It's official. I failed.
Last November I set a goal to read sixty books by the end of 2010. That amounted to a book a week. I knew it was a bit of a stretch, but I figured that giving it a go couldn't be bad. I read constantly over the last year. Books I'd never heard of before, books that are classics that I'd never bothered with, books that I would never recommend to anyone, and everything in between.
I've never read so much in my entire life. The library became my favorite place in the world. Especially my little small town library with the clock tower outside that chimed merrily every fifteen minutes and played a different tune at the top of every hour. I loved the quiet, the smell of old paper, the time to myself to get lost in the possibility held in a million pages.
And here we are on December 12th, 2010, and I am three books short of my goal. But I know I won't be able to finish off three more. I'm in the middle of moving, I have that huge personal history project for my step-grandma, homeschool, and Christmas is right around the corner. Plus, you know, four kids and a husband to take care of.
Part of me is really disappointed to be so close to accomplishing this goal and have it so out of reach. I can't stand to leave things unfinished - it's one of my biggest pet peeves.
But there is another part of me that is just really glad that I made it to 57 books. My mind has been fed by many of them, I've been entertained by even the worst of them, and I feel like a more complete person with every book I finish. All things considered, it's been a worthwhile journey, even if the final destination was never reached.
Now I'm looking forward to next year and all the books that are waiting to be devoured.
Here's a final list of what I read this year:
The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall
Love Is Eternal by Irving Stone
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
Cheaper By The Dozen by two Gilbraiths
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
Fat Girl - A True Story by Judith Miller
The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
The Castaways by Elin Hildebrand
The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
Belles On Their Toes by those Gilbraiths again
The Victory Club by Robin Lee Hatcher
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
The Best Little Girl In The World by Steven Levenkron
Life Laughs by Jenny McCarthy
Anne Frank Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
J.K. Rowling the Wizard Behind Harry Potter by Marc Shapiro
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Danny The Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Duggars: 20 and Counting by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar
The Confession by Beverly Lewis
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Exploits of a Reluctant (But Extremely Good-Looking) Hero by Maureen Fergus
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
In Praise of Stay At Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson-Burnett
Post Mortem by Patricia Cornwell
The Truth About Stacy by Ann M. Martin
Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult
The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon
A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson-Burnett
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Twits by Roald Dahl
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
How To Be Good by Nick Hornby
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The BFG by Roald Dahl
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene-Catling
Rumors of War by Dean Hughes
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
Collected Short Stories by Leo Tolstoy
Since You Went Away by Dean Hughes
What a great goal! 57? That's more than one a week. That IS mighty impressive. Hmmm....Me thinks I might try this myself.
ReplyDeleteI like that you had several by Roald Dahl and that they outnumbered Stephanie Meyers books. Whew.
So, do tell us....what is worth reading and what is not?
And did you finish everything you started or did you give up on any?
I gave up on Frankenstein. It could have something to do with the 18 dollar late fee. sigh.
I LOVE Roald Dahl! And I figured since I was reading them to my kids I could count them in my total. The only reason I read Stephanie Meyer was because it was over Christmas and the library was closed, so I bought that one at the grocery store because it was cheap and not Danielle Steel. :)
ReplyDeleteI finished all the books on the list, but there was one book I started and couldn't finish. The House of Seven Gables. I got about seven pages into that one and just couldn't do it. I'm determined to try again someday though.
My Favorites on the list:
anything by Roald Dahl, of course.
Love Is Eternal (if you're into history)
Sophie Kinsella is always good for a fun, quick read, but Twenties Girl was by FAR my favorite
Cheaper By The Dozen
The Winter of Our Discontent (awesome imagery - Steinbeck is fantastic)
Mistress of Mellyn
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Lost Symbol
The Old Man and The Sea
Handle With Care was really good, but Picoult likes to twist her endings and it makes me want to slap her.
The Secret Garden
The Saturdays (Children's book)
The Hunger Games Series was awesome, first book is the best
To Kill A Mockingbird
Dean Hughes' Children of the Promise series. Very good. Takes place during WWII
Bethany, I am in AWE of you right now! Wow, so impressed. And I absolutely love your list, because you have some heavies in there and some totally fun stuff that I love, like Roald Dahl and Sophie Kinsella!
ReplyDeleteFifty-seven books with your life going on around you is amazing, girl. Makes me want to set a goal for myself like that.
Some of my favorite books are on that list (including The Best Christmas Pageant Ever which was my favorite when I was a kid). I love that you have a Babysitter's Club book on there, I don't think I've picked up one of those since I was about 15 but a part of me wants to find every single one of them to give to my daughter when she turns 12 (that's the age I was when I discovered them).
ReplyDeleteYou are way ahead of me! I think I only made it to 15 this year! You should be SO proud of this accomplishment! (Grab three little kid books and read them now to get to that goal!)
ReplyDeleteThis is by far a fail. Seriously. The most I read was a few books an a stint with a twilight book that I only got 10 pages in before I wanted to stab my eye out. Sigh. Stupid hot glittery vampires.
ReplyDeleteI failed on the book front, too. I don't even think I hit 50 books. Darn blogging got in the way and took over my life ;)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like we have the same taste in books though...are you on goodreads.com?
I'm really disgusted with how little I've read this year. You read 52 more books than I did. Can you read 3 kids stories to get to 60..you know, cheat a little?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Poppy! I also HATE to leave things undone, so if I were you and that close, I would pick 3 super-quick reads and just hurry and get them done, so I didn't feel all unfinished. I'm thinking, like Gift of the Magi short. Just me though, either way that's 57 books and you'll never regret that!
ReplyDeleteNo matter the outcome, you should be incredibly proud of yourself for reading 57 books in a year. I know some people that have probably never read that many books in their entire life.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow book lover - Congrats!!!!!!!
You are woman, hear you roar! Holy shit, Bethany! 57 books?... with all the other stuff you are doing? You don't sleep do you?
ReplyDeleteDon't hold yourself short for 57 books! That is more than one a week.
ReplyDeleteTry "That Quail Robert". It is a quick read and your boys would love it.
Merry Christmas