LibraryLover23's 50 Book Challenge

I'm new to LT, although I've been reading the posts for awhile, and I finally decided to take the plunge and join. I'm really excited about this group in particular because I've written down every book I've read this year and now I can expand on them and write mini-reviews. So here goes...

1. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
This was the first book I read this year and one I found enjoyable. I actually saw the movie first and I really liked it so I wanted to read the book. I would be interested in reading others by him.

2. The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins
I thought this was a good book, if a little slow at times, but the mystery kept me going.

3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
I really enjoyed this, especially since I know someone with autism, some of the behaviors hit close to home.

4. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
This was a fast read and I knew that it was (mostly) made up but I still liked it. I just read it as though it was fiction.

These were the first four books I read this year, and I do have more, which I'll post later.

5. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Creepy, good read, I thought the first half was better than the second. The one image that really stuck with me was the little girl who was abducted years before and people could see her ghost being taken out of the yard, just like when she was a child. It still creeps me out!

6. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
Great book, it reminded me of the TV show "The Office" which I love and, unfortunately, my own workplace. :)

7. Watership Down by Richard Adams
Classic book, I'm a sucker for animal stories and this one didn't disappoint.

8. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
I liked this book, I don't know if I thought it was as great as what some other people said. It was a very fast read though, I read it in two days.

More books I've read this year:

9. To The Nines by Janet Evanovich
I loved this one, I'm a big fan of the Stephanie Plum series and I'm slowly working my way through them. I make sure to give myself enough time in between these books though because they can get a little repetitive. But I loved the whole trip to Vegas and Lula makes me laugh out loud every time.

10. Danny The Champion Of The World by Roald Dahl
One of my favorite children's books growing up, this is the story of Danny, his father and their adventures poaching pheasants. Just as good this time around, I want to make an effort this year to read more of my children's books.

11. Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
I'm a big fan of Tyler's, although I don't think this one held up as well as some of her others. I love her descriptions of characters though, you just get drawn into their world.

12. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
A classic of course, I'm not a huge fan of Hemingway's but this one is so short, who can resist?

13. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
This one caught my eye at the library, it's one woman's story of her life in Haiti, then she moves to New York to live with her mother, and eventually she travels back to Haiti one more time. I didn't love this book, it was "eh" for me.

14. Duma Key by Stephen King
I loved this book, it's been awhile since I read a really good one by him, the last one was Dreamcatcher which didn't do a whole lot for me. I read this one whenever I had the chance and I thought the ending was fitting to the story.

15. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Another great book, tells the story of one couple's wedding night. A short book but very worthwhile.

16. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
I liked this book, but I didn't love it. Worth checking out but not something I'd necessarily read again. Which is a shame because I bought it...

17. Marley And Me by John Grogan
This was a cute story that had me laughing out loud at parts and crying at others. Overall a great read.

18. Mr. Monk And The Two Assistants by Lee Goldberg
Not a very good book, I picked this one up from the library because I'm a fan of the show and I thought I'd check and see if the books were any good. I'd recommend watching the show instead, although it was nice to "see" Sharona again.

19. Emma by Jane Austen
Only the second Austen that I've read (and I have two others of hers to read also) this one wasn't as good to me as Pride And Prejudice is, but it certainly wasn't bad. For whatever reason it took me a long time to finish reading it.

20. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
I loved this book--I thought the wordplay was great and it was such a fast read, I read it in two hours. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Now I'm all caught up with my list, hopefully I can get to 25 by the end of next month so I'll be right on target to get to 50. We'll see...

I have been eyeing Ella Minnow Pea for a while now, you may have pushed me over the top! Not that I need more books, but that one just looks so great, and now you say it is a fast read. Good luck with your challenge!

Thanks sussabmax! Yeah, I really enjoyed Ella Minnow Pea and I definitely recommend it. During one slow morning at work I was able to read it quickly, mainly since I didn't have any distractions, but it is a fast read regardless.

21. Morning, Noon And Night by Sidney Sheldon
Fun, guilty-pleasure read that I zipped through. Lots of twists and turns, although this wasn't as good as Rage Of Angels, my favorite by him.

