2024 Year-end Recap. I fell short.

Falling double-digits short of my goal is disappointing. Yikes! I have no excuse. I could have finished a good book instead of doing some of the other lazy activities I chose. I also had very little enthusiasm to write about my reading experiences. Overall, I was uninspired, unmotivated, and distracted. 

the 2024 Totals:

read (incl bails): 34/50

reread: 6

bailed: 2 

TWEM poetry: 8

books donated: -4

new books added: +8

unread books finished: -13

unread books remaining: 54 

the 2024 Winners:

intriguing new-to-me fiction: 

Anthem

agreeable reread/fiction: (tie) 

The Great Gatsby

Nineteen Eighty-Four

agreeable reread/non-fiction: 

In Order to Live

amazing new biography/memoir:

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt 

excellent biblical non-fiction:

Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee

endearing children's historical fiction: 

The Endless Steppe

disappointing tome:

Les Misérables

most gratifying poetry:

Paul Laurence Dunbar

insightful children's/YA non-fiction: 

Red Scarf Girl

enjoyable honorable mention:

One Bad Apple

THE BREAKDOWN:

(KEY: CR = currently reading / UR = unread / RR = reread / 💣 = did not finish)

FICTION:

Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (RR)

Orwell: 1984 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (RR)

Wharton: House of Mirth ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (RR)

Hugo: Les Misérables : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Rand: Anthem ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Kovaciny: One Bad Apple ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Buck: Sons ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR) / A House Divided 💣

Van Dyke: The Other Wise Man ⭐⭐⭐⭐

NONFICTION:

McCullough: 1776 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Morris: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR) / Theodore Rex (CR) 

Park: In Order to Live  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (RR)

McGee: Through the Bible, Vol. I - V ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (CR)

Hughes: Unmet Expectations ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Popov: Tortured for His Faith ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (RR)

Lewis: The Four Loves ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Gladstar: Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Van Fleet: Mao's America: A Survivor's Warning ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Marshall / Manuel: The Light and the Glory ⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest ⭐⭐⭐ 

Oursler / Armstrong: The Greatest Faith Ever Known 💣

CHILDRENS/YA:

Fraser (editor): The Little House Books, Vol. I & II ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR / RR)

Ji-li Jang: Red Scarf Girl ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (UR)

Hautzig: Endless Steppe ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tolkien: Letters From Father Christmas ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Laurent: Watchman Nee ⭐⭐⭐ 

DeJong: House of Sixty Fathers ⭐⭐⭐ 

Wartski: Boat to Nowhere ⭐⭐⭐

WEM POETRY:

Dunbar, Paul Laurence ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Frost, Robert ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hughes, Langston ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Auden, W. H. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sandburg, Carl ⭐⭐⭐

Williams, William Carlos ⭐⭐⭐

Pound, Ezra ⭐⭐⭐

Eliot, T. S. ⭐⭐⭐

This concludes the poetry section from TWEM. There are others, listed as post-modern, but I only read up through the suggested modernists. To see the other sections, including fiction, history, and biographies, visit HERE:

The Well-Educated Mind Autobiographies/Memoirs: from least to most favorite

I have been putting the Well-Educated Mind book list in order from my least favorite to most favorite. Last week I ordered the NOVELS HERE. This week I am going through the autobiography/memoir list. If I remember correctly, all of the books were autobiographies or memoirs. 

My favorite genre is biographies because they cover several genres at once: it is a STORY [a nonfiction] about someone's LIFE that includes a period of HISTORY. Not surprisingly, I finished every book on this list. 

By the way, what made reading through these books even more fun was that Cleo from Classical Carousel joined me. Which reminds me, when I first began TWEM journey, I connected with six other bloggers who were also reading through the novels. I had to catch up to them. But other than Fanda @ ClassicLit they have since disappeared from the blogosphere. : (  Anyway, it was a lot of fun to have buddies to read with and discuss these books. 

OK, here are the autobiographies: 

What remains of my WEM biographies.

NO STARS [DNF]

(none)

ONE STAR

Kempe: The Book of Margery Kempe (c. 1430)

     Maybe I was harsh, but I had a difficult time being sympathetic with Kempe.

TWO STARS

Montaigne: The Complete Essays (1580) ⭐⭐

Descartes: Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings (1641) ⭐⭐

Nietzsche: Ecce Homo (1908) ⭐⭐

     I only enjoyed this enough to argue with Nietzsche. He really should have gotten one star. 

Saint Teresa: The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila by Herself (1588) ⭐⭐

Stein: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933) ⭐⭐

THREE STARS

Hitler: Mein Kampf (1925) ⭐⭐⭐

     Again, this only received three stars because I enjoyed writing a rebuttal. 

Rousseau: Confessions (1781) ⭐⭐⭐

     I actually enjoyed reading about Rousseau's whiney life, which is why I placed it here; but he is responsible for spreading so much disinformation that has contributed to so many lies today. He should have gotten one star.

