50-Book Challenge Completed for 2009
Little Yuzu is Listening To
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging: The Perfect Soundtrack
Various Artists
Last year my friend Emma challenged herself to read 50 books. I wanted to do the same this year in an effort to read more (i.e., books that aren't Harry Potter, which I've read many times). I'm happy to say that I've completed the challenge. I've been determined since January of this year to get to that 50-book mark, keeping book journals and writing down whenever I started and finished a new book. My library cards have never seen so much use, not to mention my Amazon account or my Borders Rewards Card. Hooray for reading!
I read a lot of picture books this year, but I'm not including those. =P Just novels, short-story collections, historical works, biographies, etc. A good portion of the books is Jane Austen related - partly because of the Everything Austen Challenge, but mostly because I enjoy reading Austen (or Austen-inspired) works.
1. Emma by Jane Austen ★★★★★
2. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel ★★☆☆☆
3. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler ★★☆☆☆
4. Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange ★★★★☆
5. The History of England by Jane Austen ★★★★★
6. Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable by Mark Dunn ★★★★★
7. Just Jane: A Novel of Jane Austen's Life by Nancy Moser ★★★★★
8. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James ★★★★☆
9. Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury by Rebecca Dickson ★★★★★
10. A Room With a View by E.M. Forster ★★★★☆
11. The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Aston ★★☆☆☆
12. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri ★★★★★
13. Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron ★★★☆☆
14. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott ★★★★★
15. The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World by Margaret C. Sullivan ★★★★☆
16. Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee ★★★★☆
17. Austenland by Shannon Hale ★★☆☆☆
18. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows ★★★★★
19. Chocolat by Joanne Harris ★★★☆☆
20. Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England by Juliet Barker ★★★★☆
21. Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Patillo ★★★★☆
22. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith ★★★☆☆
23. Paisley Hanover Acts Out by Cameron Tuttle ★★★★☆
24. Letters from Pemberley: The First Year by Jane Dawkins ★★★☆☆
25. Pride and Prejudice (Insight Edition) by Jane Austen ★★★★★
26. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling ★★★★★
27. Cassandra's Sister by Veronica Bennett ★★★☆☆
28. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum ★★★★★
29. Life's Too Short to Frost a Cupcake by Rosie Wilde ★★★★☆
30. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart ★★★★★
31. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ★★★★☆
32. The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd ★★★☆☆
33. The Darcys & the Bingleys: A Tale of Two Gentlemen's Marriages to Two Most Devoted Sisters by Marsha Altman ★★★☆☆
34. Love and Freindship and Other Early Works by Jane Austen ★★★★☆
35. Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler ★★★☆☆
36. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams ★★★★★
37. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell ★☆☆☆☆
38. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams ★★★☆☆
39. Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard ★★★★★
40. My Life in France by Julia Child ★★★★☆
41. Lady Susan by Jane Austen ★★★★☆
42. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen ★★★☆☆
43. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange ★★★☆☆
44. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding ★★☆☆☆
45. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison ★★★★☆
46. It's OK, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers! by Louise Rennison ★★★☆☆
47. Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas by Louise Rennison ★★★★☆
48. Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants by Louise Rennison ★★★★☆
49. ...and That's When It Fell Off in My Hand by Louise Rennison ★★★★☆
50. ...Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers by Louise Rennison ★★★★☆
51. Startled By His Furry Shorts by Louise Rennison ★★★☆☆
52. The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen: Quotes From Her Novels, Letters, and Diaries by Dominique Enright ★★★★☆
My favorite books I read this year are #'s 7, 14 and 18, to pick a handful, while #6 was both entertaining and probably the most unique book I've ever read. Some of the more inspiring books I read are #'s 7, 28 (so heartbreaking) and 40. I read a lot of fun girly books, and some of the ones I really enjoyed are #'s 8, 14, 16, 21, 23, 29, 30, 39 and 45-51. Book #37 is one I feel I wasted my time on - it was horrible (the movie was better). I started reading the Georgia Nicolson series several weeks ago, and have three more to read out of ten. So I hope to finish those in the new year.
In 2010 I hope I'll be able to read as many, if not more. I want to raise the stakes a bit higher (55 maybe? LOL), but we'll see how good of a start I get off to in the new year. I also kept track of the films I watched in 2009. You can see that list and my mini reviews here.