This won't mean much to you if you're not from or live in Cleveland and or don't care about sports.
They say Cleveland is a football town; I can't dispute that. I'm not a Browns fan particularly (though I'd like to see them do well), but it seems nearly everyone else is in Cleveland. Not only are there few supporters of other teams, it's the Browns that get supremacy as the top-dog team among the four pro-teams(though no one actually counts the Lake Erie Monsters) in the city. If you listen to sports talk radio, even right now, the Browns get next to all of the headlines.
A few years back, at least this time of year, that wasn't the case. When LeBron was in town and the Cavs were title contenders, they were the toast of the town. That all changed, obviously, and the Browns came back on top despite their consistent inability to even be competitive.
The NFL is the most popular sport's league in the country right now. Football is the most popular sport. Last Friday, I was watching the Cavs hang with a solid Minnesota team, while in the workout room at our apartment. It went to the commercial so I was reading. During that commercial break, three other guys came in and changed it to the Orange Bowl; a completely meaningless game between a team from West Virginia and a team from South Carolina I don't know who the guys were and I had about 2 minutes left, so I didn't make a big deal about it, but to me, it was a telling experience: there are people who live in Cleveland's inner-city who prefer poorly played amateur football to a riveting game of professional basketball. Two years ago, that wouldn't have ever been the case. Had it been a Brown's regular season game, even this year when they were abysmal, that wouldn't have happened.
I could bemoan the evident lack of respect and pride in the Cavs I see around the city. I could excoriate these three people as representative for the whole city when I shouldn't. I don't know them. One was wearing a camo-style Indians hat, but other than that, I know next to nothing about them.
Whether or not Cleveland as a metro-area loves the Cavs as much as I do or as much as I believe we all ought is immaterial. I've watched at least some of every Cavs game so far this year though, and something magical is happening when they take the court to represent Cleveland. More than anything, I'm afraid the majority of the city is going to miss it.
Cleveland, as a city, has a certain character about it. There's something beneath the surface of the people here. It's certainly a blue collar town in its way, but it's not Detroit in that sense and it's not Toledo or Pittsburgh either. There's something else, something burning and delightful, but hard and tempered on the surface. There's a grit and a grime about the city and the people who live here. That sounds dirty and, in a way, it is a bit, but it's also a sort of resolve and drive that says, in the face of any amount of adversity, that we aren't going anywhere and while we probably won't live to see Cleveland become the metropolis it was once on the track toward, we aren't going to give up the hope that we can do something to propel this city forward. When I watch this year's edition of the Cavs, I see that play out on the court every night.
No matter the deficit, if these Cavaliers do anything, it's hustle. They don't give up. Last night, in the face of a 15 point deficit that turned into a 20 point loss, even more than halfway through the 4th quarter, players were running down loose balls like their entire point of being was winning the game. The style of defense, the tenacity and the hardness with which they play throbs with the spirit of Cleveland's heart. It is still true that each player is either young, lack talent, or both, but as a unit, they come together and operate like a free-wheeling machine hellbent on accomplishing nothing if not putting forth more effort than would seem humanly possible. Losses are going to happen. I'm hopeful for the playoffs, but I'm more doubtful when I'm honest. That's the way the game breaks. But, at least for 8 games, I've never seen a basketball team play that hard, for that long, relentlessly. When I think about their relationship to Cleveland, I can't help but be proud; they/we might not win every game and probably won't win a championship anytime soon, but at least I know they're trying. That is Cleveland as currently situated. The Browns might be what all of Cleveland loves best, but the Cavaliers are the epitome of Cleveland. As of now, it doesn't seem that most of Cleveland really knows or cares. I just hope the snowball rolls up and we all take notice while we still can.
Perhaps the most ironic thing about it all is the way LeBron's Cavs never quite characterized Cleveland. LeBron is hated for two things here that are really one: quitting in the playoffs and betraying the city. More than anything else, he is a quitter- not just for leaving and giving up on his goal to bring Cleveland a championship, but, more importantly and not muddled by his personal rights, he quit on the team during the Boston series his two years ago. Cleveland doesn't quit. Feeling as if he was one of our own then seeing him do the things he did drew such a vehement negative response because people who had thought they saw themselves in LeBron ended up seeing that he was never even close to one of us. He just represented us, and, when it mattered most, he did so poorly. LeBron's Cavs were always characterized by having at least one player better than anyone else on the other team. That's not Cleveland. We have very little to offer that is, on its own, better than any other singular thing in any other city in the world. But altogether, when you take the food, the lack of traffic, the symphony, the spirit, etc...it all adds up to something beautiful. LeBron's leaving cost Cleveland a legitimate title shot for years, but if these Cavs, at any point, do win a championship, it will be as a team far more representative of Cleveland as a place, as a collective. That will be many times more glorious.
