2009 Reading Wrap-Up

I'm going to try to keep this as short and simple as possible. My only real reading goal for 2009 was to read more books than the 42 I read in 2008, so I set 50 books as a target to aim for. And I very nearly made it. I've read 49 books at this point. And if I could realistically hope to finish the one I'm reading now by tonight at midnight, I could claim 50! That's unlikely to happen, but it is raining with more of the same predicted for later on. And we don't have any parties planned. So I suppose a literary marathon might not be out of the question. Just have to see what the evening brings.

For 2010, I have two goals. First, I want to read at least as many books as I read this year - more, if possible. And second, I want to try to be more faithful about reviewing each book, even if it's just a "thumb's up/down" approach - especially for books I'm reading for challenges. Of course, I'm a world-class procrastinator, so I'm not sure how far I'll get with that one, but we can hope.

I'm not going to include a lot of statistics or analysis. And I'll do a separate post about some of my favorites from this year's batch. So here's the list of books read in 2009 (listed as they were read), with links to reviews:

1. Drawers & Booths, by Ara 13 (2007; 215 pages; fiction)
2. Cover Her Face, by P.D. James (1962; 250 pages; mystery fiction)
3. The Master, by Colm Toibin (2004; 338 pages; fiction)
4. Rest in Pieces, by Rita Mae Brown (1992; 347 pages; mystery fiction)
5. Hotel Du Lac, by Anita Brookner (1984; 184 pages; fiction)
6. Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem (1961; 204 pages; science fiction)
7. Index to Murder, by Jo Dereske (2008; 259 pages; fiction)
8. Land of Marvels, by Barry Unsworth (2009; 287 pages; fiction)
9. The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton (1920; 285 pages; fiction)
10. The Great Victorian Collection, by Brian Moore (1975; 213 pages; fiction)
11. Blasphemy, by Douglas Preston (2008; 524 pages; fiction)
12. Angels & Insects: Two Novellas, by A.S. Byatt (1992; 340 pages; fiction)
13. The Private Patient, by P.D. James (2008; 352 pages; fiction)
14. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown (2000; 572 pages; fiction)
15. The Way Through the Woods, by Colin Dexter (1992; 296 pages; fiction)
16. The Book of God and Physics, by Enrique Joven (2009; 350 pages; fiction)
17. The Old Man and Me, by Elaine Dundy (1963; 231 pages; fiction)
18. Brimstone, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (2004; 500 pages; fiction)
19. The Optimist's Daughter, by Eudora Welty (1972; 109 pages; fiction)
20. Ellen Foster, by Kaye Gibbons (1987; 126 pages; fiction)
21. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien (1971; 233 pages; fiction)
22. To Dance with the White Dog, by Terry Kay (1990; 241 pages; fiction)
23. The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist (2006/2009; 268 pages; fiction)
24. Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively (1987; 208 pages; fiction)
25. The Longshot, by Katie Kitamura (2009; 191 pages; fiction)
26. The Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1914; 320 pages; fiction)
27. The Mothman Prophecies, by John A. Keel (1975; 288 pages; nonfiction)
28. The Angel's Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (2009; 470 pages; fiction)
29. Sacred Hearts, by Sarah Dunant (2009; 402 pages; fiction)
30. The Fire, by Katherine Neville (2008; 445 pages; fiction)
31. Grave Goods, by Ariana Franklin (2009; 337 pages; fiction)
32. Fear the Worst, by Linwood Barclay (2009; 400 pages; fiction)
33. Rabbit Is Rich, by John Updike (1981; 467 pages; fiction)
34. Victory Over Japan, by Ellen Gilchrist (1984; 277 pages; fiction)
35. Dance of Death, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (2005; 560 pages; fiction)
36. The Man in the Picture, by Susan Hill (2007; 145 pages; fiction)
37. The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill (1983; 160 pages; fiction)
38. New Year's Eve, by Lisa Grunwald (1997; 366 pages; fiction)
39. From Doon with Death, by Ruth Rendell (1964; 226 pages; fiction)
40. The Friend of Madame Maigret. Georges Simenon (1950; 186 pages; fiction)
41. The Lair of the White Worm. Bram Stoker (1911; approx. 120 pages; fiction)
42. Homer & Langley. E.L. Doctorow (2009; 208 pages; fiction)
43. The Uncommon Reader. Alan Bennett (2007; 120 pages; fiction)
44. The Lover. Marguerite Duras (1984; 117 pages; fiction)
45. The Lesson of the Master. Henry James (1888; approx. 63 pages; fiction)
46. Stardust. Joseph Kanon (2009; 506 pages; fiction)
47. Santa Clawed. Rita Mae Brown (2008; 240 pages; fiction)
48. Christmas Card Magic. Margaret Perry (1967; 127 pages; nonfiction)
49. Crewel Yule. Monica Ferris (2004; 245 pages; fiction)
50. [Maybe] The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman (reading now)

