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Personal Reading Goals
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Eric's 2009 Reading Goal - Done
You've made a good start. I came close to my goal last year as well but didn't quite make it. I think after finding GRs I'll bust it this year!
Did you like The Reader, Eric? I didn't really care for it, myself. I couldn't relate to any of the characters. Michael just seemed so pathetic and whiny to me! "Oh, why isn't my new girlfriend a replica of my first?" And they say women try to change people! LOL
I found The Reader to be above so-so. The story itself (with the courtroom and so on) was dull and slow but I was always intrigued to find out what would happen next with Michael and Hanna.
Yeah, I know what you mean. It was just so-so for me though. :)
Good luck, Eric! I know these days I get through closer to probably 10 or 20 leisure books because of school, so you're a bit ahead of me!
March
10a. Dark Tower The Long Road Home
Peter David
10b. Bone Volume 1 Out From Boneville
Jeff Smith
10c. Bone Volume 2 The Great Cow Race
Jeff Smith
(I lumped all three of the Graphic Novels together as one book because they are kinda' short.)
March
12a. The Tales of Beedle the Bard
J.K. Rowling
12b. Summer of Love
Frank Cho
(I lumped the books with letters together because they were so so short. I felt like I was cheating the system. But, I'm out of short books so there shouldn't be anymore like this for a while.)
April
13.The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
14.The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Douglas Adams
April
16.Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Jeff Lindsay
It was pleasing and enjoyable. I loved the main character.
May
19a.Bone Volume 3 Eyes of the Storm
Jeff Smith
A great little series
19b.Dark Tower Treachery
Robin Furth
This series is picking up now.
19c.Bone Volume 4 The Dragonslayer
Jeff Smith
This series too, is really starting to ramp up here.
(As before, I felt I would be cheating the system if I didn't lump these together as one book.)
May
20a. Summer Blonde
Adrian Tomine
An interesting reality based graphic novel that invokes your imagination.
20b. Bone Volume 5 Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border
Jeff Smith
If you have read the previous 4 then nothing is stopping you now from this one.
(As before, I felt I would be cheating the system if I didn't lump these together as one book. They are both graphic novels and super short.)
Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling On my TBRThe Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling My favourite fables from the book were The Fountain of Fair Fortune and The Warlock's Hairy Heart but even these were average. No excitement was shown throughout any of the stories and I would say they are more fables than fairy tales.
June
23. Vox
Nicholson Baker
A creatively written anonymous phone conversation between two adults about life, sex, and more. Worth checking out.
June
24. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Jeff Kinney
A fun light-hearted children's book taking a boy through a year of middle school.
June
25. Patient Zero A Joe Ledger Novel
Jonathan Maberry
A sometimes too technical, sometimes too wordy, sometimes really fun novel about zombies. Overall, pretty good.
June
26. Fuzzy Navel
J.A. Konrath
Another great action-packed, funny, mystery novel following Jack Daniels and her friends. This one was a super fast read with a great ending.
June
27. The Bad Beginning
Lemony Snicket
I was a little leary going into this book, but I quickly fell in love with the concept and the writing style and look forward to reading on in the series.
July
28. The Sea of Monsters
Rick Riordan
Not the most engaging series I have ever delved into, but held my interest well enough.
July
29. Coraline
Neil Gaiman
A very creepy yet very excellent kid's story that I would never read to my kids in fear of scarring them for life. But, I enjoyed it quite a bit, you will too.
July
30.Crank
Ellen Hopkins
Just not my type of book. The creative word layouts seemed pointless and give the impression of being poetic when they are not. The book drolls on and on and the ending makes reading the first half of the book seem pointless.
July
31.Dearly Devoted Dexter
Jeff Lindsey
Another excellent book in the Dexter series, but not quite as good as the first one. I hope the series recovers in the third one. Overall, still a wonderful book, though and a great series to get into.
July
32. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules
Jeff Kinney
This is a fun, cute little series that is a lot of fun to read. Both my kids and I think this Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is funny and great for the whole family. Definitely pick it up, if you have kids, and read it for yourself before turning it over to them.
