Orange February 2012

Well, not an outstanding output from me for Orange January (I seem to always overcommit in January, I never get read a fraction of what I mean to!).

But there's always Orange February. ;)

I'm about to start The End of Mr. Y, longlisted back in 2008. A very intriguing back-of-book blurb, but a distinct lack of raves from my friends (who usually know what's worth reading). Hm.

The End of Mr. Y has been on my bookshelf for ages. I look forward to hearing what you think wookie!

I can't figure out how to do a tagmash. I want to do economics and orange prize - if there is such a creature. Does anyone want to help me yet again?

Hey Joyce, I'm not sure if these directions will be exactly right, or even the easiest way. I go to search, and entered orange, search. Then I selected the tag option from the list on the left. Once that came up, I added a comma and economics. It said no one had done that tagmash before (I was shocked! lol) and then this came up.

http://www.librarything.com/tag/economics,+orange

Now, whether there is an easier way to find that, someone else can explain!

The only one there I recognized right off was Prep, but I'm not sure where the economics comes in - it's a boarding school.

Thanks, Raidergirl. Here I go to give it a try. I've read Prep. Here's hoping something else shows up.

Thanks, Tania, for starting this thread! I completely forgot! I love my OJJ community!

I have started reading The weight of water by Anita Shreve for my Orange Feb. book. So far it's an intriguing story.

I am reading The Tiger's wife and Half of a yellow sun in my own Orange February! :)

#7 - let me know your thoughts! I listened to TWoW on audio book for Orange January.

General question to you Orange veterans (and the Queen of all things Orange, JILL!!)....

Do you start a new 2012 thread or just keep posting on your January ones? Curious as to what the masses would prefer.

I've been taking some time to go through the long and short lists of the Orange prize, as well as the winners, for every year since it existed, picking out books I would like to read. Some years had more books that interested me than others - something I expected - but what struck me was how few winners I have on my TBR list. Out of the 15 past winners only 5 interest me.

#10: Tina, it's totally up to you. I usually have a thread for January and July, but some folks keep one big Orange thread for the entire year.

I am going to be orange free for February. But will read orange books outside the January/July times. I have Wolf Hall lined up for July but will probably start that earlier as is a bit of a tome :)

Most of my February reading will be focused on "Will it be an Orange?" - books that I'm speculating will be on the 2012 longlist when it is announced in March.

>11 Samantha_kathy: - I agree about the winners. I tend to find the books on the long-and-short lists sound more appealing. I've only read two of the winners so far, but would definitely have chosen something else had I been one of the judges. :)

>10 TinaV95: - I've started a separate thread for my 2012 Orange reading, but didn't do so last year. I think it just depends on how much you plan to read, and how organized you want to be.

HRO, May we see a list of the titles you speculate will be listed for the Orange this year?

>15 brenpike: - I will be unveiling a list of my Orange Speculations at the end of the month. :) I want to read some of them before making an official declaration.

I just finished The Siege by Helen Dunmore. This was easily a 4 star read for me; perhaps 4 1/2. Not ready to decide yet. Moving right on into her sequel, The Betrayal.

>1 wookiebender: Tania, I'll be checking back to see what you think about *Mr Y*. I loved it for the quirky entertainment that it was for me.
And, >11 Samantha_kathy:, Samantha_kathy, it's often not only the winners that I'm not attracted to but the short listers too. It may be like piano competitions - the wild, creative, risky stuff gets 3rd or 4th prize. The winner is usually safe. That's not always true, but I don't think I wanted to read one from the '11 short list.
>13 sally906: Like you, Sally, I probably won't get to an Orange this month, but I have several screaming at me every time I walk past them.

I probably won't get to an Orange this month, but I have several screaming at me every time I walk past them.

This brought to mind the Annoying Orange videos on youtube, which are obnoxious but funny. :)

I read February this month, which was on the 2002 longlist (I don't think it made the shortlist?). In any case, it was fantastic.

Some of the books that make the long and short lists are fairly lightweight, so I'm learning to look at an orange book a little more closely before picking it up. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with a lighter read, I'm just learning that not all prizes focus exclusively on depth.