22. The Clinic by Jonathan Kellerman
My first Alex Delaware novel and probably not my last. Good read that had me guessing whodunit until the very end.

23. People Of The Book by Geraldine Brooks
What a great book, I loved this one, especially the in-between chapters that explained "the book's" history. Very enjoyable and highly recommended. I have another book of hers that I'm anxious to read now.

24. The Mother Tongue English And How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson
Excellent book about the origins of English. I thought it might be dry or boring but I really enjoyed it. It was witty and funny; I highly recommend it.

Halfway to my goal!

25. How To Make An American Quilt by Whitney Otto
I liked this book but I didn't love it; it's the story of different women working on a "crazy quilt" and each one brings something new to the design. The chapters are split up by telling each woman's story and how their design relates to their life. It's also my first Go Review That Book! read.

26. The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Well I must say, I loved this book. I did think it got a little slow about a quarter of the way through, but the last half of the book was so good, I read it as fast as I could because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I highly recommend it.

27. Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen
What a great book - who doesn't love Jane Austen? I found this one to be better than Emma but not as good as Pride And Prejudice. And so far these are the only three that I've read, although I'd like to eventually read everything by her. And I hate to say it, but I found Marianne to be somewhat annoying. Maybe because Elinor comes across as being so noble, those around her can't really measure up.

28. The Serpent Never Sleeps by Scott O'Dell
This was a so-so YA novel about a girl's trip from England to Jamestown in the early 1600s. Although Pocahontas is mentioned in the title, she doesn't appear until about three-quarters of the way through the book. It was okay but not great, imo.

29. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
What a blast, I love the Stephanie Plum books! Hilarious and a lot of fun, perfect for a summer afternoon.

30. The Weight Of Water by Anita Shreve
A quick, compelling read that I found hard to put down. It's the story of one woman's investigation into a murder that took place in the late 1800s on the Isle of Shoals, while also describing her time on a boat with her family as she visits the island to photograph the crime scene. Very good, I recommend it.

31. Whispers by Dean Koontz
I made the mistake of starting this book late at night, alone in my room, when it was dark and quiet... And in the first chapter of the book it's late at night, a woman's alone in her room, it's dark and quiet...and there's a murderer/rapist trying to break into her house to attack her. Needless to say, I put the book down quickly and didn't pick it up again until it was picked for me for the Go Review That Book! group. I was able to get through it much easier this time, I made sure to read it in the daylight, surrounded by people. Still, it was a very creepy read, and what actually causes the "whispers" is just horrifying. *shudders*

32. The End Of The Affair by Graham Greene
Although I thought this book would be more about, well, the end of an affair, it seemed to me to be more about religion and how it affected the two main characters. I liked the book but it wasn't quite what I expected. It was a fast read though and I would recommend it, it just strayed a bit from where I thought it would go.

33. The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Someone on another thread called this a 'delightful, cozy mystery' and I'm going to steal that and use it here as well.

34. Year Of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
I loved this book, I think Geraldine Brooks is one of my new favorite authors. I'll definitely have to look up more of her stuff in the future.

35. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Wow, not sure what exactly to say about this book. Despite its craziness (Tralfamadore?) I did enjoy it, I think I just need some time to digest it.

36. Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Wonderful children's story, once I started it I remembered how much I love this series. There was one part in the story when Laura talked about leaving their home in Wisconsin and how you could walk in one direction for days and not run into anyone else. It's kind of crazy when you think of trying to do something like that now, how much times have changed. Overall though a great story, I'm tempted to start reading the rest of the series...

37. Dead Watch by John Sandford
Unfortunately I had to return this book to the library halfway through reading it, so by the time I picked it up again some of it was "lost" in the interim. Still, it was an enjoyable political thriller, it probably would have been better if I had read it straight through though.

38. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Probably the last thing I need right now is to start another series...but I couldn't help myself! This is about a futuristic world where everyone gets an operation to become "pretty" when they turn sixteen. Unfortunately, there's more to the operation than meets the eye. Great YA book, it started out a little slow but picked up quickly. I'd definitely like to read the rest in the series...eventually.

39. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Definitely lived up to the hype this one. It gave me lots to think about and I'm still trying to process it all. It was bleak but important to read; I highly recommend it.

40. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Heartbreaking story about a mentally-retarded (I don't think that's really a PC term anymore but it's how he was referred to in the book) man that undergoes an experimental operation to make him a genius. His IQ soars and his life changes as he realizes things, like when he thought he had friends but they were really people that were making fun of him. Algernon refers to a mouse that had the same experiment done to him, overall I thought it was a very moving book.

41. Slumber Party by Christopher Pike
If I had all the free time I wanted I would go back and re-read all of my Christopher Pike YA books. As it is I have 100+ TBRs, half a dozen library books and a Go Review That Book! read that I haven't started yet. So we'll see I guess - maybe I'll sneak one in here and there...

42. The Garden Of Last Days by Andre Dubus III
Not sure how I feel about this book, each chapter was told from a different character's perspective - there's April, a stripper who brings her daughter to work with her when she can't find anyone to watch her; Jean, the woman who normally babysits for April; AJ, a disgruntled customer of the strip club; Bassam, a terrorist who's also visiting the strip club; and Lonnie a bouncer. Some of the characters I was interested in and others I just didn't really care for. So some of the chapters were easier to get into than others. Overall I thought it was good, but not great.

43. Eleven On Top by Janet Evanovich
Light, breezy and fun. Perfect summer reading in my opinion.

44. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
What a great book, and it had a fantastic ending I thought. Not happy per se, but very fitting to the story. Although I might have to give a slight edge to The Kite Runner for being a little bit better, I still enjoyed it very much. And I liked learning about Afghanistan from women's perspectives this time.

45. Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon
Another series that I'm ever so slowly working my way through. I don't consider myself a religious person but there's something about this series that's just very comforting. And never mind that I read a Christmas book in July, I'm always looking forward to Christmas. :)

46. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Well I went into this one not knowing anything about the story, never seeing any film adaptations, etc. and unfortunately, the forward to the book gave away pretty much everything - who marries who, who dies, etc. Which, needless to say, didn't help the story much since I knew everything that was coming. However, I did enjoy it to a point, but I truly didn't care all that much for either Catherine or Heathcliff. I know they're the star-crossed lovers, and perhaps Nelly's point-of-view doesn't do them justice, but they both came across as so rude and mean, I didn't care all that much what happened to them. Although I would kind of like to see a movie adaptation of the story now, I'd be curious to see how they're portrayed. I'll have to look into that.

Hi, LibraryLover23!
I always like to read the forward, introduction, preface, too, and I also realized that it was spoiling the book. One book I read actually had a spoiler warning before the introduction! So now I read them last. Seems like they should make it an afterword if they are going to give the entire story away right off the bat! Anyway, it looks like you are making great progress on your challenge. Good luck!
--BJ

Thanks billiejean! Yeah, I probably should have known better but they just sort of sprang it on me. It also came complete with a family tree, which actually ended up coming in handy. There were too many "H" names - Hindley, Hareton, Heathcliff, two Catherines, etc., it was sort of nice to look back at the chart if I needed it. :) Anyway, thanks again, and good luck with your challenge too!

47. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Enjoyable memoir from a woman looking to find solace after her divorce. I thought the first and last sections (Italy and Indonesia) were much better than the middle section on India. That section just seemed hard to swallow for me and I thought it dragged a bit.

48. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
Sequel to Uglies (see book 38 above) and unfortunately, not quite as good in my opinion. Without going into too much detail, I was completely thrown off by the whole Andrew Simpson Smith, lost in the woods section. I'm assuming that's going to come up again in one of the last two books because otherwise it was completely random. Pretties is not a bad book though, I still enjoyed it, and I'm sure I'll finish the rest of series if only to see what happens to Tally, Shay, et al.

49. Evening by Susan Minot
I saw the movie version of this story first and there were a lot of gaps that I thought weren't explained, so when I saw it in a second-hand store I thought I'd see if I could learn a bit more about the story. I did, and I found it much better than the movie. Still some ambiguity, but overall a good read.

50. Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
I think it's appropriate that I reached my goal by reading my first LT ER book. This was an enjoyable, if somewhat slow, story of a slave's search for his friend's murderer.

From here on out I'm not going to set any goals, I'm just going to see how many books I can read in a year. I discovered LT in May and up until that point I had read 20 books, or about a book a week, which surprised me very much. After discovering LT, I'm up to about 10 books a month, or 2.5 a week, which I find sort of shocking! It's also pretty fantastic, the more I look at other people's posts, the more I want to read!

51. The Suspicions Of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
An LT-inspired read, this is the true story of a murder in Victorian England and the detective that worked on the case. Saville Kent was only three years old when he was taken from his bed in the middle of the night and killed, his body was found in the outhouse the next day. The book discusses the facts in the case, descriptions of the people involved, and creates lots of mystery and intrigue. I loved it, it's the kind of thing that's right up my alley.

52. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I'm a little late in reading this, seeing as how the final book in the series just came out, but I'm glad I finally did. I enjoyed it, especially the climax in the last quarter of the book, but overall I was a little disappointed. I was expecting it to be on par with the Harry Potter books, which it wasn't, but it was still good, and I'd still like to read the rest of the series.

53. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
I laughed out loud at some parts and scratched my head at others, overall a funny group of essays describing one man's struggle with language issues. (Among other things.)

54. The Jellyfish Season by Mary Downing Hahn
I'm a huge fan of Mary Downing Hahn, when I was younger I read her books obsessively and I've slowly collected them over the years. I just got back from a beach vacation and this was a perfect, nostalgic read for me.

55. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
Another beach read, this is the third or fourth time I've read this one and I limit myself to only reading it at the beach because that way it puts me in a specific time and place. Fantastic overall (and another one I read for nostalgic reasons) it makes the perfect beach/vacation book.

56. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Fun, play-with-words kids' book. This is the story of Milo, who travels to an imaginary land where he befriends Tock and the Humbug, and all three have to travel and rescue Rhyme and Reason to bring peace back to the land. Easy to read and filled with tongue-in-cheek humor, I recommend it.

Hmmm, I think I jinxed myself by stating my averages - ever since I did my numbers have gone down! I blame it on being crazy-busy at work though and just "real life" generally getting in the way. Hopefully when the weather gets colder things will slow down and I can pick up the pace again with my reading.

57. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
Good little novella, from the Hard Case Crime series. It's the story of a young woman (in Maine of course) trying to solve a decades-old mystery with two newspaper reporters. It was short but worthwhile, I recommend it.

58. Stepping On The Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn
I was inspired to read another book by MDH after reading The Jellyfish Season recently. She's just one of my favorite children's authors and even now I still really enjoy her books. This one is about two girls growing up during World War II and how their lives are affected by it, and both of their brothers are away fighting. In the beginning of the novel they learn a secret about the town bully, Gordy, and the rest revolves around what they do with that information and how they ultimately end up helping Gordy. Very good overall, I enjoyed it very much.

59. My Family And Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Memoir about the author's life growing up in Corfu, in Greece, and his adventures with the menagerie of animals that came to stay with him and his family. Funny and heartwarming, I recommend it to other animal lovers.

60. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Although Lahiri's writing is beautiful, I'm afraid overall the book didn't do a whole lot for me. It seemed to be mainly Gogol (the main character) and his major romantic relationships. You would no sooner get one character's full life story (how she and Gogol met, etc.) and then he was on to someone else. I'm afraid I found those parts to be somewhat boring. But again, the redeeming factor would be Lahiri's writing, she has a way of conveying ideas in a simple, direct way and making even little things seem significant.

61. Haunted Lancaster County Pennsylvania by Dorothy Burtz Fiedel
Pretty self-explanatory, I wanted to read something to get me in the mood for Halloween. It was enjoyable to me to read about local haunts but I was sort of shocked at the lack of proofreading. I cringed at some parts, including when I read the phrase: "a bazaar incident." :) But I wasn't expecting it to be perfect, it was just a fun, quick read.

