brochettes' 2010 challenge

Last year, I aimed for 60 books and read 71 books. This year, my challenge will be a little different: I only aim to read 50 books, but I hope that a significant amount of those will be from the enourmous piles of TBR's I already have. While I am sure I will still be mooching books, I will attempt to buy as few new books as possible this year. We'll see how this goes...




My categories (cursive indicates already owned books):

1001 books:
1. The Book of Illusions
2. The Remains of the Day
3. Der Vorleser

non-fiction:
1. Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife
2. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
3. Bedlam: London and Its Mad

Early Reviewer:
1. Sanditon
2. Reclaiming the F Word

Everything Else:
1. Many Bloody Returns
2. The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
3. Buffy Season 8: Long Way Home
4. Buffy Season 8: No Future for You
5. Buffy Season 8: Wolves at the Gate
6. Buffy Season 8: Time of Your Life
7. Buffy Season 8: Predators and Prey
8. Buffy Season 8: Retreat
9. The Sandman: Doll's House
10. The Good, the Bad and the Undead
11. Tintenblut
12. Gil's All Fright Diner
13. The Sandman: Dream Country
14. Coraline
15. The Sandman:Season of Mists
16. The Lunatic Cafe
17. Dead in the Family
18.Todesrosen
19. The Sandman: A Game of You
20. The Sandman: Fables and Reflections
21. The Man Who Smiled
22. The Sandman: Brief Lives
23. Bloody Bones
24. Toter Mann
25. The Story of Zahra
26. The Sandman: Worlds' End - Vol. 8
27. Die Falsche Fahrte
28. A Rare Benedictine
29. When Will There Be Good News?
30. Die Apothekerin
31. The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
32. The Sandman: The Wake
33. Buffy Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
34. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
35. Every Which Way But Dead
36. Case Histories
37. The Sandman: Endless Nights
38. You Suck: A Love Story
39. My Soul to Take
40. The Mob
41. Die fünfte Frau: Roman
42. After Dark

I have no specific aim for any of the above, but may set my targets for next year accordingly.

Well, this is pretty pathetic- it's nearly the end of April and I haven't updated this once!
To be fair, I haven't been reading much- mostly graphic novels, as recently I appear to have developed the attention span of a fruit fly. Still, I am trying to get out of my reader's block by focusing on only a couple of books at a time, rather than having seven on the go at once and feeling overwhelmed.
I'm still reading a lot less than I'd like, but maybe the rest of the year will get better. Here's the last three months then:

#3: The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

#4: Buffy Season 8: Long Way Home

#5: Buffy Season 8: No Future for You

#6: Buffy Season 8: Wolves at the Gate

#7: Buffy Season 8: Time of Your Life

#8: Buffy Season 8: Predators and Prey

#9: Buffy Season 8: Retreat

#10: The Sandman: Doll's House

#11: Sanditon by Jane Austen

#12: The Good, the Bad and the Undead by Kim Harrison

Hopefully I'll be able to update this again sooner than in a few months...

#13: Tintenblut by Cornelia Funke

I loved Tintenherz, the first in the trilogy, but found it really hard to get into the second part. I am not sure whether this was because I just wasn't in the right mood or whether the book was simply not as good as the first one, but it took me a good three months to get through this. I will probably read the third book at some point, but probably not this year.

#14: Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez

A very enjoyable, if incredibly light read. After reading the description I was worried that this may turn into a disaster like the Book with No Name, but this actually managed to be funny and keep up the momentum throughout. It reminded me of some Christopher Moore books, so I'll definitely keep a look out for more from this author.

#15: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

Probably my favourite of the series so far- I'll definitely continue with this.

#16: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Cute. Quite scary, but stangely lovely even in its bleakness.

#17: Six Feet Over by Mary Roach

Didn't enjoy it as much as I did Bonk and Stiff, but still a lively, entertaining read.

#18: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman

Preferred the previous one.

#19: The Lunatic Cafe by Laurell K. Hamilton

Meh.

#20: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

A very light and fluffy read- a little disappointing, although I am not sure what I was hoping for. Somehow, most of the character interaction fell flat for me, and I feel that a lot of threads were picked up which could have been interesting if more fully explored, but left dangling as they were left me indifferent. I don't know how many Sookie Stackhouse books are planned in total, but I think that maybe the series should come to an end sooner rather than later, before the author completely runs out of steam.

