1. Harry Potter 7 by J.K. Rowling
A little too much 'downtime' in the middle of the book, but mostly I loved it. Was obsessed w/ the Snape "question" and glad to have it resolved.

2. Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
I liked the main character who was principled but not always. It was interesting to read a crime/trial novel where the defense attorney was a "believer" in what he did even as he realized how he'd been compromised. In my opinion, better than the Bosch series books I've read.

3. Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld
I truly loved this book. Just starting to read some YA fiction to replace Harry (sob), learned about this writer on the boards here, picked it up and just really enjoyed it.

4. Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Wanted to love this book. I read a review where the guy named his daughter Lyra after the main character which is a pretty big tribute so I thought I'd really enjoy. Only like it a little not nearly as much as I'd hoped.

5. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
This was pleasant. I liked it. A little too "romancy" with the heroine needing too much rescuing for my taste. I liked it well enough that I already bought the next one.

Currently reading: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Home from work and finished The Glass Castle on the trolley so that one is next. Finding other books I'm sure I read in 2007.

6. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I can't say how stunning I found this book. It was horrifying and uplifting at the same time. Really, really great.

7. The Darkest Place by Daniel Judson
Okay thriller. Quite dark.

8. Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer kaufman and Karen Mack
Fun. Well-written chick lit. Nice light read.

9. The Assassins' Gate by George Packer
Devastating.

10. The Ruins by Scott Smith
I hated, hated, hated this book. Loved his A Simple Plan, but I hated this. Traumatic to read. Ugh.

11. People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck
Read it for a book club. Parts of it were interesting. Other parts were just kind of off the wall to me. Not something I would normally read.

12. Getting Over Jack Wagner by Elise Juska
Great for folks who are around my age (40). I really enjoyed this light read.

13. Candles Burning by Tabitha King
Okay gothic. Not as good as I'd hoped but readable.

Currently reading: The Lazlo Letters by Don Novello

14. The Lazlo Letters by Don Novello
Recommended by a blogger I love as a "silly" read. It was very funny. Sort of a Borat of the mid-70s.

15. The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
Another one I remembered. Enjoyed this. Certainly a step above normal chick lit.

Currently reading: The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank.

16. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
I'm in the minority of people who preferred The Wonder Spot. There were good insights and touching moments, but I just prefer a straightforward novel.

Currently reading Imperial Life in the Emerald City

17. Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chanrasekaran
What a tragic and unnecessary waste. Wonderful book with both large scale and small scale insights into lives in the Green Zone and the disconnect between the ideas of the Americans and the needs of the Iraqis.

Currently reading Midnighters 2 by Scott Westerfeld

18. Midnighters 2 by Scott Westerfeld
Oh, I loved this one too. Perhaps even better than the first one. I have to stop myself from running out right now and buying the third.

Currently reading Retribution by Jilliane Hoffman

I did run out and buy Midnighters 3, but I am restraining myself from reading it.

Remembered another I read earlier this year

19. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

20. Retribution by Jilliane Hoffman
An LT recommendation for "twisted endings". A good thriller. I thought the main character's emotional pain was well represented. The twist was enjoyable if you like that kind of thing (which I do).

Message edited by its author, Sep 26, 2007, 9:11am.

21. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
A fast read. I'm finding Bella to be more and more annoying. I liked her quite a lot when she was a nice girl confused by all of the attention. I liked that she is a nice girl who is responsible and decent. I'm much more interested in the rest of Edward's family than Edward, Bella or Jacob. All of that being said, since these do read so fast, I'm sure I'll stick with the series.

Currently reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

After about 150 pages, I abandoned Bel Canto which I hated for

22. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
I enjoyed this. I especially liked how the writer slowly wove in details to indicate that this was not our world but a future(?) dystopia.

Currently reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Message edited by its author, Oct 9, 2007, 8:21am.

nancyewhite

I'm glad you liked Sunshine! That's one of my favorite books right now, it's always nice to see other people enjoying it too.

bluesalamanders - I did like it. I was surprised by how many people classify it as YA. It seems pretty adult to me.

Another book I remember reading this year is

23. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Apples don't fall far from trees. This was an excitingly scary book with good characters. I enjoyed it.

24. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
This book was amazing. Thrilling and informative. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it to nonfiction readers.

Currently Reading: Midnighters 3 by Scott Westerfeld (I've given in).

12 nancy

I agree, I also think it is more adult. I guess it's one of those in-between, gray area books. The themes are more adult but the style of the story (one main theme/plot that is not overly confusing or twisting, only a couple main characters, etc) is more YA. It's part of why I'm reading more high-YA fantasy than adult - adult fantasy just seems to be intentionally overly complex, and that gets boring after a while.

