I have finished my first 15 books. Of the titles, there was only one book by a woman. I’ve been reading a lot of James Patterson. I read the whole Daniel X series and started the Woman’s Murder Club series both of which are by James Patterson. I discovered Julius Lester, a neat African-American author who lives locally. I have also discover Daniel H. Wilson and Bill Bryson, who I will happily read more titles by,
Still I wonder what sort of feminist reads only one book by a woman. Even the 4 books I’ve started for the next 10th are written by men. I don’t really know what my literary choices mean. Perhaps not as much as I think.
Showing posts with label commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commentary. Show all posts
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Commentary: My Final Twenty Books
n’t believe that it’s December 30th and I’m writing my concluding book summary for my final 20 books. On July 16th, when I posted my 81st book review I thought I would be done by August or September, at the latest. Not December 29th. But things happen. Things like the Three Day Novel Contest. I was also very tired of books for awhile. And I was spending much more time writing, than reading, which is a good thing according to my bottom line. But a bad thing for this project.
My 81st book was Love is Mixed Tape, which is a biography of a young man who became a widower very early in life. My 100th book is the story of a demon hunting soccer mom who comes out of retirement. In this journey I read a ton of books by people I’ve never heard of in categories that I never thought I would enjoy. I’ve discovered amazing people, like Jasper Fforde who just needed a second chance. And now I’ve read every book he’s ever written. I also have learned to appreciate James Harriet, who I thought was sadly non-relatable for a person of my generation. His books, I thought, were more for older people.
There are other books I could have done without knowing they existed. The most obvious of these is Florida Is Closed Today, which is supposed to be a spy novel, but made no sense whatsoever. A close second is One Thousand White Woman, which is something I’m not sure is historical fiction or historical fact. If it’s fact, it’s crazy. If it’s not, I’m glad. I’m really sorry that I spent days of my life reading these books. I think the Universe owes me some time back.
But all in all, I feel like I’ve grown as a writer in my quest to read 100 books. I’m proud of my accomplishments. I feel like every book has taught me something. Even the stinkers have taught me what not to write like. In 2011, because I’m somewhat of a masochist- and I freely own this as part of personality that I can’t change- I’m going to read 150 books. I originally thought I would read 200 but sanity prevailed. I’ll keep you updated on my quest.
My 81st book was Love is Mixed Tape, which is a biography of a young man who became a widower very early in life. My 100th book is the story of a demon hunting soccer mom who comes out of retirement. In this journey I read a ton of books by people I’ve never heard of in categories that I never thought I would enjoy. I’ve discovered amazing people, like Jasper Fforde who just needed a second chance. And now I’ve read every book he’s ever written. I also have learned to appreciate James Harriet, who I thought was sadly non-relatable for a person of my generation. His books, I thought, were more for older people.
There are other books I could have done without knowing they existed. The most obvious of these is Florida Is Closed Today, which is supposed to be a spy novel, but made no sense whatsoever. A close second is One Thousand White Woman, which is something I’m not sure is historical fiction or historical fact. If it’s fact, it’s crazy. If it’s not, I’m glad. I’m really sorry that I spent days of my life reading these books. I think the Universe owes me some time back.
But all in all, I feel like I’ve grown as a writer in my quest to read 100 books. I’m proud of my accomplishments. I feel like every book has taught me something. Even the stinkers have taught me what not to write like. In 2011, because I’m somewhat of a masochist- and I freely own this as part of personality that I can’t change- I’m going to read 150 books. I originally thought I would read 200 but sanity prevailed. I’ll keep you updated on my quest.
Commentary: My Forth Twenty Books
I didn't expect to get here so early. I expected to cross this barrier around September 1st, but I've been reading a lot of short books lately. That, of course, ups the amount of books read. I've also encountered quite a few books I was simply unable to put down even though it was three in the morning and I should have gone to bed. I finished the entire Angela series. I also read a few more histories and bunch of James Harriott. One particularly interesting thing is that this 20 books included finishing the entire collective work one author Jasper Fforde and more sadly the ending of a series because the author, Nancy K. Robinson, died. Until Fforde I had never read the entire literary output of one person. You get a particular insight when you do that.
I've gained some new author. I never really understood why most people like Dave Barry, but after listening his CD collection, I can see his appeal. To me, he is much better in the ear than on the page. I've also used this section to complete two books that have been on my to be read list forever. They are Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix and Don't Eat this Book by Morgan Spurlock which can now go earn me a couple of dollars at the Raven Used bookstore in Northampton. The last book I finished is sectioned with Bus Girl by Gretchen Josephson, a poet with Down Syndrome. I thought this was appropriate being that I am a poet with a disability too. I plan to include parts of the review I wrote here along with other reviews I'm going to write of other disabled poets books in an article for Examiner.com. That's called using your material twice. It kind of feels like cheating but no one says it's against the rules.
