In 2008 I managed to reach my goal and read 50 books. This year I'm going to try and read 60, and at least 40% of them will be in English.

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2009, 7:50am.

1. Vájtfülűek brancsa (The Polysyllabic Spree) by Nick Hornby in Hungarian

Who'd have thought that reading reviews about books I haven't read could be so enjoyable!

Good luck reaching your goal this year! I also hope to read at least 60 books in 2009. Have fun reading :)

2. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult in English

A 13-year-old girl, Anna is brings a lawsuit against her parents. She was genetically designed to be a donor to her sister, Kate, who has leukemia. But she wants to be medically emancipated so she hires a lawyer.

It's a very interesting starting point for a novel, but after reading it I was disappointed, especially because of how it ended.

Message edited by its author, Jan 6, 2009, 3:32pm.

3. Terra Amata by J. M. G. Le Clezio in Hungarian

It is a very difficult and sometimes boring reading.

Message edited by its author, Jan 6, 2009, 3:34pm.

4. Ne engedj el... (Never Let Me Go) by Katuo Ishiguro in Hungarian

Powerful, shocking, thought-provoking book.

"2. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult in English

...

It's a very interesting starting point for a novel, but after reading it I was disappointed, especially because of how it ended."

The ending annoyed me too. What a way to ruin a book...

5. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence in English

Passionate love versus industrial society.

6. Atonement by Ian McEwan in English

A wonderful story about mistakes.

Hi katacs, just wanted to say hello to a fellow Hungarian! I have a few Hungarian books in my collection (not on LT, though) - A Tizenot Eves Kapitany by Jules Verne (sorry if my spelling is horrible, I speak the language better than I write it) and Egri Csillagok. I don't know when I'll never get to them, reading in Hungarian is much slower than in English but I hope to one day. Anyway, it's always nice to recognize some Hungarian in random places :) Good luck with your challenge!

7. Saturday by Ian McEwan in English

An extraordinary book about the problems and fears of our 21th century world. I liked the style and rhythm of the writing very much.

8. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger in English

Andrea Sachs gets her first job at Runway, a leading fashion magazine. She has to deal with her highly demanding boss and try to keep her friends and boyfriend.
A light, easy read about finding a balance between career and personal life.

9. Az ötödik gyerek (The Fifth Child) by Doris Lessing in Hungarian

Harriet and David Lovett get married very young and their plan is a happy family with a lot of children. Everything goes well until the birth of their fifth child, Ben. He is very different from the other four children and his presence in the family changes their life forever.

10. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway in English

A story of the love between an American ambulance driver and an English nurse during World War I. I like Hemingway's style very much and it makes the description of war-time really realistic.

>14 That one is on my TBR for this summer. I read For Whom the Bell Tolls last summer and really enjoyed Hemingway's writing so I'm hoping to make my way through all of his work eventually. Glad to know you liked this one!

11. Bad Faith by Gilian Philip in English

This is a dystopian story about a teenage girls, Cassandra, who lives in a country controlled by the One Church. This organization is only religious on the surface, but really it is a group of corrupt and power-hungry people. Cassandra is a daughter of a rector of the One Church, but her boyfriend, Ming's parents are infidels, so they always get into trouble with the authorities. One day Cassandra and Ming found a corpse in the wood, and the subsequent events lead to stunning and dangerous discoveries.

This book is very exciting and full of surprises. The best thing in the book is that one can imagine that if we are not careful enough, similar dictatorship can come into existence in any, now democratic country.

12. The Loser's Guide to Life and Love by A.E. Cannon in English

A simple piece of YA fiction. Too simple...

13. Death in Holy Orders by P. D. James in English

An average detective story.

14. Az anyák is akarják (Matky to chtej taky) by Irena Obermannová in Hungarian

Matylda is a single parent who lives in Prague with her 16-year-old daughter, Katerina. One day Katerina goes to Norway as an exchange student, and from there arrives Sindre. In time his and Matylda's relationship becomes very intimate...

It is a very honest story about motherhood, freedom, love, sexuality, differences of generations and mostly about being a woman in this century.

15. Holt költők társasága (Dead Poets Society) by N. H. Kleinbaum in Hungarian

A mediocre novelization of a beautiful and inspiring movie.

16. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler in English

Funny, light story, interesting characters.

I just watched the movie earlier this week! I was not a fan of the book, though, I felt like Fowler sort of missed the point of a lot of the Austen books as I was reading it. I liked the movie better, but I can't remember if they say the same things in the movie or not so I'm not a very good critic there :)

17. Enduring Love by Ian McEwan in English

During their picnic Joe and Clarissa see a balloon accident. Another witness, Jed starts stalking Joe, endangering his relationship with Clarissa.

The more books I read from McEwan, the more I like them.

