Maw Books

Maw Books – book reviews, book recommendations, book lists, author interviews and more!

I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I really wanted to post my 2010 reading totals this year.  For one, it will be glaringly clear that my blogging mojo was off for most of the entire year.  I mean seriously, I’ve hardly reviewed anything this year.  The blog has been pretty pathetic lately.  But yet reading – my reading has not been pathetic.  I’m still reading just as much and read a lot of awesome (and a few not so awesome books)!

Fiction

1. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
2. Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans
3. War on the Margins by Libby Cone
4. Guest House by Barbara Richardson
5. The Eden Hunter by Skip Horak
6. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
7. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
9. The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley
10. The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
11. The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
12. Conjugal Love by Alberto Moravia
13. The Gendarme by Mark Mustian
14. Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
15. In the Woods by Tana French
16. Unformed Landscape by Peter Stamm
17. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
18. Sea Escape by Lynne Griffen
19. Love Begins in Winter: Stories by Simon Van Booy
20. How Dolly Parton Saved My Life by Charlotte Connors
21. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
22. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
23. The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
24. The Threadbare Heart by Jennie Nash
25. Get Lucky by Katherine Center
26. The Birth House by Ami McKay
27. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
28. Gabriel’s Story by David Anthony Durham
29. A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
30. Recovering Charles by Jason Wright
31. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
32. The Last Will of Moriah Leahy by Therese Walsh
33. I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
34. Room by Emma Donoghue

Young Adult Fiction

1. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
2. Vintage Veronica by Erica S. Perl
3. Trapped by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen
4. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
5. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
6. Hush by Eishes Chayil
7. The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhard
8. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
9. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
10. Glimpse by Carol  Lynch Williams
11. Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart
12. Three Quarters Dead by Richard Peck
13. Yummy by G. Neri
14. Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
15. Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
16. Grace by Elizabeth Scott
17. The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart
18. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
19. After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
20. Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale, Illustrated by Nathan Hale
21. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
22. Bifocal by Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters
23. Liar by Justine Larbalestier
24. The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
25. Uglies by Scott Westerfield
26. Pretties by Scott Westerfield
27. Specials by Scott Westerfield
28. The Surrender Tree, Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
29. Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
30. Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee
31. Keep Sweet by Michelle Dominguez Green
32. Keesha’s House by Helen Frost
33. The Ring by Bobbie Pyron
34. Split by Swati Avasthi
35. Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards
36. Matched by Ally Condie
37. Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
38. Beautiful by Amy Reed
39. The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison

Middle Readers

1. Countdown by Deborah Wiles
2. Annexed by Sharon Dogar
3. Palace Beautiful by Sarah Deford Williams
4. Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and
5. The Limit by Kristen Landon
6. The Fantastic  Secret of Owen Jester
7. Bink and Gollie by Kate KiCamillo
8. Hashbrown Winters and the Mashimoto Madness by Frank L. Cole
9. Grease Town by Ann Towell
10. The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
11. Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham
12. All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg
13. All Alone by Claire Huchet Bishop
14. Dovey Coe by Frances O’Roark Dowell
15. Witness by Karen Hesse
16. Year of No Rain by Alice Mead
17. Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis
18. 42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
19. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
20. Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry
21. The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar
22. Captain Nobody by Dean Pitchford
23. Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It by Sundee Tucker Frazier
24. Operation Yes by Sara Holmes
25. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli
26. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
27. The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
28. My Brother the Dog by Kim Williams-Justesen
29. In Grandpa’s House by Philip Sendak
30. Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Frank Wright
31. Romana Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Clearly
32. A Fine White Dust by Cynthia Rylant
33. Clementine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker
34. Trackers by Patrick Carmen
35. Boom by Mark Haddon
36. Tales from a Not So Popular Party Girl by Rachel Renee Russell
37. Cracker, The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

Non-Fiction

1. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
2. Raising a Reader by Jennie Nash
3. A Family of Readers: The Book Lover’s Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Literature edited by Roger Sutton
4. Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, Illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler (picture book)
5. Church of Lies by Flora Jessop and Paul T. Brown
6. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
7. Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet (memoir)
8. The Year My Son and I Were Born: A Story of Down Syndrome, Motherhood, and Self-Discovery by Kathryn Lynard Soper (memoir)
9. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (memoir)
10. Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change by Michelle Cook (picture book)
11. The Blue Cotton Gown, A Midwife’s Memoir by Patricia Harman (memoir)
12. My Bridges of Hope: Searching for Life and Love After Auschwitz by by Livia Bitton-Jackson (juvenile memoir)
13. A Place to Hide: True Stories of Holocaust Rescues by Jayne Pettit (juvenile)
14. Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth and Everyday Magic by Martha Beck (memoir)
15. It’s All Too Much, An Easy Plan For Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh (self-help)
16. Shattered Silence, The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter by Melissa G. Moore (memoir)
17. Surviving the Angel of Death, The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Kor (memoir)

Picture Books

1. Frankie Stein Starts School by Lola M Schaefer, Illustrated by Kevan Atteberry
2. Broom, Zoom! by Caron Lee Cohen, Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier
3. Scaredy-Cat, Splat! by Rob Scotton
4. Goodnight, Little Monster by Helen Ketteman, Illustrated by Bonnie Leick
5. Ollie’s Halloween by Oliver Dunrea
6. Hush, Baby Ghostling by Andrea Beaty, Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre
7. Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott
8. The Halloween Kid by Rhode Montijitten
9. I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll, Illustrated by Howard McWilliams
10. Bear in Underwear by Todd H. Doodler
11. Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
12. Dinosaur vs. the Potty by Bob Shea
13. The Potty Train by David Hochman and Ruth Kennison, Illustrated by Derek Anderson
14. Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli
15. The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee
16. The Can Man by Laura E. Williams, Illustrated by Craig Orback
17. Me With You by Kristy Dempsey, Illustrated by Christopher Denise
18. Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Adam Rex
19. The Hermit Crab by Carter Goodrich
20. The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson, Illustrated by Ard Hoyt
21. Ned’s New Home by Kevin Tseng
22. My Goldfish by Barroux
23. First Come the Zebra by Lynne Barasch
24. The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood, Illustrated by Reneta Liwska
25. The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear by David Bruins and Hilary Leung
26. Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick, Illustrated by Daniel Jennewein
27. Finding Lincoln by Ann Malaspina, Illustrated by Colin Bootman
28. The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes, Illustrated by E.B. Lewis
29. My People by Langston Hughes, Photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr.
30. Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden, Illustrated by Don Tate
31. Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change by Michelle Cook
32. We Are the Ship, The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
33. In the Garden by Peggy Collins
    
34. Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban and Illustrated by Henry Cole
35. Ninety-Three in My Family by Erica S. Perl, Illustrated by Mike Lester
36. Dogs on the Bed by Elizabeth Bluemle, Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf
37. Little Skink’s Tail by Janet Halfmann, Illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein
38. Scaredy Squirrel at Night by Melanie Watt
39. Firefighter Ted by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitr

I feel like I read some fantastic books this year. And if I get my butt in gear, maybe I’ll get a post about where I talk about the best of the best and the worst of the worst! But the best of the year?  Lonesome Dove. Ahh, loved it.

Oh – and if you’re a publisher or author expecting a review, you’ll still get one.