Puffin's 2011 books

It's the end of the year and I met my target of 25 and then managed to scrape 30 at the last minute! I think I'll keep 30 as my target for 2012.

Starting a bit late in but I'll start this from the beginning of January anyway!

I finished The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing on the 9th Jan. (Finally. It was a fairy enjoyable read but seemed to really drag.. I started it way before Christmas.)

At the Crossing-Places by Kevin Crossley-Holland on the 11th which I enjoyed. It's the second book in the Arthur trilogy so it was very much a middle book where not much happened but I enjoy the short chapters and Arthur stories. Which inspired me to read..

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated by Simon Armitage on the 12th.

So that's three for now.

Edit: Ooh I like the idea of editing in the books each time!

2011 Books
1) The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing
2) At the Crossing-Places - Kevin Crossley-Holland
3) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - translated by Simon Armitage
4) Life of Pi - Yann Martel
5) Cannery Row - John Steinbeck
6) Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
7) King of the Middle March - Kevin Crossley-Holland
8) The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
9) Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov
10) Buddha Da - Anne Donovan. Book club read.
11) The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
12) The Summer Book - Tove Jansson
13) The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
14) Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro Book club read.
15) The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins Book club read. - a re-read but a significant one so I think I deserve to list it!
16) Candide - Voltaire
17) On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
18) Love's Executioner and other tales of Psychotherapy - Irvin D. Yalon Book club read.
19) How To Be a Woman - Caitlin Moran
20) Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck
21) Cold Light - Jenn Ashworth Book club read.
22) The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien
23) The World of Karl Pilkington - Karl Pilkington
24) The Radleys - Matt Haig
25) Chart Throb - Ben Elton Book club read.
26) Schindler's Ark - Thomas Keneally
27) Before I Go To Sleep - S. J. Watson Book club read.
28) A Little Book of Language - David Crystal
29) The Father Christmas Letters - J. R. R. Tolkien
30) Fireworks - Angela Carter Book club read.

4) Life of Pi - 18th Jan. Really loved this book, it was an easily accessible, fun story. Until the end. The end has depressed me somewhat. Definitely worth a read.

6) Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier. I absolutely loved this!! Something I really enjoyed about this novel was the heroine's social anxiety and awkwardness, although not a major factor in the story, it was refreshing to read about that as part of a normal person's character.

Onto the third book in the Arthur trilogy now!

I'm curious, what is in the Arthur trilogy? The only novels on the subject I'm familiar with are Le Morte d'Arthur and The Once And Future King. The wikipedia page really doesn't help (though it is interesting).

Hi! The Arthur trilogy is by Kevin Crossley-Holland, they're really children's books but I think they're a really good read & I'm not one to turn down a good children's book! It's not really the story of King Arthur as we know it, it follows the life of a boy called Arthur whose life mirrors the King's in a lot of ways.

I really liked Rebecca. I also like the movie. The book definitely added depth to the characters and did a good job of setting a spooky stage.

I'm putting Sir Gawain on my list. I haven't read an Arthurian book in a long time.

I've heard the film is a good one before, I'll have to give it a go at somepoint. I was thinking when reading how I couldn't imagine a good film could come of it, but then I often think that! The novel really did do a good job of making an eerie atmosphere.

Hope you enjoy Sir Gawain! It's only a short read :)

>5 nadyaduck: Ah! I was thrown off when I saw Sir Gawain and the Green Knight on your list. I guess you're on a bit of a thematic kick.

>8 fundevogel: Yes I was a bit, I'd just finished the second in Crossley-Holland's Arthur series & he'd covered Sir Gawain in that briefly, so I thought I might as well get round to reading my copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight whilst I was on the topic!

7) King of the Middle March - Kevin Crossley-Holland
I was worried that this book would let the series down. I loved the first in the trilogy, The Seeing Stone, so much and the second was almost as wonderful. King of the Middle March I found disappointing and fairly unenjoyable until the second half. I think that I had fallen in love with the March & the characters living there in the first two books, and because of the majority of this book is set on a crusade, I was just missing Arthur's home. It really picks up, though, and I adored the second half of the book & it ended beautifully.

I love how the series is about Arthur growing and becoming the sort of man he wants to be, and the sort of man everyone should strive to be and often fails. It's really interesting seeing his life paralleled with legendry King Arthur's, and hearing all the stories of the round table, and how Arthur learns from these what makes a good knight, or a bad knight.

A wonderful trilogy all in all! Would have loved to have read it when I was a child.

Next.... I don't know whether to read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, or Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov. Hm, choices!

Both of those are on my to-read list! My vote is for The Woman in White, but that's just because I'm in the mood for a mystery novel right now. I'm looking forward to reading what you think of them though; it'll help me choose which to read first when I get to that point on my list. :-)

Decided on Wilkie Collins :). I've not had much time for reading the last few days so haven't got very far but it's already a good read.

I've decided to give up on my to-read list for Lent. Sounds stupid I know, but I want to give myself a bit of a break and just re-read books that I know will make me laugh & feel good as I've been feeling a bit stressed out of late! I don't want to include books I re-read in my 25 so I won't be updating this till after Easter. Hopefully I can catch up, but if not I guess it's no big deal!

Ok I've finished the Woman In White - it was brilliant! I think I preferred the Moonstone but it's a hard one to call. I'm now reading Pale Fire by Vladimir Nobokov, and then I've got to read Buddha Da by Anne Donovan for a book club I've just joined :). Glad the enthusiasm for reading has returned again!

Book #9 - Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

Fairly enjoyable read but I found it dragged a bit. Enjoyable character to explore, but the whole thing wasn't really my cup of tea. It's a shame as I really enjoyed Lolita. Sometimes I think I'm just not academic enough to enjoy certain works!!

Book #10 - Buddha Da by Anne Donovan

This is my book club read. I don't read many newer books as I'm trying to catch up on all the classics I feel I should have read! It was a quick and easy read, fairly enjoyable. It's about a Scottish family, the dad of which decides to become a Buddhist and basically cocks everything up for them all. All the characters are easy enough to relate to but I just couldn't understand some of their decisions, not enough to believe in them anyway. But anywho, it's decent enough!

Book #11 - The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Loved this!! Such a wonderful little book.

Book #12 - The Summer Book - Tove Jansson

By the author of the moomin series.
Beautifully simple and atmospheric. One of those books that leaves me with that bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. I was recommended this when I mentioned to someone that I much prefer a book with no plot that is wonderfully written to a book packed with action but no substance - and here we are! I felt that I could see, smell, hear and feel the island that small family were on, and I miss Sophia and her grandmother already.

Book #13 - The Fellowship of the Ring - J. R. R. Tolkien

FINALLY got around to finishing at least the first book in this series. I've started reading it so many times, and then always lost heart and moved on. Stuck with it this time. It was worth it, definitely, but sometimes the pace is so slow and plodding and sometimes it's really exciting. I guess that reflects their journey. Actually looking forward to the next two, now!

its on my list too. My son opted for the audiobook and really loved it. In fact, just last night we go the extended version of the movie and he was explaining all kinds of things to me that happened in the book. If I had the time, I would listen to it too!

I had two false starts with that one. I blame Tom Bombadil. And I maintain reading Tolkien and Herbert is more of a right of passage than entertainment.

Actually I quite liked Tom Bombadil - though he never really comes to anything it seems so he's a little unnecessary.

Regarding reading... I've been going sloooowwlly through a re-read of The Moonstone for bookclub. Except book club was last week. Really need to move on!!

That's the thing. He's like Chekhov's gun if Chekhov had Alzheimers. I prefer economy in plots so this really bothers me.

Book #14 - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.
(Tried to keep spoilers out of this!)

When reading this I was pretty convinced it was poorly and unconvincingly written. I didn't relate to any of the characters really, Tommy and Ruth weren't very developed or deep characters, and I just didn't really understand Kathy. After finishing and letting it sink in, though, I started thinking more about the issues the novel raises though never goes into. There's hardly any thought in the book about the ethical issues surrounding the story, but I suppose that's the point, that the characters do not think about the issues. The fact that it makes the reader think about them by themselves though does lead me to believe it is a clever novel. For ages I was thinking 'this wouldn't happen in reality, it wouldn't just be accepted', but the more I thought about it the more I realised it probably could. Sweat shops, animal welfare, slavery, concentration camps, they all prove we are more than capable as a society to shut off our empathy and understanding and pretend something isn't happening when it is easier than facing the truth.

A very easy and quick read. Watched the film after finishing it, it does a great job. Cuts out a lot of Ruth's terrible character traits which is nice, she did my head in in the book.

Looking forward to discussing it in book club. Just need to decide what kind of cocktail will suit it.

Book #15 - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Second read. Just as good, if not better. I just love Gabriel Betteredge's narration. Collins' humour is fantasic.

Great observations on Never Let Me Go. I liked it a bit more than you did at first pass, but I agree that the author skirts the issues and lets the reader dwell on them as little or as much as they choose.

Have you read The Handmaid's Tale? That is another one where you think something could never happen, then you say to yourself....wait.....what if?

Glad to hear you like The Moonstone - my library has that as an e-book and I was thinking of giving it a try.

Thanks for your comments on Never Let Me Go, it's definitely an interesting read.

I haven't read The Handmaid's Tale, though it is on my to-read list. Then again it feels like eveything ever written is on my to-read list! Maybe I'll bump it up, as I like reading similar themed books together.

DEFINITELY give The Moonstone a go!!

