Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2011

[Roland Butter]

I read The Fatal Shore a very, very long time ago - around 20 years, at a guess. It's very good, although I imagine you'll be familiar with most of the ground it covers, Kylie.

 

The Kelly Gang is also excellent, although it's written in an odd style - it's Carey's imagining of how a semi-literate Irish-Aussie rogue might have spoken, and if it works for you, you'll love the book. If it doesn't work for you, though, you'll find it hard work.

[Kylie]

I loved this book! I read it ages ago now, and I heard there was going to be a film made of it, but it fell through I think, but still a fantastic read.

 

Yes, and it's such a shame. I think they had built sets and moved into the town they were going to shoot in and everything. Maybe it will happen again one day...

 

Very good read too - I read it on holiday last year, and had been sceptical about reading Du Maurier for some reason, but thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

I really must read Rebecca when I go away. You know how we all have a book (or more than one) that we've owned for ages and we really should have read by now? Well, Rebecca is it for me.

 

Excellent book, although heartbreaking too.

 

Hmm, I'm suddenly having second thoughts about Foer. Not because of anything you said, Chesil, but I did read one of his books earlier this year and I guess I should spread them out a bit (especially given that he has written precious few books to date!)

 

Overall good choice and selection of books though, you're in for some happy reading time! Bet you can't wait for your holiday, hope you enjoy it

 

Thanks! I've been working so hard lately it's not funny. I look like a ruffian when I go to work because I've been throwing on whatever random clothes I have laying around (I made time to wash them, at least, but who has time to iron?!)

 

I really feel like I've earned this holiday, even if I will be working! Although I'm sure I'll get to eat plenty of fresh raspberries along the way, so at least I'll be eating something healthy for a change.

 

 

definitely start with Room

 

 

Thanks Sofia! Seems like everyone is unanimous on this one, so I'll definitely take it along. It sounds like it's a fast, unputdownable read, too, which is a bonus.

 

[Kylie]

I'm not getting the hang of this .. I'm thinking why would you pick raspberries in the winter !!??!! .. I'm such a dolt!

 

Only you crazy northerners would think of having winter during the summertime!

 

Love your book choices and your optimism ... it's wise to take a good selection, you're not limited then. I do envy you the afternoons of uninterrupted reading .. sounds like bliss.

 

I was worried that my list would seem a little excessive and you would all think me a bit crazy, but I should have known better! (Or maybe you're all just too polite to say so...it's a British trait, so I hear...)

 

For what it's worth ...

 

Highly recommended:

Cornelia Funke: Inkheart

Jonathan Safran Foer: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Rohan O'Grady: Let's Kill Uncle

Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca

Stephen Fry: Moab is My Washpot

 

Want to read in particular:

Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Ransom Riggs: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Haruki Murakami: 1Q84

Augusten Burroughs: Running with Scissors

Sylvia Beach: The Letters of Sylvia Beach

Mary McCarthy: The Group

Emma Donoghue: Room

Susan Hill: The Mist in the Mirror

 

Happy holidays Kylie

 

 

Thanks for your recommendations! I couldn't work out why you added that Susan Hill book to my list, then realised *I* had added it (somehow) when I actually meant to add The Small Hand, which is the Hill novel I want to read most (and which I think you also enjoyed).

 

Ooh, I have to get out my scales and get my books together to see how much they'll weigh in my carry-on luggage (there's no way I'm letting my babies get thrown around by baggage handlers!)

 

I've never travelled during the holiday season before. I'm due back on the 23rd and I hope nothing goes wrong to get me back late for Christmas. Our biggest airline is having major problems at the moment and are already threatening action over Christmas, but I was smart enough to go with another airline (who also doesn't have a great reputation ). Laziness and procrastination are very good things sometimes. If I had booked back when I meant to, I would have booked with Qantas and would be quite worried right about now!

 

Definitely going to second Inkheart! It's for young adults yes but the second and third books were actually criticized for having too adult a tone - something I think critics just managed to somehow miss in the first book. Very very rewarding read imo, and not half as childish and some people would have others believe. One of my favourite books since I was ickle

 

Did you enjoy the third book, Noll? I remember reading some mediocre reviews about it (the book being mediocre, not the reviews) and it has always worried me a little bit. But I'm dying to sink my teeth into a good young adult fantasy series.

