Saturday, January 02, 2010

To Be Read

I find I do very well with lists, charts, graphs, and numbers. Basically anything I can nerd out on, like my running or writing statistics, it makes me much more interested in how I can make the numbers move. My home-grown spreadsheet for my NaNoWriMo novel was how I got through the last couple weeks of the challenge.

So now the thought is to have some order to what I read. I was inspired mostly by Amanda's "Fill in the Gaps" post on her blog. I think I may have single-handedly increased her hit count for that. I started my own list, starting from what I already have on my shelves, mixing in some recommended business reads, some classics, books I should have read as a kid, and recommended reads from one of my professors last semester. I'll add to it as more recommended reads come my way or other ones catch my eye. So far I have just over 80 on the list.

I got a nook for Christmas, though it's backordered until the 15th. The Barnes and Noble eReader for iPhone has been quite a nice little app. I'm reading my fifth eBook using the app now. It's really not that bad, even for the tiny amount of screen real estate. Nonetheless, I am still very excited to be getting the nook.

I should be starting with the books I already have on hand instead of purchasing more. Here's that subset of the master list, for your perusal.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
Angel Time - Anne Rice
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
Chalice - Robin McKinley
Marley and Me - John Grogan
Plato, Not Prozac! - Lou Marinoff
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Sanctuary - William Faulkner
SuperFoods Rx - Kathy Matthews,Michael Stroot
Terrier - Tamora Pierce
The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley
The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
The Shack - William Young
This is Not Chick Lit - Elizabeth Merrick
Twelve Greeks and Romans Who Changed the World - Carl J. Richard
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
Women, Work, and the Art of Savoir Faire - Mireille Guiliano

Any recommendations on which to read first?

3 comments:

Amanda said...

Did you know that the Fill in the Gaps project is actually a 5-year reading challenge that you can join at any time? Some people leave blanks to be determined, too, so even if you only have 80 on your list, you can leave those blank to fill in later.

Of your list, my favorite by far is Catch-22. I love that book and have read it like 5-6 times. But I actually haven't read very many others on your list, so of course that one I'll recommend. :)

Melissa said...

Catch-22 or Wicked...and you should probably just throw Pride and Prejudice away ;-)

I've also heard good things about Plato, Not Prozac!, but haven't personally read it.

Ann said...

Thanks for the comment Melissa!

Pride and Prejudice is on the list because I've never read it before. With so many recent movie translations of the plot, it's something I can cross on the life to-do list.

I've wanted to read Catch-22 since a high school friend ranted and raved about it. And I just haven't gotten around to it yet!

Wicked is one of the ones I'll probably go to next.