Reflections on Books I've Read...

For more than 13 years I have been recording all of the books I have read in a journal. One of the reasons I started writing them down was because sometimes I couldn't remember if I had already read a particular book. (That problem hasn't improved in recent years!) Looking back through my book journal is a lot like listening to old music or reading a diary kept years before. My book journal reflects time periods in my life, my interests, and my method of escape through reading. Sometimes I would read 2 dozen books in a single month, and at other times not pick up a book for 3 or 4 months. Sometimes I would record favorite quotes in the journal, but most of the time I just listed the date, title and author. This year I have read almost 30 books --I am still working on the last three. No single book stands out for me, but I have a few favorites among those I read this year.

As 2009 comes to a close, I have been contemplating the concept of consumption over the past few weeks; what I buy, eat, listen to, watch, and read --how I spend my time. I just finished reading Give it Up! My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less by Mary Carlomagno. (Thanks Emily!) While not everyone will relate to the author, I found that I could relate to her desire to understand her own buying or consuming habits. Each month for one year, she chose one of her favorite things to give up, cold turkey, for one month. She gave up alcohol, shopping, cell phones, newspapers, elevators, dining out, taxis, television, coffee, cursing, chocolate and multitasking; and gained some interesting insights in the process which changed her life.

When I think about giving things up, I begin to feel deprived. So the idea of giving something up for 30 days in order to better understand what motivates me seems much more manageable. Some of the things I will consider giving up include multitasking, dining out, and using credit cards. Instead of coming up with a list of 12 to start, I will see where this project leads me...

My 2009 Book List (**Favorites)

Blood Orange by Druisilla Campbell
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Nifenegger **
When Madeline was Young by Jane Hamilton
Slam by Nick Hornby
Divining Women by Kaye Gibbons
The Elephant in the Playroom by Denise Brody **
Bringing Elizabeth Home by Ed & Lois Smart
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan **
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie **
Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl by Kate McCafferty
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows **
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine (this one didn't rub off on me as I had hoped it would!)
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini **
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin **
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini **
Cross by James Patterson
Double Cross by James Patterson
Cross Country by James Patterson
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts (Audio Book)
Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls **
Shopaholic & Baby by Sophia Kinsella (Audio Book)
Give it Up! My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less by Mary Carlomagno**
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Kindle)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (and family)
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon **