Books Smart

2009 Reading Stats and 2010 Reading Goals

Avory — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:55:12 +0000

I read 100 books in 2009, which was pretty decent, but I was kind of curious about the makeup of those books. So I put together some pie charts and various statistics under the cut. They’re pretty self explanatory; N/A usually means there were multiple authors for a book and so I couldn’t do author data. For 2010, I’d like to read more authors of color, more queer authors (though I’m doing pretty well on that), and more authors that aren’t British or American. I don’t think I’ll actually join the 50 POC authors challenge or 50 queer authors challenge, but I’m moving in that direction.

Books read: 100

Average number of pages per book: 336

Average number of days to read a book: 6, where 1 is start and finish on the same day

My Master Reading List

Avory — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:47:02 +0000

Since Geocities is dead, I’m importing all my reading lists here. I started this page as a challenge to read 50 books in a year. As you’ll see below, I failed in 2007 but succeeded in 2008, and so in 2009 I’ve just been keeping track of everything I read with no particular goal in mind. Below that are some other challenges I’m trying.

Judith’s 2011 Booklist

The goal: This year I’m actually trying to get away from specific goals in terms of total books for the year and focus on quality, rather than quantity. I’ll be looking to read in depth on certain topics with a 10 Book Challenge, and also trying to read more authors of color. I’d like to make some headway on the 100 classics of the past 25 years list below, also. I want to use some of my “reading time” for the New Yorker and learning languages, so though I’ll track my progress here, I don’t necessarily expect to read 100, or even 50 books this year.

The list: Updated below with dates when the book is complete. Books with no end date are not yet complete.

1. Same Sex, Different Cultures [started January 5; finished January 7]

2. Our Bodies Ourselves Pregnancy & Birth [started January 7; finished January 11]

3. Gender Outlaw by Kate Borenstein

4. Mexico Unconquered

5. The Hite Report

6. Sexuality and the Curriculum [started January 21; finished January 25]

7. Sexual Revolution edited by Jeffrey Escoffier [started January 28]

8. The Culture of Fear

9. Stumbling on Happiness

10. Soccernomics

11. The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

12. Feminism for Real

13. Fat Politics

14. Fledgling

Judith’s 2010 Booklist

The goal: No specific goal, once again. Last year I achieved 100 books. This year I’m thinking 50-75 would be a good number, but whatever I read works for me.

The list: Updated below with dates when the book is complete. Book reviews will also be added to the main book review site. Books labelled “in progress” are not yet complete.

1. The New Bottoming Book by Dossie Easton & Janet W. Hardy [started 13 January; finished 15 January]

2. A Pig in Provence [started 16 January; finished 9 February]

3. Conquest by Andrea Smith [started 8 February; finished 9 February]

4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon [started 10 February; finished 11 February]

5. I’m Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown [started 14 February; finished 17 February]

6. A Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes [started 17 February; finished 18 February]

7. What Einstein Told His Cook 2 by Robert L. Wolke [started 19 February; finished 13 March]

8. Merde, Actually [started 14 March; finished 5 April]

9. Absurdistan by Gary Shentyart [started 4 December; finished 25 March]

10. The Monsters and the Critics by J.R.R. Tolkien [started 25 March; finished 7 April]

11. Yes Means Yes edited by Jacyln Friedman and Jessica Valenti [started 5 April; finished 1 May]

12. Dance Hall Road by Marion Douglas [started 7 April; finished 22 April]

13. Zen and the Art of Falling in Love by Barbara Shoshana [started 22 April; finished 23 April]

14. I Am Woman by Lee Maracle [started 24 April; finished 2 May]

15. Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron [started 1 May]

16. Living Artfully [started 1 May; finished 12 May]

17. Get Rich Slowly [started 2 May; finished 22 May]

18. How Much Joy Can You Stand? by Suzanne Falter-Barns [started 13 May; finished 14 May]

19. Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas by Jordan Ayan [started 14 May; finished 18 May]

20. Getting Things Done by David Allen [started 19 May; finished 20 May]

21. Perfect Balance by Paul Wilson [started 20 May; finished 23 May]

22. Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue [started 24 May; finished 29 May]

23. Babyji by A. Dewasar [started 30 May; finished 8 June]

24. Amazing Resumes [started 8 June; finished 10 June]

25. The Full Spectrum edited by David Levithan and Billy Merrell [started 10 June; finished 13 June]

26. Best Non-Required Reading 2008, edited by Dave Eggers [started 14 June; finished 20 July]

26. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin [started 21 July; finished 23 July]

