Reflections 2010

Looking back, 2010 was a very satisfying reading year - no challenges, top priority to book club choices, and scaled back commitments. While my 'numbers' are far from impressive,  I enjoyed the books I read more than ever. 2010 will be remembered as a year of group reads and read-alongs, and the year I  tackled some classics and made new friends in the process.

The year began with Woolf in Winter and a personal victory. After three failed attempts, spaced over 25 years, I finally finished Mrs. Dalloway - and loved it! But instead of continuing To The Lighthouse with the rest of the group, I chose to reread The Hours by Michael Cunningham.  Perhaps I will return to Woolf, and To The Lighthouse, this winter.

Next, I joined my first read-along. Jill from Fizzy Thoughts lead us through Wuthering Heights, which was far from the love story I was expecting. The book proved to be just okay, but the read-along group was the best - definitely a highlight of my year!

An unplanned French fixation developed around the same time. It began in March with Julia Child's My Life in France, continued through Emile Zola's The Ladies' Paradise (read for The Classics Circuit), and culminated with Paris in July.  I read short stories by Guy de Maupassant and Zola, and Cheri and The Last of Cheri by Colette. Finally, there was Frances' group read of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert and Lydia Davis' gorgeous new translation.  I'm not finished with the French... there will be more Zola and Colette in the near future.  Davis' translation skills even have me considering Proust.

Completing Bleak House was the biggest accomplishment of the year. Although it started out as a read-along, I fell behind almost immediately and continued at my own pace. At 989 pages, this was my longest book of the year. It was a combination book/audio for me, and I learned that I especially enjoy listening to Dickens' novels.

Finally, on to my favorites...

FICTION:

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, translated by Lydia Davis
The Group by Mary McCarthy
The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola
Doreen by Barbara Noble


NON-FICTION:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My Life in France by Julia Child


AUDIOBOOKS:

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck


SHORT STORIES:
"A Lovely Time" by Dorothy Whipple
"A Doll's House" by Katharine Mansfield
"Good Neighbors" by Jonathan Franzen
"The Name of the Game" by Colm Toibin
"Why I Live at the P.O." by Eudora Welty
"Farewell" by Guy de Maupassant

And just for fun...

LITERARY PAIRINGS:

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 

                 and

The Hours by Michael Cunningham

Summer by Edith Wharton

                 and 

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

BOOKS I REALLY SHOULD HAVE REVIEWED IN 2010:

Mariana by Monica Dickens
Summer by Edith Wharton
Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden

BOOKS FROM 2010 I STILL PLAN ON REVIEWING:

The Group by Mary McCarthy
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck

And there it is, 2010 in review.  Thank you all for reading this blog and sharing the ongoing book discussion. It's become an enjoyable part of my life, and I look forward to more book talk in 2011.

'Twas the day after Christmas, when all through the house....

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse hound.

Christmas 2010 is now a happy memory. A lazy, quiet day followed... other than a little reading and a brisk walk with my husband (it was too cold for the dog), there was minimal activity.  A couple of the girls never took off their new jammies. Zelda, like the rest of us, relaxed in a favorite chair, but she was the only one willing to be photographed.

My main accomplishment was finishing Freedom. What an amazing book! Franzen's writing has left me utterly in awe. I plan to gather my thoughts this week.  A few other reviews need some attention before the end of the year, too.

This is also the time for tallying stats, sharing year-end lists and observations, and planning for the year ahead. I have a couple of posts in the works, but my main focus this week will be on helping Daughter #1 prepare and pack for her semester in London. Weather permitting, she leaves January 5.

Tonight I'm trying to decide what to read next: one last library book (The Doctor's Wife) before the TBR Dare begins, or Major Pettigrew's Last Stand for my January book club meeting.  First, I'll catch up with some of your blogs.  How have you spent this 'day after'?

Merry Christmas

Wishing you peace, joy, and love this holiday weekend...

Let the holidays begin...

We are five again. Daughter #1 came home on Friday and our holiday preparations began in earnest. Saturday we baked...

