BookJumper Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 (edited) Giulia's Mount TBR, adjourned (Restricted to Fiction, because if you saw Peak Non-Fiction you'd probably huddle in a corner to cry on my behalf). Book I am Actively Reading: Neil Gaiman, "American Gods" Books I Intend to Read/Finish Soonish: Charlotte Bronte, "Jane Eyre" Terry Pratchett, "Unseen Academicals" (Discworld 37) Jasper Fforde, "The Well of Lost Plots" (Thursday Next 3) [half-read] Jasper Fforde, "Something Rotten" (Thursday Next 4) Jasper Fforde, "First Among Sequels" (Thursday Next 5) Jasper Fforde, "The Big Over Easy" (Nursery Crime 1) Jasper Fforde, "The Fourth Bear" (Nursery Crime 2) John Connolly, "The Gates" Eoin Colfer, "And Another Thing" (official 6th installment of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt, "Dracula The Undead" (official sequel to "Dracula") Walter Moers, "The City of Dreaming Books" [partially read] Plus any others I can manage from the lists below. Entirely New Books Alan Campbell, "Scar Night" (Deepgate Codex Book 1) Michael Hoeye, "Time Stops For No Mouse" (A Hermoux Tantamoq Adventure Book 1) Michael Hoeye, "The Sands of Time" (A Hermoux Tantamouq Adventure Book 1) Robin Jarvis, "The Oaken Throne" (The Deptford Histories Book 2) Robin Jarvis, "Thomas" (The Deptford Histories Book 3) Jan Siegel, "Prospero's Children" Margaret Mahy, "Maddigan's Fantasia" N.E. Bode, "The Anybodies" Cornelia Funke, "Inkheart" Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, "Sorcery and Cecilia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country" Hope Mirrlees, "Lud-in-the-Mist" Robert Holdstock, "Mythago Wood" Karen Russell, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" Thomas Wharton, "Salamander" Sophie Masson, "The Tempestuous Voyage of Hopewell Shakespeare" Sophie Massn, "Malvolio's Revenge" Elizabeth Garner, "The Ingenious Edgar Jones" Peter Ackroyd, "The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein" Peter Ackroyd, "Chatterton" Peter Ackroyd, "The Plato Papers" Enrique Vila-Matas, "Bartleby & Co." Andrew Motion, "The Invention of Dr. Cake" Travis Holland, "The Archivist's Story" Jeremy Mercer, "Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs" Rief Larsen, "The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet" Terry Pratchett, "Reaper Man" (Unseen Library Edition) Debi Gliori, "Deep Trouble" [fourth in a series; need to acquire the others] John Connolly, "Nocturnes" Michael Chabon, "Gentlemen of the Road" John Ajvide Lindqvist, "Handling the Undead" Elizabeth Bear, "Ink and Steel" (A Novel of the Promethean Age: Stratford Man 1) Elizabeth Bear, "Hell and Earth" (A Novel of the Promethean Age: Stratford Man 2) Peter Ackroyd, "The Lambs of London" Danny Wallace, "Yes Man" Linda Gillard, "Star Gazing" Emma Tennant, "Pemberley" Ben Okhri, "Astonishig the Gods" Clive Barker, "Cabal" Julian May, "The Many-Coloured Land" (Saga of The Exiles Book 1) Commenced and Finished in 2009 Jasper Fforde, The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book Jonathan Lethem, As She Climbed Across the Table Helene Hanff, 84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street Tom Raabe, Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction Daniel Waters, Generation Dead I Won't Scare You with my Wishlist... Edited January 1, 2010 by BookJumper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Good luck Giulia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Your list is really well-organized.. good luck with it! Also, I noticed lots of Jasper Fforde on your list.. I'm going to get my hands on The Eyre Affair as soon as I get to Hong Kong its multiple libraries... Would love to know your take on her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 (edited) Your list is really well-organized.. good luck with it! I've always been slightly OCD in my file keeping and listmaking - if only you could see my bookshelf (each shelf is reserved for a different topic, within topics by genre, within genre by amount of humour and within that by author and, wherever possible, volume size)! I noticed lots of Jasper Fforde on your list.. I'm going to get my hands on The Eyre Affair as soon as I get to Hong Kong its multiple libraries... Would love to know your take on her. There's lots of Jasper Fforde because I've enjoyed the first two and a half Thursday Next books so much he has acquired "trustworthy author" status, i.e. I'll buy anything with his name on the cover (which is why "Shades of Grey" is on there, even though it's not even been published yet!) For my take on Thursday Next & "The Eyre Affair", I'll copy/paste my very own Amazon review - my views haven't changed since then and it saves me having to retype it! Here goes: The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next 1)Jasper Fforde If, like me, you like books that celebrate books, words, language, other worlds - this is for you. Admittely, Jasper Fforde's book isn't easy to get into at first; his alternate 1985 is a bit complex to take in all in one go. It is, however, definitely worth the effort. If you let this book grab you, you'll get to travel in time, in books, confront a villain you'll love to hate, fall in love with all that that entails, and so much more. Fforde's erudition borders on the insane. He's read so much you can't possibly hope to get every single