karen.d Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 (edited) Welcome to my reading list. This is the place I will be listing the books I have read over the next 12 months. My Rating: * Didn't like it ** It was ok *** Liked it **** Loved it ***** A Must Read January 'The Long Song'- Andrea Levy *** (398 Pages) 'The Pale Horse'- Agatha Christie *** (191 Pages) 'Something Dangerous'- Penny Vincenzi * (Unfinished) February (Started in Jan) 'Fall of Giants'- Ken Follett ** (941 Pages) 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'- Arthur Conan Doyle ***(154 Pages) March 'Time's Legacy'- Barbara Erskine * (520 Pages) 'You got Nothing Coming'- Jimmy Lerner *** (413 Pages) 'The Lakes of Dreams'- Kim Edwards ** (377 Pages) April (Started In March) 'Wuthering Heights'- Emily Bronte ***(331 Pages) 'The War of the Worlds- H.G Wells ** (182 Pages) 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'- Robert Louis Stevenson * (81 Pages) 'I Capture the Castle' - Dodie Smith ***(408 Pages) 'The Hunger Games'- Suzanne Collins ***** (454 Pages) May June (Started in April) 'The Passage'- Justin Cronin *** (766 Pages) 'We Bought a Zoo- The Amazing True Story of a Broken-Down Zoo, and the 200 animals animals that changed a family forever ***** (313 Pages) July (Started in June)'The Dandelion Clock'- Guy Burt *** (416 Pages) 'The Art of Racing in the Rain'- Garth Stein ***** (321 Pages) August 'May I Have Your Attention Please?'- James Corden *** (341 Pages) 'War Horse'- Michael Morpurgo **** (181 Pages) 'World Without End'- Ken Follett (Unfinished) 'Catching Fire'- Suzanne Collins ***** (472 Pages) 'The Somnambulist'- Essie Fox (Unfinished) September 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog'- Muriel Barbery **** (320 Pages) 'Don Quixote'- Cervantes (Unfinished) October (Started In Sept) 'Game of Thrones'- George R.R Martin (Unfinished) 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (Spanish Version)- Roald Dahl *** 'Eclipse'- Stephenie Meyer ** 'Breaking Dawn' - Stephenie Meyer ** November 'Mockingjay'- Suzanne Collins ***** 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' by Garth Stein- A re-read December (Started in November) 'The Stand'-Stephen King (Currently Reading) Edited November 30, 2012 by karen.d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' Book Challenge' Details/Rules: 1.The goal is to read the classic books and the classic novels to see how they all tie together. 2. What counts: books, eBooks, audio books 3.Crossovers from other reading challenges count. The books are (in no specific order): Dracula- Bram Stoker Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea- Jules Verne- *** Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde- Robert Louis Stevenson * The Invisible Man- H.G Wells The First Men in the Moon- H.G Wells Any Fu Manchu novel Any Sherlock Holmes novel Any Allan Quatermain novel Any James Bond novel and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel to tie it all together Edited April 10, 2012 by karen.d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) 'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy Publisher: Headline Review ISBN: 978-0-7553-5942-4 Length: 398 Page What the 'blurb' says: 'You do not know me yet but I am the narrator of this work. My son Thomas, who is printing this book, tells me it is customary at this place in the novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed. Prehaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.' Opening line: 'The book you are holding within your hand was born of a craving.' What's good about this novel? On my first attempt at reading this novel, I did find the almost light-hearted nature around the subject of slavery, quite off putting. However having read on, I realised that what Andrea Levy was doing by using this tone of writing, was rather clever. This is because by having light hearted moments within the novel, this created more of an impact, when the novel moved on to graphic and dramatic elements of the story. I found the majority of the novel to be well paced and intensely written. I also thought that the characters within the story to be realistic and well formed. I believed that the characters existed and were part of the era of slavery and subsequent demise. Aside from the story in the past, I loved the voice that Levy gives to the character July in the present day. I could almost picture her in front of me, talking about her life. What's wrong with this novel? Whilst I enjoyed the voice given to July in the past, I found the variation of perspectives within the novel, rather odd. Whilst I knew that July was talking about her life story, the fact that July refers to herself in the third person when she talks of her past, made my reading experience feel disjointed and at times, confusing. Several times during the novel I had to return the start, to affirm who exactly was talking. Also I found that even though the first half of this novel was compelling (I was unable to put the book down) the second half, was a little disappointing. I still wanted to read on, but I didn't feel that the second half of the book kept my attention as firmly as the beginning of the novel. Is this worth a read? Yes I think 'The Long Song' is worth a read. I have read better books set in the times of slavery ('Kindred' by Octavia E.Butler springs to mind), but this is still a well written representation of the events within that era. 