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Ooshie's Reading List 2011


Ooshie

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I'm not organised enough for any lists, so I will just be adding to this in a random fashion as 2011 goes on! :smile: Well, it looks like my total for the year is 63, not too bad although I don't aim for any kind of total at all. I had read 72 books in 2010, though - that's the disadvantage of having started to do more hours at work!

 

January

 

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

The Other Family by Joanna Trollope

Mayday by Nelson DeMille & Thomas Block

 

February

 

Next by Michael Crichton

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Trail of Blood by S J Rozan

 

March

 

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham

The Shape of Water by Amdrea Camilleri

 

 

April

 

The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian

Solar by Ian McEwan

Cuckoo by Julia Crouch

Under The Dome by Stephen King

Play to Kill by P J Tracy

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri

 

May

 

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

The Group by Mary McCarthy

The Fallen Kings by Cynthia Harrod Eagles

 

June

 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

First Love by Ivan Turgenev

New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell

 

July

 

The Reversal by Michael Connelly

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian

Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

 

August

 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Candide by Voltaire

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

 

September

 

Rescue by Anita Shreve

The Confession by John Grisham

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah

 

October

 

The Ambassadors by Henry James

The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne du Maurier

The Golem by Gustav Henrink

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

 

November

 

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian

Julius by Daphne du Maurier

Free Fire by C J Box

The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian

 

December

 

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

The Folio Book of Christmas Crime Stories

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The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

 

Synopsis - from book

 

Margaret Lea exists in the small world of her father's antiquarian bookshop and her biographical researches. She also has a secret sorrow. When a letter from the famous Vida Winter arrives, inviting her to travel to the author's remote home with a view to writing her biography, Margaret is snared by the words. She knows little of the star writer, but she soon finds out that Vida Winter's past is a story she has been at pains not to tell. So why now? And why Margaret?

 

As Margaret conducts her own researches into the information that Miss Winter is giving her, she begins to uncover the secrets that have cast a shadow over the lives of more and more people, and the story of the twins Adeline and Emmeline burrows deeper and deeper into her own tragic past.

 

From others' posts on the forum I could see that this looked like a "love it or hate it" book, and I definitely loved it. It often takes me a couple of chapters to get into a book, but I enjoyed this gothic tale from the very first page - the fact that it involved book lovers, an author and a bookshop definitely helped, but I liked the style of writing and very quickly became engrossed in the story. It was one of these books that I kept rushing through other parts of my day so I could get back to my reading!

 

Definitely a book I am pleased to have started the New Year with. :)

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Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

 

Synopsis - from book

 

Suppose you come to pick up your daughter from her job - and find that no one has heard of her and she's never worked there. If she hasn't been working all day, what has she been doing?

 

Tim Blake's teenage daughter Sydney is staying with him while she works a summer job at a hotel. But when one day she fails to arrive home from her shift and the staff at the hotel say they have no Sydney Blake working there, he begins to see his life going into freefall.

 

What could have made her step out of her life without leaving a trace? Only one thing convinces Tim that the worst hasn't already happened - the fact that some very scary people seem just as eager as he is to find her.

 

The question is: who''s going to find her first?

 

This was an entertaining enough thriller, but I think it suffered by being read so close on the heels of The Thirteenth Tale, which I absolutely loved; however, if you are in the mood for an easy read that doesn't demand that you think too much, then this will give you a good few hours of enjoyable escapism. It did keep me interested in the fate of the characters right up until the end, but I found the end itself a disappointment - an epilogue to tie up some of the loose ends would have improved the book a lot for me. Not one I will keep to read again.

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Hello Ooshie, and a happy new reading year! :friends3:

 

From others' posts on the forum I could see that this looked like a "love it or hate it" book, and I definitely loved it. It often takes me a couple of chapters to get into a book, but I enjoyed this gothic tale from the very first page - the fact that it involved book lovers, an author and a bookshop definitely helped, but I liked the style of writing and very quickly became engrossed in the story. It was one of these books that I kept rushing through other parts of my day so I could get back to my reading!

