PlaidApple's 2020 50+ decade opener
Forum50 Book Challenge
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1PlaidApple
Hello everyone!! I finally did it last year and read 50 books in a year!! Hoping to make it two in a row, but I am taking some grad classes for part of this year so... I'm pretty confident that I'll hit 50 BOOKS because of that this year, but if I can, I'd like to only count the novels, which might make it harder. And I'd like to keep my eye on the second half of the year to keep reading after my classes are over, and not fall into a slump without the pressure of a reading list.
I'll * anything I read for class and ** anything I read for my independent grad work.
OK January so far:
Astroball by Ben Reiter**
- Really enjoyed this, a compelling story about baseball. If you like good sports writing, you'll probably like this book.
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen*
- I started this in December and just finished. I found it... long and tiresome. There were some good moments but overall it was an unbelievable slog to get through and I don't have any desire to read more Franzen.
How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti*
- I really enjoyed this. It was a quick read about friendship and self-creation.
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
- There were parts of this that were genuinely moving, but parts that seemed to drag. I think overall it made its point, and I know it was written quite a while ago, but I didn't feel great about using a deaf/mute character as, essentially, a moral lesson. I also think that perhaps there's a lot more on loneliness written now, and in that way, its takeaways were unsurprising.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson*
- I liked this a lot. I don't know that it was Pulitzer material, but it was very good. Super easy to read but an interesting conceit of a dying man writing to his young son about his life, and a very interesting reflection of religious life in American history.
The Might Have Been by Joseph m Schuster**
- I really enjoyed this book, but it isn't quite what the flap summary led me to believe. It's predominantly about baseball player who gets injured and never really makes it to the big leagues, but the split between past and present is about 40-60, and I wouldn't say that his "encounter with two players" is life changing, it's more just about him managing a team after retirement in general that becomes story-worthy. Not perfect but enjoyable.
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri*
- This is a collection of stories/vignettes that are all somewhat interconnected, mostly taking place around Boston and dealing with life, relationships, immigration, and all that's in between. I thought it was moving and not a single sentence felt extraneous. I don't always love interconnected stories like this, but really well done and would recommend.
I'll * anything I read for class and ** anything I read for my independent grad work.
OK January so far:
Astroball by Ben Reiter**
- Really enjoyed this, a compelling story about baseball. If you like good sports writing, you'll probably like this book.
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen*
- I started this in December and just finished. I found it... long and tiresome. There were some good moments but overall it was an unbelievable slog to get through and I don't have any desire to read more Franzen.
How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti*
- I really enjoyed this. It was a quick read about friendship and self-creation.
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
- There were parts of this that were genuinely moving, but parts that seemed to drag. I think overall it made its point, and I know it was written quite a while ago, but I didn't feel great about using a deaf/mute character as, essentially, a moral lesson. I also think that perhaps there's a lot more on loneliness written now, and in that way, its takeaways were unsurprising.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson*
- I liked this a lot. I don't know that it was Pulitzer material, but it was very good. Super easy to read but an interesting conceit of a dying man writing to his young son about his life, and a very interesting reflection of religious life in American history.
The Might Have Been by Joseph m Schuster**
- I really enjoyed this book, but it isn't quite what the flap summary led me to believe. It's predominantly about baseball player who gets injured and never really makes it to the big leagues, but the split between past and present is about 40-60, and I wouldn't say that his "encounter with two players" is life changing, it's more just about him managing a team after retirement in general that becomes story-worthy. Not perfect but enjoyable.
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri*
- This is a collection of stories/vignettes that are all somewhat interconnected, mostly taking place around Boston and dealing with life, relationships, immigration, and all that's in between. I thought it was moving and not a single sentence felt extraneous. I don't always love interconnected stories like this, but really well done and would recommend.
2PlaidApple
February:
10:04 by Ben Lerner*
- Really enjoyed this, and thought some of the writing was genuinely excellent. That being said, I can easily see how someone wouldn't like this, or find that it sort of falls into the boring self-absorbed side of literary fiction.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- The second half of this book is great, the first is OK. But once it picked up it really sucked me in.
