100 Books in 2007

Last year I read 33 books, this year I am aiming for 100. In order to do this, it will have to be a mix of the short and the long, novels, collections of short stories, some young adult mixed in with general fiction.

So far:

January
1. A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings (Penguin Classsics) by Charles Dickens
2. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) by Washington Irving
3. Cell by Stephen King
4. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
5. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
6. We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Penguin Classics Deluxe) by Shirley Jackson
7. The Body Artist by Don DeLillo
8. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
9. Kafka Americana by Jonathan Lethem and Carter Scholz

February
10. Vertical Run by Joseph R. Garber
11. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I'll be reading the rest of the Time Quartet and then perhaps I'll try to squeeze in the complete Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket since February is a short month. I figure if I can average 8 1/2 books per month, that will take me to 100.

12. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
13. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

I love the L'Engle books! It's been about 10 years since I finished the series. Maybe I should reread them as part of my 50...

14. Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
15. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

ClaraBear: I had only ever read the first Time book before, so I decided to re-read that and continue the Quartet. I did enjoy them, some more than others.

Edited to add Touchstones.

16. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
March
17. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Currently reading The Complete Fables (Penguin Classics) by Aesop

I need to have 25 done by the end of March to remain on pace, so I'm pretty close.

You shouldn't have a problem reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, I read the whole series in about three weekends. Enjoy!

18. The Complete Fables (Penguin Classics) by Aesop
19. Seize the Day (Penguin Classics) by Saul Bellow

Currently reading Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates, then I'll be re-reading Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul for the first time in 19 years. And then reading his posthumous The Salmon of Doubt for the first time.

20. Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
21. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
22. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
23. The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams
24. Animal Farm by George Orwell
25. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

April

26. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
27. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
28. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
29. End of Story by Peter Abrahams
30. The Cellar by Richard Laymon
31. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
32. Time's Arrow by Martin Amis
33. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
34. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I've fallen a little off pace in May with work commitments, family functions and the nicer weather.

May

35. Roadwork by Stephen King
36. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
37. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
38. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
39. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Almost caught up to pace. After the first 6 months of the year I am up to 48.

June
40. Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates
41. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
42. Saturday by Ian McEwan
43. Cujo by Stephen King
44. Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45. The Husband by Dean Koontz
46. Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles
47. The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
48. Josie and Jack by Kelly Braffet

What did you think of Memories of my Melancholy Whores?

I've only read One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez but I certainly enjoyed that work quite a bit. I know this one is supposed to be a little different from usual.

Any thoughts?

Hi lilisin.

Memories was my first Marquez, though I have Solitude and intend to read it later this year. The topic of a 90 year old man wanting to bed a teenaged virgin was disturbing at first, but was handled admirably and taken in a non-exploitative direction. The writing was beautiful, particularly the descriptions of the South American setting. It's a very slight book, about 115 pages, so it served as a brief introduction to Marquez's style.

Sounds wonderful.
I will have to put it up higher on my "to be read" list considering I´ve owned the book as long as it has been out (in the original Spanish!).

July

49. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
50. Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
51. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
52. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
53. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
54. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the First: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
55. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Second: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
56. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Third: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
57. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Fourth: The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket
58. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Fifth: The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
59. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Sixth: The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
60. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Seventh: The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

August

61. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Eighth: The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket
62. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Ninth: The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket
63. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Tenth: The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
64. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Eleventh: The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket
65. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Twelfth: The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket
66. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Thirteenth: The End by Lemony Snicket
67. Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography by Lemony Snicket
68. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
69. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
70. Winkie by Clifford Chase

The year is now 3/4 over and I'm slightly ahead of pace to reach my target.

September

71. The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig
72. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
73. Junky by William S. Burroughs
74. Slow Learner: Early Stories by Thomas Pynchon
75. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
76. Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
77. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Penguin Classics) by Ken Kesey
78. The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classics) by Shirley Jackson
79. Danse Macabre by Stephen King

Well, so much for being on pace. Due to my brother's bachelor party in Toronto one weekend and his wedding in the Finger Lakes another, plus taking on a second job, my reading time was severely curtailed in October. I only managed to complete two books, bringing me to 81 for the year. 19 to go to reach my target and 61 days to do it. It's gonna be tough.

October

80. Lisey's Story by Stephen King
81. The War of the Worlds (Penguin Classics) by H.G. Wells

TheTwoDs, you may not make your goal but you've read a bunch of books on the 1001 books to read before you die, list! (There is a downloadable spreedsheet on the group page.)

And your not alone in the 'not reaching your goal' department. I won't make mine cos I had 5 weddings this fall.

-The Mistress

Did a little better in November than October. I've revised my goal to hit 90 for the year since 100 is out of the question.

82. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror (Penguin Classics) by Robert Louis Stevenson
83. The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
84. The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett
85. The Scarlatti Inheritance by Robert Ludlum
86. The Osterman Weekend by Robert Ludlum

Well, I made it to 90 this year.

December

87. Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg
88. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
89. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
90. Atonement by Ian McEwan

Happy New Year!