Echo Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 (edited) Since I finally finished college, and the god-awful reading lists that came with it, I can once again devote myself to reading for pleasure. So here is where I will keep track of the books I'm reading. Since I regained my reading freedom, I have read: South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami (4 stars) The Boehmians of the Latin Quarter by Henri Murger (5 stars) Kokoro by Natsume Soseki (5 stars) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (4.5 stars) Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino (4 stars) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (5 stars) The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (3 stars) Out: A Novel by Natsuo Kirino (5 stars) By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie (4 stars) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (4 stars) Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (5 stars) The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (3 stars) Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (5 stars) The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (5 stars) Blue Spring by Taiyo Matsumoto (manga - 3 stars) There is a Tide by Agatha Christie (5 stars) Botchan by Natsume Soseki (5 stars) Still Life and Other Stories by Junzo Shono (3 stars) Tokyo Stories (5 stars) Ireland: A Novel by Frank Delaney (re-read - 5 stars) Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagnination by Edogawa Rampo (4 stars) Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (5 stars) Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (4 stars) Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie (5 stars) Endless Night by Agatha Christie (4 stars) And next on my list are: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham (e-book, currently reading) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (currently reading) IQ84 by Haruki Murakami Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann Death in Venice by Thomas Mann Push by Sapphire The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith Naked by David Sedaris Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa The Matchmaker of Kenmare by Frank Delaney Edited December 30, 2011 by Echo updating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Yay for finally having the liberty to read whatever your heart desires! Happy times And congratulations on finishing college, well done Some great titles on your list, I hope you enjoy Push! I've also seen the movie which I didn't like as much as the book, but Mariah Carey was superb on it, I didn't even recognise it was her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Thanks! I love having my brain all to myself. Well, I finished Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. I probably shouldn't have been reading it at work, because it was SO SAD! The stories (there are two) are all about loss and trying to move on, and I started crying more than once. I'm lucky that I work alone. The stores were beautiful nonetheless, and honestly pretty uplifting once you get over the sadness. Yoshimoto definitely captured the soul-crushing feeling that one gets when one loses someone important to them. It was hard to breathe as I read. So, if you don't mind some tears and physical discomfort from a book, I highly recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 I finished Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie yesterday at work. I was actually surprised by the ending, which was nice, since not all mysteries are able to keep me in suspense until the end. I started another Agatha Christie mystery today, Ordeal by Innocence, which I like so far. I also just ordered the other two books in Stieg Larsson's Millenium series, which I can't wait to read!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I love Agatha Christie Echo & I never guess who the murderer is I also love the time period they're set in as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 I'm completely addicted to Agatha Christie now! As you can see from my first post, I've been reading her quite a bit. I just finished Ordeal by Innocence today, and I absolutely loved it! The ending made me smile so much and I was even tearing up a little. Next will probably be another Christie, Endless Night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I'm completely addicted to Agatha Christie now! As you can see from my first post, I've been reading her quite a bit. I just finished Ordeal by Innocence today, and I absolutely loved it! The ending made me smile so much and I was even tearing up a little. Next will probably be another Christie, Endless Night. she is great I managed to find a couple of plays by her including The Mousetrap and Then there were none (which is always one of my fave's), some of her later ones are quite odd too very unlike her more traditional ones eg. Passanger to Frankfurt or The Seven Dials...love em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 So glad you've got the relief of reading whatever you wish and not having to stick to college books now. I'm the opposite - it seems my reading freedom is over for the summer, as I've received my book-list for the first semester and will have to get cracking straight away. Still, there's always the chance that I might find a couple of good reads on my list after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I've never read any Agatha Christie books, but your enthusiasm is starting to tempt me Echo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I'm completely addicted to Agatha Christie now! As you can see from my first post, I've been reading her quite a bit. I just finished Ordeal by Innocence today, and I absolutely loved it! The ending made me smile so much and I was even tearing up a little. Next will probably be another Christie, Endless Night. I read a lot of hers when I was in my teens & used to write down the titles in a little note book so I would know what I'd read & then I lost the book so I didn't read anymore for ages but now that I'm older & getting forgetful I find that I can't remember the plotlines anyway so I've started