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Andrea's 2007 reading list


~Andrea~

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Ok so i'm not the fastest reader in the world unlike some of you folks out there :D My aim for 2007 is to read 25 books.

 

So far this year:

 

1 The girl in a swing - Richard Adams 9/10

2 Ugly - Constance Briscoe 9/10

3 The last word - Brian McLaren 7/10

4 The big love - Sarah Dunn 7/10

5 Dolores Claiborne - Stephen King 6/10

6 Keeping faith - Jodi Picoult 6/10 (30/04 - 16/05)

7 This book will save your life - A M Homes 8/10 (11/05 - 04/06)

8 The Thief of Always - Clive Barker 8/10 (04/06 - 08/06)

9 The Other Side of Nowhere - Daniella Westbrook 9/10 (08/06 - 14/06)

10 Of mice and men - Steinbeck 9/10 (15/06 - 21/06)

11 The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde 9/10 (23/06 - 11/07)

12 The Hobbit - Tolkein 9/10 (11/07 - 27/07)

13 Dracula - Bram Stoker (8/10 28/07 - 20/08)

14 Carmilla - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (7/10 09/08 - 12/08)

15 Anne of Green Gables (8/10 20/08 - 9/09)

16 My cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier (10/10 09/09 - 24/09)

17 Selected Writings - Meister Erkhart (unfinished 25/09 - 16/10)

18 Harry Potter and the half blood prince - J K Rowling (8/10 29/09 - 29/10)

19 Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (audio, abridged) (9/10 17/10 - 21/12)

20 Karma - Holly Harvey (7/10 30/10 - 10/11)

21 Knots and Crosses - Ian Rankin (8/10 10/11 - 26/11)

22 Flatland - Edwin Abbott (10/10 26/11 - 18/12)

23 The Stand - Stephen King (26/11 - )

 

To read soon:

 

Life of Pi - Yann Martell

Guards Guards - Terry Pratchett

The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

 

 

 

Books on the Bookshelf:

 

Unread

 

Minnette Walters - The shape of snakes

Minnette Walters - Acid Row

PD James - A Certain Justice

Wilkie Collins The Woman in White

Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales (modern translation)

Thomas Hardy Far from the madding crowd

Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason

Joanna Trollope - The men and the girls

Justin Cartwright - The promise of happiness

How to talk to a widower - Jonathan Tropper

Damaged - Cathy Glass

James Herbert - Haunted

Agatha Christie - Five little pigs

 

Shakespeare plays:

Othello

The Merchant of Venice

King Lear

Julius Caesar

Twelfth night

A Winter's tale

 

half read:

 

Pride And Prejudice

The French Lieutenant's woman - John Fowles

 

To read at some point:

 

The Testament of Gideon Mack

A spot of bother - Mark Haddon

James Herbert - The Secret of Crickley Hall

Walking Ollie - Stephen Foster

The Time Machine - H G Wells

The House on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier

The Secret Garden

The Ghost Writer - John Harwood

Superstition - David Ambrose

LOTR - Tolkein

Far from the madding crowd - Hardy

The Princess Bride

Rabecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Something Wicked this way comes - Ray Bradbury

The Time Travellers Wife

Shopgirl - Steve Martin

The book of lost things - John Connelly

Chocky - John Wyndham

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

Harry Potter and the deathly hallows - J K Rowling

Winnie the Pooh - (complete short stories and poems) A. A. Milne

Rumble Fish - Susan Hinton

Dirk Gently's Holistic detective agency - Douglas Adams (reread)

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Planiverse - A.K. Dewdney

Stuck in neutral - Terry Trueman

The Oyster House Siege - Jay Rayner

Spilling the beans - Clarissa Dickson Wright

 

To consider reading:

 

Middlemarch - George Eliot

Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

The commitments - Roddy Doyle

Plague Dogs - Richard Adams

Angela's Ashes

 

Authors to try:

 

Phillip K Dick

Anthony Horowitz

David Baddiel

Anne Tyler

Kelley Armstrong

Raven Hart

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been meaning to add my thoughts about each book I read for ages. Here's a start.

 

The girl in a swing - Richard Adams 9/10

 

I really loved this book. Its beautifully written in the first person. Its essentially a love story with some quite dark supernatural undercurrents. It won't be everybody's cup of tea because, well, there's a lot of writing here but not a lot actually happens. I loved reading it though I think because I enjoyed the writing style so much. I didn't want it to end.

 

Ugly - Constance Briscoe 9/10

 

I also greatly enjoyed this book. A true story of child abuse, again not everyone's cup of tea, but real page turning stuff. The early chapters make quite difficult reading but as the central character gets older emerging into the strong woman she eventually becomes, well its quite inspiring stuff. I don't think i've ever rooted for a character so much, probably because this character is a real human being.

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Ugly - Constance Briscoe

 

I also greatly enjoyed this book. A true story of child abuse, again not everyone's cup of tea, but real page turning stuff. The early chapters make quite difficult reading but as the central character gets older emerging into the strong woman she eventually becomes, well its quite inspiring stuff. I don't think i've ever rooted for a character so much, probably because this character is a real human being.

 

This is on my "to buy" list as it has got very good reviews from everyone here.

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The last word - Brian McLaren 7/10

 

This is probably of quite specialist interest, the third in a trilogy about an evangelical pastor in america questioning his beleifs. More of a theological discussion presented in the form of conversations between the characters than a true novel. This book is really a critique of the evangelical view of Hell. I enjoyed it but it may be more of interest to those who have had some involvement with evangelical or fundamentalist christianity.

 

The Big Love - Sarah Dunn 7/10

 

Light humourous well written chick lit. Very funny. The characters religious neurosis annoyed me on times but on the whole I liked her and the humour made up for this books shortcomings.

