avatiakh reads some books in 2009

I'll join in, I'm already on the 999 challenge. Hope to read mostly the books I already own and which are threatening to take over my home - though I must also keep up with recently published child lit and YA books.

Welcome! Always good to see another homeschooling mom in the group!

welcome!

Welcome!

Thanks for the welcome messages, there are so many threads here - I need to spend a little time catching up on all your reading as well. I've also signed up on the 100 book challenge so will be posting similar 'what I've been reading' posts on both.
Off to a good start with two books read.

1) Sebastian Walker - a kind of Prospero (1995), which is a concise biography of the founder of Walker Books, the very successful children's publishing house in the UK. His life was cut short by Aids and this book was written by his sister, a noted biographer. I enjoyed reading about how Walker Books came to be established and Walker's vision for his company. Establishing Candlewick Press in the US was one of his last actions.

2) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008) by Stieg Larsson is a really good thriller set in Sweden - I stayed up most of the night reading this, which I usually do when I'm reading crime fiction as good as this. A discredited journalist is hired by a powerful industrialist to look into a 40 year old murder/disappearance mystery and ends up taking on a very unconventional research assistant. Now looking forward to the publication of the next 2 books in the trilogy.

Now I need to get into The Elegance of the hedgehog which I've had lying around for a couple of weeks with only a few pages read.

#5 avatiakh: The second book in the trilogy by Stieg Larsson comes out in the US in July of 2009. I already have it on preorder from Amazon, I liked the first one that much.

>6 alcottacre:: I saw the second in Borders in the UK yesterday!

Is it really that good, then? I have a rather sad kneejerk reaction against anything that seems to be heavily promoted in the chains (another reason I have still never read White Teeth, even though my brother insists it's amazing).

>7 FlossieT:: I really enjoyed it, Flossie. I'll be picking up the second one as soon as it comes out.

#7: I second Tad's recommendation. As soon as I finished the first one, I preordered the second one on Amazon, that was how much I liked the first. I also ordered my own copy of the first one (since the one I was reading belongs to the library and they tend to want their copies back). The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo made my list of memorable reads for 2008. Do yourself a favor and get a copy, Rachael.

Yes - I actually saw a copy of the sequel here in New Zealand's Dymocks today. I didn't think the book was out yet so was surprised - I'll be getting it from the library though as I don't usually buy crime fiction.

I've just had feedback from someone who has read book 2 and they reckon it's even better than book 1! Can't wait.

#11: Now see that is positively unfair - I do not want to know things like that when I cannot get my hands on book 2 for another 6 months! (I am just joking, BTW)

I feel really lucky now that I can read those in french! ;-) I began the first book at Christmas and already went to buy books 2 and 3! I really enjoy it so far, even though I am usually not that much into thrillers and mysteries.

I've been wanting to read The Elegance of the Edgehog for a while, too, I'll be curious to hear your thoughts about it! :)

3) The Naked God is the last book in the scifi epic Night's Dawn trilogy and I'm so pleased to have finished this. A great adventure story, not really my taste in scifi now, but I would have loved this as a teenager I think. Humankind is facing its biggest threat ever and can only be saved by finding the next step in the evolutionary ladder.

4) Oranges are not the only fruit did not engage me as much as I thought it would. I had looked forward to reading this as it had sat on my tbr pile for a long time. Possibly it's just the mood I've been in lately rather than the book itself.

Both these books were part of my 999 challenge. Now I really must finish The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Hey Avatiakh! I'm enjoying your thread and glad you're posting here. I really didn't enjoy Hamilton's trilogy (at least not enough to keep it for re-reads, which means I really didn't like it). Good work on getting 2 off your 999 -- I've only done 1 so far, but the year's still young ;->
Susan

Suslyn - I really liked his Mindstar Rising trilogy but the Night's Dawn was just too epic and almost like a Stephen King novel (only read one of his - The Stand).

5) The Coral Island by R M Ballentyne is a classic, published in 1857. Three teenaged boys are shipwrecked on a South Pacific Island and their many adventures. I very much enjoyed reading this and on looking up more information about the writer after finishing the book I discovered that Lord of the Flies was based on the premise of this book. While The Coral Island portrays the boys as keeping their English morality especially in their dealings with the natives, in Lord of the Flies the boys degenerate to savagery. I read an unabridged edition.

6) The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. It took me quite a while to read this book, mainly because it isn't one of my 999 challenge books so I was just dipping into it to start with. I really enjoyed this having read most of it these last couple of days. Dealing with abstract ideas of life and why we live it, the story revolves around some of the occupants of an upperclass apartment building in Paris. Paloma, a disillusioned but brilliant 12 year old girl, who plans to commit suicide on her 13th birthday. The concierge, Renee, a dowdy middleaged widow who actively hides her passion for knowledge, art, literature and music from others. Finally Kakuro, the newest occupant, a retired Japanese businessman, who befriends both of them.

>16 avatiakh: I haven't read Mindstar Rising -- I'll keep it in mind if it comes across my path. Since I've been in Romania I've found 3 sci-fi books, 1 in the bookstore and 2 at the American School booksale. I found the one I didn't care for while living in France.

hmmm interesting to find somebody in Paris who hides their passion for knowledge, art, literature and music... she'd fit right in! Or maybe that's what she was afraid of?

#16: I am adding both of those titles to Continent TBR. Thanks for the recommendations!

7) Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi is a children's fantasy set in medieval Japan. Overall I wasn't too taken with the book and I did feel the translation jarred in a couple of places. Balsa, a young woman, is a trained warrior, and is given the task of guarding a boy, Chagum, the second prince after saving him from drowning. Chagum has been possessed with a spirit egg that must be safeguarded or the land will suffer from a severe drought. Quite an adventure with lots of fighting against warriors and a monstrous mythical beast, but not enough depth to really be convincing. This book has been very popular in Japan and Balsa's adventures have been adapted for a TV series. I think it would make an exciting graphic novel. I prefer Carole Wilkinson's Dragonkeeper series which is set in old China.

8) Magician of Hoad by Margaret Mahy is an interesting YA fantasy that's more focused on character than plot. I did enjoy this more as I got further into the book. Heriat becomes the King of Hoad's magician and his journey to finding his true self is wrapped around the intricate political ambitions of the three princes, the Hero, and a stray boy he encounters. I want to add that I dislike that there is an unflattering photo of Heriat on the bookcover which is not at all how I would picture him.

book 8 sounds good, but I haven't found a translation. But I did find Dragonkeeper at the library today!

#21 Much as I absolutely adore Margaret Mahy's books I'm not sure if I can recommend this one with confidence. It's her latest book and might only be available here in New Zealand and Australia at this stage - it was available from November.

I've been reading graphic novels this weekend after spotting a few on display at my local library.

9) We are on our own by Miriam Katin
10) Palestine by Joe Sacco
11) Maus: a survivors tale by Art Spiegelman

I also have a stunning sophisticated picturebook - The Wall: growing up behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis to read. I'm mentioning it here as it seems to fit the theme of my current reading.

12) Maus II: and here my troubles began by Art Speigelman
13) A Bridge of Children's Books by Jella Lepman
14) The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner - escapist YA fiction
15) The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong

Maus & Maus 2: both these books were exceptional reading. Graphic novels that tell the story not only of his father's experience in the Holocaust but also Art's own experience of getting the story.
A Bridge of Children's Books - Jella Lepman, a German journalist exiled in London during the war is invited to postwar Germany by the American Army to help bring new books and culture to the children of Germany. A look at how the denazification process.
The Tomorrow Code is a satisfying scifi adventure for young teens. I very much enjoyed the level of detail here both in the explanations of how the code arrived from the future and also the biological threat they faced.
The House of Sixty Fathers - an amazing survival story set in China soon after the Japanese invasion. Tien Pao, a young Chinese boy, is separated from his family and swept downstream in a sampan back towards the Japanese with only his piglet, Glory-of-the-Republic, for company. How Tian Peo survives, keeps his piglet safe from other starving refugees and saves an American airman adds up to a great adventure story. Based on a true story, Meindert DeJong was an official historian in the airforce during WW2 and spent 3 years in China.

Wow! Looks like you have had some great reading recently. I have Maus II but still don't have the first one yet, so I am putting off reading the second one. All of the other titles you mentioned are destined for Continent TBR. Thanks for the reviews!

>23 avatiakh:: Have you read DeJong's The Wheel on the School? It's YA, but a very good book.