-Zack
"I'm sorry but I just can't die for you but I can make 'em put their hands in the sky for you"
-Jay-Z
Monday, January 9, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
My 2011 in the things which I read, saw, watched, and to which I listened
I've done this for as far back as I can remember (not totally true, but it did at least start in High School...my memory goes back before the internet was a completely public network). Previous editions can obviously be found on this blog, but also at dulacian.xanga.com, usually somewhere near the beginning of the year (obviously as well...).
Life is much more than entertainment and this list (and those like it) boil everything that happened, oftentimes, into a series of anecdotes about the things we do to spend our time. I'd argue that watching movies and reading, in the very least, are far from things I do for purely entertainment purposes. Even so, I got married, went to New York, moved to Cleveland, in 2011. None of those things will necessarily be reflected in anything I'm about to write.
...but then again, so much of life, I do believe, is in some way intimated, expressed, experienced via things like books and movies, at least in the way our, my, culture works today. So that's why I continue to do this, each and every year, despite how often I actually make a new blogpost. What I'm reading at a particular point in time influences how I experience and interpret the experiences I encounter while doing so. Likewise, the music we listen to inflects its own style upon the events taking place to it; that's why modern films have soundtracks. So with that in mind, realize, as you read this, that, more than anything, this is a list of the things that meant the most to me last year within their particular categories. It's not a necessary value judgment and most of these things didn't come out in 2011. In any event, enjoy the reading and feel free to count these as recommendations of some sort, within the context of whatever it is I say about the particular pieces.
Literature:
Book of the year: Every year, I generally say this is the "hardest decision." It's not an easy decision this year; see my list yesterday for evidence. But a short book with which I basically ended up at random, cut through the cloudy territory with its life-altering message, simple elegance, and generally entertaining style from cover to cover. For everyone everywhere, I wholeheartedly, from top to bottom, recommend and give my book-of-2011 honor(as if it matters, but whatever...) to Me, Myself, and Bob, by Phil Vischer. If you want to do anything in your life that's at all creative, out of the ordinary, or worthwhile, heed Mr. Vischer's advice. Do yourself a favor and read this book at the next available moment.
Runner-up: Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Author of the Year: One might think that the author of the year ought to go to the author of the book of the year. Though I could potentially argue that Vischer isn't exactly an author, what's more important is that this title goes more to the person as a writer than to the products he or she creates. Vischer created a life altering book, to be sure, but he's far from an author in any other means when it comes to books. He's a fine writer, but I read multiple books by other people and as storytellers go, he doesn't take the cake with his non-fiction. Anyway, I'm actually going in a direction I never thought I'd ever approach this year. Last year, I started reading the Dark Tower cycle, by Stephen King and while it's flawed, it's the most impressive series I've seen for adults, especially in the modern/post-modern era. Some books have sequels. Few of them are better than their predecessor. King created a new world (or many, depending...) and manages to make each novel better than the last. I like his style; it's entertaining and satiric; harsh and subtle; beautiful and inelegant, and so much more, all at once. So, for that reason, I can't go with anyone but Stephen King as my author of the year.
