Empty the Shelf


The Master

Wow, I haven’t posted in a week!  I admit I took a couple of days off and then took an extra day or so to read To Kill a Mockingbird.  I really wanted to take a little time to enjoy the simplicity of this book.  It truly was an incredible read and I’m now quite sure that I had never read the entire book before.  It’s obvious why this book is a classic and why it won the Pulitzer Prize.  It is elegant in its simplicity and is as relevant today as it was when it was published almost fifty years ago. Of course I immediately added the movie to my Netflix queue, so I can continue my love affair with the characters for just a little while longer!

On to the fourth book in THE CHALLENGE.  I chose The Master by Colm Toibin.

The Master

I don’t really remember buying this book, but when I pulled it off of THE SHELF, I saw the reason why I bought it - that small circle that contains the words “Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.”  That gets me every time.  Booker Prize nominees have become one of my favorite reading lists.

I’m excited about this one - it’s a fictionalization of the life of Henry James.  Again, not my usual fare, but it sounds promising and it’s gotten amazing reviews.  I’m really going to try to stay on schedule with this one, which means I should finish it in about 2 1/2 days.  We’ll see!

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On to Book 3…

I finished The Girl Who Played With Fire tonight and if I can manage to start the next book before I go to bed, I’ll still be on schedule!  This follow-up to Stieg Larsson’s first book was, as expected, not quite as good as the first one.  I enjoyed it, but I felt that like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the build-up was a bit long and slow.  It was satisfying in that there were loose ends from the first book that were tied up in this one.  I found myself more and more drawn into the world of Lisbeth Salander, one of the two main characters.  She definitely took more center stage in this novel, which I appreciated.  She’s an infinitely interesting, flawed but incredibly strong female protagonist.  These weren’t the best books and as I said before, they’re quite different than what I usually read but I’m sure when the final book comes out next May, I won’t be able to resist buying it and finishing the trilogy.  I might even buy it in hardcover!

Since I had a bit of a tough time choosing my second book, I decided to leave my third book selection up to randomizer.org.  Whichever number came up, I resolved to read the corresponding book from the alphabetical list, regardless of whether I was “in the mood” for that book or not.

So, the 3rd book turned out to be - To Kill a Mockingbird.

I was actually really excited because I had already thought about reading this one next.  In all honesty, I’m pretty sure I’ve read this book before - a million years ago when I was in junior high or high school.  But I’m also pretty sure that it doesn’t count as a book that I actually read because when I say I “read this book before,” I mean I read it for a class.  That means I read the first chapter, the last chapter, the CliffsNotes and skimmed through it before the test.  I’ve also seen the movie, but I want to be able to truly and honestly say I’ve read To Kill a Mockingbird because it seems a travesty for someone who considers herself to be well-read not to have this one under my belt.  Very excited - bring on Scout, Atticus Finch and Book Radley!  (I told you…CliffsNotes)

Mockingbird

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Second Book Selected!

So I ended up reading the first chapter or two of several books yesterday, trying to decide which one I wanted to read next.  I picked up Spook, A Great and Terrible Beauty, and Me Talk Pretty One Day before deciding on The Girl Who Played With Fire.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read the sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo right away, but as I started to read the other books I realized I wasn’t quite ready to leave the characters just yet.  I’m in the groove of Larsson’s style, so I figured I would just roll with it.  I divided up the book so I can stay on schedule, so I need to get through page 206 tonight and page 411 tomorrow.  That doesn’t seem so daunting.  I’m already on page 76 - so far, so good!

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One down, 33 to go…

I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last night.  I picked it up when I got into bed intending to just read a few chapters but I got sucked into reading it through to the end.  I finished it partly because there’s some disturbing subject matter and I didn’t particularly want to turn off the lights and go to sleep with those images in my head.  It was definitely an engrossing book and certainly not the type of fiction I usually enjoy.  It was a nice departure, though & I’m glad it was recommended by two of my trusted book buddies.  I wasn’t crazy about it when I started it but Shannon promised me that it would get really good.  It took about 150 pages but she was right - it got really good.  I think that’s a lot to ask for - 150 pages before you get hooked, but after reading Lonesome Dove and having to wait about 150 pages before it got AMAZING, I have a lot more patience and faith in the long literary buildup.

Now back to THE SHELF to pick my next book - I better get started, only 92 days left!

