lalbro's 1010 challenge

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lalbro's 1010 challenge

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1lalbro
Bearbeitet: Nov. 28, 2010, 11:18 am

I love the idea of this challenge! I have no idea how many books I actually read each year, but I think this is a great idea to encourage us all to extend beyond our reading boundaries (and to get through our TBRs!). Here's my list of topics, followed by messages with my first inputs into categories.

1. Thinking about the self (autobiography/memoir)
2. Narratives in short story
3. About women
4. The importance of a meal
5. Lost in translation (borrowed the category from a fellow librarything member - thanks!)
6. Books about books
7. About the past
8. About kids
9. Novels from the "Best of 2009 lists"
10. About the world (science)



2lalbro
Bearbeitet: Nov. 28, 2010, 11:30 am

Thinking about the self (autobiographies/memoir)

5 of 10 COMPLETED

1. Lit: A Memoir, by Mary Karr
2. Somewhere Towards the End, by Diana Athill -- COMPLETED 2/28/2010
3. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
4. Ghandi, Autobiography
5. Autobiography of Malcom X
6. Hons and Rebels
7. In My Hands
8. Together Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place --COMPLETED 1/13/2010
9. Failure is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words
10. The Butcher and the Vegetarian -- COMPLETED 4/26/10
11. The Pattern in the Carpet -- COMPLETED in June I think
12. Elegies for the Brokenhearted by Christie Hodgen
13. A Mountain of Crumbs -- BEGAN 9/12/10; COMPLETED 9/18/10

3lalbro
Bearbeitet: Nov. 26, 2010, 8:00 pm

Narratives in short story

7 of 10 COMPLETED

1. Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It, by Maile Meloy -- BEGAN 11/12/10, COMPLETED 11/16/10
2. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, by Wells Tower -- BEGUN 1/14/10, COMPLETED 1/18/10
3. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, by Daniyal Mueenuddin -- BEGUN 12/28/09, COMPLETED 1/1/10
4. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Once the Shore: Stories, by Paul Yoon
6. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
7. A Good Fall by Ha Jin
8. Burning Bright by Ron Rash -- COMPLETED 8/3/10
9. Olive Kitteridge --BEGAN 9/4/10, COMPLETED 9/11/10
10. The Farmer's Daughter -- BEGAN 10/18/10
11. Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives -- COMPLETED 10/17/10
12. Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom -- COMPLETED 11/10/10

4lalbro
Bearbeitet: Dez. 5, 2010, 8:22 pm

About women

4 of 10 COMPLETED

1. A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert -- COMPLETED 12/5/10
2. Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, by Jeanette Walls - COMPLETED 9/1/10
3. When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 to the Present, by Gail Collins
4. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn - BEGAN sometime in April 2010; read about half, currently on the shelf - BUT NOW COMPLETED 8/19/10
5. Why So Slow
6. Women, Work, & The Art of Savoir Faire by Mireille Guiliano
7. 8398::A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
8. 5803225::Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginirch - BEGAN 8/16/10, COMPLETED 8/18/10
9.
10.

5lalbro
Bearbeitet: Dez. 9, 2010, 8:00 pm

The importance of a meal

8 of 10 COMPLETED

1. The Omnivores Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
2. Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and How to Get it Back, by Ann Vileisis
3. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipies, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, by Julie Powell - BEGAN 6/29/10; COMPLETED 7/6/10
4. Bringing it to the Table, by Wendell Berry --BEGAN, DID NOT FINISH
5. Eat My Globe, by Simon Majumdar -- BEGUN 1/19/10; COMPLETED 1/27/10
6. Death by Pad Thai, and Other Unforgettable Meals by Douglas Bauer --BEGAN, DID NOT FINISH
7. French Women Don’t Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano
8. The Food of a Younger Land, by Mark Kurlansky
9. America Eats: On the Road with the WPA, by Pat Willard --BEGAN 1/1/10; COMPLETED 1/14/10
10. Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, by James E. McWilliams
11. Diet for a Hot Planet --COMPLETED 4/24/10
12. Deeply Rooted -- COMPLETED 7/24/10
13. Public Produce -- BEGAN, DID NOT FINISH
14. My Empire of Dirt -- COMPLETED 11/11/10
15. America The Edible -- BEGAN 11/28/10, COMPLETED 11/30/10
16. The Art of Eating In -- BEGAN 12/5/10, COMPLETED 12/8/10

