50 books for brochettes in 2008

Well,I'm a little late to the party, but as I've been good this year with keeping tabs on what I've been reading, I can reconstruct my reading list from January onwards. In order to make it to 50, I'm going to include books I'm re-reading as well...

So far read in 2008:

#1 The Female Thing by Laura Kipnis
#2 Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faiza Guene
#3 A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
#4 Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast by Lewis Wolpert
#5 Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
#6 Put What Where?!: Over 2,000 Years of Bizarre Sex Advice by John Naish
#7 Zimmer Nr. 10 by Ake Edwardson
#8 Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Body Farm by William Bass
#9 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
#10 Dear Valued Customer, You Are a Loser by Rick Broadhead
#11 QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance by John Lloyd
#12 The End Of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
#13 Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino
#14 The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman
#15 The Man with a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes
#16 Jerusalem Inn by Martha Grimes
#17 The Dirty Duck by Martha Grimes
#18 The Old Fox Deceiv'd by Martha Grimes
#19 The Anodyne Necklace by Martha Grimes
#20 Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey
#21 The Five Bells and Bladebone by Martha Grimes
#22 The Deer Leap by Martha Grimes
#23 Help the Poor Struggler by Martha Grimes
#24 I Am the Only Running Footman by Martha Grimes
#25 Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
#26 More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
#27 Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
#28 The Old Silent by Martha Grimes
#29 The Old Contemptibles by Martha Grimes

After a very hectic week, I've finally managed to get some reading time in:

#30 Babycakes by Armistead Maupin

This one's a reread, but unlike the first three books in the series, I didn't really remember this book at all. A lovely, sweet book; the perfect read for stressful times.

Another reread:

#31 The Horse You Came In On by Martha Grimes

Finally! After glowing recommendations, I expected to finish my next book in a couple of days, but for some reason, I found it incredibly hard to focus on for the first half of the book or so. However, it did pick up in the second half, which I read through in one go today. While I wasn't quite as impressed with the book as some people expected me to be (for one thing, I can't say I was particularly surprised by any of the revelations), it is all in all, a well-written, entertaining read.

#32 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Yet another reread completed:

#33 Significant Others by Armistead Maupin

One more to go in the series, maybe then I can start focussing on reading new books again...

And the last book in the Tales of the City series has been (re-)read:

#34 Sure of You by Arminstead Maupin

#35 Rainbow's End by Martha Grimes.

Why yes, it's another reread...

After another busy week in which I didn't get much reading done:

#36 The Case Has Altered by Martha Grimes

I'd thought this was a reread, as I was convinced that I had read the whole series before, but somehow, I think I missed out on this one. Enjoyable and undemanding, just what I needed last week.

Yup, I've just completed another reread:

#37 The Stargazey by Martha Grimes.

However, I have also finally finished

#38 Against Love: A Polemic by Laura Kipnis

I've really enjoyed this book- in parts, it was laugh-out-loud funny, but I found it really poignant as well. It made me a little sad in parts, and in other bits I felt- dare I say it?- vindicated. Some parts dragged a little- the comparison between politics and marriage went on a bit- but all in all, a great read.

#39 Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Another reread, however, as it's been 18 years since I've last read it, I'll count it as a half-read.

#40 The Lamorna Wink by Martha Grimes

Another reread, as I am now determined to finish the entire series and be over and done with it.

#41 The Blue Last by Martha Grimes

Last reread of that series. The last four books of the series will be virgin territory for me.

#42 The Grave Maurice by Martha Grimes

Not sure about this one. I liked parts of it, but all in all I couldn't really get into it- the characters were all a bit flat, and the plucky-young-child/ teenage-person (beautiful of course, no acne breakouts or gawkiness here)-with-tragic-past/ future- thing is beginning to get a little tiresome. It would be nice to come accross a sympathetic teenage character who acts like one, is not wise beyond their years, and whose story is still worth telling.

Oh well, I guess that is bitterness speaking- the feelings of someone who was a wholly unremarkable, cliched teenager...

#43 Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson

Lovely short break from crime fiction. I had forgotten how much I enjoy reading poetry- I shall have to invest in some more classics!

#44 The Winds of Change by Martha Grimes

While I wasn't really ever bored with the book, I found it unconvincing and contrived. It looks like the series is getting weaker and weaker and kind of repetitive. I am glad there's only two more to go.

#45 The Old Wine Shades by Martha Grimes

I really enjoyed this in the beginning. I loved the subject matter (quantum mechanics, string theory) and the convoluted, creepy story-within-a-story. Lovely read, until the mutt came into the picture. If I'm looking for omniscient,
telepathic, working-together-with-cats, heroic- dog stories, I'll go read Lassie.
I also felt the ending was weak, but could have put up with it if it hadn't been for the bloody dog. Oh well, only one more to go.

