"Fear is the opposite of love" - bell hooks
More reminiscing from me--sorry friends! But it's that time of year when I think about the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge.
It's worth noting that this was the first calendar year where I wasn't a student at all, so all of my reading was for-pleasure reading. (I included some, but not all, of the works I read for research on a fiction project. Meh.)
Also, I've spent all of 2009 as a VISTA--I'm broke, and library books are free. I lived half the year in a rural, slower area--perfect for staying in with a good book. I'm not allowed to be a student or hold other jobs, so there is always ample reading time.
OK OK, I'll tell you. I read
1. “Midnight’s Children” - Salman Rushdie (fiction)
2. “The Toss of a Lemon” - Padma Viswanathan (fiction)
3. “Frida Kalho in Mexico” - Robin Richmond (nonfiction/biography)
4. “Her-Stories: Hidden Histories of Women of Faith in Africa” - Phiri, Govinden and Nadar, editors. (nonfiction/biography)
5. “Saving Fish From Drowning” - Amy Tan (fiction)
6. “The Miracle at Sant’Anna” - James McBride (historical fiction)
7. “A-We-Are-Ness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference” - Kenneth Cole, editor (nonfiction/essays/photography)
8. “Inkheart” - Cornelia Funke (YA fiction/fantasy)
9. “Moon Lore” - John Miller and Tim Smith, editors (anthology)
10. “Knocking On… Mothers and Daughters in the Struggle in South Africa” - Gunn and Krwala, editors (nonfiction/essay/autobiography)
11. “All About Love” - bell hooks (nonfiction/essay/social commentary/the most important book I have ever read)
12. “Sabriel” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
13. “The Silmarillion” - J.R.R. Tolkien (fiction/fantasy)
14. “The Mill on the Floss” - George Eliot (fiction/pastoral novel/tragedy)
15. “Soap: Making It, Using It, Enjoying It” - Ann Sela Bramson (nonfiction/DIY/70s Back To Nature)
16. The Mother Earth News Almanac (nonfiction/essay/anthology)
17. “Stitch’N’Bitch” - Debbie Stoller (nonfiction/essay)
18. “Prodigal Summer” - Barbara Kingsolver (fiction)
19. “Gemma Bovery” - Posy Simmonds (graphic novel)
20. “My Booky Wook” - Russell Brand (memoir/guilty pleasure)
21. “Now in November” - Josephine Johnson (fiction)
22. “Lirael” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
23. “The Joy of Pi” - David Blatner (nonfiction )
24. “Van Gogh’s Self Portrait: Letters” - W.H. Auden, editor (letters/anthology)
25. “Abhorsen” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
26. “At the Still Point” - Mary Benson (fiction)
27. “Crossing to Safety” - Wallace Stegner (fiction)
28. The New Renaissance, Vol. XI, No.1 (literary magazine)
29. “The Romantic Syndrome” - W.T. Jones (nonfiction/textbook)
30. “When A Woman Wills: A Narrative History of Women in Ripon, WI” - Beverly M. Thomann (nonfiction/history)
31. “The Fox and Sac Indians” - William T. Hogan (nonfiction/history)
32. “The History of Fond du Lac County: As Told By Place Names” - Ruth Shaw Worthing (nonfiction/history)
33. “The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Postcolonial Literature” - Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin, editors. (nonfiction/literary criticism)
34. “The Strain” - Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan (fiction/horror)
35. “A Raisin in the Sun” - Lorraine Hansberry (play)
36. “The God of Small Things” - Arundhati Roy (fiction)
37. “Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked” - Ivan Vladislavic (fiction/vignettes)
38. “The Ragwitch” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
39. “A Handmaid’s Tale” - Margaret Atwood (fiction)
40. “The Dance of the Dissident Daughter” - Sue Monk Kidd (nonfiction/memoir)
41. “What I’m On” - Luis Humberto Valadez (poetry)
42. “The Year of Magical Thinking” - Joan Didion (nonfiction/memoir)
43. “The Color Purple” - Alice Walker (fiction)
44. “The Werewolf, and other tales from the dark side of the moon” - John Miller and Tim Smith, editors (anthology)
45. “Rebel Angels” - Libba Bray (YA fiction/fantasy)