62. Carrie by Stephen King
Read for the King's Dear Constant Readers group, we're reading all of Stephen King's books in order starting with this, his first. I think I enjoyed it more this time around, I read it once a long time ago and I think I got more out of it this time. Enjoyable, and a good introduction to King's work.

63. Little House On The Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Continuing on in the series, this is the story of Laura and her family's journey to the prairie from the big woods of Wisconsin. By the end of the novel they have to move on again and I'm excited to read the rest of the books because I want to find out what happened to Laura and her family. I've seen the tv show of course but I've never read the whole series and I'd like to make an effort to.

64. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
Another fun romp with Stephanie Plum and friends. This one was a bit different from the others in the series because the "bad guy" was posing as Ranger; I liked how it changed up in that way. Overall a good, fast read.

65. The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
I was interested in this book because I'm a fifth child and I thought it would be kind of funny to read a book about a monstrous fifth-born that terrorizes its family. Well, it wasn't funny, and in fact was rather depressing. But it was still very good, I'll have to read more by Lessing when I get the chance, I really like her writing style.

66. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
A nice light-hearted change of pace, this is the story of Luther and Nora Krank, a couple that decides to skip Christmas and take a cruise instead. Of course, things don't go to plan, and the ensuing rush to get back into the Christmas swing of things is pretty funny. A cute, easy-to-read Christmas story.

67. The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
What a wonderfully creepy little book; I've seen so many adaptations/remakes/spoofs in the movies that it was nice to go back and read the original.

68. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Didn't really care for this book that much, even though I wanted to. I heard such great things about it so I kept going, but in the end it wasn't that enjoyable to me. I think the main thing was I was turned off by Sophya/Towner, and since most of the book is told from her perspective, there were a lot of times I just wasn't interested.

69. Life Of Pi by Yann Martel
I disliked the beginning and ending of this book but I loved the middle - the part where Pi is stranded on the boat with Richard Parker (a tiger). This is another book that I had high hopes for but overall didn't really like all that much.

70. 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Finally, a book I enjoyed! Read for the King's Dear Constant Readers group, this story of vampires in a small town was a creepy, good read.

71. 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
I'm a big fan of AMS's, I've heard him speak several times at the National Book Fest in Washington and he's always a pleasure to listen to. He was asked which is his favorite character and he said probably Bertie, the five-year-old boy in this series that's forced by his parents to play saxophone and learn Italian. After I heard that I knew I wanted to check out the book and I wasn't disappointed, it's a pleasant, easy read that gives you a taste of life in Scotland.

72. I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
I LOVED this book, I didn't want it to end! It's like a mixture of Austen and Bronte, except it takes place in the 1930s. Great book, I highly recommend it.

It seems like we indeed have read many of the same books, and I spot quite a few books I'm itching to read as well! =)

Yes we have, that's why I love looking at your list! :)

73. An Isolated Incident by Susan R. Sloan
Enjoyable mystery/thriller that had a big twist at the end. It was very fast-paced but I was a little disappointed in the ending; it left a few unaswered questions.

74. The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Enjoyable children's story (although it really can be enjoyed by both adults and children) about Hugo, an orphan living in a Paris train station, and his ensuing adventures. It's a combination drawing/story/photo book with a lot to look at and examine.

75. The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford
A non-fiction look at how "Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career And Revived Our Holiday Spirits." Enjoyable, it was easy to read and understand and, at times, fascinating.

76. The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I've heard both positive and negative reviews on this book, mainly positive, but a few that felt it was too "nice". I, however, really liked it. Everything came together somewhat perfectly in the end, which I suppose is pretty unrealistic, but I don't care, I still really liked it. I would love to read a continuation of the story (if there ever is one), it seems like there's a lot left to these characters' stories that could be explored.

77. The Shining by Stephen King
Not one of my personal favorites of King's, graphic violence and a slow, drawn-out ending put it near the botttom of the list. But still, no one can set a mood quite like King can, so it still had some redeeming qualities.

Finished the challenge with 77 books read, far surpassing my goals. I see that most of them are library books (surprise, surprise) so I'd like to make an effort to cut down my TBR pile for 2009. I'll be moving on to the 75 challenge group, especially since I know I can make it now!