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Bobblybear's Book List - 2016


bobblybear

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I hope you have a fabulous reading year in 2016, bobbly! :smile2:

 

And your wishlist IS massive :thud::D I take it you were able to import it from Amazon and didn't have to write it out? Phew! 

 

When I scrolled down and saw your TBR post, I thought, 'but that's a small TBR pile :o '. Then I scrolled further down and realized you'd split your TBR list in a few different posts  :lol: I actually like the idea of doing the TBR lists according to the year of purchase etc. 

 

Now I wanna go over your TBR in more detail... I love going through other people's TBRs! 

 

 

 

TBR Pile

 

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michale Chabon

Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery, Alison Anderson

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

The Dinner - Herman Koch
The Beach - Alex Garland

 

These are all amazing reads in my opinion! :smile2: So jealous that you get to read them for the first time :blush::D

 

I love the idea of a 'live post' of the books you want to read in the next two months or so, and I did something similar in my own reading log. So far I've managed to even stick to it, but hey, it's only two books so far.... :D It's going to be a long year! Your short-list includes Joyland as does mine, coincidentally! (Well, not much of a coincidence as we talked about the book in my thread with Peacefield and I then went and reserved a copy :D )  I've just not written it down on the short-list yet. 

Edited by frankie
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  • 4 weeks later...

I've really been neglecting this thread. :hide:  In my defense, the start of year is my busiest period at work, and it has the effect of making me feel extremely lazy outside of work. :hide:
 
Thank you all for your well wishes for 2016. I think I've made a good start - I have read 7 books in January. No idea how I managed that. :blink: (... Now I just have to review them....)
 
 

Just picking out a couple from your shortlist, I very much enjoyed The Windup Girl and The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which was very poignant because true.

 
I tried The Windup Girl a few years ago, but couldn't get on with it. I think that was more to do with my mood. It was a borrowed library book and I was running out of time, so didn't give myself a chance to enjoy it.  I've had The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on my TBR pile for ages, so I will be making a concerted effort to read it this year.
 

Interesting Phillip K Dick pick!  I have never heard of that one, have you read any of his other work?

 
 I've read a few Philip K Dick, and found him a bit hit and miss, but I think I have to be in the mood to enjoy sci-fi. It's not something I can just pick up on a whim - I have to 'prepare' myself for it, if that makes sense.
 

I hope you have a fabulous reading year in 2016, bobbly! :smile2:
 
And your wishlist IS massive :thud::D I take it you were able to import it from Amazon and didn't have to write it out? Phew!


No, unfortunately I had to type it all out, and it just about killed me. :drama: I've noticed a few typos as well - I spelt Atwood as Atweed. :lol: Oh well, can't be helped - it was a long list! :D
 

When I scrolled down and saw your TBR post, I thought, 'but that's a small TBR pile :o '. Then I scrolled further down and realized you'd split your TBR list in a few different posts  :lol: I actually like the idea of doing the TBR lists according to the year of purchase etc.

 

Yeah, I like splitting it by year, but it can be a bit depressing when I look at books I've had since 2012 and I just have no real interest in reading them (at the moment at least). :irked:  I suspect some of them will be on there for years to come. :rolleyes:

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I've read a few Philip K Dick, and found him a bit hit and miss, but I think I have to be in the mood to enjoy sci-fi. It's not something I can just pick up on a whim - I have to 'prepare' myself for it, if that makes sense.

That totally makes sense, I have to be in the mood for him too.  Congratulations on 7 books already!

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I've read a few Philip K Dick, and found him a bit hit and miss, but I think I have to be in the mood to enjoy sci-fi. It's not something I can just pick up on a whim - I have to 'prepare' myself for it, if that makes sense.

I feel the same :). Well done on reading 7 books despite being so busy with work!

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I've really been neglecting this thread. :hide:  In my defense, the start of year is my busiest period at work, and it has the effect of making me feel extremely lazy outside of work. :hide:

 You've also been busy writing reviews of the last 2015 books you read... You've been all sorts of busy, so don't be hard on yourself on not having had the time and/or energy for this log yet!  :empathy: 

 

Thank you all for your well wishes for 2016. I think I've made a good start - I have read 7 books in January. No idea how I managed that. :blink: (... Now I just have to review them....)

