52 books in 52 weeks (2022 edition)

Year NINE nine NINE of reading 52 books in 52 weeks. I started off doing really well, hit a few hiccups, and ended my last week reading three books over the span of 4 days... so... how very 2022. 

I'm trying to analyze my book choices this year, but hard to really see any trends. Out of the 52 books, the total page count was 20,460 pages. I read two books in the Wheel of Time Series but they are so long it might take me another 10 years to get through all of them.

I read 19 female authors and 24 male authors, which... is unfortunate. I wanted to read more books by women and by BIPOC authors. Definitely got my fill of Agatha Christie books though, reading 6 total -- but still not done with all of her mysteries. And some of these later ones are... quite questionable. But let's not blame the ol' Dame. She really churned them out!

In 2023: more books and more exploring different ideas, genres, cultures, and viewpoints. I want to see the world through a vast array of different books. So more women authors, BIPOC authors, and other books outside of my normal thinking -- but also gotta through in some fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery books. 

Now, onto lists because that's my favorite part of the year-end wrap up: 

Least Favorite Book: The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason. (How can you take such a cool premise and make it be so bad?!); You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers (Eggers is not for me).

Longest Book: The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan. These Wheel of Time books are THICCCC.

Biggest Letdown: The Archived by Victoria Schwab (Boring!) or The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Juvenile!) 

Least Favorite Character: The protagonists in You Shall Know Our Velocity!

Most Batsh*t Character: Anyone in Confessions by Kanae Minato. Insane book!! 

Favorite Book: Hard to pick this year but it's between: Wanderers by Chuck Wendig; Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr; or Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson; Killing Commed

Shortest Book: Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

Favorite Character: It's impossible to choose just one. So many great characters! Maybe Lillian from Nothing to See Here. Always Hercule Poirot too! 

Favorite Author: KEVIN WILSON has taken that crown this year. Such fun, witty, intriguing prose and stories! 

And that's it for 2022. What are the odds that George R.R. Martin will save us all by completing The Winds of Winter in 2023?? I say this every year and it never happens!! COME ON GEORGE!!! WE need to know when these dang winds of winter are freaking coming. Okay, bye! 

- ben fleck

1. America Is Not the Heart - Elaine Castillo

2. Confessions - Kanae Minato

3. The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan

4. Nothing to See Here - Kevin Wilson

5. The Archived - Victoria Schwab

6. Island - Aldous Huxley

7. Deep Water - Patricia Highsmith

8. The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan

9. Mothering Sunday - Graham Swift

10. A Winter's Promise - Christelle Dabos

11. The World of Ice & Fire - George R.R. Martin

12. Fall of Man in Wilmslow - David Lagercrantz

13. Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

14. Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber - Mike Isaac

15. Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined - Scott Barry Kaufman

16. Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

17. Wanderers - Chuck Wendig

18. Pachinko - Min Jin Lee

19. Jade City - Fonda Lee

20. Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

21. Everything is Illuminated  - Jonathan Safran Foer

22. Ms. Marvel: No Normal - G. Willow Wilson

23. Codename Villanelle - Luke Jennings

24. Timeline - Michael Crichton

25. Find Me - Andre Aciman

26. Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami

27. The Guest List - Lucy Foley

28. The Darwin Affair - Tim Mason

29. Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie

30. NW - Zadie Smith

31. Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo

32. The Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan

33. Sad Cypress - Agatha Christie

34. The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman

35. Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr

36. You Shall Know Our Velocity! - Dave Eggers

37. Ink and Bone - Rachel Caine

38. Deception Point - Dan Brown

39. Troubled Blood - Robert Galbraith

40. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe - Agatha Christie

41. Ruin and Rising - Leigh Bardugo

42. The Family Fang - Kevin Wilson

43. The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd

44. Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie

45. The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune

46. Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie

47. The Hollow - Agatha Christie

48. Second Foundation - Isaac Asimov

49. Poison for Breakfast - Lemony Snicket

50. Book Lovers - Emily Henry

51. Into the Dark - Claudia Gray

52. The Unhoneymooners - Christina Lauren 

52 books in 52 weeks (2021 edition)

Anyone else find 2021 to be worse and more exhausting than the unprecedented trash year that was 2020? Because I sure as hell did. Thankfully I had books to help get me through. Let's cut to the chase because right now on the last day of 2021 I have no energy left to give.

