Well, here's the year in review. Literally. Or should I say "literarily"? (Yes, I should.) Anyway, what I mean to say is, here's a list of my reading matter (i.e., books) for the year 2006. (Incidentally, do you say "two thousand six" or "twenty-oh-six"? I hear the former, though I wish the latter took hold. I heard "twenty-oh-six" on BBC World Service last night.) The Irish Independent (seen here being perused by an erudite if slightly effeminate-looking Laughorist en route from Malahide to Dublin, last October) doesn't count. Just books.
Do people read actual real books anymore? I fear not too many do. That does not make me better or worse. I'm a slow reader, one who savors a book. Yes, I read magazines and newspapers too -- hard copy -- but I am most faithful to books. I need to read a book before falling asleep (yes, even after THAT). I know, I'm so retro.
Here's my rather short list, unadorned with editorial comment.
1. On Beauty by Zadie Smith (novel)
2. The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster (novel)
3. Attention.Deficit.Disorder by Brad Listi (novel)
4. Blue Angel by Francine Prose (novel)
5. Delights & Shadows by Ted Kooser (poetry; former U.S. Poet Laureate; I shook his hand)
6. McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy (travel; humor)
7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (novel)
8. Born to Be Mild by Dave Armitage (novel)
9. The Beast God Forgot to Invent by Jim Harrison (three novellas)
10. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (novel)
11. The Pornographer by John McGahern (novel)
12. Praying Like Jesus by James Mulholland (spiritual commentary)
13. A Year to Live by Stephen Levine (psychology/meditation)
14. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (novel) (about 40 pages and I'll be done; I promise, I'll finish by December 31 -- Deo volente).
(Addendum: OK. I did finish it, last night, on December 30. Can I start and finish something short in one day? Perhaps Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company?)
Name one of your books of 2006. Just one.
Please?
Thank you.
Happy and peaceful and healthy and blessed 2007. One day at a time.
14 comments:
I still read...I read about a book a week commuting.....I'll never stop ....even if i have to read something on line, i usually print it out first (if it's long) and at work of course (but don't tell, ok?) Thanks for sharing your list and your pic! very nice!
Peace
Oh wow... I love to read and how disturbing the was the KITE RUNNER. I loved the book it made me cry and Paul Auster is on my list. I read a great deal the Year of Magical thinking by Joan Didion I think that's how you spell it was amazing the best book of my year! ~M
PS....
I love the photo it's fun coming out isn't it! ~M
The Kite Runner made my dad cry like a little girl. I also cried like a little girl, but I don't like to admit it.
I've got a reputation around here to protect.
Hmmmm... My reading list.
I am a science fiction fanatic. I do frequently read crime fiction and quite a bit of military non fiction and history. I don't read newspapers or magazines. I have some interest and often read about archaeology and paleontology. The kid in me still likes dinosaurs. (take most of my news off the web.)
That's about it I guess!
Later Y'all
like yours
my list is modest in length
international in scope
diverse in genre
with both the sacred and the profane
represented
and always attentive to that species of story inspired by birds
and so now another if even a wind-up
agd
The Kite Runner is on my Amazon list. I love to read! Great list there.
I am a book whore. An addict. I do not understand people who don't read for pleasure.
Your list is the kind of eclectic one I enjoy. I haven't yet read The Kite Runner, but on your recommendation, I will soon.
Oh, you wanted us to name a book or two. "Memoirs of a Geisha," (Arthur Golden,) "Dance of 17 Lives" (Mick Brown) and "Until I Find You" (John Irving) come to mind; also "The Tale of Murasaki" by Liza Dalby and "Plum Wine" by Angela Davis-Gardner; "Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse" by Louise Erdrich was great, as was the memoir, "Girls of Tender Age" by Mary Ann Tirone-Smith. "Night" by Elie Weisel should be read by everyone. I just started "Jesus Land" by Julia Scheeres last night, also a memoir.
The Da vinci code is great. It also teaches us to think logically.
Melville A Biography
by Laurie Robertson-Lorant
happy 2007 :)
I read a lot of books this year as I do every year. One that came to mind is Motherless Brooklyn by someone I can't remember but I really liked it.
The Devil and Miss Prym : A Novel of Temptation -- by my most fav author ~ Paulo Coelho
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