books, books, books!
I don't have a specific goal this year when it comes to books, either in the number of tomes or the pages read. I've slacked off a lot in the last year and a half, though, and just read the same stuff over and over again along with fanfiction. I'm fair certain I read fewer than five new-to-me books in 2010, which is why I feel so stagnant. So I'm making a to-read list, which does include some stuff I've read before, but most of it is uncharted territory.
I haven't bothered tracking my books for the last two years, and I rather miss it, so here's my list of books I've read and books I intend to read.
Here's how it works:
The date I finished reading the book: Title, Author, year of first publication. Number of pages. Link to a review if I write one. A rating, with ten being the best book I've ever read.
Note: if the entry is in black, it's a re-read. If it's in colored text, it's the first time I'm reading the book.
Note: if the link to a review is friends locked, then the book contains adult material like profanity, sensuality, abuse, and/or violence.
Stuff I've Read:
7 Jan 2011: The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1967. 215 pages. Review. 9.5 out of 10
10 Jan 2011: Angels and Demons, Dan Brown, 2000. 569 pages. Review. 5 out of 10
22 Jan 2011: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll, 1865 and 1871. 286 pages. 9 out of 10
9 Feb 2011: The Valley of Secrets, Charmian Hussey, 2003. 370 pages. Review. 7 out of 10
9 Feb 2011: Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie, 2004. 384 pages. Review. 9 out of 10.
2 Mar 2011: The Crucible, Arthur Miller, 1953. 152 pages. 9 out of 10.
10 Mar 2011: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), Jerome K. Jerome, 1889. 160 pages. 8 out of 10
15 Mar 2011: To Say Nothing of the Dog, or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last, Connie Willis, 1997. 434 pages. Review. 10 out of 10.
20 Mar 2011: The Wall, Marlen Haushofer, 1962. 244 pages. Review. 10 out of 10.
18 Apr 2011: Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, 1818. 247 pages. 8 out of 10.
13 May 2011: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams, 1980. 250 pages. 9 out of 10.
June 2011: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, 1979. 272 pages. 9 out of 10. Audio book (my first ever!); approx. 6 hours.
24 June 2011: A Briefer History of Time, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, 2005. 176 pages. 10 out of 10. Audio book; approx. 5 hours.
August 2011: The Illustrated Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking, 1996. 248 pages. 9 out of 10
Summer 2011: Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, A. A. Milne, 1926 and 1928. Audio book, approx. 5 hours. I eventually read the paper books, too, along with Milne's poetry: 557 pages. 10 out of 10.
Summer 2011: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson, 1938. 234 pages. 10 out of 10.
Summer 2011: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John Le Carre, 1974. 317 pages. 8 out of 10
23 Oct 2011: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson, 2009. 384 pages. I rather liked it. 9 out of 10.
Autumn 2011: On Writing, Stephen King, 2000. 288 pages. 9 out of 10.
Autumn 2011: Travels with Charley in Search of America, John Steinbeck, 1961. Audio book read by Gary Sinise. 8 out of 10.
November 2011: The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937. 306 pages. 10 out of 10.
Bugger the running total; it's tedious looking up page counts when audio books get involved.
