A Reading Life « A Progressive on the Prairie

Pretty much 0-fer again

Last year I read nearly 150 books, with fiction (74) slightly exceeding nonfiction (67). In the latter category, about one third of the books were biographies or autobiographies. So how did I do in voting for the National Book Critics Circle awards? Once again an 0-fer in the finalists in four main categories: fiction, biography [...]

Fighting the urge

Remember my “nonresolution” to read what I want when I feel like it? Given that I posted it just 10 days ago, temptation has already reared its head. It sneakily arrived in the mailbox.

When I got home last night there were two catalogs from a major publishing house of forthcoming books on a number [...]

My nonresolutions

The only New Year’s resolution I think I’ve ever kept is the last one I made. Years ago, I resolved to not make New Year’s resolutions and have been very good at it since. (I don’t remember if that was before or after I decided that each Lenten season I would give up giving up [...]

January Bibliolust

It’s the time of year where we look both forward and back. In looking back, I am surprised at how closely the percentage of Bibliolust books read last year is to the all time percentage. I doubt there’s any significance but I do find it interesting. Looking forward means half the books this month actually [...]

2011 in books — By the numbers

Want to know what happens when I combine a lengthy vacation with our “empty nest”? It means I read more books than in any year since I started keeping track in 1976. This year I read 147 books, compared to the prior record of 127 last year. And although the number may be somewhat squishy, [...]

2011 in books — My favorites

As longtime readers likely are aware, I don’t do my “best of” for books until the year has ended. I always fear I am going to read THE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR after I post that if I do so before year-end.

This is another year, though, where I can say nothing in the [...]

So, how many pages are in a book?

This year for the first time I decided to keep track of how many pages were in the books I read. I never did before because I figured it wasn’t fair to include the index and didn’t want to go through the hassle of counting pages, subtracting index-like matter and adding in prefaces and the [...]

Books as gifts — in April

Anyone who is thinking about giving a book for a gift is thinking of Christmas. But four months from now is the perfect opportunity to give someone a book as World Book Night premiers in the U.S. on April 23, 2012. And now we know the 30 books that will be given away and the [...]

Weekend Edition: 12-3

Bulletin Board

Today is Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day. It appears, though, that Prairie Pages Bookstore is the only South Dakota bookstore participating.

Although it’s still months away, I am excited enough about World Book Night coming to the U.S. that the site has been added to the blogroll.

Interesting Reading in [...]

December Bibliolust

You’d think with Christmas coming this list would be packed. Thing is, books aren’t Christmas presents for me. They are a daily necessity of life. Thus, books rarely, if ever, make it on my Christmas wish list. As you’ll see, the books this month aren’t really Christmassy either. Hopefully, it’s not indicative of less daily [...]

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Pretty much 0-fer again

Fighting the urge

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January Bibliolust

2011 in books — By the numbers

2011 in books — My favorites

So, how many pages are in a book?

Books as gifts — in April

Weekend Edition: 12-3

December Bibliolust

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