Ellen's Reading in 2011

KeskusteluClub Read 2011

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Ellen's Reading in 2011

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1EBT1002
Muokkaaja: toukokuu 7, 2011, 1:24 am

Hi all.
I have been browsing around LT and I think this is where I belong. I want to track my reading - and I'm up for challenges but the "75 in 2011" seems daunting.
I live in Seattle, enjoy both books that grab hold of me and won't let go AND books that challenge me. The level of challenge I can handle depends a bit on what else is going on in my life..... :-)
I like learning about other people's book interests (I'm always trying to see what the person next to me on the bus is reading...) and getting ideas for good books. I can buy them faster than I can read them; I'm thrilled to learn that so many other people have "TBR Towers" next to the bed!

In addition to wanting to do some serious reading in 2011, I've established a personal challenge: to read every piece of fiction in *The New Yorker* in 2011. So I'll track that here, as well.

All the tracking is just for me, but if you find yourself resonating with what I'm reading, I'd love recommendations!!

Books Completed in 2011:

1. What is the What -- Dave Eggers
2. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America -- Timothy Egan
3. Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics -- Jennifer Ouellette
4. The Muse Asylum -- David Czuchlewski
5. Savages -- Don Winslow
6. Incendiary by Chris Cleave
7. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
8. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna

Currently reading:

Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen

Started but not completed:
The Russian Debutante's Handbook -- Gary Shteyngart

I'm also reading all 2011 *The New Yorker* Fiction (Short Stories). I started a new thread in this group to track this.

2janemarieprice
tammikuu 24, 2011, 9:30 pm

Welcome! I'm interested to hear what you thought about What is the What. Also The Big Burn sounds interesting.

3EBT1002
tammikuu 25, 2011, 12:29 am

I loved both of them - although they were quite different.

What is the What is a novel that's written as if it were an autobiography. The protagonist is one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan - telling the story now that he is living in Atlanta. The horror and brutality of the civil war in is graphic but Eggers does not cater to the voyeuristic or prurient. The story alternates between the long walk from Sudan to Ethiopia and Kenya, and the current time in the US. The characters are engaging, and there are moments of genuine humor and hope. I learned a lot about Sudan's history, culture, and geography.

The Big Burn is nonfiction and is about the creation of the US Forest Service and a huge fire in eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana in 1910. The chapters about the fire itself were gripping. Again, the horror of men (and women) caught in the conflagration is clear but Egan is not writing for shock-value. His bias (he likes the rangers) is apparent, but he only gives in to some preaching about the importance of healthy forests and preserved wilderness in the last 20 pages or so. I live in Seattle and spent many years in Oregon, so the territory is familiar and beloved. I continue to learn about Teddy Roosevelt -- I still don't think I'd want to have dinner with him, but I think he was one of the good guys. The book chronicles the importance of Gifford Pinchot, XX Pulaski, and other early players in the setting aside of wild lands in the US.

What I liked about both of these books was that I learned while enjoying a great story. That works best for me -- as much as I love to read, I'm easily distracted by household chores and worry about work. I want a book to reach in and grab me and hold on to my interest. Both of these did just that.

4cabegley
tammikuu 25, 2011, 3:34 pm

If you liked The Big Burn (I did), I highly recommend Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean.

5EBT1002
tammikuu 27, 2011, 12:52 am

I keep editing and updating the list - think I'll separate the books from the short stories at some point.

6kidzdoc
tammikuu 30, 2011, 11:03 am

Welcome, Ellen! I like your idea of reading all of the nonfiction pieces in The New Yorker, and I'll try to do the same thing.

7EBT1002
Muokkaaja: helmikuu 1, 2011, 4:38 pm

Another short story completed:
"Axis" by Alice Munro 1/31/11 -- not my favorite of hers.

8EBT1002
helmikuu 3, 2011, 12:29 pm

I'm going to start another thread for tracking my reading of *The New Yorker* fiction.

9EBT1002
Muokkaaja: helmikuu 21, 2011, 2:04 am

Also completed:

9. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petersen
10. Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
11. Regeneration by Pat Barker
12.

10EBT1002
Muokkaaja: maaliskuu 23, 2011, 12:34 am

Also completed:

9. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petersen
10. Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
11. Regeneration by Pat Barker
12. Fool by Christopher Moore
13. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
14. The Enemy by Lee Child
15. Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst
16. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
17.

11EBT1002
maaliskuu 23, 2011, 12:27 am

17. Property by Valerie Martin
18.

12EBT1002
Muokkaaja: huhtikuu 13, 2011, 11:41 am

17. Property by Valerie Martin
18. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen --- this took a while!
19. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
20.