 

Dolores Claibourne - Stephen King 6/10

 

My first Stephen King. Quite enjoyable. Interesting device of telling the story through the single voice of the central character as she is interviewed by the police. This is more of a crime than a horror story though it doesnt really fit that category neatly either. Its really the story of how a person is driven to commit murder with hints at the supernatural. Enjoyable, dark, not particularly cheerful although it does contain some humour, and one part did make me laugh out loud. I will definitely read more of this author, perhaps based more on his reputation than on this book.

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Keeping Faith Jodi Picoult 6/10

 

This was quite a long book, nearly 500 pages (not quite a "doorstop" but close ;) ). I have mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed the beginning but found it dragged in the middle. The characters didn't really grab me and I was tempted to give up. However the last 100 pages were very gripping and I was glad I persevered. Had it been a little shorter I might have enjoyed it more. I'm not sure if I will try this author again, perhaps but probably not anytime soon. The book is very well written but somehow it just didn't pull my chain. Interesting subject matter though.

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Keeping Faith Jodi Picoult 6/10

 

This was quite a long book, nearly 500 pages (not quite a "doorstop" but close ;) ). I have mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed the beginning but found it dragged in the middle. The characters didn't really grab me and I was tempted to give up. However the last 100 pages were very gripping and I was glad I persevered. Had it been a little shorter I might have enjoyed it more. I'm not sure if I will try this author again, perhaps but probably not anytime soon. The book is very well written but somehow it just didn't pull my chain. Interesting subject matter though.

I've debated several times over getting this book.....I also just finished one of hers that tended to drag a bit, then perked up (second glance) wasn't there a tv movie made for keeping faith?

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I've debated several times over getting this book.....I also just finished one of hers that tended to drag a bit, then perked up (second glance) wasn't there a tv movie made for keeping faith?

 

Oh was there? That would be interesting to see.

 

It's ok if you are stuck for something to read and I did enjoy it in the end. I know other people have rated this book highly so maybe I am in the minority here.

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whoops...the pact and plain truth are tv movies....I guess keeping faith is in the works....my bad:blush:

 

hehe well it would be interesting to watch if they do get round to making it then.

 

If you do read it let me know what you think.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This Book Will Save Your Life - A M Homes

 

I enjoyed this. It was quirky and humorous. The plot meandered about with no real pace but the characters and situations kept me interested. Did it have a deep underlying message or was it just an excuse to poke fun at LA life? I wasn't sure about the ending though.

 

The Thief of Always - Clive Barker

 

I enjoyed this children's story. It was intriguing and quite gripping and creepy (it probably would have been quite scary if I was ten years old). There are some great descriptions and ideas in this book but it took me a while to get used to the writing style and I didn't enjoy the first chapters much, unsure if I would like the book at all. I kept reading though. I doubt I would read it again, unlike other children's stories I keep going back to like say the chronicles of Narnia. However I may try some of the authors other work.

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The Other side of nowhere - Daniella Westbrook

 

I'm about half way through this and loving every minute of it. I admire anyone who can conquer an addiction especially one as severe as hers. I remember watching a documentary about her several years ago and was very impressed with the way she was so down to earth, didn't take herself seriously and how she coped everything including all the negative press attention. She just seemed like a really nice girl. Its fascinating to read about the other actors in Eastenders. I'm finding it quite moving and don't want to put it down. It made me cry last night.

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I finished The Other Side of Nowhere last night and it was brilliant. It made me cry again. I had no idea of the devastating extent of her problem. This is the story of someone seriously screwing up their life. Over and over again. If you didn't already know the outcome you would begin to believe she would never get better. But here you see someone hit absolute rock bottom and then amazingly make their way back up. This book is also a fascinating insight into the powerful stranglehold an addiction can have on someone's life. In spite of her huge mistakes she comes out the other side with her integrity intact. Great stuff.

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Thanks, I ended up going for Mice and Men in the end. Its the shorter book. But i'm really looking forward to reading Dorian Gray too.

I'm only 25 pages in. I'm bracing myself for the ending which I gather isn't too cheery!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck 9/10

 

Excellent. The characters are so well drawn in this book and the story is superb. I was surprised at the excessive use of adverbs though which jarred a little. There was about 5 a page, quite obtrusive ones too, disgustedly, admiringly, threateningly. Maybe trends in writing have changed but you wouldn't expect that today, it almost smacks of (:() bad writing.

 

A brilliant book nonetheless.

 

I was sorry that I had worried about the ending so much because I ended up deliberately distancing myself from the characters which spoiled my enjoyment of the book. I wish I'd got more involved and had a good cry at the end. It wasn't as depressing as I'd feared, the ending was more touching and less grim than I had expected. (Not to say it isn't grim but its dealt with differently to how I'd expected). I should have just trusted the writer and gone with it. Also before I read this I had guessed the ending based on things I'd heard about it but I was wrong. I thought that

Lennie would kill George not the other way round

 

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Currently thoroughly enjoying the picture of Dorian Gray. Very well written. Only 40 odd pages in. I hope I don't finish it before "Dracula" arrives because I'd like to read that next for the comparative circle. Otherwise it'll be The Hobbit which I'm also looking forward to re-reading in readiness for finally tackling LOTR.

 

Oh so much to read...

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I enjoyed Of Mice and Men - we did it for GCSE last year. I'm afraid I gave up on Dorian Gray recently - I just couldn't seem to get into it. :(

 

I can understand that, Dorian Gray is quite dense and wordy. I find myself re-reading paragraphs all the time. I think its one of those books you really have to be in the mood for.

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