State of the Blog, Part Three: The Challenges

It is a new year, and time to assess my reading progress for the year just closed and make plans for 2011.

This is the third of my quarterly blog assessment posts, this one focusing on the challenges I participated in last year and joined (or plan to) this year. The first part addressed the book lists. Part Two looked at my author lists.

2010 CHALLENGES

I hosted two "Battle of the Prizes" challenges in 2010.  Both started on February 1, 2010 and don't end until January 31, 2011.  Good thing, because I still have two books to read -- one for each challenge.  What a lazy host I was!

I also participated in several other challenges, to varying degrees of success.

CHALLENGES HOSTED BY ROSE CITY READER

2010 Battle of the Prizes: American Version

National Book Award winners v. Pulitzer Prize winners, rules here. There are two ways to participate -- either read one book that won the Pulitzer Prize, one that won the National Book Award, and one that won both; or read two Pulizer winners and two National winners.

The deadline for reading the books is January 31, 2011, but wrap-up posts are welcome whenever participants post them.

Several people have completed the challenge already: chaotic compendiums, 100 Books. 100 Journeys, J.G. at Hotchpot Cafe, and Musings These links are also listed on the main post. 

I've finished three of my four books:

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Pulitzer)
2. Olive Kitteridge is Elizabeth Strout (reviewed here) (Pulitzer)
3. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (reviewed here) (National)

I had planned to read three books, with The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter for my double dipper choice. Then I realized that I do not have that book on my TBR shelf and the point of challenges, for me, is to read the books I already own.

So I made a last-minute switcheroo and will be reading Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon for my second National winner.  I am quite excited about it because it looks great.

That meant I had to add a second Pulitzer winner, so I am counting Oscar Wao, even though I didn't review it.  Apparently, the lawyer in me planned ahead for just such a situation by including this loophole in the official rules: "Reviews are not necessary, but encouraged."

2010 Battle of the Prizes: British Version

Man Booker Prize v. James Tait Black Memorial Prize, rules here.  This has the same set up -- either read one winner of each prize and a double-dipper, or read two of each.

The deadline for reading the books is January 31, 2011, but wrap-up posts are welcome whenever participants post them.

I have read two of my three:

1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here) (James Tait Black)
2. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (reviewed here) (Booker)

I still have to read G by John Berger for my double dipper choice. 

2010 CHALLENGES I PARTICIPATED IN

Bibliophilic Books Challenge



A challenge to read books about books. The home page is here.

I signed up for the "Bibliomaniac" level, which means I did not succeed in the challenge.  My plan was to read 12 qualifying books by the end of the year and I only read seven.

Had my goal been suitably modest, I would have successfully achieved "Litlover" status.  Lesson learned.

I read:

1. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (reviewed here);
2. The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White (reviewed here);
3. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (reviewed here);
4. A Year in the World by Frances Mayes (reviewed here); 
5. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby (not reviewed); 
6. The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte (not reviewed); and 
7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (reviewed here).

Unfortunately, Lesley isn't going to host another Bibliophilic Books Challenge in 2011.  I hope someone takes up her offer to pass the baton, because I would like to participate again.

Birth Year Reading Challenge 

This challenge was to read one or more books published in the year you were born, hosted by Hotchpot Cafe. My main post for this challenge is here.

Luckily, there was no set number of books to read for this challenge.  I read two books, which means I earned two candles.

1. Indian Summer by John Knowles (reviewed here),
2. The Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann (reviewed here)

Unfortunately, I didn't care much for either book.  I don't know if that reflects generally on 1966 publications, or just on my poor judgment.

Book Awards Challenge

The challenge involved reading ten books that won ten different prizes.  The home page is here.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the challenge ended on November 1, 2010.  I didn't come close to finishing, and got through only five by the deadline:

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (National Book Critics Circle winner);
2. The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (Discover Award winner; reviewed here);
3. Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (Edgar winner; reviewed here);
4. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Costa winner; reviewed here); and
5. Small Island by Andrea Levy (Orange winner, reviewed here). 