to read her books again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladymacbeth Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Echo I have read this thread before but only just commenting - congratulations on finishing college!!!!!! It is very liberating to have freedom to read what you want and time to do it. I remember my first 3 years at university I didn't pick up anything except a textbook. I haven't read anything on your TBR list sorry but I see you gave The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5 stars so I might need to read this one eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Thanks! And yes, I definitely recommend The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it's amazing! I just saw the movie last night (the original Swedish), and I thought it was pretty good, but the book is SO much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 I finished Endless Night by Agatha Christie the other day, and I have to say, I found the ending both surprising and disturbing! This is one of the best examples of sociopathic behavior in literature I've ever come across. Yikes! Now I'm on to The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson...I'm loving it so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Wow, I haven't updated in a while! Since my last post I've read: Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino...This is probably one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. It really affected me badly. While I was reading it, I could feel my own personality growing darker, matching that of the characters'. This book explores a very dark aspect of the lives of prostitutes in Tokyo (as if being a prostitute wasn't dark enough). I highly recommend it, but make sure you're in a good place in your life first. Seriously. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith...I really loved this book. The writing is incredibly evocative, and I felt transported to Francie Nolan's neighborhood and to her tiny tenement apartment. The only complaint I have is that the end of the book felt completely rushed. The author spent a lot of time in Francie's childhood, but once she turned about 14, it was as if the author couldn't finish fast enough. It almost ruined the book for me, but the first two-thirds are still enchanting. Kokoro by Natsume Soseki...Natsume Soseki is practically the national writer of Japan, and I love his novels. Kokoro tells the story of a young man's relationship with a slightly older man, whom he sees as his mentor. Unfortunately, the mentor isn't really up to the job for the most part. It's very poetically written, and explores the many secrets that people hide inside. Very highly recommended! The Boehmians of the Latin Quarter by Henri Murger...This is the novel that served as the inspiration for the famous opera, La Boheme. The translation (the original is in French) I read is pretty badly done, but I loved, loved, loved this book anyway! The story follows 4 friends, their constant pursuit of artistic fame, their tumultuous relationships with women, and their never-ending need of money to pay the rent, let alone food. The book is at turns hilarious and incredibly sad. It's kind of a hard book to find, but if you can track it down, I HIGHLY recommend it!! South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami...I read this in two days. It's one of Murakami's shorter novels, and the one in which I was the most disappointed (too many mysteries left un-revealed). But despite my disappointment, the book was still a joy to read. Murakami is by far my favorite author. His writing is just so magical and has the ability to transport me in a way that no other author can. I'm now onto hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, also by Murakami. It's the last unread Murakami I have, so I've been saving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) Wow, I haven't updated in a while! Since my last post I've read: Kokoro by Natsume Soseki...Natsume Soseki is practically the national writer of Japan, and I love his novels. Kokoro tells the story of a young man's relationship with a slightly older man, whom he sees as his mentor. Unfortunately, the mentor isn't really up to the job for the most part. It's very poetically written, and explores the many secrets that people hide inside. Very highly recommended! Great review Echo, I have 'Kokoro' on my bookshelf waiting to be read, I read 'The Gate' and most of 'I am a Cat', 'The Gate' was a great insight into a married couples and the lives they had before they got married, I think Natsume Soseski has a great insightful in people (its one of the things I always like in an author) and understands them and the way he writes, its just sublime. I am definitely going to read 'Kokoro' in the New Year. I just found out recently that Natsume Soseki was at Glasgow University. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami...I read this in two days. It's one of Murakami's shorter novels, and the one in which I was the most disappointed (too many mysteries left un-revealed). But despite my disappointment, the book was still a joy to read. Murakami is by far my favorite author. His writing is just so magical and has the ability to transport me in a way that no other author can. I'm now onto hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, also by Murakami. It's the last unread Murakami I have, so I've been saving it. Another great review Echo, I love how you describe Haruki Murakami's writing, I feel the same way, it is magical, he takes the most ordinary situation and turns into something complete different but believable (example: The Sheepman from 'The Wild Sheep Chase' and 'DanceDanceDance', I always keep an eye out for him in all of Murakami's books). I enjoyed 'South of the Border, West of the Sun' but I agree it did leave too many mysteries, it was a lovely story. I have still to read 'Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World' too (I just found it in a box ), I'm looking forward to it. Edited December 14, 2011 by Weave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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