This is my EIGHTH year of reading 52 books in 52 weeks. So for my maths friends out there, that's FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN books in the last eight years. Wow. That's quite impressive when you see it like that. Good job, me. That's a lot of reading. #NerdAlert or maybe just #UnemployedAlert.

Over the last eight years, two trends have evolved for me. Firstly, my very British goal of reading through every Agatha Christie book. This year I read a whopping TWO Christie books. And neither was that great. One was actually a stinker. My second (also very British) goal of reading through every Shakespeare play made glacial progress as I only read play this year (The Winter's Tale).

Another goal I had was to read more novels written by women and BIPOC. Out of the 52 books, I read 21 written by women, 31 written by men. It's something, but it's not great. For 2022, I want to increase that goal. Combined, I read 27 books by women and BIPOC, 25 books by white men. So that's... shite. In calculating how many books I read by purely BIPOC, it only amounted to 10. I need to do better in 2022. So here's to more books by women and BIPOC because I want to make sure I am ingesting a wide range of views, stories, and perspectives. No limiting oneself in the new year. And thank you excel sheets for helping me calculate all of this.

Now, onto lists because that's my favorite part of the year end wrap up: 

Least Favorite Book: Cherry. What to say? Misogynistic, terrible writing, no plot, awful characters?

Longest Book: The Secret Commonwealth. So long, and yet nothing happened? How?

Biggest Letdown: Ready Player Two. Literally a cookie-cutter copy of the original but with less stakes, less character development, and just... URGH.

Most Depressing Book: The Fifth Season. If you love apocalyptic, dystopian fiction, this is for you. Not an ounce of joy or happiness in this book about the broken earth and the people damned to try and survive on it. 

Least Favorite Character: Nico from Cherry. Alina from Shadow and Bone. Everyone in French Exit.

Most Batsh*t Character: Mary Katherine Blackwood from We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Favorite Book: Obvisously Fleabag: The Scriptures. But in close competition behind it: Gossamer, Watchmen, The Midnight Library, and Sphere.

Shortest Book: UR. Kindle readers, BEWARE!

Favorite Character: Fleabag from Fleabag; Nora Seed from The Midnight Library; Kvothe from The Name in the Wind.

Most Surprising Character: Coriolanus Snow from the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; Jerry from Sphere.

Favorite Author: Phoebe Waller-Bridge & Michael Crichton, 

And that's it for 2021. 2022, please be better. Maybe George R.R. Martin will save us all by completing The Winds of Winter. Time will tell. Everyone stay safe out there. Covid is that bitch. May we all have a healthy and happy new year. Until next time...