6lalbro
Bearbeitet: Nov. 23, 2010, 11:10 pm

Lost in translation

2 of 10 COMPLETED

1. The Museum of Innocence, by Orhan Pamuk, translated by Maureen Freely
2. The Vagrants, by Yiyun Li -- BEGUN 1/18/10, COMPLETED 1/28/10
3. Suite Francaise
4. The Death of the Adversary: A Novel by Hans Keilson, Translated by Ivo Jaorosy
5. Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson, Translated by Damion Searls
6. I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson, Translated by Charlotte Barslund -- COMPLETED 11/23/10
7.
8.
9.
10.

7lalbro
Bearbeitet: Jan. 3, 2011, 3:27 pm

Books about books

4 of 10 COMPLETED

1. Reading Like a Writer, by Francine Prose
2. 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, by Jane Smiley -- BEGUN 12/25/10, WILL COMPLETE in 2011
3. Every Book Its Reader
4. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nasifi
5. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon --BEGAN 9/18/10, COMPLETED 9/23/10
6. The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic by Avi -- BEGUN 1/28/10, COMPLETED 1/29/10
7. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster --READ 2/3rds, then put it down
8. The Writer As Migrant by Ha Jin
9. Losing My Cool by Thomas Chatterton Williams
10. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books by Maureen Corrigan -- COMPLETED 11/4/10
11. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett -- BEGAN 10/21/10, COMPLETED 10/26/10

8lalbro
Bearbeitet: Dez. 9, 2010, 8:01 pm

About the past

2 of 10 COMPLETED

1. Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression, by Morris Dickstein -- BEGAN
2. Over the Edge of the World
3. Mrs. Robert E. Lee: Lady of Arlington by John Perry
4. The German Woman by Paul Griner -- BEGUN 6/2/10, COMPLETED 6/21/10
5. 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman --BEGAN 11/10/10, COMPLETED 12/9/10
6. Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens by Andrew Beahrs
7. London: A Biography by Peter Ackroyd
8.
9.
10.

9lalbro
Bearbeitet: Okt. 26, 2010, 10:33 pm

About kids

1 of 10 COMPLETED

1. Raising America
2. Madeline
3. Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon
4. Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever, by Walter Kirn
5. The Scientist in the Crib
6. The World of Babies
7. NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
8. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
9. The Organized Student by Donna Goldberg - COMPLETED 8/30/10
10.

10lalbro
Bearbeitet: Jan. 3, 2011, 3:21 pm

Novels from the “Best of ...” lists

10 of 10 COMPLETED

1. A Gate at the Stairs, by Lorrie Moore
2. Await Your Reply, by Dan Chaon -- BEGUN 11/24/10; COMPLETED 11/27/10
3. The Cradle, by Patrick Somerville - BEGUN 1/30/10; COMPLETED 2/1/10
4. Follow Me, by Joanna Scott --COMPLETED 10/13/10
5. Generosity: An Enhancement, by Richard Powers
6. The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver - COMPLETED 1/3/11
7. Invisible by Paul Auster - BEGAN 2/28/10; COMPLETED 3/3/10
8. The Scenic Route, by Binnie Kirshenbaum
9. Angels of Destruction, by Keith Donohue - BEGUN 2/2/10; COMPLETED 2/10/10
10. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett - BEGUN 2/10/10; COMPLETED 2/15/10

------------------------
11. Angelology -- COMPLETED 4/10
12. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand --COMPLETED 4/10
13. The Quickening Maze -- BEGUN 7/22/10; COMPLETED 7/30/10

11lalbro
Bearbeitet: Okt. 26, 2010, 10:34 pm

About the world (science)

4 of 10 COMPLETED

1. The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, by Richard Holmes -- COMPLETED 8/14/10
2. The Black Swan -- BEGUN 12/27/09
3. The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom, by Graham Farmelo
4. The Art and Politics of Science, by Harold Varmus
5. The Natural History of Unicorns, by Chris Lavers
6. Reading in the Brain by Stanislad Dehaene
7. Measuring the World -- COMPLETED 6/2010
8. The Checklist Manifesto -- COMPLETED 10/8/10
9. Green Metropolis by David Owen -- COMPLETED 10/26/10

12lalbro
Dez. 26, 2009, 6:55 pm

Diese Nachricht wurde vom Autor gelöscht.