Okay I need The House of Sixty Fathers.

Just wishlisted The House of Sixty Fathers on Bookmooch...I hope a copy will become available soon! I keep postponing the reading of Maus as well... am really enjoying your thread!

#25 TadAD - I read The Wheel on the School to my children years ago. I really should read it again. I have his Shadrach here on my tbr pile as well.

#26 & #27 - it's a heartwarming story

I've been wanting to read more of DeJong's books after reading about him in Ursula Nordstrom's Dear Genius - Nordstrom was his editor and got Maurice Sendak to illustrate his books.

16) A Sound of Chariots by Mollie Hunter
17) See under: Love by David Grossman

I've been collecting old copies of Mollie Hunter books for a while with the full intention of reading them and have finally started, thanks to these challenges making me tackle my tbr pile.
I'll post reviews of these books later as I really have to do some work.

looking forward to your review of book #17...

>28 avatiakh:: #16 was one of my favourite books as a teenager. I love Mollie Hunter!

My review of See under: love is here http://the999challenge.blogspot.com/2009/01/see-under-love.html

18) Masterpiece by Elsie Broach
I loved this art-themed mystery featuring an adorable boy beetle, Martin, who finds he has a talent for art. His first line drawing is mistakenly credited to James, a young boy. They team up and on a trip to the Metropolitan Art Gallery a plot is hatched by the art director to use James’ supposed talent to foil art thieves after an Albrecht Durer miniature. Very cute story for children.

#32: Looks like one I should read. Thanks for the recommendation.

Have you tried any of the books by Blue Balliett books? They are also juvenile mysteries centering around art. I read them last year (there are 3 to date) and thought they were pretty good.

Hi alcottacre - I've read Chasing Vermeer and liked it but not read the other two. I'm finding it hard to just read my 999 challenge books at present as I'm constantly sidetracking! Still, that's what makes life interesting.

Believe me, I completely understand about the sidetracking!

Good luck with your 999 challenge.

19) New Moon by Stephanie Meyer - I read Twilight back in 2007 when it was taking off and bought the next two books but have only now got round to reading book 2, my main motivation has been the great resale value for the book as copies have been unavailable for a few weeks here in New Zealand, anyway I read it and sold it online this morning for a couple of dollars less than full retail. Average romance - not really my thing, but I like to know what teens are reading.
20) The Calder Game by Blue Balliet - after just talking to alcottacre about the Blue Balliett books I found myself reading this one to add to a children's book review list that I contribute to - this quarter's theme is art. Quite a good story, full of interesting facts about art, especially Alexander Calder's sculptures which sound fascinating and I've never heard of him but will now do a bit of internet research. The intrepid trio Calder, Petra and Tommy seemed to get in more trouble than crime-solving this time round.

Now I must read some of my 999 challenge books.

21) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I liked this a lot and wonder now why I avoided it for so long as it has been sitting on my bookshelves for over a year. Set in 1950's Barcelona but stepping back in time to the earlier years of the century and the civil war as well. At times I felt that I was even further back in time with the gothic overtones, misty settings and the eerie decaying mansion where much of the action takes place. A young boy becomes obsessed with a forgotten author of yesteryear and as he grows to adulthood he becomes even more immersed in uncovering the truth behind the writer's mysterious past.


22) Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess
A YA book and one of my favourite reads of the year so far. Two warlord families fighting for many years for control of a dystopian London. Outside the walls are halfhumans - ugly genetic mixes of beast, human and robot. Then Lord Val Volson decides to make peace and offers his daughter Signy, twin to Sigy in marriage to Conor. Will there be peace or betrayal, even the Nordic gods intervene. Based on the Icelandic Volsunga Saga, this is a powerful, brutal, grim story of war, love, revenge, and fantasy. I've wanted to read this for a few months and had to hunt down a copy of the book, Melvin Burgess is one of my favourite writers for older teens. There is a sequel Bloodsong and I'll be reading that fairly soon.

I picked up The Girl who played with fire by Steig Larsson from the library today so I'm pretty sure it will be my next read.

#37: I am one of the people who loved Shadow of the Wind, so I am glad to find someone else who enjoyed the book, which made my list of memorable reads last year.

The Burgess book looks interesting. I will add it to the Continent and see if I can track down a copy.

I am jealous of your getting the Larsson book already. I have mine on pre-order from Amazon, but it is not due until July!

>37 avatiakh:-38: I think I read somewhere over the weekend that there's a prequel to Shadow of the Wind coming out this year. Still haven't read it myself, though my mum really liked it.

#39: Rachael, I know that he has another book that is supposed to be out in translation this year (The Angel's Game), but I did not know that it is supposed to be a prequel to Shadow. Thanks for that info.

Shadow of the Wind sounds good. I've never read a book set in Barcelona and I love the city so I'll see if I can find myself a copy!

23) The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause 1990
198pgs
This is an enjoyable read. Klause's first book, a teen vampire novel. The story switches between the perspectives of Zoe, a 16yr old girl and Simon, a 300 year old youth. Zoe feels isolated from life, her mother is dying, her father is totally distracted and her best friend is moving away. Simon is a lonely vampire hunting a killer. The story doesn't dwell on romantic issues, and the ending is quite inspired. I read her Blood and Chocolate a couple of years ago and liked it, I prefer both these books over the Twilight novels.

#39 ( - I'll also be looking out for The Angel Game - it does seem to be a sort of prequel.

#41 - That's one of the reasons that I wanted to read the book as well - not that I recognised much of present day Barcelona.

24) Surprised by Joy: the shape of my early life by CS Lewis
This memoir covers CS Lewis' childhood, his schooling and how he developed his beliefs. I picked up this book after listening to a fascinating podcast lecture about CS Lewis' life at Oxford and how he came to Christianity after being an atheist for many years. I've picked up, put down and misplaced this book so often over the past few weeks that I can't really offer a decent review of it. Of most interest to me were the descriptions of the books that Lewis devoured as a young boy and how he developed his early beliefs towards atheism.

25) The girl who played with fire by Steig Larsson
Book 2 and another great read, I just couldn't put this thriller down. Yes, it's better than the first book in that we learn much more about Lisbeth.

#45: I am beyond jealous - I don't get my copy until July. Waaaa!! lol

26) The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia
I wanted to like this book, but by the time I got to within the last 80 pages I started to skim as there didn't seem to be much of a climax to the plot and I couldn't be bothered continuing to read with utter diligence. Considered by some to be Moscow's answer to London's Neverwherewhich I really enjoyed - well it just didn't do it for me, the characters were not interesting enough. I watched the movie Nightwatch as I was finishing up this book and I will be looking out for that trilogy.

27) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark - utterly charming book. I loved it.

Thanks for the warning about The Secret History of Moscow-- I'll have to take it off my to-read list.

28) Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer - a teen vampire romance.

29) Doors Open by Ian Rankin
I wanted to read this as it is Rankin's first post-Rebus book. Quite a good read with inevitable twist. He still makes Edinburgh come alive for me, but I did miss Rebus. I'll keep reading Rankin's books.

30) The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
Really enjoyed this. I found it through reading reviews on a blog somewhere. It's about an abandoned orphan named Ren, who only has one hand. He's plucked from the orphanage by a travelling conman, who says he is his long lost brother. Not for the squeamish, the book is packed with adventure and loads of eccentric characters.
My library has it catalogued in adult fiction but I think it would appeal to teens.

#50/51: I am with you in missing Rebus, but I will give Doors Open a try. The Good Thief has been on the Continent for a while now - definitely need to track down a copy.

Thanks for the recommendations!

I too have had The Good Thief on my list for a while and am even more encouraged to get it after reading your review.

31) The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - this sat on my tbr pile for a long time, I got it after reading interesting reviews of it and now that I finally got round to reading it I haven't been disappointed. A great read - David is angry - his mother has died and now his father has remarried and his stepmother Rose has had a baby. David enters an imaginary world of fractured fairy tales inhabited by weird and wonderful characters including the crooked man, half human wolves, a huntress and heroes. David must get to the castle and consult the king about his book of lost things which he hopes will show him how to return to his own world.

32) The Adoration of Jenna Fox - an intriging teen scifi. Jenna has been in a coma for 12 months and when she finally wakes up she can't remember anything about her former life. No one will talk about the accident and Jenna must now try to uncover her lost memories and come to terms with her new life. More than at first meets the eye - this book raises questions on ethics, biomedical research and implementation of future discoveries. Another book that has been popular on the many blogs I have been following.

