Abcinthia Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Your favourite read of the year? It's hard to pick one favourite but I think it has to be Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert Your favourite author of the year? Stephen King or Daphne Du Maurier Your most read author of the year? Stephen King Your favourite book cover of the year? The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? The Trial by Kafka The book that most disappointed you? The Almost Moon - Alice Sebold The funniest book of the year? Past Mortem - Ben Elton Your favourite literary character this year? Emma Bovary or Scarlett O'Hara. Your favourite children's book this year? The Tiger Who Came to Tea - Judith Kerr Your favourite classic of the year? Madame Bovary or Gone With The Wind Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Mary Tudor: England's First Queen - Anna Whitelock. Your favourite biography this year? Karl Marx - Francis Wheen Your favourite collection of short stories this year? Different Seasons - Stephen King Your favourite poetry collection this year? I haven't read any poetry collections this year. Your favourite illustrated book of the year? Katie And The Spanish Princess - James Mayhew Your favourite publisher of the year? I like them all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 (edited) My answers are for up until today, but there's obviously always a chance that I'll find a gem before the end of the year. Your favourite read of the year? This is such a difficult choice, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to list a few. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafrón, Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, and The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry. (I know, I know, but it's so hard to chose just one). Your favourite author of the year? Would have to be Zafrón because of the excellent book mentioned above. Your most read author of the year? Charlaine Harris (the first eight in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series). Your favourite book cover of the year? Can't think of many covers that have blown me away, but I do like the one for The Shadow of the Wind. The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? I abandoned The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale but it might have been because of distractions at the time, not necessarily because it's a bad book. I'll most likely give it another shot in 2012. The book that most disappointed you? Probably Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe; I expected a lot better than what I read. I was disappointed with another of his texts, Moll Flanders, so perhaps he's not going to be my favourite author ever. The funniest book of the year? Most definitely The Fry Chronicles. Stephen Fry is such a witty man; he had me in stitches for a lot of the book. ]Your favourite literary character this year? Well that's certainly a difficult question. Would perhaps have to be Fevvers in Angela Carter's Nights At The Circus for interestingness alone. Your favourite children's book this year? Hauron and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. Utterly fantastic children's book. Simple on the surface, but with hidden contextual depths. Your favourite classic of the year? Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. Interestingly my answer for this hasn't been one of the many classics I've had to read for university reading. I think that probably says something. Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Haven't read any non-fiction. Your favourite biography this year? The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry. Go figure. Your favourite collection of short stories this year? The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories by Cox & Gilbert. Your favourite poetry collection this year? Crow by Ted Hughes. (And a mention for Jen Hadfield's Nigh-No-Place which I also enjoyed). Your favourite illustrated book of the year? Haven't read any illustrated books this year. Your favourite publisher of the year? Never really have a preference publishers, but Vintage always have really nice designs. Your favourite audiobook of the year? Listened to a bit of The Fry Chronicles and Fry's voice is fantastic, but other than that I've not listened to anything else. --- Edited December 10, 2011 by Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Reader Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) Your favourite publisher of the year? I like them all! Excellent answer - I wish I had thought of that too Edited December 11, 2011 by Easy Reader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) Oh no, I'm reading this now. Only read the first chapter but it seems ok so far. I hope I enjoy it more than you did. I hope you do too. I just expected so much more from a Pulitzer winner. Some chapters were wonderful, but it was so depressing that it didn't suit my tastes. Edited December 12, 2011 by nursenblack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) I do enjoy this! I'm going to post my selection before going back to read others. Of course, things may change between now and the end of the year, especially as December is usually my biggest reading month. Anyway, here goes: Your favourite read of the year? To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Your favourite author of the year? Well it could have been Virginia Woolf