I’ve been a busy reader this year. I have set a goal of reading fifty books this year, and I am on pace to achieve it. Yay!
Last year I set the same goal and only reached 34 books. Boo!
So what’s different with this year? Well, I am keeping a journal. In the front, I write notes about the book: new or nebulous words, interesting lines, examples of technique, and general notes about the novel and the author’s writing. In the back of the book I maintain a to-read list and a daily log. I work this list from back to front. When the back meets the front, I will start a new journal. I have shelves full of unused journals I’ve picked up over the years.
Best Book
The Bluest Eye. This book still sits with me.
Enjoyed The Most
Orphan Train. The American immigration story, engaging.
The Fault In Our Stars. A simple story and trite writing, but Green knows how to create and maintain tension.
Carnival. Rawi can write!
Enjoyed The Least
The Crying Of Lot 49. Maybe if I was an adult in the 60’s I might catch on to it. It’s an unresolved conspiracy story. Like Lost or X-Files, you never find truth. A frustrating read.
Worst Book
Hunting Badger. This must have been released by mistake. Disastrous gaps and redundancies.
Learned Most From
Toni Morrison, hands down.
Rawi Hage is a first rate writer.
I made lots of Atwood notes.
Crummey is a fantastic, modern literary writer.
Genre Breakdown:
Literary: 8
Craft: 3
Historical Fiction: 1
YA: 1
Crime: 1
Rating Breakdown:
5 star: 5
4 star: 3
3 star: 5
2 star: 0
1 star: 1
Difficulty Breakdown:
5 star: 4
4 star: 3
3 star: 3
2 star: 4
1 star: 0
Sex:
Male: 8 authors
Female: 6 authors
The List:
| Finished | Title | Author | Sex | Country | Genre | Rating | Difficulty |
| Apr-10 | A Handmaid’s Tale | Margaret Atwood | F | CA | Literary | *** | **** |
| Mar-29 | The Bluest Eye | Toni Morrison | F | USA | Literary | ***** | ***** |
| Mar-18 | Orphan Train | Christina Baker Kline | F | USA | Literary | *** | ** |
| Mar-13 | Sweetland | Michael Crummey | M | CA | Literary | ***** | *** |
| Mar-06 | The Crying Of Lot 49 | Thomas Pynchon | M | USA | Literary | *** | ***** |
| Mar-01 | Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them | Francine Prose | F | USA | Craft | ***** | ***** |
| Feb-24 | The Fault In Our Stars | John Green | M | USA | YA | **** | ** |
| Feb-18 | Beloved | Toni Morrison | F | USA | Literary | ***** | ***** |
| Feb-04 | The Trade | Fred Stenson | M | CA | Historical Fiction | **** | **** |
| Jan-31 | The Maples Stories | John Updike | M | USA | Literary | **** | *** |
| The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies for Success | Donald Maas | M | USA | Craft | *** | ** | |
| Jan-17 | Carnival | Rawi Hage | M | CA | Literary | ***** | **** |
| Jan-17 | Bird By Bird | Anne Lamott | F | USA | Craft | *** | *** |
| Jan-05 | Hunting Badger | Tony Hillerman | M | USA | Crime | * | ** |
