Today I spent all afternoon unpacking book boxes. Talk about a late Chistmas gift! I only unpacked about 25 out of 65 boxes or so, but some of those books I hadn’t seen for 2 or 3 years, and seeing them was like seeing long lost friends!
I finally have some space to put out nearly all my books, and I’m really excited about it. I even weeded out a few (which is always hard to do) that I’ll be taking to Goodwill or a used bookstore. And please don’t ask how many doubles I found. Hey, when I could pick books up at library sales for 25 or 50 cents, I could afford to make a few mistakes just to make sure I had the book. Now it seems the libraries are charging more and more so it’s not quite as affordable as it once was.
I’ll be taking pictures of my stacks when they’re all set up, and I can’t wait to show you all. I know I always love looking at the way others display their books. I really never get tired of it. I found a great site the other day that is nothing but photos of books and bookshelves. Some of you may already know about it, but if you don’t, you can find it here. Enjoy, and have a great week!
Finally made out my Top 20 list, although I had to make it 21 because I just could. not. remove. any. more. titles from the list. I had already taken off The Age of Innocence, The Help, and Shanghai Girls, which was painful to say the least. I did include some ya/children’s titles as well, though, because they were just that good. Still, I probably left off at least ten 4.5 star books, but what’s the use of a top 30-35 list? It just must be narrowed down somehow.
I’m also working on a stats post, but that takes a little time so look for that later in the week.
I read a lot of great books in 2009. Really great. It’s too bad I didn’t review more of them. I’m still going to try to at least get to the ones on this list, though. I owe them that much. I just hope I have the same success in 2010 as well.
Anyway, in the list below, the first five are ranked, while the rest are in no particular order.
How is it the middle of November already? It doesn’t seem possible. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, though. I’m probably going to Colorado to see my side of the family so that’s always exciting.
Since I didn’t have a Sunday Salon last week, I’ll go ahead and tell you what I’ve read so far this month instead of just this week. I’ve listened to quite a few audios lately because I’ve been feeling under the weather (hence the lack of posts). These included Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith, The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland, and The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. And then I also read The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. All of them were 4 or 4.5 stars. Just great books so far for the month of November.
I was most surprised by how much I appreciated The Forest Lover. I had seen mixed reviews on it, but I heartily recommend this fictional biographical look at one of Canada’s foremost female artists. I knew I would probably like The Unit because I’m fascinated by dystopian fiction, and I did. Dystopians always scare me but in a good way. Afterward I’m so appreciative of living under our own government (though, of course it has its flaws). And I always take great delight in Smith’s books, this one was the last (so far) of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective series, and I’m not at all getting tired of them yet. The Good Thief was entertaining as well — it was sort of a mix of Dickens and Twain. I will definitely be reading more of Tinti’s works.
I’m not sure what I’m going to take up next, perhaps something for the Women Unbound challenge. By the way, The Forest Lover would definitely qualify for the challenge, and you could make an argument for The Unit to count as well.
Happy November! That extra hour of sleep sure felt great didn’t it? Always one of the best weekends of the year. Or did you spend the extra hour reading? I’m fairly happy with my stats this month, and I was really excited about my results for the R.I.P. Challenge. I ended up reading 22 books for it when usually I just get the minimum. Anyway for October, I read 11 books and 3900 pages. My favorite read was The Hungry Tide, and my spookiest read was Heart-Shaped Box Box. Joe Hill is really following in his father’s footsteps. If you like Stephen King, definitely read Joe Hill. My books were as follows:
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (2003, 272 pp.)
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (2004, 291 pp.)
Vampire Knight Vol 1 by Matsuri Hino (2007, 208 pp.)
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (2005, 656 pp.)
As you can see, I’m SO FAR behind on my reviews, and last week I even had a post asking for questions about the books I’ve read to spur me on a bit. Thanks for all those who responded, and hopefully I’ll be getting to a few reviews this week — I’d really like to get in at least 5 or 6.
Click for more info
Have you heard about the Women Unbound Challenge? I’ll be posting my book choices for that tomorrow but would like to recommend the following fiction titles to those participating:
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo (this is a light read, but it does examine how women’s expectations are sometimes based on the literature we read)
I always enjoy the read-a-thon, and this one was no exception. I had a bit of a late start (really didn’t start reading until 10 am) and then crashed at 1am, so actually for the time I had available, I really did well. I had 15 hours that I participated, and I read just over 11. I do hope to hit the 15 hour mark in a future read-a-thon, though!
My strategy for any read-a-thon is really just to read as much as I can. I don’t do a lot of the mini-challenges just because I’d rather spend the time reading. I don’t visit other read-a-thoners very much during the read-a-thon, either, but I do enjoy going to everyone’s blogs the following day to see how they did and which books they read. It seems like quite a few people read the same books as I did, so it will be fun to compare notes.
Thank you organizers and cheerleaders for such a fun event!
Time spent reading: 672 total (11 hours 12 minutes)
Pages read: 772 pages total
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The 19th hour. I fell asleep hoping to take a short nap, but my body demanded more. 2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I would definitely recommend the two books I read, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope, it was great as usual. 4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Everything! 5. How many books did you read? Two 6. What were the names of the books you read? The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 7. Which book did you enjoy most? Both 8. Which did you enjoy least? N/A 9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A 10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Very likely. I’ve participated in every read-a-thon since the very first!
We had our first snow here yesterday. That is SO EARLY, and though no one else in my immediate family was happy about it, I was. To celebrate, I made some chili and let it simmer all day, and it was yummy, too. I love all seasons, and I especially love the first snowfall. It was so pretty with nice big flakes. I do feel bad for the farmers, though, which does include some of my family members. This snow sure didn’t help with getting the corn in.
This time of year is so great for reading. I love curling up with a book when it’s cold outside — especially if it’s for the R.I.P. Challenge. So far in October, I’ve already read four books for it (in addition to last month’s).
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
The Inhabited World by David Long
I’m also in the middle of listening to The Historian on audio and really like it. It fits the mood of fall extremely well. Unfortunately, it’s on my computer so I can’t finish it until I get my new power cord. I’m now reading The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny that I got from the library, and since I always have to have an audio going, I’m listening to The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. I’m really impressed with this book so far, and I now plan on reading Sea of Poppies (shortlisted for 2008′s Booker Prize) at some point as well.
I don’t think I’ll plan on reading the new Booker winner, Wolf Hall, anytime soon. I have too many other books to read for challenges at the moment. I will, however, be reading one of Herta Müller’s (the new Nobel laureate) works as it fits in with the German Challenge I’m doing. Has anyone else read Müller? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." (John 6:27, ESV)
Today I spent all afternoon unpacking book boxes. Talk about a late Chistmas gift! I only unpacked about 25 out of 65 boxes or so, but some of those books I hadn’t seen for 2 or 3 years, and seeing them was like seeing long lost friends!
Finally made out my Top 20 list, although I had to make it 21 because I just could. not. remove. any. more. titles from the list. I had already taken off The Age of Innocence, The Help, and Shanghai Girls, which was painful to say the least. I did include some ya/children’s titles as well, though, because they were just that good. Still, I probably left off at least ten 4.5 star books, but what’s the use of a top 30-35 list? It just must be narrowed down somehow.
by Joe Hill (2007, 384 pp.)
by Suzanne Collins (2008, 274pp.)
I always enjoy the read-a-thon, and this one was no exception. I had a bit of a late start (really didn’t start reading until 10 am) and then crashed at 1am, so actually for the time I had available, I really did well. I had 15 hours that I participated, and I read just over 11. I do hope to hit the 15 hour mark in a future read-a-thon, though!
