#2

Title: The Reader
Author: Bernhard Schlink

Year: 1995

Intrigued by the hype surrounding the movie, I decided to read the book before viewing its film rendition; having finished the final pages tonight, I am flummoxed by the moral and historical tangles that Schlink creates but ultimately left feeling slightly (but only slightly) more sympathy than scorn for Hanna, an imbalance that the novel's first-person narrative seems to subtly invite.

#1

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J. K. Rowling
Year: 1999

While I read the first two Harry Potter books in high school and re-read them recently, I had never explored the rest of the series, thus making my current endeavors all the more exciting; in this book, Rowling's third installment, friendships and betrayals related to Harry's parents have heightened my curiosity about the remaining four books and the adventures they have in store.

Can this be done?

I've never kept track of how many books I've read in any given year. Until now.

Inspired by Kevin's goal of reading 50 books this year, I have decided to attempt the same. I don't know if I'll even come close, but it's definitely worth a shot.

Reading a book a week, on average, seems the best way to achieve 50 by December 31, 2009. However, I know I won't be quite that accurate, and some books will take me months while others will take two days. Hopefully it'll all even out.

In this blog, I'll chronicle each book I complete by listing the book number in the subject line, then posting a picture of the book, its title, author, and year of publication, and finally writing one sentence (however complex with its punctuation) summarizing the book's topic and/or my opinion. One sentence; nothing more.

Here we go.