- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
- Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
- A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
- Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
- The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
- Out by Natsuo Kirino
- Silence by Shusaku Endo
- Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
- Of Bees and Mist by Eric Setiawan
- The Wind in The Willows by Kenneth Grahame
- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
- Madame Bovary by Gustauve Flaubert
- The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
- The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
- The Guardians of Ga-Hoole: The Capture by Kathryn Laski
- Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
- The Catcher in The Rye by J. D. Salinger
- The Voyage of The Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
- The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
- Total books read: 99
- Children's books: 14
- Short story collections: 0
- Graphic novels: 0
- Nonfiction: 4
- Poetry: 5
- Play: 0
- In translation: 18
- Classics: 23
- Rereads: 14
- Favourite authors discovered this year: Sarah Waters, Marghanita Laski, Emile Zola, Ivan Doig
- Best reading months: March (10 books read) and July (11 books read)
- Worst reading months: September (five books read) and December (only 3 read)
- Completed challenges: 6 out of 8.
- Completed read-alongs: 10 out of 10
Highlights from 2010:
- Starting the year with the Woolf in Winter shared read hosted by Claire, Frances, Emily, Sarah.
- Paris in July hosted by Tamara and Bookbath.
- Dr. Zhivago and Madame Bovary shared reads hosted by Frances.
- The Japanese Literature Challenge 4 I host (still a month to go!).
- Persephone Secret Santa hosted by Claire of Paperback Reader.
Reading Goals for 2011:
- Less challenges, more personal choices.
- Read mostly from the lists in my To Be Read section (Guardian's 1,000; Pulitzer Prize winners; Virago Modern Classics; Haruki Murakami's books, etc.)
- Read the books I've bought before buying more. (That goal should last about a week or so... :)
- Remember this quote from St. Exupery's Little Prince: "L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." ("What is essential is invisible to the eye.")
Yes! I found Doig last year, and though I've only read one of his, I look forward to more.
ReplyDelete99 books! That's wonderful ... congratulations! (Are you sure you can't sneak something like a poetry book in there as the 100th book? :)
ReplyDeleteI love seeing your highlights from this year. I haven't thought about that part of my year. I think I should! I miss Claire too. I hope she comes back soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the quantity of books read, but the enjoyment you experienced. But you've read nearly 100 books--that is pretty amazing! You've had a wonderful year in reading, Bellezza! :)
ReplyDeleteI love stats and reading, so this is a really interesting post for me! I'm glad you discovered Sarah Waters, I think her books are great. The Talented Mr Ripley and Out are favourites of mine too.
ReplyDeleteWell done on a great achievement, I hope 2011 brings best reading wishes to you!
What a great reading year for you! One of my main goals was to read at least 52 books this year which I achieved.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote from The Little Prince.
I'm going to have to pinch this meme along with other wrapping up memes!
Also, which translation do you recommend for Doctor Zhivago?
ReplyDeleteMae, definitely not the newest one! I loved my Hayward translation, and struggled with the Pevear one. That was so odd to me, because I loved their translation of War and Peace as well as Dr. Zhivago.
ReplyDeleteI love looking at everyone's "best of" lists. I think they only one on your list I've read is The Wind in the Willows. I really do want to read Doctor Zhivago, though.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your goals for 2011. Sometimes we get too caught up in the numbers and forget about the pleasure, I think.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun to look at everyone's lists? They give great ideas for future reading, plus more insight into the heart of the writer. I couldn't believe it's taken me so long to read The Wind In The Willows; I loved that book! Dr. Zhivago is a great read, too, one I've read twice. I hope you like it when you get to it, Kathy.
ReplyDeleteTrish, your comment came in when I was responding to Kathy, but your sentence about getting caught up in numbers and forgetting the pleasure is what I was referring to when I quotes St. Exupery. What is essential is invisible to the eye (numbers!).
ReplyDeleteThere's a good selection of reads in,that list am in awe of the amount read, also love 2011 challenges, obviously, the Murakami was a must & as for reading already owned books, my problem is the online library, I read about a book, check the library & they've got it, before I know what's happened, I've reserved it ( it's just Diabolical).
ReplyDeleteParrish
Ps. Best Seasons greetings to you & yours.
Parrish, I think you're the first (only?) to have looked at my Challenge tab; I was going to tell you about the Murakami one by Tanabata, but of course you've discovered it already. At least with the library, one doesn't get into financial or shelving issues! Best to you, too, and I love the poem you left on my snow post. Been meaning to get around sooner, but now I'll have time on my break.
ReplyDelete99 has so much more character than 100, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteThat is a very worthy list of favourites! I wonder if I could make a list of 20 that good?
ReplyDeleteShelley, I think 99 is full of character! ;)
ReplyDeleteIrisonbooks, I'm sure you have an outstanding list of books read, and I'm guessing it's a lot more than 20!
This doesn't quite fit here, but... Every kid needs a toy for Christmas. I'll bet you'd like the Bronte Sisters Power Dolls. It's not too late to ask Santa, you know!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
Hmmm, very compelling dolls. Certainly better than any Barbie I ever saw. But, how about the guys from Straight No Chaser singing this Christmas song? Would you rather have that? :)
ReplyDeleteThere are several on your list that are on my list to read next year -- particularly The Woman in White, The Victorian Chaise-Longue, and A Reliable Wife. 2011 is going to be quite the Gothic and/or creepy reading year for me, I suspect!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the lists... useful for my book choices in the new year. Thanks again for all the posts and reviews in 2010. Your goal of 'Less challenges, more personal choices' is interesting. As for me, I must give credits to your JLC for motivating me to explore new worlds. Have a very Merry Christmas, Bellezza!
ReplyDeleteCoffee and a Book Chick, the three novels you mentioned are great reads! I love the idea of Gothic reading in 2011.
ReplyDeleteAarti, thanks for reading my list, and it makes me so happy that the JLC motivates you as much as it does me to explore new worlds. Love the genre of Japanese Literature! Have you heard of the Murakami challenge Tanabata's hosting for 2011? Click on my sidebar if you want to join in.
Hmm, I haven't counted up yet, but I don't think I'm anywhere near 99. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteImpressive numbers and list! I'm not sure I've ever read that many books in a year, or at least not since I departed the children's section of the library. Better yet, you found so many good books. Here's to an excellent reading in 2011.
ReplyDeleteI meant to read Catcher in the Rye this year but never got around to it. It is on my TBR shelf and there is the TBR Dare coming up in 2011....so.....
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays
Sounds like you had an incredible reading year. I'm afraid to check my own stats as I know for sure I did not read as much as I would have liked!
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not surprised about the Murakamis? :D I hope to read Norwegian Wood this year. Yes, whittling down the TBR is the first resolution!
ReplyDeleteClaire, did you see C. B. James' TBR Challenge? Only a challenge in terms of reading what we already own; quite a worthy endeavor! I'd love to read Norwegian Wood, too. For that matter, there's Tanabata's Murakami Challenge to read all things Haruki. Those are 2/3 of the challenges I'm joining this year, the only other one being Read A Myth from Bina and JoV. I'd love to join in more shared-reads, though.
ReplyDelete