13kristenn
Dez. 28, 2009, 9:43 am

Kids-wise, I'm about halfway through NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman and really enjoying it.

I'll be reading the Gail Collins as soon as my turn at the library's copy comes.

14lalbro
Dez. 28, 2009, 10:25 am

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll add NurtureShock to my list!

15lalbro
Jan. 1, 2010, 4:53 pm

I finished my first of the planned 100 books this year! In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. A perfect book to start with. Crisp, lyrical, evocative stories about relationships embedded within a society where your relationships are entirely structured by social status - no matter how hard you try to break out of those rigid strictures. Beautifully written, and often bitingly sad. A high bar has been set for the other books on the "to read" list!

16lkernagh
Jan. 1, 2010, 7:31 pm

lalbro - loved your summary of In Other Rooms, Other Wonders! I have added it as a must read for my short stories category of my 1010 Challenge:-)

17lalbro
Jan. 2, 2010, 6:39 pm

Went to the library today....added a couple of books to my list. What's amazing that I didn't have any difficulty finding additional books to add to my 1010 list. I hope I can keep the impetus going once I head back to work on Monday.

18lalbro
Jan. 5, 2010, 6:50 pm

So work, and kid's schedules, are going to make keeping up with the reading pace a little challenging...oh for the days when I could go up to my room, close the door, and read for hours without interruption! Nonetheless, hope springs eternal, and I've added two more books to the list. I'm making good headway through America Eats - should finish in the next couple of days!

19kristenn
Jan. 5, 2010, 7:22 pm

Drat! You've just made me realize that although I own America Eats, it doesn't fit any of my categories.

20lalbro
Jan. 13, 2010, 8:43 pm

Finished Together Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place last night. Loved the description of place, and of relationship. I was drawn to this book because I have recently been reflecting on how important place is ... as a former military brat, living in the same place was not part of my growing up. However, as an adult, I have moved back to where I went to junior high and high school after twenty years away. It's very different to return to a place that you know. I was also intrigued by her reflections on how relationships need "self" time as well as "together" time -- something that I resonate with after my twenty-some years of marriage. So, a memoir that worked for me given the points of contact in my own life.

21lalbro
Jan. 18, 2010, 6:48 pm

This morning finished book number four Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. Although it came with many kudos, it did not appeal to me as I read it. Perhaps too male, too brusque. Although I had heard Tower share a story on NPR, and thought I would like it, alas, I did not. But I perserved and read it to the end. ...

So, had to think long and hard about what book to read next. Decided on The Vagrants. Just zipped through the first 4 chapters - this set of tales within the one tale is captivating, and will provide an excellent antidote to Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned -- not necessarily happier - but the narrative tale brings me along and makes me what to know what happens to each of the characters already.

Did enjoy America Eats - a window into American cuisine of the 30s.

22lalbro
Jan. 22, 2010, 6:21 pm

Hoping to finishg the two books I am currently co-reading: The Vagrants and Eat My Globe. I'm loving them both and really want to keep reading them. I have a lot of kid chauffering this weekend and hope that reading time will be maximized!

23lalbro
Jan. 27, 2010, 7:15 pm

Okay - finished Eat My Globe - book number 5! I feel positive that I'm making progress...but am beginning to wonder if I can reach the necessary pace to reach 100 books!! I'm gonna keep on trying!

So, about Eat My Globe - starts out strong, kept making me laugh out loud as I rode the subway home. But the middle of the book was formulaic, and lost the edge that made me laugh so to start. However, it probably truly reflects any year long adventure - beginnings are tremendously fun and full of possibilty, the middle is a slog, and the ending leaves you with a sweet, slightly full feeling.

Hmm...I wonder if that is a portent for my year full of reading. I'm hoping to avoid the middle slog bit.

24lalbro
Feb. 2, 2010, 10:40 pm

Okay - been reading but not blogging.

Loved, loved -The Cradle. Beautifully written, emotionally taut, family matters. 'nough said. Read it if you haven't already.

Also found The Vagrants to be highly compelling. Evocative of China post Cultural Revolution, pre Tiannemen Square. The phrase "it takes a village" finds a whole new meaning in this book. Definitely on the recommended list.

Finished The Book Without Words as well - definitely meant to be read by the younger set, but does a neat job of using magic to illuminate reality. A nice change of pace after Vagrants.

