Teaser Tuesdays: A Thing of Beauty

So here we are, already five days into the new decade. Can you believe it? I can't. Of course, I'm still sort of stuck in 2009 – finishing up reviews, wrapping up challenges, wondering where the time went.

But this week, I'm looking forward, too – starting my reading for the new year. And today my teaser sentences come from one of those books, The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears. It's the first in a series of detective novels set in the world of art, artists, galleries, and museums. This is the first of the books I've read – for once, I'm starting at the beginning of a series instead of jumping in, midstream. I haven't gotten this far in the book yet, so I'm not sure who's speaking here, but I can certainly appreciate what they're saying:

"What people find beautiful changes over time; you only have to look at the pale, flabby women painted by Rubens to realise that. They were reckoned to be the peak of sensuality in the seventeenth century, now they're overweight matrons; the modern age prefers the skinny Botticelli types. " [p.67]

Pale and flabby? You know, it's just possible I was born a few centuries too late!


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!

Books Read in 2010

Cumulative Reading List for 2010.

JANUARY 2010
1. The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy. Nick Bantock:

• Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence. (1991; 48 pages; fiction)
• Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Continues. (1992; 48 pages; fiction)
• The Golden Mean: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Concludes. (1993; 48 pages; fiction)

2. The Anthologist. Nicholson Baker (2009; 243 pages; fiction)
3. The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears (1990; 191 pages; fiction)
4. Venom. Joan Brady (2010; 470 pages; fiction)
5. The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells (1895; 245 pages; fiction)

FEBRUARY 2010
6. Quattrocento. James McKean (2002; 307 pages; fiction)
7. People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks (2008; 372 pages; fiction)
8. Contact. Carl Sagan (1985; 432 pages; science fiction)

MARCH 2010
9. Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death. Hazel Holt (2009; 247 pages; fiction)
10. The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson (1931, 2009; 188 pages; fiction)
11. Heresy. S.J. Parris (2009; 355 pages ARC; fiction)
12. A Stitch in Time. Monica Ferris (2000; 247 pages; fiction)
13. A Fair Maiden. Joyce Carol Oates (2010; 165 pages; fiction)
14. Before the Throne. Naguib Mahfouz (2009; 130 pages; fiction)

APRIL 2010
15. The Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw (2010; 307 pages ARC; fiction)
16. An American Type. Henry Roth (2010; 278 pages ARC; fiction) [Review to come in May]
17. A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters (2010; 307 pages ARC; fiction)
18. Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner (2010; 390 pages ARC; fiction)

MAY 2010
19. The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry (2010; 403 pages ARC; fiction)
20. Tinkers. Paul Harding (2009; 191 pages; fiction)
21. The Last Child. John Hart (2009; 373 pages; fiction)
22. Innocent. Scott Turow (2010; 406 pages; fiction)
23. The Hypnotist. M.J. Rose (2010; 405 pages; fiction)

JUNE 2010
24. The Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton (2008; 549 pages; fiction)
25. The Magicians. Lev Grossman (2009; 402 pages; fiction)
26. The Spider Bites. Medora Sale (2010; 131 pages; fiction)
27. The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Cathleen Schine (2010; 445 pages, large print edition; fiction)

JULY 2010
28. Noah's Compass. Anne Tyler (2009; 277 pages; fiction)
29. The Good Psychologist. Noam Shpancer (2010; 238 page; fiction)
30. Damaged. Alex Kava (2010; 255 pages ARC; fiction)
31. The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder (1967; 215 pages; fiction)
32. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley (2009; 374 pages; fiction)

AUGUST 2010
33. Think of a Number. John Verdon (2010; 418 pages ARC; fiction)
34. All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost. Lan Samantha Chang (2010; 205 pages ARC; fiction)

SEPTEMBER 2010
35. The Inheritance. Simon Tolkien (2010; 325 pages; fiction)
36. The Convent. Panos Karnezis (2010; 214 pages ARC; fiction)
37. The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons (1978; 356 pages; fiction)
38. Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie (1936; 197 pages; fiction)

OCTOBER 2010
39. Animal Farm. George Orwell (1945; Kindle edition; fiction)
40. Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff (2010; 312 pages; fiction)
41. After Claude. Iris Owens (1973/2010; 206 pages ARC; fiction)
42. The Dark Half. Stephen King (1989; 467 pages; fiction)
43. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson (1962; 140 pages; fiction)

NOVEMBER 2010
44. The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant (2009; 285 pages ARC; fiction)
45. The Distant Hours. Kate Morton (2010; 672 pages ARC; fiction)

DECEMBER 2010
46. Juliet. Anne Fortier (2010; 447 pages ARC; fiction)
47. The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown (2011; 318 pages ARC; fiction)
48. The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan (1915; fiction)
49. Operation Terror. Murray Leinster (1962; fiction)

Fall Into Reading 2009: The Wrap-Up

I've put this off for a couple of weeks now, thinking I'd get more reviews written (silly me). But I guess it's really time to wrap-up the 2009 Fall Into Reading Challenge.

