Brian.
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For a moment then I was confused as I wondered how it was possibly that you had read a book in 2012 already when it hadn't started yet. Then I realised..
In any case, best of look with your 2012 reading, you do have some great reads ahead of you judging by that to-be-read pile. I'm also planning on reading Crime and Punishment in the early part of the year so I'll looking forward to hearing how you get on, and to reading your thoughts. That also goes for all the other books you'll be reading this year; have a good one, Brian.
I am a time traveller
I did it to keep the format simple and so that I could C&P the format with every new book I read but with the new board software its not really needed anymore.
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Flicking through the books I got as as pressie yesterday I realised the 2666 is absolutely huge at almost 900 pages long. I've also got a few Waterstones & Amazon goodie vouchers to spend
Not too sure what to start the year with but I think I'll probably go with The Fear Index as I always enjoy Harris' books. Might start Crime & Punishment at the same time and read it in tandem with whatever I am reading at the time.
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Umm, Frankie was right, your lists are hugely impressive and so organised. You must read books like a robot
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Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
I am going to choose another non-fiction book I'm afraid. Robert Enke 'A Life Too Short' by Ronald Reng. Although I am a football fan I find footballers in general to be tedious people with little personality, due in no small part to the extensive media training they get these days. There are a lot of good things that they do, especially charity wise but we tend not to hear too much about it. The biggest thing that is easy to miss is the human element of the players.
In Robert Enke 'A Life Too Short' Reng tells the true and tragic story of Robert Enke, a steady player haunted by depression and his eventual suicide. The book covers parts of the professional side of things but mainly the human relationships and everyday trudge of life. The biggest thing that stuck out for me is that Enke battled hard to hide his depression and most people never realised he was suffering as badly as he was. I guess in the end the book changed my thought that ALL players as basically rich, spoilt idiots. On a human level they are as vulnerable as all the rest of us, especially when it comes to mental illness. Its an amazing but ultimately sad book.
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Phew, that first page of posts is EPIC. I'm going to have to sit down during a quiet moment and work and go through it all making a note of things to add to my meagre list. 300 books in a year
, I thought I was bad with buying books, you do read loads more in a year than me though. -
I've ticked off a few more titles since my last update.
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (I loved this book so much)
Snow - Orhan Pamuk (I enjoyed this book despite it taking some effort to read)
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway (nice easy book to read)
White Noise - Don DeLillo (didnt enjoy this one as much as I thought I would)
Money - Martin Amis (I found this to be a good read, very enjoyable)
Frankie the odd size text might have been due to it being copy and pasted? I noticed earlier that with the new board software if you C&P something it retains its original size unless you manual change it. I can't see it doing this with a post so old but its the only logical thing I can think of. You should be able to set it all to the correct size and font by highlighting it all in one go and choosing the font you want and the size I think.
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Money by Martin Amis
Synopsis
Time Magazine included the book in its list of the 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. The story of John Self and his insatiable appetite for money, alcohol, fast food, drugs, porn and more, Money is ceaselessly inventive and thrillingly savage; a tale of life lived without restraint, of money and the disasters it can precipitate. (Taken from Goodreads)
My Thoughts
When I bought Money I thought that it would be the tale of someone who work in the stock markets and that John Self would be the character that Patrick Bateman is in American Psycho. I always try to avoid reading too much into the details of a book before reading it. I find that ruins a lot of the storyline for me and in this case, not knowing much about it was a huge bonus.
Unlike a lot of people who have read this, I didnt find it hilarious but there is a lot of dark humor in the writing. The story is like the life of Self, very messy, jumping around and chaotic. There are gaps in the story which only come to life later because Self is often drunk and forgets things easily. This can make it a little sketchy in places but really adds to the character and the narration of the tale.
Given the underlying nature of the story it couldn't be more appropriate given the current state of affairs in Europe and America. Excess spending (of money that isnt really there) ties very well into this along with over eating, total consumerism and sexual irresponsibility. I also really liked the brand names that Amis uses, Self's car is a Fiasco in name and deeds for example.
I'm looking forward to reading some more by Amis now even though I didnt find the book to be a real page turner. I tend to read in many short burst and every time I finished a mini stint I found myself mulling over what I had read and wondering where everything was heading. It was a steady burner for me, keeping my interest engaged but not to the extent that I couldn't put it down. A decent read.
8/10
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I got slack again, Christmas is my excuse
Day 22 – Favourite book you own
If I ignore the content as the sole defining factor then I have to go with Complete Sherlock Holmes (Wordsworth Library Collection). Its a hardback collection of all of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle. It was a Christmas gift last year that was a complete surprise and I love it. The way it looks just fits in with what it contains.
Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I bought it a little while ago but haven't managed to make myself start it yet. I think I must be concerned that I wont like it but feel obliged to finish it off because of the high esteem its held in. I've set myself a target that I must read it this year and decided to read it in conjunction with another book so that I can dip in and out of it over a long period of time if needed.
Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Again Stone Junction by Jim Dodge.
Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
I can't say I've ever felt that I relate to a character to any great extent, certainly not in any fiction I've read so far.
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If I can recall, the titles were Junkie, Snow, Amsterdam, and Money.
I noticed another pattern also: these might be all considered drug-related novels, judging from the titles. Brian, I hope everything is right in your world and you are not slipping onto the dark side!
We all have our demons but no, there is no need to worry, I just really like reading about the darker parts of the human existence. Excess, drug use, drinking and general debauchery all fall together and make something I can get my teeth into. Its not all I read but it does form a significant part of it
Too bad you ran dry with BookMooch
Let's hope more people will start getting into swapping on here. There are some enthusiasts already, but I wouldn't mind having more. Not that I have much to offer yet myself. I'm way too attached to my own books, and the sort of books I read and don't mind discarding aren't necessarily ones that other people would like.BookMooch left me very disappointed, it looked like a great system but in practice it just didnt work out too great for me.
I can't imagine being a non-fiction only reader! Not that there's anything wrong with it, but personally I just enjoy fiction so much. Kudos to Huxley, then! Have fun with 1001 Books, and be sure to update your latest findings on the appropriate thread, if you wish, I'm always keen on seeing what other people have read from the list
People often react with surprise when I tell them that I pretty much only read non-fiction up until a couple of years ago. I wasn't intentional but just happened that way, I'm enjoying fiction far more than I thought I would and wish I had started earlier. I certainly owe a lot to Huxley.
I recognised the title from 1001 Books, no surprise. Other than that, I've never heard of the author or the book. The storyline seems alright enough, but not something I'd be overly keen on reading, but the fact that you think it's a sort of a cult hit has me intrigued. All cultish books fascinates me, one being John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, have you read it? I think it might be on the list. And if not, then it must be on the Rory List (Rory being the girl on Gilmore Girls, the TV series)
I haven't read it, I may have to take a look at it though and see if it piques any interest in me.
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White Noise by Don DeLillo
Synopsis
Winner of the National Book Award, White Noise tells the story of Jack Gladney, his fourth wife, Babette, and four ultramodern offspring as they navigate the rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism. When an industrial accident unleashes an "airborne toxic event," a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladneys-radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings-pulsing with life, yet suggesting something ominous. (Taken from Goodreads)
My Thoughts
I picked this up at a charity shop recently based on the fact that I've seen Don DeLillo mentioned many times in the '1001 Books' list. The synopsis on the back sounded interesting to me and I started with loads of enthusiasm for it. Sadly this was short lived.
While I didn't dislike the book I can't say that I get what all the fuss is about really. I found the writing style ok, nothing earth shattering stood out to me. There is also no real plot to speak of and I found the characters very unrealistic. I found myself wondering during some parts of the book where it was going as it seemed to drift here and there at times. I really hope there is more for me in some of DeLillo's other books as he has many more in the '1001 Books' list but this one seems to be widely regarded as his best.
5/10
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Day 21 – Favourite book from your childhood
I have good memories of an old book that I used to read in bed every night when I should have been sleeping. It was an old battered green hardback called The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. At the time I had no idea who it was by but research leads me to believe it was by Julius Lester. I still don't know where it came from and neither do my parents.
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Ooops, I seem to have let this slip for a day or two, time for an update.
Day 18 – A book that disappointed you
American Psycho, I really wanted to like this book but I felt really felt let down by it. I didn't like the writing style particularly and I felt that at times the sexual violence had no purpose except to shock and that it was very over the top.
Day 19 – Favourite book turned into a movie
The Whale Rider. I think I've already mentioned this book in an earlier question, its that great. The movie is a perfect accompaniment to the book. It uses native actors for the vast majority of the parts and this lends big deal of authenticity to it.
Day 20 – Favourite romance book
I haven't read any romance books so I can't give an answer.
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Day 17 – Favourite quote from your favourite book
I don't remember any quotes from books at all. I've always found it a little odd that people do but it seems to be quite a common thing so maybe its me thats odd in that respect. I admire a turn of phrase or a piece of monologue from time to time but never enough to lodge it in my brain for any period of time.
