Inspired by the many ‘books read in 2010’ posts including Michelle Knudsen’s, I decided to share my own. Many of these lists are as long as a novel. I found it humiliating as mine contains less syllables than a haiku. Even as an English Education major at Boston University, I’ve never labeled myself a literary connoisseur. Reading takes practice, and as long as I persist with children’s books, non-fiction, and short story collections I’ll get there (eventually).
Consequently, this list exists for movitational purposes or provide you with a chance to ‘laugh at me.’ As you’ll see below, I should have an IV of words pumped through my veins after devouring a tiny morsel of literature. If you’re in the same hospital ward as me, don’t fret. We can always recover in 2011 and hit up the library buffet.
I could always piggyback on the fact that I live in a world devoid of English, but with Amazon delivering in Japan there’s no excuse. Sprinkling myself with a smidgen of encouragement, I must add that I trudged through more texts in 2010 than I had in the past 10 years. It’s just that as a writer, I need to adopt a Lindsay Lohan sized addiction to other people’s parades of words, especially in the children’s literature domain.
Without further ado, here is my puny yet eclectic list:
- 1.) Haruki Murakami – Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
- 2.) Roald Dahl – The BFG
- 3.) Roald Dahl – The Fantastic Mr. Fox
- 4.) J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter – The Prisoner of Azkaban
- 5.) Chuck Klosterman – Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
- 6.) Hans Christian Anderson – Complete Fairy Tales Collection
- 7.) Lonely Planet Taiwan (Can I count this? If so, add in Hong Kong/Macau and China)
- 8.) Dav Pilkey – The Adventures of Captain Underpants
- 9.) Jim Benton – Dear Dumb Diary #1 Let’s Pretend this Never Happened
- 10.) Alice Pope – 2010 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market
- 11.) Ryunosuke Akutagawa – Kappa
- 12.) Matt Alt & Hiroko Yodo – Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide
- 13.) Julia Bruce – Fantasmagoria
- 14.) Nancy I. Sanders – Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career
Picture Books:
* The following includes memorable favorites, as I often surf through the stacks of English bookstores whenever in a big city.
- 1.) Tony Ross – I’m Coming to Get You
- 2.) Ted Prior – Grug
- 3.) Chris Barton & Tom Lichtenheld – Shark vs. Train
- 4.) Jan Fearnley – Mr. Wolf and the Enormous Turnip
- 5.) Jan Fearnley – Mr. Wolf’s Pancakes
