A Small Fox in a Big World

What I Read: 2010

*just to clarify, the book total is the total books I read and listened to each month. Pages is the total pages of the books I physically read. Time is the total time I listened to audio books for each month.*

 January

"A Crown of Swords," by Robert Jordan, 896 pgs

"The Path of Daggers," by Robert Jordan, 685 pgs

"Heat Wave," by Richard Castle, 6hrs 22min

"Winter's Heart," by Robert Jordan, 780 pgs

Totals:

Books: 4

Pages: 2361

Time: 6hrs 22min

 

February

"A Kiss of Shadows," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 15hrs 51min

"Crossroads of Twilight," by Robert Jordan, 864 pgs

"Storm Front,"by Jim Butcher, 8hrs 1min

"A Caress of Twilight," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 11hrs 51min

"39 Clues: The Black Circle," by Patrick Carman, 176 pgs

"39 Clues: In Too Deep," by Jude Watson, 206 pgs

"39 Clues: The Viper's Nest," by Peter Lerangis, 176 pgs

"Knife of Dreams," by Robert Jordan, 1000 pgs

Totals:

Books: 8

Pages: 2422

Time: 35hrs 43min

 

March

"Gathering Storm," by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, 784 pgs*

"I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell," by Tucker Max, 368 pgs

"Any Which Wall," by Laurel Snyder, 256 pgs

"A Nest for Celeste," by Henry Cole, 352 pgs

"Moon Called," by Patricia Briggs, 304 pgs*

"Going Bovine," by Libba Bray, 496 pgs

"The Maze Runner," by James Dashner, 384 pgs

"Shiver," by Maggie Stiefvater, 400 pgs

"The Sea of Trolls," by Nancy Farmer, 459 pgs*

"The Land of Silver Apples," by Nancy Farmer, 496 pgs*

Totals:

Books: 10

Pages: 4299

Time: none

 

April

"The Island of the Blessed," by Nancy Farmer, 496 pgs*

"Blood Bound," by Patricia Briggs, 352 pgs*

"Iron Kissed," by Patricia Briggs, 304 pgs*

"Bone Crossed," by Patricia Briggs, 304 pgs*

"Odd and the Frost Giants," by Neil Gaiman, 128 pgs

"Prom Dates from Hell," by Rosemary Clement Moore, 320 pgs

"Hell Week," by Rosemary Clement Moore, 336 pgs

"Fang," by James Patterson, 368 pgs

"Heroes of the Valley," by Jonathan Stroud, 496 pgs

"Un Lun Dun," by China Mieville, 474 pgs

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," by Sherman Alexie, 288 pgs

"When You Reach Me," by Rebecca Stead, 208 pgs*

"The Indigo King," by James Owen, 384 pgs

"Sent," by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 313 pgs

"The Shadow Dragons," by James Owen, 432 pgs

Totals:

Books: 15

Pages: 5203

Time: none

 

May

"Catching Fire," by Suzanne Collins, 391 pgs*

"American Gods," by Neil Gaiman (One Book, One Twitter selection), 480 pgs

"Howl's Moving Castle," by Dianna Wynne Jones, 336 pgs

"Annie Liebovitz at Work," by Annie Liebovitz, 240 pgs

"Dragonbreath," by Ursula Vernon, 160 pgs

"The Puzzling World of Winston Breen," by Eric Berlin, 224 pgs

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," by Douglas Adams, 224 pgs

"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," by Douglas Adams, 256 pgs

"Life, the Universe, and Everything," by Douglas Adams, 240 pgs

"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish," by Douglas Adams, 224 pgs

"Mostly Harmless," by Douglas Adams, 240 pgs

Totals:

Books: 11

Pages: 3015

Time: none

 

June

"Silver Borne," by Patricia Briggs, 304 pgs*

"Changes," by Jim Butcher, 448 pgs*

"Seduced by Moonlight," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 14 hrs 32min

"Eyes Like Stars," by Lisa Mantchev, 368 pgs

"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," by Barbara Kingsolver (All Alden Reads Selection), 400 pgs*

"Stitches," by David Small, 336 pgs

"Red Pyramid," by Rick Riordan, 528 pgs

"Nurk," by Ursula Vernon, 144 pgs

"39 Clues: The Emperors Code," by Gordon Korman, 176 pgs

"Tuba," by Teri Ann Greenfield (a friend from college's first manuscript), ballpark 200pgs

