Status Update--The Coffeespoons

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October is ending, and around this time of the year, I like taking a good long look at where I am in my life. I think it has something to do with December creeping up, signalling the following things: Christmas, the end of another year, and the celebration of another birthday. Yup, I love December and its significance that, months before it, I like getting psychologically prepared.

So, with two months left in the year, I thought I'd take a look at my reading progress. When I started this blog, I set out my general reading plan. Basically, I had pretty fluid goals--read a lot of books from my awards lists (Booker and Pulitzer) and other distinguished lists (1001 Books to Read before you die, BBC Big Read, Time 100 Novels). No time limit on the reading, and I do not intend to compel myself to read every book on these lists. Just the ones I am interested or vaguely interested in.

I'll summarize my progress on these lists by this year's close, but now, I'm checking my status with another more concrete and more immediate reading goal I have. And that is to read 100 books this year.

I know, I know--for some of the people, 100 books is easy-peasy. But, for me, it's the perfect kind of challenge: difficult, yet doable. I didn't really list down this challenge in my General Plan, but it's my only concrete reading goal this year. I just settled on 100 to up my game from the 66 books last year.

So, I've been keeping my reading log in one of my Shelfari groups. And here's my progress so far:
  1. March - Geraldine Brooks (Jan. 3)
  2. The Elephant Man - Bernard Pomerance (Jan. 4)
  3. Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem (Jan. 8)
  4. Club Dead - Charlaine Harris (Jan. 9)
  5. Grave Sight - Charlaine Harrs (Jan. 12)
  6. Grave Surprise - Charlaine Harris (Jan. 14)
  7. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood (Jan. 18)
  8. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson (Jan. 19)
  9. Island of the Aunts - Eva Ibbotson (Jan. 20)
  10. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson (Jan. 22)
  11. An Ice-cold Grave - Charlaine Harris (Jan. 23)
  12. The Time-Warp Trio: Knights of the Kitchen Table - Jon Scieszka (Jan. 28)
  13. Dragondrums - Anne McCaffrey (Feb. 1)
  14. One for the Money - Janet Evanovich (Feb. 1)
  15. Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz (Feb. 3)
  16. White Noise - Don DeLillo (Feb. 5)
  17. Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore (Feb. 6)
  18. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (Feb. 11)
  19. Love Story - Erich Segal (Feb. 12)
  20. Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler (Feb. 18)
  21. The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip - George Saunders, illustrated by Lane Smith (Feb. 21)
  22. Vampire Knight, Volume 1 - Matsuri Hino (Feb. 22)
  23. Vampire Knight, Volume 2 - Matsuri Hino (Mar. 1)
  24. The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (Mar. 2)
  25. No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy (Mar. 2)
  26. The Birth of Venus - Sarah Dunant (Mar. 6)
  27. Naomi - Junichiro Tanizaki (Mar. 9)
  28. Cirque du Freak # 1: A Living Nightmare - Darren Shan (Mar. 16)
  29. Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen (Mar. 20)
  30. Something Blue - Emily Giffin (Mar. 22)
  31. Surfacing - Margaret Atwood (Mar. 22)
  32. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde (Mar. 29)
  33. Heartsick - Chelsea Cain (April 2)
  34. Para Kay B - Ricky Lee (April 5)
  35. The Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley (April 6)
  36. Slumdog Millionaire - Vikas Swarup (April 8)
  37. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (April 9)
  38. Something Wonderful - Judith McNaught (April 11)
  39. The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller - Betsy Burton (April 18)
  40. Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine (April 19)
  41. Bunnicula - Deborah and James Howe (April 19)
  42. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld (April 21)
  43. Baby Proof - Emily Giffen (April 24)
  44. Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie (May 11)
  45. The Fairy's Return - Gail Carson Levine (May 24)
  46. The Dante Club - Matthew Pearl (May 29)
  47. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen (May 30)
  48. Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris (May 31)
  49. Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith (June 3)
  50. Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris (June 4)
  51. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris (June 5)
  52. All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris (June 5)
  53. The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros (Jun 16)
  54. The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov (June 18)
  55. Up the Down Staircase - Bel Kaufman (June 19)
  56. The Secret Speech - Tom Rob Smith (June 25)
  57. From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris (June 27)
  58. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris (June 28)
  59. Sandman vol. 4: Season of Mists - Neil Gaiman (June 28)
  60. Fables vol. 1: Legends in Exile - Bill Willingham (June 28)
  61. Shakespeare: The World As Stage - Bill Bryson (July 6)
  62. The Book of Illusions - Paul Auster (July 18)
  63. Fevre Dream - George R.R. Martin (August 4
  64. A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore (August 7)
  65. Brokeback Mountain - Annie Proulx (August 14)
  66. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (August 20)
  67. City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) - Cassandra Clare
  68. In the Woods - Tana French (Sept. 7)
  69. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (Sept. 12)
  70. Trese: Murder on Balete Drive - Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (Sept. 20)
  71. Trese: Unreported Murders - Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (Sept. 21)
  72. City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments Trilogy, Book 2) - Cassandra Clare (Sept. 23)
  73. City of Glass (Mortal Instruments Trilogy, Book 3) - Cassandra Clare (Sept. 27)
  74. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) - Rick Riordan (Oct. 2)
  75. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (Oct. 6)
  76. Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones (Oct. 7)
  77. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons (Oct. 13)
  78. Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld (Oct. 18)
  79. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness (Oct. 19)
  80. Vampire Knight vol. 3 - Matsuri Hino (Oct. 25)
  81. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh - Robert C. O'Brien (Oct. 25)
  82. Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller (Oct. 25)
  83. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier (Oct. 29)
83, so far. And I owe that with the help of a few graphic novels and a couple of middle readers. But I draw the line at my children's picture books and the books I read for work. Only because I don't really count them as part of my leisure reading material. And I've really been remiss in reviews. I only regularly reviewed up till book #55.

