Summer 2010: The Unread

After taking careful notes and finding out exactly how bloated my TBR shelf really is, I was going to pull all my unreads off of the shelves and put them on the bed and take a picture.

Problem: The bed's not big enough. The photo above is just a small sample of what's waiting.

Total TBR: 224. Yikes. Actually, at this time yesterday, it was only (!) 222. A couple of hours later, I got a package from my mom and in that package (among other things) was a book that her friend Nancy wants me to read called The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott. Tuffi and I were both pleased; the stories date back to the 1870s which was yayness for her and I go through stages where I'm All About Alcott.

Later that evening, I was over at Becka and Jim's for Mad Men Monday and I somehow absconded with Becka's copy of Chocolat. I'm sorry, Becka! Once it touched my hands, I couldn't leave without it. As you can see, things are piling up without my even having to work at it. Wouldn't it be nice to have that tendency with money or real estate?

Here are the unread numbers in my special categories:

Baseball books: 5

Biographies: 5

1930s books: 6

Louis L'Amour's Sackett Series: 18

Pulitzers: 21

Canadian books: 11

Korean-themed books: 3

Graphic novels: 4

Strangely enough, even while I'm listing these particulars and implicitly inviting you to gasp and tut-tut about my biblioextremism, another part of my mind is busily planning how I'm going to work those weekly visits to the Bybee-ary into my schedule this fall and another nother part of that mind is contemplating a visit to What The Book?'s new location.

So much multi-tasking is making my brain tired. I need a nap. Oh, right. There's books all over the bed.

Tough & Cool Inner Bookworm: Sizing Up Bybee's 2009 Reading Season

Bybee had a sudden craving for mandu so she went out and I haven't seen her since. Perhaps she's snowbound somewhere. Perhaps it wasn't a longing for mandu. She knows full well that it's time to cast a glacial eye at which resolutions she kept and didn't keep in 2009 and I think she just wants to protect those big meaty knuckles from a well-deserved rap or two.

Bybee's Bookish Resolutions for 2009:

1. "Complete Middlemarch." Hmm, nothing to fault her about here. I will briefly mention that she started the book in early January and didn't finish it until March 6.

2. "Finish the Canadian Book Challenge." Bybee did this as well and I'm pleased with her for completing the Anne of Green Gables series. I'll even be magnanimous and ignore that little burp with Anne of Windy Poplars. But she's only completed 3 books for the 2010 Canadian Challenge. She'd better get busy or before she realizes it, Canada Day will be upon her like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens on a hockey puck.

3. "Read more Pulitzers." Tsk. Bybee only read 3 Pulitzers this year. I really don't care, since I'm a 19th-century kind of gal myself, but you'd think after all that feverish hunting and gathering she'd apply herself to that particular shelf a little more.

4. "Make frequent use of the library at my new university." Bybee's made frequent use of the library, but is frequent synonymous with good? Yes, it's true that she checked out The Scarlet Letter in August and read it with surprising gusto, but I weep bitterly to think of all those classics she continually (and willfully) passes up. I've lost count of the times my heart's been broken as she just whooooooshed by all those lovely Henry James novels and galumphed into the nonfiction section.

5. "Complete the Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge." Bybee finished this challenge on time and with no difficulty. Hmph. Only 3 books somehow relating to food, and you know Bybee and food...! But since we're on the subject of challenges, let's talk about the Eco Reading Challenge. Trust me, if Bybee could hear this, she'd have both hands clamped over her fleshy ears singing lalalala. Yes, it's true -- she only read 3 out of the 4 books she pledged for the challenge and one of them was finished after September 1. Fail.

6. "Study Korean." Her reading is progressing slowly and she's picked up a handful of new vocabulary. After 5 years, she might know almost as many words as a Korean toddler. I cringe that she's not more aggressive about self-improvement.

7. "Keep challenges manageable." Bybee kept this resolution for the most part, but I don't quite approve of it. So many new and exciting challenges involving opportunities to read 19th (and older!) century books emerged and poor little Susan was all, wah wah wah...I'm too busy. Busy watching How I Met Your Mother and reading back issues of Us magazine, I'd say!

