GOAL ACHIEVED

A few years ago I decided I should make a reading goal for myself. I felt like I wasn't reading as many books as I had in the past and I wanted that to change. I settled on the goal of 36 books read in a year, an average of only 3 a month that seemed reasonable. I started in 2001 and managed to read 30 books that year. In 2002 I jumped up to 33 books read. I only managed one more book in 2003 and one more again last year, leaving the total at 35. I am very happy to report that I have already read 36 books this year; in fact, I did it a few weeks ago. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm stopping (though I've been catching up on my "Asimov's" since that time). 40 seems easily achievable. Anyway, here is my list of books read so far this year...

1. Iron Sunrise by Charles Stross
2. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
3. The Truth About Celia by Kevin Brockmeier
4. Home Land by Sam Lipsyte
5. The Wilco Book by Wilco and Picture Box, Inc.
6. The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories edited by Ben Marcus
7. The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken
8. In the Penny Arcade by Stephen Millhauser
9. Days Between Stations by Steve Erickson
10. The Family Trade by Charles Stross
11. The Disappointment Artist by Jonathan Lethem
12. Faithful by Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King
13. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
14. Tumbling After by Paul Witcover
15. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
16. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
17. A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka
18. The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips
19. Crossing California by Adam Langer
20. Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham
21. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
22. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
23. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
24. Bulletproof Girl by Quinn Dalton
25. Air by Geoff Ryman
26. A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle
27. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
28. The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford
29. Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link
30. Eric by Terry Pratchett
31. Tooth and Claw by T.C. Boyle
32. Anasi Boys by Neil Gaiman
33. Born in the U.S.A. by Geoffrey Himes
34. The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders
35. The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami
36. Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett