2007 Books in Review
My 2007 Goals...
- Read more than in 2006
- Read 75 books off my TBR shelf
- End up with fewer books than I started with
My 2007 Goals Results
- I read 6 fewer books this year, but 600 more pages.... so I'm counting that as a success.
- I only read 58... but started and discarded 20 more, for various reasons. Still... not the 75 finished books that I had hoped for.
- YES! Even with library book sales, book borrowing, and Half Price Books' clearance shelves, I ended the year with 11 fewer books than I started with.
WHAT I READ
January (1489 pages, 6 books finished, 5 books discarded)
Candy Kane, Jane Lambert... a young adult book from the 40s that holds bits of nostalgia for me. I haven't read it for years and years, but found that I still loved it.
The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey... a mystery about discovering the truth about King Richard III. I had recently finished a fictional trilogy about King Edward IV, who was the brother of Richard III and was king just before Richard,so it held a lot of interest for me, as I already knew a lot of the characters.
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen... not my favorite of hers by a longshot, but advanced me toward my goal of reading all of her novels.
The Guardian, Nicholas Sparks... This was just a comfort read... it satisfied me, but just barely.
Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry
The Blue Castle... I was going to say that this was just okay, until I went and read the summary and was reminded what it was about. I DID like this... I love the Anne books, of course, so it's not a huge stretch that I would like it.
Started and Discarded: The Shipping News (20, couldn't stand the syntax), You Are Special (10, got bored), The Jungle Book (10, just couldn't get into it), Otherwise Engaged (25, um... lame.), Little Altars Everywhere (60, it just didn't grab me)
FEBRUARY (1890 pages, 6 books finished, 5 books discarded)
The Goose Girl... Oh you know, I really liked this. It's sweet and young adult fantasy-ish... but in a fairy tale sort of way. We read it for my bookgroup, and I did just really like it.
Girl with a Pearl Earring... I LOVED this... I'm not positive I loved the ending, but I did very much enjoy the READING of this one.
Like Water for Chocolate... I didn't really like this at all. The story was good, but I kept waiting for it get a little less... fantastical. And it never did, so I just couldn't buy the story, when all was said and done.
Dairy Queen Days... I read a lot of Coming of Age type books in the first half of the year, and this was one of them. It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful either. Many of the characters were endearing and likeable, and it was good to watch the boy become comfortable with who he is.
Under Gemini... I hadn't read any Pilcher for awhile, so it was nice to become acquainted with her again.
Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery... I remember reading this.... but not enough about it to tell you how much I liked it. Or not.
Discarded: Bird by Bird (25, this just isn't where my heart lies anymore), Hinds Feet on High Places (10), The Hiding Place (25), Madame Bovary (115, accidentally left it at my mom's), Robinson Crusoe (30)
MARCH (3241 pages, 11 books read, 1 discarded)
About a Boy... different, but I liked it... not a happy-go-lucky story, but it appealed to me
Cry the Beloved Country... it was slow for me, getting into it... I don't know.. I don't know if I EXPECTED more out of it and that's why I was disappointed? It was certainly a heartbreaking look into another culture.
Storm Country Polly... this was not what I was expecting... it was bound similarly to a Anne of Green Gables-esque book that I read and was written in the 20's, so I was expecting that sort of book. But it was much... coarser... than I was expecting. But I think I liked it.
City on a Hill... I enjoyed this... Kemp has taken a couple parables of Jesus and put them into story, and has put Jesus, as a carpenter before his ministry started, as a character in the story. It was enjoyable to me...
The Luckiest Girl... just a book I found at my mom's that I had read when I was younger. It was just nice to be all nostalgic and all that. It has some nice themes for a young teenage girl.
Surprised by Joy... this took me awhile to get through (I suck at reading nonfiction), but I did it! It was good... I didn't really know all that much about Lewis' childhood, and it was really interesting to see where he went in his life and what God did to draw him in.
The Jane Austen Book Club... another one I liked... I liked the way she weaved Austen's books into the lives of the characters
The Conquest... a total no-brainer read lol... sometimes you just need one of those.
