In addition to some goals that I set for every new year, I had two resolutions for 2009. One was to run from the top of the island of Manhattan to the bottom in one shot. It didn't happen, and you could know this just by looking at my gut: I'm pushing two bills now (200 pounds)! I'm not there yet, but getting close. I started on my goal a few times but suffered a few setbacks: bruised ribs (which made it painful to run across the street when a car was coming), a nasty cold, and lots of homework. A similar goal will carry over into 2010: the chest should come out farther than the stomach, and that is what needs to happen this new year!
Goal number 2 was to read 12 non-law school books. I had read an article about a competition that George W. Bush and Karl Rove have each year to see who can read more books. I wanted something to do to help me relax while dealing the stresses of law school and figured that this would also help me become more well rounded. I figured that a book a month would be perfect. Things went well, and I read 9 between January and the middle of May. It really helped my studies, mind, and psyche in general because it became a release from school.
When I left for South America, I took 3 books with me. Within a few weeks, I had read them and so I purchased and read a few more and read some more in bookstores all over Brazil. My main blog entries that deal with books in New York, Brazil, and elsewhere are here and here. When I came to the end of the summer, I had read 29 books total. I thought about the possibility of reading 52, one for each week, but figured that a busy semester would prevent me from reading 23 books. I kept reading on the subway every day, when I had free time here and there, and before going to bed. I started to realize that 52 was a realistic goal and kept working toward it.
Today, with a few days to spare, I am happy to report that I finished my 52nd book of 2009. Some of you who I have told about this goal have requested a list of the books. Here's your list, along with my general rankings of the books and a few cool little experiences with some of the books. Enjoy.
The Best
1. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (incredible)
2. Notre-Dame of Paris by Victor Hugo
3. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Great
5. The Accidental President of Brazil by Fernando Henrique Cardoso (read this in Brazil)
6. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
8. The 39 Steps by John Buchan
9. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
10. Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum
12. Dracula by Bram Stoker
13. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
14. Rip Van Winkle, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories by Washington Irving (read this while on the train going out to Sleepy Hollow, NY!)
15. A Death in Brazil: A Book of Omissions by Peter Robb
16. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
17. The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel García Márquez
18. Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum
19. An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina
20. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
21. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez
22. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
23. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
24. His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle
25. Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone by Larry Devlin
26. Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by Mark Bowden27. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
28. Greenmantle by John Buchan
The Good
29. Political Order in Changing Societies by Samuel P. Huntington
30. Journal of Christopher Columbus by Christopher Columbus
31. The Search for El Dorado by John Hemming (read this in Colombia and Brazil, potential sites of El Dorado if it exists or existed)
33. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
34. Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America by John Charles Chasteen
36. Polyarchy by Robert A. Dahl
37. Francisco de Miranda: A Transatlantic Life in the Age of Revolution by Karen Racine
39. No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel García Márquez
The Boring
40. Lost City of the Incas by Hiram Bingham (read this while in Cuzco and Machu Picchu)
41. Doing Comparative Politics: An Introduction to Approaches and Issues
42. Comparative Politics: Rationality, Structure and Culture by Mark Irving Lichbach
43. Nail Your Law Job Interview by Natalie Prescott
44. Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics by Todd Landman
45. Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy by Ronald Inglehart
46. Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America by Adam Przeworski
47. Area Studies and Social Science: Strategies for Understanding Middle East Politics by Mark Tessler
The Disappointing
48. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
49. Che's Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image by Michael Casey
51. Back on the Road by Che Guevara
52. Guerilla Warfare by Che Guevara
When I am able to force myself through The Last of the Mohicans, that will also appear in the disappointing list. Maybe for 2010. It's funny that I had to read three books by Che Guevara to realize that they never met my expectations. Fool me thrice, shame shame shame on me. They're good, but just not as exciting as I think they will be. Motorcycle Diaries was good, but these others did not meet my expectations. Well, here is the list, reading these books has been great, have a great finish to 2009.
3 comments:
You're amazing.
Wait a second... I don't see the Book of Alma or Helaman or Enos... Is there reason to be concerned, Clint?
No sir. :) I usually read chapters in no particular order, but if you're wondering where I am in my front to back reading, I am in Alma 22. So while I didn't finish the BOM front to back in 2009, I was reading.
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