New year, new list :)



I am currently reading
1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and,
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - the most commonly shared group book :)
3. Kiss Me, Judas
4. Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose(8)
5. Dead Air by Iain Banks
5. Regeneration by Pat Barker
6. Thirteen by Sebastian Beaumont
7. Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kahehara
8. Endless Night by Agatha Christie
9. Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham
10. Running with Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs
11. Answered Prayers, by Truman Capote
12. Oscar and Lucinda, Peter Carey
13. Death at La Fenice, by Donna Leon
14. Death in Venice, Thomas Mann
15. The Talented Mr Ripley, Patricia Highsmith
16. Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto
17. Scaredy cat, Mark Billingham
18. Other People, Martin Amis
19. The Floating Opera, John Barth
20. Seize the Day, Saul Bellow
21. Little Women, Louisa M Alcott
22. Surfacing, M Atwood
23. Geek Love, Katherine Dunn
24. Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor
25. Seventh Heaven, Alice Hoffman
26. The Bourne Identity, Robert Ludlum
27. Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell
28. The Killer Inside Me, Jim Thompson
29. Death in a Strange Country, Donna Leon
30. Half a Yellow Sun, C N Adichie
31. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
32. The Winter Queen, Boris Akunin
33. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
34. Lazybones, Mark Billingham
35. Cat's Eye, Margaret Atwood
36. Watchmen, Alan Moore/ Dave Gibbons
37. The Secret History, Donna Tartt

38. Brick Lane, Monica Ali

Message edited by its author, Dec 22, 2008, 7:35am.

Yey I have booked to visit my sister & her new flat - and take her her cat.
Thus I would like to finish The Handmaid's Tale in time- by Saturday 5th, so I can crack open a fresh book on the train there and enjoy for the 3 hour ride :)

I'm currently on p113/ 324~ 35% through

Unfortunately the next on my TBR pile is huge The Blind Assassin; mind you maybe I should skip to another author- next then would be The book of Illusions

Message edited by its author, Sep 17, 2008, 4:38am.

More notes on The Handmaid's Tale to follow.

I have today started
3. Kiss me, Judas by Will Christopher Baer.

Another re-read. I absolutely loved this book when I first read it and might have to track down the other two, as it is the first in a trilogy:
- Penny Dreadful
- Hell's Half Acre

Message edited by its author, Sep 17, 2008, 4:38am.

I just finished The Blind Assassin. I think you should skip it--I liked it, but Handmaid's Tale is much better, so it would suffer in comparison, I think. But, that's just my opinion...

Re; The Handmaid's Tale

What a great start to my reading year! Actually this was a re-read, but from so long ago all I could really remember about it was the using butter/ margarine for moisturiser.

This is one of the 1001 books you must read before you die. In this it says "chaste, childless Wives", but I thought Handmaids were assigned not out of preserving the Wive's chastity, but when the Wives failed to bear children? - At the Prayvaganza it says "The Angels will qualify for Handmaids later, especially if their Wives can't produce".

I think this book would make a good compare & contrast with A Woman in Berlin, which I read last year.
- one is real, the other fiction
- one in the past, one in the future
- both of the women are anonymous
- both have a missing significant other; Gerd/ Luke

I also liked the bit where she goes to Nick's room and she describes it one way, then goes, no this is what actually happened...

I'm currently p100/292~34% through Kiss Me, Judas. This has a larger font, and less pages than The Handmaid's Tale so maybe I can get it read quicker :)

Message edited by its author, Jan 15, 2008, 8:22am.

Rubbish ! I am only available to reserve "The Handmaid's Tale" on Lovefilm :(
I wanted to watch the movie while the book was fresh in my mind.

Maybe they are including marital fidelity in their definition of chaste?

So, are you going to come back to The Blind Assassin later? It is a good book, I just don't think you should read it directly after The Handmaid's Tale.

>Sussabmax

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I am going to leave The Blind Assassin for a while... but I will get round to it at some point as it is one of the 1001 books you must read before you die :)

I quite like to read two books at a time: a big long one for at home, and something a bit more portable for my bus ride to/ from work. My book for at home at the moment is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, perhaps when I finish it I will then tackle The Blind Assassin ?

