Friday, January 22, 2010

Reading Habits

This year I have started out really strong with reading. I've stuck with reading one book at a time instead of 3 or 4, I've really focused on the reading, and I've already completely read 20 books this year.

I was averaging about 1 book a day just by reading only 1 book at a time. If I hadn't been so easily distracted by other books during 2009, I probably would have gotten more reading accomplished. I didn't have a focus. I didn't have a goal, really. This year I did: to read as many books as possible.

Even though I'm about to break my streak, I think I deserve a break. In the next few days, I need to read not 1, but 2, Pulitzer Prize winners. When reading books that have won awards like the National Book Award, Booker Prize, Pulitzer, etc., I've found that I often do not enjoy those books.

It's not that I hate Olive Kitteridge, because I don't. I'm just not in the right frame of mind to read this book right now. I've been having so much fun just reading whatever struck my fancy, knowing I would get through it in a day and move on to my next adventure. If this wasn't required reading for book club, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't still be reading Olive Kitteridge.

Olive Kitteridge isn't a poorly written book, in my opinion. I think I would compare it to Joyce's Dubliners. Which I absolutely hated. For the record, I just really don't like short stories. And Olive Kitteridge is compiled of 13 short stories. Each time one starts and ends, I feel like I've just completed a whole novel and I just want to move on to the next author that's calling out to me.

So it was fun while it lasted. Maybe I will try this again next month and see how it goes. Perhaps looking at the smaller picture is a better idea, and worry about the whole year at the end of the year as I'm looking back. I've already accomplished what I feel is a lot of reading in 1 month. I've read more than most people have read in the last year, 2 years, or even 3 years. Some, probably more.

I'll be starting Elphame's Choice next, by P.C. Cast, whose Goddess Summoning series I completely adore. She's also quite fun to chat with!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

2010 Book List

Currently Reading:
The Distant Hours




Greywalker (Greywalker, bk. 1)
by Kat Richardson 01/02/10
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart
by Beth Pattillo 01/03/10
The Space Between Us
by Thrity Umrigar 01/03/10
Truly, Madly: A Lucy Valentine novel by Heather Webber 01/04/10
The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran 01/05/10
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan 01/06/10
Blue Bloods (bk. 1) by Melissa de la Cruz 01/07/10
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele 01/07/10
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran 01/10/10
Coraline by Neil Gaiman 01/10/10
Carpe Demon (bk. 1) by Julie Kenner 01/11/10
Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding 01/12/10
Santa Cruise by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark 01/12/10
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm 01/13/10
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George 01/14/10
Naked Nun by M.E. Gardner 01/15/10
Pieces of Happily Ever After by Irene Zutell 01/16/10
My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent 01/18/10
Wish by Alexandra Bullen 01/20/10
Blue Moon (bk. 2) by Alyson Noel 01/21/10
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 01/24/10
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx 01/28/10

January: 22

Elphame's Choice by P.C. Cast 02/01/10
The Chick and the Dead (Pepper Daniels, bk. 2) by Casey Daniels 02/03/10
Airhead (Nikki, bk. 1) by Meg Cabot 02/05/10
The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen 02/06/10
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson, bk. 1) by Rick Riordan 02/08/10
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin 02/09/10
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick 02/10/10
Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn 02/11/10
In the Cut by Susanna Moore 02/12/10
Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead 02/13/10
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange 02/15/10
Prey (Werecats, bk. 4) by Rachel Vincent 02/16/10
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith 02/18/10
Fatherland by Robert Harris 02/19/10
Poison Study (bk. 1)
by Maria V. Snyder 02/22/10
Heartache & Sin by Charles Soto 02/22/10
Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford 02/23/10

