read 30 books by 2010

29 and 30)Last two of the Twilight series
31)The Secret Garden
32)Fearless Fourteen -Janet Evanovich
33)Finger Lickin’ Fifteen -Janet Evanovich (these hardly count really)
34) The Elegance of the Hedgehog -Muriel Barberrry (still reading)
35) Anna Karenina -Leo Tolstoy (almost done – should read one at a time)-needed to read this after being at dinner with 3 women friends ALL of whom had read it! Very beautiful.
36)The Maytrees -Annie Dillard (love LOVE)

In no particular order:
20) The Secret History by Donna Tart
21)Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
22) Betsy and Tacy by Maude Hart Lovelace (okay, these next couple I’ve read aloud to my kids but hey – they’ve got to count because it involves hours of reading time and I did enjoy them!)
23) Betsy Tacy and Tib by Maude Hart Lovelace
24) Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by M.H.L.
25) Anne of Green Gables
26) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (yes, I got sucked in)
27) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
28) Full Bloom – The Art and Life of Georgia O’Keefe by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp (still reading – this is a slow going one)

before my memory fails.
19) The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Okay, so I really shouldn’t be reading at all – what with moving and kids home and classroom projects promised. Instead my reading has picked up to a pace that might match pre-kids. No idea why or how except that I don’t sleep enough. I should work on that goal next…

18. On deck, Mothers Who Think – a compilation from Salon.com. I’ve read a couple of the essays already(including one by Anne Lamott that was HI-larious).

17. The Quiet Girl – Peter Hoeg
I am 3/4s through this book and want to finish it to find out what happens – BUT I am so bored that I have read 2 books in the meantime. So unlike me in my former reading life. The storyline is slow paced, jumps back and forth through time and location without really giving a good heads up that it is doing so. I don’t even know if I will be able to pick it up again where I left off.

16. Bel Canto – Ann Patchett. I wish I could have read this more slowly because it was that good. So good.

15. Traveling Mercies – Anne Lamott

14. The Expected One – Kathleen McGowan. Somewhat like the DaVinci Code with a Mary Magdalene twist. Hey, if there’s a religion that includes Jesus being married and holds women in great regard, I’m in.

11. Some beach worthy romance novel my mom gave me – why do I read these things? Actually I gave them up years ago during college but my mom keeps pulling me back in…

12. “Fourteen Blah” (TBA) one of the numbered series about the woman bounty hunter. Can’t be bothered to get up and look at the title right now. Another beach read, very light and fast – but I do like the humorous characters and dialog by this author (the grandmother in particular).

13. Raising Blaze – Debra Ginsberg. This one was so close to home for me – not her child’s particular diagnosis but just the truth in the frustration of dealing with the school system when your child doesn’t fit the profile. Her encounters with teachers, the frustration and just pain in your heart when you cannot make them understand the wonderful qualities of your amazing, unique child – the author really communicated it well. My sister-in-law read this book first – I think I will try to recommend or gift it to other relatives and key players in my child’s life. I think it can only help to have people that work in the system to understand the agony families go through when their child is different.

9) The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian – oh, I really did not like this one, no indeed I did not. The writing was fine, it held my attention although parts I wanted to speed read through – but that ending, no no NO sir, not for me. I just don’t need those kind of images running through my head. There are so many interesting, lovely and kind things to write about. I appreciate dark and edgy too – just not sex offenders and awful crimes. Not that I am not a fan of quirky, somewhat doomed characters, just not this scenario.

10) Water for Elephants – 2/3rds through this one, liking it a lot. Liking it more than the sleep I so desperately crave.

Still working on In Praise of Slowness…

7) Friday Night Knitting Club by ? – didn’t find this on worth it. A little too pat on the storyline, characters seemed very one dimensional to me. Of course, my copy did have about 50 pages critical to the storyline missing in the middle…

8) The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. I really liked this one. The characters rang true for me, interesting dilemmas, liked the writing. Again though, the ending felt a little too orchestrated for my taste.

On deck -In Praise of Slowness, nonfiction, I’m about 50 pages in, I’ll have to add the author as it escapes me.

My life has been just crazy. Between more responsibility at home, caring for the girls, Spring Break (for them), knitting, cleaning – the only book I’ve had time to read is one on helping my kids through the separation and I don’t want to count that!

I’ve started three books that I got at the school book sale (used – two dollars a bag) but just had no interest in any of them. I need to get a list and get myself to the bookstore to find something worthwhile that I actually want to read. Then just find the time for it…I would like something to read at night for 15 minutes before I turn out the light.

I’ll have to edit this as I don’t have authors etc. and I really should go to bed (see thing # 5).

1) The Golden Spruce (didn’t finish – couldn’t renew b/c was on hold list @ library)

2) West of Jesus

3) Eat, Pray, Love

4) A Thousand Splendid Suns

Currently: 5)T is for Trespass and just got 6)Run by Ann Pachett from library after being on hold list for 3-4 months (heard a review on NPR – can’t remember a thing about it)

And good night.