Justine's comments (member since Oct 15, 2008)

Justine's comments from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.

I finished The Hours this morning. It was hard for me to sit down and read it for any longer than about 20 minutes at a time, but I thought it was wonderful.

I finished Brave New World yesterday. I managed to avoid reading it all through school, but I probably would have enjoyed it more back then.

I just finished Villette. I read it online at work and it took FOREVER. An enjoyable story, some parts are incredibly slow and lend nothing at all to the book.

I started 2001 A Space Odyssey yesterday. I haven't seen the movie so I only know a little about what to expect.

I'm juggling Middlesex (maybe almost halfway through), Villette (just barely started), and Infinite Jest: A Novel (read nineteen pages and had to stop) right now.

Northanger Abbey

I've been working on books from one section of the list online. I enjoyed the first half, but the second half didn't really hold my attention.

I average about 5 books a week. I read all the time.
I leave for work an hour early so I can read in my car for a while. I take my lunch hour in my car so I can read. I read for a few hours when I get home, usually from the time I get home until the time I go to bed. I read books online at work - it's slow going and I think the books are pretty boring, but it's still reading!
I have to carry several books around with me and keep a few in my car because I blow through them so quickly or change my mind about what I feel like reading.

By the end of 2008, I will have read 47-48 of the books, resulting in the need to read 16/year to complete the list.
My overall reading goal for 2009 is 204 (17/month) books. Ideally, I would like at least 50 of them to be from the list.

I combined the 1001 list and several top 100 lists (including the ALA's Top 100 Banned Books) into an excel spreadsheet - the one available online would not work with my computer. It works out to about 225 extra books.
I have marked which are short stories based on suggestions in another thread so I know the quick reads from the rest. I have marked the books on the list that I WANT to read, so I'm reading those first. I was worried that I would get lazy after reading those because the desire would be gone, but there are hundreds of them - I won't have to worry about it for a while!

December - If not now, when
January - At the Mountains of Madness
February - Middlesex