As another year comes to a close, I think I'll again spend some time reviewing with some lists of things from 2010. This list is kind of crappy. I did not read that many great books this year. Sad. In fact, really only number one is a great book, a classic; the rest of them are good books.
5. Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
I will happily admit to jumping on the bandwagon with Gilbert's first book, Eat, Pray, Love, which was one of the first "adult" books I read after graduating from college, along with She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb. In fact, I didn't really read anything for about 2 years after graduating because I was so tired of reading things. When I finally did, those two books ended up basically changing my life, so I got pretty excited when I heard about her new book. It ended up not being quite as life changing, which is to be expected, all things considered, but I really enjoyed the topic. Gilbert was basically being forced to marry the guy she met during the love part of her first book if they wanted to be able to live in the states, and she was second guessing this because of the unfortunate end of her first marriage. She travels around the world with her partner waiting for some things to happen with the government and does research into the institution of marriage while she does so, attempting to define for herself what she wants her marriage to be. As a 27 year old woman who questions that institution in our country on a somewhat regular basis, I found the topic interesting and appealing.
4. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
The second installment of Stieg Larson's trilogy is by far the best of the three. The first book was really good but doesn't really get into the story of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo despite the title. It focused more on the story of the other main character and presented us with a murder mystery for intrigue. The Girl Who Played With Fire does focus on her and I found it even more interesting than the first one. Also, the girl who played with fire is kind of a badass.
3. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
I found this book on my bed when I came home right before we went to New Mexico, open to the first chapter. I think Zak tried to read it. Anyway, I took it with me to New Mexico and read it there. I had not seen the movie, nor did I know the movie was based on a book. Actually, Dennis Lehane writes lots of books that turn into movies that I didn't know about. Anyway, the book actually reads very much like a screenplay, and the story was super good. It was a mystery with one of those twists at the end, like I like. But I much prefer to read them than watch them.
2. Atonement by Ian McEwan
This is yet another story that I always wanted to see the movie version of but put off doing until I had read the book. I tried to pick up the book once before and didn't make it, but was bound and determined this time. I ended up really liking it; it's probably the only really "literary" book I read this year. It is often easy to misconstrue things that you're only seeing a little bit of and definitely easy to let things get out of hand when you don't fully understand them. And then it is especially hard to go back and fix those things that you messed up. It's so real, such a "close to home" problem at times, that it really appealed to me.
1. The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carlson
This was, by far, the best book that I read all year. It explores the relationships in a family of many women, something that falls rather close to my heart. It goes beyond the basic familial relationships to the very core of what it is that makes us human: our emotions and decisions. We love each other and we hurt each other and there are reasons for those things that make sense and reasons that absolutely, 100%, do not make any sense whatsoever. The book starts with a simply chapter introducing the characters, who count the number of flowers they get on the moonflower vine every year. It comes full circle, back to the moonflower vine, in such a way that it actually almost changes the entire story. I had to go back and reread the first chapter.
Honorable Mention: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
Let me preface this one by saying that this book is not for everyone by any means. Tucker Max is a complete douche who writes about his shenanigans. I have no idea if they are real or not. I assume mostly not, all things considered. And many of them gross me out. However, this is the first book that I have ever read that literally made me laugh out loud. Hysterically. Tucker Max is a really phenomenal writer. I don't mean that he will go on to write the next Great American Novel. He absolutely will not do that, but his writing is absolutely hysterical. It's a combination of topic and his style.
This really wasn't a good year for good books, honestly. This list was hard to put together. Better luck next year.
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