July
33a. Bone Volume 6 Old Man's Cave
Jeff Smith
The plot is really picking up here. A lot of key points have been unveiled in this one and I am very curious about how things are going to play out.
33b. Bone Volume 7 Ghost Circles
Jeff Smith
This volume was action packed and really had me worried about the characters as the climax draws nearer. As plot unfolds now, things are getting a little weird but enjoyable all the same.
(As before, I felt I would be cheating the system if I didn't lump these together as one book. They are both graphic novels and super short.)
July
34.The Reptile Room
Lemony Snicket
I really enjoy this children's series, so far. I look forward to reading on.
August
35. The Wide Window
Lemony Snicket
This is yet another great book in the Lemony Snicket series. I really enjoy them and look forward to reading on. It's a great series for kids or to read to your kids.
August
36a.Bone Volume 8 Treasure Hunters
Jeff Smith
Getting close to the end of the series with this one. The action picks up here and the book leaves you yearning to read the next and final book in the series.
36b.Bone Volume 9 Crown of Horns
Jeff Smith
Overall this series was pretty enjoyable. A couple of the books seemed to draw the series longer than it needed to be and the ending (this book) I found to be rather anti-climactic.
(As before, I felt I would be cheating the system if I didn't lump these together as one book. They are both graphic novels and super short.)
August
37. The Miserable Mill
Lemony Snicket
A good if not repetitive series to get into with your kids.
August
38.The Living Dead
John Joseph Adams
I really really really wanted to like this collection of short stories. I mean, I really wanted to. I love zombies and zombie stories and movies but, in the end I only found a few to be enjoyable and the rest to be mediocre or just plain boring.
September
40. A Simple Plan
Scott Smith
I extremely enjoyed this book. I found the plot to be very fast paced and it kept me turning pages. It is rare that I give a book 5 stars, but I definitely give 5 stars to this one. Great book!
Well, I did it! I made my goal of 40 books for the year. I didn't make it last year but it is only September of this year so we'll see how many extra I can read.
October
41.Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Last Straw
Jeff Kinney
A good series of books for children. A nice mix of real life with humor and good fun. My kids love them and I think they are pretty fun too. This book is no exception.
October
42. Earth Abides
George R. Stewart
This was a pretty good book. It was a very analytical, very sociological look at the end of the world. I enjoyed it. The main character was likable and the plot was enjoyable.
October
43.Hannah's Dream A Novel
Diane Hammond
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The story was very heartwarming at times and sad at times. It was a easy read as well that flowed quickly off the pages. The one thing I didn't like is that the characters always seemed to have the solutions to their problems but never knew it. They never had to work at anything in the end.
October
44.High Fidelity
Nick Hornby
I, absolutely, loved this book. I found the plot to be enjoyable and the humor to be witty and funny. A great book. It is rare that I keep a book to read again sometime, but I am going to with this one.
October
45.The Ersatz Elevator
Lemony Snicket
This is book 6 in the series, and although I have enjoyed the series so far, this one disappointed me. The author stretched my imagination too far with what the main characters are able to do and the plot was a stretch as well. I will continue on in the series but this book was a letdown.
November
46. Little Children
Tom Perotta
This was an excellent book. The story was quick and easy flowing and they characters were very enjoyable to read about. The plot made for a good story but was just realistic enough to make you feel like it could happen anywhere/anytime. The emotions of the characters were very well expressed making you feel for them/against them extremely well. My only qualm is in the ending. It seemed a little abrupt and left me hanging for a bit more.
November
47. The Titan's Curse
Rick Riordan
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is really picking up here and kept me turning the pages. There were a few inconsistencies that bugged me a bit but still a good addition to a series that I have been so-so about.
The Next Best Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
This Boy's Life (other topics)Under the Dome (other topics)
Dog Days (other topics)
Little Children (other topics)
The Ersatz Elevator (other topics)
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Here is my list so far:
January
1. The Book of Lost Things A Novel
John Connolly
2. Three Men in a Boat: to Say Nothing of the Dog
Jerome K. Jerome
3. The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
4. Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
J.K. Rowling
February
6. Pet Sematary
Stephen King