Stephmo's List

Part of this is half cheating, since I've got a side-goal of reading Stephen Weiner's The 101 Best Graphic Novels, but I've also been setting aside more time to read everyday instead of just thinking about it this year (important distinction).

69 TO GO: 12




So, the categories:

Graphic Novels

I'll likely read quite a few books in this category, so this will be my slam-dunk. In addition to the previously mentioned list, I just like Graphic Novels. I've moved this to a stand-alone message because editing this one drives me batty with all the touchstones.

CATEGORY COMPLETE 5/5/2009

Booker Prize Winners

This is a bit of a multi-tasking goal - first, I've wanted to read the books that were nominated for the 40th anniversary Best-of-the-Best Booker Prize (I'm not on the formal name at the moment, but Midnight's Children won), and it turns out I've got a few others around the house already. This was a slam-dunk category to put together.

Read: 4 To Go: 5

TBR-Too Long

I think we all have this category - books we ran out and bought because we hand to have them right away and then we promptly read other things. I have more than this, but these were really the ones that stood out for now. I may substitute here as well, but hopefully not as much as these deserve attention!

Read: 6 To Go: 3

Made into Movies/TV Shows

Not believing in the power of "spoiler" or in their general existence, I'll gladly read books before I see a movie or TV show - I'll read them after I see the book or TV show. I'll see it in between. Either way, it doesn't matter to me. I'm always interested in a) how the author gets to where they're going (no one telling me "the boat sinks" can ruin the path to that point) & b) how someone will change this to fit it on the big or small screen.

All too often, someone thinks it's a fantastic idea to make a book into a movie or television show. This is not always the case. In many, many instances, this should never happen. If a book involves a lot of internalization, it's going to be a crappy movie (or the director will use voice-over to death). We're also willing to accept very imperfect characters in books, but when it comes to movies and television we tend to want black and white hats (and that means major changes to the characters we love).

Then there's the matter of what's written and what it will cost to put on screen. There's a story Dave Barry tells about the adaptation of Big Trouble. He basically says something along the lines of how he thought it would be funny to say that a character lived in a tree - but when it came to the movie that line ended up costing nearly a million dollars in set design, insurance, discussion with Florida on assurances that the treehouse design would not harm the tree and rental of the tree from the individuals who owned the property. He was fortunate this detail was left in - more often than not things are simply changed wholesale to accommodate the budget.

CATEGORY COMPLETE 8/2/2009

Young Adult Novels

This is a bit two-fold. First many adult-authors I read do have books re-classified as "young adult." Secondly, I spend a great deal of time on CK doing awards and honors. I checked out a book to do all of the ALA Best Books for Young Adults honor lists back to 1966 and just forgot how many great titles got everyone started on the path to reading. So I don't think I should ever forget this category.

CATEGORY FINISHED 12/31/2009

True Crime

This category probably stands the highest change probability, but it's a category I liked since I was a teen. I started with the obvious - Truman Capote and a classroom-assigned In Cold Blood and it went from there (it probably didn't hurt that Ann Rule was in her prime back in the day either). So I'd like to get back to the easy-to-read shockers that augment my horror love all from the comfort and safety of my living room.

Read: 7 To Go: 2

Authors I've Never Read

A way to make sure I'm branching out and not just clinging to authors that I've read before - I do that a lot as it is, so I need to make sure I read authors I haven't gotten to yet!

CATEGORY COMPLETE 12/24/2009

The Beats

I've read a lot about the beats and things like Naked Lunch (I know, why not start out easy =P), Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems, a few of Kerouac's books like Dharma Bums and Desolation Angels and an odd period where I read about the writers...including a lot about their wives and girlfriends. I figured it's time to get down to brass tacks and all. This is also a good time to get down to the basement and log more of the books I already own...

Read: 7 To Go: 2

Page 14 of My Catalog

I should note I do 100 books per page, this was a snapshot taken on 1/12 Alpha by Title...mileage may vary. :)

While this could easily be a repeat of my TBR pile, I'll be the first to admit that these are things that might not even be in my TBR pile. In some cases, these are books that got bought with Buy 3, get 4th free specials, a few were bought because I heard good things and meant to get around to it, but never did and others were bought because I've read books by the author and was momentarily enthused and got more...and moved on before formally getting their new one to the TBR pile.

It is the S's, so there is some overlap with a few other categories.

CATEGORY COMPLETE 2/17/2010

Bonus Tracks

I'm adding a space here to list books I read that aren't in categories - so in case I fall short, I have an excuse. ^^

1. Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi finished 2/12
2. Oh My Goddess! Volume 1 by Kosuke Fujishima finished 3/7
3. Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker finished 3/10
4. Southland Tales: The Prequel by Richard Kelly finished 3/15
5. Beowulf by Gareth Hinds finished 4/2
6. American Rust by Phiipp Meyer finished 4/4
7. How We Decide by Jason Lehrer finished 4/21
8. Essential Spider-man, Volume 5 by Stan Lee finished 4/24
9. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris finished 4/25
10. A Distant Soil: The Gathering by Colleen Doran finished 5/1
11. Astro City: Family Album by Kurt Busiek finished 5/8
12. The King by Rich Koslowski finished 5/9
13. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles finished 5/12
14. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris finished 5/13
15. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris finished 5/14
16. Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis finished 5/17
17. The Song is You by Arthur Phillips
18. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller finished 5/26
19. Steampunk: Manimatron by Joe Kelly finished 6/4
20. Astro City: Confession by Kurt Busiek finished 6/5
21. Astro City: The Tarnished Angel by Kurt Busiek finished 6/6
22. Astro City: Local Heroes by Kurt Busiek finished 6/7
23. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare finished 6/17
24. Tattoo Machine by Jeff Johnson finished 6/24
25. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters finished 6/29
26. Patient Zero by Jonathan Mayberry finished 7/12
27. David Boring by Daniel Clowes finished 7/16
28. Blankets by Craig Thompson finished 7/17
29. The Complete Crumb Comics, Vol. 15 by Robert Crumb finished 7/23
30. A Year of Cats and Dogs by Margaret Hawkins finished 8/5
31. Buddha, Vol. 2: The Four Encounters by Osamu Tezuka finished 8/17
32. Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth by Margaret Atwood finished 8/19
33. Not Buying It by Judith Levine finished 8/24
34. Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore finished 8/26
35. Big Fish by Daniel Wallace finished 9/13
36. Night's Edge by Charlaine Harris finished 9/20
37. Astro City: The Dark Age Book One: Brothers and Other Strangers by Kurt Busiek finished 9/22
38. Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry finished 10/5
39. Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen by Joe Drape finished 10/8
40. The Unlikely Disciple: A sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose
41. Powers of Detection by Dana Stabenow
42. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto finished 11/1
43. The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Nuclear Reactor by Ken Silverstein finished 11/8
44. A Distant Soil: The Ascendant by Colleen Doran finished 11/9
45. The Compleat Moonshadow by John Marc Dematteis finished 11/12
45. Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier finished 11/25
46. Kiss of Life by Daniel Water finished 12/5

Bonus Tracks is really growing...I now see how 2nd sets of 999 get started. Although I'll hold off.

I am reserving the right to substitute willy nilly as I see fit. :)

I thought I had more True Crime...well, I'm open to suggestions! :)

I love that you picked out a specific page of your catalog to focus on. I'm also interested in seeing how reading the Beats goes. I always feel like I need to read books by them, but never get around to it.

I have no suggestions for your true crime category, but good luck!

I'll be watching your "Beats" category. I just picked up a copy of a Richard Brautigan novel, (The Hawkline Monster), today in my used book store.

I went through a period where I oddly read a lot ABOUT the beats and got through things like Naked Lunch and Keroac's "spiritual" stuff like Dharma Bums and whatnot. It just seems I never got down to the actual books - although I read a lot about the women you never seem to hear a tremendous amount about, so that's why they're getting a bit of play on this list as well. :)

Graphic Novel List

1. It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken by Seth finished 1/9/09
2. Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes finished 1/21
3. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch finished 2/10/09
4. Epileptic by David B. finished 2/1/09
5. 32 stories: the complete Optic nerve mini-comics by Adrian Tomine finished 2/7
6. Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis by Len Wein finished 1/31
7. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware finished 2/14
8. Life in the Big City by Kurt Busiek finished 2/3
9. Kapilavastu (Buddha, Vol. 1) by Osamu Tezuka finished 5/5/2009

Notes:

- Review of It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken posted. CK updated as well. Very much worth reading - beautifully drawn.

- Review of Berlin: City of Stones posted. CK updated as well. I enjoyed this, although a folding time line muddled it a bit.

- Review of Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis posted. CK updated. This was a great read and a nice update against my fuzzy memories of Saturday cartoons and USA television shows.

- Review of Epileptic posted and CK updated. Incredibly moving read, equally amazing drawings. The depictions of emotion and fantasy in such a raw and open fashion are an achievement.

- Review of 32 Stories posted and CK updated. This was a fast read but great in that it was watching his work evolve over the years.

- CK updated for Boulevard of Broken Dreams and review upas well.

- Review of Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid on Earth posted and CK updated. One of my favorite dedications so far!

- Review of Astro City posted and CK updated. Beautiful artwork, great series.

- Will post review of Buddha Volume 1: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka shortly.

**********

Booker Prize Winners
1. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
2. Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
3. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee finished 4/17
4. The Siege of Krishnapur by JG Farrell
5. The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer finished 9/11
6. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie finished 10/23
7. Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt finished 9/24
8. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
9. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

NOTES:

- Finished Disgrace and I understand the visceral reactions. I need to sleep on it before writing my review. I enjoyed the book, I didn't enjoy the situations, but Coetzee told a compelling story that really made me want to believe that these individuals could suddenly change.

- Finished The Conservationist. Interesting bit of trivia - Gordimer has character by the name of Loftus Coetzee drown in a flash-flood. Now, this book was published the same year as his first novel, so I have no idea if this is coincidence or some bizarre equivalent of a literary rap-shout-out, but the name is mentioned twice. Considering most characters didn't get first and last names...I'm just sayin'... I updated CK and a review.

- Finished Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt. Was a bulky one, but I did still want to see what happened. Updated CK, won't be adding my own review since there are already 99.

- Finished Midnight's Children and although it took a while and I was sometimes convinced that it wasn't sure of where it was going, I'm glad I committed to finishing. I'm still letting it all sink in, but I can't even begin to wrap my head around what it took to string all of this story together.

TBR Too Long

1. Brick Lane by Monica Ali
2. Chained by Lauren Henderson finished 7/1
3. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
4. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill finished 2/27
5. How to Be Good by Nick Hornby finished 1/27/2010
6. On Writing by Stephen King finished 7/31
7. Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia finished 1/15/2010
8. Casual Rex by Eric Garcia
9. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides finished 6/27

Notes:

- Finished Heart Shaped Box 2/27 - liked it a great deal and ended up adding a review even though there were a few up already.

- Middlesex was finished as part of a group read - wonderful discussion on the unreliable narrator - great book!

- Finished Chained and posted a review.

- Finished On Writing and posted a review

- Finished Anonymous Rex and posted a review.

- Finished How to Be Good and posted a review

Made Into Movies/TV Shows

1. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris finished 1/18/09
2. Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee finished 2/9
3. From Hell by Alan Moore finished 7/27
4. A History of Violence by John Wagner finished 3/8
5. Belle de Jour finished 2/20
6. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides finished 8/2/2009
7. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman finished 4/30
8. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay finished 5/25
9. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay finished 6/2

Notes:

- I won't add to the Dead Until Dark reviews (there are already 75), I'll say was an enjoyable read - just a bit much vampire-wise when you've just finished Twilight. I was glad to see that the more annoying characters and story lines in the TV Show (Tara & her alcoholic mother, the rich trust-fund philosophy girlfriend) were strictly created for the television show and that the book was much better for their absence.

- I haven't read a good old fashioned in-tights super-hero comic in forever. I'm glad I started with Essential Fantastic Four, Volume 1. And now I understand why fans hate the movie so much. They got the names of the characters right...and kind of the powers. They haven't really tapped into a ton of Volume 1 for the movies - save the origin piece - and, well, a little of Dr. Doom, but we won't start with how much of that is wrong.

- Wend ahead and added my review of Belle de Jour since there aren't many, the CK update was simple enough (she does mean to keep everything anonymous).

- Added a review for A History of Violence and I have to say that I'm really impressed with Cronenberg's adaptation. The graphic novel was really good and very different from the movie, but the changes all make sense.

- Quick Swap - Moving The Golden Compass into this category since I've dropped it from Young Adult for another book. I had Anonymous Rex in as a crossover book (it's in my TBR too long category). So nothing's dropped and a new book was added to YA.

- I'm not going to add to The Golden Compass reviews, but I did add a quote to CK! I did enjoy the read and I'm looking forward to the rest this year.

- I finished and reviewed Darkly Dreaming Dexter. I must say that I'm impressed with the adds that they made to the television series. They fleshed it out more and tied everyone together more so that it made more sense. I'll spoil one thing - the woman that gave Dexter files in the series. She wasn't even in the first book. So how Dexter gets the information on his victims and even himself is really sort of in the ether in the books. That was an excellent add to the television show.

- Finished Dearly Devoted Dexter. It barely qualifies as being made into the TV show at this point - only minor shells of the second book made it to the second season. I recognize a b-side plot where Doakes is tracking down one of his army buddies in the show as being the major plot line in the book. Doakes stalking Dexter was in the show. Deb dating a Fed...that's about it...

- Finished From Hell. The Hughes Brothers really changed quite a bit from Alan's story. I can understand having to pretty up all of the prostitutes - it's Hollywood after all - but Johnny Depp's character was very different in the book. He wasn't psychic in the book, he wasn't addicted to heroin but he still had a whole different set of baggage. It also wasn't as much of a mystery as to who (or the why) was doing the killings in the book - you know right away who it is - as it was in the movie.

- Finished The Virgin Suicides. Sofia Coppola's film definitely takes a small portion of the story and concentrates on that, but attempting to look at the novel as a whole would have been impossible (doing a collective narrator on film would be an issue for starters). Having read two of Jeffrey Eugenides books during the 999 Challenge has officially made me a fan (I've added the short story collection to my wish list).

Young Adult Novels

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer finished 1/14
2. Matilda by Roald Dahl finished 4/7
3. Slam by Nick Hornby finished 5/30
4. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer finished 4/12
5. Tithe by Holly Black finished 3/1
6. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer finished 5/2
7. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer finished 2/22
8. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman finished 12/31
9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon finished 8/10

Notes:

- I'm not going to add to the eleventy-billion Twilight reviews - only say that I understand why it appeals to teen girls. It presents that fantasy that we all wanted when we were in Junior High – the perfect Adonis wanted by all with mythical powers who could take our very breath away with one kiss who had never so much as been interested in a single solitary soul before he saw us. I'd also call it 150 pages of novel crammed into 500 - not great, but not as wholly terrible as the harshest reviews like to say. I guess if you weren't a girl in Junior High at some point, the level of obsession can be confusing.

- I'm swapping out The Subtle Knife for New Moon. It's not a dump - The Subtle Knife is on my page 14 catalog, so it's overlap. Coworker that's really nice has gone on to read the other books and keeps asking if I'm reading them, so I probably will. They're easy enough to get through, so why not?

- Finished New Moon. Not adding to those elventy billion reviews either. Although this one was more like 75 pages of novel crammed into 550. I get that in a series certain books must be used to set up others, but unless I missed something we knew all of this in the first book, right? Of course, there will be more to laugh about with nice co-worker at office.

- Finished Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. I liked the concept, and ended up liking the book overall - barely. Will eventually review. CK updated as well.

- Finished Matilda. A bit more YA than I expected, but very cute. And a lot of positivity. CK updated, quick review.

- I'm swapping out Stardust for Eclipse since Stardust also appears on my page 14 list and I already have it checked out from the library. It was going to be a bonus read anyway - might as well get credit!

- Finished Eclipse, not adding to the eleventy bajillion reviews. Library will have book back on time.

- Doing a round-about swap. Moving The Golden Compass to my Made into a Movie category where I'm going to drop an overlapping Anonymous Rex which is also on my TBR too long list. I'm going to end up reading Breaking Dawn at this point, so it might as well count!

- Finished Breaking Dawn, again I'm not adding to elventy bajillion reviews. Done with the series - I did sneak a look at the "unreleased" 5th book on her site. Um, good call on that not seeing the light of day.

- Finished Slam, added my own review. I always enjoy Nick.

- Finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - I know, I'm the last one! (At least it seems like it.)

- Finished The Amber Spyglass, which means that I finished my second series started in this category (the 2nd book was in the page 14 category) AND I finished the category.

True Crime Novels

Not all of it has to be blood and guts! ;-)

1. Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano finished 2/3
2. Jack the Ripper by Rick Geary finished 9/30
3. Murder in the Adirondacks by Craig Brandon
4. Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killer by Steven Nickel finished 12/27
5. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by John Krakauer
6. The Innocent Man by John Grisham finished 12/7
7. Master detective: The Life and Crimes of Ellis Parker- America's Real-Life Sherlock Holmes by John Reisinger finished 9/29
8. Fake : forgery, lies & eBay by Ken Walton finished 7/4
9. Forensic detective by Robert W. Mann finished 7/14

Notes:

- Finished Gomorrah and put up a review. Will work on CK.

- Finished Fake and added the first review. Also updated CK.

- Finished Forensic Detective by Robert Mann and added the first review for this one. Also updated a lot of CK.

- Finished Master Detective by John Reisinger and added the first review for this one. Updated CK as well.

- Finished Jack the Ripper by Rick Geary. Updated CK and added a review.

- Finished The Innocent Man by John Grisham. Updated CK, added linked reviews and added a review.

- Finished Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killer by Steven Nickel, updated CK and added a review.

Authors I've Never Read Before

1. Hero by Perry Moore finished 3/28
2. Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gil Hernandez finished 2/18
3. Palestine by Joe Saccofinished 1/27
4. How To Read Novels Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster finished 5/17
5. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak finished 10/4
6. The Art of Breaking Glass by Matthew Hall finished 12/24
7. Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell finished 10/31
8. Rich Like Them by Ryan D'Agostino finished 2/6
9. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates finished 3/24

Notes

- Review of Palestine up, some CK updated. Wondering by some of the reviews if some folks took it as being overly political...

- Behind the Scenes at the Museum bumped for How to Read Novels Like A Professor. Maybe next year or later in the year, depending on how I start to cruise through the year...

- The Assistant by Bernard Malamud bumped for Rich Like Them - an Early Reviewer book.

- Finished Rich Like Them, reviewed and updated quite a bit of CK (hey, he listed everything, so it was easy).

- Finished Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories, updated CK and listed my review.

- Finished Revolutionary Road. Wow. Just Wow.

- Hero was really quick read and reminded me of Kurt Busiek's Astro City series in a lot of ways. I liked that Thom's story wasn't just a one-note tale with "superhero" superimposed over it as a gimmick.

- How to Read Novels Like a Professor was like heading back to my Freshman year of college all over again - with a side of guilt from my TBR pile thrown in for good measure. :)

- The Book Thief has definitely earned the praise that it's gotten so far. Death makes an excellent narrator.

- Beat the Reaper was a tremendous amount of fun - and a quick read (something I needed at this point!).

- Finished my last book in the category - The Art of Breaking Glass and wrote a review.

The Beats

1. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
2. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles finished 11/13
3. Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski finished 4/6
4. Off the Road by Carolyn Cassady
5. Junky by William Burroughs finished 10/29
6. Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts finished 4/10
7. Baby Driver by Jan Kerouac finished 12/19
8. The Herbert Huncke reader by Herbert Huncke finished 11/29
9. Fast Speaking Woman by Anne Waldman finished 5/27

Notes:

- Finished Tales of Ordinary Madness, updated CK and submitted review.

- Finished Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts, added a review and some of my favorite quotes in CK.

-Finished Fast Speaking Woman by Anne Waldman. This felt the most dated so far.

- Finished and reviewed Junky by William S. Burroughs. It packed a lot for such a tiny little volume.

-Finished and reviewed Sheltering Sky.

- Finished the Herbert Huncke Reader - which actually was a suprising companion piece to Junky.

- Finished and reviewed Baby Driver. Jack Kerouac the human being becomes more and more of a jerk. Yeah, he helped a literature movement, but you'd think there might be a shred of humanity in there somewhere - not so much.

Page 14 of My Catalog

1. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Closterman finished 6/12
2. The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx finished 2/16/2010
3. Sides by Peter Straub finished 1/24/10
4. Skim by Mariko Tamaki finished 1/15
5. The Solitare Mystery by Jostein Gaarder finished 9/5
6. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire finished 7/21
7. Stardust by Neil Gaiman finished 8/7
8. A Stranger in the Earth by Marcel Theroux finished 8/30
9. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman finished 8/15

Notes:

- CK updated and review posted for Skim. My second Mariko Tamaki graphic novel. I hope to see more from her in the future - she's a cool chick!

- I finished Chuck's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. It was an entertaining walk down memory lane for a GenXer like me.

- Finished Son of a Witch. Will do review. For everything that Wicked was, this wasn't really a great follow-up. Sad, because Gregory Maguire is really talented. Maybe too much pressure?

- Finished Stardust. I enjoyed it and really liked the sweetness of the tale compared to the movies overwhelming need to turn it into a in-your-face romantic comedy. (I still enjoyed the movie, but it was a little more hyper.) I didn't add to the 190 reviews, but I did update the CK so that the full poem used as the epigraph was showing instead of the off-site link that was in there.

- Finished The Subtle Knife. I enjoyed it, but dangit - talk about the cliffhanger ending and loose ends. I guess my crazy plan to read the next one soon isn't so crazy after all.

- Finished A Stranger in the Earth. Put up review and updated CK. Excellent and surprising little read.

- Finished The Solitaire Mystery and thoroughly enjoyed it. Put up a review and updated CK. I loved Sophie's World and I found this to be a much more accessible book.

- Finished Sides, updated CK and did a review.

- Finished The Shipping News and did a review.

For True Crime, how about Helter Skelter or In Cold Blood?

>15 detailmuse: Excellent suggestions, unfortunately I've read them both! :)

Ack, I'd even searched your library and didn't find either. Which isn't surprising, I guess -- I've read both too but only entered Helter Skelter in my library here, I'm not sure why :)

I actualy don't have my entire library entered, sad but true - although much of it involves the basement at this point...

Helter Skelter was a high school friend's, I don't think I ever had my own copy - I know I read In Cold Blood for school, so I'm actually 50/50 on whether I actually still own a copy at this point.

Not that you'd know any of this since it actually looks like I'm halfway organized. Illusions, all illusions I say! :)

Well, a two-fer is done and the library is reminding me that Skim is due on Saturday...it looks like the only thing I really have left to fill in is the authors-new-to-me category.

Hmmm...

Okay changed my mind on the two-fer. Swapped Twilight's Made-into-a-movie status out and threw in A History of Violence in its palce since I understand major changes were made to the graphic novel to make the movie anyway - and I have it from the library. :)

Skim is completed and it's looking like my library will be wanting both Berlin and Dead Until Dark back on the 23rd - and I do need to read Gomorrah in short order for ER...it looks like we picked a good week for a cold snap!

:)

Another substitution - Skim was originally on my list for both YA and page 14. I've taken it off of YA and thrown on Roald Dahl's Matilda instead.

Another substitution today - I decided not to two-fer Fantastic Four. I'm leaving it in the movie category and taking it out of Graphic Novels. 32 stories: the complete Optic nerve mini-comics by Adrian Tomine will take its place.

Howdy. I was wondering if you had a recommendation for a non-999-challenge type book. I saw on your profile your "bread goal" and your high tag count for cookbooks.

I work seasonally at a living history museum where I get to cook and bake on woodstoves and brick ovens. I've worked there for years, but last year was the first year I had to bake bread (wheat, rye, Irish soda bread, Norwegian flatbrod), albeit with recipes from the 19th century. Makes me want to do more of it at home.

Is there a modern bread cookbook that you really like, so far? I've worked with yeast, soda, and no leavener, but have never made a starter and am not sure I want to. (Although a TV cooking show I saw that Nancy Silverton was a guest on was absolutely amazing.) Any thoughts on Beranbaum's The Bread Bible? Others?

Thanks for any suggestions, Renee

It's funny that you mention a starter - I'm toying with one now, although the cold snap we're having right now is putting off actually using it. (We use a digital thermostat and when we lower the temp when we're not home, it's genuinely cold during the day - starters don't like that.)

I will say that for the sheer inspirational value, Flatbreads and Flavors is a favorite, hands down. Not only are the bread recipes solid, but it's also filled with authentic ethnic recipes, toppings and it's a travel journal all rolled into one. The Alfords pretty much have a dream job - travel the world, learn authentic bread-making recipes and techniques and then write a book. It is more of a cookbook than a bread book, though. Mostly, I'm very jealous and want the Alford's lives...and I think I want to make Georgian (Russia) Cheese Boats from that this weekend. :)

If you want bang for your buck, it's the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. Simple breads, flatbreads, yeast breads, starters, specialty breads, it's all there. My husband also loved their recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Bread best. I actually put that one up recipe and all at Fresh Loaf (I love that site, by the by - very good community that I've been trying to give back to of late).

The Bread Bible I will admit that I've only leafed through and marked down recipes for trying later - it looks really solid. I hold high hopes for it, though. Right now my starter is coming from a book called Local breads by Daniel Leader - everything looked really complicated at first, but you start to realize that these are step-by-step-by-step instructions.

You also start to realize that there's same-day bread making (King Arthur's) and then there's the "Artisan" stuff that starts to take several days to make. That's the Local Bread style. It seems intimidating until you realize the first few days are about 10 minutes of "work" and 12-24 hours worth of "let it sit" time.

Really, I just went nuts with the library and Fresh Loaf and went from there. :)

Thanks for the response. All 3 of those sound great. I enjoy ethnic cuisines, so the first one you mentioned really strikes a chord. I'll probably try them from the library first, if they're available there.

I'll probably also look up the Beranbaum. Shirley Corriher of Cookwise fame has a new cookbook out, Bakewise, and Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice looks pretty good, too. LTers give it high marks. At the bookstore I've had people ask me for Brother Juniper bread books.

I also think the Sunset cookbooks are good basic titles. I have the Sunset bread cookbook out from the library, mainly because I found their Easy Basics for Good Cooking book to be exactly what it says. I should see if the bread title is still available to buy. Hmmnn.

Thanks for the suggestions, Renee

I've finished Dead Until Dark and knocked one out of the made into a movie/TV show category. As I noted above, I was happy to see that some of the more annoying parts of the TV show weren't in the book - it made for a better story.

I'm going to take a break from Vampires for a bit since I just got done with Twilight too. Although it was nice to have grownup vampire dating and not just "ooh, we kissed!" dating. (I'm just saying!)

I've finished Berlin: City of Stones and put up a review. I didn't mention this in the review because I think it would be terribly inappropriate...

But we're all friends, right? Is it wrong that for as somber as the book is that it vaguely reminded me of a line in a Monty Python interview (I can't remember if it was the whole troupe or just a few of them), but at one point one of them said something along the lines of, "well, you know that someone was vacuuming during the Blizkrieg!"

Now I know they were being funny, but at the same time, they were being half serious - and they said that as well. Basically, they were pointing out that for every serious event in history, there were millions of people just going about their everyday business. Berlin accomplishes this - smatterings of the everyday with the things that are historically (or will be) significant.

Your off-the-record comments pique my interest -- the irony and contrast, I love that kind of perspective! -- I'm glad you posted them.

>27 detailmuse: I'm glad it entertains! Honestly, I figure that there are things that stick with you for good reason, even if they don't make much sense at the time (which is the reason I don't remember much else of the interview!). But the vacuuming line was meant for me to eventually read this book. :)

I finished Palestine last night. Joe Sacco's account is very personal in that he wanted to learn the Palestinian view as an American and that he was confronted and did not know what to say when asked what he really thought his book would do regarding the conflict.

It seems a bit more honest than some accounts in that it doesn't really offer solutions or answers as it becomes increasingly clear to Joe that the easy solutions simply don't exist.

Review up.

I will say what I love about this type of graphic novel is that these are the ones people see and go, "what, people write graphic novels like this?" You want to sort of pull your hair out and go, "do you realize that's a lot like pulling a book off a shelf and going, 'whoa, this isn't about Huck Finn or that David Copperfield guy and it's not a Bible - who knew!'"

But really, I swear, graphic novels aren't all guys in tights!

In Authors I've never read before, I've bumped Behind the Scenes at the Museum for How to Read Novels Like A Professor. Moneybeets' made it sound too good and a chapter title like "Men (and women) made out of words, or, My pip ain't like your pip" made me reserve it at the library!

She can always make the list again - I do have a lot of slam-dunk books, although I suspect that the Booker Prize novels will take a while.

I finished Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis today since it turned out it was due at the library (I know the fine's only 20 cents, but it's the principle!).

I must admit that I really enjoyed this - after all the memories of the Saturday cartoons and the hazy USA original show, I guess television really didn't want us questioning the nature of humanity's monster within. They just wanted a drippy hero and an off-beat love story from what I'm remembering...not that I don't want to be in denial about how long ago that really was!

Oddly, this incarnation of Swamp Thing can't really speak...yet another thing that got completely watered down. Of course, as Swamp Thing wandered from town to town righting wrongs, I did get a Kung Fu vibe at times...

January Summary

January found 7 books read in 5 Categories, with Graphic Novels getting the only repeat read business this month. Truth be told, it will be the first one completed - I have all the books on hand and most are from the library.

