My Name Is Memory

Book #127 (Unique books)
Book #29 in 2010

My Name Is Memory
by Ann Brashares

"Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short. Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together. A magical, suspenseful, heartbreaking story of true love, My Name is Memory proves the power and endurance of a union that was meant to be."

December 22nd to December 30th - 8 1/2 days - 324 pages

Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex

Book #126 (Unique books)
Book #28 in 2010

Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex
by Eoin Colfer

"Teenaged criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl must save the underwater fairy metropolis of Atlantis from danger, while battling a psychological affliction known as the Atlantis Complex."

December 3rd to December 21st - 19 days - 357 pages

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Re-read)

Book #27 in 2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling

"Burdened with the dark, dangerous, and seemingly impossible task of locating and destroying Voldermort's remaining Horcruxes, Harry, feeling alone and uncertain about his future, struggles to find the inner strength he needs to follow the path set out before him."

November 11th to November 19th - 9 days - 759 pages

The Number Devil

Book #125 (Unique books)
Book #26 in 2010

The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure
by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

"Annoyed with his math teacher who assigns word problems and won't let him use a calculator, twelve-year-old Robert finds help from the number devil in his dreams."

October 9th to October 17th - 9 days - 262 pages

Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes

Book #124 (Unique books)
Book #25 in 2010

Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes
by Roald Dahl

"Humorous retellings in verse of six well-known fairy tales featuring surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after."

October 10th - 1 day - 43(ish) pages

The Princess Bride

Book #123 (Unique books)
Book #24 in 2010

The Princess Bride
by William Goldman

"Westley . . . handsome farm boy who risks death and much, much worse for the woman he loves; Inigo . . . the Spanish swordsman who lives only to avenge his father's death; Fezzik . . . the Turk, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bare hands; Vizzini . . . the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he's foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck . . . the eviler ruler of Guilder, who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and the beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen . . . the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max. . . the King's ex-Miracle Man, who can raise the dead (kind of); The Dread Pirate Roberts . . . supreme looter and plunderer of the high seas; and, of course, Buttercup . . . the princess bride, the most perfect, beautiful woman in the history of the world.S. Morgenstern's timeless tale--discovered and wonderfully abridged by William Goldman--pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. From the Cliffs of Insanity through the Fire Swamp and down into the Zoo of Death, this incredible journey and brilliant tale is peppered with strange beasties monstrous and gentle, and memorable surprises both terrible and sublime."

September 25th to October 8th - 14 days (2 weeks) - 398 pages

Paper Towns

Book #122 (Unique books)
Book #23 in 2010

Paper Towns
by John Green

"One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears."

September 22nd to September 25th - 3 1/2 days - 305 pages

The Phantom Tollbooth

Book #121 (Unique books)
Book #22 in 2010

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster

"A journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provide a cure for his boredom."

September 19th to September 22nd - 3 1/2 days - 256 pages

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Book #120 (Unique books)
Book #21 in 2010

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
by Douglas Adams

"Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. . . .

God only knows what it all means. And fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new?"

September 15th to September 18th - 4 days - 214 pages

Eat, Pray, Love

Book #119 (Unique books)
Book #20 in 2010

Eat, Pray, Love: one woman's search for
everything across Italy, India, and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls "Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister") is poised to garner yet more adoring fans."

August 11th to September 14th - 35 days - 334 pages

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Book #118 (Unique books)
Book #19 in 2010

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
by Douglas Adams

"There is a long tradition of Great Detectives, and Dirk Gently does not belong to it. But his search for a missing cat uncovers a ghost, a time traveler, AND the devastating secret of humankind! Detective Gently's bill for saving the human race from extinction: NO CHARGE."

August 6th to August 9th - 4 days - 306 pages

A Wrinkle in Time

Book #117 (Unique books)
Book #18 in 2010

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle

"Everyone in town thinks Meg Murry is volatile and dull-witted, and that her younger brother, Charles Wallace, is dumb. People are also saying that their physicist father has run off and left their brilliant scientist mother. Spurred on by these rumors and an unearthly stranger, the tesseract-touting Mrs Whatsit, Meg and Charles Wallace and their new friend Calvin O'Keefe embark on a perilous quest through space to find their father. In doing so, they must travel behind the shadow of an evil power that is darkening the cosmos, one planet at a time. This is no superhero tale, nor is it science fiction, although it shares elements of both. The travelers must rely on their individual and collective strengths, delving deep within themselves to find answers."

August 3rd to August 5th - 2 1/2 days - 211 pages

B is for Beer

Book #116 (Unique books)
Book #17 in 2010

B is for Beer
by Tom Robbins

"In this story for both children and adults, kindergartner Gracie decides to find out just what beer is and why her father likes it so much. Along the way she discovers more than she probably expected."

August 2nd to August 3rd - 1 1/2 days - 125 pages

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

Book #115 (Unique books)
Book #16 in 2010

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan

"Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods."

July 28th to August 1st - 5 days - 375 pages

Notes:
Ha. Definitely called the betrayer from the beginning.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Book #114 (Unique books)
Book #15 in 2010

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran Foer

"Meet Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. His mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the attack on the World Trade Center. An inspired creation, Oskar is alternately endearing, exasperating, and hilarious as he careens from Central Park to Coney Island to Harlem on his search. Along the way he is always dreaming up inventions to keep those he loves safe from harm. What about a birdseed shirt to let you fly away? What if you could actually hear everyone's heartbeat? His goal is hopeful, but the past speaks a loud warning in stories of those who've lost loved ones before. As Oskar roams New York, he encounters a motley assortment of characters who are all survivors in their own way."