#16 - Candide by Voltaire. Read this on the plane on the way to my holiday. I really didn't know what I was expecting with it but it's a short and easy read, and very comical. I liked the combination of humour and philosophy.

I then started reading Shardik by Richard Adams whilst on the beach, which was going really well but it then started to drag. It's epic. The pages have got so many words on and the print is tiny so it was a pretty hard going holiday read! Got half way through and gave up. Will start it up again soon. So now that's two half-read ones, as I had started The Two Towers by Tolkien but as it's a nice Folio version I didn't take it away with me.

#17 - On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. This was a nice treat as I wanted an easy going holiday read. Which it was. But it only lasted about six hours! I was a bit unmoved all the way through but sobbed my heart out at the end. If it was a long read I don't think I'd have enjoyed it. I kept getting a little bored as the characters didn't excite me.

I then started Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck which is so far brilliant. I'm not sure, but I think I should have read this before reading Cannery Row which I read earlier in the year.

The I'll have to read this month's book club read, so it'll be a while before I get back to my two unfinisheds!

*grins* yeah, Candide is fun. Always remember, we read in the best of all possible worlds!

Good one, aquascum.

Yep, there's no way anything could be improved on this end!

#18 - Love's Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvine D. Yalom

This month's book club read. Don't usually read much non-fiction but this read like fiction for the most part anyway. It's ten tales of individual cases that Dr Yalom has treated. It was a good read, and easy to digest, and is a good insight to the world of psychotherapy. I didn't particularly like Dr Yalom the pyschotherapist though, I think he might be a bit up himself. But if these cases are anything to go by he certainly gets results. I'm glad I read it.

#19 - How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Been interested in reading this since it came out as I follow Caitlin Moran (a Times columnist) on twitter and she's hilarious. This is basically a funny and (mostly) lighthearted take on feminism, as Moran highlights what she believes to the main issues facing women today, these range from serious (abortion, strip clubs) to lighthearted (what to call your vagina, & the size of pants). Overall it was an entertaining read, and parts of it had me snorting with laughter. Some parts (the fashion aspect of it especially) I got really into, and ended up ranting and raving at a party the other night much to the boredom of everyone else. I guess I need to learn how to combine 'strident feminism' with humour.

It's not the most well put together argument in the world, but it's definitely a good read. Even if you don't agree with her on all counts.

Sounds like a fun read!! I too, get off on a tangent about a book I've read, telling someone that they should read it. My problem is that I end up telling them the whole story!! Oh well!!

happy reading!

#20 - Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

This is apparently the first in a run of books that Steinbeck wrote, all small & each focussing on a small community of friends after the first world war, during the depression. I already read another of these earlier in the year, Cannery Row, but I don't think it matters what order you read them in.

Allegedly Tortilla Flat is loosely based on Arthurian legends but I didn't really get it. Tortilla Flat follows a group of friends who are all migrants, lazy, and heavily focussed on securing their next dose of wine. None of them work, all are homeless, at least until the main character, Danny inherits a house & they all live with him. It's a humorous and heart warming book, about friendship & happiness. Pretty much all of the characters introduced in this book are living in poverty, but unlike Steinbeck's more serious novelisations of poverty & the depression (eg, Grapes of Wrath) Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row focus on friendships and the humourous distractions that young men (and women) will indulge in. It's interesting to see what possessions and money mean to these friends, as pretty much everything is just used as a means to an end to gain more wine (I can totally relate to that..!).

I've heard a few criticisms of this book being racist, and stereotyping Mexican migrants as lazy bums. But Cannery Row is about lazy white Americans, so I do think Steinbeck was just writing about what he saw. I didn't read this thinking 'these are Mexicans', I read it thinking 'this is a group of young men' just like I did with Cannery Row.

Anyway, all in all, I adored this book. 5/5. (Beginning to believe Steinbeck can do no wrong, actually.)

#21 - Cold Light by Jenn Ashworth

For next months' book club. This is a second novel for the author Jen Ashworth. It's about the goings on of a group of teenage girls in the late nineties, in a somewhat run down Northern town where there are constant reports of a man exposing himself to young girls. It's grubby, not particularly well written, but addictive & you have to keep reading it to find out what happens. My boyfriend asked me why I couldn't put down a book I kept saying was crap, & then he likened it to watching Big Brother. You know it's crap, you know it doesn't mean anything, you know if you turned over you could probably find a film that is intelligent & well put together with interesting & amusing dialogue... but you don't.

There were a few plot holes & the like.. I kept wondering why things weren't being questioned & everyone just blindly believed what this TV personality on the news told them. That didn't really add up, in a community where there's a flasher walking around, a man with learning difficulties goes missing, a young girl is found drowned alongside her older boyfriend.. there's be SOMEONE asking questions! The girl's mother, the parents of the missing man, the police...?!

It read like the Point Horrors or Point Crimes I used to read when I was a pre-teen, but this was a lot grubbier.