again, but I'm going to nominate Margaret Elphinstone, who was the biggest surprise - just brilliant, and grossly underrated. Your most read author of the year? Unusually, I have actually read some authors more than once, but the only one more than twice is Virginia Woolf. Your favourite book cover of the year? Really difficult this one, but the New Naturalist covers are always superb, as are those by The Folio Society, the favourite of which this year has been a toss up between Mrs Dalloway and The Mandarins. I rather liked the dust jacket for Michelle Paver's Dark Matter too. The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? Kept by DJ Thomas. Wordy and dreary. The book that most disappointed you? None really disappointed as in previous years, because all those I expected to be good were. Those that weren't, didn't really disappoint, as I didn't have any particular expectations. Kept was the worst book I tried. The funniest book of the year? Asterix - any of those that I've browsed and enjoyed. Your favourite literary character this year? Gudrid Thorsbjorndottir from the very first book, The Sea Road. Your favourite children's book this year? I have only read one children's book this year, so suppose this has to be the favourite: At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hooper. As children's books go, a good one. Your favourite classic of the year? See my favourite book! Your favourite non-fiction book this year? All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings. An outstanding single volume history of WW2 - not a topic I read about often, but the reviews were very good, and was ready to try one. Your favourite biography this year? Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee. Perhaps my favourite biography of all time. Your favourite collection of short stories this year? I'm not really into short stories, but I was given a small book with one short story in it for Christmas, which I thought was a beautiful read: Mrs Scrooge by Carol Ann Duffy. Your favourite poetry collection this year? Not really into poetry, but have been dipping into Staying Alive, edited by Neil Astley, and thoroughly enjoying what I've been reading. Your favourite illustrated book of the year? A joint award: Vermeer's Women and Dutch Landscapes, the books that accompanied the eponymous exhibitions in Cambridge and Edinburgh respectively. Both exhibitions were small but beautifully focused, some of the artwork sublime. The books are excellent reminders. Your favourite publisher of the year? The Folio Society Your favourite audiobook of the year? Am currently listening to Sense and Sensibility being read by Juliet Stevenson. She has a reading voice to die for. Wonderful, revealing even more than my previous half dozen or so readings achieved. Honourable mentions The following were the 5 and 6 star books this year. Six stars The Sea Road by Margaret Elphinstone To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee Voyageurs by Margaret Elphinstone All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Five stars Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch Dreadnought by Robert Massie Whoops! by John Lanchester Dark Matter by Michelle Paver Amsterdam by Ian MacEwan How I Won the Yellow Jersey by Ned Boulting Edited January 7, 2012 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sod Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Your favourite read of the year: Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman Your favourite author of the year: Neil Gaiman Your most read author of the year: George R.R. Martin Your favourite book cover of the year? The book you abandoned: Infinite Jest – Wallace-David Foster The book that most disappointed you: A Dance with Dragons - George RR Martin (I thought that he would tie everything up) The funniest book of the year: Go the F#*k to Sleep - Adam Mansbach Your favourite literary character this year: Charlie Nancy (Anansi Boys) Your favourite children's book this year? Your favourite classic of the year: American Gods - Neil Gaiman (I class this as a classic) Your favourite non-fiction book this year: A willingness to die - Brian Kingcome Your favourite biography this year: My Life - Bill Clinton Your favourite collection of short stories this year? Your favourite poetry collection this year? Your favourite illustrated book of the year: Go the F#*k to Sleep - Adam Mansbach Your favourite publisher of the year? Your favourite audiobook of the year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Your favourite read of the year? A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness Your favourite author of the year? Carlos Ruiz Zafon Your most read author of the year? Carlos Ruiz Zafon Your favourite book cover of the year? The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? - The Return of Captain John Emmett- Elizabeth Speller (this really was a shame as it was advertised to be better than Birdsong. The book that most disappointed you? Grace Williams says it loud - Emma Henderson The funniest book of the year? I haven't read anything funny, that needs to change for 2012!! Your favourite literary character this year? Scout (To Kill A Mockingbird) Your favourite children's book this year? If this includes YA books then Stealing Phoenix - Joss Stirling Your favourite classic of the year? To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee Your favourite non-fiction