"A Stroke of Midnight," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 14hrs 28min

"39 Clues: Storm Warning," by Linda Sue Parker, 176 pgs

Totals:

Books: 12

Pages: 3080

Time: 29hrs

 

July

"Mistral's Kiss," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 7hrs 3min

"Breathless," by Dean Koontz, 352 pgs

"Burned," by Kristin and PC Cast, 384 pgs

"The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno," by Ellen Bryson, 352 pgs*

"Little House in the Big Woods," by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 160 pgs

"The Wizard of Oz: Graphic Novel," by Eric Shanower, 192 pgs

"Mouse Guard: Fall 1152," by David Petersen, 192 pgs

Mouse Guard: Winter 1152," by David Petersen, 192 pgs

"A Really Short History of Nearly Everything," by Bill Bryson, 176 pgs

"Magyk," by Angie Sage, 576 pgs

"The Particular Saddness of Lemon Cake," by Aimee Bender, 292 pgs

"Forgive My Fins," by Tera Lynn Childs, 304 pgs

"Bruiser," by Neal Schusterman, 336 pgs*

"Epitaph Road," by David Patneaude, 272 pgs*

"The Forest of Hands and Teeth," by Carrie Ryan, 336 pgs*

Douglas Adams' "And Another Thing..." by Eoin Colfer, 288 pgs

"Ghostopolis," by Doug TenNapel, 272 pgs*

"A Lick of Frost," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 8hrs 56min

"The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner," by Stephanie Meyer, 192 pgs

Totals:

Books: 19

Pages: 4868

Time: 15hrs 59min

 

August

"Evergreen," by Bruce Golden, 354 pgs

"The Roar," by Emma Clayton, 496 pgs

"Fat Vampire," by Adam Rex, 336 pgs

"Thirteen Days to Midnight," by Patrick Carman, 304 pgs*

"Birthmarked," by Caragh O'Brien, 368 pgs*

"Sister's Red," by Jackson Pearce, 336 pgs

"Mockingjay," by Suzanne Collins, 400 pgs*

"Divine Misdemeanors," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 10hrs 42min

Totals:

Books: 8

Pages: 2594

Time: 10hrs 42min

 

September

"Chosen," by Ted Dekker, 288 pgs

"Infidel," by Ted Dekker, 288 pgs

"Millions," by Frank Cottrell Boyce, 256 pgs*

"Trickster: Native American Tales," Graphic Novel Collection, 232 pgs

"Unraveled," by Gena Showalter, 576 pgs

"39 Clues: Into the Gauntlet," by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 176 pgs

"Fool Moon," by Jim Butcher, 10hrs 6min

"Vampire Academy," by Richelle Mead, 332 pgs

"Frost Bite," by Richelle Mead, 256 pgs

"Renegade," by Ted Dekker, 304 pgs

"The Search for Wondla," by Tony DiTerlizzi, 496 pgs*

Totals:

Books: 11

Pages: 3204

Time: 10hrs 6min

 

October

"The Grimm Legacy," by Polly Shulman, 336 pgs

"Zombies vs. Unicorns," by multiple authors, 432 pgs*

"Half Upon a Time," by James Riley, 400 pgs

"Crave," by Laura Burns and Melinda Metz, 288 pgs

"Shadow Kiss," by Richelle Mead, 444 pgs

"Grave Peril," by Jim Butcher, 11hrs 59min

 "Summer Knight," Jim Butcher, 11hrs 12min

"Blood Promise," by Richelle Mead, 512 pgs

"Spirit Bound," by Richelle Mead, 496 pgs

"Blue Bloods," by Melissa de la Cruz, 320 pgs

"Death Masks," by Jim Butcher 11hrs 21min

"The Lost Symbol," by Dan Brown, 17hrs 51min

"Guys Read: Funny Business," by multiple authors, 288 pgs

"Masquerade," by Melissa de la Cruz, 320 pgs

Totals:

Books: 14

Pages: 3836

Time: 52hrs 23min

 

November

"Guilty Pleasures," by Laurell K. Hamilton, 9hrs 48min

"The Incorigable Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling," by Maryrose Wood, 272 pgs

"Towers of Midnight," by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan, 864 pgs

"Virals," by Kathy Reichs, 464 pgs

"The Collected Tales of Nurse Mathilda," by Christianna Brand, 384 pgs

"Fallen," by Lauren Kate, 10hrs 56min

Totals:

