reading log 2006
Reflections on 2006 to come later, maybe, but for now I think it's appropriate that my first post of 2007 be about books.
I was terrible about keeping a reading log this year, doing it diligently for about two whole weeks and then, remembering it a few days ago, struggling to remember everything I read all year. I think I've got most of it, though, except for the essays and short stories I read -- I only wrote down complete books/collections, even though I read a lot of academic stuff and a handful of Poe stories. I'm too indecisive to do any kind of rating system, but I'm starring the ones that I recommend and commenting on many of them.
fiction:
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini** (A depressing but great book. I need to read more about Afghanistan.)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke** (Slow but in a luxurious way.)
The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing (I hate this book so much. Navel-gazing, privileged whining.)
Reader’s Block - David Markson** (Fascinating and sad. An odd mix of "facts" and character development.)
A Humument - Tom Phillips (Eh. A great idea, but poorly executed.)
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison (Good, but not my favorite of Morrison's.)
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison** (This reads like poetry. Really sad, heartbreaking poetry.)
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez** (MAGICAL. Probably the best book I've read all year.)
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Good, but not as good as OHYoS. Still worth reading.)
Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
Cause Celeb - Helen Fielding** (I keep describing this as Bridget Jones meets African relief work, but it's not as horrifying as it sounds. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.)
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore** (I loved this book: it was funny, interesting, and actually pretty heartwarming.)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon** (Another great one. Very strange, but super endearing. Great narrator, great bits of science and odd facts inserted throughout.)
The Canterbury Tales (excerpts) - Geoffrey Chaucer
Troilus and Criseyde - Geoffrey Chaucer
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Silence (A really interesting 13th century French romance that has quite a "modern" take on gender.)
The Song of Roland (excerpts)
Beowulf
non-fiction/personal essay:
Loving in the War Years - Cherrie Moraga** (Moraga is a damn good poet and essayist.)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (reread) - David Sedaris** (Duh, I love anything Sedaris does.)
Last Chance to See (reread) - Douglas Adams** (One of my favorite books ever!)
drama:
The Hairy Ape - Eugene O’Neill
The Emperor Jones - Eugene O’Neill
Long Day’s Journey into Night - Eugene O’Neill**
The Iceman Cometh - Eugene O’Neill** (So. Damn. Depressing. But oh so good. Best play I read this year.)
Death of a Salesman (reread) - Arthur Miller
The Crucible (reread) - Arthur Miller** (A classic, duh.)
All My Sons - Arthur Miller
The Price - Arthur Miller
Incident at Vichy - Arthur Miller** (I read so much heart-wrenching, incredible drama this year.)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Tennessee Williams** (Interesting take on homosexuality, devestating characters.)
The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire (reread) - Tennessee Williams
Night of the Iguana - Tennessee Williams
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - August Wilson** (I'm not a huge Wilson fan, but this and Fences are my two favorites.)
Fences (reread) - August Wilson**
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone - August Wilson
The Piano Lesson - August Wilson
comics/graphic novels:
City of Glass - Paul Auster (Eh. Starts out really good and then gets all postmodern and existential crisis-y. Which I'm not into at all.)
Bone - Jeff Smith** (So hard to put down! I loved this -- one of my favorites this year.)
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - Marjane Satrapi** (Fantastic. Another favorite.)
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return - Marjane Satrapi** (Still fantastic.)
Embroideries - Marjane Satrapi (A good, easy read, but not as good as Persepolis.)
One Hundred Demons - Lynda Barry** (I really liked this. It started out so-so, but really gains strength. Moving and funny.)
poetry:
Some Ether - Nick Flynn** (Best poetry collection I read this year. He's incredible!)
Turning Over the Earth - Ralph Black** (Second best poetry collection I read this year.)
Between Frames - Wendy Barker
Poems from Paradise - Wendy Barker
Jackstraws - Charles Simic
The Niagara River - Kay Ryan
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely (reread) - Claudia Rankine** (Depressing but amazing.)
Lay Back the Darkness - Ed Hirsch
Sleeping with the Dictionary - Harryette Mullen (Worst poetry collection I read this year.)
