"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=========

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

How did I do on my yearly reading goals and challenges?

Time for a final accounting of how I did on my 2024 reading goals and challenges...



2024 Yearly Goals and Challenges 


1. One Big Book 
Personal Challenge
Read one book during the year that I consider a challenging book; a book I've avoided reading for years due to its daunting nature. Must be completed by 12/31/24.
My 2024 One Big Book was: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mandel
DONE!
 


2. Pulitzer Challenge
Personal
Read the current Pulitzer Prize winner announced in May of each year. +Read others from my list.:
1. 2024 winner: Nightwatch by Jane Ann Phillips. Completed June 28, 2024.
2. 2004 winner: The Known World by Edward Jones. Completed Sept. 21st.
3. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Completed March 1, 2024
4. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Completed April 9, 2024.
5. A Bell for Adano by John Hersey. Completed September 5, 2024
6. A Death in the Family by James Agee. Completed October 16, 2024.
7. A House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday. Completed Nov. 21, 2024
DONE!
Plus I completed my personal challenge to read all the prize winners from the 21st Century.
My Pulitzer Project finale post is here. It took me years to read all the books and months to create the post about the project.



3. National Book Award Challenge
Personal
Every year the National Book Award is given out in five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction. Poetry, Translated Literature; Young People's Literature. My goal is to read two of the five winners (or finalists) per year. This award will be announced mid-November.

I read one winner and two finalists. DONE!


 


4. Discussion Challenge
Hosts: Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Begins at Midnight.
Post a discussion topic related to books, reading, or related topics.
I'm aiming to complete the beginning level, Discussion Dabbler or 1-10 posts in 2024. 
Tracking topics/dates:
Low bar. I only had to do one and I did three. DONE!


 

5. Goodreads Challenge
Read 100+ in 2024
I will keep track of my books on the Goodreads website.
I read 122 books. Challenge met!

 

6. Classics Club List
About ten years ago I created a list of 50 classic books I wanted to read. I kept adding titles to the list faster than I read them. I still have about 25 books left on that expanded list. This year I want to read at least five books from my list.
Tracker:
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo
I read 9 classics, not all were on my list, however. DONE, sort of!




7. Super Past Due Reviews
A personal challenge
Write three super past due reviews (over a year old)

Reviews completed tracker:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
I wrote two and only have one left from my original list. 




8. Big Book Summer Challenge
Read 400+ page length books during summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day). My goal is 4 big books.
Tracker: 
1. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. 400 pages.
2. The Women by Kristin Hannah
3. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
5. The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller
6. Symphony of Secrets Brendan Slocomb 
DONE+




9. Printz Award
Personal
Read the Printz Award winner and finalists. (Announced in late January) 
Award Winner: The Collectors edited by A.S. King
Honor Books: 1. Gather by Kenneth Cadow
I read three of the five books.




10. Write reviews for all book club selections.
Personal
My reviews for all 23 books here.




11. Women's Prize for Fiction, a personal challenge: 
A. 2020 and forward -- read two of the finalists/winners for each year (only three books remaining.)
B. 2010-2019 -- read one of the finalists/winners for each year (Only two books remaining.) (Details)

2015- How to Be Both by Ali Smith
2016- (The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie)
2021- Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyassi
2024a.- The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright
2024b.- Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
I read 4 of the 5 Women's Prize Winners/finalists I challenged myself to read. The Portable Veblen goes back on my reading list for 2025.


-Anne

-Anne
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Monday, December 30, 2024

Favorite Novels Read in 2024

 

Top Ten Tuesday: The Favorite Novels I read in 2024


I've also created several other "favorites" lists for books read in 2024. Check out these lists as well:


a. James by Percival Everett
Knopf Doubleday, 2024.
James is the retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn story from the point of view of Twain's Jim, the enslaved man who escapes with Huck. It both surprises and delights while much of the book is about the language or dialect we use.

b. North Woods by Daniel Mason
Random House, 2023.
In a small way North Woods, whose stories revolve around a small cabin in Western Massachusetts over the centuries, reminds me of The Overstory, whose stories all relate to trees. North Woods has a series of linked stories told chronologically centering the action on or near the cabin. Three centuries of stories, families, characters, and schemes.

c. Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Random House, 2023.
Brotherless Night was a brilliantly written and researched book. It draws on sixteen years of research by the author. One reviewer said it was brimming with "outrage and compassion." A 2024 Women's Prize judge, said Brotherless Night is "a powerful book that has the intimacy of a memoir, the range and ambition of an epic, and tells a truly unforgettable story of the Sri Lankan civil war."

d. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Grove Press, 2023.
The Covenant of Water has everything I like in a book: a detailed plot -- in this case one which covers three generations of a family and many/many side characters; characters who are fully fleshed out, not one-dimensional beings; a theme which is very evident throughout the whole text; literary quotes and thoughts interspersed throughout; an author who treats his readers as intelligent and knowledgeable -- in this case about medical and genetic issues; AND, this may not surprise you, one which clearly has a very spiritual, often scriptural, message.

e. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Ecco, 2012.
A retelling of the Iliad story from the point-of-view of Patroclus a friend and companion of Achilles, the best of the Gods. Greek mythology for those of us who love the stories but not the language of the original.

f. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
Little, Brown, and Company, 2018.
I found this book really enjoyable and helpful in my thinking about what it is like to be a member of a Mexican American family living in California but whose hearts are very much still across the border. There was something quite authentic about The House of Broken Angels. It was obvious that Alberto Urrea knew what he was writing about.

g. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill 
DoubleDay/Anchor Books, 2022.
Women who were tired of all the indignities they had to put up with rose up and turned into dragons. I adored this book with a look at feminism from a different angle. If you are thinking you don't like to read "fantasy" books, don't worry, this book is really a human story about all the indignities women have had to put up with over the ages. And it shows what happens when women rise up (literally) and the value is felt by everyone is society. I laughed, I cringed, I cried. This book really, really spoke to my heart and hey, the hero of the book is a librarian. What's not to love?

h. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
William Morrow, 2024.
Cassie Andrews inherits a special item -- a book which opens into all door anywhere and anytime. At first it is fun to travel the world without any repercussions but there are other special books and in the hands of ruthless people, the books spell trouble. The book is dark but also thrilling. Time travel, love, friendship, and danger. I was never quite sure what would happen next. (Review pending.)

i. I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Grove Press, 2024.
A post-apocalyptic tale whose description makes the book sound so bleak, I don't want to tell it here. It is bleak but somehow the story never loses its heart and a sense of hope. "The novel’s voice remains engaging, and its spirit resilient, against some staggeringly tough times" (Kirkus Reviews). I like everything Enger has written and this book touched me deeply.

j. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
Knopf, 2022.
The Rabbit Hutch weaves together the daily dramas of tenants in a run-down apartment complex in a run-down fictitious town named Vacca Vale, Indiana. Stuffed full of trigger topics, this is not a book for everyone, But the writing is brilliant. BRILLIANT! Gunty has a beautiful command of the English language and inserts phrases and quips throughout the story which would catch me up so I'd have to stop and think about what was said and the deeper meaning.

As I review this list of ten books my book choices for quirky characters and slightly dark themes are reinforced. I also love to be swept up in the language used by authors and there are some fine choices this year for lofty language or quotable prose. I hope you find a book or two that interests you among the ten I've listed. 
See you in 2025!



-Anne
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Saturday, December 28, 2024

2024 End-of-Year Book Survey



My Head Is Full of Books: 

The 2024 End-of-Year Survey of Books


 


  • Number of books read and completed:  122
  • Number of re-reads: 1
  • Genre you read the most: Adult fiction 
  • Number of books started but not finished: 4
  • Number of children's/YA books: 20
  • Number of poetry books: 13
  • Number of memoirs, biographies, and nonfiction books, including children's:  30
  • Number of graphic or illustrated books read, not children's: 2



 1. Best books read in 2024:

·    Literary fiction: James by Percival Everett

2. Book(s) I thought I'd love, but didn’t:

  •  Bee Sting by Paul Murray -- the book is a beast at over 650 pages and I just couldn't make myself care about the characters. I didn't finish it.
  • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel --- This was my 2024 One Big Book, a personal challenge. I've heard so much about the book over the years, so I was pretty disappointed to find out I really didn't like it. You should read my review, it's find of funny how much I didn't like it.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book: 

·  Orbital by Samantha Harvey -- Wow, just wow.


4. Book(s) I "pushed" many people to read:

  •  James by Percival Everett

5.  Best series--

6. Favorite new author I discovered in 2024:

  •  Claire Keegan (Books: Foster and Small Things Like These) 

7. Best book from a genre/type I don't usually read:

·       Killer Angels by Michael Shaara -- Novel about a war battle, specifically the Battle of Gettysburg and the soldiers/officers involved in it. 


8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:

9. Favorite book club selection(s) based on the discussion(s):

10. Favorite book cover: How to Be Both by Ali Smith (the cover is part of the story and I kept looking at it.)


11. Most memorable characters of the year:

12. Most thought-provoking/ life-changing books of the year:

13. Most beautifully written book read in the year:

· The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty  

14. Book I've never read UNTIL 2024:

15. Favorite passage(s) or quote(s):

  • "One thing is certain: Love is our only hope. Love springs from new life, love springs from death. Love acts like Ghandi and our pets and Jesus and Mr. Bean and Mr. Rogers and Bette Midler. Love just won't be pinned down. " -- Anne Lamott, Somehow: Thoughts on Love.
  • "You couldn't go anywhere in this town without bumping into God." -- Tess Gunty, The Rabbit Hutch
  • “The only way to understand the world as something other than a tale of loss is to see it as a tale of change.” ― Daniel Mason, North Woods 
  • "How should we respond? It has been said, I have said it myself, that the powerful may own the present, but writers own the future, for it is through our work, or the best of it at least, the work which endures into that future, that the present misdeed of the powerful will be judged...Even after Orpheus was torn to pieces, his severed head, floating down the river Hebrus, went on singing, reminding us that the song is stronger than death." ― Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
  • "If the younger ones in our lives can remember only this one idea, that they are here, briefly, a little space to love and to have been loved, they they will have all they need, because love is all they need, rain or shine...good old love, elusive and steadfast, fragile, and unbreakable, and always there for the asking: always, somehow."  -- Anne Lamott, Somehow: Thoughts on Love.