Runner-up: Marcel Proust
Motion Pictures:
Film of the Year: This isn't easy because I didn't watch nearly enough movies last year. I read more books than I saw films. I'm not even sure I liked most of them. Maybe it's just because it's the last one I saw and the first film I ever saw in blu-ray, but True Grit, by Joel and Ethan Coen is easily the best film I saw last year. I actually watched many academy award best pictures and nominees last year, but The Departed, though amazing, would have lost to True Grit were they the same year, A Serious Man though among my favorites just slightly less decentering than True Grit, and the Hurt Locker the most overrated film I've seen in years (it's good but if it weren't current-day American soldiers, it wouldn't have won. Granted, that makes it powerful and one could argue that that's the point. Even as such, True Grit just, for me, hits correctly on more aspects than The Hurt Locker and it's a more altogether impressive piece of art) Hugo, by the way, is excellent. It's odd though- people who love Melies want everyone to see it to give him his due, but if you actually love Melies, you'll also realize that it doesn't actually give him the due he deserves because, quite frankly, to make a movie praising a man for stop motion and editing technique innovation isn't going to sell. Scorsese is brilliant and he'd be my director of the year if I had that category, but, as always, he compromises for his audience at the wrong times. It's a much more impressive movie than book though, if that says anything. On the whole, it felt so conventional, which is sad, considering it's an homage to one of the most innovative men who ever lived. Sure, it's in 3D, but it's a bit gimicky (though seeing the Melies clips in 3d is brilliant) and provides an excuse for being carelessly shot most of the time. Okay, this wasn't suppose to be a review of Hugo or a simple elimination of the other films I watched from True Grit. True Grit is a masterpiece, top 4 or 5 for the Coens, and that on its own is enough for me to love it dearly for the rest of my life. (the top 3, in my exceptionally educated opinion, is: 1. No Country for Old Men, 2. The Big Lebowski, 3. Barton Fink) I'm also biased, and because this is my list, that's good enough.
Runner-Up: The Last Temptation of Christ, Martin Scorsese
Television program of the year: I watched more t.v. last year than I have perhaps ever watched. It's an easy thing to do when Alexandra gets home from work and we don't have long before bed because she has to work in the morning. For the early part of 2011, living in the cabin, I watched next to no television. After moving to Cleveland, it became a flood. Even so, for the most part, outside of sports, I don't really like most t.v. It's simple entertainment and adequate background noise to my reading. Even so, there was a show I had to see every episode of this year: The Next Food Network Star. Though the end of the show was a bit slow and disappointing, the first 5-10 episodes were the most I've ever enjoyed reality t.v.
Runner-Up: The Office
Music:
Song of the Year:
I feel like I'm compelled to pick what I'm about to pick here, but it wouldn't matter...there wasn't a moment this year that I was happier than the moment when Alexandra and I danced to What are you doing the Rest of Your Life, by Dusty Springfield at our wedding reception.
Runner-Up: I Want to be Well, Sufjan Stevens
Artist of the year
If this is a surprise to you, read a couple posts back: Kanye West. He's the greatest living artist still producing at his peak. Not just musically; I mean anyone, anywhere, in any medium. I don't know enough about classical music, architecture, or painting, but I do know Scorsese is past his peak (as are the Coens, whom I'd actually argue are the greatest living directors), and there are next to 0 up and coming directors doing anything as well as Kanye is right now. Rushdie has been past his peak for decades and Eggers, though brilliant, isn't, in my opinion, nearly as prolific or untouchable as Kanye. Kanye out-raps Jay-Z on most of Watch the Throne and he created the majority of the beats for it. He is, as far as I can tell, an auteur of auteurs when it comes to hip-hop.
Runner-Up: Sufjan Stevens
Album of the year:
This is actually harder than you may think. Of course I'm going with Watch the Throne, but Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons and Lungs by Florence and the Machine were absolutely worn out in my car's stereo this past year as well. Even so, near the end of the year, I checked something else out at the library, right before Harvest and well, it almost took first place. It's really more a fight for second place, and for that, I've got to defer to the next line.
Runner-Up: The Age of Adz, Sufjan Stevens
Sports:
Team of the Year: I've got to make up for last year. I went with the Reds for their playoff appearance and listed the Packers as the runner-up. They continued to make me look like a fool and went undefeated from that time til just three weeks ago, picking up a superbowl in the meantime. So, I've got to right the wrong, go with the Green Bay Packers, and wish them the absolute best in the playoffs- hoping for a repeat.
Runner-Up: The College of Wooster, Men's Basketball (for a first-ever national championship game appearance)
I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed reliving my year in print, screen, and sports!
-Zack
"And when you stand before the candles on a cake
Oh, let me be the one to hear the silent wish you make"
Life is much more than entertainment and this list (and those like it) boil everything that happened, oftentimes, into a series of anecdotes about the things we do to spend our time. I'd argue that watching movies and reading, in the very least, are far from things I do for purely entertainment purposes. Even so, I got married, went to New York, moved to Cleveland, in 2011. None of those things will necessarily be reflected in anything I'm about to write.