8. "Be less of a slob about writing reviews." Ooooooooh. I'm thinking of someone whose name starts with B (and it's not Bronte) who has taken up permanent residence on Slob Street in Slobville in the Land of Slob. I must whisper this next bit of shameful news: She's 20 reviews behind! I thought this unfortunately-named blog was a book blog. Am I missing something?

9. "Read more internationally." Sigh. Pass the aspirin. Bybee squandered so many opportunities to bake two cakes with one oven. I'm thinking Don Quixote. I'm thinking about Dumas and Hugo. What about Boccaccio? I can't go on; I've got a burning feeling in my chest like Dante's Inferno. It's not the coffee.

10. "Let nonfiction rule this year." Well, it didn't. The final score was 56-48, fiction. I could care less, especially since I just heard the elevator open and Bybee's voice in the hallway humming Non, je ne regrette rien off-key, but I would like to quickly point out that there's a lot of fine old nonfiction around. Pepys' diary. Life On The Mississippi. Between Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli, she could have a really nice time. Wouldn't anyone?

2008: The One Hundred

(In reverse order:)

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing. A must-read for everyone, and next summer when you're looking for the perfect Father's Day gift, remember what Bybee told you.

The Oregon Trail - Francis Parkman. I found this to be dull reading, but I'm sure it was on-the-edge-of-your-chair reading back in the 1840s, when it was first published.

High Tide In Tucson - Barbara Kingsolver. I'm really becoming a big fan of Kingsolver's nonfiction. I hope her writing starts to sway more in that direction; she does it so well.

The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread - Don Robertson (re-read). Morris Bird III, I'll love you forever.

Eye Of The Needle - Ken Follett. Lovely escapist reading! I turned pages so fast it looked like I was fanning.

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin (Book Group). Mitzi chose this book because the token guy in The Jane Austen Book Club asks one of the women to read it. She resists for a while, then reads it and something else, then they fall in love. Well, book group selections have been chosen for stranger reasons. Mitzi, you done good. Ursula K. Le Guin's anthropological background stands her in good stead as she creates a world complete with mythology, language, a politcal climate, intricate geography, sexuality and other unforgettable features of culture on the planet Winter.

My Name Was Judas - C.K. Stead. Judas Iscariot didn't hang himself! He moved to Greece and lived a long and happy life. In his 70th year, he begins to reflect on his childhood friend Jesus, and one of the disciples shows up on his doorstep. Each chapter ends with a thoughtful and often bittersweet poem containing 13 syllables.

The Innocent Man - John Grisham. I'm sure the Ada, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce won't be using this book to promote their city. An appalling look at police work at its shoddiest and most inept.

Old School - Tobias Wolff (Book Group). Read This Boy's Life (Tobias Wolff's memoir of his life before he went away to private school) first, then this novel as a companion piece. I understood what he was trying to accomplish, but I found the final chapter problematic, although I couldn't figure out another approach. The wicked send-up of Ayn Rand is worth the price of admission.

The Chronicle of Manchiwidang - Moon-Soo Kim. A short Korean novel about a son whose father has compelling but unrealistic dreams about their ancestral home and their place in life. A brief but enlightening look at how Koreans seem to be reeling from how much their country has changed in 50 short years.

Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner (The Pulitzer Project). I want more Stegner!

Mr. Pip - Lloyd Jones. This book, especially Matilda's mother's uneasy relationship with Great Expectations and Mr. Watts strained my credulity at times. It seemed a little awkward, and hardly more than a means to the violence near the end. I did like how Jones peeled back some of the layers of Mr. Watts' background. I was also glad to have read Great Expectations fairly recently.

Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama. I read this right after the election with my emotions running high. A thoughtful memoir that reads like a novel at times. I hope that one day, Obama will write more about his mother. I actually find her more fascinating than his father.

Fearless Interviewing - Marky Stein (Re-read). This book feels like it has a curse on it. I read it before 3 interviews and didn't get the job each time. For the 4th interview, I left it on the shelf and got the job. I'm probably going to unload it soon. Any takers?

