The post that is NOT about 2010.

Just because I am not ready (and may never be) to blog about how our Christmas holidays were, I will attempt something different for a welcome to 2011. And how welcome it is. Remember the lovely movie that launched Hugh Grant to US fame, Four Weddings and a Funeral? Well, our 2010 was almost the opposite with 3 funerals and a wedding. And no Hugh Grant. So, with all things cute and British and male in mind, I would like to share my 2010 reading list and the start of my 2011 list of hopefuls. Thanks to the awesome gift of a Kindle last year, I think I read more last year than I have since college. There truly is nothing better than a great book, so pick something off the list and get to reading!

I read this book in one day. And I read it two days ago, so it is fresh on my mind. I LOVE this book and I wish I were still in the middle of reading it. It's a Young Adult novel (how I hate that label), about a girl and a British boy who fall in love in Paris. It makes me want to go to Paris in exactly the same way that Gilmore Girls made me want to go to New England. It's lovely, lovely, and I will probably read it again this month.

I stopped drinking the Nicholas Sparks koolaid a few years ago, but I picked this up this year, thankfully before I knew it was going to be another sappy movie. I had low expectations for the book, so I was pleasantly surprised, even though it's exactly what you expect from Nicholas Sparks.

I can't really pronounce the title of this book, but oh, how I loved it. The characters are so real, and the author can convey such feeling and emotion by using very few words. I wished this book was twice as long because I didn't want it to end.

I read these books back to back in two days. It's typical chick-lit (I equally hate that label), but they were fun and a little sad, and I will read more of Emily Giffin, when I'm in the mood for an easy, lighthearted, read.

I read these books a few months ago, before they were EVERYWHERE. I enjoyed them, and they are quite suspenseful. However, because they were written by a Swedish author, the names (there are tons) and locations are difficult to maintain. It takes a while to get established before you get to the action. I rented the 1st movie (Swedish version), and was surpirsed to find that it was a great flick. Being a fan of Daniel Craig, I am most definitely looking forward to the American version.

This book was just ok. It put me back on my Nicholas Sparks hiatus. He is the male version of Danielle Steele and I think it is written in his contract that he must churn out a book every 6 months.

This book was the last in a trilogy of books: Wake, Fade, and Gone. Wake was amazing and fresh. Fade was pretty good. Gone was terrible. Just awful. Now I can't even recommend Wake and Fade knowing how terrible it all ends. Blah.

Being a Twilight fan, I had to read this book, um, novella. It was fun to step back into the Twilight world briefly, but I hope Stephanie Meyer is ready to move on to something new. I know I am.

This book scared me like no other. I honestly did not know it was about vampires until I started reading it and these are most definitely not your Twilight vampires. It is filled with dread, despair, isolation, desolation, devastation and a ton of suspense. I couldn't put this book down, and when I was finished it stayed with me for weeks. There will be two more books to complete this story, but I will definitely have to mentally prepare if I tackle another one.

I have loved every minute of the Hunger Games series and this book was no exception. It wasn't perfect, but I love Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, and how they were so flawed, yet you admired them anyway. I can't wait to see how they try and make a movie with this story about teenagers who are required to kill each other in order to stay alive. Yeah, that's not going to be PG at all.

This book captured my attention from page 1. I wanted to keep reading and reading, but I forced myself to read and savor it slowly. It is honest and challenging and I highly recommend it.

To be honest, I am still halfway through this book. It is well, sad, and I have had all the sad I can take in real life right now, so this one is on the back burner. I may go back and finish it, but there are many others in line to read first.

Easily one of my favorite books of the year. It's easy to see why it sat on the bestseller list for 91 weeks. It's heartwarming, historical, funny, and dramatic. I was fascinated to read firsthand of how different our society was just a short time ago. This truly is a great book, and you should definitely read it before the movie version hits theaters.

I started reading this book almost 2 weeks ago when it became clear that I would need to be very secure in my knowledge of how to help someone grieve. I'm still reading it, and it has been helpful already by increasing my understanding of spiritual based grieving. I wish I didn't need to read it, but thankful for a friend for passing on the recommendation.

I have heard great things about the Stephanie Plum series, so I decided to try out the first book in the series. It's been ok, and I'm about halfway through. It's definitely not a "must consume this in one day" kind of book, but I'll probably finish it anyway.

How much do I love this book. It was just so beautiful the way it kept jumping around in time heading towards a destination that you knew you did not want to arrive. I honestly do not know how the author kept up with all of the time lines, but it was just brilliant. The movie did not come close to doing justice to this book. Easily one of my best 3 of the year and the one that produced the most tears.

Of course I had to read this book again. It had been 3 years, and I needed a refresher before the movie came out. Reminded me all over again how much I love Harry, JK Rowling, and yes, even Snape.

I was first intrigued about this book when I recently saw the movie preview. It had great reviews, so I decided to jump in. I literally sat at home almost all day just to keep reading it. A historical novel written about life on a circus tour during the Depression, the insight into America during that time was just as interesting as the interaction between the characters. With rich details and stilted dialogue, I'm pretty sure the movie version won't come close to this book either. I'm so glad I got my hands on the book first.

Ok, that's about all for 2010. A quick list started for 2011 will hopefully get me off to a running start.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

One Day by David Nicholls

Matched by Ally Condie

The Radleys by Matt Haig

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Decision Points by George W. Bush

So, what are you reading in 2011?