...but then again, so much of life, I do believe, is in some way intimated, expressed, experienced via things like books and movies, at least in the way our, my, culture works today. So that's why I continue to do this, each and every year, despite how often I actually make a new blogpost. What I'm reading at a particular point in time influences how I experience and interpret the experiences I encounter while doing so. Likewise, the music we listen to inflects its own style upon the events taking place to it; that's why modern films have soundtracks. So with that in mind, realize, as you read this, that, more than anything, this is a list of the things that meant the most to me last year within their particular categories. It's not a necessary value judgment and most of these things didn't come out in 2011. In any event, enjoy the reading and feel free to count these as recommendations of some sort, within the context of whatever it is I say about the particular pieces.
Literature:
Book of the year: Every year, I generally say this is the "hardest decision." It's not an easy decision this year; see my list yesterday for evidence. But a short book with which I basically ended up at random, cut through the cloudy territory with its life-altering message, simple elegance, and generally entertaining style from cover to cover. For everyone everywhere, I wholeheartedly, from top to bottom, recommend and give my book-of-2011 honor(as if it matters, but whatever...) to Me, Myself, and Bob, by Phil Vischer. If you want to do anything in your life that's at all creative, out of the ordinary, or worthwhile, heed Mr. Vischer's advice. Do yourself a favor and read this book at the next available moment.
Runner-up: Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Author of the Year: One might think that the author of the year ought to go to the author of the book of the year. Though I could potentially argue that Vischer isn't exactly an author, what's more important is that this title goes more to the person as a writer than to the products he or she creates. Vischer created a life altering book, to be sure, but he's far from an author in any other means when it comes to books. He's a fine writer, but I read multiple books by other people and as storytellers go, he doesn't take the cake with his non-fiction. Anyway, I'm actually going in a direction I never thought I'd ever approach this year. Last year, I started reading the Dark Tower cycle, by Stephen King and while it's flawed, it's the most impressive series I've seen for adults, especially in the modern/post-modern era. Some books have sequels. Few of them are better than their predecessor. King created a new world (or many, depending...) and manages to make each novel better than the last. I like his style; it's entertaining and satiric; harsh and subtle; beautiful and inelegant, and so much more, all at once. So, for that reason, I can't go with anyone but Stephen King as my author of the year.
Runner-up: Marcel Proust
Motion Pictures:
Film of the Year: This isn't easy because I didn't watch nearly enough movies last year. I read more books than I saw films. I'm not even sure I liked most of them. Maybe it's just because it's the last one I saw and the first film I ever saw in blu-ray, but True Grit, by Joel and Ethan Coen is easily the best film I saw last year. I actually watched many academy award best pictures and nominees last year, but The Departed, though amazing, would have lost to True Grit were they the same year, A Serious Man though among my favorites just slightly less decentering than True Grit, and the Hurt Locker the most overrated film I've seen in years (it's good but if it weren't current-day American soldiers, it wouldn't have won. Granted, that makes it powerful and one could argue that that's the point. Even as such, True Grit just, for me, hits correctly on more aspects than The Hurt Locker and it's a more altogether impressive piece of art) Hugo, by the way, is excellent. It's odd though- people who love Melies want everyone to see it to give him his due, but if you actually love Melies, you'll also realize that it doesn't actually give him the due he deserves because, quite frankly, to make a movie praising a man for stop motion and editing technique innovation isn't going to sell. Scorsese is brilliant and he'd be my director of the year if I had that category, but, as always, he compromises for his audience at the wrong times. It's a much more impressive movie than book though, if that says anything. On the whole, it felt so conventional, which is sad, considering it's an homage to one of the most innovative men who ever lived. Sure, it's in 3D, but it's a bit gimicky (though seeing the Melies clips in 3d is brilliant) and provides an excuse for being carelessly shot most of the time. Okay, this wasn't suppose to be a review of Hugo or a simple elimination of the other films I watched from True Grit. True Grit is a masterpiece, top 4 or 5 for the Coens, and that on its own is enough for me to love it dearly for the rest of my life. (the top 3, in my exceptionally educated opinion, is: 1. No Country for Old Men, 2. The Big Lebowski, 3. Barton Fink) I'm also biased, and because this is my list, that's good enough.
Runner-Up: The Last Temptation of Christ, Martin Scorsese
Television program of the year: I watched more t.v. last year than I have perhaps ever watched. It's an easy thing to do when Alexandra gets home from work and we don't have long before bed because she has to work in the morning. For the early part of 2011, living in the cabin, I watched next to no television. After moving to Cleveland, it became a flood. Even so, for the most part, outside of sports, I don't really like most t.v. It's simple entertainment and adequate background noise to my reading. Even so, there was a show I had to see every episode of this year: The Next Food Network Star. Though the end of the show was a bit slow and disappointing, the first 5-10 episodes were the most I've ever enjoyed reality t.v.
Runner-Up: The Office
Music:
Song of the Year:
I feel like I'm compelled to pick what I'm about to pick here, but it wouldn't matter...there wasn't a moment this year that I was happier than the moment when Alexandra and I danced to What are you doing the Rest of Your Life, by Dusty Springfield at our wedding reception.
Runner-Up: I Want to be Well, Sufjan Stevens
Artist of the year
If this is a surprise to you, read a couple posts back: Kanye West. He's the greatest living artist still producing at his peak. Not just musically; I mean anyone, anywhere, in any medium. I don't know enough about classical music, architecture, or painting, but I do know Scorsese is past his peak (as are the Coens, whom I'd actually argue are the greatest living directors), and there are next to 0 up and coming directors doing anything as well as Kanye is right now. Rushdie has been past his peak for decades and Eggers, though brilliant, isn't, in my opinion, nearly as prolific or untouchable as Kanye. Kanye out-raps Jay-Z on most of Watch the Throne and he created the majority of the beats for it. He is, as far as I can tell, an auteur of auteurs when it comes to hip-hop.
Runner-Up: Sufjan Stevens
Album of the year:
This is actually harder than you may think. Of course I'm going with Watch the Throne, but Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons and Lungs by Florence and the Machine were absolutely worn out in my car's stereo this past year as well. Even so, near the end of the year, I checked something else out at the library, right before Harvest and well, it almost took first place. It's really more a fight for second place, and for that, I've got to defer to the next line.
Runner-Up: The Age of Adz, Sufjan Stevens
Sports:
Team of the Year: I've got to make up for last year. I went with the Reds for their playoff appearance and listed the Packers as the runner-up. They continued to make me look like a fool and went undefeated from that time til just three weeks ago, picking up a superbowl in the meantime. So, I've got to right the wrong, go with the Green Bay Packers, and wish them the absolute best in the playoffs- hoping for a repeat.
Runner-Up: The College of Wooster, Men's Basketball (for a first-ever national championship game appearance)
I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed reliving my year in print, screen, and sports!
-Zack
"And when you stand before the candles on a cake
Oh, let me be the one to hear the silent wish you make"
-Dusty Springfield
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The First 52
You're probably not as obsessed with me and my reading habits as I am (I should just take probably out of that....shouldn't I?), but this past year, I achieved at least some kind of milestone.
Perhaps you've heard of, have done it yourself, or have friend's who've tried, but it's been something of a fad in some circles, in recent years, to read 52 books during a calendar year- one per week.
I fell into the challenge; I always set a goal of one more book per year each year and two years ago, I read 51 books. Last year, even a few days early, I finished 52. I've got a fairly complex system I've been honing since college and it gets the job done exceedingly well (as long as I put in the reading time each day).
Law school might derail my goals for the foreseeable future. Indeed, I may have set the high for my life this past year. That's a bit crazy to think considering all that happened last year, but it seems unlikely that I'll get to 53 this year (though I'll try), which means I will only set my goal based on what I do this year. Who knows what that really means. In the end, I'm glad to have averaged 1 book per week in 2011. It will always be among my favorite years ever- perhaps my reading achievements will just be part of that. In any event, I thought, in honor of the sort-of accomplishment, I'd post the list, for posterity's sake (whatever that actually means...I don't know how much I want my kids reading blog posts from 2012 when they're old enough to read...).
The number on the left is the pages ( I copied that straight out of my excel sheet). It adds up to 16972....also a personal best (and I read War and Peace in 2010, so that's an excellent average by my own standards).
Maybe this post is just me bragging...I don't know. If nothing else, you'll know what I'm drawing from when I do my "best of 2011" post tomorrow. You won't want to miss that...it's always my favorite post of the year (and it goes back to pre-Wooster as something I post in some blog somewhere), which I hope means it's enjoyable for my readers.
Until then,
-Zack
"Follow me now as I favor the ghost"
-Sufjan Stevens
Perhaps you've heard of, have done it yourself, or have friend's who've tried, but it's been something of a fad in some circles, in recent years, to read 52 books during a calendar year- one per week.
