50 Book Challenge for 2011

[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
12. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
13. A Passage to India – E.M. Forster
14. Atonement – Ian McEwan
15. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
16. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
17. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams

 

[Dora]

So, I finished "Duma Key" from Stephen King, and I went into a book frenzy:

- "Romen Calibre" - Hector Malot
- "A hero of our time" - Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov
- "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest" - Stieg Larsson

The last book was 600 pages, and I finished it in less than 24 hrs. I just couldn't put it down! I read even in the bus!

 

[purplethistle]

1. The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua
2. A law text book, 600+ pages of dense reading, we'll leave it at that.

 

[mint condish]

How was #1, purplethistle?

 

[purplethistle]

^ I wrote my review where I gave it 5/5 is here

But part of the reason why I liked it so much was because parts of it made be feel like a younger version of the author and other parts made me feel like one of her daughters. I think that kind of connection that begins with humour but moving to something more reflective is quite powerful.

 

[rox_yr_sox]

1. Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath
2. Cupid and the King: Five Royal Paramours by Princess Michael of Kent
3. Haiku: Poetry Ancient and Modern: An Anthology by Jackie Hardy [Ed]
4. Art of the Soviets: Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in a One-Party State, 1917-1992 by Bown & Taylor [Eds]
5. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
6. Architecture in the Age of Stalin: Culture Two by Vladimir Paperny
7. The Edifice Complex: how the rich and powerful shape the world by Deyan Sudjic
8. God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens
9. Plans, pragmatism and People: The legacy of Soviet planning for today's cities by R. Antony French
10. Quicksilver (Vol.1 in the Baroque Cycle) by Neal Stephenson
11. The Confusion (Vol.2 in the Baroque Cycle) by Neal Stephenson
12. The System of the World (Vol.3 in the Baroque Cycle) by Neal Stephenson
13. Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan by Rem Koolhaas
14. The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt(
15. Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England by Alison Weir
16. Tete-a-Tete: The Lives and Loves of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre by Hazel Rowley
17. Pandora by Anne Rice
18. The Executioner by Joseph de Maistre
19. Selected Poems by Anna Akhmatova
20. Conversations With Students by Rem Koolhaas
21. Kingdom of Fear by Hunter S. Thompson
22. Electra and Other Plays by Euripides
23. Hitch 22 by Christopher Hitchens
24. Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith
25. Utopics: Spatial Play by Louis Marin
26. The Politics of Utopia: A Study in Theory and Practice by Barbara Goodwin & Keith Taylor
27. The Road to Delphi: The Life and Afterlife of Oracles by Michael Wood
28. Collected Poems by W.H. Auden
29. The Gentle Art of Persuasion: How to Argue Effectively by Chester Porter QC
30. Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Schaffer
31. 100 Artists' Manifestos: From the Futurists to the Stuckists Selected by Alex Danchev (currently reading)

 

[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
23: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
24: A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
25: Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

the second and third flavia de luce novels (by Alan Bradley) didn't have the same magic as the first (Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, which I definitely recommend) but they were still entertaining reads. I went ahead and pre-ordered the next book in the series, which is coming out in November

now, on to another of the true blood/sookie stackhouse books
trying to get caught up and summer just feels like the right time to sprinkle in some trashy reads

still also periodically trying to read a few short stories from brief interviews with hideous men between each book...

 

[anarcobitch]

I'm late for this, but I'm in! I have already read 16 books without knowing about the challenge but here they are

1. If You Liked School, You'll Love Work - Irvine Welsh
2. p*rno - Irvine Welsh
3. The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
4. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (re-read)
5. Devil's Chaplain - Richard Dawkins
6.The Gods Were Astronauts - Erich Von Dankien (re-read)
7. Pulp - Charles Bukowski
8. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck - Charles Bukowski
9. Darwin: the Indelible Stamp - Charles Darwin
10. Cut Number - Nick Tosches
11. Crash - J G Ballard
12. Billennium - J G Ballard
13.Perspective - William F Powell
14. Jesus & Budda - Marcus Borg
15. The Jesus I never knew - Phillip Yancey
16. Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk (re-read)

 

[Annu]

- "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest" - Stieg Larsson

The last book was 600 pages, and I finished it in less than 24 hrs. I just couldn't put it down! I read even in the bus!

I have same kind of experience! I just couldn't stop reading, I read whole trilogy in a week and I don't even usually like whole genre.


