Lauren's Reading List

[proserpina]

I have so far read 51 books in 2007.

 

I had hoped to get to 100 but if I am going to do that I am going to have to read like a demon and I don't think it'll be possible. Maybe I'll go for 75.......

 

Currently reading

 

Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho

Stalin's Ghost - Martin Cruz Smith

 

Immediate TBR

 

Blood Sisters - Barbara & Stephanie Keating

Cancer Ward - Alexandre Solzhenitsyn

For Whom The Bell Tolls - Earnest Hemingway

The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Four Letters of Love - Niall Williams

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living - Carrie Tiffany

Nineteen Seventy-Seven - David Peace

Surfacing - Margaret Atwood

The Red Queen - Margaret Drabble

Dead Air - Iain Banks

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

[~Andrea~]

Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

 

I fancy a few of those myself. Have often toyed with the idea of Iain Banks too.

[Kell]

I have a few of those in mind myself (you have several on there that are listed in the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die) - I'll look forward to hearing what you think of them.

[proserpina]

I'm afraid I have been rather lax about keeping up with my book blog.

 

I have clearly been reading far more than writing, seeing I have read 44 books since I posted this little under 2 months ago.

 

I still haven't finished this list though, I have been tempted by too many other books first. Oops.

 

Anyway, very quickly, this is what I thought of what I have read:

 

Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho

 

I always want to enjoy Coelho's books more than I actually do. This is a very straight forward read if you don't look too deeply into it but I don't think it was ever intended to be read that way. It certainly made me think about a thing or two.

 

Cancer Ward - Alexandre Solzhenitsyn

 

This was heavy going, I think I would call it dense. It did have a strangely enjoying narrative however, especially once I had got my head round the Russian names and patronyms. The subject matter is a tad depressing but does offer an insightful glance into a world we should be glad we never had to inhabit.

 

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

 

I didn't enjoy this at all, I did really try but it left me cold. I just wasn't drawn to the protagonist or the tale her had to tell. I was very glad it was only a short book and I didn't have to waste precious time on it.

 

Four Letters of Love - Niall Williams

 

I have had this on my book shelf for forever and never read it. It was a love story with plenty to say about fate and things that can't be explained. It made me think.

 

Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living - Carrie Tiffany

 

This book must have been completely unmemorable because I can barely remember a thing about it. I think it drifted along pleasantly enough but never actually gripped me enough to care, sadly.

 

Nineteen Seventy-Seven - David Peace

 

I don't usually read crime books and I only picked this up because it was on the "1001 Books" list. I am glad I did. I really enjoyed it.

 

Surfacing - Margaret Atwood

 

Dull. Dull. Dull. This is the first Atwood book I have read and I do hope the rest of her books aren't like this one.

 

The Red Queen - Margaret Drabble

 

I put off reading this for as long as possible, I don't know why but I think I decided that I wouldn't enjoy it. I was pleasantly surprised. The ancient narrative of the Queen was less interesting to me than the modern-day element of the story but insightful nonetheless.

 

Dead Air - Iain Banks

 

This rolled along quite nicely and I thought it a pleasant and fun way to spend a few hours.

 

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

 

I am so glad I persevered with this book. I very nearly put it down after 20 pages but flicked through the rest of the book and it got increasingly more enjoyable and engaging as the stories developed. I was very impressed at the clever way all the tales were linked.

[proserpina]

Currently my TBR pile is looking a little low. I am currently two-thirds of the way through The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw which I am really enjoying. It is primarily a really interesting story, told from three different perspectives, which helps keep the narrative fresh, I think.

 

Then I think I am going to read Blood Sisters by Barbara & Stephanie Keating, which I have been wanting to read for a while.

 

After that I am not sure, I have plenty of books I haven't yet read but I am not feeling particularly inspired by them so I think I shall be taking another trip to the library soon in an attempt to find something.

[Kylie]

Wow Lauren, does that mean you've read 95 books so far this year? I wish I could read that fast - it would help to keep my TBR pile down! Maybe I should do a course in speedreading.

 

I've only read one of Coelho's works, The Alchemist and I hated it. Nothing would induce me to pick up any more of his books!

 

The only Margaret Atwood I've read so far is The Handmaid's Tale, which I enjoyed quite a lot. Other members have enjoyed The Blind Assassin and Alias Grace as well. I think Atwood's writing style differs widely across books so maybe you'd like to try another one in future

 

I also enjoyed the way the stories were linked together in Cloud Atlas but I did struggle through some of them. I thought it was an OK read.