[Nollaig]

 

Did you enjoy the third book, Noll? I remember reading some mediocre reviews about it (the book being mediocre, not the reviews) and it has always worried me a little bit. But I'm dying to sink my teeth into a good young adult fantasy series.

 

I did enjoy the third book, it was a little tedious at times and I would say it's probably not for anyone who didn't love the first two, or anyone who hated the drawn-out bits in those. There are also a couple of little details I'm not mad about, so it's certainly not my favourite book, but I think it's a worthy close to the trilogy, as, I've found, do many hardcore Inkheart fans.

[julie]

Wow, Kylie

I think your home library is bigger than our town one ! Beautiful collection there .

[Kylie]

I bought a few books today:

 

JM Barrie: Peter Pan (Puffin edition; I've read this before but have never owned a copy)

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe

Alice Ozma: The Reading Promise

Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway (Vintage)

Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway's Party

 

I also bought a McSweeney's from a few year's ago. The full name of it is Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly blobs, and some other things that aren't as scary, maybe, depending on how you feel about lost lands, stray cellphones, creatures from the sky, parents who disappear in Peru, a man named Lars Farf, and one other story we couldn't quite finish, so maybe you could help us out

 

Edited December 3, 2011 by Kylie

[Kylie]

I had a great haul yesterday. Some are secondhand and some are brand new:

 

Fiction

Italo Calvino: Difficult Loves

Truman Capote: The Complete Stories

Agatha Christie: The Floating Admiral

Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone (Vintage)

David Grossman: See Under: Love (Vintage)

Joseph Heller: God Knows

Jack Kerouac: Good Blonde & Others

Jack Kerouac: Satori in Paris

Yoko Ogawa: The Housekeeper and the Professor

PG Wodehouse: The Code of the Woosters (replacement copy)

PG Wodehouse: The Inimitable Jeeves (replacement copy)

PG Wodehouse: The Mating Season

 

Non-Fiction

Erin Blakemore: The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder

Paula Byrne: Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead

Pat Hackett (ed): The Andy Warhol Diaries

Nancy Milford: Zelda (Fitzgerald - biography)

Henry Petroski: The Book on the Bookshelf (about the history of shelving books!)

Peter Y Sussman (ed): The Letters of Jessica Mitford

 

Edited December 4, 2011 by Kylie

[Kidsmum]

Lots of lovely books there Kylie , I'm very jealous of your vintage copy of the Moonstone any chance of seeing a pic of it

[Kylie]

Happy raspberry picking Kylie. That sounds idyllic. Maybe you should take The Darling Buds of May with you, although I think that was strawberries (sorry, now I've just added to your pile )

You've GOT to read Rebecca at some stage, absolute classic. And what's Three Men on a Bummel ? I loved Three Men in a Boat, but haven't heard of this one. I love Australian fiction. Have you read Picnic At Hanging Rock and My Brilliant Career?

 

Thanks Poppy. I'm definitely going to take Rebecca with me. Three Men on a Bummel is a sort of sequel by Jerome K Jerome. The same gents take another trip.

 

I have both Picnic at Hanging Rock and My Brilliant Career on my TBR pile. Did you enjoy them both? I've seen the movie of the former - it's an excellent flick.

 

I read The Fatal Shore a very, very long time ago - around 20 years, at a guess. It's very good, although I imagine you'll be familiar with most of the ground it covers, Kylie.

 

The Kelly Gang is also excellent, although it's written in an odd style - it's Carey's imagining of how a semi-literate Irish-Aussie rogue might have spoken, and if it works for you, you'll love the book. If it doesn't work for you, though, you'll find it hard work.

 

Thanks Roland. I suspect I'll leave The Fatal Shore behind, simply because it's so big and might perhaps be too heavy-going for my requirements.

 

I suspect I'll like The Kelly Gang. Ned Kelly is, of course, an important figure over here, and I've always been interested in his story.

 

Lots of lovely books there Kylie , I'm very jealous of your vintage copy of the Moonstone any chance of seeing a pic of it

 

Thanks Kidsmum! Here's a pic:

 

[poppy]

Thanks Poppy. I'm definitely going to take Rebecca with me. Three Men on a Bummel is a sort of sequel by Jerome K Jerome. The same gents take another trip.

