Friday, October 9, 2009

State of the Blog, Part One: The Lists



It is that fall-is-in-the-air, back to school, get things done time of year that always gives me a jolt of energy. So I am doing a little autumnal assessment of my year in reading -- so far -- to decide whether there are any bookish goals or projects I can make progress on before the end of the year. Note, I did not say "finish" by the end of the year, although there are, hopefully, one or two I can wrap up by then.

This is a two-part assessment. This first part addresses the various book lists I am keeping track of. Part Two, coming soon, will deal with the author lists.

THE LISTS

1899 Top 100
Books read so far: 7/100
Books read in 2009: zero (but I just added the list a few days ago)
Books on my TBR shelf: 11

All-TIME Top 100
Books read so far: 73/100
Books read in 2009: one-third (I read The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Scant progress, but progress still.)
Books on my TBR shelf: 15

Anthony Burgess
Books read so far: 25/99
Books read in 2009: zero (too bad, because I respect his picks)
Books on my TBR shelf: 18

BBC's Big Read
Books read so far: 52/100
Books read in 2009: 5+
  1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham(reviewed here)
  2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens(reviewed here)
  3. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
  4. Crime and Punishment
  5. I Capture the Castle
  6. plus another one-third for The Fellowship of the Ring
Books on my TBR shelf: 11

Book Club
Books read so far: 14/15
Books read in 2009: 5
  1. Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Keysey
  2. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
  3. Davita's Harp by Chiam Potok
  4. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
  5. Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

College Board
Books read so far: 75/101
Books read in 2009: one (Treasure Island)
Books on my TBR shelf: 13

Costa Book of the Year
Books read so far: 1/24
Books read in 2009: one (Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, reviewed here)
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

Easton Press
Books read so far: 54/100
Books read in 2009: 2
  1. Great Expectations (reviewed here)
  2. Treasure Island
Books on my TBR shelf: 25

Edgar Award
Books read so far: 4/55
Books read in 2009: zero
Books on my TBR shelf: 5

Erica Jong
Books read so far: 29/100
Books read in 2009: one (The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley)
Books on my TBR shelf: 18

French Connection
Books read so far: 42/107 (and counting -- there are more books to add to the list)
Books read in 2009: one (Au Revoir to All That by Michael Steinberger (reviewed here)
Books on my TBR shelf: 20

LT Early Reviewers

Books read so far: 17/23
Books read in 2009: 3
  1. The Amish Cook at Home by Lovina Eicher (reviewed here)
  2. Blackbird, Farewell by Robert Greer (reviewed here)
  3. American Rust by Philipp Meyer (reviewed here)
Books on my TBR shelf: 6

Man Booker Prize

Books read so far: 21/42
Books read in 2009: zero
Books on my TBR shelf: 14

MLA's 30
Books read so far: 21/30
Books read in 2009: one and 1/3
  1. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
  2. one-third for The Fellowship of the Ring
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

Modern Library
Books read so far: all of them!
Books read in 2009: zero ( finished this list a couple of years ago)
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

National Book Award

Books read so far: 24/62
Books read in 2009:4
  1. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
  2. The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
  3. The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (reviewed here)
  4. Goodbye Columbus by Philip Roth (reviewed here)
Books on my TBR shelf: 11

NBCC Award
Books read so far: 15/33
Books read in 2009: zero
Books on my TBR shelf: 6

Nobel Laureates
Authors read so far: 19/105
Books read in 2009: 3
  1. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
  2. The Beggar by Naguib Mahfouz (reviewed here)
  3. The Plague by Albert Camus
Books on my TBR shelf: 31 (but most by authors already read)

Observer's Top 100
Books read so far: 55/100
Books read in 2009: 3+
  1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (reviewed here)
  2. Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
  3. The Plague by Albert Camus
  4. plus another one-third for The Fellowship of the Ring
Books on my TBR shelf: 19

Orange Prize
Books read so far: 1/13
Books read in 2009: zero
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

Oregon Books
Books read so far: 3/20
Books read in 2009: one (The River Why by David Duncan)
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

Pulitzer Prize
Books read so far: 38
Books read in 2009: 3
  1. Advise and Consent by Allen Drury (reviewed here)
  2. The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (reviewed here)
  3. March by Geraldine Brooks (reviewed here)
Books on my TBR shelf: 19

Radcliffe's Top 100
Books read so far: 86/100
Books read in 2009: one-third for The Fellowship of the Ring
Books on my TBR shelf: 11
RCR Top 10
Books read so far: 10/10 (it's my list)
Books read in 2009: zero (the list did not change this year -- so far)
Books on my TBR shelf: zero
Well-Stocked Bookcase
Books read so far: 35/60
Books read in 2009: zero
Books on my TBR shelf: 14
I would not have guessed that the BBC list would be the one I made the most progress on so far this year. Thank goodness for The Fellowship of the Ring that gave me a toehold on my slow climb up some of these lists. I am thinking of concentrating on the Radcliffe list in 2010 because I have a shot at finishing that one once and for all. The books remaining also overlap with several other lists, so I could really make hay.
.

11 comments:

  1. Wow! That's a lot to keep track of. Kudos on that part alone! And double kudos for you progress. :-)

    Lezlie

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  2. Thanks Lezlie! You actually were the inspiration for my assessment. I always like reading your your quarterly progress reports and goals.

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  3. That's a lotta lists! I admire all your goals & challenges. That's one thing I can't bring myself to do!

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  4. Marie -- Like my blog title says, I'm a "compulsive list reader"! I started the blog to keep track of my lists. I don't do many challenges (three only this year and one of those was the one I hosted) because working on my lists is challenge enough!

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  5. Your lists look very challenging and it would be interesting to hear how many book you read per week! I manage two, sometimes three, and aim to publish two reviews a week.

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  6. I love your lists - thanks for all the inspiration to read a more diverse selection of books.

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  7. The only lists I am keeping track of right now is the 1001 list but you've inspired me to take on another list or two. :)

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  8. Tom -- Like you, I read two books a week, sometimes three. I usually end up with around 120 a year. I try to focus on books on my lists, but I read what captures my attention at the moment.

    Colleen (and Kristen) -- Glad you like the lists! If you adopt any of the ones I'm working on, leave a comment on my list post and I will add a link to your progress reports, reviews, etc.

    Kristen -- I know you have the 1001 list going. I sort of keep track of that one, but I don't have the patience to officially add it to my Rose City Reader list of lists. That's a lot of links!

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  9. This is absolutely brilliant and sounds like a wonderful way to keep track of reads. And kudos on all the progress you've made! Yes, "The Lord of the Rings" is a tough one to get through (and "The Two Towers" is quite a bit duller than "The Fellowship of the Ring", I'm sorry to say...) but there are a bunch here and there that are readable, excellent and will help with all the lists... And not all of them old classics either.

    I recently (as in, last week) started recording my progress in the Nobel category, I've been trying to catch up with Booker and Pulitzer winners, and I'm at once trying to fill in the gaps with older classics. I may just start keeping as organized lists as these on hand as well! We'll see if that will help my progress. Now, if only I had the time to read them all...

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  10. Child -- Thanks! I started this blog to keep track of my reading lists. I am obsessed with them. If you post about any particular list (Pulitzer, Nobel, etc.) leave me a link in a comment on my related post and I'll add it.

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  11. I'm always so impressed with your progress!

    My problem with the Nobel list is once I find an author I like I just want to read more by that author! It doesn't get the numbers down, though, that way.

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