50 Book Challenge for 2011

[Dora]

I started reading "Duma Key" by Stephen King.

Interesting up to now!

 

[Annu]

^good for you, I read 20 pages and give up.

If you notice some young adult fiction creeping into my list it's because I'm currently reading stuff for a couple of assignments. I have to choose some books that I would set for classes of different age groups (I think I mentioned that I'm studying to be a high school English teacher...).

I wish I have good reason to read young adult fiction.. I was thinking of that one day and I decided that I like those books two reasons: I'm not that young anymore so reading those also make me happy for that (all those problems.. gosh how we survived that) and they usually have happy endings.

 

[miss_catherine]

Yeah, it's been quite nice to read them for a change. The reasons you mentioned are partly why but I also find that they're less dense than a lot of the fiction I usually read. Plus they're usually trying hard to be engaging so they're often fast-paced and humourous. Still, I miss having time to do my more 'serious' reading: the pile of stuff I want to read just keeps growing!

 

[miss_catherine]

Any quick thoughts on these? Haven't read these fully.

I lovelovelove Franny & Zooey. However, it's not everyone's cup of tea. I don't know how much you know about the book, but it's actually a two-parter in one volume. The first part is a novella titled Franny and it's the more accessible of the two. Zooey is longer, more a short novel than a novella (though that's arguable). I find it more rewarding as a character study but it does delve into Salinger's ideas of philosophy and religion to a greater degree which some people dislike. Although I disagree with parts, I find it a fascinating study. And it's certainly easier to digest than the philosophy stuff that comes up in Salinger's Seymour: An Introduction.

I'm on a bit of a Dave Eggers kick at the moment. I'm a fan of McSweeney's (for the most part), I read his short stories in How We Are Hungry late last year and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius earlier this year (before I started posting here) and loved them both. Zeitoun is quite different in that there is less overt humour in the story. It's a much simpler storytelling style from Eggers and I actually thought it was very effective in getting across the story of the Zeitoun family and their experiences with Hurricane Katrina. Despite the sometimes disturbing content, I found it quite a quick, easy read.

Anne of Green Gables was a favourite of mine when I was young and for that reason I have a soft spot for it. Because the story was originally a series of stories for a newspaper, each chapter tends to be complete in itself, although there are continuing storylines and references to earlier chapters reasonably often. It, and the third book in the series (Anne of the Island), were always my favourites when I was younger. I found I got more bored as the series of books continued. But they're really easy reading if you're into kids books.

I found The Beautiful and the Damned to be a bit of a slow burner. I read the first couple of chapters quite slowly, but it picked up from there for me. I love the way Fitzgerald writes - his sense of humour, his selfish characters, etc. This one is written a little differently than others of his that I've read but was still funny and poignant. I'd have to say that The Great Gatsby remains my favourite Fitzgerald thus far, although I also really liked Tender is the Night and the short stories in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz.

Sorry to ramble. Hope that helped you!

 

[saann]

Finally finished 'the Grapes of Wrath' (which really came together masterfully towards the end) and 'the Picture of Dorian Gray' (which I felt was written for Wilde to show off his most extreme thoughts and opinions)

I am now starting on 2 books, both are for my evening course so I'm killing 2 birds with one stone here

Marguerite Duras' 'the Lover' and Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road'.

1. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
2. Never let me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
3. The Road - Cormac McCarthy
4. the Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. Pop Co - Scarlett Thomas
6. jPod - Douglas Coupland
7. Freakonomics - Stephen D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
8. The bell jar - Sylvia Plath
9. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
10. for one more day - Mitch Albom
11. Prayers for Rain - Dennis Lehane
12. The Sunset Limited - Cormac McCarthy
13. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
14. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
15. Marguerite Duras - the Lover
16. Jack Kerouac - On the Road

 

[lucy92]

i tried to read "the lover" years ago but couldnt get through it due to the grammatical structure. the movie was rather watchable however.

i am close to finishing "the lost city of Z" by david grann. the book follows the path of an explorer that was lost somewhere in the amazon during the last century. its very exciting. it was due to be made into a movie with brad pitt (thats why he was walking around with that awful beard this year). i'm not sure what the status of the movie is.

