~Andrea~ Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 (edited) This year I will aim for 20 books (since I didn't quite reach my target of 25 last year. I am also in the first quarter of The Stand so that's an instant handicap.) I will try not to be too prescriptive or put myself under too much pressure. Absolute must reads for 2008: The Virgin Suicides - J Egenides (tick) E11even terrible months - R L Royle (tick) The ghost writer - John Harwood (tick) Guards Guards - Terry Pratchett (tick) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (tick) Hooray all ticked!! Other TBR bookshelf: Minnette Walters - The shape of snakes Minnette Walters - Acid Row PD James - A Certain Justice Wilkie Collins The Woman in White Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales (modern translation) From the Holy Mountain - William Dalrymple Thomas Hardy Far from the madding crowd Joanna Trollope - The men and the girls Justin Cartwright - The promise of happiness Damaged - Cathy Glass James Herbert - Haunted Othello The Merchant of Venice King Lear Julius Caesar Twelfth night A Winter's tale Lucy's monster - R L Royle Misery - Stephen King Pet Sematary - Stephen King The face - Dean Koontz Dark rivers of the heart - Dean Koontz ShadowFire - Dean Koontz Strange Places, Questionable People - John Simpson Man and Boy - Tony Parsons Logic - A very short introduction Informal Logic Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle The Power and the Glory - Grahame Greene Star Gazing - Linda Gillard Any way you want me - Lucy Diamond Marley and Me - John Grogan The Five people you meet in heaven - Mitch Albom Wish list: The Testament of Gideon Mack A spot of bother - Mark Haddon James Herbert - The Secret of Crickley Hall Walking Ollie - Stephen Foster The House on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier The Secret Garden Superstition - David Ambrose LOTR - Tolkein Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier Something Wicked this way comes - Ray Bradbury The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury The Time Travellers Wife The book of lost things - John Connelly Chocky - John Wyndham The Kraken awakes - John Wyndham Winnie the Pooh - (complete short stories and poems) A. A. Milne Rumble Fish - Susan Hinton Dirk Gently's Holistic detective agency - Douglas Adams (reread) The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery Stuck in neutral - Terry Trueman The Oyster House Siege - Jay Rayner Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah IT - Stephen King The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean Auel Orthodoxy - G K Chesterton Weaveworld - Clive Barker A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle The five people you meet in heaven - Mitch Albom The Book Thief - Markus Zusak For One More Day - Mitch Albom Boy A - Jonathan Trigell The Third Man & The Fallen Idol - Grahame Greene Footprints in the sand - Sarah Challis Emotional Geology - Linda Gillard The Heaven Tree - Edith Pargeter The Haunting of Toby Jugg - Dennis Wheatley Just Courage - Gary Haugen (IJM) Savages - Shirley Conran The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova The Talented Mr Ripley - Patricia Highsmith Authors to try: Phillip K Dick Anthony Horowitz David Baddiel Anne Tyler Kelley Armstrong Raven Hart Tess Gerritson Sam Hayes Jonathon Coe John Updike 2008 Reading: The Stand - Stephen King (10/10 07 - 10/02/08) Life of Pi - Yann Martel (8/10 05/01/08 - 12/01/08) Great Expectations (audio, abridged) - Charles Dickens (7/10 15/01/08 - 01/02/08) Guards Guards - Terry Pratchett (5/10 10/02/08 - 01/03/08) Eats Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss (10/10 01/03/08 - 02/03/08) The Virgin suicides - J Eugenides (7/10 03/03/08 - 21/03/08) On Writing - Stephen King (9/10 15/03/08 - 25/03/08) Love Rules - Freya North (Unfinished 26/03/08 - 30/03/08) Fear Nothing - Dean Koontz (8/10 30/03/08 - 15/04/08) Shakespeare - Bill Bryson (8/10 15/04/08 - 23/04/08) Divine Nobodies - Jim Palmer (7/10 21/04/08 - 01/06/08) The Ghost Writer - John Harwood (10/10 24/04/08 - 17/05/08)) Carrie - Stephen King (9/10 19/05/08 - 30/05/08) Short Cuts - Ray Carver (19/05 - ) The Jungle Book (book 1) - Rudyard Kipling (5/10 31/05/08 - 13/06/08) The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom (9/10 08/06/08 - 24/06/08) Dinner with Mugabe - Heidi Holland (9/10 14/06/08 - 17/07/08) Out of the Silent Planet - C S Lewis (8/10 25/06/08 - 06/07/08) Bridget Jones, Edge of Reason - Helen Fielding (7/10 08/07/08 - 04/08/08) African History: A very short Introduction - OUP (18/07/08 - 23/08/08) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling (9/10 23/07/08 - 21/08/08) How to talk to a widower - Jonathon Tropper (unfinished - 12/08/08 - 15/08/08) The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham (8/10 18/08/08 - 31/08/08) Entertaining Angels - Joanna Bell (01/08/08 - unfinished) Eleven Terrible Months - R L Royle (7/10 03/09/08 - 28/09/08) Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie (6/10 12/09/08 - 20/09/08) The Mind of God - Paul Davis (28/09/08 - 30/11/08) This Sweet Sickness - Patricia Highsmith (10/10 30/09/08 - 14/10/08) Persuasion - Jane Austen (7/10 15/10/08 - 19/11/08) Over You - Lucy Diamond (20/11/08 - 16/12/08) -----to be carried forward to Informal Logic - (03/12/08 - ) Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy (17/12/08 - ) Edited January 3, 2009 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 Well The Stand is absolutely riveting!! I can hardly bare to put it down. I'm just under half way and feel I am rushing to finish so that I can get stuck into the Life of Pi for Jan's reading circle. So I have decided to take a little break from The Stand to start Life of Pi so that I can get back to The Stand and fully concentrate on it and savour every moment . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Library Nook Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Oh I love The Stand sooo much! I love the film version as well:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 I'd forgotten I'd put that on there . I seem to remember you didn't like it. It's probably quite low down on my priorities but I'm sure I'll get around to it at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Glad you're enjoying The Stand, FishandChips. I wish I could remember the magic of reading it for the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 It's great isn't it. I feel totally immersed in that world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aromaannie Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I really enjoyed Minnette Walters - Acid Row. I hthink it's the best ones of her's that I read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Thanks for that. I've had it for ages. I should really try and read it this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 Finished Life of Pi, and enjoyed it (8/10), although maybe because I took it fairly simply at face value. Any deep symbolic meanings (beyond the obvious) may have been lost on me but I will comment on the reading circle thread. So now back to the wonderful The Stand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 Started Great Expectations the other day on audio (it takes me ages to get through audio books) The Stand is riveting at the moment. The women from 'the zoo' have just escaped and Stu and Fran have just got together, unaware that Harold knows. Harold is now 'helping' Stu with the rocket launchers. Fantastic stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 20, 2008 Author Share Posted January 20, 2008 Thoroughly enjoying Great Expectations on audio, read by Hugh Laurie. It's a bit of a cheat because it's abridged, (I assume, as it's only 3 hours) but I did start reading Great Expectations once and gave up half way through . I think there's very little chance I would have another stab at reading it so this is an easy way to get some completion. It's very well read by Hugh Laurie. He really brings out the humour in the book. Most of the voices he does for the characters are great, but some of the London ones do tend to sound a bit Australian . And the voice of Estella sounds like an old woman. But I am definitely glad I bought this set of audio books. I'm loading them all up on my PC and will play them on my mp3 player. Can't wait! The Stand is still tripping along nicely. I'm on page 764. I wonder if I'm ever going to finish it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 The Stand is really good at the moment. I've just got to the bit where Kojak has turned up in the free zone. I just loved reading a chapter written from a dog's point of view. Haven't listened to Great Expectations for ages. I must really finish it off. I'm so slow with audio books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 ^Aww, I love that part. It's so sweet. I couldn't believe they had left him behind . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 Finally finished great expectations. The fact that it is abridged means there are lots of plot twists and turns in a very short space which made it a bit confusing. Very good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 Woo hoo finished The Stand. Excellent, 10/10. I'll put my comments on the reading circle thread. Next I think I'll go for Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 ^ Well done! Glad you enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thank you It was a bit of a marathon but I got there in the end. And it was well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Glad you enjoyed The Stand - it's one of my all-time favourites. Hope you enjoy Guards! Guards! as much - Pratchett is one of my very few "keeper" authors - I have all the Discworld books on my permanent shelves as I do tend to reread them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks. I fancied something a bit lighter after The Stand. I read the first 6 or 7 years ago, but my OH has the whole lot, so I thought I might give the city watch series a whirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 Hmm I'm not overly enjoying Guards Guards. I will persevere though. I just wanted to try some of his later work since it's supposed to be better. Yes i know this is one of his early books but it's the first of a series i wanted to try. Maybe i should have gone with the Moist Van Lipwig one. Oh well, I'm only 50 pages in. Maybe it will pick up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Well this is picking up a little. I think my problem is I like some characters and not others. I find the secret society of brothers very irritating. The city watch characters are better, but the beginning of the book is weighted in favour of the former. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 I picked up Conversations with God this week which I bought on impulse from Amazon. What a disappointment. Serves me right for buying without researching properly. I'm sorry but I thought it was nonsense. Sorry but I just don't buy it and feel like an idiot for wasting my money. I read 70 odd pages and just can't stomach any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 It's taking me soooo long to read this Terry Pratchett. I hadn't been enjoying it, I think I wasn't finding the characters very well drawn. The book isn't badly written and even makes me laugh but I was finding it difficult to picture what was going on and picture the characters. I was 2/3 in and very close to giving up. Last night however it picked up. I really enjoyed the bit where The dragon is king and has his privy counsellors to the palace for dinner. Less than a hundred pages to go now so hopefully I will enjoy the rest of it and pick up a bit of speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 Phew finally finished Guards! Guards! It was OK. I'm still set on reading a later work of TP but this one didn't blow me away. It was readable but not greatly engaging. It picked up towards the end but the characters did not interest me hugely. There were some very good bits, but overall I found the quality a bit patchy and the same with the humour; sometimes it made me laugh, sometimes it just irritated me. 5/10 Almost finished the excellent Eats shoots and leaves. Now does that require a comma? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 Finished Eats, Shoots and Leaves, an excellent, interesting and funny book that really brings the dusty subject of punctuation playfully to life. I found this short book a very entertaining read and learned stuff too , not just about usage, but also about the history of punctuation. Great stuff. 10/10. Next up: The Virgin Suicides Jeffery Eugenides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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