Another Reading Project
I'm a reader. I often write about what I read.
For years I've done a "Best Books I Have Read This Year" post both
here and on https://myveronanj.com/.
I undertook a project back in 2015 (how can that be over 10 years ago?) where I
read as many of the Pulitizer Prize winning books for fiction as I could find.
(There were plenty that I couldn't find.) At the time there were 89 books
that were on the list, I read 58 with an additional 8 that I didn't because I
had previously read them (such as Gone with The Wind and my all-time
favorite, To Kill a Mockingbird). It took me over a year to complete,
and I had to give myself some breaks because it was quite overwhelming.
(My wrap up can be found here)
At the beginning of this year, a friend had taken a challenge
to read a number of books that corresponded with her time on this planet.
Example, if a person turned 30 they would read 30 books. The true
challenge (at least the way I interpreted it) was to read one book from each
year of your life. That didn't sound too hard, but what I did (and I'm
not sure of the "rules" tell you to do this or not), was select one
book for each year of my life that I hadn't already read. THAT was
difficult because I've read so much and I've covered a lot of good books from
the late 20th century. I made a list and in a couple of years doubled up
on books (in case I couldn't find one) and got them on my tablet to read.
(I know you "can" also listen to audio books, but as of now that
hasn't held much interest for me.) There were a LOT of books.
I just recently finished and can let out a sigh of relief.
I DID try to read books in order, but when I decided to
undertake this "project", I was reading Sipsworth which
was published in 2024, so I started with 2024 and then jumped back to my birth
year. There were a couple of times where I messed up years. For example,
I read 1991 before 1990. And when I had trouble with one book not loading
properly on my device (that would be I Know This Much is True by
Wally Lamb; I read two of his books and I'm not a fan), I jumped ahead to 2025
and 2026 until I could get a readable copy. (This also happened while I
was on a long weekend "vacation"
so I couldn't immediately fix it.) But for the most part I read
everything in chronological order.
My thoughts?
- This
was not the greatest idea because some of the books I picked I really
didn't like. (Even though I thought I would.) My husband kept
telling me that I DIDN'T have to finish, but I felt like I did. I
will admit that I did a lot of skimming in some places. (Books that
I admit to skimming include: Watership Down, Requiem for a Dream,
Winter's Tale and Running with Scissors. None
of these, classic or not, were for me.)
- Some
of the best books I read were targeted at young adults. I
loved Tuck Everlasting, Because of Winn Dixie and Eleanor
& Park (the last of which is going on my list of favorite
books I've read this year...a list that may be shorter than usual this
year). As a young adult I loved (and still do) authors like Judy
Blume, Paula Danzinger, Judie Angell, Paul Zindel, Lois Duncan...the list
goes on and on. Young adult writers are some of the best out
there. Don't let the fact that young adults are the target audience
keep you from reading this genre.
- Some
of my favorite authors wrote the worst books I read. Richard
Matheson wrote some of my favorites like Bid Time Return (also
known, as Somewhere in Time, which is also an incredible
movie) and I Am Legend (the basis for several movies
including the 1970s Omega Man which totally freaked me
out as a kid). So I am sorry to say that Hell House had
to be one of the worst books I've ever read (and not just for this
project)! I am also a fan of John Irving (A Prayer for Owen Meany is
incredibly moving), but The Hotel New Hampshire?
Maybe I'm missing something? (I wish I missed this book.)
- While
I read mostly fiction, a few non-fiction books were read. Two were memoirs:
The Uncool by Cameron Crowe and Kids, Wait till You
Hear This by Liza Minelli. They should have been the last
two books I read, but due to issues with my device they weren't and I'm
actually glad that they both got shoved in the middle because it gave me a
nice break. Another non-fiction book which was a pleasant surprise
was Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by
J.B. West. Published in the early 1970s it perhaps is a
"quaint" look back on what the White House used to me. (Personally,
I kind of miss that even a good part of the book takes place before I was
born.)
- I
specifically read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee because I
had a history teacher in high school who spoke about it frequently.
It is an excellent history, but it was extremely painful to get
through. Chapter after chapter of the government (people in power)
stealing land, breaking promises and slaughtering innocent people.
BRUTAL. Every elected official should have to read this. (And
then be quizzed on it.)
- There
were a couple of books that I thought really had potential but just didn't
hit the target. They were The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed
Out the Window and Disappeared (great premise, but a bit too much with
the historical figures who kept popping in) and The 7½ Deaths of
Evelyn Hardcastle . (Again, great premise, but too confusing and
too much. I don't want to need a roadmap or to take notes to figure
out things.)
- Out of
all the books that I read the ones I would highly recommend
are: Still Alice (which is also an excellent
movie with Julianne Moore), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel
Pie Society, Eleanor & Park, The Alice Network,
and Theo of Golden. (A lot of people had recommended
that last one to me and it ended up being the last book I read in this
project. I'm glad it was because it was really a nice way to wrap
everything up.)
Now that I'm done and I can go back to reading whatever I want,
classic or trash. (You know I love some trashy novels...which is why I
couldn't read any V.C. Andrews, Jackie Collins, Jennifer Crusie [totally
underrated] etc. while I was working on this "project"...because I've
read 'em all...or at least most of them.) And I can go back to the local
library and take out whatever I want! (And share with the head librarian
what books I really loved and highly recommend.)
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