Read:

1. It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken by Seth from
Graphic Novels
2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer from Young Adult Novels
3. Skim by Mariko Tamaki from Page 14 of My Catalog
4. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris from Made Into Movies/TV Shows
5. Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes from
Graphic Novels
6. Palestine by Joe Sacco from Authors I've Never Read Before
7. Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis by Len Wein
Graphic Novels

Two books currently in process:

Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano from True Crime
Epileptic by David B from
Graphic Novels

All in all, not a bad January! If I had to call a favorite for the month, I'd go with Berlin: City of Stones. It read as well as any historical fiction and was able to capture that brief period of belief in change with a hint of sadness since we all know how it turns out in the end.

I've finished Epileptic by David B. Absolutely moving and, at times, uncomfortable. Brilliant.

It's also unflinching in it's portrayal of what you'll do when a cure isn't coming. So, if you've ever felt bad because you've considered magnetic bracelets, raw foods, that freaky guy's cure-all book or ionized water - don't. David's family did it all and more - because that's what you do if there's a slim chance that something might work.

I've finished Gamorrah and put up a review. It was an Early Reviewer book, but it fit my true crime category!

I really do eye my Prada's suspiciously.

By the by - I noticed another ER "couldn't finish this" review. I see these every so often - along with the reviews that literally show up within a day or two of the books arriving that say nothing specific about the book that would require reading. I eye these suspiciously too. It's always within a day or two - no one can set the book aside for a week to make sure it's not a bad week at work or anything.

My other favorite vignette from the book? In describing the women that rise to power, many get female body guards. They're all badass and whatnot, but when Kill Bill comes out, it turns out they immediately adopt a uniform of sorts. Turns out that Uma Thurman basically inspires and bright yellow becomes the official color for female bodyguards almost overnight.

Ah, Hollywood.

Another semi-swap. I had The Subtle Knife on two lists. Page 14 of My Catalog and YA. Super-nice co-worker that's reading the Twilight series keeps asking if I'm reading the rest of the books. They're not high literature, but they're easy reads and fun enough to talk about because it's like being in junior high again. So I've added New Moon to the list.

Although it looks like my library is out to get me - I've gotten Living Dead in Dallas and New Moon at the same time, so I'll be on vampire overload again...

Are you still planning to read The Subtle Knife for either page 14 or YA? I'm considering it for my own 999, and I'm astonished there's someone else who hasn't read it yet :)

I just got around to reading The Subtle Knife for the first time last year... people who haven't read it do exist, they just don't usually admit it ;)

I still haven't read The Amber Spyglass, though.

Oh - yes - the Subtle Knife ended up on the Page 14 of my Catalog list, so it was doubled-up on the two lists.

I actually need to read the Golden Compass first, though. In my mind, these are going to be later-in-the year books. I wasn't planning on skipping from Golden Compass to Amber Spyglass. I think I might be a bit confused!

And, I haven't read it - I only saw the movie! Although from what I saw and from what I've heard it's not like I really saw anything resembling the book anyway. Zing! :P

Well, I've finished Rich Like Them and posted my review. It's an Early Review selection. Frankly, I think he should have titled it a bit differently - it implies a guide to wealth - in reality, it's the mindset that gets you there.

With the way the economy's going and the general fear in the job market, I got some decent takeaways and nuggets - frankly, I'll take anything to remind me that attitude is pretty much the only thing I can control at this point. :)

Well, I'm looking at what the library is telling me I have due next and it looks like I'll be finishing off the graphic novels shortly - Essential Fantastic Four, 32 stories: the complete Optic nerve mini-comics, The boulevard of broken dreams, Persepolis 2 (not on the list, will be a bonus book), Palomar: the heartbreak soup stories, Jimmy Corrigan: the smartest kid on earth, and Kapilavastu (Buddha, Vol. 1) are all due by the 20th...you don't even want to know about by the 23rd...

I'm going to get through what I can, but we may be coming up to the point where Steph finally learns not to reserve everything all at once because she's going to go through the humiliation of returning and re-reserving books. Yeah, bad habits abound...

Ha! I know what the item count limit is at my local library, and regularly run up against it (75 items may be checked out, 25 put on a reserve list). On my way in, I've had other patrons ask if I needed help carrying my library books. On my way out, I've had other patrons ask if I left anything on the shelves for them. :op

Tonight, I got to the library around 6:35 and 10 minutes later I was walking out with 9 books on genetics, paleoanthropology, and historical linguistics. Plus a copy of Muriel Sparks' Loitering with Intent recommended by someone here (you people are dangerous -- I've also bought 3 books because your discussions of the titles were the tipping point for me).

I keep all library books not currently in the process of being read in stacks on the kitchen table. Each book has a sticky note on it. I write the first due date at the top. Each renewal date gets written below that. An added bonus is that the sticky notes can be used as bookmarks.

Books renewed twice get moved to the top of the reading list. If I don't get the chance to read them before they're due back to the library, I simply keep the checkout slip and return the books, knowing I can get them again and knowing that I'm at least boosting their circulation numbers.

Wanna start an LPA chapter (Library Patrons Anonymous)? :-)

Are you reserving the books online? And if so, does the library software have a 'suspend' or 'vacation' feature? I put the max# of books in my basket but then 'suspend' them about two weeks apart so that I don't get them all at one time. We're only allowed to reserve 9 at a time here.

42> If this is in reply to me: yes, I'm using the electronic catalog's reservation function to put 25 items in the queue. It does give patrons the ability to suspend requests.

If I reserve multiple DVD TV series, e.g., I'll space them out so they won't all get pulled for me at the same time. Each circulation/renewal period for books is 3 weeks, so I try to go to the library not more than once or twice a week to keep due dates from proliferating, and put the suspensions on the holds for 3-6 weeks at a time. If all copies of a title are checked out, I automatically put a suspension in for 3-6 weeks, because I know how annoying it is to not be able to renew a book. I have enough to read that I usually don't need the item right away (the exception being books for book group reads).

I use it mostly for a "don't forget this one" feature, rather than simply a "lazy me" (librarians/pages do the leg work) feature. And in that respect, I do wish the numbers were different: maybe 50 items checked out at once, and another 50 available to be reserved in assembly line fashion.

Right now I have 61 items checked out (and, gulp, only 3 of them are DVDs, none of them CDs or magazines), and my reservation queue is full. Which reminds me: I'm falling behind reading Publishers Weekly -- need to put a few of those in the queue next time there's room. :-)

Renee

Oh, I reserve online. I've been taking back things so I could get under the max check out (50) - although some were cookbooks, so it's not like they counted-counted.

I also stalk things. This is part of my routine. Our reserve system is a little odd - it can look like this:

The system owns 13 copies of this title. There are currently 1 requests for this item.

This is for Belle de Jour. I will stalk this because when I look at it, other branches clearly have copies. Only 3 of us have copies checked out. But all 3 of us are forbidden from renewing the copy we have until the individual that has their copy on reserve gets theirs - which should happen Monday or Tuesday. I can do this 5 times. This will help me, because it's one of my 23rds.

Yes, it's sad I know this system. I also know that if I've done my max renewal and I see no one wants a book in the system, I can call and a librarian will renew the book for me again.

As to the DVDs, you can reserve 5 and have 10 checked out. I'm the one that has to go to the counter and ask them to check in DVDs for me from the lobby drop box because the system thinks I have too many movies...

But, yeah, the 2 CDs probably don't help either. The sad thing is that in our "row" for reserves - I'm not the "bad one." The reserve slips have our names on the thermal paper slips and I'm not the one with a ton of books in all the time...I've never seen this Sarah, but I'm in awe of the sheer volume of books she has on reserve when I pick up things. I used to think she left things all the time, so I made a point of being a bit nosy and sorta snooping. She's rotating titles like a mad woman.

One of these days I just hope to see her so I can wave, smile and say, "nice to meet you, shelf buddy!"

>44 stephmo: this is all so funny!!

I've never noticed my shelf buddies -- maybe because my library organizes holds by surname ... not as friendly or memorable I guess. (And likely no one in the league of Steph or Sarah!)

eta: forgot to say, good idea Victoria! *off to see if my system allows individual-book suspends*

44> I *wish* my library let me see (without asking a librarian) whether anyone else has asked for a book. As it is, I usually try to be efficient and hit the library on the way home from work to return books that are due that day with no renewals left.

But that also means I have to jump on the computer either right after midnight or in the morning before going to work so I can renew other books due that day to see if there are holds on them. Don't want to incur fines, and don't want to waste time and gasoline going home to get the books that somebody else wants.

The system is supposed to be smart enough to grab another available copy when someone reserves a book you have checked out, but the other day I had to take Artemis Fowl back. Someone was asking for the "YA" edition, so I just went upstairs to the children's department and got one of the "school-age fiction" versions sitting on the shelf, and traded the books for each other at the counter.

I'm always returning my books/CDs/DVDs at the counter for the same reason you do. Although the librarians are fairly good about overriding the system if you say you returned a DVD or CD in the book drop. They're usually days behind checking stuff in, and it's a 5-item limit for VHS and DVD.

Our books are held by our initials (last name comma first name middle name). I'm assuming it's a privacy thing, as well as a way of uniquely identifying the patron. The only problem is, the initials are written in marker by the librarians, and sometimes they must have brain farts in the middle of what they're doing. Occasionally the system will tell me a book is on hold for me, but it's not on the shelf. Then I look at every book on all the hold shelves to see where they put it instead of under my initials.

The librarians all know me by sight. A couple of them know me by name. One circulation librarian is always telling me he knew he'd be seeing me shortly because of all the books he'd seen come in as holds for me. :-)

Happy reading, Renee

> 45 Ha - Sarah has a similar last name to mine - so that's really how we're almost always on the same shelf. Our tags at the library are actually are first and last name. So you can really seek our your friends if you're so inclined. :)

>46 ReneeMarie: I would die if I couldn't stalk my library information online to the degree that I can. I guess they're not kidding about the #1 Best Public Library rating they got this year! They also usually are able to check the DVDs in pretty fast - about 10 minutes. Sometimes, I'm just quicker. :)

Finished and reviewed 32 Stories by Adrian Tomine.

By the by, I've decided with all the editing I do, we need to be able to "lock" touchstones. I'm sick of editing a few of them - I mean every single time I have to tell the system that Palestine is the one by Joe Sacco, not the one by Jimmy Carter - can't it just remember? Especially since I want the one just called Palestine and not the one called Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid?

I know it's a small thing...

:)

If there's a touchstone that's touchy, I usually just create an HTML link to the item's work page, instead.

ETA: Touchy touchstones are also why I appreciate when people mention the author of a book along with the title they touchstone.

Finished Essential Fantastic Four, Volume 1. I've the first review, updated a ton of CK and understand why all of the real fan boys are upset abut the movies.

The library TBR by the 20th pile is looking a little less intimidating, but not by much...

Hah - stalking library renewals works - it wasn't acctually Belle (there's a run on her book now and I'm guessing mostly because the Showtime series started up again), but the Buddah book. I'll take the extra time! Now I feel better about getting through the TBR by the 20th.

I never knew anything about our library limits. I was afraid I was at my limit so I looked into it. I can check out 75 books and reserve 50 books. I don't think I've ever had more than about 15 books out at once but I do have 30 books on reserve right now.

I can reserve online and they have a "suspend for vacation" feature. I use this to plan ahead. I'm always fiddling around with the suspend feature if I think too many other things will come in at once.

I try to read the inter-library loan ones first, as well as the bestseller-type books. Those are less likely to be renewable if someone else wants them).

Yeah, I have no idea why I'm at what I'm at checkout wise right now - I do know that the library is getting a lot of extra usage with the economy the way it is now, so things take longer (I was actually in the 800s on reserve for Wall-E when it was a month from being released) to get in, but I'm not exactly always checking out heavily reserved stuff.

I've told myself no book reserves until March 1st at the earliest. We'll see how long that lasts. ;)

I did finish Boulevard of Broken Dreams. It's a bit late, so review will have to wait. I'm reading Persepolis 2 right now - it's not on my lists, although it could easily go on Made into A Movie or Graphic Novel or even YA...but I think I'm just going to throw it into Bonus Tracks this time around and avoid the stress of a swap.

I've finished Persepolis 2 - I really enjoyed how much more was in this book. I read the first Persepolis and then I got the movie from the library not really knowing that it covered both books. While most of the first book was followed pretty closely in the film, the second book seemed to have only had a few of the broader strokes covered.

I'm starting Jimmy Corrigan: the Smartest Kid On Earth now.

If you liked both "Persepolises", I'm sure you'd enjoy Embroideries, also by Marjane Satrapi. This is a humorous book about women's issues expressed through graphic art/conversations by women in Iran.

An interesting tidbit about this particular book is that I had my copy of it circulating as a Bookcrossing bookray. The book itself made its way into and out of Tehran, Iran - a fact which simply amazed me!

>55 SqueakyChu: Tempter! :) I was going to wait to check until March 1st to see what else the library had by her - I see that there's Embroideries and another graphic novel called Chicken with Plums .

I do want to put these on my TBR. I'd like to say I'm suprised that your novel made it in and out of Tehran, but then again after reading her materials, it seem that most of the enforcement on supposedly "bad" materials in Marjane's experience was based entirely on who you ran into at any given point. I wouldn't be suprised if you couldn't convince someone it was pro-Iranian material (it's not like there's a fatwah sticker) or distract them with something else. :)

I must say that I let Persepolis 2 sit for a while based on the movie - it just seemed to skip over so much of the honesty that was present in her childhood. Now I get the distinct feeling she was trying to censor things for her family and parents since the film would be more accessible (understandable).

(it's not like there's a fatwah sticker)

LOL!

To tell you the truth, I was really nervous about it traveling there in the first place. Interestingly enough, there are several Iranian Bookcrossers who are avid readers and participate in many bookrings. I'd really like to know how they are able to do this as they all seem to express their true feelings about the books they read and then are able to mail the books out of their country again.

I once received a BookCrossing book directly from Iran. It came *heavily tied* with string and stamped all over with words in Farsi (I suppose). I saved the packaging as I found it most interesting! I was amazed that I could even receive a package directly from Iran.

Governments, such as there are in Iran, present logistical problems for Bookcrossers. For instance, I have to be sure that opposing countries (for example, Iran and Israel) are not lined up back-to-back in my bookrings. I'm especially wary of books being sent to countries with Islam-based governments because I don't want avid book readers to become involved in any trouble at all with the laws of their country. And yet, I still wish to promote freedom of access to good literature to all.

*sigh*

It is awesome that Bookcrossing makes it that far - although it's odd as to what does and doesn't get through with books. I did a stint with some Russian literature in college and when you read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch and you know that was published without incident and was a best seller for years - but that Dr. Zhivago became this huge production of smuggling efforts and wasn't even available in the former Soviet Union until after the fall...well, you wonder.

But two different POVs (one said, "nothing really happens, and it doesn't admit to much," the other was, "too many people will think that it was The Revolution that destroyed these two and it will tear apart the country"), and the wrong day and it all changes on a dime. I also personally thought they always had a bias that reading for pleasure was a "woman's hobby" and that women wouldn't read Ivan's tale but would weep for Laura...but it's just a theory. Still, if men were supposed to be breaking all sorts of production quotas - c'mon! :)

It's a long way of saying that bureaucrats can easily be distracted and overlook the material everyone wants to really read. You probably can't get Twilight there, but you can get Persepolis no problem - who wins?