- ben fleck

1. I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai

2. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - August Wilson

3. The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss

4. French Exit - Patrick deWitt

5. Cherry - Nico Walker

6. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins

7. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

8. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah

9. Fleabag: The Scriptures - Phoebe Waller-Bridge

10. The Ancient Evil - Christopher Pike

11. The Girl Who Lived Twice - David Lagercrantz

12. Foundation - Isaac Asimov

13. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

14. Nomadland - Jessica Bruder

15. Behind Her Eyes - Sarah Pinborough

16. A Promised Land - Barack Obama

17. The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu

18. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

19. Emma - Jane Austen

20. Exhalation: And Other Stories - Ted Chiang

21. The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

22. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

23. Watchmen - Alan Moore

24. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

25. Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

26. Diamonds Are Forever - Ian Fleming

27. Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert

28. Gossamer - Lois Lowry

29. Beloved - Toni Morrison

30. Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline

31. The Word for World is Forest - Ursula K. Le Guin

32. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson

33. Sphere- Michael Crichton

34. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

35. The Disaster Tourist - Ko-eun Yun

36. The Testaments - Margaret Atwood

37. Election - Tom Perrotta

38. The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan

39. The Secret of Chimneys - Agatha Christie

40. Appointment with Death - Agatha Christie

41. Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

42. The Rules of Attraction - Bret Easton Ellis

43. The Leftovers - Tom Perrotta

44. The House of Gucci - Sara Gay Forden

45. Utopia - Thomas More

46. Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho

47. The Secret Commonwealth - Philip Pullman

48. UR - Stephen King

49. The Winter's Tale - William Shakespeare

50. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

51. The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin

52. The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

52 books in 52 weeks (2020 edition)

Wow! What a year it has been, in a not good way... 2020 has been surprising, difficult, tiring, irritating, and more. Never did the world think we would be suddenly facing a pandemic as we entered a new decade & faced an important Presidential election, but HERE. WE. ARE. 

Quarantined inside, separated from loved ones, and doing everything through glitchy video meetings. It's been tough.

And if you think being stuck inside made it easier to read 52 books in 52 weeks, you would be wrong. It was still as difficult as ever. Reading was hard to feel motivated to do, but I did it. And read some pretty good books.

For those keeping track, my goal to read every Agatha Christie book is trekking along. This year I read 8 more of her capers. Some were... not good. Dame Aggie can't hit every book outta the park.

And as for my Shakespeare quest, I only managed to read 2 of his plays. Oop. Look, I just didn't feel up to slogging through ol Willy Shakes' words this year. 

I did read a bunch of teen horror books by Christopher Pike. Lots of fun was had in those pages. Out of the 33 authors I read this year, 13 were female and 20 were male. Narrowing that gender gap. I also tried to read more BIPOC authors. 

I can always do better -- looking to continue reading different books from a variety of authors going forward.

I read some classics, read some books for work, some for the book/movie (boovie) club that I am a part of. Reading remains fun even when it is hard to be motivated to do it. 

Let's stop prolonging the best part of this post--my lists! See below.

Least Favorite Book: Normal People - Sally Rooney (So boring & not for me!)

Longest Book: The Once and Future King - T.H. White (So Long, So Arthurian & Witchy weird)

Biggest Letdown: The House with a Clock in Its Walls - John Bellairs (So much potential just quickly thrown down the drain...or, into the walls or w/e)

Most Depressing Book: Mood Indigo - Boris Vian (c'est tragique!); the Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead (the tragedy of slavery is fucking awful)

Least Favorite Character: Honestly, I find Sherlock Holmes quite awful & annoying & arrogant & not that fun. Throw in Tummy & Tuppence from Agatha Christie's books too.

Most Batsh*t Character: Any Villain in a Christopher Pike novel -- truly wild people, perhaps the most wild in Remember Me.

Favorite Book: Mood Indigo - Boris Vian (I don't know if because it's translated from French or one of the most beautiful movies I've seen, but it just really hit home for me in this year 2020)

Shortest Book: The Lemesurier Inheritance - Agatha Christie

Favorite Character: Deborah Lacks from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Deborah is a real-life person, so she's not technically a character, but she was astounding to read about. 

Most Surprising Character: Grace Randolph from You Should Have Known - Jean Hanff Korelitz. Let's just say she was nothing like Nicole Kidman and her many coats and accents in the Undoing and it changed the whole way I looked at the story.

Favorite Author: Dame Agatha (durp), Christopher Pike, Boris Vian

And that's it for 2020. Maybe next year is the year I can finally conquer Shakespeare and/or Christie. Maybe George R.R. Martin will complete The Winds of Winter. Time will tell. 7 years of 52 books in 52 weeks. Here's to 7 more years aka 364 more books! CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL. STAY INSIDE. WEAR MASKS. BE SAFE AND BE EMPATHETIC. We can get through this.  