Matrimony - Joshua Henkin. I was going crazy trying to figure out who the creative writing professor was at the beginning of the novel. Maybe Richard Yates? I liked how Henkin kept the tone of the novel quiet and understated, but when Julian and Mia separate, everything was a little too quiet. I'm looking forward to Joshua Henkin's next novel.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames - David Sedaris. The part that seems to stay with me is "Old Faithful" when Hugh and David are in London and David has a painful boil the size of a peach pit at the top of his butt crack. He begins musing about fidelity, then brings it all together brilliantly when Hugh lances his boil for him, and the nasty thing spews like...well, you know.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (The Pulitzer Project). I was dazzled by the combination of 20th century Dominican Republic history woven so expertly with references to geek culture. And the language! Spanish and English co-mingled with a street cadence. Junot Diaz is a genius.

Princess Diana - Joanne Mattern. A YA biography of the late princess. Worth reading for the fair and balanced look at her life, and the author isn't "writing down" at all.

Books: A Memoir - Larry McMurtry. I gushed at great length about this book back in October. I'm sure I'll be reading it again soon.

How Koreans Talk: A Collection of Expressions - Sang-Hun Choe & Christopher Torchia. I've got plans to do a full-blown review.

Stumbling On Happiness - Daniel Gilbert (Book Group). Basically, this book tells us how our brains don't really do past and future very well, and are constantly tricking us. Funny and informative, but the title is somewhat misleading.

Going Solo - Roald Dahl (In Their Shoes Challenge)

The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera

JPod - Douglas Coupland (2nd Canadian Book Challenge AND Orbis Terrarum Challenge -- CANADA)

The Road - Cormac McCarthy (The Pulitzer Project AND Book Group). I've got plans to read more McCarthy.

A Spectacle Of Corruption - David Liss (Book Group)

Plainsong - Kent Haruf

The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan. I can't stop thinking about this book. Definitely a top read for 2008. My coworker, Martin lent it to me, but I want my own copy.

The Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett

Persuasion - Jane Austen (Book Group)

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (Orbis Terrarum Challenge -- ENGLAND)

The Hungry Ocean - Linda Greenlaw (In Their Shoes Challenge)

Atonement - Ian McEwan. That's a hell of a way to act in a library!

Ex Libris - Anne Fadiman (re-read, Book Group) So much love! I want my copy back.

Anne Of The Island - L.M. Montgomery (2nd Canadian Book Challenge)

Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Native Speaker - Chang-Rae Lee

My Detachment - Tracy Kidder (In Their Shoes Challenge)

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

A Confederacy Of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (The Pulitzer Project)

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth - Chris Ware (Graphic Novel Challenge)

Self-Consciousness - John Updike

The Bone People - Keri Hulme (Orbis Terrarum Challenge -- NEW ZEALAND)

Unless - Carol Shields (2nd Canadian Book Challenge)

The Tale Of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo (Book Group)

Tete-A-Tete - Hazel Rowley (In Their Shoes Challenge). Joint biography of Simone de Beauvior and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Fifth Business - Robertson Davies (2nd Canadian Book Challenge). Robertson Davies rocks.

Monday Mourning - Kathy Reichs (Book Group). I like the TV show "Bones" better.

The Witch Of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare

Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

Grizzly! Real-Life Animal Attacks - Allan B. Ury

Fat Girl - Judith Moore

Heart-Shaped Box - Joe Hill (Book Group)

The Executioner's Song - Norman Mailer (The Pulitzer Project)

Caught By The Sea - Gary Paulsen

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery (Book Group)

High Sierra - W.R. Burnett. This guy gives James M. Cain a run for his money.

My Life And Hard Times - James Thurber

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (The Pulitzer Project AND Book Group)

I Have The Right To Destroy Myself - Young-Ha Kim. Aaargh! Give me back my time!

Diane Arbus -Patricia Bosworth (In Their Shoes Challenge)

The Coldest Place On Earth - Tony Vicary. Even though things went badly for Scott and his team, they seem like they would have been interesting to hang with.

Sunshine - Norma Klein (re-read)

Ex Libris - Anne Fadiman. Yes! I love this book!

