Well I guess it’s about time I started listing my books read.

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson 331pp. Bio. About a man building schools in Pakistan. I applaud this man and all the work he is doing. The book was pretty good also. ****
2.The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery 325pp. I enjoyed this book, it made me wish I were more intelligent, oh well, I guess I’ll work with what I have. **** ½
3. Paper Towns by John Green 302pp. My second John Green book, I enjoyed this one more than An Abundance of Katherines and I’m sure I will enjoy Looking for Alaska even more. ****
4. The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck 278pp. Not exactly great literature and a little predictable. **

Message edited by its author, Jan 7, 2009, 11:31am.

I think I will list my books weekly and put a recap at the end of each month.

5. The Cider House Rules by John Irving 580 pp. Views contrary to my beliefs but none-the-less a very good book. *****
6. Marley and Me by John Grogan 289pp. A very enjoyable light read, just what I was in the mood for. ***
7. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro 182pp. Not the best Ishiguro I have read. ****
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb 752pp. Loved it. Like many, I didn’t think it to long and loved the history part of it. *****
9. Kim by Rudyard Kipling 303pp. Good story, hard to read. ****

Why was Kim hard to read for you? I reread it every 10 years just for the cursing. ;-)

LOL. Am I right in assuming YOU'R the one doing the cursing? I felt like doing some of that myself.

Actually, no. The old woman that Kim and the Red Hat travel with along the road is a master (mistress) of creative invective, which is cursing that is imaginative and creative and does not use any four-letter words--i.e., is not scatological. I'm inspired every time I read it! LOL

>Sounds like fun! I'll have to look out for it. I was sure I'd read Kim in my early years. Time for a reread.

10. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 465pp. Good story, I enjoyed it. ****
11. Looking for Alaska by John Green 226pp. Best yet John Green book I have read. ****
12. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami 607pp. I just finished this book an hour ago and am still trying to process it. I started off loving it but by the end I was feeling a little let down, just too many unanswered questions. ****

Message edited by its author, Jan 23, 2009, 7:28pm.

Looking for Alaska was the first book I read this year, and I loved it. Haven't read the other two yet, but I also enjoyed his contribution to Let it Snow, which he wrote with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle.

13. The Likeness by Tana French 499pp. Very good also liked In the Woods. ****
14. Indignation by Philip Roth 233pp. I really liked this, I can see I am going to read a lot more by this author. ****
15. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn 205pp. Recommended by so many here on LT I just has to see for myself. ****
16. White Tiger by Aravind Adiga 276pp. Loved the book, hated the narrator. ****
17. Wesley the Owl by Stacey O’Brien 240pp. Another one I heard about here on LT. I thought it was a good, fast read. ***

Recap for January
17 books read. 6,047 pages
Authors 14 Male, 3 Female
2 non-fiction, 15 fiction
4 from 1001 list. 1 from ML list. 3 with over 500 pages
1 from personal library 16 from public library (need to read more of mine).

Message edited by its author, Feb 1, 2009, 11:51am.

One week into February I have read:

18. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 509 pp. This book had been on my TBR list for over a year, I knew it was going to be challenging so kept putting it off. Glad I could mark it off, wasn’t my cup of tea. ***
19. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters 511pp. Good story ****
20. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith 436pp. I enjoyed this story very much, didn’t feel the sappy ending quite fit with mood of the rest of the story, but I can live with that. ****½
21. Breath: A Novel by Tim Winton 218pp. Important theme. Well written. ****

22. Franny and Zooey by J.D.Salinger 201pp. I believe I liked this better than Catcher in the Rye. ****
23. When will there be good news by Kate Atkinson 388pp. What I liked about this book was all the intertwined stories, after the first couple of chapters I had no trouble keeping the characters straight ****
24. The Trick is to keep Breathing by Janice Galloway 238pp. I’ve got to admit I really enjoyed this book. Funny, sad, heartbreaking. Very good writing. ****
25. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller 416pp. A true classic. ****
26. Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry 434pp. Ah, happiness, why is it so hard to find. Liked this book. ****½

Some interesting books on your list. I haven't read any Kate Atkinson yet, but have a couple on the TBR pile. I am determined to read them soon(ish). And I agree with your comments on Child 44. I read it when it was listed for the Booker prize - thought it was a good story, but wondered how it made the Booker.

>11: I really liked When Will There Be Good News? as well. Atkinson is one of those writers for whom I seem to have read everything she's ever written, even though if you asked me out of the blue for my favourite authors I probably wouldn't have put her name on the list!

Also good to see additional votes for Mistry and Janice Galloway - both books that I hadn't yet put on my wishlist but definitely will now...

Thanks, Judylou and Flossie for your comments. I haven't read anything else by Kate Atkinson but intend to in the future. My first by Janice Galloway as well. After reading A Fine Balance I just had to read another Rohinton Mistry and Family Matters was on the 1001 list.

27. The Shack by William P. Young 256pp. I can understand the appeal of this book, although I often felt like I was reading in circles. I didn’t love or hate it, thought the writing lacked skill.***
28. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa 180pp. I really cared about the characters in this book. *****
29. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 400pp. Glad I read it. ****
30. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner 321pp. Not easy to read. I enjoy challenges and this book was certainly that. ****

Message edited by its author, Feb 21, 2009, 11:11pm.

great reading so far this year! I'm glad you liked the Faulkner. It is one of my favorite books ever, and you're right - it isn't an easy read.

I'll be keeping an eye on your thread!

31. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison This is my favorite of her books I've read so far. ****½
32. The Chosen by Chiam Potok 284pp. Loved this Book. Insightful. Very strong characters. I can’t wait to read another of his books. *****
33. I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven 192pp. I enjoyed this little book. ****
34. Blindness by Jose Saramago 293pp. Very unusual writing style. Excellent book, I couldn’t put it down. *****

Recap of February
17 Books read, 5,491 pages
Authors: 10 Male 7 Female
17 Fiction, 0 non-fiction, (need to do something about that)
9 from 1001 list, 2 from ML list, 2 over 500 pages.
5 from personal library, 12 from public library

>17: really interesting re. The Bluest Eye. This was the first of hers I read, on the strength of which I went on to buy and read the lot that had been published at that point, and then wrote a dissertation on Morrison's novels at uni. Yet if asked to recommend a starting point, I'd positively discourage people from picking this up because of the subject matter.

It's a while since I read it, so I wonder if you can tell me: what is it that makes this such an enthralling book even when the story is so sad?

FlossieT
I'm not very good at giving my impressions of what I read but I will try.

The Bluest Eye is not as sophisticated feeling, there is a connection there that I didn’t feel with Beloved, Sula, Song of Solomon or even A Mercy and I feel that is what makes it my favorite. You are told right up front "quiet as it's kept" what Pecola's problem is, not kept in the dark for page upon page as to what is going on. It’s like there is an intimacy between the reader and the page.

I also liked the interesting look into Chollys’ background, what made him the way he was. I especially enjoyed the story about Chollys' Auntie Jimmy, how she died and her wake. Even though the subject is dark there is still enough humor to make it enjoyable.

It is a short book, only 180 pages, I read it in one day. If you haven't read it in a while maybe it's time for a re-read. I know I will be reading it again soon.

I haven’t been posting (no computer for seven months) but I have been reading and just finished book #105 Cutting for Stone and was reading The Master, a book I own but put it aside to begin reading a library book A Spot of Bother. I also have checked out of the library Home by Marilynne Robinson so it will be next, then I can get back to The Master unless the library notifies me of another come in. Am really enjoying being able to get books from the library again, I missed that this summer, however I did get a lot of my own books read, mostly classics.

I love catching up with all your posts and hearing of all the good books I want to read.

No computer for seven months!?! Where were you?

I hope you enjoy Home as much as I did. I have The Master and A Spot of Bother sitting on my shelves, waiting to be read, too.

21: jfetting... LOL We spend summers in a campground. I was able to use my son's computer occasionally, but only to check e-mail and balance check book.
I did enjoy Home especially the end, I found the first 3/4 of the book a bit slow. I really enjoyed A Spot of Bother also. Haven't finished The Master yet.