Yey I finished Kiss Me, Judas, again more notes to follow.

I think next I'm going to read Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose by Sandy Balfour, I enjoy cryptic crosswords and hope it will give me some tips on cracking clues !
I got this off Bookmooch in September 2007.

Message edited by its author, Sep 17, 2008, 4:39am.

Last night there was a show on about sensory deprivation- volunteers being held in a completely pitch black room.

It made me think of Offred in The Handmaid's Tale, and the way she explores her room slowly, bit by bit, because she knows she's going to be there for a long time, so she has something to look forward to the next day ...

I need to read The Handmaid's Tale again--it's been so long, I only vaguely remember that. What a life, huh?

Re; Kiss Me, Judas, by W C Baer

Another re-read. I LOVED this book the first time around, and it was good again a second time.

The characters of Poe and Jude- you can never tell if they're madly in love and going to get married and have kids, or on the other hand kill each other
- adolescent daydreams

Poe seems such a hopeless romantic, he seems to fall in love with every woman in the book, even if only for a micro-second:
"she is so sweet and lovely I might weep"

Jude is a black widow who would eat him for breakfast.

*Book in a book- it mentions The Hobbit:
"I assume you have read The Hobbit?
... Gollum, she says. The wretched, stinking cave dweller.
I smile at her. My precious, I say." p259

Speech is not reported using quote marks, so sometimes you can't be sure if something has been said, or just thought. Adds to the confusing uncertaintly about everything. Has Poe's kidney been removed ? Has it been replaced with anything ? Is it in the icebox ? ...

Current reading is book no 4. Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose, by Sandy Balfour.

Hmm, not to sure about this one. I don't feel like I 'get on' with the author. I don't like the way he keeps on mentioning "my girlfriend" without naming her. At first I wasn't sure if he was referring to different girlfriends, and to avoid confusion over a lot of names just used "my girlfriend" to mean 'my girlfriend at this time'.

I also don't like the way in one sentence he's in London, then Zimbabwe, then Germany with no explanation. And what about his girlfriend- does she come too, or do they live separate lives in different countries?

Maybe I'd be better off just doing a crossword ;)
P70/ 189 ~ 37%

I'm not sure where to go next-
I have so far been tackling my library alphabetically by author, which would have seen me reading The Blind Assassin next after The Handmaid's Tale.

So next after Balfour, S in my library is Ballard, JG: High Rise/ Cocaine Nights/ Super Cannes which would all be re-reads (but also part of the 1,001 to read before you die).

Moving onto something completely new would then be Dead Air, by Iain Banks...

Last night I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - which will be my 3rd book read. Thoughts to follow.

I am still reading book number 4. Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose,- and it is still annoying me :P I think he actually said 'my girlfriend and I are more or less in love'-- what the hell does this mean ?! Idiot!
Definetly going to go back in my Bookmooch Inventory !

I have The Handmaid's Tale sitting on my table waiting for me to finish Midnight's Children. I saw the movie years and years ago and just recently saw the book was part of the 1001 books to read before you die list. So, I thought I would read it and figure out why I must read it before I die.

I was reminded of The Handmaid's Tale again yesterday in work- a customer had the name 'Offord' ;)

There was a hardback copy of 1,001 books you must read before you die in the charity shop during the week, £9.99 seemed quite reasonable but then I thought what would I do with my existing copy ~ which I have annotated with various ticks, crosses, and end dates for books I have read...

5. Dead Air, Iain Banks

After the disappointment of my prev book, I seem to have hit a bad patch.
Dead Air is in my library as it is part of the 1,001 books, but I'm really not sure why.

Currently p86/ 436~ 20% through; not only am I not 'feeling it' but it's also going to be a long one if I slog through it.

Well, it's not that bad, it's just not that good either...
My next read would be Regeneration, Pat Barker.

Yes, I am officially giving up on Dead Air, after 112 pages.

Because the protaganist is a DJ he has long chunks of dialogue where he blunders on about anything. And I found all the drugs boring. And ridiculous when he described Celia's hair as being the colour of "heroin" ! p82.

I might polish off Regeneration this evening, which has been another good read and I am keen to seek out the other two in the trilogy
* 2nd trilogy I have started reading this year- see also Kiss Me, Judas.