 

Definitely a book I am pleased to have started the New Year with. :)

 

Personally I don't get it: What's there to hate?? It's partly set in a bookstore, it's about books, and authors and booklovers. There's a fascinating story and it moves on and there are fascinating characters and all that. What's not to love!! :giggle: I'm happy that you enjoyed it as much as I did, definitely something I want to re-read again.

 

 

This was an entertaining enough thriller, but I think it suffered by being read so close on the heels of The Thirteenth Tale, which I absolutely loved; however, if you are in the mood for an easy read that doesn't demand that you think too much, then this will give you a good few hours of enjoyable escapism. It did keep me interested in the fate of the characters right up until the end, but I found the end itself a disappointment - an epilogue to tie up some of the loose ends would have improved the book a lot for me. Not one I will keep to read again.

 

I couldn't agree with you more! I really liked the father character and found the plotline and the fate of the characters really intriguing, but the ending was such a disappointment. I got this feeling that the novel turned into a Hollywood action movie at the very end, cars a'roaring and guns a'blazing. Very unbelievable and very disturbing. And it ended so quickly, I would've wanted to have an epilogue just like you. Not the best Barclay, but doesn't keep me from reading the others. Have you read Too Close to Home? Now that's infinitely better, I would definitely recommend it :)

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Hello Ooshie, and a happy new reading year! :friends3:

 

 

 

Personally I don't get it: What's there to hate?? It's partly set in a bookstore, it's about books, and authors and booklovers. There's a fascinating story and it moves on and there are fascinating characters and all that. What's not to love!! :giggle: I'm happy that you enjoyed it as much as I did, definitely something I want to re-read again.

 

 

Happy New Year to you too, frankie! :friends0: Can't believe it's half way through January already...

 

I totally agree with you about The Thirteenth tale, that's just how I felt about it too.

 

I couldn't agree with you more! I really liked the father character and found the plotline and the fate of the characters really intriguing, but the ending was such a disappointment. I got this feeling that the novel turned into a Hollywood action movie at the very end, cars a'roaring and guns a'blazing. Very unbelievable and very disturbing. And it ended so quickly, I would've wanted to have an epilogue just like you. Not the best Barclay, but doesn't keep me from reading the others. Have you read Too Close to Home? Now that's infinitely better, I would definitely recommend it :)

 

You're quite right, the "action movie" stuff at the end was very out of place. I haven't read Too Close to Home yet, but I will look out for it - it can fill the hole in my shelf when I put Fear the Worst in the charity bag! :giggle:

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The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

 

Synopsis - from book

 

'Do you believe in ghosts?'

 

It's 1928. Freddie Watson is still grieving for his brother, lost in the Great War. Driving through the foothills of the French Pyrenees, his car spins off the road in a snowstorm. Freddie takes refuge in an isolated village and there meets a beautiful, captivating woman. They spend the night talking of love and loss and war. But by daybreak, Fabrissa has vanished and Freddie realises he holds the key to an ancient mystery that leads him deep into the mountains, to a cave that has concealed an appalling secret for 700 years...

 

I had enjoyed Labyrinth (by the same author) so was looking forward to this book, and I wasn't disappointed. Quite short, at 240 pages, I read it in a day and was glad it wasn't any longer as I wouldn't have wanted to put it down to sleep! In December I had enjoyed a book of short ghost stories, and that had left me in just the right frame of mind to fully enter into the spirit of the tale. I'm sure I could find things to criticise about it if I wanted to, but I'm not even going to think about that! A mixture of love story and ghost story, mixed with descriptions of the French countryside in winter, I found it just right for reading by the fire on a cold, wet and windy Saturday in January.

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You're quite right, the "action movie" stuff at the end was very out of place. I haven't read Too Close to Home yet, but I will look out for it - it can fill the hole in my shelf when I put Fear the Worst in the charity bag! :giggle:

 

Excellent! I dare say you won't regret the swap :giggle2:

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Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

 

Synopsis - from Amazon

 

"Watchmen" redefined superhero conventions and re-introduced comics to an adult audience with a gripping, labyrinthine piece of comic art. Rorschach, a half-psychotic vigilante must convince his ex team-mates, now middle-aged and retired, that he has uncovered a plot to murder the remaining superheroes - along with millions of innocent civilians...Even reunited, will the remnants of the 'Watchmen' be enough to avert a global apocalypse? With a powerful storyline masterfully told by comics supremo Alan Moore and beautifully rendered artwork by the talented Dave Gibbons - this is the one that started the graphic novel revolution and is definitely not one to miss!

