Ruth Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 (edited) January 1. A Walk to Remember, by Nicholas Sparks (2.5/5) 2. The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin (3.5/5) 3. The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill (3/5) 4. The Best A Man Can Get, by John O'Farrell (5/5) 5. The Scent of the Night, by Andrea Camilleri (4.5/5) 6. Dissolution, by C.J. Sansom (4.75/5) 7. Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin (3.5/5) 8. The Glass Painter's Daughter, by Rachel Hore (3/5) 9. Cherry, by Matt Thorne (3/5) 10. Divisadero, by Michael Ondaatje (2.5/5) 11. Carrie, by Stephen King (3.5/5) February 12. Dead Simple, by Peter James (3.5/5) 13. God is Dead, by Ron Currie (5/5) 14. Dear Fatty, by Dawn French (3/5) 15. True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, by Sue Townsend (2.5/5) 16. The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, by Eva Rice (4.75/5) 17. Property, by Valerie Martin (3.75/5) 18. Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years, by Sue Townsend (4/5) 19. The Kalahari Typing School For Men, by Alexander McCall Smith (4.5/5) 20. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (4.5/5) March 21. Gringa in a Strange Land, by Linda Dahl (4/5) 22. Incendiary, by Chris Cleave (4.5/5) 23. The Vesuvius Club, by Mark Gatiss (4/5) 24. Ford County, by John Grisham (4/5) 25. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson (4.75/5) 26. 1989 The Berlin Wall: My Part in it's Downfall, by Peter Millar (4.25/5) 27. The Ice Queen, by Alice Hoffman (2.5/5) 28. Rounding the Mark, by Andrea Camilleri (4.5/5) 29. Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen (4/5) April 30. Lucy's Child, by Shaun Hutson (2.5/5) 31. The Vanishing, by Tim Krabbe (3/5) 32. Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult (5/5) 33. Hawk, by Brian Neary (3/5) 34. Home to Big Stone Gap, by Adriana Trigiani (5/5) 35. Slights, by Kaaron Warren (3/5) 36. 84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff (5/5) May 37. Country Pursuits, by Jo Carnegie (3/5) 38. Tricks of the Mind, by Derren Brown (4/5) 39. Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym (3.5/5) 40. The Patience of the Spider, by Andrea Camilleri (3.75/5) 41. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (4/5) 42. The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti (3.5) 43. Traitors of the Tower, by Alison Weir (3/5) 44. The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford (2/5) 45. After You'd Gone, by Maggie O'Farrell (4.5/5) June 46. Heart Shaped Box, by Joe Hill (3.5/5) 47. The Dare, by John Boyne (3/5) 48. The Equivoque Principle, by Darren Craske (3.5/5) 49. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott (4.25/5) 50. The Eleventh Plague, by Darren Craske (3.5/5) 51. Like Bees to Honey, by Caroline Smailes (4.5/5) July 52. Completely Unexpected Tales, by Roald Dahl (3.5/5) 53. Carnevale, by M.R. Lovric (3.5/5) 54.The Ballroom on Magnolia Street, by Sharon Owens (2/5) 55. e squared, by Matt Beaumont (3.75/5) August 56. The Interpretation of Murder, by Jed Rubenfeld (3.5/5) 57. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman (5/5) 58. Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman (3.5/5) 59. Bone by Bone by Bone, by Tony Johnston (3.5/5) 60. After You, by Julie Buxbaum (4/5) 61. Dracula, by Bram Stoker (1.5/5) 62. Second Hand Heart, by Catherine Ryan Hyde (2.5/5) September 63. The Birthing House, by Christopher Ransom (0.5/5) 64. A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (5/5) 65. Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, by Fannie Flagg (3.5/5) 66. American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld (5/5) October 67. Undead on Arrival, by Nick Smith (1/5) 68. The Bronze Horseman, by Paullina Simons (3.5/5) 69. Mr Chartwell, by Rebecca Hunt (5/5) 70. War On The Margins, by Libby Cone (4/5) 71. A Tiny Bit Marvellous, by Dawn French (3.75/5) 72. The One I Love, by Anna McPartlin (3.75/5) 73. Micka, by Frances Kay (4.25/5) November 74. Soul Catcher, by Michael White (3.75/5) 75. Few Are Chosen, by M.T. McGuire (3.5/5) 76. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (5/5) 77. What Was Lost, by Catherine O'Flynn (4.5/5) 78. Blacklands, by Belinda Bauer (3.5/5) 79. By Fire By Water, by Mitchell James Kaplan (4/5) December 80. The Tapestry of Love, by Rosy Thornton (4/5) 81. Continent, by Jim Crace (2/5) 82. The Shining, by Stephen King (3.25/5) 83. The Revenge of Captain Paine, by Andrew Pepper (3/5) 84. Memoirs of a Master Forger, by William Heaney (4.25/5) 85. Kill-Devil and Water, by Andrew Pepper (4.25/5) Edited December 31, 2010 by Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 (edited) It's officially 2010 - Happy New Year everyone! So when I wake up tomorrow, I will be starting A Walk to Remember, by Nicholas Sparks. Edited July 29, 2010 by Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 Finished A Walk to Remember - it was...okay, but very formulaic and somewhat preachy. Still, it was an undemanding read with a touching story at it's heart. Next up is The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 I enjoyed The Stepford Wives quite a lot. It's outdated now, but still a good fable. About to start The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 I read The Stepford Wives a few years back and, like you, although I found it dated I thought it a fantastic read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 I keep meaning to read The Stepford Wives, will add it to my reading list, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 About to start The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill. I really enjoyed that, Ruth. Hope you do too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hello Ruth and happy New Book Year 2010, I hope you find many, many great reads this year! Your reading list has been one which I have followed rather closely for a while now, I've found books such as The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein all thanks to you! I also noticed during the hols that you keep an actual book&movie blog and I started going through that too, and couldn't stop until I'd browsed through the whole of last year. For example, I found the movie Wristcutters from that blog and watched it during the hols with BF and we enjoyed it immensely. So thank you Ruth As for this year, The Stepford Wives sounds like an interesting read, I didn't know it was a book as well. I'm adding that to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 Oh