Goal completed!

It took me until December 31 in the late afternoon, but I was able to complete my goal of reading a book for each letter of the alphabet in 2010. I'm glad that I did this as it allowed me the opportunity to read some books that, while I did intend to read them eventually, were very thought-provoking and interesting.

Here's my list of books I've read this past year from A to Z. If you check out my Good Reads profile ( http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/107921?shelf=2010-books-a-z ) you can see how I rated them and if I wrote a review. In total I read 73 books in 2010 - most were really good, and some I absolutely loved.

A ~ Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

B ~ Burning the map by Laura Caldwell

C ~ Certain girls by Jennifer Weiner

D ~ The dirt on clean: an unsanitized history by Katherine Ashenburg

E ~ An embarrassment of mangoes: a Caribbean interlude by Ann Vanderhoof

F ~ The Frugal Gourmet keeps the feast: past, present & future by Jeff Smith

G ~ Grace under pressure: Grey's Anatomy uncovered by Hillary Robson

H ~ The host by Stephenie Meyer

I ~ Insatiable: tales from a life of delicious excess by Gael Greene

J ~ The joy of doing things badly: a girl's guide to love, life & foolish bravery by Veronica Chambers

K ~ Kings of Madison Avenue: the unofficial guide to Mad Men by Jesse McLean

L ~ Love and other impossible pursuits by Ayelet Waldman

M ~ The mermaids singing by Lisa Carey

N ~ The next thing on my list by Jill Smolinski

O ~ Orange is the new black: my year in a women's prison by Piper Kerman

P ~ Pretty in plaid: a life, a witch, and a wardrobe, or the wonder years before the condescending, egomanical, self-centered smart-ass phase by Jen Lancaster

Q ~ Queen of babble by Meg Cabot

R ~ Rachel's holiday by Marian Keyes

S ~ Serenity found: more unauthorized essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly universe by Jane Espenson

T ~ The time traveler's wife by Audrey Niffenegger

U ~ Unbearable lightness by Portia de Rossi

V ~ The virgin suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

W ~ What we eat when we eat alone by Deborah Madison

X ~ Exes and ohs by Beth Kendrick

Y ~ A year in the world: journeys of a passionate traveller by Frances Mayes

Z ~ The zookeeper's wife: a war story by Diane Ackerman

Books A to Z

I was referencing my GoodReads list the other day and was happy to see that finally my list of books I've read is bigger than the list of books I want to read. I really enjoy the ability to keep a growing list of books I have read, that I'm currently reading and that I want to read. But it always seems that for every book I read, there are at least 2 to 3 more books added to my to-read list. You should check out the website, and if you join - add me as a friend! :) www.goodreads.com

A new thing they offer is statistics measuring how many books you've read each year. So far this year I've read 61 books. I started to wonder if I'd read a book for each letter of the alphabet. And if not, how many more would I need to read in order to read books from A to Z. So, I made an Excel spreadsheet and found that I was missing 9 books - D, N, O, Q, U, V, X, Y, and Z. I looked through my to-read list and found books to correspond with each missing letter and my plan to is to read them before the end of the year.

I'll post my full list at the end of the year, or when I complete my goal, but for now here is the list of books I need to read in the next 2 months.

D - The dirt on clean by Katherine Ashenbury
N - The next thing on my list by Jill Smolinski
O - Orange is the new black by Piper Kerman
Q - Queen of babble by Meg Cabot
U - The unprejudiced palate by Angelo Pellegrini
V - The virgin suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
X - Exes and ohs by Beth Kendrick
Y - A year in the world by Frances Mayes
Z - The zookeeper's wife by Diane Ackerman

Hopefully I can make it...we'll see. :)