amyrenee's 50 book challenge

I just discovered this group, but I've been keeping track of how many books I read for several years now, and this seems to be a fun way to do it. I reached over 50 books the last few years, but I'm off to a slow start this year- I've found that graduating and getting a full-time job will do that! I'm still hoping to reach 50, though. Comments on the books are welcome!

The list so far:

1. The Magic Barrel- Bernard Malamud
2. In Cold Blood- Truman Capote
3. Goodbye, Columbus- Philip Roth
4. To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
5. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius- Dave Eggers
6. Monkeys- Susan Minot
7. On Beauty- Zadie Smith
8. The Accidental- Ali Smith
9. Away- Amy Bloom
10.The Echo Maker- Richard Powers
11. Zoology- Ben Dolnick
12. Never Let Me Go- Kazuo Ishiguro
13. The Mistress's Daughter- A.M. Homes
14. The Descendants- Kaui Hart Hemmings
15. The God of Animals- Aryn Kyle
16. The Patron Saint of Liars- Ann Patchett
17. Life of Pi- Yann Martel
18. You Are Not a Stranger Here- Adam Haslett
19. The Palace Thief- Ethan Canin
20. Dancing After Hours- Andre Dubus
21. Twilight- Stephanie Meyer

22. New Moon- Stephanie Meyer

I started this series because I like some fantasy and I love children's lit, and I really wanted to see what all the hubub was about. I am sad to say I was a bit disapointed with Twilight. I don't think we really get a chance to see why Edward and Bella are in love- we are just told that they are. Bella also failed to captivate me as a character until closer to the end of the novel.
That said, I was compelled enough to want to finish the series, partly because I like to finish things before I judge them, and partially because the plot and certain points about the mythology do interest me. I liked New Moon better than Twilight. I have an understanding of Jacob's character, and his relationship with Bella that I felt was lacking between Bella and Edward. The relationship between Bella and Jacob was allowed to grow slowly and organically. Perhaps is Meyer had been able to this for Edward and Bella before the star-crossed theme had kicked in, it would have been more believable for me. So, overall, I prefered this to Twilight, and hope Eclipse continues the upward trend.

How did yo like Goodbye, Columbus? I really liked The Human Stain, but I haven't gotten around to any of Roth's other works.

I enjoyed it a great deal. It's actually the first of Roth's books I've read, so I don't really have anything to compare it to, but his command of the short story form is excellent. His characters are easy to relate to and believable, and he manages to be extremely subtle in some stories and almost over the top in others. It's been a few months, so I'm having trouble remembering which stories in particular I prefered, as I don't have the book handy at the moment. I loved the novella, which is also the title story. If you liked Roth's other work, you should check it out! What else do you like to read?

Glad you liked Goodbye Columbus! I'm a huge Roth fan, myself. Of interest is the fact that Goodbye Columbus is very early Roth (his first published book, in fact), so you are seeing a young writer just coming into his own when you read the novella and short stories contained in this collection. A couple of the stories, "Defender of the Faith" and "The Conversion of the Jews" (especially the former) are greatly admired and anthologized widely.

>4 amyrenee: I'm a big fan of Tom Wolfe and Annie Proulx. Also, for short stories, I love reading Mark Twain and David Sedaris. Hemmingway and Joseph Conrad are two other favorites. And for a light fun read, I will admit that a good Clive Cussler is a fun way to pass an afternoon.

I've not read Wolfe or Cussler, but I like some of Annie Proulx's work. I haven't gotten around to The Shipping News yet, but I've read Bad Dirt and some of her other short fiction.

rocketjk, what would you recommend for a first novel by Roth?

23. Eclipse-Stephanie Meyer

While I still enjoyed this book more than I did the first novel in this series, there were several problems that jumped out at me. As I have been reading all the books, they have all seemed too long to me, too lose, and in need of some good editing. Eclipse suffered from the same problem, but to a more concentrated degree. The conflict between the vamp army, the Cullens and the werewolves was way too long in coming, and the characters took entirely too long to jump to rather obvious conclusions. I did enjoy the backstory, and learning more about Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, and I really enojyed learning more about the werewolves, as Jacob and his pack continue to be my favorite characters. Part of this favoritism stems, I think, from the changes we see in Bella when she's around Jacob. She becomes a more intruiging character, one who is far more real to me than the fragile Bella who always needs saving that we see with Edward. From Meyer's narrative patterns, there has never been any question for me who Bella was going to end up with, but I was happy that she at least aknowledged the depth of the bond between Jacob and Bella, and his pain should make for an interesting aspect of the final novel.