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Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2012


Kylie

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Good luck Kylie! You do make me feel better about my TBR pile, but my problem is the new books that are released, it would really help if all authors would decide to take a year out to let us all catch up somewhat!

 

Maybe you could plan in advance to be somewhere else when the book fairs are on, so you are not tempted when the time comes? :smile:

 

I wish they'd take a year off too!

 

The problem is that I already am somewhere else. The book fair is about a 3-hour drive from me. No matter where I am, though, I'll know it's on and be tempted to go!

 

Still sadly sitting on my TBR pile waiting to be read, as I always pass it over when chosing a new one. I am determined to get around to it this year though, especially with your glowing recommendation.

 

 

Much congratulations and yay'ing for getting so far without buying a book - not far to go at all. :lol:

 

 

It's great that you've changed job and as a result have made yourself further away from temptations. I think I'd be okay if there wasn't websites like Amazon - as a result I can't cut myself off from temptation. The holiday's a great incentive too, so best of luck on your endeavours to not buy more books, and stay away from those pesky book fairs. :lol:

 

Thanks Ben. I'm still reading Catch-22. I really hope you get to it soon. The timeline jumps all over the place but it's just so, so funny and crazy. :D

 

They should have a thing on book websites where you can put a self-imposed limit on yourself so you couldn't, for example, buy any books from that website for 3 months. I can't imagine the websites going along with that though. ;)

 

Seriously, I think the only way to keep keep you away from the book fairs Kylie will be to tie you down and sedate you. But good luck .

 

I think you're right, VF! But I won't be a happy chappy when I come to and realise I was robbed of my book fair!! Woe betide the person who ties me down and sedates me!

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My aim this year is to write at least a couple of lines about each book I read. I don't have time for proper reviews, but at least I'll feel as though I've reviewed them.

 

I've read two books so far - neither of them were exactly mind-taxing, but they were enjoyable and have helped me get back into reading a bit after a dismal second half of 2011.

 

To the Nines Janet Evanovich 8/10

A typically good Stephanie Plum adventure with the amusing Lula and endlessly inept Plum. There's really not a lot I can say because the books, while enjoyable, are rather formulaic. If I stopped reading the series at this point, I really don't think I'd miss anything. That said, I have a few more on my TBR pile, so I'll read them before I stop.

 

Anne of Ingleside LM Montgomery 8/10

This is the 6th book in the series and follows Anne's life from around the ages of 34 to 40. It largely follows the adventures of her 6 small children, but the final chapter focuses more on Anne and Gilbert. I always feel a little sad reading these books, as wonderful as they are. I've never liked change and I don't like to see Anne getting older, although it's nice that her children channel her spirit, I guess. Similar to the previous books, it's more a collection of short stories, each focusing on one character in particular. I enjoyed the last chapter the most, as I could 'see' the Anne and Gilbert of the previous books, and it felt much closer to the spirit of the original book.

 

I still haven't bought any books this year! :D My Mum, on the other hand, bought 17 books the other day and now needs another bookcase. :o I've been a bad influence on her, I think...

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I also added quick links into the first post so I can access the rest more easily.

 

That's what I love about your blog, it's so handy. Every year in January I'm reminded by you that I wanted to do this and was supposed to do it. Every fricking year!! :D

 

'So why don't you do it, you can still edit the posts?', you ask.

'Well yes but I can't be bothered anymore, I was so relieved when I thought I'd gotten the job done!'

:giggle:

 

I have successfully made it through 5 days without buying a book. This isn't such a big deal until you consider how many I bought last year. In 2010 I bought around 400 books and I swore to myself that I wouldn't go past that in 2011. At the start of 2011, my TBR pile was at 795; there was no way in heck I was going to go over 1,000!

 

Believe me, Kylie, this has not gone unnoticed! I admire your strength. :yes:

 

 

I'm also hoping to go on a special holiday next year (anyone who has seen Frankie's recents threats to me about spending money will probably figure out where I want to go). So that is even more incentive to save rather than spend! If I can just keep myself away from the two book fairs in Canberra (those alone are probably responsible for 200-250 of my book purchases last year), it'll be sweet.

 

Come on winter 2013!!!!!! :snowballfight::D

 

Forgot to mention...I was browsing book sites today and found another great list: Penguin's list of books you must read before you die (all books published by Penguin, of course). I was scrolling through the list and recognised a large number of books that are also on the 1001 list, so I thought it would be a fun (yes, and easy) challenge to try...

 

A couple of minutes later I read the introductory paragraph and realised that their list is simply an extract of Penguin-published books from the 1001 book. Good grief.

 

:haha: Oh Kylie ... :empathy: I'm glad you didn't go and start buying loads of Penguin copies on the list... Or did you! :giggle:

 

 

I still haven't bought any books this year! My Mum, on the other hand, bought 17 books the other day and now needs another bookcase. I've been a bad influence on her, I think...

