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1.
Asta in the Wings

finished January 2 - good writing, unique perspective and voice. Impressive for a first novel.

2.
The Likeness: A Novel

finished January 10 - I really liked Tana French's first novel, The Woods, and this follow up is very good. Great mystery, warm writing and believable characters.

3.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

finished January 17 - the plot and premise of this book is intruiging and once I got into the heart of the story, I couldn't put it down. The only thing I didn't care for was the style of writing...I've heard others say that it's like reading a newspaper - the text is very dry and straightforward. It took me awhile to get over the fact that I didn't like the writing style, but the string of events and mystery plot were worth it.

4.
The Giver

finished January 22 - I decided to read this book when my daughter brought it home as required reading for her 7th grade english class. It is SUCH A GOOD BOOK! I was trying to go along with their assignments (a few chapters a week), but I was so taken with the story that I finished it in just a few days. I hope my daughter enjoys it as much as I did.

Kalei wrote: "4.
The Giver

finished January 22 - I decided to read this book when my daughter brought it home as required reading for her 7th grade english class. It i..."

yes i do mom11111 ;0 ;p :) :o

5.
Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me

finished March 10 - I've had this book for a few months and didn't get around to reading it right away. I would recommend this to anyone born and raised in Hawaii who is living on the continent. The author deals with issues around culture and identity that a lot of hapa people can relate to.

6.
Sharp Objects: A Novel

finished March 13 - I've seen mixed reviews about this book so I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. It's definitely a dark novel that deals with some deep issues (cutting oneself, murder of children, adolescent drug abuse, teenage sexuality, terrible if not downright abusive parenting) but the writing was GREAT. There were phrases and passages that were perfect and poetic in their description; I really liked the style, flow and prose the author used. I would recommend this to anyone who likes good writing, but only if you can get beyond the dark subject matter. If you can, you won't want to put the book down until the story ends.

7.
Break No Bones

finished March 20 - Kathy Reichs was recommended to me by a friend, and this is the first book I read written by Reichs. It was good - quick writing, funny at times (especially at the start of the book where Temperance Brennan meets a questionable and irritating journalist), and interesting plot. It's a good summer/beach book!

8.
Makai

finished March 23 - this book is wonderfully slow and thoughtful. I would say it's primarily about a friendship between two high school classmates that started before WWII and its impact on the two women and their families. I like the way it's written - with short, choppy sentences, some pidgin but understandably not a lot - and a focus on family, food, and the ups and downs of a friendship. Great read.

9.
Gone for Good

finished March 31 - quick writing, good plot, a lot of twists and turns. I like Coben's books and this one didn't disappoint.

10.
Heart-Shaped Box

finished April 18 - very suspenseful and fast-paced, especially at the beginning of the book. The action is quick and surprising; good and easy to read. Don't read this book at night by yourself!

11.
The Gargoyle

finished May 23 - this book was...okay. It was overly hyped and I saw it on many book club lists. The plot and premise of the story is good, but not necessarily believable (and I'm not referring to the 14th century past life the main character claim she had). It took me awhile to get through reading this book, and now I realize that it's almost halfway through 2010 and I've got 39 more books to read if I want to meet my goal!

12.
The Book Thief

finished May 31 - recommended by Kina, this was a great book! The fact that Death is the narrator was a little gimmicky, but it actualy worked throughout the story. The characters and plot development were so good, I found myself enjoying the book more and more as I read it. Towards the last half of the book and the end, I just couldn't put it down.

13.
The Piano Teacher

finished June 6 - i liked the idea and premise for the book, written about events in Hong Kong during WWII and about ten years after. The book is written describing life and relationships during the war (1940-1943) between the Chinese and British colonials, and then a decade after the war (1952-1953). It describes a romance between a Eurasian girl, Trudy, and a British man, Will, and the high society life Trudy loves despite the fact that war is imminent. Then, 10 years later, life in post-war Hong Kong.

The idea is a good one, but none of the characters are at all likeable - not a one - not even the 10 year-old student whom the piano teacher teaches. So overall, although it was a good attempt at an interesting subject, the character development and thin plot wasn't that satisfying to me.

14.
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

finished June 6 - I received this book in April as a birthday gift from Pa'ahana, and she would get so hurt when I picked up other books to read before this one. I picked it up after "The Gargoyle" and started it, but finished two others before reading it again and finishing it in just one day. It's a good read and super interesting if you like football.

I saw the movie "The Blind Side" on a flight coming home from Sacramento in March, and really loved it. The book contains more than the movie plot - in addition to describing the rise of a little-known football player, Michael Oher, and the Tuohy family who takes him in, the book goes into great detail about the left tackle position, Lawrence Taylor and the New York Giants team, other athletes who played left tackle, and the start of the West Coast offense under coach Bill Walsh. Great read for football fans!

15.
The Descendants: A Novel

finished June 19 - a co-worker mentioned that a bunch of people in our publishing department read this book, and although the author is from Hawai'i, they were surprised at some of the statements and political opinions she has. Other than disagreeing with some of the author's social and political views, I thought the book was well-written and the characters real and interesting.

The plot moves pretty quickly and you easily get to know each of the characters as they are introduced. Great read, very good writing; can't wait to see the movie!

