Frankie reads 2013

[Janet]

Although that makes me think of gambling. Hm.

 

'Wanna bet 50 bucks that when she goes into that bookshop, she ain't coming out empty handed?'

Haha - well, if the nickname fits...   

[frankie]

Bleh! I'm feeling better, in the way that I'm not completely out of it and I don't have to stay in bed, but I've started to have trouble breathing, especially during night time. I have problems getting deep breaths and my lungs sound like a percolator Also, I feel like I'm up to my ears in snot. So I went to the doctor today and got some meds, and an order to drink plenty of tea and to rest.

 

So, I'm officially ordered to take it easy, meaning I'm probably going to have a reading spree.

 

Last night when I couldn't go to sleep because of stupid lungs, I finished Black Swan Green and started Coffee at Luke's. I'm happy that I was able to read eventhough I was having a miserable time physically. I got half way through the GG book and I'm probably going to be able to finish it today. I also went to the library as it's almost next to the uni student health service and was able to fetch one book that was reserved and had arrived for me: Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton! I'm really excited about it and will probably start it next. I also borrowed Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel for next month's RC.

 

Janet, I tried to go and find the book about the English teacher that you reviewed only recently. I'd checked it on the library website and found out that there was an English copy, but now that I was at the library, I couldn't remember the author and when I tried searching for 'Goodnight Mr Chip' on the computer, there were no hits. I'm now going to go over to your reading log and see what the real title is and how much my memory erred

 

TBR is now standing at 527!

 

Oh. And there's so much to say on the GG book... Unfortunately, not all good!

 

Edit: Sonova... It was Goodbye, not Good night So close! And yet so far...

[Janet]

Not a bad guess from memory! 

[frankie]

Not a bad guess from memory! 

 

It's because I like men and chips... And I'd rather say 'good night' to them, instead of 'goodbye'!

 

Edit: I mean it's a theory...

[Kidsmum]

It's because I like men and chips... And I'd rather say 'good night' to them, instead of 'goodbye'!

 

Edit: I mean it's a theory...

 

    That made me laugh ( Do you mean at the same time Frankie ? )

[frankie]

    That made me laugh ( Do you mean at the same time Frankie ? )

 

Hmm, I'm not sure! I don't like to share my chips, so a man on the side, begging for some (chips, that is!) would be a huge annoyance....

[Athena]

I hope you feel better soon, frankie. It doesn't sound nice at all .

 

On the plus side, I hope you have lots of fun reading!

[Karsa Orlong]

Hmm, I'm not sure! I don't like to share my chips, so a man on the side, begging for some (chips, that is!) would be a huge annoyance....

 

 

Depends if they're crinkle cut, I suppose

[frankie]

I hope you feel better soon, frankie. It doesn't sound nice at all .

 

On the plus side, I hope you have lots of fun reading!

 

Thanks Athena. I'm not having that many problems with breathing any more, I think the meds are kicking in. But my head's still filled with snot!

 

Yep, I'm having fun reading. I'm anticipating finishing two books by tomorrow at the latest

 

 

Depends if they're crinkle cut, I suppose

 

Not! I'm not sharing

[Karsa Orlong]

Not! I'm not sharing

 

 

If they're not crinkle cut I won't be begging, either  

[frankie]

If they're not crinkle cut I won't be begging, either  

 

And how are Pringles not 'not crinckle cut'?

[Karsa Orlong]

And how are Pringles not 'not crinckle cut'?

 

 

I don't know, I don't eat them

 

[Ooshie]

Oh, crisps chips!   I thought you meant fries chips!  (Well, I am Scottish )

[frankie]

Oh, crisps chips!   I thought you meant fries chips!  (Well, I am Scottish )

 

Yes, me and British English don't mix when it comes to these two important aspects of life, i.e. your crisps and chips But the most important thing is that one likes both of these food items, so one's never disappointed when ordering one and accidentally receiving the other

[Ooshie]

Yes, me and British English don't mix when it comes to these two important aspects of life, i.e. your crisps and chips But the most important thing is that one likes both of these food items, so one's never disappointed when ordering one and accidentally receiving the other

 

You are so right, frankie! 

