I am not quite ready to give any sort of year end wrap up myself--I am in the midst of three excellent novels, which are likely to be contenders for favorite reads of the year. I am thoroughly enjoying Jane Austen's Persuasion (which I believe was her last novel?). Poor Anne Elliot, dismissed by her sisters and father so easily. At 27 and still "on the shelf", her beauty has faded. I have always wondered what faded beauty must look like. Although in love with Frederick Wentworth she turned down his marriage proposal eight years earlier at the urging of others. Now he has returned--"Captain" Wentworth, prosperous, and still as handsome as ever, and is searching for a wife. The story sort of reminds me of Pride and Prejudice a little--they seem to be trying to avoid each other. Each is mistakenly thinking they know what the other is thinking. I know how it is going to turn out (I think), but I am enjoying greatly the unraveling of this tale. I am also thoroughly enjoying William Styron's Sophie's Choice. What that man did with language truly amazes me. It is a heavy duty story, but it seems so far he can balance out all the emotional scenes well. At times I find myself shuddering, but later something will almost provoke a laugh. How does he do this so well? Both of these books are quite literally hard to put down and I have been dragging them with me everywhere! I am also finding Virginia Woolf's writing (albeit her earlier non-experimental work) quite accessible. I have been in awe of Woolf for so long that I thought I would simply "not get" her work (and wouldn't dare read her). That is not the case at all. Stefanie's recent post about reading her diaries makes me want to try them as well. I like her approach--simply reading an entry or two before bed. I think I will have to check out the first volume from the library and give it a try. I have a feeling that reading the diaries along with her fiction will make the experience of studying her so much more enlightening (and am also vastly curious about her personal life...I have heard so many things...).
All this to say...while I am not ready for my end of year wrap up, others have started with their lists and reviews. I like these as much as reading resolutions at the beginning of a new year. The New York Times has listed their ten best books of the year. I haven't read a single one. As a matter of fact Sherry has en extensive list of "best of" links from various publications. It is interesting to see which books make the lists across the publishing (newspapers/periodicals/online literary journals) spectrum. I like Sandra's list of books she wished she had given up on (in hindsight there are usually a few). Cam has created a "best of" survey--you get to decide. You can fill out her survey and she will post the results at the end of the year. I used to be in a local book club, but I sort of fell away from it. Online groups have filled that space nicely, but I still miss that in-person discussion. Lazy Cow has related her past year's book group reading. Now I want to find another book group to join! I greatly enjoyed Kimbofo's 10 Bookish Discoveries for 2006! It makes me want to follow her lead and do the same, but I really should try and be creative and come up with my own idea. I agree that Bookmooch was a great find this year, though! I will have to ponder my own year end wrap up post, but I will save that until after the Christmas holiday.