33) Wake by Lisa McMann - another YA - sort of interesting premise about dreams. Since she was eight, Janie has been getting drawn uncontrollably into other people's dreams - everywhere and anywhere. School is a nightmare especially study period. Light reading.

>54 avatiakh:: book #32 sounds very interesting! Not one I'd come across before so I must be watching very different blogs....

34) Disquiet by Julia Leigh. A restrained elegant book. A woman returns, from a failed and violent marriage, to France, to her family home with her two young children. Her brother returns from the local hospital on the same day with his wife and the body of their newborn.

35) The Disappeared by Gloria Whelan
A YA novel set in 1970's Argentina. The chapters play alternatively between Eduardo, a university student who has been snatched from his home and is being tortured by the military and his younger sister Silvia, who hatches an ill-thought through plot to rescue him by dating the son of the colonel in charge. I think that it deals a little too lightly with the subject of the disappeared young people of Argentina. I'm not sure how many books there are for young people on this subject though, and it definitely whets the appetite for more reading about Argentina during this era.
I initially picked this book for my daughter to read as we are going to Buenos Aires in April.

36) The disreputable history of Frankie LandauBanks by E. Lockhart
Another YA that I really liked and read in one sitting. Frankie is in her second year at an elite co-ed boarding school. Without closely exploring her motivations, she decides to go one better than the boys currently in an all male secret society that has been part of the school for the past 50-odd years. Entertaining and thought provoking on lots of interesting issues. I loved Lockhart's approach to the reader - it was slightly off centre and challenging.
This book was recommended on the blogs of YA writers Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier

If I remember right The Honorable Prison by Lyll Becerra De Jenkins is set in South-America and tells about political prisoners. Not the same as The Disappeared, but a similair theme.
I read it long ago, but remember I liked it.
Anita

#59 The Honorable Prison sounds like a good read for teens but will be hard to track down a copy as it's out of print.


37) Kiss my book by Jamie Michaels.
Yet another YA, this one is also a light read. I thought it might be interesting as it is based on the charge of plagiarism however that just kickstarts the action. Ruby Cane, a 16 yr old writing sensation and lover of books, her first book has just been published, and now she's one of the most popular girls in her New York school. But in the full glare of tv cameras she is accused of copying another writer's work almost word for word - 30% of her new novel and she has no excuse. She escapes public scrutiny and shame by taking on a new persona - Georgie O'Dell, moving to live incognito with her aunt in a small town.
Enjoyable light romantic reading full of lovely quotes from classic literature & poetry.

38) The Land of Green Ginger by Noel Langley, 1966. illustrated by Edward Ardizzone.
A children's classic about the adventures of Prince Abu Ali, the son of Aladdin, and how he wins the hand of the beautiful Silver Bud of Samarkand. Fun with lots of banter between the characters, and also featuring a bumbling boy genie, a resourceful mouse and two hilariously villainous princes - also suitors for Silver Bud's hand. I really enjoyed this and am so glad I finally got round to reading it, after hearing several people mention it as a childhood favourite.

39) Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Last of four books of the teen vampire romance featuring Bella, Edward and Jacob. Glad to have finished this series and I don't recommend them for anything more than light reading. There are far better books available for teens.

#61: The Land of Green Ginger sounds very good! I will look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation.

Adding Kiss My Book and The Land of Green Ginger, which sounds fabulous. Thanks!

40) Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino
I really enjoyed this fabulous collection of folktales. I've been dipping in and out of the book since the start of the year.

41) My swordhand is singing by Marcus Sedgwick
A YA tale based on vampire folklore of Eastern Europe. Set in winter, in 17th century Poland, Peter and his father have settled on the outskirts of a small village after many years of nomadic lifestyle. Unexplained deaths of several local villagers culminates in a death wedding for Peter's friend Agnes - where she must be the bride of a newly killed bachelor and then spend 40 days in solitary at the edge of the village as per local customs. A very enjoyable read, this book had spent some time on my tbr pile and is the first book I've read by this writer. I'll definitely be reading his The Book of Dead Days.

I'll review these in more detail on my 999 challenge http://www.librarything.com/topic/49981

#64: Well, finally, one I do not have to add to the Continent - Italian Folktales - but only because it is already there. I am adding Sedgwick's book, though.

Drat, Kerry. The Sedgwick is the THIRD book this month you've added to my TBF list!

Ooh, adding both to the TBR list! I read Book of Dead Days and loved it, I actually have the sequel The Dark Flight Down somewhere begging to be read.

42) Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
After reading The Hours last year I was keen to read this. I struggled in places - my own fault as I was reading it alongside several other books and didn't give it my full attention. I feel I should read it again.


43) End of the Alphabet by Fleur Beale (2009)
Another enjoyable YA novel from Fleur. She read the first chapter aloud at a seminar I attended last year so I was keen to read this once it finally came out. 14 yr old Ruby Yarrow has a reading/writing disorder and is constantly losing out at home to her smarter, manipulative brother, Max. When Ruby has to share her smaller room with her two very young half-brothers so Max has a quiet zone for study - her best friend Tia tells her she needs to get a backbone. When Ruby finally starts standing up for herself, the family dynamics end up in turmoil. Ruby's journey to be respected and appreciated and not to be judged only by her disorder is made all the harder by her spoilt brother's arrogant, selfish attitude and her mother's favouritism.

44) Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke (2008) 699pgs
I just had to read the final book in the Inkheart trilogy, especially with the upcoming movie which I think has a great cast. The idea of reading people/characters in and out of books is so fantastic, I enjoyed it with Thursday Next and it works really well here too. I love the world that Funke has created, especially her so so villainous villains. This is an exciting story with lots of threads to follow, resolutions to tieup and characters to meet up with and enjoy once again. I liked that while Funke tied up the important parts of the story she left other threads a little loose at the end - allowing the reader to continue to build their own stories in the Inkheart world. This was definitely Mo's story, his persona as the Bluejay and his own true self as a bookbinder came together at the centre of the story.
I enjoyed the quotations at the start of each chapter - lots of them quite contemporary and I'll be following up on the ones that aren't familiar. Brief chapters with lots of action, villains galore, perilous adventures - young readers should love this.

45) The Roar by Emma Clayton
Children's scifi thriller set in a future where everyone lives behind the Wall which protects them from the animal plague that ruined the planet 40 years ago. Most live in squalor, eating food derived from mould, but there is an elite and an upper echelon of government who have kept themselves alive these 40 years by popping Everlife pills. It's been 12 years since the ban on having children was lifted and several of this new generation of children are mutants. Mika's twin sister is missing, presumed dead but he feels deep inside that she is still alive and he is right.
A new organisation the Youth Development Foundation appears and their Fit for Life programme is adopted in schools and their drink Fit Mix is compulsory for all children. YDF open arcades where children can play a fantastic podfighter simulation game and Mika is one of the top players. YDF announce a competition based on the game with fantastic prizes but their ultimate plan based on the Secret is quite different.This is quite an enthralling scifi adventure and I'm sure that children 10-12yrs will like it.
Sort of an Ender's Game for youngsters.

edit for touchstones

46) The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
First in a crime series featuring Inspector Montalbano of Sicily. I really enjoyed reading this, though my impressions aren't too valid as I came to the book from the TV series so I already knew the plot. I liked Camilleri's writing style and will be reading all the books in the series when I get time.

#71: I have heard good things about Camilleri's series and I think I am going to check it out once I get through Donna Leon's series. Thanks for the reminder.

47) Henderson's Boys: The Escape by Robert Muchamore
This is the first book in a new series by the author of the highly popular YA CHERUB series. An exciting mix of spies, Nazis and children caught up in the German invasion of France during World War II. The story alternates between Marc, a 12 yr old orphan and Paul & Rosie Clarke, who are leaving Paris with their father.Don Clarke is carrying important documents which he wants to pass onto Paris-based intelligence officer Charles Henderson. Typically fast-paced with lots of action, this new series is about how CHERUB came into being. Great reading especially for younger teen boys.

48) A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti (2005) English ed (2008)
I really liked this YA book built around an unlikely correspondence between a teenage Israeli girl and a young man from Gaza. Shaken by news of a bomb blast at Cafe Hillel, her favourite haunt and the death of a young woman the night before her wedding, Tal looks back over the past ten years of the peace process and then decides to try to make contact with the enemy. She gives her brother, who is stationed in Gaza, a letter in a bottle to throw in the sea there. And so begins the emails between Bakbouk (bottle) and Gazaman. Very honest and refreshing.
I read Zenatti's first YA book When I was a Soldier which is about her service in the IDF and was glad to see another of her books was available. Zenatti is French and spent her formative years in Israel before moving back to France, where she now lives.

