Today I reached title number 200! Only 550 to go! (Putting it that way takes some of the wind from my sails, even with the exclamation points.)
Wondering what this is all about? Check out the introductory post.
Titles 191-200:
191
Title: Thinking the Twentieth Century
Author: Judt, Tony
Date Added: 02/27/12
Verdict: Keep. It looks like this could be an interesting exploration of the ideas that shaped the 20th century.
Project List: none.
192
Title: The Passionate War: The Narrative History of the Spanish Civil War
Author: Wyden, Peter
Date Added: 03/26/12
Verdict: Go. I’m looking for more of an overview of the Spanish Civil War, and the reviews suggest this book isn’t that.
Project List: n/a
193
Title: The Spanish Civil War
Author: Thomas, Hugh
Date Added: 03/26/12
Verdict: Go (after much hemming and hawing). This sounds like it’s the book to read about the Spanish Civil War, but A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War seems to be the favorite of reviewers from Spain (and also promises to be more concise), so I think I’ll start with that one, and if I want a more in-depth history, I’ll try this one.
Project List: none.
194
Title: A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War
Author: Preston, Paul
Date Added: 03/26/12
Verdict: Keep. Okay, so maybe this is the book to read about the Spanish Civil War. A lot of reviewers from Spain think highly of this one (at least I think they do; my Spanish is still pretty wobbly).
Project List: none.
195
Title: Blood of Spain: An Oral History of the Spanish Civil War
Author: Fraser, Ronald
Date Added: 03/26/12
Verdict: Keep. Now I remember why I have four books about the Spanish Civil War on my list. They all seem like the book to read about that war. I think I’ll read this one after (or perhaps alongside) A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War.
Project List: none.
196
Title: The Patrick Melrose Novels(Patrick Melrose #1-4)
Author: St. Aubyn, Edward
Date Added: 03/28/12
Verdict: Keep. The cover looks cheesy, but my friend Lauren loves this series, and she convinced me to read Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels despite their cheesy covers and I loved those. Time to see if lightning will strike twice.
Project List: none.
197
Title: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents(Discworld, #28)
Author: Pratchett, Terry
Date Added: 03/30/12
Verdict: Keep. I added this book because we had a cat named Maurice whom I could totally imagine masterminding a swindle involving rat buddies. Maurice died three years ago, and I was going to read this book with my kids after his funeral, but it seemed like it might be a little intense for that purpose. Now that they’re a little older and have read Wee Free Men (twice), it’s time to read this one.
Project List: none.
198
Title: The Borrowers (The Borrowers, #1)
Author: Norton, Mary
Date Added: 03/30/12
Verdict: Keep. My kids have read this one, but I haven’t. It seems like a fun option for the flagging hours of my next readathon.
Project List: Readathon.
199
Title: The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia, #1)
Author: Moers, Walter
Date Added: 03/30/12
Verdict: Keep. Several friends have recommended this as a book to read with my kids. It looks decent, so it stays on the list.
Project List: none.
200
Title: Savvy (Savvy, #1)
Author: Law, Ingrid
Date Added: 03/30/12
Verdict: Go. I love finding books to draw my 12yo out of the “all vampires, all the time” thing she’s into right now, but I suspect this one would annoy the heck out of me.
Project List: n/a
Three more titles decluttered, for a total of 63 out of 200 (8.4% of the original 750).
Any thoughts about which titles made the cut and which didn’t?
Imperfect Happiness 