chesilbeach Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) Currently reading: Missing: Safe House by Meg Cabot Finished (143): Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka The Road Home by Rose Tremain Lucia Rising: Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson Lucia Rising: Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson Lucia Rising: Lucia In London by E. F. Benson The Girl From The Chartreuse by Pierre Pej Edited December 31, 2009 by chesilbeach Quote
Ben Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 Good luck with your challenge. 72 books is a good amount to get through! Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 23, 2009 Author Posted January 23, 2009 (edited) So far this year I've read: Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka The Road Home - Rose Tremain Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson I've just finished Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson today, which was a gem, and I'm absolutely loving the Mapp and Lucia series. I've also had a purge of my TBR list, simply because there are some books that have been on the list for four years, and I still don't feel the inclination to start them, so I've reduced the list to 78 books, but there are a further 14 on my wishlist. I'm still hoping to reduce my TBR pile to 20 before the end of the year, and to not buy anymore books until I've done that! Edited January 23, 2009 by chesilbeach Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 25, 2009 Author Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) So far this year I've read: Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka The Road Home - Rose Tremain Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson Miss Mapp - E. F. Benson Lucia In London - E. F. Benson After the purge of my TBR list, I succumbed to temptation in the book shop today, and I've added another five books Think I'll have a break from Mapp and Lucia series, and have something contemporary before starting the second anthology Edited January 30, 2009 by chesilbeach Quote
rwemad Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) After the purge of my TBR list, I succumbed to temptation in the book shop today, and I've added another five books Ha Ha I used to do this all the time. I find it easier just to stay away from the shops completely. Before Xmas I overheard my OH and son discussing a shopping trip and my son said "well, we know Mum will just be in the book shops all day" and my OH replied "yes, well I'm holding the plastic this time". Charity shops..... boot sales......... "uh oh, watch your mother there's a book stall!" I hate ALL other shops. You have a very varied and interesting list. I like to read all sorts too. I notice one by Penelope Lively that I haven't heard of that I may look up. I loved her 'Moon Tiger'. Have you read it? Edited January 26, 2009 by rwemad Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 26, 2009 Author Posted January 26, 2009 You have a very varied and interesting list. I like to read all sorts too. I notice one by Penelope Lively that I haven't heard of that I may look up. I loved her 'Moon Tiger'. Have you read it? I've never read any of her books before, but this was a 10p find in a charity shop, so I thought I'd give it a go. Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 26, 2009 Author Posted January 26, 2009 Decided to read The Girl from the Chartreuse by Pierre P Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 30, 2009 Author Posted January 30, 2009 (edited) Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka The Road Home - Rose Tremain Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson Miss Mapp - E. F. Benson Lucia In London - E. F. Benson The Girl from the Chartreuse - Pierre P Edited January 30, 2009 by chesilbeach Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 31, 2009 Author Posted January 31, 2009 Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka The Road Home - Rose Tremain Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson Miss Mapp - E. F. Benson Lucia In London - E. F. Benson The Girl from the Chartreuse - Pierre P Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 3, 2009 Author Posted February 3, 2009 Finished re-reading Lucia Victrix: Mapp and Lucia today, and enjoyed it even more on a second read, as this time, I'd read the previous novels in the series, so had a better understanding of where the characters had come from to get to this point of their story. Continuing the anthology, I've started the fifth book today, Lucia Victrix: Lucia's Progress, which even after one chapter I'm already loving it! Quote
everydayxangels Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 good luck with your depleting your TBR pile. I think we all have that problem. For One More Day was very comparable to his Five People You Meet In Heaven, and a very fast read. It only took me a couple hours. Good luck! Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 6, 2009 Author Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks everydayxangels, I think I'll need it, if I'm going to make a dent in that pile. Finished Lucia Victrix: Lucia's Progress this afternoon, and thoroughly enjoyed it (as predicted!). I had intended to go straight on to the final Mapp and Lucia book, but I've decided to take a detour into a couple of other books instead. After hearing an interview with her on the radio yesterday, I'm going to read A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff next. Quote
