Read 50 books in 2007

Okay, I failed miserably. But I’m trying again.

I fell short of this technically, having read only 36 books this year. My intent was to spend less time in time wasting activities (like too much internet time). In this I was successful – I have kept up with my weekly Economist magazines (each almost a book in itself). I watched seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and three of Angel. So I’ll count this as a success and sign up again to read 50 books in 2008.

21. “Why Kinky Friedman isn’t the new governor of Texas”http://www.kinkyfriedmanstore.com/product.php?productid=16278&cat=0&page=1&featured

Well, ‘cause he’s a little too sensible, a little too apolitical, and probably a bit too much of a shitkicker. I suspect the last of these least. This was fun, and a quick read—but if you’ve followed his articles in Texas Monthly, there’s a lot of repetition. (On the other hand, who hear did that?)

In the mood for some fluffy holiday reading, I pulled out the romance short story collections A Gift of Love and A Holiday of Love. Like many such collections, there were a couple of really good stories in each, one that wasn’t bad and the rest completely skippable. Still, they fit what I was looking for.

The description of this book reminded me of many books I’d enjoyed when I was young (The Saturdays, All of a Kind Family and others). Four sisters and their widowed father rent a cottage for a few weeks in the summer and find friendship and adventure. Overall a fun read.

20. “Come On Down”: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061350115/Come_On_Down/index.aspx

Stan Blits, a producer and “music director” of The Price Is Right wrote this goofy and sort-of fact-filled book about the show he’s been working on since Moses was a little boy. I’m sure Stan would be delightful to have coffee with, but this book is too much a mixed bag: far more information than the non-fan would ever care about, but very little that isn’t already known by the true game-geek. It’s been a while since I felt the need to own every home game and GS-trivia-related object that came down the pike, but this certainly wouldn’t have made the retail cut. It went down quick as a small bag of potato chips; it goes back to the library today.

Barry Maitland’s series hasn’t caught on as well in the US – this just came out here but has been out in Australia for a while. He writes a good mystery with interesting characters and real challenges. The problem, as with most good mystery series, is there is only one a year.

Read on the recommendation of joecomposer and because I enjoyed My Life in France so much. Julie Powell made all of the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year (including the ones I would have skipped such as veal kidneys). This book isn’t as much about the recipes, you can read about them in her blog, but how having the project changed her perspective and other things in her life. Julie seems like someone it would be fun to have dinner with – if she were cooking dinner would be late and might be something a little unusual but with the gimlets and conversation it would be sure to be a memorable evening.

The newest Spenser novel.

As ever, a very, very quick read. When you come right down to it, this is what it is: snarky dialogue, food porn, a bit of shrinkery, and a little crime-mystery thrown in on top. More fun than an episode of “Law and Order,” and no ads.

But I like that sort of thing.

A friend recommended one of Meg Cabot’s non-princess diary books as hilarious. I thought this was it but after reading I must have been wrong. It’s not bad but it’s far from her best work.