I read a dozen books during the course of the challenge, and enjoyed almost all of them – Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm is the only one I really wouldn't recommend to anyone. So I think that was a pretty successful season of reading. Only one of the books I read was actually on my original list of possible reads, but several had been on my TBR list for a long time; so the challenge definitely helped me there.

Here's the list of books I read, with links to reviews if any:

1. New Year's Eve. Lisa Grunwald
2. The Man in the Picture. Susan Hill
   
3. The Woman in Black. Susan Hill
   
4. From Doon with Death. Ruth Rendell
   
5. The Friend of Madame Maigret. Georges Simenon
6. The Lair of the White Worm. Bram Stoker
   
7. Homer & Langley. E.L. Doctorow [review to come]
   
8. The Uncommon Reader. Alan Bennett [review to come]
   
9. Stardust. Joseph Kanon [review to come]
   
10. The Lover. Marguerite Duras [review to come]
    
11. Santa Clawed. Rita Mae Brown
12. Christmas Card Magic. Margaret Perry
    

Thanks to Katrina at Callapidder Days for hosting, and to all the other participants for the many great reviews. I've added quite a few more titles to my "must read" list, and I always love it when that happens!

The 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

OK, I admit it – I'm seriously addicted to reading challenges. And I am trying to keep it under control, but this is one I really need.

One of my goals for 2010 is to buy fewer books. Which means I'll be reading more of the books I already own, and borrowing more books from the public library. So this challenge is a natural for me, and fits right in with my program. Right?

The 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge is being hosted by J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog, and runs throughout 2010. Just about anything qualifies, as long as it's checked out of the library – audio, e-books, young adult and young reader. Re-reads are allowed, and so are crossovers with other challenges. There's no need to list your books in advance, but if you choose to, you can change your list at any time. And you don't need a blog to participate.

There are four levels to choose from:

• The Mini - Check out and read 25 library books.
• Just My Size - Check out and read 50 library books.
• Stepping It Up - Check out and read 75 library books.
• Super Size Me - Check out and read 100 library books.

To read about the challenge and sign up, visit the challenge announcement page here.

I'm going to be signing up at the "Mini" level, although I hope to do better than that. I won't be making a list in advance, but I'll be updating my progress on my challenge blog during the year.

RYOB (Read Your Own Books) 2010

I'm signing up for the RYOB Challenge again in 2010. It's one of MizB's Reading Challenges, and you can read all about it and join up by visiting the challenge announcement page. I'm planning to read at least 20 books from my own collection in 2010, and I'll be updating my progress on my challenge blog.

Decades 2010

I almost joined the 2009 edition of the Decades Challenge, but talked myself out of it at the last minute. So this year, I'm giving in and joining up.

The challenge runs throughout 2010 and is being hosted by Michelle from 1MoreChapter. You can read all about it and sign up by visiting the challenge announcement page, but the basic idea is to read a minimum of ten books in 2010, which were published in ten consecutive decades (books published since 2000 don't count). Crossovers with other challenges are allowed, and your list can change at any time.

The challenge announcement page has links to lists of eligible books, in case you need some suggestions. I'm thinking of reading the 20th Century, 1900s-1990s. Haven't decided on any titles yet, but I'll be updating my progress on my challenge blog.

Booking Through Thursday: Favorites of the Year

This week's BTT topic is a good one, and just what you'd expect: "What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)"

I guess it's natural to want to look back at your year's reading and do some summing up. I've already done a post about the books I read in 2009 (Reading Wrap-Up), but didn't rate anything. I enjoyed almost all the books I read – only a few were real stinkers. Here's the list of my ten favorites.

• The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton
• Ellen Foster, by Kaye Gibbons
• The Great Victorian Collection, by Brian Moore
• Homer & Langley, by E.L. Doctorow
• The Longshot, by Katie Kitamura
• The Master, by Colm Toibin
• Rabbit Is Rich, by John Updike
• Sacred Hearts, by Sarah Dunant
• Stardust, by Joseph Kanon
• The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett

The list is in alphabetical order, but of all of them, I think Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence would actually be my top pick – the one I can see myself reading again in years to come.