[haniirani]

I'd be interested to know why you hated The Alchemist Kylie? Veronika Decides to Die is a book I hope to read in the future.

[Kylie]

I thought it was a predictable story that was poorly told, and didn't have anything in it that can't be found in other fables. I was disappointed after all the hype.

[proserpina]

I am currently half way through Blood Sisters by Barbara and Stephanie Keating. The story is plodding along nicely and is interesting enough but I can't say I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed by the story or the setting.

[proserpina]

I took out a haul of library books last week which I'm starting to plough through.

 

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst

The Sea - John Banville (1001 Book Challenge)

Love in the Present Tense - Catherine Ryan Hyde

Alentejo Blue - Monica Ali (Olympic Challenge - Bangladesh)

The Translator - Leila Aboulela (Olympic Challenge - Sudan)

The Ringmaster's Daughter - Justein Gaardner (Olympic Challenge - Norway)

The Testament of Gideon Mack - James Robertson

Bitter Sweets - Roopa Farooki (Olympic Challenge - Pakistan)

Solibo Magnificent - Patrick Chamoiseau (Olympic Challenge - Martinique)

Geographies of Home - Loida Maritza Perez (Olympic Challenge - Dominican Republic)

The Abortionist's Daughter - Elisabeth Hyde

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz - Almudena Solana (Olympic Challenge - Spain)

Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre

 

I particularly enjoyed The Line of Beauty, which was nothing like I expected it to be but nonetheless a cracking read. It seemed to capture the tale of Thatcher's Britain in the 1980s; a heady mix of sex, drugs and politics.

[Adam]

Wow, those are quite the reading selections. You took all those from the library? In Canada I think there is like a four book maximum. They sound interesting though. Good luck with your books

[proserpina]

My local library allows 20 books to be taken out at a time, I usually take them back in batches as I read them, I have an ever-revolving TBR pile!

[Kylie]

Wow, you must live in a town of fast readers! Or are you allowed to borrow for a couple of months at a time or something?

 

I'll be interested to hear what you think of DBC Pierre. I haven't read any of his work but I've been curious about it.

[proserpina]

Books can be taken out for 3 weeks initially and renewed up to 3 times (as long as nobody else has reserved them) so potentially the books can be mine for 3 months. They never usually are in practice, as I am currently reading about 3-4 books a week......

 

I do think the allowance is very generous. Thank you Lancashire libraries.

 

I just wish I could finish Blood Sisters now, I'm getting more than a little fed up with having been reading the same book for so long (I was away for work last week and then went to see my boyfriend so I have been reading it since about Wednesday, ages for me!)

[Icecream]

I am in Lancashire too. I couldn't borrow 20 books at once though.I wish I still had the luxury of time to read. It is a great help to my mental health!

[JudyB]

My local library allows 20 books to be taken out at a time, I usually take them back in batches as I read them, I have an ever-revolving TBR pile!

 

 

We allow 15 but only 10 in one visit - most people comment that they couldn't carry that many at once!

[Angel]

In Kent we are allowed 12 books for adults and 8 for children. I tend to get out 7-8 at a time, the kids 4 each. Thats as much as DH can carry in the rucksack!! He's a strong boy!!

[proserpina]

I am mainly been able to read so much this year because I have been on a career break since March: travelling and volunteering so have had much more spare time than I would otherwise have and IA have really re-discovered my love of books. I have a new job starting in a month, however, so I think my reading will be very much more limited then.

 

I usually go to the library every week, when I can, and return what I have read in that time, so I don't have to carry 20 at once. I had been away for a few weeks recently so had 18 books to return in one sitting (at least half of them were hardbacks too!) I managed to cram them in a huge bag but I think one arm was longer than the other by the time I had finished lugging it about!

 

I finally finished Blood Sisters last night and started my 100th book this morning. I decided to read something quick and easy and picked up Adriana Trigiani's Milk Glass Moon. I had never read anything by her before but read a couple this year (Lucia Lucia and Queen of the Big Time). I loved them, finding them both to be so comforting and satisfying to read. So far Milk Glass Moon is proving itself to be no exception.

[proserpina]

I have finished a couple of slightly obscure books for the Olympic Challenge this week:

 

The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz by Almudena Solana, which was a very quick read, only 150 pages and I am so glad, I don't think I could have coped with any more! I thought it was a rather strange story about a woman in Madrid who wrote long, rambling letters to a recruitment agency because she wanted to become a caretaker in a residential building. It was positively surreal.

 

The Translator by Leila Aboulela, which I really enjoyed. Set in Aberdeen and Khartoum, this book was essentially a love story with a happy ending. I like those.