I haven't been doing much (well, much for me) reading or blogging lately, so I kind of forgot about doing a 2010 recap before, you know, 2011, so I'm just going to grab this meme from the internets and go with it. One thing to add, though, is that I read 123 books this past year (nice, right?), which is fewer than 2009 and also full of many more kids and YA books, but I did enjoy most of what I read!
Best book of 2010?
Numbers-wise, my favorite books were two non-fiction books about language (The Word Snoop and Biting the Wax Tadpole), and a re-read (In the Woods), and that seems to hold pretty true even after a year of thinking about it. I will also throw in When You Reach Me, which was absolutely adorable and came so close to getting that 10.
Worst book of 2010?
I really quite disliked Thirteen Reasons Why, which I listened to, probably primarily because of the voice actors.
Most Disappointing Book of 2010?
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. I quite enjoyed Flavia in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie but found this sequel to drag on far too much.
Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010?
American Born Chinese. I had read other graphic novels before but thought they weren't terribly good; this one was brilliant and got me started on a new adventure in reading!
Book you recommended to people most in 2010?
Mostly I've been recommending books I've read in previous years, but of 2010 books I'd have to say Mr. Peanut since I've already foisted it upon my book group!
Best series you discovered in 2010?
Hmm. I quite liked the first in the new Shades of Grey series, but I'm also just kind of in love with Jasper Fforde. A completely new-to-me series that I will have to continue is Confessions of Georgia Nicholson, which was brilliantly hilarious.
Favorite new authors you discovered in 2010?
Bill Bryson! I have got to find one of his travelogues, it can only be better. Aaaand Sarah Waters, on whom I have a total girl-crush.
Most hilarious read of 2010?
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, hands down.
Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010?
If I Stay — I listened to this on my commute, so not technically "unputdownable," but I was very much looking forward to getting back into the car while this was playing.
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2010?
Mr. Peanut. Very awesome.
Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2010 to finally read?
Fingersmith. I must learn not to resist the internets!
Showing posts with label wrap-up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrap-up. Show all posts
02 January 2011
01 January 2010
Year in Review
Hello, 2010! You're looking nice today. Can I call you "oh-ten" for short? No? Blast. Well, I'm glad you're here anyway; I've noticed that every year just gets better and better so I'm expecting you to be pretty darn spectacular. I mean, just look at what 2009 gave me:
First, I managed to read 131 books. That is simply ridiculous. In 2008 I was all, "I want to read 60 books in 2009!" Ha. Take that, wimpy 2008 self. Of course, that reading activity was strongly helped by five months of unemployment that involved spending my days looking for jobs and reading and another seven months of being a library science student but still not having a job and therefore spending my days going to class, doing homework, looking for jobs, and reading. Now that I've got a job, at least through August, I'm guessing that that reading thing might fall a little bit by the wayside, but I'm going to try not to let that happen. My goal for you, 2010? Just 100 books. But they'd better be spectacular.
Second, I did read a lot of wonderful books this year. My favorites: I absolutely loved the first two books of the Moon series, which answer the question you never asked about what would happen if the moon moved just a titch closer to the Earth. Answer: Um, lots of bad things. I can't wait for the third one to come out this year!
Elantris was a total surprise love for me; it is a wonderfully written and perfectly fantastical look into the dilemmas of culture and religion. And there is magic! You can't go wrong with magic.
The Old Man's War series didn't get my highest ratings as individual books, but I would definitely put the whole series in the "Go read this now. Why are you still looking at your computer? I'm serious. Go read this now." category. It's humorous military science fiction, which sounds ridiculous but is amazing.
And lastly, I want to highlight The Manual of Detection, a book that I read in March but which I am still in awe of today; that trade paperback is MINE as soon as it comes out. Berry's writing is spectacular and his story of a Watson-turned-Holmes is delightful. (My other top-pick books can be found under the rated 9-10 tag.)
Third, etc.: I managed to complete eight reading challenges of awesomeness, participated in Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and read six books in 11 hours for the Read-a-thon. Oh, and I started an online book club with a couple of dear friends and have had a lot of fun yelling about bad books, though if we could get some excellent books going that would be great, kthx. :-D
And now, by the numbers!
2009, in review
Days spent reading: 295
Books read: 131
...in fiction: 118
...in speculative fiction: 25
...in fantasy: 22
...in mystery: 18
...in humor: 8
...in thriller: 8
...in short stories: 7
...in classics: 4
...in historical fiction: 3
...in memoir: 2
...in non-fiction: 12
...in popular science: 2
...in young adult: 29
...in children's: 13
...in graphic format: 3
New favorite authors: John Green, Mary Doria Russell, John Scalzi, Susan Beth Pfeffer
Authors I'll be keeping an eye on: Jedediah Berry, Maureen Johnson
Month by Month
January
Books read: 11
Favorite: Old Man's War, by John Scalzi (Review) 8.5/10
February
Books read: 9
Favorite: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson (Review) 9.5/10
March
Books read: 13
Favorites: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Review) 9/10
and The Manual of Detection, by Jedediah Berry (Review) 9/10
April
Books read: 8
Favorite: An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (Review) 8/10
May
Books read: 9
Favorite: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks (Review) 8/10
June
Books read: 10
Favorite: Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow (Review) 9/10
and Woman With Birthmark by Håkan Nesser (Review) 9/10
July
Books read: 15
Favorite: The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (Review) 9/10
August
Books read: 13
Favorite: The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review) 10/10
September
Books read: 10
Favorite: Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review) 10/10
and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart (Review) 10/10
October
Books read: 13
Favorite: The Dead and the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review) 10/10
November
Books read: 9
Favorite: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon (Review) 10/10
December
Books read: 11
Favorite: Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane (Review) 9/10
First, I managed to read 131 books. That is simply ridiculous. In 2008 I was all, "I want to read 60 books in 2009!" Ha. Take that, wimpy 2008 self. Of course, that reading activity was strongly helped by five months of unemployment that involved spending my days looking for jobs and reading and another seven months of being a library science student but still not having a job and therefore spending my days going to class, doing homework, looking for jobs, and reading. Now that I've got a job, at least through August, I'm guessing that that reading thing might fall a little bit by the wayside, but I'm going to try not to let that happen. My goal for you, 2010? Just 100 books. But they'd better be spectacular.
Second, I did read a lot of wonderful books this year. My favorites: I absolutely loved the first two books of the Moon series, which answer the question you never asked about what would happen if the moon moved just a titch closer to the Earth. Answer: Um, lots of bad things. I can't wait for the third one to come out this year!
Elantris was a total surprise love for me; it is a wonderfully written and perfectly fantastical look into the dilemmas of culture and religion. And there is magic! You can't go wrong with magic.
The Old Man's War series didn't get my highest ratings as individual books, but I would definitely put the whole series in the "Go read this now. Why are you still looking at your computer? I'm serious. Go read this now." category. It's humorous military science fiction, which sounds ridiculous but is amazing.
And lastly, I want to highlight The Manual of Detection, a book that I read in March but which I am still in awe of today; that trade paperback is MINE as soon as it comes out. Berry's writing is spectacular and his story of a Watson-turned-Holmes is delightful. (My other top-pick books can be found under the rated 9-10 tag.)
Third, etc.: I managed to complete eight reading challenges of awesomeness, participated in Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and read six books in 11 hours for the Read-a-thon. Oh, and I started an online book club with a couple of dear friends and have had a lot of fun yelling about bad books, though if we could get some excellent books going that would be great, kthx. :-D
And now, by the numbers!
