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books

I own quite a few books.

In 2007, I challenged myself to read at least 50 of the books I own but haven’t read, a rate of slightly less than one per week. While I easily read that number of books over the course of the year, making me an outlier in surveys of adults in the United States, only a small portion were books I owned. The vast majority came from my local library, and a not-insignificant number were newly acquired in 2007. Which means that I only made a small dent in the stacks of books I’ve accumulated over the years but have yet to read.

I also put myself to the auxiliary challenge of not purchasing any new books in 2007. This was more difficult than the actual reading, although made easier by the proximity of the library. I managed to limit my purchases to (1) new books by authors whom I like to support financially, (2) new books in series that I absolutely had to read as soon as possible, and (3) used books. It seems quite likely that I’ll never be able to go a year without buying a book, but I did succeed in dramatically reducing the impact on our household budget.

Although it was not a stated part of my own personal literary challenge, I did try to write reviews for the books I read. I was successful in keeping up with this practice through the first 20 and then it became summer. I fell behind and became daunted by the scope of catching up. It’s my plan to post reviews for all of the books on these lists, but whether that will happen in a timeframe at all related to when I read them remains to be seen.

For 2008, I set myself the same challenges, and hope to actually read 50 of the books on my own shelves! Starting with the (brand new!) ones I received for my birthday and Christmas. It’s seeming likely that this won’t actually happen, given how much time I’ve been spending outside and how little time I’ve been spending reading anything. Never say never, though: I’m still planning to track the books I do read and knock a few dozen off the to-be-read list.

I’ve started reading, but (still!) not yet finished:

I’ve finished reading:

  1. Aya, by Marguerite Abouet (6/10)
  2. No Word From Gurb, by Eduardo Mendoza (6/10)
  3. The New Moon’s Arms, by Nalo Hopkinson (8/10)
  4. The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon [from a friend] (9/10)
  5. The Hidden City, by Michelle West (6/10)
  6. Passin’, by Karen E. Quinones Miller [from the library] (5/10)
  7. Bloodline and Reckoning, by Kate Carey (6/10)
  8. Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer [from the library] (8/10)

In 2007 I read:

  1. The Salt Roads, by Nalo Hopkinson (7/10)
  2. Black Girl / White Girl, by Joyce Carol Oates [from the library] (6/10)
  3. No Angel, Something Dangerous, and Into Temptation, by Penny Vincenzi [from the library] (7/10)
  4. Brown Girl in the Ring, by Nalo Hopkinson [from the library] (6/10)
  5. Deliverer, by C. J. Cherryh [from the library] (5/10)
  6. Un Lun Dun, by China Miéville (8/10)
  7. The Boleyn Inheritance, by Philippa Gregory [from the library] (5/10)
  8. The Big Year, by Mark Obmascik (9/10)
  9. Family Tree, by Barbara Delinksy [from the bookshop] (5/10)
  10. The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan (7/10)
  11. Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell (9/10).
  12. Unequal Childhoods, by Annette Lareau (7/10).
  13. The Patron Saint of Liars, by Ann Patchett [from the library] (5/10)
  14. The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian [from the library] (6/10)
  15. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards [from the library] (5/10)
  16. Something Rotten, by Jasper Fforde (6/10)
  17. Anil’s Ghost, by Michael Ondaatje (10/10)
  18. Kushiel’s Justice, by Jacqueline Carey (6/10)
  19. Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, by Garth Nix [from the library] (7/10)
  20. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde [from the library] (6/10)
  21. Thus Was Adonis Murdered, by Sarah Caudwell [from a friend] (5/10)
  22. Night Sky Mine, by Melissa Scott (7/10)
  23. Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver (8/10)
  24. Throw It to the River, by Nice Rodriguez (7/10)
  25. Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami (8/10)
  26. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (5/10)
  27. Beggars in Spain, by Nancy Kress (6/10)
  28. The Known World, by Edward P. Jones (7/10)
  29. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver (9/10)
  30. Night of Rain and Stars and Whitethorn Woods, by Maeve Binchy [from the library] (5/10)
  31. A Respectable Trade, by Philippa Gregory [from the library] (6/10)
  32. The Guy Not Taken, by Jennifer Weiner [from the library] (6/10)
  33. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling (6/10)
  34. The Teahouse Fire, by Ellis Avery [from the library] (8/10)
  35. The Divine Economy of Salvation, by Priscila Uppal (5/10)
  36. Sheer Abandon, by Penny Vincenzi [from the library] (5/10)
  37. Leaper, by Geoffrey Wood [from the library] (6/10)
  38. Black and White, by Dani Shapiro [from the library] (6/10)
  39. The Birth House, by Ami McKay (9/10)
  40. The Last Days of Dogtown, by Anita Diamant [from the library] (7/10)
  41. Divisadero, by Michael Ondaatje [from the library] (8/10)
  42. Auntie Mame, by Patrick Dennis [from the library] (7/10)
  43. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (9/10)
  44. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon (7/10)
  45. Looking for Jake, by China Miéville (8/10)
  46. The Counterfeiters, by André Gide (8/10)
  47. The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh, by Evelyn Waugh (6/10)
  48. Teen Angst? Naaah…, by Ned Vizzini [from the library] (7/10)
  49. The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Foster [from the library] (5/10)
  50. Ace of Spades, by David Matthews [from the library] (6/10)
  51. Black No More, by George Schuyler [from the library] (8/10)
  52. Be More Chill, by Ned Vizzini [from the library] (8/10)
  53. A Spot of Bother, by Mark Haddon [from the library] (5/10)
  54. The Ladies of Grace Adieu, by Susanna Clarke [from the library] (6/10)
  55. Beggars and Choosers and Beggars Ride, by Nancy Kress [from the library] (6/10)
  56. The Faraday Girls, by Monica McInerney [from the library] (5/10)

My rating system:

  • 1 through 4: These books are too bad to finish (or start), and therefore never show up on any list.

  • 5: I wish I hadn’t read this book, as I’ll never get the time back. I suppose it was more entertaining than cleaning the toilet. Since I finished it, it’s getting ranked and tallied, darn it.
  • 6: This book was ok; definitely better than cleaning the toilet. Probably even better than mowing the lawn. I didn’t necessarily like it but something in it grabbed my attention enough to finish it (usually a compulsive desire to know the ending).
  • 7: I liked this book fine; you might like it more. Often, these are books I appreciated in terms of writing or context or creativity but didn’t necessarily love reading.
  • 8: Good book! I’m glad I read it! Reading it was fun! Yay, book!
  • 9: Great book! I’d definitely read it again and recommend it to everyone. These books go on my lifelist of favourites.
  • 10: OMG this book is one of the best ever! The person who wrote this book has a brain that is so different from my brain it is nigh on impossible to imagine. I could not come up with a single way in which this book could be better.