Anne of Avonlea -L.M. Montgomery (Canadian Book Challenge)

Oil! - Upton Sinclair (Book Group)

The Oxford Murders - Guillermo Martinez (Orbis Terrarum Challenge -- ARGENTINA)

A Summons To Memphis - Peter Taylor (The Pulitzer Project AND Orbis Terrarum Challenge --USA). I'm glad I read a Pulitzer prizewinner, but can't really recommend this one. Too slow, too muted. I wonder if Joshua Henkin likes Peter Taylor's writing. I'm not being insulting; I'm really curious.

Cash - Editors of Rolling Stone

An Appointment With My Brother - Yi Mun-Yol (Orbis Terrarum Challenge --SOUTH KOREA)

The Known World - Edward P. Jones (The Pulitzer Project AND Book Group)

Is There A Doctor In The Zoo? - David Taylor. I'm really pleased to have discovered this author. I'll be on the lookout for more of his adventures as a zoo vet.

What Is The What - Dave Eggers

Truth & Beauty - Ann Patchett (In Their Shoes Challenge)

...If You Lived In Colonial Times - Ann McGovern

Korea Bug: The Best Of The Zine That Infected A Nation - J. Scott Burgeson. Standing ovation.

Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography - David Michaelis (In Their Shoes Challenge)

Suite Francaise -Irene Nemirovsky (Book Group). I'm looking for a copy of Fire In The Blood.

The Almost Moon - Alice Sebold

The Borden Tragedy - Rick Geary (Graphic Novel Challenge). Owning Geary's whole "Victorian Murders" series would be great fun.

Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald (Canadian Book Challenge). I didn't like this one at all. Not even its Canadian-ness can make me like it.

The Case Of Madeleine Smith - Rick Geary (Graphic Novel Challenge)

A Bad Case Of Stripes - David Shannon

Brainiac - Ken Jennings (In Their Shoes Challenge)

How To Be Good - Nick Hornby

You Suck - Christopher Moore (Book Group)

The Uninvited - Geling Yan

Housekeeping vs. The Dirt - Nick Hornby

Me Talk Pretty One Day -David Sedaris (re-read, Book Group)

Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea - Guy Delisle (Canadian Book Challenge and Graphic Novel Challenge)

Polite Lies: On Being A Woman Caught Between Cultures - Kyoko Mori

All Families Are Pyschotic - Douglas Coupland (Canadian Book Challenge)

The Polysyllabic Spree - Nick Hornby

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (Book Group). I liked his follow-up novel better.

A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography Of Emma Goldman - Sharon Rudahl (Graphic Novel Challenge)

A Complicated Kindness - Miriam Toews (Canadian Book Challenge)

Travels With Charley - John Steinbeck (In Their Shoes Challenge). I wish I'd read more Steinbeck in 2008.

Scoundrels and Scallywags: Characters From Alberta's Past - Brian Brennan (Canadian Book Challenge)

The Book Of Proper Names - Amelie Nothomb. I can't even tell you how much I loathed this book. Words fail me. I'm down to sound effects.

We Are All Fine Here - Mary Guterson

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For BOOK Memes

I stole (then shamelessly altered) this meme from Bookfool, who in turn stole it from another blog. Now you know what to do, right?

A book that made you cry: Charlotte's Web -E.B. White [She never moved again.]

A book that scared you:
The Stranger Beside Me -Ann Rule
Bad Ronald -John Holbrook Vance

A book that made you laugh: The Broke Diaries -Angela Nissel
Confessions Of A Failed Southern Lady -Florence King
Kitchen Confidential -Anthony Bourdain

A book that surprised you with its plot twist: Bridge To Terabithia -Katherine Paterson

A book that disgusted you: Billy Dead -Lisa Reardon [Boy loves girl. Boy loses girl. Boy meets girl again and they're still in love. They're also brother and sister. Soon, they take their love on the lam because one of them slowly and brutally murdered the title character who is also a sibling. The writing was dull, although it's obvious that Reardon was straining with every nerve to be as nasty and edgy as possible. I felt like I needed a shower after I was finished reading.]

A book you loved as a preschooler: The Plump Pig (don't know the author) [The title character is sad because he's plump and all the people and animals around him are thin. One day, he's taken to a new farm where everyone and everything is plump. He's the plumpest of all -- and the happiest!]

