Mission Accomplished

It’s only the second day of December, but I can happily report that I have officially fulfilled my reading goal for the year. Of course, the year is not yet over so I don’t have an official count of how many books I have read, but I have read through the alphabet three times. And it’s been quite fun…even if it hasn’t made a dent in my “Want to Read List”.

I won’t bore you with an entire list of the 78 books reading through the alphabet three time entails. But I thought a few stats would be interesting:

What was the hardest letter to find and what books did I read? That’s easy: X. I confess I didn’t read a book that actually started with the letter “X”. I read A isn’t for Fox, The Secret Destiny of Pixie Piper and G is for Galaxy.

What was the longest book? Another easy one: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.  I can’t remember how I found this title. I know I saw that it’s a BBC mini-drama that looks interesting but given the topic (magicians) I thought it wise to read the book first. Boy was I surprised when I stopped by the library to pick up a book the size of War and Peace! I can safely say (having read War and Peace) that it was not as small print or as cumbersome. In fact, it was pretty easy reading. And now I can watch the mini-drama!

What’s the most interesting title I read? That would have to be If you ever want to take your Piano to the Beach – Don’t! Emry enjoyed that one, too.

What was the most thought-provoking? Hands down The Treasury of David, volume 1 by Charles Spurgeon. If you want an in-depth study of the Psalms, you won’t beat it. And that was only Psalms 1-57. I still have two volumes to go!

What was the worst book I read? Rush Limbaugh’s Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims. He needs to stick to radio talk-show. Just because you can talk doesn’t mean you can write.

Did any book make me laugh, cry or simply get angry? I did have to laugh hilariously at the story of gluing himself to a wall in his collection of short writings in My Southern Journey. Very few books make me cry. As far as angry, I would say it’s more like frustrating. Nathaniel Philbrook’s Valiant Ambition was good, but I just want to wring Benedict Arnold’s pompous neck. But then, who doesn’t?

Do I have a favorite for the year? That’s like asking if I have a favorite book in general. There are way too many to choose from. But I did enjoy Jessica Day George’s newest installment in her Tower series Fridays with the Wizards, Jordan Stratford’s The Case of the Missing Moonstone and The Case of the Girl in Grey are very cute. And while I wouldn’t call them favorites, it was interesting to add Dracula and Frankenstein to my list of have-read classics. Especially Frankenstein. In it’s own way, that story is very thought-provoking…and not at all like how I thought that story went.