2009

2009 Reading in Review

2009, Books in Bed /

Before I set up my 2010 reading challenges, a look at what I read last year:

64 Young Adult Fiction and Non-fiction
25 Adult Non-fiction
12 books that I really didn't like (which doesn't count the ones that I didn't finish)
73 books added to the "favorites" category (which might be a record and is probably significantly higher this year due to the children and YA fiction that I read.)
20 graphic novels (I thought I'd read more!)

I finished the Cybils challenge that I created for myself – a total of 66  books.
I finished the From the Stacks challenge (which is really From the Stacks by Color challenge) – a total of 12 books.

163 books completed in 2009. Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

Let's see what 2010 brings. I've gotten a slow start…

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

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The Fireman’s Christmas

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction /

We were over on BlogHer talking about Christmas books and @firemom fessed up that she had picked up a cheesy Christmas romance – about a fireman.

We bugged her til she told us the title – The Fireman’s Christmas – and then I promptly ran over to my library website and reserved it. (Poor Sassymonkey couldn’t do the same, her library doesn’t have it.)

TW read it and liked it.
RJ read it and hated it – she hates firemen. They aren’t dark and brooding enough. Too cheesy, all-American-y for her. She likes REAL bad boys – like vampires. (Whatever.)
I read it and enjoyed it.

Yes, it’s a Harlequin which means it fits all of the typical Harlequin stereotypes. But there’s nothing wrong with a fun Harlequin every now and then.

Fireman.
Independent business owning woman.
Six kids (including a set of twins.)
A dog. A cat.

What’s not to enjoy?

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Her Fearful Symmetry

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Oh look, I finished a book. I’ve hit a rough patch, have you noticed? Work related. Life related. Bad book related. Not that Her Fearful Symmetry was bad. It wasn’t bad at all, it was good. Pretty freaking freaky and creepy and really not what I expected from the author of Time Traveler’s Wife.

Though I suppose it is a kind of travel… really good, dark, interesting reading.

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Matchless

2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

When I gave up on The Lacuna, I picked up Matchless. Yay, a short book by an author I like, based on a fairy tale. I could wash away my depression around not being able to read the Kingsolver with a bit of Christmas fairy fantasy.

Yep. That’s what happened. Sort of.

Matchless is a nice, easy story. I read it right before I turned out the lights last night. A very nice bedtime story. I believe you can listen to Matchless on NPR – it was written specifically for NPR and meant to be listened to rather than read.

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The Lacuna

3 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

Sigh. I couldn’t read The Lacuna. I’m not sure I even made it through 100 pages. It’s wonderfully well written. Smart. But, it’s slow as molasses. And, I just didn’t care much for the main character. I kept hoping, as the boy grew up, it would move more quickly or that I’d get attached to him. Maybe that would have happened, had I kept going.

But, the book was due back to the library and if I only managed to get through 1/6th of the book in a week… it just didn’t seem worth it. Which is sad. I like Kingsolver. Or maybe I just want to continue liking Kingsolver? Maybe I should stop reading her new books and just re-read Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven?

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Yes!

2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

I wasn’t sure I was going to read Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. My to be read list was long and it seemed like one of those books you read bits and pieces of while reading other things – and I wasn’t in the mood to do that.

But, TW had provided a bit of commentary about it when she read it – so a couple of days before it was due back to the library, I picked it up. I assumed I’d read a couple of sections and then just take it back. Instead, I found myself reading it all of the way through. It was interesting.

Interesting to think about yourself, your managers, your coworkers and how they use (or don’t use) these smart methods of persuasion and management. Very interesting.

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Windless Summer

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

Oh look, another book with a dissatisfying ending. It’s not that I like happy endings, but good grief! The ending of Windless Summer was pretty spectacularly depressing.

The whole book was surprisingly depressing and I found myself dreaming about weird hotel rooms and the number six. I also have no idea why TW insisted that I needed to read this book. It seems an odd book for her to insist on. Must be the autistic kid factor? Or maybe the karma surrounding room six?

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Fade

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Young Adult /

RJ and I got into a discussion about the Lisa McMann series and she convinced me that I shouldn’t wait to read more, that I should either read her copy of Fade or grab it from the library. So I did.

RJ was very troubled by Fade. I’m not sure why it was more troubling than Wake. Maybe because Janie figured out what’s going to happen to her because of her dream catching? Or maybe it was the date rape stuff? I don’t know, I haven’t had a chance to ask her. I just enjoyed it and am ready for the next book.

Of all the “powers” one might have, falling into other people’s dreams has got to be one of the most horrible. shudder.

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