Looking back: Books in 2010
Jan. 5th, 2011 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wishfulclickingI started 2010 with the goal to read 50 books. I fell short by 7 but I'm not stressing over it. Considering I went through a three month spell where I barely read anything, and other health issues popped up, I'm okay with what I managed to get done. Enough about the books I didn't read and now time to discuss the ones I did read.
Breakdown: 43 books total, 15 Young Adult, 2 books of poetry, 3 Graphic Novels, 2 nonfiction works, the rest majority Literary Fiction and some other mainstream fiction.
Last year I did make plans to read more Young Adult fiction (mostly because so many blogs I follow talk about them and they were all so excited) and I'm pleased with the numbers I put in; now that I made that goal, I'm no longer concerned about having YA make up almost a third of the titles from my reading list.
Wow, do I need to read more nonfiction.
Ending last year with poetry was one of the best things I accidentally did. I forgot how much I love poems. Definitely adding more poetry in 2011.
Favorite Book: The Book Thief. I was dodging this one because I try to avoid books that are hyped to me but this one edges out the other for managing to a) have me an emotional mess for the last twenty pages, b) have me experience tears of sadness, then turn around to tears of joy, c) not make the tragedy too dramatic and letting also the good times shine through, d) not letting a unique narrative voice overpower the story, and e) not reigniting my Holocaust fatigue even though it was set during that time period. This book had a lot stacked up against it: (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas seriously made me swear off of Holocaust themed for a while and I tend to go in suspicious if sites keep on saying books are must read; and even though it says at the beginning what's going to happen and I steeled myself because that's what I do and it still got me and I wasn't even mad.
Close Favorites: The Other, Penelopiad
Book that Made me Think: The Other for really putting to text things I've been thinking about all year in such a short read that I just slowed down on so I could soak it all in. It's definitely a book I want to revisit this year. Juliet, Naked really made me dwell on music fandom and what it means to me and what function does art have and all these things I meant to post on (especially experiencing bandom which took me to a whole new level of fannish enthusiasm)
Most Quoted from: Yes, I fell off major in posting quotes here (and I'm sorry for that) so I can't go by the quotes posted here. Apparently I quoted from The Penelopiad a lot and that water quote is still one of my favorites, but The Other had some ones that really made me think. I spammed my tumblr with Anne Sexton poetry and I have pages of e.e. cummings scrawled down.
The One I could Have Done Without: The Forest of Hands and Teeth because it left no impression on me except that every guy wanted the heroine and made me flashback to The Village too much for my liking, The Adoration of Jenna Fox actually made me upset for the message it seemed to be sending and for false advertisement (but I blame blogs for that), Fetch for being boring and long.
Plans for 2011
Following some challenges from this post. Specifically the Shakespeare, Chunkster (books over 450 pages but I am including ebooks with this one), Quirky Brown. I have no plans in officially signing up for all of these (maybe Quirky Brown and Chunkster) but I do plan to unofficially lurk. Also, make some headway on all the books I own but have yet to read and maybe some rereads. More poetry and more nonfiction. Fill in some cultural holes perhaps. 50 books again for this year.
Breakdown: 43 books total, 15 Young Adult, 2 books of poetry, 3 Graphic Novels, 2 nonfiction works, the rest majority Literary Fiction and some other mainstream fiction.
Last year I did make plans to read more Young Adult fiction (mostly because so many blogs I follow talk about them and they were all so excited) and I'm pleased with the numbers I put in; now that I made that goal, I'm no longer concerned about having YA make up almost a third of the titles from my reading list.
Wow, do I need to read more nonfiction.
Ending last year with poetry was one of the best things I accidentally did. I forgot how much I love poems. Definitely adding more poetry in 2011.
Favorite Book: The Book Thief. I was dodging this one because I try to avoid books that are hyped to me but this one edges out the other for managing to a) have me an emotional mess for the last twenty pages, b) have me experience tears of sadness, then turn around to tears of joy, c) not make the tragedy too dramatic and letting also the good times shine through, d) not letting a unique narrative voice overpower the story, and e) not reigniting my Holocaust fatigue even though it was set during that time period. This book had a lot stacked up against it: (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas seriously made me swear off of Holocaust themed for a while and I tend to go in suspicious if sites keep on saying books are must read; and even though it says at the beginning what's going to happen and I steeled myself because that's what I do and it still got me and I wasn't even mad.
Close Favorites: The Other, Penelopiad
Book that Made me Think: The Other for really putting to text things I've been thinking about all year in such a short read that I just slowed down on so I could soak it all in. It's definitely a book I want to revisit this year. Juliet, Naked really made me dwell on music fandom and what it means to me and what function does art have and all these things I meant to post on (especially experiencing bandom which took me to a whole new level of fannish enthusiasm)
Most Quoted from: Yes, I fell off major in posting quotes here (and I'm sorry for that) so I can't go by the quotes posted here. Apparently I quoted from The Penelopiad a lot and that water quote is still one of my favorites, but The Other had some ones that really made me think. I spammed my tumblr with Anne Sexton poetry and I have pages of e.e. cummings scrawled down.
The One I could Have Done Without: The Forest of Hands and Teeth because it left no impression on me except that every guy wanted the heroine and made me flashback to The Village too much for my liking, The Adoration of Jenna Fox actually made me upset for the message it seemed to be sending and for false advertisement (but I blame blogs for that), Fetch for being boring and long.
Plans for 2011
Following some challenges from this post. Specifically the Shakespeare, Chunkster (books over 450 pages but I am including ebooks with this one), Quirky Brown. I have no plans in officially signing up for all of these (maybe Quirky Brown and Chunkster) but I do plan to unofficially lurk. Also, make some headway on all the books I own but have yet to read and maybe some rereads. More poetry and more nonfiction. Fill in some cultural holes perhaps. 50 books again for this year.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-06 05:51 am (UTC)And yet another rec for The Book Thief! I am wary of it for the same reasons you just listed so that bodes well. I'll have to track it down. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-06 05:56 am (UTC)Of course everyone reacts differently to a book, but I highly recommend giving it a shot.