Erasure by Percival Everett*
- Really enjoyed this book. Smart satire, touching and funny.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
- I thought I would like this way more than I did. I really like her essays online but these just felt too long and without a strong point in some cases as well.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh*
- I reread this for some coursework.
10:04 by Ben Lerner*
- Really enjoyed this, and thought some of the writing was genuinely excellent. That being said, I can easily see how someone wouldn't like this, or find that it sort of falls into the boring self-absorbed side of literary fiction.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- The second half of this book is great, the first is OK. But once it picked up it really sucked me in.
Erasure by Percival Everett*
- Really enjoyed this book. Smart satire, touching and funny.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
- I thought I would like this way more than I did. I really like her essays online but these just felt too long and without a strong point in some cases as well.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh*
- I reread this for some coursework.
3PlaidApple
March:
Don't Let Me Be Lonely by Claudia Rankine*
- I read this also for some coursework, really enjoyed. Highly recommend reading alongside My Year of Rest and Relaxation as they're an interesting pair.
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh*
- Really enjoyed this. Will probably burn through all of Moshfegh's writing very quickly.
McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh
- Jesus wept what a book.
My Sister the Serial Kiler by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- I saw a lot of people on youtube that I generally trust their recommendations loved this, but I thought it was only OK. It definitely gets better/more clever in the last third, but I found the beginning to be kind of meh.
The Chill by Jason Starr
- I've never read a graphic novel before and I had this kicking around from years ago a book sale or something? It was kind of fun, and I would read more detective/noir/crime graphic novels in the future.
Don't Let Me Be Lonely by Claudia Rankine*
- I read this also for some coursework, really enjoyed. Highly recommend reading alongside My Year of Rest and Relaxation as they're an interesting pair.
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh*
- Really enjoyed this. Will probably burn through all of Moshfegh's writing very quickly.
McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh
- Jesus wept what a book.
My Sister the Serial Kiler by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- I saw a lot of people on youtube that I generally trust their recommendations loved this, but I thought it was only OK. It definitely gets better/more clever in the last third, but I found the beginning to be kind of meh.
The Chill by Jason Starr
- I've never read a graphic novel before and I had this kicking around from years ago a book sale or something? It was kind of fun, and I would read more detective/noir/crime graphic novels in the future.
4PlaidApple
April:
Crazy month. Just a couple on the books.
Fat Kid Rules The World by K. L. Going
I had this in LibraryThing as a four or five star read and I just wanted to go back to a book I knew I'd love this month. It was just as good as I remembered.
The Cactus League by Emily Nemens
Unfortunately, this was a disappointment for me. It felt much too short in terms of the storyline of the characters -- she set everyone up for trouble and didn't have the punch to actually land them there/write them through it. I did not like the sportswriter-opens-the-chapters gimmick. The chapter with all of the baseball WAGS felt like a bizarrely misogynistic miss to me. Oh well, I guess.
Crazy month. Just a couple on the books.
Fat Kid Rules The World by K. L. Going
I had this in LibraryThing as a four or five star read and I just wanted to go back to a book I knew I'd love this month. It was just as good as I remembered.
The Cactus League by Emily Nemens
Unfortunately, this was a disappointment for me. It felt much too short in terms of the storyline of the characters -- she set everyone up for trouble and didn't have the punch to actually land them there/write them through it. I did not like the sportswriter-opens-the-chapters gimmick. The chapter with all of the baseball WAGS felt like a bizarrely misogynistic miss to me. Oh well, I guess.
5PlaidApple
May:
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The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
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The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
6PlaidApple
Maybe I should not have been so sure that I was going to read at least 50 books... although in the alternate timeline without the pandemic I'm probably cruising right now reading feels like a big stand still. I'm going to try and finish a bunch of books I've been halfway through for a long time (a year or more) and I've ordered some new ones to try and kick start my reading again.
