Coming up Short

Hopefully, I'll do a little bit better with the 2011 reading challenge than I did with the 2010 one. I read 49 books this year, which means I was 3 short of the regular goal and 18 short of my personal goal (mostly because the only reading I had time to do during fall quarter was school related. Hoping to change that, since I'm only taking one class in the spring.

I don't think I have a favorite book of 2010, but I will say that I really, really enjoyed the Carrie Vaugn Kitty books, and I want to get caught up on those this year. Another series I want to catch up on is The Dresden Files (currently reading book four). I also want to read the next books in the Sookie Stackhous series, and I have about a dozen books waiting on my shelf at home, about a third of which are research for a new story.

The biggest surprise was The Girl of the Limberlost, which sat on my shelf for about three months. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The biggest disappointment was probably the Hearse You Came In On, though I thought that Invictus started very strongly and then fell apart about halfway through.

Speaking of reading, last night after a late movie showing, I checked my email and found Year of Miracles waiting in my inbox. YoM is an old races novella that C.E. Murphy wrote for--well, I guess it amounts to subscribers. It's something new she's started doing. She'll make a post on her blog about a story she wants to write, with an estimated word count. Then her fans can donate whatever amount they see fit (I donated $5, I think; I wanted to do more but the post came at a rough time financially). She write the story in a specified amount of time, and then emails it to the subscribers. They are the only ones who get to read it, unless she finds a traditional publisher willing to print it (which could take years). I think this is the second or third novella she's written this way, so it seems to be working for her. I can't wait to read it--You can bet it'll rank early in the 2011 list (right after I find Summer Knight and get some of this research done).

So here is the complete list for 2010:

52 Books in 52 Weeks 2010 Challenge

01. Urban Shaman--C.E. Murphy
02. Soulless--Gail Carriger
03. Fire Study--Maria V. Snyder
04. Grave Watchers--A.K. Alexander
05. Thunderbird Falls--C.E. Murphy
06. Coraline--Neil Gaiman
07. Skinwalker--Faith Hunter
08. Kitty and the Midnight Hour--Carrie Vaughn
09. The Lark and the Wren--Mercedes Lackey
10. The Conservation and Restoration of Textiles
11. The Robin and the Kestral--Mercedes Lackey
12. The Eagle and the Nightingales--Mercedes Lackey
13. Lazy ways to make a living--Abigail Bosanko
14. Luck in the Shadows--Lynn Flewelling
15. Why Do Cats Do That?--Kim Campbell Thornton
16. The Hearse You Came in On--Tim Cocky
17. Frankenstein--Mary Shelly
18. Deja Dead--Kathy Reichs
19. Crewel World--Monica Ferris
20. Kitty Goes to Washington--Carrie Vaughn
21. Death du Jour--Kathy Reichs
22. A Witch in Time--Madelyn Alt
23. Gwenhwyfar--Mercedes Lackey
24. Haunted--Heather Graham
25. Dark Mysteries of the Vatican--H. Paul Jeffers
26. Magic's Pawn--Mercedes Lackey
27. Demon Hunts--C.E. Murphy
28. Kitty Takes a Holiday--Carrie Vaughn
29. A touch of Dead--Charlaine Harris
30. The Undertaker's Gift--Torchwood
31. Grave Secrets--Kathy Reichs
32. Changeless--Gail Carriger
33. A Witch's Guide to Ghosts and the Supernatural--Gerina Dunwich
34. Bare Bones--Kathy Reichs
35. Enchantment Emporium--Tanya Huff
36. A girl of the Limberlost--Gene Straton Porter
37. Kitty and the Silver Bullet--Carrie Vaughn
38. No Greater Love--Danielle Steel
39. Shades of Grey--Jasper Fforde
40. Wizard^2--K.E. Mills
41. The Human Species--John Relethford
42. The Red Pyramid--Rick Riodan
43. Blameless--Gail Carriger
44. The Roaring Twenties--David Pietrusza
45. Desire Sensibility--Souto Narazaki
46. Hetalia--Hidekaz Himaruya
47. Ghost Hunt vol. 10--Shiho Inada
48. Ghost Hunt vol. 11--Shiho Inada
49. Matilda Raleigh: Invictus--Chris Kelly