50 Book Challenge for 2011

[Alvedansen]

^i'm the same. i started with Harry Potter when i was a kid and i had read the first book in German and didn't like it at all, but then when i switched to the English originals i fell in love with them. and now i only buy English books (big plus is that they're much cheaper than German books) and the few books i read in German are the ones i borrow from my parents.
Annu:maybe just start with young adult books? it really is so much better to read the books in the original language, because something will always be lost in translation (maybe i shouldn't say that, i'm studying to become a translator of literature after all)

 

[kate_is_goddess]

^haha, well you can only try to make it better than all the other translators

 

[saann]

You know, sometimes I envy everybody who has native English spearkers.. because coming from very small language, it means that almost everything I read is traslated literature. And I bet, sometimes it lost in translation. I mean, some books are awarded and bestsellers, but reading it in my own language (usually years later) I don't find anything special in them. Well, translation is not always bad, I think I even enjoy Harry Potters better in Finnish, traslator wrote pure magic.. reading them in English, maybe because of my language, I don't find that same spark. I wish I would born in England.. because of language. Language is so much more just words, and it so hard to translate.

That's why I started reading books directly in english instead of having to wait for a translation. Because it is an art, that not many master, to translate well and still manage to capture the original author's flow and wording. The only translation I've ever read here that was well done was the one of 'Middlesex'. I also tend to read books in english because I don't feel like having to wait so long for a translation.

I also think another reason why a lot of translation fail is because the English language is very wide compared to most other languages so there are endless ways of writing something whereas it becomes very narrow and flat after being translated.

But I agree with the others in suggesting you read more in english, it gets easier after a while and you'll also improve your second language that way

 

[rayoflight]

So far I've been lame, only 4 books finished, but now I have a bit more free time, so it should move more quickly.

1. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. Rabindranath Tagore The Wreck
3. Charlaine Harris Dead Until Dark
4. Charlaine Harris Living Dead in Dallas

 

[adastra]

1. The Plot Against America – Philip Roth
2. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
3. Life of Pi – Yann Martel
4. The Devil and Miss Prym – Paulo Coelho
5. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
7. The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
8. Persuasion – Jane Austen
9. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
10. The Stranger - Albert Camus
11. On Beauty - Zadie Smith

 

[ChrissyM]

1: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
2: Just Kids by Patti Smith
3: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K.Rowling
4: Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
5: The Monster of Florence: A True Story by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi
6: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
7: Little Bee by Chris Cleave
8: The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy
9: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
10: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
11: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
12: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
13: The Last Titan by Rick Riordan
14: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
15: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
16: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
17: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
18: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
19: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
20: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
21: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Really enjoyed the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie... was just what I needed at the moment - a great little escape from the chaos of my life!

I wish I had time to think clearly and post a real review but I would definitely recommend it... have already ordered the other two books in the series

 

[Tinetush]

1. Kommunikations- og kampagneplanlægning (Planning communication and campaigns) by Preben Sepstrup & Pernille Fruensgaard
2. Lord of the rings triology by J.R.R Tolkien
3. Harry Potter and the order of the pheonix by J.K. Rowling
4. Final Theory by Mark Alpert
5. Harry Potter and the half blood prince by J.K. Rowling
6. Communicating across cultures at work by Maureen Guirdham

7. Pillars of the earth by Ken Follett
8. Hundehoved (Doghead) by Morten Ramsland
9. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone by J.K. Rowling
10. Psykopater i Jakkesæt (Psychopaths in Suits) by Sanne Udsen

I quite enjoyed Hundehoved (Doghead), The characters were interesting and the language was funny. I wonder how it is translated into english? I might just have to read it in English too, just to quell my curiosity.
​

 

[Annu]

Yeah, it would be wonderful to read all books in English or another original language but I read so slowly.. it would take ages. I do it like every second or third book, just trying to improve my language like you suggested. It is just not that fluent.. not that enjoyable if you know what I mean. If I can say something about pro traslations, even though we have small language, I find it very great job that we have amazing translators. I have read really wonderful book from South Europe and Asian, I simply could not know every language, but it would be shame to miss those books.. And I have friends too who translate books and other text, I appreciate their job very much.

25. The Xanadu talisman by Peter O'Donnell
26. Hiljaiset auttajat by Rauli Virtanen

I love Modesty. She is definitely my favorite superhero. Maybe not her best adventure but I missed her so much that I need to pick a book. Modesty

Hiljaiset auttajat is more like history of Finland's Red Cross. It based on interviews, the mostly nurses and doctors, and describe their work relief work around the world. I guess point of story was, that we cannot help everybody, but we could do something.

 

[Womanolo]

Current library list includes: 'In the kitchen' by Monica Ali - not finished yet. Enjoying it, have high hopes of a murder mystery being solved. 'How Could She' a heart breaking story of abuse which I read as I sometimes deal with people who have experienced this sort of stuff through my work and it sort of makes me see how other people have dealt with similar stuff, and on a less weird level makes me happy that I'm not that sort of mum. Two Cecilia Ahern novels - 'p.s., I love you'. I've not seen the film - not sure why I need to state that, but anyway - and I really enjoyed the book. I may have wept a few times. Not sure if film had a 'snoggy' happy ending, but the book's ending was proper nice and rang true. Then Ahern's 'Book of Tomorrow'. Never explained why the book did what it did. Most of her mysterious themes have had reasons / explanations so this left me a little wondering. Mad plot or 'reason' with that family, though! Then 'How to be Idle' cooly left me unguilty for ever whilst I dawdled over 'The Strange Laws of Old England' for a few days. 'Garden Spells' by Sarah Addison Allen was good, but not as good as some of her others which I read over the last few months but have failed (being lazy) to review. Also re-reading 'Witches Abroad' by Terry Pratchett (bathroom book) and reading for first time (though second attempt - first was about 6 years ago) Umberto Eco's 'Facoult's Pendulum' (public transport book). Should probably swap the two as Eco's one weighs an absolute ton....

 

[adorefaith]

I'm not doing too well.. took a huge break from reading since the end of march...which also happened to be the end of my holidays...no coincidence there...but i'm back on track - i hope..

01. saturday - ian mcewan
02. beatrice & virgil - yann martel
03. room - emma donoghue

04. the book thief - markus zusak [absolutely incredible, by the way. ]

i need a recommendation...what's next..
​

 

[kokobombon]

17: Bossypants by Tina Fey

Is it good?

Hope this challenge will spark the need to read in me, I´ve been lazy lately

(I don´t remember the exact order)

1-The Dark Tower V - Wolves of the Calla, Stephen King
2-The Dark Tower VI - Song of Susannah, Stephen King
3-The Dark Tower VII - The Dark Tower, Stephen King
4-Interview With The Vampire, Anne rice. Re-read, does it count?
5-The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
6-Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
7-Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
8-Compilation of Edgar Allan Poe´s stories, including A Descent Into The Maelström.
9-Compilation of Jorge Luis Borges´stories, including The Aleph.
10-The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice. Re-reading in between other books.

I buy my books in english cause the spanish translations are mostly always in spanish from Spain, which is so different from the spanish argentines speak... I find it extremely annoying
and I don´t want anything lost in translation if I can help it. It´s also a good and free way to practice.
A bonus is that I can get the books cheaper

 

[mint condish]

I had a few tiny problems with Bossypants -- not the BOOK or the WRITING which were both fantastic IMO, but I guess the little slices of Tina Fey's personality that irked me slightly....

But, I thought Bossypants was great, inspiring, a fantastic read. Perfectly paced and well-written. I think Tina Fey has a tendency to be overpraised -- "She's a funny woman!" "She's so smart 'cuz she wears glasses!" (I know so many funny women -- I surround myself with them, and I don't see that many examples of uber intelligence in Tina Fey, especially through her alter ego Liz Lemon) -- but basically, Tina is just a great writer simply put. I loved Bossypants and I love the movie Mean Girls!

 

[kokobombon]

^thanks! next time I´m at the bookstore I´ll check if they have it

 

[Annu]

27. The World without us by Alan Weisman
Title tells everything, it is story about what happend to the world if people disappears, how fast trees and other nature would go our houses, roads and so on. It was interesting book to read and topic was very cool for me, because all those sci-fi and other science book that I have read before.

 

[JennaaMonroe]

Is it too late to join in? I finally have some time off for the summer and bought a bunch of books. My list so far is very short haha but during the year I had to read a bunch of book for school so I didn't have time to read any on my own. Anyways heres my little list so far.
1. House Of Versace- Deborah Ball
2. The Hobbit- J.R. R. Tolkien (Love this book)
3. Secrets Can Be Murder- Jane Velez-Mitchell
4. Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me- Chelsea's family, friends, and other victims.
I am currently reading Mind Hunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. I haven't even really started I only read the first few pages :/

 

[Womanolo]

Annu - I must try that book. I love armageddon stuff, what happens when humans go. I don't know if I love the 'dying off of humans' tales more than the 'after they're gone' tales more though. I always wanted to be round when everyone else croaked, so I could see what happened to the earth after all we did stopped. I'm waffling now, but I love the fact that after we're gone the DNA on this planet will carry on and we can't bump it off.

 

[Annu]

^yeah, it was interesting book. Writer didn't say anything how we are lost in planet, just tells different ways how nature and life will survive.

28. Matched by Ally Condie
Perfect world which seems not to be so perfect. I think I have read way too many utopias, and I felt so old when I was reading this. Well, it was for teens, I found out that later. I'm not sure if I going to check other parts, teens love affairs are little bit too boring.

 

[Belowen]

01: American Subversive by David Goodwillie
02: The Collector by John Fowles
03: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
04: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
05: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
06: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
07: Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien
08: The Forest Of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan
09: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
10: The Odyssey by Homer
11: The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
12: The Woman In Black by Susan Hill
13: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
14: Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal

15: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton​

16: The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham

17: Bossypants by Tina Fey​

18: Brief Interviews With Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

19: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins​

20: Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson

21: Cell by Stephen King​

22: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

 

[kate_is_goddess]

1 // Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis
2 // Limit by Frank Schätzing
3 // Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
4 // The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5 // Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
6 // Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
7 // The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
8 // The Collector by John Fowles
9 // The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett
10 // Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
11 // Slapstick! or Lonesome No More by Kurt Vonnegut
12 // Bei Einbruch der Nacht (L'Homme à l'envers) by Fred Vargas
13 // A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
14 // To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
15 // The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
16 // Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
17 // Written in Bone by Simon Beckett
18 // Whispers of the Dead by Simon Beckett
19 // My Booky Wook by Russell Brand
20 // The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

 

[ChrissyM]

1: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
2: Just Kids by Patti Smith
3: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
4: Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
5: The Monster of Florence: A True Story by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi
6: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
7: Little Bee by Chris Cleave
8: The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy
9: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
10: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
11: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
12: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
13: The Last Titan by Rick Riordan
14: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
15: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
16: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
17: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
18: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
19: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
20: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
21: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
22: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley