Preparations are finalized

I finished The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne with two hours to spare. I officially recommend it and will write a more in-depth review in the next few days. I have chosen to read It is Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini first because I meant to read it before now and Patrick will not let me rest until I finally read it. He has been recommending it consistently for months now. I am pretty sure that Wicked by Gregory Maquire will be second on my list. But beyond that I have developed a lottery system. I have written each book on a slip of paper and will pick them one by one. I only have twenty-seven books on the list right now, so if you still want to recommend books there is still time. In fact I am not going to stop taking recommendations. If I cannot read all of them this year, I will just continue on to next year. Also I know that other people are looking at this amazing list of books that people are helping me compile. So here is the list so far:

• It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini recommended by Patrick J. 
• Wicked by Gregory Maquire recommended by Cathy P. 
• I'd Know you Anywhere by Laura Lippman recommended by Cindy A
• Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris recommended by Erin D  
• Glass Castle by Jeanette Ward recommended by Cathy P. 
• Fool by Christopher Moore recommended by Veronica R.
• Ape House by Sara Gruen recommended by Cindy A
• Dracula by Bram Stoker recommended by Fleur 
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot recommended by Erin D. 
• House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski recommended by Laura(Literally) and Jess H
• Faithful Place by Tana French recommended by Cindy A
• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick recommended by Melissa M.
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert recommended by Erin D
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
• The Last Child by John Hart recommended by Cindy A. 
• The Woman's Bible by Elizabeth Cady Stanton recommended by Cathy P.
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett recommended by Erin D
• More Than you know by Beth Gutcheon recommended by Jess H.  
• Lit by Mary Karr recommended by Cindy A
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson recommended by A sweet older gentleman
• Lamb by Christopher Moore recommended by Veronica R. and Karen J.
• An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison recommended by Erin D.  
• The World a Moment Later by Amir Gutfreund recommended by Cathy P. 
• Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor recommended by Cindy A.  
• Water for elephants by Sara Gruen recommended by Erin L.  
• Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides recommended by Emily H.

• Les Miserables by Victor Hugo recommended by Fleur 

Now that it is past midnight I can actually start reading. Happy New Year Everyone 

 

Expanding our Reading Horizons

Expanding our Reading Horizons, or Why I just read a "romance" novel after fifteen years of avoiding them.
If you have not heard my rants against this particular genre, then you must not see me outside of work. Romance novels ticked me off for one reason. I could pick one up and tell you the plot without even opening the cover. Why would I waste my time reading it if I already knew what was going to happen?

I continued in this way of thinking until a beloved customer recently recommended Welcome to Harmony and Somewhere Along the Way by Jodi Thomas to me. I get a lot of book recommendations here but this woman brought the two books she had just finished in for me to read. They sounded good but they were classified as romance. I promised to try the first and see how it went. That was all it took. I spent the end of November and most of December reading these two books. When I finished I wanted to read the third, but it is not out yet. When I returned them, I told her that I knew that they would be good because she had recommended them but that I wasn't expecting them to be so wonderful.

That is one of the reasons why I am choosing to let other people decide what I am going to read during this forthcoming year. Sometimes we have to take a leap and read something that we would not normally consider. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by people that make awesome recommendations. I hope some of you will consider some of the recommendations on my list. I would love to discuss them with you whenever we both finish.

How many books can I read in a year?

I have worked in a bookstore for six years now. Obviously reading is a big part of my job. I am always getting fantastic book recommendations from friends and customers and people that fall into both categories. I will never really be able to catch up but this year I am going to try. My rough goal is to read about 50 books this year. It is pretty ambitious considering that I have to read a book a week, on top of a full time job and all the other crazy things I do in my life. I am sure I will result to audio books at least a few times because I can fit in a good half hour a day while I drive. I have already started a list with the help of my facebook friends and the wonderful customers that are always telling me what I need to read. I have set some rules for myself.

• I will write a review on every book I finish
• I will give each book on my list at least 50 pages to grab my attention
• If I give up on a book I will give a good reason (I didn't like it is not good enough)
• I will try books I normally would not give a second glance just because someone recommended it
• I will not count any books I start reading before January 1, 2011 or finish after December 31, 2011
• I will not rush through a book, I would rather fail at 50 then miss something
• I will not "read" more then 3 books at a time (including any audio I might be working through)
• Books must be at least 200 pages to count towards my 50
• I will not sugarcoat any review because I am afraid of upsetting people*

*None of us have the same tastes in books. None of us are supposed to feel the same way about a book as anyone else. I am usually too nice in my descriptions (even when I absolutely hate a book) I am going to try to work on that. If I piss you off, I apologize in advance. My goal was simply to be honest about my feelings.


I will try very hard not to spoil a book for anyone. I am usually very good about that. But it is hard to write reviews without giving something away, so keep that in mind.