- ben fleck

1. Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

2. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle

3. The Lemesurier Inheritance - Agatha Christie

4. Leia: Princess of Alderaan - Claudia Grey

5. N or M? - Agatha Christie

6. Cards on the Table - Agatha Christie

7. Parker Pyne Investigates - Agatha Christie

8. By the Pricking of My Thumbs - Agatha Christie

9. The House with a Clock in Its Walls - John Bellairs

10. Dumb Witness - Agatha Christie

11. Artemis - Andy Weir

12. The Collectors - Philip Pullman

13. Remember Me - Christopher Pike

14. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

15. The Eternal Enemy - Christopher Pike

16. Bury Me Deep - Christopher Pike

17. Road to Nowhere - Christopher Pike

18. Tales of Terror: Volume 1 - Christopher Pike

19. Tales of Terror: Volume 2 - Christopher Pike

20. The Tachyon Web - Christopher Pike

21. Weekend - Christopher Pike

22. Postern of Fate - Agatha Christie

23. The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead

24. Normal People - Sally Rooney

25. The Once and Future King - T.H. White

26. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

27. Morning Star - Pierce Brown

28. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Frank L. Baum

29. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

30. Mañanaland - Pam Muñoz Ryan

31. Bayou Magic - Jewell Parker Rhodes

32. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier

33. Mood Indigo - Boris Vian

34. The Sign of Four - Arthur Conan Doyle

35. City - Devin Grayson

36. Murder in the Mews - Agatha Christie

37. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel García Márquez

38. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green

39. The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde

40. The Canterville Ghost - Oscar Wilde

41. Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie

42. The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

43. The Two Gentleman of Verona - William Shakespeare

44. The Case of the Missing Marquess - Nancy Springer

45. I Know What You Did Last Summer - Lois Duncan

46. The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau

47. You Should Have Known - Jean Hanff Korelitz

48. Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving

49. Serpentine - Philip Pullman

50. Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare

51. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

52. Chain Letter - Christopher Pike

52 Books in 52 Weeks (2019 Edition)

The world may be a trash fire that is gonna end, if not today, then in the next ten years unless we FIX THE CLIMATE. But, one thing that is consistent (for now): books! Another year has gone by, which means it is time for me to use this blog to write a post about the 52 books I read. This year, I cut it super close to the deadline. I had to read about 6 books in that last stretch of 2019 and it was hard (especially because my three year-old nephew kept stealing my copy of The Invisible Man). 

Some key things to note this year: firstly, George R.R. Martin did... NOT... give us The Winds of Winter, even though the show, Game of Thrones, bumpily ended. So, let us hope we get it in this new decade. 2019 was a stressful year. Lots going on personally and in the world, so at times I found it hard to take a moment to escape and read, but somehow I managed to do it.

Reading remains a favorite pastime of mine. This year, I had to read some books for some projects I worked on, particularly two podcasts for Parcast.com. One dealt with a Nazi Spy, the other with a deadly natural disaster. So... same thing.
For my Agatha Christie stans, I continued to make my way through her arsenal. reading 5 of her books this year. Though I must say, I am NOT a fan of her Tommy & Tuppence Series. I find those two just dreadful. For my William Shakespeare stans, I am still trying to get through his body of work, but only managed two of his plays this year.
I spent a lot of time re-reading the last three Harry Potter novels and I gotta say, they still stand up. Such beautiful world building and character growth! 
Out of the 41 authors, 15 were women and I plan to increase that number next year. I also want to read more books by a variety of different authors from different backgrounds. It's all about widening the scope and taking it all in.
Also, I had a dystopian face-off between Brave New World and 1984. In my opinion, 1984 seemed like a more feasible, terrible reality. And with the way the world is going now... we might be headed to the likes of Big Brother. 
But without further ado, it is time to get to listing stuff. WHO DOESN'T LOVE A LIST?!
Least Favorite Book: Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie (Sorry Dame Ags!)
Longest Book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (featuring angsty Harry!) - JK Rowling
Biggest Letdown: The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie (annoying characters); The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness (too much running around!)
Most Depressing Book: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley (poor lil monster)
Least Favorite Character: Everyone in The Lies of Locke Lamora; Tommy & Tuppence (The Secret Adversary; Partners in Crime)
Most Batsh*t Character: Annie Wilkes (Misery) -- truly the most terrifying character of all time!
Favorite Book: Too hard to choose!! Tied between Fleabag - Phoebe Waller-Bridge; Stardust - Neil Gaiman; and HPs 5-7 - JK Rowling; Misery - Stephen King
Shortest Book: The 1928 Lake Okeechobee Hurricane - Charles River Editors
Favorite Character: Michelle Obama, duh (Becoming); Fleabag, duh (Fleabag); Hedwig (HPs 5-7); Phoebe Winterbottom (Walk Two Moons)
Most Surprising Character: Esther Greenwood (The Bell Jar) -- so much depth & vulnerability revealed
Favorite Author: Pheebs Walls Bridges, Agatha, JK -- guess I like British dames.

