The Best of 2010: Family Edition

Since I’m home, amongst readers with diverse tastes, I thought I’d collect favorite books from some of my family members and share them with you while I compile my own Best of 2010 lists.

2010 Family Favorites Part 1

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Chosen by: my mom
Genre: nonfiction

“Half the Sky was the most impactful and important book I read this year. This well-written nonfiction work details the plight of women and children in developing countries. It opened my eyes to the magnitude of this global issue and presented ways a little help can make a big difference in transforming the lives of these women. It’s a book everyone should read; book raises the awareness level for all of us.”

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

Chosen by: my mom
Genre: historical fiction

“I loved this book for its well-drawn characters and its believable and engaging plot. It also shed light on a more obscure aspect of the Civil War era: women in medicine. An all around great read!”

Erin’s note: I loved this one as well!

The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series by Steven Erikson

Chosen by: my husband
Genre: fantasy

“This series was great because of how skilled Erikson is at creating a massive world and populating it with a wide variety of characters. Erikson is an anthropologist, which definitely helps with this aspect of his novels. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is great for people who’ve enjoyed Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.”

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Chosen by: my sister
Genre: fiction

“I enjoyed The Forgotten Garden because of how well it wove together several different plot lines, all occurring at different times over the past century. Despite the story’s intricacy, I never felt confused. As the main character uncovers her grandmother’s story, answers are gradually revealed until the end, when everything comes together.”

Other Family Favorites

2010 Family Favorites Par 2

Other books my family has recently read, enjoyed, and recommended to each other include City of Thieves by David Benioff (which four of us have read and loved), Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (which I bought at my sister’s urging but haven’t gotten to yet), and Graceling by Kristin Cashore (which my sisters and I have all read).

What books have made the rounds in your family?

Sony Reader: Initial Reaction

I’m still home with my family, where my reading and internet time is limited. In fact, I’ve yet to finish a book since I’ve been here, though I’ve started several! The next week will be a little short on reviews as (a) I haven’t read much, and (b) I’d like to review 2010 before moving on to 2011. Today, though, I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of my library, brought to me by Santa: my new Sony Reader!

Sony Reader

Over the past few months I spent a good deal of time researching and trying three eReaders: the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook, and the Sony Reader. I chose the Reader for several reasons (obviously some more important than others):

  • First and foremost, I love its amazing note-taking capabilities. It’s the only one of the big three with a full touch screen and a stylus, which makes looking up a word (double-tap and the definition appears), highlighting, bookmarking, and even adding handwritten notes are extremely easy.
  • It’s not dependent on a specific company; I can get eBooks from a variety of sources.
  • I can borrow library books on it.
  • The whole screen is touch, which means no keyboard or separate navigation screen is necessary on the front of the device.
  • It’s easy to organize my digital library.
  • I can change the screen saver pictures to my own photos!

The first thing I did was to set up a NetGalley account and request a few digital ARCs. I then headed over to Project Gutenberg and downloaded all the books on my Classics Reclamation Project list that were available. So far, my new Reader has 93 books on it…and it’s only been two days!

As for actually reading on the device, I’m relieved to find I have no problems with it. I’ve only read 30 pages or so on it, but the Reader is lightweight and comfortable to hold, and the E Ink screen really is easy to read. Yes, it’s missing the tactile pleasures of reading an actual book, but for certain situations (pretty much anythin on-the-go) the Reader will be perfect. I will, of course, always have my paper library at home, and I know it will continue to grow!

Overall assessment: I’m even happier with my Sony Reader than I’d expected. I’m 100% sure I chose the right eReader for me. (If you are looking at them, I cannot stress how important it is to go and play with the different options for yourself–they’re all good for different things, and the best eReader for you depends heavily on what you’re looking for in an eReader!)

I’m working on knitting my Reader a case so it can travel safely with me. I’m also wracking my brain for a suitable name for my Reader. I’m shooting for something literary but preferably not gender-specific, and I’m having a devil of a time coming up with something. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Sunday Salon: 2011 Reading Goals

The Sunday Salon.com

With 2011 only a week away, it seems like a perfect time to set down my reading goals for the year as well as potential reading lists for each. A few weeks ago I shared some of the challenges I’d join if I were joining challenges for 2011, and my goals are drawn from those.

My 2011 reading goals boil down to three main goals and a good number of mini goals. My intention is that most of the books I read should fit into one of these categories. (ARCs are the exception; I do enjoy reviewing them, so they’ll stay, but they’re a bit harder to plan out!)

Goal #1: Read More Classics

I have this first goal taken care of with my personal Classics Reclamation Project, for which I’ve decided to always be reading (or listening to) a classic. For more on the goal and the project, as well as my definition of classic for purposes of the project, please see my Projects page. You can also peruse my list to see which books I’ve included so far (it’s ever changing).