The Pilot's Wife... I discovered this year that I don't like Anita Shreve. Though, of the four I've read, this one is the most palatable to me.
Three Weeks in Paris... really just a fill-the-time book
The Magic of Ordinary Days... oh, you know what, I liked this... well, most of it. The subplot in the middle was just okay... but I really DID enjoy the sweet little lovestory in this book.
Discarded: Alice in Wonderland (15)
APRIL (2021 pages, 7 books finished, 4 books discarded)
The Water is Wide... I really liked this. I expected it to be fiction, but then it wasn't... but I really found it to be an interesting, if sad, read.
These High Green Hills... I liked the first one of these... but after that, they've just grown tired for me. I think I am going to stop with this one.
The Thirteenth Tale... This was REALLY good, but I really wish that I hadn't listened to the hype because I expected something fantabulously good... and when it was just "really good," I found myself disappointed... which was really NOT the book's fault.
The Secret Life of Bees... I read this one night while staying at my mom's, and I really liked it....
Sarah's Window... quick filler read... nothing I'd recommend, but not awful either
Street Boys... I love this kind of book. It's part history, part fiction, part war-times sort of story... if you like action-y type books, you may like this one.
Life of Pi... This was one of my favorite reads from this year, and one of the very few that made it to my KEEP bookshelf. For me, it was a real pageturner, wondering if he was going to be eaten or not.
Discarded: All the Pretty Horses (40, another where I just didn't like the syntax of the way it was written... I need sentences), House on the Strand (10), Follow the Stars Home (15), A False Sense of Well-Being (15)
MAY (2605 pages, 7 books finished, 2 discarded)
Magic Kingdom for Sale... A fan of the fantasy genre, I really enjoyed this and put the series on my "finish it" list
Patty Jane's House of Curl... I loved Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons, so looked forward to picking this up,... but it was really only just okay
Where the Heart Is... a sweet though sad story
Where or When... this is when I decided that I really just don't like this author
The New Girls... I'm not sure whether to recommend this book or not... it wasn't bad exactly. 60's rich kids girls' college growing-up type book... mostly, I just wanted to strangle the majority of the characters
Gone for Soldiers... I loved this book. I'm a big fan of the author, Jeff Shaara. It's historical fiction of the Mexican-American war, and really shed a lot of light for me on his Civil War series, which I had read last year. If you're at all interested, he's a very interesting read.
Gods in Alabama... I really tried to like this... a lot of my friends like it and know the author... but I just wasn't "all that" over it
Discarded: Buffalo Girls (150, I have no recollection at all why I gave this one up), The Fountain Overflows (150, started for bookgroup...apparently didn't like it enough to finish it)
JUNE (1651 pages, 4 finished books, 2 discarded)
The Weight of Water... at this point, I decided that I truly DO hate this author and got rid of the rest of the books of hers that were still on my shelves
The Eyre Affair... Oh my gosh... seriously, I love these books. They're quirky in a Hitchhikers sort of way, and I truly truly adore them.
Dear Mrs Lindbergh... this one took me a little bit to get through... it's not exactly a happy book, but it's interesting. We get awfully commonplace about how easy it is for us to "have it all"... it's good to be reminded that it wasn't always thus.
Lost in a Good Book... sequel to The Eyre Affair.... it made me just as happy as the first one
Discarded: Wuthering Heights (140, I just couldn't stand it anymore... what a wretched waste of paper), Irish Hearts (190, I have no idea what this book is)
JULY (2540 pages, 6 books finished, 0 discarded)
Gods and Generals... a reread of Jeff Shaara's intro to his father's civil war book The Killer Angels...
The Golden Compass... I had seen the preview for the movie and thought it looked good, so of course, I had to read the book. I liked the book... for a kids fantasy book, it was good and I will probably still read the other two.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone... I am trying again to get into these. I read the first two several years ago when it was all HOOPLAH City about HP... but I honestly didn't think they were all that. So I'm trying again.
The Delaney Woman... just a simple romance mysteryish type book
The Nanny Diaries... did NOT have the ending I wanted... but I did enjoy reading the book. Course, that could also have been the post-surgery meds I was on
So Worthy My Love... I can't believe I finished this book. I FORCED myself... I don't know why. I used to read these trashy romances in high school all the time and decided to reread one. Seriously. SERIOUSLY. I did not remember them being this bad. SO SO SO AWFUL. Never again.
AUGUST (1124 pages, 1 book finished)
London... I really enjoy Rutherford's books. They are very long and require quite a commitment, when I read them. But I learn a great deal about one place and it always makes me want to go there. I enjoyed this one a LOT... more than Princes of Ireland, which was the only other one of his I'd read at the time... and more than Sarum, which I just finished the other day.
SEPTEMBER (1551 pages, 2 finished, 1 discarded)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter... I read this for bookgroup, and I really liked it. It's really not a HAPPY read... the story saddened me all the way through, and really doesn't have a happy ending. But I was enveloped into these people's lives and thoughts in a way that was good.
Morgan's Run... another historical novel... very good. This one follows the life of one man, and along the way you learn about the first convict settlements in Australia. Loosely based on the life of the author's great-great-grandfather.
Discarded: The Mists of Avalon (325, a fantasy novel, which I normally love... but I just couldn't stomach the way it wrote about Christianity anymore)
OCTOBER (741 pages, 2 finished)
So Many Books, So Little Time... I liked this, mostly. As a fellow reader, you can't help but like to "talk" to someone who loves books as much as you do... but I was ready for the book to be over by the end.
Twilight... My guilty pleasure of the year... I really liked these books. I mean, there are nothing brilliant. It's teen vampire romance. So... you know... it's not Shakespeare. But, I was totally and completely sucked into the story, blowing through the pages to get to 'what happens' next.
NOVEMBER (864 pages, 2 books finished)
Eclipse... Book 2 of the Twilight series... my least favorite of the three... I missed Edward!
The Painted Veil... read for bookgroup
DECEMBER (2365 pages, 4 books finished)
Treasure... a Clive Cussler adventure novel... these are relatively brainless, but I'd been having trouble FINISHING anything, so it was just what I need to jumpstart me back into reading
The Christmas Train... read for bookgroup... simple, and NOT the ending I was anticipating
The Other Boleyn Girl... I did really like this... I had read another book about Mary Boleyn last December, so it was interesting to see how they compared. Plus the movie is coming out soon, so I needed to get it read. :)
Sarum... another Edward Rutherford book, this time about the Salisbury Plain in England... another interesting read, but a little harder this time for me to follow who goes with what bloodlines... but that might just be a ME thing, and not any fault of the book.
IN CONCLUSION...
58 books finished, 22082 pages read, Average 60.5 pages read per day.
And while I know it sounds like I have painstakingly boiled my reading hobby down to a very boring numerical statistic... I truly enjoy the accounting of it all... so it's all good. I get to enjoy the act of reading AND the anal-ness of keeping track of it all.
Great blog about books :)
Posted by: Pattie | January 03, 2008 at 05:22 PM
I think The Gaurdian was the last Sparks book I read on my own. Didn't enjoy it very much. I did end up reading The Wedding, b/c my best friend loved it so much.
I liked Like Water for Chocolate, though - like you - I kept waiting for some realistic story to develop. LOL!
I read The Hiding Place. It wasn't at all what I expected, but I did enjoy it.
Bird By Bird is on my list of books I will read when I can actually buy it. I figure I will want to hi-lite in that one.
Jane Austen Book Club and The Eyre Affair have been on my list FOREVER it feels like.
I read So Many Books and the author sent me an autographed copy. Pretty neat. I liked her.
Loved Memory Keeper's Daughter. A sad but beautiful story.
Anywho, before I find myself commenting on ever book you read, I am off...
Posted by: Heather | January 03, 2008 at 07:19 PM
What a great list! You did a massive bit of reading there... I think I will take some from your list and add them to my list of books I want to read before I die. BTW, I love the look of your blog, too. It is so comforting and peaceful... I think maybe the earthy tones give it that feel and that picture at the top is great!
Posted by: Leann | January 03, 2008 at 07:27 PM
How did you keep up with all the books you read? I might try to do that this year!!
Posted by: Becky Perry | January 03, 2008 at 07:33 PM