2007 Books In Review

By The Numbers

Number of Books Read: 95
Women Authors: 47
Men Authors: 48
New to me in 2007 Authors: 56
Average Books Read per month: 7.9
Number of Pages Read: 30,794
Average Number of Pages Read per month: 2566
Least Productive Month: October with five (5) books read
Most Productive Month: January, June, and December tied with ten (10) books read

The Breakdown:

Non Fiction: 10

Memoirs: 3
Essays: 0
Biographies: 1
Inspirational: 1
Travel: 1
Crime/Social: 3
Humor: 1

Short Stories: 21

Collections: 1
Single Stories: 7

Fiction: 85

Banned Books: 13
Books from Around the World: 37

11 from Asia
12 from Europe
4 from Africa
1 from Australia/Oceania
7 from North America
2 from South America

create your own visited countries map

Pulitzer Winners: 8
Booker Winners: 5
Nobels: 8 Novels representing 4 authors
Classics: 20

Reading Challenges Completed: 13

Seconds
Something About Me
Saturday Review of Books
2007 TBR
Dystopian
RIP
2007 Reading Through Decades
Nonfiction Five
Southern Reading
Summer Reading
Spring Reading
Winter Classics
Banned Books

Yahoo Book Clubs I Own: 2
Number of Book Clubs I Joined in 2007: 25
Number of Book Clubs I currently belong to: 21
Book Related Blogs I Own: 5
Book Related Blogs I Contribute To: 17
Number of Books I Won in Give-Aways: 2
Number of Books I Snagged for Early Review: 7

Best Book of the Year:

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

My Top Ten Reads of 2007 (in no particular order):

1. The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5. A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
6. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
7. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
8. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
9. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
10.Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell

Books From 2007 I Could Have Done Without:

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller (DNF)
The Maze, by Catherine Coulter
The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
Flea Palace, by Elif Shafak
Everything By Design, by Alan Lapidus
Only Revolutions, by Mark Z. Danielewski (DNF)

Recommended By The Ratings

Five (5) Star Books:

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell
The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak
The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton
The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
The Outlander, by Gil Adamson
The Pearl, by John Steinbeck
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Travels with Charley in Search of America, by John Steinbeck

4.75 Star Books:

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Year of Pleasures, by Elizabeth Berg

4.5 Star Books:

Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood
The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood
The Bone People, by Keri Hulme
Candide, by Voltaire
Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry, by Stephen Klaidman
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler
Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee
Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak
The Echo Maker, by Richard Powers
Fatal Voyage, by Kathy Reichs
Gifted, by Nikita Lalwani
The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck
The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
How to Tell If You Boyfriend is the Antichrist, by Patricia Carlin
Keeping Faith, by Jodi Picoult
The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Other Side of the River, by Alex Kotlowitz
Summer Crossing, by Truman Capote
Terms of Endearment, by Larry McMurtry
The Translator, by Leila Aboulela

4.25 Star Books:

I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb
The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai

Four (4) Star Books:

Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes
Beachcombing For A Shipwrecked God, by Joe Coomer
Birds Without Wings, by Louis De Bernieres
The Blackwater Lightship, by Colm Toibin
The Bright Forever, by Lee Martin
East of the Mountains, by David Guterson
The Emperor’s Children, by Claire Messud
The Evening Star, by Larry McMurtry
Everything’s Eventual: Stories, by Stephen King
Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazzard
Lost Geography, by Charlotte Bacon
I Am The Messenger, by Marcus Zusak
March, by Geraldine Brooks
No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
Slow Man, by J.M. Coetzee
Stolen Lives, by Malika Oufkir
Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Breakdown by Month with Links to Reviews

Books are rated as follows:

5 = Excellent; a must read; highly recommended
4 = Good/Very good; recommended
3 = Okay; Pretty good
2 = Not recommended; boring; didn’t hold my interest
1 = Awful; hated it; probably didn’t even finish the darn thing

January 2007

What a great reading month! In January I read ten (10) novels (all fiction) with an average rating of 4.1 (and that includes the one book I did not finish -Catch 22- and rated a 1). Of the ten novels I read, I rated half of them a 5.0! I discovered several new authors who I will read again: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Markus Zusak, and Sandra Cisneros.

1. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Rating: 5/5
Number of pages: 204
Read for Winter Classics Challenge and The Reading Loft book group
Started: December 29, 2006
Finished: January 2, 2007

2. Half of A Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Rating: 5/5
Number of pages: 433
Read for Bookies Too book group; Listed as one of the NY Times most notable fiction for 2006
Started: January 2, 2007
Finished: January 7, 2007
To read review of this book, click here.

3. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie

Rating: 3.5/5
Number of pages: 184
Read for TBR Challenge
Started: January 7, 2007
Finished: January 8, 2007
To read a review of this book, click here.

4. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

Rating: 1/5
Number of pages: 455
Read for Winter Classics Challenge and Bookies Too book group
Started: January 8, 2007
Finished: DNF
I rarely stop reading a book once I start it; but I quit this one on page 70. Hated it.

5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Rating: 4.75/5
Number of Pages: 251
Read for Winter Classics Challenge and Banned Books group
Started: January 10, 2007
Finished: January 12, 2007
To read a review of this book, click here.

6. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 455
Read for Winter Classics Challenge and Banned Books group
Started: January 12, 2007
Finished: January 18, 2007
To read a review of this book, click here.

7. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 110
Read for: Pleasure
Started: January 18, 2007
Finished: January 19, 2007
To read a review of this book, click here.

8. The Maze, by Catherine Coulter

Rating: 2.5/5
Number of Pages: 332
Read for: TBR Challenge
Started: January 19, 2007
Finished: January 21, 2007
Head hopping, information dumping, plot holes I could drive my car through (especially when it came to law enforcement protocols)…this one was not the greatest. On the plus side, the sex scenes were good *laughs* and it was fast paced. The ending was not believeable in the least. Can’t recommend this one.

9. Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 307
Read for: Reading Across Borders challenge AND BooksAMonth reading group
Started: January 21, 2007
Finished: January 24, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 550
Read for: Reading Across Borders challenge AND Bookies Too book group AND BooksForThyImagination book group
Started: January 24, 2007
Finished: January 28, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

February 2007

In February I read 7 novels (6 fiction and 1 biography), and 5 short stories. My favorite read for the month was Suite Francaise. My least favorite was Zelda. I gave the novels an average rating of 4.25; short stories got an average rating of 4.2. I am eager to read more novels by Irene Nemirovsky, Kim Edwards and Wally Lamb.

11. Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen

Rating: 3.5/5
Number of Pages: 125
Read for: Winter Classics Challenge
Started: January 28, 2007
Finished: February 1, 2007
Not my favorite Austen novel. The first half of the book is rather slow, a bit dry. Luckily for the reader, the second half picks up and moves along nicely. Catherine, the MC, is a silly girl - a bit of a drama queen with a tendency to let her imagination run wild. Austen pokes fun at the novel in this story, and there are moments of humor that gave me a chuckle.

12. Zelda, by Nancy Milford

Rating: 3.5/5
Number of Pages: 383
Read for: TBR Challenge
Started: February 1, 2007
Finished: February 8, 2007
Non-fiction/Biography. To read a review of this book click here.

13. Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God, by Joe Coomer

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 245
Read for: Pleasure
Started: February 8, 2007
Finished: February 10, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

14. Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 80
Read for: Winter Classics Challenge
Started: February 10, 2007
Finished: February 11, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

15. Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 395
Read for: Reading Across Borders challenge AND Bookies Too book group; NYT Most Notable Fiction 2006
Started: February 11, 2007
Finished: February 17, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

16. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 401
Read for: TBR Challenge, BooksForThyImagination, AND The Reading Loft book groups
Started: February 17, 2007
Finished: February 19, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

17. I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb

Rating: 4.25/5
Number of Pages: 897
Read for: TBR Challenge
Started: February 19, 2007
Finished: February 27,2007
To read a review of this book click here.

March 2007

In March I read 8 fictional novels, and one memoir with an average rating of 4.25. Most of the books read this month were by authors new to me (TC Boyle, David Mitchell, Harper Lee, Leila Aboulela, Uzodinma Iweala, Kiran Desai and Sara Gruen).

18. Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 355
Read for: BooksAMonth reading group
Started: February 27, 2007
Finished: March 2, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

19. Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 331
Read for: Bookworms Reading Group
Started: March 2, 2007
Finished: March 4, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

20. Beasts Of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala

Rating: 3.75/5
Number of Pages: 142
Read for: NY Times most notable fiction for 2006
Started: March 4, 2007
Finished: March 5, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

21. The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian

Rating: 2.75/5
Number of Pages: 356
Read for: Bookmasters Book Group
Started: March 5, 2007
Finished: March 9, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

22. The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai

Rating: 4.25/5
Number of Pages: 357
Read for: Reading Across Borders challenge, NY Times most notable fiction for 2006, Bookawards Book Group, Complete Booker Challenge and Bookmasters Book Group
Started: March 9, 2007
Finished: March 16, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

23. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 323
Read for: Reading Through the Decades Challenge AND Mostly Books book group AND Banned Books Challenge.
Started: March 16, 2007
Finished: March 21, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

24. The Translator, by Leila Aboulela

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 203
Read for: NY Times most notable fiction for 2006 AND Reading Across Borders challenge
Started: March 21, 2007
Finished: March 23, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

25. Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 294
Read for: NY Times most notable fiction for 2006
Started: March 23, 2007
Finished: March 26, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

26. Travels With Charley In Search Of America, by John Steinbeck

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 210
Read for: Spring Thing Challenge
Started March 26, 2007
Finished: March 29, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

April 2007

In April I read 7 fiction novels with an average rating of 3.9. New authors read this month included Geraldine Brooks, Thrity Umrigar, Julian Barnes, and Ann-Marie MacDonald - and I enjoyed them all. My least favorite book of the month was a classic: For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway. My favorite read of the month was Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell.

27. March, by Geraldine Brooks

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 273
Read for: Pulitzer Literature Reading Group
Started: March 30, 2007
Finished: April 3, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

28. For Whom The Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway

Rating: 2.5/5
Number of Pages: 471
Read for: Bookies Too book group; banned book; Reading Through the Decades Challenge
Started: April 3, 2007
Finished: April 7, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

29. The Year Of Pleasures, by Elizabeth Berg

Rating: 4.75/5
Number of Pages: 206
Read for: Spring Thing Challenge
Started: April 7, 2007
Finished: April 9, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

30. Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

Rating: 4.75/5
Number of Pages: 509
Read for: Books, Books, More Books, AND the Dystopian Challenge
Started: April 9, 2007
Finished: April 18, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

31. The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar

Rating: 3.5
Number of Pages: 321
Read for: TBR Challenge
Started: April 18, 2007
Finished: April 21, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

32. Fall On Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 508
Read for: Bookworms Reading Group
Started: April 21, 2007
Finished: April 26, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

33. Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 445
Read for: NY Times most notable fiction for 2006 AND Bookies Too book group
Started: April 26, 2007
Finished: April 30, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

May 2007

In May I read 8 fiction novels, and 1 memoir with an average rating of 4.1. My favorite book was hands down - The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. My least favorite read was probably The Art of Mending - but it still garnered a 3.5 rating which isn’t too bad! New authors for me this month included: Jane Gardam, Lee Martin, Cormac McCarthy, Debra Dean, Malika Oufkir and Dana Spiotta. I fell short of my goal to read 13 books this month (but came very, very close to finishing #10!).

34. The Bright Forever, by Lee Martin

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 285
Read for: Pulitzer Literature Reading Group
Started: May 1, 2007
Finished: May 5, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

35. The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 228
Read for: Books, Books, More Books
Started: May 6, 2007
Finished: May 7, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

36. Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 460
Read for: Booker Prize reading group
Started: May 8, 2007
Finished: May 13, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

37. The Art of Mending, by Elizabeth Berg

Rating: 3.5/5
Number of Pages: 237
Read for: Spring Thing Challenge
Started: May 13, 2007
Finished: May 14, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

38. Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail, by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 290
Read for: Bookmasters Book Group
Started: May 14, 2007
Finished: May 16, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

39. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 241
Read for: Spring Thing Challenge, NY Times most notable fiction for 2006, Dystopian Challenge, Pulitzer Reading Group, AND Bookies Too book group
Started: May 16, 2007
Finished: May 17, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

40. Eat The Document, by Dana Spiotta

Rating: 3.5
Number of Pages: 290
Read for: NY Times most notable fiction for 2006
Started: May 17, 2007
Finished: May 22, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

41. Terms of Endearment, by Larry McMurtry

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 410
Read for: Reading Through the Decades Challenge, TBR Challenge, AND Mostly Books book group.
Started: May 22, 2007
Finished: May 26, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

42. Old Filth, by Jane Gardam

Rating: 3.75/5
Number of Pages: 290
Read for: Spring Thing Challenge, Reading Across Borders challenge, AND NY Times most notable fiction for 2006
Started: May 26, 2007
Finished: May 29, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

June 2007

I read ten novels in June - 1 Inspirational, 1 Memoir, 1 Non fiction, and 7 fiction - with an average rating of 3.95. My least favorite book for this month was The Flea Palace, by Elif Shafak. My favorite read of the month was The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo. Larry McMurtry and Anne Tyler provided me with wonderful books to read, as well. New to me authors for June were: J.M.Coetzee, Alice Sebold, Elif Shafak, Paulo Coehlo, Rick Warren, and Alex Kotlowitz.

