I have decided to embark on another reading challenge in 2009. I was able to reach my goal of 52 books in 2008, aiming for at least one a week. And I was thinking that this journey might deserve it's own spot. Up to now, at the suggestion of blogless Christine, I have been tracking my progress in a journal - but heck, why not blog it? It's the millenium afterall, right?
I felt a little pressured to not pick the fattest books in the library but I was able to balance by reading some one-day-ers to compliment the more significant books. I admit I read some real fluff this year - I figure I work full-time and have kids - so I should get a little pleasure reading in, I guess it balances out. In retrospect, I think I will try to pick slightly more complex books for the new year, rather than a library full of vampire romance - but ah, the allure.
Anyways, here's my tally...
1. P.S. I Love You : Cecelia Ahren
2. You're not You : Michelle Wildgen
3. Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cathair : Laurie Perry
4. Blood Orange : Drusilla Campbell
5. The Red Tent : Anita Diamant
6. Center of Everything : Laura Moriarty
7. The Bride Stripped Bare : Nicki Gemmell
8. Me and Emma : Elizabeth Flock
9. Keeping Faith : Jodi Picoult
10. Riding Lessons : Sara Gruen
11. Speak Softly, She Can Hear : Pam Lewis
12. Flying Changes : Sara Bruen
13. Rock On : Dan Kennedy
14. Change of Heart : Jodi Picoult
15. The Doctor's Wife : Elizabeth Brundage
16. A Thousand Splendid Suns : Khaled Hosseini
17. The Breakdown Lane : Jaclyn Mitchard
18. The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes : Diane Chamberlain
19. The Double Bind : Chris Bohjalian
20. But Inside I'm Screaming : Elizabeth Flock
21. Persuasion : Jane Austen
22. Whistling in the Dark : Lesley Kagen
23. Everything Must Go : Elizabeth Flock
24. At Risk : Alice Hoffman
25. In Search of Eden : Linda Nichols
26. Mistaken Identity : Van Ryn's and Cerak families
27. Pieces of my Sister's Life : Elizabeth Joy Arnold
28. Abide with Me : Elizabeth Strout
29. The Kindness of Strangers : Katrina Kittle
30. Amy and Elizabeth : Elizabeth Strout
31. Michael Tolliver Lives : Armistead Maupin
32. Clapton : Eric Clapton
33. Summer Sisters : Judy Blume
34. Twilight : Stephanie Meyer
35. New Moon : Stephanie Meyer
36. Eclipse : Stephanie Meyer
37. Breaking Dawn : Stephanie Meyer
38. Songs of the Humpback Whale : Jodi Picoult
39. The Host : Stephanie Meyer
40. The Island : Victoria Hislop
41. Eden Close : Anita Schreve
42. Hearts : Meg Wolitzer
43. The Book of Bright Ideas : Sangra Kreig
44. Lost in the Woods : Sue Miller
45. Goodnight Nobody : Jennifer Weiner
46. Dead until Dark : Charlaine Harris
47. Living Dead in Dallas: Charlaine Harris
48. Club Dead: Charlaine Harris
49. Dead to the World : Charlaine Harris
50. Dead as a Doornail : Charlaine Harris
51. Definitely Dead : Charlaine Harris
52. Altogether Dead : Charlaine Harris
53. The Magician's Assistant : Ann Patchett
54. Those Who Save Us : Jenna Blum
55. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox : Maggie O. Farrell
::forgot one::
56. The Delivery Man : Joe McGinniss Jr.
I have "bolded" the books I would recommend - curiously, not that many. I think of reading as an investment of time as our lives get busy - so I try not to recommend anything I don't think is worth the effort, I consider it "green reading" - conservation of time, em. (realizing of course that everyone has their own taste.)
So read on and please recommend a title if you have a book that got under your skin a little, one that you kept reading when you know you should have turned the light off, you know - THAT one. Thank you!