[julie]

Frankie

Congrats on getting your book stack below the 530 mark .

 

sorry you have been sick .

 

Always an interesting conversation going on in here .

 

I'm still trying to put a DIVIDER up between :

 

Up to your ears in SNOT

 

Chips

And Crisps.

 

I think I've finally been in here long enough to tell that crisps are potato chips and chips are french fries,right ?

 

And I like Pringles too . Really good .

[Athena]

I think I've finally been in here long enough to tell that crisps are potato chips and chips are french fries,right ?

This is correct. I find it confusing too sometimes, because in Dutch the "crisps" (a snack you eat) are called "chips". "Chips" in English are called "friet" (or "patat" if you live in a certain area) ( = fries). I've gotten used to it because of my British boyfriend but I understand it can be confusing to people!

[julie]

Athena

So, in your country, chips are potato chips,like here ,but in UK they are fries. At least I'm getting an education in here regarding the different words we all use for food items

 

I noticed in your video,your accent sounds a little like the English accent ... are one of your parents English, or does everyone in your counrty sound a little English, too ?

 

Sorry for the stupid question,but I've never been out of our country,and rarely out of my state,so it's a very rare occurrence when I get to hear anyone with an accent .We all talk like hillbillies where I come from .It's such a treat to hear other accents .

[Athena]

Awww thank you! My boyfriend's British and since I talk with him quite some, I think I tend to sound a little bit like him. Once I was on holidays in the UK, at his house, for a week, when I got back there were people at university who thought I was British. I feel flattered by your thoughts!

[frankie]

You are so right, frankie! 

 

You know, it all got a bit too much for me to handle, and I had to go and buy french fries They were good! I hadn't had them in ages.

 

Frankie

Congrats on getting your book stack below the 530 mark .

 

Thanks Julie! I'm looking forward to hitting 520 in the near future

 

sorry you have been sick .

 

Always an interesting conversation going on in here .

 

I'm still trying to put a DIVIDER up between :

 

Up to your ears in SNOT

 

Chips

And Crisps.

 

Yes please, do use a divider, a great big one! I bet snot doesn't make a good dip....

 

 

 

[frankie]

I've reached a big milestone today, something I've been coveting for a few years now! And it's actually one of the goals I set for myself in the beginning of the year:

 

I've now read 100 titles on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die -challenge

 

My notes show that I bought a copy of the 1001 Books -book 3.4.2008 (for 24,90e) and I started doing the challenge after that.

 

These are the titles I've read, in the order of reading. There are also dates when I finished the title in question, and my initial rating. Some of the titles I've re-read and may have rated them differently after that, but these are the initial ratings.

 

 

1998 (1)
1. Trainspotting 6.5.1998 (4/5)

1999 (1)
2. Pride and Prejudice 3.10.1999 (5/5)

2000 (1)
3. Moll Flanders 26.12.2000 (3/5)

2001 (5)
4. Ragtime 30.4.2001 (4/5)
5. The Age of Innocence 2.5.2001 (2/5)
6. Persuasion 17.5.2001 (5/5)
7. Jane Eyre 3.8.2001 (4/5)
8. Northanger Abbey 27.9.2001 (5/5)


2002 (9)
9. A Tale of Two Cities 9.1.2002 (5/5)
10. Tess of the d'Urbervilles 31.1.2002 (1/5)
11. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? 4.2.2002 (3/5)
12. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 24.2.2002 (1/5)
13. The French Lieutenant's Woman 16.5.2002 (3/5)
14. The Bluest Eye 8.6.2002 (4/5)
15. Slaughterhouse-Five 11.6.2002 (5/5)
16. Sense and Sensibility 1.7.2002 (3/5)
17. Mansfield Park 20.12.2002 (1/5)


2003 (3)
18. The Handmaid's Tale 17.3.2003 (4/5)
19. The Time Machine 4.6.2003 (3/5)
20. The Catcher in the Rye 9.11.2003 (3/5)


