proserpinegreen - my first 50 book challenge

Hi everyone this is my first 50 book challenge this year and I have joined Librarything just so I can do this. Today I finished

'Out Of My Depth' by Emily Barr. In the end a disappointment, but hoping that Lisa See's 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan' will be better!

book 2 finished
'Snow Flower and the secret fan" had to wait for ages to get this shipped to me and it was worth it. A cant put down, agonisingly beautiful story..........

book 3 coming up - "The Kite Runner"

The Kite Runner was good although maybe not as good as the second book A thousand Splendid Suns Maybe I was thinking it up, since I had heard such good things about it and with the movie reviews coming out whilst I was reading it....hmmm. But was still very readable, I would recommend it.

next book will be Everything is Illuminated)by Jonathan Safran Foer I have heard good things about it so lets hope its a good one.

quickly read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin as it seemed like a book I might get through quickly and indeed it was. A Young adult book about the afterlife, some interesting things to think about.

the time travellers wife was the newest book. I had heard lots of good things about this book and thought that even though it hit a few slow patches in the middle, it was ok.

plodding along on the way to 50.......

book 6/50The Chameleons Shadow by Minette Walters a good read, not too deep which was a good thing after the laborious-at-times time travellers wife.

Book 7/50
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I really loved the fact that this was a book about books and the people who love them. I really enjoyed also the use of language by Setterfield and how she set the scene of the wonderfully gothic and mysterious 'Angelfield'. I definately recommend this one!

Book 8/50
the history of love by Nicole Krauss
flew through this book and loved it, something about the way it was written made me forget I was reading. Great characters that made you think that you could reach in and touch them, they were so real. Cant wait to see what else this young, talented author comes up with next!

Try Man Walks into a Room by Nicole Krauss. You might enjoy it.

thanks judylou, but I have to admit it is really difficult finding her books in Aus - next order from the book depository maybe ;))

Next book I read 9/50 was Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym. It was a really interesting look at four aging men and women who work together in the same office. I found it a bit depressing at times but was still worth a read. I am now reading Diana Gabaldon Cross Stitch or Outlander to those in the US, and wow what a difference! I can see why so many are hooked on this series around here!I need to get a move on if I am going to hit 50 by the end of the year!

10/50outlander finished, Im not sure why Cross stitch doesnt come up as a touchstone!

thought it was a mysteriously addictive read. Not usually what I read but found I couldnt put it down and read it really quickly, Im not sure though whether I want to read the next in the series straight away.

Now reading The reluctant widow by Georgette Heyer which I picked up at the library at the same time as Outlander, (here I was thinking that outlander being the brick like book that it was would take me 2 weeks to get through and that I wouldnt prob have the time to read the reluctant widow)

11/50The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer was an interesting read, but somewhat disappointing in the end. Im not sure that I would rush to read another of her books - maybe when I am in a different frame of mind.

12/50 Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon argh that is a very, very addictive series! I just love it! I picked this up in a 2nd hand bookshop at a good price, and even though I said that I wouldnt read another of her books straight away - I just started reading it one day and the next thing it was finished!

13/50 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - a great book cant wait to read the next in the series.

14/50 Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott - a really interesting read - history and contemporary mystery

15/50 New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
a great continuation of the story, am determined to read the next in the series asap
16/50 Interpreter of Maladies byJhumpa Lahiri
wow....this collection of stories was amazing! I cant wait to read the namesake
17/20 The secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd
again a great read, another LT inspired choice!

I have the Outlander series awaiting. I didn't want to have too many series going at once (currently reading Robert Crais)...but everytime I hear a wonderful review, such as yours, it makes me wonder why in the heck I have'nt plunged right in! I think you have just encouraged me to start it next! Thanks!

18/50 Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer was the third book in the twilight series and I think was better than the second book. A friend offered to loan me the final book in the series but I have delayed reading it, would rather read something a bit different for a while.

19/50 Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett WoW!! this book was fascinating! If you want to read about two peoples obsession with restoring a castle to its original grandeur, this is the one! It was amazing to read the daunting and sometimes hilarious circumstances that the writer and her then partner found themselves in and the determination and humour in which they tackled obstacles. I would love to be able to see it one day, feel as if I know each and every room.

20/50 into the wilderness bu Sara Donati. Great! This was an interesting book to read with the outlander series read not so long ago...I think that I liked this book better than Dragonfly in Amber but possibly not as much as outlander

21/50 a countess below stairs by Eva Ibbottson probably neck to neck with Ghostwalk as to the most disappointing reads of 2008. I felt that the writing was somehow disjointed and that the feel of the book changed from the beginning to the end. While it started as an adult book, it ended up as YA fiction. Although I enjoyed it as a light and sometimes humerous read, there were no surprises and it was all very predictable.

22/50 the Shifing Fog also known as The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.

I found this book terribly slow at times. It was somewhat predictable in the end and the main character Grace, was underdone. I wanted to know less about the 'events' and more about the life of the main character. Im hoping The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is going to be better!!

I am way under my 50 book target, so thats an aim for next year - read more! (or less thick books :)

I am listening to The Shifting Fog at the moment and I am in total agreement with you. Dull, slow and uninteresting.

Have a bundle to add

23/50 the adventures of Kavalier and clay - quite good, I enjoyed the parallel between the superficiality of the comic genre and the era of war. Can see why it won a pulitzer. a long read though, and I flicked to others at the same time.
24/50 the memory garden by rachel hore ....yawn......so utterly predictable and totally unlikeable characters. I didnt get the main characters at all. It had so much potential with the dual time periods but it just didnt really take off.
next book is in the pipeline - the gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - so far so good....

well Im well short of my 50!! but thats something to aim for for next year, make more time to read - work less..
25/50 The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - a fascinating idea, brilliant start, soggy middle and predictable end Im afraid.
26/50 Voyager by Diana Gabaldon this series is addictive, havent had the desire to go back to it, but its pretty good reading