13janemarieprice
huhtikuu 22, 2011, 12:24 pm

12 - How'd you like Property? It's been on my wishlist for a while.

14EBT1002
huhtikuu 23, 2011, 2:04 am

13> I liked Property --- it's an interesting look at the ways, formal and informal, in which humans (African Americans, women) were owned by others in that part of US history. I more highly recommend Mary Reilly by the same author, but Property is a worthwhile read.

15avaland
huhtikuu 23, 2011, 10:05 am

>14 EBT1002: I think Property was an outstanding piece of historical fiction in that it did not interject modern sensibilities into a past era. As much as I didn't care for wife, I found it effecting that she had more in common with her slaves than with her husband and she couldn't see that. It's been a number of years since I read the book, but that's what sticks with me.

16EBT1002
huhtikuu 23, 2011, 11:58 pm

avaland --- you are so right on target! I think you are holding on to Martin's main "message" --- even after years. Thanks for helping me identify the kernel that is the center of the novel. "...she had more in common with her slaves than with her husband whom I would say owned her and she couldn't see that. Yes.

17EBT1002
Muokkaaja: huhtikuu 26, 2011, 10:50 pm

20. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
There's a reason this is a classic -- I loved it.

Now I'm starting The Spirit Touches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
and I'll intersperse it with The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel by Amy Hempel (duh).

Touchstones not working. :-(

18dchaikin
huhtikuu 26, 2011, 11:27 pm

Ellen - I'll be interested in your thoughts on Amy Hempel. I have this book on my TBR shelf - the shelf I was supposed to read in, um, 2009...

19bragan
huhtikuu 27, 2011, 6:39 am

I just recently finished The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down and was extremely impressed with it.

20janemarieprice
huhtikuu 29, 2011, 5:19 pm

17 - I loved The Heart is a Lonely Hunter! Always glad to see someone else enjoy it.

21bonniebooks
toukokuu 1, 2011, 5:38 pm

Ellen, you're reading some terrific books this year! I've enjoyed every one of the books that I read that are on your list. Some are even favorites. I don't know whether I've read McCuller's book, or I just think I have. Got to go read the first few pages.

22EBT1002
toukokuu 2, 2011, 12:37 am

Thanks, Bonnie. I think LT has really expanded my reading horizons and challenged me to focus on finishing more books and try things outside my usual genre(s). I LOVED The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

23EBT1002
Muokkaaja: toukokuu 30, 2011, 7:54 pm

15. Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst
16. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
17. Property by Valerie Martin
18. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
19. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
20. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
21. The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald
22. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
23. How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
24. Push by Sapphire
25. City of Bones by Michael Connelly
26.

24EBT1002
Muokkaaja: kesäkuu 25, 2011, 5:08 pm

Books Completed in 2011:

1. What is the What -- Dave Eggers
2. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America -- Timothy Egan
3. Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics -- Jennifer Ouellette
4. The Muse Asylum -- David Czuchlewski
5. Savages -- Don Winslow
6. Incendiary by Chris Cleave
7. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
8. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
9. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petersen
10. Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
11. Regeneration by Pat Barker
12. Fool by Christopher Moore
13. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
14. The Enemy by Lee Child
15. Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst
16. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
17. Property by Valerie Martin
18. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
19. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
20. Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch
21. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
22. The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald
23. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
24. How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
25. Push by Sapphire
26. City of Bones by Michael Connelly
27. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
28. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
29. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
30. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
31.

25EBT1002
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 10, 2011, 1:12 pm

Books Completed in 2011:

1. What is the What -- Dave Eggers
2. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America -- Timothy Egan
3. Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics -- Jennifer Ouellette
4. The Muse Asylum -- David Czuchlewski
5. Savages -- Don Winslow
6. Incendiary by Chris Cleave
7. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
8. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
9. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petersen
10. Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
11. Regeneration by Pat Barker
12. Fool by Christopher Moore
13. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
14. The Enemy by Lee Child
15. Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst
16. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
17. Property by Valerie Martin
18. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
19. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
20. Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch
21. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
22. The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald
23. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
24. How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
25. Push by Sapphire
26. City of Bones by Michael Connelly
27. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
28. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
29. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
30. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
31. The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar
32. Fresh Tracks by Georgia Beers
33. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (wow!)
34. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
35. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf -- completed July 10, 2011
36.

26EBT1002
heinäkuu 10, 2011, 1:11 pm

Officially shutting down this record of my reading. I just can't keep up with all the different threads, so I'm going to keep the list on 75 Books Challenge for 2011: Ellen's 75 in 2011 List. I'll never manage to complete 75 books by the end of the year, but I'm energized by the challenge.