Teaser Tuesdays: Don't Go There

Well, I'm sorry to have to report that I'm still reading the same book I was reading the last time I posted a Teaser Tuesday entry - and that was a couple of weeks ago. December has been a slow month for me, where reading is concerned. All that holiday-ing is fun but time-consuming. So, here's another snippet from Crewel Yule by Monica Ferris. I should explain that the Belle in the quote is (or was) Eve's best friend and business partner, and Jack is (or was) Eve's hubby.

It happened when Eve was visiting her husband at work and casually logged onto his e-mail account to send a message -- and found a whole set of red-hot, lusty exchanges between him and Belle. Jack didn't deny it. He said Belle understood him in a way Eve didn't. Jack packed a bag and left home that night. [p.44]

Ah, yes - the old "you don't understand me" gambit. Well, I hope she learned a good lesson about the dangers of "casually" logging onto someone's e-mail account - even your husband's. Especially your husband's.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizb17 at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or do a little teasing yourself, head on over to her blog. And these are the rules: Grab your current read; Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given! Please avoid spoilers!

The Winter Words Reading Challenge

OK, here's another one. Tarissa over at In the Bookcase is hosting the Winter Words Reading Challenge which runs throughout the season, from December 21 to March 19. The workings are a bit complicated, so you should head on over to the challenge announcement page and read up on it, but it sounds intriguing.

Basically, the challenge is to read at least three or as many as nine books. You choose from a list of winter-related acronyms and then match up your reading choices with those words.

Here's the list of acronyms:

• 3 books - ice, ski
• 4 books - snow, sled
• 5 books - frost, slick
• 6 books - winter, icicle, flurry
• 7 books - mittens, snowman
• 8 books - slippery, ice skate
• 9 books - snowflake

I'm having a lot of fun pairing up books with those wintry words, but I'm going to play it safe and choose the 3-book level and use "ice" as my acronym. Haven't decided on definite book choices yet, but my candidates are:

I = I Am Madame X by Gioia Diliberto, or The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman
C = The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, or The Wapshot Chronicle by John Cheever
E = The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

I'm using the titles of the books to match up, but you can use authors' names if you prefer. And I'll be updating my progress on my challenge blog here.

The challenge is open to readers of all ages - children, teens, and adults - so I'm assuming that young adult and even children's literature is acceptable reading matter. It also means that this might be a great excuse to do a little more reading to/with your kids. Or even read some of those childhood classics you never got around to. Should be fun.

Here and There in Bookland

Just catching up on my journal reading.

On expensive reading matter, from the New York Times Book Review, 12/27/2009, p. 18:

"Big Spenders: Every month, the used-book Web site AbeBooks.com releases a list of its most expensive sales. The list is often dominated by specialty items and antique works.... But in November, with the holidays approaching, things took a distinctly literary turn. Did the person who spent $12,500 for a set of Charles Dickens's works (and a signed note from the author) plan to give them to someone special for Christmas? That sale topped the list, followed by a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'Tender Is the Night,' for $11,000, and a signed, limited-edition copy of Helmut Newton's gargantuan photography book 'Sumo,' for $10,867. The Newton book is 20 inches wide and more than 2 feet long, but for that kind of money you don't need to worry about finding a place for it on your coffee table: it comes with a custom display stand designed by Philippe Starck."

