read Ten 1001-Books Challenge: I read six 1001-books this year.
• Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Through the looking-glass, and what Alice found there by Lewis Carroll
• Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
•  A-Z Read & Release Challenge: Read and released 8 books (B, C, E, G, H, J, R and S). This challenge is on-going, so I'm not worried about completing it within a certain time period.  It's harder than I thought because of the releasing component.  Some of the books I read are library books or in my permanent collection, so completing this one will be a challenge.

My 2010 Favorites (and not-so-favorites):

- Favorite YA series: The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

- Favorite YA book: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

- Favorite adult series: Dark Days series by Jocelynn Drake. 

- Favorite adult book: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.

- Favorite manga series: Library Wars (v.1-3) by Kiiro Yumi.

- Favorite children's book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

- Favorite guilty pleasure: Vampire Diaries series (bks. 1-4) by L.J. Smith.

- Best obscure book (haven't heard of but you must read): Green Angel by Alice Hoffman.

- Most moving book: Tunes For Bears To Dance To by Robert Cormier.

- Most disappointing book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.

- Least favorite book: Tithe by Holly Black.


I'll post again soon with my 2011 reading goals and challenges.  Meanwhile, I need to spend some time updating my blog and BC profile.