Reading List Update, Halfway through the Year

At the beginning of the year I posted a reading list of books I was going to try to finish during 2010...I'm happy to report I've made some progress and added a few here and there also but I've still got a ways to go....

1. "The Bolter" by Frances Osborne
2. "Say You’re One of Them" by Uwem Akpan - I got about halfway through this one and I just couldn't read any more...I hated it. Nothing particular about it, I just hated it. Ugh.
3. "The Looming Tower" by Frances Wright
4. "Prisoner of the State" by Zhao Ziyang
5. "The Bear" by William Faulkner - Actually reading this one right now.
6. "God: A Biography" by Jack Miles
7. "The Unsettling of America" by Wendell Berry
8. "Underground" by Haruki Murakami
9. "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman
10. "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson - Done, pretty writing, pointless plot
11. "The Regeneration Trilogy" by Pat Barker - This one is in progress...I read book #1 and I have #3 but don't have #2 yet...
12. "The Handmaid’s Tale" by Margaret Atwood - Done, this one I really liked
13. "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines - Done, can't go wrong with the classics
14. "No Excuses" by Kyle Maynard - Done, bad writing but interesting story
15. "Echo in the Bone" by Diane Gabaldon- Done, if you haven't read any of her "Outlander" series, check them out, I love them all
16. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
17. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahme-Smith and Jane Austen
18. "Have a Little Faith" by Mitch Albom - Done, very sweet
19. "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger
20. "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy - Done, amazingly written, sad sad sad story
21. "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell - Done, a little kitschy but good
22. "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" by Katherine Howe
23. "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman
24. "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry - Done, I loved this one
25. "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn - Done, loved this one also, keep me hanging till the last pages
26. "Making a Family Home" by Shannon Honeybloom - Done, wonderful tips and beautiful photography

So as you can see, I've gotten at least a little over halfway through the list. I've also added in a few others:

1. Once an Arafat Man by Tass Saada - Fantastic book written by the father of a guy I went to school with, very interesting

2. How to Photograph Absolutely Everything by Tom King - Hey I got a new camera...enough said.

3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Very good

4. Essential Buddhism by Jacky Sach - Interesting, never hurts to learn about something new

There may be more I'm forgetting but that's off the top of my head for the moment. Considering I wanted to finish 26 books within the year, I don't think 18-1/2 is bad now that we're in July.

What all are you reading this summer that I'm missing out on? Any recommendations?

Some Books I've Read Lately...

"Regeneration" by Pat Barker was kind of a slow read but was a great historical fiction about the impact of trench war in Europe and the psychological impact of PTSD that wasn't really recognized then like it is now. I have put the other two books in this trilogy in my wish list on www.paperbackswap.com.

"A Reliable Wife" by Robert Goolrick. I read this book in one night. Also a historical fiction, a woman with a past answers an advertisement looking for a wife placed by a man with a past. How their lives intertwine is a definite page-turner, and it was a great love story with a powerful theme of ultimate forgiveness.

"Witch & Wizard" by James Patterson (umm wow the picture is big but I can't figure out how the heck to resize it, sorry) This is the first installment in a new young adult series by James Patterson. A brother and sister who find out they are a witch and a wizard are imprisoned by a "new order" government. I think this series is going to be worth keeping up with.

Last night I started "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines and got about a quarter of the way through it. So far I've added a couple books to my original reading list but I think I'm keeping up pretty well...

Book Review - "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn

First I want to give a shout-out to my friend Gregg for recommending this book to me. This was one that I did not want to put down! I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning (2:15 am) to finish it.

The plot continued to build all the way to the shocking end. Camille Preaker is a journalist in Chicago that grew up in a small town in Missouri. Her editor sends her back to her hometown to report on two young girls that had been recently murdered in the town. Camille's family is bizarrely dysfunctional and as the story develops, Camille's history of hospitalization for cutting herself is revealed as well. The story was intense and entertaining. The characters were sometimes a little "typically small town" but mostly well written. I really enjoyed reading this from start to finish, and I cannot wait to read her newest book, "Dark Places". I'm definitely adding this author to my reading list for a long time to come.