Wednesday, March 24, 2010

State of the Blog, Part One: The Lists


Spring has sprung.  The pink trees are blooming and Easter is on the way. It is time to assess what bookery bloggery progress I've made in the first quarter of 2010.

My List of Lists is over in the right-side column. These are Prize Winners, Must Reads, and other lists of books I have read or intend to read for some reason or another. Also in the right-side column is a list of my favorite authors. I add to both lists from time to time.

This is a three-part assessment. This first part addresses the book lists. Part Two, coming soon, will deal with the challenges I joined this year. Part Three will take a look at the author lists.

THE LISTS

1899 Top 100
Books read so far: 7/100
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: 2

  1. The Moonstone by Willkie Collins
  2. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Books on my TBR shelf: 13

All-TIME Top 100
Books read so far: 75/100
Books read in 2010:
Books I hope to read in 2010: those two, plus two-thirds (I really hope to finish The Lord of the Rings.)
Books on my TBR shelf: 14

Anthony Burgess
Books read so far: 28/99
Books read in 2010: 2
Books I hope to read in 2010:one more (Strangers and Brothers by C.P. Snow)
Books on my TBR shelf: 20

BBC's Big Read
Books read so far: 52/100
Books read in 2010: one (Black Beauty, Anna Sewell)
Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake)
Books on my TBR shelf: 10

Book Club
Books read so far: 15/16
Books read in 2010: one (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz)
Books I hope to read in 2010: 5 (but The Red Tent is the only one I know so far)
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

College Board
Books read so far: 75/101
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath)
Books on my TBR shelf: 15

Costa Book of the Year
Books read so far: 3/24
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: 2 
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

Easton Press
Books read so far: 56/100
Books read in 2010: one (The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan)
Books I hope to read in 2010: only the one
Books on my TBR shelf: 25

Edgar Award
Books read so far: 6/55
Books read in 2010: one (New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith)
Books I hope to read in 2010: only one
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

Erica Jong
Books read so far: 29/100
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: several, including
  1. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
  2. Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier
  3. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
Books on my TBR shelf: 19

French Connection
Books read so far: 43/109 (and counting -- there are more books to add to the list)
Books read in 2010: one (The Flaneur by Edmund White)
Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein)
Books on my TBR shelf: 20

Books read so far: I don't keep track, because I delete them after I read them
Books read in 2010: same
Books I hope to read in 2010: 15 more (I'll be busy)
  1. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos
  2. The Art of Disappearing by Ivy Pochoda
  3. The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott
  4. The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt by Rulka Langer 
  5. Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley
  6. Leaving Brooklyn by Lynn Sharon Schwartz
  7. Saving Stanley: The Brickman Stories by Scott Nadelson 
  8. Clown Girl by Monica Drake 
  9. The Farmer's Daughter by Jim Harrison 
  10. Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz 1942-1957 by Robert Dietsche
  11. Another Way the River Has: Taut True Tales from the Northwest by Robin Cody   
  12. An Architectural Guidebook to Portland by Bart King 
  13. The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vinyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World by Brian Doyle  
  14.  The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees
    Books on my TBR shelf: 15

    James Tait Black Memorial Prize
    Books read so far: 8/96
    Books read in 2010: zero
    Books I hope to read in 2010: one (The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry)
    Books on my TBR shelf: 9

    LT Early Reviewers

    Books read so far: 25/27
    Books read in 2010: two
    Books I hope to read in 2010: two more
    1. The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain, published by Words Without Borders Anthologies
    2. Short Stories, Book I by Anton Chekhov
    Books on my TBR shelf: 2

    Man Booker Prize

    Books read so far: 21/43
    Books read in 2010: zero
    Books I hope to read in 2010: at least one, but I don't know which
    Books on my TBR shelf: 13

    MLA's 30
    Books read so far: 22/30
    Books read in 2010: one (The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver)
    Books I hope to read in 2010: just the one
    Books on my TBR shelf: 4

    Modern Library
    Books read so far: all of them!
    Books read in 2010: zero (finished this list a couple of years ago)
    Books I hope to read in 2010: none
    Books on my TBR shelf: zero

    National Book Award

    Books read so far: 24/63
    Books read in 2010: zero
    Books I hope to Read in 2010: 2 (for the Battle of the Prizes Challenge)
    Books on my TBR shelf: 15

    NBCC Award
    Books read so far: 16/33
    Books read in 2010: one (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz)
    Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (Counterlife by Philip Roth)
    Books on my TBR shelf: 8

    Nobel Laureates
    Authors read so far: 19/105
    Books read in 2010: zero
    Books I hope to read in 2010: one (Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset)
    Books on my TBR shelf: 30 (but most by authors already read)

    Observer's Top 100
    Books read so far: 55/100
    Books read in 2010: 2  
      Books I hope to read in 2010: two-thirds (the last two book in The Lord of the Rings)
      Books on my TBR shelf: 19

      Orange Prize
      Books read so far: 1/13
      Books read in 2010: zero
      Books I hope to read in 2010: one (Small Island by Andrea Levy)
      Books on my TBR shelf: 4

      Oregon Books
      Books read so far: 3/20
      Books read in 2010: zero
      Books I hope to read in 2010: maybe none
      Books on my TBR shelf: 2

      PEN/Faulkner

      Books read so far: 7/29
      Books read in 2010: zero
      Books I hope to read in 2010: 2
      Books on my TBR shelf: 12

      Pulitzer Prize
      Books read so far: 40
      Books read in 2010: one (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz)
      Books I hope to read in 2010: at least 2 (for the Battle of the Prizes Challenge) 
      Books on my TBR shelf: 15

      Radcliffe's Top 100
      Books read so far: 86/100
      Books read in 2010: tqo
      Books I hope to read in 2010: 4+
      Books on my TBR shelf: 9

      RCR Top 10
      Books read so far: 10/10 (it's my list)
      Books read in 2010: zero (the list has not changed -- so far)
      Books I hope to Read in 2010: maybe a new book will make it to the list
      Books on my TBR shelf: zero

      Well-Stocked Bookcase
      Books read so far: 35/60
      Books read in 2010: zero
      Books I hope to Read in 2010: one (The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath)
      Books on my TBR shelf: 14

      I want to concentrate on the Radcliffe list because I have a shot at finishing that one once and for all. But my Guilt List is in danger of toppling over, so is claiming my immediate attention.

      10 comments :

      1. wow - this very analytical approach to "what to read next" is impressive. You are inspiring me to take a look at some of the lists you reference and create my own "to read" list!

        BTW - I see Small Island on your TBR - it is on mine too. I heard a great interview with her about this novel on BBC World Book Club's podcast. It really made me want to dive into the book!

        ReplyDelete
      2. I always think I'm doing a lot of reading until I see how much reading you're doing.

        Malcolml

        ReplyDelete
      3. Booksnyc -- I do spend a lot of time playing with my lists. They are part of the fun for me.

        I think Small Island is moving to the top of my TBR pile. I keep getting little hints that I will like it.

        SS -- Of course, you are also WRITING books, which takes away from reading time. :)

        ReplyDelete
      4. You exhaust me! But in a good way.

        Add my pluses to Small Island. I enjoyed it very much, to the point that I recommended it to friends, which I generally don't do.

        ReplyDelete
      5. I'm not feeling analytic tonight, but I LOVE the plate--do you own it, or did you find the image online.

        Perfect :)

        ReplyDelete
      6. Jane -- I do not own the Italian plate, but I wish I did. My sister and our mother used to own an Italian ceramic import business and retail stores for many years, so my house has more than its share of Italian stuff. They used to sell this set of Four Seasons plates and I loved it. But I found this picture on-line.

        ReplyDelete
      7. JG -- I sailed right over your comment. Your vote for Small Island counts for a lot. I am definitely going to get to that one very soon.

        ReplyDelete
      8. Do you know about my personal Reading List? I asked my blog readers to nominate and vote on books in five different categories, and came up with... a very eclectic assortment.

        Heh. Just what you need, another list of books....

        ReplyDelete
      9. Michael -- I'll have to come see your list right away!

        ReplyDelete

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