Saturday, January 1, 2011

The Reading List, 2010

A friend got me onto this idea of keeping a list of the books I read by year. This is the second year I've done it but I'm not sure I'm going to do it again: too stressful. I actually found myself occasionally reaching for something thinner near the end of the month so I met my quota (three per month was the aim). Screw that; I have two kids and a busy job. Anyway, FYI. A few I've read before (Pi, etc), but needed to re-read for work. Comments and questions welcome.

January
1.      Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography by Jimmy McDonough
2.      The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell
3.      A Writer’s Notebook by Caroline Sharp

February

4.      Notes for Monday by Barb Gordon
5.      Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

March

6.      Grendel by John Gardner
7.      The Book of Lists
8.      Write to Learn by Donald M. Murray
9.      For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

April

10.  Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
11.  The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
12.  Life of Pi by Yann Martel
13.  Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

May

14.  Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk
15.  501 Must-See Movies
16.  10 Simple Solutions by Glenn R. Schiraldi

June

17.  The Power of One by Bryce Courteney
18.  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
19.  All My Creative Writing 25 Manuscripts
July

20.  Friday by Robert Heinlein
21.  How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb

August

22.  Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
23.  Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe

September

24.  The Whale Road by Robert Low
25.  The Bathroom Book of Saskatchewan Trivia by Glenda MacFarlane
26.  Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

October

27.  The Shining by Stephen King
28.  Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers
29.  Quintspinner by Dianne Greenlay

November

30.  1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro
31.  Blue Ink and Epiphany by Anna Kristina Schultz
32.  The Wolf Sea by Robert Low

December

33.  The Forest Laird by Jack Whyte

2 comments:

  1. Some great picks on there. I'm curious which ones are re-reads. Love to see the Hem on there (since apparently we're both his reincarnation). Have you read his A Moveable Feast (my favourite of his books)? Or any books by the Canadadian version of Papa, Morley Callaghan? He's definitely worth a look if not.

    Impressive that the Don was in a 4 book month. But I can't help hating Pi, ugh.

    I think you should keep doing this list, and sharing it. I love seeing what people read in the course of a year. I started doing a list last year but got lazy around March and stopped keeping track. Kudos on keeping it up. Keep on!

    Also here's a question: of all the books you read this year, which one would you most recommend?

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  2. Thanks for the comment. I think I'll keep doing it, but only as a year list, rather than month by month. I put Quixote where I finished it, I think I started it in January or so. Fun, but tough.

    Hemmingway is a recent love and Moveable Feast is on my to-do list. Callaghan I've yet to discover.

    Pi was a re-read--for school. I teach it and I like it a bit more every time, but it'll never be my favorite. I just like the discussion it brings--every person has to decide which is the true story. Cool for a classroom.

    Other re-reads were: Grendel, Fight Club, Write to Learn.

    Good question about recommendation, I'd have to say it would be Shakey. I don't know if you much like that answer, but I've become kind of obsessed with musician bios as a result of reading it, and listening to Neil at the same time. Beatles and Pink Floys are awaiting me in 2011. 2nd choice is For Whom the Bell Tolls, 3rd Riotous Assembly. Sarum was great too, but I'm a history nut. The 501 movies one as well.

    Thanks, I think I will keep at it, just in a different way.

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