Lewis: Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life (1955)  ⭐⭐⭐

Colson: Born Again (1977) ⭐⭐⭐

FOUR STARS

     Overall, I enjoyed every one of these four-stars equally, and it was difficult to place them in some kind of order, but I did my best.

Wiesel: All Rivers Run to the Sea (1995)  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Merton: The Seven Story Mountain (1948) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Franklin: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin  (1791) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rowlandson: Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Gandhi: An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth (1929) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bunyan: Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Autobiography of Malcolm X  (1965) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sarton: Journal of a Solitude (1973) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

FIVE STARS

Rodriguez: Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez (1982)  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Augustine: Confessions (AD c. 400) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     This was really complex, but I had a good translator and found it easy to read.

Thoreau: Walden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (1854) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     This is one of my favorite books of all time, but I could not put it before the next five books because of their topics or subject matter, which is important to me. Thoreau was (to use today's terminology) privileged. He was an activist who tried living off the grid for awhile and then journaled about it. But the next books are more about overcoming adversity, for lack of a better word. 

Washington: Up From Slavery (1901) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     Washington told his story from slavery to the founding of education for newly freed slaves. No excuses. 

Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     Jacobs told her horrific story of slavery from a mother's and woman's perspective. 

Douglass: Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     Anything from Douglass, for me, is superb. 

Solzhenitsyn: The Gulag Archipelago (1973) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     And if Solzhenitsyn's words aren't essential today, then liberty and freedom be damned. 

ALL-TIME FAVORITE

Conway: The Road from Coorain (1989) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     Conway's personal story beautifully covered all of the genres I mentioned: a great story about her difficult life during a time of major social change and how she conquered it all.

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For more on The Well-Educated Mind Reading Challenge, click the image:

The Well-Educated Mind Novels in Order: from least to all-time favorite

The Well-educated Mind (TWEM) by Susan Wise Bauer was first published in 2003, but I did not know about it until after I had read The Well-trained Mind, Bauer's classical education "bible" for homeschoolers. The promising subtitle of TWEM - A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had - caused me to consider the deficiencies in my education; acknowledge my intimidation of classic literature; and the need for me to know something about a classical education since this is what we were doing at home.

In December of 2011, I bought a copy of TWEM and finished it in January 2012. The first novel on the list was Don Quixote. Years before I had picked up a brand new, untouched "used" copy for sale at my library, as if I was going to read it; but I was terrified. However, now I had no excuses. I even began a blog to record my chapter narrations and keep myself accountable. My blog was called "An Experiment With the Well-educated Mind." (Later it was renamed "A Great Book Study.")

Bauer suggests to read slowly and in short increments, and to write one to two sentence narrations per chapter. Of course, a classical education consists of reading a book numerous times, though not everyone can do that. And I find the short narration after each chapter really helpful for comprehension.

Immediately, I loved reading again, and my intimidation of great works subsided. I was comprehending classic literature that I thought was impossible. In a couple of years, I had completed the list of novels, then the biographies, and recently, histories. Now I am on to poetry. And ten years later, I am re-reading many of the novels again. 

Today, I thought it would be interesting to order the books from the lists that I have completed, from least favorite to absolute favorite, if possible. 

Following are the NOVELS:

These are the novels on TWEM list that I kept; the rest I donated.

NO STARS

Morrison: Song of Solomon (1977) [DNF - read one chapter]

     From the first chapter, I was not impressed with the language or concept. I was relieved to trash it. That's all I'm going to say.

ONE STAR

Conrad: Heart of Darkness (1902) ⭐

    I absolutely hated this one, but it would be interesting to see what I think about it if I did give it a second chance. Many readers love this one. I just could not comprehend it.

TWO STARS

Cavino: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (1972) ⭐⭐ 

James: The Portrait of a Lady (1881) ⭐⭐

     To be fair, I was very angry with James at the time for writing this story. However, I plan to reread it, and I will make a fair attempt to better understand it. I have since forgiven James. 

THREE STARS

Bellow: Seize the Day (1956) ⭐⭐⭐

Camus: The Stranger (1942) ⭐⭐⭐

     Oh, I was really disgusted with Camus regarding this one. And it has drawn the most hostile readers who disagreed with me. Some people are really protective of Camus' philosophy of Absurdism. Yuck!

Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway (1925) ⭐⭐⭐

    This was a really difficult one to get through. I am surprised I gave it three stars. 

Byatt: Possession (1990) ⭐⭐⭐

     This was a really interesting concept, but I was a little bored by it, too. 

DeLillo: White Noise (1985) ⭐⭐⭐

Swift: Gulliver's Travels (1726) ⭐⭐⭐

FOUR STARS

Kafka: The Trial (1925) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ellison: Invisible Man (1952) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dickens: Oliver Twist (1838) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

    I think I liked the happy ending most of all because I am not a big fan of Dickens.

Hardy: The Return of the Native (1878) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

    This was my first Hardy, and I struggled in the first chapter. However, I wonder if it will get even more stars once I reread it? I have since fallen in love with Hardy. 

FIVE STARS

Wright: Native Son (1940) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     I was gripped by Native Son; however, I'm a little apprehensive to go through it again because it was a haunting. 

