As many people have completed the challenge or are nearing the end, I thought I would start a thread about favourites. So which book has been your favourite in category?
I'm currently reading my final book, but it isn't going to top my favourites, so here are my choice:
1. 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
A tough choice as some good things in here, but the one that made the most impact on me was
Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates
2. Fiction Authors that are New to Me
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave - I found this really moving and well written and I'll definitely read more from him in the future.
3. Crime and Detectives around the world (each one from a different country)
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith - I was gripped by this thriller set the Soviet Union, more for the depiction of the society than the crime.
4. Theme: Dystopia
I'm going to have to have a tie here between
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley which surprised me with its readability and humour, and
The Road by Cormas McCarthy which has been one of the most haunting things I've ever read.
5. Retro: Beats, Hippies, 1960s and Counter-Culture (fiction and non-fiction)
Very difficult to pick here as it was such a mixed bunch, but probably
1968 The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky as I felt I learned a lot from this.
6. Around the World (fiction set outside of the UK and USA - each one from a different country)
This was probably the strongest category but
Tropical Fish: Tales from Entebbe, a collection of loosely connected short stories set in Uganda by Doreen Baingana was the outright winner.
7. Non-Fiction
A surprisinging winner as I only read this book to satisfy my spors obsessed partner
The Last Shot by Darcy Frey - I know very little about basketball but this had me hooked.
8. Complete Works of - T C Boyle
My toughest category - I won't be attempting to read everything by one author again in a year as it became a struggle, but there were some good ones in there, particulary
Riven Rock9. Themed Titles - Animals (a different animal in each title)
This category worked out well and threw up a good mix of books. The best one was actually the one with the most to do with animals
Giraffe by J M Ledgard.
1. Plays- Favorite was
The Merry Wives of Windsor, it was funny.
2. Classic Lit-
Cyrano De Bergerac, although I had seen the movie the book made him a more realistic person and I really felt sorry for him.
3. Cozy Mysteries-
Black Orchids- Nero Wolfe had to leave his beloved Brownstone. Great story.
4. Sci-Fi/Fantasy-
All the Weyrs of Pern- Answers a lot of questions about where the people of Pern came from.
5.Graphic Novels- Jim Henson's- Return to the Labyrinth- Toby is now a teenager and the new Goblin King.
6. From my TBR pile-
Count of Monte Cristo- Fabulous I liked the movie the movie just filled in the details.
7. Audio books-
A Man of Means- the way he gets into trouble and comes out on top is just plain fun.
8. Did you Read...-
The Lightning Thief my niece wanted me to read this and it was good. Well written but not dumbed down. Kept my interest.
9. Just for fun.-
Long Day's Journey into night Hit home, it helped.
These are my Favorites from each of my categories.
Still have 4 books to go so this may change a little before the end but here goes...
1. A feast of Feist:
Faerie Tale. An easy choice. I really wish he'd write more books away from his usual fare if they would be as good as this one.
2. Why haven’t I read this yet?:
Ender's Game. Another fairly easy choice as Only
The Forever War came close.
3. And now for something completely different:
Kafka on the Shore. A couple of possibilities in this category but Kafka just edged it.
4. Watching the detectives: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Another stand out work that made this an easy selection even though there were other books I liked here.
5. Book watch:
High Fidelity. A close call but the humour of this one just edges it.
6. Frying Tonight:
The Stars' Tennis Balls. Only
The Liar came even remotely close enough to making this a contest.
7. New in Sci-Fi & Fantasy:
The Gone-Away World just edges this one which is a good achievement considering that it's a debut novel.
8. Impulse buys and recommends:
The Lies of Locke Lamora. A stand out category which could have gone to any of 3 or 4 books
9. Continuations:
The Girl Who Played with Fire. A second entry for Stieg Larsson so I guess that made him my author of the year.
Honourable mentions:
Catch-22,
The Night Watch,
The Beach,
The Raw Shark Texts,
Gardens of the Moon and
Quite Ugly One Morning.
Message edited by its author, Oct 29, 2009, 2:08am.
1.Biography/Memoir-
In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta Ahmed. The author annoyed me, but she had such a unique story to tell.
2. Notablebooks -
What is the What by Dave Eggers. A new favorite author. So many good books in this category.
3. Musical Reads-
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. Simple, elegant, life-affirming.
4. Ocean Adventures-
Treasure Island by RL Stevenson. Can't believe I never read this before. This was a very fun category.
5. Mystery-
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers. Another new favorite author (even better than Agatha Christie!)
6. Nonfiction-
The Secret Lives of Saints by Daphne Bramham. About the polygamous community in Bountiful, BC. Read with
Escape by Carolyn Jessop.
7. Sci-Fi/Dystopia-
Farenheit 451. I don't usually do this genre, so I had the pleasure of reading a lot of amazing classics.
8. 1001 Books-
Animal's People by Indra Sinha- although there were other 1001 books that fit in other categories.
9. Historical Fiction-
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Thank you librarythingers for recommending it!
Well, I'm a few books away from finishing my 999, but here's what I have to date:
1. Oldest Book in My Closet:
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy
2. Books for University:
Return of the Soldier, by Rebecca West
3. More Books from My Closet:
Green Grass, Running Water, by Thomas King -- will probably be my #1 or #2 book for the year.
4. CanLit:
The Robber Bride, by Margaret Atwood
5. Women Authors:
To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf
6. Prize Winners:
The Diviners, by Margaret Laurence
7. 1001 Books:
after the quake, by Haruki Murakami
8. Books for My Trip to England and Italy:
Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James
9. Non-fiction:
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women, by Jessica Valenti
Nickelini - thanks for the recommendation of
Green Grass, Running Water. I'd never heard of the book or the author, and it looks interesting.
A very belated attempt to sort out my best/worst from challenge #1.
Best of LT Recommended: A 3 way tie!
The Graveyard Book,
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and
We Have Always Lived in the CastleBest of Biography:
The Hiding PlaceBest of New Authors:
A Doll's HouseBest of Teen Reads:
The Warrior HeirBest of LDS Books:
No Doubt About ItBest of Short Stories:
Murder and Other Acts of LiteratureBest of Audiobooks: tie between
These is My Words and
Wee Free MenBest of Just for Fun:
Men at ArmsBest of Cooking and Food:
New Recipes from the Moosewood RestaurantHere's a list of my best/worst from my 2nd set:
Best of Historical Fiction/Non-fiction:
PersuasionWorst: Don Quixote (no surprise there)
Best of plays:
Waiting for GodotWorst: All's Well that Ends Well
Best of New Mysteries:
Ashes to Ashes - Emma LathenWorst: The Black Shrike, which was really more of a thriller than a mystery anyway, but still no good.
Best of Global Reading:
Cry, the Beloved CountryWorst: The God of Small Things
Best of Non-fiction:
American GospelWorst: tie between The Irregulars and Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs
Best of LDS books:
Because He First Loved UsWorst: You Can Never Get Enough of What You Don't Need - not because it was bad, really, but the style just put me off so much I couldn't finish the book
Best of Fantasy/Myth:
The Last Olympian!
Worst: The Lost Queen
Best of Books I Haven't Read in 10 Years:
Watership DownWorst: Under Western Eyes
Best of Library Books:
Death of a Fat GodWorst: Death and the Visiting Fireman
both by the same author!
Message edited by its author, Oct 23, 2009, 2:01pm.
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