Chunkster Challenge

Again, I bit off more than I could read with this challenge.  I signed up for the "Mor-book-ly Obese" level, meaning I planned to read six 450+-page books (or three 750+-pagers). Caribousmom hosts this challenge.

I have until January 31, 2011 to finish the challenge, but I don't know that I will get any more read besides these four:

1. Three Loves by A. J. Cronin (reviewed here); 
2. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (reviewed here); 
3. Echoes by Maeve Binchy (reviewed here);
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (reviewed here) 

I tackled several big books in 2010, including the monumental The Count of Monte Cristo and the last two volumes of The Lord of the Rings, but I listened to the audiobooks. Those count in terms of a reading "life list" but not for this challenge, which specifically excludes audio books.

I am definitely going to sign up for the 2011 version of this challenge, but at a less-ambitious level. 

100+ Challenge

I signed up for this because I was pretty sure I'd read more than 100 books in 2010. I usually read around 110 books each year, and I did again in 2010.  The challenge home page is here, but I didn't do a challenge post myself.

The list of the 144 books I read in 2010 is here.

I am not going to sign up for this one again in 2011.  Although I will more than likely read 100 books this year, I am trying to read more lackadaisically.  This is one "goal" I don't need to set for myself.  Hopefully, this will encourage me to read some of the big chunksters that have been weighing down my TBR shelves for too long.


Typically British Challenge



I signed up at the "Cream Crackered" level to read eight "Typically British" novels. I blew through all eight pretty quickly, and could have done it another three times at least, since over a third of the books I read in 2010 were by British authors. The challenge home page is here.


Books I read:

1. One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here);
2. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (finished, not reviewed);
3. The New Confessions by William Boyd (reviewed here);
4. Three Loves by A. J. Cronin (reviewed here);
5. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster (reviewed here);
6. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (reviewed here);
7. Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis by Kinglsey Amis (reviewed here); and
8. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here).

2011 CHALLENGES

CHALLENGES HOSTED BY ROSE CITY READER

I am hosting the two Battle of the Prizes Challenges again in 2011. I don't have the official posts up yet, because the challenges will run from February 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012.  But if you want to sign up early, leave a comment here and I'll come back and remind you when the official posts go up.

2011 Battle of the Prizes: American Version

 

Like in past years, this challenge pits National Book Award winners against Pulitzer Prize winners.  See the 2010 challenge page for the rules. There are two ways to participate -- either read one book that won the Pulitzer Prize, one that won the National Book Award, and one that won both; or read two Pulizer winners and two National winners.

I don't know yet whether I will do the 3-book or the 4-book option, or which books I'll pick, but I have the following in mind:

Possible National Award winners:

1. The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck
2. Them by Joyce Carol Oates
3. Morte d'Urban by J.F. Powers

Possible Pulitzer winners:

1. One of Ours by Willa Cather
2. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

2011 Battle of the Prizes: British Version

Just as in 2010, this challenge is to read books that won the Man Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.  See the rules on the 2010 post, here.  This has the same set up -- either read one winner of each prize and a double-dipper, or read two of each.

I will have to go with the 4-book option, because, after I finish G for the 2010 challenge, I will have read all three of the double-dippers. 

Possible Booker picks are:

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman 
3. Shindler's List by Thomas Keneally

Possible James Tait Black picks are:

1. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
2. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

2011 CHALLENGES I AM PARTICIPATING IN

The challenge titles link to my main challenge posts.

Daphne du Maurier Challenge

This Challenge is hosted by Chris at book-a-rama and bridges 2010/2011. I was late to this challenge and only signed up for in the fall of 2010. But it goes through April 19, 2011, so I have plenty of time.


I signing up for the "Dreaming of Manderley" category, to read three novels. Since I am still new to du Maurier, I'll am starting with the greatest hits.

Books read so far: one: Rebecca (reviewed here)

Books I plan to read:

1. The Flight of the Falcon;
2. My Cousin Rachel

Foodie's Reading Challenge

Margot at Joyfully Retired is hosting a challenge for 2011 that I am very excited about: The Foodie's Reading Challenge!

I signed up at the "Bon Vivant" level to read four to six books.  My plan is to read books that are already on my TBR shelves.  Some of those in the running include (in no particular order):

• The Food of France by Waverley Root
• James Beard on Food Delights and Prejudices by James Beard
• On the Town in New York by Michael Batterberry
• Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk
• The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley by Elizabeth Romer
• Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl
• Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee
• Epicurean Delight: The Life and Times of James Beard by Evan Jones
• American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields by Rowan Jacobsen
• Vie De France: Sharing Food, Friendship and a Kitchen in the Lorie Valle by James Haller
• French Spirits: A House, a Village, and a Love Affair in Burgundy by Jeffrey Greene
• A Cordiall Water by M. F. K. Fisher
• The Feasting Season by Nancy Coons
• Dumas on Food: Selections from Le Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine by Alexandre Dumas

And it might be a good idea to include this one:

French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano

Chunkster Reading Challenge (no official post yet)


Wendy at caribousmom is hosting this fun challenge again this year.  The challenge sign-up post is here.

Since I didn't reach my chunkster goal in 2010, I am scaling down a bit in 2011 and signing up for the "Chubby Chunkster" level this year.  That means reading four books over 450 pages long.

The only one I am currently planning on is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.  That's my "big book" for 2011.  I don't know which others will strike my fancy.

Books Read in 2010

This is the list of the 114 books I read in 2010, in the order that I read them. For an explanation of my rating system, see here.

There is not much rhyme or reason to whether I review a book or not.  Some of my favorite books go without a review, like both the Kate Atkinson books I read in 2010. 

If you have reviewed any of the book I reviewed, and you would like your review listed on mine, please leave a comment on my review post for that book with a link to your review and I will add it.

2010 BOOKS

The New Confessions by William Boyd (reviewed here; 4/5)

36 Yalta Boulevard by Olen Steingard (3.5/5)

One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here; 4/5) 

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (reviewed here; 4/5)

A Very Private Plot by William F. Buckley, Jr. (3/5)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (3.5/5)

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White (reviewed here; 4/5)

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (4/5)

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (4/5)

Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion (reviewed here; 4/5)

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (3.5/5)

Eden Springs by Laura Kasischke (reviewed here; 3/5)

Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire by Mireille Guiliano (3/5)

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (2.5/5)

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (4.5/5)

My Life in France by Julia Child (reviewed here) (4.5/5)

Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow (reviewed here) (2.5/5)

New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith (3/5)

Portland Noir, edited by Kevin Sampsell (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (3/5)

Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster (reviewed here; 4/5)

An American Map by Anne-Marie Oomen (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Titus Groan by Mervin Peake (reviewed here; 4/5)

Trading Up by Candace Bushnell (3/5)

Three Loves by A. J. Cronin (reviewed here; 3/5)

The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (reviewed here; 4/5)

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (reviewed here; 4/5)

City Limits: Walking Portland's Boundary by David Oates (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (reviewed here; 5/5)

Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Second Wind by Dick Francis (reviewed here; 3/5)

Leaving Brooklyn by Lynn Sharon Schwartz (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

The Marmot Drive by John Hersey (reviewed here; 3/5)

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (reviewed here; 4/5)

A Year in the World by Frances Mayes (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

A Small Fortune by Audrey Braun (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain, published by Words Without Borders Anthologies (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

L'Affaire by Diane Johnson (3/5)

Whose Body? by Dorthy L. Sayers (3.5/5)

Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney (5/5)

The Farmer's Daughter  by Jim Harrison (reviewed here; 3.5/5)


Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

The Red Tent  by Anita Diamant (2.5/5)

Corked by Kathryn Borel (reviewed here; 3/5)

The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vineyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World by Brian Doyle (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (3.5/5)

Indian Summer by John Knowles (reviewed here; 3/5)

Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oats (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

On Drink by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here; 3.5/5) 

Every Day Drinking by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here; 3/5)

How's Your Glass? by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here; 2.5/5)

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here; 4/5)

Clown Girl by Monica Drake (reviewed here; 3/5)

Under Orders by Dick Francis (3/5)

A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks (reviewed here; 4/5)

Angler Management: The Day I Died While Fly Fishing and Other Essays by Jack Ohman (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Cover Her Face by P. D. James (3.5/5)

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (5/5)

Lunatic Express: Discovering the World . . . via Its Most Dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes by Carl Hoffman (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout (reviewed here; 3/5)

McSorley’s Wonderful Saloon by Joseph Mitchell (reviewed here; 4.5/5)*

Old Mr. Flood by Joseph Mitchell (reviewed here; 4/5)*

The Bottom of the Harbor by Joseph Mitchell (reviewed here; 4.5/5)*

Joe Gould’s Secret by Joseph Mitchell (reviewed here; 4/5)*

A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher (3/5)

Deaf Sentence by David Lodge (reviewed here; 4/5)

Small Island by Andrea Levy (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Down River by John Hart (3.5/5)

Invitation to Provence by Elizabeth Adler (3/5)

Valley of the Dolls  by Jacqueline Susann (reviewed here; 2/5)

This is Water by David Foster Wallace (3/5)

The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (reviewed here; 4/5)

The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt by Rulke Langer (reviewed here; 4/5)

Saving Stanley: The Brickman Stories by Scott Nadelson (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Every Bitter Thing by Leighton Gage (reviewed here; 3/5)

Venusberg by Anthony Powell (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby (3.5/5)

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (4/5)

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Letham (reviewed here; 3/5)

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (reviewed here; 4/5)

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham (reviewed here; 4/5)

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (3.5/5)

Peaceful Places, New York City by Evelyn Kanter (reviewed here) (3.5/5)

Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story by Karen Connelly (reviewed here; 3/5)

The Truth About Obamacare by Sally pipes (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike (3.5/5)

Food Lover's Guide to Portland by Liz Crain (reviewed here; 4/5)

Echoes by Maeve Binchy (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

Proof by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux (4.5/5)

The Case Has Altered by Martha Grimes (3/5)

The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike (3.5/5)

Enquiry by Dick Francis (3/5)

I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (3.5/5)

Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber (reviewed here; 4/5)

Olive Kitteridge is Elizabeth Strout (reviewed here; 3/5)

Another Way the River Has by Robin Cody (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

A Geography of Secrets by Frederick Reuss (reviewed here; 3/5)

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

The Return of the King  by J. R. R. Tolkien (4/5)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (4/5)

Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake (reviewed here; 2/5)

The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (reviewed here; 4.5/5)

The I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken (reviewed here; 4/5)

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (3/5)

The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos (notes here; 2.5/5)

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (3.5/5)

Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser (3.5/5)

The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte (3.5/5)

The Palace Council by Stephen Carter (3.5/5)


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society  by Mary Ann Shaffer (reviewed here; 4/5)

NOTES

* Published in their entirety in a collection called Up in the Old Hotel, which also included five additional essays and two more short stories.

New Year's Resolution: Banish the Guilt!

New Year's resolutions are not for me.  Other than my perennial resolutions to eat less, drink less, swear less; be kinder to children, animals, and old people; and to keep my room clean, I don't make resolutions as a rule.

But there is a bookish resolution that has been nagging at me for a while.  So, inspired by a great essay, On Guilt and Reading, on Bella's Bookshelves, I am taking the Reading Resolution plunge.  My resolution is to tackle my Guilt List and stop taking books if I don't think I'll get to them within a month or two -- without feeling guilty about it!

Let me back up.  I never feel guilty about the (according to my LibraryThing tags) 1196 books on my TBR shelves. Or even the fact that I converted a spare bedroom to a library just to hold them for me. I figure that as far as time-sucking, money-gobbling hobbies go, buying more books than I can read is pretty benign.  I could have a boat, for example.