A book you loved in elementary school: The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom. [For decades, Nordstrom was a celebrated editor of children's books. One of her many writers was E.B. White. She was the Maxwell Perkins for juvenile authors. She was also a success as a writer, as this book about Victoria and Martha, two lonely girls in boarding school, proves.]

A book you loved in middle school:
Harriet The Spy -Louise Fitzhugh [7th grade]
The Outsiders -S.E. Hinton [8th grade]
Sunshine -Norma Klein [9th grade]

A book you loved in high school: The Bell Jar -Sylvia Plath

A book you hated in high school: [I don't remember the title, but it was something about how to be as popular as a cheerleader in high school. The gist was that you had to be perky about 150% of the time. Aaaaaaggghh. Too much effort.]

A book you loved in college: Endless Love -Scott Spencer [You know how sometimes, as you're reading, you'll cast a person from your real life? Even now, when I read this novel, I still see MEM, my first college boyfriend, as the protagonist and narrator, David Axelrod. When will someone finally make a decent version of the movie based on this excellent novel?]

A book that challenged your identity: The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. [I read this book back in 2000, and it caused a paradigm shift (on page 232, I actually heard a "click"). For years, I was in the poor-me mode, envious of people who had more of everything, so I'd go shopping to make myself feel less deprived. Then, when I had even less money because I'd shopped, my mood plummeted. As a result, I was convinced that I was just a complete dumbass about money. Reading The Complete Tightwad Gazette showed me that when you have a clear goal in mind, saving money becomes fun, a challenge, a game. I don't agree with her advice about books, though! I guess bibliomania will always be the one thing that keeps me from being truly frugal. Lively and informative, this is a great resource for people who sincerely want to claw their way out of debt and don't expect an overnight miracle as well as college students and just-married couples or anyone starting out. I regret not finding this book earlier in life.]

A book you have that's all worn out and falling apart and bound together with duct tape, but you refuse to part with it:
1978 Betty Crocker Cookbook

A series you love: Little House -Laura Ingalls Wilder
Betsy-Tacy -Maud Hart Lovelace

Favorite horror: Thinner -Richard Bachman/Stephen King

Favorite SF: The Man In The High Castle -Philip K. Dick

Favorite fantasy: The Time Traveler's Wife -Audrey Niffenegger

Favorite graphic novel: Mail-Order Bride - Mark Kalesniko [A cautionary word to the easily shocked or offended readers of this blog: Mail-Order Bride is a cracking good story and the artwork has a beautifully cinematic feel, but Mark Kalesniko also puts the "graphic" in "graphic novel".]

Favorite comic book: Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos
[What do you expect out of a soldier's daughter? I especially enjoy the issues in which Sgt. Fury and his Howlers are matching strength and wits against evil Baron von Strucker. For a time, I had a slight crush on Eric, the Howler who used to be a Nazi. He was so intense and extremely handsome with those Nordic good looks in his black turtleneck. Loyalty prevailed though, and I soon changed back to Nick Fury as my crush, which persists even today. I felt so damn sorry for Nick Fury when his almost-fiancee, Lady Pamela Hawley died. She was a Red Cross medic, both brave and compassionate. She died during an air raid, trying to protect the wounded. After a mission with the Howlers, Fury went to ask Pamela's father for her hand, and Lord Hawley broke the sad news to him: "Her last words were: 'Tell my wonderful American sergeant how much I love him...'"] Maybe WWII was really never like this, but who cares?

Favorite mystery: [I really don't like mysteries -- too plotty -- but I read one once by Amanda Cross that has an English professor solving a mystery at her university. Lots of cool literary references.]

Favorite biography: Private Demons: The Life Of Shirley Jackson -Judy Oppenheimer [It's out of print, but track down a copy somehow. You won't be sorry.]

Favorite coming-of-age novel: Catcher In The Rye -J.D. Salinger
The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread -Don Robertson

Favorite classic: Little Women -Louisa May Alcott

Favorite romance: [I guess to be a true romance, everything has got to work out well in the end, so that lets out Gone With The Wind, The Thorn Birds and By Grand Central Station I Sat Down And Wept. I prefer reading about love gone awry; it's infinitely more interesting.]

A book that's not on this list: We Have Always Lived In The Castle -Shirley Jackson