Sunday Salon: A Reading Retrospective (December 2004)

December is a month that seems to encourage reflection of what was and planning for what will be. Frankly, I'm still caught up in finishing up what I began this year and haven't had much time to look ahead. I have one more book to read for the War Through the Generations: World War II Challenge and am finishing up my book for the 50 Books for our Times Project. Some serious reading for this time of year, I must say.

It wasn't that way five years ago. It was a month of many books and much frivolous reading. I read the first three books in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events series. Each one great fun, but by the time I finished the third book I was ready to move onto something different. The books feature three orphan children who are bounced around from relative to relative. The children seem to have the worst of luck, and yet they somehow always come out on top. The series is funny and dark, and I can see why so many adults and children are fans.

In December 2004, I also read the first three books in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series, featuring Rebecca Bloomwood, a woman addicted to shopping. I found the series both charming and entertaining. I admit that Rebecca did get on my nerves more than once--and, boy, did I want to shake her and tell her to get her act together more than once!

My husband introduced me to Greg Rucka's Queen and Country that year, and I read the first of his non-graphic novels in the series, A Gentleman's Game about a female MI-6 spy. Tara Chace is a very independent and capable woman who relies on only herself. Another first in a new series, that month I read was Michele Martinez's legal thriller Most Wanted. Melanie Vargas is a U.S. Attorney juggling both her career and being a soon-to-be-divorced mother of an infant. Both were exciting reads and promising starts to two new series.

I followed that up with crime fiction novel, this one by Abigail Patchett called Moonbird Boy, featuring another strong female protagonist. This one is part of a series that starring Bo Bradley, a social worker in San Diego who also happens to have Bi-Polar Disorder. I wasn't quite as thrilled with this one as I'd been with an earlier book in the series I had read, but I still enjoyed it. I next read Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris, the second book in the Southern Vampire series. As always, it was great to spend time with Sookie and learn more about her and her friends.

The highlight of December 2004, however, lay with the author Amulya Malladi. I read two of her books that month and fell in love with each of them. I read Mango Season and Serving Crazy with Curry. Both books touch on Indian culture, but also deal with relationships and involve the main characters coming into their own. Amulya Malladi was one of the first authors who instilled in me a love for reading about all things Indian. And for that, I'll always be grateful.

Looking back over my reading in 2004, it's fair to say that much of my reading was made up of mysteries and series books, although not exclusively. It was a good year overall.

Bringing us back to the present, this past week I read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, a tale about an unusual friendship in the midst of the Holocaust. After I finished that one, I dived into the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, wanting to lighten the mood. I will be posting my reviews for both later this week.

I am in the process of deciding what book will be my final choice for the War Through the Generations: World War II Challenge. I sat in my TBR room yesterday, looking through all my books, trying to find the perfect one. I narrowed it down to 27 books I really want to read and from there to 13. Now I'm stuck. I keep telling myself I'll get to them all eventually. I just need to pick one to read before the end of the year.

Current Possibilities:
Guernica by Dave Boling
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
Bloody Good by Georgia Evans
The Foreign Correspondent by Alan Furst
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Before I resort to throwing a tantrum and stomping my feet because I can't decide (and then throwing all the titles in a hat and having my husband choose one), I thought maybe I would reach out to you for help. Tell me which one of the above titles I should read before the end of the year. Pretty please?

Until I can decide, I will be finishing up Mark Bowden's Guests of the Ayatollah, which I really must do. It's actually very good. I just keep getting distracted.

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and a great week. Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

This Week In Reading Mews:
Reviews Posted:
The One in Which I Attempted to Write Mini Reviews (but still used too many words)

Reading Now:
Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis by Mark Bowden

Posts of Interest This Week:
Monday at the Movies: What I Have Been Watching Lately
Why I Do What I Do - A Guest Post by Author Karen White
The Search for the Perfect Gift - Virtual Advent Tour
Christmas Came Early This Year

---

© 2009, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.
If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.