For the past seven years or so, I've been keeping track of the books I read during the year and posting a list on my blog. I read slower than most people, but I enjoy reading and believe that it helps me become a more knowledgeable and well-rounded individual. I also think that a person's book choices can provide some insight into the way their mind works, which is why I post my books for the world to see.
An asterisk, (*), Indicates that I read the book on my Kindle and found the page numbers online.
I do not list page numbers for audiobooks, but I've decided to count them as books read.
Books in bold are books from Boxall's 1001 Books to Read Before You Die challenge. I'm in an online reading group that selects books from this list, and since I live in an area that lacks a satisfactory literary culture, I've decided to use this list as a guide.
*1.) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1463 pages) -- I'm considering a re-read already, but I'll wait until the hype from the musical dies down to see if the urge is still there.
*2.) Galileo’s Daughter : A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel (432 pages) --The story of Galileo's relationship with his daughter throughout his trial with the Catholic church over heliocentrism.
*3.) The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (103 pages)
*4.) Slaughterhouse Five; Kurt Vonnegut (285 pages)
*5.) The Hunger Games; Suzanne Collins (384 pages)
*6.)Catching Fire; Suzanne Collins (391 pages)
*7.) Mockingjay; Suzanne Collins ( 400 pages)
*8.) Dracula; Bram Stoker (336 pages) -- I loved this book as well, and have recently come to the realization that I simply enjoy Gothic literature.
9.) Surfacing; Margaret Atwood (231 pages)
10.) Wise Blood; Flannery O’Connor (120 pages) -- This was my selection for the online reading group discussion. Sadly, most people in the group hated it. I actually highly enjoyed this novel, probably due to my love of Gothic literature and my lingering Catholic aesthetic tastes.
*11.) Sense and Sensibility; Jane Austen (333 pages) -- I didn't really care for this book, but I have fond memories of reading it while vacationing at the beach.
*12.) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; Lewis Carroll (102 pages)
*13.) Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Tradition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods: Reclaiming Domesticity From a Consumer Culture; Sandor Katz (211 pages) -- Gave me some new ideas for cultured vegetables and encouraged me to start making honey mead wine on a semi-regular basis.
14.) The Historian; Elizabeth Kostova (642 pages) -- An excellent novel to follow Dracula
*15.) Everything Is Illuminated: A Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer (292 pages) -- The only Holacaust novel, I've ever enjoyed reading
16.) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; Sir Arthur Conen Doyle (Audio book)
*17.) The God Delusion; Richard Dawkins (406 pages) -- The science sections were my favorite, but I found nothing new or compelling in the sections on Biblical morality and religious atrocities
18.) Generation Atheist; Dan Riley (294 pages)
19.) The Magic of Reality; Richard Dawkins (271 pages) -- This was a nice review of the science I learned in high school and college. I highly recommend this, even for adults, for the beautiful illustrations.
20.) Great Expectations; Charles Dickens (Audio Book) -- I loved Pip's story
*21.) God and My Neighbor; Robert Blatchford (248 pages)
*22.) Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief by Dale McGowan (288 pages) -- This was my parenting book for the year. It offers advice in a question and answer format and some great activities to do with children to help them develop a love of science and high ethical standards. It's an excellent resource that I will return to as my children grow up. I only wish I had bought the physical copy instead of the Kindle version.
Total pages: 7,232 pages -- This is perhaps the best reading year I've had since having children.
I'm currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, so look or those books on next year's list.
A Former Catholic Convert Talks about her De-conversion (and whatever else comes to mind)
I've started reading a lot more again after getting a kindle, but I'm nowhere NEAR where you are. Hat's off! I'd like to say I don't know where you can find the time- but I do. Simple priorities. No cable TV in this house, but hours are still frittered away on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI work overnights and am able to work while wearing headphones, so I listen to a lot of audiobooks. You can crank through books fairly efficiently during a week's worth of 8-hour shifts.
ReplyDeleteSome of my highlights included: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson; Three Musketeers; The Lord of the Rings trilogy; Salmon of a Doubt by Douglas Adams; The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy; four books by Erik Larson my favorite of which is Devil in the White City; Dracula; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Gulliver's Travels; I'm just through Harry Potter #2; The Blue Religion, a collection of short cop/mystery stories; the Anne of Green Gables books, was most impressed by Rilla of Ingleside; a collection of essays by Voltairine de Cleyre; Jane Eyre.
The Count of Monte Cristo is waiting for me along with The Games of Thrones #1. I'd like to get to more Mark Twain and re-read Battlefield Earth (the movie is horrible and the author founded Scientology, but the book is quite good). I'll have to add the rest of your list to my queue. Librivox.org is a great place to get public domain books in audio format and Project Gutenberg has public domain books for e-readers.