 

I'm proud of you Kylie! And I'm equally proud of your Mum :D

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That's what I love about your blog, it's so handy. Every year in January I'm reminded by you that I wanted to do this and was supposed to do it. Every fricking year!! :D

 

Haha. I added it last year as an afterthought, so it appeared in the last post of my setup, but I placed it first this year. It was a nuisance though, because I started setting it up before I had finalised all the posts, and I ended up repositioning posts so I had to keep going back and updating all the hyperlinks again.

 

Come on winter 2013!!!!!! :snowballfight::D

 

:D

 

:haha: Oh Kylie ... :empathy: I'm glad you didn't go and start buying loads of Penguin copies on the list... Or did you!

 

Nope, I didn't, thank goodness!

 

I'm pretty proud of me too. It's nearly been a whole month!

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I love your blog - it's so wonderfully organised. :)

 

My Mum, on the other hand, bought 17 books the other day and now needs another bookcase. :o I've been a bad influence on her, I think...

I'm trying to remember whose Mum it was who wasn't a big reader until recently - was that your Mum? Sounds like the pair of you are very alike! :D

 

Happy reading (and buying) 2012, Kylie. :)

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Anne of Ingleside LM Montgomery 8/10

This is the 6th book in the series and follows Anne's life from around the ages of 34 to 40. It largely follows the adventures of her 6 small children, but the final chapter focuses more on Anne and Gilbert. I always feel a little sad reading these books, as wonderful as they are. I've never liked change and I don't like to see Anne getting older, although it's nice that her children channel her spirit, I guess. Similar to the previous books, it's more a collection of short stories, each focusing on one character in particular. I enjoyed the last chapter the most, as I could 'see' the Anne and Gilbert of the previous books, and it felt much closer to the spirit of the original book.

 

 

 

I love the Anne books, my aim is eventually to get the whole collection, I have never read the later ones though, or the ones where she has children.

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I love your blog - it's so wonderfully organised. :)

 

 

I'm trying to remember whose Mum it was who wasn't a big reader until recently - was that your Mum? Sounds like the pair of you are very alike! :D

 

Happy reading (and buying) 2012, Kylie. :)

 

Aw, thanks Janet! :)

 

Yep, that's my Mum! That's why I wanted to mention how many books she had bought. She also has a Kindle now, but she likes to buy real copies of all her books as well.

 

I love the Anne books, my aim is eventually to get the whole collection, I have never read the later ones though, or the ones where she has children.

 

They're all such charming books, and wonderfully written. :)

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Haha. I added it last year as an afterthought, so it appeared in the last post of my setup, but I placed it first this year. It was a nuisance though, because I started setting it up before I had finalised all the posts, and I ended up repositioning posts so I had to keep going back and updating all the hyperlinks again.

 

Aww :empathy: But it turned out really nice in the end :friends3::coolsnow:

 

Nope, I didn't, thank goodness!

You didn't or you did but won't let us know? :giggle:

 

I'm pretty proud of me too. It's nearly been a whole month!

 

My mind is boggling!

 

:cold:

 

I'm trying to remember whose Mum it was who wasn't a big reader until recently - was that your Mum? Sounds like the pair of you are very alike! :D

 

That's what makes it so funny :D

 

Yep, that's my Mum! That's why I wanted to mention how many books she had bought. She also has a Kindle now, but she likes to buy real copies of all her books as well.

 

Aww, good on her! Your Mum's the coolest :flowers2:

 

(Why do these snow-related emoticons keep showing up... :o )

 

:snowballfight:

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I don't know. Are you possibly trying to tell me that I should visit a snowy place one day soon? ;)

 

I don't know. Are you? :huh:

:giggle:

 

But wait...what makes what so funny?

 

Well is hella funny because your Mum used to read, like, zilch books, and now she's just like you! And she's already got way more Jeffery Deavers than me, I'm so upset!! (:giggle:). And cause now she's buying your hometown all empty of books, YOU used to do that! Is like, hella ironic :giggle:

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Aw, thanks Janet! :)

 

Yep, that's my Mum! That's why I wanted to mention how many books she had bought. She also has a Kindle now, but she likes to buy real copies of all her books as well.

My Mum has always been a big reader (my Dad was too). I'd like to say that's where I get it from, but my kids just aren't into reading so I'm not sure that it is hereditary!

 

That's what makes it so funny :D

:giggle2:

 

:snowmanandsmilie:

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My Mum has always been a big reader (my Dad was too). I'd like to say that's where I get it from, but my kids just aren't into reading so I'm not sure that it is hereditary!

 

Do you think it's because there are a lot more distractions for kids these days? I know my friend's boy hardly read at all - apart from video game magazines and guidebooks - until just recently, when he read the Harry Potter books. He'd far rather be playing on his Playstation.