43. Keeping Faith, by Jodi Picoult

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 422
Read for: The Reading Loft book group
Started: May 29, 2007
Finished: June 1, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

44. Slow Man, by J.M. Coetzee

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 263
Read for: Summer Reading Challenge AND Booker Prize reading group
Started: June 2, 2007
Finished: June 4, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

45. Lucky, by Alice Sebold

Rating: 3.75/5
Number of Pages: 243
Read for: Bookmasters Book Group AND Non Fiction Challenge
Started: June 5, 2007
Finished: June 10, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

46. Flea Palace, by Elif Shafak

Rating: 2.5/5
Number of Pages: 444
Read for: Asian Literature Readers group AND Summer Reading Challenge
Started: June 11, 2007
Finished: June 15, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

47. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 167
Read for: Reading Across Borders challenge
Started: June 15, 2007
Finished: June 15, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

48. The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren

Rating: 3/5
Number of pages: 319
Read for: Non Fiction Challenge
Started: May 1, 2007
Finished: June 17, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

49. Peony In Love, by Lisa See

Rating: 3.75/5
Number of Pages: 280
Read for: Library Thing Early Reviewers
Started: June 15, 2007
Finished: June 18, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

50. The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, A Death, and America’s Dilemma, by Alex Kotlowitz

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 318
Read for: Mostly Books book group AND Non Fiction Challenge
Started: June 19, 2007
Finished: June 20, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

51. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 303
Read for: Reading Through the Decades Challenge
Started: June 21, 2007
Finished: June 23, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

52. The Evening Star, by Larry McMurtry

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 637
Read for: Southern Reading Challenge AND TBR Challenge
Started: June 24, 2007
Finished: June 30, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

July 2007

I read seven (7) novels in July with an average rating of 4.5. My favorite read was Of Mice and Men, but really there were no stinkers in the bunch this month! New to me authors were Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Keri Hulme, and Louis De Bernieres. All authors I would read again.

53. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Rating: 4.75/5
Number of Pages: 487
Read for: Books, Books, More Books AND Reading Across Borders challenge
Started: July 1, 2007
Finished: July 7, 2007
To read a review of this book click. here.

54. The Bone People, by Keri Hulme

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 445
Read for: Bookawards Reading Group, Complete Booker Challenge AND Bookawards Challenge
Started: July 7, 2007
Finished: July 12, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

55. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 105
Read for: Summer Reading Challenge; a banned book
Started: July 12, 2007
Finished: July 13, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

56. Birds Without Wings, by Louis De Bernieres

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 554
Read for: Summer Reading Challenge AND Bookmasters Book Group
Started: July 13, 2007
Finished: July 28, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

57. No Country For Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 309
Read for: Southern Reading Challenge AND Bookies Too book group
Started: July 18, 2007
Finished: July 20, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

58. Summer Crossing, by Truman Capote

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 126
Read for: TBR Books To Share reading group
Started: July 20, 2007
Finished: July 21, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

59. The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 521
Read for: Bookawards Reading Group, Complete Booker Challenge AND Bookawards Challenge
Started: July 28, 2007
Finished: August 1, 2007
To read a review of this book click here.

August 2007

I managed to read 7 books in August .. 6 fiction, 1 non fiction… with an average rating of 4.3/5. My least favorite book was Bastard Out of Carolina. My favorite read was a toss up between How Green Was My Valley and The Country of the Pointed Firs (both classics!). All of the books I read this month were by “new to me” authors!

60. The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazzard

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 278
Read for: Reading the World Personal Challenge (Asia), Extra for Bookawards Challenge AND Booker Prize reading group
Started: August 2, 2007
Finished: August 8, 2007
To read a review click here.

61. Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry, by Stephen Klaidman

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 281
Read for: Non Fiction Challenge
Started: August 4, 2007
Finished: August 6, 2007
To read a review click here.

62. How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 494
Read for: 20th Century World Literature Group
Started: August 9, 2007
Finished: August 15, 2007
To read a review click here.

