Fifty Two Books. One Year.

Literature moves my soul in a way nothing else can. To say that I love to read barely scratches the surface of my obsession with books... I rarely have less than 15 books sitting in a pile waiting to be read. Even though I have a stack of unread books on my shelf, that does not stop me from heading down to Powell's Books to pick up new (and slightly worn) reads (which I will be doing today with my  lovely Emily thanks to a gift card from my cousin). There is a list of about 25 books that I reread each year. I have books stacked on top of pretty much every piece of furniture in my room at this moment and I tend to stash at least two or three books at my desk at work. Also, my best friend is also a book lover, which only fuels my obsession even more and spurs many a discussion about books whenever we are together. 

Okay, maybe I have a problem... :)

But it's my thing. For others it may be hiking, cooking, musical instruments, riding bikes, photography, cycling, or painting. I enjoy other things like baking, writing, and music...  but for me, books are my obsession.

So, at the end of 2011, when everyone else was making resolutions to save money, lose weight, be nicer to people, etc, my friend Mandy and I (being the book lovers we are) decided to make a resolution to start a book challenge for 2012. My goal was to read 52 new books - one book a week. No rereading allowed. I shared my idea with a couple of my other book-loving friends, and they also decided to join us in similar challenges. Emily's goal was to read only new books in 2012, and I am proud of her for finishing this goal (and extremely proud of her for finally reading and finishing "The Hobbit"! Check out her blog post here). Brenda flew past our goal and I believe finished 2012 with a list of almost 100 titles (she's my hero!). 

I am proud to say I also completed the challenge. I ended 2012 having read over 20,000 pages with a grand total of 54 new books. 

It was a great year of books. I didn't branch out to other genres as much as I would have liked (sticking mainly to YA, Fantasy/Science Fiction, and Fiction), but I am pleased with the books I chose. 

Instead of boring you with a long list of books on here, you can visit my GoodReads page to see the complete list and my ratings (should you ever need a book suggestion). But there are a few authors/books I want to highlight here...

Dan Brown

I read "The DaVinci Code" many years ago, but hadn't touched any of his other novels. Thanks to my friend Mandy, I was able to read all of his other books and LOVED them all. I think if I absolutely had to choose a favorite, it would be "Angels and Demons" followed closely by "Digital Fortress". 

Michael Crichton

I love the Jurassic Park movies. I didn't find out until recently that they were based on books! So I had to read them. I flew through "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World" only to discover he had also written "Timeline" - which is another movie I like! So, I had to add that to the list. I enjoyed all three of the books and highly recommend them. I love all the detail in his books (his writing reminds me a lot of Dan Brown). In fact, I just added two more of his novels to my "to-read" stack on my nightstand this week and I have my eye on several more to be added soon. 

Rick Riordan

I read Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series a couple of years ago and loved it. I love Greek mythology and it was a lot of fun to read about the group of demigods led by Percy on several adventures, ending with saving the world. This year I tackled his "Heroes of Olympus" series, which starts not long after the end of the Percy Jackson series and includes both Greek and Roman mythology and a handful of new characters. I am anxiously waiting for the next book to come out sometime later this year. 

I also read his "Kane Chronicles" series (I wrote a short review for the first book here) which is about Carter and Sadie, descendants of two pharoahs from Ancient Egypt. This series has a lot of Egyptian mythology (another subject I am fascinated with!). I read all three books and LOVED them.

While his books are for kids, they are incredibly well written and entertaining. I know several adults who also enjoy these books and have been able to share them with both kids and adults this year. I just read a blog post by Riordan on this very subject on GoodReads. I would like to check out his "39 Clues" series this year. If you (or your child) are looking for a good series to read, I suggest checking out any of his books!!

Non-fiction

I am not a huge fan of non-fiction. I think it stems from the fact that I had to read several non-fiction books when I was younger that were incredibly boring, so it just turned me off of them. But there were two I read this year that I enjoyed immensely. 

"Choosing to SEE"

Mary Beth Chapman

A truly excellent book about the life of Mary Beth from her childhood to marrying Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman, from the birth of their children, to adopting their two daughters from China, and ends with  the months after the loss of her adopted daughter Maria after an accident involving one of her sons. One of my favorite books of the year. The desire to adopt a child has always been heavy on my heart, and this book solidified that desire even more. The Chapman family have started a great organization called Show Hope that helps families who want to adopt internationally. They opened an orphanage in China in honor of their daughter. It's an amazing book that will speak to your heart and bring tears to your eyes!

"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?"

Mindy Kaling

I am a huge fan of the show "The Office" and Mindy Kaling is hilarious as Kelly on that show. So, I saw her book and thought "Why not?". I'm so glad I picked it up. Mindy (after reading this book, I feel she would be okay with me using her first name) is a person I would really like to meet. She's honest, hilarious, and (mostly) happy to be who she is. This was a fun and easy read and gave a good insight into the making of Mindy. I highly recommend it. 