Melville: Moby-Dick (1851) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read)

    An impressive work, but it takes commitment to stick with it. 

Marquez: One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read)

    I disliked OHYOS the first time, but the reread opened my eyes to its magic. I love it!

Crane: The Red Badge of Courage (1895) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read) 

     I struggled to place this one ahead of OHYOS because this is a serious work, but tedious, too. Not as interesting as mystical realism. So...

Wharton: The House of Mirth (1905) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bunyan: The Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English (1679) re-read review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cervantes: Don Quixote  (1605) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (partial re-read)

     Some people dislike DQ. How cruel he is! But I find Cervantes hysterical. I can't help it.

Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read)

     I love Twain's dig at civilization and slavery. 

Brontë: Jane Eyre (1847) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read)

     I mean, this is epic writing. So, it counts for something even if the story is odd and Mr. What's-his-face is a weirdo. 

Flaubert: Madame Bovary (1857) re-read ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     I just finished re-reading this, and it was really eye-opening! 

Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter (1850) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read)

     The first couple of times I read this, I disliked Hawthorne's attack on the Puritans. Everyone likes to dump on the Puritans. Well, this third read I really dug deeper and came to actually  appreciate this work. 

Dostoyevsky: Crime and Punishment (1866) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read)

     The Russian authors are impressive. What can I say?

Austen: Pride and Prejudice (1815) re-read review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

     This is one of the cleverest of stories around the classic world. You go, Jane!

Tolstoy: Anna Karenina (1877) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (rereading now)

     Another major impressive work and story, full of noble ideas. 

Orwell: 1984 (1949) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read multiple times)

     Only radicals read this and hold fast to its truths. 

Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby (1925) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read)

     One of the most eccentric, memorable, and quintessential American works. Like a speeding car struck you down in the middle of the night...and kept going. (I don't know why it makes me feel like that.)

ALL-TIME FAVORITE

Stowe: Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (1851) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (re-read multiple times)

     UTC is not a popular book, it seems. Possibly no one is interested in another book about American slavery as it was. But this is a good place to start if you do want to know something. Stowe's writing style is superb, her words are commanding and compassionate. Many characters are beautiful and good. It is a hopeful story at a time when a nation was at a crossroads. 

     What impresses me most is Stowe's courage to write such a book at that time. Today she would have been censored by the powers that control the narrative. She took on an entire nation - yes, both North and South, pro-slavery and anti-slavery, including the Christian Church - with her pen. 

     Reading this inspires me and makes this book my most favorite novel from The Well-educated Mind. 

* * *

Do you have any favorites from this list? Which ones and why? 

Bloggish Update

I am so excited because I finally solved a problem that has plagued me for a time. Granted, I am not tech literate and have a tendency to live in the dark ages without looking for solutions. 

When I started to blog again last year, I learned that FeedBurner had burned itself out and was no longer available for mail subscription. That meant that I could not offer email subscription to readers as a way to keep up with posts. 

I don't know about you, but there are two ways I stay up to date with blogs I follow: either by configuring a blog list (see reading corner in the sidebar) or by following via email through the blog if offered.

I was flustered about FeedBurner because that was the service offered by Blogger; since it has fizzled out (see that is probably not even the proper tech word to use), I intended to just exist without the email subscription, though it still bothered me. 

follow.it

Today I finally did something about it, and I found a really great service that I want to share in case anyone else is interested. The service is free and easy to navigate and use, especially if you are technically slow like I am. It is called follow.it  and you can add an email subscription to your blog or site by going HERE and following the super easy instructions. 

And if you want to follow me or keep up with my posts via email, there it is in my sidebar. Just enter your email. You'll get an email from follow.it to confirm. And then, enjoy! 

The Story Graph

Also, I went back to The Story Graph, which I had deleted when I also deleted my blog last year. Now I am back. They make it easy enough for you to upload your GoodReads books so you don't have to enter 100K books one by one. (I'm exaggerating.)

Yes, it is similar to GoodReads, but at the end of the year it presents more statistics about your reading that may be fun to review. You can compare different years or months of reading to each other, and I think you can manipulate the information to get different comparisons. I don't know that it really helps you, but some people like stats about their reading journey. And like GoodReads, there is also a community to interact with other readers, if you like. 

LibraryThing

I am still on GoodReads, but my favorite is LibraryThing. I think GR is better for community, but I prefer the organization of LT over GR. Readers can also upload their books from GR. 

(Otherwise, I don't think I can come up with a great argument for why I like the one over the other, other than I know that I tend to gravitate to LT slightly more. Maybe it is because for years I had coveted using LT, but their service had a fee; then in 2020 they opened it up at no cost to everyone because many were stuck at home twiddling their thumbs and LT took pity. Maybe that's why. I don't know.) 

Also, LT sends out a great monthly recap of interesting bookish news, The State of the Thing, that I look forward to reading when I see it in my inbox. 

Ok, that's it for maintenance.

* * *

So, have you found any bookish gems out there that you want to share?