July 24th to July 27th - 4 days - 326 pages

Notes:
♥ Oskar ♥

The Cosmic Puppets

Book #113 (Unique books)
Book #14 in 2010

The Cosmic Puppets
by Philip K. Dick

"Yielding to a compulsion he can’t explain, Ted Barton interrupts his vacation in order to visit the town of his birth, Millgate, Virginia. But upon entering the sleepy, isolated little hamlet, Ted is distraught to find that the place bears no resemblance to the one he left behind—and never did. He also discovers that in this Millgate Ted Barton died of scarlet fever when he was nine years old. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that it is literally impossible to escape. Unable to leave, Ted struggles to find the reason for such disturbing incongruities, but before long, he finds himself in the midst of a struggle between good and evil that stretches far beyond the confines of the valley. "

July 19th to July 23rd - 5 days - 143 pages

The Wizard of Oz

Book #112 (Unique books)
Book #13 in 2010

The Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum

"After being transported by a cyclone to the land of Oz, Dorothy and her dog are befriended by a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion, who accompany her to the Emerald City to look for a wizard who can help Dorothy return home to Kansas."

July 11th to July 14th - 4 days - 199 pages

Jitterbug Perfume

Book #111 (Unique books)
Book #12 in 2010

Jitterbug Perfume
by Tom Robbins

"Jitterbug Perfume is an epic. which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesn't conclude until nine o'clock tonight [Paris time]. It is a saga, as well. A saga must have a hero, and the hero of this one is a janitor with a missing bottle. The bottle is blue, very, very old, and embossed with the image of a goat-horned god. If the liquid in the bottle is actually is the secret essence of the universe, as some folks seem to think, it had better be discovered soon because it is leaking and there is only a drop of two left."

May 10th to June 19th - 41 days - 342 pages

Notes:
♥ ♥ ♥
I would've been finished much sooner, but the conference happened.

The Outsiders

Book #110 (Unique books)
Book #11 in 2010

The Outsiders
by S. E. Hinton

"The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society."

May 1st to May 10th - 10 days - 156 pages

Surviving the Applewhites

Book #109 (Unique books)
Book #10 in 2010

Surviving the Applewhites
by Stephanie S. Tolan

"Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for unschooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had."

April 27th to April 30th - 4 days - 216 pages

To Kill a Mockingbird

Book #108 (Unique books)
Book #9 in 2010

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

"Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 6-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up."

April 21st to April 26th - 6 days - 323 pages

120 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

The Tomato Soup Chronicles (Re-read)

Book #8 in 2010

The Tomato Soup Chronicles
by Zephyr Goza

"The story of Raymond C. Hayes, a man who accidentally orders his own assassination, is a sarcastic and scathing dark comedy by 18 year old author Zephyr Goza. Written out of order, the tale follows the increasingly unfortunate Ray in his transition from an office number cruncher at a job he hates to being the target of a mysterious and poorly operated hit organization known only as Adventures, Inc."

April 12th to April 20th - 9 days - 195 pages

119 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

Notes:
♥ ♥ ♥

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Book #107 (Unique books)
Book #7 in 2010

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
by J.K. Rowling

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers' attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger's new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales."

February 21st to March 11th - 19 days - 111 pages


118 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

The Giver

Book #106 (Unique books)
Book #6 in 2010

The Giver
by Lois Lowry

"Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives."

February 8th to February 23rd - 18 days - 180 pages

117 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

A Lifetime of Secrets

A Lifetime of Secrets
complied by Frank Warren

PostSecret.

February 17th to February 21st - 5 days

I Can't Keep My Own Secrets

Book #105 (Unique books)
Book #5 in 2010

I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six Word Memoirs By Teen Famous & Obscure
edited by Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith

"This is a book with nearly 800 authors (all aged thirteen to nineteen) and 800 characters (all real, as far as we know) and 800 stories (which can be read in any order). What every story has in common is that each was written about the author's own life, and that each is the exact same length: six words."

February 13th - 1 day - 184 pages

116 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

The Vampire is Just Not That Into You

Book #104 (Unique books)
Book #4 in 2010

The Vampire is Just Not That Into You
by Vlad Mezrich

"Are you in love with a vampire? Are you worried that you might not be his (blood) type? Do you wonder whether that cold stare means he isn’t interested . . . or if it’s because he’s been dead for three centuries (nothing personal)? Have you tried to coax him out of his crypt with a flash of your neck or a near-death situation that requires him to save you at the very last possible moment? Have you ever considered what it will be like to introduce him to your mother? Even though your vampire’s skin is transfixingly translucent, he can still be very hard to read. Sometimes he’s simply holding back his true feelings, resisting the urge to bite you in the chance that one day you will truly love him. And other times . . . well, he’s just not that into you. "

February 6th to February 8th - 3 days - 176 pages

115 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

Love, Stargirl (Re-read)

Book #3 in 2010

Love, Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli

"Still moping months after being dumped by her Arizona boyfriend Leo, fifteen-year-old Stargirl, a home-schooled free spirit, writes 'the world's longest letter' to Leo, describing her new life in Pennsylvania."

January 25th to February 5th - 12 days - 274 pages

114 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

Notes:
♥ ♥ ♥

Stargirl (Re-read)

Book #2 in 2010

Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli

"In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever."

January 22nd to January 23rd - 2 days - 186 pages

113 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))

Notes:
♥ ♥ ♥

The School of Essential Ingredients

Book #103 (Unique books)
Book #1 in 2010

The School of Essential Ingredients
by Erica Bauermeister

"Eight students gather in Lillian's Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. It soon becomes clear, however, that each one seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen as Chef Lillian, a woman whose connection with food is both soulful and exacting, helps them to create dishes whose flavor and techniques expand beyond the restaurant and into the secret corners of her students' lives."

January 9th to January 21st - 13 days - 240 pages

112 books read total (re-reads, audiobooks, etc. (since 2007))