27. Crisis on Centaurus [started 23 June; finished 24 July]

28. Demons by J.M. Dillard [started 26 June; finished 27 July]

29. How Much for Just the Planet? [started 27 June; finished 28 July]

30. The I.D.I.C Epidemic [started 28 June; finished 29 July]

31. A Return to Modesty by Wendy Shalit [started 29 July; finished August 2]

32. The Vulcan Academy Murders [started August 2; finished August 3]

33. Uhura’s Song [started August 4; finished August 5]

34. Bloodthirst [started and finished August 6]

35. The Revolution of Little Girls by Blanche McCrary Boyd [started and finished August 7]

36. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms [started August 8, finished August 10]

37. The Illusionist [started August 10, finished August 12]

38. Cathedrals of Kudzu by Hal Crowther [started August 13, finished August 15]

39. Becoming Justice Blackmun [started August 16, finished August 17]

40. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexei [started and finished August 18]

41. Roar Softly and Carry a Great Lipstick [started August 18, finished August 19]

42. Stop the Next War [started August 20, finished August 21]

43. A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn [started August 22, finished August 29]

44. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith [started August 29, finished August 30]

45. The Dance of Fear by Harriet Lerner [started August 30, finished September 1]

46. Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris [started September 1, finished September 3]

47. The Color Purple by Alice Walker [started September 3; ended September 6]

48. Bliss [started September 6; ended September 8]

49. Trespassers on the Roof of the World [started September 8; ended September 10]

50. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet [started September 10; finished September 17]

51. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver [started September 13; finished September 16]

52. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg [started September 15; finished September 17]

53. Dykes to Look Out For by Alison Bechdel [started September 18; finished September 20]

54. Those Days [started September 21]

55. Ain’t I A Woman?

56. The Color of Violence

57. Whipping Girl

58. Freakonomics

59. The Lost City of Z [started October 6; finished October 12]

60. The Waves [started October 8; finished]

61. Pushed [started October 12; finished October 14]

62. I Don’t: A Contrarian History of Marriage [started October 14]

63. Superfreakonomics

64. This Is Not Chick Lit

65. Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do it by Geoff Dyer

66. The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman [started October 29; finished November 2]

67. American Pie [started November 2; finished November 4]

68. The Survivor’s Guide to Sex [started November 4; finished November 5]

69. London Noir

70. The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud [started 10 November; finished 19 November]

71. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan [started 19 November; finished 22 November]

72. Arthur & George [started 22 November; finished 24 November]

73. The Ethical Slut by Dossie Easton and Janet W. Hardy [started 25 November]

74. Subcultural Reader [started November 29; finished December 3]

75. Sociology for Dummies [started December 6; finished December 8]

76. History of Sexuality vol. 1 by Michel Foucault [started and finished December 8]

77. Jihad vs. McWorld [started December 9; finished December 14]

78. The McDonaldization of Society [started December 14; finished December 15]

79. History of Sexuality vol. 2 by Michel Foucault [started December 15; finished December 16]

80. (Anthropology?) [started December 17; finished January 5]

81. Earth, the Audiobook [started December 19; finished December 21]

82. European Poems and Transitions by Lawrence Ferlinghetti [started and finished December 20]

83. A Far Rockaway of the Heart by Lawrence Ferlinghetti [started and finished December 20]

84. The School for Scandal by Richard Sheridan [started December 20, finished December 21]

85. Equus by Tom Schaffer [started and finished December 21]

86. The Awakening by Kate Chopin [started December 21; finished December 22]

87. Cyrano de Bergerac [started December 22; finished December 23]

88. Maurice by E.M. Forster [started December 23; finished December 28]

89. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton [started December 28; finished December 29]

90. Economics [started and finished December 29]

91. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom [started and finished December 29]

92. The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway [started December 29; finished January 3]

Judith’s 2009 Booklist

The goal: Well there isn’t really one this time around. As you can see, I succeeded with fifty books in 2008! Now I’m just recording what I read for posterity, but you can see some of my ongoing challenges to myself below.

The list: Updated below with dates when the book is complete. Book reviews will also be added to the main book review site. Books labelled “in progress” are not yet complete.

1. Networking Magic [started 31 December; finished 3 January]

2. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman [started 4 January; finished 13 January]

3. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society [started 12 January; finished 13 January]

4. Living Blue in the Red States, edited by David Starkey [started 13 January; finished 16 January]

5. The Spell by Alan Hollinghurst [started 17 January; finished 21 January]

6. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan [started 21 January; finished 22 January]

7. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris [started 22 January; finished 24 January]

8. The Commitment by Dan Savage [started 24 January; finished 25 January]

9. The Innocent by Ian McEwan [started 25 January; finished 28 January]

10. Between Women by Sharon Marcus [started 28 January; finished 31 January]

11. Yes Means Yes! by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti [started 31 January; finished 5 February]

12. Critical Race Feminism: A Reader edited by Adrien Wing [started 6 February; finished 28 February]

13. Against Love by Laura Kipnis [started and finished 28 February]

14. Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti [started 1 March; finished 2 March]

15. Sullivan’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank [started 2 March; finished 5 March]

16. The War on Choice by Gloria Fedt [started 5 March; finished 7 March]

17. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio [started 7 March; finished 8 March]

18. Naomi and Ely’s No-Kiss List by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn [started and finished 8 March]

19. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron [started 9 March; finished 10 March]

20. Two for the Road [started and finished 11 March]

21. Echo by Francesca Lia Block [started and finished 14 March]

22. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares [started and finished 14 March]

23. Financial Shock by Mark Zandi [started 15 March; finished 20 March]

24. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares [started 20 March; finished 24 March]

25. Global Critical Race Feminism: An International Reader edited by Adrien Katherine Wing [started 23 March; finished 13 January]

26. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters [started 25 March; finished 27 March]

27. Anything But Straight by Wayne Beser [started 27 March; finished 28 March]

28. The Bone People by Kerri Hulme [started 28 March; finished 15 April]

29. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson [started 1 April; finished 2 April]

30. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs [started and finished 7 April]

31. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan [started 10 April; finished 12 April]

32. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien [started 15 April; finished 17 April]

33. Wetlands by Charlotte Roche [started and finished 17 April]

34. Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block [started 18 April; finished 19 April]

35. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini [started 20 April; finished 22 April]

36. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson [started 22 April; finished 24 April]

37. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith [started 24 April; finished 27 April]

38. How to Paint Sunlight by Lawrence Ferlinghetti [started and finished 25 April]

39. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O’Neill [started 28 April; finished 10 May]

40. I Am America, and So Can You! by Steven Colbert [started 29 April; finished 1 May]

41. The Story of Britain by Fraser [started 3 May; finished 28 May]

42. The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti [started 7 May; finished 12 May]

43. She’s Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan [started 13 May; finished 14 May]

44. Getting In by James Finney Boylan [started 15 May; finished 16 May]

45. The God of Small Things by Arunhati Roy [started 18 May; finished 22 May]

46. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks [started and finished 23 May]

47. Evening Class by Maeve Binchy [started 26 May; finished 29 May]

48. Communion by bell hooks [started 29 May]

49. Save the World on Your Own Time by Stanley Fish [started 29 May; finished 30 May]

50. I’m the Teacher, You’re the Student by Patrick Allitt [started 30 May; finished 3 June]

51. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris [started 31 May; finished 1 June]

52. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien [started 1 June; finished 5 August]

53. The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career [started 4 June; finished 6 June]

54. Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg [started 6 June; finished 9 June]

55. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell [started 9 June; finished 10 June]

56. Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell [started 10 June; finished 24 June]

57. Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace [started 10 June; finished 15 June]

58. Secret Ingredient by the New Yorker [started 15 June; finished 3 July]

59. Fight Like a Girl by Megan Seely [started 16 June; finished 17 June]

60. The Female Thing by Laura Kipnis [started 17 June; finished 18 June]

61. Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy [started 18 June; finished 20 June]

62. Enduring Love by Ian McEwan [started 20 June; finished 24 June]

63. From Student to Scholar by Steven Cahn [started and finished 25 June]

64. Everything You Know About Sex is Wrong edited by Russ Kick [started 26 June; finished 8 July]

65. Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella [started 1 July; finished 6 August]

66. Chasing the American Dyke Dream: Homestretch, edited by Susan Fox Rogers [started 3 July; finished 4 July]

67. Queer Studies edited by Brett Beemyn and Mickey Eliason [started and finished 4 July]

68. French Milk by Lucy Knisley [started and finished 5 July]

69. Dude, You’re a Fag by C.J. Pescoe [started and finished 5 July]

70. Jane Sexes It Up [started 7 July; finished 9 July]

71. Manstealing for Fat Girls by Michelle Embree [started 9 July; finished 10 July]

72. Best American Non-Required Reading of 2008, edited by Dave Eggers [started 10 July; finished 11 July]

73. The BUST Guide to the New Girl Order [started 11 July; finished 12 July]

74. Real Rape by Susan Estrich [started and finished 13 July]

75. Date Rape edited by Leslie Francis [started 13 July; finished 14 July]

76. My Little Red Book [started 14 July; finished 15 July]

77. Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity by Robert Jensen [started 15 July; finished 16 July]

78. Birds of America by Lorrie Moore [started 16 July; finished 18 July]

79. My Last Supper edited by Melanie Dunea [started and finished 18 July]

80. Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce [started 18 July; finished 20 July]

81. The Meaning of Wife [started 20 July]

82. Tortilla Curtain [started 21 July]

83. The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst [started 28 July; finished 8 August]

84. Our Bodies, Ourselves [started 8 August; finished 14 September]

85. Geography Club by Brent Hartinger [started and finished 12 August]

86. Hero by Perry Moore [started 13 August; finished 23 August]

87. Waiter Rant by The Waiter [started 17 August; finished 22 August]

88. Confessions of a Closet Master Baker by Gensine Bullock [started 23 August; finished 24 August]

89. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert [started 24 August; finished 27 August]

90. Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin [started 25 August; finished 15 September]

91. The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs [started 27 August; finished 6 September]

92. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse [started 28 August; finished 9 October]

93. Manifesta by Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner [started 29 August]

94. I’ll Scream Later by Marlee Matlin [started 30 August; finished 7 September]

95. Bitchfest [started 14 August; finished 15 August]

96. The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason [started 20 September; finished 21 September]

97. Letter from America by Alistair Cooke [started 22 September; finished 9 October]

98. Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller [started 10 October; finished 11 October]

99. City of Falling Angels [started 12 October; finished 25 October]

100. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell [started 25 October; finished 28 October]

101. The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr [started 29 October; finished 5 December]

102. Absurdistan by Gary Shentyart [started 4 December]

103. My Lesbian Husband by Barrie Jean Borich [started 6 December; finished 23 December]

104. Different Loving by Gloria Brame [started 24 December; finished 27 December]

105. First Love, Last Rites by Ian McEwan [started 28 December; finished 30 December]

Judith’s 50 Books in 2008 Challenge

The goal: To read 50 books in the year 2008, since I completely failed at reading 50 books in 2007.

The list: Updated below with summaries when the book is complete. Book reviews will also be added to the main book review site. Books labelled “in progress” are not yet complete.

1. Saturday by Ian McEwan [started 31 December; finished 5 January]

2. Understanding Globalization by Robert K. Schaeffer [started 12 January; finished 21 January]

3. Rethinking Globalization by Nick Bisley [started 23 January; finished 5 February]

4. Hood by Emma Donoghue [started 5 Feburary; finished 16 February]

5. The Michigan Affirmative Action Cases by Barbara A. Perry [started 18 February; finished 3 March]

6. Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl [started 4 March; finished 6 March]

7. Soccer Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper [started 7 March; finished 26 March]

8. Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler [started 27 March; finished 31 March]

9. Sexuality and the Law edited by Vanessa Munro and Carl Stychin [started 1 April; finished 2 May]

10. The Whole Lesbian Sex Book by Felice Newman [started 23 April; finished 6 May]

11. Comfort Food [started 6 May; finished 10 May]

12. The On Our Backs Guide to Lesbian Sex [started 7 May; finished 20 May]

13. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollingshurst [started 14 May; finished 7 June]

14. The Costs of War by Richard Falk [started 8 June; finished 1 July]

15. Stir-Fry by Emma Donoghue [started and finished 2 July]

16. Working in Language and Law: A German Perspective by Hannes Kniffka [started 3 July; finished 17 July]

17. Best Lesbian Bondage Erotica edited by Tristan Taormino [started 3 July; finished 17 July]

18. Stonewall by Martin Duberman [started 18 July; finished 20 July]

19. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution by David Carter [started 20 July; finished 26 July]

20. The Question of Equality: Lesbian and Gay Politics in America Since Stonewall edited by David Deitcher [started 27 July; finished 12 August]

21. Come Out Fighting: A Century of Essential Writing on Gay & Lesbian Liberation edited by Chris Bull [started 12 August; finished 15 August]

22. The Practice of Human Rights: Tracking Law Between the Global and the Local edited by Mark Goodale and Sally Engle Merry [started 16 August; finished 7 September]

23. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan [started 7 September; finished 9 September]

24. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage by Nancy D. Polikoff [started 14 September; finished 18 September]

25. The Road by Cormac McCarthy [started 19 September; finished 23 September]

26. Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas [started 23 September; finished 24 September]

27. Long Way Gone by Ishmael Baeh [started 25 September; finished 9 October]

28. On Our Backs: The Best Erotic Fiction edited by Linsday McClune [started 12 October; finished 16 October]

29. Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg [started 17 October; finished 18 October]

30. A New World Order by Anne-Marie Slaughter [started 19 October; finished 4 November ]

31. Your Name Written on Water by Irene Gonzalez-Frei [started 7 November; finished 12 November]

32. Everybody Into the Pool: True Tales by Beth Lisick [started 12 November; finished 14 November]

33. International Human Rights Law: Returning to Universal Principles by Mark Gibney [started 17 November; finished 19 November]

34. Judging Russia: Constitutional Court in Russian Politics: 1990-2006 by Alexei Trochev [started 20 November; finished 7 December]

35. Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks [started and finished 7 December]

