Reading update at the end of 3Q

I can hardly believe that this year is now 3/4 over. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner.

In this quarter, I read even more books than in the previous two, completing 37 books and 14,503 pages. I can easily attribute that to the fact that I had a couple of long car trips which gave me plenty of time to read.

69. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A Heinlein (2 July)
70. Sense of Evil, Kay Hooper (3 July)
71. Out of the Deep I Cry, Julia Spencer-Fleming (6 July)
72. Oracle, Mike Resnick (8 July)
73. In the Midnight Hour, Patti O'Shea (12 July)
74. Prophet, Mike Resnick (12 July)
75. The Trouble with Magic, Madelyn Alt (14 July)
76. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (17 July)
77. Star Surgeon, Alan Nourse (19 July)
78. Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews (21 July)
79. Magic Burns, Ilona Andrews (24 July)
80. The Nerd Who Loved Me, Vicki Lewis Thompson (27 July)
81. Old Man's War, John Scalzi (30 July)
82. The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart (2 August)
83. New Moon, Stephenie Meyer (6 August)
84. Love Over Scotland, Alexander McCall Smith (11 August)
85. Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer (12 August)
86. Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer (16 August)
87. The Door Through Space, Marion Zimmer Bradley (16 August)
88. The Bookfair Murders, Anna Porter (17 August)
89. The Last Templar, Rayond Khoury (18 August)
90. Freedom's Price, Suzanne Brockmann (19 August)
91. To Darkness and to Death, Julia Spencer-Fleming (20 August)
92. The Onuissance Cells, Steve Jordan (22 August)
93. On the Trail of the Space Pirates, Carey Rockwell (22 August)
94. Little Brother, Cory Doctorow (22 August)
95. Jean Lorrah Collected, Jean Lorrah (27 August)
96. Earth Has No Sorrow, Michelle Blake (31 August)
97. Shield of the Sky, Susan Krinard (6 September)
98. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett (12 September)
99. Justice Denied, J A Jance (13 September)
100. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch (19 September)
101. Dreamer, Steven Harper (22 September)
102. Finders Keepers, Linnea Sinclair (25 September)
103. Night Life, Caitlin Kittredge (27 September)
104. Nightmare, Steven Harper (29 September)
105. Trickster, Steven Harper (29 September)

There were 10 books which qualified as Chunksters this quarter, each exceeding 450 pages. Stranger in a Strange Land: 528 pages, Twilight: 544 pages, The Mysterious Benedict Society: 512 pages, New Moon: 608 pages, Eclipse: 640 pages, Breaking Dawn: 768 pages, Shield of the Sky: 502 pages, Pillars of the Earth: 976 pages, The Lies of Locke Lamora: 752 pages, and Finders Keepers: 453 pages.

Breakdown by genre

• Adventure: 1
• ChickLit: 1
• Fantasy: 10
• Historical: 1
• Mainstream: 1
• Mystery: 8
• Romance: 1
• SciFi: 14

In early August, I purchased a second-hand Sony PRS 505. It came with a couple of books on it that I want to read before I register it with the Sony store. I've finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora and I want to read Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I've downloaded several copyright-free or creative commons books and loaded them onto the Sony, and I'm all set to go with plenty of books to read, regardless of the format.

So, finishing up the statistics from last quarter's reading...

Breakdown by format:

• Mass-market paperback: 15
• Trade paperback: 1
• eBook/Kindle: 17
• eBook/Sony: 3
• audio book: 1

Sources for eBooks:

• Free downloads from Feedbooks: 3
• Purchased from Amazon: 9
• Purchased from Fictionwise: 4
• Free from author: 1
• Free from TOR: 2
• Unknown: 1

I read through a couple of series during this quarter. In particular, the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer and the Silent Empire series by Stephen Harper. The Twilight books were all purchased for the Kindle from Amazon.com. The Silent Empire books are destined for a swap at BookObsessed.

Speaking of BookObsessed, of the 16 paper books I read this past quarter, ten were offered in swaps or virtual book boxes. Eight were taken and six of those have been mailed and received. Four others are planned to be swapped soon.

105 / 120 (87.5%)

Reading, reading, reading

I've had so much time to read this month due to a week's vacation with much of that time spent in the car driving from San Jose, California, to Sanger, Texas, by way of Colorado Springs. So far, I've completed 14 books this month and am likely to finish at least one more before midnight tomorrow. By genre, they break down to: Adventure (1), Fantasy (3), Mainstream (1), Mystery (3), Romance (1), and SciFi (5).

Without a doubt, the very best book that I have read this month was Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Mr. Doctorow is giving the book away at his blog site, so feel free to grab your own free copy. Doctorow suggests that downloaders can help him financially by buying the paper copy—either for yourself or donating a copy to a classroom. I'm going to make sure that there's a copy of this book in as many nearby libraries as I can. In some cases, it's going to require me to talk with the librarians and try to convince them not to put a donated copy into the library book sale/fund raiser. As soon as the book comes out in paperback, I'm going to work with a Civics or Government teacher in the local high school to try and get the book into the curriculum—with copies for the classroom. Little Brother, along with 1984, sets the stage for discussing the abuse of power (whether sanctioned by the "government" itself or simply by officials or organizations) and the risks of losing privacy and freedoms in a post-9/11 world.