book this year? None, this needs to change too, I have lots on my shelves... Your favourite biography this year? None, but I WILL read a Bill Bryson and/or a Stephen Fry next year. Your Favourite collection of short stories this year? I wish someone were waiting for me somewhere - Anna Gavalda (have only read a couple but enjoying so far) Your favourite poetry collection this year? None Your favourite illustrated book of the year? None Your favourite publisher of the year? Not aware of publishers Your favourite audiobook of the year? I can't concentrate on audiobooks, I always forget I am supposed to be listening to them!! Notable mentions - Night Road - Kristin Hannah The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Blasphemer - Nigel Farndale The Midnight Palace - Carlos Ruiz Zafon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookworm44 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Your favourite read of the year? Three way tie between The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) ~ Your favourite read of the year? Room by Emma Donoghue and Crippen by John Boyne ~ Your favourite author of the year? Tuomas Kyrö, Markus Kajo, John Boyne, Daniil Harms, Ernest Hemingway, Pirkko Saisio. ~ Your most read author of the year? Tess Gerritsen ~ Your favourite book cover of the year? A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (the only good thing about the bloody book) ~ The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? The Shaking Woman or a History of My Nerves by Siri Hustvedt ~ The book that most disappointed you? A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius + Reading Lolita in Tehran ~ The funniest book of the year? Incidences by Daniil Harms, Mielensäpahoittaja by Tuomas Kyrö, Kettusen kootut by Markus Kajo ~ Your favourite literary character this year? Major Pettigrew in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson ~ Your favourite children's book this year? The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett ~ Your favourite classic of the year? The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett ~ Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Between the Sheets - The Literary Liaisons of Nine 20th-Century Women Writers by Lesley McDowell ~ Your favourite biography this year? The Dog Who Rescues Cats by Philip Gonzalez & Leonore Fleischer (fine, it doesn't really fall neatly into the category but I don't care!) ~ Your favourite collection of short stories this year? Kettusen Kootut by Markus Kajo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The funniest book of the year? Skippy Dies by Paul Murray (which was also one of the saddest) Wow, I had no idea the book would be funny as well. I must bump it up on my list of books I should read! Your favourite non-fiction book this year?The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby. Yay A great book, isn't it. I wish more authors would write about the books they read. I'm glad I still have Susan Hill's book to read, and there's also Faulks on Fiction, and there must be more. I have to look into it! Your favourite biography this year?The Iris Trilogy by John Bayley & Stuart : A Life Backwards by Alexandra Masters. I really should bump these up on my TBR. Oh, just remembered I don't own The Iris Trilogy, I only have Elegy for Iris. Well, I will bump that one up on my list. Your favourite read of the year?[ ...] and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery I'm so happy you liked it in the end, I knew how uneasy you were about reading it because it's one of those books 'everybody' seems to love and you thought you might not Your most read author of the year? Lois Lowry (3 books from the Anastasia series) The funniest book of the year? Anastasia at Your Service by Lois Lowry Your favourite literary character this year? [...] Anastasia from Lois Lowry's Anastasia series [...] Hehee Your favourite literary character this year? Gosh, this is a tricky one! Probably Major Pettigrew from Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson ~~ I was happy to see how many people had chosen Room as their favorite read last year, and that Carlos Ruiz Zafon and his novel The Shadow of the Wind was also featured on the lists Thanks poppyshake for resurrecting the Book Awards, it was fun going through other people's lists and decide on my own Edited January 2, 2012 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Were you going to say something to me? You quoted me but haven't written anything (unless it was to highlight that we both chose Major Pettigrew?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Were you going to say something to me? You quoted me but haven't written anything (unless it was to highlight that we both chose Major Pettigrew?). Oh! What on earth happened, I must've accidentally deleted a line Yes, I did say something to you, I didn't just highlight your answer, eventhough it was brilliant on it's own. I just wrote that it was definitely a tricky one for me too, but in the end I went with Major Pettigrew, just like you did. He was such a sweetheart and a likable person, eventhough (or perhaps because?) he was so old school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I borrowed this book from a friend, but I think I might buy a copy - I definitely feel it's one I would like to re-read at some stage. Ditto Mr Rosenbaum's List (which I borrowed from the same friend!). Thanks, frankie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladymacbeth Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I'm a bit late for this but Your favourite read of the year? Too close to call between The City and the City by China Mieville and Perfume by Patrick Suskind. Your favourite author of the year? Richelle Mead Your most read author of the year? JK Rowling because I re-read Harry Potter Your favourite book cover of the year? ? Can't remember any? The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? So many - The book that most disappointed you? Messenger by Lois Lowry - the other two books in the series were great but this one left me feeling dismal. The funniest book of the year? None really - I do find Harry potter hilarious. Your favourite literary character this year? Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy books Your favourite children's book this year? Dr Dog by Babette Cole - highly recommend this to anyone with children. Your favourite classic of the year? None - I started and aba\ndoned two Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker Your favourite biography this year? N/A Only read one and it was rubbish Your favourite illustrated book of the year? Walter the Farting Dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Your favourite illustrated book of the year? Walter the Farting Dog Tee hee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Good Citizen Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Your favourite read of the year? All Quiet on the Western Front or 100 Years of Solitude - both blew me away Your favourite author of the year? Murakami as I've been reading him all year Your most read author of the year? See above Your favourite book cover of the year? Err.. don't have a preference. The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? Blood Meridian - 50 pages from the end (and I rarely ditch a book) I thought it would be a great read but it bored me. The book that most disappointed you? See above. The funniest book of the year? Rum Diary by the guy in my avatar had some good moments. Your favourite literary character this year? Henry Chianksi - The post office and again in Ham on Rye but that was 2012.. Your favourite children's book this year? I must have read Green Eggs and Ham to my son a 100 times! Your favourite classic of the year? When does Classic end and Modern Classic begin? Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Why does E=MC2 and why should I care by the Lovely Brian Cox Your favourite biography this year? Hmmm don't think I read one, I have Margrave of the Marshes by John Peel on the horizon though. Your favourite illustrated book of the year? Didn't read one, I have Persepolis to read this year too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Your favourite classic of the year? When does Classic end and Modern Classic begin? I believe the cut-off point is generally considered to be WW1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Rum Diary by the guy in my avatar had some good moments. Are you going to see the movie? I saw a few brief moments in a TV segment and it looked pretty funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Good Citizen Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I'll catch it on DVD I'm sure, it will be interesting to see if it captures the mood of the book where the humour was secondary to the geneal feeling of journalistic burn out and living day to day scratching a living. So I hope its not just an out and out comedy. it seems an odd choice for a film tbh, its a rambling drunken haze of a book with little plot as such, but I suppose it worked for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas! I also think Johnny Depp as ageless as he is, at the wrong side of 40 is probably a little old to be playing the central character who I think was in his early to mId 20's. But yeah I'll watch it at some point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 If you'd like to see a trailer, IMDB has one here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Good Citizen Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Thanks I will watch it eventually, if only for the man crush on Johnny Depp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gad786 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Your favourite read of the year?:20,000 leagues under the sea Your favourite author of the year?:jules verne Your most read author of the year?Jules verne Your favourite book cover of the year?20,000 leagues under the sea The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? The book that most disappointed you?the adventures of pinochio The funniest book of the year?just so stories Your favourite literary character this year?The charecter in my current book:john hatteras Your favourite children's book this year?just so stories Your favourite classic of the year?20,000 leagues under the sea Your favourite non-fiction book this year?The power of reading Your favourite biography this year?N/A Your favourite collection of short stories this year?chicken soup for the mother and sons soul Your favourite poetry collection this year?N/A Your favourite illustrated book of the year?the adventures of pinochio Your favourite publisher of the year?oxford world classics Your favourite audiobook of the year?N/A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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