Its been a frantic year of reading for yours truly here at Read in a Single Sitting. Ive read across a range of genres, from fantasy to mystery to literary to YA, as well as across geographical boundaries and temporal boundaries. My reading has taken me to far-flung places like Egypt, Somalia, and Algiers, 'to fantasy worlds and alternate realities, and to the more familiar backdrop of my own home city of Melbourne. Ive stepped back in time to the Renaissance, to the US Civil War, and have stepped forward into drowned worlds and terrifying dystopias. Ive read debut authors, mid-career authors, and authors long dead but still influential.
So, out of a hundred plus books (yes, really), what were the standouts? The list below comprises the books Ive read this year that Ive rated four stars and up, with four stars being outstanding, and five stars being essentially flawless. With luck Ill be adding a few more titles to the list as the year draws to a close, but heres the list as it currently stands, with links to each review. Ive categorised them by the genre into which they most saliently fall, although obviously some span several genres. Note that Ive read far more books in some genres than others this year, so obviously some genres will be better represented than others as a result. And please dont growl at me for omitting some notable books of 2010Im entirely aware of the gaps in my reading, but one person can only do so much!
Read in a Single Sittings top books for 2010:
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Chicklit
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrilyn Sparks Rating: 
Improper Relations by Janet Mullany Rating:
Stand by Me by Sheila OFlanagan Rating:
Smart Casual by Naimh Shaw Rating:
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Literary/mainstream:
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn Rating:
After Dark by Haruki Murakami Rating:
After the Fall by Kylie Ladd Rating:
A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines by Janna Levin Rating:
Dancing Backwards by Salley Vickers Rating:
Love in Mid Air by Kim Wright Rating:
Lovesong by Alex Miller Rating: 
Ransom by David Malouf Rating:
Sunset Oasis by Bahaa Taher Rating:
Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald Rating:
The Grown-Ups by Victoria Glendinning Rating:
The Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee Rating:
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery Rating:
The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living by Martin Clark Rating:
The Outsider by Albert Camus Rating:
The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers Rating:
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Mystery
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie Rating:
The Moai Murders by Lyn Hamilton Rating:
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Non-fiction:
The Tiger by John Vaillant Rating:
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Science Fiction/Fantasy:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Rating:
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham Rating:
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick Rating:
The Radleys by Matt Haig Rating:
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Young Adult/Middle Grade:
100 Cupboards by ND Wilson Rating:
Alex and the Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress Rating:
Dandelion Fire by ND Wilson Rating:
Ghost Huntress: the reason by Marley Gibson Rating:
Haywired by Alex Keller Rating:
I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier Rating:
Scarred by Julia Hoban Rating:
The Bone Magician by FE Higgins Rating:
The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones Rating:
The Three Loves of Persimmon by Cassandra Golds Rating:
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And I have not read a single one of the books listed here, this year or ever. :/
Given that there are a few hundred thousand books published each year, I think thats only to be expected. :) Ive missed reading most of the award winners this year, which is a shame. Hopefully next year I can get my act together.
Hopefully theres something on this list that piques your interest, thoughits pretty wide-ranging!
Im beginning to worry Im a little too generous with my five-star reviewsof everything Ive read this year, there are only three books Ive absolutely hated.
One hundred plus books?? Im in awe!
Its all completely arbitrary, so never fear :) Most of my books fall around the 3 mark, which to me means good. Very few fall below that, but its nice to see that quite a few fall above it! My ratings are hugely skewed by the kind of material I receive, though: some of the stuff Im sent isnt quite for me, whereas if Id picked it out myself it might be more in line with my tastes. Im naturally more drawn to literary books (and some genre fiction), and I tend to feel most at home with those.
Wow, what a list! Its been bookmarked for future reference :-) I love the use of shoes for each genrevery clever!
Thanks, Erin! I was wondering if anyone would notice the shoes. I particularly love the fantasy shoes and the detective shoes (the gumshoes, ba doom tish!) :)
2010 has been a lack luster reading year for me. I like how you broke up the best books into different sections. I am excited that you read I Am the Cheese. I love that book and do not hear people talking about it very often. I am thinking about giving it a reread since it has been about ten years since I first read it.
Thanks so much for visiting, Megan! I read The Chocolate War earlier this year, and loved it, so when I saw I Am the Cheese for a few dollars at the secondhand bookshop down the road I couldnt resist. It fit in perfectly with the dystopian stuff that Ive been reading recently, and its probably one of the most chilling books Ive read this year. I have another Cormier on its way to me, so expect another review soon :)
I read I Am the Cheese before I was really into dystopia like I am now, which is why I really need to revisit it. I still havent read The Chocolate War, shame on me. Are you planning on reading the sequel? What Cormier book will you be reading? I also really enjoyed The Bumblebee Flies Anyway.
Id love to read the sequel if I can find it! The one Ill be reading is We All Fall Down, which is also meant to be great. :)
I Am the Cheese really evokes the paranoid dystopias of Orwell and Dick, so its interesting to read it after reading those.
I read pretty much everything Robert Cormier wrote in my teens. I cant remember much about the plot, but I loved the dream-like (or maybe nightmare-like) atmosphere, the uneasiness his writing evoked.
2010 has been an absolutely awesome reading year for me. In addition to everything Ive read for Book to the Future, I also read Jasper Jones, The Slap (yes, books by actual living authors!!) and Italo Calvinos Invisible Cities. So many brilliant books!
Ill have to start thinking about writing my top ten choices for 2010 in a few weeks timehmm. Decisions
I still have quite a bit of Cormier to readits all still new to me!
I havent read Invisible Cities, but I absolutely adored If On a Winters Night a Traveller, also by Calvino.
What did you think about The Slap? Ive heard some very unimpressed reviews. Of Tsiolkass work Ive only read Dead Europe, which I thought was okay, but a bit middling in places.
The Slap confused me. Its a book that really divides people they either violently like it, or violently hate it. I liked itI think. Im still making up my mind.
Its so bleak and depressingall the characters are having affairs, or being abused, or doing drugs or generally being really, really awful to each other.
I dont expect every book to contain sunshine and flowers and bunny rabbits. And I know I didnt like any of the characters is a seriously un-professional thing to say. But I was just looking for some glimmer of hope in there somewhere, and there was just nothing. Its as if every generation is doomed to fail.
However, that said I couldnt put The Slap down. As I said, I liked it, but it left me feeling unsettled, shocked. It was literally like a slap.
I adored Jasper Jones, by the way. Its one of those books thats so good, it makes me want to give up writing for good. The way Craig Silvey creates an ambiance; his characters just left me shaking my head.
Interesting to get your perspective on The Slap. Ive heard a few people say that its bleak, but not necessary in an incisive or enlightening way. Perhaps I should check it out so that I can have an opinion of my own! It sounds like a Single Sitting read. :)
I havent read Jasper Jones, but I just checked out a blurb and it looks amazing. Right up my alley!