I'm currently deeply engaged in The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Earth Has No Sorrow by Michelle Blake, and High Noon by Nora Roberts. I've dabbled in about six other books and acquired at least six new ones via purchase or trade. I expect to finish at least one of these books by tomorrow night, taking me to 15 books for August and 96 YTD.

2Q 2008 -- Books I have read

It's time to post the books that I've read during the past three months.

34. Oath of Gold, Elizabeth Moon (5 April)
35. Bones to Pick, Carolyn Haines (6 April)
36. On Basilisk Station, David Weber (12 April)
37. Stand By for Mars!, Carey Rockwell (12 April)
38. Danger in Deep Space, Carey Rockwell (12 April)
39. The Honor of the Queen, David Weber (14 April)
40. The Hidden Worlds, Kristin Landon (16 April)
41. 3rd Degree, James Patterson & Andrew Gross (23 April)
42. Out of the Shadows, Kay Hooper (27 April)
43. Touching Evil, Kay Hooper (29 April)
44. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris (1 May)
45. Dragon Harper, Anne McCaffrey & Todd McCaffrey (3 May)
46. The Short Victorious War, David Weber (8 May)
47. Reader and Raelynx, Sharon Shinn (10 May)
48. The Third Wife, Jasmine Cresswell (10 May)
49. The Secret Sister, Elizabeth Lowell (11 May)
50. Frisco's Kid, Suzanne Brockmann (11 May)
51. Forbidden, Suzanne Brockmann (12 May)
52. The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, Lilian Jackson Braun (13 May)
53. Murder Betwen the Covers, Elaine Viets (15 May)
54. Emily of New Moon, Lucy Maud Montgomery (19 May)
55. Black on Black, K D Wentworth (24 May)
56. Stars over Stars, K D Wentworth (26 May)
57. The Miracle at Speedy Motors, Alexander McCall Smith (28 May)
58. Mrs. Fytton's Country Life, Mavis Cheek (1 June)
59. The Bobbsey Twins, Laura Lee Hope (6 June)
60. The Right Hand of Amon, Lauren Haney (9 June)
61. Emily Climbs, Lucy Maud Montgomery (12 June)
62. Soothsayer, Mike Resnick (14 June)
63. In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming (19 June)
64. A Fountain Filled with Blood, Julia Spencer-Fleming (23 June)
65. The Tentmaker, Michelle Blake (24 June)
66. Whisper of Evil, Kay Hooper (25 June)
67. On the Slam, Honor Hartman (27 June)
68. Cooking Up Murder, Miranda Bliss (29 June)

A few more books than last quarter with 35 books, but fewer pages (11,438). I would guess that's because I read several juvenile and young adult books this quarter. I'm continuing to use the page count from the mass market paperback as the number of pages for books I read on the Kindle.

Only three of the books this quarter qualify as Chunksters. Oath of Gold had 501 pages, On Basilisk Station had 464, and The Honor of the Queen also had 464. Interestingly, all three of those were read on the Kindle.

Breakdown by genre:

• Classics: 3
• Fantasy: 2
• Historical Fiction: 1
• Juvenile Fiction: 1
• Mystery: 17
• Romance: 2
• Science Fiction: 9
• Women's Fiction: 1
• Young Adult: 2

Breakdown by format:

• Mass-market paperback: 16
• Trade paperback: 1
• eBook/Kindle: 17
• Hardback: 1

Sources for Kindle books:

• Free downloads from Baen: 5
• Purchased from Baen: 1
• Free downloads from Feedbooks: 2
• Purchased from Amazon: 3
• Free downloads from Amazon: 2
• Free downloads from MobileRead: 2
• Self-made: 1
• Purchased from Fictionwise: 1

68 / 120 (56.67%)

Reading progress - 1Q 2008

Books read so far this year:

