HelenBaker takes up the challenge again.

Well time to reshuffle the shelves and take a fresh look, discovering buried treasures and savouring the new Christmas books. I am reducing my challenges this year to allow more freedom of choice and less recording.

January.
My first book for the year is for my online book group : http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ANZLitLovers/info
and it was an excellent start for the year. I have not read this author before but would like to read some of his earlier books now.

1. Lost Voices by Christopher Koch
2. The Writing Class by Stephanie Johnson
3. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
5. The Infinite Air by Fiona Kidman

Hey Helen. Found and starred you!

Welcome back!

February.

6. Outbreak of Love by Martin Boyd
7. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
8. The Dream Swimmer by Witi Ihimaera
9. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

February has been a quiet reading month for me what with our daughter's wedding, followed by looking after our granddaughters for a week while Mum and Dad on honeymoon.

March.

10. Coal Creek by Alex Miller
11. The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
12. Snowdrops by A.D. Miller
13. A History of Silence: a memoir by Lloyd Jones
14. May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes

Very good job, Helen!! Just keep it up!

Hi, Helen! What did you think of your #13? It looks like an interesting one.

Hi Amber, I have been a fan of Lloyd Jones's diverse collection of novels for some years, (in fact well before he was shortlisted for the Man Booker), so I treated myself to this at Christmas time.
It starts as a fairly slow read, including musings on the inevitability of the Christchurch earthquake because of the instability of the land leading then into his own foundations, of which he knew very little because his parents seldom spoke of their past. They had both spent time in orphanages. As is often the case what he uncovers is most unsettling.
Unfortunately the telling is far from sequential but it is revealing of social attitudes in early 20th century New Zealand which I found interesting. In fact the location and time coincided with similar events in my own family. It is not an uplifting read but I do wonder whether a novel might emerge, at some time based on his research.

>9 HelenBaker: Thanks! It sounds very interesting!

April
15. The Kindness of Strangers: Kitchen Memoirs by Shonagh Koea
16. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
17. The Last Days of the National Costume by Anne Kennedy
18. The Detour by Gerbrand Bakker
19. Emma by Jane Austen
20. Staying Home and Being Rotten by Shonagh Koea

May
21. The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
22. Harlequin Rex byOwen Marshall
23. Skylark by Jenny Pattrick
24. The Fainter by Damien Wilkins

June
25. La Rochelle's Road by Tanya Moir
26. The Big Music by Kirsty Gunn
27. Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott

July
28. Pereira Maintains byAntonio Tabucchi
29. More Than You Can Say by Paul Torday
30. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
31. Lonely Road by Nevil Shute
32. Max Gate by Damien Wilkins

August
33. Eyrie by Tim Winton
34. Memory by Margaret Mahy
35. In Custody by Anita Desai
36. The Bright Side of My Condition by Charlotte Randall

You are doing great Helen!

Thanks for stopping by and your continued encouragement, Connie. My family are keeping me on my toes this year which has really impacted on my reading and computer time so sadly I doubt that I will achieve this goal this year.

September
37. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
38. The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
39. We Had It So Good by Linda Grant
40. Father of the Rain by Lily King
41. An Accommodating Spouse by Elizabeth Jolley

To bad, Helen. Keep on reading just for the fun of it. I hope the family things will settle down in time.

October
42. Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas
43. Heartland by Jenny Pattrick
44. On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry
45. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
46. Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
47. Rough Music by Patrick Gale
48. Soon by Charlotte Grimshaw

Good job and only 12 days of October passed.

Yay my best reading month this year, but still way short of my goal in this challenge. With another grandchild due in a month, I might have to contemplate joining the 50 challenge group next year.

November

49. All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
50. Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry
51. The Dinner by Herman Koch
52. The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada
53. Postcards from Surfers by Helen Garner
54. A Mercy by Toni Morrison
55. Unlawful Entry by Marilyn Duckworth
56. The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra
57. Property by Valerie Martin
58. Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany

December

59. Away by Amy Bloom
60. The Essence of the Thing by Madeleine St. John
61. The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone
62. The Confidant by Helene Gremillon
63. Taft by Ann Patchett
64. Landscape with Solitary Figure by Shonagh Koea
65. The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai
66. Eating Peacocks by Barbara Else
67. Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor
68. The Beginners Goodbye by Anne Tyler
69. Jezebel by Irene Nemirovsky

And you have all the rest of December to reach number 75! Just keep on reading.

Thank you Connie. I'm still trying. I was unwell yesterday and managed to read a book in a day. A bonus.

So glad you can read while you are feeling poorly, Helen!

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!