63. Bastard Out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison

Rating: 3/5
Number of Pages: 309
Read for: Southern Reading Challenge
Started: August 15, 2007
Finished: August 18, 2007
To read a review click here.

64. Gifted, by Nikita Lalwani

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 276
Read for: Library Thing Early Reviewers
Started: August 19, 2007
Finished: August 21, 2007
To read a review click here.

65. Lost Geography, by Charlotte Bacon

Rating: 4/5

Number of Pages: 259
Read for: Reading Through the Decades Challenge AND TBR Challenge
Started: August 22, 2007
Finished: August 25, 2007
To read a review click here.

66. The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 114
Read for: Something About Me Challenge
Started: August 25, 2007
Finished: August 26, 2007
To read a review click here.

September 2007

I read six (6) books in September - 5 fiction and 1 non fiction. My favorite of the month was A Prayer for Owen Meany; my least favorite was In The Country of Last Things. Overall, I rated September’s reads a 4.3.

67. The Echo Maker, by Richard Powers

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 451
Read for: NY Times most notable fiction for 2006, Bookawards Challenge, Saturday Review of Books Challenge, AND Something About Me Challenge
Started: August 27, 2007
Finished: September 6, 2007
To read a review click here.

68. The Devil In The White City, by Erik Larson

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 390
Read for: Non Fiction Challenge AND Bookawards Challenge
Started: September 6, 2007
Finished: September 12, 2007
To read a review click here.

69. A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving

Rating: 5/5

Number of Pages: 543
Read for: Thematic Classics Challenge Yahoo Group, TBR Books To Share reading group, Saturday Review of Books Challenge, AND a banned book
Started: September 12, 2007
Finished: September 21, 2007
To read a review click here.

70. In The Country of Last Things, by Paul Auster

Rating: 3/5
Number of Pages: 188
Read For: Dystopian Challenge
Started: September 21, 2007
Finished: September 23, 2007
Read my review here.

71. The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy

Rating: 5/5

Number of Pages: 321
Read for: Bookawards Reading Group, Bookawards Challenge, Reading the World Personal Challenge (Asia), Complete Booker Challenge
Started: September 24, 2007
Finished: September 29, 2007
To read a review click here.

72. East of the Mountains, by David Guterson

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 277
Read for: Reading Through the Decades Challenge AND TBR Challenge
Started: September 29, 2007
Finished: October 1, 2007
To read a review click here.

October 2007

This was a very slow reading month for me - in part due to taking a two week vacation back East to visit family. I read five (5) books: 1 memoir, 1 humor, and 3 fiction. My favorite read of the month was Steinbeck’s classic: East of Eden. My least favorite read was an early review of Everything By Design. Overall rating for the month was: 4/5

73. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 602
Read for: Read the Nobels Challenge, Something About Me Challenge, Bookawards Challenge, Reading Through the Decades Challenge AND Banned Books Yahoo Group (banned book)
Started: October 2, 2007
Finished: October 12, 2007
To read a review click here.

74. Everything by Design, by Alan Lapidus

Rating: 2/5
Number of Pages: 295
Read for: Early Review for St. Martin’s Press
Started: October 13, 2007
Finished: October 15, 2007
To read a review click here.

75. Everything’s Eventual, by Stephen King

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 459
Read for: RIP Challenge
Started: October 13, 2007
Finished: October 29, 2007
To read a review click here.

76. How to Tell If Your Boyfriend is the Antichrist, by Patricia Carlin

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 112
Read: Just for the Helluvit Challenge
Started: October 21, 2007
Finished: October 21, 2007
To read a review click here.

 

77. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 529
Read for: Pulitzer Project, Pulitzer Yahoo Book Group, AND Bookawards Challenge

Started: October 17, 2007
Finished: November 1, 2007
To read a review click here.

November 2007

 

November was a pretty good reading month for me. I read 6 novels, 2 novellas and 1 short story with an average rating of 4.3. My favorite read was a tie between The Handmaid’s Tale and The Pearl. My least favorite read was The Library Window. New to me authors this month included: Margaret Oliphant, Colm Toibin, Boris Pasternak, and Pearl Buck.

78. Veronika Decides To Die, by Paulo Coelho

Rating: 3.5/5
Number of Pages: 210
Read for: Books In Translation Yahoo Group AND Reading The World Personal Challenge (Europe)

Started: November 2, 2007
Finished: November 2, 2007
To read a review click here.

