Rach's 2010 Reads

[rach.at.the.disco]

Welcome to my shiny new reading list for 2010.

Last year was my best year for reading with my total reaching 103 books. This year, however, I don't think I'll be as lucky but I hope to make some sort of dent in my To Be Read pile which is around the 100 mark.

 

Books Read in 2010:

 

1. The To-Do List - Mike Gayle

2. Chasing Harry Winston - Lauren Weisberger

3. Heaven Can Wait - Cally Taylor

4. French Kissing - Catherine Sanderson

5. The Glamorous (Double) Life Of Isabel Bookbinder - Holly McQueen

6. The Fabulously Fashionable Life Of Isabel Bookbinder - Holly McQueen

7. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched - Meg Cabot

8. Ghost Girl - Torey Hayden

9. Girl Missing - Tess Gerritsen

10. Slumdog Millionaire - Vikas Swarup

11. The Seven Secrets Of Happiness - Sharon Owens

12. The Secret Life Of Evie Hamilton - Catherine Alliott

13. The Truth About Melody Browne - Lisa Jewell

14. West End Girls - Jenny Colgan

15. The Sculptress - Minette Walters

16. I Heart Hollywood - Lindsey Kelk

17. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

18. One Child - Torey Hayden

19. The Evil Seed - Joanne Harris

20. How To Be Married - Polly Williams

21. Mwah Mwah - Chloe Rayban

22. Chocolate Wishes - Trisha Ashley

23. Fallen - Lauren Kate

24. Do You Come Here Often - Alexandra Potter

25. Mercy - Jodi Picoult

26. The Girl Next Door - Elizabeth Noble

27. Going It Alone - Clare Dowling

28. The House At Riverton - Kate Morton

29. The Best Of Times - Penny Vincenzi

30. Vanishing Acts - Jodi Picoult

31. The Echo - Minette Walters

32. Bloodstream - Tess Gerritsen

33. Julie and Julia - Julie Powell

34. Precious - Sapphire

35. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

36. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories - Tim Burton

37. Things I Wish I'd Known - Linda Green

38. The Tiger's Child - Torey Hayden

39. The Good, The Bad and The Dumped - Jenny Colgan

40. Silent Boy - Torey Hayden

41. Lucy In The Sky - Paige Toon

42. Call After Midnight - Tess Gerritsen

43. My **** Life So Far - Frankie Boyle

44. The Ice House - Minette Walters

45. Life On The Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers

46. Boy Meets Girl - Meg Cabot

47. The Guy Next Door - Meg Cabot

48. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris

49. Petite Anglaise - Catherine Sanderson

50. I Heart Paris - Lindsey Kelk

51. An Education - Lynn Barber

52. Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

53. The Glass House - Rachel Caine

54. Confetti Confidential - Holly McQueen

55. Moonshine - Christina Jones

56. Girl Friday - Jane Green

57. The Scold's Bridle - Minette Walters

58. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly - Jean Dominique Bauby

59. Picture Perfect - Jodi Picoult

60. Always The Bridesmaid - Sarah Webb

61. Second Glance - Jodi Picoult

62. Whistleblower - Tess Gerritsen

63. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

64. The Night Watch - Sarah Waters

65. Burton on Burton - Tim Burton and Mark Salisbury

66. The Ice Cream Girls - Dorothy Koomsoon

67. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

68. Eat. Pray. Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

69. Twelve Days Of Christmas - Trisha Ashley

Edited November 4, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco
Update

[rach.at.the.disco]

To Be Read:

 

My Books

Library Books

 

A Hopeless Romantic - Harriet Evans

Going Home - Harriet Evans

The Secrets She Keeps - Helen Cross

The Chocolate Run - Dorothy Koomson

Body Surfing - Anita Shreve

The Chameleon's Shadow - Minette Walters

Carrie - Stephen King

Misery - Stephen King

Lisey's Story - Stephen King

The Green Mile - Stephen King

Watermelon - Marian Keyes

Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes

Angels - Marian Keyes

The Queen's Fool - Philippa Gregory

The Virgin's Lover - Philippa Gregory

The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory

Making Your Mind Up - Jill Mansell

Songs Of The Humpback Whale - Jodi Picoult

Picture Perfect - Jodi Picoult

Vanishing Acts - Jodi Picoult

Mercy - Jodi Picoult

Second Glance - Jodi Picoult

Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk

Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk

Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk

Choke - Chuck Palahniuk

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkein

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

Saturday - Ian McEwan

The Child In Time - Ian McEwan

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

Girlfriend In A Coma - Douglas Coupland

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

Walking On Glass - Iain Banks

Perfume - Patrick Suskind

Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver

Tess Of The D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

Selected Tales - Edgar Allan Poe

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Sense And Sensibility - Jane Austen

