*Books-of-the-Year*

I have been reading A LOT lately....loving my time off! I did the 100 book Challenge through goodreads.com (the best site for book people!!) and I made it! Of course, some of them were picture books, but I read 110 books this year-or at least rated 110 books-teachers read a lot to kiddos! Here are my top ten (in no order)

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon-such a GOOD read-you must read it!!! A gothic mystery set in Spain concerning the unusual circumstances of a book and its mysterious author.

2. Cleopatra by Stacey Schiff...this took me a while to read, but was so informative and I learned a lot about the history of Rome and Egypt. I am slightly obsessed with that time period right now...

3. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure...if you read and adored the Little House on the Prairie books, you will enjoy this true story about a woman traveling around to all the Little House landmarks.

4. In Stitches by Anthony Youn...funny, funny coming of age story about an Asian boy growing up in Michigan and going on to med school. Liked this a lot more than I thought I would!

5. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay I cried and cried reading this book (and still cry thinking about it), but it's worth a read. Heartbreaking, especially since parts are true-a World War II story in France (yes, it got ugly in France! I did not realize to what extent!)

6. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor-This is a children's chapter book, if you have not read it, go now. Young sweet, caring boy, runaway dog, bad owner...a GOOD book.

7. Savvy by Ingrid Law-another children's book, but with a dash of magic. The sequel didn't grab me as much as this one.

8. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. OK, I love this author-gothic mysteries...this year, I realized how much I love them. Kate is the queen of writing gothic mysteries...I adore all 3 of her books (though this one probably isn't my favorite!)

9. Their Eyes Were Watching Good by Zora Neale Hurston This took me a while to read-the language was difficult to read-but I can see why it's a classic. The story is amazing and Janie is a very endearing main character, through all of her tragedies.

10. I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridus I've also come to realize that I do like historical fiction this year. LOVED all the Italian history in this book, as well. Very thick-couldn't stop reading it.

What about you?? What are your top reads? Tomorrow, I will update with some of my books for next year, including my plan to read more non-fiction. As much as I love reading, I read non-fiction very slowly. My bookshelf is piling up with those books. I tend to buy those, where as most of my books I get from the library.