What I do feel guilt about is my stack of books from publishers, authors, and publicists that I don't get around to reading.  True, I didn't ask for all of them -- some just arrived out of the blue. But most of them are books I asked for or agreed to take and now, months later, they are still sitting there.  This "Guilt List" gets to me.

Right now, the books on my Guilt List are, in roughly the order I received them:

1. The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott
2. Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley
3. Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz 1942-1957 by Robert Dietsche
4. An Architectural Guidebook to Portland by Bart King 
5. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees
6. To the Woods: Sinking Roots, Living Lightly, and Finding True Home by Evelyn Searle Hess 
7. 42 States of Grace by Maureen Hovenkotter
8. Where the Crooked River Rises: A High Desert Home by Ellen Waterston
9. Fish With What You Find by Jim Gilsdorf
10. Because You Might Not Remember by Don Colburn
11. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

My resolution is to whittle this list down; to finish these books in a reasonable amount of time, although that may be longer than the generous people who gave them to me had in mind.  And, more important to my reading peace of mind, my resolution is to graciously refuse new books, unless I really know I will read them right away. 

State of the Blog, Part Two: The Authors

It is a new year, and time to assess my reading progress for the year just closed.  I approach this "winter" assessment with trepidation and excitement, since it lets me see how much progress I did -- or didn't make -- in 2010 and let's me plan ahead for 2011.  Out with the old! In with the new!

This is the second of my quarterly blog assessment posts.  This first part addressed the book lists. Part Three, coming soon, will deal with the challenges I participated in last year and joined (or plan to) this year.

My list of authors is in the right-side column.  I plan to add a few authors this year, including P. D. James and Dorothy L. Sayers.

NOTE: If you are reading the books of any of my favorite authors, please leave a comment here or on the post for that author (click on the name below or in the right-hand column) and leave a link to any related post. I will add the links on the author's page. 


I am changing the format of this post and only listing the books I read in 2010, rather than details for each author. In 2010, I read a total of 23 books by my favorite authors. The big winners were Dick Francis and Nick Hornby.

Kingsley Amis
One Fat Englishman (reviewed here)
On Drink (collective review of all 3 drinking books here)
Every Day Drinking
How's Your Glass?


Kate Atkinson
Case Histories
One Good Turn

William Boyd
The New Confessions (reviewed here)

Lee Child
Gone Tomorrow

A. J. Cronin
Three Loves (reviewed here)

Dick Francis
Second Wind (reviewed here)
Under Orders
Proof
Enquiry

Jim Harrison
The Farmer's Daughter (reviewed here)

Nick Hornby
The Polysyllabic Spree (reviewed here)
Juliet, Naked (reviewed here)
Housekeeping vs. The Dirt

David Lodge
Deaf Sentence (reviewed here)

Jack Ohman
Angler Management: The Day I Died While Fly Fishing and Other Essays (reviewed here)

Anthony Powell
Venusberg (reviewed here)

Julia Spencer-Fleming
I Shall Not Want


John Updike
The Witches of Eastwick
The Widows of Eastwick

On the other hand, I didn't read a single book by Saul Bellow, Cara Black, James Lee Burke (which surprises me), M. F. K. Fisher, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Penelope Fitzgerald, Richard Ford, John Lescroart, Elinor Lipman, Ian McEwan, Philip Roth, Martin Cruz Smith, William Styron, Anne Tyler, Simon Winchester, or P. G. Wodehouse (which really shocks me). The year went by so fast!

Teaser Tuesday: Strangers and Brothers

With success behind him, George remarked more often about a partnership "being not too far away."  For the first time, he showed some impatience about his oewn future: but he was no longer worried over Martineau.

-- Strangers and Brothers by C. P. Snow.

