Shakespeare Project 2016

I am trying to read many (maybe not all) of these.

Play- First Performed Date

1. Henry VI, Part II- 1590-91
2. Henry VI, Part III- 1590-91 
3. Henry VI, Part I- 1591-92 
4. Richard III- 1592-93 
5. Comedy of Errors- 1592-93 
6. Titus Andronicus-1593-94 
7. Taming of the Shrew- 1593-94 
8. Two Gentlemen of Verona- 1594-95 
9. Love's Labour's Lost- 1594-95 
10. Romeo and Juliet- 1594-95 
11. Richard II- 1595-96 
12. A Midsummer Night's Dream- 1595-96 (saw play)
13. King John- 1596-97 
14. The Merchant of Venice- 1596-97 
15. Henry IV, Part I- 1597-98 
16. Henry IV, Part II- 1597-98 
17. Much Ado About Nothing- 1598-99 
18. Henry V- 1598-99 
19. Julius Caesar- 1599-1600 
20. As You Like It- 1599-1600 
21. Twelfth Night- 1599-1600 
22. Hamlet- 1600-01 
23. The Merry Wives of Windsor- 1600-01 
24. Troilus and Cressida- 1601-02 
25. All's Well That Ends Well- 1602-03 
26. Measure for Measure- 1604-05  (saw play)
27. Othello- 1604-05 
28. King Lear- 1605-06 
29. Macbeth- 1605-06 
30. Antony and Cleopatra- 1606-07 
31. Coriolanus- 1607-08 
32. Timon of Athens- 1607-08 
33. Pericles- 1608-09 
34. Cymbeline- 1609-10 
35. The Winter's Tale- 1610-11 
36. The Tempest- 1611-12 
37. Henry VIII- 1612-13 
38. The Two Noble Kinsmen- 1612-13 (maybe not written by Shakespeare) 

Reading Resolutions 2016

Happy New Year! This year my goal is 12 books from the below list: 3 from Dad, 3 from Kevin, 3 from friends, and 3 that won the Pulitzer Prize.

Three Novels My Dad Loved:

• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (on night table)
• Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter 
• The Shining Mountain by Peter Boardman 

Three Books Kevin Recommends:

• Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (short stories) by Alice Munro (on night table)
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

Three Recommendations from Friends:

• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (on night table) - Michele
• Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
• Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
• Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
• Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushde
• Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan/ Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy- Jaime
• Personal History by Katharine Graham- Allison
• Life and Other Near Death Experiences- Chrissy
• anything by David McCullough- Sarah B

Three Books That Won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction (highlights are ones I read):

• 2015) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• 2014) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
• 2013) The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
• 2012) No award... Finalists: 
•  Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, Swamplandia! by Karen Russell 
•  The Pale King by David Foster Wallace 
• 2011) A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 
• 2010) Tinkers by Paul Harding 
• 2009) Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 
• 2008) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 
• 2007) The Road by Cormac McCarthy 
• 2006) March by Geraldine Brooks 
• 2005) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 
• 2004) The Known World by Edward P. Jones 
• 2003) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
• 2002) Empire Falls by Richard Russo 
• 2001) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon 
• 2000) Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
• 1999) The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
• 1998) American Pastoral by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin)
• 1990) Rabbit At Rest by John Updike
• 1983) The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Harcourt Brace)
• 1982) Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike
• 1979) The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever
• 1967) The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
• 1961) To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• 1953) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

How About Those 2015 Reading Resolutions

I read 24 books this years but they weren't all the ones I prioritized the most. Below is my 2015 list with the one I read highlighted:

• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 
• Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
• Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munroe 
• Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Also fun reads (bonus):

• the rest of Game of Thrones 
• GOT 4
• GOT 5
• GOT 6 (got so boring, can't decide whether to push through)
• the third Magicians 
• Enders Game 

How to Be More Patient by Greg Souchester

How to Be More Patient: An Essential Guide to Replacing Impatience with Patience by Greg Souchester
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was fine. Like a good long article about patience, but lacking in substance. length and or motivating exercises (ala Marie Kondo, Dave Ramsey, 5:2/ADF, etc.).

View all my reviews

Nobody Is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey

Nobody Is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You have to be open to a different type of narrative when you read this book. Forget about where the main character is going physically and focus on where she is mentally and emotionally. I found myself highlighting line after line of the main character's thoughts and revelations, the way I often do when I read novels by Marilyn Robinson.

Here's a favorite example, "...I knew that everyone who was alive had trouble concentrating on life....”

View all my reviews

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, I know it's a brilliantly written book, but I struggle with giving 5 stars to books I didn't enjoy much. It's not that it's a depressing story (it is), just that for me it was actively stressful to read. Also, I didn't care for the ending because I feel like that type of resolution is a cop out. Even no resolution can be better than that.

View all my reviews

The Language of Goldfish by Zibby Oneal

The Language of Goldfish by Zibby Oneal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the few books I remember from reading when I was 11. Even though I can't clearly recall details of the book, I remember the mental illness theme, and I remember being very engaged by the main character in the book and how she experiences the world. Possibly I have a clearer memory of it because I reread it as I got older as well.

View all my reviews

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My impression as an adult is that it’s outlandish. Drew puts herself in mortal danger and her father doesn’t even mind. However, I appreciate what the book suggests about values with regard to money and inheritance.

View all my reviews

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A classic jam. My favorite part is that the young man sets up his own bad answers.

View all my reviews

5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great by Terri L. Orbuch

5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great by Terri L. Orbuch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The part I thought was most valuable was Chapter 2 on Incentives and Rewards (p.56-86). Although the first chapter had good information as well, I don't think it was organized in the best way possible. The rest of the book didn't feel that helpful but as other reviewers have stated maybe this is just because our marriage is already on really solid footing.

View all my reviews