36. Islands by Anne Rivers Siddons [started 7 December; finished 11 December]

37. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf [started 11 December; finished 13 December]

38. The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater [started 14 December; finished 17 December]

39. Wide Awake by David Levithan [started and finished 17 December]

40. Curious Wine by Katharine V. Forrest [started 18 December; finished 19 December]

41. The Kid by Dan Savage [started 19 December; finished 20 December]

42. Are We There Yet? by David Levithan [started and finished 21 December]

43. Best Lesbian Love Stories 2005 [started 21 December; finished 22 December]

44. Seasonal Fires by Ingrid de Kok [started 23 December, finished 24 December]

45. Homo Domesticus: Notes from a Same-Sex Marriage by David Valdes Greenwood [started 24 December; finished 25 December]

46. Daughters of a Coral Dawn by Katherine V. Forrest [started and finished 27 December]

47. Hitched! Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall edited by Cheryl Dumesnil [started 27 December; finished 29 December]

48. The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan [started and finished 29 December]

49. Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World by Sarah Vowell [started 30 December; finished 31 December]

50. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan [started and finished 31 December]

Judith’s 50 Books in 2007 Challenge

The goal: To read 50 books in the year 2007.

The list: Updated below with summaries when the book is complete. Book reviews will also be added to the main book review site. Books labelled “in progress” are not yet complete.

1. Possesion by A.S. Byatt [in progress--started 2 January]

2. The Master by Colm Toibin [started in January; finished 23 July]

3. Naked Pictures of Famous People by John Stewart [started in January; finished April 28th]

4. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalisation by Frank Foere [started 24 March; finished 29 March]

5. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin [started 1 April; finished 5 April]

6. The Russian Debutante’s Handbook by Gary Shteyngart [started 5 April; finished 9 May]

7. IHOP Papers by Ali Liebegott [started in June; finished 23 July]

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling [started and finished 24 July]

9. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi [started 25 July; finished 20 August]

10. Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America by Dan Savage [started 20 August; finished 23 August]

11. The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell [started 24 August, finished 30 August]

12. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin [started 30 August, finished 3 September]

13. Atonement by Ian McEwan [started 3 September; finished 17 December]

14. Art and Obscenity by Kristin Mey [started 24 November; finished 13 December]

15. My Legendary Girlfriend by Mike Gayle [started 17 December; finished 19 December]

16. Of Swords and Shadows [started 20 December; finished 24 December]

17. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer [started 23 December; finished 12 January]

18. 2DO Before You Die [started 29 December; finished 31 December]

Judith’s Read the Booker Prize Challenge

The goal: To read all the Man Booker Prize winners before I die.

The list: All winners are listed below. A strike through indicates a finished book.

1969: P.H. Newby, Something to Answer For

1970: Bernice Rubens, The Elected Member

1971: V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State

1972: John Berger, G

1973: J.G. Farrell, Siege of Krishnapur

1974: Stanley Middleton, Holiday

1975: Nadine Gordimer, The Conservationist

1975: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Heat and Dust

1976: David Storey, Saville

1977: Paul Scott, Staying On

1978: Iris Murdoch, The Sea, the Sea

1979: Penelope Fitzgerald, Offshore

1980: William Golding, Rites of Passage

1981: Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children

1982: Thomas Keneally, Schindler’s Ark

1983: J.M. Coetzee, Life and Times of Michael K.

1984: Anita Brookner, Hotel Du Lac

1985: Keri Hulme, Bone People

1986: Kingsley Amis, The Old Devils

1987: Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger

1988: Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda

1989: Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day

1990: A.S. Byatt, Possession

1991: Ben Okri, The Famished Road

1992: Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient

1992: Barry Unsworth, Sacred Hunger

1993: Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

1994: James Kelman, How Late It Was, How Late

1995: Pat Barker, The Ghost Road

1996: Graham Swift, Last Orders

1997: Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

1998: Ian McEwan, Amsterdam

1999: J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace

2000: Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin

2001: Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang

2002: Yann Martel, Life of Pi

2003: DBC Pierre, Vernon God Little

2004: Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty

2005: John Banville, The Sea

2006: Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss

2007: Anne Enright, The Gathering

2008: Aravind Adiga, White Tiger

2009: Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

Judith’s Top 100 Classics of the Past 25 Years Challenge

The goal: To read all of EW’s Top 100 “Classics” of the Past 25 Years in the next 25 years (by 2034).

The list: All the books are listed below. A strike through indicates a finished book.

