1% Well Read Challenge 2009

It’s another round of the 1% Well Read Challenge, however this is my first year. I thought of joining in late last year but I was already past the goal by the time I found it.

I’ve been waiting for the new year to start and here it is. You can find all the details HERE.

I’m going to choose Option 1 – Read 10 titles from the original list from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.

1. Watchman by Alan Moore – finished May 23
2. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje – finished October 25
3. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver – finished December 20
4. Atonement – finished June 1
5. Northanger Abbey – finished April 27
6. Gone With the Wind – finished December 31
7. Emma – finished November 23
8. Lady Chatterley’s Lover – finished Sept 28
9. Memoirs of a Geisha – finished Aug 23
10. Roxana – finished Oct 22

Alternatives

• Interview With a Vampire (from original list)
• Wuthering Heights (from original list)
• Mansfield Park (from original list)
• Blonde
• The Blind Assassin
• Life of Pi
• David Copperfield
• Villette
• A Farewell to Arms
• the Hobbit
• Lord of the Rings
• The Bell Jar
• The Graduate
• The Shining

BTT: Collections

• Hardcover? Or paperback?
• Illustrations? Or just text?
• First editions? Or you don’t care?
• Signed by the author? Or not?

I think I have a large mixture of both. I buy most brand new books in hardcover, and if I have a choice in a library book sale or something I will choose hardcover over paperback, but paperback is lighter and easier to carry around day to day.

Pretty much everything in my collection is text, except the children’s books which of course have illustrations.I don’t prefer one over another, but that’s somehow just how it turned out.

I’m not a huge collector like some, so when it comes to getting books that were released years ago, I just go for what’s available, however I know that my library does have a a lot of first editions of books released in the past few years. For example, a good portion of my Sandra Brown and James Patterson collections are first editions because I bought them as soon as they were released.

I don’t think I have any books in my collection that are signed. Maybe one or two. Boise doesn’t have a lot of book signings that major cities do, so the opportunities aren’t there to get signed copies. If I found one somewhere, that would be pretty cool.

Tuesday Thingers: Favorite Genres

Do you have a specialized blog where you only review a certain genre or type of book? If so, what is your favorite thing about that type of book? If not, what is/are your favorite genre(s)? What makes that genre(s) a favorite?

My blog isn’t really specialized in the sense that I only review certain genre’s. I think like most book bloggers, I review or comment on every book I read. I do have a tendency to read more general fiction than anything else, but I try to at least venture out past that some during the year.

Most of the fiction I have been reading lately has been in the crime/cop fiction (ie James Patterson, Michael Connely, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich), but they’re also fun and easy reads. I think it’s my favorite because you get to solve a crime along with the character. Much like a TV show, they are character driven and most don’t make you think too hard and/or have to reflect much on the purpose.