Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2009

[Kylie]

Here's the list of books I bought on the weekend:

 

Paul Davies: The Mind of God

Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black: The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1

Janet Evanovich: One for the Money

Janet Evanovich: Two for the Dough

Joseph Heller: Closing Time

Jerome K Jerome: Three Men in a Boat

Ursula Le Guin: The Wind's Twelve Quarters

Philip Roth: The Plot Against America

Georges Simenon: Maigret at the Crossroads

Simon Winchester: The Surgeon of Crowthorne

Tom Wolfe: The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby

[rwemad]

Jerome K Jerome: Three Men in a Boat

 

Laugh out loud funny.

 

It is one of the few books that I will re read, if ever I feel down it never fails to cheer me. I love it and hope you enjoy it just as much.

[~Andrea~]

Paul Davies: The Mind of God

I read that last year and enjoyed it. Some of it was a bit mind bending, but he's generally very readable. It was interesting stuff. I look forward to hearing your opinion.

[Kylie]

Thanks for your thoughts I'm looking forward to reading both books even more now. Although The Mind of God will probably be put off for a little while. It's one that I will really need to be in the mood for.

[Kylie]

I finished The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. yesterday. It was quite an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading more (particularly when most people seem to say they get much better). I must admit, I found the book a little...disjointed, or something. I felt like I wasn't keeping track of it very well, although that may have just been my frame of mind.

 

I also just finished 1066 and All That by WC Sellar and RJ Yeatman. Most disappointing book of the year so far for me. Unless you're British or know British history very well, I'd say don't waste your time. Nearly all of the references went straight over my head, and the jokes that I did get just weren't funny at all (it's supposed to be a very funny book).

 

Now on to Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta, an Australian author of young adult fiction. I studied her most well-known book, Looking for Alibrandi, in high school and really enjoyed it.

Edited April 30, 2009 by Kylie

[DanC_84]

I finished The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. yesterday. It was quite an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading more (particularly when most people seem to say they get much better). I must admit, I found the book a little...disjointed, or something. I felt like I wasn't keeping track of it very well, although that may have just been my frame of mind.

 

I also just finished 1066 and All That by WC Sellar and RJ Yeatman. Most disappointing book of the year so far for me. Unless you're British or know British history very well, I'd say don't waste your time. Nearly all of the references went straight over my head, and the jokes that I did get just weren't funny at all (it's supposed to be a very funny book).

 

Now on to Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta, an Australian author of young adult fiction. I studied her most well-known book, Looking for Alibrandi, in high school and really enjoyed it.

 

 

LOL, blast from the past!

 

I remember studying it in Grade 10 English and loving that book.

[Kylie]

I studied it in Year 11, as I recall. Have you seen the movie as well?

[DanC_84]

I studied it in Year 11, as I recall. Have you seen the movie as well?

 

Yeah I have seen the movie. It has been a while but I remember liking it.

[Kylie]

I finished Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta recently. She's a terrific writer of young adult fiction. It reminded me in places of her best-known work, Looking for Alibrandi, and was just as good in my opinion. 8/10

 

I also read The Rum Diary by Hunter S Thompson, which I thought was excellent. It's not quite as crazy as his later works, but it was pretty terrific all the same. His descriptions of San Juan and surrounds really set the scene for me. I very much enjoy his style of writing and the vivid characters he creates. 9/10

[Kylie]

I'm reading The Diary of Anne Frank at the moment and enjoying it (as much as one can 'enjoy' a true story about the suffering of victims of WWII). She's quite a remarkable writer.

 

Today I bought four books by the well-known Australian author of children's picture books, Graeme Base:

 

Animalia

The Eleventh Hour

The Sign of the Seahorse

The Waterhole

 

It was a bargain set for the four books, so I couldn't resist In the bookshops I would have only gotten one of those books for the same price. It was mainly Animalia and The Eleventh Hour I wanted: two books from my childhood that I was silly enough to give away at some stage.

[DanC_84]

God you buy some books Kylie! Thanks for your take on 'The Rum Diary' I am definately going to add it to my next Amazon basket.

[Kylie]

Thanks Dan. I'm going to try to hold off for a little while now. The next major bookfair is in September so I'll try to be (reasonably) good until then.

[poppy]

I'm reading The Diary of Anne Frank at the moment and enjoying it (as much as one can 'enjoy' a true story about the suffering of victims of WWII). She's quite a remarkable writer.

 

Today I bought four books by the well-known Australian author of children's picture books, Graeme Base:

 

Animalia

The Eleventh Hour

The Sign of the Seahorse

The Waterhole

 

It was a bargain set for the four books, so I couldn't resist In the bookshops I would have only gotten one of those books for the same price. It was mainly Animalia and The Eleventh Hour I wanted: two books from my childhood that I was silly enough to give away at some stage.

 

I remember looking at Animalia with my kids, the illustrations are amazing. Didn't know Graeme Base was Australian, a very gifted guy.

[Kylie]

An update is overdue...

 

I finished The Diary of Anne Frank and thought it was a wonderful read. It was a little heart-breaking nearing the end, knowing what was coming. Anne was such a mature young person and a terrific writer. It was a joy to watch her grow throughout the book. 9/10

 

I finished The Princess Bride by William Goldman this morning. Seeing as I wasn't overly impressed with the movie when I saw it a couple of years ago, I had some difficulty getting over my reservations towards the book. Happily, I managed to get into it and enjoy it properly. The writing is terrific and the story really does have everything. It's like a condensed version of The Count of Monte Cristo (in terms of the themes throughout the book). Very funny and enjoyable. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the movie again. I'm sure I'll have a better appreciation for it this time. 10/10

Edited May 20, 2009 by Kylie

[Kylie]

I finished The Messenger by Markus Zusak last night. As I posted in another thread:

 

It was definitely a good read, but not in the same league as The Book Thief for me. There's a similar style of writing ('the words fell at his feet' sort of thing) and the storyline itself is very interesting. It keeps you guessing to the end.

