chaliepud Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 (edited) With only 4 days to go until 2012 I'd better get started on a reading log before I get left behind by everyone else! In 2011 I read approximately 40 books which I am pretty happy with, but I'd like to aim for nearer 50 in 2012. I'm not too worried about numbers though, what I would like to do is diversify my reading a little more, in 2011 I read less crime and chick lit than ever before and have read much more contemporary fiction and and YA books which have pleasantly surprised me with their quality of writing and interest level. My Top 6 (tried for 5 but I couldn't narrow it down!!) books of 2011 - The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon Night Road - Kristin Hannah A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness A Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini The Blasphemer - Nigel Farndale So, my aims this year (without getting too regimented and scaring my mojo away) are - * To buy less books, read from from TBR pile and use the library (it's being threatened with closure though ) * Spend more time reading and less time trawling for new books. * Less TV, more books! * Explore some new genres, especially non-fiction and a biography or two, maybe I'll have a go at Kell's Genre Challenge. * I'd also like to try Julie's Take A Chance Challenge, but I need to get my TBR pile down first!!! So, here goes!!! Edited December 28, 2011 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 (edited) My TBR pile, in no particular order, updated 25th September... I Capture The Castle - Dodie Smith The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shafer, Annie Barrows The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter Generation Dead - Daniel Waters Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende The Pain Merchants - Janice Hardy Ordinary Dogs, a story of two lives - Eileen Battersby Emma - Jane Austen The Hare With Amber Eyes - Edmund De Waal The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz - Denis Avey The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer The Shadow Wife - Diane Chamberlain Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss The Blue Door - Lise Kristensen A Dog 's Purpose - W. Bruce Cameron When Nights Were Cold - Susanna Jones The Good Father - Noah Hawley The Light Between Oceans - M.L Steadman Hollow Pike - James Dawson One Dog and His Boy - Eva Ibbotson Divine Evil - Nora Roberts Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks Brass Ring - Diane Chamberlain Mortal Chaos - Matt Dickinson Hollow Earth - John and Carole E Barrowman How I LIve Now - Meg Rosoff My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece - Annabel Pitcher Mr Rosenblum's List - Natasha Solomons The Last Family in England - Matt Haig The Rescue Man - Anthony Quinn All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut A Street Cat Named Bob - James Bowen At The Sign of the Sugared Plum - Mary Hooper The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster The Horse Dancer - Jojo Moyes Home Front - Kristin Hannah A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness Dewey - The Small Town Library Cat Who Changed The World - Vicki Myron Between A Mother And Her Child - Elizabeth Noble Paranormalcy - Kiersten White The Two Week Wait - Sarah Rayner The Villa - Rosanna Ley In Defence of Dogs - John Bradshaw The Tree That Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks American Gods - Neil Gaiman The Peacock Emporium - Jojo Moyes The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest - Stieg Larsson Bitten - Kelley Armstrong I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb Seeking Crystal - Joss Stirling Edited December 29, 2012 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 (edited) My Amazon wishlist, it just keeps on growing!!!!!! (last updated 8th May, but still more to add from my Goodreads lists... ) When Nights Were Cold - Susanna Jones The Pledge - Kimberley Derting Touch - Jus Accardo Replay - Ken Grimwood The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor Hollow Pike - James Dawson The Book of Lies - Mary Horlock Fracture - Megan Miranda The Septembers of Shiraz - Dalia Sofer The Consequences of Love - Sulaiman Addonia The Dead of the Night (Book 2, The Tomorrow Series) - John Marsden Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea A Dog's Purpose - W. Bruce Cameron The Pink Hotel - Anna Stothard Hope" A Tragedy - Shalom Auslander Splinter - Sebastian Fitzek Absolution - Patrick Flanery The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer Sophie, Dog Overboard - Emma Pearse A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty - Joshilyn Jackson The Night Bookmobile - Audrey Niffenegger The House By The Thames: And The People Who LI'ved There by Gillian Tindall Strange Meeting by Susan Hill All These Things I've Done (Birthright) by Gabrielle Zevin Ordinary Dogs by Eileen Battersby Pure by Julianna Baggott BloodMining by Laura Wilkinson Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s by Jennifer Worth The Blue Door: A little girl's incredible story of survival in the Japanese POW camps of Java by Lise Kristensen The 'ladies of the night'' Asylum by Katy Darby At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hooper The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham Part Wild: One Woman's Journey with a Creature Caught Between the Worlds of Wolves and Dogs by Ceiridwen Terrill 100 Must-read Life-changing Books (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guides) by Nick Rennison Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook Witch Child by Celia Rees The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater The Last Family In England by Matt Haig The Sookie Stackhouse Companion: A Complete Guide to the Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris That Day In September by Artie Van Why Goodbye to All That (Penguin Modern Classics) by Robert Graves All But My Life: A Memoir by Gerda Klein Weissmann Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah Summer School by Domenica de Rosa The Heart of the Night by Judith Lennox Hourglass