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September ’09 Reads

3m — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:02:14 +0000

Well, I’ve been a reading machine this month despite being too quiet on the blog front. I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately, so the blog has taken a back seat. I guess you could call it series month as well. I finished the Twilight series and read 4 books in the ‘Chief Inspector Gamache’ series and read 2 books in the ‘Sookie Stackhouse’ series — all for the R.I.P. IV Challenge. I got a bit further in the Canadian Challenge III as well by reading 5 Canadian books.

My favorites of the Twilight series were the two middle books. I felt that the first book was not written as well because it was Meyer’s first book, and I definitely had mixed feelings about the last book. I enjoyed and raced through the first half or so of it, but the second half was a little sketchy for me.

My favorite ‘Gamache’ so far is A Rule Against Murder, and my least favorite is The Cruelest Month. Some of the dialogue in the latter just irritated me, but the different setting of the former was a nice change (even though I like Three Pines).

My favorite books of the month by far were The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and A Thousand Splendid Suns. The latter is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time — truly outstanding and much better than The Kite Runner.

I spent a little time analyzing the first three quarters of the year in regards to my reading and came up with the following:

Q1: 27 books, 5503 pp.
Q2: 29 books, 6981 pp.
Q3: 34 books, 11560 pp.
total: 90 books, 24049 pp. for an average of 267 per book.

The first thing I noticed was that I read twice as many pages in Q3 than in Q1. Wow. Only a 7 book difference but quite a difference in terms of pages. I have a feeling my second half of the year will be way stronger than the first half. Now if only I could get to the reviews!

September (14 books, 5605 pp)

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (1962, 304 pp)
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin (2009, 262 pp)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2009, 466 pp)
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (2001, 292 pp)
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (2006, 608 pp)
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (2007, 629 pp)
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (2008, 754 pp)
Still Life by Louise Penny (2005, 312 pp)
A Fatal Grace (aka Dead Cold) by Louise Penny (2007, 314 pp)
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (2008, 311 pp)
A Rule Against Murder (aka The Murder Stone) by Louise Penny (2009, 322 pp)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (2009, 373 pp)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007, 367 pp)
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (2002, 291 pp)

August ’09 Reads

3m — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:04:59 +0000

I had a great time in August reading classics, mainly because I wanted to save the 2001 and up titles for Countdown 2010. I still have to review so many, though! Many of these were audios, and I usually try to have some quotes in the review so I’ve been trying to find some of these books so I can do that. I’ll get caught up eventually!

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (1931)
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)
The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne (2009)
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (1922)
Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (1891)
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1996)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (1987)
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976)

July ’09 Books

3m — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:48:56 +0000

I’ve been doing a lot of work at my house in Kentucky since early July, and I originally thought I wouldn’t get much reading done. However, eight of the books below (all but #1 and #6-8) were audios that I listened to while painting my house inside and out. So, all in all, a very productive month both bookwise and work-wise.

I read/listened to some fantastic books this month. Five were 4.5 star books! Surprisingly, some of my least favorites were the two Pulitzer winners. I am woefully behind on reviews, due mostly to lack of internet access and time. I also like to get quotes from the books, which is hard to do with audios. I’ll have to go to the library or bookstore to search for some. At least I’m knocking out some books. It was a really fun month for audios in particular.

July (12 books, 3464 pp.)

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2004, 194 pp.)
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (2009, 336 pp.)
The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty (1969, 180 pp.)
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor (1986, 224 pp.)
Intuition by Allegra Goodman (2006, 352 pp.)
A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen (2000, 50 pp.)
Property by Valerie Martin (2002, 192 pp.)
Unless by Carol Shields (2002, 224 pp.)
The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro (2006, 368 pp.)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009, 464 pp.)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998, 576 pp.)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (2003, 304 pp.)

October ’08 — Best Reading Month Ever

3m — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:15:37 +0000

When I think about it, I don’t know how I read 18! books in one month. I’ve never read that many before. Granted, several were audios (4 and part of another), and that definitely helps. I listen to audios in the van, when I walk, and at night when I’m too tired to read. Also, I’ve set a certain time to read when it’s quiet and no one is around. That probably has helped me more than anything. When the family is around, I try to catch up on my google feeds or write non-review posts. When they’re not, I read read read!! Also, the readathon pumped up my stats as well, though I didn’t participate for the full time and only got in 9 hours. Still, 9 hours is 9 hours!

I enjoyed all the books I read this month except for The Story of a Marriage and Breath. I actually liked Breath through 3/4 of it, then despised the final 1/4. The rest were great! I still have a lot of reviews to write…but I’m a better reader than a writer…and I’m in reading mode now. They’ll get done eventually!

82. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (2008, 300 pp.)
83. The Pigman by Paul Zindel (1968, 182 pp.)
84. The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
85. The Twits by Roald Dahl
86. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (2008, 465 pp.)
87. Breath by Tim Winton (2008, 218 pp.)
88. Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen (2008, 240 pp.)
89. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (2008, 276 pp.)
90. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
91. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
92. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
93. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
94. The Pets by Bragi Olafsson
95. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
96. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (2008, 324 pp.)
97. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
98. X-Kai by Asami Tohjoh
99. Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi (1983, 2005 for English translation, 268 pp.)

June ’08 Monthly Report

3m — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:04:55 +0000

50. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (2005, 652 pp.)
51. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (2007, 759 pp.)
52. Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall (2008, 207 pp.)
53. The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy (1966, 146 pp.)
54. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2001, 319 pp.)
55. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006, 350 pp.)
56. Jacob Two-Two’s First Spy Case by Mordecai Richler (1995, 144 pp.)
57. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (2008, 333 pp.)
58. Bear by Marian Engel (1976, 141 pp.)
59. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (2005, 198 pp.)
60. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (1974, 263 pp.)
61. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955, 327 pp.)

Pages read: 3839 / Pages read in 2008: 17170
Average number of pages per book: 320 pp.
New authors: 9
Female authors: 7
Male authors: 4
Challenges completed: Orbis Terrarum, Banned Book, Canadian, Man Booker, Chunkster, Themed, Once Upon a Time II, Here Be Dragons, Young Adult, Initials

Have you reviewed any of the above books at your blog? If you’d like, enter your link in Mr. Linky below.

May ’08 Monthly Report (Sunday Salon)

3m — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:30:16 +0000

May was a great reading month for me. It looks like a lot below and it is, but I read 3 novellas, 3 graphic novels (one was wordless), 2 that I was halfway finished with already, and 4 audiobooks. So even though 13 books is the most I’ve ever finished in a month, there were some caveats to it. How was your reading month?

37. The Forgery of Venus by Michael Gruber (2008, 318 pp.)
38. Silk by Alessandro Baricco (1996, 91 pp.)
39. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (2007, 203 pp.)
40. Snow by Maxence Fermine (1999, 100 pp)
41. The Castle by Franz Kafka (1926, 316 pp.)
42. The Gathering by Anne Enright (2007, 261 pp.)
43. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (1999, 435 pp.)
44. Blessings by Anna Quindlen (202, 226 pp.)
45. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (2000, 734 pp.)
46. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (2006, 240 pp.)
47. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (2006, 128 pp.)
48. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (2007, 533 pp.)
49. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (2003, 896 pp.)

Pages read: 4457 / Pages read in 2008: 13331
Average number of pages per book: 344 pp.
New authors: 8
Female authors: 3
Male authors: 8
Challenges completed: Novella Challenge

Have you reviewed any of the above books at your blog? If you’d like, enter your link in Mr. Linky below.

April ’08 Monthly Report

3m — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:13:02 +0000

25. Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos (2008, 388 pp.)
26. The Sister by Poppy Adams (2008, 275 pp.)
27. Kanada by Eva Wiseman (2006, 241 pp.)
28. Kaddish for a Child not Born by Imre Kertesz (1990, 95 pp.)
29. Detective Story by Imre Kertesz (2008, 112 pp.)
30. The Mayor’s Tongue by Nathaniel Rich (2008, 310 pp.)
31. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (2008, 231 pp.)
32. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987, 275 pp.)
33. Maus I by Art Spiegelman (1986, 161 pp.)
34. Maus II by Art Spiegelman (1991, 127 pp.)
35. Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy (2008, 294 pp.)
36. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958, 209 pp.)

Pages read: 2718 Pages read in 2008: 8874
Average number of pages per book: 227 pp.
New authors: 9
Female authors: 4
Male authors: 6
Challenges completed: Pub, Jewish Literature, Expanding Horizons, and Eponymous

Have you reviewed any of the above books at your blog? If you’d like, enter them in Mr. Linky below.

March ’08 Monthly Report

3m — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:41:58 +0000

19. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood (1988, 462 pp.)
20. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908, 369 pp.)
21. Embers by Sandor Marai (1942, 224 pp.)
22. Transformations by Anne Sexton (1971, 112 pp.)
23. The Only Road North by Erik Mirandette (2007, 298 pp.)
24. Winter Haven by Athol Dickson (2008, 336 pp.)

Pages read: 1803 Pages read in 2008: 6156
Average number of pages per book: 300 pp.
New authors: 5
Female authors: 3
Male authors: 3
Challenges completed: Winter Reading, Book Awards

Have you reviewed any of the above titles at your own blog? If you’d like, enter them into Mr. Linky below.

February ’08 Monthly Report

3m — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:15:55 +0000

February

12. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970, 206 pp.)
13. Life & Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee (1983, 184 pp.)
14. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz (2007, 81 pp.)
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (1968, 236 pp.)
16. Sitting Practice by Caroline Adderson (2003, 329 pp.)
17. Anthem by Ayn Rand (1938, 105 pp)
18. The Translator by Daoud Hari (2008, 178 pp.)

Pages read: 1319 Pages read in 2008: 4353
Average number of pages per book: 188 pp.
New authors: 7
Female authors: 4
Male authors: 3
Challenges completed: Sci-Fi Experience

Have you reviewed any of the above titles at your own blog? If you’d like, enter them into Mr. Linky below.

January ’08 Monthly Report

3m — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:08:22 +0000

January

1. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell (2008, 251 pp.)
2. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (2008 in the U.S., 468 pp.)
3. The Cloud of Unknowing by Thomas H. Cook (2006, 311 pp.)
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963, 244 pp)
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (1997, 320 pp)
6. Strangers by Taichi Yamada (1987 [2003 in U.S.], 203 pp.)
7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (2003, 226 pp.)
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (1998, 341 pp.)
9. After Dark by Haruki Murakami (2004 [2007 in U.S.], 191 pp.)
10. Silence by Shusaku Endo (1966, 201 pages)
11. Independent People by Halldor Laxness (1934-35, 482 pp.)

Pages read: 3034
Average number of pages per book: 276 pp.
New authors: 8
Female authors: 4
Male authors: 6
Challenges completed: From the Stacks; Japanese Literature

Have you reviewed any of the above titles at your own blog? If you’d like, enter them into Mr. Linky below.

Books read in Dec ’07

3m — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:18:52 +0000

I didn’t read any books in December last year! This was my best month in 2007, primarily because I wanted to complete some remaining challenges and reach 100 books. My favorites of this month’s titles are The Wreath and Suite Francaise.

89. Mr. Ives’ Christmas by Hijuelos (248 pp.)
90. This Year It Will Be Different by Maeve Binchy (210 pp)
91. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (133 pp)
92. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (194 pp)
93. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (263 pp)
94. Last Evenings on Earth by Bolano (219 pp)
95. The Shipping News by Proulx (337 pp)
96. Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath by Sigrid Undset (291 pp)
97. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (371 pp)
98. The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens (85 pp)
99. Suite Francaise by Nemirovsky (NYT) (367 pp)
100. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (304 pp)
101. Queen of the Tambourine by Jane Gardam (226 pp)

Pages read in Dec: 3248
Total pages read in 2007: 27,290

Books read in Nov ’07

3m — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:44:49 +0000

79. Mad Shadows by Marie-Claire Blais (130 pp)
80. Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro (288 pp)
81. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (120 pp)
82. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (528 pp)
83. Buying a Fishing Rod for my Grandfather by Gao Xingjian (125 pp)
84. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (116 pp)
85. The Xanadu Adventure by Lloyd Alexander (145 pp)
86. Zia by Scott O’Dell (179 pp)
87. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (154pp)
88. The Hours by Michael Cunningham (226pp)

Pages read in November: 2,011
Pages read for 2007: 24,042

Books read in October ’07

3m — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:38:57 +0000

70. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (529 pp.)
71. Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright (280 pp.)
72. Half of a Yellow Sun by Adichie (541 pp.)
73. Gossamer by Lois Lowry (140 pp.)
74. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (227 pp.)
75. Lisey’s Story by Stephen King (502 pp.)
76. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury (145 pp.)
77. Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho (210 pp.)
78. The Complete Tales of Nikolai Gogol, Vol. 1 (259 pp.)

Pages read in October: 2833
Pages read in 2007: 22,031

Books read in September 2007

3m — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:55:19 +0000

65. The Tale of Despereaux****1/2 by Kate DiCamillo (2003, 272 pp, Newbery)
66. Bud, Not Buddy**** by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999, 245 pp, Newbery)
67. Blue Like Jazz***1/2 by Donald Miller (2003, 240 pp)
68. The Bookseller of Kabul**** (2002, 288 pp)
69. The Travels of Marco Polo**** (345 pp)

Pages read in September: 1390
Pages read in 2007: 19,198

Have you reviewed any of the above titles at your own blog? If you wish, enter them into Mr. Linky below.

Books read in August 2007

3m — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 04:37:30 +0000

57. The Secret Life of Bees****1/2 by Sue Monk Kidd (2003, 302 pp)
58. Stargirl**** by Jerry Spinelli (2002, 186 pp)
59. A Death in the Family****1/2 by James Agee (1957, 310 pp)
60. We****1/2 by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924, 232 pp)
61. The Little Prince****1/2 by Antoine De Saint Exupery (1943, 84 pp)
62. The Amateur Marriage**** by Anne Tyler (2004, 306 pp)
63. O Pioneers!**** by Willa Cather (1913, 176 pp)
64. The Known World**** by Edward P. Jones (2003, 388 pp, Pulitzer, NBCC, IMPAC)

Pages read in August: 1984
Pages read in 2007: 17,808

Books Read in July 2007

3m — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:25:00 +0000

47. The Sea** by John Banville (2005,195 pp, Booker)
48. The Door in the Wall**** by Marguerite de Angeli (1949, 121 pp, Newbery)
49. Gathering Blue****1/2 by Lois Lowry (2000, 215 pp.)
50. Messenger**** by Lois Lowry (2000, 169 pp.)
51. The White Stag**** by Kate Seredy (1937, 94 pp.)
52. Stardust**** by Neil Gaiman (1999, 248 pp.)
53. The Higher Power of Lucky**** by Susan Patron (2006, 134 pp, Newbery)
54. The Blind Assassin ***1/2 by Margaret Atwood (2000, 521 pp, Booker)
55. The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books by J. Peder Zane***1/2 (2007, 333 pp.)
56. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (1997, 321 pp.)

Pages read in July: 2351
Pages read in 2007: 15,824

Have you reviewed any of the above titles at your own blog? If you wish, enter them into Mr. Linky below.

Books Read in June 2007

3m — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 07:00:00 +0000

37. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde ****
38. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken ****
39. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle ****
40. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry ****1/2
41. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys ****
42. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke ****1/2
43. New Testament *****
44. Coraline by Neil Gaiman ****1/2
45. The Bone People by Keri Hulme ****
46. Wild Swans by Jung Chang ****1/2

Pages read in June: 3364
Pages read in 2007: 13,473

Books read in May 2007

3m — Thu, 31 May 2007 07:03:00 +0000

29. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ****
30. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood ****1/2
31. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields ****1/2
32. Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates ****
33. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos ****
34. The Color Purple by Alice Walker ****
35. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult ****
36. Phantastes by George MacDonald ****

Pages read in May: 2466
Pages read in 2007: 10,109

Books Read in April 2007

3m — Tue, 01 May 2007 03:16:00 +0000

23. Grendel by John Gardner **
24. March by Geraldine Brooks ***1/2
25. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald ****1/2
26. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai ***1/2
27. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards ****1/2
28. The Translator by Leila Aboulela ****

Pages read in April: 1610
Pages read in 2007: 7643

Books Read in March 2007

3m — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:32:00 +0000

15. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Rating: 5
16. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers Rating: 4
17. The Road by Cormac McCarthy Rating: 4.5
18. The Myth of Me and You by Leah Stewart Rating: 3.5
19. Everyman by Philip Roth Rating: 1
20. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Rating: 4.5
21. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke Rating: 4
22. The Giver by Lois Lowry Rating: 4.5

Pages read in March: 2613
Pages read in 2007: 6033

Have you reviewed any of the above titles at your own blog? If you wish, enter them into Mr. Linky below.