46. “Daphne” - Justine Picardie (fiction)
47. “The Sweet Far Thing” - Libba Bray (YA fiction/fantasy)
48. “The Little Prince” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (children’s book)
49. “What if George Bush Were a Black Man?” - Dr. Boyce D. Watkins (unfortunate, poorly thought-out essays)
50. “Going Broke By Degrees: Why College Costs Too Much” - Richard Vedder (nonfiction for inhumans who hate the liberal arts)
51. “Race Matters” - Cornel West (nonfiction/essay/social commentary/the second most important book I have ever read)
52. “Candide” - Voltaire (fiction/satire)
53. “The Portable Thoreau” - Carl Bode, editor (anthology/my mom’s college book)
54. “No One Belongs Here More Than You” - Miranda July (fiction/short stories/vignettes)
55. “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” - D.H. Lawrence (fiction/banned book)
56. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” - Douglas Adams (fiction/sci-fi)
57. “The Zookeeper’s Wife” - Diane Ackerman (creative nonfiction/biography)
58. “Breakfast of Champions” - Kurt Vonnegut (I have no idea/metafiction/sci-fi)
59. Dry: A Memoir - Augustin Burroughs (nonfiction/memoir)
60. “White Oleander” - Janet Fitch (fiction)
61. “The River Wife” - Jonis Agee (fiction)
62. “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” - David Sedaris (nonfiction/essay)
63. “A Little House Reader: A Collection of Writings by Laura Ingalls Wilder” - William Anderson, editor (anthology)
64. "Real Time" - Pnina Moed Kass (YA Fiction)
Well there you have it. There's a chance I may read all of "Everything is Illuminated" before New Years, but I'm not counting on it. (PJ is currently en-route from Jo'Burg to Abu Dhabi. Once he lands at O'Hare [after a connection in Manchester], all bets are off.)
EDIT: "Everything is Illuminated" is kind of dense, so I put that aside. But I DID read all of "Sputnik Sweetheart" by Haruki Murakami before New Year's Eve. So there you have it, #65.
Also, I read "The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana" as an e-book at work if things are slow (SHH!). But I'm not done yet. So 65.5 books in 2009! Woo!
It's worth noting that this was the first calendar year where I wasn't a student at all, so all of my reading was for-pleasure reading. (I included some, but not all, of the works I read for research on a fiction project. Meh.)
Also, I've spent all of 2009 as a VISTA--I'm broke, and library books are free. I lived half the year in a rural, slower area--perfect for staying in with a good book. I'm not allowed to be a student or hold other jobs, so there is always ample reading time.
OK OK, I'll tell you. I read
1. “Midnight’s Children” - Salman Rushdie (fiction)
2. “The Toss of a Lemon” - Padma Viswanathan (fiction)
3. “Frida Kalho in Mexico” - Robin Richmond (nonfiction/biography)
4. “Her-Stories: Hidden Histories of Women of Faith in Africa” - Phiri, Govinden and Nadar, editors. (nonfiction/biography)
5. “Saving Fish From Drowning” - Amy Tan (fiction)
6. “The Miracle at Sant’Anna” - James McBride (historical fiction)
7. “A-We-Are-Ness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference” - Kenneth Cole, editor (nonfiction/essays/photography)
8. “Inkheart” - Cornelia Funke (YA fiction/fantasy)
9. “Moon Lore” - John Miller and Tim Smith, editors (anthology)
10. “Knocking On… Mothers and Daughters in the Struggle in South Africa” - Gunn and Krwala, editors (nonfiction/essay/autobiography)
11. “All About Love” - bell hooks (nonfiction/essay/social commentary/the most important book I have ever read)
12. “Sabriel” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
13. “The Silmarillion” - J.R.R. Tolkien (fiction/fantasy)
14. “The Mill on the Floss” - George Eliot (fiction/pastoral novel/tragedy)
15. “Soap: Making It, Using It, Enjoying It” - Ann Sela Bramson (nonfiction/DIY/70s Back To Nature)
16. The Mother Earth News Almanac (nonfiction/essay/anthology)
17. “Stitch’N’Bitch” - Debbie Stoller (nonfiction/essay)
18. “Prodigal Summer” - Barbara Kingsolver (fiction)