Started, but not finished.

There were three books that I started, but did not finish before the end of the year. Not because I didn't like them, but I just ran out of time.

"World War Z"

Max Brooks

I love all things zombie. Which is weird because no one else in my family enjoys things like that. I'm not a fan of horror movies at all (stemmed from an obsession with them in high school that may have resulted in me starting to "see" things in the shadows at night due to an over-active imagination and too many late nights full of horror flicks), but I enjoy anything about vampires, werewolves, many other supernatural/fairy tale creatures... and now zombies. This book chronicles a zombie outbreak through interviews with many people throughout the timeline of the outbreak. It's fascinating - but a slow read (at least for me). I bought after my friend Emily and her husband read it and gave it a raving review. It's now going to be a movie and yes, I will probably still go see it (even if it has Brad Pitt in it. **gag**). If you like zombies, definitely check this book out. I will be finishing it up in the next couple of months. 

"11/22/63"

Stephen King

My first Stephen King novel! I was super excited to add this book to my 52 book challenge, but started it too late in the year. December was busy, and I just didn't have time to finish the 850 page book. On New Years Eve, I sat on my couch and read all the way up to midnight trying to finish it before the end of the 2012. I still had 250 pages left when the clock struck twelve. It's a great book layered with American history and time travel. I have about 150 pages left, and I can't wait to see how it ends. 

"P.S. I Love You"

Cecelia Ahern

I love the movie that is based on this book. I started the book earlier this year... but had a hard time getting into it and was easily distracted by the many other books I had waiting for me. So I put it down, and regretfully, never picked it up again. It's back on my list of "to-read" for 2013 though, because I know it will be a great book. :) 

 The Lonely Books of 2012

There were so many books I didn't get to this year, and I am a bit disappointed. Here are a few that I hope to get to in 2013:

• "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• "The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone" by Sophocles
• "The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum
• "House Rules", "Salem Falls", "The Pact", and "Handle With Care" by Jodi Piccoult
• "Wildwood" and "Under Wildwood" by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis

~~~

I am going to end this very long blog post with a quote my friend Paul wrote in the book he gave me for Christmas (which might have made me tear up a little bit when I read it)...

Book Lovers - UNITE!

While searching for some inspiration for the design of my blog, I came across a couple of quotes I fell in love with on Good Reads...especially the last one.

“Give me a man or woman who has read a thousand books and you give me an interesting companion. Give me a man or woman who has read perhaps three and you give me a very dangerous enemy indeed.” 

- Anne Rice, The Witching Hour

 

 “I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” 

- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 

  

“I grabbed my book and opened it up. I wanted to smell it. Heck, I wanted to kiss it. Yes, kiss it. That's right, I am a book kisser. Maybe that's kind of perverted or maybe it's just romantic and highly intelligent.” 

-Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

 

I'm pretty sure I'd be classified as a book kisser. ;)

 

The 52 Book Challenge

A friend and I were discussing our desire to read more in 2012. We both love to read, but haven't read as much as we like in the past. She wanted to set a goal to read x-amount of books in one year. After talking about it, we finally decided to do one book a week, so 52 books for the whole year, and blog about each book that we read.

The one rule is that it has to be a NEW book - one that you have never read before.

It can be an genre, any size, any shape, any color. :)

My first book is 'The Maze Runner' by James Dashner

Nerd vs. Geek

This is an argument that is as popular as Pirates vs. Ninjas (even though we all know pirates would totally win!). Some people find being called a "a geek" insulting -- others find "nerd" insulting. 

A friend of mine views it like this:

Nerds are into "software"... Things like books, art, knitting, etc.

Geeks are into "hardware"... Like gaming. computers, and even musical instruments (though music has been said to go either way).

I am a self-embraced nerd, myself...but others are pretty adamant that being called a nerd is an insult. For those who are familiar with the show, "The Big Bang Theory", my friend's husband said that Wolowitz is a nerd and Leonard is a geek .

For those who aren't familiar with this show,  Wolowitz is a creepy engineer - slightly lovable, but creepy - who is one of the main characters of the show.

   Leonard is a more lovable character who is an experimental physicist). 

   
That turned me off of being a nerd almost instantly, if only because I never ever want to be compared to Wolowitz (who isn't even a doctor!).

SO, I decided to Google the definitions of both words to see what the differences were (both definitions were found on Dictionary.com):

Nerd

noun Slang.

1. a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person.

2. an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.

Geek

noun Slang.

1. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)

2. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.

3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

Which one would you rather be called?? I think I am still going to stick with nerd. ;) 

Nerd and proud! 
-M-