You've GOTTA read this!: Mid-Year Update

Monday, July 6, 2009

Mid-Year Update

Most of my blogger friends out there are pretty organized, even to the point that they do a lovely recap at the end of every month. As organized as I am in real life, I am a bit of a mess in my cyber world. I figure I can handle a mid-year update though, just to make myself feel like I am accomplishing something, if nothing else. Here is what I've read so far this year:

January

Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky
Phantom Prey - John Sandford (audio)
Remembering Blue - Connie May Fowler
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Annie Barrows (audio)
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon (audio)
Away - Amy Bloom
The Holocaust Chronicle
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (audio)

February

The House of Mondavi - Julia Flynn Siler
Gossamer - Lois Lowry (audio)
Death in Breslau - Marek Krajewski
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel - Louise Murphy
Dewey - Vicki Myron
Messenger - Lois Lowry (audio)
To My Senses - Alexandrea Weiss
Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon (audio)

March

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
A Partisan's Daughter - Louis de Bernier (audio)
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The School of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister (audio)
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning - Danette Haworth
The Giver - Lois Lowry (audio)
Number the Stars - Lois Lowry (audio)

April

Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry
Resistance - Owen Sheers
Voyager - Diana Gabaldon (audio)
Sugar Cage - Connie May Fowler
Skeleton Creek - Patrick Garman
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield (audio)
Night - Elie Wiesel
Everyone is Beautiful - Katherine Center (audio)
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh (audio)

May

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (audio)
Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell (audio)
Persuasion - Jane Austen
The Kind of Friends We Used to be - Frances O'Roark Dowell (audio)
Before Woman Had Wings - Connie May Fowler
39 Clues: Maze of Bones - Rick Riorden
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
A Dog's Life: An Autobiography of a Stray - Ann Martin
Every Man Dies Alone - Hans Fallada

June

Drums of Autumn - Diana Gabaldon (audio)
Pendragon Book One - D.J. MacHale
Gauntlet - Richard Aaron
Great Dream of Heaven - Sam Shepard
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (audio)
Savvy - Ingrid Law
Gone Tomorrow - Lee Child (audio)

A nice even 50 books so far! Not too bad, especially since some of them were chunksters, and the 4 Outlander audiobooks ranged from 28 discs to 39 discs. Now, here is where I am with my challenges:

Outlander Challenge: Completed 4 out of 6
Read and Review Challenge: All books that I've read have been reviewed
TBR Challenge: Completed 11 out of 12
War Through the Generations: Completed 8 out of 10
Classics Challenge: Completed 3 out of 4
Southern Reading Challenge: Completed 3 out of 3

I've got a huge pile of books that are screaming my name, so my goal is to finish off my challenges and attack this compelling list of books, including:

Life Class - Pat Barker (I won this from Frances @ Nonsuch Book)
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
In the Woods - Tana French
Random Acts of Heroic Love - Danny Scheinmann (a gift from Jackie @ Farm Lane Books)
My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier (I won this from Caite @ A Lovely Shore Breeze)
Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri (the book I selected for the 4R's challenge)
A collection of works by Irene Nemirovsky

Hope you all are having a productive year! Are you all happy with what you have accomplished this year? Any change of goals for the next six months?

14 comments:

Literary Feline said...: You're doing very well reading wise, Sandy! I wish I could say the same. My reading is a bit off this year. I keep telling myself that I'm at least enjoying what I'm reading and that's the important part. :-); July 6, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Unknown said...: I loved the Time Traveller's Wife! I'm sure you will too.

I'm planning to read In the Woods and Interpreter of Maladies at some point soon too. I look forward to comparing notes!; July 6, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Melody said...: You're doing very well, Sandy! I wish I've the courage to tackle those chunksters, haha!

I've been reading lots of great reviews on The Time Traveller's Wife so I need to get that book soon!

