Books

I thought I'd share my list of books I've read this year. It's easy for me to read, since I work in a library and am constantly surrounded by millions of books. However, this year my reading has suffered one incredibly huge distraction: knitting.

So, here they are...my books, in chronological order:

1. Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis (started in 2008, finished this year)
2. The Anatomy of Deception, Lawrence Goldstone
3. Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis (started in 2008, finished this year)
4. The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly
5. Persuasion, Jane Austen
6. Peony in Love, Lisa See
7. Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis
8. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
10. The Brothers Karamazov, F. Dostoevsky
11. Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis
12. Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis
13. Perelandra, C.S. Lewis
14. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
15. The Piano Teacher, Janice Y.K. Lee
16. Bride's Farewell, Meg Rosoff
17. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (still reading, will finish quite soon)
18. That Hideous Strength, C.S. Lewis (I've just started this one, and will have to finish next year)


As you can see, this has somewhat been the year of C.S. Lewis. I've made up my mind to try to read all of his books (a resolution made all the stronger by visiting Oxford and The Eagle & Child in February).I just love them. Surprised by Joy was a heavy read that I would not recommend to a non C.S. Lewis fanatic.


My favorite books of 2009:
Great Expectations: When I was a senior in high school, I took the AP English and AP writing tests. Part of the test was to pick out three novels from a list and write a paper on each one. As I surveyed the list, I realized I hadn't read three of the ones on their list (or I had, but didn't' want to write a paper about them, I can't remember). Anyways, I knew I could write a paper on Great Expectations, even though I had never read the book. How could I accomplish this task, you ask?? Simple!! I had watched the Wishbone episode about Great Expectations!! Hey, a little doggie acting out the story is close enough, yes? I wrote my paper and got the highest possible score, testing out of 9 credits of college writing. hehehehehe. I felt like I owed it to Dickens and the AP test people to finally read the book! And I just like Dickens. Love his writing style and the things he observes.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: One of my students said this was her favorite book. I had certainly heard of the book, but had never read it or even heard what it was about. Something about the title just didn't sound exciting. Let me tell you, I absolutely loved this book! I love slice of life books!
The C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy-but most specifically Out of the Silent Planet: I am skeptical of anything called sci-fi or space!! But, like any C.S. Lewis, this is just marvelous. While most people I've discussed the books with seem to prefer Perelandra, Out of the Silent Planet was my favorite! I've yet to finish the 3rd book, That Hideous Strength.

The 2009 stinkers: Hands down, absolutely no contest....The Brothers Karamazov!!!! I HATE this book! I thought I'd be so cultured and read it. Soooooooo boring, and I even tend to be a literary masochist. I don't mind a painful, mind-numbing read. This book, however, somehow did me in. I can't take it. I have discussed this book with others. I'm not alone. I am told I am reading a particularly stinky translation. So, when I'm feeling bored beyond belief, or when I become bedridden for three straight weeks and have absolutely nothing else to do...I might try it again. I sure do hate to be beaten by a book!

So, does anyone have any recommendations for my year 2010 reading list? After finishing That Hideous Strength, I plan on reading Mansfield Park, and maybe a Thomas Hardy. Beyond that, I haven't any plans.