50/60 books update

I suppose since it's a new year, I should let everyone (heeey Mom) know how the 50 book project went. Every year I track how many books I read cover to cover and aim to read at least 50. In 2007 the first year I attempted, I fell short by 3 books. In 2008, I read 53 books. In 2009, I read 63 books, my most yet. Here's some numbers on the books for you:

July had the most books with 10
February had the least books with 0, followed by December at 2
74% of the books were read after graduating from YDS
6 books were for academic purposes
9 books on teaching
39 books by women
17 books on feminist/GLBTQ topics or themes
11 books on religion
7 books on race
18,109 pages read

Some recommendations from the year:

Speaking of Faith, Krista Tippett
The Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
The Unit, Ninni Holmqvist
A Map of the World, Jane Hamilton

I'd be hard pressed to choose between Loving Frank and The Unit as the favorite for the year. I can't tell you how many times I've referenced Loving Frank (about Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick) in passing conversation, usually ending with "and then they were ax-murdered and the house was set on fire."

For 2010, I've upped my goal to 60. Although I reached that number this year, I was unemployed for several months and went through a lot of books this fall. Although 50 is still ambitious, I would like to continually challenge myself. I'm not sure what the rest of the year looks like, but I'd like to attempt 60 anyway. I've already finished one book - The Family, by Jeff Sharlet.

I'm also contemplating other goals I'd like to achieve this year, but I'm not quite ready to share them yet. It depends on waiting for other people to make decisions about my career. Two weeks from tomorrow!