rosa_cotton | A final look back...

...at 2010 regarding

BOOKS
Top 10:
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Abigail by Jill Eileen Smith (Wonderful novel about one of King David’s wives)
Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot by Elisabeth Elliot
The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong
Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge (Touching book about a young man who asks to marry the wrong sister, and yet does not reveal his mistake)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (One of the most original fantasies out there)
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (Rich retelling of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale)
The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley

Honorable Mentions:
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (Another juvenile book that stays with you)
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (Haunting story combines the Sleeping Beauty and the Holocaust)
Amiri and Odette: A Love Story by Walter Dean Myers (Unique retelling of Swan Lake)
Hiroshima by John Hershey (One of the most painful, difficult books I’ve ever read)
Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desires by Julius Lester (A delightful novel of the myth of Cupid and Pysche)
The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (Not my first Christie mystery, but the one that made me a fan)

Mixed bag:
Lady Susan by Phyllis Ann Karr (A novel based on Jane Austen’s “Lady Susan,” with the characters presented pretty much as Austen conceived them. Karr differs mainly from Austen by making a full character of a character who is only mentioned twice in Austen’s novella, and by changing the ending)
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves by M. T. Anderson (While a very unique historical story about the American Revolution told by Octavian, a "free" slave fighting for the British during the war, the mature content -- racism, torture, rape -- made for some stomach-turning reading at times)

TV/FILMS
Inspector Lewis (Great show. He and Hathaway make an awesome duo.)
Scooby Doo (all the episodes following season two just aren’t as great as the original ones)
Toy Story 3 (My favorite Pixar film)
Peter Pan (2003)
Babe
Wall-E
Gordy
The Princess and the Pea (Not all that great. Added a bunch of stuff to the plot to make it longer. The prince was annoying. The princess had Thumbelina’s hair. Only the music was good.

FANFICTION
*Fated Encounter by Earth Star
Ever wonder what was going through Howl's mind as he saw Sophie for the first time in Market Chipping? (Howl’s Moving Castle)
*Catherine at Woodston by The Black Doll
An alternative ending to Northanger Abbey. (NA)
*Little Peace by

kepp0xy
The way in which Gwen finds certain things difficult to ignore. (Merlin)
*Wendynapped by Christopher Scott
When Peter won't talk about why he returns nightly, Wendy proves to be a great interrogator. (Peter Pan)
*Not An Ordinary Toy by BlueEyesUnderTheFedora
Woody is put in Andy's nursery and forms a bond with the new baby. (Toy Story)
*Let it be quick by blacklady14
Woody's thoughts during a certain scene. (Toy Story 3)
*She Waits Avia Tantella Scott
Whether Caspian X knew it or not, the women who loved him most were always waiting for him in one way or another. (CoN)
*On Leave from France by Belfast Docks
He is only on leave, only for a week, and then he must return to the lines. (Secret Garden)
*Shipwrecked by Kanashii.Umi
The music pumped loudly, and the night was at its wildest. He'd hold on tight to the rocks covered with molluscs that would gash the palms of his hands if only he wasn't sinking like that… (Little Mermaid)
*Rhythms by WingedFlight
Fifteen years of living in another world, of finding their place, of learning to follow the rhythms of Narnia. (CoN)
*Squinting and Freckles by ElvesWizardsCentaursOhmy
Edmund and Lucy give Caspian a lesson in the art of courting. (CoN)
*A Woman True and Fair by The S
What might Howl's Moving Castle have been like if the 3rd person narration had been biased toward Howl's point of view instead of Sophie's? (Howl’s Moving Castle)
*Wicked by Peacockgirl
Giselle was starting to think she was the villain in this story, and she didn't like it at all. Just why does Giselle take the hag's apple? Her reflection on her time in New York. (Enchanted)
*This Is An Alright Start by

yountilla
All things considered, Howell knew that Sophie was made for him, even if she refused to see reason most of the time. (Howl’s Moving Castle)