Sunday Salon 13 - 2009 Mid-Year Thoughts

SUNDAY SALON MID YEAR THOUGHTS

BEST OF 2009 (in no order)

*Kafka on the Shore - Huruki Murakami

*Watchmen - Alan Moore

*A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka

*The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls
*Fun Home (no review yet)

*The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

*Boy's Life - Robert McCammon

*The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

A Huge Accomplishment: Middlemarch - George Eliot

My Favorite Review (Self Interview): Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

Did Not Finish: Miles from Nowhere - Nami Mun

TOTALS

10,729 Pages

31 books

My goals this year were a little different--read 24,00 pages and 40 books from the TBR stack. 16 of the 31 are from the TBR stack (acquired before 12/31/08) and 10,729 pages. Not great on either count. But, I'm not stressing and I'm having fun. So, I'm OK with the goals not quite being met.

My Current Challenges (this will make you feel good):

Orbis Terranum hosted by Bethany (2/9)

Non-fiction Five (hosted here) (1/5)
Classics Challenge hosted by Me (2/7)

Arthurian Challenge hosted by Becky (0/5)

Finished challenge:

Once Upon a Time 3 hosted by Carl

And what the heck, Some New Ones:







The Southern Reading Challenge hosted by Maggie

The GLBT Challenge hosted by Amanda

The Canadian Book Challenge hosted by Book Mine Set (John Mutford)

As you can see, I've gone kind of lax this year with the challenges. I'm absolutely, 110% OK with that--having fun, right? And reading!! I'd love some suggestions for the GLBT and Canadian Book Challenge if you've got them. Of course I'll be reading Atwood for the Canadian and Fingersmith for the GLBT.

WHEW! What is on your top 10 (or 8) list for the midway point? If you had to say: "Trish! Read this book now" what would that book be?

**I'm headed out of town and will be trying to schedule this post. I'm sure the formatting is going to hate me--if it's all muddled, forgive me and I'll fix it on Sunday/Monday. boo!

2008 Challenges

The most boringest post ever! But I need to keep a record somewhere. :) 14 challenges in total, if I'm counting right. The Book Awards straddled 2007 and the Japanese and 1% carried over to 2009 (one book). Lots of cross-listing and lots of fun. I haven't signed up for any challenges in 2009 yet, but I have a feeling I will soon.

Go check out the lovely buttons that Bethany and Nymeth made for the Classics Challenge. Still wrestling over March or April for the start date...?

anyway...

2008 CHALLENGES

ORBIS - 9 authors from 9 different countries
Hostess: Bethany at B&b Ex Libris
Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Swiss Family Robinson - Jan Wyss
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Anne Frank Remembered - Miep Gies
The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah
The Translator - Daoud Hari

TBR - Grab 12 dusty books off the shelf and read 'em
Hostess: Mizb
Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis
Emma - Jane Austen
A Map of the World - Jane Hamilton
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Mother of Pearl - Melinda Haynes
A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
Tender at the Bone - Ruth Reichl
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren

BOOK AWARDS - 12 books that won awards
Hostess: 3M
The Shipping News - Annie Proulx
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (2007)
All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
The World According Garp - John Irving (2007)
The Remains of the Day - Kazou Ishiguro
The Book Thief - Mark Zusak
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton (2007)
As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner (2007)
Snow - Orhan Pamuk (2007)
The Giver - Lois Lowry
The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood

CHUNKSTER - 4 books over 450 pages
Hostess: Dana
The Book Thief - Mark Zusak
The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood

WHATS IN A NAME
Hostess: Annie
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson (weather)
Mother of Pearl - Melinda Haynes (color)
All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy (animal)
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt (name)
Salem Falls - Jodi Picoult (place)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See (plant)

ONCE UPON A TIME
Host: Carl V.
Indian Tales from Picuris Pueblo (folklore)
Retold Classic Myths (mythology)
The Color of Magic - Terry Pratchett (fantasy)
Wicked - Gregory Maquire (fairy tale)
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare (for funsies)

IN THEIR SHOES - Memoirs, Biographies, Autobiographies
Hostess: N. Vasillis
A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo
Anne Frank Remembered - Miep Gies
Tender at the Bone - Ruth Reichl
A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

SOUTHERN READING CHALLENGE - 3 books from the south
Hostess: Maggie
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! - Fannie Flagg
Mother of Pearl - Melinda Haynes

NON-FICTION FIVE
Hostess: Joy
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
The Innocent Man - John Grisham
My Father's Paradise - Ariel Sabar
The Translator - Daoud Hari
A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo

END OF THE WORLD - apocalyptic/dystopian subjects
Hostess: Becky
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

CLASSICS - 5 classics and a "future classic"
Hostess: Me!!
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Emma - Jane Austen
My Antonia - Willa Cather
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
The Swiss Family Robinson - Jan Wyss
Bonus: Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

SHORT STORY - Read 2 collections of stories (and a few stand-alones that I'm too lazy to post)
Hostess: Kate
Springtime on Mars - Susan Woodring
Nine Stories - JD Salinger

JAPANESE LITERATURE
Hostess: Bellezza
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2009)
Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata
Mistress Oriku: Stories from a Tokyo Teahouse - Matsutaro Kawaguchi

1% WELL-READ - 10 books from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Hostess: 3M
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2009)
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Emma - Jane Austen
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx

2008 Reads

2008 YEAR IN REVIEW!!

2008 was by far my most successful year to date in terms of reading. I read a total of 73 books and completed 12 challenges (have 2 more that carry over to 2009).