And that's it for 2019. Onto 2020. Let's hope we make it. A new year, a new decade, but the same ol' desire to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Maybe next year is the year I conquer Shakespeare and/or Christie. Time will tell. CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL.

- ben fleck

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley - Patricia Highsmith
2. Authority - Jeff VanderMeer
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling
4. The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
5. Golden Son - Pierce Brown
6. The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin
7. The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie
8. The Ninth Life of Louis Drax - Liz Jensen
9. The Grownup - Gillian Flynn
10. House of Many Ways - Diana Wynne Jones
11. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
12. Moonraker - Ian Fleming
13. Fleabag - Phoebe Waller-Bridge
14. The A.B.C. Murders - Agatha Christie
15. The Sun Is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon
16. Misery - Stephen King
17. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman
18. Murder in Mesopotamia - Agatha Christie
19. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
20. Dune - Frank Herbert
21. Strangers on a Train - Patricia Highsmith
22. Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie
23. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
24. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
25. Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin
26. The Comedy of Errors - William Shakespeare
27. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling
28. Pygmalion - George Bernard Shaw
29. Antony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare
30. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling
31. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman
32. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
33. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
34. The 39 Steps - John Buchan
35. Walter Schellenberg: The Memoirs of Hitler's Spymaster - Walter Schellenberg
36. Becoming - Michelle Obama
37. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
38. Wayside School if Falling Down - Louis Sachar
39. Origin - Dan Brown
40. The Witness for the Prosecution - Agatha Christie
41. The Great Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 - Wayne Neely
42. The 1928 Lake Okeechobee Hurricane - Charles River Editors
43. Walk Two Moons - Sharon Creech
44. Killer 'cane: The Deadly Hurricane of 1928 - Robert Mykle
45. And Both Were Young - Madeleine L'Engle
46. The Library Book - Susan Orlean
47. Travels with Charley: In Search for America - John Steinbeck
48. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
49. The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
50. Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli
51. The Tales of the Beedle and the Bard - JK Rowling
52. 1984 - George Orwell

52 Books in 52 Weeks (2018 Edition)

Another year has gone by which means it's time for my annual update to this mostly defunct blog to list the 52 books I read in these last 52 weeks. Before I get into any listicle fun, let me just say that another year has gone by without The Winds of Winter by Mr. George R.R. Martin. GEORGE! SRSLY?! I am respecting your process, but come on... the show is ending in 2019 and we still haven't gotten book 6!

Anyways sidestepping that rage, I continued the tradition of reading my way through ol' Dame Agatha Christie's collection of mysteries, but only 3 this year. I'm still not done because she wrote a hell of a lot of mystery novels and I can't just keep Jessica Fletchering myself all day, e'ryday. But I did get to visit London and watch one of her plays LIVE (Unfortunately, The Mousetrap wasn't one of her bests).

Also, re-read a Harry Potter because DUH.

ALAS, I am also taking a trip down the old William Shakespeare train, trying to get through as many of his works as I can. So far, comedies > tragedies. His wit and hijinks far outweigh the death, gore, and drama.

Let me implore you, devoted blog reader: reading fiction for fun is fun! It's nice to escape from the hellscape of reality and dip into another world for a few hours. I mostly read fiction, sci-fi, mystery, and fantasy -- but more power to all those who read whatever book brings them joy. READ PEOPLE, COME ON. Also, check out my Goodreads page for more in-depth reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2018/23079812

Without further ado, it is time to get to listing stuff. Because lists are fun. Almost as fun as reading.

Favorite Book: It's a tie: Kindred - Octavia Butler & The Princess Bride - William Goldman.

Least Favorite Book: Less Than Zero - Bret Easton Ellis. HATED.

Longest Book: A Column of Fire - Ken Follett.

Shortest Book: Oleanna - David Mamet (Also, the most explosive & thought-provoking!)

Biggest Letdown: Mortal Engines Sequels (Infernal Devices, A Darkling Plain). They just weren't as good as the first novel.

Most Depressing Book: A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara.

Favorite Character: Starr Carter (The Hate U Give), Professor Trelawney (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), every character in The Princess Bride.

Least Favorite Character: Every single character in Less Than Zero. THEY ALL TRASH! Also, Joe Goldberg from You was not great.

Most Misogynistic/Racist Character: James Bond (from Casino Royale & Live and Let Die). He's pretty terrible.

Most Surprising Character: Mary Poppins was quite the asshole.

Most Read Author: William Shakespeare. Sorry, Dame Agatha!

Favorite Author: Octavia Butler, William Goldman, JK Rowling (duh).

Okay, y'all that's it for 2018. See ya next year. 2018 was hard and at times awful, but here's to hoping 2019 is better. Vive la resistance! Happy reading.

- ben fleck

52 Books in 52 Week (2018 Edition)
1. The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
2. The Ice Dragon - George R.R. Martin
3. The Book of Dust - Philip Pullman
4. Endless Night - Agatha Christie
5. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood
6. Oleanna - David Mamet
7. A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams
8. The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
9. Equus - Peter Shaffer
10. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming
11. Nightflyers - George R.R. Martin
12. Red Sparrow - Jason Matthews
13. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
14. A Column of Fire - Ken Follett
15. Less Than Zero - Bret Easton Ellis
16. The Man in the Brown Suit - Agatha Christie
17. Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers
18. The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides
19. Timekeeper - Tara Sim
20. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
21. Infernal Devices - Philip Reeve
22. The Shape of Things to Come - H.G. Wells
23. A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara
24. Speed the Plow - David Mamet
25. Jamaica Inn - Daphne Du Maurier
26. You - Caroline Kepnes
27. The Merry Wives of Windsor - William Shakespeare
28. Bioshock: Rapture - John Shirley
29. Atonement - Ian McEwan
30. A Simple Favor - Darcey Bell
31. The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
32. Death in the Clouds - Agatha Christie
33. The Girl who takes an Eye for an Eye - David Lagercrantz
34. Othello - William Shakespeare
35. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer
36. The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
37. All's Well that Ends Well - William Shakespeare
38. Lethal White - Robert Galbraith
39. A Darkling Plain - Philip Reeve
40. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
41. A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
42. Kindred - Octavia Butler
43. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? - Maria Semple
44. The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare
45. The Princess Bride - William Goldman
46. Love's Labour's Lost - William Shakespeare
47. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
48. Live and Let Die - Ian Fleming
49. If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin
50. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
51. The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry
52. The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

52 Books in 52 Weeks (2017 Edition)

Another year has gone by, another reading challenge has been completed, and another year without The Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin. 2017 was at times a shitty year, but, come on George! We need GoT Book 6! We need it now more than ever!

