Here is my round-up from 2010. Keep in mind, these are books I read in 2010, not necessarily when they were published/released.

A few of the winners:

• The Passage by Justin Cronin
  
• Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
  
• Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr.
  
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
  
• Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
  

The best...I thought The Passage was one of the best books I've (listened) to in a long time. Every so often a book comes along that excites you and makes you want to reach out to find others to discuss it with. That's how I felt about this book. It's completely indescribable because it's about so many different things and the story follows many different characters over a wide space of time. The reader for this book was awesome and is one of my favorites and sometimes good readers make all the difference. BUT, I think I would love this book regardless if I had actually read it (vs. audiobook).

Interred with Their Bones was also an audio and it was a fun adventure story. I learned a little Shakespearian history while enjoying a treasure hunt-like story. I always like books that have a little bit of historical truth to them even if the story is purely fiction.

Everything Matters! was another book that spanned a large period of time. Very original idea and left me very curious to see what would happen next.

• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  
• The Beach by Alex Garland
  
• Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris (Probably read last 5 in series in 2010)
  
• King Dork by Frank Portman
  

Oliver Twist....ah, the classics. I hadn't read this one before (ahem, listened) and this ended up being a book I ran to while training for the marathon. Because of that it will probably always resonate with running memories. Poor Oliver...he really did have a rough life.

The Beach was something I had wanted to read ever since seeing the movie. I thought the story idea was very intriguing and even though the movie wasn't really good I liked what it could have been. I felt the same way after I read the book. Intrigued but....it didn't go far enough.

The Sookie Stackhouse books came recommended to me by a co-worker. They're fun, easy, reads. I've done both audio and actual books for these and always get through them quickly.

King Dork could easily be in the "worst books read" category. This is not a good book. Yet, there is a scene very late in the book which is so ridiculously funny it made me laugh until I cried. I sometimes randomly think of it and have to stifle a giggle. Really funny. Which [almost] makes it worth reading (or listening, as I did).

Worst Books Read in 2010

• The Moses Expedition by Juan Gomez-Jurado
  
• The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
  

The Moses book was so bad I felt embarrassed for the author. It almost seemed like he was writing it as an outline for a movie. Which is good in a way --very easy to see the scene and landscape of the story. But, the overall writing was horrible. Very flat characters and improbable situations. I wanted this to be another adventure/discovery story with all the mystery and danger it promised but instead I was very disappointed. I traveled with this book and if I hadn't been trapped in a plane or in a car with nothing else to do I definitely would have returned this to the library unfinished.

As for the Polygamist you may have seen this show up on a bunch of "Best of" lists. I apparently am missing the genius of this story. I was so bored through the entire thing. The guy was such a loser and everyone around him was dragged into a poor me situation. And you did feel sorry for everyone. But, I felt more sorry for myself having dragged myself through it as well. If it hadn't been so highly recommended I too would have cut this one short. But, I stuck it out hoping I would experience an epiphany. [Nope.]