Friday, January 21, 2005

Lists: Books I Read in 2004

I try and set reading goals for myself every year: I watch too much tv and play too many video games otherwise. I like reading, but sometimes my lazy nature takes over and the hours just slip by. I set myself a goal that from Jan 21, 2004 to Jan 21, 2005 I would 35 books that I've never read before, five more than the previous year. I failed.

I only made it through 23 books last year - not counting Graphic Novels, as I feel that they take a different kind of reading. Because of this low number, I've decided that next year, I'd like to bring it up to 25, just over two books a month. If I can't get through two books a month, something's wrong with me. When I was young, I'd read three books a week easily; sure I had more free time, but I'm sure that I could hit 25 books next year with minimal effort.

The books I read last year - in approximate chronological order, even - were:

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
The Woad to Wuin - Peter David
Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
The Meaning of Everything - Simon Winchester
Feel This Book - Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo
Howling Mad - Peter David
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
The Hippopotamus - Stephen Fry
Sometimes a Great Notion - Ken Kesey (which is currently my nomination for Greatest American Novel)
The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K. Dick
Tenacity of the Cockroach - The Onion
Vernon God Little - D.B.C. Pierre
Good In Bed - Jennifer Weiner
Vanilla - Tim Ecott
The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
Eats, Shoots, & Leaves - Lynne Truss
The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett
Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Sock - Penn Jillette
The Human Story - James Davis
Men of Tomorrow - Gerard Jones
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon

The frightening thing about the last two books is that they both, in some way, deal with the creation of the comic book in the 1930s. I didn't make the connection until I put down "Tomorrow" one day and picked up "Kavalier and Clay" and read what was essentially a fictionalized account of something I read in the previous book. I think I may need to expand my reading horizions.

4 comments:

Diego said...

OR you could just give me my "Tenacity of the Cockroach" back. Then I'll lend you my dictionary, ya little vampire!

Jago said...

Speaking of which, Diego, I've still got your copy of the Todd Babiak book.

AND Lemon...

Diego said...

Well, I've got your Arrested Development: Season One.

And your dignity.

Jago said...

Dude, I stole my Arrested Development DVDs a week ago.

And I NEVER had my dignity...