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Sunday Salon: Mid-Year Review

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Sunday Salon: Mid-Year Review

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Jul. 6th, 2008 at 5:46 AM

Hello Sunday Salon readers!

I can't believe we are into the second half of 2008 already. I have been reflecting on my reading so far this year, and offer up the following assessment:

36 books read (11,664 pages). This puts me on pace to read 72 books this year, which is precisely the same as in 2007.
Average rating: 3.5 stars. I've been reading some really good books this year. There were only three books that received less than 3 stars (The Piano Tuner, Ines of my Soul, and In a Free State). Oh yeah, and there were another two that I didn't finish (My Name is Red, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao).
Progress vs. 2008 Reading Goals:
- Booker Prize Winners: 6 out of 10
- Pulitzer Prize Winners: 3 out of 8
- Orange Prize Winners: 1 out of 4
- Nobel Prize Winners: 2 out of 7
- New countries "visited" (books by authors from outside the U.S.): 8 of 20
My top 3 books for the second quarter:
- Unaccustomed Earth , by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Elizabeth and her German Garden , by Elizabeth von Arnim
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle , by Barbara Kingsolver
My top 5 books of the year: from the list above and my top 5 for the first quarter, I would say the best overall are:
- Unaccustomed Earth , by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton
- Elizabeth and her German Garden , by Elizabeth von Arnim
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle , by Barbara Kingsolve
- Astrid and Veronika, by Linda Olsson

I have a lot of really interesting books lined up for the rest of the year. I'm really looking forward to more global reading, and seeing whether any of my second half reads can knock one of my top 5 off the list.

Until next time ... happy reading!
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( 15 comments — Leave a comment )

mrstreme wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 10:48 am (UTC)

Hello fellow early bird! Did Woody wake you up this morning? =)

I really hope to read Unaccustomed Earth this year. I have heard such excellent things about it.

Enjoy your Sunday!
Jill

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laura0218 wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 01:56 pm (UTC)

Jill ... you got it! He woke me up at 5:22, which seems to happen daily, like clockwork. I don't even need an alarm clock anymore!

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mrstreme wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 07:59 pm (UTC)

You got a new picture! Love it. I should really change mine - my hair is completely different!

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laura0218 wrote:

Jul. 7th, 2008 12:34 am (UTC)

Oh yes, do! The world must see the real Jill! My old pic was actually about 3 years old so I thought it was about time for something new. BTW, there's an uncropped version of this picture on my LT profile.

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(Anonymous) wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 12:36 pm (UTC)

I just finished Unaccustomed Earth. AMAZING. So fabulous. I also read Astrid and V. this year and loved it. I'll have to add your other top 5s to my TBR list since we appear to have similar taste. (The Kingsolver is already there.)
smallworldreads.blogspot.com

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(Anonymous) wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 01:36 pm (UTC)

For some reason our library hasn't yet ordered the new Lahiri. I can see I'm going to have to go out and buy it!

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justareadingfool.wordpress.com wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 01:52 pm (UTC)

I've read a similar 40 books this year, although probably the same amount of pages or not much more anyway, as most of the books I've read are on the shorter side...My wife and I saw the movie "The Namesake," but either one of us have yet to read anything by Lahiri. We would like to do so, though, after seeing the movie...Barbara Kingsolver? Did you read The Poisonwood Bible and if so, is it worth it?...I know that's on my list of books to read. I'd also be curious what are the other books you read for the year. Do you have a list of them somewhere? Or did I miss that in my quick scanning?...Okay, enough questions. On to read others participating in this week's Sunday Salon. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

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laura0218 wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 02:05 pm (UTC)

Thanks for your comments! Lahiri has become one of my all-time favorite authors. The film of The Namesake is quite true to the book. But I find her short stories are truly fantastic. I don't usually read short stories, but hers have completely sucked me in and inspired me to try other authors. Her first volume of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize and would be a great place to start if you haven't read Lahiri.

As for Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible was the first of her books that I read, and I've read most of her work since. It's an excellent book.

As for my other reads ... I review everything, so it's all here on this blog. But I also have a LibraryThing catalog, with books tagged "read in 2008": http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lindsacl
And, just because I like data and statistics, my entire reading plan is in a spreadsheet: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pbBm8Yi7xlF1sgpmcOBY7UA&hl=en

OK, now I've totally outed myself as a geek. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your day!

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teelgee wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 03:44 pm (UTC)

LOL, Ms Geek. I also did a mid-year report, just not with all the stats. You out-geeked me. ;o)

I like your top 5 picks. Do you have a top five for the 1/2 year?

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laura0218 wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 04:30 pm (UTC)

Erm, yeah ... those top 5 were my top 5 for the year. I also listed the top 3 for 2nd quarter ... get it?

I saw your mid-year and realized I was being a copycat, but what the heck.

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teelgee wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 08:56 pm (UTC)

Got it. You can copy me anytime - flattery, you know.

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caribousmom wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 05:46 pm (UTC)

I like your organization, Laura (of course I do!). I have Astrid and Veronika to read at some point this year...hope to do that relatively soon, actually.

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literaryfeline wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 07:58 pm (UTC)

Are we already half way through the year? I'll be honest and say I'm relieved. It's been a rough year. Good year reading wise though--at least I can say that.

I am looking forward to reading Unaccustomed Earth. I've heard such great things about it.

Here's to an even better second half of the year! Have a great week, Laura.

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(Anonymous) wrote:

Jul. 6th, 2008 11:15 pm (UTC)

Ack! It's mid-year! Gee, thanks for the reminder. ;) You're doing great on the prize winners!

December 2009