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Ok, so this thread is official launched
I've got some ideas as to what I want to read next year. I want to be able to strike some more books off the '1001' list, preferably some of the more modern titles. I also want to expand the range of countries of authors I read, The Kite Runner was a real highlight of 2011 for me so its given me a push to explore this. I also want to get 1 tome read in 2012, either Crime & Punishment or Ulysses which I plan to read along side other things I'm read to prevent me getting bogged down too much.
I've got a while pile of WWII and Cold War books that I bought last year that I'm still to read. I may as well just accept that there is no way I'm going to stop reading non-fiction. I'll try to at least alternate with fiction as I go along or read 1 fiction & 1 non-fiction title at a time.
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Books Acquired
The Fear Index - Robert Harris (Xmas Gift)
Through My Eyes - Tim Tebow (Xmas Gift)
The Human Stain - Philip Roth (Xmas Gift)
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (Xmas Gift)
2666 - Roberto Bolano (Xmas Gift)
The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen (Xmas Gift)
The Dead Women of Juarez - Sam Hawken (Xmas purchase)
The Savage Altar - Asa Larsson (Xmas purchase)
Generation Kill - Evan Wright (Xmas purchase)
Death in Perugia - John Follain (Xmas purchase)
The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo
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Wish List
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
IQ84 - Haruki Murakami
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
Snuff - Chuck Palahniuk
Choke - Chuck Palahniuk
All Hell Let Loose - Max Hastings
Empire State - Adam Christopher
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie
People Who Eat Darkness - Richard Lloyd Parry
Three Comrades - Erich Maria Remarque
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To Be Read
Fiction
Age of Reason - Jean Paul Sartre
All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
Alone In Berlin - Hans Fallada
Archangel - Robert Harris
Cairo Swan Song - Mekkawi Said
Casino Royale - Ian Fleming
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
Contact - Carl Sagan
Crime & Punishment - Dostoyevsky
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Enigma - Robert Harris
Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Germinal - Emile Zola
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Money - Martin Amis
Moth Smoke - Mohsin Hamid
Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
Pompeii - Robert Harris
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
Slam - Nick Hornby
Smiley's People - John Le Carre
The Black Dahlia - James Ellroy
The Collectors - David Baldacci
The Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac
The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie
The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad
The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
Ulysses - James Joyce
Non-Fiction
Arnhem: Operation Market Garden - Lloyd Clark
Berlin - Antony Beevor
Berlin Soldier - Helmut Altner
Defying Hitler - Sebastian Haffner
Fermat's Last Theorem - Simon Singh
Selling Hitler - Robert Harris
The Mitrokhin Archive - Christoper Andrew
The Origin of the Species - Charles Darwin
The Terminal Spy - Alan Cowell
Triplex - Nigel West
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I set myself a target of 50 books last year and fell a little short. I didn't end up logging every book I read which was a bit of a disappointment. 2011 was a good year of books for me, the stuff I read I mostly enjoyed with the exceptions being few and far between. The classics I read really surprised me as did the fact that I just can't help but read non-fiction on a regular basis.
So here are the books I've read so far in 2012.
01. The Fear Index by Robert Harris
02. The Savage Altar by Asa Larsson
03. Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow
04. I'm With Fatty by Edward Ugel
05. Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
06. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
07. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
08. Fly By Wire by William Langewiesche
09. The Dead Women of Juarez by Sam Hawken
10. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
11. Trafficked by Sophie Hayes
12. Slam by Nick Hornby
13. Going Buddhist by Peter J Conradi
14. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
15. How to Practice by The Dalai Lama
16. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
17. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
18. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
19. Carra by Jaime Carragher
20. The Anatomy of England by Jonathan Wilson
21. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
22. Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk
23. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
24. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
25. Super Casino by Pete Earley
26. Pao by Kerry Young
27. Around The World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
28. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
29. Task Force Black by Mark Urban
30. Nemesis by Jo Nesbo
31. Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
32. Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
33. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
34. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
35. The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo
36. The Infiltrators by Philip Etienne
37. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
38. Skunk Works by Ben Rich
39. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
40. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
41. Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming
42. After Dark by Haruki Murakami
43. Underground by Haruki Murakami
44. I Am the Secret Footballer by Anonymous
45. Bloggs 19 by Tony Thompson
46. Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh
47. The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo
48. To Live Outside the Law by Leaf Fielding
49. Black Hearts by Jim Frederick
50. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
51. The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton
52. Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
53. The Upgrade by Paul Carr
54. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
55. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
56. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
57. Brotherhood of Warriors by Aaron Cohen
58. 1984 by Geroge Orwell
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Day 16 – Favourite female character
Easy, Lisbeth Salander from the Millenium Trilogy. I loved the books and a huge part of that is down to the character of Lisbeth Salander. I really like everything about her, the broken childhood, being an outsider, brooding, the tattoos everything. The balance of her against Blomkvist is great. I was a little sad to reach the end knowing that there are no more books.