79. The Library Window, by Margaret Oliphant

Rating: 3.5/5
Number of Pages: 15 (e-text)
Read: for Women’s Fiction yahoo group
Started: November 4, 2007
Finished: November 4, 2007
To read a review click here.
80. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 311
Read for: Thematic Classics Challenge Yahoo Group, Dystopian Challenge, Saturday Review of Books Challenge, Bookawards Challenge AND banned book

Started: November 3, 2007
Finished: November 5, 2007
To read a review click here.

81. The Blackwater Lightship, by Colm Toibin

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 273
Read for: Booker Prize Yahoo Group, Unread Authors Challenge, AND Reading the World (Europe)

Started: November 6, 2007
Finished: November 9, 2007
To read a review click here.

82. Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 559
Read for: Read the Nobels Challenge, Banned Books Yahoo Group (banned book), Unread Authors Challenge, AND Reading the World (Europe)
Started: November 9, 2007
Finished: November 24, 2007
To read a review click here.

83. The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 385
Read for: Banned book, Pulitzer Yahoo Group, Read the Nobels Challenge, The Pulitzer Project, BookAwards Challenge, AND Unread Authors Challenge
Started: November 25, 2007
Finished: November 28,2007
To read a review click here.

84. The Pearl, by John Steinbeck

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 97
Read for: Saturday Review of Books Challenge AND Read the Nobels Challenge
Started: November 29, 2007
Finished: November 30, 2007
To read a review click here.

85. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King

Rating: 3.5/5
Number of Pages: 262
Read for: TBR Challenge
Started: November 30, 2007
Finished: November 30, 2007
To read a review click here.

December 2007

December was a fabulous month of reading for me. I read ten (10) novels and 1 short story with an average rating of 4.3. My favorite read was a tie between A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Outlander. I also thoroughly enjoyed a childhood favorite: The Borrowers. My least favorite read was Hullabaloo at the Guava Orchard. New to me authors included: Claire Messud and Khaled Hosseini.

86. Fatal Voyage, by Kathy Reichs

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 363
Read for: TBR Challenge
Started: December 1, 2007
Finished: December 3, 2007
To read a review click here.

87. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 367
Read for: Something About Me Challenge, Saturday Review of Books Challenge, Reading the World personal challenge (Asia), Winter Reading Challenge, Bookies Yahoo Group, and Bookmasters Yahoo Group
Started: December 4, 2007
Finished: December 8, 2007
To read a review, click here.

88. The Emperor’s Children, by Claire Messud

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 431
Read for: NYT Most Notable (2006), Saturday Review of Books Challenge, Winter Reading Challenge, Unread Authors Challenge (alternate)
Started: December 8, 2007
Finished: December 12, 2007
To read a review, click here.

89. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 220
Read for: Seconds Challenge, Winter Reading Challenge, Bookawards Challenge, Read the Nobels Challenge, Reading the World (Africa), AND Complete Booker
Started: December 13, 2007
Finished: December 14, 2007
To read a review, click here.

90. I Am The Messenger, by Markus Zusak

Rating: 4/5
Number of Pages: 357
Read for: Seconds Challenge, AND Something About Me Challenge
Started: December 14, 2007
Finished: December 17, 2007
To read a review, click here.

91. Hullabaloo In the Guava Orchard, by Kiran Desai

Rating: 3/5
Number of Pages: 209
Read for: Seconds Challenge AND Reading the World (Asia)
Started: December 17, 2007
Finished: December 21, 2007
To read a review, click here.

92. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder

Rating: 3/5
Number of Pages: 107
Read for: Pulitzer Yahoo Group, Pulitzer Project, Reading the World (South America), BookAwards Challenge, AND Winter Reading Challenge
Started: December 22, 2007
Finished: December 23, 2007
To read a review, click here.

93. The Outlander, by Gil Adamson

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 387
Read for: Reading the World (North America), Harper Collins/Ecco First Look Program AND The Pub 2008 Challenge
Started: December 23, 2007
Finished: December 27, 2007
To read a review, click here.

94. Candide, by Voltaire

Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Pages: 130
Read for: ILL Challenge, Banned Books Yahoo Group, AND Winter Reading Challenge
Started: December 27, 2007
Finished: December 30, 2007
To read a review, click here.

95. The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

Rating: 5/5
Number of Pages: 148
Read for: The Reading Loft Yahoo Group AND Bookawards Challenge
Started: December 30, 2007
Finished: December 31, 2007
To read a review, click here.