State of the Blog, Part Two: The Authors

Part of being a compulsive "list" reader is keeping track of the progress I make on my many lists. I try to do a comprehensive assessment every quarter.  This fall progress review is the most important to me since I still have time to accomplish some reading goals before the end of the year.

This is a three-part assessment. This second part looks at my author lists (in the right-side column). Part One reviewed my reading lists.  Part Three, coming soon, will deal with the challenges I joined this year.

So far this year, I have read 19 books by my listed authors. I'd like to get up to 24 by the end of the year -- and average of two a month seems pretty good.

THE AUTHORS

Kingsley Amis
Books read so far: 8/48
Books read in 2010: four (or two, depending how you count compilations):

1. One Fat Englishman (reviewed here); and
2. Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis (reviewed here), which includes the complete, previously published volumes:
• On Drink;
• Every Day Drinking; and 
• How's Your Glass

Books I hope to read in 2010: probably no more
Books on my TBR shelf: 5

Kate Atkinson
Books read so far: 2/8
Books read in 2010: one (Case Histories, for the Typically British Challenge)
Books I hope to read in 2010: 2

• One Good Turn
• When Will There be Good News?

Books on my TBR shelf: 2

Cara Black
Books read so far: 2/9
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one, Murder in Belleville
Books on my TBR shelf: one

William Boyd

Books read so far: 3/16
Books read in 2010: one (The New Confessions, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (Brazzaville Beach)
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

James Lee Burke
Books read so far: 13/17 (Dave Robicheaux series only)
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: maybe none
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

Lee Child
Books read so far: 13/14
Books read in 2010: one (Gone Tomorrow)
Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (61 Hours)
Books on my TBR shelf: one

A. J. Cronin

Books read so far: 1/25
Books read in 2010: one (Three Loves, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: that may be it for this year
Books on my TBR shelf: 5

M. F. K. Fisher
Books read so far: 4/27
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: maybe one
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Books read so far: 8/13
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: probably zero, this is a future goal
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Penelope Fitzgerald
Books read so far: 2/9
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (The Bookshop, for the Bibliophilic Books Challenge)
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

Richard Ford
Books read so far: 5/10
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: undecided
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

Dick Francis
Books read so far: 4/47
Books read in 2010: two

1. Second Wind (reviewed here); and
2. Under Orders.

Books I hope to read in 2010: 2 more

1. Proof
2. Shattered

Books on my TBR shelf: 4

Jim Harrison
Books read so far: 20/20 (prose only)
Books read in 2010: one (Farmer's Daughter, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: no more
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Nick Hornby
Books read so far: 5/11
Books read in 2010: 3

1. The Polysyllabic Spree (reviewed here)
2. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt
3. Juliet, Naked (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (Shakespeare Wrote for Money)
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

John Lescroart
Books read so far: 16/17 (Dismus Hardy series and spin offs)
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (A Plague of Secrets)
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Elinor Lipman
Books read so far: 4/10
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (Then She Found Me)
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

David Lodge
Books read so far: 3/15 (fiction only)
Books read in 2010: one (Deaf Sentence,reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: maybe one more, but I don't know which one
Books on my TBR shelf: 8

Ian McEwan
Books read so far: 5/13
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: at least one, but I do not have any on my TBR shelf
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Jack Ohman
Books read so far: 5/10
Books read in 2010: one (Angler Management, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: no more

Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Anthony Powell
Books read so far: 14/32
Books read in 2010: one (Venusberg, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: no more
Books on my TBR shelf: none

Philip Roth
Books read so far: 7/30
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: at least one, but I haven't decided which one
Books on my TBR shelf: 11

Martin Cruz Smith
Books read so far: 6/6 (Arkady Renko series only)
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: zero, unless I get my hands on Three Stations
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Julia Spencer-Fleming
Books read so far: 5/7
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (I Shall Not Want)
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

William Styron
Books read so far: 2/10
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: probably zero
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

Anne Tyler
Books read so far: 4/18
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (Breathing Lessons, for my Pulitzer pick for the Battle of the Prizes challenge)
Books on my TBR shelf: 5

John Updike
Books read so far: 10/26
Books read in 2010: 2

1. The Witches of Eastwick
2. The Widows of Eastwick

Books I hope to read in 2010: no more
Books on my TBR shelf: 10

Andrea U'ren
Books read so far: zero/2
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: hopefully both of them
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Simon Winchester
Books read so far: 5/16
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: two

1. The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
2. Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded

Books on my TBR shelf: 2