With this, fourth 20 out of the way so early (it's not even August) I expect to cross the 100 book barrier sometime around mid-October. This challenge has become just like Nanowrimo. I'm so close I can smell it. I find it hard to give up on something when you get that close and with over four months to go I don't see how I could fail. I must not be too cocky in this regard because when you are cocky things go wrong.
I've gained some new author. I never really understood why most people like Dave Barry, but after listening his CD collection, I can see his appeal. To me, he is much better in the ear than on the page. I've also used this section to complete two books that have been on my to be read list forever. They are Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix and Don't Eat this Book by Morgan Spurlock which can now go earn me a couple of dollars at the Raven Used bookstore in Northampton. The last book I finished is sectioned with Bus Girl by Gretchen Josephson, a poet with Down Syndrome. I thought this was appropriate being that I am a poet with a disability too. I plan to include parts of the review I wrote here along with other reviews I'm going to write of other disabled poets books in an article for Examiner.com. That's called using your material twice. It kind of feels like cheating but no one says it's against the rules.
With this, fourth 20 out of the way so early (it's not even August) I expect to cross the 100 book barrier sometime around mid-October. This challenge has become just like Nanowrimo. I'm so close I can smell it. I find it hard to give up on something when you get that close and with over four months to go I don't see how I could fail. I must not be too cocky in this regard because when you are cocky things go wrong.
Commentary: My Third Twenty Books
Having finished book 60 yesterday, I am quite confident that I will reach my goal of reading 100 books by December 31st.This Section was a very mixed bag. There were a few books written for teenagers, more Artemis Fowl, more Sarah Vowell and Barbara Ehrenreich. There was also the discovery of Steve Alton whose crazy science fiction adventure series that features a prehistoric shark is way better written than I thought it would be. I'm on the third installment of the book and it's holding its own. Not like so many serialized novels that should have been killed off in one volume.
I'm happiest that I discovered Crisper Bojalian. His book Tran-Sister Radio is the best book I've ever read in my life and I've read a lot of books. The only reason I didn't give it a ten is because I felt one must leave a little space in case something truly spectacular comes along. Therefore, I gave it a 9.95. The funny thing is that now he's my friend of Facebook because I wrote him a big gushy fan letter. I almost had a heart attack. I sent him a friend request, but I never thought he would respond. I also, in another act of daring, sent him my review of his book which I posted here. I want to read his other books, but I'm afraid that they would just be a big let down after T.S.R. which is how he refers to the book.
In my fourth 20 books, I will read more works by the authors of Naomi and Eli's No Kiss List which was my 59th and very funny even though it was kind of tawdry and written for teenagers. Who says that a girl can't have a little fun? I also vow to finally finish Pen Dragon. I have the ninth and tenth book to finish. I also plan to finish James Harriot's biography which has five books in it, For most people, that would sound obnoxious, but he has a lot to say. It's not all about him either. Sometimes it's about his veterinary practice, his friends, his wife, and so on. I resolve to finish the last two books in the Meg series as well as the last book in the Thursday next series. Jasper Fforde is growing on me.
If I finish five more books this month, I will only need to read seven every month to reach my goal by the end of the year. I can do that easily. I think I'm already in the middle of seven books. Let me count: The Big Overeasy, Fairy Wars, First Among the Sequels, The Dave Barry Audio Book Collection, and Take the Cannoli. Wait that's only five. My biggest problem is that I start new books before I finish old ones. Never mind that this is logical as the older ones are due first or that someone from the audio book club may be waiting for it as I am with Helen Keller autobiography which has been on my shoot to me list for two months in the number one position, but the silly person who has it has not returned it. I just excited about some new topic and start reading that. Never mind what I was reading before. I have 49 items checked out of the library now. That ridiculous! I have one book from the audiobook club and I'm in the middle of those five books. But I know myself. I'm going to start reading Bus Girl by Gretchen Josephson en route the gym tomorrow. She's a poet with Down syndrome and I've been waiting for months to read her book. I couldn't find it on Alibris.com and I'm currently boycotting Amazon.com because they refuse to pay their affiliates in Colorado because Colorado requires Amazon to pay taxes for items they ship into Colorado. My honorary niece asked me to sign this petition on Facebook because a lot of the money that Colorado was collecting was going to disability services. I've never been a big fan of the corporatized publishing world anyway, so signing the petition was no problem until this book which I really want to read. I went to my favorite bookstore and discovered it was out of print. I called the publisher, but never heard back. I looked in my local library system and the one in central Massachusetts. I was getting to point where I decided I was never going to be able to read the book, so as a last ditch effort I searched the Massachusetts virtual catalog which has every library in the state of Massachusetts connected and you can borrow from them and have it delivered to your home. I thought I had checked this before, but I spelled something wrong or a copy just got donated recently because on my second attempt, I found it. The very skinny volume is presently at my house. I am looking forward to it immensely.
