2012 Reading Challenge

I just finished reading two wonderful historical fiction novels by Michelle Moran: Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen. I read them both in a day and a half and, as much as I read, I only finish books that quickly if they are really well-written or very engaging. Moran’s novels were both, and every time I told myself I would only read a few more pages or finish a chapter, I kept reading more and more until I eventually finished the book. Now that I am on spring break and coming up on graduation in  a month and a half, I actually have some time to dedicate to leisure reading.

So, I am going to take up a challenge to read at least 50 books by the end of the year. In order to reach this goal, I’ll have to read about six and a quarter books every month for the next eight months. If and when I remember, I will add reviews, and I will update this list whenever I finish a new book, along with the date I completed it.

Since I read these first six books before I decided to start this challenge, I am only including them as a retrospective, but the first official book of my challenge will be Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin, which my mother has been trying to get me to read for months now.  And if anyone has any suggestions for books I should read, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Unofficial books:

1) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (I finished The Hunger Games before the new year, so I am not counting it here.)

2) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

3) Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

4) The Silence of Trees by Valya Dudycz Lupescu (March 13, 2012)

5) Nefertiti by Michelle Moran (April 4, 2012)

6) The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran (April 5, 2012)

*Official books:

1) Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (date started: April 6, 2012/date finished: April 9, 2012)

2) Little Bee by Chris Cleave (date started: April 9, 2012/date finished: April 14, 2012)

3) Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James (date started: April 16, 2012/date finished: April 17, 2012)

4) Life of Pi by Yann Martel (date started: April 17, 2012/date finished: April 23, 2012)

5) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (date started: April 23, 2012/date finished: April 27, 2012)

6) The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow (date started: April 27, 2012/date finished: April 29, 2012)

7) The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (date started: April 29, 2012/date finished: April 29, 2012)

8) Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran (date started: May 5, 2012/date finished: May 5, 2012)

9) Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran (date started: May 16, 2012/date finished: May 17, 2012)

10) Before, After, and Somebody in Between by Jeannine Garsee (date started: May 16, 2012/date finished: May 17, 2012)

11) Curses! A F***ed Up Fairy Tale by J.A. Kazimer (date started: May 23, 2012/date finished: June 4, 2012)

12) Testimony by Anita Shreve (date started: June 8, 2012/date finished June 9, 2012)

13) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (date started: June 16, 2012/date finished: June 24, 2012)

14) I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert (date started: June 16, 2012/date finished: June 25, 2012)

15) State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (date started: June 25, 2012/date finished: June 29, 2012) 

16) Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (date started: June 25, 2012/date finished: July 6, 2012)

17) The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler (date started: July 6, 2012/date finished: July 8, 2012)

18) Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge (date started: July 17, 2012/date finished: July 24, 2012)

19) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (date started: August 4, 2012/date finished: August 7, 2012)

20) The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (date started: August 10, 2012/date finished: August 19, 2012)

21) Run by Ann Patchett (date started: August 19, 2012/date finished: August 29, 2012)

22) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (date started: August 30, 2012)

23) Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray (date started: September 6, 2012/date finished: September 10, 2012)

24) The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow (date started: September 11, 2011)

**25) The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden (date started:

**26) Lady of the Reeds by Pauline Gedge

**27) The Princess Bride by William Goldman

**28) Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Steven King

29) The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

30) The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (date started: October 23, 2012)

31) Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago (date started: October 27, 2012)

*Updated October 27, 2012

** Started and/or finished while I was on vacation, didn’t record dates.