Stuff I Intend to Read: (I've ganked quite a few of these from other people's to-read lists, btw)
the entire Sherlock Holmes canon / Arthur Conan Doyle in progress
The Sherlock Holmes Companion / Michael and Mollie Hardwick
I Capture the Castle
Whose Body? / Dorothy L. Sayers
Innocent Traitor / Alison Weir
Enchantment / Orson Scott Card
The Beekeeper's Apprentice / Laurie R. King
Welcome to Temptation / Jennifer Crusie
Faking It / Jennifer Crusie
Briar Rose / Jane Yolen
1632 / Eric Flint
the Hitchhiker's Trilogy / Douglas Adams
The Hero with a Thousand Faces / Joseph Campbell
The Looking Glass Wars: Seeing Redd / Frank Beddor
Shades of Grey / Jasper Fforde
Dragon in the Sea OR Under Pressure / Frank Herbert
Ashfall
the Chocolate series / Joanna Carl
Murder on the Orient Express / Agatha Christie
Richard III books / Josephine Tey
The Sherlockian / Graham Moore
The Brothers of Baker Street / Graham Moore
House of Silk
Pern series / Anne McCaffrey
Talented Mr Ripley / Patricia Highsmith
A Study in Sherlock / edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
something by Janny Wurts
The Crimson Petal and the White / Michael Faber
Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series / Laurie R. King (starting with "The Beekeeper's Apprentice)
Lord Peter Wimsey's stories
A Discovery of Witches / Deborah Harkness
The Hunger Games and sequels / Susanne Collins
A Fine and Private Place / Peter S. Beagle
The Maze Runner
more of Jennifer Crusie's stuff
Chocolat / Joanna Harris
And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell (I think that's what it's called; deeble recommended it)
Stephen Fry's second autobiography
A Handmaid's Tale / Margaret Atwood
To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee
The City and the City and Kraken / China Mieville
more Amelia Peabody mysteries / Elizabeth Peters
the two books I've received as gifts that I haven't opened yet
reread all seven Harry Potter books
reread Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion
reread LotR
The Harp of Imach Thyssel
Elantris / Brandon Sanderson
Tigana / Guy Gavriel Kay
Cordelia's Honor and Young Miles / Lois McMaster Bujold
the Confederation novels, starting with Valor's Trial / Tanya Huff
Rose Daughter / Robin McKinley
Suzanne Brockmann's stuff
Memoirs of a Geisha / Arthur Golden
Winnie the Pooh / AA Milne
The Doomsday Book / Connie Willis
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/gerald-morris/
The Book of Lost Things
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/content/index.asp
Black Like Me
Little Women
Awakenings
Seeing Voices
Wuthering Heights
Eragon
Picture of Dorian Gray
Ella Minnow Pea
The Looking Glass Wars
The Weird Sisters
I obviously won't get to all of these this year.
I'm open to suggestions, too.
I haven't bothered tracking my books for the last two years, and I rather miss it, so here's my list of books I've read and books I intend to read.
Here's how it works:
The date I finished reading the book: Title, Author, year of first publication. Number of pages. Link to a review if I write one. A rating, with ten being the best book I've ever read.
Note: if the entry is in black, it's a re-read. If it's in colored text, it's the first time I'm reading the book.
Note: if the link to a review is friends locked, then the book contains adult material like profanity, sensuality, abuse, and/or violence.
Stuff I've Read:
7 Jan 2011: The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1967. 215 pages. Review. 9.5 out of 10
10 Jan 2011: Angels and Demons, Dan Brown, 2000. 569 pages. Review. 5 out of 10
22 Jan 2011: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll, 1865 and 1871. 286 pages. 9 out of 10
9 Feb 2011: The Valley of Secrets, Charmian Hussey, 2003. 370 pages. Review. 7 out of 10
9 Feb 2011: Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie, 2004. 384 pages. Review. 9 out of 10.
2 Mar 2011: The Crucible, Arthur Miller, 1953. 152 pages. 9 out of 10.
10 Mar 2011: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), Jerome K. Jerome, 1889. 160 pages. 8 out of 10
15 Mar 2011: To Say Nothing of the Dog, or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last, Connie Willis, 1997. 434 pages. Review. 10 out of 10.
20 Mar 2011: The Wall, Marlen Haushofer, 1962. 244 pages. Review. 10 out of 10.
18 Apr 2011: Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, 1818. 247 pages. 8 out of 10.
13 May 2011: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams, 1980. 250 pages. 9 out of 10.
June 2011: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, 1979. 272 pages. 9 out of 10. Audio book (my first ever!); approx. 6 hours.