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On the reaction to the Twilight series, from "Girls Just Wanna Have Fangs," by Sady Doyle, in The American Prospect, 11/19/2009:

"As Twilight demonstrates, not everything girls like is good art -- or, for that matter, good feminism. Still, the Twilight backlash should matter to feminists, even if the series makes them shudder."

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On the moral teachings of Jane Austen, from "What Would Jane Do?," by James Collins, in the Wall Street Journal, 11/14/2009:

"I find that reading Jane Austen helps me clarify ethical choices, helps me figure out a way to live with integrity in the corrupt world, even helps me adopt the proper tone and manner in dealing with others. Her moralism and the modern mind are not, in fact, in direct opposition, as is so often assumed."

The Sunday Salon: Not Another End of Year Wrap-Up

I had pretty much decided to give today's TSS a miss. I'm still in holiday mode, and not getting a lot of reading done. And my Salon posts don't usually get picked up by Yahoo Pipes anyway, so in my case it's mostly a labor of love.

But this is the last Salon of the year, and (depending on how you count) the last one of the decade, too. And how could I miss that? Even if I really don't have much to write about.

What I've been doing today instead of reading is sorting through the reading challenges I've joined for 2010, and the ones I'm thinking of signing up for - and getting my challenge blog organized for the new reading season. Just discovered the Typically British Reading Challenge yesterday, and I knew immediately (just by the name, in fact) that it was one I just couldn't resist - so that was one more to add. It's being hosted by the very creative Book Chick City, and I'm seriously considering signing up for her Speculative Fiction Challenge, too. But I'll have to give that one a little more speculation (sorry).

Otherwise, I've just been decompressing from all the Christmas-ing, and doing laundry. Oh, and watching a little football (Saints are losing again? oh, my!), and following the #MLA tweets on Twitter. The Modern Language Association Convention has always been held after Christmas every year, in New York City or some other major urban area - this year it's in Philly. Back in the day (the Day being back when M was still an active member of the MLA), we used to go to the convention whenever it was held in NYC, and it was always exciting and fun. Well, it was exciting and fun for me, anyway - I didn't have to attend any of the sessions or listen to any of the papers. I could just hang out in the lobby bars and go wander around Bloomingdale's and Tiffany's and FAO Schwarz. Fun times, fun times.

Anyway, I hope all of ya'll had (and are still having) a great holiday season, and that 2010 brings us all happiness and prosperity, and lots of good books to read, and no new reality TV shows.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Typically British Reading Challenge 2010

Well now, how could I possibly pass up a challenge with a name like that? Even though I thought I was all done with challenge sign-ups for next year, this is one I've just got to add to the list.

The Typically British Reading Challenge is another great challenge being hosted by Book Chick City, and runs throughout 2010. And, of course, the purpose of the challenge is to read typically British books. (Duh! Don't I just say the most obvious things!)

This challenge is for fiction only - no nonfiction; but any format is allowed, and you don't have to make a list to start with. Also, crossovers with other challenges are OK.

There are four different levels of participation:

1. "Put the Kettle On" - Read 2 typically British novels
2. "Gordon Bennett" - Read 4 typically British novels
3. "Bob's Your Uncle" - Read 6 typically British novels
4. "Cream Crackered" - Read 8 typically British novels

Since I typically read an awful lot of typically British fiction anyway, I'm going to sign up for Level Four (actually, I'm feeling pretty "cream crackered" right now!) and read eight novels. I'm not going to make a list; but I've already got A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book, Penelope Lively's Family Album, and a bunch of Hazel Holt's Mrs. Malory mysteries on the back burner for next year, and I'll be updating my progress on my challenge blog.

Like, Merry Christmas, Man!