 7 books is a great start for the year! :smile2: 

 

 

No, unfortunately I had to type it all out, and it just about killed me. :drama: I've noticed a few typos as well - I spelt Atwood as Atweed. :lol: Oh well, can't be helped - it was a long list! :D

 Oh dear, that's a lot of typing!! :unsure: Atweed :lol: I wonder if it was a book on fabrics. Or if it's a book she wrote when she was high  :hide:   

 

Yeah, I like splitting it by year, but it can be a bit depressing when I look at books I've had since 2012 and I just have no real interest in reading them (at the moment at least). :irked:  I suspect some of them will be on there for years to come. :rolleyes:

 

I know the feeling... :blush: It don't feel great! It might help, though, if you picked some of them up, no matter how much you were sick of the sight of them, and re-read the blurbs and perhaps even read some bits and pieces of the text. You might find some of them newly appealing! But that's more for the times when you don't already have a huge pile of books you immediately want to get to. A time for when you might not know what to read next. 

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That totally makes sense, I have to be in the mood for him too.  Congratulations on 7 books already!

 

Thank you! :D

 

I feel the same :). Well done on reading 7 books despite being so busy with work!

 

Thank you! :D

 

You've also been busy writing reviews of the last 2015 books you read... You've been all sorts of busy, so don't be hard on yourself on not having had the time and/or energy for this log yet!  :empathy: 

 

 

 7 books is a great start for the year! :smile2:

Thank you! :D

 

 

I know the feeling... :blush: It don't feel great! It might help, though, if you picked some of them up, no matter how much you were sick of the sight of them, and re-read the blurbs and perhaps even read some bits and pieces of the text. You might find some of them newly appealing! But that's more for the times when you don't already have a huge pile of books you immediately want to get to. A time for when you might not know what to read next.

I know - I should just pick one up and start on it. I may find that it's appeals to me, but it's just the starting it that's difficult. :readingtwo::doh:

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Under The Skin - Michel Faber

 

This is very difficult to review without giving anything away. To get the full impact of the story, it's best read without knowing anything about it. Everything I read online gives the plot away, so if you plan on reading it, don't google it!

 

The book opens in Scotland, with the main character – a youngish woman named Isserley – driving along the A road looking for hitch-hikers. She is only interested in male hitch-hikers with certain physique (well built with a lot of muscle), and is always careful to make at least 2 drive-bys, to check that they fit her criteria before picking them up.

 

It's a while before we are told why she does this, although a lot of little hints are made, but still it is very hard to guess, and you can almost imagine anything. We know that Isserley is a bit odd looking - large scarred hands, massive glasses, balloon breasts – and not quite right, but we don't know why, or why she does this day after day.

 

As she picks up each hitch-hiker, the narrative then swaps over to the hitch-hiker's point of view, and we get a brief idea of their lives, but mostly what they are thinking of Isserley when they are in the car with her.

 

The best thing about this book is that everything is slowly revealed and actually never told in black and white. A great deal of it is left to the reader's imagination, and honestly you start to wonder if you are reading things into it that aren't right, because believe me, it is very off the wall.

 

On the whole I enjoyed it. It is a disturbing book, and I wasn't keen on the ending, and my feelings from Isserley did several 180 degrees turns, and I wasn't sure what to think of her.

 

This book made me feel unsettled, and a bit disturbed. I'd love to read it again, because there are so many levels to it, but at the same time, I really don't want to read it again!!!

 

5/6

Edited by bobblybear
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BB, I didn't care for The Wind Up Girl either, put it aside not too far into it.  Meh, maybe someday......... :roll::D

 

Your review of Under the Skin intrigues me, I have to say.  As you may remember I truly disliked his other book, Crimson Petal and the White.  This other book might just be something I'd like though.  /deep sigh/ 

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You sound about as unsure about Under The Skin as I was, but gave it a much higher rating hehe!

 

I think I enjoyed it, but it was just so distasteful at the same time. :lol: So it's kind of hard to know what I felt about it. :wacko:

 

BB, I didn't care for The Wind Up Girl either, put it aside not too far into it.  Meh, maybe someday......... :roll::D

 

Your review of Under the Skin intrigues me, I have to say.  As you may remember I truly disliked his other book, Crimson Petal and the White.  This other book might just be something I'd like though.  /deep sigh/ 

 

Oh dear, well hopefully I will get on with it a bit better than you did. Maybe I will love it! :P

 

Yes, I remember how much you hated The Crimson Petal and the White. You didn't even finish it, if I recall correctly?  If it's any consolation, the two are very different and not even remotely comparable. However, the subject matter is a bit disturbing, but unless you hate Faber's writing style or something about him personally, then it might be worth a read. Best to go into it without any knowledge beforehand though. :smile:

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Geek Girl - Holly Smale

 

Harriet is a fifteen year old self proclaimed geek, picked on and ridiculed at school, but still has a few loyal friends. She is more interested in bits of trivia, and facts and figures than she is with fitting in with her schoolmates. While on a school trip – supporting her best friend who hopes to be spotted by a modelling agency, Harriet herself is spotted and soon promoted as their latest and hottest. Before long she is doing fashion shoots in Europe and runway shows, while at the same time trying to figure out how to hide her secret from her friends and school, and deal with the other teenage problems on her mind.

 

I'm not the target group for this so will try not to judge it too harshly. I think I'd enjoy it more if I was a young teenager, and I did find it easily readable but I wont bother with the sequels. It's was bit too cliched for me, and I didn't get anything out of it.

 

3/6

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Oops, that's just laziness on my part. :blush2:

 

I've just updated it with my purchases:

 

The Other Son - Nick Alexander

Wilbur Smith Trilogy: Hungry as the Sea, Elephant Song and Wild Justice - Wilbur Smith

Her Mother's Shadow - Diane Chamberlain

Home - Matt Dunn

A Short History of England - Simon Jenkins

 

I hope you have a great reading year too. :smile:

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I hope you enjoy your new books, BB :)! Nice to see a Diane Chamberlain book in there :D.

 

Thanks, Gaia! I can never resist a Diane Chamberlain book. :D

 

Sorry to hear you didn't really enjoy Geek Girl but I'm happy to know its one to avoid, coz I had wondered about it a few times. Doesn't really sound like my kinda thing.

 

It depends if you like YA novels or not. I've found them hit and miss, mostly because I can't really relate to them any more (not that I'm saying I'm old :blush2:  :P ). I'm glad I gave it a go, as I'd been wondering about it for so long, and it has one of the most easily recognisable covers, so I felt like I was seeing it everywhere. And when I did see it, I'd always think to myself that I must give it a go!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Joyland - Stephen King

 

It's the early 70's and Devin Jones has just graduated from high school, and is on the verge of splitting up from his girlfriend – or rather, she is splitting up with him while he is in denial about the whole matter. Trying to sort his head out before starting college, he decides to take a summer job at the local carnival, Joyland. While there, he learns of an unsolved murder which happened in the Horror House several years earlier; the ghost of the young girl is said to haunt that particular ride.

 

Devin becomes interested in the case, and decides to stay on at the carnival – working full time – after the summer, mostly with the intention of seeing this girl's ghost, and possibly unravelling the mystery of her murder.

 

I loved this book. I thought it was a return to old style King, so I was very pleasantly surprised. The story is very simple and straightforward which added to it's appeal. Sometimes I can cope with complicated, most of the time not! The main character is a likeable person, and it's through his eyes that the story is told, so it does help that he's pleasant enough to follow along with. The murder-solving part of the story doesn't take over the storyline, and the book is more layered than that. Even though it's part of the Hard Case Crime Novels series, I wouldn't classify it as crime novel. Not sure what I would class it as, but I did enjoy it.

 

5/6

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  • 3 weeks later...

A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

 

Ove is a grumpy old man who has fallen out with pretty much everyone he has ever met. At the start we aren't told much about him or his personal life...just that he is an interfering irritant to all and sundry. No-one meets his high standards, his neighbours don't follow the rules he tries to enforce around his estate, and people just generally are not good enough. It's clear he is not a fan of people, but as more about him is revealed you can tell that underneath his gruff exterior he has a heart of gold. He is willing to help anyone who needs it, even if he is doing it while scowling and muttering things under his breath.

 

When a new family moves in next door, and the stubbornly effervescent and positive Parvaneh refuses to be pushed away by Ove's barriers, he is forced to interact with the new family and starts to get a small appreciation of life.

 

I really enjoyed this. It had the right balance of humour and seriousness. And even though on the surface Ove is a bit of pain, he means well, and is a likeable and interesting character, with an interesting life story.

 

Highly recommended. I think if you enjoyed books like The Rosie Project and Elizabeth is Missing you would enjoy this, as they seemed to have the same feel/emotion about them.

 

5/6

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