For example, I loved The Help. I bought copies and gave them as presents. I saw the movie. But Stockett pulled her punches in that book, choosing to gloss over some things and to focus on hope and happiness. A good book, but not a great one.

Do you all hate me now?

I also read February for Orange February, and agree it was great.

I might get to The Siege as well, but it is more likely that I won't. Maybe in March.

RidgewayGirl I agree with your comments on The Help--a book I loved reading and would recommend, but, yes, maybe not great.

February isn't an Orange book, is it? The archive on the official Orange Prize doesn't include the longlists, but they're around various places on the 'net, and I don't find February on any of them. It was, however, shortlisted for the Booker in 2010, and her other book, Alligator, was longlisted for the Orange in 2007. Just curious where you got the info.

HRO, you're right. It wasn't. I had in the back of my mind that it was, but it seems I've confused it for the IMPAC Dublin longlist.

Sigh. That means I've read a grand total of zero Orange books so far this year.

Wow--I was sure February was an Orange book, and now I'm wondering where I got that idea, because it was more than a passing idea. But it's not, as far as I can tell.

So, probably no Orange February for me.

I've just started Property which was the 2003 winner.

Wrote a quick review for The End of Mr. Y: http://www.librarything.com/work/1391205/reviews/81489832 - I liked bits of it a lot, but other bits less so. It's recommended, but not for all readers.

There, have I sat on the fence in a suitable manner? ;)

#26 - LOL, yes, a professional fence sitter. You'd have a ravishing career as an American politician!

>20 RidgewayGirl: Some of the books that make the long and short lists are fairly lightweight, so I'm learning to look at an orange book a little more closely before picking it up. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with a lighter read, I'm just learning that not all prizes focus exclusively on depth.

Interesting comment, RidgewayGirl. The recent exercise in which we selected our favorite Orange longlisted and shortlisted books made me realize that I've enjoyed the shortlisted books (including the winning titles) far more than the longlisted ones. However, all of the books on my shortlist of shortlisted titles were among my favorite books of the past 10 years: Wolf Hall, White Teeth, The White Family, Small Island, Burnt Shadows and The Memory of Love.

Overall, I've been pleased with the quality and depth of the Orange books I've read. I'd probably give a slight edge to the Booker longlisted books as a whole, but the 2011 Orange books I read were far superior to the 2011 Booker Dozen ones. I'd also say that my least favorite Orange books are still better than my Booker duds; it doesn't get any worse than The Testament of Jessie Lamb.

I'll continue to follow this prize closely, and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the 2012 longlist on March 8.

ETA: I should also mention that I couldn't include several books that I loved from my shortlist of shortlisted books, as we were limited to six books, namely Grace Williams Says it Loud, Room and Old Filth.

23, 24 - Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Some books are so Orangey, it's kinna surprising that they're not on the list. :)

26 - Thanks for the unreview review of Mr Y. ;)

20, 28 - It does seem that occasionally a chick lit/genre fiction book sneaks onto the Orange lists. Fortunately it doesn't seem to happen too often!

For example, I loved The Help. I bought copies and gave them as presents. I saw the movie. But Stockett pulled her punches in that book, choosing to gloss over some things and to focus on hope and happiness. A good book, but not a great one.

Do you all hate me now?

Absolutely not! I completely agree.

And about February, it should have been an Orange book! It was long listed for the Booker prize in 2010. I thought it was lovely and complex.

I'd also say that my least favorite Orange books are still better than my Booker duds; it doesn't get any worse than The Testament of Jessie Lamb.

I liked that book! But I liked it for what it was--and that's not a Booker contender. It just doesn't belong in the same realm as, say, Disgrace, Midnight's Children, or Possession.

I finished Property, a book I've been urged to read for a couple of years. What a well rounded view of slavery. Valerie Martin found the exact right title for the book - a 5 star read for me. Next month I'll be re reading The Tiger's Wife for my RL bookclub. The librarian in the group already read it and said it goes on her list of all time most hated books, oh, oh. I think it's going to be a difficult meeting.

LOL, that's a librarian who's not afraid to speak her mind. :)

I wasn't fond of The Tiger's Wife, but other people do love it. I think it may be a very *interesting* meeting. Bookgroups are always more fun if there are differences of opinions.

