Reading 2007
In April I started reading for pleasure again. It had been a long time since I’d made reading books for fun a regular part of my life. When I picked up that first book, I didn’t set a goal for how many books I’d read after it. I just wanted to be always working on something.

Here is my reading list for 2007, in mostly reverse order and sans links because I am way too lazy to bother. You can click over to GoodReads for more information and my thoughts on each title. The starred titles are those I recommend. If it’s got two stars, I super duper recommend it. If it’s by Darla Shine, I’d like to set it on fire and dance around it cackling.

*New Moon by Meyer, Stephenie
*Eclipse by Meyer, Stephenie
*The Witch’s Trinity: A Novel by Mailman, Erika
*Twilight by Meyer, Stephenie
*On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft (Audio Cassette) by King, Stephen
Bel Canto by Patchett, Ann
*Something Borrowed by Giffin, Emily
**A Simple Plan by Smith, Scott (This is the best book I read all year.)
Something Blue by Giffin, Emily
Happy Housewives: I Was a Whining, Miserable, Desperate Housewife–But I Finally Snapped Out of It…You Can, Too! by Shine, Darla
Season of the Witch by Mostert, Natasha
Crooked Little Vein by Ellis, Warren
Minion (A Vampire Huntress Legend) by Banks, L. A.
*The King of Methlehem: A Novel by Lindquist, Mark
*Heart-Shaped Box: A Novel by Hill, Joe
Lullaby by Palahniuk, Chuck
**Then We Came to the End: A Novel by Ferris, Joshua
*The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Setterfield, Diane
**Water for Elephants: A Novel by Gruen, Sara
*The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Larson, Erik
Icy Sparks by Rubio, Gwyn Hyman
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Niffenegger, Audrey
**The Handmaid’s Tale by Atwood, Margaret
**Like Water for Chocolate by Esquivel, Laura
*A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius by Eggers, Dave
**Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story by Berendt, John
The Virgin Suicides by Eugenides, Jeffrey

2008 Reading Goal
I managed to read 27 books between April and December and it wasn’t all that hard. I’m setting a goal for 2008. At the current pace, 40 books should be easy to hit. I want to set the goal for 50, but that sounds like just too darn many since it’s almost one per week. I could do that if I stuck with Young Adult fiction or chick lit or novels with a lot of dialog, but if I want to flex my brain a little, it’s not doable. Splitting the difference, I’m shooting for 45 books total this coming year.