I would so have saved that paper too! Heck, you probably have the makings of a very cool Bookcrossing paper/stamp collage. !

I've finished Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid on Earth and have updated CK (for the most part - character names were pretty sketchy - all the men were Jimmy Corrigan!) and posted a review. I'm going to be starting Palomar which means I've seen the light on the library TBR pile!

YES!

(This means non-graphic novels after Palomar, if anyone was wondering if I'd get back to those in February or not!)

I didn't make it until the 1st for book reserves! I was reading an article and found an excellent review on How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer. I was just checking to see if the library had it - and when I noticed that there was a line of 50 people already...I reserved it...

I'm weak, I know!

I will be finishing Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories tonight. I may have time to start another book as well. I think I'll start Belle de Jour!

ETA - the How We Decide touchstone is being way wonky...maybe a second one will work!

ETA - I also got my review of Palomar up!

I've finished Belle de Jour - as far as translating this from book to show, this is annoyance of the highest kind. Really, this is the thing where I don't even know where they bother to claim they based any of this on the book - or the blog. Because outside of the show dealing with a call girl in London who likes her job, there's very little that even remotely matches the book, down to her hair color.

Seriously, I watched the series and I can maybe pick out 5 things that took place in the book that took place in the series - IF I carefully squint and tilt my head sideways. Honestly - there was an entire episode devoted to Belle getting to do the "girlfriend experience" where it's more like a all-day date thing. This was an episode about the money, the logistics of it, wanting to get more of the bookings, etc. In the book, it was a passing sentence about how it was such a popular booking - and that was it.

Oh, they used her primping routines pretty much verbatim for the voice-over stuffs. So there's that...

Well, now to kick out New Moon for nice co-worker and fact that it's due at the library and should not cost me the 20 cents in fines if I do not have it in by Monday.

Finished New Moon. Alrighty, this was just an in-between thing, right? Because this wasn't really anything new as far as I could tell. In fact, we could have covered most of this in a short story. I will give that this one should at least translate to screen better than the first. Co-worker and I will have plenty to laugh about.

I'm starting from a new category today - TBR Too Long. Since I don't have anything due at the library until the 3rd (I know!), I figured I'd pull from my own TBR pile first. Joe Hill's short stories have been good, so the full book, Heart Shaped Box is next!

Stephmo, I think I'll be doing the same for a bit. I have "only" 5 books out of the library right now and none are due til March 5th. After I finish the ones in progress, I think I'll read a few from my own TBR pile, for a change.

It actually feels kind of nice, doesn't it? It's MY book! :)

I've got Heart Shaped Box on my TBR too. I've been wondering what to read next. I think you've inspired me to tackle it.

I finished Heart Shaped Box today - I must give Joe Hill some credit for great descriptive writing. He really can paint a picture without having to take 4000 words to get through a scene. I ended up taking this one in to read at lunch because I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen.

Even though there were over 100 reviews, I decided to write a review anyway.

Now I'm back on the library schedule - Tithe is due on the 3rd and it's in my Young Adult category. I saw the description when I was entering the ALA Best Books for Young Adults in the Awards & Honor section for CK (long story, but I get OCD about some of these things).

I finished Heart-Shaped Box today too. I've been reading it while I treadmill. I really enjoyed it. I'll write a review, probably tomorrow.

February Summary

I'm probably not going to finish Tithe today, so I'll go ahead and close out the month...

February found 11 books read in 6 Categories, with 3 categories getting repeat business and my TBR Too Long category finally "breaking the seal" this month. This still leaves Booker Prize Winners and the Beats untouched, but I remain optimistic.

Read:
1. Epileptic by David B. from Graphic Novels
2. Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano from True Crime
3. Rich Like Them by Ryan D'Agostino from Authors I've Never Read Before
4 32 stories: the complete Optic nerve mini-comics by Adrian Tomine from Graphic Novels
5. Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee from Made into Movies/TV Shows
6. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch from Graphic Novels
7. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware from Graphic Novels
8. Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gil Hernandez from Authors I've Never Read Before
9. Belle de Jour from Made into Movies/TV Shows
10. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer from Young Adult Novels
11. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill from TBR Too Long

Bonus Track:

I read one book not in any categories this month - because I wanted to!

Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi

One book currently in process:

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black from Young Adult Novels

All in all, not a bad for February! If I had to call a favorite for the month, I'd go with Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories. I really didn't know what I was going to make of a 500-page graphic novel that seemed a bit soap-operaish at first, but by the end I was really invested in what had happened to these women over the years. I wanted to know that things were going to turn out for the better, I was loving every cliched twist and melodrama. It was a tough call - Epileptic was very good as well, but there came a point where I was ready to leave David B and his family in peace - with Palomar, I still wanted to stay and see what was going to happen!

I've finished Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale and at this point, I'm landing on the side of liking it - the scales are tipping on that side. I've been updating CK and I'll end up writing a review later. Added my review of Tithe today.

I'll be starting Life in the Big City by Kurt Busiek since that's due at the library on the 9th. I'll likely be finishing the Graphic Novels this month (although I'll read more - that's what Bonus Tracks categories are for).

I've finished Astro City: Life in the Big City today - and I really enjoyed the book! In fact, I'm not ashamed to admit that I reserved the next few in the series at the library already. It's a Superhero book without a loner hero, a hero meant mostly for kids or a hero that's in desperate need of a hug. It reminded me almost of a more serious Tick...although I did enjoy The Tick...

I'll be reading American Rust by Philipp Meyer toot sweet since I owe ER a review already (and my french is tres fancy, no?) and I'll consider it a bonus track. My next book isn't due at the library until the 9th and it's actually going to be another "bonus track" as well - Oh! my Goddess by Kosuke Fijishima. But by then I'll be back on the list with A History of Violence!

I've actually started up A History of Violence. American Rust is getting the short end of the stick - it's rather good, but I've got to get A History of Violence in Monday at the library and I don't want to be up super late tomorrow finishing it. Poor American Rust has been at the mercy of early morning meetings, last-minute dinner guests, date nights and just long days in general. I'm hoping next week fares better for it (although Why I Hate Saturn is due Wednesday, so I may knock that out as well just to give it the poor book some breathing room).

I've finished A History of Violence and I've updated the CK and added a review as well. I will probably knock out Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker and try to get American Rust done so I can get back on track with 999 books.

I do have some others due this month soon - well, Revolutionary Road by Philipp Meyer and Hero by Perry Moore can't be renewed anymore! Although I am tempted after the bonus books to knock out Kapilavastu (Buddha, Vol. 1) by Osamu Tezuka so I can call a category done...

Temptation!

;)

I'm breaking the seal on another category - the Beats. I'm going to start reading stories from Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski in between other books.

Yes, I'm still reading American Rust. I am enjoying it, but it's not a happy story and it has been weighing on me lately, so I'm taking it a bit slower. I figure if I throw some stuff in between, I should be good.

Of course, I also need to read Revolutionary Road before the 25th, so that will be another uplifting book! Let's see, the distractions of Bukowski start with a story called "A .45 to Pay the Rent" - hmmm...anyone shipping Zoloft by the barrelful?

:)

I'm getting antsy - and this is generally not a good sign. I'm getting worried that Revolutionary Road will also be a slow read, so I'm going to start that tonight. Which will make this 3 books now...

I'm feeling guilty about the ER book, but the flow just hasn't caught with it yet - not that it isn't good. I promise that it is, but there are external forces at work that aren't making it a great read right now.

Charles Bukowski is proving to be entertaining, but the practicality is that the stories are good in-between material and the book isn't due for a while.

Which is where I get worried about Revolutionary Road - it's actually not due until the 28th, but I'm worried that this one will take a bit to get into and I don't want to start it on the 25th thinking I can power through it in 3 nights after work. I'm a worrier like that, so I'm starting it. (And a few reviews implied it was a slow start, so I should get it out of the way.)

I get in these funks and this is how I end up with 8 half-read books. Let's see if I can reign this one in...

Antisiness satisfied. I finished Revolutionary Road, and I'm glad I did. I had a few days of movie watching (DVDs due at the library and a new subscription to NetFlix), but this wasn't a slow read by any means. Save a few anachronisms and a rather large hook that the plot hangs on (which, frankly could be explained rather easily), you could believe that this was written today just as easily as it was written in 1961.

I still have stories in Tales of Ordinary Madness going and I do have my ER book American Rust to finish, but I'm in a much better state now. Hero by Perry Moore is due at the library on the 31st, so that will be coming up pretty soon as well.

I'll mull over a review of Revolutionary Road, but I fear mine will be rather brief compared to some of the others - there's a lot I could say, but I'm afraid I'd ruin things if I let myself get in too far.

Edit - trying to fix touchstones.

I just realized that Hero, while compact and technically geared for young adults, is 428 pages. I've been reading chapters of American Rust at lunch (I promise!), so I'm going to start Hero tonight as my evening book so I don't end up having to power read it.

oh ... every time you mention American Rust ... I also need to get it read and reviewed and I clench every time I see myself reflected in your mirror here!! :)

Well, I've finished Hero now, but I do promise I'm on the third part of American Rust while reading it at work, so there is progress being made. Hero was a super fast read and a well done story. It wasn't just a gay teen story with superhero superimposed on top of it. The whole superheroes as an active part of the city really took me back to Kurt Busiek's Astro City series which speaks to how well the superhero portion was done.

I believe I'm going to dive back into Tales of Ordinary Madness for a bit. I actually don't have anything due-due at the library for a while (meaning I can go on a renew-spree!).

March Summary

There wasn't a ton of movement on the lists - this was a stressful month and not really conducive to reading. Now that the stress is over, I hope this trend is over. So, from the goal, only 5 books from 4 categories.

1. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black from Young Adult Novels
2. Life in the Big City by Kurt Busiek from Graphic Novel
3. A History of Violence by John Wagner from Made Into Movies/TV Shows
4. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates from Authors I've Never Read Before
5. Hero by Perry Moore from Authors I've Never Read Before

Those weren't the only ones - Bonus Tracks Read -

1. Oh My Goddess! Volume 1 by Kosuke Fujishima
2. Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker
3. Southland Tales: The Prequel by Richard Kelly

The first two I read as part of my goal to read the 101 comics recommended in Steven Weiner's book. I read the Southland Tales graphic novel after seeing the movie (well, a while after) just to fill in some of the gaps. It's one of those movies I ended up watching just because the preview looked interesting on another movie.

I have two books in progress -

American Rust (the last 115 pages!) which will technically be a Bonus Track and Tales of Ordinary Madness which will be from The Beats. Here's to a fruitful April!

I should say that, hands down, Revolutionary Road was my absolute favorite read for the month. Even though I didn't like the characters all that much, Yates's writing was so compelling that I didn't want to put the book down.

I've finished Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski today which means that The Beats officially has a book done! I did enjoy the collection of short stories very much - there's just a rhythm to the stream-of-consciousness thing the beats do that doesn't appear anymore. Plus, there's this whole idea of the celebrity author that's just getting by that doesn't seem to really exist anymore - it's as if I'm looking at a world where branding had just started as an idea. Bukowski alludes to writing forwards to books as a sort of selling-out - nowadays, we know this is huge business. I don't think anyone really frets it anymore.

I'm heading out to the library to return things and when I get back, I'll probably take the time to figure out what's up next. :)

I've decided I want to read a quickie - Matilda by Roald Dahl from my YA category, although it's a bit more YA than I anticipated. ;) I just don't recall ever reading this! I vaguely remember the movie with Danny DeVito - and only in that it was made and I believe I remember more of he and his wife doing interviews about the movie...

I've finished Matilda. I really needed the positivity. I really don't know why I didn't read more Dahl as a kid - I read both Charlies and then James and the Giant Peach and then I walked away - a shame really. If only I'd had Matilda's outlook early on! I've reserved the movie to see how it turned out, although from the trailer it seems to be more revenge-based than the book was...

As tempted as I am to get the last category seal "broken," I'm going to skip back to the Beats and read The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts next. After that, I believe I'll be properly prepared for one of the Booker Prize Winners!

Today I finished Wisdom of Insecurity. I've reviewed it and added a few of my favorite quotes. It was written sixty years ago - long before the great self-help movement and our almost pathological need to find ways to "fix" everything that was wrong with us as people.

I will say that I thought briefly of this seminar we had at my former workplace - Fish Camp. I don't know if anyone else has done this, but it's based on the Pike Place Fish Market philosophy - and boils down to this 4-step workday philosophy (don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this):

* Play,
* Make Their Day,
* Be There, and
* Choose Your Attitude

I've been to Fish camp twice - and every time, management expected these changes in the way folks behaved. Everyone was supposed to come in "choosing" to be happy. Everyone was supposed to have fun (play!) or figure out ways to have fun, and everyone was supposed to go out of their way to make everyone's day. And with all of this, this circle of having fun and making sure others had fun would make sure we all had fun, right?

Yeah, not so much.

And Watts explains the basic reason why this doesn't work from the get-go. The more you tell people they have to have a good time, or that things will be better or that all they have to do is choose to be happy, the more pressure there is to do this...the harder it gets. Worse yet, another workplace was looked at - the Pike Place Fish Market - and held up as an example of how this can work anywhere! After all, we were an office and they were men getting up early and tossing fish around in a loud environment; if they could have fun, we most certainly could in our cushy environment.

In the end, we'd bought an expensive training tool with slick marketing materials. And then we pressured people to have fun and simply choose to feel a certain way every day with zero change in the day-to-day workings. And while things were never really bad, telling folks that were overworked to simply choose to be happy when they really wanted to work on making things more efficient was a massive waste of time.

So - if you're asking, did I get any real-life application from Alan Watts? Why, yes, I did. There was also a lot of really good talk on the difference between belief and faith. We really could have used that over the last 8 years...

I've been through the library stuffs, looks like I'm reading Eclipse next...and then Disgrace! So YA then Booker Prize!

I've finished Eclipse, so I'm more than halfway through the Twilight saga and understanding more of the obsession. I must admit this one read a bit better than the first two. Action actually showed up in the first 100 pages. I have to remember that between the font and ridiculous margins, the 600 pages is probably more like 300.

Now, onto my last "unbroken" category. I believe I've had some fluff and fast reads and I'm ready for Disgrace - that's right, the Booker Prize is getting a read finally!

I've finished Disgrace. I'm going to sleep on my review because I think I need to make sure that I make it clear that I enjoyed the book while hating most of the circumstances...but I still wanted to see what would happen in hopes that someone would make a halfway decent decision for themselves!

I do need to get in some quick reads that are due at the library - they'll be bonus tracks. Jonah Lehrer's How We Decide and I think a quick Ultimate or Essential Spiderman - I need to double check.

After that, we'll be on a road trip, so I'll be able to plan some reading for the car trip and my mini-vacation around the list. Husband does like it when I do read outloud, so I am anticipating either the Dexters or Eric Garcia's Rex books being a possibility. Of course, he was interested in what was going on with the Golden Compass when we watched the movie, so I might be able to make a pitch for those...

