A Modified 2010 Reading Resolution

Reading one hundred books in a year's time is not a realistic goal for me, even though I am constantly reading or listening to audiobooks on my Ipod. I have two weeks of January left and I don't think I can thoroughly read more than five books a month without feeling rushed. I'm looking at a few 700 page books I've picked out, and I know I can't absorb that much in less than a week. In fact, I usually give myself a whole month to read a long book. So, before I crash and burn in this New Year's resolution, I think I have to modify my goal. I'll try four books a month. That would mean 48 books in a year. I think that's a number I can handle and maybe even surpass. Also, I'm going to allow children's chapter books on my list, since I'm busy reading them to my kids at night.

So, Steena, I'm still with you, and I hope you'll forgive my modification. Visit my blogger friend Steena Holmes at Chocolate Reality.

Join other bloggers as they attempt to read a whole lot of books in the year 2010. Sign up for the challenge at this great book blog:
i-kaye-book-blog

I welcome your suggestions on what I should read next. The list below is a work in progress. It shows my completed books starting from January 1st 2010:

1. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (loved it, and I consider his writing modern classic lit.)
2. Hotel of the Saints by Ursula Heig (interesting short stories about sad, lonely people, liked it)
3. The Poe/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009 -edited by Laura Furman (best stories of 2009, excellent writing)
4. A Reliable Wife- Robert Goolrick (raunchy commercial literature, but I liked it.)
5. My Father, Maker of Trees: How I Survived the Rowandan Genocide - Eric Irivuzumugabe (a gripping faith story, liked it)
6. Evangeline - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (beautiful 157 page poem, classic lit. I liked it.)
7. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (a great classic that put A Reliable Wife to shame)
8. Lighthousekeeping - Jeanette Winterson (excellent writing- poetic, made me think, I liked it.)
9. Comfort and Joy: Simple Ways to Care for Ourselves and Others- Colette Lafia (nonfiction self-help, good, gave me an idea for a short story)
10. The Power of Self-Esteem- Wally Amos (non-fiction, self help, a quick, uplifting read)
11. The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath (horrible, sad, but what an amazing voice)
12. Family- The Ties That Bind and Gag- Erma Bombeck (She's a pro at the humor essay)
13. Charles Dickens- a biography by Michael Slater (really good- explored link between his life experiences and the details in his works)
14. Wisdom For Everyday Life From the Book of Revelation - Fr. Richard Veras (interesting! liked it)
15. The Faith Club by R. Idliby, S. Oliver and P. Warner- (A book about a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew who meet to learn about each other's religions and find common ground. I liked it until the Christian co-author specifically attacked the teachings of the Catholic church. After that the book lost all its validity for me as an open discussion on faith perspectives. I liked the concept of this book, but the attack on my own faith went against the whole point of the project.)
16. Riches Without Wings; or The Cleaveland Family by Elizabeth Oakes Smith (Beautiful and interesting Victorian family saga- LOVED it)
17. The People Code by Dr. Taylor Hartman (very interesting, about understanding personalities)
18. Just Wait Til You Have Kids of Your Own by Erma Bombeck and Bil Keane
(I love Erma Bombeck! Her work is getting dated now because of technology, but it is still so funny. She's a master humor writer.)
19. U Got 2 Love by Fr. Stan Fortuna ( I enjoyed this book, its about unconditional love and forgiveness.)
20. Resisting the Devil by Neal Lozano (fascinating book! ... about dealing with mental demons such as addictions)
21. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (very well-written and entertaining) saw the movie and liked it more.
22. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (a gruesome, painful read written by the son of Stephen King. I never liked the protagonist, but the change in him by the end of the book interested me very much. Despite the gore, I had to see how it ended, so I guess this book was good.)
23. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (great book, amazing writer)
24. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (excellent story, great writing)
25. 1984 by George Orwell (I forgot how great this book was.)
26. The Stone Boudoir by Theresa Maggio (an interesting memoir that takes you all over Sicily)
27. Tinkers by Paul Harding (amazing writing. won the pulitzer Prize in 2009)
28. S.S. Carinthia: A Cruise into Disaster (a book by a local author whom I met through my job. intersting local historical fiction)
29. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (I read this one every year. one of the greatest stories ever written, I think)
30. Beautiful Disaster by Laura Spinella (a well-written romance novel)

2010 Reading Challenge

Join me, Steena Holmes at Chocolate Reality, and other bloggers as we attempt to read 100 or more books in the year 2010. Sign up for the challenge at this great book blog:

i-kaye-book-blog

I welcome your suggestions on what I should read next. The list below is a work in progress. It shows my completed books as of January 1st 2010:

1. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (loved it, and I consider his writing modern classic lit.)
2. Hotel of the Saints by Ursula Heig (interesting short stories)
3. The Poe/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009 -edited by Laura Furman (best stories of 2009)
4. A Reliable Wife- Robert Goolrick (raunchy commercial literature)
5. My Father, Maker of Trees: How I Survived the Rowandan Genocide - Eric Irivuzumugabe (a gripping faith story)

One Theme of Anna Karenina: Discipline is Good For You!?

My old teacher, Sister John knows it, and so should I. Discipline is good for me. I'm not talking about hit- your-hand-with-a-ruler discipline, or "the good old days" as she would say with a sarcastic grin, but just that putting your nose to the grindstone, or taking the road less traveled, has its perks. As a college freshman, I learned more from her non-verbal actions than her assignments:

• The frown when I was late, I mean on time, but she started the class ten minutes early.
• The way she would yank open the windows on a cold February morning during a lecture about living ALERT in the moment.

"BE HERE NOW," she'd shout, the cold air blasting into the room from behind her Habit. "I'm HERE ALREADY! Now shut the window." I'd think.

Sister John had a point, and it differed from the one with an "er" on the end that she'd snap on your desk if you dosed. Discipline is good for me. It's what drives me to personal improvement. It is easy to say that people today, in this country, mostly lack discipline, but that's not true. I think it's a dumb generalization, in fact.

There are two ways that a person can choose to live: like a train, or like a train wreck. When you live like a train you set a destination in your head and you turn your wheels toward it, following a track. You stay on the track, even when it is boring or difficult to do so, because you are thinking of your future destination, and the welfare of those riding with you. The passengers benefit and prosper from your journey. Eventually, you get somewhere.

To live like a train wreck, on the other hand is move forward in the direction of your whims, without paying attention to your future destination or your passengers. When you become derailed, you and those riding with you suffer.

The novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy drives this point home so well. It gives an interesting cross section of society life in Russia in the late 1800's. In the story, those who act on whims, selfishly, are miserable, despite apparent wealth. Others who make more thoughtful choices, and sacrifice for those they love, find some bits of true happiness. Inevitably, all characters are affected by each other's actions.

Tolstoy wrote novels over a hundred years ago, but people haven't changed much. I can't help thinking, as I finish reading this book, how much better off I am for having been exposed to this author's thoughts, (and Sister John's). That's all I'll say here, in case you have not read it. Elizabeth and I started a book club and this was our first one. If you'd like to join our discussions via email, send me a comment and I'll let you know ahead of time what the next book is.

The picture is from Flickr. It's Tolstoy writing in his study.