16.
A Drink Before the War

finished July 5 - I loved Denis Lehane after I read Shutter Island, and then realized that he wrote Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone after I had already seen the movies. Lehane is a great writer and has a knack for portraying Boston so vividly, it's as if you're standing in Dorchester, Roxbury or whatever neighborhood he's describing at the time. Entertaining and action-packed.

17.
Look Again

finished July 10 - this is the first book I read by this author; it was good - not excellent or really my style, but entertaining and heartfelt. The writing was very straightforward and a little too wordy for me, but it's easy to read. The book is about a reporter who picks up a "have you seen this child?" postcard and the boy resembles her adopted son. I liked the premise of the book and philosophical questions it raises.

18.
The Last Child

finished July 13 at 230am - GREAT book! This is the first by John Hart that I read, and it will definitely not be the last. I started reading Sunday afternoon and finished about half of it that day. Came home from Monday night at 11pm and stayed up until 230am reading until it was finished...it was that good. Good writing, wonderful plot, twists and turns, and very likeable characters - all of them (at least the ones you're supposed to like)! John Hart is one of my new favorite writers.

19.
The Whiskey Rebels

finished August 7 - it took me awhile to read through this book, partly because the author's prose is indicative of the time period of the book, but also because the plot is so interesting and at times a bit complicated, I needed to go back and re-read a little to comprehend everything. Despite that fact, and maybe because of it, I really liked Whiskey Rebels. Great character development, interesting and plausible plot, and even though some critics didn't like the alternating chapters focusing on the two main characters, that actually worked for me. Overall, satisfying and enjoyable.

20.
The Girl Who Played with Fire

finished August 24 - great follow up book to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Still different writing style than I'm used to (very straightforward, stilted, bland) but great plot development and cliffhanger ending!

21.
Eat, Pray, Love

finished September 6 - I wasn't planning to read this book, or see the movie actually, but I wondered if there were any similarities between the author's life and myself, and if there were, perhaps I should take a year off and head to three different locales. I started reading, not necessarily to finish the book - but more to learn of the hype was worth it. Some readers and going to LOVE it...me, I liked the chapter on Italy the best. And the writing was good: easy to read and really funny at times.

22.
The Other Daughter

finished September 14 - I wasn't planning to read this book either, but my friend gave me a bunch of mystery thriller books and I picked this one up. It's a quick read, good plot twists - I would categorize it as a beach book. Not a literary breakthrough, but entertaining enough.

23.
Dark Places

finished September 30 - the second book by Gillian Flynn, it's just as dark, disturbing and addicting as Sharp Objects. I couldn't put it down. Just about all of the characters have a dark and not necessarily likeable quality (Lyle is the most understated and probably the most innocent), but you end up rooting for them (Libby, Ben, Diane, even nosy Michelle). Top notch writing.

24.
Down River

finished October 7 - I ended up reading John Hart's most recent book The Last Child first, and liked that one more than Down River. The story is intriguing, and the plot has a few twists and turns. Enjoyable but not the best book Hart has written.

25.
Darkness, Take My Hand

finished October 10 - this is the second book in the Kenzie/Genarro series by Dennis Lehane. It's a good follow up to A Drink Before the War and further develops the main characters and their relationships. Action-packed, moving, dramatic, suspenseful.

26.
Sacred

finished October 17 - third book in the Kenzie/Genarro series. Quick read, fast paced, good book!

27.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

finished November 14 - great ending to the series trilogy. It's a long novel, but the suspense and lead-in to the resolution hold the reader's attention. My favorite aspect of this book was the extent of a government conspiracy to hide its actions and knowingly bring about the downfall of one person. My least favorite part of the book is that somehow, some way, the main character gets all the hot chicks.

28.
Year of Wonders

finished November 17 - highly recommended reading from my mom, aunty and nana. They all read this book and said it was great. The writing, main character and plot are very strong, with a storyline that makes you not want to put the book down. Great first novel from this author.

29.
Half Broke Horses

finished November 21 - another recommended read from my family. The author wrote a bestselling memoir called The Glass Castle and this book is a true life novel about her maternal grandmother. Good read.

30.
Cutting for Stone

finished December 7 - GREAT book, I would rank this in my top 10 books I ever read! The writing is poetic and prosaic without ever being overdone. It's about two twins born in Ethopia to a nurse and a doctor, so the medical descriptions and surgeries are well detailed in the story. It's easy to see that the author is a medical doctor because he writes from a clinical perspective, but it's surprising in that the story has such warmth, depth and meaning. Truly, it's a wonderful book.

31.
Gravity

finished December 12 - good concept, fast writing, predictable ending.

32.
Mudbound

finished December 18 - very good book, authentic writing and character development. The author gets each of the characters' voices right, from the sharecroppers to the landowners, and presents a story about prejudice, war and life on a farm in the 1940s. Great book.

Goodbye 2010! I set out to read 50 books thinking it would be easy...until I realized that it meant reading a book a week. "Doable" I thought to myself, but I'd have to really keep to a strict timeline. I didn't reach 50, but 32 isn't bad. Here is the ranking of my top 10 in 2010:

10.Sharp Objects
9. Heart-Shaped Box
8. The Book Thief
7. Year of Wonders
6. The Whiskey Rebels
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
4. The Giver
3. Mudbound
2. The Last Child
1. Cutting for Stone