:)

Rambling aside, I've officially read one book in every category! YAY.

ETA - I added my review, although I don't really think I got in everything I wanted to say...it's hard not to spoil everything.

After reading through a few non-999 books (and finding that my Bonus Tracks non-category has 9 books read - hah!), I'm back on the 999 bandwagon. I'm starting The Golden Compass today. Looking forward to having all the holes from the movie filled in since most of the film, while lovely looking, left me wondering what the heck was going on...

I've finished The Golden Compass and I won't be adding a formal review to the 295 that are already on the site. This definitely added a ton to the movie - and while I get the freakout that would have ensued at the updated Adam & Eve with their daemons story (not that it was all that big of a deal), it didn't seem all that controversial to me.

Then again, I'd read Alan Watts earlier this month and his line, 'belief clings, faith lets go' has really stuck with me this month. To me, the argument I see is not one against having faith, but one against forcing belief. It's the kernel of corn parable - where you view Christ at the last supper as a kernel of corn. Sure, his disciples all had their belief, which they could cling to, and he could remain a hard kernel of corn. Or, they could have faith and let go and see the kernel get planted, bloom and spread. Belief clings, faith lets go...

I know, I'm reaching...

But I am looking forward to the other books to see what happens.

April Summary

6 books I read this month were in 4 categories. I am proud to say that I've officially hit a book in every single category as of this month. As to my tendency to read outside of the challenge...well, we'll talk about that at the end, okay?

1. Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski from The Beats
2. Matilda by Roald Dahl from Young Adult
3. The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts from The Beats
4. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer from Young Adult
5. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee from Booker Prize Winners
6. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman from Made into a Movie

Oh - and those Bonus Tracks...erm, just a few:

1. Beowulf by Gareth Hinds
2. American Rust by Phiipp Meyer
3. How We Decide by Jason Lehrer
4. Essential Spider-man Volume 5 by Stan Lee
5. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Explanations? Well, the Beowulf was supposed to be from the 101 list, but that was the wrong edition. I read it anyway because I'd like to see the difference.

American Rust was an ER book - which did take forever to read.

How We Decide caught my eye since I do analysis for a living. I enjoyed their take on the importance of the emotional side of decision making.

Essential Spider Man was another miss in the 101 - I was supposed to get the Ultimate for that list. Even so, I noticed that the library sent volume 5 instead of 1, so I read it anyway.

Charlaine Harris? Well, expect to see more of those - I'm suckered in after reading Dead Until Dark for this challenge. Of course, I'm wondering now how they're going to do season 2 since at the end, they'd put themselves in a spot that doesn't really allow for travel to Dallas...

As far as the month goes, I will say my pleasant surprise was Eclipse. Not that it's become high literature by any means, but we've actually gotten to the point where there was story throughout the book and not just 400 pages of emo-ness.

My favorite? Well, I'm going with the Wisdom of Insecurity on the challenge list. It came at a really good time.

Well, I'm going to go ahead and finish the last of the Twilight saga - Breaking Dawn. I've already read a Bonus Track for May (the first book in the Distant Soil graphic novel saga from the 101 side goal I have), so I figure it's time to knock an easy one out for the goal.

Besides, my non-999 tbr pile keeps growing, so I do need to get some of these read, don't I? :)

I've now finished the Twighlight series officially. Breaking Dawn was a pretty fast read - I won't be adding to the 500 reviews already on the site. I will say that it had a lot of action and I was actually impressed with doing the middle section from Jacob's point of view. The telegraphing of all the plot twists, not so much. That probably could have shaved 300 pages off the book...

I will say that for every adult woman that I've known that's read this (all kinds - professional and well-educated included) and enjoyed it, we all enjoy the feelings it brings back of those early impossible crushes we had in Junior High. Those were great, hormone-fueled times where anything seemed possible - where happiness was guaranteed just in the ability to be a couple. Of course, most of it sends us into fits of laughter, but the good kind. :)

I'll actually be starting Buddha, Vol 1: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka either today or tomorrow. I realize that in my "Bonus Tracks" category I've more than covered graphic novels, but that's my last official one for the category.

I've finished Buddha Volume 1: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka. This officially finishes my Graphic Novel category! While not a historically accounting of the Buddha's life (he's not even born until page 250 - and it's not really about him in volume 1), it's still entertaining and gives you the broad strokes and a good introduction to the concepts in a very accessible way.

With the category complete, I've found myself sucked into quite a few more series. I've got a stack of Astro Cities in my TBR pile and I anticipate reading more of Buddha later in the year. At the same time, the stand-alone Epileptic has stuck with me all the way since the beginning of February. I'm still moved by David B.'s incredibly raw look at his family and his brother's struggles with epilepsy.

I'll be off the challenge with my next book - I have The Song is You from the ER program and it's been calling me. Had it not been for the library due dates stacking up, I would have read it a while ago. I am looking forward to it. That Bonus Tracks category sure is filling up. :)

I'm still reading The Song is You. Today I also polished off another volume in the Astro City graphic novel series. Realizing that these are two things not in my categories and that I'll be soon reading The King by Rich Koslowski since it's due on the 12th...well, it's time to get another 999 book going before I have nothing!

Yeah, yeah, I could substitute. But what fun would that be? :P

I'm going to start reading How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster on the side. This was one of my early substitutions (hey, there was a window - my rules, it makes sense in my head and it wasn't after-the-fact!) when I was finalizing "authors I've never read before." Flipping through this, it appears to be a good "in between other books" book...

I've sort of started Darkly Dreaming Dexter on the side while waiting for some stuff today...but I'm not going to let this get out of hand. I'm really not!

Since you're not over at the 75 challenge thread, I starred ya' to keep up with your reading and such. A couple of other folks I follow read and enjoyed the How to Read Novels Like a Professor. I love these books about reading and writing. One of my favorites is Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. I highly recommend that one. Her fiction is fun also. Also, can't go wrong with On Writing but i am sure that he wouldn't qualify as a new writer for you.

Rules. Who needs rules!!!!

I have On Writing as part of the 999 Challenge - it's part of my TBR Too Long selection.

:)

I have all sorts of those lying about...truth be told, I could have probably done a whole challenge with nothing but those. ;)

Yay - I feel like I'm getting a bit back on track - while I snuck in a Bonus Track graphic novel (hey, that 101 goal is still there!), I did finish How to Read Novels Like a Professor today from my "Authors I've Never Read Before" list - which only leaves 3 left on that list now!

I really enjoyed this a lot - it reminded me of the long discussions in my literature courses at college. The arguments about whether or not color themes were deliberate, if an author had been influenced by political events of the times, if they were unwittingly influenced by the works of another...

He also reminded me of half the books I've told myself I should really read one of these years...

Now that I've finished my ER book, The Song is You (really well done, by the by - one of my favorite snags thus far), I'm back on track. Darkly Dreaming Dexter is on deck from my Made into Movies/TV shows category.

Although, I can't lie, I'll probably sneak in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns tomorrow or Monday - it's due soon and on my 101 Graphic Novel list. I know, I'll be reading more non-999 books this month than 999 books, but that's okay...

I've finished Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. I added my own review and double-checked CK. I must say that I am very impressed with the HBO folks - they've done an excellent job on the series. Dexter and Deborah are very much intact, but they updated nearly every other character (save the pervy tech, Matsouka - but when you've got comedy gold, you leave it be!) for the better.

The book was definitely a fun read and I'm looking forward to the next book. I'm curious to read the 3rd and 4th ones (even though they're not on my lists) simply because the shows were in production then...I wonder how influenced they were by the show?

I am sneaking in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns today - and at that point, I'll select something else to read. I need to weigh a few things. I have Tattoo Machine to read for ER, but I also have Tarnished Angel due at the library soon - that may not sound like much, but with that one due, I might as well knock out Confession and Local Heroes as well.

Of course, Fast Talking Woman is a nice twenty poems that will help out my Beats category...and there are some other categories I do need to get cracking on...

:)

I finished Fast Speaking Woman today - I must say that feminist poetry with a Buddhist slant doesn't hold up well after 30 years. Sad, but true. There were definitely parts I was fond of, but much of it just came across as a bit of a relic to me - or a glimpse into 70s spiritual enlightenment-in-a-box feel. It's hard to explain. And maybe it's just harder to relate now...

Onward...I'll decide in the morning what to read next. Right now, I'm leaning towards Slam by Nick Hornby because I think it will be a fast read.

Well, it looks like the library agrees with me - Slam is due soon, so I'll be starting that one. It should be a fairly quick read and I've found I like everything that I've read by Nick Hornby.

I've finished Slam, which I enjoyed very much. Of course, there's always that nagging voice in the back of my head that says, you know, Nick Hornby's pop culture references will kill his books in twenty years. I realize this on a certain level, but on another, I like that he writes with so much immediacy. I think it's important for authors to throw caution to the wind and not make up fake bands, actors or television shows for some shot at literary immortality.

Besides, the internet will still be there in twenty years for the kids to look up all these pop culture references they don't quite get - duh! :)

And because I think I can squeeze it in before the month turns, I'm going to start Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay.

May Summary

In the actual challenge, I read 6 books in 5 categories and I closed out my official list on graphic novels (not that I haven't read a ton of others).

1. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer from Young Adults
2. Buddha: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka from Graphic Novels
3. How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster from Authors I've Never Read Before
4. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay from Made into a Movie/TV Show
5. Fast Speaking Woman by Anne Waldman from The Beats
6. Slam by Nick Hornby from Young Adults

Yeah, that wasn't all I read...and I'd be lying if I said that with all the books I've read in bonus tracks and the books I know I'll be reading outside the challenge that I don't already have a secondary "easy-peasy 999 cheater 2nd challenge list" sort of ready to go...

Bonus Tracks
1. A Distant Soil: The Gathering by Colleen Doran
2. Astro City: Family Album by Kurt Busiek
3. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles
4. The King by Rich Koslowski
5. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
6. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
7. Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis
8. The Song is You by Arthur Phillips
9. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

I am easily sucked into other series and my 101 Graphic Novels goal keeps leading me down the path to other things I feel I have to read. And then there's that Sookie Stackhouse thing...which I've sort of given myself a bit of a stop on while I wait on some short story anthologies to come in - it's a sad, sad trick, I know, but it's working!

This month, I was really enjoying the Sookie Stackhouses - which aren't part of my challenge. Within the challenge, Buddha was my favorite thus far and I do have Volume 2 reserved through the library (it's an 8 volume series).

For June, I'm in the middle of reading Dearly Devoted Dexter, so I'll be starting out the month with a challenge book. I do have to immediately read a graphic before it's due, but then I'm going to promise myself at least one read on the list before I switch over to a non-999 read to stay on pace. Although at 35 books, I'm well on pace for completing this by the end of the year. Of course, I say this knowing I have a few 500 page books I'm avoiding at the moment...

:)

I have a few 500 page books I'm avoiding at the moment...

ooh, which ones? I have a "long books" category ... have been reading one/month for about a year (and been surprised by how much I've loved the immersion they provide) but fell off the wagon in April. I looked through your lists and see you've got The Book Thief -- it's terrific and reads so fast -- and Middlesex, which is also on mine, maybe we can read it together?

Middlesex is definitely one of them - and everything I've heard from friends and everywhere else says it's really good - I believe I read 3 page of it at one point!

I have Posession on my list as well, and that's another longer one as well. I'll be getting The Book Thief from the library, but I've also heard it reads fast, so I'm not really counting that one as a true 500 pager. And Oscar and Lucinda are also going to be on the thick side as well...

I could do a read along on Middlesex - it is tagged by a few other folks for this challenge, so I wonder if we could be all peer-pressure-y and get some others involved as well?

>104 stephmo: get some others involved as well?

yes, at least an invitation to a read-along? I'm thinking very informal, something to bring the book to the top of my list (I've also had a couple false starts before with it). Your latest tag search prompted me to search this group for "Middlesex" and look through the messages to see who still has it to read this year. I'll PM you. If a go, maybe a thread would bring others who've been thinking of reading it.

I've finished Dearly Devoted Dexter. This now puts Made into a Movie/TV show and Young Adult both at 7 read. I think rather than race those to conclusion, I'll be looking for books in other categories to read for a bit - they could use the reads.

I've got some true crime that may be looking for a read pretty quick (don't worry, I'm not ignoring detailmuse - the Middlesex thing will be happening!). Although I think I have a steampunk graphic novel collection that needs to be back at the library...and no, it's not on the 999 list...

Well, I did write a review for the second Dexter book!

I've got a little bit of time before the group read for Middlesex starts, so I think I'll head back to page 14 of my catalog - a little Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. Hey - it even got product placement on the O.C. once! (Sadly, I owned the book before then...so now you know this is really a second TBR too long category!)

:)

I've finished Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman today. I'll finish up a review and CK tomorrow, but I did enjoy my trip down memory lane for a GenXer in terms of Pop Culture. Oh - and regaling my friends with Chuck's 23 questions he asks those closest to him...for the record, I think we decided the gorilla can't play football. We're still split on the Alice-in-Chains medication...

I'd love to say that I'm reading another book off the list, but through some various recommendations and messages I'd seen on LT, I became aware of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare from the Mortal Instruments series. Yes, I have an issue going off list...but I'll be here for Middlesex! City of Bones is due at the library before the group read starts! :)

stephmo, I've read three of your thickies, Possession, Middlesex and Oscar and Lucinda. All of them are entertaining reads and Possession in particular just zaps along.

>109 pamelad: I'm glad to see that Possession zips along - it makes me feel better for the thicker books. I'm looking forward to starting the group read in a few days.

Of course, it would help if I also wasn't sneaking in other books - I need to get through Tattoo Machine for ER, and then I just saw that a book I had checked out from the library got posted on their front page as a recommended read today. This means I've lost the ability to renew that one...and it needs to be done by the 30th (it's just Generation Dead, but hey - it's still reading time!).

This will not stop my Middlesex reading starting on the 20th! :)

But thank you for the words of encouragement on the thickies. I think I just worry that they'll not be slam-dunks. The truth is that one of the longest reads I've had so far this year was only 384 pages...so I think I need to remember that it's not necessarily about being "thick."

I'm starting Middlesex today as part of the group read! :)

I've finished Middlesex and I want to get in on more of the group discussion! Those have been great. It was a terrific book and I'm sorry I waited so long to read it.

I'd love to say I was getting ready to read another list book, but the library conspired against me and put a book I had checked out on the front page as a featured book, so it's impossible to renew - I have until the 30th to read Generation Dead, so I need to get cracking on that. I'm hoping that since it's aimed at teens, I'll have some time to swing back around and at least start something fast...

I was able to finish Generation Dead today. It was pretty good. See, zombie fiction is fun! Of course, it's another not on the list book...

I'm going to start Chained by Lauren Henderson today. This one is in my TBR Too Long list for the challenge. This is part of a "Tart Noir" series I've had fun reading in the past. Sam Jones is just your typical sculptress turned mystery-solver - the kind that run around all the time. You know that Rodin and Henry Moore were constantly solving murders in their spare time...it just didn't get a ton of press because the police hate sharing credit.