February: 17 Total: 39

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
by Seth Grahame-Smith 03/01/10
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith 03/03/10
Hourglass (Evernight, bk. 3) by Claudia Gray 03/04/10
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent 03/05/10
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke 03/06/10
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston 03/07/10
Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus 03/08/10
Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet 03/09/10
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 03/11/10
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine 03/11/10
Being Nikki (Airhead, bk. 2) by Meg Cabot 03/12/10
The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen 03/15/10
Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie 03/15/10
Runaway (Airhead, bk. 3) by Meg Cabot 03/16/10
The Farthest-Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks 03/16/10
The Help by Kathryn Stockett 3/20/10
Last Breath (The Rayne Tour, bk. 2) by Brandilyn and Amberly Collins 3/21/10
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster 3/22/10
Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt 3/23/10
Bulletproof Mascara by Bethany Maines 3/26/10
The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison 3/28/10
Austenland by Shannon Hale 3/28/10
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie 3/30/10

March: 23 Total: 62

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson 4/01/10
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees 4/02/10
Destiny Kills (Myth and Magic, bk. 1) by Keri Arthur 4/02/10
The Killing of Mindi Quintana by Jeffrey A. Cohen 4/04/10
The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice by Abigail Reynolds 4/07/10
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready 4/07/10
The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy 4/08/10
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen 4/09/10
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson, bk. 2) by Rick Riordan 4/10/10
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson 4/11/10
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot 4/11/10
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall 4/13/10
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler 4/14/10
Shadowland (The Immortals, bk. 3) by Alyson Noel 4/15/10
The Cabinet of Wonders (The Kronos Chronicles, bk. 1) by Marie Kutkoski 4/15/10
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 4/17/10
The Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn 4/19/10
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 4/20/10
Revealers by Amanda Marrone 4/20/10
Stardust by Neil Gaiman 4/21/10
Iron Kissed (Mercedes Thompson, bk. 3) by Patricia Briggs 4/23/10
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi 4/24/10
Graceling by Kristin Cashore 4/26/10
Holes by Louis Sachar 4/27/10
A Thousand Sisters by Lisa J. Shannon 4/28/10

April: 25 Total: 87

Between Two Kingdoms by Joe Boyd 5/03/10
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall 5/12/10
Just Like Me, Only Better by Carol Snow 5/14/10
The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer 5/17/10
Life After Yes by Aidan Donnelley Rowley 5/20/10
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 5/23/10
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 5/23/10
Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn 5/23/10
The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch 5/24/10
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster 5/26/10
Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding 5/28/10
Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster 5/29/10
Insatiable by Meg Cabot 5/31/10

May: 13 Total: 100

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares 6/02/10
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen 6/02/10
The Mermaid Summer by Mollie Hunter 6/02/10
Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely, bk. 3) by Melissa Marr 6/03/10
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks 6/04/10
Immortal by Gillian Shields 6/05/10
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult 6/07/10
Life of Pi by Yann Martel 6/08/10
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen 6/08/10
Starlighter (Dragons of Starlight, bk. 1) by Bryan Davis 6/09/10
Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James 6/10/10
Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus 6/11/10
Succubus Heat (Georgina Kincaid, bk. 4) by Richelle Mead 6/14/10
The Reincarnationist (The Reincarnationist, bk. 1) by M.J. Rose 6/15/10
Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld, bk. 8) by Kelley Armstrong 6/18/10
The Memory Sisters by Alice Hoffman 6/19/10
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows 6/21/10
Shift (Werecats, bk. 5) by Rachel Vincent 6/24/10
Archangel (Samaria, bk. 1) by Sharon Shinn 6/24/10
Red Azalea by Anchee Min 6/26/10
Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey 6/27/10

June: 21 Total: 121

Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods 7/01/10
I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan 7/02/10
After the Fall by Kylie Ladd 7/07/10
Living with the Dead (Women of the Otherworld, bk. 9) 7/09/10
Fallen Vol. I by Thomas E. Sniegoski 7/12/10
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 7/15/10
The Memorist (The Reincarnationist, bk. 2) by M.J. Rose 7/16/10
Forget You by Jennifer Echols 7/18/10
And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper 7/19/10
Cheat the Grave (Sign of the Zodiac, bk. 5) by Vicki Pettersson 7/22/10
The Hypnotist (The Reincarnationist, bk. 3) by M.J. Rose 7/22/10
Alexis: My True Story by Alexis Singer 7/23/10
Hidden Wives by Claire Avery 7/24/10
Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery, bk. 1) by Kim Harrison 7/25/10
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors 7/27/10
Learning to Lose by David Trueba 7/28/10
Darkfever (Fever, bk. 1) by Karen Marie Moning 7/31/10