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The first book I’m tackling for the challenge is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for the simple reason that I was already reading it when I decided to take THE CHALLENGE.  This may seem like cheating, but it’s not - because I designed the challenge and I say it’s not cheating. It’s technically an “unread” book and as of yesterday when I devised THE CHALLENGE, I was only on page 207 (of a 590 page book).  Since yesterday afternoon, when THE CHALLENGE was hatched, I’ve read exactly 163 pages, so I think it qualifies.  I designed THE CHALLENGE and I say it qualifies. I bought this book right after it came out in paperback, which according to borders.com was June 23rd of this year.  I should mention that I don’t believe in hardcovers.  I’m fundamentally opposed to them.  I don’t dislike them because they’re heavier or more expensive.  I dislike them because they’re just not as aesthetically pleasing as paperbacks.  They’re not as sexy.  You know I’m right.  Deep down, you know.  There is one hardcover book on THE SHELF and coincidentally, it’s the follow up to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - The Girl Who Played With Fire.  There are two simple reasons why I have this book in hardcover: 1) it came out two months ago and 2) it was a gift.  I never look a gift book in the mouth and was so surprised and excited to receive it from my book buddy, Shannon.  She gave it to me as thank you gift after seeing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on my bookshelf.  (Not knowing, of course, that I hadn’t yet read it.)  I think that was the beginning of the idea for EMPTY THE SHELF.  I realized that Shannon assumed I’d read all the books on my shelf and when I stopped to look at how many I hadn’t gotten to…shame.  So thanks, Shann-o, for being part of the inspiration behind THE CHALLENGE that is sure to make me lose my mind.  I can’t wait.

The first book I’m tackling for the challenge is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for the simple reason that I was already reading it when I decided to take THE CHALLENGE.  This may seem like cheating, but it’s not - because I designed the challenge and I say it’s not cheating.

It’s technically an “unread” book and as of yesterday when I devised THE CHALLENGE, I was only on page 207 (of a 590 page book).  Since yesterday afternoon, when THE CHALLENGE was hatched, I’ve read exactly 163 pages, so I think it qualifies.  I designed THE CHALLENGE and I say it qualifies.

I bought this book right after it came out in paperback, which according to borders.com was June 23rd of this year.  I should mention that I don’t believe in hardcovers.  I’m fundamentally opposed to them.  I don’t dislike them because they’re heavier or more expensive.  I dislike them because they’re just not as aesthetically pleasing as paperbacks.  They’re not as sexy.  You know I’m right.  Deep down, you know.  There is one hardcover book on THE SHELF and coincidentally, it’s the follow up to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - The Girl Who Played With Fire.  There are two simple reasons why I have this book in hardcover: 1) it came out two months ago and 2) it was a gift.  I never look a gift book in the mouth and was so surprised and excited to receive it from my book buddy, Shannon.  She gave it to me as thank you gift after seeing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on my bookshelf.  (Not knowing, of course, that I hadn’t yet read it.)  I think that was the beginning of the idea for EMPTY THE SHELF.  I realized that Shannon assumed I’d read all the books on my shelf and when I stopped to look at how many I hadn’t gotten to…shame.  So thanks, Shann-o, for being part of the inspiration behind THE CHALLENGE that is sure to make me lose my mind.  I can’t wait.

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The Books ~ The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson Baltasar and Blimunda by Jose Saramago The Best American Short Stories 2007 ed. Stephen King Casanova in Love by Andrew Miller Don’t Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray A History of God by Karen Armstrong The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai Inkspell by Cornelia Funke Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampa The Man Who Turned into Himself by David Ambrose The Master by Colm Toibin Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Moloka’i by Alan Brennert Mudbound by Hillary Jordan Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout The Orientalist by Tom Reiss Perfume by Patrick Suskind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith Seeing by Jose Saramago Shockwave, Countdown to Hiroshima by Stephen Walker Slowly by Thy Hand Unfurled by Romulus Linney Spook by Mary Roach A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

The Books ~

  • The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson
  • Baltasar and Blimunda by Jose Saramago
  • The Best American Short Stories 2007 ed. Stephen King
  • Casanova in Love by Andrew Miller
  • Don’t Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis
  • The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel
  • Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
  • Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
  • The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  • A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
  • A History of God by Karen Armstrong
  • The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
  • Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
  • Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampa
  • The Man Who Turned into Himself by David Ambrose
  • The Master by Colm Toibin
  • Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
  • Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
  • Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
  • Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
  • Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
  • The Orientalist by Tom Reiss
  • Perfume by Patrick Suskind
  • Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
  • Seeing by Jose Saramago
  • Shockwave, Countdown to Hiroshima by Stephen Walker
  • Slowly by Thy Hand Unfurled by Romulus Linney
  • Spook by Mary Roach
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
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The Challenge

I’m a book lover.  Books were my first love and I was even a lit major in college (for a little while, anyway).  I aspire to one day have my very own library in my house, complete with a library ladder.

However, as I looked at my bookshelves, I’m afraid that I may enjoy buying books a little more than I actually enjoy reading them.  I’ve read a lot of books and I love to read, but I realized that I own lots of books that I’ve never read.  Actually, the number of unread books looked about equal to the number of books I’ve read on my shelves.  I was more than a little embarrassed to realize this about myself.  Apparently I’m quite easily seduced by cover art and a promising story line but don’t always follow through with actually reading the story.

So, I decided to challenge myself to read all of the unread books on my bookshelf before the end of the year.  I extended this challenge before counting the unread books on my bookshelf.  They happen to number 34.  Today is September 29th, which leaves me roughly three months to read 34 books, or approximately one book every three days.  That’s a pretty daunting task but after all, that’s what a challenge is supposed to be, right?

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