Saturday, April 3, 2010
Currently on Hand: 4.3.10
As I suspected would be the case, a few of the books I checked out from the library have been renewed, and several were returned unread. Those I have retained:
1. Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton (currently reading)
2. A Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
As I'm anticipating some down time in the near term, I made another overly productive trip to the library and have picked up the following:
1. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia by C.S. Lewis
2. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
3. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
4. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
5. 1984 by George Orwell
6. Animal Farm by George Orwell
7. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'engle
8. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
10. Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton
11. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Collectively, I've got thousands of pages to read in only a few weeks if I'm to return them without renewing them. As it would require reading over 200 pages a day, that is unlikely to happen, but, crazy as I am, I intend to do my best. Worst case is either I renew or find that I'm not able to because someone has put in a hold request for it. No matter the case, unless they go lost, I'll have access to them again at some point, right?
Admittedly, I feel a bit of a book hog, but I know all too well that if you really want something...you should put in a hold request for it. And selfishly, I like to have the variety. Besides, I live in a small-town and based on the consistently diminishing hours of our library, our population does not seem to consist of a lot of readers (sad isn't it?). I might as well make use of it. :)
Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finished: 4.2.10
When I bought this book at my favorite used bookstore, the owner said something about needing to prepare for some really rough ones in the series, but assured me that if I stuck it out, it would be worth it. Based on those comments, I anticipated this particular volume to be rather horrible. That was so not the case!
In this 9th volume of the Anita Blake Series, most of our main characters are primarily absent from the storyline. Considering what a large role they have played in the previous volumes, it initially comes as quite a surprise. Honestly, I worried that without her love interests present, it would get boring or I would feel less involved in the story.
Surprisingly, I was as invested as I have ever been, and though I am happy to see the return of those characters in the 10th book, it was great to spend some time with Anita without them. The one on one time helped me get a more intimate understanding of Anita's mind. More than that, it was quite a treat to get to know the mysterious Edward better.
Overall, this turned out to be my favorite in the series so far!
Friday, April 2, 2010
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'engle
Finished: 3.29.10
Another wonderful book by Madame L'engle. As was the case with the first in this series, the story is wrought with moral lessons and ideas about what would make the world better. The particular lessons in this volume relate to hate and war, what value they serve (none), and how to overcome them (love, acceptance, belief in ourselves). Full of fantastical creatures and moving through space, body and time, it is definitely recommended and a fabulous read.
I can't wait to move on to the next in the series!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Reading List is Posted!
So, version 1 of my Reading/Book List project is now up!
At the top left-hand column, you'll see Links to Reading List Project. Underneath that heading are two links: one is the list sorted by rank (according to the various lists I pulled from to create the list) and the other is by author (sorted by author, then rank, then title). Both links are to actual Excel documents that have to be downloaded to be viewed. I use Excel 2007 so they are in .docx format.
In the list are a multitude of books. They are mostly fiction, but not all. This is primarily due to the fact that I've included all the books I own (either the real thing or in epub format on my Nook). Another reason is the first few lists I used when I began this list years ago included non-fiction works and I didn't weed them out at that time. I may in the future, but for now they will remain.
The list is a living thing and will be updated on a regular basis. When I think significant changes have been made, I'll upload the altered version and notify you in a post.
If you have any book suggestions in the meantime, please let me know so I can add them. Also, if you read something off the list and love it, please let me know!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Finished: 3.23.10
While The Magician's Nephew was quite lovely and definitely recommended, this volume (which, consequently, was written first though it is meant to be read 2nd) was even lovelier. This could partially be due to the fact that I already knew the story (even before the movie, which is odd because I don't recall having read it before), but also because...it's just lovely. What's better than a fantastical story about a land of talking animals that include centaurs and unicorns? In my book, not much.
Definitely a high recommend. :)
While The Magician's Nephew was quite lovely and definitely recommended, this volume (which, consequently, was written first though it is meant to be read 2nd) was even lovelier. This could partially be due to the fact that I already knew the story (even before the movie, which is odd because I don't recall having read it before), but also because...it's just lovely. What's better than a fantastical story about a land of talking animals that include centaurs and unicorns? In my book, not much.
Definitely a high recommend. :)
The Project
I've mentioned in at least one previous post that I am working on a book project. What is this crazy project? Explanation to follow!
In previous years, I started keeping track of all the books I owned (in Excel). Then I added books I read whether I owned them or not (in Excel). Then I gave myself a reading goal to ensure I spent more time doing it (10,000 pages, which I failed the first year), and have been doing so for three years now (having succeeded in year 2 with 15,840 pages, I increased my goal this year to 17,520). During that time, I have begun adding books I'd like to read (out of general interest), and books from a few lists (Nobel Prize for Literature, etc.), and moved it all over to Access (hello, this is what a database is for!).
Recently, I decided to expand my list by combing the web for various lists of recommended reads. They didn't have to be fancy or well-known. The lists could be favorites of some random blogger that I ran across or it could be that year's New York Times bestsellers. The point was to get as many lists as possible, enter all the books, and tally by most recommended. This would then be merged with my existing list of owned, read, and to be read for a final and ginormous list of books, mostly falling under the category of to be read. Crazy right?
Initially I started with over 100 lists of 100 or more favorites from various sources and all fiction genres (I don't do non-fiction generally speaking). So far, I've made my way through a little over 30 lists and am in the final stages of combining those books with my previous list. It is a HUGE compilation of books already, and because it seemed there was no end to the project, I'm going to do it in chunks. The remaining unadded lists will be added as I feel the urge to do so. For now, I believe my compilation consists of at least 3000 entries, and that feels quite sufficient!
So, that is the book project in somewhat of a nutshell. Any questions? Think, I'm crazy? Yeah, me too.
In previous years, I started keeping track of all the books I owned (in Excel). Then I added books I read whether I owned them or not (in Excel). Then I gave myself a reading goal to ensure I spent more time doing it (10,000 pages, which I failed the first year), and have been doing so for three years now (having succeeded in year 2 with 15,840 pages, I increased my goal this year to 17,520). During that time, I have begun adding books I'd like to read (out of general interest), and books from a few lists (Nobel Prize for Literature, etc.), and moved it all over to Access (hello, this is what a database is for!).
Recently, I decided to expand my list by combing the web for various lists of recommended reads. They didn't have to be fancy or well-known. The lists could be favorites of some random blogger that I ran across or it could be that year's New York Times bestsellers. The point was to get as many lists as possible, enter all the books, and tally by most recommended. This would then be merged with my existing list of owned, read, and to be read for a final and ginormous list of books, mostly falling under the category of to be read. Crazy right?
Initially I started with over 100 lists of 100 or more favorites from various sources and all fiction genres (I don't do non-fiction generally speaking). So far, I've made my way through a little over 30 lists and am in the final stages of combining those books with my previous list. It is a HUGE compilation of books already, and because it seemed there was no end to the project, I'm going to do it in chunks. The remaining unadded lists will be added as I feel the urge to do so. For now, I believe my compilation consists of at least 3000 entries, and that feels quite sufficient!
So, that is the book project in somewhat of a nutshell. Any questions? Think, I'm crazy? Yeah, me too.
Currently in Hand: Update
Most of the books I picked up at the library last time have been returned unread. I'm afraid the book list project has dominated a lot of my time and I'm currently in danger of getting behind on my reading goal. That said, here is what I have on hand at the moment:
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (currently reading, nearly done)
2. Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton
3. Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton
4. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'engle
5. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
It is my goal to get through these without having to renew any of them at the library, but as they are all due by March 31st (with the exception of #2 which I own), it is looking likely that I will have to renew them to get them read (or return some of them unread, like the last batch).
At the moment, I am so obsessed with the book list project, and have made such great headway with it, that I can focus on little else. Perhaps, if it's possible to do so, I will post a download for the list when it is somewhat complete. :)
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (currently reading, nearly done)
2. Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton
3. Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton
4. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'engle
5. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
It is my goal to get through these without having to renew any of them at the library, but as they are all due by March 31st (with the exception of #2 which I own), it is looking likely that I will have to renew them to get them read (or return some of them unread, like the last batch).
At the moment, I am so obsessed with the book list project, and have made such great headway with it, that I can focus on little else. Perhaps, if it's possible to do so, I will post a download for the list when it is somewhat complete. :)
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