Emma - Jane Austen

Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

Persusion - Jane Austen

Dracula - Bram Stoker

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

The Catcher In The Rye - J.D Salinger

Interview With The Vampire - Anne Rice

Going It Alone - Clare Dowling

Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

Slumdog Millionaire - Vikas Swarup

The Book Theif - Markus Zusak

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Artistic Licence - Katie Fforde

Highland Fling - Katie Fforde

Living Dangerously - Katie Fforde

Double Cross - Malorie Blackman

Lucy In The Sky - Paige Toon

Back Spin - Harlen Coban

Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman

The Secret Life Of Evie Hamilton - Catherine Alliot

Flowers In The Attic - Virginia Andrews

Alphabet Weekends - Elizabeth Noble

The Girl Next Door - Elizabeth Noble

The Host - Stephenie Meyer

The House At Riverton - Kate Morton

The Book Of Lost Things - John Connolly

The Evil Seed - Joanne Harris

Mother's Day - Kirsty Scott

Forget Me Not - Isabel Wolff

The Other Half Lives - Sophie Hannah

All The Things We Didn't Say - Sara Shepard

The Bay At Midnight - Diane Chamberlain

Girl Missing - Tess Gerritsen

The Fabulously Fashionable Life Of Isabel Bookbinder - Holly McQueen

Notes From An Exhibition - Patrick Gale

How To Talk To A Widower - Jonathan Tropper

Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger

Chasing Harry Winston - Lauren Weisberger

The To-Do List - Mike Gayle

Ghost Girl - Torey Hayden

The Flight Of The Swallows - Audrey Howard

Pillow Talk - Freya North

Home Truths - Freya North

Love Rules - Freya North

Heaven Can Wait - Cally Taylor

Queen Of Babble Gets Hitched - Meg Cabot

French Kissing - Catherine Sanderson

The Glamorous (Double) Life Of Isabel Bookbinder - Holly McQueen

Wild Designs - Katie Fforde

Call After Midnight - Tess Gerritsen

Bloodstream - Tess Gerritsen

I Heart Hollywood - Lindsey Kelk

West End Girls - Jenny Colgan

The Seven Secrets Of Happiness - Sharon Owens

The Truth About Melody Browne - Lisa Jewell

The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

The Ice House - Minette Walters

The Sculptress - Minette Walters

The Scold's Bridle - Minette Walters

The Breaker - Minette Walters

The Echo - Minette Walters

Airs and Graces - Erica James

Brown Owl's Giude to Life - Kate Harrison

Two's Company - Jill Mansell

One Child - Torey Hayden

Just Another Kid - Torey Hayden

Tiger's Child - Torey Hayden

Fallen - Lauren Kate

Chocolate Wishes - Trisha Ashley

How To Be Married - Polly Williams

The Self-Preservation Society - Kate Harrison

Size 12 Is Not Fat - Meg Cabot

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either - Meg Cabot

When The Boys Are Away - Sarah Webb

Take A Chance - Sarah Webb

Always The Bridesmaid - Sarah Webb

It Had To Be You - Sarah Webb

Mwah Mwah - Chloe Rayban

Do You Come Here Often - Alexandra Potter

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass - Lewis Caroll

Silent Boy - Torey Hayden

The Best Of Times - Penny Vincenzi

Dreaming Of Amelia - Jaclyn Moriaty

Going Too Far - Catherine Alliott

The Real Thing - Catherine Alliott

The Wedding Day - Catherine Alliott

Julie and Julia - Julie Powell

Precious - Sapphire

Ash - Malinda Lo

The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee - Rebecca Miller

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

Moab Is My Washpot - Stephen Fry

The Meloncholy Death Of Oyster Boy & Other Stories - Tim Burton

Things I Wish I'd Known - Linda Green

The Good, The Bad and The Dumped - Jenny Colgan

I'll Be There For You - Louise Candlish

My **** Life So Far - Frankie Boyle

I'll Be There For You - Louise Candlish

Boy Meets Girl - Meg CabotThe Guy Next Door - Meg Cabot

Life On The Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Mr Darcy, Vampyre - Amanda Grange

Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris

Confetti Confidential - Holly McQueen

I Heart Paris - Lindsey Kelk

Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

The Glass House - Rachel Caine

Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine

Dead Girls Dance - Rachel Caine

An Education - Lynn Barber

Moonshine - Christina Jones

Girl Friday - Jane Green

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Jean-Dominique Bauby

Heavier Than Heaven: The Biography of Kurt Cobain - Charles R. Cross

The Night Watch - Sarah Waters

Burton on Burton - Time Burton and Mark Salisbury

Babyville - Jane Green

Whistleblower - Tess Gerritsen

Eat. Pray. Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

Twelve Days Of Christmas - Trisha Ashley

Have A Little Faith - Mitch Albom

The One I Love - Anna McPartlin

The Ice Cream Girls - Dorothy Koomson

Edited November 4, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco
Update

[rach.at.the.disco]

Books bought in 2010:

 

1. Heaven Can Wait - Cally Taylor

2. Queen Of Babble Gets Hitched - Meg Cabot

3. French Kissing - Catherine Sanderson

4. The Glamorous (Double) Life Of Isabel Bookbinder - Holly McQueen

5. Wild Designs - Katie Fforde

6. Call After Midnight - Tess Gerritsen

7. Bloodstream - Tess Gerritsen

8. I Heart Hollywood - Lindsey Kelk

9. West End Girls - Jenny Colgan

10. The Seven Secrets Of Happiness - Sharon Owens

11. The Truth About Melody Browne - Lisa Jewell

12. The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

13. The Ice House - Minette Walters

14. The Sculptress - Minette Walters

15. The Scold's Bridle - Minette Walters

16. The Breaker - Minette Walters

17. The Echo - Minette Walters

18. Airs and Graces - Erica James

19. Brown Owl's Guide to Life - Kate Harrison

20. Two's Company - Jill Mansell

21. One Child - Torey Hayden

22. Just Another Kid - Torey Hayden

23. Tiger's Child - Torey Hayden

24. Fallen - Lauren Kate

25. Chocolate Wishes - Trisha Ashley

26. How To Be Married - Polly Williams

27. The Self-Preservation Society - Kate Harrison

28. Size 12 Is Not Fat - Meg Cabot

29. Size 14 Is Not Fat Either - Meg Cabot

30. When The Boys Are Away - Sarah Webb

31. Take A Chance - Sarah Webb

32. Always The Bridesmaid - Sarah Webb

33. It Had To Be You - Sarah Webb

34. Mwah Mwah - Chloe Rayban

35. Do You Come Here Often - Alexandra Potter

36. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

37. Through The Looking Glass - Lewis Caroll

38. Silent Boy - Torey Hayden

39. The Best Of Times - Penny Vincenzi

40. Dreaming Of Amelia - Jaclyn Moriaty

41. Going Too Far - Catherine Alliott

42. The Real Thing - Catherine Alliott

43. The Wedding Day - Catherine Alliott

44. Julie and Julia - Julie Powell

45. Precious - Sapphire

46. Ash - Malinda Lo

47. The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee - Rebecca Miller

48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

49. Moab Is My Washpot - Stephen Fry

50. The Meloncholy Death Of Oyster Boy & Other Stories - Tim Burton

51. Things I Wish I'd Known - Linda Green

52. The Good, The Bad and The Dumped - Jenny Colgan

53. My **** Life So Far - Frankie Boyle

54. I'll Be There For You - Louise Candlish

55. The Love Killers - Jackie Collins

56. Boy Meets Girl - Meg Cabot

57. The Guy Next Door - Meg Cabot

58. Life On The Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers

59. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

60. Mr Darcy, Vampyre - Amanda Grange

61. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris

62. Confetti Confidential - Holly McQueen

63. I Heart Paris - Lindsey Kelk

64. Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

65. The Glass House - Rachel Caine

66. The Dead Girl's Dance - Rachel Caine

67. Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine

68. Eat. Pray. Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

69. Twelve Days Of Christmas - Trisha Ashley

70. The One I Love - Anna McPartlin

71. Have A Little Faith - Mitch Alobom

Edited November 4, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco

[rach.at.the.disco]