2004 (-)

2005 (5)
21. The Grapes of Wrath 18.4.2005 (3/5)
22. Diary of a Nobody 3.5.2005 (3/5)
23. Emma 15.6.2005 (3/5)
24. The Bell 7.8.2005 (4/5)
25. The Secret History 20.9.2005 (5/5)


2006 (-)



2007 (8)
26. Perfume 16.1.2007 (5/5)
27. In Watermelon Sugar 19.1.2007 (2/5)
28. The Collector 23.5.2007 (3/5)
29. A Home at the End of the World 29.6.2007 (5/5)
30. A Room with a View 8.7.2007 (1/5)
31. Treasure Island 20.8.2007 (3/5)
32. Middlesex 31.10.2007 (5/5)
33. The Virgin Suicides 11.12.2007 (2/5)

 

2008 (16)
34. Anna Karenina 14.5.2008 (3/5)
35. The Woman in White 26.5.2008 (3/5)
36. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul 11.6.2008 (5/5)
37. Fear and Trembling 12.6.2008 (2/5)
38. Fingersmith 16.7.2008 (5/5)
39. Frankenstein 20.7.2008 (3/5)
40. To the Lighthouse 10.8.2008 (1/5)
41. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 19.8.2008  (3/5)
42. The Nose 20.8.2008 (4/5)
43. Unless 26.8.2008 (2/5)
44. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 4.9.2008  (5/5)
45. The Little Prince 8.10.2008 (4/5)
46. Confederacy of Dunces 8.10.2008 (3/5)
47. The Shining 22.10.2008 (3/5)
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover 16.12.2008 (1/5)
49. Portnoy's Complaint 18.12.2008 (3/5)


2009 (16)
50. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde 20.1.2009 (5/5)
51. The Great Gatsby 21.1.2009 (3/5)
52. Lord of the Flies 23.1.2009 (2/5)
53. The Trial 26.1.2009 (2/5)
54. Dracula 5.2.2009 (4/5)
55. A Clockwork Orange 6.2.2009 (4/5)
56. American Psycho 19.2.2009 (2/5)
57. Interview with the Vampire 1.3.2009 (4/5)
58. The Black Dahlia 20.3.2009 (4/5)
59. The Wasp Factory 24.3.2009 (1/5)
60. Little Women 26.3.2009 (4/5)
61. Veronica Decides to Die 21.6.2009 (3/5)
62. Sputnik Sweetheart 15.7.2009 (3/5)
63. Of Mice and Men 30.7.2009 (4/5)
64. Under the Skin 18.8.2009 (5/5)
65. The Hound of the Baskervilles 11.10.2009 (3/5)


2010 (12)
66. Gone with the Wind 15.2.2010 (5/5)
67. Casino Royale 18.2.2010 (2/5)
68. Breakfast at Tiffany's 18.2.2010 (4/5)
69. Animal Farm 21.2.2010 (3/5)
70. The Color Purple 3.3.2010 (4/5)
71. Wuthering Heights 16.3.2010 (2/5)
72. The Bell Jar 24.5.2010 (3/5)
73. Smilla's Sense of Snow 3.6.2010 (2/5)
74. Candide 10. 6.2010 (2/5)
75. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 2.7.2010 (3/5)
76. To Kill a Mockingbird 23.8.2010 (5/5)
77. Cold Comfort Farm 23.11.2010 (2/5)


2011 (14)
78. Everything Is Illuminated 1.2.2011 (3/5)
79. Heart of Darkness 4.2.2011 (3/5)
80. A Pale View of Hills 9.2.2011 (4/5)
81. Madame Bovary 28.2.2011 (2/5)
82. The Yellow Wallpaper 8.3.2011 (3/5)
83. Watchmen 24.3.2011 (5/5)
84. The Sun Also Rises 20.4.2011 (5/5)
85. On the Road 27.4.2011 (4/5)
86. The Old Man and the Sea 19.5.2011 (4/5)
87. Howards End 25.5.2011 (3/5)
88. The Pigeon 2.6.2011 (4/5)
89. Talented Mr Ripley 26.7.2011 (3/5)
90. Lolita 12.8.2011 (4/5)
91. Murder of Roger Ackroyd 15.11.2011 (3/5)


