The Sunday Salon: May '09 recap

I should be calling this the Last Sunday of the Month Salon. That seems to be the only time I get around to posting this. And as usual, I have an end of month wrapup.


In my last SS I mentioned the Library Thing group meetup I was looking forward to in The Berkshires. It was all I'd hoped for and more! We had a wonderful time visiting and eating and touring Edith Wharton's home, The Mount (photo), and eating and talking.... (Wendy wrote a wonderful post about it on her blog and Laura did the same on her blog.) I think this will be an annual event. Next year we'll even get some of our European friends over here for a gathering in New York.

So on with the wrapup; I'm making progress, though only at 40/125 for my overall reading challenge, which means I need to read 22 books this month if I'm going to stay on track. Er, I don't see that happening! I did well for May though, considering how busy I was; I read 8 books, my favorites of which were:

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Three Junes by Julia Glass

The worst book I read (one of the worst in years) was At Risk by Patricia Cornwell, which I read for my book group. Fortunately, it was a short quick read, so I didn't give up too many reading hours.

What's in a Name: completed 6/6 DONE!
Decades Challenge: completed 6/10.
The Orange Prize and Booker Prize challenges are perpetual, but I've set a personal goal to read 12 of each this year (some are crossovers). Orange Prize: 9/12; Booker Prize: 7/12. With Orange July just next month, I'll be able to knock that one off easily! I already have six books chosen for that month.
Dewey's Books: 5/5 DONE!
Pub Challenge: 5/9
Short Stories: 16/25
Essays: 0/20
Jane Austen: 0/1
Classics (other than Austen): 3/4
These last two are personal challenges. By my definition, Classic is any book older than me that has a high level of notoriety. There are a few exceptions (e.g. To Kill A Mockingbird).

Next week I'll try for a first Sunday of the month Salon! Hope your week is wonderful and full of good books.
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