Nollaig Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 I saw a book today with Chesil Beach in the title. Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 6, 2009 Author Posted February 6, 2009 That would probably be On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. Although everyone in my book group raves about him, I've only read one other of his books (Saturday) which I found tedious, and my OH has read others which he thinks were awful and, annoyingly, he's usually right when it comes to books, so it's put me off reading any other books by Mr McEwan. Quote
Nollaig Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 I didn't know anything about it or him, it just reminded me of you when I saw it Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 7, 2009 Author Posted February 7, 2009 I've had a good couple of days reading, and this afternoon I finished A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff (review here), and I've started Honey and Dust by Piers Moore Ede, which is already fascinating, despite having only read 50 pages! Quote
Janet Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 That would probably be On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. Although everyone in my book group raves about him, I've only read one other of his books (Saturday) which I found tedious, and my OH has read others which he thinks were awful and, annoyingly, he's usually right when it comes to books, so it's put me off reading any other books by Mr McEwan. I read it last year. It's quite short and a quick read, so if you ever decide to read it just because of the title, it won't take too long! Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 Completed Honey and Dust by Piers Moore Ede this evening. A lovely change to the fiction I've been reading recently, with a mixture of memoir, natural history, anthropology and travel. I've reviewed it on my blog here Will be starting my last Mapp and Lucia book tonight, and although they are such witty, amusing books, I'm a little sad at finishing the series! Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 10, 2009 Author Posted February 10, 2009 Didn't actually start Trouble for Lucia until today, but gulped it down in two sittings, so my love affair with 1930's middle class village society is over for now. I've been told that I should read P. G. Wodehouse since I've loved the Mapp and Lucia series so much, but I think I'm going to continue trying to work through my existing TBR shelves before adding any more books to them (although OH does own a couple of Jeeves & Wooster omnibuses so I could sneak those onto the list without spending any money and feeling guilty!). Haven't yet decided what to read next, so going to contemplate that this evening, and pick something to take to work tomorrow to start during my lunch break. Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 10, 2009 Author Posted February 10, 2009 Decided to try For One More Day by Mitch Albom next ... wanted something contemporary but reasonably short, and hopefully a quick read. Enjoyed The Five People You Meet In Heaven, so I've got my fingers crossed for this one. Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 12, 2009 Author Posted February 12, 2009 I finished For One More Day by Mitch Albom yesterday, which I was a bit disappointed by (see my comments in the thread for that book here). This meant I felt I had to "treat" myself to something I was pretty much guaranteed to like, one of my favourite authors for entertainment, Meg Cabot, and luckily I had Queen of Babble in the Big City in my TBR pile. I'm not going to give a review of it with a synopsis, because if you haven't read the first Queen of Babble book, then it will give away the end, but it was exactly what I expected from Meg - a well written, fun, girly chick-lit book, the perfect pick me up. I know there is a third book in the series, and this one ends on a cliffhanger, so I can't wait to get the next one when it's published in May. But, I did have a massive problem with the book - the synopsis on the back of the book tells you a huge plot point that only happens on page 263 out of 307! Why do publishers have to do that? Doesn't anyone check these things? Who thinks it's a good idea to give away something that happens 90% of the way through the book????!!!! Jeez, some people Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 13, 2009 Author Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) I read Fire In The Blood by Ir Edited February 13, 2009 by chesilbeach Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 15, 2009 Author Posted February 15, 2009 I struggled through Miss Webster and Ch Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 20, 2009 Author Posted February 20, 2009 Not updated for a few days, but finished The Other Side of the Stars by Clemency Burton-Hill on Wednesday. It was pretty good for a debut novel and an entertaining read, but with sections of the story told by three different characters, it felt a bit lengthy. The author dealt well the contemporary story of Lara interspersed with the telling of the stories of her mother and father. Started Who's That Girl by Alexandra Potter. A light, fluffy chick-lit author, and I adored her first two novels, but felt the next few books didn't live up to the same standard. This one is starting off promisingly, and I'm hoping it's a full return to form. Quote
chesilbeach Posted February 21, 2009 Author Posted February 21, 2009 Just finished Who's That Girl? by Alexandra Potter, which was very enjoyable. I thought it was almost as good as her first two books, which I adored, and I'm so glad, because some of her books in between those and this one had disappointed me a lot, but this was very entertaining. I've got the latest Agatha Raisin book by M.C. Beaton from the library at the moment, so I'm going to curl up in the armchair this evening and devour the latest adventure of my favourite detective! Quote
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