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MonkeyCatcher

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    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I finished The World According to Garp a couple of days ago (finally!) and have now started on The Farseekers by Isobelle Carmody (Book 2 of the Obernewtyn Chronicles).

     

    Overall I found TWATG enjoyable - the style was captivating and unique, as were the characters and plot - however as I read it over such a long time period, I am finding it extremely hard to form an opinion of the book as a whole. It seems as if I have read a series of short stories rather than a novel! I will definitely be picking this one up again in the future so that I can get a better feeling of the novel in its entirety.

     

    For now, I give it a very tentative 4/5 (mainly because of the fantastic writing style)

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I finished Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon a few days, and while enjoyable, I don't think that it was quite up to the standard of the Outlander books - the writing style didn't seem quite so polished, and the storyline not so intriguing. I also missed Jamie, of course! So while I will be picking up the next book in the Lord John series, my expectations will not be quite so high as that of the next Outlander installment. 3/5

     

    I have now begun The World According to Garp by John Irving. I'm only a little way in, but am enjoying it so far. The unique writing style, while a bit wierd, is highly entertaining.

    Bookmarks!

    in General Book Discussions

    Posted

    I'm horrible with bookmarks - I'm always losing them! At the moment I'm using one with cocktail recipes on it (I went to a talk for a hospitality course), although I'm not sure how long that one will last before it too goes missing. Usually I just use a trivial pursuit card - that way I learn something new everytime I open my book :)

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I finished Middlesex last night after reading it for what seems like forever. Overall a great book, although I thought that the ending was a bit rushed. Naming one of the characters Chapter Eleven was also something that bugged me a bit - it made it less believeable. 4/5

    Have now started on Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon - I felt like something short and light after my previous read.

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Finished The Last Juror this afternoon - I enjoyed it, but crime/thrillers aren't really my type of book. I found it lagged a bit, and the most of the events described in the blurb didn't occur until about 100 pages to go (it was a 500 page book). The title doesn't really make sense to me either :? 3/5

     

    I have now started on Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I finished A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian this morning - while I liked it overall, I found it a tad light for my taste and lacking in character development. I gave it a rating of 3/5.

     

    I have now started The Last Juror by John Grisham. I just had to find out if Grisham is as good as people suggest.

    Olympic Challenge - What is it?

    in Reading Challenges

    Posted

    I am in for the Olympic Challenge, but I just have a quick question - Do the books that I count for this challenge have to be ones that I read from now, or can books that I have already read this year (I keep a list) count as well?

     

    I don't see why you can't count them, since the challenge was first issued in mid December of last year. Everyone else doing this started then or at the first of the year. Use what you've already done so far.

    Thanks for the reply. I will use some of what I have read, but I will try to read new ones as much as I can.

    MonkeyCatcher's Olympic Challenge

    in Reading Challenges

    Posted

    red = book intended to be read for this country

    green = book read for this country

     

    Afghanistan - Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi

    Albania - Broken April by Ismal Kadare

    Algeria - The Stranger by Albert Camus

    American Samoa

    Andorra

    Angola

    Antigua and Barbuda

    Argentina

    Armenia

    Aruba

    Australia - Jessica by Bryce Courtenay

    Austria

    Azerbaijan

    Bahamas

    Bahrain

    Bangladesh

    Barbados

    Belarus

    Belgium

    Belize

    Benin

    Bermuda

    Bhutan

    Bolivia

    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Botswana

    Brazil - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

    British Virgin Islands

    Brunei

    Bulgaria

    Burkina Faso

    Burundi

    Cambodia

    Cameroon

    Canada - Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

    Cape Verde

    Cayman Islands

    Central African Republic

    Chad

    Chile - The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

    China - Wild Swans by Jung Chang

    Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)

    Colombia - 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

    Comoros

    Congo DR

    Congo Republic

    Cook Islands

    Costa Rica

    C

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I finished Out this afternoon and really enjoyed it. I was a bit hesitant to read this as I usually dislike crime novels, but I decided to give it a go and am extremely glad I did! Highly recommended, but not for the squemish! 4/5

     

    I have now started Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I have given up on this book previously (at the 100 page mark), but decided to give it another go.

    Olympic Challenge general thread

    in Reading Challenges

    Posted

    A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - I'm not sure - she was born in Germany to Ukrainian parents, so what would she be?

     

    I think that you can choose that for either Germany (because of the author) or the Ukraine (because of the setting). ABC will be able to verify that, though :(

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I just finished Magician by Raymond E Feist, and to be honest I'm not as enraptured with either this book or the author as most other people seem to be.

     

    While I liked the book overall, I thought that the writing was a bit flat at times, and the constant descriptions of landscape and battles bored me - I didn't really care for the overly-long battle scenes. I found that Feist repeated facts several times and that he repeatedly used a single word numerous times while describing or explaining something, both of which detracted from the flow of the novel.

     

    The characters could have used a bit more work also, with some of the minor characters, and even a few of the major, still feeling a bit like strangers at the end of the novel. I didn't find the characters nor their actions believable either, as I found myself puzzling constantly over the sudden change of opinion in a character, or the immediate acceptance of something that would have usually have taken days to believe, let alone accept.

     

    Overall an ok book, but I don't think that I will be picking up the other books in the Riftwar saga, especially as this book has been heralded as Feist's crowning "glory". 3/5

     

    I have now started Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    These are the books that I have read, although not necessarily this year, that are on your list:

     

    The Waste Lands by Stephen King 4/5

    The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett 3/5

    The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde 5/5

    Going Postal by Terry Pratchett 4/5

    Ah, right. I put The Colour of Magic as a 3/5 because although I enjoyed it, I don't think that the book was of a quality as high as Going Postal - I didn't find it as interesting, nor as humerous, and I found that the beginning lagged a bit.

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I finished The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea this morning, and have now started on Magician by Raymond E. Feist.

     

    Overall I enjoyed TSWFfGwtS, but had to give it a 4/5 because I just wasn't in the mood for it - I was counting down the pages until it ended, which is never a good thing. The prose was exquisite, the plot compelling and the characters intriguing, but I think that a lot of the brilliance of the book escaped me because of my lack of experience and maturity in the reading of literature, something which I have been trying to work on. I think that I will pick this one up in a few years time when my reading ability has developed, as I'm sure that I would get so much more out of it. A recommended read, but definitely not for the queasy!

    MonkeyCatcher's Reading List 2006

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Hi. What did you think of TheGod of Small Things? I read it last year. It seemed rather weird, but incredibly cultured, and informative..

    I really enjoyed this book - it was definitely weird though! There were times where I was a bit confused as to what was going on and to what people were referring to, however the beautiful prose more than made up for it. I loved the fact that the Indian culture was a major aspect of the book as I really enjoy reading books that are both entertaining and educational. Definitely one of my favourite reads of this year, and possibly of ever :D. I can understand why it won the Booker.

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