And maybe try to stop reading such long books and throw in some short ones.
And maybe read with some friends.
Anyone else having a hard time getting through something? How are you handling it?
Nothing for June or July that I can remember.
August:
Little Warlord by Roni Simunovic
French Leave by Anna Gavalda
The Nix by Nathan Hill --- I started this in 2019! finally knocked it off. Hoping to knock off a few more I've been in the middle of this month.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius -- Started this in 2018! another one down.
And maybe try to stop reading such long books and throw in some short ones.
And maybe read with some friends.
Anyone else having a hard time getting through something? How are you handling it?
Nothing for June or July that I can remember.
August:
Little Warlord by Roni Simunovic
French Leave by Anna Gavalda
The Nix by Nathan Hill --- I started this in 2019! finally knocked it off. Hoping to knock off a few more I've been in the middle of this month.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius -- Started this in 2018! another one down.
7PlaidApple
Maybe I'm getting back on track? in October?
Sept:
Red Doc> by Anne Carson
Beijing Payback by Daniel Neih
Oct:
Bunny by Mona Awad
Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lise
The Resisters by Gish Jen (finished)
Severance by Ling Ma
Sept:
Red Doc> by Anne Carson
Beijing Payback by Daniel Neih
Oct:
Bunny by Mona Awad
Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lise
The Resisters by Gish Jen (finished)
Severance by Ling Ma
8PlaidApple
Some more books to update, really trying but still behind:
Gregor the Overlander series (all 5 books) by Suzanne Collins -- reread these, loved them. They are probably the only reason I'm even remotely close to making my goal! I crushed these in like, a week! They're middle grade and I felt like a genius with how fast I was reading them, I swear.
A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
Holes by Louis Sachar
Boy: Tales from Childhood by Roald Dahl
A Loving, Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe
Which I think brings me up to 39 books on the year... still within striking distance but it won't be easy
Gregor the Overlander series (all 5 books) by Suzanne Collins -- reread these, loved them. They are probably the only reason I'm even remotely close to making my goal! I crushed these in like, a week! They're middle grade and I felt like a genius with how fast I was reading them, I swear.
A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
Holes by Louis Sachar
Boy: Tales from Childhood by Roald Dahl
A Loving, Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe
Which I think brings me up to 39 books on the year... still within striking distance but it won't be easy
9PlaidApple
My final update for this year, I did reach my goal! But it was a push.
Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia (graphic novel)
Salvador by Joan Didion (started this over TWO years ago! finally finished!)
The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey (started this over a year ago! Finally finished!)
Equinoxes by Cyril Pedrosa (graphic novel)
New School by Dash Shaw (graphic novel)
The Iliad by Homer
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke (why I decided to try and cram this behemoth in I will never know)
Beowulf the Heaney translation
and the Royal City collected volumes (3) by Jeff Lemire
I read some more graphic novels in there as well but that's the gist of it and I think takes me up to 50. My "official" count is a bit higher with all of the other graphic novels that I sped through but I didn't keep religious track. Most of what I'm happy about is finally putting to rest some of those books I'd been "in the middle of" for several years!!
Anyway, on to 2021. Hope everyone had a good year of reading!
Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia (graphic novel)
Salvador by Joan Didion (started this over TWO years ago! finally finished!)
The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey (started this over a year ago! Finally finished!)
Equinoxes by Cyril Pedrosa (graphic novel)
New School by Dash Shaw (graphic novel)
The Iliad by Homer
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke (why I decided to try and cram this behemoth in I will never know)
Beowulf the Heaney translation
and the Royal City collected volumes (3) by Jeff Lemire
I read some more graphic novels in there as well but that's the gist of it and I think takes me up to 50. My "official" count is a bit higher with all of the other graphic novels that I sped through but I didn't keep religious track. Most of what I'm happy about is finally putting to rest some of those books I'd been "in the middle of" for several years!!
Anyway, on to 2021. Hope everyone had a good year of reading!