#46 Dust by Martha Grimes

First of all, I don't like books that end in cliffhangers. To me, it smacks of desperation on the author's part; as if they feel that their writing isn't good enough to make the reader come back for more after a self-contained story. What little resolution there was in this book was vague and not particularly gripping, and I'm not sure whether it was my general lack of interest that made me skip parts or whether there were some giant plot holes in the story. All in all, not a book I would recommend when introducing anyone to the Richard Jury series, but somehow it still managed to hold my interest just enough for me to want to know the outcome of this. The comfortable familiarity with the characters means that if there is a sequel to this, I will probably read it, albeit reluctantly. At least this one had no superhero dog.

#47 The Book With No Name by Anonymous

OK, I admit it. As much as I have been ranting and raving about how much I hated this book in the beginning, about what an overhyped waste of time it was, it has kind of grown on me. Towards the end, I was even almost looking forward (gasp!) to picking it back up and finishing it. Do I think that it's the best book ever? No, definitely not. Will I rush out and buy the sequel? No, I've got a huge TBR pile of more interesting books. Was it as horrid as I made it out to be? No. I stand by my earlier rant- the beginning was abysmal, both in terms of the writing and the editing. I am still not enthralled by any of the characters, and it still strikes me as a "From Dusk Til Dawn"- ripoff written by a 15-year old fanfiction writer, but towards the second half the action picked up enough to keep me from getting too bored, and enough off the characters had been killed off to keep me from getting too distracted. All in all, it's (almost) readable (if you are willing to overlook the diabolical editing), but not something I would recommend to a friend.

#48 Bad Seed: The Biography of Nick Cave by Ian Johnston

Very interesting. As a long-time Nick Cave fangirl, I wasn't really surprised by anything in there, but it was a bit of a guilty pleasure, like reading a book-length gossip mag, only about someone who, unlike most subjects of celeb-mags, is actually interesting and relevant. As this only goes as far as 1994, I am hoping for a sequel one day...

#49 Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

While it didn't make me laugh out loud like some of his other books, it was was still a funny, lightweight entertaining book that I thoroughly enjoyed. So much better than that last vampire story I read!

One more to go to make it to 50!

#50 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I decided to reread a childhood favourite for my 50th book, as the other book I am currently reading is a little bland. It also means that I've made book number 50 a 1001 book. Yay!

I guess my challenge next year will have to be more books ( I'll see how many books I'll have read by the end of the year and decide from there).

What a terrible burden, reading more books...

I have decided to up my goal to 60 by the end of the year. Not sure if I will make it, but as I've got some time off in November, I'm optimistic.

Starting the new lot off with

#51 Will The Vampire People Please Leave The Lobby? by Allyson Beatrice

A funny, lightweight read looking at internet fandom. While there are no new or stunning insights, it's entertaining for the most part; and anyone who has ever been part of an internet fan community will nod (or cringe) in recognition throughout the book.

#52 A Nice Derangement Of Epitaphs by Ellis Peters

A decent enough murder mystery to pass a quiet night shift, but nothing to blow me out of the water. It was OK.

After a month of very little time/inclination to read, I've finished

#53 Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

I haven't really got much to say about this. It was a decent enough read, the story never bored me, but I wasn't exactly enthralled either; otherwise it wouldn't have taken me so long to read it. Is it a book I feel I needed to have read before I die? Nope.

Last night, I finished

#54: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Hmmm. I don't really know what to say that hasn't been said so much better a thousand times before. It's not a horrible book. It didn't make me angry, kept me reasonably entertained over a couple of days, and was a light, easy read. I can understand why a large amount of 15 year-old girls would go crazy over a story like this, but I do have a bit of a problem comprehending why so many grown ups seem to do as well. The characters are frankly not very interesting, possibly because all we know about them are a) how purdy all those vampires are, and b) how hopelessly devoted our insipid heroine and hunky glitter-hero are to each other. I really wanted to like this book, because I am currently lacking a good escapist easy read series that I can while away a dull day with, but all in all my reaction has been indifference. I may get the sequels out of the library if I have nothing else to read, but considering that my TBR pile is rapidly approaching 60, this may be some time off.

It was sort of like admitting you like to watch Gilligan's Island. Trash but fun!

#55: The Book of Other People by Zadie Smith (editor)

A collection of short stories focusing on character. Some are quite good, some mediocre, some pretty bad. A quick read, decent enough to pass some time while waiting at the airport. Meh.

Sigh. I've finally finished my first Early Reviewers book:

#56: Those Who Dream By Day by Linda Cargill

As this was the first book I snagged as part of the Early Reviewers program, I had really wanted to enjoy this, and I tried quite hard to find something positive to say about it, or tried to imagine a target audience more suited to the book than I was.

