Bringing NaNoReadMo 2013 to a Close

It is just past midnight on December 1, so that means my National Novel Reading Month is over! I have 44 books listed on my NaNoReadMo shelf (where you will find my reviews of these titles), but not all of them are books I've finished reading. My original list for NaNoReadMo has been updated with the books I finished crossed off. I read the first 50 pages or so of even more books in my third round of speed dating.

But it is SO much more glorious to see a picture of a pile!  This shows everything I read cover to cover except Rivers by Michael Farris Smith (audiobook), Goslings by J.D. Beresford (audiobook), and Herland (eBook) (and the cookbooks I finished reviewing that I didn't bring upstairs.)

Not too shabby for a month!  I also got 2/3 of the way into The Brothers K by David James Duncan but won't finish it until my reading group does. 

Thanks to all of you who joined me for the month of reading more! Let me know in the comments what you read during NaNoReadMo, if you'd like. 

NaNoReadMo List of Reading (Envy)

I know that as soon as I've prescribed myself a list, I will want to read something else, but here are my tentative plans for NaNoReadMo.  I'm breaking the books down into categories and linking to them in Amazon because they make it easy!  I also made a shelf in GoodReads for this month so I could track my progress. I'm going to come back to this list and cross items out that I have either finished or abandoned.

Poetry from the National Book Award Longlist
(I meant to have read these all by now, and I have three left.  It will be nice to finish up that project.)

1. American Amnesiac by Diane Raptosh 
2. Transfer of Qualities by Martha Ronk 
3. Stay, Illusion: Poems by Lucie Brock-Broido 

Books for Book Clubs
(I may have a slight book club problem because this is a pressing list of books that will be discussed within the month of November!)

1. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - International Book Club (in person)
2. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra - 21st Century Book Club (in GoodReads; also a National Book Award finalist)
3. The Brothers K by David James Duncan - Misfit Readers (in Facebook)

Books for the Podcast
(I think I'm scheduled for two SFF Audio podcasts in November, which means reading books in preparation)

1. Goslings by J.D. Beresford (link goes to audiobook)
2. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Books from and about Turkey
(Technically the year of reading Turkish literature is from a book group in GoodReads called The World's Literature, but it's a category of its own, and I'm behind! I want to catch up. The year is almost over and we'll be moving on to another region!)

1. Dog Tails by Aziz Nesin
2. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
3. The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk
4. The Three-Arched Bridge by Ismail Kidare (from the side fighting the Ottomans off!)
5. Turkish Reflections by Mary Lee Settle
6. Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux 
7. Yes, I Would...: An American Woman's Letters to Turkey by Katherine Branning 

Books up for Review
(I get cookbooks, audiobooks, and books through NetGalley for review, and I'm always trying to stay on top of it.  Reviewing the cookbooks means making at least 2 things from each (some I've dabbled in already), audiobooks take time, and I'm not sure I'll get through this list in a month! That's what NaNoReadMo is about.)

1. Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes From a Little Neighborhood Bakery
2. Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round
3. Wintersweet: Seasonal Desserts to Warm the Home
4. Gluten-Free Bread: More than 100 Artisan Loaves for a Healthier Life
5. Martha Stewart's Cakes: Our First-Ever Book of Bundts, Loaves, Layers, Coffee Cakes, and more
6. One Bowl Baking: Simple, From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts
7. Snackistan: Street Food, Comfort Food, Meze: Informal Eating in the Middle East & Beyond: Street Food, Comfort Food, Meze
8. Actors Anonymous by James Franco
9. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
10. Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
11. The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara 
12. Crux by Ramez Naam
13. Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon (audio)
14. Rivers by Michael Farris Smith (audio)
15. Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem (audio)
16. Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah (audio)
17. The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin, read by Meryl Streep (audio)
18. Aimless Love by Billy Collins, read by Billy Collins (audio)

This list is already getting pretty long.  I'm also going to sprinkle some book speed-dating throughout the month (I have Speed Dating Set 3 all ready to go!). I have an entire bookshelf of practically untouched books, one per state, for that Around the USA idea I started out with this year (whoops), and I have a few audiobooks I haven't touched yet.  This will be a great month of reading!

Kickoff Post for NaNoREADMo

In the past seven years, I have participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) six times.  Six times!  It's a rush, I've met great people through it, but eventually I had to just come to terms with the fact that I'm a far better reader than writer.  I was starting to not really have fun doing it.

And yet I have a room full of unread books.  Before they take over the house, I have turned them into a challenge.  Join me.  Read mo(re)!  National Novel Reading Month has been declared by yours truly! 

How to participate:

1. Read. More than usual. 
2. Talk, blog, or tweet about it.  Write reviews or save them for after the month. Take pictures of your piles, if you want. I know I will.
3. Make lists of what you might read, even if you don't stick to them.  (Sorry, this is a requirement.  I like lists and therefore I require that you make one. Muahaha.)
4. Comment on this post so I can follow what you're up to.  Friend me on GoodReads.  Follow me on Twitter.  Whatever it takes.  I'm now your reading cheerleader, and I'm bringing snacks!

That's about it.  Read more.  Dedicate time to it. Plan for it. And get through a pile or two!

(Stay tuned for my reading list for NaNoReadMo!)