I fell into the challenge; I always set a goal of one more book per year each year and two years ago, I read 51 books. Last year, even a few days early, I finished 52. I've got a fairly complex system I've been honing since college and it gets the job done exceedingly well (as long as I put in the reading time each day).
Law school might derail my goals for the foreseeable future. Indeed, I may have set the high for my life this past year. That's a bit crazy to think considering all that happened last year, but it seems unlikely that I'll get to 53 this year (though I'll try), which means I will only set my goal based on what I do this year. Who knows what that really means. In the end, I'm glad to have averaged 1 book per week in 2011. It will always be among my favorite years ever- perhaps my reading achievements will just be part of that. In any event, I thought, in honor of the sort-of accomplishment, I'd post the list, for posterity's sake (whatever that actually means...I don't know how much I want my kids reading blog posts from 2012 when they're old enough to read...).
| 1. The Gunslinger | Stephen King | 216 |
| Being White | Doug Schaup | 183 |
| My Name is Asher Lev | Chaim Potok | 350 |
| The Prayer Life | Andrew Murray | 128 |
| The Drawing of Three | Stephen King | 463 |
| Velvet Elvis | Rob Bell | 177 |
| Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel Garcia Marquez | 348 |
| The Restaurant at the End of the Universe | Douglas Addams | 217 |
| the Yiddish Policemen's Union | Michael Chabon | 411 |
| The Two Towers | J.R.R. Tolkien | 447 |
| Life the Universe, and Everything | Douglas Addams | 232 |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | J.K. Rowling | 870 |
| The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | 374 |
| Swann's Way | Marcel Proust | 444 |
| So Long and Thanks for All the Fish | Douglas Addams | 152 |
| God on Campus | Trent Sheppard | 184 |
| The Ragamuffin Gospel | Brennan Manning | 224 |
| The Wastelands | Stephen King | 420 |
| Catching Fire | Suzanne Collins | 391 |
| The End of Sexual Identity | Jenell Williams-Paris | 144 |
| The Giver | Lois Lowry | 180 |
| Mostly Harmless | Douglas Addams | 180 |
| Daniel Deronda | George Eliot | 883 |
| The Return of the King | J.R.R. Tolkien | 340 |
| Mocking Jay | Suzanne Collins | 390 |
| Justification | N.T. Wright | 252 |
| Me, Myself, and Bob | Phil Vischer | 260 |
| Radical | David Platt | 217 |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | J.K. Rowling | 652 |
| Of Mice and Men | John Steinbeck | 107 |
| The Golden Compass | Philip Pullman | 399 |
| Where Wizards Stay Up Late | Katie Hafner | 265 |
| In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower | Marcel Proust | 531 |
| A Midsummer Nights's Dream | William Shakespeare | 92 |
| Heart, soul, Mind, Strength | Andrew Le Peau | 195 |
| Jurassic Park | Michael Crichton | 399 |
| Wizard and Glass | Stephen King | 694 |
| The Symposium | Plato | 114 |
| The Writing Life | Annie Dillard | 111 |
| The Subtle Knife | Philip Pullman | 326 |
| Daily Quiet Time for Couples | David and Teresa Ferguson | 365 |
| The Invention of Hugo Cabret | Brian Selznick | 525 |
| Love's Labors Lost | William Shakespeare | 146 |
| Forrest Gump | Winston Groom | 248 |
| The Sun Also Rises | Ernest Hemmingway | 247 |
| When Love Comes to Town | Paul Louis Metzger | 275 |
| Wuthering Heights | Emily Bronte | 317 |
| The Lost World | Michael Crichton | 430 |
| The Whore of Akron | Scott Raab | 300 |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | J.K. Rowling | 759 |
| A Long Way Gone | Ishmael Beah | 217 |
| 52. Jesus Wants to Save Christians | Rob Bell | 181 |
The number on the left is the pages ( I copied that straight out of my excel sheet). It adds up to 16972....also a personal best (and I read War and Peace in 2010, so that's an excellent average by my own standards).
Maybe this post is just me bragging...I don't know. If nothing else, you'll know what I'm drawing from when I do my "best of 2011" post tomorrow. You won't want to miss that...it's always my favorite post of the year (and it goes back to pre-Wooster as something I post in some blog somewhere), which I hope means it's enjoyable for my readers.
Until then,
-Zack
"Follow me now as I favor the ghost"
-Sufjan Stevens
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