1. The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006)

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)

3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)

4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)

5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)

6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)

7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)

8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)

9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)

10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)

11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)

12. Blindness, Josï¿½ Saramago (1998)

13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)

14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)

15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)

16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)

17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcï¿½a Mï¿½rquez (1988)

18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)

19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)

20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)

21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)

22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Dï¿½az (2007)

23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)

24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)

25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)

26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)

27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)

28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)

29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)

30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)

31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)

32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)

33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)

34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)

35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)

36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)

37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)

38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)

39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)

40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)

41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)

42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)

43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)

44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)

45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)

46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)

47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)

48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)

49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)

50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)

51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)

52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)

53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)

54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)

55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)

56. The Night Manager, John le Carrï¿½ (1993)

57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)

58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)

59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)

60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)

61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)

62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)

63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)

64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)

65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)

66. A Supposedly Fun Thing Iï¿½ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)

67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)

68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)

69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)

70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)

71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)

72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)

73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)

74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)

75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)

76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)

77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)

78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)

79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)

80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)

81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)

82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)

83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)

84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)

85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)

86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)

87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)

88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)

89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)

90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)

91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)

92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)

93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)

94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)

95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)

96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)

97. Jesusï¿½ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)

98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)

99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)

100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

Three Feminist Book Recommendations

Avory — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:20:42 +0000

Manifesta by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards: I finished it last week, and I would definitely recommend it to those who want a good Third Wave overview. There’s a lot of emphasis on feminist history and the relationships between generations, which to me is more interesting than a simple timeline of waves. They do a good job at showing, not telling, interweaving stories throughout the book.

Our Bodies, Ourselves (the new edition): This is a bit of a mixed review. I recommend it, because it’s huge and comprehensive and has a lot of great charts that lay out things we need to know about everything from anatomy to nutrition to STIs. What I don’t like, and it’s not really a complaint because these things are important to women, but… well, what I don’t like is that the book made me feel quite isolated. A lot of space is dedicated to menstruation (I don’t menstruate), sex with men (don’t do that one either), and pregnancy/children (not interested). They do make an effort to be very inclusive, which I like, but there were things that got to me, like the separate chapters for relationships with men and relationships with women. The organization didn’t make a lot of sense, and it was odd the way they did the sections. That said, it’s a great reference guide to keep around for your body-related questions.

Bitchfest (anthology): Oh, hells to the fucking yeah. This collection of essays includes cultural criticism from a feminist perspective over ten years of Bitch magazine’s existence (1996-2006), covering all sorts of topics. I love the women who submitted essays, and I love the range of topics included. There are plenty of things you wouldn’t necessarily think about, but it’s accessible to someone who isn’t a big pop culture fan as well. It covers topics from lesbian novels to slash fanfiction to the Guerilla Girls, and is a must read for young feminists.

In the Reading Queue

Avory — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:08:55 +0000

I haven’t actually finished that many books since the last update, though I am currently reading five. Of the books I did finish, I liked a few. Hero by Perry Moore is a novel about a gay teenager dealing with homophobia and questions in his family’s past while auditioning to be part of a superhero league in his city. I thought it was fun and at times insightful. I’ve wanted to read Alan Hollinghurst’s most popular novel, The Swimming-Pool Library, for a while now. I thought that it was good, yes, but not as intriguing as Line of Beauty. This one takes place in a pre-AIDS world and it seems a little jumbled, meandering at times. I listened to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love on audiobook, and I really like her reading style, as well as the book itself. Maybe it’s just that I’m a fan of travel memoirs, but I found it a really nice relaxing read.

So right now, as I said, I’m on five different books. I’m about halfway through A.J. Jacobs’ The Know-It-All, a book about reading the encyclopedia that is rather boring and self-involved. I don’t recommend it. On audiobook, I’m listening to Kate Mosse’s Sepulchre. I loved her first novel but I’m not quite into this one. Then on e-book, I’m reading Ursula K. LeGuin’s Left Hand of Darkness, which is really intriguing so far. I like it a little bit better than the Earthsea cycle. To continue my feminist education, I’m about fifty pages into Manifesta by Jennifer Baumgardener and Amy Richards. It’s one of the better Third Wave books I’ve read, maybe a bit of a repeat on things I already knew at times but well-written. And finally, I’m maybe 75 pages into Marlee Matlin’s autobiography, I’ll Scream Later. I like how she breaks the chapters into short chunks, and I was surprised to find that it is a proper autobiography, not just a tell-all book, after all the press about her molestation and drug abuse. She’s my favourite actress, so I’m glad to find that I like the book.

Finishing Lord of the Rings & Audiobooks

Avory — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:19:12 +0000

I finished re-reading The Lord of the Rings yesterday. I had forgotten some of the more fabulous moments towards the end of Return of the King, so it was really nice to read them again. I think Faramir/Eowyn is a bit contrived, but I love the Faramir character and I especially love the way Aragorn goes about reclaiming the kingship. Also one of my favorite funny moments is the Warden of the Houses of Healing going on and on about all the names of aethelas and Aragorn’s response when Merry wants pipeweed. Those books are always worth a re-read.