Message edited by its author, May 2, 2009, 1:03pm.

18. Rúnajelek (Runemarks) by Joanne Harris in Hungarian

I didn't like it as much as Harris' earlier books. This one does not have the kind of atmosphere that of those.

19. "What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman in Hungarian

This autobiography is a sequel to Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. R. P. Feynman was one of the most brilliant physicists of the 20th century. In these books one can read a few humorous stories of his life and can get a glimpse of the everyday life, work and thinking of a scientist.

The first part of this book is a selection of short stories. The second half is a description of the time when Feynman participated in the investigation of the cause of the Challenger disaster. On the last pages there is a speech called "The Value of Science" that was given in 1955.

This book sounds really interesting!! We have a few of his books on physics, but I have not read any of them yet. Have a great day!
--BJ

20. Evermore by Alyson Noel in English

It's a light YA romance, nothing special, the plot is similar to Twilight, but the writing is not that good.

Message edited by its author, May 10, 2009, 2:30pm.

21. Időugrás a Marson (Martial Time-Slip) by Philip K. Dick in Hungarian

This is the first book I've read from this writer. It is different from the usual sci-fi stories, and in a good way. So I think I'm going to give a try to some of his other books later.

22. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde in English

It's funny, interesting and quite original! I can't wait to read the sequels.

23. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak in English

I'd heard a lot about this book before and I was curious if it was as good as told. It's better. It is one of the best books I've ever read on the Holocaust because of its different kind of storytelling. I recommend it to everyone regardless of their age. It's a shame of the Hungarian publishers that this book has not been translated yet.

24. Eragon by Christopher Paolini in English (reread)

A great adventure story.

25. Elsőszülött (Eldest) by Christopher Paolini in Hungarian (reread)

The second book of the Inheritance series. I think Paolini's style improved a lot between the first two books.

26. About a Boy by Nick Hornby in English

It is a very enjoyable little book, both funny and thought--provoking at the same time.

Message edited by its author, Jun 22, 2009, 6:38am.

27. Evernight by Claudia Grey in English

A variation on a theme...

28. Stargazer by Claudia Grey in English

Part 2 of Evernight series.

29. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman in English

I didn't like this one. Actually I think it is pretty boring. It took me two weeks to finish it despite of its shortness.

30. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini in English

Third book of the Inheritance series. Paolini's style improved a lot. The middle part of the story felt too slow to me, and I wondered whether it was worth it to extend the series to four books. Still, I will read the final book, too.

31. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan in English

I love McEwan's books and the first 150 pages of this has the usual level. But the ending... Maybe I just didn't get it, but it didn't feel right, sensible, plausible... I don't know... I'm going to have to think about it a little more...

Message edited by its author, Jul 29, 2009, 3:12am.

I've heard Amsterdam is his best from a couple of people--it's next on my list of his books. Both of the other books I read by him, though, ended in a way that felt designed to be literary moreso than either plausible or realistic to the story already given. (Those were On Chesil Beach and Atonement by the way). In any case, I'll be very curious to see what conclusion you come to about this one's ending!

32. Csodaidők: Kiszakadtak by Etelka Görgey in Hungarian

I read it the second time, and again I just couldn't put it down.

33. Csodaidők: Árulás by Etelka Görgey in Hungarian

The third book of the series, and it is as good as the first two. The author created a world just as complete as those of Tolkien or Asimov, with its own language and traditions and rules.

The story takes place in the 40. century, when the human race live in several planets. Still, it isn't a sci-fi really. It is a story of the Raas family, from the point of view of three members: Yaan, Judy and Giin. It is a story of a war, with all of its dirt and mostrosity and fear. And it is a story of the human race, too. Of our lives, our strenths, our weaknesses. It is full of adventures, emotions, love, friendship, tolerance, hatred, treasury, conspiracy, vengeance, death.

The best thing in this story is that it is different from everything I've ever read. And after a thousand or so books it is a big word, I think.

Usually I hate that the best books are written in a different language than mine and never got translated, so a lot of people can't read them. Now I feel sorry for all the people who don't speak Hungarian and can't read these wonderful books. I hope one day you will have the chance, too...

The fourth and final book of the series will come out next spring. I can't wait...

34. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger in English

35. How to Be Good by Nick Hornby in English

36. Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay in English

I still enjoy Dexter's adventures. :)

37. Lost in a good book by Jasper Fforde in English

The second book in the Thursday Next series and just as interesting, original and entertaining as the first one.

38. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown in English

I think the story and the writing of this book is mediocre. I hated that the Brown tried to create tension simply by not telling us right away what certain characters found out or saw. But it is really amazing how much research the author did, I was impressed by his thoroughness.

Message edited by its author, Oct 31, 2009, 9:39am.