Thursday, April 8, 2010

One Year Later

I had my FitG first anniversary on April 4. That's when it hit me how long it's been since I last posted on my progress.

Actually, I'm embarrassed about my progress. I'll blame it on an international move and gutting and renovating a house, but I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked. Besides, it took me forever to get through The Three Musketeers. For. Ev. Er.

Still, I thought, as a belated celebration of my anniversary, I'd re-post my list to show my progress and provide links to my blog with the reviews I did manage to write. (Please note: I didn't write a review for every book I read -- just the ones that moved me to write about them.)

As far as statistics go, I'm at eighteen books finished (assuming I counted correctly!) at the one year mark. Even at this (slow) rate, I should be able to meet my goal of 75% read by 2014. Phew!

I've officially abandoned one book so far (see below). That one might surprise some, because I know that one received rave reviews. I couldn't get into it, unfortunately. Call me crazy.
  1. Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
  2. Laura Amy Schlitz, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
  3. Lynn Rae Perkins, Criss Cross
  4. Cynthia Kadohata, Kira-Kira
  5. Kate Dicamillo, The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, A Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
  6. Avi Crispin, The Cross of Lead
  7. Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard
  8. Richard Peck, A Year Down Yonder
  9. Christopher Paul Curtis, Bud, Not Buddy
  10. Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak
  11. Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why abandoned (the linked review includes a short, post script explanation)
  12. Elizabeth C. Bunce, A Curse as Dark as Gold
  13. Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers
  14. Alexandre Dumas, The Man in the Iron Mask
  15. Leslie Conner, Waiting For Normal
  16. Siobhan Dowd, Bog Child
  17. Christine Fletcher, Ten Cents a Dance
  18. Matt de la Pena, Mexican White Boy
  19. Joseph Monninger, Baby
  20. Terry Pratchett, Nation
  21. Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamakim, Skim
  22. Coert Voorhees, The Brothers Torres
  23. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
  24. Melina Marchetta, Jellicoe Road
  25. Margo Lanagan, Tender Morsels
  26. Stephanie Meyer, Twilight
  27. Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid
  28. Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy
  29. Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing
  30. Scott Westerfeld, Extras
  31. Jenny Downham, Before I Die
  32. Laurie Halse Anderson, Twisted
  33. Cassandra Clare, City of Bones
  34. Eudora Welty, The Robber Bridegroom
  35. Eudora Welty, The Ponder Heart
  36. Eudora Welty, Losing Battles
  37. Annie Dillard, The Maytrees
  38. Annie Dillard, Living By Fiction
  39. Annie Dillard, For the Time Being
  40. Katherine Mansfield, The Aloe
  41. Charles Dickens, Oliver
  42. C.J. Sansom, Dark Fire
  43. C.J. Sansom, Sovereign
  44. Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
  45. Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union
  46. Ayelet Waldman, Daughter’s Keeper
  47. J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye
  48. S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders
  49. Robert Lipsyte, The Contender
  50. Chaim Potok, The Chosen
  51. Paul Zindel, The Pigman
  52. Beatrice Sparks, Go Ask Alice
  53. Robb White, Deathwatch
  54. Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War
  55. Pamela Todd, The Blind Faith Hotel
  56. Lois Duncan, Killing Mr. Griffin
  57. Robert Cormier, I Am the Cheese
  58. Harry Mazer, The Last Mission
  59. Cynthia Voigt, Homecoming
  60. Bruce Brooks, The Moves Make the Man
  61. Richard Peck, Remembering the Good Times
  62. Brock Cole, The Goats
  63. Gary Paulsen, Hatchet
  64. Walter Dean Myers, Fallen Angels
  65. Francesca Lia Block, Weetzie Bat
  66. Jerry Spinelli, Maniac Magee
  67. Michael Cadnum, Calling Home
  68. Virginia Wolff, Make Lemonade
  69. Karen Cushman, Catherine Called Birdy
  70. Cynthia Voigt, When She Hollers
  71. Rita Williams-Garcia, Like Sisters on the Home Front
  72. John Marsden, Tomorrow When the War Began
  73. Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963
  74. Victor Martinez, Parrot in the Oven, Mi Vida
  75. Edward Bloor, Tangerine
  76. Robert Cormier, Tenderness
  77. Virginia Wolff, Bat 6
  78. Joan Bauer, Rules of the Road
  79. Gary Paulsen, Soldier’s Heart
  80. Paul Fleischman, Whirligig
  81. Sarah Dessen, Dreamland
  82. Richard Peck, A Long Way from Chicago
  83. Chris Lynch, Gold Dust
  84. Gary Paulsen, The Beet Fields: Memories of a Sixteenth Summer
  85. Judith Guest, Ordinary People
  86. Joseph Bedier, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult
  87. David Klass, You Don’t Know Me
  88. Carol Plum-Ucci, What Happened to Lani Garver
  89. Jerry Spinelli, Star Girl
  90. Sonya Sones, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
  91. Ann Brashares, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
  92. Karen Hesse, Out of the Dust
  93. Lois Lowry, The Giver
  94. Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
  95. Michael Chabon, Summerland
  96. Sarah Dessen, Just Listen
  97. Marsha Qualey, Just Like That
  98. Newbery Winner
  99. Newbery Winner
  100. Newbery Winner

I have a long way to go, but every time I look at this list, I get excited all over again. So many great books in my future. I've requested four more from our library system this week and currently have Homecoming on the bedside table.

Have a great week, everyone! Happy reading.

9 comments:

Linda said...

Great progress!

Unknown said...

Yeah!

Coming soon is my yearly update and I am behind... way behind...oh dear.

Goedi said...

It is good progress, indeed. But the thing to remember, I think, is that reading is fun as well as stimulating, so the I-didn't-do-my-homework feeling isn't beneficial.
(That said, Don Quixote is seriously slowing me down.)

moonrat said...

yay! congrats. good pacing.

Goedi--Don Quixote is seriously long.

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

Yes, I remember Don Quixote taking me a long time to read. But isn't it a fun read? I remember cracking up.

Goedi, you're totally right. I will no longer allow myself to feel guilty. This is all for fun. And I am enjoying it.

Shellie, I look forward to reading your update! :)

Thanks for the encouragement, Linda!

Amy

Emily Cross said...

Thats brilliant well done!!

Good God i need to get my ass in gear!! LOL

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

LOL, Emily. Thank you. It makes me feel better that I'm not the only one who's feeling a bit behind!

Myrna Foster said...

A Long Way From Chicago is very short and will make you laugh. It reminded me of my mom and my dad's dad.

This looks like fun!

Tanguera said...

It looks like you're making great progress. In one year, I've only read eight books on my list. Yeah. Got to pick up the pace or I'll never make it.

Good luck. You've got a great list of books to read.