First Third of the Year: Results

Note: I was going to do a report like this at each quarter of the year, but I forgot to do so in March, so I did April, for thirds of the year.  The next one, I guess, will be at the end of August.

April was a busy month for me -- David and I moved into a new (bigger) apartment (that was definitely the most exciting and busy part of the last four weeks, Easter Week happened (always busy at my place of business), and assorted other things.  Work is still busy, of course, it always is during the Spring.  

But my grand total of books for April '11 was 11 books!  Technically, 11 and a half, because I was more than half done with Into The Wild, but I didn't complete it until yesterday, May 1, so it doesn't count.  This adds to my counts for January (12), February (6), and March (5), for a grand total of 35 books read so far!  My goal is to hit 50 by the end of June, which means I have about two months to read 15 books.  I'm up to the challenge -- one down so far!

One-third of the way through the year, and one-third of the way through my challenge of 100 books, where do I stand?  Which books so far, IMHO, have been the best and worst?

Best

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.  I still can't say enough good things about this book.  It blew me away, completely.  Especially the end.  I realize that it's long (upwards of 950 pages, depending on the edition), but the saga of the building of a cathedral in 12th-century England is worth every single word.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I decided to try some YA literature (my hatred for Twilight being what it is) and loved it.  I wasn't so much a fan of Mockingjay, but I hear that's pretty common, and it didn't tarnish my love of the first two books in the series.  Just amazing.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.  One of the saddest and most moving pieces of literature I have read to date, Krakauer's account of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster is difficult to get out of your head.

Worst

Labor of Love: A Midwife's Memoir by Cara Mulhahn.  Should have been entitled "Labor of Love: A Midwife's Ode...to Herself."  Mulhahn's endless self-satisfaction and pats on her own back made this an odious, extraordinarily boring saga that left a bad taste in my mouth.

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.  A played-out theme and boring characters devoid of personality render this book almost impossible to slog through.

Don't Die, Dragonfly by Linda Joy Singleton.  Yet another supernatural YA story about a teenage girl with "issues" and the brooding hottie who won't give her a second glance.  Maybe the series improves when you get past Book One, but I couldn't be inspired to care enough to read further.

It's been a great four months, and happy reading for the remainder of 2011!