I am sucked into this story about a progressive young lawyer forging his career.  Even though the book was written in 1940 and set in 1928 in England, his work as a new lawyer in a small firm sounds so much like what my lawyer friends and I all went through. The long hours, case panic, difficult partners -- it's all the same!

This is the first book in Snow's 11-volume "Strangers and Brother's" series.  This volume is now published under the title George Passant, but I have an older edition with the Strangers and Brothers title. 

 

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

 

Mailbox Monday and Giveaway

It's the first Mailbox Monday of the year! Did anyone making Reading Resolutions for 2011? Do your mailboxes reflect them?

Please be sure to sign up for the giveaway, below.

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here). I am very pleased to host this month.

Please leave the link to your Mailbox Monday post with Mr. Linky. If you do not have a blog, leave your mailbox list in a comment.

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to book publicist extraordinaire, Mary Bisbee-Beek, I have THREE advanced reading copies of House Arrest by Ellen Meeropol to give away this week.

THE BOOK: House Arrest is set in Western Massachusetts and on an island in Penobscot Bay, Maine.  The story is told from the alternating points of view of Emily, Pippa, Sam, and Gina. House Arrest explores the meaning of family loyalty when beliefs conflict, and questions the necessity of sometimes breaking rules to serve justice.

The author, Ellen Meeropol, is fascinated by characters on the fault lines of political upheaval. Previous work includes a dramatic script telling the story of the Rosenberg Fund for Children which has been produced in four U.S. cities, most recently in Boston. Elli is the wife of Robert Meeropol, youngest son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. This is her first novel. She is a former nurse and independent bookstore event coordinator.

RULES: The contest is open until Sunday, January 9, 2011. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include a way to contact you (email or website address in your comment or available in your profile). If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable.) Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Stumble this blog, digg it, technorati fave it, or link it on facebook. Leave a separate comment. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. and Canada only. The deadline for entry is midnight in your time zone on Sunday, January 9, 2011. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post on January 10, 2011.

MY MAILBOX

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. This is the fourth book in her Jackson Brodie series, which is my favorite mystery series. Thanks, Hachette Books!



And a big Thank You to Overlook Books who hosted a pre-Christmas giveaway of my favorite P. G. Wodehouse "Collector Editions." I was very excited to win!

A Pelican at Blandings



A Prefect's Uncle



The Man Upstairs (Collector's Edition coming soon)



I am ready to start participating in the Wodehouse Challenge.

Opening Sentence of the Day: A Study in Scarlet

In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army.

-- A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Thanks to Steve Anderson, who I had coffee with when I was considering getting an iPhone, I learned that I could download a kindle app to my iPhone and have a book with me in my pocket.  So I downloaded the first Sherlock Holmes book.  I wanted to start with a free e-book, in case I didn't like it.

But I do.  It was pretty intuitive, and I learned how to set the color to "sepia" so the background is offwhite and the text is brown, so it is a little softer to look at.  And I figured out how to bookmark the page where I stop, so I can go back to it. I don't think I'll be giving up my print books any time soon, but it is fun to have.  It came in handy when I was waiting for a friend for breakfast the other day.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Strangers and Brothers

The fire in our habitual public-house spurted and fell.

-- Strangers and Brothers by C. P. Snow.

Better than the first sentence is the name of the chapter: "Firelight on a Silver Cigarette Case."

This is the first book in Snow's 11-volume "Strangers and Brother's" series.  This volume is now published under the title George Passant, but I have an older edition with the Strangers and Brothers title.

State of the Blog, Part One: The Lists

Christmas is sadly over, the new year approaches, and it is time for me to assess my reading progress for the year.  I approach this "winter" assessment with trepidation and excitement, since it lets me see how much progress I did -- or didn't make -- in 2010 and let's me plan ahead for 2011.  Out with the old; in with the new!

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

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.

NOTE: If you are working on any of these lists, please leave a comment here or on the post for the list (click on the title below or in the right-hand column) and leave a link to any related post. I will add the links on the list post. 