2009, in review
Days spent reading: 295
Books read: 131
...in fiction: 118
...in speculative fiction: 25
...in fantasy: 22
...in mystery: 18
...in humor: 8
...in thriller: 8
...in short stories: 7
...in classics: 4
...in historical fiction: 3
...in memoir: 2
...in non-fiction: 12
...in popular science: 2
...in young adult: 29
...in children's: 13
...in graphic format: 3
New favorite authors: John Green, Mary Doria Russell, John Scalzi, Susan Beth Pfeffer
Authors I'll be keeping an eye on: Jedediah Berry, Maureen Johnson
Month by Month
January
Books read: 11
Favorite: Old Man's War, by John Scalzi (Review) 8.5/10
February
Books read: 9
Favorite: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson (Review) 9.5/10
March
Books read: 13
Favorites: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Review) 9/10
and The Manual of Detection, by Jedediah Berry (Review) 9/10
April
Books read: 8
Favorite: An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (Review) 8/10
May
Books read: 9
Favorite: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks (Review) 8/10
June
Books read: 10
Favorite: Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow (Review) 9/10
and Woman With Birthmark by Håkan Nesser (Review) 9/10
July
Books read: 15
Favorite: The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (Review) 9/10
August
Books read: 13
Favorite: The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review) 10/10
September
Books read: 10
Favorite: Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review) 10/10
and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart (Review) 10/10
October
Books read: 13
Favorite: The Dead and the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review) 10/10
November
Books read: 9
Favorite: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon (Review) 10/10
December
Books read: 11
Favorite: Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane (Review) 9/10
31 December 2009
December Wrap-up
Wow, another month gone! And another year at the same time! My year-end review will be up tomorrow to start the year off right, so let's look at the lovely month of December today. I finished up my second semester of grad school, maintained an awesome 4.0, and still managed to read 11 books. Basically, I'm awesome, is what I'm saying (and modest?).
It wasn't an especially delightful month of reading; I felt pretty lukewarm about most of the books I picked up, even the ones I was excited about. Oddly, my favorite, Shutter Island, almost went back to the library unread because I didn't have high hopes for it. That should teach me, right? Maybe.
My greatest personal reading accomplishment this month was finishing off all of my challenges — it was looking a little iffy there for a while, but I did manage to defeat Sir Arthur Conan Doyle yesterday, finally, to close up the Case of the Baker Street Challenge. With any luck, next year's challenges will go as well.
Now to the numbers...
Days spent reading: 29
Books read: 11
...in fiction: 11
...in mystery: 3
...in fantasy: 1
...in classics: 1
...in short stories: 1
...in young adult: 5
...in children's: 1
Series reads: Unfortunate Events
Favorite book: Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane (Review) 9/10
Challenges
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +3 books for 12/12 Completed!
The Baker Street Challenge: +1 books for 3/3 Completed!
Back to School Challenge: +3 books for 4/4 Completed!
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +7 books for 27/55
It wasn't an especially delightful month of reading; I felt pretty lukewarm about most of the books I picked up, even the ones I was excited about. Oddly, my favorite, Shutter Island, almost went back to the library unread because I didn't have high hopes for it. That should teach me, right? Maybe.
My greatest personal reading accomplishment this month was finishing off all of my challenges — it was looking a little iffy there for a while, but I did manage to defeat Sir Arthur Conan Doyle yesterday, finally, to close up the Case of the Baker Street Challenge. With any luck, next year's challenges will go as well.
Now to the numbers...
Days spent reading: 29
Books read: 11
...in fiction: 11
...in mystery: 3
...in fantasy: 1
...in classics: 1
...in short stories: 1
...in young adult: 5
...in children's: 1
Series reads: Unfortunate Events
Favorite book: Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane (Review) 9/10
Challenges
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +3 books for 12/12 Completed!
The Baker Street Challenge: +1 books for 3/3 Completed!
Back to School Challenge: +3 books for 4/4 Completed!
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +7 books for 27/55
30 November 2009
November Wrap-up
Another month of reading done... my, how time flies. I feel like I haven't read anything this month, what with all of the schoolwork and such taking over my life, but I seem to have done pretty well! Good work, self. :) I'm on vacation right now, so I think I'll leave it at that and get back to the relaxing and the reading. Lovely times.
The numbers!
