Reading Stats for 2010

 I think my math must be off... Without setting any specific reading goals (or participating in any specific challenges), I somehow have read 95 books. Not 100, or 101, but 95. I just told my BF that I need to read five books before the end of the day. Because seriously, 95?

However, in a flash of true mathematical genius, I present to you the theory that I have in fact actually read 100 books. Here's the break down, followed by my reasoning:

Fiction: 86 books

• 50 mystery/thriller novels
• 45 books that are a part of a series
• 21 southern literature
• 3 short story
• 2 YA

Nonfiction: 9 books

• 5 memoir
• 2 celebrity biographies
• 2 regular biographies
• 1 foodie/travel

Of the above, four were audiobooks and fourteen were ARCs or review copies sent to me by the publisher. So, you're thinking, 86 plus 9 equals 95. No, really, I'm sure that equals 95. Not 100.

However, not included in my totals above are the 15 books that I abandoned this year. Some, I read 30 pages or so. But some (Anna Quindlen's Every Last One comes to mind), I read 100 or more pages. Therefore, I present the theory to you that I read 100 books as a direct result of those 15 abandoned books. I figure that I read at least 1/3 of those abandoned titles, thus my additional 5 books (see? 15 divided by 3? totally equals 5, right?). Therefore, the new equation for summing up my reading in 2010 becomes:

86 fiction + 9 nonfiction + (15 abandoned x 1/3 read) = 100

Definitely 100. Don't you think?

I'd Know You Anywhere Wraps Up My Laura Lippman (Standalone Novel) Reading Streak

I can never remember how to spell Laura Lippman's name. I invariably mess it up on my first typing, then turn to Google for appropriate spelling. Two Ps, not two Ns. I've really been obsessed with Lippman's novels this fall and winter. I have read and reviewed all of her standalone novels, except for Life Sentences, as well as one Tess Monaghan novel I'd missed -- By a Spider's Thread. Given all that reading & blogging, you'd think I could learn how to spell her name. I rely on Google, though, and give my brain a break in the name-spelling department. (The more to focus on her writing, you know.)

I'd Know You Anywhere is Lippman's most recent standalone novel, released this past August. In it, we are told the story of Eliza Benedict, a grown woman with two children whose past has come back to haunt her. More specifically, someone from her past has decided to haunt her. Walter Bowman, the man who kidnapped her more than twenty years ago, is about to face the death penalty for the murder of another girl. He writes to Eliza in the hope that she will do something to help him escape this fate. Eliza has done everything she can to put the past behind her, but this communication throws her back into that time period and memories long repressed begin to resurface.

Not a whodunnit (as we already know that), Lippman's novel is instead a "what-really-happened", for Eliza as much as for the reader. Eliza lives with the fact that she was the only one left alive, the only one Walter didn't kill. Both she and the reader wander down memory lane to discover the details of the decades-old crime and answer questions long abandoned.

I found I'd Know You Anywhere difficult to get into initially. Unlike some of Lippman's other novels, which grab readers by the horns and refuse to let go, I'd Know You Anywhere actually begins with the boring minutiae of everyday family life. Eliza's children are hustled to and from school, practices, etc. with the crime taking a back-burner. But within a few pages, Lippman shows her skill set and draws the reader in, making it impossible to put down. Once again, Lippman explored all sides of human nature, from the most innocent to the most depraved -- sometimes in the same individual. She explores the idea of humanity and the possibility that there is both good and evil in all of us.

I highly recommend all of Lippman's novels, especially this latest one. Coming in January here on A Worn Path is a look at her new Tess novel, The Girl in the Green Raincoat, published in serial form in the New York Times.

A Bookish Christmas List, 2010

The snow here in Tennessee definitely has people thinking about Christmas, if they were trying to avoid it before! Now you can't get away from the fact that the season is upon us, complete with Christmas shopping. Here is my annual list of the books I've wished for:

 Table of Contents: From Breakfast from Anita Diamant to Dessert with James Patterson - a Generous Helping of Recipes, Writings, and Insights from Today's Bestselling Authors by Judy Gelman: Couple great authors with foodie writing, and I'm there. I'm so interested to find out what this book holds inside; hopefully, some recipes inspired by book characters or locations.

Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus: I loved the original book, The Nanny Diaries. I never watched the movie, but they're usually not as good as the book anyway. I can't wait to see what else will happen in the lives of Nanny and the X family.

My Reading Life by Pat Conroy: Conroy is one of the greatest writers around. The fact that he's from the south only deepens my love for his writing. In this book, he writes about how reading has shaped his life and defined moments along the way.

Rescue by Anita Shreve: I don't know the premise for this novel off the top of my head, and to be honest, it really doesn't matter. I've read every Anita Shreve book out there and rarely been disappointed. If it's new from her, I'm reading it.

Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell: Kathy Reichs' Tempe Brennan may be more famous because she's on television, but Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta will always be my favorite mystery series star. The medical examiner is back in the eighteenth novel in the series.

Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger: While Chasing Harry Winston was not a favorite of mine, The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing were both fantastic. Looking forward to this fourth novel from Weisberger.

Body Work by Sara Paretsky: It's cheating a bit to say this is on my Christmas list... It was, but I read it this week while I was out of school for snow. Fantastic read, and a good purchase for any mystery lover.

Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella: Some people think Kinsella's books are too light. I happen to think they're just right. This is her sixth title in the Shopaholic series, written under a pen name. I also can't claim this is actually on my Christmas wish list, as I checked it out at the library today. It definitely was, though, and I can't wait to read it!

Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs: As I mentioned above, this is a popular series. On this book's cover, in fact, is a reminder to buyers that the main character also stars in the Fox television series Bones. I don't watch the show, but I am a huge fan of the books. It's been several months since I finished the last Reichs' novel, so I can't wait to dive into this thirteenth book in the Tempe Brennan series. I  may just get the chance before Christmas, as I also checked this one out from the New Books shelf at my local library.





As the days bring us closer to Christmas, I may also share some book ideas for men. The titles above all reflect fairly female interests; a little variety is good for anyone (or any blog), so keep looking for the books I've looked at for my dad, brothers, and other males I'm shopping for.

Speak Lives Up to Its Good Reputation

This morning my middle school language arts classes had a different sort of bell ringer activity. Usually, the bell ringer asks them to write a paragraph, answer state assessment prep questions, define vocabulary words, or solve a puzzle of some sort. Today I changed things up by beginning the class period with D.E.A.R. time -- an acronym that stands for Drop Everything And Read. In a world of increasingly difficult standards and stacks of official assessments, we rarely take time to do anything but hit those performance indicators. This month we've begun preparing for the 8th grade writing assessment (which comes February 1st), so "hitting it hard" has become an understatement. I thought my students needed a short break, and what better break than reading?

So for fifteen minutes or so at the beginning of class, we all sat perfectly silently and read whatever we wanted to read. I intended to join them -- to show them that, yes, it is possible to actually WANT to read, rather that HAVE to read for AR points or some other such requirement. Having left my current read (Sara Paretsky's amazing new V.I. Warshawski novel Body Work) at home, I turned to my classroom shelves. I ended up reading Reading Lolita in Tehran, which I started years ago and have never finished. But my eyes also lit upon Laurie Halse Anderson's YA novel Speak, and that reminded me that I never mentioned it here.

At the beginning of the school  year, my mom and I went on a mission to outfit my new classroom with a YA library. We pored over many shelves at multiple McKay's locations, and I have a respectable hundred books or so to show for our efforts. Speak was a novel I immediately knew I wanted.  However, it has also been the subject of some controversy due to content, so I felt I needed to read the book before throwing it out there for my kids to read.

Melinda is an outcast who knows exactly what that means -- after all, she used to be part of the "in" crowd. Over the summer, she attended a party and sealed her fate with the worst possible thing a high schooler could do -- she called the cops and busted the party. Now she walks the halls of her high school, not invisible like other outcasts, but hated. Her former friends make snide comments as she seeks a seat in the cafeteria; she is a leper in her classes during "pick-your-partner" activities. She tries to tell herself she doesn't care, but slowly depression takes over her life.

Melinda is befriended by someone who doesn't know any better -- a new girl who has no idea what Melinda did. Heather is determined to have the high school experience captured only in movies, and when her attempts to have Melinda join her don't work, even that friendship seems to wane. As Melinda's depression deepens, it becomes apparent that there are secrets she may have to reveal. Will she find her voice and speak up, or will she allow her depression to pull her under?

Speak was as real a YA novel as one could hope for; Anderson describes high school, with all its intricacies of social levels, perfectly. Melinda's first-person narrative is realistic, deeply sad, and beautiful. Her inner conflict, as well as her conflict with others, is on-point for adolescents caught in that time when self is just being formed and everything seems to be heart-stoppingly important. This is a novel not only for young adults, but also for adults who have any contact with teenagers. Anderson captures the adolescent spirit and reminds grown-ups exactly how devastating high school can be.

Island Girl Intertwines Family Drama with Toronto Island History

Lynda Simmons' latest novel Island Girl takes readers on a trip to Canada and the Toronto Islands, a small clustering of islands just off shore in Lake Ontario. In her novel rich with island history, Simmons introduces the Donaldson women, a group of females full of strength and slightly ornery.

Ruby Donaldson's family has resided on the Toronto Islands for decades; her grandmother first lived in the small house on Ward Island, a house passed down through the generations of females ever since. Ruby, always strong-willed and fiercely independent, has recently been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's, a disease with little hope for a cure. Although she has been on a bevy of medication for some time, the medicine seems to be waning in its attack on her symptoms. Convinced that she will soon lose the ability to care for herself, she attempts to reconcile the long-standing rift between herself and her oldest daughter Liz.

In the process of telling the story of Ruby's attempt to mend her relationship with Liz, Simmons also tells the story of Grace, Ruby's younger daughter -- and the reason Ruby and Liz have been at odds for so long.

Although in another (less-skilled) author's hands a story involving Alzheimer's could become melancholy, sappy, and overly emotional, Simmons wields her pen with grace and aplomb. The result is a carefully drawn story mixed with island history of the best sort (think your grandmother's stories rather than your boring high school history teacher).

Simmons' characters are well-defined, with strong voices that she expertly uses to narrate the story. As a result of the constantly switching narrators, Simmons draws our attention to subtle differences in point-of-view and questions the validity of each character's feelings. By using all three Donaldson women as narrators, Simmons forces readers to question which details are fact and which are opinion, as the story often seems to be influenced heavily by feeling and by which woman is relating the tale.

I found myself frequently using my internet research skills to look up Toronto Islands history as I read Island Girl. I was pleasantly surprised to find information about all of the little tidbits of island history that Simmons includes in the novel. From Babe Ruth's first homerun to the ongoing battle between island residents and airport supporters, Simmons pens a tale of fiction heavily steeped in factual island history -- a combination I absolutely love. This novel made me wish to travel to Toronto and walk along the islands' beaches, ride a ferry, and enjoy a trip on one of the swan boats featured prominently in the novel. One day perhaps I'll make it on a bookish tour of Canada that includes Anne Shirley's Prince Edward Island (a dream since I was a little girl) as well as the Toronto Islands -- and perhaps Tempe Brennan's haunts in Montreal, too.