Next on my shelf is Thirteen by Sebastian Beaumont which I acquired after reading about it in the Guardian- review is no longer on their site however. Only 9 Librarything members have this book.

My copy of Dead Air got Bookmooched, so hopefully it'll have found a more appreciative audience.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/top10s/top10...

Sebastian Beaumont's Top 10 Psychological Journeys

1. Journey to the East by Hermann Hesse
2. Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier *read
3. Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik *read
4. Vurt by Jeff Noon
5. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
6. Children of Violence Quintet by Doris Lessing
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke
8. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut Jnr *read
9. Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis *read
10. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

Message edited by its author, Feb 27, 2008, 11:36am.

I have another journey to visit my sister booked- next Thursday 6th March so hope once again to have finished reading Thirteen in order to have something new to read a big chunk of.

As per my library this would be Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham which seems perfect, as it looks like one of those thrillers WH Smith always heavily discount at train stations.

Thirteen is going okay, I'm about halfway through. Just wondering if it will live up to its mysterious promises in the final outcome...

Oh no, I realised I never updated on real-life book journal re Regeneration!

Good thing it's nearly the weekend...

Finished Thirteen, which was okay- an easy read but I felt the author explained too much:
After my first month of nights I noticed how pale I'd become. This was not because of my nocturnal lifestyle but because I was washed out with exhaustion.
- so just say it's because of exhaustion.

I dunno what to tackle next, as I wanted to start something afresh on Thursday evening. So maybe one of my more slender titles...

I decided to read the super-slim Snakes and Earrings- 118 pages!
And actually I'm already on p106~ 90% LOL

It is described as a "cult classic" and I think some people might be uncomfortable with some of the subject matter: body modification, piercing, tattoos etc. I have a couple of tatttos myself so know what it's like to daydream over a design and then the self-satisfaction when you have it inked and it looks as good as you imagined...

I started reading Endless Night by Agatha Christie, 191 pages- again based on length but I dunno if I'll have it finished by Thursday...

I accidentally Mooched two copies of this book, but both are really old! The copy I have chose to read is from 1975- older than me! I don't wanna seem snobby but I don't think I would have listed it in *my Inventory

This was a list of other titles in the back of Snakes & Earrings

1. Out, Natsuo Kirino *read
2. Waiting, Ha Jin
3. The Key, Junichiro Tanizaki
4. Autobiography of a Geisha, Sayo Masuda
5. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami *read
6. Red Dust, Ma Jin
7. The Sailor Who fell From Grace w/ the Sea, Yukio Mishima
8. Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden *read

Message edited by its author, Mar 4, 2008, 12:17pm.

I am reading Endless Night as it was in The Library:
Guilty Pleasures, Six of the best from the Christie canon
1. The Mysterious affair at Styles, 1920
2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, 1926
3. Giant's Bread, 1930
4. Five Little Pigs, 1942
5. Witness for the Prosecution, 1953
6. Endless Night, 1967

It says about Endless...
Her last masterpiece and strikingly ambitious; in her late 70s she wrote a detective novel in the voice of a sexy, young, working-class man on the make.

I'm halfway through it and... they still just keep on going on about how they're going to live happily ever after- I want a murder !

Shucks I didn't manage to finish Endless Night- I'm about 68% through... and not sufficiently "gripped" to continue to read it on my train journey this evening. In it people keep on giving each other funny looks, but Mike and Ellie are still blissful newlyweds...

Last night I stayed up reading Sleepyhead, even though I was massively tired. I guess that's what those kind of books are all about, keeping you turning the pages.
I've Mooched the second one in the series, Scaredy Cat :)

I still have 60ish pages of Endless Night left. Unfortunatley I have not found this quite so gripping, but I'm still going to polish it off.

Next up then would be Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs.

Started my TENTH book, Running with Scissors this morning, yey!
304 pages, but the type looks like it's double-spaced so hopefully it should be pretty quick to read.

Was really disappointed overall by Endless Night. Right up to the very end the characters kept on giving each other meaningful looks and implying stuff, but never actually saying what they meant. The twist was quite good, but too little too late for me.