1. Victoria and the Rogue, Meg Cabot (1 January)
2. Hand of Evil, J A Jance (2 January, library book)
3. Adventures of an Ice Princess, Liz Maverick (4 January)
4. 1st to Die, James Patterson (7 January)
5. Labyrinth, Kate Mosse (7 January, audio book)
6. Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons, Ann Rinaldi (10 January)
7. Belarus, Lee Hogan (14 January)
8. Enemies, Lee Hogan (16 January)
9. Smuggler's Moon, Bruce Alexander (20 January)
10. The Right Attitude to Rain, Alexander McCall Smith (22 January, audio book)
11. Turquoise Girl, Aimee & David Thurlo (25 January)
12. The Ruby Ring, Diane Haeger (31 January)
13. The Changeling, Kate Horsley (8 February)
14. You've Got Murder, Donna Andrews (9 February)
15. You've Got Male, Elizabeth Bevarly (15 February)
16. The Collectors, David Baldacci (16 February)
17. Stone Cold, David Baldacci (19 February, Kindle)
18. Stealing Shadows, Kay Hooper (22 February)
19. Hiding in the Shadows, Kay Hooper (22 February)
20. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Elizabeth Moon (29 February, Kindle)
21. Mrs. Jeffries Pinches the Post, Emily Brightwell (2 March)
22. A Deeper Sleep, Dana Stabenow (3 March)
23. Snow Ball, April L. Hamilton (3 March, Kindle)
24. 2nd Chance, James Patterson (5 March)
25. Liaden Universe Companion, Vol. 1, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (10 March, Kindle)
26. Thanksgiving, Janet Evanovich (12 March)
27. Between, Georgia, Joshilyn Jackson (14 March)
28. Maelstrom, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Anne McCaffrey (17 March, Kindle)
29. Deluge, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Anne McCaffrey (21 March, Kindle)
30. The Mirror of Fire & Dreaming, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (25 March)
31. Divided Allegiance, Elizabeth Moon (31 March, Kindle)
32. The Careful Use of Compliments, Alexander McCall Smith (31 March, audio book)
33. Because She Can, Bridie Clark (31 March)

That's 33 books in the first quarter, approximately 12,072 pages. I say "approximately" since some of the books are unabridged audio and others are eBooks read on my new Kindle. For these books, I used the page count from the mass-market paperback if the book is available in that format, or the hardback when the book is too new to be out in paperback.

Out of the 33 books, four of them qualify as Chunksters by having more than 450 pages. 1st to Die with 488 pages, The Collectors with 544 pages, Sheepfarmer's Daughter with 512 pages, and Divided Allegiance with 522 pages. Not bad in three months!

Breakdown by Genre:

• Mystery: 13
• Historical Fiction: 6
• Science Fiction: 6
• Chick Lit or Romance: 5
• Fantasy: 3
• Literature and Fiction: 3
• Young Adult: 2

Yes, that's more than 33 because I counted some of the books in more than one genre.

Breakdown by Format:

• Mass-market paperback: 14
• Trade paperback: 7
• eBook/Kindle: 7
• Unabridged audio: 3
• Hardback: 2

33 / 120 (27.5%)

A reading update ...

One goal in 2008, like in previous years, is to keep a list of the books I read. The past two years, I've lost track around the middle of the year and never caught up. Maybe I can do better this year.

So far, these are the books I have finished reading:

1. Victoria and the Rogue, Meg Cabot (1 January)
2. Hand of Evil, J A Jance (2 January, library book)
3. Adventures of an Ice Princess, Liz Maverick (4 January)
4. 1st to Die, James Patterson (7 January)
5. Labyrinth, Kate Mosse (7 January, audio book)
6. Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons, Ann Rinaldi (10 January)
7. Belarus, Lee Hogan (14 January)
8. Enemies, Lee Hogan (16 January)

I swapped Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons in the January Teen/YA swap at BookObsessed, and I had already swapped Belarus and Enemies in the December SFF swap as TBRs. Now that I've finished reading both books, I need to mail them off to Shaunesay. Also, Adventures of an Ice Princess is offered in the January Chick Lit swap, so when that game is over, I'll need to mail it away.

I'm donating Labyrinth to the Sanger Public Library, and the rest of the books are available for swapping. I've listed all the paper books at BookCrossing, well except for the library book.

Chunkster Challenge

The 2008 Chunkster Challenge has been issued. The challenge, for all those who choose to accept it, is to read one "chunky" book each quarter during 2008. To qualify as "chunky", the book must contain at least 450 pages. I figure this isn't going to be too difficult to accomplish since I'm sitting here with two books I'm eager to start reading, Drums of Autumn and The Fiery Cross, which contain 1070 and 1443 pages, respectively.

Books everywhere!

I've resumed trading books online. I used the BookRelay site several years ago, but when I went there, I discovered that it had been dissolved. I found many of the same players now trading at BookObsessed, so I registered and plunged into swapping books. With this has come a need to better organize the books in the house and classify them as available or not. I've cleared out most of the stacks that were all over the house. Every book I've put my hands on now has a BookCrossing sticker in it and has been recorded and classified onto my personal bookshelf. All books tagged as "available" have been packed into plastic bags and removed from my shelves. Those tagged as "to be read" are now filling 3.5 shelves in the bookcase in my living room.

Along with sorting, classifying, and journaling my books, I decided to review some recommended reading lists. The first one I downloaded is The Big Read Top 100. The Big Read series was broadcast on BBC Two from 18 October to 13 December 2003, and three quarter of a million votes were received by the end of the series. I downloaded the list and then marked the ones that I have read with bold text.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

So—I've read 40 of the BBC top 100 books. Not bad. And, I'll look at the ones on the list that I haven't read as strong recommendations.