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 9
...in fiction: 8
...in memoir: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in thriller: 1
...in fantasy: 4
...in classics: 1
...in young adult: 4
...in children's: 1
Series reads: His Dark Materials, Leviathan, The Amanda Project
Favorite book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time 10/10
Challenges
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +2 books for 9/12
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 2/3
Back to School Challenge: +1 books for 1/4
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +6 books for 20/55
The numbers!
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 9
...in fiction: 8
...in memoir: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in thriller: 1
...in fantasy: 4
...in classics: 1
...in young adult: 4
...in children's: 1
Series reads: His Dark Materials, Leviathan, The Amanda Project
Favorite book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time 10/10
Challenges
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +2 books for 9/12
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 2/3
Back to School Challenge: +1 books for 1/4
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +6 books for 20/55
31 October 2009
October Wrap-up
Another month down, and a suprising number of books read! The Read-a-thon helped, but then I took a week-long reading break. :) I've got one more book review to go up for October, of Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, but that I probably won't do until Tuesday, because school is indeed scary and all this homework I have is burying me. -sigh-
Here are the stats:
Days spent reading: 22
Books read: 13
...in fiction: 12
...in non-fiction: 1
...in historical: 1
...in speculative fiction: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in fantasy: 1
...in young adult: 3
...in children's: 4
Series reads: Moon series, Mobile Library Mysteries, Flavia de Luce, Alvin Ho
Favorite book: The Dead and the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer 10/10
Challenges
RIP Challenge: +2 books for 4/4 Completed!
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +2 books for 7/12
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 2/3
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +1 books for 10/10 Completed!
Back to School Challenge: +0 books for 0/4
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +10 books for 14/55
Here are the stats:
Days spent reading: 22
Books read: 13
...in fiction: 12
...in non-fiction: 1
...in historical: 1
...in speculative fiction: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in fantasy: 1
...in young adult: 3
...in children's: 4
Series reads: Moon series, Mobile Library Mysteries, Flavia de Luce, Alvin Ho
Favorite book: The Dead and the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer 10/10
Challenges
RIP Challenge: +2 books for 4/4 Completed!
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +2 books for 7/12
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 2/3
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +1 books for 10/10 Completed!
Back to School Challenge: +0 books for 0/4
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +10 books for 14/55
30 September 2009
September Wrap-up
What a month! I was right; school picked up like crazy, and wedding stuff took a lot of my time, but somehow I still managed to read 10 books this month! Yay! I hope I can keep this up.
Other fun things: I finished up the Summer Lovin' Challenge this month, which was a super fun time because I got to re-read some of my favorite books! Thanks to Jules for hosting it, and I hope she hosts another one soon, because I might not ever re-read a book again if she doesn't. :)
I also had my first book club meeting with my Mary and my Amy, and it was pretty good even though we neglected to come up with good questions to discuss about the book, and none of us were sufficiently thrilled with it to have strong opinions about anything. Now we know for next time!
A weird thing: Of the nine fiction books I read, only four of them were genre reads. I'm not used to reading so many books that can't be classified! It makes me twitch a little in my compulsive-organization mind.
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 10
...in fiction: 9
...in speculative fiction: 2
...in mystery: 1
...in fantasy: 1
...in non-fiction: 1
...in young adult: 4
Series reads: A Wrinkle in Time, The 39 Clues
Favorite book: Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer 10/10 and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart 10/10
Challenges
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +1 books for 10/10 Completed!
RIP Challenge: +2 books for 2/4
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 books for 5/12
The Baker Street Challenge: +2 books for 2/3
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +1 books for 9/10
Back to School Challenge: +0 books for 0/4
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +4 books for 4/55
Other fun things: I finished up the Summer Lovin' Challenge this month, which was a super fun time because I got to re-read some of my favorite books! Thanks to Jules for hosting it, and I hope she hosts another one soon, because I might not ever re-read a book again if she doesn't. :)
I also had my first book club meeting with my Mary and my Amy, and it was pretty good even though we neglected to come up with good questions to discuss about the book, and none of us were sufficiently thrilled with it to have strong opinions about anything. Now we know for next time!