Now that I've typed this list, I realize that, though I might not remember every little detail from these books, I do remember how I felt while I was reading most of them. And those memories are still very fresh, so much so that I'm surprised to find out that it's been months since I read those first few books. Was it really that long ago? Has it been almost a year since I read Motherless Brooklyn, gone on the first of my Charlaine Harris sprees, and discovered Bill Bryson?

Looking at the list, I feel like I'm looking at a picture album--seeing a snapshot of each book and who I was when I read it.
I have seen the mornings, evenings, and afternoons
I have measured out my life with coffeespoons.
These are my coffeespoons so far, these books I've read.

But, while I might enjoy looking at the past, Lord knows I have 17 books left to read to get to my goal of 100 by December 31. Wish me luck?

And how are you doing so far with your reading goals?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I am trying to make more of an effort to read outside of my usual authors/genres. Great list of books you have read so far. Good luck on reaching 100.
October 31, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Peter S. said…
Hi, Honey! Wow, 83 books! I haven't even reached 50 yet. (I think this year is a personal low for me in terms of the number of books I've read, and it doesn't help that some of the books I've finished are doorstops!)

And Rebecca! Will you write a review about it? I've gotted hold of a copy of her short stories and novella and it was great! Alfred Hitchcock's movie, The Birds, was based on a short story by du Maurier, but the short story is scarier than the movie and had a claustrophobic feel to it!

How did you find Leviathan, by the way? I've really been curious about it since the cover and the pages are just so lovely!
November 1, 2009 at 8:34 AM
fantaghiro23 said…
@christine - Thanks! It IS fun to try out genres, too. For instance, who knew I'd enjoy reading manga?

@Peter - Ah, it's not the quantity of reading; it's the quality..:) I will eventually write reviews on all these books I missed out on reviewing. It helps that I have more free time now.

And yes, I LOVED The Birds, the short story more than the movie. In fact, I was disappointed that the movie wasn't as menacing.
November 1, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Suzanne Yester said…
What an accomplishment! Congratulations on 83! Since starting my own blog, I have noticed my reading volume increased, but like you I am not pushing the quantity as much as the pure pleasure of reading. I think I'm going to count the books I read so far, and maybe I'll secretly see if I can reach 100 next year! I am curious about 1001 Books to Read before you die... are they a mix of classics and ?
November 1, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Anonymous said…
You are so right there is something about this time fo year that really makes you think and something very similar has happened with me of late. I have banned myself from planning what I read and am now just seeing what books jump out at me from my shelves or what books cross my path. I had gotten lost in 'must reads'.
November 3, 2009 at 11:53 PM
Aarti said…
You're doing really well! I get reflective this time of year, too. I think it's because winter is coming (for me, anyway), and that's when I consider the "start" of my reading year. Not sure why!
November 4, 2009 at 4:42 AM
Anonymous said…
Wow, 83! I don't think I have reached that and to think I only blog about book reviews. Shame on me. I'm possibly at a measly 50, being such a slow reader.

Actually I haven't counted and this post reminds me to do just that so I can do a wrap up too for this year.

Good luck on the 100 goal! I guess I must follow your example and set next year's reading goal just so I can really reduce my TBR pile (which is my ultimate objective).
November 5, 2009 at 9:37 PM
Anonymous said…
I love this site!! It's a comfort zone. I keep looking for my favorite book titles here, and you know what? I find them!

:)
November 7, 2009 at 9:33 AM
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