Books: 6

Pages: 1984

Time: 20hrs 44min

 

December

"I Shall Wear Midnight," by Terry Pratchett, 368 pgs*

"The Christmas Genie," by Dan Gutman, 160 pgs

"Matched," by Ally Condie, 384 pgs*

"Last Sacrifice," by Richelle Mead, 594 pgs

"Runemarks," by Joanne Harris, 17hrs 1min*

"Wild Ride," by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, 12hrs 17min*

"Hero," by Mike Lupica, 304 pgs

"The Lost Hero," by Rick Riordan, 576 pgs*

"The Golden Compass," by Phillip Pullman, 399 pge

Totals:

Books: 9

Pages: 2785

Time: 29hrs 18min

 

*Indicates my favorite titles of the year

 

GRAND TOTALS

Books: 127 (up 38 from 2009)

Pages: 39,651 (up 10,479 from 2009)

Time: 210hrs 17min (up 29hrs and 17min from 2009)

What I Read: 2009

Around February last year, I decided to keep track of all the books I read or listened to. (When I say all, I mean most, because I didn't count picture books I read to the kids at the library, nor did I count the books I read to the older kids for book club. I didn't count magazines either, of which I usually read three a month.Or the newspaper.) And I posted February's books here and promised to post the rest each month with pictures and mini reviews and links and then promptly failed to do so as I'm the world's worst blogger.

Last night, I was thinking about my last year's reads and I was wondering how many pages I read and how many hours I spent listening to audio books. So I used Amazon to figure it out. I was pretty astonished, and now that I think of all of the things I didn't count, I'm even more surprised. Admittedly, we've been without TV since June and I do listen to audio books while I craft, but still, the numbers aren't too shabby.

And then I decided that even though I'm probably the only one who cares, I'm going to post my last year's reads here for you to peruse, along with those totals, so that I can reference this page if I need to. Like when I need to brag to the children. I'm not going to link the individual books, because that will take forever, so please feel free to do so yourself if you are interested in what I mention. I will, however, include a picture of a cover or two, because blog posts with no pictures stress me out.

February

"Book of a Thousand Days," by Shannon Hale, 320 pgs*

"Enna Burning," by Shannon Hale, 336 pgs

"All Night Long," by Jayne Ann Krentz, 9 hrs 30 min

"Death Angel," by Linda Howard, 10 hrs 15 min

"Peter Pan," by JM Barrie, 4 hrs 50 min

"Graceling," by Kristin Cashore, 480 pgs*

"Impossible," by Nancy Werlin, 384 pgs*

Totals:

Books: 7

Pages: 1520

Time: 24 hrs 30min

March

"The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks," by E. Lockhart, 6 hrs 9 min

"The Little Giant of Aberdeen County," by Tiffany Baker, 341 pgs*

"The Doll People," by Ann M. Martin, 3 hrs 51 min

"The Castle Corona," by Sharon Creech, 336 pgs

"Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn, 347 pgs

Totals:

Books: 5

Pages: 1024

Time: 10 hrs

April

"Max," by James Patterson, 320 pages

"The Secret Garden," by Frances Hodgsen Burnett, 288 pgs*

"The Tale of Desperaux," by Kate DiCamillo, 3 hrs 25 min

"Enter Three Witches," by Caroline B. Cooney, 288 pgs

"Fire," by Kristin Cashore, 480 pgs*

"Neverwhere," by Neil Gaiman, 352 pgs*

Totals:

Books: 6

Pages: 1728

Time: 3 hrs 25 min

May

"A Great and Terrible Beauty," by Libba Bray, unfinished, about 1 hour

(This is supposed to be a very good series, I just couldn't get through it.)

"Tender Morsels," by Margo Lanagan, 448 pages*

(This book was fantastic. I still think about it. It is extremely heavy, though. Just to warn you.)

"Over Sea Under Stone," by Susan Cooper, 7 hrs 19 min

"Watchmen," by Alex Moore, 416 pgs

"39 Clues: The Sword Thief," by Peter Lerangis, 160 pgs

"Found," by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 320 pgs

"The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins, 384 pgs*

Totals:

Books: 7

Pages: 1728

Time: 8 hrs 19 min

June

"Savvy," by Ingrid Law, 352 pgs

"A Wind in the Door," by Madeline L'Engle, 5 hrs 8 min

"Monstrous Regiment," by Terry Pratchett, unfinished, about 2 hours

(I love Terry Pratchett, I just kept getting distracted and never finished this)

"Little Brother," by Cory Doctrow, 384 pgs

(Not my favorite. It took me forever to read and I kept putting it down.)

