Looking Back, Looking Ahead

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple of days now, but we've not had internet access for two days; apparently I'm going to have to get a new wireless router.

That's only the latest excuse, though. I've had at least two other ideas for posts in mind after reading Speak, but never had (or never took) the time to sit down and write. Now the time for those posts is past; I can't even remember what it was I wanted to say, and it will never be said.

Since this is the time for resolutions, here's one: I don't want to let that happen again. This year, when I get an idea for a post, I intend to sit down THAT day - not "tomorrow" - and get it written. That's why I'm here right now instead of finishing washing the dishes (that big pot needs to soak a few minutes, anyway, ha ha).

I failed to get all the way through my A to Z reading challenge this year, but I'm pretty happy anyway. I read 24 books this year (and part of two others). I know that's not so much when I look at how many other people read. But it's more than I've done for a long time, so I feel good about it. I'm going to post a list in a sidebar, if anyone is interested in what the 24 were.

In the interest of creating a tradition, I'm going to go through the same review that I did last year at this time.

Best Discoveries
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins - These were the only books this year that had me neglecting my family so I could finish.

Saddest Disppointment
Mockingjay from Collins' series - It was so bleak.

Favorite Classic
Hamlet by William Shakespeare! I really got into reading it, more so than when it was required in college.

Favorite Love Story
Looking at my list, I really didn't read that many "love stories" this year. Ann Turnbull's Alice in Love and War was the best of the few I did read. I also enjoyed Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix (if it counts as a love story).

Favorite Historical Fiction
Alice in Love and War tops this category, too, although The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent was also a favorite.

Greatest Reading Accomplishment
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende - I had tried reading it before, but couldn't get past the first chapter. This time I made it all the way through.

Biggest Failure
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - I know it's popular, but it never caught me. Maybe some other year....

Favorite Re-read
Hamlet

Once Is Enough - Books I Probably Won't Ever Read Again
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Jellicoe Road by Mellina Marcheta
The Lace Dowry by Andrea Chang
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (I was really disappointed by this one)

Books I Thought Would Be Amazing But Were Just So-So
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Pioneer Breed by Glenn Vernam

Books I Thought Wouldn't Be Much But Were Actually Good Stuff
Just Ella - Honestly, I thought it would be pretty shallow
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - It's not my type of book, but I bought another of Anderson's "teen issue/problem" books the other day. I guess that says something.

5 Books I Plan to Read in 2011
I liked the A to Z challenge; it seemed to give me a focus and to keep me on track. I might do it again and see if I can get further this year. Also, last night I was talking to someone at a party and sort of realized there are a lot of books people would expect a former English major to have read that I haven't read. I guess it's time to catch up. Therefore, in 2011 I plan to read
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (I'll admit, this one scares me - it's so long - I may spend most of my year chipping away at it!)
Beloved by Toni Morrison

We'll see how it goes - I hope to report in more often this year!