24 June 2011: A Briefer History of Time, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, 2005. 176 pages. 10 out of 10. Audio book; approx. 5 hours.
August 2011: The Illustrated Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking, 1996. 248 pages. 9 out of 10
Summer 2011: Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, A. A. Milne, 1926 and 1928. Audio book, approx. 5 hours. I eventually read the paper books, too, along with Milne's poetry: 557 pages. 10 out of 10.
Summer 2011: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson, 1938. 234 pages. 10 out of 10.
Summer 2011: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John Le Carre, 1974. 317 pages. 8 out of 10
23 Oct 2011: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson, 2009. 384 pages. I rather liked it. 9 out of 10.
Autumn 2011: On Writing, Stephen King, 2000. 288 pages. 9 out of 10.
Autumn 2011: Travels with Charley in Search of America, John Steinbeck, 1961. Audio book read by Gary Sinise. 8 out of 10.
November 2011: The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937. 306 pages. 10 out of 10.
Bugger the running total; it's tedious looking up page counts when audio books get involved.
Stuff I Intend to Read: (I've ganked quite a few of these from other people's to-read lists, btw)
the entire Sherlock Holmes canon / Arthur Conan Doyle in progress
The Sherlock Holmes Companion / Michael and Mollie Hardwick
I Capture the Castle
Whose Body? / Dorothy L. Sayers
Innocent Traitor / Alison Weir
Enchantment / Orson Scott Card
The Beekeeper's Apprentice / Laurie R. King
Welcome to Temptation / Jennifer Crusie
Faking It / Jennifer Crusie
Briar Rose / Jane Yolen
1632 / Eric Flint
the Hitchhiker's Trilogy / Douglas Adams
The Hero with a Thousand Faces / Joseph Campbell
The Looking Glass Wars: Seeing Redd / Frank Beddor
Shades of Grey / Jasper Fforde
Dragon in the Sea OR Under Pressure / Frank Herbert
Ashfall
the Chocolate series / Joanna Carl
Murder on the Orient Express / Agatha Christie
Richard III books / Josephine Tey
The Sherlockian / Graham Moore
The Brothers of Baker Street / Graham Moore
House of Silk
Pern series / Anne McCaffrey
Talented Mr Ripley / Patricia Highsmith
A Study in Sherlock / edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
something by Janny Wurts
The Crimson Petal and the White / Michael Faber
Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series / Laurie R. King (starting with "The Beekeeper's Apprentice)
Lord Peter Wimsey's stories
A Discovery of Witches / Deborah Harkness
The Hunger Games and sequels / Susanne Collins
A Fine and Private Place / Peter S. Beagle
The Maze Runner
more of Jennifer Crusie's stuff
Chocolat / Joanna Harris
And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell (I think that's what it's called; deeble recommended it)
Stephen Fry's second autobiography
A Handmaid's Tale / Margaret Atwood
To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee
The City and the City and Kraken / China Mieville
more Amelia Peabody mysteries / Elizabeth Peters
the two books I've received as gifts that I haven't opened yet
reread all seven Harry Potter books
reread Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion
reread LotR
The Harp of Imach Thyssel
Elantris / Brandon Sanderson
Tigana / Guy Gavriel Kay
Cordelia's Honor and Young Miles / Lois McMaster Bujold
the Confederation novels, starting with Valor's Trial / Tanya Huff
Rose Daughter / Robin McKinley
Suzanne Brockmann's stuff
Memoirs of a Geisha / Arthur Golden
Winnie the Pooh / AA Milne
The Doomsday Book / Connie Willis
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/gerald-morris/
The Book of Lost Things
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/content/index.asp
Black Like Me
Little Women
Awakenings
Seeing Voices
Wuthering Heights
Eragon
Picture of Dorian Gray
Ella Minnow Pea
The Looking Glass Wars
The Weird Sisters
I obviously won't get to all of these this year.
I'm open to suggestions, too.