"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, December 13, 2021

TTT: Books on My Winter Reading List (and how I did on my fall list)


Top Ten Tuesday: 

Books on my winter reading list. 
(Below the fold, check out how I did on my fall reading list.)
 

Book Club Selections: 

  1. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (a re-read) (January, Group #1)
  2. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (February, Group #1)
  3. Beautiful Country  by Qian Julie Wang (February, Group #2)
  4. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (March, Group #1)
  5. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (March, Group #2)

Books I've recently placed on hold at the library:

  1. Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert
  2. Crying in the H Mart by Michelle Zauner
  3. The Story of More by Hope Jahren
  4. Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  5. The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore
  6. Peril by Bob Woodward
  7. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

Challenge Books:

  1. Past Pulitzer Prize winner: The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
  2. Past Pulitzer Prize winner: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  3. Past Pulitzer Prize winner: The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
  4. 2022 Printz Award: TBA
  5. Classics club selection:  (From this list)
  6. Classics Club selection: 
Cybils AWARD High School nonfiction:
  1. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer
  2. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis
  3. Punching Bag by Rex Ogle
  4. In the Shadow of the Moon by Amy Cherrix
  5. The Power of Style by Christian Allaire


 

How did I do on my Fall reading list?

Book Club Selections: 

  1. The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates (October, Group #1)
  2. We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (October, Group #2)
  3. The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (November, Group #1)
  4. The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons (November/December, Group #2)
  5. Transcription by Kate Atkinson (December, Group #1)

Books I've recently placed on hold at the library:

  1. Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
  2. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
  3. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
  4. Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Challenge Books:

  1. Past Pulitzer Prize winner: The Hours by Michael Cunningham 
  2. Past Pulitzer Prize winner:  A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
  3. Past Pulitzer Prize winner: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
  4. 2021 Printz Honor: Every Body Looking
  5. Classics club selection: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 
  6. Classics Club selection: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
  7. 2021 National Book Award winner: (Fiction)- Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
  8. 2021 National Book Award winner: (Young People's Literature finalist)- The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
Preview and other books: 
  1. Preview: Sexual Justice by Alexandra Brodsky
  2. Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair

Of the 20 book titles I listed, I finished 15 of them. Not bad. I started the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and lost steam quickly. The book is long and confusing. I may try to return to it in the future but don't hold your breath. I also started Every Body Looking and didn't really like it. I decided my motivation for reading it wasn't enough to propel me forward and nobody cares if I finish it or not. Sexual Justice was a preview copy. I started it and decided I wasn't in the mood for doing a research project on the topic, did a quick scan, and set is aside. Lastly, I seem to have become derailed on the reread project of the Chronicles of Narnia. Perhaps a good January project to clear my palette as I'm reading all the high school nonfiction finalists for the Cybils Award? Who knows?

What I feel best about this reading list is how many Pulitzer and Classics Club titles I knocked off in this quarter. I am ready to be done with both those challenges so I will push forward with similar reading goals for the winter term.


-Anne

27 comments:

  1. As usual you have interesting choices! I liked PEril- kind of scary reading lol but I learned a lot about what was happening.

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    Replies
    1. Good to know that Peril is good. I always want to read these types of books but then get disgusted by what I learn.

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  2. I enjoyed The Dutch House and loved The Grapes of Wrath - I hope you will too!

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    1. It will be a reread of Dutch House for me. Last time I listened to the audiobook read by Tom Hanks. What a treat. I think I will make Grapes of Wrath my one big book of the year.

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  3. The Lincoln Highway is quite good, hope your hold comes in soon and you like the book. Happy reading! My TTT https://readwithstefani.com/10-books-i-want-to-read-this-winter/

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  4. I want to get to Harlem Shuffle, too, and the Jenny Lawson book. I love Jenny Lawson!

    My list is here— https://fiftytwo.blog/2021/12/14/ttt-top-winter-picks/

    Happy TTT!
    Lori

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  5. Harlem Shuffled and Furiously Happy are on my TBR as well. I also wasn't a huge fan of Evelyn Hardcastle despite all the hype around it! It was definitely long, confusing and not gonna lie, a little anticlimactic (for me). Hope you enjoy all your reads :)

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    1. Glad to know that I am not alone in Evelyn Hardcastle estimation.

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  6. So many great books there, Anne. I have read The Dutch House, The Grapes of Wrath, The Road, The Orphan Master's Son, Transcription, Interpreter of Maladies, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Treasure Island. Like you, I try to read at least one or two Pulitzer Prize winners every year. Harlem Shuffle and The Lincoln Highway are on my wishlist since I read other books by the authors that I loved. Plus I have read 52 of the books on your classics list that you still want to read and a few of those that you crossed out. Which means I'm looking forward to some wonderful conversations.

    My TTT is a TTTT this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I look forward to a blogging friendship with you!

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    2. So do I. And I guess we have a lot in common, we are retired, as well.

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    3. So do it. Thanks for your visit to my page.

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  7. I'm interested in the Kate Moore book. I loved Radium Girls, and I think I will love The Woman They Could Not Silence.

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
    https://readbakecreate.com/winter-2022-tbr-10-books-i-hope-to-read/

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    Replies
    1. I really got into Radium Girls. I hope The WomanThey Could Not Silence is as good.

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  8. You did an amazing job on your fall list. You might consider joining #Narniathon21 with Calmgrove. Here is the link, if you are interested: https://calmgrove.wordpress.com/

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    Replies
    1. The article, a review of Planet Narnia, about Lewis lining up the books with the qualities of each planet are fascinating and now I want to think about each one in a new way. I wasn't sure how to get to #Nariathon21 but I will explore more on Twitter. Thanks for the heads up.

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  9. I'm impressed! I make lots of TBR lists, but I rarely stick to them. Too much of a mood reader I guess.

    Happy TTT!

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    Replies
    1. This list helps e center my reading choices. I cheat, to some degree, since I know I will read the Book Club choices and the Cybils books. I'm hoping it helps me continue reading my on-going challenges to point I can say I'm done.

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  10. Great job on your Fall list, and good luck on your Winter list! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!

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  11. I think you did awesome on your fall TBR. Way better than I did with mine. Good luck with your winter books!

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  12. The Road was excellent. Good luck!
    Lauren @ Always Me

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  13. I hope you enjoy all of these.
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/12/14/top-ten-tuesday-346/

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  14. I should go back and look and see how I did on my fall list. Considering I probably only had review books on it, I probably did pretty good. Happy Tuesday! https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2021/12/top-ten-tuesday-books-on-my-winter-tbr.html

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  15. You did great on your fall reading list. Good for you! :)

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  16. I'd definitely recommend The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

    Have fun reading these!

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  17. You did so well on your Fall reading list, congratulations! And your Winter list has some great books on it. I love that the CYBILS part is blank... I love the anticipation of seeing what we get to read as round 2 judges.

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I look forward to your comments and interactions! Join in the conversation.