quote, reference, pun etc. - but if you're mildly well-read (and don't mind keeping a notebook to hand to jot down titles to check out), you will find yourself giggling inanely at the jokes you do get. Fforde's chummy "nudge nudge, wink wink, aren't we clever, Mr. Reader" attitude is so in your face, so unashamed, so obviously the attitude of someone who loves his subject and is having the time of his life writing this, that you can't help but find him witty and charming. Maybe not histerical; though I do believe that (as some reviewer had it) "Douglas Adams would be proud", this is not one where you're bent down double and can't breathe from stitches. It will, on the other hand, make you smirk, snort, and (dare I say it again?) giggle. A book for people with a brain who want to let their brain hang loose and go sideways for a day; a book that may be difficult to get into but, when you do, is unputdownable. A note on Thursday Next: a shower of slaps on the back to Jasper who, though a man, has somehow managed to write a believable heroine. Most female writers fail at that it's so difficult, yet here's a woman who's brave and clever yet sometimes messes up; a woman who strives to juggle career and (a very complicated!) family life; one who's got the guts and determination to save the world yet can be impulsive and silly and... in one word, very human. A hugely positive role-model i.e. not an unattainable one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Edited September 27, 2009 by BookJumper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Giulia, Thanks for all of the info on MR. Fforde.. (What can I say? I've only heard of him once before, and sometimes I learn the most from my idiotic moments. ) Nice review on The Eyre Affair.. I really hope I enjoy the book! I've only recently finished Jane Eyre so want to get my hands on it while it's still fresh in my mind. Thanks again for all of the info.. I have no doubt I'll be referring back to it once I finally get the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 Me, I'd never heard about Jasper Fforde at all - then I find "Something Rotten" in Waterstones, buy it because it's got a shiny cover with Hamlet in a sportscar on it, take it home, understand precious little then discover it's the fourth in a series! That pretty much obligated me to find the other three, but it was a worthwhile obligation. I even lent "The Eyre Affair" to my mum one night when I was home a few holidays ago and she returned it the morning after saying it was brilliant; and considering my mum is the one who's just had to replace a whole bookshelf because it literally split under the weight of too many good books, I think that's some reccomendation. In other news, I want to read some Walter Moers today, but I need to study. I don't seem to be doing either because I'm on here. Help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Like you, it was the unique style of the covers of Jasper Fforde's books that drew me in, and I read The Eyre Affair in a day, then went onto the rest of the books in the series within a month (although I had to hunt out the whole series in about five different bookshops as none had a copy of every book in the series)! I think Jasper Fforde is one of the few writers who succeeds in comedy - like you said, not laugh out loud, but definitely clever and firmly in chuckle and smile territory. I was lucky enough to go to a talk and book signing he gave, and he's an excellent raconteur - not something you can say about a lot of authors - and witty and charming to boot! My signed copy of First Among Sequels is now a cherished item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 (although I had to hunt out the whole series in about five different bookshops as none had a copy of every book in the series) ... I know! After buying "Something Rotten" under the mistaken assumption that it could be read as a standalone book (which obviously didn't work), that was put on hold indefinitely as I could not and stress not find "The Eyre Affair" anywhere; bookshops only seemed to stock the last one or two in the series! Then thankfully a friend managed to get me a copy for Christmas, and since then I've read that, "Lost in a Good Book" and (after some more trial and tribulation) managed to acquire "The Well of Lost Plots". Surely it shouldn't be this difficult?! It angers me how Katie Fforde's opera omnia takes up three shelves while her cousin's rather worthier works (which are not half as numerous) are never fully represented! I was lucky enough to go to a talk and book signing he gave, and he's an excellent raconteur - not something you can say about a lot of authors - and witty and charming to boot! My signed copy of First Among Sequels is now a cherished item. Oooh, jealous!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I borrowed The Eyre Affair fro my Mum after reading a fanfiction based Jasper Fforde's books on another forum. If I hadn't broken my leg and been stuck at home I probably would never have read it but I had run out of my own unread books. I guess that's a silver lining! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 List adjourned. Books I have/intend to sell/swap/etc. have been removed, as well as my impossibly ever-growing wish list (we'll get to that once it starts actualising on my shelf); while the eight books I acquired from Oxfam this morning due to a complete lack of self-restraint have been added. I'm doing prodigiously well (considering the decided lack of mojo, time and opportunity) with Terry Pratchett's "The Truth" - less than 100 pages to goo *woot*! I love William de Worde, I think I need to pester Terry to give me a sequel. What should I read next, do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 I've been bad: I got two books from my reading list for my birthday, courtesy of the OH, and - despite not having quite finished "The Truth" - I have already made a dent in Daniel Waters's "Generation Dead". Good news is, a 42-page dent in a single day is the most sizeable in recent memory, and bodes well for the return of my mojo. I must say that so far I'm enjoying GD immensely... I think I've found my "Twilight". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Okay, first I need to be told what someone who has never read Jasper Fforde should read first, and then I need to work out if I should actually be looking up synospses on these titles or just copy pasting the list into my own ETA: "The Vampyre". Just looked it up. My GOD why did no one tell me about this!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Okay, first I need to be told what someone who has never read Jasper Fforde should read first "The Eyre Affair" - glad to know you won't be making my mistake of unwittingly trying to start four books in! Post #3 in this thread contains my review if you're interested. and then I need to work out if I should actually be looking up synospses on these titles or just copy pasting the list into my ownOnce again, I am flattered. Admittedly, I do have an eclectic, far-reaching, odd-title-finding taste ! "The Vampyre". Just looked it up. My GOD why did no one tell me about this!?I KNOW!! That was just my reaction when I first stumbled across it; I was like: "Byron = vampire? HELL YEAH!" It is also very well-written, which helps - a good blend of academic knowledge and gothic atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Hehe awesome, thank you. I've stolen 8 titles to put into my wishlist. I definately must check out this Vampyre thing a.s.a.p - any reason why you put it down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 I definately must check out this Vampyre thing a.s.a.p - any reason why you put it down?Yersm, themes too close to home for comfort about halfway . On a positive note, the book is so good I fully intend to pick it up again in less troubled times (books that make me that uncomfortable tend to be gifted/swapped/charity-swapped asap as I can't even bear to have the spine looking at me, so me keeping this is a huge compliment). Watch this space, you title-nabber; I shall shortly be adjourning the list with the most recent additions to the shelf of BookJumper (as well as quite possibly prioritising it in the clever manner suggested in a thread whose author eludes me now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Ahh okay, themes won't be a problem with me. Well, it's on my 'To-buy-a.s.a.p' list now, it just sounds like such a sublime combination! And I shall keep both eyes on your list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 (edited) Roxi - the list is adjourned happy stealing! ETA: you might be interested to discover Tom "The Vampyre" Holland is also the author of further gothic-literary mishmashes "Supping with Panthers" and "Deliver Us from Evil". Edited June 20, 2009 by BookJumper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Okay one of those has 'mingling with Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker' ?!?! This sounds like Gyles Brandreth's books, only more gothic! *squee!* Both of those have gone on the list. Want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Original post amended & adjourned once more... I scare myself !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I don't know what's new and what isn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Sowwy:lurker: give me a minute and I'll have a go at the post with a vengeful highlighter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Hehe it's no problem, it's just I love going through these books when you update them coz you really like some awesome books. Thanks! I'll have a proper look probably tomorrow, I'm only dashing on and off the forum between preparations for going out tonight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Hehe it's no problem, it's just I love going through these books when you update them coz you really like some awesome books. Thanks!No problem, glad to be of service you even seem to get through them faster than I am able to... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I haven't read them all, I've bought a couple, the rest I just note and put in their own section in my reading list, I have a 'wishlist' and a 'wishlist from Giulia's list' Same with Mac and a couple others on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 I have a 'wishlist' and a 'wishlist from Giulia's list'Wow, I'm flattered you may want to reach for your notepad, I may have added a few others (clearly marked in... pink !)!! ... blame Green Metropolis. And Oxfam. They have sales on, what's a girl to do??!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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