Last year my best friend Ai and I began discussing how nice it would be to have a list of books we want to read when going to the bookstore. (We're pretty much too lazy to write it down ourselves...) Then, in January of this year, she discovered goodreads and we basically went hog-wild on marking books we've read and are interested in. Once school started I realized how little I was able to read for pleasure and tried to read 50 books over the summer. Sadly, I only read 35, but have so far found great pleasure in keeping track of the books I spend time with. So, (drumroll please) below is the list of books I have read this year and my rating next to them. I'm practically a teacher so I'm giving letter grades, here is my grading system: A=Awesome, B=Better than Bad, C=Cheesy, D=Disappointing, F=Fail.
January
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark - B+
Consuming Kids: Protecting Our Children from the Onslaught of Marketing and Advertising by Susan Linn - B
February
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - A
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - A-
Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo - B
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - A-
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray - A
March
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw - A-
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray - B-
April
Food Politics by Marion Nestle - B for a bit boring
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - A+ - Hands down, favorite series of the year.
The Poisonwoood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - B+ for boring ending
The Princess Bride by William Goldman - A for "As you wish..."
May
Mindless Eating: Why we eat more than we think by Brian Wansink - A (Really frightening, actually...)
Fat Families, Thin Families: How to Save Your Family From the Obesity Trap by Amy Hendel - C- (BORING)
Turning Japanese by Cathy Yardley - C- (Zero research done... Seriously.)
Peony in Love by Lisa See - A-
Austenland by Shannon Hale - B
The Giver by Lois Lowry - A+
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - B
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale – A
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – A
June
The Last Empress by Anchee Min – B+
Bad Bridesmaid by Siri Agrell - C - Meh.
The Alchemist by Paul Coelho – A
The Piano Teacher by Janice Yee – B
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry – A
Totto-chan, Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi – A
Ever by Gail Levine – A
Messenger by Lois Lowry – A
Not Another Apple for the Teacher – B
Memoirs of a Bookbat by Kathryn Lasky – A
July
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See – A
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James – A
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich – B
The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans – A
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – A
Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell – B
With Violets by Elizabeth Robards – B
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – A-
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen - B-
Enna Burning by Shannon Hale – A
August
Eyes Like Stars by by Lisa Mantchev – B+
Captive of My Desires by Johanna Lindsey – B
The Help by Kathryn Stockett – A
The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri - B-
If I Stay by Gayle Forman – A
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale – A
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones – A
The Favorites: A Novel by Mary Yukari Waters - A
September
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - A+ (Can't wait for the third one!)
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Di Camillo - A
Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Tokunaga - B
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast - A
Beauty Sleep: A Retelling of Sleeping Beauty - B+
October
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer - B+ I couldn't sleep after reading it!
Graceling by Kristin Cashore - A
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata - B+
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell - A-
Fire by Kristin Cashore - A-
November
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George - A like her stuff, want to read more!
When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park - A-
Over 60 books this year... not bad, if I do say so myself. I tend to grade pretty nicely, but there is a reason for that-- I don't finish books I absolutely despise. So I might have started a few books this year that didn't make the list. (Too bad.)
I wonder if I can end this year with 100 books? School is a big roadblock, but I can certainly try.
Off to read more books!
- Catrina
I like your rating system, but what about "N"? "Not unbad."
ReplyDeleteLOL. I like it.
ReplyDelete