 

[ChrissyM]

Finally finished 'the Grapes of Wrath' (which really came together masterfully towards the end) and 'the Picture of Dorian Gray' (which I felt was written for Wilde to show off his most extreme thoughts and opinions)

I am now starting on 2 books, both are for my evening course so I'm killing 2 birds with one stone here

Marguerite Duras' 'the Lover' and Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road'.

1. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
2. Never let me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
3. The Road - Cormac McCarthy
4. the Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. Pop Co - Scarlett Thomas
6. jPod - Douglas Coupland
7. Freakonomics - Stephen D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
8. The bell jar - Sylvia Plath
9. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
10. for one more day - Mitch Albom
11. Prayers for Rain - Dennis Lehane
12. The Sunset Limited - Cormac McCarthy
13. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
14. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
15. Marguerite Duras - the Lover
16. Jack Kerouac - On the Road

ooh... kerouac's on the road is one of my many books to read...
curious to know what you think

 

[Alvedansen]

i started "the book thief" today
i just read too many different books at the same time, no wonder i barely ever finish one

 

[tigerrouge]

24: Light Years by James Salter

A portrait of an American marriage through the decades, told through a very fluid and layered narrative description, as fleeting as the lives it describes, yet at times, very touching.

​

 

[saann]

i tried to read "the lover" years ago but couldnt get through it due to the grammatical structure. the movie was rather watchable however.

I hate it when the grammatical structure is off, maybe I should start by watching the film.

 

[mint condish]

I lovelovelove Franny & Zooey. However, it's not everyone's cup of tea. I don't know how much you know about the book, but it's actually a two-parter in one volume. The first part is a novella titled Franny and it's the more accessible of th

....

Sorry to ramble. Hope that helped you!

You're a champion Karma for you! I really appreciate this. I'll read your thoughts fully when I'm less intoxicated and tired. I did start Franny and Zooey because I'm a typical Catcher in the Rye fan, but never got through it! I'm excited to read your thoughts tomorrow... Thanks again.

 

[Belowen]

Sweet Valley Confidential is draining my will to live

 

[ChrissyM]

i started "the book thief" today
i just read too many different books at the same time, no wonder i barely ever finish one

i'm a little more than half way through the book thief...
definitely enjoying it so far, i just wish i had more time to read!

 

[ChrissyM]

Sweet Valley Confidential is draining my will to live

are you like me, where once you start a book you HAVE to finish it no matter how terrible it is?

sometimes i wish i had the ability to just put some books down and abandon them...

 

[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

About 20 pages in and definitely enjoying it so far! I like that he's not writing in normal chapters, but rather in short passages that are sometimes only one sentence and sometimes half a page long. (I think I said the same about Cat's Cradle )
​

 

[Belowen]

are you like me, where once you start a book you HAVE to finish it no matter how terrible it is?

sometimes i wish i had the ability to just put some books down and abandon them...

Yes, I have to finish them if I've started reading... The only book I wasn't able to finish was American Psycho because it made me feel physically ill

 

[Annu]

Anne of Green Gables was a favourite of mine when I was young and for that reason I have a soft spot for it. Because the story was originally a series of stories for a newspaper, each chapter tends to be complete in itself, although there are continuing storylines and references to earlier chapters reasonably often. It, and the third book in the series (Anne of the Island), were always my favourites when I was younger. I found I got more bored as the series of books continued. But they're really easy reading if you're into kids books.

As younger I thought that Anne was too girly for me, especially when in other series Emily wrote poems, so I read them later. Back then, I only read mystery stories. I loved them so much. I like Anne.. well, at first. I hate when she turned to be so perfect, that's annoing. I have The Blythes are Quoted waiting for me, I hope that it's better. I'm gonna try Emily too.

 

[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
​

 

[cloudyshambles]

I finally finished my last term paper for the last term and now have more time to read

 

[tigerrouge]

25: Darkness At Noon by Arthur Koestler

A former Communist who helped establish the regime is imprisoned and tried for treason on the basis of false charges. He communicates with the men in the cells around him through tapping on the pipes. At first he is interrogated by a former friend, but when that man is removed from his position and executed, a more brutal officer forces him to sign false confessions, and he is finally executed at the end of a dark tunnel.