12 Books, 12 Months

~ brixton

It’s on!  Since 6 people have expressed interest, I think we have a quorum.  After some discussion with Shane, here are the rules:

12 Books, 12 Months Challenge

  • Pick 12 titles from your To Read Pile.  These should be titles you currently own in whatever format you prefer.
  • Acquisition of other formats or translations is permitted.  So, if you have a paperback but want to read on your Kindle, you can get a Kindle copy.  If you have a library copy but want to buy your own, that’s kosher.  Heck, if you own a copy and want to check another out from the library, I’m not gonna stop you.
  • Post your list in your public space of choice by September 1, 2010.  If you prefer not to post, you can just leave a comment with your list.
  • Read all 12 titles between now and September 5, 2011.  Might as well tack on an extra long weekend at the end for cramming.
  • When you finish a title on your list, post about it in your public space of choice.  If you prefer not to post, you can just leave a comment with your review.
  • Once a month, I’ll post a round-up of the reviews posted from that month so that we all know what everyone else has read.

My list:

  1. Boris Akunin – The Winter Queen
    I don’t remember how I came to have this one on my wishlist, but it looks interesting, and I don’t read enough fiction.
  2. Mikhail Bulgakov – The Master and the Margarita
    We each brought a copy of this to our collection, but I don’t know that either of us have read it.
  3. Lawrence Durrell – Reflections on a Marine Venus
    Durrell’s prose is intoxicating, and I’ve been intending to read more of his work since ~2003.
  4. William Least Heat-Moon – Blue Highways
    I loved River-Horse, and would like to read more of his work.
  5. Henry Miller – Tropic of Cancer
    I’ve owned and intended to read this book since college.  By my calculations, that means I have moved it at least 12 times.
  6. Barack Obama – Dreams from My Father
    I meant to read this in advance of the 2008 election. Now we’re 2 years into the Obama presidency…
  7. Michael Pollan – The Omnivore’s Dilemma
    Because every other foodie person on the planet has read it, but it put me to sleep.
  8. J.R.R. Tolkein – The Hobbit
    I’ve read Lord of the Rings, but not The Hobbit.  It’s time.
  9. Anne Tyler – The Accidental Tourist
    Need to confirm that I actually own this one. The movie based on the book was nominated for Best Picture, not that that means it’ll be a good book.
  10. David Foster Wallace – Infinite Jest
    I missed Infinite Summer. This is also one of Shane’s favorite – if not THE favorite – books. No more excuses. See also: The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
  11. Duncan Watts – Six Degrees
    I picked this up my first year of grad school because Duncan Watts’s research is interesting and also he is dreamy.
  12. E.B. White – The Points of My Compass
    My good intentions for this book date back to my first attempt at organizing a book club.

What are YOU going to read?

0 thoughts on “12 Books, 12 Months”

  1. If nothing else, I’ve added “The Winter Queen” to my “must read” list. Oops.

    Going through my pile of books-to-read is an excellent idea. And it fits well with my plan to get rid of more stuff before I move again! I’ll let you know.

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  3. Pingback: Triumphantly Jenny » 12 Books, 12 Months

  4. I’m with you in spirit, but we’ve been co-reading Omnivore’s Dilemma for *months*. So maybe my list will just have one book. Note: you just need to get past the section about corn and into Polyface Farms.

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  9. Oh and I mean to add commentary to the effect of:

    5. I read this. It’s good. But then again, I love Anais Nin, so that’s definitely an added layer of interest.
    7. I loved Omnivore’s Dilemma. For a foodie, I can’t believe you’ve had a hard time sticking with it.
    8. Favorite from childhood.
    10. I’m going to read this one, too. I’m tired of hearing every boy I know go on about David damn Foster Wallace. Though I did read some other book of his (forget the title now) and thought it was really out there.

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  10. Hello! I ran across the 12 Books, 12 Months challenge by way of Mark and would love to post about it on my blog as well. I’d of course link back here with an explanation of the challenge’s origin, but I really liked the idea and wanted to share it with others. If you agreed, I’d post your guidelines (changed slightly, likely leaving out the review round-up) and, as I said, include an obvious link with plenty of credit to you. Would do you say?

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  11. I’m another bandwagon hopper from Mark’s blog. I’m afraid I wasn’t as nice about asking permission before I jumped on, though I did link back here. Anyway, you can do with it what you please. I took a number of liberties with the rules…

    I don’t know if we met at GSLIS, but your reading list looks like great fun!

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  12. This is such a great idea! I came here via Dish Rag Tag and would love to join in.

    By the way, I really liked Master and Margarita and I, like you, have read LOTR but never The Hobbit!

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  17. Hi again–I hope it’s okay, but I’ve definitely joined up with this great idea. I’ve decided to come up with six books from my to-read list, and then have asked my blog readers for suggestions to make up the rest of the list. I will post it by September 1st. Am very excited.

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  21. Pingback: latter day bohemian » 12 Books Sign-up Round-up

  22. I’m yet another one pulled in by Mark (and another GSLIS alum…). I’m at work, and can’t peruse my shelves right now, but tonight I’ll post my 12 on my (much neglected) blog. I may only be able to commit to 6 in a year though, if I have to already possess them — I’ll be picking up a lot of how-to books after I move into my new digs!

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  28. A little late to the party … just saw the link over at Lanea’s blog, but I’ve added my list, too :-D. Looking forward to getting to these books that have been unfortunately stagnating on my shelves for too long!

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