#21: Reclaiming the F Word by Catherine Redfern and Kristin Aune

I have really enjoyed this book and although its contents are not exactly groundbreaking, I think it is very useful in two ways:
First, it is a book that would serve very well as a fairly thorough introduction to feminism as it stands now; and it is definitely something I'd recommend to someone who was looking for something to give (for example) to their teenage daughter. It is a surprisingly easy and fluid read, and covers the multiple issues affecting women today with enough brevity to keep those with a short attention span interested, yet still providing a remarkably comprehensive overview.
It is divided into chapters moving gradually from the personal to the public spheres, and offers a handy list of ways to get involved at the end of each chapter. While this is mainly written from a UK perspective, with results of surveys carried out in the UK used as examples and published at the end of the book, it still provides a useful snapshot of the views feminists today, and helps set a few preconceptions straight.
Secondly, it serves as a reminder to those who, while definitely considering themselves feminists, have maybe become a little complacent and are not always aware how much really still needs to be done to truly achieve the kind of equality that feminism strives for. I would count myself in that group, and while I not always agree with the possible solutions supplied, it has served as an encouragement for me to become a little more outspoken and question a few more things that I previously accepted at face value.

#22: Todesrosen by Arnaldur Indriðason

One of the earlier Erlendur novels only recently translated into German (don't think it's available in English yet), it's not quite as gripping as some of the later ones, but definitely better than the first one. Still a good read I'd recommend, and charming despite the grim subject matter of addiction and exploitation.

#23: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

Delightful. A lovely, clever, informative collection of essays about all matters book-related. Definitely one I'll be re-reading and probably gifting to quite a few people.

#24: A Game of You and #25: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman

Liked A Game of You, loved some of Fables and Reflections. I am looking forward to continuing with the series.

#26: The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell

Not my favourite in the series, but still very well written and characterised, and thus very enjoyable to read. Again, I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

I am beginning to feel guilty for being hooked on so many series, as it means I am reading fewer and fewer of the stand-alone books on my mount TBR. I am going to have to make more of an effort to tackle those. Good thing I have a holiday coming up in September that involves a lot of time on planes...

All I have read this year are series! I am feeling very similar. The only 1001 book I have managed to get to is Can You Forgive Her, the first in another (farily weighty) series!! Agh!

And the series theme continues:

#27: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman

I didn't like it as much as the previous two, but still enjoyable

and

#28: Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton

A bit of fluff (if blood and gore soaked fluff).

#29: Toter Mann by Ake Edwardsson

A little depressing but an easy read

#30: The Story of Zahra by Hanan Al Shaykh

Very hard work and entirely depressing

#31: The Sandman: Worlds' End - Vol. 8 by Neil Gaiman

Intersting.

Then my holiday reading:

#32: Die Falsche Fahrte (of course, this should really read Fährte, but then it won't be recognised as a touchstone) by Henning Mankell

Ok, but not his best.

#33: A Rare Benedictine by Ellis Peters

A nice intro to the Cadfael books, entirely undemanding and thus an ideal read after a long flight.

#34: When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

Loved it- what it lacks in believable plot is made up by the characterisation.

#35: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

My favourite read in a long time. Masterful and restrained and so so sad.

#36: Die Apothekerin by Ingrid Noll

I expected to enjoy this, but it left me as cold as her characters.

#37: The Sandman: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman

Loved it.

#38: The Sandman: The Wake by Neil Gaiman

Loved it- almost done now.

#39: Buffy Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight by Brad Melzer

Loathed it.

#40: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

After a rather uninspiring beginning (the first 50 pages or so really dragged) I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it.

#41: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

Same as #34, too many coincidences linking plot threads together, but more than made up for by the characters. Loved it.

ETA: Forgot one:

#42: Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison

The usual mindless but well-written fun.

#43: The Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman

Liked.

#44: You Suck by Christopher Moore

Funny but not particularly memorable.

#45: My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Creepy and funny. Loved it.

#46: The Mob by Clem Martini

OK.

#47: Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink

One of those books which i am finding it difficult to form an opinion of- I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. I feel like it was supposed to make me think and to a ceretain extent it did, but I found the protagonist so underwhelming that I never really got into it. I think if it hadn't been suchg a short read I would probably have postponed or even abandoned reading it altogether pretty early on. Maybe I just read it at a bad time.

#48:Die fünfte Frau by Henning Mankell

Loved it.

#49: 7575589::Bedlam: London and its Mad by arnoldcatharine::Catharine Arnold

A very interesting insight of how people have been dealing with mental illness over the ages.

#50: After Dark by Haruki Murakami

I usually love Murakami's books, but this one didn't have much of an impact. I didn't like the screenplay style narration, and the weirdness which I usually enjoy just annoyed me in this one.

So, with just a few hours to go, I have made it to 50 books in 2010. This is my lowest count in quite some time, and I have even counted quite a few comic books. I am also disappointed that I only managed to read three non-fiction and three 1001 books, so I shall attempt to do better next year. I'd also like to read more Early Reviewer books, but that's obviously not up to me.