Now to read some Wendell Berry and Angels of Destruction - I really can't wait to see what my fellow fed has written on his off hours!

25arubabookwoman
Feb. 4, 2010, 4:23 pm

Glad to hear that you liked The Vagrants since it's on my wishlist. I'll also be interested in what you think of Wendell Berry--I've never read anything by him, but have often seen his name on lists of important southern writers.

26lalbro
Feb. 4, 2010, 9:50 pm

I'll be sure to post review on Wendell Berry - Bringing it to the table is a collection of essays and the few that I've read are wonderfully written. It's fascinating to hear his voice across several decades. Some are written in the 70s, others in the 80s, 90s, and aughts! I'm only a couple of chapters in, but live in the DC area and we're supposed to be snowbound for several days- so I'm planning to read a lot!

27lalbro
Feb. 10, 2010, 12:41 pm

Angels of Destruction brought me back to a time when I read magical realism constantly. In the midst of a series of crazy snowstorms, a tale that draws heavily on the magic of cold and snow and angels was perfect! I loved the images drawn in this tale, and the ways in which the thought that angels live among us was made manifest in the story. I didn't want to put it down, and was sad when it ended. Beautiful, magical.

28lalbro
Mrz. 2, 2010, 10:28 pm

I finished Somewhere Towards the End over the weekend, and although I liked some passages and found the writing to sing periodically, overall this book didn't "click" for me. Perhaps the stage in life that I am currently living is too removed from where Athill is writing - although that isn't usually an issue for me. Maybe it is that the narrative thread that so often keeps a memoir together was faint. Not sure. But I've moved on to begin Invisible and I am finding that I have to tear myself away from it so that I can get enough sleep to function at work... I'm also reading How To Read Literature Like a Professor on the train - finding it entertaining and insightful and something that my ninth grader might benefit from! I wished I had had it during my high school/college literature courses!

29lalbro
Apr. 17, 2010, 10:18 pm

So what do you do when you read off your list. I have been reading - although March was one crazy month, but I haven't managed to finish any books on my list. I read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, am in the middle of Angelology and Diet for a Hot Planet, and have read bits and pieces of other books... I'm hoping that my life will settle down enough so that I can read a book from start to end without twelve million crises intervening....

30lalbro
Jul. 2, 2010, 9:23 pm

Been reading, but not writing and recording. Something this exercise makes very clear to me is how much I tend to begin books, and don't always bring them to completion. But I do read! Now, we are moving into the summer season, and I am full of hope and promise that I will make hay and read lots and lots....

31lalbro
Jul. 10, 2010, 12:10 pm

Finished Julie and Julia this week - as a novice food blogger myself (http://food4five.wordpress.com), it was pretty fun to read about the original food blogger. Her goal to cook through How to Master French Cooking was an impressive goal, her writing brisk and funny, and clearly took her places where she didn't realize she would go! It was both inspirational to read, and also made me reflect on how difficult it is to set these annual goals for ourselves and meet them! Perhaps it's the 1010 challenge, hmm...

32lalbro
Jul. 24, 2010, 7:04 pm

I think my family thinks I'm a little nuts these days. I've just finished reading yet another book about farming and local food and organic produce...Deeply Rooted. I blame at least some of this on reading Diet for a Hot Planet, but must admit that I have been becoming increasingly interested and committed to these topics as I have become more knowledgeable about them. Anyhow, Deeply Rooted is a moving trichtype of American spaces and places - Texas, New Mexico, and North Dakota - and the tale of three men who make them each productive. It takes me to a place quite far removed from the suburban landscape that I call home.

One of the things that's been fun about this adventure in recording my reading is realizing how much I graze as opposed to reading - so I have had countless cookbooks and gardening to-do books, and other "how to do something" books that I have consumed, and yet, I don't feel like they are "worth" recording - and that's not jsut because I don't have a category for them. I wonder why?!

33lalbro
Aug. 16, 2010, 8:02 pm

So over my beach vacation, I devoured The Age of Wonder. This incredible narrative elucidates the history of science as it converges with romanticism, and uses the three life histories of Joseph Banks, William Herschel, and Humphrey Davy to anchor the narrative. A scientist, but not one typically enamoured of historical treatments of anything, I found this book to be incredibly captivating. It made me want to be part of that amazing time in the late 18th century when so much was being discovered, and when poetry and science were intertwined. I often thought that I should be a naturalist, but my life choices didn't take me that way. I wonder now, though, if the second half of my life might lead me down a different (or perhaps complementary path). Anyhow, if any of you think this is a book you might want to read, read it. It will open the heavens, and the seas, and the mysteries of chemistry to you.

34jfetting
Aug. 16, 2010, 8:46 pm

Wow, you have a lot of great books on your lists. I really want to read Diet for a Hot Planet - it's a topic I'm becoming increasingly passionate about, too. The Age of Wonder sounds great, too.

I have a similar problem with the "what to do about off-challenge books" question as you do. Sometimes I just want to read a book that isn't on my list! So I just skip it, and don't talk about it in my challenge thread. I think maybe next year I'll arrange it a little differently, to give me more wiggle room.

35lalbro
Aug. 19, 2010, 11:18 pm

Thanks! I think the best thing about the 1010 Challenge for me is that it provides me a space to compile all the books that I want to read in a single place. It's pretty cool to observe how I'm working my way through books and how they fit together.

I do highly recommend both Diet for a Hot Planet and The Age of Wonder - they are both on the top of my list for this year.

I'll be sure to follow your thread to see how you decide to manage the "off-challenge" books.

36lalbro
Aug. 21, 2010, 9:23 pm

So because I'm getting more than a little worried that I'm not going to make my 100 book mark (unless I decide to quite work and ready for the next 4 months - which sounds like fun - but it'd be hard to pay the bills), I've decided that the very least I can do is finish the books I started. So after finishing Made from Scratch - gotta try her bread recipie, but I'm not up for knitting yet, - I decided to finish Half the Sky. Remarkably, I only had three chapters left to go, and so I finished it after two subway rides. Kinda cool - 'cause I got to finish it really fast.

I did find Half the Sky interesting and informative - and found the "What to do know" chapter useful - but maybe I'm in a time now where I need my books to take me to other places and times...

37lalbro
Aug. 21, 2010, 9:23 pm

So because I'm getting more than a little worried that I'm not going to make my 100 book mark (unless I decide to quite work and ready for the next 4 months - which sounds like fun - but it'd be hard to pay the bills), I've decided that the very least I can do is finish the books I started. So after finishing Made from Scratch - gotta try her bread recipie, but I'm not up for knitting yet, - I decided to finish Half the Sky. Remarkably, I only had three chapters left to go, and so I finished it after two subway rides. Kinda cool - 'cause I got to finish it really fast.

I did find Half the Sky interesting and informative - and found the "What to do know" chapter useful - but maybe I'm in a time now where I need my books to take me to other places and times...

38lalbro
Aug. 26, 2010, 11:21 pm

Many books remain to be read. But the beginning of school approaches. With two new middle schoolers and a rising 10th grader, I thought I would try (again) to read The Organized Student. Short story is - good read, useful too - going to give it a try with the middle schoolers. I'll let you all know how it goes.

39lalbro
Sept. 2, 2010, 9:14 pm

Okay -so I finished The Organized Student - very useful and at least one of my middle schoolers is totally into it.

But because Dancing in the Dark is too big to bring on the train, I decided to try Half Broke Horses which has been on my list since December. Let it be know that I loved Half Broke Horses. Given my current fascinaton with homesteading and early 20th century Americana, I guess this makes sense - but mostly I left wishing that I had had a chance to meet this woman - who knew who she was, and refused to compromise her beliefs. Very readable, and the quotable phrases throughout.

40lalbro
Sept. 19, 2010, 10:29 am

So I'm wondering how close I'm going to get to 100. I'm averaging 1 book a week - so that means I will only get to 45 unless I pick up the pace. Another 6 are in mid-read...So I'm pretty confident that I'll read 50, but really would like to get above 50!

One thing I will say - 500 page books are great - but do slow down the total book count!

Ah well - just finished A Mountain of Crumbs - what a great book - about pretending as a way to survive.... As all great memoirs do, you feel like you're there with the narrator through it all. Lovely turns of phrase, and it makes you appreciate growing up in America.

41lalbro
Sept. 25, 2010, 4:12 pm

I finished The Shadow of the Wind on Thursday night. As I started to read this book, I kept thinking that I had read it before, except I hadn't. This tale draws you into the mystery immediately, and keeps you in it's thrall until the end. I love the premise, that books find you, and that once a book finds you it will change your life - and not in ways you expect or anticipate. The characters are well-drawn, the narrative spell-binding, and every chapter reveals something new. A great read.

