My World
The world according to me!Archive for Literature
BBC Booklist or How do my Reading Habits Rate?
Of course I got this as a note on Facebook with the following instructions: the BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?
Well after some checking, I don’t think the BBC originated this thing at all. Plus some of these books I have no intention of reading; hellooo Dan Brown.
But just for fun, here’s how my reading habits stack-up.
3 Books in January
Ok I read 3 books so far. In order of ingestion they were: Love In a Time of Cholera, Fahrenheit 451, and Sister Sister.
I started Henry James Portrait of a Lady, but got sidetracked having to spend more than an hour waiting for my hairdresser to attend to my crowning glory. In other words I went Ishmel and Khans and Sons, bought Eric Jerome Dickey’s Sister Sister and didn’t put it down until it was done, give or take, sleep, food and work commitments.
Now I’m free to return to my darling Henry. I’m one book short, but I think I still did well.
50 Books in 2009: January Update
Ok I finished “Love in a Time of Cholera,” liked it.
And Fahrenheit 451, liked it a little less, but valued it a little more.
Now I’m making my way through “Portrait of a Lady” by Henry James, which should be good.
Stay tuned for my reviews of the books I read.
About My 50 Books in One Year Reading Challenge
I’m actually concerned about books like The Chrysalids and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, both are on my reading list. My concerns with the former; I’m not a big Science Fiction lover, and with the latter; I’ve tried reading it, twice. I just don’t relate to her depression, or something.
Also I’m not entertaining Tom Jones until I’ve trained my reading muscles. The book is fun (I started it), but it’s soo long. So Atlas Shrugged will get the same treatment, that and I’m not sure I’m into Ayn Rand’s Objectivisim.
I’m also partial to fiction, so biographies may be out.
But all isn’t lost. I re-read Perfectly Correct in one day (26 Dec ‘08). So I’m trying to condition my reading muscles. So tomorrow I should finish Inheritance of Lost, and re-read Memoirs of a Geshia. I’d started Fahrenheit 451, but I think I should save it for the challenge.
I’m looking forward to Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence because The House of Mirth is one of my favourite books. I’m similarly excited to read The Portrait of a Lady, because Henry James’ style has been compared to Wharton’s. I’ve read Daisy Miller, and enjoyed it.
All in all, I think I’m really looking forward to this challenge. I actually can’t wait for 2009.
On the 50 Books Challenge:
I’ll start with “Love in a Time of Cholera”. Considering these days I trying not to write another Zimbabwe/Cholera/ Mugabe story in the news, I think it’s a fitting start.
So come New Year’s I’ll be reading that.
50 books for 2009: The Reading Challenge
Ok if’ you’ve taken notice of my LibraryThing list at the side of my blog, you’ll see I’ve been neglecting my reading. The Inheritance of Lost has been marked “Currently Reading” for far too long. The funny thing is that it’s actually going well. But I’ve had a bit of distractions on the home front that’s keeping me from doing “me” things. Got to work on that.
Anyway I discovered the 50 book challenge on LibraryThing (my nerdy pleasure site), and I think I’m going to try it. I used to read a lot, and quickly. I need to return to that; TV is such a poor replacement.
I have a few options in my library at home, and my roommate has some in hers, plus there’s the national library. So I think I’ll have enough books.
So I’ll keep you posted. I know it’ll be hard, with my triathlon training and crazy job and all, but we’ll see. Life is about challenges anyway.