I loved In the Woods! But The Likeness is even better IMHO. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on ITW!; July 6, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Darlene said...: You're doing awesome! I should really do this update thing to get myself in order. I'm behind on challenges and such. This is a good way to take a look at where you're at. I really enjoyed Time Traveller's Wife. I read it with my book club and we all liked it.; July 6, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Beth F said...: NIce half year! And those Outlander books really eat up one's reading time -- but in a good way!; July 7, 2009 at 8:48 AM
The Bumbles said...: I don't know how you have the time to read and review all of those books. I belong to a 50 Books A Year group on Goodreads and I'm only through 16. But then again, that is ahead of my pace last year which saw me complete 25.

And I like that you only need 6 more books to finish off all your challenges. I see so many people sign up for those and then never follow-through.

I would skip In The Woods myself, but I think I've told you that before. So many other books I would recommend you get to before that one. But I think I'm in the minority.; July 7, 2009 at 1:14 PM
Melissa said...: I meant to get a quarterly update up, but had to settle for 6 months.

I started In the Woods, got about halfway through and never picked it back up...; July 7, 2009 at 1:27 PM
Sandy Nawrot said...: Funny thing about "In the Woods". I'm amazed at how a book can be loved and disliked at the same time, but I guess that is what makes the world go 'round! I am particularly motivated to read this because I listened to its sorta sequel "The Likeness", which I Loved. It is bad enough that I read them out of order, but I can barely sleep at night knowing I haven't read them both!!

Since this was my first year of blogging, I was especially careful not to over-commit on the challenges. I know the world won't fall apart if I don't complete them, but that is just not how I work. See, if I finish these, then I can do more!; July 7, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Anna said...: Wow! You're on a roll. Great job!

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric; July 7, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Suite Francaise is an unforgettable book for me. Evelyn Waugh is new author for me and I have to get on reading him. Guernsey is so much fun.

50 books??? Gosh you're doing so well!; July 7, 2009 at 8:01 PM
Wendy Hill said...: Just noticed you in Cardiogirl's VIP lounge. What an impressive reading list. I love that you have recently been filling yourself with Lois Lowery books. I love her books and have read all that you mentioned. Plus, I did just check out Skeleton Creek (in hopes of luring my non-reader teen son - but I don't think he's biting).

As for my year, I am feeling bad that I haven't tackled nearly as many books as I usually do. What I have noticed is that I completed at least half my books on audio. Now that my van's cd player is broken, my list is very short.

Nice to meet another reader. I'll have to pop back in again from time to time.; July 8, 2009 at 11:20 PM
Sandy Nawrot said...: Wendy! So glad you stopped by! I have seen you hanging out in Cardiogirl's lounge as well. It is always such a social place! I had to mention that I am from Indiana originally, and about leaped out of my seat when I saw your post on Indiana Beach! The amusement part of my youth. I have such fond memories of that place, from the time I was young through the trips over there with my friends when I was in high school.

Skeleton Creek should get his attention. I have a non-reading nine year old son, and what I've been doing is reading to him and my daughter, which they love. That, and kid audio books in the car (cool ones, like Hunger Games!). It seems he is becoming more drawn to books this way.

I hope to see you back here!; July 9, 2009 at 5:48 AM
Wendy Hill said...: Yes, we love Indiana Beach. Funny thing is we had been coming to this house for years as our vacation and never even tried IB. Now we go several times every summer (love it's lack of crowds and family friendly appeal).

As for my non-reader, I read to him and we did audio books all the time. He would even have said he liked the books. But, now that he is 13, he doesn't want to listen in the van either (he'd rather text or listen to his music). I have been forcing him to read to the younger boys and to read something for at least 15 minutes, but he complains all the time.

We have a long car trip coming up and I want to play Bill Bryson's "Thunderbolt Kid" memoir because all the boys would probably enjoy hearing his tales of being a young boy (though there are some parts I wouldn't want them to hear, so I'm thinking it woudl be better if I read it - sure to turn off the eldest son).; July 9, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Iliana said...: Yay - you are doing so well! I love seeing everyone's mid-year reviews. I sometimes like to do a month's wrap up but it just depends on if I can remember to do so - haha...

For me, I'd like to spend the rest of the year more with my books. I don't want to do too many blog tours and that sort of thing. They are tons of fun and I want to do one here and there but they do require more of a commitment and I just want to be a bit more relaxed. I think I overdid it in the last few months :); July 9, 2009 at 1:40 PM