19. “Gemma Bovery” - Posy Simmonds (graphic novel)
20. “My Booky Wook” - Russell Brand (memoir/guilty pleasure)
21. “Now in November” - Josephine Johnson (fiction)
22. “Lirael” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
23. “The Joy of Pi” - David Blatner (nonfiction )
24. “Van Gogh’s Self Portrait: Letters” - W.H. Auden, editor (letters/anthology)
25. “Abhorsen” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
26. “At the Still Point” - Mary Benson (fiction)
27. “Crossing to Safety” - Wallace Stegner (fiction)
28. The New Renaissance, Vol. XI, No.1 (literary magazine)
29. “The Romantic Syndrome” - W.T. Jones (nonfiction/textbook)
30. “When A Woman Wills: A Narrative History of Women in Ripon, WI” - Beverly M. Thomann (nonfiction/history)
31. “The Fox and Sac Indians” - William T. Hogan (nonfiction/history)
32. “The History of Fond du Lac County: As Told By Place Names” - Ruth Shaw Worthing (nonfiction/history)
33. “The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Postcolonial Literature” - Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin, editors. (nonfiction/literary criticism)
34. “The Strain” - Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan (fiction/horror)
35. “A Raisin in the Sun” - Lorraine Hansberry (play)
36. “The God of Small Things” - Arundhati Roy (fiction)
37. “Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked” - Ivan Vladislavic (fiction/vignettes)
38. “The Ragwitch” - Garth Nix (YA fiction/fantasy)
39. “A Handmaid’s Tale” - Margaret Atwood (fiction)
40. “The Dance of the Dissident Daughter” - Sue Monk Kidd (nonfiction/memoir)
41. “What I’m On” - Luis Humberto Valadez (poetry)
42. “The Year of Magical Thinking” - Joan Didion (nonfiction/memoir)
43. “The Color Purple” - Alice Walker (fiction)
44. “The Werewolf, and other tales from the dark side of the moon” - John Miller and Tim Smith, editors (anthology)
45. “Rebel Angels” - Libba Bray (YA fiction/fantasy)
46. “Daphne” - Justine Picardie (fiction)
47. “The Sweet Far Thing” - Libba Bray (YA fiction/fantasy)
48. “The Little Prince” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (children’s book)
49. “What if George Bush Were a Black Man?” - Dr. Boyce D. Watkins (unfortunate, poorly thought-out essays)
50. “Going Broke By Degrees: Why College Costs Too Much” - Richard Vedder (nonfiction for inhumans who hate the liberal arts)
51. “Race Matters” - Cornel West (nonfiction/essay/social commentary/the second most important book I have ever read)
52. “Candide” - Voltaire (fiction/satire)
53. “The Portable Thoreau” - Carl Bode, editor (anthology/my mom’s college book)
54. “No One Belongs Here More Than You” - Miranda July (fiction/short stories/vignettes)
55. “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” - D.H. Lawrence (fiction/banned book)
56. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” - Douglas Adams (fiction/sci-fi)
57. “The Zookeeper’s Wife” - Diane Ackerman (creative nonfiction/biography)
58. “Breakfast of Champions” - Kurt Vonnegut (I have no idea/metafiction/sci-fi)
59. Dry: A Memoir - Augustin Burroughs (nonfiction/memoir)
60. “White Oleander” - Janet Fitch (fiction)
61. “The River Wife” - Jonis Agee (fiction)
62. “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” - David Sedaris (nonfiction/essay)
63. “A Little House Reader: A Collection of Writings by Laura Ingalls Wilder” - William Anderson, editor (anthology)
64. "Real Time" - Pnina Moed Kass (YA Fiction)
Well there you have it. There's a chance I may read all of "Everything is Illuminated" before New Years, but I'm not counting on it. (PJ is currently en-route from Jo'Burg to Abu Dhabi. Once he lands at O'Hare [after a connection in Manchester], all bets are off.)
EDIT: "Everything is Illuminated" is kind of dense, so I put that aside. But I DID read all of "Sputnik Sweetheart" by Haruki Murakami before New Year's Eve. So there you have it, #65.
Also, I read "The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana" as an e-book at work if things are slow (SHH!). But I'm not done yet. So 65.5 books in 2009! Woo!