Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Reading Interrupted

New Books! New Books!  Well, I did have a reading plan...until new books arrived on my doorstep. I did finish reading the short list for the Indie Lit Awards, (and will posting the rest of my reviews soon,) but I have a couple of ARCs to read, and I want to read The Road and finish The Troll Garden.

The first interruption was True Grit.  It had been delayed in coming to me, so I wasn't expecting it to ring my doorbell--I was doing the happy-happy-new-book-dance.  So of course it went to the top of the pile.

Second were the books I needed for my Back to the Classics Challenge.  I'm not very good at finishing challenges to begin with (the deadlines are too forgiving) let alone if I don't yet own the books.  So I bought Watership Down, Lolita, and Gone With the Wind.  Well, it seems that a few other books slipped in with the order (Flipped, The Lover's Dictionary).  Oops.  I couldn't help myself.

By the way, I had no idea that Gone With the Wind was such a hefty tome.  The picture actually makes it look reasonable.  It isn't.  All of a sudden I feel like I have a lot of reading to do.

I have updated my Challenge page, which includes the Back to the Classic Challenge from Sarah Reads Too Much, the Nonfiction Challenge from Past as Prologue (which you should all join me on) as well as all of my self-imposed goals and resolutions.

Oh, and I have more books on the way! (Oh no!) Although I'm fine with some of these going straight to my shelf for now (I want to read all the Pulitzer at some point, they seem to be my pace, so I'm happy to have them on my shelf).  I won Dianne's giveaway (at Ordinary Reader) and went shopping at Better World Books.  I was able to find a good number of Pulitzers on sale (and one book on my goal list)...still can't believe I won the giveaway!  Here's what should be arriving, isn't it an amazing group of books?

MarchMartin Dressler: The Tale of an American DreamerThe Known WorldThe Hours: A Novel
Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)Empire FallsRedemption Falls: A Novel

The Fates Will Find Their Way: A NovelAND (as if that weren't enough already) I discovered the perfect solution to one of my problems.  One of my goals is to read more newly published books, (inspired by the Indie Lit Awards--I want to be able to nominate a good book next year!) but I don't really have the time or inclination to always be searching for the best choices.  I want the more independent, literary type of novels to just sort of be chosen for me and make their way to my doorstep automatically.  Then I discovered Powell's Books Indiespensable program.  Although it is a little steep ($40 every 6-8 weeks) it looked irresistible and I had to give it a try.  It sounds divine: a collector's edition of a newly published, literary, independent type book, along with other goodies and surprises?  Heaven.  Well, hopefully.  My first installment should be arriving before the month's end, containing Hannah Pittard's debut novel: The Fates Will Find Their Way.

Yes, new books! new books!  Now I must get reading!  I have actually already finished True Grit and The Lover's Dictionary (both were great), and I am going to aim to have these others finished by the end of the month:
  - Flipped
  - The Road
  - Both ARCs
  - Some more stories from The Troll Garden

2 comments:

  1. The Hours is simply spellbinding. Gone With the Wind & Middlesex are challenge books for me too. Yikes, not too thrilled to learn GWTW is so long. I'm also supposed to read The Stand (1100+ pages!). Enjoy your new books!

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  2. My copy of GWTW is 959 pages, good thing I'm looking forward to reading it. I do feel like I need to put a dent in that challenge list. If I keep putting it off, it just won't get done.

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