'The Long Song' isn't without its flaws, but this book is compelling and in some ways, educational. Edited January 3, 2012 by karen.d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Good review, Karen I've got this lined up to read this month for my library reading group, and I have to admit, I'm not keen to start it as I didn't really like her first book Small Island, so I'm apprehensive to start it, but knowing you started it once then put it down, and then tried again and enjoyed it, makes me think I might like it more than I'm anticipating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks! I wasn't sure about putting tmy thoughts on this book on the main boards, so I decided to post my review here. I haven't read 'Small Island', but I think that 'The Long Song' is worth persevering with. I'd be interested to read your thoughts on this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Good review. I'm waiting for this one to become available at the local library as I'm not quite sure I'd like it enough to shell out money for it! I loved Small Island but wasn't that keen on Never Far From Nowhere. She is someone I would always give a go though, purely on the strength of Small Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Good review. I'm waiting for this one to become available at the local library as I'm not quite sure I'd like it enough to shell out money for it! I loved Small Island but wasn't that keen on Never Far From Nowhere. She is someone I would always give a go though, purely on the strength of Small Island. The more I hear about 'Small Island', the more I want to read this.I think that it will have to go on my TBR list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) Publisher: Fontana Books ISBN: Unfortunately the edition that I have doesn't seem to have an ISBN number. Length: 191 Page What the 'blurb' says: As the priest ended his ministry, the dying woman spoke again. "Stopped...It must be stopped...You will see...?" The priest spoke with reassuring authority. "I will do what is necessary..You can trust me..." A doctor and an ambulance arrived a little later. The landlady received them with gloomy triumph. "Too late as usual!" she said......' Opening line: 'The Espresso machine behind my shoulder hissed like an angry snake.' What's good about this novel? Not being a fan of traditional murder mysteries, I was a little unsure whether I was going to enjoy this novel. However I thought that this was very well written and I was easily absorbed in the story. Whilst I had the impression that Christie's novel focus on one main detective, for example Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, 'The Pale Horse' was a little different. It had not one, but two central characters, Mark Easterbrook and Detective-Inspector Lejeune. I found both characters to work well within the story and I didn't feel a conflict of attention within Christie's writing. In general, I thought that the characters were fully constructed and mostly realistic. At first, I felt that the storyline was a little too far fetched and silly. However, I was relieved to find that the conclusion to the story was logical. I also enjoyed the fact that at no point during the story, was I able to guess 'whodunnit'. What's wrong with this novel? Possibly because I am not familiar with the genre, I felt that even though I enjoyed reading the novel, it didn't grab me. That's not to say that there is anything wrong with the book, it's just that maybe this isn't my preferred genre. I would read more of Christie's novels in future though. Is this worth a read? If you are looking for some escapist reading, then you may enjoy this. I thought that 'The Pale Horse' was a fun read. Edited January 7, 2012 by karen.d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 'Something Dangerous' by Penny Vincenzi I can't write a full review of 'Something Dangerous', because I didn't read more than 25-30 pages, before deciding to put this book away. The reason being, was that I found the characters within this novel to be so obnoxious and obsessed with money, that I could not relate to them or their situations in any way. I felt that it was like a 'Jackie Collins' novel, set in the 20's and I don't enjoy Jackie Collin's novels either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) I'm going to start putting together a wish list. I'm not including those books I have to read in the 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' Book Challenge': My Wish List: 'Snobbery of Violence'- M.C. Beaton 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection'- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 'Northanger Abbey'- Jane Austen 'Persuasion'- Jane Austen 'Emma'- Jane Austen 'Sense and Sensibility'- Jane Austen 'Mansfield Park'- Jane Austen 'The Complete Charles Dickens Collection'- Charles Dickens 'The Count fo Monte Cristio'- Alexandre Dumas 'Gulliver's Travels'- Jonathan Swift 'Dracula'- Bram Stoker 'Vanity Fair' - William Makepeace Thackeray 'Before I go To Sleep'- S J Watson 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'- Steig Larsson 'Breaking Dawn'- Stephenie Meyer 'World Without End'- Ken Follett 'The Red Queen'- Philippa Gregory 'The White Queen'- Philippa Gregory 'The Queen's Fool'-Philippa Gregory 'The Other Queen'- Philippa Gregory 'The Virgin's Lover'-Philippa Gregory 'A Respectable Trade'- Philippa Gregory 'The Lady Of the Rivers'- Philippa Gregory 'Behind The Scenes At The Museum'- Kate Atkinson 'When God was a Rabbit'- Sarah Winman 'The Help'- Kathryn Stockett 'The Stand'- Stephen King 'Small Island'- Andrea Levy 'Saving Ceecee Honeycutt'- Beth Hoffman 'Never Let Me Go'- Kazuo Ishiguro 'The Book Thief'- Markus Zusak 'The Woman In Black'- Susan Hill Edited March 30, 2012 by karen.d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 'Sunday Snippet' Every Sunday, I thought that I would post a 'snippet' of the book I am currently reading. Here's this week's: Page 628: 'On the morning of the next day, the First Machine Gun Regiment gathered on the parade ground to elect a representative to the Petrograd Soviet. Issak proposed Sereant Grigori Peshkov.' 'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett Feel free to post a snippet of your latest read too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anisia Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Quite a few on your list that I also have on my wish list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Quite a few on your list that I also have on my wish list I've never actually sat down and compiled a list of the books I want to read, but as you can see, it's expanding rather quickly! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on some of the books I have listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anisia Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Oh yes, that's the problem with these list...they just end up being HUGE! I can say I've recently started Sherlock Holmes, read the first one and it was really enjoyable And I loved Pride and Prejudice, although I need to give it a re-read sometime soon. I bought The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo from a second hand bookshop ages ago, still haven't started it, but I really, really want to soon. Definitely has to be a 2012 read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Oh yes, that's the problem with these list...they just end up being HUGE! I can say I've recently started Sherlock Holmes, read the first one and it was really enjoyable And I loved Pride and Prejudice, although I need to give it a re-read sometime soon. I bought The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo from a second hand bookshop ages ago, still haven't started it, but I really, really want to soon. Definitely has to be a 2012 read I've just got a tablet computer and with it comes Amazon Kindle and another book reading app. I've downloaded Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, plus loads more books. So will read those soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 I've just bought a tablet pc and with it comes Kindle and Aldiko. So I have been looking at all of the free books and so far I have downloaded: 'Pride and Prejudice'- Jane Austen 'Treasure Island' -Robert Louis Stevernson 'Aesop's Fables'- Translated by George Fyler Townsend 'Les Miserables'- Victor Hugo 'Dracula'- Bram Stoker 'Frankenstein' -Mary Shelley 'Great Expectations'- Charles Dickens 'Romeo and Juliet'-William Shakespeare 'Sense and Sensibility'- Jane Austen 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'- R.L Stevenson ' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'-Mark Twain ' The Adventures Sherlock Holmes'- Arthur Conan Doyle ' The Count of Monte Cristo'- Alexandre Dumas 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'- Francis Scott Fitzgerald 'The Divine Comedy'- Dante Alighieri 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'- Arthur Conan Doyle 'The Iliad and the Odyssey'- Homer 'The Time Machine'- H.G Wells 'The War of the Worlds'- H.G Wells 'White Fang'- Jack London 'Wuthering Heights'-Emily Bronte So I have A LOT of reading to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Due to playing with my new tablet computer and suffering from a bad back this week (both things aren't connected), I haven't read as much as I would have liked. To be honest, I'm started to not enjoy 'Falls of Giants' by Ken Follett. The reason being is that the story has detracted completely away from how it was at the beginning. It has become increasingly more political than I had anticipated. Whilst some of you may enjoy this, I'm more interested in the characters within the story and so for me, it's disappointing. I only have a few 100 pages until the end, so I will continue. Here's a 'snippet': Page 667: 'Vyalov's Packard Twin Six was waiting at the kerb. A new chauffeur stood proudly beside it, a kid from Kiev. The commissionaire hurried to open the rear door for Lev. At least I'm still riding in the back, Lev thought.' Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I remember thinking the same about Fall of Giants, and I know I rushed through the ending just to finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 I remember thinking the same about Fall of Giants, and I know I rushed through the ending just to finish it. I'm glad it's not just me! I have previously read 'The Pillars of the Earth' and was impressed by the way in which Follett can juggle many different characters within the story, but give equal attention to each one. With 'Fall of Giants' however, I'm finding that this attention isn't equally distributed. As this is the first in his 'Century' trilogy, it's possible that we will read more about certain characters who have so far, fallen on the wayside. I don't know at the moment however, whether I would want to continue reading more of the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 I'm FINALLY on the home straight with 'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett! When I say home straight, in reality I have still got 125 pages to go until I have reached the end. To be honest, the end can't come any sooner. What started off to be a very enjoyable book, has transformed into a tedious mission to reach the end, so that I can begin a new book. I could give up but, seeing as I'm so close to the end, I feel obliged to complete this book. I'm not saying that this book is all bad, there are nuggets of brilliant writing but overall, this is not my kind of book. Have you ever read a book like this? Here's a 'snippet': P816- 'Gus had heard a rumour there would be a ceasefire at eleven a.m, but his commanding officer had ordered the assault so he was carrying it out.' 'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I'm not saying that this book is all bad, there are nuggets of brilliant writing but overall, this is not my kind of book. Have you ever read a book like this? I think because the book is so big, that unless it manages to maintain a good pace and interesting story, it can become a real struggle to read. Especially if you start losing interest after you are quite far through it, you start thinking that if you have