June Summary

Wow - I spent this month really not reading much from my 999 Challenge List. I read 3 books in 3 categories from my challenge list.

1. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay from Made Into Movies/TV Shows
2. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs* by Chuck Klosterman from Page 14 of My Catalog
3. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides from TBR Too Long

My favorite by far was Middlesex which also sparked some great conversations. I do have Chained by Lauren Henderson started now, so I'll have a start in July for the categories. Of course, I also have a non-999 Challenge book due at the library shortly which will start the cycle of not reading from the lists again...

Speaking of - here were my "Bonus Tracks" this month:

1. Steampunk: Manimatron by Joe Kelly
2. Astro City: Confession by Kurt Busiek
3. Astro City: The Tarnished Angel by Kurt Busiek
4. Astro City: Local Heroes by Kurt Busiek
5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
6. Tattoo Machine by Jeff Johnson
7. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

I am behind on books read towards the goal at this point - by 4 or so books. This isn't insurmountable by any stretch considering my "Bonus Tracks" are up to 25 books. Here's to hoping that my renewal stalking works on 4 books that should be renewable shortly and not put me under undue pressure to read even more off the list in the next few days!

I finished Chained by Lauren Henderson, so I've got another TBR Too Long book done! I wrote a review and updated the CK. I will say that this was the fourth Sam Jones book for me and it was the weakest. I did enjoy Hugo more in this book than in the others, but I actually was enjoying Sam less...but the situation didn't lend itself well to giving Sam a lot of action.

I have a book due at the library soon (I should totally make a a drinking game out of this excuse!), so I'll be starting a non-999 book right away. The Host by Stephenie Meyer. My SIL said she liked it, so I figured I'd give it a read.

Well, my first abandoned book of the year - and my newest collection - Abandoned. The Host was that kind of sci-fi I really couldn't take. And 5 chapters in...too many dang things to remember about wars, species, planets, healers and god knows what else. I simply didn't care at all. For me to toss aside a book takes a lot. I'm usually down for the whole thing. Well, other people want this from the library and I wish them well and hope they enjoy it far more than I did - it won't take much!

I do have a ton of non-999 books due towards the end of the month, so I'm trying to figure out the best strategy. Right now, I figure reading one from my list is the way to go. I may alternate for a bit to try to get things going on an even keel. I'm going to read Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay by Kenneth Walton from my True Crime Category. I figure an actual crime is in order!

I finished Fake and posted a reivew. It was an excellent read. And as someone that used eBay back in the day, I can remember complaining on a very small scale about half of these things - the ability to leave fake feedback, fake user IDs, shill bidding...ah, the wild west eBay!

I'm going to start Patient Zero for ER - I owe a review for this and I've read a book since my last zombie book, so I should be all good now. :) Of course, it's off my 999 list, but I'm going to read one from my list right after this one, swears!

Well, I got through Patient Zero and posted my review - but with family visiting and whatnot, it took a bit longer than I thought. (Fun book to read, by the by!)

I did promise that I would read a 999 book next - although I'm getting nervous with everything that's due soon. I'll probably be begging for new renewals at the library soon (I call when I've maxed out renewals but see no one is waiting for the book and start the cycle over). But in going with the 999 challenge and a book I should get through quickly, I'll read Forensic Detective by Robert Mann next - it should be a quick read and it's on my true crime list!

>115 stephmo:
I have a book due at the library soon (I should totally make a a drinking game out of this excuse!)

I laughed when I read that and have thought of it so many times since!! There's zero chance I'll finish this challenge if I do much off-challenge reading, so I've been filling in my TBA slots and even subbing out previously slotted books to make room for new ones. I'll get no reading done if I make my excuse my drinking game!

I did finish Forensic Detective by Robert Mann today - it was a really good read. Not a ton of "world's toughest cases," but I'm going to blame the editors. A good portion devoted to identifying the found remains of missing soldiers, which was really interesting work. A lot of piecing together of missing puzzle pieces. I did do a review.

I know I said I was going to every-other-it and I actually do have a glut of things due the 28th and the 29th, but I think I'm going to grab one from the list and live on the edge - Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire from my page 14 list!

I'm getting nervous about the books due, so I've found the first two chapters of Son of a Witch dragging - I was enjoying what I was reading, so it's not that I'm not liking it, it's that there's a nagging.

I think I need to plow through some easy stuff so the "it's due!" pile doesn't look so bad. I have two graphic novels I can get through pretty quick - David Boring and Blankets. Well, Blankets is a bit on the epic side, but it will help me out. I've also pulled The Complete Crumb, Vol. 15 just in case I still have "the feeling" when I re-start Son of a Witch.

All of this crazy totally makes sense in my head. :)

Good to see another Lauren Henderson fan. Have you tried Sparkle Hayter? She's pretty good too.

I really haven't - mysteries aren't generally something that clicks for me, but it sounds like a blend of funny and a strong female lead, so I'll keep it in mind! After all, that's what I liked about Sam. :)

I do believe I have Pretty Boy somewhere waiting to be read, so after that, I'll be looking for my next Sam Jones. This looks like a possibility!

I've finished Son of a Witch. I really wasn't all that impressed. I really did enjoy Wicked, so I can understand the pressure to produce a sequel. Heck, even this one ends begging a sequel as well. At the same time, not everything that was wildly successful should have a sequel. Sometimes, we just have a great story and should leave it at that...

Based on the library schedule, I have a few things that have piled up, so The Complete Crumb, Vol. 15 is up for a quick read and then I believe I may be able to get out from under library pressure and get back on the 999 train (for a short while).

I finished From Hell and was able to get a bit of a repreive on a few library books. So yay, me! See me at the end of August when I'm racing to read more things due at the library. =P

I've reviewed From Helland I found some professional reviews to link (cool new feature!) as well. CK was updated a long time ago (I did the epigraphs because I'm crazy). Fantastic work.

With only a few days left, I think I'll read through Stardust and get a little bit further in my 999 list.

By the by - is anyone else having issues with tickerfactory?

hrumf - in a fit of "reorganization" I seem to have misplaced Stardust, so make that On Writing for my current read...if anyone has a psychic flash of some sort, let me know!

I finished On Writing and I'm sorry that it took me so long! Just in time to finish out the month as well.

Oh - to those in the Middlesex group read, this line towards the end of On Writing gave me a laugh:

There's an old rule of theater that goes, "If there's a gun on the mantel in Act I, it must go off in Act III."

I found it funny that I read two books this month that made reference to that line.

July Summary

After getting the library books under control, I did much better. I even managed to get caught up on ER books in there as well. It felt like a lazy reading month, but that was okay. I still did better this month on 999 books than last.

I read 6 books in 4 categories, which doesn't quite catch me up to where I need to be for finishing at the end of the year (I should be at 47-48 books). Last month, I was behind 4 books as well - so either I made up ground by 1 book or I held steady. Of course, this is assuming I never break down and count bonus tracks towards completing the challenge.

1. Chained by Lauren Henderson from TBR Too Long
2. Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay by Kenneth Walton from True Crime
3. Forensic Detective by Robert Mann from True Crime
4. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire from Page 14
5. From Hell by Alan Moore from Made into a Movie/TV Show
6. On Writing by Stephen King from TBR Too Long

Bonus Tracks:
1. Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
2. David Boring by Daniel Clowes
3. Blankets by Craig Thompson
4. The Complete Crumb Comics, Vol. 15 by Robert Crumb

In the challenge, my favorite book was On Writing by Stephen King. As I'd said in my formal review, it pretty much is the "Eat Less, Exercise More" (Write A Lot and Read A Lot) advice of writing, but that's what should be said. The rest is a very honest memoir of his time as a writer and what shaped him.

On the non-999 front, Blankets fully deserves all of the praise that Craig Thompson has gotten. A 600-page graphic novel describing a high-school romance could become sentimental crap in 3 pages, but he manages an amazing story.

I am going to start The Virgin Suicides and finish of my Made into a Movie/TV show category. It will only be my second complete category after all this time, but I'm toying with declaring August "complete categories month!"

Which means that I'll potentially be aiming to finish off Young Adult - which gets a little complicated since #3 of the His Dark Materials is in there and the #2 book is in the Page 14 category and that's a tougher category to finish. Although the next closest category - authors I've never read before - requires two check-outs from the library. One is The Book Thief and I'm #93 and the system only has 42 copies - so I'm probably a month from seeing it if everyone keeps it 3 weeks.

And then there's an ER Book to do (it's a shorty) and I have 2 library books I'll need to read this month for sure - Payback by Margaret Atwood and Not Buying It by Judith Levine.

Hey - what's life without a challenge or two? Let's see how far I get. :)

ETA - Oh and Valiant has to be read as well - thought I had just another roll on the renewal! D'oh! Well, I have located everything and if I stay focused...hey, this is about fun, right?

I finished The Virgin Suicides. Jeffrey Eugenides has made his way into "favorite author" status and needs to keep publishing authors. I loved his collective narrator and the obsession these girls held for everyone in the community. After reading Middlesex as well, you can tell Jeffrey really likes the idea of piecing together impossible stories with the smallest bits of information.

This did finish off the Made into a Movie/TV Show category for me, so 2 categories down, 7 to go.

I'll be reading one of my off-list books from this month next - A Year of Cats and Dogs for Early Reviewers. After that, more from the categories.

I'm looking forward to The Virgin Suicides ... probably next year. Will like to see the movie then and compare.

From this NY Times video interview with Eugenides from mid-May -- around minute 4:45 he says he's now writing a more "realistic, tightly dramatized" story ... not due for "a couple of years" :(

I'll say that Sofia Coppola's adaptation is good, but definitely not the book. With the collective narrator (how unreliable is that?) and a lot of bits and pieces being unearthed in the book, I'm amazed that she found a way to make as good of a film as she did. Actually, in all of the film/book adaptations from the books I read, I'd put The Virgin Suicides and From Hell at the top - since those two seemed to survive with most of their overall plots.

(True Blood, A History of Violence and Dexter are great adaptations as well, but they take very liberal departures from their source material.)

That's a shame it's going to take a couple of years - I did put his short story collection, My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead on my wish list, so at least there's a little bit of a something-something to tide us over. And The Virgin Suicides was originally a short story - the first chapter is that short story.

You didn't say much about On Writing?

I really enjoyed it - I did write a review. I keep telling folks who've asked in person that this is the "eat less, exercise more" equivalent of writing advice.

I'll give a new nugget - it really reminded me of an expanded version of Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury with more practical application. (His advice is simply to write everyday with no care to quality - that sheer volume will unearth treasure. It sounds harsh, but he's also of the school that forcing an idea into existence will kill it.)

I was also very impressed with the level of honesty he had. At his level of success, it would be very easy to dismiss or hide his issues with drugs and alcohol. But he admitted them and the books that they impacted.

Best was the devotion to Tabitha. This isn't just an obligatory, "too my wife" dedication - this is a man who knows the worth of a supportive spouse. I admired that a great deal. To see someone with that level of success able to avoid so much hubris about his work and to offer such decent advice was impressive.

I did finish my early reviewer book, A Year of Cats and Dogs - which in light of having finished On Writing is just a whole slew of King's "don't do this" - failing to introduce important third act plot points early on, liberal use of adjectives, describing full outfits, endless descriptions, a need for editing in a major way...

Oh - and the library conspires - I need to finish 30 Days of Night: Dark Days super fast. Graphic Novel eye candy and all, but it's throwing off the rythm...although I did finally find Stardust, so that will be next. :)

I finished Stardust - and really enjoyed it. I do understand the frustration had with the novel being marketed as young adult in his journal (second question down).

Sure, it's a sweet tale, but the heart's desire is coming from a place that's gown tired of holding hands and stealing kisses on the cheek. But it is the age of Queen Victoria, so it's a wee bit reserved. (And that "explicit" sex scene really isn't.)

It's definitely a departure from the movie in the second half - it's got a bit more of a bittersweet tone and lacks cross-dressing didn't-you-used-to-be-a-mobster? pirates. But that's okay!

I'm going to start The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time next.

I'm feeling pretty good so far about my ambitious August goal so far, but I realize that I'm eventually going to run out of two and three day books in the TBR pile (which is literally on the table this month). But I'm having fun trying!

I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - for a book with a narrator who couldn't feel, my heart ached for nearly everyone in this book. Well, and for a boy that couldn't tell jokes, I did manage to laugh over quite a few things. There are already 500 reviews on the site - I don't really see myself adding anything new.

It looks like my thickest book this month is The Amber Spyglass, so I need to set myself up for reading it soon. This could make or break me, as I have a cluster of things due at the library towards 24th...I'll admit that The Golden Compass wasn't nearly as fast a read as I would have hoped, so I'm going to hope that The Subtle Knife is an easier read than GC was...and that it makes me want to get to to the last book quickly.

This does make sense in my head - plus, The Amber Spyglass will be my last book in my Young Adult Category. (The Subtle Knife is actually on my Page 14 Category.) If I get through these two, I'll be that much closer to having 3 categories down...

Because I really do want to finish off my 999 for this year. With next year's "challenge" looking more like a "10 categories of whatever number you want," it's no longer a personal challenge to me - it's just reading lists. And while I know people really like that idea - and it's cute, it's just not the common goal that I was hoping for again. It looks like I'll be choosing between the 75 or 100 book groups for next year. At the very least - I know that my set up of a personal 50 state reading list was for a good reason! This will be getting a dent next year for sure.

I'll be keeping an eye on your 50 state list! I swear, all I did was join that challenge, and immediately every book I read was set outside of the US! But I am still working on it. Just very slowly.

It's just out there on listofbests because it won't get done in a year (and because we have no list function here!).

I go through spurts myself, although I did try to pick things that are on other lists I've adopted - that site is rather addictive. I think I have 111 lists right now...

Wow! I know that LT has sure affected my reading. I used to just look for books at the library or from authors I already knew and liked. I try so many new books now that I hear about them here.

Oh, they're not all book lists - a lot of them are movie lists:

http://www.listsofbests.com/person/Stephmo

But I have adopted book lists based on reading I've done...I won't lie. I picked up this listbecause The Radioactive Boy Scout is on it and I have it checked out from the library now (no it's not on the 999 challenge list - but it is on the state challenge...).

I just found out that the library is conspiring against my August goal - I have to sneak in another book. Buddha, Volume 2: The Four Encounters is due on the 18th - with Payback due on the 19th. I figure if I just stick to Tylenol today for my ankle, I should be able to finish off The Subtle Knife tonight (it's only 125 pages).

That should be enough time for the other two books, right?

Yeah, I was being ambitious...I knew this going into the August goal...but I'm not out, just sort of on the mat...under a really big guy.

ETA - I should clarify, I sprained my ankle on Wednesday and have been reading while under the influence of Lortab. While that's wonderful for the ankle, it's not so good for the attention span. But it is wonderful for the ankle. And the sleep. :)

I did finish off The Subtle Knife tonight - cliffhanger much!?! Ack. I do need to read the books mentioned in post 146. Won't be bothering with a review since there are ~150 listed.

