50 Books Off the Shelf in 2012

Last year I ended up reading a lot of ARCs what with member give aways and all, so I didn't quite meet my challenge. But There are still a lot of books in my house I want to read or re-read, so I'm setting a goal of 50 books read in the year. Finished my first one already:

#1 Rilla of Ingleside - LOVE this book!!

#2 Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy - took me forever to read, and the book fell apart - guess I'm going to get rid of it, since I can't see EVER wanting to read it again.
#3 The Handmaid's Tale - bought this for my son's English class - can't believe I never read it.
#4 The Road - another purchase for my son's class - also a good read.

Not a bad start to the year ...

You're flying! I've been meaning to reread some of my L.M. Montomery books as well. I just loved Anne!

I also have loved everything Margaret Atwood has touched (and, I admit, I had to read The Handmaid's Tale when I was in school -- and liked it despite that!)

#5 The Commodore
#6 The Yellow Admiral
Still working my way through the series. It's taken me so much longer than I thought it would, but in some ways that has been good, because having breaks has made me enjoy each novel independently, instead starting to feel like they are all blurring together.
#7 A Tale of Two Cities - I wasn't intending to re-read this one again so soon, but we read it in book club and I'm going to count it!

#8 The Hundred Days - can't believe I'm coming to the end of this series. I'm starting to look over my bookshelves -- what do I want to tackle next??

#9 Comeback - I always enjoy Dick Francis. Maybe I'll have to go on a re-reading kick again ...

#10 Blue at the Mizzen - lovely ending.
#11 The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey - it's nice to catch a glimpse of the two friends when things are going well for them and their families. So sad that there won't be any more of the two of them.

#12 Fablehaven
#13 Rise of the Evening Star
Reading these aloud to my kids - the stories are fun, but the writing is a little annoying - it is stilted, I guess.

#14 To the Rescue: the biography of Thomas S. Monson - I've had this for over a year now and thought I should get busy and read it! It was very inspiring and gave some really good insight into the kind of leader this prophet is.

#15 Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea - nice combination of non-fiction tale that was made very readable.

#16 Frankenstein
#17 Persuasion
#18 The Grip of the Shadow Plague
#19 Matched

Thanks to "Go Review That Book!" I read a couple of classics this month - plus a couple of young reader books. They were all pretty enjoyable, with Persuasion being the big winner.

#20 Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
#21 The Misanthrope and Other Plays

Guess it's time to get busy!

#22 Les Liaisons Dangereuses
#23 Family Foundations

almost half way - can I do it in 2.5 months??

#24 Sarah
#25 Rebekah
#26 Rachel & Leah
This was a re-read of this series and I enjoyed it as much as I remembered from the first reading. I like that Mr. Card is able to portray sympathetic characters who still make mistakes and do things that are not what we would think of as honorable or right.

#27 Emily of New Moon
#28 Emily Climbs
Thought I'd get this trilogy read in no time, but got stopped by other reading responsibilities, so I'm recording what I finished so far ... love Emily!!

#29 Emily's Quest
#30 Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
#31 Keys to the Demon Prison

Finished the Emily trilogy - more realistic (happy endings seem more elusive here) than some of her other series but I enjoyed it all the same.
Finished reading the Fablehaven series aloud to my kids. What to read next???

#32 At Home in Mitford
#33 A Light in the Window
#34 A Common Life
so enjoying these!

I read the first two a few years ago and remember them as great comfort reads, particularly the first one. Funny, I was just thinking the other day I should dig them out again for a reread and then continue the series.

#35 Out to Canaan
#36 A New Song
#37 In this Mountain

littlegreycloud, you should definitely dig them out - I've found them wonderful this time around.

Will do, thanks! I read somewhere that the books get "more Christian" as the series goes along, did you find that to be the case?

I thought the amount of faith related stuff stays pretty consistent - he is an Episcopal priest after all. What I think is most refreshing about the series as a whole is that there is a lot of respect towards all the many flavors of Christianity and the focus is on loving others.

>21 tjsjohanna:: I'm not a Christian myself but I still enjoyed the two volumes I read -- I was just worried that the later books might get "preachy", based on a review I read. Glad to hear it's not the case. I think the basic idea of treating others decently and with kindness is something everyone should be able to get behind.