Both books 46 & 47 look good! I am adding them both to the Continent. Thanks for the reviews and recommendations!

I also added When I Was a Soldier while I was at it.

49) The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Vol II Kingdom on the Waves by M T Anderson
Wow, this is brilliant writing. Continuing on from Vol I The Pox Party, Octavian Nothing enlists in Lord Dunmore's Royal Ethiopian Regiment during the American Revolution and this book chronicles his wretched experiences of war.
This is historical fiction at its best for teen readers, I highly recommend both books.

#76: I am dying to get my hands on those books, but have not lucked out in finding copies yet. I have read several of Anderson's books (including a couple for junior, not young adult readers) and have not been disappointed in one. I am going off to search for Octavian again . . .

Hah!! Found them both at BookCloseouts! Yippee!!!

50) Thirsty by M T Anderson
A YA vampire novel which was fun to read. I'm reading Anderson's books as he is coming to the Auckland Writers Festival in May along with YA writer Mal Peet and I hope to attend their sessions.


The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin, illustrated by Rosana Faria
I just want to mention this amazing picturebook that I happened on. By taking out the visual impact of colour the creators want children to make use of their sense of touch and hearing. Words as imagery of colour and touch to feel the shapes. Includes writing in Braille and gives children an idea of what it is to be blind.


51) Big Fish Little Fish by Melanie DreweryReed 2008
I really loved this junior novel about Jeremy, a young boy who enters a fishing contest, he is keen to win a proper fishing rod and reel. While his friends all head out to sea in speedboats, Jeremy goes out on the harbour with his Grandfather in their old rowboat and learns some family history involving whales.The book is illustrated by Drewery and has a great information section on tools and techniques of becoming a good fisherman. A lot packed into 70 pages. The book is based on the true story of Perano whalers of the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.

52) Impossible by Nancy Werlin
For generations the Scarborough girls have been under a curse and now it's Lucinda's turn though she's unaware of it. She is about to go to the Prom and her future looks bright but now her birth mother has turned up, she's a mad, baglady and she keeps singing an unfamiliar version of an old folksong - Scarborough Fair. I got swept into this story of true love overcoming an ancient curse and wasn't disappointed. I've always loved the Simon and Garfunkel song and this story gets you thinking about the truth in the lyrics.

What fun books you've been reading! You've given me quite a few titles to look for.

>80 jadebird: thanks jadebird - I've been reading a lot of YA lately.


53) Unwind by Neal Shusterman
A quite creepy premise in this YA book, unruly teens signed away by their parents for unwinding - which means being harvested for their body parts. Connor runs from home when he discovers that he is about to join the ranks of the unwound. The story starts off quite strongly with a lot of tension, interesting characters, exciting plot etc but sort of unravels a bit halfway through. I didn't like the constant changes in perspective from Connor, Risa and the others to a neutral narrator. Fairly grisly chapter near the end.

54) Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats by Jane Brocket 2008
This is a fabulous gem of a book. Dipping in and out of classic children's stories and reminiscing on the delectable spreads, wholesome homebaking, special treats, kitchen antics, and splendiferous picnics all found within the pages. From the healthy appetites of the Famous Five, the hunger of Sarah Crewe, the inspired zaniness of Pippi Longstocking in the kitchen and at a tea party to the simple pleasure of reading and eating an apple in Little Women or Milly Molly Mandy's fried onions this is a glorification of the art of eating as found in children's books. Recipes of all the classic food are included from Anne of Green Gables' raspberry cordial and Swallows and Amazons' scrambled eggs to Matilda's Bruce Bogtrotter's Heroic Chocolate Cake and My Naughty Little Sister's birthday trifle.
A friend recommended this book to me and I recommend it to anyone who grew up on a diet of classic children's books.
'No matter how often it is drunk in literature, the mere mention of cocoa never fails to make everything better'.

edit touchstones

Wow, er... Unwind sounds... bizarre. I'm curious but also repulsed... clearly I need to check this one out from the library. Heh.

>82 avatiakh: great quote! ;)

>82 avatiakh: I've been meaning to get a copy of this for aaaaages... sounds like real comfort reading. There's a Barbara Pym quote which is very similar to the one you've provided about cocoa, from No Fond Return of Love:

"Life's problems are often eased by hot milky drinks."

55) Here at the end of the word we learn to dance by Lloyd Jones
Thanks to MsMoto for reading this and reviewing it on her thread which reminded me to grap it off my tbr pile for my holiday in Buenos Aires. The tango takes centre stage in this novel about lost and unrequited love that travels across time from Buenos Aires to New Zealand and Sydney.

These following books are mostly from my 999 challenge list.


56) Hiding from the light by Barbara Erskine
I quite enjoyed Lady of Hay so thought I'd try another of Erskine's books. An evil power, long submerged, is stirred by the presence of a tv camera crew looking for ghosts from the 17th century witchhunt period in an east coast English village. Fairly gory climax involving possession is perhaps a little overdone but this is entertaining reading of past and present witches, supernatural powers and the role of the Christian church.


57) Daylight by Elizabeth Knox
Following up my reading of Knox's Dreamhunter duet with her vampire novel Daylight. Set on the French/Italian Riviera the story revolves around a nest of vampires, their current obsessions and history. Brian (Bad) becomes involved when he helps recover a body from a seacave while Jesuit priest Daniel is investigating the miracles performed by a nun during World War 2. Recommended reading.

58) The View from Saturday by EL Konigsburg - very good children's book


59) Dracula by Bram Stoker
A classic gothic adventure story that is thoroughly entertaining and not for the fainthearted.


60) The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
This is an outstanding novel - a depiction of poverty and civil rights in the southern states during the depression years. Story revolves round four diverse lonely characters living in a small town who all find relief confiding their dreams and frustrations to the local deafmute. I much preferred this to Mistry's A Fine Balance.

61) The Secret History by Donna Tartt
This felt familiar when I started reading it, so maybe I read it when it first came out. Like Engleby and The Talented Mr Ripley, there is a sense of forboding that creates the plot tension - set by the prologue. It's a great story though hard to have sympathy for any of the characters.

62) Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
A children's classic.
63) Potiki by Patricia Grace - an excellent New Zealand novel
64) My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey - smart but not my cup of tea
65) A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - full of despair and life without hope.
66) The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt - Roman werewolf fantasy

Hi Kerry

I wanted to thank you for recommending Lian Hearn to me, I started Across the nightingale floor and like it very much, I hope to get the next books at the library soon.
It will take a while to finish it, the puppies are very time consuming now ;-)

Anita

67) The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
After reading Interview with a vampire last year I was interested to find out more about Lestat's story. I wasn't that captivated with this, I think I've read too many vampire books lately and only continued to read this one due to a 13 hour flight preceded by a 10 hour delay stranded at the airport in the middle of the night with only this book for entertainment.

#87 Anita - I'm glad you are enjoying the book, and your puppies are so adorable. I've been folllowing your thread and their progress.

>89 avatiakh:
I finished Across the nightingale floor today. Even the puppies could not take me away when I was reading the last chapters ;-)
I got the next two books from the library.
Anita

Finally putting a few thoughts together on my April reading:


62) Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, 1929
From my children's classics category.
A timeless classic that I never read as a child, my father and older brother were into sailing so I had enough of it in my own life to be bothered reading about it as well. Memories of endless Sunday afternoons stranded on the sides of remote lakes surrounded by keen yachties make up most of my childhood years. I was not keen to sail in the races. I remember Swallows and Amazons being on tv as well.
I was delighted to finally catch up on this missed classic adventure story - both the eagerness and the caution of the children shine through. I had already come across the wholesome campfire food prepared by the capable Susan in Jane Brocket's Cherry Cake and Gingerbeer: a golden treasury of classic treats.
Set in England's Lake District,two brothers and two sisters are finally allowed to sail to a small lake island and camp on their own for the rest of their holiday - their boat is the 'Swallow'. Two sisters from across the lake turn up in their boat 'Amazon'. They parlay and create a treaty of offense and defense, becoming friendly rivals. There is adventure and mystery alongside bravery, independence and initiative.
Ransome stacks the book with loads of practical details - it is almost a how-to handbook - though of course the locals are just a short sail or row away on the shoreline. Mother provides endless cake and the children get milk, eggs and other supplies from the neighbouring farm each morning.


63) Potiki by Patricia Grace
I adored this moving novel that perfectly evokes the spiritual world of New Zealand's Maori people. Addressing the clash between the progress-oriented modern world and timeless Maori values, in a remote seaside location a Maori family living a subsistent lifestyle on ancestral land come up against a developer who wants to build a resort. Firstly Grace builds the story of the family, their dreams and commitment to their lifestyle and ancestors. It is these relationships between the people and their culture which shine so brightly in her writing. I will be reading a lot more of her work, this is one of my favourite reads of the year.

edit touchstones

64) My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey
One from my New Encounters category, I hadn't read Peter Carey before. I'll probably read another of his but I didn't really fall for this cautionary tale at all. Another book where none of the characters engaged me, though I did pick up a soft spot for the poisoner. The story travels from London to Malaysia and back in time to Australia. In a chaotic Kuala Lumpur hotel, a poetry editor listens to the 'confessions' of a down and out Australian poet. It's a bit of a tall tale where fact and fiction intertwine and like the editor, the reader has no idea what is true, and who the 'poet' really is.



65) A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
From my Good Intentions category, I've had this on my tbr pile for a long time. I had read a spoiler a couple of years ago and wanted some distance from that. I''m glad I've read it finally, it is full of unredeeming despair - the poverty and powerlessness of the main characters was heartbreaking. Not one of my personal favourites, just too bleak for me, the balance between hope and despair came down too firmly on the side of despair.



66) The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt
From my Bloodlust category. I was surprised that this was about werewolves, I had thought it a shapeshifter sort of thing. The setting of Rome in the years after its fall and the politics of the various factions seeking power is interesting. Regeane's moneygrubbing uncle has arranged her marriage to a barbarian with a strategic mountain stronghold in the Alps. Regeane has inherited her betrayed father's Celtic werewolf heritage and she must protect herself and all those she comes to love from the bitter plots against them all. The wolf segments were really well done and I liked the play or blend between wolf and girl - the wolf's memories go back through generations.
I'll probably read another in this series.
Interesting to note that Borchardt is Anne Rice's sister.

Read #88 for my review of my next book The Vampire Lestat

>91 avatiakh:: Potiki sounds interesting. I'll have to dig up a copy. Thanks.

68) A curse dark as gold by Elizabeth Bunce (2008)
A wonderful YA fairytale retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin story. Charlotte Miller is determined to make a go of the family woollen mill despite crippling debt and what appears to be a curse on the family.


69) About Griffen's Heart by Tina Shaw (2009)
James Griffen is 17 and needs open heart surgery, he's a bit of a nerd and has to take life much more slowly and carefully than those around him. Then he comes across the spunky Roxy. This is Tina Shaw's first YA novel.

#91: Swallows and Amazons has been on the Continent for a while now. I definitely need to track down a copy. I am adding Potiki to the Continent, too.

#92: I tried reading Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang, which won the Booker, and I did not even get to the 50 page point in it. I think he is an author I will be passing over. Your reaction to My Life as a Fake does not aspire me to read any more of his.

#94: I will add both of those titles to the Continent, too. Yikes!

Book 62: I've always loved Swallows and Amazons. I wished I was one of the siblings!

Book 63: Potiki sounds fascinating. Thanks for the recommedation! I'm adding it to the TBR pile.

Book 66: I didn't know Alice Borchardt was Anne Rice's sister. Interesting. I think I will also check out The Silver Wolf since you've made me so curious. Thanks!

agree with loriephillips that Potiki sounds really good! Thanks for bringing it to my attention :)

70) Beaufort by Ron Leshem
From my Books in Translation category. This Israeli novel is about a group of soldiers stationed at Beaufort, an Israeli outpost in Southern Lebanon and the events in the year leading up to the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon.
I've been wanting to read this since seeing the movie which was very raw and powerful. The book does not disappoint. Leshem has done a superb job of getting to the heart of life under constant fire, the bond that builds between the young men, and dealing inevitably with death. Another outstanding read for the year.

edit: added book #

#98: Another outstanding read for the year.

Sounds like it! I will look for that one.

#95,96 & 97 - regarding Potiki - I hope you can track it down. I feel that any book by Patricia Grace would be worth reading. I'll be following up with Dogside Story and Tu later in the year.

71) Black Box by Amos Oz (1987)
From my Favourite Writers category of my 999 challenge. I enjoy everything I read by Amos Oz and this book is no exception. Set in the 1970s this epistolary novel begins with Ilana writing to her first husband seeking help for their wayward teenage son. Through the course of the book the story of their marriage slowly evolves alongside the changes in their lives and those they love due to this contact.

edit: touchstone

#101: Black Box looks very good! Thanks for the recommendation.

72) Ingo by Helen Dunmore (2005)
children's audiobook
This is the first in a set of 4 books based on Cornish folklore. Sapphire and her brother Conor are convinced that their father hasn't abandoned them and been lost at sea. Ingo, the world of the sea holds many secrets and their family has always been drawn to the sea, surely there is something in the tales he used to tell them. Haunting and magical, Dunmore sets the standard story of family turmoil, resentment towards their mother's new partner and adds in the enchanting fantasy world of Ingo, the people of mer, and the danger of forgetting which world you truly belong in.
I'll be reading the rest of the series as well as Dunmore's adult fiction.

73) Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein (2009)
I discovered the Alexander Cooper series a couple of years ago when I read The Bone Vault, I quickly read my way through all the books and I'm still enjoying each new publication though the format is starting to lose its charm.
This time the murders lead Cooper and her sidekicks to the New York Public Library and the magnificent bequests donated by rich trustees in previous years.

#103: I like the Cooper series too! I have an ARC around here somewhere of Lethal Legacy. One of these days I may actually read it, lol.

I always like learning about different regions' folklore... Ingo sounds like an excellent read. I'll have to look it up!

74) Double Helix by Nancy Werlin (2004)
YA fiction
I was reading on a YA scifi/science theme recently and this book came to my attention so I was keen to read it. I'd also quite enjoyed Werlin's Impossible which I'd read a few weeks ago. Eli decides to take a gap year before starting college, he has always had this urge to hold himself back, not play sport or achieve academically to his full potential. He is offered a job at a Transgenics lab by the famous Dr Wyatt and starts working there much to his father's extreme disapproval. His mother is dying from Huntington's Disease and somehow there seems to be a past link to Dr Wyatt.
Quite a good mystery based on genetics and DNA but not great.
I remember reading Frameshift by Robert Sawyer many years ago and that is a memorable scifi thriller based on the genome code research and Huntingtons Disease.


75) Lewis Carroll in Numberland: His fantastical Mathematical Logical Life by Robin Wilson
This is one of many books I've noted down from kiwidoc's 2009 reading and I really enjoyed it as well. Wilson is an esteemed professor of mathmatics and here he presents a highly readable, concise overview of Lewis Carroll's academic career and his love of logic problems. With examples and explanations of the many problems that Carroll loved to play with, all explained in layman's terms. Wilson includes many examples of the tricks and trickery hidden in the pages of Carroll's works for children.

Kerry, congratulations on reaching 75 so far.

A lot of good reads here to be put on the TBR moutain.

Yes, congrats on hitting 75 already!

#107,108 Thanks


76) The Boy in the dress by David Walliams (2008)
for children about 9+
I enjoyed the tv series Little Britain and so had to read Walliams' book. It's a delightfully soulful read illustrated by Quentin Blake about Dennis, a sensitive young boy who is good at football (soccer) and dealing with the breakup of his parents' marriage. His Mum has disappeared and Dad is not dealing with it that well, his older brother isn't helpful and Dennis is really in need of a few hugs and some love. A fun read.

77) A Life's Music by Andrei Makine (2001) 106pgs
Makine is Russian but writes in French. I read the English translation of this novella. I picked this book up at the library after reading the blurbs on the cover.
"Makine's genius, made more evident with each strange and compelling novel that appears in English, is in his ability to tune narrative to the underlying harmonies in the cacophony of displaced and mutilated lives", Änderi Makine has been compared to Nabakov, Chekov, Proust. Far from flattering him, such plaudits barely begin to do him justice."

A fascinating piece of writing, the narrator stranded at a railway station in the eastern Soviet Union comes across an old man playing the piano. Later they share a compartment on the train ride to Moscow and the old man tells his story.

78) Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (2006)
I'm slowly reading my way through all of Gaiman's work and this is a collection of some of his previously published short stories and poems from a variety of sources. Favourites for me were Bitter Grounds - a New Orleans zombie tale, October in the Chair, Other People, Goliath - a Matrix movie tribute, Sunbird and The Monarch of the Glen.
Overall I'd say this was good but not great.

#110: That one looks very good. Thanks for the recommendation!

#111. Fragile Things is available on audiobook with Neil Gaiman actually narrating. I've found the book to be much more enjoyable when I can read along with Neil's wonderful British accent!

# 113 thanks snat, I'll look out for that.

A rough recap of my reading so far: 78 books

Books I own: 44
Library: 34

Translated: 13
Nonfiction: 3
YA & children's lit: 35

New Zealand: 8

79) The Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick (2008)
YA lit
This is the sequel to My swordhand is singing and set in Venice about 100 years later. Venice itself is one of the stars of this book - providing misty canals, eerie small islands, masked villians, crumbling grand palazzos and stray dogs. Marco has come from Piran to find his father. Sorrel is trying to understand her father's deathly illness, while Peter finally catches up with the Shadow Queen.

"Death comes in many forms, but in Venice death comes by water..."

#116: Both of those books by Sedgwick look good. I wish my local library had them!

#117 - I'm keen to read all his work - I'm impressed with his writing.


80) Slouching towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (1993)
I chose this as I have tried a couple of times to read her The year of magical thinking and couldn't get started and felt I should get familiar with her earlier work before I tried again.
This essay collection is from her journalistic work in the 1960s and makes interesting reading. She captures a mood for the time that is off centre and revealing, some of the pieces are personal. I'm now interested enough to try more of her work.

"My only advantage as a reporter is that I am so physically small, so unobtrusive, and so neurotically inarticulate that people tend to forget that my presence runs counter to their best interests. And it always does. That is one last thing to remember: writers are always selling somebody out"

81) A Day at elBulli by Ferran Adria (2008)
528pgs and about 5kgs
This immense book is a photo essay of a day in the life of the famed elBulli Restaurant. The sparse text gives a marvellous insight into the creative food philosophy of the head chef Ferran Adria and his team. The restaurant is small, by the sea in a remote location a few hours drive north of Barcelona, only open six months each year, and is considered the top restaurant in the world. Each year they get over 2 million requests for reservations and only about 8,000 of these are successful - 50 guests daily through the season.
The creative team of chefs prepare a brand new menu each year looking for totally innovative and new ways of preparing food. There are several recipes in the book, but the techniques for preparing much of the food is probably beyond most home cooks like myself and involve resources such as liquid nitrogen.
I got this from the library along with several other Spanish & Latin cookbooks to followup recent trips to both Spain and Buenos Aires.

#119: That one sounds very interesting! I will look for it. Thanks for the recommendation.

I enjoy reading about molecular gastronomy chefs, but have not really enjoyed the eating the result the times I've tried it. I remember eating at Dufresne's (I think he's a disciple of Adria's, not sure) restaurant. I was excited because of all the Ten Best Chefs buzz about it. However, though I had a good time and found the meal interesting, it doesn't rank among my top restaurant experiences.

It sometimes seems like the intended purpose is to provide an "experience" through surprise and unusual combinations rather than to provide wonderful "eats". Given Adria's reputation, it's likely that his food does taste great, but I find myself wondering if the 2,000,000 applications for a reservation reflect trendiness and desire for novelty more than indescribably delicious food.

Still, this isn't about food, it's about books and, as I said, I enjoy reading about it. So, thanks for the recommendation.

#121 - I have to admit that I also am not a fan of this type of cuisine and the book doesn't make me want to dine there, but it does portray the creative process & philosophy of the kitchen really well. And this restaurant does influence the food world immensely.
I prefer simple food cooked well using traditional methods!

82) Graceling by Kristin Cashore (2008)
YA lit
Finally got round to reading this after reading all the great reviews on various blogs last year and it has also had lots of great reviews on the various challenge threads here on LT too.
I enjoyed it, the heroine Katsa is a strong fighting character like Balsa in Moribito Guardian of the Spirit. Cashore has created an interesting medieval world of seven kingdoms where people born with an exceptional skill, or Grace, can be chosen to serve their king. Katsa's Grace is the skill of killing and she has become her king's henchman

edit: spelling

#123: I have definitely got to steal that one back from my daughters!

83) Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth (2009)
I really enjoyed Morality Play so thought I'd try another of Unsworth's books. This is set in 1914 just before World War One. John Somerville, head of an archaeological dig in the midst of Mesopotamia, hopes to make his name with a big discovery. Nearby Germans are building a railway to Bagdhad. British and French interests in the dying Ottoman Empire are being safeguarded by industrialists, ambassadors, the military and bankers. Americans are also starting to show interest in the region's promise as an oil reserve. Great characters, exciting plot - what a great read about a pivotal point in Iraq's history.

Your description of The shadow in the wind makes me really want to read it especially since I just recently came off reading The Angel's Game. Zafon draws you into the magical worlds he creates and before you know it, you can't stop reading.

You read such varied and very interesting stuff. Congrats on surpassing 75.

84) The Serial Garden: The complete Armitage Family Stories By Joan Aiken
children's (2008)
Aiken wrote these delightful and magical stories about the Armitage family back in the 40s and 50s.


85) The Music of Chance by Paul Auster (1990)
I've been a fan of Paul Auster's writing style since reading his The Book of Illusions, and am slowly working my way through his books. Jim Nash has taken to the open road. After a failed marriage and a sudden inheritance he's given up his job, his young daughter and his home for random road trips across the US. By chance he picks up Jack Pozzi, a beatenup penniless young man, a card player and finds himself warming to the idea of staking him in an ultimate poker game.



86) The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano (1998) translated ed (2007)
What a monster, I'm so glad to have finished this as it is a big rambling story held together by a small but intriging plot with evasive characters that you almost get your head around but not quite!
In three parts - first is the 1975 diary of a young visceral realist poet in Mexico City ending on New Year's Eve when four people (3 poets and a young prostitute) take off on a road trip to the north with guys with guns in pursuit. Exciting and can't wait to find out what happens but then comes part two where we follow the travels of two of the poets through extended interviews with numerous people whose lives have intercepted theirs over the years from 1974 through 1994. And then on to part three and back to the diary where we finally find out what happened up north.
Epic and ultimately satisfying - I look forward to reading his 2666 in the future.

The Music of Chance looks interesting. I haven't read anything by Paul Auster before so I have put this onto the TBR mountain.

#127: I have read a couple of Aiken's books this year and enjoyed them, so I will put The Serial Garden on Continent TBR as well. Thanks for the recommendation.

I tried reading The Savage Detectives last year and could not get into it, but I am hoping to give it another try. Thanks for the reminder.

Just caught up with your thread finally. Got ya' starred now and you have some great reading this year. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was a favortie from a couple of years back. Dracula is on for Halloween reading this year!!

Hi! Just popped in for a look-see - catching up on threads!

#106 - If you are interested in Lewis Carroll, then may I recommend the graphic novel Alice In Sunderland by Bryan Talbot. I'm reading this now, and it is nothing short of brilliant! Meanwhile, I will watch out for Robin Wilson's book.

#119 - I was so looking forward to A Day at elBulli by Ferran Adria, and was sorely disappointed in the result! For anyone interested in molecular gastronomy, then The Big Fat Duck Cookbook by Heston Blumenthal should be at the top of your wish list! Don't baulk at the price - it's a steal.

#125 - Thanks for the rec. on Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth. I have a couple of novels by this author and he is very good.

#130 Is that a reread of Dracula or a first time read? I've been reading heaps of vampire & werewolf books as part of my 999 challenge. I find it quite fascinating how each writer reinvents vampire folklore. I've also watched too many Dracula//Noseratu films of late.

#131 Thanks for your comments. I have requested Alice in Sunderland from the library.
Seeing you are based in Tokyo I have to ask if you have read The Sushi Economy: globalization and the making of a modern delicacy, which was reviewed on one of these 75 challenge threads. I'm waiting for my library to get a copy for me as it sounded fascinating.

These next two are both LT recommendations from many threads so I felt impelled to read them and wasn't disappointed.

