[Kala's Bookshelf 2009]

I've been keeping track of what I've read on my LJ, but this will be a good place to keep reviews and maybe hear other people's opinions.

 

I'm doing the 50 books in a year challenge this year. I don't really know how many books I read in a year. I think it's probably around 50 anyway, but I've never actively kept track and written reviews and such so I'm looking at it as an exercise in organization and journalling

 

Since I've missed the first few months I guess I'll just make a separate post for what I've read each month and then work from there. So after all that set up:

 

January

 

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - In one word: weird. I never really thought about people with quite good lives falling in to such depression. She has opportunities and great contacts all around her for a very nice life but she just gets so wrapped up in her own head. I wouldn't say it was an enjoyable read, but well written. - 7/10

 

2. Middlesex by Jefferey Eugenides- It was a bit plodding in the beginning with far more detail than necessary, but very interesting and a good look at a difficult subject. It could have been better edited and better crafted in general, but I enjoyed it. - 6/10

 

3. Everything is Illuminated Jonathan Safron Foer - It had some great parts, but it also had some really crass and over the top parts. Overall, you could tell it was a first novel because it was a bit pretentious and almost like he bit off more than it could chew. It really was a great book in general, but I think I expected too much having loved Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close so much. - 7/10

 

4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - His verb choice and descriptions are so creative and sweet. Sad and terrible, but a great book. Unique in a lot of ways. I enjoyed learning a bit of German too even if it was mostly cursing- 8/10

 

5. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger- The ending was definitely better than the rest of the book, but not by much. He really captured the feeling of teenage angst and frustration with the world, but Holden is so irritating it makes you not want to be around him--thus to not read. Definitely not a favorite, but I guess worth the read. - 5/10

 

February

 

6. Possession by AS Byatt - The story itself was very good and it was written beautifully. It's only stepping out of the story that I'd really criticize it. It's actually pretty snobby. Byatt sets up two famous (but fictional) poets of the same fame as Tennyson and the like, and includes tons of their works--obviously her own, which she is thus putting at the level of Tennyson (and it's not!). It's also full of a sort of wild feminism and of American stereotypes. It definitely doesn't encourage me to read more of her stuff... In addition, I read on wikipedia that she's criticized adult Harry Potter readers, which definitely isn't a way to get into my good book - 7/10

 

7. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton - This is the same as so many. Written beautifully, interesting characterization, but the main character is not likable and the plot is somewhere between dull and non-existent! Lily is a spoiled brat who has no clue what she wants. She's witty, but stupid. Over and over again she's forced to make the decision between love and money. She wants both so she always rejects offers of only one, solidifying her misery. Her helplessness to change herself, know herself, or even explain herself is pitiful to the point of nausea. She's just the sort of heroine that I detest. - 7/10

 

8. The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier- I wasn't expecting much of this book, and it failed even my meager hopes. It was very confusing and basically pointless. Ella's unwillingness to speak to her husband, her criticism of him, and ensuing 'falling out of love' is so thin and lame it's a wonder divorce isn't more prevalent if the average person makes decisions like she does. That's actually a good word for the whole book--lame. - 2/10

 

9. The Interpretation of Murder Jed Rubenfeld - This one was actually better than I expected. It got a bit messy in the middle (probably could have been edited better) but the ending was pretty good and the solution to the mystery was...interesting. I'm a bit annoyed at how harsh he was to Carl Jung because I think he was a brilliant man with a lot of courage to break away from Freud. Also, the authors discussion of the Oedipus complex and Hamlet was interesting, but not quite as convincing as he made it out to be. For what it was though, it was an interesting book with a solid mystery (and it was cool to read it at the same time as House of Mirth which is set in the same period and location. Very cool to compare!) - 7/10

 

10. The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickins - I'm not gonna tear this one up. It wasn't very entertaining, but it was all right. I finally finished it after reading the first half about a year or so ago. Almost everybody ends miserably per usually. Dickens just doesn't do anything for me, never has done - 5/10

[Reading in the car?]

Thats a great idea! I'm learning to drive soon and will definitely buy some audio books once I can lol

If you drive a lot it's awesome! My city library has thousands of books on CD and I always have several checked out.

 

They are super expensive to buy, but a great option! Some people don't really like them, and even for me a few of the readers I've found get irritating pretty fast, but some of them are absolutely amazing. BBC puts out really great ones--even full cast recordings with music and sound effects sometimes The Lord of the Rings series was done epically well!

You have to watch out for major abridgments though.

[Have you ever enjoyed a book you didn't want to like?]

There are definitely a lot that I've been surprised by how much I liked them.

I read Ender's Game for a class in college. I had never read a sci-fi book before, I'd been suppressing my inner dork up to that point I really loved it though! And it led to tons more amazing books that I'd never considered before.

 

I don't know if there's anything that I really didn't want to like--no reason to block your own pleasure just to spite someone who doesn't care

There are definitely ones that I've liked despite them not really being great books--*cough*Twilight *cough*, uh...Babysitter's Club? most of the historical fiction stuff I read as a kid. I've read some of them back and gagged !

[Reading in the car?]

I can read in a car, but only for 10 minutes bursts. And never when I'm the one driving:D

When I first read the Harry Potter books I actually did read while driving sometimes--only at lights and occasionally on side streets. I consumed those things in just a few days. The best type of crack

I listen to audio books all the time in the car, so if that counts then...

But I'm with you, as a passenger I can only read for short amounts of time and I have to look up regularly so I don't get sick. So nothing heavy duty

[How many books do you read at once?]

