Calque's 50 book challenge for 2011

I only made it to 22 in 2010, but I am going to give it another try in 2011.

1. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton.

This was a fun book but not all that great. The manuscript was found after Crichton's death, so I'm assuming it wasn't really ready to be published.
The book is filled with cliche characters and pirate stuff. The ease with which single pirates were constantly killing multiple Spanish soldiers seemed rather ridiculous. Frankly, the pirates had so much blood on their hands I usually found myself rooting for the bad guys and sea monsters.

2. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The book was OK. It takes place at the same time as "Oryx and Crake" which I remember liking but barely remember. This one took a long time to get going and included too many major coincidences. I think I might have enjoyed it better if I had read "Oryx and Crake" more recently.

3. Misery by Stephen King

I really enjoyed both the suspense of the story and King taking us into an author's mind. I liked it far better than the other books I have read this year.

4. The Dead Zone by Stephen King

5. Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford by Donald Spoto

Since I didn't know much about Joan Crawford, I thought that some of this book was interesting. Unfortunately, most of it was boring and very partisan. The author was constantly sticking up for Crawford. Her faults were glossed over and explained away by her hard life. The book was clearly supposed to refute the claims of Mommie Dearest, but it was not really convincing.
The retelling of movie plots got old after awhile. I also got tired of hearing how much better she was than other actresses. Maybe I should find a biography of her written by someone who is less in awe of her than Donald Spoto clearly is.

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I really enjoyed the main murder mystery in this, except for having trouble keeping track of all the family members involved.
The back stories on the two main characters didn't really interest me, and they were substantial parts of the novel. I felt like they were mainly there for the author to make points about violence against women and honest financial reporting.
I will also say that I got tired of hearing the details of all the technology the characters were using. I really don't care what email program someone uses or need to know exactly what computer each person uses.

7. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

I liked this, but I thought it was a little strange that Miss Marple barely appeared in the book.

8. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Since I read the Year of the Flood, I thought I would re-read Oryx and Crake. I really did like this book much better.

9. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

I liked this one better than the first one. It still took a while to really get going, but I got into it a little sooner anyway. Although I could have done with less detail on Salander decorating her new apartment. There were some medical things at the end that were a little too improbable. For one thing one of the bad guys seemed more suited to a comic book than a novel.

10. The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition by Stephen King

Great book, but the first half was definitely more engrossing than the second. I was kind of disappointed with the ending of the major story line.
I also thought that some of the medical stuff at the very end didn't fit with the first part.
I never read the original, but sometimes I could tell that they had tried to move the story forward in time by changing references to pop culture. They just didn't quite fit.

11. The Library: An Illustrated History by Stuart A P Murray

The book was fascinating. Although, I didn't always like the organization and could have lived without the list of libraries at the end of the book.

12. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

13. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

Since the second book ended on a cliff hanger, this one picked right up. I will say that I'm not sure that using duct tape as a bandage is anywhere near as original an idea as this book seems to think it is.

The book was alright, but overly long. Unfortunately, we have all of the answers pretty early in the book. Watching the different investigative teams learn the answers themselves is not that interesting.
I thought the entire plot of Berger leaving Millennium was unnecessary and didn't really go any where. It seemed to mostly be an excuse to see another woman being bullied and harassed by men.
I also thought it went on longer than it needed to at the end. And as usual, there were more details throughout then needed.

A very interesting reading list. And it looks like you're on a much more robust pace than last year, as well. Happy reading!

14. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

15. The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin

16. What If?: The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been by Robert Cowley

17. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

18. Under the Dome by Stephen King

19. Portrait of Jennie by Robert Nathan

20. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

21. Blame: A Novel by Michelle Huneven

22. The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh

25. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis

26. Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson

27. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

28. Jaws by Peter Benchley

29. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

30. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

31. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

32. Mrs. Astor Regrets by Meryl Gordon

33. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson