Anna Begins

I can also recommend Swastika Night by Katherine Burdekin. Was SO good. way before 1984. Swastika Night is a futuristic novel, first published in 1937. The novel is inspired by Adolf Hitler's claim that Nazism would create a "Thousand Year Reich". The novel takes place seven hundred years after Nazism achieved power, by which time Adolf Hitler is worshipped as a god. Though no major character is a woman, the story concentrates on the oppression of women, portraying the Nazis as homosexual misogynists. Christians are marginalized, Jews eliminated, and women disenfranchised — deprived of all rights. Literary historian Andy Croft has described it as "the most original of all the many anti-fascist dystopias of the late 1930s".

(5/5) Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 965 pages This book took me totally by surprise. I was on vacation in the beginning of May and saw an old bookstore with a case of "banned" books. This is the one that stood out to me. I didn't really waste much time buying the book after the Kindle Sample, it was just so darn good. As Pillars goes on, spanning the lives of it's characters 50 years or so, events fold so fast, it is hard to catch your breath! It seems like something happens on every page. Despite being nearly 1000 pages, I found myself completely engrossed for every single one of them. In fact, yesterday, I was thinking, "I've been reading this book for about a week or so now- how long is it?" I couldn't believe when I saw how long it was! I wanted more and yet, couldn't image what else could possibly happen. Pillars of the Earth has totally entered my top 10 books of all time. (I think the "banned" list comes from the book's graphic nature. There are scenes of extream violence, particularly rape.) (5/5) From Wiki: The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, tracing the development of Gothic architecture and the fortunes of the Kingsbridge priory and village against the backdrop of historical events of the time. Before this novel was published, Follett was known for writing in the thriller genre. The Pillars of the Earth became his best-selling work. The book was listed at no. 33 on the BBC's Big Read, a 2003 survey with the goal of finding the "nation's best-loved book".[1] The book was selected in the United States for Oprah's Book Club in 2007. Follett published a sequel, entitled World Without End (2007).[2]

Finished Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and have started on Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I really liked When I Found You, so I'm hoping this one will be just as good. Was going to start the Rushdie book for June's reading circle, but after Pillars of the Earth, I needed something a bit less... epic Will review today, I think, even though it seems everyone here has read it lol

Ya, I'm a bit skeptical on the reading speeds. I usually pay more attention to the % or the page #, if possible.

I was shocked by the end!

Saw X Men: Days of Future Past tonight. It was good! I love Patrick Stewart. And Jennifer Lawrence was great too. It was basically about Mystic so she got a lot of screen time.

Wow- that makes me want to read it! I've heard about it, but that's about it. I've even seen The Book of Kells.

I've finished most of this year's TBR list and so here are more (without reading the Samples) Hilary Mantel- Wolf Hall Stephen King- Everything's Eventual 1408 (includes Riding the Bullet) Khushwant Singh- The Collected Novels (includes Train to Pakistan) JD Farrell- The Siege of Krushnapur Salman Rushdie- Midnight's Children Walk Me Home- Catherine Ryan Hyde Wade Davis- The Serpent and the Rainbow Leanda De Lisle- Tudor Amanda Vaill- Florida Hotel Lucy Worsley- The Courtiers Clive Barker- Sacrament Chris Bohjalian- The Sandcastle Girls John Boyne- Boy in the Striped Pajamas Orson Scott Card- Enders Game Lewis Carroll- Alice in Wonderland James Dashner- The Maze Runner Charles Dickens- Bleak House William Faulkner- As I Lay Dying Sebastian Faulks- Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War Marc D Feldman- Playing Sick?: Untangling the Web of Munchausen Syndrome Khaled Hosseini- A Thousand Splended Suns Stephen King- Cujo Barbara Kingslover- High Tide in Tuscon Barbara Kingsolver- Homeland and Other Stories Continuous reads: Jean M Auel- Plains of Passage Clive Barker- Blooks of Blood Vol 1

How many are in the series? 5? How long has it taken you to read them?

Ya I read the Kindle Sample, read a few pages and then thought, "Why am I doing this??"

(2/5) Rules of Prey by John Sandford 496pages I really wanted to like this series. It came highly recommended by my dad, who loves this sorta genre. He got me turned onto Reacher and is constantly talking about this Lewis Davenport guy, so I thought I'd give it a go while reading Pillars of the Earth. Rules of Prey quickly became a time suck. It took away time from other books I could've enjoyed- perhaps another Reacher lol Anyway, Rules of Prey is about cop, Lewis Davenport hunting down a violent sexually driven madman (and the book is on the graphic side + I'm reading Pillars of the Earth so ya). It is simple, drags in places, things happen in an unexplained manner and there is no history to back up Daveport's "badness", he isn't even really that great. My dad just concluded book, 20 or something close, even re-reading them. I MIGHT give #2 a go. There has to be something I'm not getting. Especially if there are that many of them out there- there must be a fan base, right? 2/5 Not recommended

I don't suppose reading a book about people being thrown out of helicopters while being on a plane, would be a good choice

That's my mom's favorite movie!

oh my gosh- someone who knows what I'm talking about lol Persuader was great and I just read 61 Hours, despite ripping Amazon reviews, I liked it too. New one coming out in September, Personal. I probably won't be caught up to read it in Sept. (I am doing them in strict order, with the exception of Gone Tomorrow) but I'm glad a new one is coming out. More Reacher is always a good thing in my... book Edit: Bad Luck and Trouble is terrific too (no 11).

I finished Rules of Prey. Finally. Now I can devote time to Pillars of the Earth and then... maybe some Rushdie

And oh man, am I hooked! I always say Reacher is my literary crush None of the books refer to eachother so if you want to check one out, it wouldn't matter which one. I'd suggest Without Fail, my favorite (Reacher No 6).

(4/5) Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child, Jack Reacher No 13 578 pages I never review my Jack Reacher books, mainly because I read so many and I don't think anyone is too interested in hearing all about them lol Anyway, after 12 books, Lee Child decided to write this book in the first person, instead of the third. I rad the sample and was horrified. Would this ruin the series for me? Could I live inside Reacher's head for nearly 600 pages? Yup. And this was one of Lee Child's best. I don't recommend starting with it, as it is so out of style with the rest of the books- a style which works so well- but it is definitely one on my "surprised" list.

*sigh* I've spent nearly two hours on this darn John Stanford book, Rules of Prey and it seems it will never end. I'm not even reading Pillars of the Earth this morning just to make some headway in Prey. Wooohooo!! I hope you love it! If you have any trouble transferring books, Amazon will totally help- their customer service rocks.

I have a bunch of books lined up, but I'm not sure yet what I will be reading. I will definitely take part though. I might read one of the June reading circle books, even though I'm too late for the circle, they all sound good. Other contenders would be Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde, I really enjoyed her When I Found You or maybe some Stephen King. And I'm sure I will have a Reacher book going.

Just beware of getting them all back- I went sorta crazy and ended up with too many pounds in my luggage! Sounds fun- have a great time!

I guess I didn't see a Salman Rushdie was picked for June... when is it supposed to be read by? Glad I'm in such company with Pillars of the Earth (and the Prey book!)

oh and to fit with the thread, I finished the 13th of the Jack Reacher books and now am reading Rules of Prey by John Standford. Compared to Lee Child and Reacher, this book is badly written, slow and simple. If I wasn't so strapped for cash right now, I'd give it up for later. Oh well, I'll tough it out, I guess. Still LOVING Pillars of the Earth and was shocked yesterday to realized I'm at 40%! I don't know what to do when it's done. Ever done that? Felt like a book was so good, it can't possibly be replaced with the next?

*google* Yuck- just yuck! I hate snakes! Cant those things kill you?

We are Criminal Minds fans instead, however most of them are too scary to watch! I'm literally with the blanket to my chin watching lol

Ah- so they have to be made available by the teacher. Gosh, I hope mine are! Now that I'm reading two books at once, it is SO nice as I can't imagine dragging around 1000 pages in books!