I'm moving house this weekend so might try to limit myself to just one box of books, as I can soon restock via Bookmooch :)

Message edited by its author, Mar 11, 2008, 8:48am.

Running... is reminding me of a book I read last year, A Million Little Pieces- they are both 'fictionalised' memoirs- but perhaps as RWS is about Burrough's childhood, his further book Dry would be better for a Compare & Contrast.

Her body gave off a repulsive odor that was both sweet and metallic p244 RWS

In Thirteen the taxi driver, when picking up people from the local (mental) day centre also comments that they have a distinctive smell- maybe the medication they have to take ? My copy got Mooched so I can't get the exact quote.

OMG I am 'bookless'- RWS is one of those books that ends but has a preview of the next book for the remaining 20 pages...

I'm not sure if I should go back to the top of my library to read Surfacing by Margaret Atwood, or to continue working my way through which would be Summer Crossing by Truman Capote.

+ Surfacing would allow me to tick another of the 1,001 off :)

I thought Summer Crossing might have been amongst my fiance's books, but we're moving house this weekend so everything is a bit topsy-turvy. Instead I started Answered Prayers, which has already caused me to raise my eyebrows a couple'o'times !

Re; Regeneration-
a piece on S Sassoon on today's Guardian site

http://books.guardian.co.uk/greatpoets/s...

Really didn't like Answered Prayers, I didn't really like In Cold Blood too much when I read that either. Maybe I'm not such a Capote-fan. Can't really remember too much about Breakfast at Tiffany's.

I started reading Oscar and Lucinda, which has 110 chapters !

Hooray I finished reading Oscar and Lucinda. I think I might be able to go back to the start and re-read it= because it was so long and took me so long to read I feel like I forgot the start...

Next will be Death at la Fenice, by Donna Leon - I'm going on honeymoon to Venice in May :)

Another list:
Copy cats- six novels by ad execs who moved on

1. Oscar and Lucinda, Peter Carey
2. Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
3. The Lives and Loves of a She-Devil, Fay Weldon
4. Catch 22, Joseph Heller
5. Frost in May Antonia White
6. The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett

I completed Death at La Fenice. It was okay, but the only reason I completed reading it was the Venice setting. It picked-up in the last couple of chapters.

I have started Thomas Mann's Death in Venice- a short story and one of the 1,001 books you must read before you die. Actually there are a few in the 1,001 w/ a Venice setting:

- Candide, Voltaire
- Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino
- Comfort of Strangers, Ian McEwan
- The Passion, J Winterson
- Talented Mr Ripley, P Highsmith

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2008, 5:51am.

I have finished Death in Venice. Although it was short, I found it hard-going in places. Looking back at my reading list for the year it is the oldest work I have read, so maybe this explains my struggle with the style at times.

I am now reading The talented Mr Ripley, which is in the 1,001. I am sure the travel guide also recommended it as a Venice-read...? The film (Jude Law/ Matt Damon) is one of my favourites :)

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2008, 5:52am.

* Like Oscar, Tom Ripley is afraid of water.

I don't have much left of The talented Mr. Ripley at all
p231/ 249~ so I hope to finish it this weekend.

The trouble then is that I'm going on holiday again on Thursday and as is my habit, want to have a fresh new book to open on the journey. I shall have to check my bookshelf for the more slimmer volumes to try to fit in before then. Another Snakes and Earrings? :)

I think I might take Scaredy Cat for holiday reading, something a bit 'trashy'

On holiday (honeymoon!) I read two books:
Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham; and
Other People, by Martin Amis.

I finished reading Scaredy Cat when I couldn't sleep on the overnight train between Paris and Venice :)

I am now reading The Floating Opera, by John Barth. I bought this in Paris, from Tea & Tattered Pages. It is in the 1,001 :)

Message edited by its author, May 29, 2008, 5:08am.

I have 52 pages left of The Floating Opera, and I hope to finish it today.
I was thinking of taking up the 888 challenge:
The Floating Opera would be one of my 8 1,001 books.
Another category would be J's.
Follwing this my next read would be Seize the Day, by Saul Bellow.

Hooray, book number 20!
Seize the Day, by Saul Bellow.

