I'm a little late in the year picking up on this but can pretty much remember what I have read (mainly thanks to the loan history on my local library catalogue!) so here are the first 5:
1.
Random acts of heroic love by Danny Scheinmann
This is a beautiful story about love and how love is the focus of the 2 main characters in the book - the author doesn't shy away from the painful emotions felt by the characters and that makes it a particularly moving book.
2.
The steep approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks
This is a story of family relationships and secrets, following Alban's story of first detachment and then, re-engagement with his family. I think I probably would have preferred it more without the occasional narration by Tango, who I wasn't entirely sure contributed much more.
3.
Notes from an exhibition by Patrick Gale
This is the first time I've read Patrick Gale. I liked it but found myself wincing at the behaviour of the protagonist, Rachel. Gale does bring Rachel's bipolar condition to life and gets across the impact on her family - as the book and history of the characters unfolds, it starts to make more sense but it left me feeling quite low.
4.
How to talk to a widower by Jonathan Tropper
Managing to be both sad and funny, this was a no-holds-barred account of a young husband grieving for his wife. The characters are well constructed and I like the way Tropper doesn't gloss over their mistakes and bad behaviour. A really honest account but the dry humour saves it becoming overly morose.
5. Will you be there? by Guillaume Musso, translated by George Holoch
A lovely tale centred around the idea of being able to go back in time to fix mistakes, in this case,for the main character (Elliott), a relationship. But obviously, Elliott can't just change his decisions in the past without compromising his future and the futures of those close to him.
Welcome, welcome.....there is no such thing as late in this group.
Ahhhhh
Fahrenheit 451. So much to enjoy. Books, dystopia, mystery, and most of all Bradbury!!!
Amen to
Ray Bradbury. I've been hooked on his writings since a college English professor gave a writing assignment to us after we read Bradbury's short story
There Will Come Soft Rains taken from
The Martian Chronicles In my opinion, there are very few authors who can capture such vivid images in one sentence.
I'm really enjoying Darkmans so far - it's great to get stuck into a long book for a change and the characterisations are good, although it takes a bit of getting used to with the way the characters' thoughts jump around and as the story unfolds but so far would recommend it :-)
Whisper1, I can see why you're hooked - this was the first Ray Bradbury I've read and now I have read something of his, I wish I'd discovered him long ago - I'm definitely going to read more Bradbury - any recommendations where to start??
Thanks for the recommendations - will add these to my TBR list
Something Wicked This Way Comes is a delightful tale of childhood friends in a small town. Evil arrives in the form of a carnival and one of the young boys who wishes he had a younger father and his father, likewise wishes he could be younger, face a challenge of having their dream come true....at a price. This is such a delightful good vs evil book that lo these years later I still remember it.
Have now reserved SWTWC from my local library - am looking forward to it after the recommendations :-)
In the meantime, still reading
Darkmans. I was also recommended to try
www.dailylit.com which sends books (out of copyright so includes many classics) in installments via RSS or email - I picked
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as my first choice and so far, it's going ok though not sure how many days it's going to take before I finish!
I've also uncovered more books read earlier in the year (seems the library catalogue hasn't got a complete loan history!):
24. Boy A by
Jonathan Trigell25.
Feet in the Clouds by Richard Askwith
26.
The looniness of the long distance runner by Russell Taylor
27.
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
28.
The reading group by Elizabeth Noble
29.
Making money by Terry Pratchett
There are probably more which I can't remember :-(
It's been a few days since I last posted but I have been reading!! Finally finished
Darkmans too...so here's an update of my reading...
30.
Darkmans by Nicola Barker: enjoyed the storytelling and characterisations but couldn't help feeling I missed something at the end - maybe I was looking for more of an explanation of the events in the story. It could be because I read it over a few weeks so maybe didn't connect it all up as well as I could have...
31.
Things my girlfriend and I have argued about by Mil Millington: I read this as it's based in the world of higher education computing and libraries (where I work) so some of the in-jokes were quite funny but otherwise felt a little bit self-satisfied - the local library described this as "one for the lads" so maybe that's why it didn't quite work for me!
32.
Addition by Toni Jordan: a story about Grace and her obsessive compulsive disorder, her attempts to overcome it and eventually, to learn to live with it - enjoyable reading, written in the first person with an honest and sarcastic sense of humour
33.
Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury: really enjoyed this dark tale - thanks to drneutron, Whisper1 and ronincats for recommending this. I'll definitely be looking for more Bradbury to read now. I love his style of writing and the fact that his stories just don't seem to date - the themes are as relevant now. It's obvious what an influence Bradbury has had on other writers who've followed.
Oh you're so lucky to have gotten to read
Something Wicked This Way Comes for the first time so recently. I wish I could read it anew again if you know what I mean. Every time someone on one of these threads mentions it, I get tingles it is one powerful and long-lasting story!
I've added
Addition to the wishlist. Looks interesting.
Really really busy at work so not got round to much reading....
36.
Six sacred stones by Matthew Reilly : quite a fun read, obviously written for the big screen. An Indiana Jones type feel to it - as long as you're willing to throw yourself into the story and not ask too many questions, it's good fun!
37.
Everything is miscellaneous by David Weinberger : work-related read, which is never as much fun! But still an interesting read, covering how we organise information and restrict ourselves by thinking of information in its physical format when the digital format allows us to do so much more. Some interesting insights e.g. into Amazon's "planned serendipity" but could be shorter if Weinberger lost some of the irrelevant detail.
Currently reading
I sing the body electric by Ray Bradbury - ideal for train journeys and absolutely ages since I've read short stories so enjoying very much...
Hope to make more progress through my TBR list ... hmmmm...
Hello Whisper1, yes I'm enjoying
I sing the body electric - it's been great reading for train journeys and has set me thinking I should read more short stories. I am taking a while to get through it, though, as seem to have less and less time for reading (75 books now seems an awful lot!). So far, I'd say my favourite story is "Tomorrow's Child". I'm most impressed by the sheer range of the stories - so many other writers seem to pick a theme or idea and then stick fairly closely to that for future publications. But Bradbury seems to tackle very different situations, characters and ideas. Hopefully I can get more time this weekend to sit back and read...!
apipals
Thanks for the exchange re.
Ray Bradbury. I want to say that while 75 books is a lot and it does seem like an 'awful lot," truly it is a challenge and a goal and I think it should not be taken as failure if we don't meet it.
Along the way, I've read interesting posts, met some great people and added many wonderful books to my reading list.
Keep up the good work!
#25 & 26: Even if I only read 7 books this year and not 75, I would still have joined this challenge. The sheer joy of being able to discuss books and argue their finer points, add to a never ending TBR mountain, etc would make it worthwhile. And I totally agree with Whisper that noone should take it as failure if they do not meet the goal - life has a way of interfering a lot with reading!
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