Bound by desire...

Closing out the old year, tidying up to get ready for the new. Yes, I realize I should've done this in the last few days of 2010, but I spent time with family and friends instead. We've had a great couple of days just kickin' back and enjoying each other's company. I love the holidays just because it gives us an excuse to put the world on 'pause' and simply relax into old relationships and new friendships.

So, to close out last year here, I need to add my last two books of the year to my list and then ask you -- which ones did YOU read that I read? Did we read any of the same books? I know some of you did, you either commented or emailed me to let me know (and I love it when you do!). But what about the silent majority here? Did any of the books I read strike a chord with you? Even if a dissonant one, I'd love to know.

I finished the year with one really good one and one clunker. First up, No Right Turn by Terry Trueman. I'd read two of his earlier this year (Stuck in Neutral and Cruise Control) and looked forward to reading his other Young Adult novels. No Right Turn is another that grabs you from the first pages and doesn't let you go till the end. The audience is middle-school boys, I suspect. Or even high school boys. Girls wouldn't mind it, though. Over the years I've found girls will read books meant for boys and be fine with it, but boys won't read books meant for girls no matter how much you try to hide the frilly covers. If you have boys, definitely turn them on to Terry Trueman's books. He's well worth their time.

The clunker surprised me. I like Barbara Delinsky even though I hadn't read any of hers this year. Figured finishing off with Twelve Across would be a quick, fun read. Unfortunately, it mostly took place inside the hero's and heroine's heads. The basic premise is the same as my Cabin Fever -- two people stuck inside a small cabin for a long period of time. It's hard to keep the action going when neither the setting nor the characters change. Believe me, I know! I invented two ghosts to keep my two company (and several reviewers thought that addition lame) because the two just by themselves did far too much thinking and not enough doing.

And that was exactly the trap Ms. Delinsky fell into. I spent a lot of time reading about their inner turmoil and not enough time watching them do things. More conversation would've helped, but she had two characters very comfortable with long silences. Ah, well. They can't all be golden, I suppose.

Okay, going to do a second posting with the book totals and titles. Make it easier to find as well as read!

Play safe...and read on!

Diana
PS. Edited to add links. Sorry!