Wishlist:

 

Welcome To My World - Miranda Dickinson

The Brightest Star In The Sky - Marian Keyes

All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris

Queen Of Babble Gets Hitched - Meg Cabot

Before I Die - Jenny Downham

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Missing You - Louise Douglas

The Good, The Bad and The Dumped - Jenny Colgan

The Way We Were - Elizabeth Noble

Rules For A Perfect Life - Niamh Greene

A Perfect Proposal - Katie Fforde

You're The One That I Don't Want - Alexandra Potter

I Heart Paris - Lindsey Kelk

French Kissing - Catherine Sanderson

Knit The Season - Kate Jacobs

Heaven Can Wait - Cally Taylor

The Secret Shopper Unwrapped - Kate Harrison

I Heart Hollywood - Lindsey Kelk

Becoming Scarlett - Ciara Geraghty

The Ice Cream Girls - Dorothy Koomson

My **** Life So Far - Frankie Boyle

The Chocolate Lovers Club - Carole Matthews

The Chocolate Lovers Diet - Carole Matthews

Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

Alligators, Old Mink and New Money - Alison Houtte and Melissa Houte

Never Close Your Eyes - Emma Burstall

The Penny Pinchers Club - Sarah Strohmeyer

Single To Rome - Sarah Duncan

The Glamorous (Double) Life Of Isabel Bookbinder - Holly McQueen

The Fabulously Fashionable Life Of Isabel Bookbinder - Holly McQueen

The Sisterhood - Emily Barr

The Household Guide To Dying - Debra Adelaide

You Had Me At Halo - Amanda Ashby

The Rise And Fall Of The Wondergirls - Sarah May

Love In The Making - Roisin Meaney

Mini Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella

Finding Monsieur Right - Muriel Zagha

Chocolate Wishes - Trisha Ashley

Fast Friends - Jill Mansell

Head Over Heels - Jill Mansell

50 Ways To Find A Lover - Lucy Anne Holmes

It's Now Or Never - Carole Matthews

Tout Sweet - Karen Wheeler

Life On The Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers

And God Created The Au Pair - Pascale Smets and Benedicte Newland

Boy Meets Girl - Meg Cabot

The Guy Next Door - Meg Cabot

All You Need Is Love - Carole Matthews

A Compromising Position - Carole Matthews

The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

The Colour Purple - Alice Walker

The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood

House Rules - Jodi Picoult

Recipe For Scandal - Debby Holt

The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen

The Apprentice - Tess Gerritsen

The Sinner - Tess Gerritsen

Body Double - Tess Gerritsen

Vanish - Tess Gerritsen

The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen

Keeping The Dead - Tess Gerritsen

The Truth About Melody Browne - Lisa Jewell

The Seven Secrets Of Happiness - Sharon Owens

Things I Wish I'd Known - Linda Green

A Storm In A Teacup - Lucy Cavendish

The Bone Garden - Tess Gerritsen

Confetti Confidential - Holly McQueen

No Way To Say Goodbye - Anna McPartlin

Lunch In Paris - Elizabeth Bard

Daughters Of Fortune - Tara Hyland

The Bridesmaid Pact - Julia Williams

Loves Me, Loves Me Not - Various

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

Matilda - Roald Dahl

Fallen - Lauren Kate

Do You Come Here Often - Alexandra Potter

Dead And Gone - Charlaine Harris

Dead In The Family - Charlaine Harris

The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble

Harvesting The Heart - Jodi Picoult

Precious - Sapphire

Love Letters - Katie Fforde

Fear The Worst - Linwood Barclay

The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen

Last Chance - Sarah Dessen

Do You Remember The First Time - Jenny Colgan

Twilight: Vol.1 - The Graphic Novel - Stephenie Meyer

So What If I'm Broken - Anna McPartlin

The Truth Will Out - Anna McPartlin

Edited July 30, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco

[rach.at.the.disco]

Reserved in case it's needed.

[rach.at.the.disco]

1. The To-Do List

Mike Gayle

 

Synopsis from Waterstones:

Would a proper adult ignore the spilt milk under the fridge for weeks? Would a proper adult take three years to post a solitary Christmas card? Would a proper adult have decades-old underwear in active service? Mike Gayle is nowhere near being a proper adult -- even though his tenth wedding anniversary is looming; his second child is due any moment; and in less than twenty-four hours he is going to be officially closer to forty than he is to thirty. Appalled by this lack of maturity, Mike draws up a To-Do list containing every single item he's been meaning to do but just keeps putting off...He's got a lot of stuff that needs doing. But unlike previous To-Do lists, he promises himself that this one will actually get DONE. And along the way, Mike will learn stuff about life (323), love (999), friends (1004) and family (9) and finally work out what it means to be a grown up (846).

 

Started: 30th December - Finished: 1st January

343 pages

Rating: 8/10

Edited April 25, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco

[rach.at.the.disco]

2. Chasing Harry Winston

Lauren Weisberger

 

Synopsis from Waterstones:

How far would you go to change your life in a year? Emmy finds herself single for the first time in years. She vows to find a man on every continent for some pure no-strings-attached fun. Adriana is stunning and can have any man she desires.Yet she wants an eligible bachelor who'll slip a five-carat Harry Winston diamond on her finger. Leigh has a doting boyfriend that most girls would kill for. But when literary bad boy Jesse Chapman asks to work with her, she just can't refuse. Knocking back raspberry mojitos one night, the three friends make a pact - to change one thing in their lives by the end of the year. Game On.

 

Started: 1st January - Finished: 3rd January

278 pages

Rating: 6/10

Edited April 25, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco

[chesilbeach]

I was disappointed by both Everyone Worth Knowing and Chasing Harry Winston after enjoying The Devil Wears Prada a lot. In fact, I think her books have got progressively worse, and probably won't bother with any more. Their only saving grace is the fact I love the look of the book spines on my bookshelf!

[bethany725]

I also was disappointed with "Chasing Harry Winston".. couldn't even get through half of it. I liked her other 2 similar novels much better, but can't say I'd run out and buy/borrow any future novels she writes. "Chasing..." just put me off it.

[Peacefield]

Great lists, Rach! I too am looking forward to hopefully reading The Host and The House at Riverton this year. You can't go wrong with The JD Salinger, and I'm so looking forward to you reading The Secret History! I've read it a few times and there's really nothing like it . I've only read Carrie of the King's you listed, but really you can't go wrong with an author like him!

[Kell]

You have some AWESOME reads ahead of you! You actually have some of my all-time favourites on your TBR list - Lolita, Northanger Abbey and Jane Eyre. Happy reading!

[Mac]

I'm so looking forward to you reading The Secret History! I've read it a few times and there's really nothing like it . I've only read Carrie of the King's you listed, but really you can't go wrong with an author like him!

 

This is all true. I've read a bunch of stuff on your TBR pile, Rach, and I don't think any of these are duff'uns. With Ian Banks' stuff, sit back and enjoy the amazingness of it all. He's magic! Just avoid A Song of Stone, purely because neither I nor anyone else I've spoken to enjoyed it at all. It's an anomaly, to be certain, because the rest of his books are pure gold!

 

Hope you're very well, chum!

[frankie]

Carrie - Stephen King

Misery - Stephen King

Lisey's Story - Stephen King

The Green Mile - Stephen King

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Sense And Sensibility - Jane Austen

Emma - Jane Austen

Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

Persusion - Jane Austen

Dracula - Bram Stoker

Perfume - Patrick Suskind

Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh

Interview With The Vampire - Anne Rice

Slumdog Millionaire - Vikas Swarup

The Book Theif - Markus Zusak

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

 

Oh my goodness Rach, you have so many great reads on your TBR/wishlist, I'm so jealous! I wish I was you and could read those books for the first time! The Secret History, The Book Thief and Slumdog Millionaire are especially magnificent, as well as the Jane Austen and Stephen King novels of course.

 

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden

The Book Of Lost Things - John Connolly

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

 

These are on my TBR/wishlist too, I hope they're good

 

Have a great year 2010, and happy reading Rach!