I think my fourth 20 books will be finished by September 15th. I say it will take me so long because a lot of the books I want to read have over ten discs and some are in print which takes longer for me. I also won't have a lot of time to read because I'm going to the U.S. Social Forum and to Denver to see Shannon, Laura, and Robin. Hopefully, I will also be selected to go to the Lambda literary emerging writers retreat in San Francisco. This will greatly reduce my reading time.
I'm happiest that I discovered Crisper Bojalian. His book Tran-Sister Radio is the best book I've ever read in my life and I've read a lot of books. The only reason I didn't give it a ten is because I felt one must leave a little space in case something truly spectacular comes along. Therefore, I gave it a 9.95. The funny thing is that now he's my friend of Facebook because I wrote him a big gushy fan letter. I almost had a heart attack. I sent him a friend request, but I never thought he would respond. I also, in another act of daring, sent him my review of his book which I posted here. I want to read his other books, but I'm afraid that they would just be a big let down after T.S.R. which is how he refers to the book.
In my fourth 20 books, I will read more works by the authors of Naomi and Eli's No Kiss List which was my 59th and very funny even though it was kind of tawdry and written for teenagers. Who says that a girl can't have a little fun? I also vow to finally finish Pen Dragon. I have the ninth and tenth book to finish. I also plan to finish James Harriot's biography which has five books in it, For most people, that would sound obnoxious, but he has a lot to say. It's not all about him either. Sometimes it's about his veterinary practice, his friends, his wife, and so on. I resolve to finish the last two books in the Meg series as well as the last book in the Thursday next series. Jasper Fforde is growing on me.
If I finish five more books this month, I will only need to read seven every month to reach my goal by the end of the year. I can do that easily. I think I'm already in the middle of seven books. Let me count: The Big Overeasy, Fairy Wars, First Among the Sequels, The Dave Barry Audio Book Collection, and Take the Cannoli. Wait that's only five. My biggest problem is that I start new books before I finish old ones. Never mind that this is logical as the older ones are due first or that someone from the audio book club may be waiting for it as I am with Helen Keller autobiography which has been on my shoot to me list for two months in the number one position, but the silly person who has it has not returned it. I just excited about some new topic and start reading that. Never mind what I was reading before. I have 49 items checked out of the library now. That ridiculous! I have one book from the audiobook club and I'm in the middle of those five books. But I know myself. I'm going to start reading Bus Girl by Gretchen Josephson en route the gym tomorrow. She's a poet with Down syndrome and I've been waiting for months to read her book. I couldn't find it on Alibris.com and I'm currently boycotting Amazon.com because they refuse to pay their affiliates in Colorado because Colorado requires Amazon to pay taxes for items they ship into Colorado. My honorary niece asked me to sign this petition on Facebook because a lot of the money that Colorado was collecting was going to disability services. I've never been a big fan of the corporatized publishing world anyway, so signing the petition was no problem until this book which I really want to read. I went to my favorite bookstore and discovered it was out of print. I called the publisher, but never heard back. I looked in my local library system and the one in central Massachusetts. I was getting to point where I decided I was never going to be able to read the book, so as a last ditch effort I searched the Massachusetts virtual catalog which has every library in the state of Massachusetts connected and you can borrow from them and have it delivered to your home. I thought I had checked this before, but I spelled something wrong or a copy just got donated recently because on my second attempt, I found it. The very skinny volume is presently at my house. I am looking forward to it immensely.
I think my fourth 20 books will be finished by September 15th. I say it will take me so long because a lot of the books I want to read have over ten discs and some are in print which takes longer for me. I also won't have a lot of time to read because I'm going to the U.S. Social Forum and to Denver to see Shannon, Laura, and Robin. Hopefully, I will also be selected to go to the Lambda literary emerging writers retreat in San Francisco. This will greatly reduce my reading time.
Commentary: My Second 20 Books
I liked my second fifth of books (21-40). I read more Pendragon, nearly finished Artemis Fowl books 1 to 5 were completed in this reading session, as well as rediscovering Sarah Vowell and Barbara Ehrenreich. Two authors I had known before. I spent a lot of time on history this fifth, learning a lot about US history in particularly (a genre I’m sadly not familiar with despite being a proud American). I learned about Sojourner Truth, an awesome woman whose historic home I live near. I also realized that the Founding Fathers were normal men, with standard problems- marriage, feuds, and friendships- in addition to founding the globe’s longest standing republic.
I’ve spent a lot of time, reading for entrainment since I returned from DC, simply too overworked by what was a really exhausting trip to Washington. I’ve started the slave narratives, but they were too high minded. I’m looking forward to reading it when I’m less overwhelmed and can focus on the beautiful words and amazing story of triumph.
My next fifth will include more Vowell and Ehrenreich, as well as finishing Pendragon, so other people can barrow it. I will also finish the Artemis series, I’ve only got one disc to go. I will read more on evolution, time travel, and history, as well as science fiction (my favorite genre). This project is going faster than I thought; 40 books down, already! And it’s on May 4th. Over six months to go; I’m sure I’ll finish my goal.
I’ve spent a lot of time, reading for entrainment since I returned from DC, simply too overworked by what was a really exhausting trip to Washington. I’ve started the slave narratives, but they were too high minded. I’m looking forward to reading it when I’m less overwhelmed and can focus on the beautiful words and amazing story of triumph.
My next fifth will include more Vowell and Ehrenreich, as well as finishing Pendragon, so other people can barrow it. I will also finish the Artemis series, I’ve only got one disc to go. I will read more on evolution, time travel, and history, as well as science fiction (my favorite genre). This project is going faster than I thought; 40 books down, already! And it’s on May 4th. Over six months to go; I’m sure I’ll finish my goal.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Reading List: Book 1-20
I finished my first 20 books in my quest to read 100 books in 2010. I'm ahead of schedule. It's only three days into March and I've already read 21 books. I wanted to write this commentary before the impression of the first 20 left me. I learned a lot about myself over the course of reading these 20 books of various genres. Firstly, that I can finish most books unless I consider them too stupid to complete. This takes a lot of effort. I've given up on five books so far in this reading series. Two of them really surprised me. The first was In This World Or Maybe Another by Bob Johnson. She won the 50,000 A Room of Her Own Fellowship and after reading the first two stories in this collection (I think there were about eight) all I could say was, "why?" Granted, I'm not much of a literary fiction girl but really it was boring. I tired to read it because the book club I belong to was reading it but after story number two I just counted continue and stay sane. The second surprisingly abandoned book was Spock Vs. Q in the Alien Voices series. I loved the Lost World rendition in the series, and I love Star Trek. So, when this book didn't do it for me, I think I was one of the most surprised people in Massachusetts.
I've thought a lot about what someone who discovered this reading list who didn't know me would think of me. First, they would conclude that I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with A.J. Jacobs. He's the only person who either wrote or edited more than three of the books I've read so far. They would also conclude that I like John Darton. This conclusion would be funny because I had not heard of him until I started this challenge and it was accidental. He writes about a few of my favorite things. I like hearing what writers say when they write about writers as part of their fiction. Darton always writes about writers and science. I'm not much of a science girl but he makes it understandable. Thirdly, they would conclude that I like science fiction. This, of course, is true. There are seven science fiction titles in my list of 20. That's about a third. There's also a few mysteries and some non-fiction. This list is not as diverse as I thought it would be. There are way too many white people on my reading list which is odd because I'm not. There are also way too many men owing, of course, to my pension for Jacobs and Darton. There's not enough classic literature. Although, I read Robinson Crusoe which I didn't enjoy as you may recall.
So, it's on to the next 20 books. Goals for these books include finishing the Pendragon series, becoming more diverse in my reading, and discovering some new authors. The Pendragon series, unfortunately, is also written by a white man but what are you going to do? J.D. MacHale can tell stories and that's basically what I care about. I might give classic literature another try. I hear that Jane Eyre is a really good book, and I'm looking forward to reading Austin. Wish me luck! See you in 19 books with a second commentary!
I've thought a lot about what someone who discovered this reading list who didn't know me would think of me. First, they would conclude that I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with A.J. Jacobs. He's the only person who either wrote or edited more than three of the books I've read so far. They would also conclude that I like John Darton. This conclusion would be funny because I had not heard of him until I started this challenge and it was accidental. He writes about a few of my favorite things. I like hearing what writers say when they write about writers as part of their fiction. Darton always writes about writers and science. I'm not much of a science girl but he makes it understandable. Thirdly, they would conclude that I like science fiction. This, of course, is true. There are seven science fiction titles in my list of 20. That's about a third. There's also a few mysteries and some non-fiction. This list is not as diverse as I thought it would be. There are way too many white people on my reading list which is odd because I'm not. There are also way too many men owing, of course, to my pension for Jacobs and Darton. There's not enough classic literature. Although, I read Robinson Crusoe which I didn't enjoy as you may recall.
So, it's on to the next 20 books. Goals for these books include finishing the Pendragon series, becoming more diverse in my reading, and discovering some new authors. The Pendragon series, unfortunately, is also written by a white man but what are you going to do? J.D. MacHale can tell stories and that's basically what I care about. I might give classic literature another try. I hear that Jane Eyre is a really good book, and I'm looking forward to reading Austin. Wish me luck! See you in 19 books with a second commentary!
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