Fall Into Reading wrap-up

It's the first day of winter, my least favorite day of the year. I'm not a winter person at all, though I do like curling up with a mug of something hot and a book. Callapidder Days' Fall Into Reading 2008 is now over. I started off well but didn't stick to my plan.

• Did you finish reading all the books on your fall reading list? If not, why not?

I had 16 books on my original Fall Into Reading list. I read 5 of them and am still working on 2 more. The main reason I didn't even get through half my list is that I also read 16 more books this fall that weren't on the list! Some of these were for reviews, and others I just picked up on a whim. I had the first Harry Potter book on my challenge list, which I wanted to read again because it's the 10th anniversary of its publication. I found that I couldn't stop there and am now coming to the end of the whole series once again. It's been fun reading the books back to back instead of having to wait a year or two in between them.

I still like how I set up my reading list by category and will eventually get to the other books. I'll probably be reading The Fountainhead for a long time, as it's a lot to wrap your head around and I can't just zip through it like most books.

• What was your favorite book that you read this fall? Least favorite? Why?

There were several that I really liked. The ones that stand out as favorites are Susan Meissner's The Shape of Mercy and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

• Did you discover a new author or genre this fall? Did you love them? Not love them?

Susan Meissner, Ayn Rand, and Lynn Austin were all new to me this fall, and I'll definitely be reading more books by all three of these authors.

• Did you learn something new because of the Fall Into Reading challenge — something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?

I put Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea on my list of books to read again. When I originally read it in high school, I hated it, and I wanted to see if my opinion of the book changed in the past 20 (ack!) years. I now have more of an appreciation for the story's subtle beauty and its deeper themes and Christian imagery. I also formerly had the impression that Santiago died at the end and that sleeping was a euphemism, and seeing some hope for him at the end changes my perspective.

Happy winter and happy reading!