So here goes: If you're a masochist, you may enjoy this, as reading it was a very painful experience for me. The idea for the book had promise- the sinking of the Lusitania: interesting, Lawrence of Arabia: cool!
Unfortunately, the book failed to deliver rather spectacularly: The clunky prose, clumsy exposition, wooden dialogue and unsympathetic characters were bad enough, even if the plot hadn't been driven along by exceedingly unlikely coincidences. One high note was probably the Ku Klux Klan appearing in our idiotic heroine's garden at some point- it provided one of the few laughs in the book, albeit for all the wrong reasons...

I do understand that the book is as yet unedited, but the kind of grammatical errors the author makes seriously make me doubt her command of the English language- if I needed any more proof in addition to her choppy sentences and ill-advised colloquialisms. I have seen fan fiction with better narrative flow.

At one point, one of the villains of the piece exclaims: "Shut up woman! What you stole is unspeakable! I won't profane it with words!" I wish the author had taken her own character's advice.

#57: The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

I bought this book as I was stuck at an airport with nothing to read, and saw this book on offer and recalled it was part of the 1001 list. I didn't know anything about it, otherwise I probably wouldn't have picked it up for a light holiday read. It's not exactly the kind of book I'd usually kick back and relax with- a little too disturbing for my tastes! That being said, while I didn't enjoy reading it, I'm glad I did read it. It affected me in a similar way American Psycho did when I read it years ago: I was disgusted at times and disturbed, but it was well written and and made me keep on reading anyway. Not a book I would reread in a hurry, but certainly a good antidote to the abysmal piece of work I suffered through in the above post.

#58: Jane Eyre: The Graphic Novel by Charlotte Bronte

This one was something different for me, as I am not generally a reader of graphic novels. I have read and enjoyed Jane Eyre in its original form more than once, so was there much point for me to read this in graphic novel format? Yes and no: I certainly enjoyed coming across a well-loved book from a slightly different perspective, and, like watching a TV or movie adaptation, it was interesting for me to see what was included and which parts of the original had to go for reasons of space and readability. On the other hand, I don't think that as someone who is already familiar with the novel I am really the target audience for this.

In terms of editing, I feel that they did a pretty good job- I don't think anything important from the original was left out, and generally the book was fast paced and kept the reader engaged. There were a few times where I felt that a bit of background information should have been given, as I think the jumps between certain scenes may have been a bit abrupt for someone not familiar with the material. Still, I think this is an excellent way of introducing someone to a classic who is reluctant to tackle the lenghty original, and it may even encourage them to read the actual novel after this.

The fact that text from the original novel was used in this edition made it more enjoyable for me, but I am not certain how a young reader who was possibly put off reading the original because they found the language inaccessible would feel about this.

Altogether, while this was hardly a revelation to me, I had an enjoyable couple of hours going over this, and I think that this can definitely be used as a positive tool in an educational context.

#59: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A reread, which I still very much enjoyed the second time around.

While I really enjoy vampire books, the last few I read (Interview with the Vampire, Twilight) were a bit of a disappointment. I'm glad then to say that I really enjoyed this one,

#60 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King.

I didn't have very high expectations, as I've been fairly indifferent to King's books in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised. It didn't bring anything new to the Vampire myth, but it had a solid plot, engaging characterisation and truly menacing, unabashedly evil vampires, which was refreshing after reading something as insipid as Twilight.

I'm not going to set myself another challenge goal for the rest of the year, but I shall see how it goes, and then set my target for 2009 accordingly. I'm glad I managed to complete this challenge on a high note though!

Congratulations on meeting your challenge goal! :) I also liked 'Salem's Lot when I read it long ago. Maybe I should do a reread.
--BJ

Thanks Billiejean!

Last night I completed

#61 Todeshauch by Arnaldur Indridason ( Silence of the Grave: A Reykjavik Thriller).

I think this was the first book I have ever read by an Icelandic author, and I really liked it. Enjoyed would probably not be quite the right word, due to the harrowing accounts of domestic violence, but it somehow managed to be both an entertaining crime novel and have some depth. I'll definitely have a look around to see if I can get hold of other books by this author.

This morning I finished

#62 Bonk: The curious coupling of science and sex by Mary Roach.

Hilarious. I really enjoyed Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers last year, so I'm not surprised that I liked this one as well. Very entertaining, yet I don't feel that she ever crossed the line or was disrespectful to the research subjects in any way.

Probably the last book that I shall finish this year:

#63 Nordermoor by Arnaldur Indridason (Jar City / Tainted Blood)

Another rather depressing crime novel in the Erlendur series, and once again, enjoyable is maybe not quite the right word when it comes to such a melancholy story, but I liked it enough to get the rest of the series that has so far been translated into either German or English.