That Spring Thing ~ March 20 to June 20 challenge

Spring Reading Thing 2012 was brought to us by Katrina @ Callapidder Days, who has a Mister Linky for all our closing posts.  My original book list had thirteen books for thirteen weeks — and I more than doubled my list.  Here are the 28 books I finished, divided into categories, and how I rated each one.  (Those marked library book are explained below.)

FICTION (16 books)

1.  The Age of Grief ~ by Jane Smiley, fiction, 7/10
2.  Ashfall ~ by Mike Mullin, 2011, YA fiction (Iowa, Illinois), 9/10, (library book)
3.  Before I Go to Sleep ~ by S. J. Watson, 2011, fiction, 9/10, (library book)
4.  The Beginner's Goodbye ~ by Anne Tyler, 2012, fiction (Maryland), 8/10, (library book)

Best of the Bunch #1

5.  The Breath of God ~ by Jeffrey Small, 2011, fiction (Bhutan, India, USA), 9.5/10
6.  Catalyst ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2002, YA fiction, 9/10
7.  Close to Famous ~ by Joan Bauer, 2011, YA fiction (West Virginia), 8/10, (library book)
8.  Dead Asleep ~ by Jennifer B. White, 2011, fiction (Massachusetts), 9/10
9.  Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant ~ by Anne Tyler, 1982, fiction (Maryland), 8/10
10.  The Happy Room ~ by Catherine Palmer, 2002, fiction (Missouri, Kenya), 8/10, (library book)
11.  The Lady and the Unicorn ~ by Tracy Chevalier, 2004, fiction (France and Belgium), 9/10

Best of the Bunch #2

12.  Lone Wolf ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2012, fiction, 10/10
13.  Mary, Bloody Mary ~ by Carolyn Meyer, 1999, YA fiction (England), 9/10
14.  Murder and the First Lady ~ by Elliott Roosevelt, 1984, mystery (District of Columbia), 8/10
15.  Nop's Trials ~ by Donald McCaig, 1984, fiction (Virginia), 9/10
16.  Patience, Princess Catherine ~ by Carolyn Meyer, 2004, YA fiction (England), 9/10

HISTORY (2 books)

17.  The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed  the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels ~ by Thomas Cahill, 1998, history (Middle East), 9/10
18.  The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade ~ by Ann Fessler, 2006, history. 9/10, (library book)

MEMOIR (4 books)

19.  Girl Meets God ~ by Lauren F. Winner, 2002, memoir, 8/10, (library book)
20.  Into the Tangle of Friendship: A Memoir of the Things That Matter ~ by Beth Kephart, 2000, memoir, 8/10, (library book)
21.  Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis ~ by Lauren F. Winner, 2012, memoir, 8/10
22.  Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story ~ by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, 2009, memoir (Greece, Turkey, South Carolina, France), 9/10

PSYCHOLOGY (1 book)

23.  Between a Rock and a Hot Place: Why Fifty is the New Fifty ~ by Tracey Jackson, 2011, psychology/aging, 7/10

RELIGION (4 books)

24.  God Is No Laughing Matter: An Artist's Observations and Objections on the Spiritual Path ~ by Julia Cameron, 2000, religion, 8/10
25.  Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings ~ edited by Marcus Borg, 1997, religion, 7/10, (library book)
26.  Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived ~ by Rob Bell, 2011, religion, 9/10, (library book)
27.  One Hand Clapping: Zen Stories for All Ages ~ by Rafe Martin, illustrated by Junko Morimoto, 1995, YA religion, 9/10, (library book)

WRITING (1 book)

28.  I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory ~ by Patricia Hampl, 1999, memoir writing, 8/10, (library book)

SUMMARY

I'm in the middle of two other books that were on the list, but since each is nonfiction (religion) and I'm studying them, I decided I wouldn't hurry just to complete them "on time" for this Spring Reading Thing challenge.  I haven't been writing reviews for many of the books I've been reading, and these two will require some thought before I post anything.  The first one was on the original list, and I added this second one after reading Breath of God by Jeffrey Small.  Both of these are excellent:

29.  Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus ~ by Robin R. Meyers, 2009, religion

30.  Living Buddha, Living Christ ~ by Thích Nhất Hạnh, introduction by Elaine Pagels, 1995, religion

Books read and original goals:

16 of 4 fiction
1 of 1 psychology
1 of 1 writing
4 of 3 memoir
4 of 3 religion
2 of 1 history
_____________
28 of 13 books  ✓

Ratio of my books read to library books read:
My goal was to read at least two of my books for every library book, which explains why I made note of them above.

16 of my books
12 library books
_____________
16/12 ratio, which means I didn't make it  ✓

Summary of books removed:My goal was to "get rid of a lot of books," and this isn't really a lot.  At least I got rid of some of them.  This will probably be a never-ending job.

4 to friends
30 to used book store
3 to the senior center
_______
37 books total  ✓