A weird thing: Of the nine fiction books I read, only four of them were genre reads. I'm not used to reading so many books that can't be classified! It makes me twitch a little in my compulsive-organization mind.
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 10
...in fiction: 9
...in speculative fiction: 2
...in mystery: 1
...in fantasy: 1
...in non-fiction: 1
...in young adult: 4
Series reads: A Wrinkle in Time, The 39 Clues
Favorite book: Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer 10/10 and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart 10/10
Challenges
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +1 books for 10/10 Completed!
RIP Challenge: +2 books for 2/4
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 books for 5/12
The Baker Street Challenge: +2 books for 2/3
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +1 books for 9/10
Back to School Challenge: +0 books for 0/4
Critical Monkey Challenge: +0 books for 1/6
Countdown Challenge: +4 books for 4/55
31 August 2009
August Wrap-up
Well, August is done now, and I start my third LIS class tonight! I'm taking three classes all at once now, rather than one at a time as I did over the summer, so I don't know how that's going to affect my reading. And I'm going to try to get some volunteer work with a library or two or twelve so I can get some of that experience stuff that people like so much. Also, Scott and I purchased a Wii over the weekend. And got Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box for the DS. So... yeah. Books? What are those again?
The numbers!
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 13
...in fiction: 11
...in non-fiction: 2
...in speculative fiction: 6
...in humor: 1
...in fantasy: 1
...in thriller: 1
...in young adult: 2
...in children's: 1
Series reads: A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Codex Alera
Favorite book: The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review) 10/10
Challenges
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +3 books for 9/10
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 books for 4/12
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +0 books for 8/10
Critical Monkey Challenge: +1 books for 1/6
The numbers!
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 13
...in fiction: 11
...in non-fiction: 2
...in speculative fiction: 6
...in humor: 1
...in fantasy: 1
...in thriller: 1
...in young adult: 2
...in children's: 1
Series reads: A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Codex Alera
Favorite book: The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review) 10/10
Challenges
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +3 books for 9/10
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 books for 4/12
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +0 books for 8/10
Critical Monkey Challenge: +1 books for 1/6
31 July 2009
July Wrap-up
Holy crap I read a lot of books this month! Sadly, that list includes the worst book I've ever read, but what can you do? It's gotta be read sometime.
I read a lot of thrillers this month because apparently it's "recommend thrillers" month everywhere, and they were mostly okay, except for the aforementioned worst book ever. I'm not sure what it is I don't like about thrillers, but I think I'll trade them in for more mysteries next month if I can find some good ones.
I also finished two challenges this month, holy crap again! I finished off my 45th book for the Countdown Challenge, which seemed to take forever! I had six of the years done by February and the seventh by May, but it took then two more months to finish off 2007 and 2009. The latter I understand, since I had to wait until January to start those, but I wonder why books from 2007 didn't make it to my list much.
The Chunkster Challenge is also officially finished, with six 450-page monsters finished. I'm going to keep listing books there until November, though, in case you find yourself hankering for giant book recommendations in the future.
Other things I did this month: I tried to start some discussions, but failed miserably! If you want to give me a months-early birthday present, you could go check them out.
Wisconsin Library Debate
On Serialized Novels
Alternately, you can tell me that you come here because I'm pretty and I should keep my non-book thoughts to myself. :)
Onto the numbers!
Days spent reading: 27
Books read: 15
...in fiction: 15
...in fantasy: 6
...in thriller: 4
...in speculative fiction: 3
...in historical: 1
...in mystery: 1
...in young adult: 2
...in children's: 4
Series reads: Codex Alera, Old Man's War, Harry Potter
Favorite book: The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (Review) 9/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +3 books for 45/45 Completed!
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +6 books for 6/10
Chunkster Challenge: +1 books for 6/6 Completed!