I actually did enjoy this one more than the The Golden Compass because it had far more action and less blah-blah-blah (my code for "setting up the mythology you probably don't really need this much detail on, but as an author I worked really hard on this and feel the need to pass as much along as I possibly can).

This really is my downfall when it comes to fantasy novels - I appreciate the effort, I do, but it's just a lot of stuff I'm not going to want to remember. I guess I've always been a character girl. I can't really remember a time where I was still mooning over the depiction of the legend of the Cards of Doom and Grief and how they interacted with the Lightning of Fire. And yet I swear still want to believe somewhere that David Lurie from Disgrace has learned to be a decent human being by now...

Oh - Buddha's different. The legend is based on reality.

I did finish the last of my must-get-back-to-the-library today, Margaret Atwood's Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. I've put up a review and it's mixed at best. I enjoyed it as literature review, which is what it is primarily. As a history of the nature of debt in religion and society...sort of. And the 5th chapter? Oh, someone should have just shook some sense into her. She really did a modern retelling of Scrooge. I think she thought she was being clever. It goes off the rails from there...but the first 4 chapters are worth a good skim from a literature review standpoint.

I do have another book due soon (the 24th) with another due on the 26th. Both non-999 books. I know, my goal for August is starting to look like one of those ridiculous hallways that just gets longer and longer and longer and longer and longer...

But I think I can get in at least 2 books before I have to start the one for the 24th. I could theoretically get in 3 if I really tried, but that's pushing it. I'm thinking that I'm going to start with A Stranger in the Earth because the Esquire blurb is promising me A witty satire...had me roaring with laughter at 2 a.m.

Bah, I hit my wall. I suspected this would happen. I've been enjoying A Stranger in the Earth at a leisurely pace rather than trying to cram through it and suddenly, I'm not where I was meant to be.

I actually have to start another book now - Not Buying It by Judith Levine which should be a rather fast read as it simply recounts her and her husband's attempt to simply not buy anything outside of necessities for an entire year. This originally caught my eye because the opening chapter begins with their resolution - and a last-ditch effort to purchase a concrete elephant for their garden from redenvelope.com because they still have two hours before the resolution starts. To me, these are real folks really trying to assess living without mass consumerism - not some individuals starting from a point where they already have cut out 99% of their frivolous spending and have decided to lecture from on high.

This is due tomorrow at the library, so you know I'll be reading and likely dropping off after hours so it "counts" as being in "on time." After that, I'll be doing the same for Valiant which is due on the 26th. I'll be back to finishing A Stranger in the Earth then.

No, I won't finish my August goal, but I will have made a serious dent - and I'll still have time to get in a few good swipes before the month is out. After this, it's going to be a lot of targets towards my Booker prize winners - at least two per month from here on out (I believe September will be the month for Possession and The Conservationist).

Ack! Library further conspires against me and will likely get 40-60 cents from me. Perhaps it is a conspiracy.

Alright, I played renewal roulette and lost. I thought I could stretch out the renewal on Bloodsucking Fiends to the very last minute and saw that even though there was a request, it seemed like there were enough copies on hand in the system to cover them all. Not so much - turns out (as I discovered via library chat today), they pulled the one left in the system today for repair. So while the plan was to read Valiant and get it back on time, I've actually been powering through Bloodsucking Fiends. I'll finish it and turn it in on the 26th for a 20 cent fine. Then I'll have to get going on Valiant which is really due on the 26th on the 26th. If I'm good, I'll turn it in on the 27th - maybe the 28th. With fine money.

And this is why we don't play library renewal roulette, kids!

renewal roulette - I know that well!
I think I heard about Not Buying It on NPR or something. That would be so hard to do. Did you enjoy it?

For the most part, I liked Not Buying It because the message became one of, "and we found ourselves volunteering and giving back more and going to community meetings instead." I also liked that she broke down and did buy things during the year because sometimes, yes, you do try on that perfect pair of pants and you love them.

Had it become one of those preachy things where it was all about, "and now that I make my own handsoap and never buy anything, I'm a much better person than you," I would have hated it.

I did see that the reviews were rather dividing, and I can wholly understand why. There is a political slant in the book and she gets caught up in forgetting that a single person does not represent an entire group's beliefs. So while she rehashes the George Bush "be good citizens, go shopping" speech from her perspective repeatedly, she fails to recognize that a lot of folks from both sides of the political spectrum found the remarks to be stupid on a lot of levels. Of course, since she found her better path to citizenry through not shopping, it does make for fantastic contrast.

I did finish A Stranger in the Earth yesterday - and I'm the first review on LT! It really was a sweet book, and full of surprising depth along the way. It's one of those treats of a book where you can either read it as a straight-up story or you can sift through the treasures of metaphor and marvel at the wonderful layers Theroux wove throughout the story.

Well, I'll start on another book tonight - I think I'm feeling The Solitaire Mystery by Gaarder Jostein. As promised, though, I am moving both Possession: A Romance and The Conservationist to my TBR pile this month. This will keep me on track for getting done with my Booker Prize category by the end of the year.

August Summary

Well, I didn't meet my original goal - closing out three categories - but I did make a valiant effort. A case of Library Roulette gone wrong and a badly sprained ankle with a few pain killers worked against reading a new book every 2-3 days from my lists. But you know what? That's okay. I do feel like I'm back on target for the challenge as a whole and I can make a lot more progress in September.

I finished 5 books in 3 categories - finishing 1 category and coming to within 1 book of finishing another.

1. The Virgin Suicides from Made into a Movie (finishing the category!)
2. Stardust from Page 14 of my Catalog
3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from Young Adult
4. The Subtle Knife from Page 14 of my Catalog
5. A Stranger in the Earth from Page 14 of my Catalog

Book in Progress:

The Solitaire Mystery from Page 14 of my Catalog

Bonus Tracks (where things went slightly off the rails):

1. A Year of Cats and Dogs - for EarlyReviewers
2. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days - Library wanted it back
3. Buddha, Volume 2: The Four Encounters - Library wanted it back
4. Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth - Library wanted it back
5. Not Buying It - and here's where the Library Roulette really went off the rails...
6. Bloodsucking Fiends - where the Library wanted 20 cents...
7. Valiant - again, the Library asketh (and I oweth 30 cents!)

I have slowed down on the library reserves stuff, but things are looming. Yes, looming. In looking back at the month, I'm still sticking to The Virgin Suicides as my favorite. I have fallen hopelessly in literary love with Jeffrey Eugenides and I can't wait for new stuff. I have his short story collection on my wish list, but it's that new novel due in a "few years" that I really want.

I finished The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. I took my time with this one and I'm glad I gave myself a chance to savor it (although I really wanted to find out what happened and I devoured quite a bit today). He has a fantastic way of making the idea of thought an elevated thing - something that you should be doing as purposefully as breathing if you wish to really survive. While philosophy does have quite the mention in this book, it's nowhere near as structured as it was in Sophie's World, so it's quite a bit more accessible.

I did post a review.

I am running into "no renewal land" again, but I plan on beating the fine deadline this time. But I shall read a 999 book next - The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer from my Booker Prize category. It's about time I got cracking on that one!

(After that, it will probably be two books not on the list, but that doesn't make me a bad person. I prefer to think of it as "having a really well rounded bonus track list." One is from my personal 50-state challenge, which I do need to get to tagging tomorrow - at least the ones that I've already read!)

I finished The Conservationist last night - and got made fun of by my father! Apparently, taking 5 days to read a book is not, I repeat, not a travesty. Of course, I actually do know this, but I have to admit that this book did take a lot of concentration to get through. Every once in a while, I come across one of these books that I really enjoy, but just can't read at my normal pace. Gordimer tucked so much into every word, you just want to savor every single one - even in trying to plow through, you want to go back and re-read just to make sure you caught everything.

I updated CK and added a review.

I am in the middle of Library Roulette, so I am going off-list and reading Big Fish - which should be fast! - but that one is part of my personal 50 State Challenge. Woo! I did tag everything, by the by...and then some. It's all on the profile.

Big Fish was an enjoyable read and I feel that a light read put me back on track after The Conservationist.

In other good news - I've won Renewal Roulette! I was going to have to read another book rather quickly and put off another 999 read, but not anymore. It's renewed. Not that I don't have others coming up, but I can breathe a bit easier now.

I'm actually going to finally start Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt. Although if I find myself in the reading rut again, I do reserve the right to put it down and read something easier for a bit. :)

I've been steadily reading Possession: A Romance, but I just noticed that I do have Night's Edge due at the library soon. Not super-soon, but soon enough. This is a collection of short stories that includes a Sookie Stackhouse in-between (remember, I promised to take a break from these? This was how...by reading the short stories!) story.

I get the feeling September is going to be one of my slowest reading months in a while. It's okay. I did reserve the rest of the books from the library that I'll need from the library for the 999 challenge today. :)

I finally finished Possession: A Romance with a few interruptions thanks to Library Renewal Roulette sneaking in...I've updated the CK for the book as well. I won't be adding to the 99 reviews.

I will say that the book and story were compelling and I'm in awe of the work that Byatt did for the epistolary. At the same time, I really do feel that this could have been about 100 pages shorter and a lot tighter - I found myself skimming a lot just to get back into actual action. In particular, I found myself skimming large portions of Charlotte's journal and was shocked to find the "note" stating that portions had been left out because the writing was perfunctory and repetitive...to which I wanted to say...and half of what I just read wasn't?. Not that the journal wasn't valuable and full of good information...and I understood the idea of mining for the valuable information - but it began to read as if it had been deliberately overwritten three or four times over just to seem deliberately dense.

I haven't quite decided what to read next - I do know that The Book Thief will be due in short order, but I feel like I can sneak a quickie in before that one is due...and I'd really like to get on top of things after this slow month of reading. :)

Decided - I'm going down the True Crime road - Master Detective by John Reisinger. It looks like a fairly quick read and it involves pre-CSI sleuthing. Something that's become one of those things of fascination as I see various cold case episodes on A&E. It's amazing to realize how commonplace we've decided that all things CSI are nowadays - and not just DNA evidence...just the sheer ability to gather, identify, catalog and easily access and share evidence is fairly new in terms of detective work.

So reading about the guy that they brought in to catch the Lindbergh Baby kidnapper and how he was trusted and his methods should be interesting. I may sneak in Rick Geary's Jack the Ripper if I'm feeling particularly daring...

I finished Master Detective. Interesting read, although it's quite clear that John Reisinger clearly wanted things to have ended differently for Parker. Well, I think any caring person would have wanted things to have ultimately ended differently, but Reisinger clearly wanted Parker to get a free pass.

All in all, it was an interesting portrait of the turn-of-the-century through the Depression and crime solving. I also learned that the Lindbergh kidnapping is the crime that made kidnapping a federal crime instead of a state crime.

September Summary

I have no idea what kind of rebellion I was on, but I didn't finish my August start - instead, I just did my own thing in September. I also found September to be one of my slower reading months in a long while. I don't know if it was the change of the seasons, the ongoing job search or just a general need to slow down...but at least I did remain on the proper track for my Booker Prize Winners by completing two of those books this last month.

I completed 5 books in 3 categories last month with an additional 3 bonus tracks:

1. The Solitaire Mystery by Gaarder Jostein from page 14 of my Catalog
2. The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer from Booker Prize Winners
3. Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt from Booker Prize Winners
4. Master Detective by John Reisinger from True Crime
5. Jack the Ripper by Rick Geary from True Crime

Bonus Tracks:
Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
Night's Edge by Charlaine Harris
Astro City: The Dark Age Book One: Brothers and Other Strangers by Kurt Busiek

While I didn't hate anything I read for the challenge, I must admit nothing was really a book I loved. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd go with The Solitaire Mystery because it had a great deal of the Gaardner whimsy and mostly because I really loved Sophie's World.

Well, I have 28 books to go to finish the challenge - it's entirely doable in 3 months...but those bonus tracks are all about the house. I will say that I'm starting The Book Thief today, so here's to hoping October is a better reading month!

I've finished The Book Thief and with over 500 reviews on LT already, I won't be adding a formal review to the mix. I really did love the book - today was actually the first afternoon in a very long time I spent the entire afternoon just reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen. I chose a dinner to cook that involved taking leftovers and a few other really fast ingredients and long-term simmering that would allow me more time to spend on reading and less time on dinner prep/cooking. (HINT: Chicken Tortilla Soup is perfect for just such an occasion.)

Zusak manages so much in a book that could have gone so wrong on so many levels. When one wants to write about a teenage girl during the Holocaust whose life has been turned upside down because of the Nazis...one who will eventually learn to write her life story down...well, that's dangerous territory for anyone not named Anne. Throwing in Death as a narrator is risking a trip to Cheeseville. Thankfully, The Book Thief not only manages to rise above these risks, but tells a remarkable story of a girl, a family, a community, a country, a war and most of humanity by the time all is said and done. Not too shabby. I was misty during the final chapters. I won't lie.

I do need to move onto the next thing - of course, I do have a Library Renewal issue to deal with that is not on the list. That's Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry, but that's a pretty quick read. I do need to read an ER book that I owe on pretty soon here, but I also need to start on my two Booker Prize winners for this month as well - I've decided that they're The Siege of Krishnapur and Midnight's Children...

Yum, can you post your recipe for chicken tortilla soup or point me to the source? Chili is my go-to meal for days like that and I'd love an alternate.

Not a problem - mine is really built around leftovers & is a meld of a few internet/cookbook ones. We had half of a rotisserie chicken and we broke down and tried the KFC Grilled chicken, so these became the basis for our cooked, shredded chicken. I will say that when I've not had leftovers, I've basically boiled chicken breasts in water for 20 minutes and shredded them. :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Leftover Style

1 - 1 1/2 lbs shredded cooked chicken w/o skin
15 oz can chopped tomatoes w/juice
1 chopped onion
1 tbs minced garlic
10 oz can enchilada sauce
4 oz can chopped green chilies
2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp salt
10 oz can corn

Tortillas or Taco Shells

Basically, I throw all the ingredients save the tortillas/taco shells into a pot and heat on medium/medium low for 45 minutes to an hour. I just try to avoid boiling and get everything to heat through thoroughly and stir every so often.

To serve, I'll either heat taco shells according to box instructions or cut flour tortillas into 1/2" strips and bake them in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes (spray them with some Pam and lightly salt). Serve the soup with either a crumbled taco shell or the equivalent of a shredded and crisped up tortilla.

You can add some shredded cheese too, but the soup is already pretty good without. :)

ETA - This does serve 6.

Mm, mm, mm, thanks! I've been on a retro kick lately of baking a chicken, so no scarcity of shredded-chicken leftovers.

/thread derail :)

Great comments about The Book Thief, I loved it and remember looking at Amazon, certain that there would be no negative reviews. Reading (the few of) them was eye opening about the differences among readers.