Regardless, I am back to writing on this blog (exactly one year since I last wrote on it) to report that I have once again read 52 books in 52 weeks. It may not have been a good year for most things, but it was a good year for books. I re-read the first two books in the Harry Potter series because sometimes you just need them in your life. (Also, read a special Ravenclaw version of the Philosopher's Stone, because I'm going in on Ravenclaw this year. Thanks new Pottermore sorting quiz!)

Carrie Fisher passed away at the end of 2016, so I made sure to read everything I could that she had written. She was so wise, funny, and truthful. It hurts that someone like that is now gone.

I also continued to earn that Agatha Christie Fan Club badge as I make my way through every novel she has written.  Seven more this year. She certainly knew what she was doing, but did have some stinkers too (At Bertram's Hotel, you hot, hot mess!)

Reading has always been so fun for me and nothing is more fun in reading than LISTS. So here are some lists!

Favorite Book: S. - J.J. Abrams. ('Twas so rich, complex, and immersive! Also, this is not counting my re-readings of the first two HP novels)

Least Favorite Book: Crash and Burn - Michael Hassan. (Truly the worst!)

Longest Book: Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens (Bud needed an editor!)

Biggest Letdown: A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess (Maybe I just didn't get it.)

Favorite Character: Lisbeth Salander (The Girl in the Spider's Web), Dobby (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Lady Edgware (Lord Edgware Dies)

Least Favorite Character: All of the characters from Crash and Burn. THE WORST.

Most Read Author: Agatha Christie. Love that old broad.

Most Read Genre: Mystery / Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Favorite Author: Well, besides J.K. Rowling, Agatha Christie, and Madeleine L'Engle (the OG ladies), I'd have to say Jeffrey Eugenides.

2017 was the beginning of the world changing. Glass ceilings were broken. Hard truths were learned. And the resistance is getting fueled up. Can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us all.

- ben fleck

52 Books in 52 Weeks (2017 Edition)

1. S - J.J. Abrams
2. As You Like It - William Shakespeare
3. A Separate Peace - John Knowles
4. The Beatrice Letters - Lemony Snicket
5. Lord Edgware Dies - Agatha Christie
6. The Princess Diarist - Carrie Fisher
7. Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher
8. Who Could That Be at This Hour? - Lemony Snicket
9. When Did You See Her Last? - Lemony Snicket
10. Once Upon a Time in the North - Philip Pullman
11. Tulip Fever - Deborah Moggach
12. A Caribbean Mystery - Agatha Christie
13. Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens
14. Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography - Lemony Snicket
15. File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents - Lemony Snicket
16. A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
17. The Zookeeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman
18. Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
19. The Lost City of Z - David Grann
20. Aenir - Garth Nix
21. Above the Veil - Garth Nix
22. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
23. Shouldn't You Be in School? - Lemony Snicket
24. Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
25. At Bertram's Hotel - Agatha Christie
26. The Girl in the Spider's Web - David Lagercrantz
27. Castle in the Air - Diana Wynne Jones
28. Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? - Lemony Snicket
29. Nemesis - Agatha Christie
30. My Cousin Rachel - Daphne du Maurier
31. Crash and Burn - Michael Hassan
32. Into Battle - Garth Nix
33. The Violet Keystone - Garth Nix
34. Postcards from the Edge - Carrie Fisher
35. A Ring of Endless Light - Madeleine L'Engle
36. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
37. The Taming of the Shrew - William Shakespeare
38. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling
39. Predator's Gold - Philip Reeve
40. The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
41. Three Act Tragedy - Agatha Christie
42. Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
43. Troubling a Star - Madeleine L'Engle
44. Mr. Kiss and Tell - Rob Thomas
45. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
46. Sleeping Murder - Agatha Christie
47. Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman
48. Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan
49. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
50. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
51. Orpheus Descending - Tennessee Williams
52. Suddenly Last Summer - Tennessee Williams

52 Books in 52 Weeks - 2016 Edition

Fucked up and accidentally deleted this blog post....