- It is in the 1,001
- It is one of J's
- It is quite short, 118 pages
Hopefully I will enjoy it and whizz thru it :)

*Compare & contrast

- Both The Floating Opera and Seize the Day are 'one day' books.
- Both of them feature protagonists who live in hotels.
(They are consecutive in the 1,001.)

Perhaps Tommy Wilhelm would like his father to commit suicide, so he could inherit his money? ~
In The Floating Opera Todd's father committed suicide because of his debts.

And also the name of the talent scout who sets Tommy off to seek his fame and fortune is... Maurice Venice ;)

Message edited by its author, Jun 17, 2008, 5:07am.

I really want to finish reading Seize the Day either today, or at the very least this weekend- not because I'm not enjoying it, but so that I can get onto my next read :)

I wish I had a random book choice generator to pick my next reads for me !

I think I might go for Little Women, as it is in the 1,001 and that will bring me to 8/8 in my 888 book challenge.

Another Sunday and I want to finish reading the last 22 pages of Seize the Day :)

Although it is short, I feel like I haven't got the most out of it... ? I do the majority of my reading on the bus to & from work and I get easily distracted by other passengers (!) Which is fine if you are reading a trashy paperback, but delicately nuanced literature ?

I had another thought re Seize- the 'Doctor' in it (Tamkin) reminds me of the one in Running with Scissors- Dr Finch.

I started book #21. Little Women. Because it is a 'children's' book hopefully it will be a nice quick read- but it's still longer than Seize the Day !

Seeing as how Little Women is a children's book, I wish my copy had pictures !
I've just read the chapter where Meg is dressed up like a doll and am very curious as to the fashions of the time.

A piece on Augusten Burroughs in today's Guardian

http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/...

Message edited by its author, Jun 21, 2008, 9:23am.

100 pages left of Little Women. I could probably finish it today, but maybe at the expense of my chores, which would be a grave error as per the book. Many of the chapters end with them all resolving to try to be better citizens, after a rousing sermon, a bit like Thundercats:

- ... added Jo, who could not for the life of her help getting a morsel of fun out of the little sermon, though she took it to heart as much as any of them. p44
- ... added Jo; and the lecture ended in a laugh. p67
- Neither said a word, but they hugged on another close, in spite of the blankets, and everything was forgiven and forgotten in one hearty kiss. p77
- "We will Marmee, we will!" cried both, with all their hearts, as she bade them good-night. p91
- "We'll remember, Mother!" and they did. p108
- Remembering the conversation of the afternoon, the boy said to himself, with the resolve to make the sacrifice cheerfully, "I'll let my castle go, and stay with the dear old gentleman while he needs me, for I am all he has." p 134

Message edited by its author, Jun 22, 2008, 6:44am.

I went to the ATM on Saturday and firstly just wanted to check my balance to see if I had any money to draw out... the bank could not authorise my request. I was on the high street so was able to try to check on two other banks... same problem.

I go back home and call my bank. As I have got married and changed my name they cancelled my exisiting card straight away, and I have to wait for my new one to arrive...
It reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale- at the beginning of the change in society where they close down womens' bank a/cs etc. I am no longer allowed to have my own money as I am now my husband's property, it is up to him to provide me w/ an allowance if he sees fit...

Started book 22. Surfacing, by Margaret Atwood.

Was disappointed by Little Women in the end. I had read that Beth dies but she only got sick from scarlet fever. I understand that the UK and US editions are different- in the UK the entire story is split into two separate books- I'd need to also read Good Wives to get the whole story ?

Compare & contrast:
The Handmaid's Tale & Surfacing

In Surfacing the narrator has left her child w/ her husband (ex-husband? )
In The Handmaid's Tale the hope of seeing Luke and their child again is what keeps Offred going.

Oh, Surfacing was so strange and topsy-turvy.

I have started reading Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn which does not fall into any of my categories, but is a group read over on Babbling Books

http://onlinebookclub.myfreeforum.org/ab...

On the back of Geek Love it has a review: ...if Flannery O'Connor had consumed vast quantities of LSD, she may have written like this

Although these comparisons always make me cringe, I think I might be reading something by 'Flan' next- Wise Blood ? which would also give me one for my J's category and an extra one in 1,001

I finished Geek Love last night and have started Wise Blood today.