Frankie, thank you so much for such a lovely message - I really am touched:) I hope you enjoy The Stepford Wives - I liked both the book and the film (I've only seen the original, although I'd like to see the remake at some point). Janet, I enjoyed The Woman in Black. It didn't creep me out as I thought it might, but it was a great story - very atmospheric. Next read is something a bit light hearted - The Best A Man Can Get, by John O'Farrell. I have read (and enjoyed) his non-fiction before now, but this is the first novel I will have read by him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hey Ruth, hope you enjoy your reading in 2010 and find some great novels! I eagerly await your reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 Thanks Ben:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 8, 2010 Author Share Posted January 8, 2010 Just finished reading The Best a Man Can Get, by John O'Farrell and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very touching and also very VERY funny. Highly recommended. I'm about to start reading The Scent of the Night, by Andrea Camilleri. This is the sixth book in the Inspector Montalbano series, and I enjoyed the first five, so hopefully this will be just as good:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 Really enjoyed The Scent of the Night. I recommend the whole Montalbano series to anybody who enjoys a bit of light hearted crime fiction. There is certainly a good mystery at the heart of each book, but for me, the enjoyment of the series comes from Montalbano's character and his eccentric band of colleagues. Lighted hearted, quirky and fun. My next read is going to be Dissolution, by C.J. Sansom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Ooh I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Dissolution! I bought the book about a month ago and got the sequels just recently, I hear the series is brilliant! I hope you enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Well, if you enjoy Dissolution as much as I did, you are in for a treat! I thought it was a terrific read - very atmospheric, with a murder mystery that kept me guessing throughout. I will definitely be reading the other books in this series before long! So I would certainly recommend this one, and I hope you like it Frankie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 17, 2010 Author Share Posted January 17, 2010 Finished reading Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin. It is one man's true diary of how he turned his skin from white to black and then travelled through the Southern US states to see how he was treated. It was written just over 50 years ago, so it is a little dated, and - thank goodness - the segregation laws which were in place at the time no longer exist. Nonetheless, it makes for compelling and disturbing reading. About to start The Glass Painter's Daughter, by Rachel Hore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Well, if you enjoy Dissolution as much as I did, you are in for a treat! I thought it was a terrific read - very atmospheric, with a murder mystery that kept me guessing throughout. I will definitely be reading the other books in this series before long! So I would certainly recommend this one, and I hope you like it Frankie:) I'm very pleased to hear you enjoyd the book so much, it got a really high rating as well I've been wanting to read historical novels (particularly ones that depict the atmosphere of the era to the point) for ages, and a murder mystery is always a plus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 I've just finished The Glass Painter's Daughter, by Rachel Hore. I enjoyed it, but the first half was much better than the second. I would definitely try more by this author though. About to start Cherry, by Matt Thorne:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Just finished reading Cherry,by Matt Thorne. It's a quick and engaging read, but it did veer off into the slightly-ridiculous area. I gave it 3 out of 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 (edited) About to start Divisadero, by Michael Ondaatje:) Edited January 24, 2010 by Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 I've just finished my 10th book of the year - Divisadero, by Michael Ondaatje. I'm not really sure what to make of it. It started out in one direction and then changed pace without warning. Interesting read though, and the writing is certainly eloquent. I just kind of feel that I missed the point somewhere along the way. About to start Carrie, by Stephen King:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 Today I read Carrie, by Stephen King. This was his debut novel and he describes his own earlier work as "raw." I would agree with that to an extent, but this book demonstrates that King had the power to grip his readers from the very start of his career. Very enjoyable read. About to start Dead Simple, by Peter James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 I enjoyed Dead Simple - very pacy crime novel, which I found hard to put down. Now going to start reading God is Dead, by Ron Currie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 I enjoyed Dead Simple - very pacy crime novel, which I found hard to put down. Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much, I've been wondering for a while if I should buy this or not, I think you've convinced me to give it a go There's a thread on this novel on the forum, someone had read it but couldn't remember the title or the author and came on here to ask if anyone knew the novel. I googled it then and it seemed like something I would enjoy but since then I've just forgotten about it. It did sound like a really gripping and horrible plot, I'd feel claustrophobic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Finished reading Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin. It is one man's true diary of how he turned his skin from white to black and then travelled through the Southern US states to see how he was treated. It was written just over 50 years ago, so it is a little dated, and - thank goodness - the segregation laws which were in place at the time no longer exist. Nonetheless, it makes for compelling and disturbing reading. . Ruth, I read this when I was a teenager. It was a formative book for me and affected me deeply. Later I bought it again but gave it away so others could read it. It is a book everybody should read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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