Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Kindle, one year later

Before I had a Kindle I wasn't much of a reader.  I read maybe 4 to 8 books a year. When I was given the Kindle after Jack was born, it came with an unexpected gift - access to the books read by other family members.  See, my gracious father set it up so that we all share his Amazon Kindle account.  So whenever I finish one book, I can instantly start another with limited searching and possibly no additional purchase.  Here is a categorical listing of what I have read on my Kindle so far (* indicates I recommend this book):

Murder Mysteries
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
*Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
Deja Dead - Kathy Reichs
The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
*The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
Heat Wave - Richard Castle

YA Fiction (aka works by John Green)
*An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
Looking for Alaska - John Green
Paper Towns - John Green
*Will Grayson, Will Grayson – John Green

Adult Fiction (Curiously, all from a slightly feminist slant)
*A Rather Lovely Inheritance – C.A. Belmond
The English American - Alison Larkin
The Actor and the Housewife - Shannon Hale
The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta
The Weird Sisters – Eleanor Brown

YA Dystopian Thrillers
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
*The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
*Divergent - Veronica Roth
Matched - Ally Condie

Funny Non-Fiction (aka my favorite genre)
*Packing for Mars - Mary Roach
*Stiff - Mary Roach (yes, I re-read it on Kindle)
*Bossypants - Tina Fey
*The Guinea Pig Diaries - AJ Jacobs
Waiter Rant - Steve Dublanica

History/Science
*At Home - Bill Bryson
People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks
The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean
Outliers - Malcom Gladwell
Assassination Vacation – Sarah Vowell

And to impress upon you the awesomeness of our shared Kindle Library:
Books I started but didn't finish
Valiant - Holly Black
An Irreverent Curiosity - David Farley
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk - David Sedaris
The Geography of Bliss - Eric Weiner
Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile – Gyles Brandreth
American Gods – Neil Gaiman
Bruno, Chief of Police – Martin Walker
Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman
God's Secretaries – Adam Nicolson
Cosmopolis – Don DeLillo
The Hangman's Daughter – Oliver Potzsch
The Candy Shop War – Brandon Mull
Sphinx's Princess – Esther Friesner
Little Bee – Chris Cleave
Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper – Michael Reisman

...Still leaving over 150 archived books in our collection I haven't even looked at.  But I'm not a total moocher.  I sought out several of those above, and will soon be adding more:

Books on my To Read list
A Rather Curious Engagement - C.A. Belmond
Nerd Do Well – Simon Pegg
The Red Market - Scott Carney
The Maze Runner – James Dashner
The Redbreast – Jo Nesbo
The World's Greatest Stuntman – Vic Armstrong
The Psychopath Test – Jon Ronson
Some old Sherlock Holmes, because I'm becoming obsessed with the BBC modern series adaptation.  

33 finished books of varying lengths.  (Ben likes to point out that the books he reads are SO much longer than mine, that mine are itty bitty girly books ;-)  I'd say that's a huge improvement over my old 4-8 books a year, wouldn't you?  But the scary thing is that I read only a fraction of what my sister can devour.   Isn't that right, Amanda? What's your count for the past year?

4 comments:

siberianluck said...

My books are longer, but less dense. Everyone who can tolerate fantasy should read "The Name of the Wind".

chitarita said...

My last birthday book count was 83. Also, I have the first book of the Belmond trilogy in paperback at my house, if you want it.

david farley said...

well, at least I'm in good company.....

eaumaison said...

Oh, don't take it personally! I plan to return to many of those books in a different mood, including yours.