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Janet's Reading Log 2009


Janet

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Books read in 2006 - 20
Books read in 2007 - 30
Books read in 2008 - 40

(Going up in 10s completely coincidental!)

Target for 2009 is to read 'more than' 40 books!

FICTION

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - 7/10
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor - 6�/10
Over You by Lucy Diamond - 7/10
Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood - 7�/10
Wycliffe and the Redhead by W J Burley - 7/10
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller - 7/10
Out of My Depth by Emily Barr - 8/10
Coastliners by Joanne Harris - 7/10
The Sea by John Banville - 3/10
The Flower Boy by Karen Roberts - 8/10
The Memory Game by Nicci French - 6�/10
The Dare [Quick Reads] by John Boyne - 6/10
All These Lonely People [Quick Reads] by Gervase Phinn - 9�/10
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham - 10/10
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn - 9/10
Black Rock - Amanda Smyth - 7�/10
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mahsin Hamid - 8/10
English Passengers - Matthew Kneale - 9/10
The Gold Bug - Edgar Allen Poe - 8/10
The Two Pound Tram by William Newton - 7/10
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - 9/10
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink - 9/10
Sweet Thames by Matthew Kneale - 7/10
This is not a Novel by Jennifer Johnston - 5/10
Firmin: The Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam Savage - 8/10
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh - 7�/10
A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson - 9�/10
Any Human Heart by William Boyd - 8�/10
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - 8�/10
City of Thieves by David Benioff - 9/10
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - 8/10
The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams - 7�/10
The Lost Book of Salem by Katherine Howe - 9�/10
Before We Say Goodbye by Louise Candlish - 5/10
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - 9�/10
An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge - 6�/10
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent - 9�/10
Coming Up For Air by George Orwell - 7/10
The Sisterhood by Emily Barr - 7� /10
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill - 9�/10
Carry On, Jeeves by P G Wodehouse - 8�/10
The Mesmerist by Barbara Ewing - 7�/10
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave - 10/10
The Xmas Factor by Annie Sanders - 6�/10
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - 7/10

CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT FICTION

The Midnight Folk by John Masefield - 6�/10
The Box of Delights by John Masefield - 9�/10
The Land of Far Beyond by Enid Blyton - 7/10
Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean - 5/10
The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson - 7/10
Watership Down by Richard Adams - 9/10
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr - 9/10
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo - 8/10
Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo - 10/10
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll - 9/10
Remembrance by Theresa Breslin - 7�/10
Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce 10/10
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - 8/10

NON-FICTION

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell - 8/10
African Diary - Bill Bryson - 7/10
Friends Like These by Danny Wallace - 8/10
Family Life by Elisabeth Luard - 7�/10
Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe [Quick Reads] by Danny Wallace - 8/10
The Day Job by Mark Wallington - 8/10
Modern Delight by Various Contributors - 9/10

Total read = 65

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First book of 2009 is to be The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

 

He's a new author for me and one I picked up on a whim. After the Zavvi debacle, we decided to use up any store vouchers just in case the companies go bust and this sounded good...

Edited by Janet
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I'm now reading The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller.

 

Janet-

 

Saw you only gave this one a 7/10... Curious as to what you thought about it that gave it that score. :) I haven't read it, but from what I gathered from the movie trailers, it seemed to be a pretty predictable love story?? Is this the case?

 

:blush:

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Yes, I think the word predictable sums it up nicely. I did do a review of it as I believe other people on here may have read it - certainly a few have mentioned it.

 

It was okay, but not really 'my thing'. I read it because the film is my bestest-friend-ever's favourite film - although I've not watched it myself.

 

It was a quick read and I don't regret reading it, but it hasn't made me want to read any more of his books. :blush:

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Yes, I think the word predictable sums it up nicely. I did do a review of it as I believe other people on here may have read it - certainly a few have mentioned it.

 

It was okay, but not really 'my thing'. I read it because the film is my bestest-friend-ever's favourite film - although I've not watched it myself.

 

It was a quick read and I don't regret reading it, but it hasn't made me want to read any more of his books. :)

 

I just ran across your review on.. Feh.. it definitely sounds predictable! I can read some pretty light chick lit and even this sounds blah to me! :blush: Glad you made it through it though, and it wasn't a total loss.. 7/10 could be worse I guess!

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Reluctantly I have given up on The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. I think the fact I've only managed 42 pages in 6 days speaks volumes. I just kept finding excuses not to read it because the start is so dull. :P

 

I'm moving on to Out of my Depth by Emily Barr.

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I'm not sure, Paula. I like the idea of it (i.e the blurb makes it sounds good) and I'm sure that if I could get into it then it would be okay - I just feel my mindset is not right at the moment. I'll leave it on my bedside table for the time being and see what happens. I don't often go back but sometimes I do.

 

Similarly, I've tried reading The Sea by John Banville several times but have never managed to finish it - I'm determined to try once more this year!

 

I don't often go back to books I've abandoned though, so we'll see...!

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ii - I will definitely try Wharton again - if not this then another. :blush:

 

I've just finished Out of My Depth by Emily Barr. She's probably my favourite contemporary author and this book marks a very near return to form after the more 'chick-lit' feel of Plan B. 8/10

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INDIAN READS

If you want to read other books set in India, I would recommend Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's books, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, Eclipse of the Sun by Phil Whitaker or, finally, my favourite of all, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Posting this in here so that I don't forget to check these out!

 

CB - if you happen to see this, are there any of the Ruth Prawer Jhabvala books that you'd specifically recommend? I've looked on Amazon and they seem to be largely out of print (but available from Marketplace) and there are quite a few titles by her. :D

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Lovely, thanks CB - I will add them to my Wishlist. :D

 

INDIAN READS

I loved A Suitable Boy, that's a book that paints such a vivid picture you can practically smell the surroundings. Anita Desai is another writer who writes fine books about India, I'd particularly reccomend Fire On The Mountain and for a wonderfully lush, rollercoaster of a read there's Sister Of My Heart by Chitra Banderavi Something or the other which everyone I've lent it to has adored.

 

And if you want a really good historical novel about India let's not forget The Far Pavillions.

Keeping this post for future reference.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Started Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell this morning - (I had a half-term lie-in! :D ). I'm only on page 28/189 but it's great so far. I love Orwell's easy writing/reading style of his non-fiction books. :)

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