 

I have both Picnic at Hanging Rock and My Brilliant Career on my TBR pile. Did you enjoy them both? I've seen the movie of the former - it's an excellent flick.

I'll definitely have to look out for the sequel. I wonder what a Bummel is I'll have to google.

 

It's a long time since I read those books, but I remember enjoying them very much. I have a feeling I've seen movies of them both. The Picnic at Hanging Rock story is such a mystery, quite spooky.

[Kylie]

I'll definitely have to look out for the sequel. I wonder what a Bummel is I'll have to google.

 

It's a long time since I read those books, but I remember enjoying them very much. I have a feeling I've seen movies of them both. The Picnic at Hanging Rock story is such a mystery, quite spooky.

 

Wikipedia's article on the book has a whole section devoted to the meaning of the word 'bummel'. Quite interesting!

 

Yes, the hanging rock mystery is very spooky indeed! I would dearly love to visit Hanging Rock myself one day. Another drawcard of the area for me is that one of my favourite ever authors, John Marsden, has a property nearby.

 

Sooo, when do we start setting up our reading logs for 2012? I always start getting excited at this time of year, and I'm particularly looking forward to a fresh start in 2012 because this has been an abysmal reading year for me. I'm way behind in my updates to posts as well and it makes me unhappy to be so disorganised. I plan on simplifying things next year, at least in terms of challenges. And I will NOT be buying anywhere near as many books, so I should be able to keep better track of things next year. As it is, considering the size of my TBR pile and my lack of time to do anything these days, I figure if I get started soon, I might finish setting it up by mid 2012.

[lauraloves]

 

 

Sooo, when do we start setting up our reading logs for 2012? I always start getting excited at this time of year, and I'm particularly looking forward to a fresh start in 2012 because this has been an abysmal reading year for me. I'm way behind in my updates to posts as well and it makes me unhappy to be so disorganised. I plan on simplifying things next year, at least in terms of challenges. And I will NOT be buying anywhere near as many books, so I should be able to keep better track of things next year. As it is, considering the size of my TBR pile and my lack of time to do anything these days, I figure if I get started soon, I might finish setting it up by mid 2012.

 

 

I was thinking about this the other day I was mentally planning the posts out, is that a little weird? anyway I can't wait to set mine up and read everyone elses too hehe

[Kidsmum]

 

Thanks Kidsmum! Here's a pic:

 

Fab

 

 

. And I will NOT be buying anywhere near as many books, so I should be able to keep better track of things next year.

 

That is my new years resolution as well, I'm now resorting to stacking them up the side of the sofa as I've run out of shelves to put them & get cross with my little boy when he knocks them all over when he's playing which isn't really fair Also I feel that I've almost got too many books to choose from when I'm looking for my next read. I think 2012 is going to be a year for finishing book series that I've started but have yet to complete & reining in my book buying habit till my TBR pile reaches a more manageable level.

[willoyd]

That is my new years resolution as well, I'm now resorting to stacking them up the side of the sofa as I've run out of shelves to put them & get cross with my little boy when he knocks them all over when he's playing which isn't really fair Also I feel that I've almost got too many books to choose from when I'm looking for my next read. I think 2012 is going to be a year for finishing book series that I've started but have yet to complete & reining in my book buying habit till my TBR pile reaches a more manageable level.

Gosh this all strikes such a chord with me. I've definitely been buying far more than I can keep upw ith reading, and space has started to become desperate. So, like you, a major New Year resolution is to buy less and read a LOT more. Think I'm going to have to set some rules on buying though, or it could soon start to drift!

[Kylie]

I agree with you both. If I stopped buying books completely (not going to happen), it would still be years before I could get my TBR pile down to a manageable size.

 

The thing for me is, it's all too easy to spend a few dollars here and there. I think I'll need to set up some sort of spreadsheet with a strict budget for each month and keep a very close eye on it. If I give myself an 'allowance' each month, I'll be much more careful of which books I buy. Also, my income next year is likely to be unstable, so not knowing what I'm getting paid from one week to the next will surely help me stop spending so much.

[julie]

Hi folks,

Maybe for the new year, we should start a thread where we keep track of books bought and books read. You get one point for completing a book, MINUS one point for buying one.

See if any of us come out on the plus side at the end of the year.

I seem to have the same malfunction as the rest of you .

[chaliepud]

Sounds like a good plan Julie! What's the punishment if we come out on the minus side?