Found a list with a few more books I read this summer/fall. Pre-LT I was trying to keep lists and being less than successful.

25. All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming
I’m a big fan of this series. Worried it is getting a little too romantically tortured.

26. Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin by Nancy Atherton
Dead aunt who communicates by “ghost writing” in a diary and helps solve mysteries. Wanted to love it more than I did.

27. A Hundred Little Hitlers by Elinor Langer
Chilling. These young skinheads could have grown up in the same neighborhood that I did.

28. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Yep. A lovely story beautifully told.

29. Midnighters 3 by Scott Westerfeld
Dragged a little in the beginning, but a good exciting ending that was not completely predictable (at least by me).

Currently reading: Heartsick by Chelsea Cane

30. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
I dug it. Exciting, fast-moving plot. Primarily great characterization is what made it fly above other thrillers. It has been a long, long time since I've stayed up past my bedtime reading

Currently reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2007, 9:47pm.

31. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I resisted reading this and now I feel so stupid. I found it to be so exhilarating. I totally get what all the fuss is about.

32. Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson
Another good book in the Alan Banks series. This one was for Early Reviewers.

Currently reading: Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell

touchstones wonky again

33. Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell
Good. Hard for me to warm up to the beautiful cold main character. Read for Go Review That Book!

Currently Reading: Life Types

edited to add current read

Message edited by its author, Nov 4, 2007, 9:31pm.

34. Life Types by Sandra Krebs Hirsh
Was reminded of the Myers-Briggs personality types by discovering the group on LT. My partner and I each took one of the tests they link to and found the results to feel really descriptive of our respective personalities. This book is introductory in nature and continued to convince me that there are insights to be gained by using this methodology.

Currently Reading: Jack by A.M. Homes and The Best American Short Stories 2005 edited by Michael Chabon (for Go Review That Book! group).

35. Jack by A.M. Homes
A lovely look into the life of a young man whose father came out as gay. The narrator, Jack, is very realistic and charming. Quite enjoyable YA book if a little dated.

Currently suffering through: The Best American Short Stories 2005

Currently reading: Naked in Death by Nora Roberts and Other Powers which I don't feel like looking up right now, but is a bio of Victoria Woodhull.

36. Naked in Death by Nora Roberts
Yum. Candy Good. This book is easily read and surprisingly enjoyable. A tasty treat for the brain.

Still suffering through: The Best American Short Stories 2005
Still reading: Other Powers

I just finished "The Glass Castle". Some reviewers felt the parents were simply eccentric and observed that their homelessness was a choice they made. I thought they are were quite mentally ill. How did you feel?

37. Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull by Barbara Goldsmith
The connections between the suffrage, spiritualist and abolition movements are explored as are the passions and disagreements of their members. I enjoyed the book but didn't love it. I did like that even though Woodhull and her sister came from a family of grifters, Goldsmith doesn't judge their spiritualist events but allows the reader to draw their own conclusions.

38. The Best American Short Stories 2005 edited by Michael Chabon
Done. Caused me to give up on short stories for a long time to come. Review here on the works page.

theageofsilt:
Hmmm. I know the father is suffering from addiction to alcohol. The mother seems to me to be very narcissitic. So, yes, I'd say they are both mentally ill by societal but probably not legal standards. One of the things that strikes me is that by and large folks who read the book (including me) are lucky enough to be shocked by the childhood described. I think based on knowledge of the lives of some kids I grew up with as well as those a friend mine fosters that these things are far more common than we are aware of and that the difference is that this particular survivor is articulate enough to tell her story.

39. Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup
I enjoyed this memoir so much. She deals with difficult topics in a beautiful way. Review here.

Edited to add: Currently reading: It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh.

Message edited by its author, Nov 20, 2007, 9:43am.

40. It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh

Currently reading: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse mentioned by my pastor a couple of weeks ago and Ice Bound by Jerri Nielsen for LT's Go Review That Book! group.

Worked on organizing my LT library this weekend and came across some more I read this year.

41. Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism by John Shelby Spong
Radical even for me. And I'm primarily Unitarian Universalist with a Christian bent. Very good though.

42. Playground: A Childhood Lost Inside the Playboy Mansion by Jennifer Saginor
Ugh. An interesting childhood ruined by bad writing.

43. Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirement by Rodney Rothman
My mom lives in Florida, and I've often thought how great it would be to retire there now. This book proves that it might not be fun to retire at 30ish, but it sure is funny. If you like Jon Stewart, Sarah Vowell etc., you'll get a kick out of this.

More found during organizing:

44. The Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver
I don't follow this series, but I like them when I read them. I liked this one too, the characters including the villain are all a little over the top, but that makes for a fun read. I liked the new character of Katherine Dance and found her specialty of kinesics interesting.

45. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
A nice look at the emerging church by an insightful Christian writer. I found him to be open, honest and compelling

46. The Ironic Christian's Companion by Patrick Henry
This was a nice book, but, for some reason, I didn't love it. I like people who really express their struggle maybe that was missing from this one.

47. Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott
Speaking of folks who express their struggle, I find every nonfiction book and essay I read by Lamott to be compelling, filled with insight and empathy and often really funny.

And two more:

48. A Chosen Faith by John Buehrens and Forrest Church
Read as part of a book group. A good intro to Unitarian Universalism--the two authors each do alternating chapters so that the breadth of the faith and its ability to envelope differing religious visions can be seen.

49. The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp
Not as good as the baby version of this book, but still useful. He writes in a direct way that is easily understood and digested.

One more to go! I don't think I'll dig up many more that are early reads. Still, I should get a few more by the end of the year.

50. The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver
This was okay. Not great, but good enough. I liked the kinesics stuff, and I actually enjoyed the villain who was complex. The other characters seem a little cardboard to me. There were a couple of twists that I didn't expect, so that was fun.

Yay! I hit my goal!

Currently reading: Ice Bound by Jerri Nielsen and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Well done! And I see you're not ready to quit yet! Has doing this challenge changed your reading in any way?

I've been thinking about the question of whether my reading has changed due to the challenge and here is what I've come up with. LT in general and the challenge specifically has moved reading back into a more central position in my life. My interest in gadgets/internet, TIVO and a 2 year old son helped to place books and reading more on a backburner than ever before in my life. A resumed fairly lengthy trolley commute helped as well.

Also, I'm a book gobbler. I read 'em and move on for the most part. Writing even the smallest of reviews here helps me take a moment and reflect on what I've read which is a very good thing.

Thanks for asking, christiguc, it was fun to consider.

It's so exciting when the challenge is finished, but then there's next year's challenge to think about.....will you add more books to your goal next year? I'm thinking I'll see how many I end up with and try to beat that record.

I'm glad that you have enjoyed Scott Westerfeld - he's one of my all time favorites! His blog is pretty great too, makes up for the lack of any more books of his to read right now.

Happy Reading!

Jadesbooks

I haven't decided how or if I'm going to modify my challenge. I *may* try to add a number of classics or awards or something or not.

Thanks for the tip on the Scott Westerfeld blog. I just went there now and have to agree that it is a great blog. Luckily for me, I have plenty of unread Westerfeld's still to go. Maybe that will be my 2008 challenge--complete entire Westerfeld back catalog!

51. Ice Bound by Jerri Nielsen
I loved the information about the South Pole, but didn't love Dr. Nielsen as a narrator. Review here.

52. Blood Price by Tanya Huff
Fun brain candy. I liked all of the characters very much. For some reason, Vickie's dynamic with Henry and Cellucci reminds me a great deal of the dynamic Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum has with Morrelli and Ranger. A really enjoyable distraction.

ETA: Currently Reading: Life Lines: Holding On and Letting Go by Forrest Church and the next Tanya Huff since it's an omnibus of the first two books.

53. I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie by Roger Ebert
A fun catalog of bad review (2 stars and below). These are sometimes hysterical and sometimes filled with moral indignation. They are obviously all written by someone who genuinely loves the movies.

Currently Reading: Same as above.

36 - That's what the Blood books made me think of, too. I thought they were great fun.

54. Blood Trail by Tanya Huff
I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first. I thought her take on the werewolf mythology was quite charming.

Currently reading: Life Lines: Holding on and Letting Go by Forrest Church.

55. Blessed is the Busybody by Emilie Richards
A pleasant little cozy mystery. The heroine is the wife of a Unitarian Universalist minister. I enjoyed this little diversion very much.

Currently reading: Life Lines: Holding on and Letting Go by Forrest Church and the memoirs of a beautiful boy by Robert Leleux

56. the memoirs of a beautiful boy by Robert Leleux
Early Reviewer. Good gay-boy memoir. Review is here.

Currently reading: The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs and Life Lines: Holding on and Letting Go by Forrest Church

ETA: link to review

Message edited by its author, Dec 28, 2007, 2:54pm.

57. The Patron Saint of Red Chevys by Kay Sloan
A southern girl coming of age story. Didn't really resonate for me.

Currently reading: The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs