Thursday, June 10, 2010

Good Reads

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to read twenty books. I thought that goal would be sufficient. Little did I know how quickly I typically get through a book.

If I like it, it's done within about three days. If I don't like it, it's still done within about three days (mostly because I can't not finish a book, so I just read faster to get it over with). By the end of May I had read 15 books. I don't think I am going to have a problem meeting my goal by the end of the year.

The other part of the goal was to read a variety of books. Although I could certainly do better, I am pleased with how diversified my selection has been thus far (in comparison to, say, the last twenty-ish years of my life).

Here's a list of this year's books:
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
The Kite Runner by Khalad Hosseini
My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney* (funny-ish, just not my style)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by same*
My Antonia by Willa Cather
The Tea Shop Girls by Laura Shaefer* (more jr high drama. gag.)
Oddball Ohio: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places by Jerome Pohlen* (more or less interesting)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Stolen Lives:Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Giver by Lois Lowry

I liked them all pretty well, with the exception of those marked with an asterisk.

My favorites thus far? Definitely Guernsey Literary and My Antonia. They were both wonderful books, and I highly recommend them.

Current Reads:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

Upcoming Reads:
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown 
The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins


Although I feel like I have read thus far at a grueling pace, I expect things to slow down with the summer and with the mere fact that I have two rather lengthy books in the queue. I guess we shall see.

I decided to raise my goal to thirty diversified books. . .

10 comments:

Natalie DeVore said...

wow! That is so awesome Julia! I've heard a ton about the Hunger Games recently I think I might just have to pick them up.

{Steve and Amanda} said...

I love the Hunger Games. I can't wait for the 3rd book to come out this August.\
There was a book I read a while back that I thought was pretty diverse. It's called "The Color of Water" by James McBride. Someone gave it to me and I thought it was interesting and different from the books I usually read.

The Sabeys said...

I love The Goose Girl. One of my favorite books. And right now I LOVE The Hunger Games. And if you read that one then you can add two more on to your list with Catching Fire and the 3rd one that comes out in August.

Brooklyn said...

Ha ha, this totally reminds me about those summers we had family reunions. They were the exact years that Harry Potter would come out and you would read them endlessly in your sleeping bag!

Chris and Kristy said...

You're making quite the progress with that list of yours. I love setting goals and I like your idea of diversified selections. It's easy to get stuck in one genre or author. I think I'll have to spice up my reading list with a bit more selection too. I too liked Hunger Games (super easy read).

Unknown said...

Ahh, My Antonia. I remember LOVING that book in college. And ditto on Diary of a Wimpy Kid; my kids think it's funny, but I think it is too dumbed down for any age.

I'll be interested to read what you think about the Hunger Games. (Just don't write in any more library books! HA!)

Tricia said...

I read The Tipping Point this year too! Definitely my favorite read in a long time.

gbrooks said...

You've been busy. I haven't read a good chunk of your list, so I'm excited to have new recommendations. Try The Ladies Auxilary if you have time. I thought it was a good read.

Nollie said...

What a fun goal, you can do it!!! I'll have to add My Antonia to my list of books to read, so thank you for the recommendation.

Anna said...

I've always envied your love of reading... well, I take that back. I haven't until just recently. Reading is something that I want to learn to love. But can somehow never get past the first chapters... and if I do, I rarely finish it to the end. However, purchasing books is something i love to do and I never feel bad about spending money on them. While at the airport in Seattle waiting for my flight home, I stopped by Boarders and looked around... and I purchased two books: Hunger Games (I started it, got to ch 5 and haven't finished, but i liked the beginning and I thought if maybe i buy it, then I'll finish it?) and Three Cups of Tea. It's by Greg Mortensen who spoke at BYU, it's about how he's building relationship with pakistan by building schools. I haven't started it though...
You've inspired me to create a goal: Read 5 books by the end of the year.
Yes I know, it's hardly comparable to your goal, but it's a goal nonetheless. So thanks. :) Enjoy your books! And I'll do my best to do the same! Love you