I joined LT in 2009, too late for the 090909 challenge but I thought I'd try out for 2010. I mostly read during my commute on the bus, ie 45 min per day, and manage to read about 50 books every year. I've been reading some great books from the 1001 list so I'm hoping this challenge will help me make progress with that ongoing project.
So here are my categories. My aim is to read about five books in each category:
I should have read this by now
Look, something shiny - anything that catches my fancy
On the road - books with settings from around the world
Very British - British authors
En français - French authors
Books by women - women authors
On love, hate and everything in between - books with an emotion in the title
Outside the box - new-to-me authors or genre
Know-it-all - Non-fiction
Science-fiction and fantasy
Bonus point for the first one to pick out the secret code buried within my categories!
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Look, something shiny
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Neuromancer - started Oct 30 2009 - finished Nov 10 2009
2-
Les enfants sauvés - started Nov 11 2009 - finished Nov 11 2009
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4-
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Message edited by its author, Nov 12, 2009, 8:53am.
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Sorry! didn't mean to barge in in the middle of your list up there...
Great categories! And the secret is hidden in the initial letters, read vertically :)
Not a massive surprise here at LT perhaps, but a very nice touch indeed!
A novel take on the category selections. Good luck with your challenge.
#14 Thanks for pointing that hidden message out to the denser members of the audience! I'd never have noticed. Very clever.
I love books, too. Good luck with your challenge.
Thanks everyone for the good luck wishes :)
I like your categories, and will particularly be waiting to see what comes of your "En français" selections. Will you be reading them in the original French? Also,
The Shining is a great book. :) I usually re-read it every year!
Hi moneybeets,
My mother tongue is French so yes I'll be reading them in French. As for
The shining, I went through a Stephen King phase in my teen years and somehow managed to miss that one.
# 19 By the way, love your mouth-watering challenge!
"Look, shiny!" is pretty much how most of my reading choices get made. lol.
1-
God's bits of wood My own background may have coloured my reading experience of this book. I have lived in west Africa for a couple of years and this brought back many memories. While I was reading, I could feel the heat of the sun, and I could picture the colourful boubous, the sand, the houses, the marketplace.
Ousmane Sembene is one of West Africa's most acclaimed authors but since he writes in French, I don't think he is as well known as he should be.
As for the story, it's based on a real event (the strike of the Dakar-Niger railway employees). There are no central characters, rather it tells the story of how the community and the traditions are changed by the events. The hardships the people faced during the strike reminded me somewhat of Germinal. Recommended read for people interested in the colonial history of western Africa.
4/5
Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 1:21pm.
2-
A short history of tractors in Ukrainian A family too dysfunctional for my taste. I live in one so don't really want to read about them. Other people might like it though.
3/5
Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 1:22pm.
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The SilmarillonI am soooo glad Tolkien told me repeatedly how tall, noble and wise these characters were because the way they were acting, I just wanted to smack them behind the head and say 'Be an elf!'.
Disapointing.
2/5
Message edited by its author, Oct 23, 2009, 2:01pm.
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In cold bloodChilling true crime story told by a master storyteller.
4/5
#26 I read that book for the first time this year and loved it.
>26, 27
I read it for the first time this last year too. Superb and timeless. Gave it 5 stars.
#28
You remind me that I should maybe explain my rating system. Here goes:
1/5 So bad I couldn't finish it. Almost never happens.
2/5 Waste of my time, may appeal to someone somewhere
3/5 Liked some aspects, disliked others
4/5 Liked it a lot
4.5/5 Liked it so much that I'm probably going to read it again some day
5/5 A revelation. I give this rating maybe twice a year in a good reading year.
@25 Hahaha! Very funny little review there.
@26-28 I have In cold blood on my 1010 too! I really liked the film Capote, and look forward to reading it. Probably won't be among my early reads though.
#32 Doesn't age well then? :-) I must admit I never liked the film..
#33 I haven't seen the movie and now don't plan to. I can't seem to decide whether Benjamin suffered from dissocial personality disorder, clinical depression or if he is only a stalker.
Anyway, I don't understand why this individual has become an icon for an entire generation.
Message edited by its author, Oct 29, 2009, 1:23pm.
@34 I kind of feel the same way about Holden Caulfeild from Catcher in the Rye. I just don't get that character at all, and I don't get why so many people feel connected to him. To me he just whines throughout the entire book, and I found little to nothing redeeming about him.
It's strange what characters end up being icons for a generation. *shrug*
7-
NeuromancerWill have to think about my review. Ok here goes.
This novel introduced the concepts of cyberspace and as such holds an important part in the development of sci-fi. A lot of people see it as the precursor of the Matrix, for example.
It's clear that the author has a very clear picture of the world he created. But is it too much to ask that he shares that picture with us? Characters make reference to events, corporations and software without explanation. There is a lot of slang and techno-babble. For the first 200 pages, I was just trying to figure out what was going on. After that, I started to really enjoy it.
Ultimately I am glad I read it but I wish it hadn't been so much work.
3.5/5
Message edited by its author, Nov 12, 2009, 8:40pm.
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8- Les enfants sauvés
A graphic novel with eight true short stories, each telling how a Jewish child survived The Holocaust. Some were saved by strangers, others by friends, some stories ended rather well (ie. reunification with long lost family members) but most contained heartbreaking moments.
Each story was drawn in a different style but all were visually arresting.
4.5/5 Highly recommended
Message edited by its author, Nov 12, 2009, 11:01am.
9 The death of Ivan Ilych
A quick, easy read. I wasn't particularly blown away but that maybe because, unlike me, he is the other man, and it is natural he should die (those who have read it will understand).
I need to quit procrastinating and finish
Mrs Dalloway already!
3/5
Message edited by its author, Nov 25, 2009, 11:14am.
I picked up
Wuthering Heights at a used books sale and I'm thinking about reading it instead of Northanger Abbey. Decisions, decisions...
Message edited by its author, Nov 23, 2009, 2:26pm.
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Mrs. DallowayWoohoo! I am no longer a Woolf virgin!
I wanted soooo much to love this book but it left me a bit cold actually. I really wish I knew why.
3.5/5
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