*Update* Edited to add one last book I finished today.
Here is an abstract of my literary doings in January.

Books Read – January 2012

How Reading Changed My Life, by Anna Quindlen – 1/1/2012
River in the Sea, by Tina Boscha – 1/5/2012
Scarlet, by A.C. Gaughen – 1/7/2012
War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo – 1/8/2012
The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green – 1/10/2012
Emotional Geology, by Linda Gillard – 1/11/2012
I Am Not a Serial Killer, by Dan Wells – 1/16/2012
Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta – 1/18/2012
Persuasion, by Jane Austen – 1/21/2012
Sense & Sensibility, by Jane Austen – 1/23/2012
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson – 1/26/2012
Why We Broke Up, by Daniel Handler – 1/26/2012
Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White – 1/27/2012
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D. Schmidt – 1/30/2012
One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia – 1/31/2012

January Total = 15
Year-to-Date Total = 15

Yay! Fifteen books in one month is my personal record since I started tracking my reading. And most of them were so good, I can’t even begin to pick a pick of the month. Lots of amazing reads here; War Horse, The Fault in Our Stars, Sense & Sensibility, and Bridge to Terabithia, Lizzie Bright, and One Crazy Summer stand out the most to me though. Great reading month!

Book Club

The Highland Book Club read In the Woods, by Tana French. Unfortunately, I didn’t get this one read in time for the meeting. I’m still working on it though. Up next is The Princess Bride, by William Goldman.

The Third Thursday Book Club had a good discussion of I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. I haven’t read it in a few years, but I remember liking it. And it was fun to discuss it with the others. In February, we’re reading Atonement, by Ian McEwan. I can’t wait to read it. I’m so enchanted with my book club experiences lately, that I blathered on about them for a bit here.

Challenges

I’ve FINALLY made some progress on my challenges! This month I read one Newbery winner, two Newbery honors, one Printz winner, and two Printz honors! Awesomeness.

The Pulitzer Project – 11/84
The Printz Project – 8/13 (+7 Honor books)
The Newberry Project – 21/91 (+11 Honor books)

January Highlights

• I announced the winners of the 2012 ALA Youth Media Awards.
• I started doing a few Sunday Salon posts here and here.
• And, I posted as many reviews as I could for the books I read this month. See the list above.

That’s it. That’s what happened in January. Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog this month!

MY TOP 10 PICKS OF 2011

Books Published before 2011
I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin
Getting Things Done, by David Allen

Books Published in 2011
The Call, by Yannick Murphy
Before I Go To Sleep, by S.J. Watson
Moonwalking with Einstein, by Joshua Foer
The Soldier’s Wife, by Margaret Leroy

Honorable Mentions (Rereads)
Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger
84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff

* Click over to the complete list of books I read in 2011.

BOOKS READ

Total Books Read = 45
Average Books Read Per Month = 3.75
Best Reading Month = November (7 books)
Worst Reading Month = October (1 book)

Total Pages Read = 14,233 (According to Goodreads)
Average Pages Per Book = 316
Average Pages Read Per Day = 39
Average Pages Read Per Month = 1,186
Total Chunksters (450+ pages) Read = 2

Total Fiction Books Read = 32
Total Nonfiction Books Read = 13
Total Audio Books “Read” = 0
Total Kindle Books Read = 4
Total Books Reread = 2

Total Books By Women = 25
Total Books By Men = 20
Total New-to-Me Authors = 34
Total Utah Authors = 2
Repeat Authors = David Allen (2); Laurie Halse Anderson (2); George R.R. Martin (2); Markus Zusak (2)

Total Books Read that I Own = 45
Total Books Read that I Don’t Own = 0

Ratings = 8
Ratings = 26
Ratings = 9
Ratings = 2
Ratings = 0

CHALLENGES

The Pulitzer Project – 11/84 [1 this year]
The Printz Project – 7/11 (+5 Honor books) [1 honor this year]
The Newberry Project – 20/89 (+9 Honor books) [1 honor this year ]

BOOK CLUB
HIGHLAND BOOK CLUB
November/December: A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens*
October: Dracula, by Bran Stoker OR Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley*
September: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett*
August: Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale*
June: I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith*
May: Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier*
April: These Is My Words, by Nancy E. Turner*
March: The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls*
February: Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson*
January: Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger*

THIRD THURSDAY BOOK CLUB
December: The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt*
November: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith*
October: Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn*
September – Middlemarch, by George Eliot (book and movie)
May – A Wizard of Earth Sea, by Ursula K. Le Guin*
April – The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley*
March – These is My Words, by Nancy E. Turner*
February – 84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff*
January – When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead*
 
* Indicates books I have read; links are to my reviews.

2011 was a great year! I enjoyed reading with all of you.

Literature 101 is a ten-part course based on 10 Literary Concepts Every Reader Should Know. We took a little hiatus and are picking up where we left off.

WEEK 7: TONE

The tone of a work refers to the author’s implicit attitude about a subject as conveyed by style and word choice.

DISCUSSION

The tone is generally defined as the author’s implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work. The author expresses tone through a variety of elements such as diction, syntax, imagery, details, and metaphor.

There are probably as many tones as human emotions. Here are some common tones:

serious
ironic
sad
happy
private
public
informative
angry
affectionate
bitter
nostalgic
playful
solemn
formal
intimate
outraged
baffled
tender
serene
depressed
melancholy
condescending

EXAMPLES

Okay, here are my best attempts to categorize the last five books I read:

WHAT THE DOG SAW, by Malcolm Gladwell – informative
THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE, by Aimee Bender – melancholy, baffled
ON THE ROAD, by Jack Kerouac – nostalgic
THE CALL, by Yannick Murphy – angry and then almost tender
A WALK IN THE WOODS, by Bill Bryson – playful, informative

Wow. That was harder than I thought it would be. Do you think I got these right?

Tone is something that is obviously present in every work, but I think it is generally one of the hardest things to identify and describe. But I think it is a good exercise to do from time to time.

HOMEWORK

1. Consider a book from your recently read pile or the book that you are currently reading.
2. Can you identify a tone? Or maybe shifts in tone?
3. Consider how a change in tone affects or could affect the story.

Feel free to post your thoughts on the homework in the comments below. I’d be curious to hear which books or stories you used.

_________________________________

That concludes our study of tone. Make sure to check back for the “lecture” on Symbol. But first, chime in with your thoughts on tone in the comments.

What are your sources for literary news? In particular, do you have any non-internet sources for your literary news? Other than the blogosphere and literary websites, I tend to gather my literary news from the following sources:

I’ve only recently subscribed to The New York Review of Books. So far, it has been a little overwhelming for me. It’s huge! And very . . . technical in tone. But I’ve liked a few of the articles. The Salt Lake Tribune can hardly be considered a literary news source, as it’s book coverage consists of about one page once a week. But still, I read it. I’m a long-time subscriber of The New Yorker – they include a few good book tidbits in each issue. And NPR always has good stuff – when I can catch it.

I used to get The New York Times, and their book coverage is fantastic. But it’s a little too pricey at the moment. I’m just curious; where do you get your literary news?