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +2 books for 3/12
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +0 books for 8/10
I read a lot of thrillers this month because apparently it's "recommend thrillers" month everywhere, and they were mostly okay, except for the aforementioned worst book ever. I'm not sure what it is I don't like about thrillers, but I think I'll trade them in for more mysteries next month if I can find some good ones.
I also finished two challenges this month, holy crap again! I finished off my 45th book for the Countdown Challenge, which seemed to take forever! I had six of the years done by February and the seventh by May, but it took then two more months to finish off 2007 and 2009. The latter I understand, since I had to wait until January to start those, but I wonder why books from 2007 didn't make it to my list much.
The Chunkster Challenge is also officially finished, with six 450-page monsters finished. I'm going to keep listing books there until November, though, in case you find yourself hankering for giant book recommendations in the future.
Other things I did this month: I tried to start some discussions, but failed miserably! If you want to give me a months-early birthday present, you could go check them out.
Wisconsin Library Debate
On Serialized Novels
Alternately, you can tell me that you come here because I'm pretty and I should keep my non-book thoughts to myself. :)
Onto the numbers!
Days spent reading: 27
Books read: 15
...in fiction: 15
...in fantasy: 6
...in thriller: 4
...in speculative fiction: 3
...in historical: 1
...in mystery: 1
...in young adult: 2
...in children's: 4
Series reads: Codex Alera, Old Man's War, Harry Potter
Favorite book: The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (Review) 9/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +3 books for 45/45 Completed!
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +6 books for 6/10
Chunkster Challenge: +1 books for 6/6 Completed!
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +2 books for 3/12
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +0 books for 8/10
30 June 2009
June Wrap-Up
Days spent reading: 25
Books read: 10
...in fiction: 9
...in science fiction: 2
...in mystery: 2
...in non-fiction: 1
...in thriller: 1
...in short stories: 1
...in fantasy: 1
...in graphic novels: 1
...in young adult: 3
Series reads: none
Favorite book: Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow (Review) 9/10
and Woman With Birthmark by Håkan Nesser (Review) 9/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +2 books for 42/45
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +0 books for 0/10
Chunkster Challenge: +1 books for 5/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 books for 1/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +4 books for 50/50 Completed!
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +2 books for 8/10
Books read: 10
...in fiction: 9
...in science fiction: 2
...in mystery: 2
...in non-fiction: 1
...in thriller: 1
...in short stories: 1
...in fantasy: 1
...in graphic novels: 1
...in young adult: 3
Series reads: none
Favorite book: Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow (Review) 9/10
and Woman With Birthmark by Håkan Nesser (Review) 9/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +2 books for 42/45
Summer Lovin' Challenge: +0 books for 0/10
Chunkster Challenge: +1 books for 5/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 books for 1/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +4 books for 50/50 Completed!
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +2 books for 8/10
31 May 2009
May Wrap-up
Still just decent books this month. What a waste... got any suggestions for me?
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 9
...in fiction: 7
...in non-fiction: 2
...in science fiction: 3
...in humor: 2
...in historical: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in young adult: 2
Series reads: Uglies
Favorite book: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks (Review) 8/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +2 books for 40/45
Chunkster Challenge: +0 books for 4/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 1/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +8 for 46/50
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +2 for 6/10
Days spent reading: 24
Books read: 9
...in fiction: 7
...in non-fiction: 2
...in science fiction: 3
...in humor: 2
...in historical: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in young adult: 2
Series reads: Uglies
Favorite book: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks (Review) 8/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +2 books for 40/45
Chunkster Challenge: +0 books for 4/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 1/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +8 for 46/50
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +2 for 6/10
30 April 2009
April Wrap-Up
Lots of decent books this month, but nothing super-spectacular. I need Tana French to finish her next book or get my hands on an advance of The Angel's Game...