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Day 15 – Favourite male character
I was trying not to pick a character from a book I've read this year and its proving tricky. So I've given up on that idea and I'm going to pick Cicero from the books by Robert Harris. He isnt a character in the truest sense as he did exist and his exploits are documented. Harris fleshes out the character very well and I really like the way that his failings are exposed as well as his triumphs.
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The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Synopsis
A novella, The Old Man and Sea tells the story of an old fisherman, Santiago, and his long lusty struggle isn't so much over one fish, but the act of living—living fully, actively, robustly. (Taken from Goodreads)
My Thoughts
My first dip into some Hemingway and I decided on something short in case I didnt like it. I shouldn't have worried because I enjoyed the book. I have to admit I am a little surprised at the really high acclaim that this is held in by some. I found it to be a good story but not much else. One thing I did really like was the simplicity of the writing, it wasnt over the top.
There is little else for me to add, excpet for the fact I will be searching out some more Hemingway soon.
7/10
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Day 14 – Favourite book of your favourite writer
Umm, this is a really tricky one to answer. I guess I will pick Lustrum. I've reviewed it recently so I wont add much extra here. Needless to say, its a great read and mixes Roman political history and drama really well. Its a great second book in the series and I can't wait for the last one to be written.
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These were both good. Unfortunately my former dentist gave away the ending of All Quiet... after he saw me reading it in the waiting room. I was not amused!
Is that why he is your former dentist?
Day 13 – Your favourite writer
I would say probably Robert Harris, I love the way he mixes fiction with history. I can't wait for the 3rd Cicero book to come out as I loved the first two. I never would have expected to like Roman politics in a novel but he makes it work and keeps it really interesting. I also really liked Fatherland, which is a novel set in post war Germany as if Hitler had won the war, a real fascinating idea.
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Slave Girl by Sarah Forsyth
Synopsis
Sarah Forsyth has spent most of her life in fear. Born in Newcastle in 1976, from the age of three, the very people who were meant to be looking after and protecting her were sexually abusing her. Somehow overcoming the hurt and heartbreak of this horrific childhood, Sarah managed to build a new and happy life for herself as a nursery nurse. Then, one day, Sarah spotted a newspaper advert for a job in a creche in Amsterdam. Thrilled by the prospect of a fresh start away from Newcastle and all the memories it held, she eagerly signed up. But within minutes of stepping off the plan in Amsterdam her life began to fall apart. There was no creche and no job: Sarah was a victim of sex-trafficking. That night, a just twenty-one years of age, her life - her real life, her life as Sarah Forsyth - ended. Fed cocaine and cannabis, and forced at gunpoint to work as a prostitute in the Red Light District of Amsterdam, Sarah was turned from a young innocent English girl into a desperate and terrified crack 'lady of the night'. Riddled with fear about what her pimps would do to her if they caught her trying to run away, it took Sarah almost a year to find the strength to fight back and escape. But, unlike many of the girls that she was forced to live and work beside, she did get away. Sarah Forsyth is a survivor. This is her heart-rending story. (Taken from Amazon)
My Thoughts
I like a good bit of true crime and over the past few years I've read a good few titles and particularly enjoyed 3,096 Days by Natascha Kampusch at the start of the year. Based on this and the great reviews this got on Amazon I decided to read this. The book is the true story of Sarah, a British woman who is kidnapped and forced into prostitution in Amsterdam. She was also abused by her father and by a care system that was meant to protect her.
I found it to be a very fast read but I have to say that I am at a loss to how it got such good reviews. There is nothing wrong with it in particular but it brings nothing new to the table in my opinion. The writing is particularly weak, perhaps understandable for Forsyth but Tim Tate worked as a researcher and part of the Roger Cook investigative team. I assume he was brought on board or took the decision to write the book due to the fact that this is his field. If I compare it to 3,096 days the writing is years apart.
The story is wretched and pretty horrific but I just can't help but feel they missed a trick. Occasionally emotion creeps in but its far too occasional. Also unlike 3,096 Days we don't get behind Forsyth's thought process during the experience but perhaps I am being too harsh, she was a drug addict at the time. The flow of the book is a bit of a mess as well, it follows a time line but its a bit all over the shop. I had far higher hopes for this book than it delivered and I would be unlikley to recommend it to anyone. It could have been so much more than it ended up being.
5/10
First read of 2012?
in General Book Discussions
Posted
I am going to go with The Fear Index by Robert Harris. I've enjoyed all his work that I've read so far and can't think of a better way to start the year.