Dreaming the End of War - Benjamin Alire Saenz
Drive (excerpts) - Lorna Dee Cervantes
Kissing the Bread (excerpts) - Sandra Gilbert
I was terrible about keeping a reading log this year, doing it diligently for about two whole weeks and then, remembering it a few days ago, struggling to remember everything I read all year. I think I've got most of it, though, except for the essays and short stories I read -- I only wrote down complete books/collections, even though I read a lot of academic stuff and a handful of Poe stories. I'm too indecisive to do any kind of rating system, but I'm starring the ones that I recommend and commenting on many of them.
fiction:
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini** (A depressing but great book. I need to read more about Afghanistan.)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke** (Slow but in a luxurious way.)
The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing (I hate this book so much. Navel-gazing, privileged whining.)
Reader’s Block - David Markson** (Fascinating and sad. An odd mix of "facts" and character development.)
A Humument - Tom Phillips (Eh. A great idea, but poorly executed.)
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison (Good, but not my favorite of Morrison's.)
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison** (This reads like poetry. Really sad, heartbreaking poetry.)
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez** (MAGICAL. Probably the best book I've read all year.)
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Good, but not as good as OHYoS. Still worth reading.)
Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
Cause Celeb - Helen Fielding** (I keep describing this as Bridget Jones meets African relief work, but it's not as horrifying as it sounds. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.)
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore** (I loved this book: it was funny, interesting, and actually pretty heartwarming.)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon** (Another great one. Very strange, but super endearing. Great narrator, great bits of science and odd facts inserted throughout.)
The Canterbury Tales (excerpts) - Geoffrey Chaucer
Troilus and Criseyde - Geoffrey Chaucer
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Silence (A really interesting 13th century French romance that has quite a "modern" take on gender.)
The Song of Roland (excerpts)
Beowulf
non-fiction/personal essay:
Loving in the War Years - Cherrie Moraga** (Moraga is a damn good poet and essayist.)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (reread) - David Sedaris** (Duh, I love anything Sedaris does.)
Last Chance to See (reread) - Douglas Adams** (One of my favorite books ever!)
drama:
The Hairy Ape - Eugene O’Neill
The Emperor Jones - Eugene O’Neill
Long Day’s Journey into Night - Eugene O’Neill**
The Iceman Cometh - Eugene O’Neill** (So. Damn. Depressing. But oh so good. Best play I read this year.)
Death of a Salesman (reread) - Arthur Miller
The Crucible (reread) - Arthur Miller** (A classic, duh.)
All My Sons - Arthur Miller
The Price - Arthur Miller
Incident at Vichy - Arthur Miller** (I read so much heart-wrenching, incredible drama this year.)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Tennessee Williams** (Interesting take on homosexuality, devestating characters.)
The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire (reread) - Tennessee Williams
Night of the Iguana - Tennessee Williams
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - August Wilson** (I'm not a huge Wilson fan, but this and Fences are my two favorites.)
Fences (reread) - August Wilson**
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone - August Wilson
The Piano Lesson - August Wilson
comics/graphic novels:
City of Glass - Paul Auster (Eh. Starts out really good and then gets all postmodern and existential crisis-y. Which I'm not into at all.)
Bone - Jeff Smith** (So hard to put down! I loved this -- one of my favorites this year.)
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - Marjane Satrapi** (Fantastic. Another favorite.)
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return - Marjane Satrapi** (Still fantastic.)
Embroideries - Marjane Satrapi (A good, easy read, but not as good as Persepolis.)
One Hundred Demons - Lynda Barry** (I really liked this. It started out so-so, but really gains strength. Moving and funny.)
poetry:
Some Ether - Nick Flynn** (Best poetry collection I read this year. He's incredible!)
Turning Over the Earth - Ralph Black** (Second best poetry collection I read this year.)
Between Frames - Wendy Barker
Poems from Paradise - Wendy Barker
Jackstraws - Charles Simic
The Niagara River - Kay Ryan
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely (reread) - Claudia Rankine** (Depressing but amazing.)
Lay Back the Darkness - Ed Hirsch
Sleeping with the Dictionary - Harryette Mullen (Worst poetry collection I read this year.)
Dreaming the End of War - Benjamin Alire Saenz
Drive (excerpts) - Lorna Dee Cervantes
Kissing the Bread (excerpts) - Sandra Gilbert