by Myra McEntire The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursi Choir - Gareth Malone Night - Elie Wiesel Talking Pictures, Images and Messages Rescued From The Past - Ransom Riggs Missing You - Louise Douglas Poltergeeks - Sean Cummings Sanctuary - Nora Roberts The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin Easy - Tammara Webber The Girl YouLeft Behind - Jojo Moyes Black Heart Blue - Louisa Reid Heart Shaped Bruise - Tanya Byrne The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa Dog On It - Spencer Quinn The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton Edited December 11, 2012 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 (edited) 2012 Reads 1. The Bloody Chamber And Other Stories - Angela Carter (Jan 4th) -1/5 2. The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern (Jan 8th) - 4/5 3. Witch Child - Celia Rees (Jan 15th) - 3/5 4. Me Before You - Jojo Moyes (Jan 17th) - 5/5 5. Call The Midwife - Jennifer Worth (Jan 30th) - 4/5 6. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs (Feb 6th) - 5/5 7. The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan (Feb 7th) - 3/5 8. All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque (Feb 10th) - 4/5 9. A Land Of Decoration - Grace McCleen (Feb 21st) - 4.5/5 10. Therapy - Sebastian Fitzek (Feb 23rd) - 4/5 11. I Am The Messenger - Markus Zusak (March 2nd) - 4/5 12. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein (March 9th) - 4.5/5 13. A Certain Slant of Light - Laura Whitcomb (March 22nd) - 4.25/5 14. Marshmallows for Breakfast - Dorothy Koomson (March 27th) 3.5/5 15. The Report - Jessica Francis Kane (March 30th) 4/5 16. Strangers on the 16:02 - Priya Basil - 2011 Quick Reads - (March 30th) 1/5 17. The Woman He Loved Before - Dorothy Koomson (April 1st) 4/5 18. Half of the Human Race - Anthony Quinn (April 8th) 4.5/5 19. The Last Echo - Kimberley Derting (April 11th) 4.5/5 20. Dark Matter - Michelle Paver (April 17th) 4/5 21. Divergent - Veronica Roth (April 23rd) 5/5 22. That Day in September - Artie Van Why (April 23rd) 3/5 23. Insurgent - Veronica Roth (May 4th) 4.25/5 24. Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris (May 8th) 3.5/5 25. Tiny Sunbirds Far Away - Christie Watson (May 12th) 4.5/5 26. The Good Father - Diane Chamberlain (May 17th) 4.25/5 27. Delirium - Lauren Oliver (May 26th) 3/5 28. Red Dog - Louis De Bernieres (May 26th) 5/5 29. The Prince of Mist - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (June 4th) 3.5/5 30. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini (June 10th) 5/5 31. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan (June 15th) 2.5/5 32. One Perfect Summer - Paige Toon (June 26th) 3.5/5 33. Torn - Cat Clarke (June 29th) 3.75/5 34. Torn - David Massey (July 3rd) 4/5 35. The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey (July 10th) 4/5 36. The Last Wolf - Michael Morpurgo (June 12th) 4/5 37. Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness (July 28th) 4/5 38. The Rescue Man - Anthony Quinn (August 18th) 4/5 39. Pure - Julianna Baggott (August 30th) 3/5 40. Sleep Toward Heaven - Amanda Eyre Ward (September 3rd) 3/5 41. The Good Father - Noah Hawley (September 21st ) 3/5 42. Home Front - Kristin Hannah (September 27th) 4.5/5 43. Hollow Pike - James Dawson (October 3rd) 4.25/5 44. Paranormalcy - Kiersten White (October 4th) 2/5 45. Ordinary Dogs - Eileen Battersby (October 7th) 4/5 46. One Dog and His Boy - Eva Ibbotson (October 8th) 4/5 47. A Dog's Purpose - W. Bruce Cameron (October 9th) 4.5/5 48. Seeking Crystal - Joss Stirling (October 13th) 4.25/5 49. The Villa - Rosanna Ley (October 18th) 3/5 50. The Blue Door - Lise Kristensen (October 25th) 4.5/5 51. A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness (October 31st) 4.25/5 52. The Last Letter from your Lover - Jojo Moyes (November 21st) 3.5/5 53. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Changed The World - Vicki Myron (November 29th) 3.75/5 54. Bitten - Kelley Armstrong (December 6th) 4/5 55. The Light Between Oceans - M.L Stedman (December 16th) 4.5/5 Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story - Veronica Roth (December 16th) 2/5 56. At The Sign of the Sugared Plum - Mary Hooper (December 21st) 4/5 57. Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut (December 27th) 3.5/5 .... A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith - unfinished so far, but I will finish it! Edited December 31, 2012 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) Ok, that's me done for now, I'm off to finish my current book, so I can start afresh in 2012. Happy New Reading Year Everyone!!!! Edited December 30, 2011 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Happy reading for 2012 chaliepud, hope it's a cracker with no mojo loss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks Charm! I got my Christmas present from my brother today, 3 books! This won't help my TBR pile, but they look like great books! I got - Witch Child - Celia Rees Into the Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes Ordinary Dogs, a story of two lives - Eileen Battersby Happy Hayley!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 * To buy less books, read from from TBR pile and use the library (it's being threatened with closure though ) * Spend more time reading and less time trawling for new books. * Less TV, more books! * Explore some new genres, especially non-fiction and a biography or two, maybe I'll have a go at Kell's Genre Challenge. * I'd also like to try Julie's Take A Chance Challenge, but I need to get my TBR pile down first!!! I resolved at the end of last July to use my library more, buy fewer books and get my 'to read' pile down. I had a certain amount of success with that, especially reading some books I already had. It is hard walking past the charity shops - especially when I'm with my Mum as she's as bad as me! I find walking past any British Heart Foundation shops the hardest - I know of four and they all have the best selection of books by far! Good luck in2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Me again! All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini I've read these - I very much enjoyed AQotWF and I simply loved the other two! Strange Meeting by Susan Hill The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham I've read these too - both great. Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s by Jennifer Worth Did you know they've made a TV adaptaton of this? I think my Mum has the book but I'm not sure I'll fit it in before they show it and it looks really good! I'm sure I saw the trainer on the BBC but that was a few days ago and it caught me by surprise so I don't know when and where it's on yet! The House by the Thames: And the People Who Lived There This sounds good, I've added it to one of my wish lists - I have several! 100 Must-read Life-changing Books (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guides) by Nick Rennison I looked at this in Waterstone's last year - I'll be interested to hear your toughts if you get hold of it before me! Think that's it for now...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks for your comments Janet, much appreciated. I need to pick a book off my TBR pile to read next, I only have a couple of stories left in The Bloody Chamber, it's so hard to choose!!!! I still have some book vouchers to spend too (tomorrow when all the kids are back at school!) so the TBR is not getting any shorter, but at least I'm not buying any... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hey, happy reading for 2012. You've got some great books on TBR, and I can definitely relate to wanting to buy less and reduce the TBR - I think we all can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I loved Witch Child by Celia Rees - one of my favourites from last year! Hope you enjoy reading it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 I loved Witch Child by Celia Rees - one of my favourites from last year! Hope you enjoy reading it It's been on my wish list awhile, the cover kept putting me off, why do I let that happen! I'm glad my brother didn't agree so I now have another great book to look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Ok, before anyone shouts at me for breaking the first of my aims for 2012 (see first post) all these books were bought with Xmas vouchers, well very nearly all.... So, this morning I got - Dark Matter, A Ghost Story - Michelle Paver (bought due to BCF recommendations, so not my fault!) Mr Rosenblum's List - Natasha Solomons (bought due to BCF recommendations, think it was Kylie?) Emma - Jane Austen (inspired by all those on here wanting to read more Austen in 2012) The Hare With Amber Eyes - Edmund De Waal Me Before You - Jojo Moyes The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz - Denis Avey Call The Midwife - Jennifer Worth The Other Hand - Chris Cleave That's it now, promise!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Oops, and one more I found in my bag, The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides... Better get on with the reading! :readingtwo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Don't you just hate it how books jump off the shelves and land in a bag? Just terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Don't you just hate it how books jump off the shelves and land in a bag? Just terrible. You're right Ben, but I like to think of myself as a book rehomer, taking them away from a dull life where they are never read, to a home where they are loved and cherished ;-)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) You're right Ben, but I like to think of myself as a book rehomer, taking them away from a dull life where they are never read, to a home where they are loved and cherished ;-)) Chalie In other words, you are sort of like the people who bring home stray pets to take care of that are found lost on the street . At least YOUR pets don't have FUR and don't require FOOD or daily walks . I can see your reasoning in this . BTW---- LOVED Rebecca . Hope you do too . Edited January 7, 2012 by julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Well Julie, I do have 3 dogs and a cat too so plenty of fur and food here (not to mention the mess 3 kids can make lol!) Definitely will read Rebecca soon, I've heard such good things about it, just got to finish The Night Circus, still waiting for it to really 'grab me'..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Chalie Yes, that's true, you do have the pets who need food and care, but the books just sit there and don't make any noise or cause any disturbance . I HAVE heard that they MULTIPLY somehow . Must be at night while we're sleeping. You wake up and glance at your shelf, and there are 7 new ones where there was an empty space the day before . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Sounds very familiar Julie!!! The books are much better behaved too, they only grumble quietly when they're not the next to be chosen. I find I can't put books in front of others on the shelves as it doesn't give them all an equal chance of being chosen next, am I weird?? In fact, don't answer that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Sounds very familiar Julie!!! The books are much better behaved too, they only grumble quietly when they're not the next to be chosen. I find I can't put books in front of others on the shelves as it doesn't give them all an equal chance of being chosen next, am I weird?? In fact, don't answer that... The ones at the back might get upset that you don't like them as much too..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Well, I have yet to hear them grumble amongst themselves . I hope I don't start hearing my books TALK or I might have to lay off the Fuzzy Navels . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Well, I have yet to hear them grumble amongst themselves . I hope I don't start hearing my books TALK or I might have to lay off the Fuzzy Navels . Fuzzy Navels!!! I had to look that up!!! So funny!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Chalie I didn't realize you guys might not use the same term for that drink. Is it called something different over there ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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