...and began decorating the tree.

More baking and decorating is on tap today.  Yes, there are still reviews to finish and year-end lists to compile, but Lakeside Musing will be quiet this week.  My days will be less hectic after Christmas and there should be plenty of time for reading and blogging then.

Reading notes:

I finished Pavilion of Women on audio and am in awe of Pearl S. Buck's understanding and portrayal of life, especially for women, in China.  Now I want to reread The Good Earth and continue with Sons, the second book in the trilogy.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is still my current read.  It's taking a long time, but is well worth it.  I love Franzen's writing and shared a quote earlier this week.

Weather:

It has been another snowy week. Schools were delayed (or closed), Christmas concerts and games were cancelled. Over 70 inches of snow has made this the snowiest December in history. Another seven inches earns the title of snowiest month ever and, with 12 days left, this seems highly probable. Good Morning America was even filming weather segments in the area.  It's hard to believe the official start of winter is still a few days away!

Best wishes to all for a very Merry Christmas...

Quote of the Week: Freedom

"While the rain lashed and the sky flashed, he tried to fill her with self-worth and desire, tried to convey how much he needed her to be the person he could bury his cares in.  It never quite worked, and yet, when they were done, there came a stretch of minutes in which they lay and held each other in the quiet majesty of long marriage, forgot themselves in shared sadness and forgiveness for everything they'd inflicted on each other, and rested."  (page 330)

Freedom
by Jonathan Franzen

It's taking forever to read this 562 page book. The characters aren't especially likable, but they are so real. I love Franzen's writing, and it seems there's a sentence on every page that begs to be read several times. This one is from last night's reading.

TSS: A Snowy Week

Good morning, and welcome to my Sunday Salon week in review.  The SNOW took center stage as a four day "lake effect" event left us with 49" on the ground! Schools were closed Monday and Wednesday, and weather records of all kinds were broken. I posted a few pictures for Wordless Wednesday and also updated my header photo. Today it's raining, but we're being told to brace ourselves for more lake effect this week.

Since there was not much time in the car, I'm still around the half-way point of Pavilion of Women, but enjoying it very much. I listened to Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton indoors on my ipod instead. Although I've read the book a couple of times before, the audio experience added a new dimension.  It was also interesting to listen just a few months after reading Summer, a book Wharton referred to as 'hot Ethan'.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is my current book. At page 300, I can heartily agree with what many bloggers are saying - if you loved The Corrections, you'll love this, too. I need to finish soon... look for it on my year-end list!

My book club met Friday to discuss The Group by Mary McCarthy.  Most members really liked it, primarily for the social history. I'm working on the review, and will be sure to include more about our discussion.

Finally, although 2011 will be a challenge-free year, I've decided to accept the TBR Dare at Ready When You Are, C.B.  In the sign-up post I mentioned an exception for book club selections, but I won't need to make use of that in January.  Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, a book already on my shelf,  was chosen.  The TBR Dare is off to a good start!

Today we have decorating and wrapping planned, then a birthday party for my brother-in-law. The baking will have to wait until next weekend when Daughter #1 is home. Later this evening, I'll have time to spend with Freedom. Are you busy with holiday activities today? Will you carve out some time to read, too?

Will you take the dare?

Have you heard about The TBR Dare?  James from Ready When You Are, C.B.  says:

"This is not a reading challenge.  It's a dare. 

I dare you to pledge you will read only the books in your TBR (To Be Read) stack for as long as you dare starting January 1, 2011.   

One hour, one day, one book, one week, one month, or until the dare ends on April 1.  (I never make open-ended New Year's Resolutions.  Every goal should have a end date.)"

I've accepted the dare.  A goal has been set -  read from my shelves until April Fool's Day(!). There are surely enough books to last the entire year, and this is only three months...  I can do that, right?

Exceptions will be made for book club selections (unless I can convince the group to read what's already on my shelf) and I will continue to use credits for audiobooks already purchased from audible.com.

Will you accept the dare?  Details can be found here, then click over here to sign up.