Righto, I've now got to get on with finishing The Two Towers & Shardik which have been sitting on my shelf making me feel guilty for ages now.

#22 - The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

WAHEYYYY!! I'm now 2/3 of the way through the LOTR series!!

After loving the Hobbit, struggling through Fellowship.. I am now back on the Tolkien bandwagon and thoroughly enjoyed Two Towers. Especially the second half, although less exciting it was a much smoother read. And what a cliff hanger!! (Well, it would be if I hadn't seen the films a squillion times).

I am PUMPED. Lord of the Rings has been troubling me since I was a pre-teen. One more to go!!! Bring.it.on Return of the King!

Can't be bothered finishing Shardik right now, as it's much in the same category as Tolkien (fantasy, description, rarghh war, walking, description) so I'll pick something else off my to-read pile.

#23 - The World of Karl Pilkington - Karl Pilkington

A fun & simple read. Just what I need when I'm feeling a bit blergh. This Karl Pilkington book is basically just a typing up of the podcasts so I had heard all the stories before. Still, I do like a bit of Karl.

Um, hello... sorry to butt in, but... how do you feel the LOTR books compare to the movies? I would be really interested in what you think...

Butt in all you like!

I am a huge fan of the films.. I have watched them all several times and bought the film scores and drooled over Aragorn.. yeah I'm a big fan of the films.

I was disappointed with reading Fellowship, but I realy enjoyed Two Towers. Which is weird as I much preferred the film version of Fellowship to Two Towers. I'll let you know more when I get round to Return of the King :). The thing is, it's the story that is so appealling to LOTR, and obviously Tolkien invented the story. So for that reason, I can hardly say I don't enjoy the books.

Thank you, that's really interesting ;) I guess I'm just curious how people who knew the movies first feel about the books... Thank you!

(as someone who has read LOTR countless times, a tip to reading the Fellowship: it's entirely possible to skip the first 80 to 100 pages to skip forward into some action *whistels innocently and generally looks utterly innocent*)

Some interesting books! And seems like we have a good bit of reading in common. I quite liked The Summer Book, have you read the Moomins as well? (I just got the cookbook! rather excited to start making Moomin food)

I also enjoyed The Woman in White, haven't read The Moonstone yet -- it's in my TBR pile!.

& I second the recommendation for The Handmaid's Tale (and Never Let Me Go is also in my TBR pile...).

I'll definitely keep an eye on your reading list for good recommendations :)

Thank you!

No I haven't read the Moomins.. I just remember the cartoons from when I was younger, I remember it being fascinating! I'll look out for the book. I'm going to have to research this cookbook too, that sounds pretty interesting.

# 24 - The Radleys by Matt Haig

Didn't find the writing style engaging, and completely missed any attempts at humour. Didn't relate to any of the characters & so felt I couldn't sympathise with the Radleys at all, other than a couple of times with Helen.

Nevertheless, an entertaining enough quick read.

Are there enough vampire books yet? :P

Also trying to get through Watchmen still.. ugghhhh

#25 - Chart Throb by Ben Elton

Book club read.

First off, I want to say how much I hate the word throb.

And so, onto the book.. not much of a plot, but I think Ben Elton tried to make up for that by throwing in a few twists at the end.. but still, the repeated phrases and having to go through each round of the TV show really started to grate on me. I understand that's part of his trying to satirise X-Factor and the likes, but I don't watch it partly because of the predictable phrases and endless rounds, so I don't really want to be reading about it.

Some of the characters were hilarious, so while I didn't think this was up to all that much, it was funny enough to keep it going.

And hurraayy! Reached 25!

#26 - Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally

A stunning read.

Congrats on the LOTR books!! I have yet to read one and my son has listened to all the audio books and loves them....unabridged of course!! One day I'll do it!

Oh still one more to go for me, but actually quite looking forward to getting to round to it thankfully! You should give them a go, after a few shaky starts I did actually enjoy the two I've read.

#27 - Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

Book club read.

Some continuity errors, though minor, but it's that sort of thing that bothers me. Sloppiness. Entertaining enough, but fairly meh. Definitely something lacking, something deeper, that could have brought this interesting plot line to life.

I don't know if I just expect a bit more nowadays, but with a plotline like this I really noticed the lack of philosophy or simply a bit of deeper thought. I'm not exactly a philosopher myself, but surely if you woke up every day without knowing anything, some of your thoughts would perhaps stray further than 'I look older than I thought I was. Oh, who's this man?'

#28 - A Little Book of Language by David Crystal

A really sweet (if slightly patronising) introduction to a range of subjects about language.

#29 - The Father Christmas Letters by J. R. R. Tolkien

The letters that Tolkien wrote to his four children as if from Santa and his pesky helper the polar bear. Such a nice tradition, lucky kids!

#30 - Fireworks by Angela Carter