January!

Well, Januray is whizzing by at a breakneck speed and I am not reading a much as I had hoped (or as high brow as I had hoped!), but I think this is partly due to feeling rather low lately. I have felt homesick and lonely, and also getting motivated has been difficult, but I am determined to change this!

I have decided that I am going to get back to being more crafty. Not crafty in a dodgy, skullduggery type way, in a making things and being creative kind of way.

I realised that Christmas is becoming way too comercialised (yes, I am slow on the uptake ;)), and am going to try and make and win Christmas this year. I have entered around 200 competitions so far this year, and have a list of things I hope to make! This includes quite a lot of knitting, making Christmas decorations, baking/jamming more, trying my hand at some basic sewing etc. So, wish me luck!

Back to the books, I suppose I am not doing so badly- I think I am on 7 for this month so far, and that hasn't been a struggle. One of those is a 1001 book (The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks, which I am currently reading for my book group) and another is from my list of books to read this year (Breaking Dawn by Stefenie Meyer).

This IS going to be a good year, I just know it! Pick myself up, brush myself down, and swallow a spoonful of motivation and I can make it better.

New Year Reading resolutions

Well, I managed to hit my target of 100 books with 15 being 1001 books last year- I read Bonjour, Tristesse by Francoise Sagan and loved it.

My target for this year is 60 books with 15 being 1001 books. This is because I plan to tackle some challenging/long books from the 1001 list!

Books I really want to read this year-

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
On Beauty- Zadie Smith
Middlesex- Jeffrey Eugenides
The God of Small Things- Arunditi Roy
Atonement-Ian McEwan
Memoirs of a Geisha-Arthur Golden
A SuitableBoy- Vikram Seth
The Wasp Factory- Iain Banks
Rebecca-Daphne Du Maurier
One Hundred Years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
Vanity Fiar- William Makepeace Thackeray
Little Women- Louisa m Alcott
david Copperfield- Dickens
The Woman in White- Wilkie Collins

I also have a few borrowed books that I want to get read-some that I borrowed a very, very long time ago!

I also want to read-

All 7 Harry Potter books (read the first 4 when pregnant but will have to reread)
Breaking Dawn, the 4th book in the Twilight Saga
The Big Stone Gap books by Adriana Trigiani

I am really looking forward to pushing myself with reading this year, and hope there will be some fabulous books in there.

The 'nearly the end of the year' stats

2009 reading stats totals!

Total books-99
1001 books-14
Books by Males- 45
Books by Females-51
Compilations-4
Fic-60
Non Fic-39

I may read Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan in the next few days which would then take me to my target of 100 books with 15% being 1001 books-if I get time.

Definitely the most even split of a years books comparing males/females, and probably fic/non fic too.

I am going to make some reading resolutions for 2010 - one of which will be to read more books that I already own!

My December 2009 reads

Classic Football Debates settled Once and For All- danny Baker and Danny Kelly
Skipping Christmas- John Grisham
Arctic Monkeys- Seamus Craig
Have a Little Faith- Mitch Albom
Dear Me- Letter to my 16 year old self- Misc.
Baby Next Time- Nicole Klieff
The midwives Apprentice- Karen Cushman
A Random History of Football- Colin Murray

Have a Little Faith was a book which impacted on me- Mitch Albom manages to be thought provoking and stimulating whilst also being sentimental, without being sickening....perfect. I also really enjoyed Skipping Christmas to get me in the festive mood.

Revolutionary Road- Richard Yates
Jelleymans Thrown a Wobbley- Jeff Stelling
Hope for the Flowers
Round Ireland with a fridge-Tony Hawks
Eat, Pray , Love- Elizabeth Gilbert
Frank Skinner on the Road- Frank Skinner
Disconnected- Sherry Ashworth
Lucia, Lucia- Adriana Trigiani
Eclipse- Stefanie Meyer

Book July 09-9
1001 books-0
Books by males-4
books by females- 5
fiction-5
non fic- 4

One Red Paperclip- Kyle McDonald
Looking for Enid- Duncan McLaren
The Old Man and the Sea- Ernest Hemingway
13 Little Blue envelopes-Maureen Johnson
Enid Blyton the Biography- Barbara Stoney
Teacher, Teacher-Jack Sheffield
Time TRaveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
Mister Teacher-Jack Sheffield
Marked-PC and Kristen Cast
Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella

Books Aug 09-10
1001 books-1
books by males-5
books by females-5
fic-7
non fic-3

Further confessions of Georgia Nicholson- Louise Rennison
Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte
Love Aubrey- Suzanne De Fleur

Books Sept 09-3
1001-1
books by males-0
books by females-3
Fic-3
non fic- 0

Girl Friday-Jane Green
The Book of Tomorrow- Cecelia Ahern
The Shops-India Knight
Take That- Take one
Take That-Take Two
Mad about the Boys- Claire Blake
Mother of the Bride- Ilene Beckerman
Brothers- Ted van Lieshout
The Summer Book-Tove Jannson

Books Oct 09-9
1001 books-1
books by males-3
books by females-6
fic-4
non fic-5

Shadow of the Wind- Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffenegger
What We Do for Love- Ilene Beckerman
Chicken Soup for the new mothers soul
Chicken soup for the mothers soul
Very Valentine- Adriana Trigiani
The Stork Club- Imogen Edwards Jones (reread)
Letters from Father Christmas- JRR Tolkien

Books Nov 09-8
1001-0
Books by males-2
books by females-4
Compilations-2
fic-3
non fic-5


July-November

Books read-39
1001 books-3
Books by males-14
By Females-23
Compliations- 2
Fiction-22
non fic- 17

Fic- 57
Non Fic-33

First half of 2009 Stats

Books read-Jan- June- 52
1001 books- 11
Books by males- 26
Books by females-26
Fiction- 36
Non Fiction-16

Interesting!

Second half of the year to follow!

Books read June 2009

The Five Love Languages- Mark somebody
Postcards from the Boys- Ringo Starr
When the wind blows- Raymond Briggs
Ethel and Ernest-Raymond Briggs
Sarah's Key- Tatiana de Rosnay
Love's Work- Gillian Rose *
Frost in May-Antonia White
Toddler Taming-Christopher Green

Books read-8
1001 books-1
Books by males-5
Books by females-3
Fiction-3
Non- Fic-5