 

I read this for the Reading Group, and was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It was a bit long for me, really, and I will always prefer a traditional novel, so I was quite glad when I finished it, but it wasn't a chore to read. I enjoyed the artwork much more than I had expected, particularly the zoom in/out frames and the different perspectives used, and was impressed by the continuity throughout.

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The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

 

Synopsis - from The Folio Society

Taking his cue from The Tempest’s Prospero, playwright and director Charles Arrowby leaves London for retirement in a coastal village to ‘abjure magic and become a hermit’. Both seduced and unnerved by his new setting, he begins a journey of self-discovery by writing the story of his colourful theatrical life. Finding himself in the same village as Mary Hartley, the first love of his adolescence whom he perceives is now locked in a brutal marriage, he becomes obsessed with the idea of forcing her to elope with him.

 

Arrowby’s journal forms the narrative – a master - stroke that enables Murdoch to revel in her character’s egocentricity and fussy, florid language. It is testament to her enormous talent that she conjures up a true monster of modern literature, yet one who remains strangely sympathetic. As Arrowby’s schemes unravel and his memoirs evolve into a chronicle of strange events and almost gothic terrors, he comes at last to gaze ecstatically into ‘the vast soft interior of the universe . . . in calm of mind, all passion spent’. But just how far along the road towards realisation has Arrowby actually come?

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I found it did need a bit of effort; if I was feeling particularly tired in the evening it was my easy paperback I reached for rather than this! Few of the characters appear particularly likeable, many of them are quite pretentious and bitchy, but the characterisation is superb and I really got into the story quite quickly - the first twenty pages or so seemed a bit dull, but after that I was hooked. I don't always visualise what I am reading, but the descriptions of the sea, the countryside, and Arrowby's house really came to life for me. There are twists and turns that I didn't expect all the way to the end, and it was a book I was very sad to reach the end of.

 

 

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U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

 

Synopsis - from Amazon

 

In 1960s Santa Teresa, California, a child is kidnapped and never returned . . .

 

When the case is reopened after twenty years, a man - Michael Sutton - contacts private detective Kinsey Millhone for help. He claims to have recalled a strange and disturbing memory which just might provide the key to the mystery. He may have stumbled across the kidnappers burying Mary Claire Fitzhugh’s body . . .

 

But Michael’s account is indistinct –he was only six years old at the time of the kidnapping; and even members of his family try to discredit his evidence. But Kinsey is certain there is something vital within Michael’s recollections. And even when what is eventually unearthed isn’t what anyone expected, she can’t quite let go of the case.

 

As Kinsey gradually brings to light the stories of the protagonists involved in the tragedy, from Country Club parents to their free-living, hippy children, the truth finally begins to emerge. And while stepping back into the past, Kinsey discovers more about her own history too . .

 

I have read all the books in this series, from A is for Alibi, and enjoyed them all; a couple of the more recent ones (M is for Malice and N is for Noose I think) had left me thinking that although her writing was still good the series had perhaps gone off the boil a bit, but U is for Undertow must be one of the best in the whole series. I find the main character (Kinsey Millhone) very likeable, and this book reveals more about her family history than we have seen up till now, which I liked. A quick, enjoyable, easy read with a likeable "heroine" and a good storyline - what's not to like?!

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Great reviews Ooshie, I have 'The Winter Ghosts' and also 'Fear the Worst' on my tbr pile :)

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The Winter Ghosts is coming out over here next month, I'll be looking for it, be sure. :)

 

I'd read all of the Grafton's up to S is for Silence. I don't know if it was my mood, or what was going on, but it seemed at the time that her writing or condinuity was off, I'm not sure anymore, it's been several years. I'd liked her a lot up till then. I do have the later books, unread in the pile. I'll have to catch up. Your review has certainly peaked my curiosity.

