Reading Report: Start of 2007
Sunday, March 11th, 2007
Yeah, it’s kinda far into March to be finally reporting on January and February, but I’ve been sick, so there.
Anyhow, the paltry few books with which I started my year:
- Nicholas Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun
- Christine el Mahdy, Tutankhamun: the Life and Death of the Boy-King
- Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian
- David Silverman, Josef Wegner, and Jennifer Houser Wegner, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun: Revolution and Restoration
Anyone notice a bit of a trend?
Anyhow, the math to meet the goal is similar to last year’s failed attempt–two books per month, plus a few extra along the way. I’m somewhat pleased to see that at least I managed the two books per month. I’m not yet sure when and how I’ll manage the “few more along the way” part of the plan.
Now, the sharp-eyed observer might notice that the book on the left of this grouping is not, in fact, Nicholas Reeves’ The Complete Tutankhamun. That ‘cos I took the Reeves into the office as soon as I was done reading it. It’s been a useful source to make sure I and my colleagues sound somewhat well-informed when we say and write things about the Big Exhibit. The book pictured is, in fact, the exhibit catalog from the 1970s King Tut tour. My family had misplaced the copy we bought in New Orleans all those years ago, so I was thrilled to find a copy recently down at The Book Trader.
I’m also thinking the one non-Tut book in the grouping might carry a clue as to why I find it so difficult to meet these reading goals that are based on numbers of books. ‘Cos I keep picking tomes to read. Last year, it was a huge honking Ben Franklin bio, Sophie’s Choice, and Voyage of the Beagle—this year’s 656-page debut novel just continues the trend. If I read shorter books, I could easily be one or two titles closer to my goal in the time it took me to read the Kostova.
But I guess that’s just not the way I roll.