I’m so far behind on my reading posts that I wasn’t sure until today how many books I had read in 2009. I added some titles to my Book Love page and did a quick count, and it seems I read 23, which isn’t bad considering that I had so much trouble reading during my pregnancy and so little time to read in the months after my son was born.
My absolute favorite for the year was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Many Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is about the German occupation of Guernsey (an island in the English Channel) during WWII. It is written in epistolary style, with all the characters writing letters back and forth, telling us the story in bits and pieces. The parts of the story that are about love and the joy of reading shine brightly because they are contrasted with tales of atrocities committed by (or because of) the Germans. It is not entirely a happy book, but it is beautiful. If I were a high-school teacher, I’d put this on the syllabus, right next to Slaughterhouse-Five.
But as I sit here writing, it occurs to me that my count isn’t entirely accurate. I also read at least 20 books to my son, some of them many, many times. Of those books, my two favorites were The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, which is fun and educational without bashing you over the head with a message, and Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss, which has a strong message, but one that’s sweet and perfect for a child (“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”). I would give each of those books an A+.
What are my reading goals for 2010? Well, I’ve got the Marplethon to finish. I’m also considering another reading challenge (more to come on that later, if I decide to go for it). I hope to get back to my one-book-per-week average. And of course, I plan to read to my son as often as possible (he got some new books for Christmas—yay!).
Wishing you all a great 2010 and Happy Reading!