Goal #2: Read from My Own Shelves

I have plenty of great books waiting for me on my own shelves, yet I am forever buying more or running off to the library. I’d like to read some of the books I already own and possibly pass them along to other readers. I’m kicking off 2011 by accepting the TBR Dare, which will hopefully set the tone for this goal for the rest of the year!

Reading from my shelves will mean I’ll cover a few mini goals as well. All books listed here are ones I already own:

Mini Goal 2.1: Read the books by Indian authors or authors of Indian descent

  • Kiran Desai: The Inheritance of Loss
  • Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: The Palace of Illusions
  • Amitav Ghosh: Sea of Poppies
  • Jhumpa Lahiri: Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake
  • Rohinton Mistry: A Fine Balance
  • R.K. Narayan: The World of Malgudi
  • Vikram Seth: A Suitable Boy and An Equal Music
  • Manil Suri: The Age of Shiva
  • Thrity Umrigar: The Space Between Us

Mini Goal 2.2: Tackle authors I’ve been meaning to read

  • Russell Banks: The Darling and The Reserve
  • Lauren Belfer: City of Light
  • A.S. Byatt: Possession
  • Edwidge Danticat: Breath, Eyes, Memory
  • Robertson Davies: The Deptford Trilogy and What’s Bred in the Bone
  • Emma Donoghue: Room
  • Jasper Fforde: The Eyre Affair
  • Jonathan Franzen: The Corrections
  • Julia Glass: Three Junes and The Whole World Over
  • Mark Helprin: Freddy and Fredericka and Memoir from Antproof Case
  • Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day, and The Unconsoled
  • Kathleen Kent: The Heretic’s Daughter and The Wolves of Andover
  • Justin Kramon: Finny
  • Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall
  • Colum McCann: Let the Great World Spin
  • Herta Muller: The Appointment
  • Sena Jeter Naslund: Ahab’s Wife and Adam & Eve
  • Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go
  • Julie Orringer: The Invisible Bridge
  • Ann Patchett: Run and Bel Canto
  • Mary Doria Russell: The Sparrow and A Thread of Grace
  • Gary Shteyngart: Super Sad True Love Story
  • Wallace Stegner: Crossing to Safety
  • Elizabeth Strout: Olive Kitteridge
  • Abraham Verghese: Cutting for Stone
  • Alison Weir: Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth

Mini Goal 2.3: Read second novels by authors I’ve only read once but enjoyed

  • Jonathan Safran Foer: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
  • John Green: An Abundance of Katherines
  • Sara Gruen: Ape House
  • Barbara Kingsolver: The Poisonwood Bible
  • Marina Lewycka: Strawberry Fields
  • Kate Morton: The House at Riverton
  • Linda Olssen: A Sonata for Miriam
  • Orhan Pamuk: Snow and My Name is Red
  • Jose Saramago: Blindness
  • Colm Toibin: Brooklyn

Mini Goal 2.4: Read more memoirs

  • Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
  • Bill Bryson: A Walk in the Woods
  • Joan Didion: A Year of Magical Thinking
  • Jules Feiffer: Backing into Forward
  • Alexandra Fuller: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
  • Ryszard Kapuscinski: Travels with Herodotus
  • Greg Mortenson: Three Cups of Tea
  • Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita in Tehran
  • Nuala O’Faolain: Are You Somebody?
  • Orhan Pamuk: True Colors
  • Salman Rushdie: Imaginary Homelands
  • Rob Sheffield: Love is a Mix Tape and Talking to Girls About Duran Duran
  • Abraham Verghese: The Tennis Partner

Goal #3: Expand My Literary Horizons and Fill in the Gaps

There are also books I don’t own in several categories that I’d like to read, as a way to broaden my literary horizons. These categories break Goal #3 down into a few mini goals:

Mini Goal 3.1: Read some GLBTQ lit

These can be either about GLBTQ characters/issues or by GLBTQ authors. Cass has volunteered to send me some recommendations, which I greatly appreciate! Other recommendations are welcome too.

  • Dorothy Allison: Bastard Out of Carolina
  • Ivan Coyote: Missed Her
  • Emma Donoghue: Landing and Kissing the Witch
  • Leslie Feinberg: Stone Butch Blues
  • Fannie Flagg: Friend Green Tomatoes
  • Nancy Garden: Annie on My Mind
  • Jeannine Garsee: Say the Word
  • Radclyffe Hall: The Well of Loneliness
  • Tony Kushner: Angels in America
  • Minnie Bruce Pratt: S/He
  • Sarah Waters: Tipping the Velvet
  • Judd Winick: Pedro & Me

Mini Goal 3.2: Explore Dystopian lit

From classics like 1984 to contemporary YA, dystopian lit is a genre that interests me but that which I haven’t explored much. If you have favorites to recommend, please send them along!

  • Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
  • Philip K. Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
  • Robert Heinlein: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
  • Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
  • Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go
  • Lois Lowry: The Giver
  • David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas
  • Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go
  • George Orwell: Animal Farm and 1984
  • Jose Saramago: Blindness

Mini Goal 3.3: Read to fill in the gaps

There are certain authors and books I’ve never read but feel I need to. My classics project will cover the older books, but there are some more contemporary ones that beg to be read:

  • Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game
  • Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex
  • Anne Fadiman: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
  • Milan Kundera: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
  • Toni Morrison: Beloved
  • Tim O’Brien: The Things They Carried
  • Carlos Ruiz Zafon: The Shadow of the Wind
  • Salman Rushdie: any
  • William Styron: Sophie’s Choice
  • Alice Walker: The Color Purple

I’d also like to fill in the gaps that currently exist on my Books page by reading authors whose last names will cover the blank spaces. Thanks to some great recommendations, those may be:

  • I: Yasushi Inoue, Kazuo Ishiguro, John Irving, Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers), Sheena Iyengar (The Art of Choosing)
  • Q: Amjed Qamar (Beneath My Mother’s Feet), Matthew Quick, Anna Quindlen
  • U: John Updike, Brady Udall (The Lonely Polygamist), Thrity Umrigar (The Space Between Us)
  • V: David Vann (Legend of a Suicide), Jules Verne, Kurt Vonnegut, Voltaire, Brian K. Vaughan (The Last Man series, The Runaways series), Sara Varon (Robot Dreams), Sarah Vowell, Abraham Verghese
  • X: Xinran (Sky Burial, The Good Women of China, China Witness)
  • Y: Richard Yates (Revolutionary Road), Jane Yolen, Laurence Yep, Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese), Sara Young (My Enemy’s Cradle), Michele Young-Stone (Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors), Banana Yoshimoto (Kitchen), Charles Yu (How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe)

Your Turn!

Do you set reading goals, or do you read completely at whim? How do you set your reading goals?

Tag, I’m It: A Christmas Survey

I’ve been tagged by Amy at The House of Seven Tails! I don’t usually participate in this sort of thing, but on the day before Christmas, who wants to read a book review anyway? So here it goes!

When do you usually know and feel that it’s finally the holidays?
Just before Thanksgiving, when I start to get excited about going home to my parents’ house for the holiday. From then on, it’s Christmas music and decorations and baking and holiday excitement!

What do you want for Christmas this year?
Under the tree, a Sony Reader!

Do you go all out with decorations?
Not yet. Some day, when I have the money to buy and space to store exciting decorations, I’m sure I’ll do more! For now, a few lights and my baby Christmas tree are it.

 

Christmas Tree
The tree at my parents’ house a few years ago

What are you doing Christmas Eve?
Hanging out with my family, most likely wrapping last-minute gifts, watching whatever Christmas movies happen to be on TV.

What are you doing Christmas Day?
We get up a lot later than we used to, but we still open presents together first thing in the morning. That’s followed by breakfast and cleaning up the paper, then we spend the day playing with whatever we got! Usually someone got a DVD (or several) that we’ll watch, and we’ll all start digging into our new books.

It’s Christmas time. What are you reading?
I don’t get much reading done when I’m at my parents’ house with my three siblings, but I’m ambitious this year! I’ve got several galleys due in January that are coming home with me, along with my book group’s selection for January (Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri) and a couple of others. I might get through one of those!

As for actual holiday reading, I read Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan and listened to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens earlier this month.

Favorite movie to watch during the holidays?
“A Christmas Story” is the favorite in my house. I really enjoy “Home Alone” as well. I finally saw “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the first time a few years ago, and I quite like that one as well.

Favorite Christmas song?
Only one? Yeah, right! This Christmas I’ve been listening to albums by Sarah McLachlan, Straight No Chaser (a cappella), Martha Gallagher (Celtic harp) and Mindy Smith.

Favorite holiday drink?
Hot mead! My father and I discovered it at a Renaissance festival years ago and loved it, so we’ve sought it out at the holidays since. This year I might take a stab at making spiced wine as well.

How is your Christmas shopping going?
I was done, with everything wrapped, by Tuesday. Don’t be too impressed; it’s the first year that’s happened!

If you could spend Christmas Day anywhere else, where would you spend it?
Honestly? I wouldn’t want to spend it anywhere but at my parents’ house, with my family, exactly where I’m going to be. I’m a creature of habit!

Any holiday traditions?
Not explicitly. There’s a certain rhythm to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that feels the same each year. It used to be we’d all stay in our pajamas all day on the 25th, but that doesn’t always happen any more.

Favorite thing about the holidays?
Pretty much everything. I love Christmas music, driving around to see all the lights, getting holiday cards (though I didn’t get them out myself this year), baking, wrapping gifts, and–most of all–being home with my whole family!

I’m not going to tag anyone, since it’s Christmas Eve, but I’d love to hear your answers to any (or all) of these questions! Merry Christmas, everyone!