 

Jeez, that makes me sound old :lol:

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I think that has a lot to do with it. My son likes motoring magazines but he doesn't read those that often. He's not one to sit in front of the computer either - he's out and about all the time - formerly on his pushbike, and now on his moped! He's never been one to sit around and do nothing. My daughter on the other hand...! :giggle2:

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when my daughter was a bit younger (she's 14 now) she read quite a bit....but now that she has discovered video games, cell phones, ipods...(oh, and boys! ) not so much....though for the past couple months she has been reading the Harry Potter books on the sly....when I ask her about them, she just replies with "oh I just read a couple pages" when I know for a fact she is on like the fourth book!

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In my opinion whe it comes to kids reading its all about them finding something interesting to read when they are younger. When I was a nipper it was generally accepted that when I was sent to bed I could read for as long as I wanted (no tv in my room). During this time I saw it as my own little act of rebellion but in reality it was doing me good in the long run. Reading the Famous Five, Beatrix Potter and Brer Rabbit is what got me hooked on reading.

 

As I got older I got distracted by video games , music, sports etc but the habit was so ingrained in me that I always read as well. For many years though I only read non-ficiton as I couldn't really find any fiction that drew me in, I could have done with something like BCF back then :D

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I vividly remember reading the Enid Blyton books, and I remember my dad giving me my first Biggles book, and I've loved reading pretty much ever since. But then, in those prehistoric days, there was no Playstation or Xbox or pc/laptop or mobile phone etc etc, and we only had one tv in the house.

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In my opinion whe it comes to kids reading its all about them finding something interesting to read when they are younger. When I was a nipper it was generally accepted that when I was sent to bed I could read for as long as I wanted (no tv in my room). During this time I saw it as my own little act of rebellion but in reality it was doing me good in the long run. Reading the Famous Five, Beatrix Potter and Brer Rabbit is what got me hooked on reading.

 

As I got older I got distracted by video games , music, sports etc but the habit was so ingrained in me that I always read as well. For many years though I only read non-ficiton as I couldn't really find any fiction that drew me in, I could have done with something like BCF back then :D

 

I was the same. I had a TV in my room from about the age of 9 or 10 but I had to turn it off at 8pm on the dot. I could then read, write or draw till as late as I liked. I'm not much of a writter or a drawer (though I used to love drawing pictures of Tudors!) so reading was what I did. As I could read until as late as I wanted, I kept pushing it to try and read until later and later - most of the time I just ended up falling asleep cuddling a book.

 

I'm the same now (though I did go through a phrase during my mid-teens when I just didn't want to read and then just after my daughter was born, I just felt too tired to read). After my daughter goes to bed at 7:30, most nights I turn the TV off and just read until I go to bed :D

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As Frankie mentioned on her thread, we have recently swapped lists of our favourite ever books. :)

 

Frankie recommends:

 

Fiction (I've read 23/67 and have 18/67 on my TBR pile)

She Who Remembers by Linda Lay Shuler

Ten Little Niggers by Agatha Christie

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh TBR

Green Mile by Stephen King

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding TBR

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Read

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Northanger Abby by Jane Austen Read

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Read

Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Read

The Secret History by Donna Tartt TBR

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg TBR

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde Read

Perfume by Patrick Süskind TBR

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Read

Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay TBR

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Read

Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris

Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Read

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke Read

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters TBR

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Read

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Read

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones TBR

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Read

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Read

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows TBR

Dracula by Bram Stoker Read

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess Read

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice TBR

Purge by Sofi Oksanen TBR

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne Read

Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

Q&A by Vikas Swarup

Psycho by Robert Bloch

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

Under the Skin by Michel Faber TBR

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna

Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Read

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote Read

Gold by Dan Rhodes TBR

Push! by Sapphire

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Read

Candide by Voltaire

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Read

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon TBR

The Last Family in England by Matt Haig TBR

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch (and you need to watch the TV show!!)

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett TBR

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

Night by Elie Wiesel Read

Room by Emma Donoghue Read

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons Read

Incidences by Daniil Harms

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier TBR

The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery

Crippen by John Boyne TBR

The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt

Marley and Me by John Grogan

 

Non-fiction (I've read 1/14 and have 7/14 on my TBR pile)

And I Don't Want to Live This Life: A Mother's Story of Her Daughter's Murder by Deborah Spungen

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Read

Shakespeare and Company by Sylvia Beach

How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton

The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath by Ronald Hayman TBR

The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule TBR

The Dirt by Mötley Crüe TBR

Stiff – The Life of the Human Cadavers by Mary Roach TBR

Sybil by Flora Rheta Scheiber TBR

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski TBR

Please Kill Me – The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain

Between the Sheets – The Literary Liaisons of Nine 20th Century Women Writers by Lesley McDowell

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs TBR

A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs

 

Young Adult (I've read 5/12 and have 3/12 on my TBR pile)

Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry Read/TBR

The Little Vampire by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg

Emily of New Moon (series) by Lucy M. Montgomery

Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren TBR

The Secred Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 12 ¾ by Sue Townsend TBR

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

The Giver by Lois Lowry Read

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley Read

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Read

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling Read

The Bill Bergson series by Astrid Lindgren

 

All possible typos are Frankie's. :giggle:

Edited by Kylie
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And here's my list...Thanks for typing it up, Frankie. Sorry you had trouble with the spreadsheet!

 

KYLIE'S TOP 40 FICTION

Joseph Heller: Catch-22

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice

Alexandre Dumas: Count of Monte Christo

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol

Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird

Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita

Bram Stoker: Dracula

John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men

Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange

Ken Kesey: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Hunter S. Thompson: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

George Grossmith: Diary of a Nobody

Jane Austen: Emma

Charles Dickens: Great Expectations

Jack Kerouac: The Town and the City

George Orwell: Animal Farm

Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre

John Banville: The Book of Evidence

Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief

John Kennedy Toole: A Confederacy of Dunces

John Steinbeck: Grapes of Wrath

Erich Maria Marquez: All Quiet on the Western Front

Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451

Mark Dunn: Ella Minnow Pea

Stieg Larsson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Margaret Mitchell: Gone with the Wind

Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon

Tim Winton: Cloudstreet

Michel Faber: The Crimson Petal and the White

Ayn Rand: Atlas Shrugged

Italo Calvino: If on a Winter's Night a Traveller

Susan Hill: The Woman in Black

Jonathan Safran Foer: Everything is Illuminated

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

Jack Kerouac: On the Road

John Connolly: The Book of Lost Things

 

KYLIE'S TOP 10 YOUNG ADULT

Suzanne Collins: Hunger Games (trilogy)

John Marsden: Tomorrow, When the War Began (series)

J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter (series)

Lucy M. Montgomery: Anne of Green Gables

Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden

Norton Juster: The Phantom Tollbooth

Walter Moers: The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear

A. A. Milne: Winnie the Pooh

Mark Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Stephen Chbosky: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

KYLIE'S TOP 13 NON-FICTION

Truman Capote: In Cold Blood

AB Facey: A Fortunate Life

Helene Hanff: 84 Charing Cross Road

Martin Toseland: A Steroid Hit the Earth

Steven D. Levitt: Freaconomics

Andrew Solomon: The Noonday Demon

Sylvia Plath: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Bill Bryson: Down Under

Bill Bryson: A Walk in the Woods

Byll Bryson: A Short History of Nearly Everything

Tim Flannery: The Explorers

Tim Flannery: The Birth of Sydney

Anne Frank: The Diary of Anne Frank

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All possible typos are Frankie's. :giggle:

 

OI! :theboss:

 

:lol:

 

And here's my list...Thanks for typing it up, Frankie. Sorry you had trouble with the spreadsheet!

 

The typos that are not there, is all thanks to frankie!

:giggle:

 

You should've seen me last night, trying to figure out how to make an Open Office document from an Excel spreadsheet. I think I lost about 38% of my hair and the rest went gray.

:P

Edited by frankie
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I think I lost about 38% of my hair

 

And you've still got more than me! :giggle2:

 

Impressive lists. I've read 4 of Frankie's and 8 of Kylie's. I read way too much sf and fantasy - or you guys don't read enough of them ;)

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And you've still got more than me! :giggle2:

 

Hair's usually only in the way! I imagine it's much nicer in the summer when you don't have to worry about it. When it's summer, I wish I had the guts to shave it all off!

 

Impressive lists. I've read 4 of Frankie's and 8 of Kylie's. I read way too much sf and fantasy - or you guys don't read enough of them ;)

 

Oi! :theboss:

 

Well, I do admit to not reading much sci-fi. But whenever I come to visit in your reading log, I find that I've never even heard of the books you read so I usually have nothing to say :( Then I can only mention Garibaldi biscuits and hope there's something to talk about in that.

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Hair's usually only in the way! I imagine it's much nicer in the summer when you don't have to worry about it. When it's summer, I wish I had the guts to shave it all off!

 

Well, at least you still have a choice :lol:

 

whenever I come to visit in your reading log, I find that I've never even heard of the books you read so I usually have nothing to say

 

I don't think you're the only one - that's why I feel like I'm talking to myself most of the time - and judging by my TBR list it's not going to change any time soon :lol:

 

Maybe it's better that way - when I talk about them on sf/fantasy forums people just disgree with me anyway! :lol:

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