Once again, the New York Times has rated its top 10 books of the year. Once again, I've read exactly one of them.
The 100 most notable books? I've read three. This is about status quo, though I still feel guilty. However, a quick check of the handy book spreadsheet confirms that I've actually read far more current-release books than usual this year--I guess I'm just not reading the right ones. Or the Times just doesn't appreciate Victorian zombie lit like it should. Whatevs, Michiko Kakutani.
The spreadsheet also reveals that the J&K book club has been remarkably productive as well: we managed to do six books this year, or a little less than half of our overall total. 2009 may have been the Year of the Great "Modern" Debate (to date, the only real book club disagreement since the non-ratification of the unwritten constitution), but we seem to have pulled through.
Also, while I didn't hit my 50-book goal for the year, the overall quality was high. The disappointments were few among the books I committed to reading. And I discovered several authors who've become staples in my reading diet (like Arthur Phillips and Colson Whitehead), and fell in love anew with some old favorites (like Lorrie Moore). So, y'know, God bless us, every one--or something like that.
2 comments:
Again with the mockery of our constitution! Nothing's stopping you from, you know, writing the rules down. It's not like it has to be unwritten.
I also think our argument on the definition of "modern" shouldn't be held against the book club. It was more of a general semantic debate, occurring without regard to book club rules (extra legum, maybe?). We ended up quickly agreeing on the new book club rule, after all.
The only book on either of those lists I read is the one you loaned me, so I feel quite pathetic (even moreso when I look back on how few books I finished outside the book club).
But then I become the jerk who ruined the unwritten fun! Don't think I don't know the other members would discuss this behind my back. Anyway, I mock the constitution out of love. Written constitutions just lead to problems, no?
And your one book does make me feel better, so thanks. :)
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