Not everyone will like everything. Even professional reviewers didn't like it, although I noticed those were mostly after it had received a lot of praise. Perhaps some of it is wanting to be the one that hated something everyone like, some of it has to be that super-hyped feeling you get that nothing can live up to once you experience it - and then I figure there's that bit that feels that it isn't a big enough story for the event.

Then again, there are those that read things because everyone is reading it even though it's not their style and are shocked that they didn't like it after all. I imagine that there are a few of those that fall into that category with The Book Thief.

I did finish Britten and Brulightly today - it needed to go back to the library! Film Noir in graphic novel form with a teabag sidekick. Perfect!

I do owe an ER review, so I'm going to read Our Boys by Joe Drape and get a review done ASAP. I'm looking forward to this on a few levels - I'm originally from Kansas, and I love reading about sports and it's about a small town wanting and needing their kids to succeed. What more could I want?

It's off the challenge list, but it looks like a fast read - I believe Mr. Rushdie's Midnight's Children is up next...

I finished and reviewed Our Boys, which was a nice and quick read. A good non-sports sports book.

I started a few pages into Midnight's Children last night, but it was getting late. The optimist in me would like to get straight through this, but Library books are looming (I know - it's an evil theme). This is going to be my first Rushdie read.

I've been reading Midnight's Children and very much enjoying it so far. Although the gossipy side of me wonders how it was when he first met Padma Lakshmi - very different descriptions. I do enjoy how she keeps our narrator's story on track.

I do have a Library Renewal sneaking up, so I have to take a break - I'm going to read The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose about a Brown undergrads semester at Liberty University. From the reviews I've read this is not a point-and-laugh memoir, nor is it the all-too-common "let's call them all idiots" type religious expose that comes dressed up as a form of "intellectual enlightenment" in certain circles. It seems like it may come across as another Year of Living Biblically - and they even got A.J. Jacobs to blurb it to make me think that. Here's hoping that it holds up to that expectation.

I did finish up The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose and I enjoyed it - it was a really interesting look at a semester at Liberty University. And the difficulties of trying to be someone you're not for an entire semester. He happened to be there the semester of the Virginia Tech shootings and when Jerry Falwell died (he did the last print interview with Falwell through a rather odd set of circumstances), so he got a lot in his one semester.

But he got a very human view. Which was refreshing - not talking points, not just bizarre stories, not third-hand anecdotes. Oh, and one creepy roommate...I sort of wonder what came of that guy. I hope he got medication of some sort. Either way, it's all there - the good and the not-so-good. You know, just like all of us.

Now, back to Rushdie...I'd like to know what's happening!

I finished Midnight's Children last night. It took time, but it was definitely worth it - I didn't get to power through it like so many other books I've done this year, but I got an amazing story that's still spiking little questions in my head. This puts me up to 3/6 short-listed books for the Booker of the Booker prize and I'm already seeing why this one was miles ahead of Disgrace and The Conservationist - and both of those were pretty good.

I do need to stay ahead of the library (yet again) and finish off a short story collection - The Powers of Detection which I picked up for a Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse story. (This actually gives me the go-ahead to get back on that crack train!)

After I finish this, I can scan for whatever I'd like - I'm not entirely sure what I want to aim for at this point since October isn't going to produce a lot of results, but I'm still feeling okay about getting through the challenge by the end of the year (I'm an optimist!).

I've finished Powers of Detection and enjoyed the stories - I may try out a few of the authors in the future.

But I'm back on task. And picking next - Junky because my Beats category is still looking sparse and I'd like a shorty to read. Yeah, I'm that easy. :)

I finished Junky - it was a great book for such a small volume.

I've actually had a ton of stuff going on the last few days - bought a new car, starting a new job tomorrow - so I have to run around today for more last-minute errands. I'm hoping that the "which book to read next" comes to me while I'm out and about...oh, and I do need to swing by the library. I kind of owe them some fines. :( I beat the renewal roulette in reading, I just didn't actually return the books physically.

Let's see - trick or treaters tonight...plus I start a new job tomorrow, so I'm wound a bit tight...

I'm going for something light to finish out October - Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell from my Authors I've Never Read Before category. It was once an Early Reviewer book and I didn't win it at the time. I do know that the next book I'll read is one I have to for a library return - Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto which is not on the list.

I know, I know...

I liked your review of Junky. Sounds worth reading (if only I had room on my To Read pile!)

And Good Luck with your new job;)

>175 calm: There's always more room in the tbr pile! :)

I did finish Beat the Reaper and I added a review as well - it was borderline with over 75, but I figured why not at this point. It was a funny & quick read which is what I needed.

My challenge is definitely that from here until the end of the year. I know that I could call myself done - well, I could have a while ago with all the bonus tracks - by substituting a ton, but I really want to finish what I mostly laid out at the beginning of the year. I'll see how it goes. It's not impossible! :)

Of course, I'm reading a non-challenge book next to get it back to the library on time...

I finished and reviewed Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto - a super-quick read that's surprisingly elegant and quaint. It makes grief look downright beautiful.

I do have renewals coming up again, but I'm going to push through and read more of the challenge books - I'm going for it! I'm going for library books in general (even if they're not due), so I'll be reading The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles from The Beats list. It said "read me!" more than the others. :)

October Summary

Oh, this is a sparse one - Midnight's Children took up a lot of time, but it was definitely worth the time. I only managed 4 books in 3 categories. Oh - and 4 Bonus Tracks thanks to an Early Reviewer book and some Library Books that were due.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak from Authors I've Never Read Before
2. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie from Booker Prize Winners
3. Junky by William S. Burroughs from The Beats
4. Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell from Authors I've Never Read Before

Bonus Tracks
1. Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
2. Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen by Joe Drape
3. The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
4. Powers of Detection by Dana Stabenow

On the upside, this is one heck of a month to pick a favorite from my challenge books. These were all great reads for me. In the end, I have to be in awe of Rushdie even though I know he doesn't appeal to everyone - it's still phenomenal work. I still can't believe everything that was woven together to make that story come together.

I remain optimistic on the challenge, even though it's looking rough just from a thickness standpoint. At the same time, I just want to see how far I get (and I will finish them off in 2010 if I have to!).

I've finished The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles - and it was amazing in its quietness. It was also disturbing in many parts. I'm sure much as the desert is...

I updated CK and added a review as well. I understand it was made into a movie - although I'm a bit confused as to how much of it could be translated well (a ton of internal exposition). I'll have to check it out and see - Bernardo Bertolucci did the film, so it can't entirely suck!

In the meantime, I had the library on me and I also finished A Distant Soil:The Ascendant by Colleen Doran which was the second book in a graphic novel series I started back in July. The second book was way heavy on mythology, but I have faith the story will move forward.

I also read The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Nuclear Reactor by Ken Silverstein which was frightening and sad all at the same time. Anyone that wonders why it's important to take on the "it takes a village" attitude should read this to see why - I really feel like if this kid had had someone who could have been a positive mentor - who could have taken the role of let me help you funnel this passion you have into more positive avenues would have made all the difference. Instead, it was just a series of people basically happy he seemed able to take care of himself.

And I read The Compleat Moonshadow by John Marc DeMatteis. This was absolutely breathtaking - Jon J Muth's illustrations are simply art (watercolors) and the story is a coming of age story with fantastic influences from all over. I can't believe it doesn't get more attention.

I will be starting The Herbert Huncke Reader next - it's not only on my list, but it's due at the library soon too!

I've finished The Herbert Huncke Reader - and I'll be doing a review tomorrow. I found a lot of the assumed autobiographical work of Burroughs in Huncke's journals. (They did live together for a time in Texas, so it isn't entirely shocking...but it is one of those real-life Liberty Valance moments.)

I also read Magic or Madness as a bonus read in there and will be starting John Grisham's The Innocent Man. I doubt that will be a one-day read, so that will carry over into December.

I do realize that between the 45 "bonus" reads and the 59 books that I've read in-category that I've more than completed some form of a 999 challenge at this point by simply re-working my categories. But I don't really want to do that - for me, it is about the lists I started at the beginning of the year.

I'll see what I can get done by the end of the year and then I'll switch over to the 75 book reading challenge (I'm thinking of doing one graphic version and one non-graphic) while finishing any books remaining in this challenge as part of it.

November Summary

A few more books, nothing too ambitious, but I'm still chipping away. Sure, I'll finish it all in 2010 sometime, but that's okay (it'll give me a more structured start to the 75 book challenges!). Two books from the actual challenge (both from the beats category) that were both challenging in different ways and four bonus tracks with half of a new book started.

1. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles from The Beats
2. The Herbert Huncke Reader by Herbert Huncke from The Beats

Bonus Tracks
1. The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein which did help finish of Michigan for my unofficial 50 state challenge!
2. The Ascendant by Colleen Doran which the library wanted and was a second book in a series that I discovered through 500 graphic novels to read...
3. The Compleat Moonshadow by J.M. DeMatteis another library-must-return and 500 to read discovery (amazing one that deserves FAR more attention)
4. Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier a second book in a series that I found earlier this year that was due at the library (seeing a theme?)

In Progress

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

The Sheltering Sky is actually very good - just a challenging read. And that's okay. Even after reading Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee this year, I have to say that Bowles is winning the contest for hardest-to-like characters. There were days I really didn't mind if bad things happened to everyone!

Herbert, on the other hand, was a CHORE. Had they not cleverly interspersed his stories of others in there, I would have likely given up on the reader at some point (and probably not given it the three stars). Of course, he actually really lived Junky and I give him some credit for that. But, still, not everyone that ran in those circles was a brilliant writer. Moments, sure...but few and far between.

I'd love to say December's going to be all different, but I've already had to put aside my true crime for another book due at the library! Ha!

Then again, I'm really proud of everything I've gotten through so far - as I've said, I could have easily substituted in a ton of my bonus reads and called it done by now, but I'm going to leave these lists active until they're done. Even though it will clearly be sometime next year (while I'm doing the more open 75 book reads!).

I finally finished The Innocent Man by John Grisham - of course, I did read Kiss of Life in the middle because it was due at the library and all...

I'm going to read off-challenge again and get through The Poacher's Son because I owe Early Reviewers BIG TIME. It seems like a fast read. After that, it's looking like Baby Driver by Jan Kerouac.

Actually, I only have 3 books left from the library to tackle 999 - the rest I physically own. So the next book is either Baby Driver, Siege of Krishnapur or Off the Road - and then it's books I actually have around the house!

Baby Driver.... that was one of my Dad's favorite Simon & Garfunkel songs. Thanks for the memory.

You should be proud of your accomplishments Stephmo! I'm going to miss you in the 1010, so keep in touch!

That's the epigraph in the book - a verse from the Simon & Garfunkel song! (Well, copyright Paul Simon, so I think things were already tense!)

I'll keep in touch- I'll have my 75s linked in my profile (I'll probably have one regular and one graphic just to keep me on my toes!). They'll be more fun - because there will be far less "and then library roulette failed to spin on my side..." paragraphs! It'll be like I meant to do it. :)

I've finished Baby Driver after finishing The Poacher's Son in there for Early Reviewers.

I've reviewed Baby Driver and between this and just finishing Huncke's book, Kerouac becomes more and more of a jackass as a human being. Yeah, head of a literature movement and all, but it's appearing more and more as if he really didn't even have an inner circle he was nice to.

On the upside, the more tiny snippits I catch, the more I find out that Allen Ginsburg was the genuinely nice guy in the bunch - even to Jan. Silver lining found.

I've got two more books from the library, but both are very renewable and one of them is Carolyn Cassady's memoir - so I'm not really in the mood for more of Jack-the-Jerk tales (I'm assuming). And while I'm sure that The Siege of Krishnapur is lovely, I need something easy.

I'm going to read The Art of Breaking Glass by Matthew Glass - this is the last book in my authors I've never read before list. I bought it a million years ago because I liked the cover...so it's also a TBR too long, but not on that list (don't tell!).

>186 stephmo: I have The Art of Breaking Glass too! In hardcover, so TBR waaaay too long (12 years??). Thrillers don't often catch my attention these days, yet this one has survived many bookshelf purges over the years and I look forward to getting to it. Hope you like it!

Oh, mine is hardcover as well - that funky clear-ish cover over the multi-colored Rorschach blot? Hah! :)

Exactly! Reminds me of the dust jacket on Disclosure which was also somewhere around that time.

I did finish The Art of Breaking Glass which did finish out my Authors I've Never Read Before category. I wrote a review for the book and did enjoy myself.

I'm going to sleep on it, but I believe the next book is either Torso, The Shipping News or On the Road...

Oh, what the heck, it's Torso...some more true crime!

I finished Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killer by Steven Nickel, updated CK and added a review.

I figure I could try to tackle The Amber Spyglass and at least finish it out as my last book of the year...and finish off one last category before moving the rest of these books to next year's goals. (Well, finishing these out behind everyone's backs in the first 2 months of 2010...let's be honest.) :)

I finished my 4th category and the Dark Materials Trilogy earlier this evening (we've been up watching movies tonight!) with The Amber Spyglass. The controversy seems to be a much ado about nothing in that it seems to attack dogma more than the idea of spirituality. It didn't seem as hard-core atheist as "they" would have you believe.

This was my favorite volume simply because it was the most action-filled and because you saw more difficult decisions from more characters. Good thing to end the year on.

I'm 16 books shy of my original challenge (I know, 42 "bonus reads" more than negates that in numbers) - but those I'm aiming to finish in the 1st Quarter and they'll make it over to the 2010 75 book challenge.

Happy reading in the New Year!

December Summary

An overall summary:

After re-doing the math, I realized at some point, I lost a read book. So I did finish the official challenge having read 65 of 81 books and finishing 4 of my 9 categories. I've moved over to the 75 book challenges (I actually have 2 this year - a regular and graphic novel one) because I realize that with 42 "Bonus Tracks," it wasn't really a matter of not finding the time to read the books...I was just wanting to read something else at the time.

So I'm going to challenge myself to finish off the last 16 books during the 1st quarter of the year, but count them towards my 75 book challenges.

December:

I managed 5 books in 4 categories which meant I completed 2 categories - Author's I've Never Read Before and Young Adult Novels. I also kept bonus tracks to a minimum (an Early Reviewer book and a library book that was due to avoid a fine) since my reading time was at a premium most of the month:

1. The Innocent Man by John Grisham from True Crime
2. Baby Driver by Jan Kerouac from The Beats
3. The Art of Breaking Glass by Matthew Hall from Authors I've Never Read Before
4. Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killer by Steven Nickel from True Crime
5. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman from Young Adult Novels

Bonus Tracks:

1. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
2. The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron

It was a bit all over the place, but in the end The Amber Spyglass wins favorite of the month simply because it did tie in the slower first two books and made me want to find out what happened to everyone involved. Although I'm rather happy the movies are no longer being made - this would have just been a special effects bonanza and would have been annoying.

Still, at the end of the year, I stand by it all and Revolutionary Road was my favorite book, hands down.

January 2010 Catch-Up Thread

Keeping track of the books I want to finish from my original challenge list here:

Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia finished 1/15/2010
Sides by Peter Straub finished 1/23/2010
How to be Good by Nick Hornby finished 1/27/2010