"Jellicoe Road," by Melina Marchetta, 432 pgs

"Fallen," by David Maine, unfinished, about 3 hours

(I loved " The Preservationist," by David Maine and decided to give this a try. Not a thrilling summer read and I got stuck and quit. I might go back to it sometime this winter.)

I read the first seven Dresden novels. I could list them, but for brevity I won't. 2635 pgs total*

"Twilight," by Stephanie Meyer, 12 hrs 51 min

"New Moon," by Stephanie Meyer, 14 hr, 55 min

"Eclipse," by Stephanie Meyer, 16 hr 26 min

"Breaking Dawn," by Stephanie Meyer, 20 hrs 29 min

"Full of Life," by Nancy O'Dell, 176 pgs

(This was a gift to my sister who was pregnant at the time and I read it first to make sure it didn't suck.)

"Serenity: Those Left Behind," 96 pgs

Totals:

Books: 19

Pages: 4075

Time: 75 hours

(June was our first month with no TV and it was also Summer Reading Program and I did a lot of laying on the porch and reading. I'm not ashamed to admit it.)

July

"A Curse Dark as Gold," by Elizabeth Bunce, 400 pgs

"Mr. Popper's Penguins," by Richard and Florence Atwater, 139 pgs

"The Last Olympian," by Rick Riordan, 400 pgs*

(Great series. Brian and I both really enjoyed it.)

"The Book of Lost Things," by John Connoly, 480 pgs

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, 320 pgs

(In my estimation, too much Pride and Prejudice and not enough Zombies.)

The first five of the House of Night series. 1648 pgs total

(I read these and logically, I thought they were drivel, but I couldn't read the next one fast enough. Perfect for Summer!)

"Many Waters," by Madeline L'Engle, 224 pgs

"Larklight," by Philip Reeve, 250 pgs

Totals:

Books: 12

Pages: 3861

Time: None

August

"The Lost Continent," by Bill Bryson, 320 pgs

"Stargazer," by Patrick Carmen, 288 pgs

"Skeleton Creek," by Patrick Carmen, 144 pgs

(Really great for kids who like ghost stories, or reluctant readers. Has an online element, with a webcast that is part of the story. I must say, I creeped my self out a bit with this book!)

"Gregor the Overlander," 320 pgs, "Gregor and the Curse of the Warm Bloods," 368 pgs, "Gregor and the Marks of Secret," 352 pgs, "Gregor and the Code of Claw," 412 pgs, all by Suzanne Collins.*

"Fablehaven," by Brandon Mull, 368 pgs

"39 Clues: Beyond the Grave," by Jude Watson

"Proven Guilty," by Jim Butcher, 496 pgs*

"White Knight," by Jim Butcher, 480 pgs*

"Small Favor," by Jim Butcher, 560 pgs*

"Turn Coat," by Jim Butcher, 432 pgs.*

Totals:

Books: 14

Pages: 5036

Time: None

September

"Eye of the World,"by Robert Jordan. 814 pgs*

(Book one of one of my favorite series of all time. I highly encourage you to read it, but I will warn you, it is epically long.)

"Julie and Julia," by Julie Powell, 400 pgs*

"Intertwined," by Gena Showalter, 448 pgs

"Of Bees and Mist," by Erick Setiawan, 416 pgs

Totals:

Books: 4

Pages: 2078

Time: None

October

" The Great Hunt," by Robert Jordan, 620 pgs

"The Dragon Reborn," by Robert Jordan, 562 pgs

Totals:

Books: 2

Pages: 1182

Time: None

November

"The Shadow Rising," by Robert Jordan, 914 pgs

"Need," by Carrie Jones, 7 hrs 28 min

"Edenborn," by Nick Sagan, 9 hrs 35 min*

"The Daily Coyote," by Shreve Stockton, 7 hrs 52 min*

"Dealing with Dragons," by Patricia C. Wrede, 5 hrs*

Totals:

Books: 5

Pages: 914

Time: 30 hrs

December

"The Fires of Heaven,"by Robert Jordan, 702 pgs

"Dramarama," by E. Lockhart, 5 hrs 43 min*

(This is like the audio book version of Glee and made painting my dinning room so much happier!)