87) The End of the Alphabet by C S Richardson (2007)
152pgs
This was the Regional winner (Canada & Caribbean) of the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book last year.
A short read but poetic and endearing. Ambrose Zephyr is told that he only has a few weeks left to live, so he decides to embark with his wife Zappora Ashkenazi on a journey through an alphabet of places he always thought of visiting or revisiting, but this becomes a journey of love and a revisiting of their first meeting, their courtship, marriage and their life together. Beautiful.

88) The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (2008)
465pgs
Enduring love, a love strong enough to last over centuries. This story built around themes from Dante's Inferno which I haven't read is very enjoyable.
There are stories within stories here which are romantic and compelling. The story starts with a fiery car crash and the badly burnt survivor, in hospital and barely human, being visited by a strange woman.

#132 - Sorry, I have not read The Sushi Economy: globalization and the making of a modern delicacy, although I see it on the shelves of every bookshop here in Tokyo (English language section). Looking forward to your thoughts on Alice in Sunderland - I'm about 50% the way through.

#133 - I have The Gargoyle as an audiobook. It's in a (very long) queue!

#133. Both sound good. Onto the TBR mountain they have been put.

#133: I will put The End of the Alphabet on the Continent. It looks very good.

As for The Gargoyle glad you enjoyed it. I liked it very much when I read it earlier this year.

89) Nina of the Dark by Ken Catran (2009)
YA fantasy
I'm a fan of Ken Catran's work. I especially love his war novels such as Jacko Moran, Sniper and Letters from the coffin-trenches. He also writes good thrillers, great historical novels and is a dabhand at scifi so it was disappointing that Nina turned out to be such a flawed read. Maybe an additional 100 pages might have helped gel out the characters a bit more and given the underlying scifi twist more credibility.
Nina is the chosen one, she goes on a quest into the Dark Mountains to seek legendary items - Brightsong, a sword and Lightskin, chainmail as well as ultimate knowledge. Her sidekicks are Aren, a thief and Brod, a giant. She must lead her people to battle to stop the Rut hordes from overrunning the land. Danger in the Dark mountains includes the threat of dragons, giant killer spiders, rock beetles and goblins.


90) Dinosaur Knights by Michael Gereard Bauer (2009)
children's action adventure
Shades of Michael Crichton's Timeline meeting Jurassic Park in this thoroughly enjoyable scifi adventure romp. A scientist using time stretch technology in an attempt to bring a predatory dinosaur into the present. The experiment fails leaving the predator stranded sometime in the Middle Ages in the English countryside. Two boys must face the 'dragon monster' in an attempt to save their father from an undeserved hanging at the hands of the castle's unscrupulous steward. The story is told from three perspectives - the confused and hungry therapod blundering in the woods, the scientist working furiously in the lab to realise his dream and the two boys - Roland who is so desperate to be a knight and Oswald, his twin brother.

91) Tribal Ash Chronicles of Stone Book 3 by Vince Ford (2009)
YA
The last in the exciting Chronicles of Stone series which is set in prehistoric North America.
I've enjoyed all of Vince's books and this trilogy is no exception. Trei and his sister have trekked north to the tribe of the Northmen, a warmongering tribe called Manhunters by their neighbours. Trei wants to find out more about their superior weaponry which they use to hunt bison and mammoth. His tribe, the People of the Canyons, are facing famine and this could be their salvation. While his sister Souk, a shaman in training, has had visions calling her to the north. This final book covers their continuing adventures and Trei's return to his people.


92) Th1rteen R3asons why by Jay Asher (2007)
YA
While I found this a very readable book that I couldn't put down, I also feel that the subject matter of suicide needs to be dealt with very carefully and I'm still thinking about how that was dealt with here. This book could be an important talking point for teens and it does highlight the snowball effect of seemingly harmless interactions between teens and how gossip or rumours spread and the serious consequences these can have on at risk individuals.
Hannah, a victim of spiralling rumours, has taken her own life. Beforehand, she has recorded tapes describing the thirteen reasons (people) that have contributed to her decision. The tapes are to be passed from each of the thirteen (mailed anonymously). The book follows Cal as he listens to the tapes on a walkman and journeys around town to significant places on Hannah's map, and his almost unbearable wait to find his part in her story.
The book is gripping, full of tension and dealing with the vulnerability of youth and the social implications of simply being in high school.
Another gritty read that deals with similar tragedy in a less melodramatic way is Adam Rapp's Under the wolf, under the dog.


93) Saving Sam by Susan Brocker (2009)
YA
I really liked this. Two brothers are forced to relocate to Auckland and live with their Uncle and Aunt when their solo dad is once again in trouble and serving time in jail. Ben, the younger brother, quickly finds a soulmate in the German Shepherd that his Uncle has acquired but is considering getting put down as her temperament has been destroyed and she is terribly frightened of people. Naming her Layla, Ben slowly gains her confidence and together they make some unlikely friends. Sam, meanwhile gets in with a bad element at their new school.
Deals with dog fighting, working dogs, dog obedience training, at risk youth, the world of 'P' addiction.

94) Salt River by Liz Hegarty (2009)
children's fiction
An historical 1930s coming of age story based on the true story of Tom Pook, a 14 year old boy left to care for his 7 younger siblings when his parents leave their remote Kaipara Harbour home for a few days to finally get married. The family live in a one room shack, rely on fishing for a livelihood, and are an unruly bunch of children finding mischief everywhere. Tom's father is a hard taskmaster and treats Tom harshly, finding fault where others would praise poor Tom. Despite being illiterate, Tom has grown to be a decent and capable young man and proves himself heroic and brave. A great New Zealand book for older children.


95) Q and A by Vikas Swarup (2005)
I enjoyed this a lot. The plot is quite different from the film which I had seen before realising it was based on a book. I am very much a 'read the book before seeing the movie' sort of person so was pleased that the book inspired the film rather than much else.


96) Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1893)
classic adventure for children
Young David Balfour's adventures in the year 1751, after the death of his father, make for exciting reading from his arrival to his uncle Ebeneazer's murky mansion, his kidnapping and then shipwreck to being a wanted outlaw in the Scottish highlands alongside his Jacobite companion, Alan Breck. I read Treasure Island for the first time a few years ago and this joins it as another timeless classic for older children.

edit: touchstone

You have read some good books there. A few more for the TBR mountain.

Great reading lately! I am adding a ton to the Continent.

>127 avatiakh:/128: I picked up The Music of Chance from a book swap recently, never having heard of it before. I'm quite a fan of Auster's. What did you make of it?

97) Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud (2009)
YA fantasy
Another great fantasy from Jonathan Stroud.


98) Say you're one of them by Uwern Akpan
short stories collection
I heard Akpan talk at our recent Auckland Writers and Readers Festival where the Commonwealth Writers' Prize was announced, he was one of the finalists being the winner of the African region's best first book. A gracious man, he read an extract from 'My parent's bedroom' and so I just had to read his work.
A selection of short stories about African children caught up in conflict and daily survival. Akpan writes from the child's perspective and these stories are heartbreaking.

#142 FlossieT - mixed feelings on this book, it's like a tall tale and the ending was unexpected. It won't make a favourites list for me but has memorable characters. I read it as part of my 999 challenge which is my attempt to tackle books I own instead of books I buy or borrow - though I'm failing miserably at that as I'm easily swayed to read the newest, latest, back catalogues, any book with great LT, blog, newspaper reviews, interesting covers, blurbs on back etc etc.

99) Housekeeping vs The Dirt by Nick Hornby
I read his The polysyllabic spree a couple of years ago and didn't know about this book till it started getting mentioned on the LT threads. An enjoyable stroll through Hornby's reading life and habits. I first read his column in Australia's Good Reading magazine. Now I'm waiting for Shakespeare wrote for money to arrive at my library.

#144: I have that one somewhere here in my house, I just need to find it!