Days spent reading: 23
Books read: 8
...in fiction: 7
...in non-fiction: 1
...in science fiction: 2
...in fantasy: 1
...in classics: 1
...in humor: 1
...in young adult: 2
...in children's: 1
...in graphic novels: 1
Series reads: Uglies, Mistborn
Favorite book: An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (Review) 8/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +1 books for 38/45
Chunkster Challenge: +1 books for 4/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 for 1/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +7 for 38/50
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +1 for 4/10
Days spent reading: 23
Books read: 8
...in fiction: 7
...in non-fiction: 1
...in science fiction: 2
...in fantasy: 1
...in classics: 1
...in humor: 1
...in young adult: 2
...in children's: 1
...in graphic novels: 1
Series reads: Uglies, Mistborn
Favorite book: An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (Review) 8/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +1 books for 38/45
Chunkster Challenge: +1 books for 4/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +1 for 1/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +7 for 38/50
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +1 for 4/10
31 March 2009
March Wrap-Up
Another good month for reading... unemployment suits this habit! Sigh. But! I have been accepted to start a master's in library science come June, so pretty soon I won't feel like such a loser anymore. :)
Days spent reading: 25
Books read: 13
...in fiction: 11
...in non-fiction: 2, if humor columns count?
...in mystery: 3
...in science fiction: 2
...in fantasy: 1
...in classics: 1
...in short stories: 4
...in humor: 2
...in young adult: 1
...in children's: 1
Series reads: Nursery Crime, Old Man's War
Favorite book: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Review) 9/10
and The Manual of Detection, by Jedediah Berry (Review) 9/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +5 books for 37/45
Chunkster Challenge: +0 books for 3/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 0/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +13 for 31/50
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +3 for 3/10
Days spent reading: 25
Books read: 13
...in fiction: 11
...in non-fiction: 2, if humor columns count?
...in mystery: 3
...in science fiction: 2
...in fantasy: 1
...in classics: 1
...in short stories: 4
...in humor: 2
...in young adult: 1
...in children's: 1
Series reads: Nursery Crime, Old Man's War
Favorite book: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Review) 9/10
and The Manual of Detection, by Jedediah Berry (Review) 9/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +5 books for 37/45
Chunkster Challenge: +0 books for 3/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 0/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +13 for 31/50
Orbis Terrarum Challenge: +3 for 3/10
28 February 2009
February Wrap-Up
Still unemployed, so still going strong on reading... well, except for the last week of course. Darn you, Scott! Here's what we've got:
Days spent reading: 20
Books read: 9
...in fiction: 7
...in non-fiction: 2
...in science fiction: 2
...in popular science: 2
...in fantasy: 3
...in young adult: 1
Series reads: Codex Alera
Favorite book: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson (Review) 9.5/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +4 books for 32/45
Chunkster Challenge: +2 books for 3/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 0/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +8 for 18/50
Days spent reading: 20
Books read: 9
...in fiction: 7
...in non-fiction: 2
...in science fiction: 2
...in popular science: 2
...in fantasy: 3
...in young adult: 1
Series reads: Codex Alera
Favorite book: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson (Review) 9.5/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +4 books for 32/45
Chunkster Challenge: +2 books for 3/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 0/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +8 for 18/50
31 January 2009
January Wrap-Up
Whoo! Being unemployed certainly gives you time to read... and watch full seasons of How I Met Your Mother and Firefly, and play an exorbitant number of Pogo games (they have Monopoly!).
But what matters here are the books, of course.
Days spent reading: 28
Books read: 11
...in fiction: 11
...in science fiction: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in humor: 2
...in fantasy: 2
...in thriller: 1
...in short stories: 1
...in graphic format: 1
Series reads: Thursday Next, Old Man's War, Codex Alera, Nursery Crime
Favorite book: Old Man's War, by John Scalzi (Review) 8.5/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +9 books for 28/45
Chunkster Challenge: +1 book for 1/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 0/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +10 for 10/50
But what matters here are the books, of course.