3 - 5, never more than 6 because then I start getting confused.

I usually have an audio book at work, an audio book in my car, a book open on my home computer, one book in my purse, and one on my bedside table. My reading is location driven

[Book Mooch!]

I'm completely addicted to bookmooch!

I've received almost 100 and given 80--most of mine weren't mine actually, my sister gave me several big boxes of books that I wasn't really interested in so it's been a godsend. And I've saved quite a bit by sending multiple books to the same people--series and such.

 

I'll send internationally if the postage is less than $7-8 per book, which it usually is. There's only been a handful on my wishlist that haven't ever been available--mostly stuff that's pretty new and popular.

 

I also have a PaperBackSwap account, but I like BookMooch's interface a lot more.

[Yann Martel - Life of Pi]

I don't actually like The Princess Bride film that much but I loved the book.

Really? I know this isn't the Princess Bride thread, but I'd love to know what made you not like it!

 

I think if they focus on the fantasy side of the book more than trying to make it like Castaway it could be effective. *shrug*

 

Are they? I'd be interested to find out about that. I read Life Of Pi at quite an interesting point in my life. I believe it affects people in different ways depending on where one is in ones life, don't you think?

Oh absolutely! Maybe it's a bad thing but I know my opinion of books is influenced a great deal by not only where I am in my life but also by the other books I'm reading at the time (I usually read 3 or 4 at a time cause I get bored easily). I read Brave New World and 1984 at the same time and I still have a hard time remembering which is which After that I made a rule with myself that I'd only read different genres at the same time

[Yann Martel - Life of Pi]

Hey there. I loved The Princess Bride. The film was made around where I live! How about that!

Really? One of my favorite movies of all time! And probably the best book to film adaptation ever. I heard they're going to make a Life of Pi movie as well...should be interesting if it's ever made.

[100 books]

48. There are a few that I've read some of and then put them down because I really didn't like them, and a few I think I read a long time ago but don't remember them well enough to say

 

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible -

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 1984 - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D

[Dan Brown - Angels & Demons]

I agree with you. I actually read this one first, before Tom Hanks' Hair...sorry, I mean The Da Vinci Code came out.

*snort*

I've read both as well and liked A&D quite a bit more. It felt more like a book than a statement--you know?

[Kala me]

:welcome2:Hey Kala_way!

 

What a good idea....50 books a year sounds pretty good to me! I'm slowly but surely making my way through the BBC Big Read list. It's a bit outdated now as I think the list I have is from 2003 so it's missing a few that I think should be on there but it's all good I'll pop the link below if you're interested.

I've seen that list before! It's a great list! I've read about half of them, and a good number of them are on my list for this year.

[The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger]

This book really is the epitome of my dislike for character focused books. Nothing actually happens! He wanders around and has pointless conversations with a lot of people where he talks about all the things he hates. That's it! Impossible to spoil

 

Salinger does a great job of capturing the angst you feel as a teenager, but Holden is so mind-numbingly irritating that I couldn't read more than 20 pages at a time.

 

I would say it's worth the read because Holden's character is well constructed and there are a few lovely parts--such as the baseball glove, but I don't think I'll ever understand people's adoration of it.

 

I much preferred "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". It had a similar teenage angst theme, but it felt like it was moving somewhere and that his discoveries were helping him grow.

[Life of Pi by Yann Martel]

I resisted reading this book because everyone told me I should read it, and I HATE being told what to do. Every time I read the back cover I thought.. ugh.. what a drag! Stuck in a boat with a tiger? yawn

That's exactly how I felt. It was really hyped and the synopsis made it sound stupid and boring. I'm glad I picked it up though.

 

The hard to believe parts actually made me like it more. I always think 1) it is fiction so I appreciate when authors make it interesting, even if a tad unbelievable, 2) truth is often stranger than fiction so who am I to say what could be?

[Kala me]

New! Hi!

Lucybird told me about this site and it looks like my cup of tea

 

I'm from Los Angeles and I'm a rather picky reader.

I'm doing the 50 books in a year challenge this year as my New Year's resolution. Just finished #17!

 

I generally don't like anything set in the present time and especially not anything set near where I live, because books are about exploring new times and places and people for me. I'm a sucker for a great complicated plot and I usually don't like "character books" where nothing really happens

 

Fave authors (like picking favorite children but what can you do?) are Charlotte Bronte, Orson Scott Card, and Jo Rowling.

[What Defines A Classic?]

I read somewhere that a classic is a jailer.

It captures the perspective of a generation, the uniqueness of a style, the depth of a character, the feel of a time, and the minds and hearts of it's readers. It never really lets you go.

[What are your top three classics?]

Jane Eyre - beautiful

Jude the Obscure - irritatingly good

Brideshead Revisited - subtle

[Yann Martel - Life of Pi]

As I wrote on that thread, the introductory section was dry and rubbish. The postscripty section was rubbish. The "twist" was rubbish. The oh-so-clever religious allegory stuff was rubbish.

 

The only good stuff was the story of the boy on a boat with a tiger, which was a nice and fun bit of Gripping Adventure Yarn which, stand-alone, I might have liked. But even that was kind of ruined by the ending.

It did start off a bit slow, and his understanding of religion was rather illogical, but as a whole I enjoyed it! It made me want to go to the zoo

 

The ending reminded me a bit of Princess Bride, and I just took it as a kind of joke, 'believe what you want' idea. He had to somehow handle the inevitable mistrust of his story and being a creative and somewhat jaded kid it fit IMO.