[rach.at.the.disco]

I was disappointed by both Everyone Worth Knowing and Chasing Harry Winston after enjoying The Devil Wears Prada a lot. In fact, I think her books have got progressively worse, and probably won't bother with any more. Their only saving grace is the fact I love the look of the book spines on my bookshelf!

 

I also was disappointed with "Chasing Harry Winston".. couldn't even get through half of it. I liked her other 2 similar novels much better, but can't say I'd run out and buy/borrow any future novels she writes. "Chasing..." just put me off it.

 

I did expect it to be better than it was. I'm still willing to give EWK a go though, especially as it was a Christmas present and I'd feel awful not reading it. I doubt it will beat TDWP though.

[rach.at.the.disco]

Great lists, Rach! I too am looking forward to hopefully reading The Host and The House at Riverton this year. You can't go wrong with The JD Salinger, and I'm so looking forward to you reading The Secret History! I've read it a few times and there's really nothing like it. I've only read Carrie of the King's you listed, but really you can't go wrong with an author like him!

 

Hope I can manage to get through most of my pile this year! I think I read a chapter of The Catcher In The Rye last year but can't remember why I gave up on it. Hope I enjoy King as much as you do .

 

You have some AWESOME reads ahead of you! You actually have some of my all-time favourites on your TBR list - Lolita, Northanger Abbey and Jane Eyre. Happy reading!

 

Thanks Kell. I hope to have read one of those three by the end of the year. Although I have to admit I started Jane Eyre and gave up after 50 pages for some reason .

 

This is all true. I've read a bunch of stuff on your TBR pile, Rach, and I don't think any of these are duff'uns. With Ian Banks' stuff, sit back and enjoy the amazingness of it all. He's magic! Just avoid A Song of Stone, purely because neither I nor anyone else I've spoken to enjoyed it at all. It's an anomaly, to be certain, because the rest of his books are pure gold!

 

Hope you're very well, chum!

 

I trust your judgement so I'll be sure to avoid that one . I studied The Wasp Factory in college and I thought it was a decent enough book to buy and have another read.

 

Oh my goodness Rach, you have so many great reads on your TBR/wishlist, I'm so jealous! I wish I was you and could read those books for the first time! The Secret History, The Book Thief and Slumdog Millionaire are especially magnificent, as well as the Jane Austen and Stephen King novels of course.

 

These are on my TBR/wishlist too, I hope they're good

 

Have a great year 2010, and happy reading Rach!

 

Thanks frankie. I just hope I can mange to read some of these awesome books you all love

[Peacefield]

Hope I can manage to get through most of my pile this year! I think I read a chapter of The Catcher In The Rye last year but can't remember why I gave up on it. Hope I enjoy King as much as you do .

 

I hope you do too! It's great that you're starting with some of King's older works - you'll really get a sense of classic King then! If you like him, you should try and read The Shining one day. It's my fave!

[rach.at.the.disco]

3. Heaven Can Wait

Cally Taylor

 

Synopsis from Waterstones:

'What would I do without you, Lucy Brown?' he said, and kissed me softly. I held his face in my hands and kissed him back. I felt that life just couldn't get any more perfect. And I was right, it wouldn't. By the end of the next day, I'd be dead. Lucy is about to marry the man of her dreams - kind, handsome, funny Dan - when she breaks her neck the night before their wedding. Unable to accept a lifetime's separation from her soulmate, Lucy decides to become a ghost rather than go to heaven and be parted from Dan. But it turns out things aren't quite as easy as that. When Lucy discovers that Limbo is a grotty student-style house in North London she's less than thrilled. Especially after meeting her new flatmates: grumpy, cider-swilling EMO-kid Claire; and Brian, a train-spotter with a Thomas the Tank Engine duvet and a big BO problem. But Lucy has a more major problem on her hands - if she wants to become a ghost and be with Dan she has to complete an almost impossible task. How the hell does a girl like Lucy find a girlfriend for the dorkiest man in England? IT geek Archie's only passions are multi-player computer games and his Grandma. But Lucy only has twenty-one days to find him love. And when she discovers that her so-called friend Anna is determined to make a move on the heart-broken, vulnerable Dan, the pressure is really on...

 

Started: 4th January - Finished: 5th January

375 pages

Rating: 8.5/10

Edited April 25, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco

[Ben]

Heaven Can Wait sounds good Rach, a fairly good start to the year's reading I see!

