Dnorthup's 75 in 2008

I made it to 52 in 2005, 55 in 2006 and 47 in 2007 (I blame all 7 of the Harry Potter books for that decline), but I thought I would see what I can do for 2008.

1. The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block
2. The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
3. The Pillars of the Earth byKen Follett
4. The Rise of Life on Earth by Joyce Carol Oates
5. World Without End by Ken Follett
6. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
7. The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken
8. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith


18 / 75 books. 24% done!

dnorthup, did you enjoy The Gravedigger's Daughter? I read it last year before it came out (an arc) and very much enjoyed it. It was on my list of 'top' books for 2007 (and it may have been the only book on that list by an American author!).

I really enjoyed it. JCO is probably my favorite author right now. Her books engage me completely and shock and horrify me at times. I would have liked more of a clear view of what happened to Hazel at the the end of The Gravedigger's Daughter but I still thought it was just and incredible story.

5. World Without End by Ken Follett - I just finished this massive 1014 page volume. I finished The Pillars of the Earth earlier in the month. It came in at just under 1000 pages. POTE came to me by way of the Secret Santa here on LT. I don't think I would have picked it up otherwise. It was truly a captivating read and I enjoyed it from start to finish and devoured it in 10 days. WWE came to me as an early birthday gift. I wasn't sure about it, but I thought I would give it a try.

WWE was still an extremely good read and I was compelled to keep going. After finishing it though, I can't help but feel that it is inferior to POTE. WWE takes place in the same village as POTE, but it is some 200 years later. The second book really lacked a central focus and at times seemed to move forward inconsistently and not really flush out the story. It was as if the author had an idea and needed to bring it to some conclusion quickly because he was running out of room or time. I felt that a book of over 1000 pages should be complete in its story. As each obstacle appeared and was resolved you knew for certain that something was going to reverse that obstacle and set things back again. This happened again and again throughout the book and that just gave the entire book a sort of triteness. It was sort of soap operatic in its constant set backs and recoveries.

Despite that criticism, the good characters were immensely likeable and the evil characters were beyond contempt. The author did a good job of creating full characters that were just abused beyond belief.

I mentioned the lack of central focus. POTE all revolved around the building of the cathedral and at the core was about cathedral building. While the detail of that was sometimes cumbersome and confusing (I found myself on the internet trying to understand the Gothic architecture of cathedrals) it really drove the story from beginning to end. WWE didn't have that driving force. Large building projects were introduced one after another and each time I was certain that would be our focus, but then another project would appear and that would be the focus. This second book was not about building. I suppose at its core is the triumph of good over evil and the emphasis on societal change that is occurring in the second have of the 1300s. While valid and important, it just didn't work as well as a driving force as the cathedral did in POTE.

With all of this said, (sorry I said so much), I cannot say that I regret the read. I did enjoy it and conquered it in 12 days. If I had my choice to read these two related works again, I think I would begin with WWE and then read POTE, as the dust jacked indicates, these can be read in any order. I think reading them backwards, per say, would result in a much more satisfying experience. I recommend both, but have to give more emphasis to POTE. It is worth every page!

>3 Dnorthup: just as a JCO followup, did you read Rape a Love Story? It, like We Need to Talk about Kevin is a horrific, disturbing tale but really made me think about my ideas of justice. Sometimes I think she uses horror to shake us up first so we are in a place to really think about the things she wants to talk about. I bought the first volume of her journals and judging from picking through it as I have done, it will be a fab read; however, I can afford to be distracted by it at this time.

I read POTE a long, long time ago. I remember liking it. Glad to hear it still holds up after so many years.

6. I just finished The Other Boleyn Girl yesterday. I found it very readable even though I knew how it would end. I enjoyed the view of the story from the point-of-view of Mary Boleyn. Despite all of Anne's treachery and deceit toward Mary and nearly every one else around her, I still gasped when they beheaded her. I thoroughly enjoy all historical fiction of this period and am looking forward to both the movie and the second season of The Tudors on Showtime. (Of course all of that cuts in to my time to reach my goal of 75 for 2008!)

I'm well in to The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken.

7. I finished The Giant's House on Saturday morning. I really enjoyed both the first 1/3 and the last 1/3, but I had problems getting through the middle 1/3. I had suggested this title about the "romance" between a giant and a librarian to my book club last month and it didn't receive many votes, but I still thought it was worth reading so went ahead and tackled it myself. It was an overall satisfying read and was worth it to reach the bit of a twist at the end. There definitely was more to it than just a giant and a librarian. Well written and compelling. I recommends this title.

8. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn was my book club selection for March. I have wanted to read it for many years and am glad that i got the chance. I enjoyed it and felt it was one of the lighter reads of the "classics." Definitely a moving and interesting story.

I'm on to Sense and Sensibility now.

#8: I will have to add it to the list of classic books I should have read but never got around to, just like I did with All Quiet on the Western Front.

I am well off pace to reach this goal and haven't updated my post in months. Here is where I stand in terms of numbers:

9 An Irish Country Doctor Patrick Taylor
10 Losing it --And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time Valerie Bertinelli
11 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button F. Scott Fitzgerald
12 An Irish Country Village Patrick Taylor
13 The God of Animals Aryn Kyle
14 Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris
15 A Boy Named Phyllis Frank Decaro
16 Heartbreak Hotel Anne Rivers Siddons
17 The House Next Door Anne Rivers Siddons
18 Pawleys Island Dorothea Benton Frank

How did you find The God of Animals? Been curious about that one.

I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn late last year and enjoyed a good deal also. Kind of didn't expect it to be so emotionally engaging.