Well, here I go...

1. A big fat Neal Stephenson Novel
2. Two French classics
3. Three books on Judaica
4. Four Global novels
5. Five new-to-me authors
6. Six random nonfiction works
7. Seven Morland saga books
8. Eight Orange Prize books
9. Nine Travel books
10. Ten mystery novels

Message edited by its author, Dec 9, 2009, 12:10am.

1. A big fat Neal Stephenson novel - Quicksilver (darn Touchstone refuses to accept author's name)

Two French classics

1. Dangerous Liasons
2. The Three Musketeers

Message edited by its author, Dec 9, 2009, 12:09am.

Three books on Judaica

1. Choosing Judaism (10/18/09)
2. To Life
3. Jewish Holidays

Message edited by its author, Oct 19, 2009, 12:28am.

Four international novels

1. The Housekeeper and the Professor
2. Nervous Conditions
3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog
4.

Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2009, 7:05pm.

Five new-to-me authors

1. The Tricking of Freya
2. Little Bee
3. Darling Jim
4. Janeology
5. Colour of Magic

Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2009, 9:43pm.

Six Nonfiction works from my TBR List

1. The Canon
2. The Planets
3. Lost for Words
4. Salt
5. Basque History of the World
6. Perfect Summer

Seven Morland saga books

1. The Oak Apple (9/30/09)
2. The Black Pearl (10/24/09)
3. The Long Shadow
4. The Chevalier
5. The Maiden
6. The Flood-Tide
7. The Tangled Thread

(For those of you who don't know of this series, it's the saga of an English family from the 1400s that will end up in World War II.)

Message edited by its author, Nov 1, 2009, 6:38pm.

Eight Orange Prize Nominees (I chose from among a list of all nominated books, so many of these may not have won.)

1. The Blind Assassin
2. Brick Lane
3. Blue Flower
4. The Translator
5. Passion of Alice
6. The Night Watch
7. A Spell of Winter
8.

Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2009, 9:38pm.

Nine armchair travel books

1. Round Ireland with a Fridge
2. In a Sunburned Country (10/18/09)
3. Larry's Kidney
4. Dancing with Cuba
5. Eat My Globe
6. Dreaming in Hindi
7. Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien
8. Magic Bus
9. In the Valley of Mist

Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2009, 7:06pm.

Ten mystery novels

1. By a Spider's Thread (10/9/09)
2. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
3. Hangman Blind
4. Franchise Affair
5. Last Rituals
6. Deadline in Athens
7. Game of Patience
8. Flight of a Witch
9. Wine of Violence
10. Death du Jour

Message edited by its author, Oct 10, 2009, 4:07pm.

Great categories! We're planning a group read of Three Musketeers early in the year if you're interested in joining us. Check the group read thread. I read The Housekeeper and the Professor the other day and loved it - very short and easy to read (I did it in a day), but the kind of book that you keep thinking about long afterwards.

Book 1 - The Oak Apple

Although this book started slowly, once I got into it I found it to be an enjoyable read, other than the battle scenes. (It partially takes place during the English civil war.)

Book 2- By a Spider's Thread

In this novel, Detective Tess Monahan attempts to track down the runaway wife and children of a wealthy Orthodox Jewish furrier.
I found the book to be enjoyable, despite the fact this was my first foray into the Tess Monahan series. For the most part, other than mentioning a shooting that I suspect occurred in the previous novel, the novel was easy enough to understand without having any previous background.

Bonus category - Historical Fiction

1. Alias Grace
2. The Scarlet Pimpernel OK, not technically "historical" but on Mt. TBR nonetheless
3. The Danish Girl
4. Wolf Hall
5. Through a Glass Darkly

Message edited by its author, Oct 19, 2009, 12:29am.

I recently read In a Sunburned Country because I'm planning a trip to Australia next year, and it was really interesting--only my second Bryson book, but both have been absolute pleasures to read because of his humor and observations. I hope you enjoy it!

Book 3 - In a Sunburned Country

>16 I agree with you on Bryson's humor and observations. I just finished listening to the book, and though I found some parts to get slightly tiresome, especially his preoccupation with poisonous creatures, I overall greatly enjoyed it.

Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2009, 7:12pm.

Book 4 - Choosing Judaism

Because I am currently considering conversion to Judaism, I found this work to be interesting and helpful.

>18, That's fascinating! If you don't mind me asking, what prompted the decision to convert? Apologies if this is too personal, just tell me to buzz off. :)

No, it's not too personal :) -- I've wanted to do this for years because I think it's right for me. I find that I appreciate a great deal of it: the focus on questioning, its ethical system, etc. (There are other elements about which I feel appreciative, but I don't want to overwhelm the thread.)

Book 5 - The Black Pearl

(Appropriately book five in the series.) I found this to be a slow-starting book, but once it got going, I enjoyed it. I'm not sure how I feel about the main female character, Annunciata Morland, who spends most of the novel at the court of Charles II(?). However, since this is only the first book in which she makes a major appearance, I have more books to decide how I feel towards her.

I've had kind of an interesting time reading in recent weeks -- I haven't felt like reading, or been able to concentrate on it. Today I decided to give up on The Long Shadow, as it's doing nothing for me; I can't stand the main character or the drama she creates.