On another note, I thoroughly do not recommend audiobook reader Kate Reading. I just finished her narration of Sophie Kinsella’s Can You Keep a Secret? and though the book itself was positively awful, that horrible grating voice made it even worse. I almost wonder if her accent is faked or at least exaggerated purposefully. Bleh.

A fascinating look at Christian patriarchy

Avory — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:18:57 +0000

I wasn’t sure I was going to have time to read Kathryn Joyce’s Quiverfull before my move to Baltimore next Wednesday, but I’m so glad I did. I’m only 50 pages in, but I’m finding Joyce’s study of the Christian patriarchy movement fascinating. Most of what I’ve read about the religious right turns on specific political issues – abortion, gay marriage, abstinence and the purity movement, the ex-gay movement, the so-called “Christian feminism” – rather than on the more fundamental question of how patriarchy is being established and re-established in the evangelical movement. Joyce delves into the origins of this recent trend in re-establishing the dominant husband/submissive wife model, as well as its position in the broader evangelical movement to bring American society “back to God.”

What I’ve read so far has focused on homeschooling and organizations that try to instill particular values in women so that they will desire to take on “Christian” gender roles. I find this really interesting because I have a few friends who were raised in this model, and I never knew much about it, or understood how young women are taught to buy into it. It goes beyond anti-sexuality messages, and extends to the whole structure of society – to patriarchy. I have a vague idea that my (eventual) dissertation will focus on patriarchy, specifically on how education and media notions of gender and sexuality inform adult understandings of sexual violence. Now that I think about it, religion also probably plays a big role for at least some men and women. I’m looking forward to reading more.

Thoughts on Two Essays Related to Date Rape

Avory — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:30:17 +0000

I’m reading an anthology on date rape, edited by Leslie Francis, and I was particularly struck by the first two articles. The first, by Lois Pineau, proposes a new communicative model of sexuality to replace the contract model frequently used in understanding sexual relations in rape cases. According to the contract model, the idea is that if the victim consented, then a contract was established and the perpetrator did nothing wrong. Pineau argues that this allows perpetrators (males) to get away with a lot because the evidentiary standard for showing consent is relatively low. The alternative she suggests is a communicative model, where sexuality is thought of not as a contractual relationship but as something akin to friendship or conversation. Under this model, the presumption would be nonconsent in the case of any noncommunicative, aggressive sexual interaction. The defendant would then have to offer a reasonable explanation for his belief that the victim was consenting, despite the lack of communication between the two. I like this idea, because it encourages communication and makes it more difficult to argue “I thought she was consenting.” I also think, based on some psychological pieces I’ve read, that many men would be less likely to rape if the situation was not “blurry,” as I’ve read quite a few accounts of men who seem to honestly believe that their behavior was okay, based on certain actions or words of the victim. In an open, honest, complete dialogue, they would have more trouble convincing themselves that it was okay to force sexual contact on the victim.

The second piece in the anthology, then, is David M. Adams’ critique of Pineau’s piece. He has two main objections. One is that verbal communication is not always necessary – that men might reasonably rely on other indicators such as body language and that given the difference in how the genders communicate we should not dismiss these indicia – and the other is that verbal communication is not always sufficient – in other words, a woman might say one thing and truly feel another. I think that both these two objections could be met by a look at BDSM sexuality.

In arguing that verbal communication is not always necessarily, Adams points out that erotic communication is often complex and that a “checklist” would take away from the sexiness of it; that the most unambiguous form of expressing desires, literally writing them down and checking them off, takes all the romance out of the equation. In fact, this isn’t true at all. Many BDSM couples in fact use a checklist – before the fact. This establishes some reasonable assumptions, because partners are aware of likes and dislikes in advance. Further, the partners are not bound by these preferences – they are free to use a clear verbal communication, in the form of a safeword, to say no. This kind of verbal system makes it very clear when non-consent is established. The “she said no but I thought she meant yes” strategy doesn’t fly, because there is one word that means “I no longer consent, and this is not up for debate.” Though it’s unlikely that all couples would establish a safeword, I do think a similar model of communication both before and during erotic encounters can make the experience both sexy and mutual. I’m also bothered by Adams example of a man establishing consent based on a look in the woman’s eye versus the example of a woman deciding not to physically resist based on a look in a man’s eye that provokes fear. He uses this example to argue that feminists can’t have it both ways – if option B is allowed, then so too option A. I think this is absolutely ridiculous. There’s a big difference between establishing consent based on a look in someone’s eye, and making the decision not to affirmatively ask, and feeling instinctive, gut, fear based on a look. Any look at the way women are raised in this society, and the fears men instil in us from a young age, would prove this point.