Some Stats (some categories, like classics, are difficult to define and there is overlap):
Pages: 22,896 (doesn't include a handful of stand alone stories)
Fiction: 58 Drama: 2
Non-Fiction: 13
Classics: 13
Young Adult: 6
1001 list: 14
New to me: 51!!!
Male v. Female: 38:29
Decades: 12
Author nationalities: 14
From TBR: 39 (Books owned before 2008)
Personal Library Read/Unread Ratio: 295:282 out of 577 books= 51%
Average book size: 314 pages

2008 Reads (top 10 in red)
1. Thirteen Moons - Charles Frazier
2. Atonement - Ian McEwan
3. The Giver - Lois Lowry
4. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
5. Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
6. Tender at the Bone - Ruth Reichl
7. Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
8. Nine Stories - J.D. Salinger
9. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
10. Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin
11. All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
12. Salem Falls - Jodi Picoult
13. The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros
14. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
15. The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillipa Gregory
16. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
17. Retold Classic Myths
18. A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah
19. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
20. Indian Tales from Picuris Pueblo
21. A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
22. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
23. The Color of Magic - Terry Pratchett
24. The Innocent Man - John Grisham
25. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
26. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
27. The Shipping News - Annie Proulx
28. Anne Frank Remembered - Miep Gies
29. Mother of Pearl - Melinda Haynes
30. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
31. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
32. A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo
33. A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare
34. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
35. Springtime on Mars - Susan Woordring
36. The Translator - Daoud Hari
37. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
38. Al Capone Does My Shirts - Gennifer Choldenko
39. Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! - Fannie Flagg
40. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
41. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
42. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
43. Water Keep - J. Scott Savage
44. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
45. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
46. My Antonia - Willa Cather
47. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
48. The Road - Cormac McCarthy
49. The Complete Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
50. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
51. Matrimony - Joshua Henkin
52. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert (re-read)
53. Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata
54. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
55. The Heretic's Daughter - Kathleen Kent
56. My Father's Paradise - Ariel Sabar
57. Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
58. Ride the Wind - Lucia St. Clair Robson
59. A Tale Out of Luck - Willie Nelson
60. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (re-read)
61. The Ice Queen - Alice Hoffman
62. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
63. A Map of the World - Jane Hamilton
64. The Swiss Family Robinson - Jan Wyss
65. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
66. Emma - Jane Austen
67. Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis
68. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County - Tiffany Baker
69. The Zookeeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman
70. Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
71. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
72. Bringing Down the House - Ben Mezrich
73. Mistress Oriku - Matsutaro Kawaguchi


ABSOLUTE 2008 FAVORITE:
I usually can't pick a favorite, but this year--the top honor goes to...
The God of Small Things

How does this all stack up to last year? 15 more books and 4 more challenges. My goal was to not stress so much, which was great until December. And even then I didn't really stress, but I was mostly absent from the blogging world. The only goal I didn't achieve was the 60/40 Read/Unread ratio. As you can see above, I'm currently at 50%.

2009 GOALS
Again, don't stress. Reading should be fun, not a chore. And it certainly isn't a competition. I don't think I'll be able to read as many books next year, so my goals are going to be a little different:
*40 books from TBR (acquired before December 31st, 2008)
*24,000 pages
*Personal Library Read/Unread Ratio = +50%
*Continue to read outside normal boundaries
*ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY

Happy New Year Everyone!!

2007 Reads

2007 YEAR IN REVIEW!!

I can't believe this year is over with already! Of course, it does seem like a long long time ago that I was reading those first dozen novels on the list below. 2007 was my best year for reading, which in many ways is a little ironic to me since I'm not in school reading 3 books a week anymore.

I finished 58 books, participated in 8 reading challenges, knocked 39 books off the TBR pile (books I owned prior to Jan 1, 2007), and found the world of blogging and all the wonderful bookbloggers.

Here is my 2007 List (links will take you to my thoughts on the book--books in RED are some of my favorites for the year--which doesn't discredit the rest...):

1. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve


2. Kissing in Manhattan - David Schickler
   
3. Gilead - Marilynne Robinson


4. Night - Elie Wiesel


5. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards


6. Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man - Fannie Flagg


7. Nature Girl - Carl Hiaasen


8. Talk Before Sleep - Elizabeth Berg
   
9. The Widow of the South - Robert Hicks


10. Vinager Hill - A. Manette Ansay


11. Sideways - Rex Pickett
    
12. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood


13. Rich in Love - Josephine Humphreys


14. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding (re-read)


15. Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
    
16. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez


17. A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemingway
    
18. Fall On Your Knees - Anne-Marie MacDonald


19. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler


20. Ireland - Frank Delaney


21. The Awakening - Kate Chopin


22. The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James


23. The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult


24. Thunderstruck - Erik Larson
    
25. Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich


26. No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy


27. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad


28. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini


29. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides


30. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (re-read)


31. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling


32. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott


33. The City of Falling Angels - John Berendt


34. Cat's Eye - Margaret Atwood


35. The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy


36. Keeping Faith - Jodi Picoult


37. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquirel


38. Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson


39. His Excellency: George Washington - Joseph J. Ellis


40. Big Fish - Daniel Wallace


41. The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield


42. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi


43. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert


44. Travels With Charley - John Steinbeck


45. Howards End - EM Forster


46. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner


47. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby


48. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien


49. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley


50. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton


51. The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe - Edgar Allan Poe


52. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen


53. Flesh and Blood - Michael Cunningham


54. Sea Glass - Anita Shreve


55. The World According to Garp - John Irving


56. Snow - Orhan Pamuk


57. Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes


58. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

In 2008 my reading goals are slimmed down a little bit to take off some pressure (not really sure where the pressure is coming from!!). My goal is to read 36 books by December 31, 2008. I will enter challenges at my own risk and may not even formally participate but just keep personal tallies. I also vow to keep my read/unread ratio to at least 60/40% (in other words, keep the book buying to a minimum!). And last but not least, enjoy enjoy enjoy.