I think, with only two days left, it’s time to close the book on my reading list of 2010. (Ha! See what I did there?) This year I will remember as the year I re-read some of my favourite authors–and didn’t always finish what I started. A few of the old friends I spent time with:

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

A bunch of works by William Shakespeare.

The Lord Peter Whimsey mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers (Only got through about half the series this time.)

The Aubrey & Maturin cycle by Patrick O’Brian (Again, only half of the books.)

And then there are the (relatively few) new books I read these last twelve months. Some by authors I knew, some by new voices. Here are the ones I liked:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Odd And The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard

A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Casting The Runes, and Other Ghost Stories by M.R. James

Muse of Fire by Dan Simmons

Carrie by Stephen King

This year also marked the start of Open Book, a book club I started with some friends. Though interest has seemed limited to only a few, and a couple of us were very busy with other things, we managed to find a title for each month beginning in August:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Out of The Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

I also set out to read the complete works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but that didn’t pan out either. I know it’s silly, but I still feel a bit upset that I can’t seem to sustain a longer continuous series. It wasn’t lack of interest necessarily, maybe just eager to find something new. And in 2011, I plan to do just that. I’ve made up a list of books completely unread by me to check out in the new year, and still adding a few more. Hopefully next December I’ll be able to introduce you to some brand new friends…