already invested so much time into it, it would be a shame to give up. Doorstep books have to be written in a different way to slimmer novels, I think, in order to maintain your interest all the way through. I never had this problem with Follett's Pillars of the Earth, but I do recall struggling towards the end of Fall of Giants, and feeling extremely relieved when I'd finished. It's a shame, because sometimes it can put you off reading hefty books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 I think because the book is so big, that unless it manages to maintain a good pace and interesting story, it can become a real struggle to read. Especially if you start losing interest after you are quite far through it, you start thinking that if you have already invested so much time into it, it would be a shame to give up. Doorstep books have to be written in a different way to slimmer novels, I think, in order to maintain your interest all the way through. I never had this problem with Follett's Pillars of the Earth, but I do recall struggling towards the end of Fall of Giants, and feeling extremely relieved when I'd finished. It's a shame, because sometimes it can put you off reading hefty books. You're right, a doorstop sized book has to not only pulling in the reader at the beginning, but maintain that pace and story throughout I have read 'Pillars of the Earth' and really enjoyed it. It gripped me from the beginning and I cared about all of the characters. With 'Fall of Giants' however, the beginning of the story gripped me and I thought that I was going to really enjoy it. As the plot progressed however, I found that it diverted away from the human element of the story and ended up being full of war strategy and politics. That's when it lost my interest. This won't put me off reading doorstop sized books in the future, but it might put me off reading more of Ken Follett's books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) Publisher: Macmillan ISBN: 978-0-330-53544-1 Length: 941 Pages What the 'blurb' says: 'Five families are brought together through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution and the struggle for votes for women. It is 1911, and the coronation day of King George V. Thirteen-year-old Billy Williams begins his first day of work in a coal mine. The Williams family is connected by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-miners, Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of Gus Dewar, ambitious young aide to U.S President Woodrow Wilson. Two orphaned Russian brothers soon become involved, but Grigori and Lev Peshkov's plan to emigrate to America falls foul of war, conscription and revolution.' Opening Line: '22 June 1911- On the day King George V was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, Billy Williams went down the pit in Aberowen, South Wales.' What's good with this novel? The opening to this novel is gripping. It was so gripping, that during about the first 100 pages, I couldn't put this book down. When Follett focuses on the purely character elements of the story, the writing is brilliant. I found the conflict between the miners and the issue with the safety within that work environment, very interesting. I also liked the elements which talked about votes for women. What's wrong with this novel? Whilst I found the character focused elements within this novel gripping, I felt that 'Fall of Giants' was too bogged down with war strategy and indepth description about war. At times, I almost felt as if Follett was glamourising a war which, in my opinion, was useless anyway. I was also disappointed to find that even though Follett sets the multiple characters within 'Fall of Giants' successfully, I felt that he did not maintain equal attention to them throughout the novel. During most of the novel, the story focuses on one or two of the characters which were heavily involved in war or politics then at the end, Follett hastily concluded the stories of the remaining characters. The pace of this novel is unsatisfactory also. Whilst the beginning of the novel was well paced, I found the rest of it to be slow and at times, rather boring. To be honest, I was desperate to end this novel, because it could not hold my attention throughout its 941 pages and I couldn't wait to start something new. I was also disappointed with the ending of this novel. Is this worth a read? If you enjoy novels which focus heavily on war, you may enjoy this. If you are looking for a novel which more character driven, you will be disappointed. Edited February 14, 2012 by karen.d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 The more I hear about 'Small Island', the more I want to read this.I think that it will have to go on my TBR list. I loved Small Island - enjoyed every page I have The Long Song on my tbr, but have no idea when I will get round to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 After ploughing through 'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett, I'm now reading a book that I'm enjoying! Although the method in which I am reading 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' by Arthur Conan Doyle (on my PC tablet) isn't as good as the reading experience you get with a paperback, I'm really like this book. Being a fan of the tv series 'Sherlock' which is based on the 'Sherlock Holmes' novels, I was interested to see how the programmes differ from the original texts. In some ways the two versions of 'The Hounds of the Baskervilles' are very different, but the same intrigue and essence of the character of Sherlock is contained within the TV programme and the book. Here's a 'snippet': Page 107: 'It was several miles off, but I could distinctly see a dark dot against the dull green and gray.' 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' by Arthur Conan Doyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.