32. Everything I Know I Learned from TV: Philosophy Explained Through Our Favourite TV Shows by Mark Rowlands
33. Änderungsschneiderei Los Milagros by María Cecilia Barbetta
34. Loppuunkasitely by Anna-Leena Harkonen

I think I need new method to pick books. Everything I know... was not I expected, because tv is not that boring.. Los Milagros had chosen one of the most beautiful book according the cover but I couldn't know was it because of text or pics after chapters. Or maybe I don't know about beauty in books.

Loppuunkasitelty is the book where writer tells her sister's suicide and coping with it. It is very sad book.

"...you smile and go, and I won't see you ever again, but I don't know that yet."

 

[tigerrouge]

32: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A popular choice, it seems to have cropped up on a number of reading lists in this thread.

 

[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
21 // Der Meister und Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
22 // All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland
23 // Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland
24 // Deadly Décisions by Kathy Reichs

 

[Susann]

Exams are over so I can finally pick up my reading again. I'm really impressed by your progress!

 

[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
23: The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch by Emma Magenta
24: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

25: Divergent by Veronica Roth
​

 

[mmBop]

Finished:
1. The One You Really Want by Jill Mansell
2. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
3. The Secret to Teen Power by Paul Harrington
4. Die Braut sagt leider nein by Kerstin Gier
5. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
6. Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella
7. Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella
8. Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella
9. Ein unmoralisches Sonderangebot by Kerstin Gier
10. Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

 

[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
21 // Der Meister und Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
22 // All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland
23 // Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland
24 // Deadly Décisions by Kathy Reichs
25 // Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

 

[Alvedansen]

01. John Steinbeck - The grapes of wrath
02. Richard Matheson - I am legend
03. Joyce Carol Oates - Big mouth & Ugly girl
04. Ken Follett - The pillars of the earth
05. Haruki Murakami - Afterdark
06. Gayle Forman - If I stay
07. J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
08. Patti Smith - Just kids
09. J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson - The lightning thief
11. Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson - The sea of monsters
12. Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson - The titan's curse
13. Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson - The battle of the labyrinth
14. Stephen Baxter - Ark
15. Markus Zusak - The book thief
16. Ethan Hawke - Hin und weg (original title: 'the hottest state')
17. Patrick Süskind - Der Kontrabaß (English title: 'the double-bass')
18. Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt - Monsieur Ibrahim und die Blumen des Koran (English title: 'Monsieur Ibrahim and the flowers of the Qu'ran')
19. Eva Ibbotson - The secret of Platform 13
20. Justin Cronin - The Passage
21. Daniel Glattauer - Gut gegen Nordwind (English title: 'Love virtually')
22. George R. R. Martin - A Game of Thrones
23. Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson - The last Olympian
24. Hape Kerkeling - Ich bin dann mal weg (English title: 'I'm off then')

i'm already in the middle of "A clash of kings" by George R. R. Martin, couldn't wait to start reading it

 

[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
12. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
13. A Passage to India – E.M. Forster
14. Atonement – Ian McEwan
15. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
16. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
17. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adam
18. The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul – Douglas Adams
19. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan
20. Choke – Chuck Palahniuk

 

[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
21 // Der Meister und Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
22 // All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland
23 // Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland
24 // Deadly Décisions by Kathy Reichs
25 // Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
26 // Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk

Short reviews of the last couple of books I've read:
All Families are Psychotic: hilarious, very bizarre and absurd - 5/5
Shampoo Planet: very interesting, as it shows the mentality and hopes & dreams of a young man in the US at the beginning of the 90s - 4/5
Deadly Décisions: an okay read, neither very ambitious nor thrilling - 3/5
Survivor: classic Palahniuk, no great surprises but weird as always - 4/5

 

[Dora]

I was one week vacating on the beach, so:

- Joy in the morning - Betty Smith (oldie, but gold)
- Captain Grant's Children - Jules Vernes
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford
- Intensity - Dean Koontz
- Doctor of three continents (the title was in German) - can't recall the name of the writer, but it was a biography on the life of the Canadian doctor - Norman Bethune

 

[mint condish]

1. Marian Keyes, This Charming Man
2. Lucy Kellaway, In Office Hours
3. Lisa Lutz, The Spellmans Strike Again
4. Lisa Lutz, Revenge of the Spellmans
5. Lisa Lutz and David Hayward, Heads You Lose
6. Tina Fey, Bossypants
7. Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

8. Candace Bushnell, Summer and the City
​

9. Douglas Coupland, JPod

Like I said in the Book Reviews thread, I loved JPod after not getting or liking three or four Coupland novels. It was right up my alley. Anyone who is interested in a modern workplace comedy -- something I am always looking for -- I would recommend this. I was worried it would be too techy for me, but it wasn't at all.