chaliepud Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I've been meaning to do this for a while, if only just to spur me along with my reading. I have always loved reading, I was a prolific reader as a child/early teen, I read the Famous Five books over and over, the same with the Folk of the Faraway Tree, Swallows and Amazons and so on. My reading quietened once I discovered boys, starting working and socialising, I still read, just not as much. But when I got pregnant for the first time I rediscovered my love of reading and have always had a book on the go ever since. I have enjoyed many genres and sill still try almost anything but have rarely read crime/thrillers now as I think I over dosed on them over the last few years! I think I will use this blog to keep a track of my TBR pile (which I thought was big until I saw that someone on here - maybe Kylie - has 1000 books on theirs! I think my other half would leave if I had that many, although he is working away for long periods so would probably just be a case of hiding them on his trips home! I read on here the other day that a couple of you don't read the books you want to read most straight away, but prefer to save them, I'm the opposite, I'm always scared I'll get hit by a bus or something and not have read them! I will also have a go at the 20 questions list, though I can see a few of them are going to stump me... So, my next post will be my (mini!) TBR pile................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 So, here is my TBR list, they are in a rough order of how I am hoping to read them - 1. The Novice - (Second in Black Magician trilogy) - Trudi Canavan 2. The High Lord (Third in Black Magician trilogy) - Trudi Canavan 3. Finding Sky - Joss Stirling 4. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen 5. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd 6. Grace Williams says it loud - Emma Henderson 7. The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende 8. A Week in December - Sebastian Faulkes 9. Matterhorn - Karl Marlantes 10. At home with the Templetons - Monica McInerney 11. Cloud Atlas - Davis Mitchell 12. The Girl who kicked the Hornets nest - Stieg Larsson 13. Its the little things - Erica James 14. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel 15. Freakanomics (can't remember the author and book is upstairs!) 16. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova 17. Untold Stories - Alan Bennett (my Dads recommendation) 18. The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas (already tried this and gave up as language at the beginning put me off, but will give it another go) 19. Lovers & Newcomers - Rosie Thomas 20. Wolf Brother - Michelle Paver (only really to make sure it is suitable for my daughter) I also have a huge Amazon wish list, but unless I either find a way of transferring it to here, or have a spare hour to transcribe it, that's probably where it will stay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Day 1 - Best book you read last year This has to be The Book Thief, I am not easily visibly moved by books, but I actually had my husband worried with how upset I was reading the last chapter. It was a story that took you along on a fabulous ride, feeling every emotion that Liesel felt. The book was a great way to tell a story that we all know something about but in an original and emotive way. The use of Death as narrator was fabulous and gave a totally different side the usually feared character, particularly the way he cared for the souls, and I loved the colours. A book that grabbed me from the first page, caring about every single character, I will definitely re read it at some point, well, when I get it back from a friend, who lent it to another friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Day 1 - Best book you read last year This has to be The Book Thief, I am not easily visibly moved by books, but I actually had my husband worried with how upset I was reading the last chapter. It was a story that took you along on a fabulous ride, feeling every emotion that Liesel felt. The book was a great way to tell a story that we all know something about but in an original and emotive way. The use of Death as narrator was fabulous and gave a totally different side the usually feared character, particularly the way he cared for the souls, and I loved the colours. A book that grabbed me from the first page, caring about every single character, I will definitely re read it at some point, well, when I get it back from a friend, who lent it to another friend! Great choice Hayley I loved it even though it made me cry buckets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) My Amazon Wish List The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons A Widow's Story: A Memoir by Joyce Carol Oates Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves (Author) Tiny Sunbirds Far Away by Christie Watson The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson Once Upon a River by Boonie Jo Campbell Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan Blindness by Jose Saramago A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb Numbers by Rachel Ward The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer Deed So by Katharine A. Russell The Violets of March by Sarah Jio Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Inside Out (MIRA) by Maria V Snyder Die for Me by Amy Plum Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey The Beach Hut by Veronica Henry The Report by Jessica Francis Kane A Fine Balance: 1 by Rohinton Mistry A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke Jane by April Lindner The Fall by Simon Mawer The Glass Room by Simon Mawer Divergent by Veronica Roth Neverwhere: The Author's Preferred Text by Neil Gaiman The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World. by Jennifer Baggett The Amulet Of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud The Declaration by Gemma Malley Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman The Secret of Happy Ever After by Lucy Dillon Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts by Lucy Dillon The Emerald Atlas:The Books of Beginning by John Stephens Girl on the Run by Jane Costello Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble Bitten (Women of the Otherworld 1) by Kelley Armstrong The Prince Of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon This Perfect World by Suzanne Bugler The Takeaway Secret: How to Cook Your Favourite Fast-food at Home by Kenny McGovern Want to Know a Secret? by Sue Moorcroft Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce Swallows And Amazons by Arthur Ransome The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht Deadwood by Pete Dexter Uglies (Uglies Quartet) by Scott Westerfeld The Happy Home for Broken Hearts by Rowan Coleman The Big Book of Brain Games: 1000 PlayThinks of Art, Mathematics and Science by Ivan Moscovich Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts Sea Swept by Nora Roberts My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young Red Dust Road by Jackie Kay When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman A Million Little Pieces by James Frey Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter The Power of Six (I Am Number Four) by Pittacus Lore My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher 13 to Life by Shannon Delany The Art of Friendship by Erin Kaye Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton The House of Dust and Dreams by Brenda Reid Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak Angel by L. A. Weatherly The Twelve Days of Christmas by Stuart Weatherby I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson Therapy by Sebastian Fitzek Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursi The Search by Nora Roberts Last Night in Montreal by Emily St John Mandel No and Me by Delphine de Vigan You Are Here by Steve Horsfell Hidden Wives by Claire Avery Appassionata by Eva Hoffman The Bolter: Idina Sackville - The Woman Who Scandalised 1920s Society and Became White Mischief's Infamous Seductress by Frances Osborne Acts of Violence by Ryan David Jahn Affinity (Virago V) by Sarah Waters The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist Star Gazing by Linda Gillard Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard A Lifetime Burning by Linda Gillard Moon Called (Mercy Thompson) by Patricia Briggs Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier A Fool's Alphabet by Sebastian Faulks Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance Embrace the Night by Karen Chance Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance Touch the Dark by Karen Chance Edited May 30, 2011 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) You have so many great (and what I think will be great) reads on your TBR pile and wish list. Is The Prince of Mist a new book by Zafon? I completely agree about The Book Thief. I was fortunate that I had a day off work when I got to the end. I could never have successfully held all those tears back in public. Edited May 31, 2011 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Thanks Kylie, there are some I just can't wait to read, I just need more time!!! The Prince of Mist was released here at the end of March, it is on my wish list purely because of reading the blurb on the back of Shadow of the Wind which should also be in my TBR pile, but my Mum has nabbed it for now, she uses me as a library!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 In the time it must have taken to type that lot out, you could probably have read another book! If it's any help, I read The Historian a couple of years back, as I think a number of people here did, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Could probably have done with being a little bit shorter, but still a very good read. PS A word of warning - don't get sucked into a reading competition with Kylie! Only one winner there ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Hello Hayley, nice to see you setting up a reading blog! It's always fascinating going through what other people read, and to see what's on their TBR and wishlist. I noticed we have quite a few books in common in our TBR pile, I hope it's going to be a great year for you And I also very much approve of your choice of Best Book you read last year, The Book Thief was amazing! PS A word of warning - don't get sucked into a reading competition with Kylie! Only one winner there ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) So funny, I think the only way to consider a book comp with Kylie would be to sell my children and dogs, and even then I'd need to read tree books and listen to audiobooks at the same time! I like your idea of the book swapping Frankie, now I have posted my wish list I will take a look to see which books I can bear to part with - I only ever keep books I am likely to read again so there should be a few... Edited May 31, 2011 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Day 2 - A book that you've read more than 3 times I reread a lot of books when I was young, my favourites being many of the Enid Blytons and Arthur Ransomes, and one about a girl with a unicorn who lives on top of her apartment building, or something like that, can't remember why I liked that one so much! As an adult the only books I have read more than 3 times are the Twilight series. I wasn't planning on reading them at all, it isn't a genre I had read at all before. But, I was keen for a friend to read a favourite book of mine and she agreed that she would if I tried Twilight (I had poo pooed it up till that point). I reluctantly agreed and was instantly hooked and read the series through three times before I put them in the attic so I could read something else. I swear to this day that the pages were laced with a narcotic and that was why I couldn't stop reading. I have watched the films but they do very little for me, I think with the books you can kinda forget she is writing about teens, but not with the films. maybe it is the author as I was very taken with The Host too, but I'll save that for a later question........ (and I don't think my friend ever read the book I recommended!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 In the time it must have taken to type that lot out, you could probably have read another book!3 PS A word of warning - don't get sucked into a reading competition with Kylie! Only one winner there ... Those are two very Raven-like comments, Roland. I think he is being a bad influence on you. Thanks for sticking up for me! So funny, I think the only way to consider a book comp with Kylie would be to sell my children and dogs, and even then I'd need to read tree books and listen to audiobooks at the same time! Now look what you've done, Roland and Frankie! You've corrupted a lovely new member of our forum. Actually, Hayley (for some reason I was reading your user name as Charlie), it's only in the book-buying department that you might have some competition. As far as reading rates go, there are plenty of members who read way more than I do. Frankie, for one. (and I don't think my friend ever read the book I recommended!) Surely the least your friend owes you for making you read Twilight is to read the book you recommended! I had to laugh at your mention of putting the books away in the attic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 I cheated with the wish list, it was easier to copy and paste and just delete the odd add on, I truly wouldn't have the patience to type it all out! I will endeavour to harangue my friend into reading the book, she lives in Newfoundland but is visiting later this month, hopefully with her kindle in tow, so will download it when she isn't looking!