Lori (lkernagh) reads Orange in 2012

Hi Everyone!

With a new year comes a new thread to track my Orange reading. I plan on reading Orange throughout 2012 - trying to aim for one book every month or two - as well as during January/July.

Updating my list of TBR Orange books currently languishing on my bookshelves:

Winners:
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (1997)
Larry's Party by Carol Shields (1998)

Shortlisted:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1999)
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (2005)
The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison (2010)

Longlisted:
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2003)
Gilgamesh by Joan London (2004)
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn (2007)
The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant (2008)

Orange Prize for Fiction's "50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors":
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami

Of course, I will also be reading Oranges that I pick up from my local library and may acquire after today.

Looking forward to January and a new year of Orange reading!

~~ Lori

Welcome back, Lori! I hope you can find your way to Gilgamesh - great story!

And how fun to see the 50 Essential Reads!

Oh, your graphic! I want that hanging on the wall in my living room! Beauteous!

The 50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors is a new concept to me; I had to look it up. The first three you have listed are among my all-time favs! (I like Love in the Time of Cholera just a teensy bit more than One Hundred Years of Solitude, though. And I haven't read any Murakami, yet.) Hope you enjoy them.

Thanks Jill and HRO - I am getting ready too start the January reading. I have decided that I will start my 2012 Orange reading off with Fugitive Pieces.

I really liked What Was Lost when I read it.

I've started Alice Sebold's novel for this month, but I'm still undecided; I have some others here, too, that are pulling at me. Some of my favourites are on your list; I don't think you could go far wrong with any of those choices!

I'm starting Gilgamesh in a couple of days, if you're interested in a reading buddy ;)

Hi buriedinprint - I watched the movie adaptation of the Lovely Bones last month and was really impressed with it! Still need to read the book....

Hi Kim - Gilgamesh sounds better right now than my original choice of Fugitive Pieces, which I haven't been motivated to start yet (ducks head aghast). A tandem read of Gilgamesh sounds great! Will drop you a PM.

Hi Lori! I'm having a slow start to 2012, but I'm finally about 60 pages into The Siege by Helen Dunmore and very much enjoying it.

>8 lkernagh: Just stopping by to say hello. I've had The Lovely Bones on my TBR forever as well. I have to finally read it this year.

Loved The Siege and gave it 4. 5 stars - review on main page. Of your choices listed, The Poisonwood Bible is fabulous, I think. Try it. You may love Atonement by Ian McEwan, but I'm not a fan... ;)

Hi Louanne - Nice to meet you. I really do need to get to reading my copy of The Lovely Bones, especially after seeing the movie last month!

Hi Deb - I haven't read The Siege or anything else by Helen Dunmore yet but it sounds like you really enjoyed it!

I am currently 3/4 the way through Gilgamesh - a great story with a page turning readability to it. Now if I would just get off of LT and get back to reading it .....

It has been a slow reading week for me what with RL returning to it's usual non-holiday routine but I did manage to finish Gilgamesh last night for my Orange January reading. Need to ponder this one a bit before writing my review but I can quickly comment that I found the sparse writing beautiful and the story, although written with a gradual build to the plot, did manage to draw me in and make me curious to find out what would happen.

Lori, I'm not sure how I missed you before, but I love and adore your orange painting. Like HRO, I want it on a wall in my house - maybe not my green sitting room though....
Just so much wonderfulness to read! You already make me drool to get to Gilgamesh, and The Siege has been next up on Mt. Bookpile and shoved back down for longer than I care to contemplate. Like you, I will read Orange through the year, so I'm not worried yet. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to your review.
Oh! And thank you for pointing me to the *50 Essentials* list. I find it fairly quirky.....

> 14 - Hi Peggy, it is pretty easy to miss threads in groups when the group is an active one, like this one is right now! I find it easier to read Orange through the year and it is looking like Gilgamesh might be my only Orange read for January.

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After a busy work week, I have Finally managed to get my thoughts about Gilgamesh down:



Gilgamesh is a sparely written tale of an epic journey and London's debut novel. Longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2004 it is the story of three generations of Clarks - Ada and Frank Clark, their daughters Frances and Edith and Edith's son Jim - spanning two world wars and journeying across half the world from England to Australia and back to Eastern Europe of Turkey, Armenia and Syria. Focusing predominantly on Edith, this is a great story that drew me in slowly and kept my interest in the characters, the plot and the descriptions of Australia and Eastern Europe of the time period.

Full review here: (review here - post 78)

Fab review, Lori, of a book I loved. And what a very precise ratings system you have!