In 2010, I read aaround 45 books from my various book lists. I got the most bang for my book buck by finishing The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien, so I could scratch The Lord of the Rings off several lists, and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, which was also on several lists. 

THE LISTS

1899 TOP 100

Books read so far: 8/100
Books read in 2010: one, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. The Moonstone by Willkie Collins
2. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz

Books on my TBR shelf: 19

All-TIME TOP 100

Books read so far: 76/100
Books read in 2010: 2 and 2/3

1. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
2. Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion (reviewed here)
3. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (one-third of The Lord of the Rings)
4. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (the last third of The Lord of the Rings)

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carre
2. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Books on my TBR shelf: 14

ANTHONY BURGESS

Books read so far: 30/99
Books read in 2010: 2

1. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (reviewed here)
2. Titus Groan by Mervin Peake (reviewed here) 
3. The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux

Books I hope to read in 2011: a couple, but I don't know which ones yet
Books on my TBR shelf: 19

BBC'S BIG READ

Books read so far: 58/100
Books read in 2010: 6 and 2/3 (wow!)

1. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
2. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (reviewed here)
3. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (reviewed here)
4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
5. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (one-third of The Lord of the Rings)
6. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (reviewed here)
7. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (the last third of The Lord of the Rings) 

Books I hope to read in 2011:  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Books on my TBR shelf: 6

BOOK CLUB

Books read so far: 19/19
Books read in 2010: 4

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
2. The Red Tent  by Anita Diamant
3. Small Island by Andrea Levy (reviewed here)
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2011: six, but Cutting for Stone is the only one I know so far
Books on my TBR shelf: none

COLLEGE BOARD

Books read so far: 75/101
Books read in 2010: one (Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney)
Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (I am reading this now)
2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Books on my TBR shelf: 20

COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR

Books read so far: 6/24
Books read in 2010: 3

1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here)
2. Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney 
3. Small Island by Andrea Levy  (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2011: Felicia's Journey by William Trevor
Books on my TBR shelf: one

EASTON PRESS

Books read so far: 57/100
Books read in 2010: 2

1. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (I am reading this now)
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Books on my TBR shelf: 20

EDGAR AWARD

Books read so far: 8/56
Books read in 2010: 3

1. New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith
2. Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (reviewed here) 
3. Down River by John Hart

Books I hope to read in 2011: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carre
Books on my TBR shelf: 6

ERICA JONG

Books read so far: 33/100
Books read in 2010: 4

1. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbon (reviewed here)
2. Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion (reviewed here) 
3. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (reviewed here) 
4. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
2. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
3. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Books on my TBR shelf: 22

FRENCH CONNECTION

Books read so far: 48/113 (and counting -- there are more books to add to the list)
Books read in 2010: 5

1. The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White (reviewed here) 
2. L'Affaire by Diane Johnson
3. My Life in France by Julia Child (reviewed here)
4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 
5. Corked by Kathryn Borel (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
2. Death in the Truffle Wood by Pierre Magnan
3. The Messengers of Death by Pierre Magnan 
4. The Food of France by Waverley Root

Books on my TBR shelf: 24

GUILT LIST

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 2011: 11 more (but my resolution is to not freak out about it)

1. The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott
2. Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley
3. Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz 1942-1957 by Robert Dietsche
4. Another Way the River Has: Taut True Tales from the Northwest by Robin Cody   
5. An Architectural Guidebook to Portland by Bart King 
6. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees
7. To the Woods: Sinking Roots, Living Lightly, and Finding True Home by Evelyn Searle Hess 
8. 42 States of Grace by Maureen Hovenkotter
9. Where the Crooked River Rises: A High Desert Home by Ellen Waterston
10. Fish With What You Find by Jim Gilsdorf
11. Because You Might Not Remember by Don Colburn

Books on my TBR shelf: 11

JAMES TAIT BLACK MEMORIAL PRIZE

Books read so far: 8/96
Books read in 2010:

1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry; for my Battle of the Prizes, British Version  challenge
2. The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux

Books I hope to read in 2011: 3

1. G by John Berger; also for my Battle of the Prizes, British Version challenge
2. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
3. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Books on my TBR shelf: 10

LT EARLY REVIEWERS

Books read so far: 29/33

Books read in 2010: 8

1. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (reviewed here)
2. Maimonides: and the Biblical Prophets by Israel Drazin
3. Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow (reviewed here)
4. The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain, published by Words Without Borders Anthologies (reviewed here)
5. Short Stories, Book I by Anton Chekhov (reviewed here)
6. A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks (reviewed here) 
7. Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story by Karen Connelly (reviewed here)
8. Peaceful Places, Los Angeles by Laura Randall (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. Just Enough Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
2. American Terroir by Rowan Jacobsen  

Books on my TBR shelf: 4

MAN BOOKER PRIZE

Books read so far: 22/43
Books read in 2010:

1. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
2. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. G by John Berger (for my Battle of the Prizes, British Version challenge)
2. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
3. How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman or Shindler's List by Thomas Keneally

Books on my TBR shelf: 13

MLA'S 30

Books read so far: 23/30
Books read in 2010: 1 and 2/3

1. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
2. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (one-third of The Lord of the Rings) 
3. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (the last third of The Lord of the Rings) 

Books I hope to read in 2011: maybe David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
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 2011: none
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

Books read so far: 27/64
Books read in 2010: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (reviewed here)
Books I hope to Read in 2011:

1. Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
2. The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck
3. Them by Joyce Carol Oates
4. Morte d'Urban by J.F. Powers

Books on my TBR shelf: 15

NBCC AWARD

Books read so far: 16/34
Books read in 2010: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Books I hope to read in 2011:  

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 
2. Counterlife by Philip Roth

Books on my TBR shelf: 11

NOBEL LAUREATES

Authors read so far: 20/106
Books read in 2010: Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney
Books I hope to read in 201: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Books on my TBR shelf: 32 (but most by authors already read)

OBSERVER'S TOP 100

Books read so far: 59/100
Books read in 2010: 3 and 2/3

1. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
2. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler 
3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
4. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (one-third of The Lord of the Rings) 
5. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (the last third of The Lord of the Rings) 

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1.  The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (I am reading this now)
2.  David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Books on my TBR shelf: 15

ORANGE PRIZE

Books read so far: 3/15
Books read in 2010:

1. Small Island by Andrea Levy (reviewed here)
2. The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2011: maybe none
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

OREGON BOOKS

Books read so far: 3/20
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2011: maybe none
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

PEN/FAULKNER

Books read so far: 7/30
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: 3

1. The Human Stain by Philip Roth (which I am reading now)
2. Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley (also on my Guilt List)
3. Seaview by Toby Olson

Books on my TBR shelf: 12

PULITZER PRIZE

Books read so far: 41/85
Books read in 2010:

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
2. Olive Kitteridge is Elizabeth Strout (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2010: at least 2 (for the Battle of the Prizes Challenge) 

1. One of Ours by Willa Cather
2. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

Books on my TBR shelf: 25 (thanks, in part, to a great Christmas present)

RADCLIFFE'S TOP 100

Books read so far: 91/100
Books read in 2010: 4 and 2/3

1. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster (reviewed here)
2. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
3. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (reviewed here)  
4. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (one-third of The Lord of the Rings) 
5. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (reviewed here)  
6. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (the last third of The Lord of the Rings)  

Books I hope to read in 2011:

1. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (I am reading this now)
2. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
3. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein

Books on my TBR shelf: 6

RCR TOP 10

Books read so far: 10/10 (it's my list)
Books read in 2010: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbon (reviewed here)
Books I hope to Read in 2011: one change this year is a big step already
Books on my TBR shelf: who knows?

WELL-STOCKED BOOKCASE

Books read so far: 35/60
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to Read in 2011

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
2. Them by Joyce Carol Oates

Books on my TBR shelf: 14