2012 (3)
92. The Maltese Falcon 10.2.2012 (2/5)
93. In Cold Blood 18.4.2012 (4/5)
94. A Christmas Carol 16.9.2012 (2/5)


2013 (6)
95. Uncle Tom's Cabin 18.1.2013 (3/5)
96. The Remains of the Day 1.2.2013 (3/5)
97. Disgrace 18.2.2013 (2/5)
98. Dangerous Liaisons 3.3.2013 (3/5)
99. The Big Sleep 10.3.2013 (3/5)
100. The Buddha of Suburbia (4/5)

 

 

Ratings:

1/5: 7

2/5: 17

3/5: 35

4/5 23

5/5: 18

 

The average rating is 3,28, which is in my opinion rather good and maybe even a tiny bit higher than I was expecting. My average rating on Goodreads on all the books I've read and rated is 3,41, so it's not very far behind.

 

Here are the most highly rated titles (4/5 and 5/5):

 

4/5

Trainspotting

Ragtime

Jane Eyre

The Bluest Eye

The Handmaid's Tale

The Bell

The Nose'

The Little Prince

Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Interview with the Vampire
The Black Dahlia
Little Women
Of Mice and Men

Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Color Purple
A Pale View of Hills

On the Road
The Old Man and the Sea
The Pigeon
Lolita
In Cold Blood
The Buddha of Suburbia

 

 

5/5

Persuasion

Pride and Prejudice
Northanger Abbey
A Tale of Two Cities
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Secret History
Perfume
A Home at the End of the World
Middlesex
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Fingersmith
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

Under the Skin
Gone with the Wind

To Kill a Mockingbird

Watchmen
The Sun Also Rises

 

 

... And sometimes some books that were given a poorer rating at first have stayed in my mind for long after having read them, and they've made their way to the Frankie Recommends list, which is basically a list of books I've most loved and appreciated, all in their different ways. Here are the books off the 1001 Books list that I would recommend (the books that were initially rated less than 4/5 are in red):

 

Frankie recommends:
Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Northanger Abby by Jane Austen
Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (this I actually rated as 1/5 initially!)

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Under the Skin by Michel Faber
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Perfume by Patrick Süskind
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Candide by Voltaire
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

 

 

And here's a list of the books I read only because they were on the list (and not because, for example, I'd picked them up out of curiosity and wanted to read them for other reasons, or them being on other challenge lists, as well):

 

Unless by Carol Shields (2/5)

American Psycho (2/5)

The Black Dahlia (4/5)

The Wasp Factory (1/5)

Veronica Decides to Die (3/5)

Under the Skin (5/5)

Casino Royale (2/5)

Animal Farm (3/5)

The Color Purple (4/5)

Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (2/5)

Candide (2/5)

A Pale View of Hills (4/5)

Watchmen (5/5)

Maltese Falcon (2/5)

Disgrace (2/5)

 

Average 2,87, which is not that good, but then again, I wouldn't have had the pleasure of reading The Wasp Factory, Under the Skin, The Color Purple, Candide, A Pale View of Hills and Watchmen without the challenge. Watchmen in special, because it's a graphic novel and I don't usually 'do' graphic novels (I don't read comics, either, I'm not the most visual person). 

 

There, it's done! Bring on the next 100 titles... (I might take a wee break and concentrate more on the Rory Gilmore reading challenge )

[Devi]

Congratulations on reaching your first milestone Frankie!

 

I would say celebrate by buying some books but...

[pontalba]

 

Congratulations on reaching your first milestone Frankie!

 

I would say celebrate by buying some books but...

  

[Athena]

Congratulations frankie! It's nice to read your progress like that, I'll have to check out some of the titles you recommend .

[bree]

Wonderful frankie!  

I hope you read many more and enjoy them as well - and find them worthy enough of being on the list 

(I have my eyes on quite a few of your top reads, and hope to read them soon)