The Tiger's Wife seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it book with no grey meh area. I'm very curious about it and have it on the pile for next month. It seems to be a book I'll love...I adore magic realism, legends/myths, quirkiness....so we shall see. Have fun with your group read Citizenjoyce!

The Tiger's Wife - I gave it a solid 3*. I enjoyed it but I found that I liked the side stories more than the main one.

I enjoyed Property a little more even though there was not one character who I truly liked. I found that a little strange.

Finished A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers (2007 SL) and really enjoyed it. I thought Guo's writing reflected the characters challenges with language and cultural differences very well.

For the most part I think I don't like books in which there are no likable characters. For instance, in spite of all its accolades, I hated Brideshead Revisited with all its privileged, self centered, whiny characters. In Property the characters, as you say Bucketyell, are not likable. I doubt I would feel comfortable around any of them, but they were so many faceted I couldn't reject them. For such a little book she worked wonders telling stories upon stories upon stories. I didn't know she was the author of Mary Reilly. I think I'm going to have to read it.

I enjoy books with unlikeable characters IF I totally get why they are the way they are. The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine is a great example. Rosa, the protagonist, is dreadful. I mean, beyond awful. But... she makes sense in the context of the story. On the other hand, I found Z in A Concise Chinese Dictionary for Lovers so needy and insecure that I just wanted to slap her and I never understood why the author found it necessary to make her that way. Z's attitude/behaviour totally ruined that book for me.

I didn't have any trouble accepting Z as she was. First of all her mother told her she was so unattractive that she'd never get a husband. Being a young woman with hormones of course she wanted a man and clung to the only one she thought might be willing to commit to her. Had she actually been able to marry a man in England she wouldn't have had to go back to China, that had to have been a big draw. Life for Chinese women is pretty darn difficult. She would have had more freedoms than she ever could have hoped for if she'd been able to stay. I was so pleased to know, though, that her life was going to be very good in China because as a speaker of English in a Chinese city the sky was pretty much the limit for her. She didn't know how much China had to offer her before she went back. I thought she was pretty believable.

I agree with you Joyce. I thought Z was totally believable, and yes she was needy and insecure judged by western standards. Wanting permanence in her relationship with her lover made sense given her cultural background. I loved her honesty and her naïveté.

Both your comments make sense Citizenjoyce and brenpike but I just didn't get that when reading the book. What I saw was this girl who has this amazing opportunity to live in a foreign country, learn a new language, prepare for a great career, travel all over Europe. I think I was almost jealous of her! And all she does is whine and be all "I need a man." What's that old saying? A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. Z needed to get that as a tattoo. :)

Wouldn't we all have liked the opportunity to travel abroad for a year at age 23?! At least I think I would have, but I've learned (at my advanced age :)) that I could just as easily have been the whiny, needy girl . . . I like to think not, but I was not in that situation so we'll never know! : ). Just saying . . .

Wouldn't we all have liked the opportunity to travel abroad for a year at age 23?! At least I think I would have, but I've learned (at my advanced age :)) that I could just as easily have been the whiny, needy girl . . . I like to think not, but I was not in that situation so we'll never know!

I went to Australia and Papua New Guinea for a year when I was 19. I didn't behave like that! (but then, I -mostly- spoke the language).

I think we understood your strange Canadian talk, Joyce. ;)

I tried!

For February, I attempted to read Eveless Eden by Marianne Wiggins. It was shortlisted in 1996. It wasn't my cup of tea: http://www.librarything.com/work/83770/reviews/76324298

I didn't read any Oranges in February, but I am determined to read one in March. Hopefully I'll get to Intuition by Allegra Goodman, from a long list. Michelle (3M) specially recommended it to me, so I really want to read it. It's here from the library, just waiting to be read.

Don't you just love when the same idea comes at you from different directions? Michelle suggested Intuition, which I"d never heard of. Then, on the Best Books With Sisters List that I started, someone added an Allegra Goodman book. That always freaks me out.

I've just started Intuition, I didn't realize it had been long listed. I'm liking it very much - well, except for the vivisection which is a little hard for this vegetarian to take.

I posted a new your Orange March reads! Have fun!