Thanks to the magic of Goodreads, I looked back to see what I was reading around this time 10 years ago. In summer 2005, I was a newly-minted college graduate, and had just started my first big-girl job. I realized that I no longer had to spend all of my time reading TEXTBOOKS! I was free to browse the library as I wished! With that in mind, here are 5 of the books I was enjoying in the dog days of 2005:
1. The Godfather by Mario Puzo
My mom passed down an old copy of this book to me, and I finally had time to read it once I graduated from UConn. For some reason, back then I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, but my recollection is that I didn't really like it all that much...? Ohhhhhh boy, I'm gonna go and say it...I LIKED THE MOVIE BETTER!
2. Funny--He Doesn't Look Like A Murderer by Shirley Bostrom
I actually obtained this book during the Family Violence course that I took during my senior year at UConn. The book is a nonfiction account of the author's tragic experience with domestic violence, as her daughter Margie was murdered by her (Margie's) husband. Bostrom came and discussed the incident with our class, as well as her work as a victim's advocate in the wake of this tragedy. A very sad book, but one that is important to the conversation on domestic violence and its consequences.
3. The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea
This is a nonfiction account of what happened when a group of Mexican men attempted to cross the US border via the Arizona desert in 2001. As you can imagine, this book speaks to much more than this individual journey, as it examines US border policy and brings the physical and emotional toils of the migrants to life. This book still sticks with me 10 years later--a must-read!
4. The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
Honestly, I have no idea what this book is about. That is pretty much the case for every John Grisham I've ever read. I highly enjoyable at the time that I am reading them, but then I quickly forget which one is which because they are just SO DARN SIMILAR. I once started reading a Grisham novel and made it a third of the way through before I realized that I'd already read it once before. I guess that's a long way of saying that this book did not make much of an impression on me. :)
5. The 9/11 Commission Report
Yes, I actually did read this brick of a book. It took me ages (I remember reading it between other novels throughout the summer), but it brought 9/11 (the actual day, as well as it's lead-up and consequences) to life in a way that I couldn't get from CNN or the New York Times. Very comprehensive, though very very dense.
Apparently not much light reading for me in summer 2005, eh? I suppose all that college book-learnin' was still rubbing off on me. ;-)
What were you reading 10 years ago??
Great post idea! And - I read The Godfather as well - loved it! I'm not sure I've ever seen the movie - weird, I know. And - it's so interesting to see how books hold up over time. My all-time favorites list is mostly books I read a long time ago, so I'm gradually trying to re-read them all and see if they still belong on my list!
ReplyDeleteYou've NEVER seen the Godfather??? Oooooh, the Italian in me is dying a little inside!! Haha.
DeleteI agree about favorite books holding up over time--I was planning to do a post about that soon. I look my GR faves list sometimes and think...really?? :)
I read The Devil's Highway and loved it too. At the time, I was working in a clinic with mostly Hispanic patients, and a lot of them had those stories. It really hit home for me.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I imagine that would bring it to life even more vividly. It is not often that the specifics of a book stick with me for this long!
DeleteThis is so cool! I didn't join GR until 2009, and I didn't keep track of my reading before then. I did remember everything I'd read since rediscovering reading as an adult (all the novels, anyway) but I'm sure I fudged the dates a bit when I went back and added them in.
ReplyDeleteThat said, 10 years ago I was getting ready to start my final year of college. I'd also just started working at the campus library. I'd already gone through my Gregory Maguire kick, and hadn't yet started my Dan Brown kick. I'm pretty sure that summer I was finally reading The Lord of the Rings.
I didn't start writing down what I was reading until 2005 (right around this time, when I graduated), so when I started GR in 2007, I backdated everything from the old lists I kept. Yes, type A me has had a system for tracking books for 10 years...haha.
DeleteNever read Gregory Maguire, though he is a UAlbany alumni so people used to talk about him all the time when I worked there! I did Dan Brown in 2005 as well, during my last semester at UConn when I was completely senioritis-ing. :)
This is so fun! Ten years ago, I was 15 and endlessly re-reading Harry Potter and The Perks of Being a Wallflower :P
ReplyDeleteHaha! That's probably what I would have been reading when I was 15, if HP had been released yet. :) I think when I was 15, I had just started in on Stephen King a bit!
DeleteI remember thinking I might read The 9/11 Commission Report; I was finishing up grad school, though, so...no. HA! Never got around to that one! I'm so impressed!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely one that requires a LOT of time and brainpower...grad school would not have been the right time! :)
DeleteIt's very fun to look back at what we were reading --way back when and how our interests have changed.
ReplyDeleteAgreed...when I read this list of books, I can picture so many memories from that time period in my life!
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