Last year was a mixed bag. I did end up finishing most of my challenges. The only one I didn't finish was my 100+ Challenge. I ended up reading 87 books. Considering the facts that Since last January first I planned and executed a wedding for 300 people, gotten one house on the market, moved into a major fixer-upper and have been in constant project mode, and helped my hubby get settled into his commuter apartment out of state, and continued with my job and volunteer activities: I'll take 87.
I got a good start on my Filling in the Gaps Challenge, although a lot of the longest and meatiest books remain on the list. I read some very good to excellent books. I also read some that I already can't remember. The favorites for the year:
-The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (1/7/2011)(Fiction) (Gothic)(Myst & Susp) ( Gaps)
- Blackout by Connie Willis (1/12/2011) (Time Travel/Historical Fiction)
- All Clear by Connie Willis (1/15/2011) (Time Travel/Historical Fiction)
- A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (2/9/2011) (Post-Apocalyptic Fiction)
- Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison (3/9/2011) (Nonfiction/Memoir)
- Dune by Frank Herbert (3/19/2011) (Science Fiction) (Gothic)(Gaps)
- The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (3/27/2011) (Fiction) (Gothic) (Mystery)
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (4/12/2011) (Fantasy) (Gaps)
- Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (5/31/2011) (Historical Fiction) (Gaps)
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (7/3/2011) (Fantasy)
- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (7/18/2011) (Fiction) (Gaps)
-The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (12/26/2011) (fiction)
I started my first book of the New Year when I went to bed after midnight, but it may not be the first one I complete. I only got six pages in, and it wasn't one of the books I planned to start with. So I may choose another this morning.
I was a bit hesitant in picking up "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton. After my disappointment with "The House at Riverton," I wasn't sure if I was willing to invest more time. Pleased to say that the story hooked me from the get-go, and though the book is longer than I thought necessary, it was altogether an entertaining read.
ReplyDeleteAt the heart of this big, fat tale (645 pages) is a mystery. In 1913, a dock master, Hugh, discovers a four-year-old girl who's been left alone on a wharf in Queensland, Australia after all passengers had disembarked from a boat that sailed from England. Taking pity on her, Hugh takes her home to his wife, Lil. In spite of Hugh's and Lil's efforts to find the girl's family, time passes and no one claims the tyke. Having hit her head while onboard the boat, the little girl couldn't even remember her own name and all she could recall was a woman she calls the Authoress who was supposed to sail with her. Hugh and Lil decide to keep her as their own and name her Nell.