Finally, I also think the BDSM model is instructive on Adams’ other argument, that someone can say one thing and mean another. In any communicative system of sexuality, part of the deal is an implicit agreement to be open and honest in communication. This may mean that things move slower, and one or both parties may have some issues to get past in developing trust and an ability to be open. But I think such a model entails responsibilities for both partners – first, to ask questions and affirmatively establish the partner’s desire, which includes paying attention to any red flags that come up, such as discomfort in the conversation itself; second, to be open and honest about one’s own desires, and to refuse to go forward with a sexual encounter if one is unable to do so. Of course, without such a system, the fact is that there will be cases where a person says “yes” in an affirmative, enthusiastic way, not really wanting a sexual encounter. In such a case, it’s hard to blame the other party – and I think the communicative model accounts for this, in that when genuine communication and affirmative assent is established, there is no rape. But I think what it means for the big picture is that as sexual partners we need to pay close attention to how our partners communicate consent, and be on the lookout for signs that it is not enthusiastic. At the same time, as a culture, we need to work on making it easier for women, especially, to say “no,” and not make genuine feelings about sex something that women need to be embarrassed about or feel a need to keep secret.

An Initial Exposure to Queer Theory

Avory — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:01:14 +0000

I’ve been reading a lot since I finished Secret Ingredients on Friday, or more importantly since I finished my research assistant position. Even though I have a lot on my calendar for the next two and a half weeks leading to my move (from Iowa City to Baltimore), it’s so refreshing to not worry about that three hour chunk of work each day, or feel guilty because I haven’t completed it yet. All the reading is also sparking my desire to start writing again, anything from short stories to editing my novels to revisiting poetry. I’m keeping a physical journal, which is an occupation that normally only lasts a few weeks, but I find that if I don’t try to write daily, or write a certain amount, but just pick it up at random, I do better.

Anyway, after a kind of so-so collection of essays by lesbians on “home,” Saturday I decided to read an anthology called Queer Studies that I’ve been meaning to pick up for a while. Though I’m really interested in LGBT issues, I don’t have much academic exposure to queer theory. This book is not strict queer theory, really, but it does have some of it, albeit with specific applications. It was written in 1996, so it does have a bit of an out-of-touch component, especially when discussing transgender issues. There’s a lot on hostility to bisexuality, too, which I gather has changed in the 2000s. I did find the essays on race very interesting, though, as well as some other essays on identity generally. I think it’s interesting for me, as a lesbian, to think about identity, because I know that my identity is at least in part a choice. One of the essays in the book on bisexuality talks a lot about how queer identities have different elements, be they who you’re attracted to, an individual partner, social institutions, etc. It’s interesting to think of it that way, and it helps me understand my chosen identity a little more. Being someone who’s dated men in the past, if I think of my identity as partially shaped by social institutions – whether that be the lesbian community of which I feel a part, or the feminism that leads me to crave woman-only spaces and safety – it makes more sense. I’ll be interested to read some more queer theory, though, that’s a little more updated.

Review: Lucy Knisley, French Milk

Avory — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:52:43 +0000

I devoured this book in a little over an hour. It’s my first graphic novel (actually a graphic memoir), but it was just so fabulous and especially reminiscent of my own life. My mom and I went to Paris together for only a few days, and we were 16 and 43 at the time, not 22 and 50, but there’s the same age difference between us and Lucy and her mom, and I really related to the way Lucy chronicled her six weeks in Paris. All about the food, but also I like how she’s very real about her more depressed days. I definitely had my share of those both on our brief Paris trip and during my six months abroad in Ireland (with intermittent trips to France) when I was 20/21. Lucy is actually my exact same age (just a couple of months older), and so there was a real sense of connection. But aside from all that personal stuff, it’s just fun, and funny, and it really flows. Highly recommended.

The Lure of Do-It-Yourself

Avory — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:21:00 +0000

I’ve never been all that much of a do-it-yourselfer. I need strict supervision from my father if I’m to embark on a carpentry project, and the help of a stronger-armed friend for hammering together rails on some-assembly-required dresser drawers. I can’t really garden because worms freak me out. But I have to admit that a couple of pieces in Secret Ingredients have been tempting me to try a little homework in the area of food. One is about an expert in foraging for wild food, and for someone on a budget, the idea of gathering mushrooms and edible flowers for lunch is quite tempting. The other is about a woman known as the “Cheese Nun,” and though I do have a natural fear of anything that might possibly be deadly (raw oysters, for example), I do agree that the FDA has gone overboard on raw milk cheese prohibition. French cheeses are just so good. If I had a cow, it would be tempting. Alas, I do not, and there isn’t much foraging to be done in downtown Baltimore, so I’ll stick to attempting a sourdough starter instead.