Conquered Words: 2010

This is it!

My first year of cataloging books that I read each month is over and I am now forced to do a year review of my achievements. Let me say right off the bat that all of this "Conquered Words" business is more for me than you, my dear reader. But you're so vain, you probably think this post is about you (siiinnnggg it wiiiith meeee).

Ok. To business then.

I read 24 books this year totaling up to 7,563 pages. Seeing as there are certain books on the list (3 to be exact) that I did not read every word of, I would say I read close to 7,000 pages. That would bring it in to an average of 315.13 pages per book. Furthermore with the math game, it would mean I read a clean average of 2 books and just over 630 pages a month, which certainly didn't happen seeing as I go through spurts. For example, in July alone I read 5 books, but I didn't complete or read much at all in the month of May (Sasquatch + wedding + finishing college = no time to read).

Figuring all of this out made me realize a couple of things. Firstly, I am a terrible mathematician. Secondly, I suppose I read quite a bit. I mean, it's one thing to be moving from month to month and reading one book or two books and thinking that all is well and dandy, but it's another thing entirely to look at the whole year and realize most of your life was dedicated to books (I smell a moral quandary!).

I feel as though I am also obliged to tell you the best books I read this year. You might notice in each month that it is rare that I hate books. That's simply because I don't spend my time reading crappy books, duh. I read good books and I mostly read books that have stood some sort of test, whether it be time or criticism and maybe Oprah (KIDDING YOU GUYS).

These, then, are my favorite books I read in 2010 in no particular order:

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann was simply and tremendously beautiful. McCann's characters were as poetic as his language and his metaphors and motifs somehow jumped out without being entirely obvious. It was just 300 pages of sheer delight and sometimes that's all you need.

Columbine by David Cullen did not only give me insight to the events of the horrific school shooting of 1999, but it gave a very complete picture of teenage life and high school politics. Cullen's plain and sometimes harsh language brought out the intense nature of the events. With thrilling pace, the book didn't lose its heart. It is page turning, but emotional and heartfelt mainly because everything is so brutally true.

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do by Michael J. Sandel is a book I would like a lot of freshman in college to read, but unfortunately they might have to be forced to do so. Sandel not only gives the reader a solid history of philosophical justice, but his concluding arguments are committed and keen. This book is rhetorically masterful too as I would find it near impossible for many to read the entire book and come up disagreeing with Sandel's assertions. He recognizes the inescapable morality in politics/justice and calls for a higher view of what it means to be a citizen in an American society. Plainly, the book is well freaking done.

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., which was edited and published by Clayborne Carlson certainly paints MLK to be the epic character he is in our history. The best part about this book is that it includes so much of his fantastical rhetoric. He was so dang good with words. Taken from his journals and personal writings, Carlson did a stunning job creating this truly classic piece that should not be forgotten. Loved it.

Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas has to be the definitive biography of RFK. I would be shocked if someone undertook the task to write another one anytime soon. I finished this book yesterday and was so taken by this man's life I'm still putting all of my thoughts together. This was one of those books, like many on this list, that the minute I finished it I wanted to start it all over again. Kennedy is entirely complex and never idolized in this biography and yet for some reason you cannot ignore the legend that he is. I am obsessed with this guy's place in history.

So that should do it. I'm off to visit my father and my sister/her family in Michigan. I'll be gone until Monday night and have zero Internet connectivity (Dad's a pig farmer in rural MI), so that's one way to "unplug." I'll certainly get the best foot forward for reading in 2011 huh? I don't see Dad or Sara and her family enough, so this long weekend should bode well for Ali and I. See you in 2011.

Keep reading, my friends.