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Frankie reads 2008


frankie

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So here are the books that I've read so far 2008

January
Bret Easton Ellis: Lunar Park
Tuija Lehtinen: Mies taskussa
Alain de Botton: How Proust Can Change Your Life
Cornelia Funke: Inkheart
Helen Fielding: Bridget Jones's Diary
Helen Fielding: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Elizabeth Flock: Me & Emma
Virpi Hämeen-Anttila: Suden vuosi

February
Tuula-Liina Varis: Kilpikonna ja olkimarsalkka
Ronald Hayman: The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath
Stephen King: It
Marie Hermanson: Hembiträdet

March
L. M. Montgomery: Anne of Green Gables
Patricia Cornwell: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed
Carol Shields: Jane Austen
L. M. Montgomery:Anne of Avonlea

April
Sue Townsend: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4
Sue Townsend: The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
Sue Townsend: True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole
Sue Townsend: Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians
Sue Townsend: Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years
L. M. Montgomery: Anne of the Island
Joanne Harris: Gentlemen & Players
Sue Townsend: Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Emma Tenant: Pemberley
Diane Setterfield: The Thirteenth Tale

May
Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White

June
Pentti Saarikoski: Toipilaan päiväkirjat
Virginia Ironside: No! I Don’t Want to Join a Bookclub
Amelie Nothomb: Antichrista
Douglas Adams: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
Amelie Nothomb: Fear and Trembling
Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Charles Bukowski: Post Office

July
Marina Lewycka: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Sarah Waters: Fingersmith
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
Annikki Alexandersson: Ruokahirviö
Sean Stewart: Perfect Circle
Kathleen Tessaro: Elegance

August
Mark Twain: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse
Augusten Burroughs: Dry
Terry Pratchett: Feet of Clay
Ken Kesey: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
N. V. Gogol: The Nose
Anja Snellman: Lemmikkikaupan tytöt
Markus Zusak: The Book Thief
Carol Shields: Unless

September
Augusten Burroughs: A Wolf at the Table
Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Ben Elton: Dead Famous
Elizabeth Flock: But Inside I'm Screaming

Lloyd Jones: Mister Pip

 

October

Neil Gaiman: Stardust

John Kennedy Toole: A Confederacy of Dunces

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: The Little Prince 

Stephen King: The Shining

Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

John Grogan: Marley and Me

Sophie Kinsella: Shopaholic & Baby

Jeff Lindsay: Dearly Devoted Dexter 

 

November

Kathy Reichs: Deja Dead

Alan Bennett: The Uncommon Reader

Kathy Reichs: Death du Jour

Stephen King: Lisey's Story

Cormac McCarthy: No Country for Old Men

Stephenie Meyer: Twilight

 

December

Stephenie Meyer: New Moon

D. H. Lawrence: Lady Chatterley's Lover

Philip Roth: Portnoy's Complaint

Gaetan Soucy: The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches

Diane Wynne Jones: Fire and Hemlock

Sarah Dunant: Birth Marks

Terry Pratchett: Johnny and the Dead

Kathy Reichs: Deadly Decisions

Edited by frankie
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Currently I am reading Lloyd Jones's Mister Pip, but I'm really struggling with it. Not that the book is bad, but I'm kinda stressed out with school at the moment.

:friends0:I hope you are OK :blush:

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Thanks kb.marsh, I'm a bit better now :blush: Yesterday I managed to read for my exam that's on Friday so I felt better about that and didn't feel guilty about recreational reading. I finished Mister Pip last night. I don't really know what to make of that book. It was a good read, but I feel that there were so many levels to that book that I missed because I didn't take it seriously enough.

 

Nursenblack, I really loved Me & Emma as well, although it was quite a disturbing book. But Inside I'm Screaming was also really good, it was very therapeutic and I almost read it in one sitting.

 

Last night I started Neil Gaiman's Stardust.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I finished Stardust last night. The book was a bit disappointing as it started off quite nicely. It didn't manage to keep me interested all the way through :D And the ending was predictable. However, I will not be discouraged: BF told me that Stardust is the worst of Gaiman's books and the others are amazing. I'm eagerly waiting to get a chance to read American Gods and Anansi Boys.

 

I started A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole last night.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I finished A Confederacy of Dunces last night. It was a bit of a disappointment because there was so much hype around this book and I expected a lot from it. But I'm glad I finished it, as it was both on Rory's book list and 1001 books you must read before you die -list.

 

Now I just can't decide what to read next, there are just too many options and nothing seems to hold my interest long enough :welcome2:

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A Confederacy of Dunces seems to be one of those books people either love or loathe, Frankie. I seem to recall a discussion about it on here a few months back.

 

For what it's worth, I share your view. I thought it was overblown and overrated, and I was glad to reach the end of it.

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Aw, I'm sorry neither of you enjoyed it that much. I loved it! In my mind, Ignatius sounded a lot like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, which was a little distracting, but generally I thought he was a wonderful character. :welcome2:

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A Confederacy of Dunces seems to be one of those books people either love or loathe, Frankie. I seem to recall a discussion about it on here a few months back.

 

For what it's worth, I share your view. I thought it was overblown and overrated, and I was glad to reach the end of it.

 

I read that conversation, too. When I began reading the book I thought I'd belong to the group that loves the book but that changed when I read further. I didn't hate the book, but couldn't really understand what the fuzz was about.

I also remember that there was someone in here who didn't like the book and who shared their thoughts in that conversation. That was probably you, Roland Butter :welcome2:

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Aw, I'm sorry neither of you enjoyed it that much. I loved it! In my mind, Ignatius sounded a lot like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, which was a little distracting, but generally I thought he was a wonderful character. :welcome2:

 

I agree Kylie, Ignatius was a wonderful character. Even though he was appalling, self-righteous and whatnot, I still couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him when his mother attacked him verbally (even though she sure had reason to do it!). There were also other juicy characters, but I just didn't enjoy the storyline, it was quite boring at times.

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ii, I actually thought of you when I started the book and wondered if you liked it! It wasn't as amazing as I had expected, but it was a good read anyway. Thought provoking :welcome: I really enjoyed the bit with the fox, that was the best part and made me cry. The fox's ideas about taming were brilliant. I wonder if I could get a fox instead of a dog (can't have dogs because I'm allergic).

 

Now reading through The Shining by Stephen King. I've read this once before maybe 10 years ago so I don't remember much about it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This weekend has been rather productive. I finished The Shining and I also read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and John Grogan's Marley and Me. Marley and me was especially a wonderful book! A real tearjerker.

 

I started Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic & Baby last night.

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Marley and me was especially a wonderful book! A real tearjerker.

 

I actually quite fancy this book but its not usually what I would go for, is it worth the tears? lol :roll: Cause I'm actually a big sofie - dont let the avatar fool ya!

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I actually quite fancy this book but its not usually what I would go for, is it worth the tears? lol :roll: Cause I'm actually a big sofie - dont let the avatar fool ya!

 

If you fancy it, then I definitely recommend it. Let us not forget that this is mainly a funny book about a really quirky dog. Marley is really a hilarious character and the tone of the book is really warm and humorous. I can't remember when was the last time that I was so glued to a book and laughed out loud so many times while reading it!

 

And yes,

Marley dies in the end

but

he was old and he had led a really full life, he had been a happy-go-lucky dog with a loving family

. So it's definitely worth a read! :)

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If you fancy it, then I definitely recommend it. Let us not forget that this is mainly a funny book about a really quirky dog. Marley is really a hilarious character and the tone of the book is really warm and humorous. I can't remember when was the last time that I was so glued to a book and laughed out loud so many times while reading it!

 

And yes,

Marley dies in the end

but

he was old and he had led a really full life, he had been a happy-go-lucky dog with a loving family

. So it's definitely worth a read! :)

 

Sounds good! (and I didnt highlight to view :)) Think I'll add it to my wishlist. Thanx :roll:

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Charm, you're welcome! And I'm glad Madcow joined the conversation and backed me up on this :)

 

I was having trouble falling asleep last night so there was plenty of time to finish Shopaholic & Baby. I quite enjoyed it! It was definitely much better than Shopaholic and Sister which I almost hated. A good light read. Made me want to read more chick lit.

 

I also started Jeff Lindsay's Dearly Devoted Dexter (Dexterin kolkko kutsumus). As I already mentioned in currently reading -thread, I'm having some trouble with this one because I cannot remember how the first Dexter novel ended. I keep thinking about the tv-series which doesn't help at all because the book was so different from the series. Or should I say the series was different from the book. I'll just have to try to detach from any other previous Dexter experience and read the book as it is.

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Charm, you're welcome! And I'm glad Madcow joined the conversation and backed me up on this :D

 

I was having trouble falling asleep last night so there was plenty of time to finish Shopaholic & Baby. I quite enjoyed it! It was definitely much better than Shopaholic and Sister which I almost hated. A good light read. Made me want to read more chick lit.

 

I also started Jeff Lindsay's Dearly Devoted Dexter (Dexterin kolkko kutsumus). As I already mentioned in currently reading -thread, I'm having some trouble with this one because I cannot remember how the first Dexter novel ended. I keep thinking about the tv-series which doesn't help at all because the book was so different from the series. Or should I say the series was different from the book. I'll just have to try to detach from any other previous Dexter experience and read the book as it is.

 

Is this the book that the series Dexter the serial killer is based on? I've watched few episodes and found it just ok but I'm sure the book would be far better .. is that the case?

 

Added Marley and Me to my wishlist btw :)

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Is this the book that the series Dexter the serial killer is based on? I've watched few episodes and found it just ok but I'm sure the book would be far better .. is that the case?

 

Added Marley and Me to my wishlist btw :D

 

Yep you're right, the series is based on Jeff Lindsay's books. When Dexter first aired in Finland, I watched a couple of episodes and didn't like it that much, and missed the couple next ones. Then I decided to give it another go, watched a few episodes and I was hooked :) It's one of my favorite tv-series.

 

I found the book a bit later and read it. It was a good book, but to my big surprise the series was so much better. I love the characters, and the actors are just phenominal. I think that Dexter the series character is a bit more sympathetic than Dexter the novel character. In the novels he seems to get a real kick out of murdering people and makes light of the situations. The series character at least sometimes seems to be tormented by a guilty conscious. Or at least tries to be.

 

I'm sure you won't regret adding Marley and me to your wishlist! :lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finished Dearly Devoted Dexter over a week ago but forget to record it. It was really good and surprisingly disturbing. There were elements of violence that I've never come across before in any thrillers or detective novels. I didn't think I could be shocked but I was wrong.

 

I'm now in the middle of Kathy Reichs's Deja Dead. I also started Martin Amis's Time's Arrow but haven't had the time for that lately because I've been engrossed by Deja Dead.

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I finished Deja Dead this afternoon and I really enjoyed it! I already found the next book of the series and will probably start it tonight unless I'm more tempted by Stephenie Meyer's Twilight.

I also read Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader today, it was a nice quick read.

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