Days spent reading: 28
Books read: 11
...in fiction: 11
...in science fiction: 1
...in mystery: 2
...in humor: 2
...in fantasy: 2
...in thriller: 1
...in short stories: 1
...in graphic format: 1
Series reads: Thursday Next, Old Man's War, Codex Alera, Nursery Crime
Favorite book: Old Man's War, by John Scalzi (Review) 8.5/10
Challenges
Countdown Challenge: +9 books for 28/45
Chunkster Challenge: +1 book for 1/6
The Baker Street Challenge: +0 books for 0/3
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge: +0 for 0/12
Support Your Local Library Challenge: +10 for 10/50
31 December 2008
Year in Review
I've been doing my Summer Reading Project for a few years now, but since I graduated, I realized I had so much more time for reading that I wanted to keep recording it through the year.
I started this blog at the end of August and retroactively put up all of my summer reviews to start it off. Then I started reading like crazy, apparently! It really amazes me that for the past two months I've read two books per week, and most of them fairly long books at that.
Not counting all of the books I read for my spring semester classes (and there were a lot!), I read 41 books in eight months. Thus, using my math-jitsu skills, I'm going to set next year's goal at the same pace, 60 books in one year. I think I can totally do it.
Without further ado, because lists are awesome...
2008, in review
Books read: 41
Favorites:
The Sparrow (Rating: 9.5/10)
The Likeness (Rating: 10/10)
In the Woods (Rating: 9.0/10)
The Palace of Illusions (Rating: 9/10)
Right Ho, Jeeves (Rating: 9/10)
New favorite authors: Tana French and Jasper Fforde
Authors I'll be keeping an eye on: Mary Doria Russell, John Green, Neil Gaiman
Month by Month
May
Books read: 3
Favorite: The Philosopher's Apprentice (Rating: 8/10)
June
Books read: 4
Favorite: The Palace of Illusions (Rating: 9/10)
July
Books read: 2
Favorite: Storm Front (Rating: 8/10)
August
Books read: 6
Favorite: Right Ho, Jeeves (Rating: 9/10)
September
Books read: 5
Favorite: The Sparrow (Rating: 9.5/10)
October
Books read: 5
Favorite: Misery (Rating: 8/10)
November
Books read: 8
Favorite: The Likeness (Rating: 10/10)
December
Books read: 8
Favorite: The Shadow of the Wind (Rating: 8/10)
My New Year's resolution for this blog is to do a wrap-up at the end of every month. Maybe I can keep this one!
I started this blog at the end of August and retroactively put up all of my summer reviews to start it off. Then I started reading like crazy, apparently! It really amazes me that for the past two months I've read two books per week, and most of them fairly long books at that.
Not counting all of the books I read for my spring semester classes (and there were a lot!), I read 41 books in eight months. Thus, using my math-jitsu skills, I'm going to set next year's goal at the same pace, 60 books in one year. I think I can totally do it.
Without further ado, because lists are awesome...
2008, in review
Books read: 41
Favorites:
The Sparrow (Rating: 9.5/10)
The Likeness (Rating: 10/10)
In the Woods (Rating: 9.0/10)
The Palace of Illusions (Rating: 9/10)
Right Ho, Jeeves (Rating: 9/10)
New favorite authors: Tana French and Jasper Fforde
Authors I'll be keeping an eye on: Mary Doria Russell, John Green, Neil Gaiman
Month by Month
May
Books read: 3
Favorite: The Philosopher's Apprentice (Rating: 8/10)
June
Books read: 4
Favorite: The Palace of Illusions (Rating: 9/10)
July
Books read: 2
Favorite: Storm Front (Rating: 8/10)
August
Books read: 6
Favorite: Right Ho, Jeeves (Rating: 9/10)
September
Books read: 5
Favorite: The Sparrow (Rating: 9.5/10)
October
Books read: 5
Favorite: Misery (Rating: 8/10)
November
Books read: 8
Favorite: The Likeness (Rating: 10/10)
December
Books read: 8
Favorite: The Shadow of the Wind (Rating: 8/10)
My New Year's resolution for this blog is to do a wrap-up at the end of every month. Maybe I can keep this one!
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