Geek Love was alright, but I wonder why it won the poll on the website as I don't think anyone else has read it this month which makes me feel a bit like I have wasted my time on it :(

#58. SPOILER ALERT
Yes, if Beth is not dead you have not read the entire story. It looks as though you'll need to get Good Wives to find out what happens to everyone and keep up with those of us in the US who get it in one big book.

I wrote a post saying how much I enjoyed Wise Blood, but it got eaten :P

I have since read Seventh Heaven, By Alice Hoffman for the Babbling Books August read. Not particularly my cup o'tea, but I got thru it. I didn't feel that there's actually anything to discuss about it, apart from how much everyone liked/ disliked it. Magical realism has never really been my thing.

Nineteen eighty-four, is also an August read, and I would like to re-read it, but inbetween I think I am going to try for one of my 888-challenge books- The Bourne Identity *amnesia, in an attempt to even out my totals for my categories > it's quite a long one tho

The Bourne Identity was absolutely terrible!
If you want to read a 500+ page book where in effect nothing happens then be my guest.

I re-read 1984, and didn't quite remember how upsetting Part Three is.

I have now begun The Killer Inside Me, on my husband's recommendation.

The Killer Inside Me was alright, probably gets an extra star for being a Quick Read.

Now started Death in a Strange Country, by Donna Leon.

*T'stone for Donna Leon not working

Message edited by its author, Sep 16, 2008, 9:42am.

I'm hoping to finish Death in a Strange Country tonight- 13 pages left!
It has been okay, (unless there is going to be a dramatic twist) but what got me is that it has a practically identical scene as the first book- Death at La Fenice -where Guido goes to an old lady's house and has coffee !

Oops I seem to have forgot to mention that I was reading Half of a Yellow Sun. Really enjoyed it. Like, people read books like A Million Little Pieces, which is just some over-privileged idiot's (fake) drug memoir (boo hoo), and then you read something like Yellow Sun, which is actually about something important, something real...

As per the polls over on Babbling Books I have dived straight into Birdsong, rather than Cold Comfort Farm. I prob would have preferred to have had some light relief in the form of CCF, but I polled rather strongly in favour of Birdsong so feel obliged to read it first.

I'm so glad I've chose WWI as one of my 888 Categories, Birdsong is unbelievable- and yet this actually happened !

My stomach turns as I read it. I don't understand why people read 'horror' by Stephen King and the like; maybe because if they do get scared they can reassure themselves - like a little kid- that it's only a story, only make-believe

I started Cold Comfort Farm, and read about 100 pages.

This morning when I was checking my bag to make sure I had everything I found that my water bottle had leaked onto my paperback !

I gave my OH instructions on how to try to dry it out, and started The Winter Queen instead :S

The Winter Queen was okay, but I felt the the actual plot of the threat of Azazel was too undefined to actually 'scare' me. Kindof wished I was just reading my next Mark Billingham book, a nice 'straight forward' crime.

Back to Cold Comfort Farm now.

So actually after Cold Comfort Farm, I DID read a Mark Billingham one- Lazybones.

Now starting Cat's Eye, Margaret Atwood.

Well I don't think I'm going to complete my 50-book challenge, but what the heck :P
I'd love to get a nice notebook for Xmas to record next year's challenge x

I have started The Secret History, by Donna Tartt.

I had to read Watchmen - Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons as it became available for me at the library but because it's such a popular title I was only able to borrow it for a fortnight!

Back to finish off The Secret History now.

* The Secret History & Watchmen both start with a murder

Struggled through The Secret History, and now reading Brick Lane, by Monica Ali.

Will I be able to finish it before the end of the year >?

Well here I am at the end of 2008, on p 280/492 of Brick Lane- 57% thru.

This is my 38th book, so maybe next year a more realistic challenge will be 40 books ?

I've read graphic novels this year, and non-fiction (puppy books!) that I guess I could have included to make my numbers up...

I'm glad that there has only been one choice this year that I couldn't finish - Dead Air *need to check if this has been axed from the 2nd edition of the 1,001 books ;)

One of my Christmas presents was a nice notebook to record my 2009 reading in :)

Message edited by its author, Dec 31, 2008, 6:42am.