 

I also have Fear the Worst in the pile. /sigh/ :D

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Hmmm. Fear the worst wasn't awful, it just ...wasn't great. It is definitely my least favourite book of the month so far, but maybe some of you will love it and then I will feel bad for being so harsh about it! There were some good things about it...

 

U is for Undertow is definitely good enough to make wasting the hours on the in-between books worthwhile, in my opinion :)

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Hi Ooshie! x How you keeping? I'm still reading The Sea , The Sea! How bad am I, my reading has gone to an all time low for the new year. Oh well, I'm determined to get back up there. I can see as usual your flying through the books haha good for you!! Some good stuff there by the looks of it too :D

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Ah, but you weren't well, Eliza1 - I definitely wouldn't have been reading The Sea, The Sea if I hadn't been feeling good! In fact, I would prescribe a nice, easy, shortish book to revive your reading mojo! :friends0: I hadn't got through many books in December, so I am feeling much, much happier this month now my reading seems to be back to normal again :)

 

 

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Your right, it's not exactly light reading, although I'm enjoying it!I'm all better now thank god, worst flu I ever had. Glad January has been good for you :friends0: Well.... now back to The Sea, The Sea!! x

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The Other Family by Joanna Trollope

 

Synopsis - from Amazon

 

Chrissie, in the twenty-three years she’d been together with Richie, had always believed that he loved her.

 

He loved their three daughters and their house in Highgate and their happy, lively existence. But if she really was the love of his life, why had he never given her the one thing that would have made her life perfect?

 

Then suddenly Richie is no longer there, and without him Chrissie’s carefully constructed life is in jeopardy.The one big fact she had always tried to keep from her daughters threatens to overwhelm them all. For Richie had still been married to his first wife, the one with a son that he had abandoned in Newcastle.

 

And now, with Richie gone and the practicalities of wills and money to be sorted out, it is finally time for the two families to face each other …

 

I have read many of Joanna Trollope's books over the years, and enjoy them when I am in the mood for some fairly light reading (albeit with a good dollop of family angst!). This book was interesting in that it showed the kind of problems that can occur when the legalities of changing family life are not dealt with, however although I liked several of the characters I never felt really engaged by any of them and didn't care that much about what happened to them. I prefer it when I feel on the side of one or more characters and am really rooting for them! Not a bad book, but I have enjoyed many of her earlier publications much more.

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[/i]I have read many of Joanna Trollope's books over the years, and enjoy them when I am in the mood for some fairly light reading (albeit with a good dollop of family angst!). This book was interesting in that it showed the kind of problems that can occur when the legalities of changing family life are not dealt with, however although I liked several of the characters I never felt really engaged by any of them and didn't care that much about what happened to them. I prefer it when I feel on the side of one or more characters and am really rooting for them! Not a bad book, but I have enjoyed many of her earlier publications much more.

 

What would you say is your favourite Trollope then Ooshie ? If you had to pick one to recommend for me?

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Could I pick two, vodkafan? One is just toooo difficult :blush: I particularly enjoyed A Village Affair, from her real "Aga saga" days, and also A Spanish Lover, which developed in a way I just didn't expect towards the end of the book. I hope you enjoy any you choose to try :)

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Mayday by Nelson DeMille & Thomas Block

 

Synopsis - from nelsondemille.net

 

Twelve miles above the Pacific Ocean, a missile strikes a jumbo passenger jet. The flight crew is crippled or dead. Now, defying both nature and man, three survivors must achieve the impossible. Land the plane.

 

I had taken Flowers for Algernon up to Glasgow to read while I was there when my son was having his operation, but decided that I needed something more exciting and less emotional to keep my occupied - this book was on a shelf (grandly marked Library!) with some other orphan books that had obviously been left by guests over the years. Unfortunately, the book I left there when he had his last operation wasn't there!

 

I found this a real page-turner, exciting with lots of twists and turns including the attitudes of the airline's senior staff and insurers, and it gripped me all the way through. Maybe a bit unrealistic - everything that could conceivably go wrong did go wrong - but it was just what I needed.

 

I have probably read about seven of Nelson DeMille's books previously, this was the earliest of his work (1979 I think) that I have read, but it was updated in the late 1990s and I didn't find it dated.

 

 

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