 

Personally, I found some of the characters' actions and words a little implausible. The story is set in middle-class suburbia in Sydney, and seeing as that's where I live (the story is clearly set in one of the suburbs near to where I live), I can relate to a lot of the characters. Perhaps that's why some of the characters' reactions seemed a little strange to me. Still, it was a very good read and I would recommend it if you enjoyed The Book Thief. Just be prepared for a very different story.

 

Now I've started a re-read of The Dead of the Night, the second book in John Marsden's Tomorrow... series.

[Kylie]

I made a quick trip to Borders yesterday and bought Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room! The plot is interesting so I thought I'd post a synopsis:

 

It is 1999 [the book was published in 1966] and the planet's population has exploded. The 35 million inhabitants of New York City run their TVs off pedal power, riot for water, loot and trample for lentil 'steaks', and are controlled by sinister barbed wire dropped from the sky. When a gangster is murdered during a blistering Manhattan heat wave, city cop Andy Rusch is under pressure to solve the crime, but also captivated by the victim's beautiful girlfriend. It is going to be difficult to catch a killer, let alone get the girl, in the crazy streets crammed full of people, and a world going into meltdown.

 

Written in 1966 and made into the science-fiction film Soylent Green, Make Room! Make Room! is a witty and unnerving story about stretching the earth's resources, and the human spirit, to breaking point.

[Kylie]

I finished The Dead of the Night by John Marsden the other day. Just as wonderful as always (I must have read this book at least a half a dozen times - it's actually starting to fall apart).

 

On the weekend I won an ebay auction for Aldous Huxley's Island. Then I visited several bookshops in the mountains and came home with:

 

John Banville: The Untouchable

Graham Greene: Travels with My Aunt

Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

Thomas Pynchon: Vineland

 

At the moment I'm reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis (the third book, chronologically, in The Chronicles of Narnia) and I'm also re-reading The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. I was trying to get this one finished by tomorrow because there's a book club show on TV that will be discussing it. I wanted to finish it nice and close to the deadline so I padded out my May reading with other short books, but of course now I've left it too late.

[frankie]

On the weekend I won an ebay auction for Aldous Huxley's Island. Then I visited several bookshops in the mountains and came home with:

 

Graham Greene: Travels with My Aunt

Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

 

Congrats on the ebay win Kylie!

 

The Curious Incident is one of my favorite reads, I hope you enjoy it! I've also got Travels with My Aunt but haven't read it yet, I'll be keeping an eye to see if you liked it, whenever you have the chance to read it

[Kylie]

Thanks Frankie! Even though I have heaps of other books that I haven't read yet, I think Curious Incident may be my next read because I've been wanting to read it for so long. It also looks like a reasonably quick read. I flicked through it last night to check out the style of writing and I think I'm going to enjoy it

[frankie]

It is quick to read and really enjoyable so you'd finish it in no time! Happy reading!

 

I see you're going through The Great Gatsby at the mo, that's a good one as well. I just read it for the first time a few months ago.

[Kylie]

Yesterday I finished reading both The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis and The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (stayed up late to finish it).

 

I found the former utterly charming and a magical read. The Chronicles of Narnia seem to be getting better as I go along.

 

The Great Gatsby was a re-read and I hadn't necessarily remembered all the events that happened at the end, so it was almost like reading it again for the first time. I think I also enjoyed it more the second time around. I really enjoy reading about the 1920s; I'll have to have a look at what other books on my TBR pile fit that criteria.

 

Today I started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I'm up to p 65 already and it's going very well.

 

Thanks for your comments, Frankie. I'm glad you enjoyed The Great Gatsby too.

[Kylie]

I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in one day and thought it was wonderful. I'll repeat here the comments I made on the book-specific thread:

 

I just finished this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a few laughs, but overall it was sadder than I expected. I've been wanting to learn more about Aspergers for some time, and this book provided some great insights.

 

I loved the character of Chris and really felt for both him and his father. A top read and recommended to anyone who hasn't read it (I don't think there are many BCF members left who haven't read it!)

 

And, as I suspected, I enjoyed it much more than A Spot of Bother.

 

Tomorrow morning, I'll start reading Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde.

[Kylie]

I received Island by Aldous Huxley in the mail yesterday. The book was listed as new in the auction when I bought it, but the postie stuffed the book into my thin mail slot instead of leaving it at the door. It took me several minutes of wrangling to get it out of the slot, and of course the book now looks secondhand because it got all bent (the person who posted it had even written 'don't bend' on the envelope. Grr! Why can't they take more care with things? My front door was only 10 metres away - he/she should have left it there (as they've done in the past) or left me a card to pick it up at the post office (as they've also done in the past). I was so annoyed last night.

[Kylie]

I bought two books today:

 

George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four (cover at Penguin.co.uk)

George Orwell: Animal Farm (cover at Penguin.co.uk)

 

I already own and have read both books, but I had secondhand copies and didn't really like the cover of Animal Farm. Because I had gift vouchers and reward points to redeem, I decided to get nice matching editions. I actually like the cover of my secondhand copy of 1984, so I'll probably keep that one (oh dear, now I'm buying multiple editions of books - I think I really do have a problem!)

 

Still reading Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde.

[lopeanha]

(oh dear, now I'm buying multiple editions of books - I think I really do have a problem!)

 

I do the same well almost, some books that I really like and own the german edition of it, I also get them in english (if that's the original language of the book).