Six Month Check Up

It's been a whirlwind year for reading. Last December, I specifically wanted to explore 18 stories (pasted below), with a 60-book goal for the year. The body count so far: 31

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas
Rated Petruchio for rip-roaring action

The Piper's Son, by Melina Marchetta
Rated Bess Marvin & George Fayne for having to follow the excellent Saving Francesca

Fallen, by David Maine
Rated Princess Mia because the movie trumps the source. Only, in this case, the other way around.

Uncommon Criminals, by Ally Carter
Rated Mrs Bobbsey, because twins are cool, but twins twice is a little redundant

Affliction, by Edith Schaffer
Rated Charlotte A. Cavatica for being helpful and generous

What is a Family? by Edith Schaffer
Rated Mary Poppins for being practically perfect in every way

Heretics, by G.K. Chesterton
Rated Winnie the Pooh for being tubby

What's Wrong with the World, by G.K. Chesterton
Rated Toad of Toad Hall for being all over the place. Poop poop.

Pilgrim's Inn, by Elizabeth Goudge
Rated Martha and Dickon's mother for being British and homey

Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy Sayers

Rated Kitty Bennet for being forgettable, despite her relation to Elizabeth

The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde
Rated Dora Copperfield for providing humor but mostly annoyance

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Marmeladov:

“Come forth, my drunk ones, my weak ones, my shameless ones!’ And we will all come forth, without being ashamed, and stand there. And He will say, ‘Swine you are! Of the image of the beast and of his seal; but come, you, too!’ And the wise and the reasonable will say unto Him, ‘Lord, why do you receive such as these?’ And He will say, ‘I receive them, my wise and reasonable ones, forasmuch as not one of them considered himself worthy of this thing…’ And He will stretch out His arms to us, and we will fall at His feet…and weep… and understand everything! …and everyone will understand…and Katarina Ivanovna…she, too, will understand…Lord, Thy kingdom come!”


Which leaves 29 books yet to be read, most likely to include these 6:

Common Sense Christian Living, by Edith Schaffer
The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens
Okay for Now, by Gary Schmidt
The Dragon's Tooth, by N.D. Wilson
Two Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage, by Madeline L'Engle
Fly Trap, by Francis Hardinge

A goodly list, that.

5 comments:

sally apokedak said...

wow, you are so well-read. I used to read a lot but for the last decade I've read, maybe two books a month. And none of them are 1000 page doorstops like The Count of Monte Cristo.

Good for you.

Erin said...

Hehehe my favorites are the Kitty and Dora comparisons.

Laura Canon said...

I've never read The Count of Monte Cristo but I can recommend The Three Musketeers.
If you are looking for offbeat, I am reading now a book called The Wide, Wide World by Susan Warner, a classic girls' novel published around 1830. Some scary extreme 19th century evangelical stuff but otherwise a pleasure.
I love anything by Frances Hardinge.
Seriously considering now if I can follow someone who doesn't like Oscar Wilde.

Noël De Vries said...

hmm, Laura, I never said that I didn't like Wilde. it's only that the humor in Earnest grew tiring toward the end. I'd seen the play/film, so the script wasn't a fresh, dewy thing. I laughed the first time I saw it. pax?

brialynne said...

I LOVE your review of Five Red Herrings. You nailed it on the head.

It makes me really happy to see Two-Part Invention on your list. 'Swonderful.
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