16. Shortest and longest book read in 2024, not counting children's books:

17. Book which shocked me the most:

·  Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan   


18. Best audiobooks of the year:

·  Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench, with Brendan O'Hea. Two old friends chatting about Ms. Dench's roles in Shakespeare's plays.

  • James by Percival Everett

19. Favorite novella/short book read for 'Novellas in November':

·   A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf


20. Favorite book by an author I’ve previously read

21. Best book I read this past year based SOLELY on a recommendation or peer pressure:

·  When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill -- Strongly recommended by daughter.


22. Newest fictional crush:

  •  I always think this is a dumb question. Why don't I just removed it from the list? 😂

23. Best 2024 debut: 

  • The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. I think it is the only debut book I read in 2024, luckily I really liked it. (Review pending.)

24. Best world-building/Most vivid setting I read this year:

25. Book which put a smile on my face/was FUN to read:

· When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill  


26. Books which made me cry:

27. Hidden Gem of the Year? There are several:  

28. Anything odd about this year's reading list:

·  I don't think my reading was as balanced as for usual. I only read two graphic novels, when I usually read a half dozen or more. I read less adult nonfiction this year than in years past. I decided to NOT participate as a Cybils Award judge this fall which left me room to participate in the novellas challenge. I learned I really like that form and enjoy reading short books.

29. Most unique book(s):    

30. Book which made me angry (due to the topic):

·     Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow 


31. Favorite short story collection -- I didn't care for either of the short story collections I read this year but I did like some of the short stories themselves: 

  • Short Stories: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King; The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy; A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote; Signal Moon by Kate Quinn.

32. Favorite re-read of 2024: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. I've probably read or had read to me at least 50 times in my life. It is a wonderful Christmas story for the whole family. This year my daughter is introducing it to her son who is a seven-year-old.

     

33. Favorite classic book read during the year:


34. My year in books at Goodreads. A visual of all the books I read this year and a few stats. 


1. Favorite Book Club selections of 2024.

2. Best Audiobooks consumed in 2024.

3. Best Nonfiction of 2024

4. Favorite novels read this year:

a. James by Percival Everett
b. North Woods by Daniel Mason
c. Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
d. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
e. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
f. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
g. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill 
h. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
i. I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
j. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
   
 

 


1. Favorite reviews written in 2024

2. Most popular reviews of the year based on stats:

  • Review: Night Watch: Where I Try to Figure Out Why It Won the Pulitzer Prize -- 851 page views, 9 comments.
  • Review: The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty -- 545 page views, 4 comments
  • Review: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger -- 293 page views, 3 comments
  • Review: Orbital by Samantha Harvey -- 179 page views, 20 comments

3. Best discussion/non-review post:   

4. Best bookish event that you participated in?

·   Novellas in November -- my goal was to read 2-4 novellas, I read 19!  


5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2024

  •  Kind comments and encouragement from you, my readers.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

  • Staying up for blogging. Blogging takes time and effort, and it is hard to keep going when I get few page views and even fewer comments. But I have joined some supportive on-line communities and the other book bloggers I’ve “met” keep me going.

7. Most meaningful posts for me:

8. Posts I wish got a bit more love:



 1. Bookish goals for 2025

  • Read a minimum of 100 books.
  • Write reviews for all book club selections.
  • Complete "My One Book" challenge: The Brothers Karamazov
  • Read two of the five National Book Award winners. (Announced in November)
  • Read the Pulitzer Prize 2025 winner for literature (announced in March or April) plus read three past winners or finalists. 
  • Read the Booker Award winner or a finalist.
  • Read two Women's Prize winners or finalists (announced in April)
  • Read at least five classic books from my list. (See list here.)
2. Books I didn’t get to in 2024 are now top priorities in 2025:
  • The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
  • The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
  • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  • Playground by Richard Powers
  • The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie

       

3.  How did I do on my reading challenges or goals for 2024?

  • Read 100 books this year. ✔ (120+ books)
  • My Own Personal ‘National Book Award’ Challenge to read two of the five winners or finalists each year. ✔
  • Read the Pulitzer Prize winner and past winners:   ✔
  • Completed four of the five books I listed as books I wanted to read in 2024: ✔- 
  • Read 5 Classics ✔
  • Big Book Summer Challenge. Six completed ✔ 
  • I completed my 2024 'One Big Book' Challenge:  Wolf Hall ✔
  • Read 2-4 novellas for Novellas in November: I read 19!  ✔


-Gratefully turning the page on 2024.

 

-Anne






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