[rach.at.the.disco]

Heaven Can Wait sounds good Rach, a fairly good start to the year's reading I see!

 

I couldn't put it down - I loved it! I did finish it in tears though . A good start indeed, hope it continues .

[rach.at.the.disco]

4. French Kissing

Catherine Sanderson

 

Synopsis from Waterstones:

Name: Sally Marshall, Status: single mother, Age: 32. Nationality: ten years in France, yet still English through and through, I like: Living in Paris, playing with my daughter Lila (four years old), the company of good friends, the smell of baking bread...So reads Sally's ad, posted on a French online dating site called Rendez-Vous. Sally left Nicolas, her French boyfriend of ten years and Lila's father, after she discovered that he was having an affair with his secretary. Six months have now passed, and although most of the time she feels as if she's just dashing around like a headless chicken, she's beginning to bounce back. But making a new start is fraught with complications. As she meets freshly single Frederic for a drink, spends the night with charmer Manu and runs away from ex-pat Marcus, she wonders: can she find a way to reconcile motherhood with single womanhood? To what extent can she keep Lila and her love life separate? And is she truly ready to turn her back on Nicolas?

 

Started: 6th January - Finished: 9th January

365 pages

Rating: 7/10

Edited April 25, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco

[Mac]

Hmmm...I'm not entirely sure that this one'll be a novel I actively seek out. No offence, mind. After all, I am a man (at least, I was last time I checked!)

 

Chick lit's not for me. Or maybe I'm just not connecting with my inner girly? Are these any good? Does this make me seem softer?

 

Hope you're alright, Rach. TTFN.

[poppyshake]

To Be Read:

 

Watermelon - Marian Keyes

Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes

Angels - Marian Keyes

The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkein

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver

Tess Of The D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Sense And Sensibility - Jane Austen

Emma - Jane Austen

Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

Persusion - Jane Austen

Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

The Book Theif - Markus Zusak

 

 

Great list Rach, I loved all of the above

You're doing great so far, well done.

[rach.at.the.disco]

Hmmm...I'm not entirely sure that this one'll be a novel I actively seek out. No offence, mind. After all, I am a man (at least, I was last time I checked!)

 

Chick lit's not for me. Or maybe I'm just not connecting with my inner girly? Are these any good? Does this make me seem softer?

 

Hope you're alright, Rach. TTFN.

 

Why am I not surprised that a man doesn't like chick lit . I love a bit of chick lit now and again, it's a nice release from the more intense books out there. Especially when they have lots of fluffy, lovey-dovey romance in them lol.

 

Great list Rach, I loved all of the above

You're doing great so far, well done.

 

Thanks poppyshake. I hope I manage to read a couple of those this year.

[bethany725]

I did expect it to be better than it was. I'm still willing to give EWK a go though, especially as it was a Christmas present and I'd feel awful not reading it. I doubt it will beat TDWP though.

I enjoyed EWK MUCH better than the start I had to CHW.. I hope you do, too. Sounds like you've been reading some great things! Thanks for all your reviews.. I love to see what you've been reading lately.

[rach.at.the.disco]

5. The Glamorous (Double) Life Of Isabel Bookbinder

Holly McQueen

 

Synopsis from Waterstones:

There's an aroma of fresh coffee and warming bagels as gorgeous bestselling novelist Isabel, 27, welcomes us into her sunny apartment, light glinting off the huge Tiffany diamond studs in her ears. For Isabel Bookbinder, there's no doubt about where she's headed. Reasons to become a bestselling author: Opportunities to swish new Super-hair and captivate the lovely Joe Madison; Prove to father that Really Am Not a Waster; Leave column inch-measuring days at the Saturday Mercury behind Potential setbacks; Don't yet have 'Yoko' bag, as carried by arch rival with book deal, Gina D ...or honed size eight figure (useful for interviews). Am also at the centre of a major political sex scandal - Paparazzi are doorstepping my parents and boring boyfriend Russell. Of course she hasn't yet quite got round to putting pen to paper yet, but Isabel's not one to let a little thing like that stand in her way.

 

Started: 10th January - Finished: 11th January

423 pages

Rating: 6.5/10

Edited April 25, 2010 by rach.at.the.disco