[Brian.]

How about a donation to a literacy charity based on the severity of your negative score?

 

Or send the others cookies

[pickle]

and do we get a prize for coming out on the plus side ..and what about free books how do they count (I am only smug because my TBR pile isn't that big - although my reviews are few and far between I tend to get round to it about once a month if not less)

 

 

[julie]

Sounds like a good plan Julie! What's the punishment if we come out on the minus side?

Hi Chalie --

UMMMMM .... I don't know ... you have to give away books if your plus side is higher ???

Good question !

 

How about a donation to a literacy charity based on the severity of your negative score?

 

Or send the others cookies

Brian

Well,that could be a STICKY subject with me,since I buy a large number of my used books from a charity shop called Project Learn,which is a group that uses the money to teach adults to read, or improve their reading .... so I am putting money INTO a charity to BUY books, but if I buy too many this year, I have to donate money to the charity. They win either way !

 

I LIKE the cookie idea !

 

and do we get a prize for coming out on the plus side ..and what about free books how do they count (I am only smug because my TBR pile isn't that big - although my reviews are few and far between I tend to get round to it about once a month if not less)

Hi Pickle

Maybe everyone who plays along will owe YOU a book if we come out on the minus ?

Edited December 6, 2011 by julie

[vodkafan]

Hi folks,

Maybe for the new year, we should start a thread where we keep track of books bought and books read. You get one point for completing a book, MINUS one point for buying one.

See if any of us come out on the plus side at the end of the year.

I seem to have the same malfunction as the rest of you .

 

That sounds a really fun idea.

[Ben]

I absolutely love the sound of the + and - points for reading and buying books, especially if there's a thread noting everyone's progress (or if this doesn't go through I might use the idea in my reading blog next year). Also, Kylie, I'm not surprised you've already started thinking about planning next year's book thread, especially with the extent of your lists and challenges (my first read of the year always tends to be some of your lists). I was thinking myself that I'm going to make more effort text year, maybe get myself a TBR pile again, seen as I gave up keeping track of my other. I guess it all depends on whether I'll have time.

[Kylie]

I finally got my TBR pile up to date yesterday...so of course I went and bought more books today and everything is out of whack again.

 

I made a couple of great (cheap) finds. The shop I went to had a section of children's Christmas books. I had a look through and was about to turn away when the spine of a small, vaguely familiar-looking book caught my eye. It was The Twelve Days of Christmas, as illustrated by Quentin Blake! Woohoo! Does anyone else sometimes feel like it's fate when you find a book? So many times I feel like I'm in the right place at the right time when I make an awesome find.

 

I also found a Penguin edition of Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories. I'm currently reading my Vintage edition, but I have to admit that it has possibly my least favourite Vintage cover. The Penguin edition is the one I originally wanted.

 

The list:

 

Martin Amis: Money

Augusten Burroughs: You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas

Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

Angela Carter: The Magic Toyshop

Jasper Fforde: Shades of Grey (I already have this, but this is a smaller paperback edition)

Gary Greenberg: Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease

Stephen Kelman: Pigeon English

Bill Peschel: Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics and Follies of Literature's Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts and Misanthropes

John Julius Norwich & Quentin Blake: The Twelve Days of Christmas

 

Edited December 13, 2011 by Kylie

[pickle]

Angela Carters - The Magic Toyshop one of my favourites of her books

[poppyshake]

The list:

Martin Amis: Money This is absolute filth .... enjoy it Kylie

Augusten Burroughs: You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas I haven't heard of this but I have Running with Scissors on my bookshelf waiting tbr

Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories I'm looking forward to joining in with this one in the Jan reading circle

Angela Carter: The Magic Toyshop Weird and wonderful .. I enjoyed it but it is strange

Jasper Fforde: Shades of Grey (I already have this, but this is a smaller paperback edition) Looking forward to the sequel

Gary Greenberg: Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease Sounds interesting

Stephen Kelman: Pigeon English LOVED IT! will be writing a review soon .... hopefully

Bill Peschel: Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics and Follies of Literature's Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts and Misanthropes Sounds very interesting

John Julius Norwich & Quentin Blake: The Twelve Days of Christmas Anything with Quentin Blakes illustrations in it is a must

 

Great haul Kylie .. you couldn't really say no