51 posts tagged “50 in 365”

All in all, I think my year of reading went really well.  Some great books, good books, and not so good books.  The best thing about participating in the challenge was kick-starting my pleasure reading after finishing grad school.  It's easy to get out of the habit when you're used to spending most of your time on scholarly reading. 

BUT - I will not be challenging myself to read a specific number of books in 2009.  Towards the end when I had to cram a bunch of books in, it started to feel like homework.  I have many things I do for pleasure, and as an adult I shouldn't feel guilty for playing video games, crocheting/sewing/knitting, or watching TV because I have a number to meet for reading.  I also have a few longer books I want to read, and it is unlikely that I would finish East of Eden or Pillars of the Earth in one week's time.  What I am going to do is come up with a list of books I've been meaning to read (no more than 10) and make sure to read them this year.  I'll post that list when I come up with it.  I'm also interested in seeing how many books I will read when not faced with a goal.  I read a lot, but I don't think I will reach 50 without trying.  We'll see.

I'd love to hear what other people who did the challenge think about it now that it's over (whether you finished or not).

Without further ado, here is my reading list from 2008:

1. Antonia Fraser - Marie Antoinette:  The Journey
2. P.G. Wodehouse - Uncle Fred in the Springtime
3. Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase
4. Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin
5. Janet Evanovich - High Five
6. Kerry Greenwood - Murder on the Ballarat Train
7. Irene Nemirovsky - Suite Francaise
8. Janet Evanovich - Hot Six
9. Armistead Maupin - More Tales of the City
10. Pete Hamill - Forever
11. Diane Ackerman - The Zookeeper's Wife:  A War Story
12. Stephenie Meyer - Twilight
13. Stephen King - Cell
14. Armistead Maupin - Further Tales of the City
15. Lauren Groff - The Monsters of Templeton
16. Kim Edwards - The Memory Keeper's Daughter
17. Elizabeth Berg - We Are All Welcome Here
18. Susan Runholdt - The Mystery of the Third Lucretia
19. Kurt Vonnegut - Mother Night
20. Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without a Country
21. Pat Frank - Alas, Babylon
22. Stephenie Meyer - New Moon
23. Bill Willingham - Fables:  Legends in Exile
24. Bill Willingham - Fables:  Animal Farm
25. Agatha Christie - Nemesis
26. Kerry Greenwood - Death at Victoria Dock
27. Stephenie Meyer - Eclipse
28. Bill Willigham - Fables:  Storybook Love
29. Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
30. Daniel Silva - The Confessor
31. Stephenie Meyer - Breaking Dawn
32. Alice Hoffman - Blackbird House
33. Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants
34. Neal Shusterman - Unwind
35. Anna Godbersen - The Luxe
36. Bill Willingham - Fables:  March of the Wooden Soldiers
37. Gregory Maguire - A Lion Among Men
38. Anna Godbersen - Rumors
39. Chelsea Handler - Are You There, Vodka?  It's Me, Chelsea.
40. Margo Lanagan - Black Juice
41. Melissa De la Cruz - Blue Bloods
42. Kurt Vonnegut - Slapstick
43. Adriana Trigiani - Big Stone Gap
44. Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book
45. Bill Willingham - Fables:  The Mean Seasons
46. Melissa De la Cruz - Masquerade
47. Bill Willingham - Fables:  Homelands
48. Kate Jacobs - The Friday Night Knitting Club
49. Bill Willingham - Fables:  Arabian Nights (and Days)
50. Bill Willingham - Fables:  Wolves
    

48.  Kate Jacobs - The Friday Night Knitting Club - This was better than average fluff, but nothing special.  I did enjoy it and needed a tissue at the end.  I won't say more than that to aviod spoilers.  I liked the way she talked about knitting throughout the book, and the relationships between the characters seemed genuine.

49.  Bill Willingham - Fables:  Arabian Nights (and Days) - This was probably my least favorite of this series.  The story wasn't that interesting, and I didn't really like the way the Arabian Fables were slaveholding, murderous villains that the Western Fables had to teach about civilized living. 

50.  Bill Willingham - Fables:  Wolves - Unlike Arabian Nights, this was one of my favorites.  The plot with Bigby, Mowgli, and Snow White is furthered in this installment.  Without saying too much, things I wanted to happen finally happened.

I'm getting close to my goal!

42.  Kurt Vonnegut - Slapstick - Wonderfully wacky and strange as only Vonnegut can be.  An interesting fact about this book that Vonnegut explains in the Preface is that he was thinking of him and his sister when he created the two main characters. 

43.  Adriana Trigiani - Big Stone Gap - I thoroughly enjoyed this title, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.  I loved the small town charm and the quirky characters.   

44.  Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book - Dan and I both really loved this book.  Gaiman has a way with language and a love for his characters that makes his writing fun to read.  I was disappointed at the end when I had to leave this magical world.

45.  Bill Willingham - Fables:  The Mean Seasons - Another fun entry to this graphic novel series.

46.  Melissa De la Cruz - Masquerade - I enjoyed this and look forward to reading the next in the series, but it was not as good as the first book, Blue Bloods.  De la Cruz spent too much time describing what everyone was wearing.  At really interesting plot twists, she would stop and spend a paragraph talking about someone's jeans.  Maybe that's what teens like, but it drove me a little crazy.  I still love her twist on the vampire legends.

47.  Bill Willingham - Fables:  Homelands - In this Fables title, we learn the true identity of the adversary.  I had kind of figured this out already, but it was interesting to read about how they became the adversary.

Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods, Book 1)

Melissa de la Cruz

41.  Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz - I found this series on a list of recommended reads The Luxe was on and figured I'd try another teen vampire series.  I try to read a variety of teen literature so I can suggest things to teen patrons (and because they are fun). 

I really enjoyed Blue Bloods.  The premise is that all the upper-echelon New York Society families are vampires.  It was interesting the way that she weaved this into the story of the Plymouth Colony, Myles Standish, and Croatan.  I'd say there are about three major characters she switches between in the book, and it really keeps the story moving.

I would suggest this to those who would have liked more vampire lore and less obsessive teenage romance and long inner monologues in Twilight.  People who loved Twilight would probably like this too.  I'd compare it most to Gossip Girl with vampires.  Not great literature, but a really fun read.

39.  Chelsea Handler - Are You There, Vodka?  It's Me, Chelsea - This wasn't nearly as funny as I thought it might be.  I wasn't expecting humor of David Sedaris proportions, but Handler is pretty funny on TV.  I laughed at a few of her stories, but they were so embellished that I spent more time wondering what was true and what was fiction than I did laughing at them.  I also ended up hoping that she isn't as racist and shallow as her comic persona. 

40.  Margo Lanagan - Black Juice - This interesting book of short stories is our book club book this month.  One interesting tidbit about it is that it is an adult book in Australia (where the author resides) and a young adult book in the United States.  I'm not sure why that is, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  Each of the stories is very different from the others.  Lanagan has a way with words, and I really enjoyed this book even though I'm not usually a fan of short story collections.  There were stories that ended too quickly for me though, which is why I tend to stay away from them.

My Reading Entries

I decided to go through and type out my books read so far in list format.  I created a Google Site for the list here.  I'll copy it here so you don't have to follow the link.  Do you think I can read 12 books by the end of the year?  I actually might make it because I have a few graphic novels and young adult titles at home from the library right now. 

1. Antonia Fraser - Marie Antoinette:  The Journey
2. P.G. Wodehouse - Uncle Fred in the Springtime
3. Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase
4. Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin
5. Janet Evanovich - High Five
6. Kerry Greenwood - Murder on the Ballarat Train
7. Irene Nemirovsky - Suite Francaise
8. Janet Evanovich - Hot Six
9. Armistead Maupin - More Tales of the City
10. Pete Hamill - Forever
11. Diane Ackerman - The Zookeeper's Wife:  A War Story
    
12. Stephenie Meyer - Twilight
13. Stephen King - Cell
14. Armistead Maupin - Further Tales of the City
15. Lauren Groff - The Monsters of Templeton
16. Kim Edwards - The Memory Keeper's Daughter
17. Elizabeth Berg - We Are All Welcome Here
18. Susan Runholdt - The Mystery of the Third Lucretia
19. Kurt Vonnegut - Mother Night
20. Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without a Country
21. Pat Frank - Alas, Babylon
22. Stephenie Meyer - New Moon
23. Bill Willingham - Fables:  Legends in Exile
24. Bill Willingham - Fables:  Animal Farm
25. Agatha Christie - Nemesis
26. Kerry Greenwood - Death at Victoria Dock
27. Stephenie Meyer - Eclipse
28. Bill Willigham - Fables:  Storybook Love
29. Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
30. Daniel Silva - The Confessor
31. Stephenie Meyer - Breaking Dawn
32. Alice Hoffman - Blackbird House
33. Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants
34. Neal Shusterman - Unwind
35. Anna Godbersen - The Luxe
    
36. Bill Willingham - Fables:  March of the Wooden Soldiers
37. Gregory Maguire - A Lion Among Men
38. Anna Godbersen - Rumors

NaBloPoMo

A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years, Book 3)

Gregory Maguire

37.  A Lion Among Men - Gregory Maguire - This is the third in the Wicked Years series.  As you can guess, it follows the story of the Cowardly Lion, Brrr.  I enjoyed reading this because Maguire has a such a good writing style.  I would have loved the book instead of just liking it if Maguire would have given me more resolution.  He left a few too many stories unresolved for my liking, and I hope he plans on touching on them in the next book.

My reading entries.

NaBloPoMo

Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers

Bill Willingham

36.  Willingham, Bill - Fables 4:  March of the Wooden Soldiers - In this volume, Fables from the homeland start showing up and causing trouble.  I don't like the illustrations as much in this one as I did in the first two.  I need to look and see if it is a different person.  The first two were bolder and more interesting to me.  Nevertheless, the story is very good and fun to read.

My reading entries.

NaBloPoMo

The Luxe

Anna Godbersen

35.  The Luxe - Anna Godberson - When I went to a state library conference last month, one of the workshops I went to was a Young Adult literature workshop where a librarian did booktalks of several YA titles.  That's where I found out about Unwind and this novel.  Well, I had heard of both before, but she made them sound so interesting that I put them on hold as soon as I got back to the library.  This was pure guilty pleasure with an extremely attractive cover.  What Twilight is for some people, The Luxe is for me. 

The novel takes place in 1899 in New York City, and is about the Holland family, a family with old money in Gramercy Park.  It has been called by some critics Gossip Girl set in the Turn of the Century.  There are love triangles and Upstairs, Downstairs type storylines galore.  I adored reading this, and can't wait to check out the next one and read it.  If you love this time period and a little scandal, then I think you'll enjoy this guilty pleasure as much as I did. 

Plus, the author thanked the librarians that helped her in the acknowledgements.  She's golden in my book!

My reading entries.

NaBloPoMo