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Now look what you've done, Roland and Frankie! You've corrupted a lovely new member of our forum. Who are you trying to kid? Hayley's joined on 04-April 10, she's no newbie around the forum! She's been on here long enough to figure it out for herself, ain't that right, Hayley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Oh Frankie, you've removed my persona of innocence!! I like to consider myself more a lurker and a procrastinator.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) It seems like we're all being exposed today What a nasty day at the forum! I think I'm going to complain to the Mod Squad! Edited May 31, 2011 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Reader Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 if I tried Twilight (I had poo pooed it up till that point). Don't you find it annoying when you avoid something you think you don't like when it turns out you do like it after all. I have been avoiding si-fi nearly all my life but last 4/5 years I am hooked (tv wise haven't really ventrued into si-fi books just yet) thats one heck of a wish list I try not to make a note of everything I want to read for fear of overwhelming myself with it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 What a nasty day at the forum! I think I'm going to complain to the Mod Squad! What do you have to complain about? You're not being attacked from all sides! I'm glad you've come out of lurking, Hayley. Be warned that if you go back we will come and flush you out again. Easy Reader, Raven will be hosting a sci-fi reading circle in July. Maybe you could join in and start reading sci-fi as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 It's the fault of everyone in this forum, if they didn't recommend such good book it would be half the size!! I agree re tv programmes, I never thought I'd be such a big fan of True Blood and Vampire Diaries, I wouldn't have given them a second glance before reading Twilight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Reader Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 It's the fault of everyone in this forum, if they didn't recommend such good book it would be half the size!! I agree re tv programmes, I never thought I'd be such a big fan of True Blood and Vampire Diaries, I wouldn't have given them a second glance before reading Twilight. I know what you mean everytime I read a review on here I think I must remember that one luckily my memory isn't that good whcih helps keep my wishlist short I have currently stopped watching True Blood so I can read the books first although I like how they are slightly different from eachother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 The books are great, though the later few lack the punch of the earlier ones, shame you don't live closer, you could have borrowed mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Day 1 - Best book you read last year This has to be The Book Thief, I am not easily visibly moved by books, but I actually had my husband worried with how upset I was reading the last chapter. It was a story that took you along on a fabulous ride, feeling every emotion that Liesel felt. The book was a great way to tell a story that we all know something about but in an original and emotive way. The use of Death as narrator was fabulous and gave a totally different side the usually feared character, particularly the way he cared for the souls, and I loved the colours. A book that grabbed me from the first page, caring about every single character, I will definitely re read it at some point, well, when I get it back from a friend, who lent it to another friend! Easily my fave as well that I read last year.....actually one of my all time faves If it's any help, I read The Historian a couple of years back, as I think a number of people here did, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Could probably have done with being a little bit shorter, but still a very good read. I definitely agree on both points Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraloves Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Yay for finding another Enid Blyton Fan You have some brilliant books on your TBR pile and also on your Wishlist can't wait to hear what you make to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Excellent thread jibber jabber going on here today - sorry I had to work and miss it all, but very entertaining to read now! As an adult the only books I have read more than 3 times are the Twilight series. I wasn't planning on reading them at all, it isn't a genre I had read at all before. But, I was keen for a friend to read a favourite book of mine and she agreed that she would if I tried Twilight (I had poo pooed it up till that point). I reluctantly agreed and was instantly hooked and read the series through three times before I put them in the attic so I could read something else. I swear to this day that the pages were laced with a narcotic and that was why I couldn't stop reading. I have watched the films but they do very little for me, I think with the books you can kinda forget she is writing about teens, but not with the films. maybe it is the author as I was very taken with The Host too, but I'll save that for a later question........ (and I don't think my friend ever read the book I recommended!) This is exactly what I felt when I read the books! I'd never read a vampire (or even this sort of fantasy) type of book before, and I was immediately hooked. The first time I read the books, I actually lost weight as I didn't want to stop for meals. And I don't even think they're that well written, there's just something about them that grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I definitely agree on both points Then I would say you're a very perceptive reader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.