July: 17 Total: 138

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger 8/04/10
The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark 8/07/10
Waking the Witch (The Otherworld series, bk. 11) by Kelley Armstrong 8/09/10
Out of the Shadows by Joanne Rendell 8/11/10
The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison 8/12/10
One Season of Sunshine by Julia London 8/15/10
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian 8/18/10
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher 8/18/10
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick 8/20/10
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls 8/22/10
Coming Home by Mariah Stewart 8/24/10
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 8/25/10
Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead 8/27/10
Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz 8/29/10
In the Woods by Tana French 8/29/10
Dracula in Love by Karen Essex 8/30/10
Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George 8/31/10

August: 17 Total: 155

Home Again by Mariah Stewart 9/02/10
Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel 9/04/10
The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay 9/06/10
Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay 9/07/10
The Darkest Edge of Dawn by Kelly Gay 9/08/10
Stash by David Klein 9/08/10
The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen 9/10/10
The Last to Die by Kate Brady 9/12/10
The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult 9/12/10
My Lost Daughter by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg 9/16/10
Meet Me in Manhattan by Judith Arnold 9/18/10
Faefever by Karen Marie Moning 9/20/10
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead 9/21/10
Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay 9/25/10
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton 9/25/10
Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell 9/27/10
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult 9/29/10
The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant 9/30/10

September: 19 Total: 173

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn 10/05/10
Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy 10/07/10
I Remember You by Harriet Evans 10/08/10
Tombs of Endearment by Casey Daniels 10/09/10
Heart with Joy by Steve Cushman 10/10/10
Masquerade by Nancy Moser 10/12/10
The Dead Zone by Stephen King 10/12/10
Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough 10/13/10
Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber 10/14/10
Afterlife by Claudia Gray 10/15/10
Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot 10/17/10
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler 10/18/10
Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis 10/18/10
Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton 10/22/10
What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen 10/23/10
Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica 10/24/10
The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder 10/25/10
The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman 10/26/10
The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate 10/28/10
Dark Flame by Alyson Noel 10/29/10
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella 10/30/10
Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough 10/31/10

October: 22 Total: 195

Heidegger's Glasses
by Thaisa Frank 11/03/10
The Emerald Talisman by Brenda Pandos 11/04/10
Dating Mr. December by Phillipa Ashley 11/05/10
Dark Divine by Bree Dispain 11/06/10
Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans 11/07/10
The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker 11/07/10
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson 11/12/10
Night Star by Alyson Noel 11/12/10
Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell 11/15/10
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn 11/17/10
The Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent 11/19/10
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley 11/19/10
Thirst No. 1 by Christopher Pike 11/21/10
Empty by Suzanne Weyn 11/21/10
When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer 11/28/10
Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning 11/29/10
The New York Regional Mormon Halloween Singles Dance by Elna Baker 11/30/10

November: 17 Total: 212



The Naked Gardener by LB Gschwandtner 12/05/10
Under the Mercy Trees by Heather Newton 12/05/10
The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green 12/07/10
Matched by Ally Condie 12/08/10
Wings by Aprilynne Pike 12/09/10
Just One Wish by Janette Rallison 12/09/10
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead 12/15/10
StarCrossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce 12/17/10
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead 12/20/10
The Road by Cormac McCarthy 12/22/10
Radiance by Alyson Noel 12/23/10
The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson 12/24/10
Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog 12/25/10
Demon Princess: Reign or Shine by Michelle Rowen 12/26/10
Juliet by Anne Fortier 12/26/10
Dark Parties by Sara Grant 12/28/10
This Side of Crazy by Kimmie Thomas 12/28/10
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand 12/31/10

December: 18 Total: 230