"The Supernaturalist," by Eoin Colfer, 3 hrs 45 min*

"Tempted," by PC and Kristin Cast, 336 pgs

"Lord of Chaos," by Robert Jordan, 716 pgs

"Evermore," by Alyson Noel, 8 hr 1 min*

"Blue Moon," by Alyson Noel, 8 hr 12 min*

"I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be your Class President," by Josh Lieb, 5 hr 20 min*

Totals:

Books: 8

Pages: 1754

Time: 31 hrs

*Indicates my most favorite of each month's reads

GRAND TOTALS

Books: 89

Pages: 29,172

Time: 181 hours

Virtual Bookshelf :: February

Welcome to all of you who found your way here from Craft and Evilbuttons. I hope you pull up a chair and stay awhile! I'm still a bit gobsmacked that my Coraline box was posted on these two lovely blogs, so please bear with my explosive exuberance!

Those of you who have been reading for some time are no doubt familiar with my Story Hour posts -- of which there is one coming; I just have to photograph the kids' art. Earlier this year, after having been questioned about my most recent reads and not able to recall them all, I decided to keep track of all the books I read and listen to.  Then, I thought that some of you may be interested in this information, so I thought I would post them.  Call them the grown up version of Story Hour!  We're starting with February, because I didn't start tracking them until then.  I'll post updates each month, probably with little snippets of what I liked about the book and then you can go to your local library armed with a wonderful book list!

I Read:


Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale.  I've been a pretty big Shannon Hale fan ever since I was blown away by the audio book of Goose Girl. One of the only audio books I've listened to more than once.  I'd been wanting to read Book of a Thousand Days since I had heard about it at an ICN class last year. I really enjoyed it. I like the format of the book and I like that everyone you want to win does in some way. Shannon Hale is a master at weaving your heart into her story and Book of a Thousand Days does just that!

 
Enna Burning, by Shannon Hale. Enna Burning is the sequel to Goose Girl. I found my copy at a book sale. I loved the character of Enna in Goose Girl and so I was excited to read more about her and Bayern. This was a good story, but I didn't' like it as much as Goose Girl. There's just something mystical about Goose Girl that this wasn't able to hold up to in my mind.  That being said, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable read!


Graceling, by Kristin Cashore.  Easily my favorite book of February and the one I find myself recommending again and again.  It has everything a good book should: strong, but still fallible characters, a magnificent world, peril, love, happy bubble endings, lessons learned, beautiful prose, intrigue.  I love that the author trusts the readers intelligence enough to let the plot evolve with the story, instead of spoon feeding us the information we need to know. I like that I didn't know everything. I like that I figured things out alongside the characters. I like how much I felt for and with the characters because of this.  I read this in two days, forgoing lunch and showers.  It's just that good!


Impossible, by Nancy Werlin.  This book is based around the song "Scarborough Fair." It poses the question, "What if it's not just a song? What if it's real? A curse, even. How would you break it?" And it follows Lucy, who needs to break the curse, before she gives birth and is doomed to go mad, like her mother before her and her mother before her. It's a fabulous love story with fantasy thrown in for good measure.  Another "must not do anything until book is finished" kind of reads!

I Listened To:


Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie.  I'd never read Peter Pan before and I was amazed how not like the Disney version this story actually is. There's much more violence and reprehensible behavior -- on everyone's part, not just the villains -- than I was ready for. Peter and the children are actually quite selfish and bratty.  I think this takes the Disney version to the opposite extreme, but in a good way!


All Night Long, by Jane Ann Krentz.  At some point last month, I decided I wanted to listen to a "naughty" book. And I randomly chose this one, because, come on! It's called "All Night Long!" Sounds pretty naughty, right?  Well, I can assure you, nothing happens all night long in this book. Nothing.  It's a decent mystery, a relatively entertaining story and read fairly well, but it did nothing for my need for naughty.


Death Angel, by Linda Howard. After my little debacle with All Night Long, a twitter friend and romance aficionado recommended Death Angel to me. At first, it was good. REALLY GOOD! Like steamy first 4 chapters good. But then it got weird. And lost its steam. And regular people would probably like it, but I apparently only like picture books or raunch. There's something not right with me.

So, there you have it. My February reads. I'm sure that all the people who came here because of my Coraline box have now left thinking that I'm crazy and are afraid to come back. I promise that your computer will protect you. I've never been known to jump out of a screen at anyone and I'm really quite lovable. I promise. Hello? Is anyone still here? ...thought not. ^_^