I have been quite inactive in the last three weeks since going back to college and starting up my academic studies again, and I apologize for that greatly, but that does not mean that I have stopped reading. Far from it actually.
Between the three courses I am currently in I have purchased twenty-five books ranging on topics spanning from British Literature to history, and have bought a few of my own from home. Not to mention with the process of interlibrary loan, have acquired a few more volumes from the library. Currently I am reading five books for various purposes and as such I decided that it would be best if I participated in this:
I do plan on updating my loyal readers with news on my classes and such, but in the meantime I thought I might give you guys a preview of the books that are currently on my reading docket, as per the challenge rules. Keep in mind, these books come from a mix of both course reading and my own amusement. So, without further ado, I give you:
THE LIST
CONTEMPORARY FICTION:
- The Blind Contessa’s New Machine by Carey Wallace
- The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff*
- A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka
- Follow Me by Joanna Scott
- The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
- How to Be An American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway
- The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
- The First Man by Albert Camus
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
- The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY:
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling*
- The Gates by John Connolly
- A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
- Mockingjay(The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins
- String Theory: Cohesion (Star Trek Voyager) by Jeffrey Lang
- Uglies (The Uglies Trilogy) by Scott Westerfeld
MEMOIR/TRAVEL WRITING:
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Cafe Europa: Life After Communism by Slavenka Drakulic
PSYCHOLOGY:
- Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness by Ariel Gore*
- Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: How the Quest for Perfection is Harming Young Women by Courtney E. Martin
CLASSICS:
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen*
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Princess of Cleves by Madame De La Fayette
- Roxana by Daniel Defoe
- The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
- Belinda by Maria Edgeworth
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
LITERARY ANALYSIS:
- The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar
- A Truth Universally Awknowledged edited by Susannah Carson
- Jane Austen, or The Secret of Style by D.A. Miller
- Boss Ladies, Watch Out!: Essays on Women, Sex, and Writing by Terry Castle
HISTORY/SOCIETY
- How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead by Ariel Gore
- The Facebook Effect: Inside the Company that is Connecting the World by David Kirk
- Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
COMPUTER SCIENCE
- Arguing A.I: The Battle for Twenty-First Century Science by Sam Williams
- The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence by Margaret A. Boden
- Digital Soul: Intelligent Machines and Human Values by Thomas M. Georges
* denotes a book that I have already begun reading
GENERAL GOALS
- Read at least fifty pages of literature a day, these can be divided up between school and pleasure reading. However essays and the like cannot be included.
- Record myself reading aloud for at least fifteen minutes a day as an improvement to my speech
My deadline for this list is December 20, 2010. This is the official last day of fall and thus the last day of Fall Into Reading. It is possible that by that time more books will be added to this list. (I went on an interlibrary loan spree and more then likely books will be arriving over the course of the next couple weeks or so.) I plan on reviewing all these books for you guys and I look forward to discussing some of the classics with you.
In the meantime, keep being the awesome readers that you are and I will make sure to update soon with a review and a general academia update.
Tea and Literature 
WQW!!! What a list!!! Good luck and happy reading! Can’t wait to see what books you recommend!
Thank you! I will definitely keep you informed on what I think are the worthwhile reads from the list.
You can never go wrong with Jane Austen. 🙂
I’m still waiting for my library to get Mockingjay. I’m interested to see how that series actually wraps up.
Yea I am eager to read it. Both prequels didn’t disappoint so I am hoping that Mockingjay is the same way. I could be wrong though.
I’ve already told you what I think about a couple of these…I like the way you read!
Thank you. Already kind of failing miserably at the long term goals but I am going to get right on that tomorrow. I got sidetracked from all things bookish and tried to be social for once. Worked out pretty well except now I am just looking at the pile.
What an excellent and extensive list! I’m particularly interested in finding out your thoughts on the psychology selections. I’d like to read “Bluebird…” myself.
Enjoy your reading and I’ll be back to visit!
Thank you, I am very interested in the psychology selections too. I am hoping to finish Bluebird in the next few days in between essays for my journalism class, the paper for my literature class, and finishing up Northanger Abbey.
Reviews will be posted for each book here so please stick around and join in on some discussion. 🙂
You have a lot of great books on your list. Great goals, too.
Thank you so much. I am really looking forward to this challenge.
Nice list. I particularly liked The Unbearable Lightness of Being and the 2 books by Jane Austen.
Goodluck!
Thank you! I actually need to add a couple of books to the list. Interlibrary loans that have come in and some fictional analysis. Should make for an interesting and varied fall semester.
Wow — very impressive list. You’ll be busy this fall! Great list and great goals. Thanks for being part of Fall Into Reading 2010!
Thank you! I am very excited to take part in this challenge. It seems like a good way to get myself to be extremely productive this semester.
Great list. The Gates is fantastic–very different from The Book of Lost Things. I loved how Connolly combined science and religion seamlessly. Brilliant.
Thank you very much. I decided this book would be my Halloween leisure reading. Not that I really have time to read during Halloween week but I’ll give it a shot.