Once again I attempted to read 50 books in a year, and once again I failed. Well, actually, I pretty much gave up on it early on, so it’s no surprise to me that I didn’t get there. Anyway, here are the books I read last year (I read a lot more than just books, but these are all that I’m counting):
- Don’t Stop Believin’: How Karaoke Conquered the World and Changed My Life by Brian Raftery
- Vulcan’s Forge by Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
- Vulcan’s Heart by Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
- Vulcan’s Soul Trilogy Book One: Exodus by Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
- Vulcan’s Soul Trilogy Book Two: Exiles by Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
- Vulcan’s Soul Trilogy Book Three: Epiphany by Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
- Slurp: Drinks and Light Fare, All Day, All Night by Jim Hensley, Nina Dreyer Hensley, and Paul Lowe
- Of Mule and Man by Mike Farrell
- The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education by Maya Frost
- Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
- I’m Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago by Hape Kerkeling
- Libyrinth by Pearl North
- Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa by Michel Moushabeck & Hiltrud Schulz
- Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights by Kenji Yoshino
- Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
- Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
My pleasure reading was mostly Spock, and all of the non-fiction was either for review or for a book group discussion. This weekend I went through my bookshelves and pulled about 80 books that I’m either selling or trading away because I haven’t read them yet and will probably get them from the library if/when I ever get around to reading them. The nice thing is that in the process of doing this, I was reminded of books I’ve wanted to read for a long time but have forgotten I have them sitting on my shelves already.
One book down already for 2010, and hopefully more to follow it. In fact, I think I’ll go start on The Ghost Brigade right now.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that you’re reading Hape Kerkeling’s I’m Off Then. I’m in the middle of reading it in German, and I’d been wondering if an English translation had been published. What did you think of it? What made you decide to read it? I was interested in it because I’m a fan of Kerkeling’s standup comedy, but of course he’s unheard of outside of the German-speaking world.
Well, and the Dutch-speaking world, I suppose. He once dressed up as the queen of Holland and was very nearly admitted to Schloss Bellvue for dinner with the president of Germany. They probably haven’t forgotten that.
It was published in English this past year, and I read it because I was reviewing it for Library Journal, although I don’t think they ended up using the review. I wrote similar but differently worded thoughts about the book on my blog shortly thereafter.
I had never heard of Kerkeling before reading the book, and I think that part of the reason why he’s unknown outside of the German-speaking world is because there are very few recordings of him speaking English. At least, very few on the internet. I tried to find some because I enjoyed the book so much I wanted more.
I translated this book from the German, and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Shelley