Today, I took in:
“Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories
new episodes of my current favorite TV shows: The Good Place and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
oh geez, four episodes of Person of Interest (they’ve really got me with their surface-level engagement with issues of privacy, security, and civil liberties)
I made:
small progress with 15 minutes of Spanish practice on Duolingo
Today, I took in:
the end of The Dark is Rising
three episodes of Castle
I made:
a couple lovely hours of music with my friend — he on guitar and me on vocals; we did a pretty kickass “Zombie” and “Wish You Were Here” and a not-bad “Spooky,” among others
small progress with five minutes of Spanish practice on Duolingo
Today, I took in:
The Dark is Rising
A couple episodes of Castle (such fun no-thinking TV)
I made:
slow progress on 10 minutes of Spanish practice with Duolingo
Can you tell I had more work today than earlier?
Today, I took in:
the Winter Acoustic mix on Spotify (a bit too much earnest whining in the mix)
Ring Lardner’s “Haircut” in 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories
part two of The Dark is Rising
three episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (very more-ish)
I made:
a Sunrise, Sunset blog post for tomorrow
small progress with 10 minutes of Spanish practice on Duolingo
Today, I took in:
Susan Cooper’s novel The Dark is Rising (a classic YA fantasy I’d somehow never even heard of, let alone read, and perfect for this time of year as it’s set between Midwinter and Twelfth Night — so far I’m really enjoying it)
James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything (some good tracks but overall uneven)
Julie Byrne’s album Not Even Happiness (lovely songs sung in a lovely voice)
Ernest Hemingway’s “My Old Man” in 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories
The Doctor Who Christmas special (byeeeee Mark Gatiss and Stephan Moffat, you’ve definitely overstayed your welcome)
An episode of Godless (not inclined to watch any more of that)
I made:
some headway practicing 10 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo
the start of a poem (not a good one, but my first in nearly a year and therefore a good start)
London, England; December 11, 2017
Baggins Book Bazaar, Rochester, England; April 2, 2017
Books! I want to read them all the time, I always have at least one on the go, and yet despite all that and my two months of unemployment at the end of the year, I still barely made it to 52 books read in 2016. I suppose the rest of life holds a lot of distractions. Anyway, I read several excellent books last year, several good ones, and a few duds. I made a concerted effort to read mostly books by women.
Let’s break it down.
Books read: 52
Books by women: 46
YA fiction: 12
Non-fiction: 8
Adult fiction: 32
Series read or completed: 3
Books read because I wanted to evoke a certain time and mood while I was in a certain place: 2 (The Paris Wife and A Moveable Feast)
My favorite fiction titles: The Interestings, A God in Ruins, How to Be Both, My Brilliant Friend, All Our Pretty Songs, The Girl with All the Gifts, Texts From Jane Eyre
My least favorite fiction titles: The Quick, Burial Rites, The Heart Goes Last, My Life Before Me, Innocent
My favorite non-fiction titles: H is for Hawk, Notorious RBG
Non-fiction titles that surprised me by being disappointing, given how much I like the authors’ other work: Bad Feminist, Scandals of Hollywood
Hard copies read: 5
E-books owned: 3
So… e-books borrowed from the library: 44!
Books written before 1900: 1
Books written 1900-2000: 13
Books written 2000-2010: 1
Books written after 2010: 37
And with an eye to the future…
For 2017, I’m hoping to read:
How about you? Any books coming out this year that you can’t wait to read, or authors who you’re hoping will do a Beyonce-like surprise release?
I keep track of the books I read on Goodreads, and I also write mini-reviews of nearly every book I read on there. If you’re on Goodreads, or if you’re looking for a way to keep track of what you read/what you want to read/what your friends recommend you read, feel free to add/follow me on there. There’s a link and a list of what I’m currently reading to the left on this blog’s main page, or down at the very bottom if you’re reading on a mobile.
Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom; May 21, 2013
At the beginning of 2012 I realized I had quite a few novels on my bookshelf that I hadn’t ever read. This seemed silly, to own books that just sat there without being enjoyed. So I endeavored to read through as many of them as I could before leaving on my trip in September 2012. I have about 45 unread, and I’m hoping to read 20 or even 25 by Labor Day.
Here’s what I’ve read so far:
Kindred — Octavia E. Butler
American Salvage — Bonnie Jo Campbell
The Love Wife — Gish Jen
O Pioneers! — Willa Cather
Father Brown Stories — G.K. Chesterton
A Tramp Abroad — Mark Twain
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings — Maya Angelou
Dangerous Laughter — Steven Millhauser
Go Tell It on the Mountain — James Baldwin
The Sound and the Fury — William Faulkner
The Glass Castle — Jeannette Walls
All the Pretty Horses — Cormac McCarthy
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek — Annie Dillard
A Field Guide to Getting Lost — Rebecca Solnit
UPDATED AUGUST 4:
Okay, so I read 14 books off that shelf and a few from the library or borrowed from friends. Not my goal, but not bad. I’m packing all my books away this weekend, so that’s the end of the Bookshelf Challenge for 2012. I might revisit it when I move back to the States — whenever and wherever that might be!
Here’s a photo of the shelf post-challenge (the books on their sides are the unread ones).
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