42lalbro
Okt. 10, 2010, 10:46 pm

I think that one of the things that makes a book great is when you take away ideas that percolate in your brain, and you're never quite sure how they will manifest themselves. This is what I found The Checklist Manifesto like -- relevant to the big problems that I think about professionally, and the small, daily things that can turn into big problems if not managed well. A good read, and one that makes you understand how much the complexity of life that can be reduced to simple lists.

43lalbro
Okt. 19, 2010, 10:39 pm

So I just finished a book that I really didn't like very much - Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives - the tone and focus of the stories are really very far afield from what I typically read, but I have been in a dark dark mood recently, so this seemed to fit well. Let's just say it fit almost too well, and when I finally finished it, my mood lightened too...

44lalbro
Nov. 11, 2010, 2:11 pm

While I am close to finishing two collections of short stories - am hope to finish one today - I began reading My Empire of Dirt on Monday morning, and found myself wanting to finish that one immediately. I guess that one of the great, and not so great, things about collections of short stories, is that it's easy to put the book down - great for the way time works in my life - not so great when you are engaged in a book challenge :)!.

Anyhow, My Empire of Dirt was quite emotional to read, and even though I know myself well enough to know that I would never be brave enough to try to feed myself only from food I raised myself, I have been reading books that toy with this notion all year long. I began with Farm City over the Christmas holidays last year, and found My Empire of Dirt formed a fascinating counterpoint to the experience of Novella Carpenter in Farm City. I found the sections about raising animals for meat particularly compelling - but the pig narrative of Carpenter is nowhere replicated in Howard's tale.

I wonder if the current economic climate has contributed to my need to read these kinds of tales or if it is a natural outgrowth of a farmer's market life. Don't know. But I recommend both books.

45lalbro
Nov. 15, 2010, 10:02 pm

I feel that I am on a bit of a roll - although it may have come too late in order to make my hundred book goal...even if I finish the books that I have begun before November (which would get me to 50), I know that I don't have enough hours in my days to read another 50 in 30 days....

I will keep reading, however, and think about how to set my challenge for next year - something attainable, but that forces me to stretch.

For now, back to reading narratives in short story Both Ways Is The Only Way I Want It and some food history 97 Orchard ...

46lalbro
Nov. 23, 2010, 11:18 pm

Just finished I Curse the River of Time-beautiful and sparsely drawn. It resonated with where I currently am - wondering why.

47lalbro
Nov. 27, 2010, 5:09 pm

Await Your Reply is a stunning reflection on identity. I was gripped by the narrative, and now will be spending the next several weeks trying to unravel all the threads which held the narrative together.

48lalbro
Nov. 28, 2010, 11:09 am

Well, it's pretty clear I won't make the 100 book mark this year - so the challenge becomes twofold - first, which categories will I complete, and second, which categories do I move into next year's challenge for 2011?

To answer the first question, I know I will complete the "Best of ..." category - it started out as Best of 2009, but I expanded it to include some 2010 books as well that I received as gifts and really wanted to read! Narratives in Short Story should easily be completed as well - Nocturnes is on my shelf, and the others are available at the library. The other category I should absolutely finish is "The Importance of a Meal" - given that I read about food all the time, have two on my shelf right now, and two that I can pick up from the library next week...

That's 8 books to finish to complete those categories...Pretty sure I can do that in the next 5 weeks. That gets me 1/2 way to my goal.

Then, I need to decide how to spend whatever time I have left of the year....and that is not going to be easy!

49lalbro
Nov. 30, 2010, 10:28 pm

America the Edible -- read the lists of what to eat, no need to read the book cover to cover unless you want to relive someone else's dating history ...

50lalbro
Jan. 3, 2011, 3:26 pm

Although it is now 2011, I have finished The Lacuna and felt that since I read most of it in 2010, I should include it in this list, not the new 11 in 11 list.

I did love The Lacuna - an amazing evocation of an earlier time in the U.S. that has uncomfortable echoes with conversations being held by our political leaders today. Well worth the time to read.

And now, this list is officially closed. New 11 in 11 challenge list is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/105699. I've carried over quite a few books from this list ...