#144: I wish I had that one in the house! The Polysyllabic Spree was a great book, and I look forward to reading the other compilations. I didn't realize Hornby had a column in Good Reading magazine. In fact I didn't even realize there was a Good Reading magazine! I've been away far too long. Oh well, only a few more years and I'll be back on the Gold Coast :)

#146 petermc - Hornby no longer has a column in Good Reading, I started reading the magazine about 3 years ago when they were reprinting his polysyllabic columns. You can check out their website at least and read a sample magazine. http://www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au/

100) WWW: Wake by Robert Sawyer (2009)
sci fi - Canada
This was a really interesting read as Sawyer brings lots of scientific and mathematical concepts to life in this novel about emerging consciousness, perception and awareness in this first book in a trilogy on the World Wide Web. I couldn't put it down in the end and had to put aside all my other reading till I finished it.
Caitlin, almost 16 has been blind since birth due to a rare malfunction in her optic nerve. She is highly intelligent, excelling at math and highly skilled at using the internet. When a Japanese researcher offers the chance at a new procedure which might enable her to see Caitlin and her parents are quick to agree. Alternating with this main storyline are two other minor contributing ones.
Sawyer himself is quite interesting - he has been online since 1983, was a system operator for CompuServe, has one of the world's oldest blogs and was the first science fiction writer to have a website. sfwriter.com
edit: Canada / World Wide Web trilogy

#148: That one looks good! Have you read any of Sawyer's other books? Just curious, as my local library does not have that one, but does have several of his others.

#148 - I read Frameshift a long time ago and was reminded of it when I read a YA book recently on the same topic (see post #106 Double Helix) and thought I should see what he's been writing lately.
He's won scifi awards for Hominids, The Terminal Experiment, and Mindscan, all of which I'd like to read but have to track down copies of them first. His Flash Forward is to be a tv series starring Joseph Fiennes.

#150: OK, thanks for the info!

Stasia--I've read several books by Sawyer (can't remember all names) and enjoyed them, must recently Rollback.

The book sounds really really interesting - I had never heard of the writer before (and he makes me think of Sawyer from LOST!)

#152: I have put his Flashforward on hold at my local library.

I think Frameshift is the only one of his that I've read. I kind of liked it; maybe I'll try some more of his stuff.

101) The Wind of the Khazars by Marek Halter (2006)
translated from French
fiction
I've read and enjoyed a few of Halter's biblical novels and I was drawn to this one as it's about the legendary Caucasian kingdom of the Khazars, a warrior nation that converted to Judaism in the 8th century, a fascinating piece of history that I know little about. Halter weaves a fictional account of the last years of the kingdom alongside a contemporary storyline involving politics and a terrorist group calling itself 'The New Khazars'.
He bases the story around a letter written by a great rabbi of Cordoba to the Khagan Joseph in the tenth century and a love story that echoes in the present day. The 10th century kingdom is facing threats on all sides, from the Christian Byzantium Empire, Russian barbarians and the growing Islamic kingdom from the south. In the present day, oil interests and the legacy of years of Soviet suppression in the region play out.
Mark Sofer, a Parisian novelist, is drawn to research the history after an encounter with the mysterious Caucasian, Yakubov, who gives him an ancient coin and talks of a synagogue long hidden in caves in Georgia.
Overall a fascinating read that makes me want to explore the history of the Khazars and their legacy.

#156: I saw your note about The Wind of the Khazars on another thread, Kerry, and already started trying to track it down. It looks very good. Thanks for the recommendation and the review!

Edited because I cannot spell, lol.

I've put The Wind of the Khazars on my wish list. Your description reminds me of another historical fiction I would highly recommend: The Sword and the Scimitar by David Ball aka Ironfire in some countries. Its about the Christian West (such as the Order of St John) clashing with the Ottoman Empire in the East and secret Jewish sects in the 16th Century culminating with a famous battle on Malta - an island vital for trade for both sides.

#158 That sounds great, I'll check it out. Isn't LT dangerous for your adding to your tbr piles! I've just read petermc's thread and found a whole series I want to read - Erast Farandon by Boris Akunin.

#159: Akunin's books are very good. I hope you like them, Kerry!

#159 Kerry - Here is the first paragraph of the first novel in the Erast Farandon series by Boris Akunin - A Winter Queen. It's what instantly attracted me to the series...

"On Monday the fifteenth of May in the year 1876, between the hours of two and three in the afternoon on a day that combined the freshness of spring with the warmth of summer, numerous individuals in Moscow's Alexander Gardens unexpectedly found themselves eyewitnesses to the perpetration of an outrage that flagrantly transgressed the bounds of common decency."

Enjoy :)

Thanks Peter - My library has a few of his books but of course not the first one.


102) The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (2009)
YA scifi Book 2 in Chaos Walking trilogy
The Knife of Never Letting Go was one of my exceptional reads last year in the YA arena. The only problem was the cliffhanger ending, now many months later I was able to dive back into this great story for the next instalment of Todd and Viola's adventures. Needless to say their troubles are not at an end. Can't wait for book 3.


103) Wandering Star by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio (1992)
translated from French (2004) by C. Dickson
fiction
Another from my 999 challenge reading, I wanted to try something by this French writer as he won the Nobel prize for Literature in 2008. The plot sounded interesting - it follows two girls - Esther, a Jewish girl through World War 2, her arrival in Israel, and Nejima, a Palestinian girl who becomes a refugee. Esther is an interesting character, traumatised by war and the loss of her father - she wants and seeks to be alone and takes long and sometimes risky walks - here is where Le Clezio excels, describing her solitude, her reaction to the various landscapes etc. Overall though Esther seems to be a person who life happens to, she doesn't seem able to rise above this. The parallel storyline of Nejima doesn't get the chance to expand and we only share a short part of her journey. These are young people who are victims of conflict, without understanding the 'why', but slowly coming to terms with their new lives and situation. Overall a good read but not outstanding.


104) The thing around your neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009)
short stories
I heard Adichie speak at our recent Writers and Readers Festival so I was keen to read some of her writing. I slowly warmed to this collection of short stories which are mostly about Nigerian women and their experiences both in the US and at home on the African continent. Quite illuminating and almost haunting, the stories are subtle realistic glimpses of what it is to be an immigrant wife. Looked up to at home as living a life of dreams versus the cold, lonely reality of living in an unwelcoming urban environment. Recommended.

I'm really enjoying hearing about the books you read--a very eclectic mix. I've added A Life's Music, Land of Marvels, The Music of Chance, End of the Alphabet, and Say You're One of Them to my tbr list. Thanks (I think).

105) Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (1933)
nonfiction
I've read about this a few times on various LT threads and so picked it up. Orwell describes his experiences of living in poverty both in London and Paris and reflects on how society treats those down on their luck. An absorbing read.
edit: add link to Orwell article http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/jun/01/hard-conjure-spirit-orwell

#163 Thanks, I'm constantly adding to my tbr list as well by reading all the threads.

#162 - My library has a few of his books but of course not the first one.

Isn't that always the way! I've been searching madly for a few weeks now for the first book in another series I want to read and finally found it yesterday - yipee! (The book was Bangkok 8). In yet another series I resorted to ordering a used copy from Amazon Marketplace. I always like to start from the first book, but I'm rather strange like that!

#164 - Read Down and Out in Paris and London last year and really enjoyed it. So much so as to pick up several more books by him, such as The Road to Wigan Pier, Homage to Catalonia and a series of collected essays.

avatiakh, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a name that comes up on LT over and over. I did pick up a copy of Purple Hibiscus last week so now I have one of her books on my shelves. Now I need to find time to get to it.

#162 petermc - a success story, I was able to visit one of my favourite used bookstores yesterday that I only get to a couple of times a year and managed to pick up a copy of The Winter Queen so will be reading that as soon as I get my current library books out of the way. I read Homage to Catalonia many years ago and am also keen to explore more of his nonfiction work. The article I linked to was interesting in that Orwell was never captured on film and despite being a BBC correspondent there are no recordings of his reports, while there is plenty of archived footage/recordings of his contemporaries.
My Dominion Books acquisitions:
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin
Blood Red, Sister Rose by Thomas Keneally
Rome & Jerusalem:The Clash of Ancient Civilisations by Martin Goodman
I sing the body electric by Ray Bradbury
Tamsin by Peter S Beagle
On the High Uplands: sagas, songs, tales, legends of the Carpathians by Stanislaw Vincenz
Space Demons by Gillian Rubinstein

#166 I have her Half of a yellow sun which I'll read eventually. I read the short story collection first because that was what most of her talk was about, focusing on her middle class upbringing in an academic environment. The festival also introduced me to a few first-time New Zealand writers and I'm now keen to read their books after listening to them read extracts and talk about their work. One book, The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton has been creating a bit of a buzz here recently, shortlisted for awards and being picked up by publishers, Granta (UK) and Little, Brown (US), so that has climbed up my tbr ranks to the top.

106) The Tide Knot by Helen Dunmore (2006)
children's fantasy
Second in the quartet of Ingo novels about Sapphire and her brother Conor who are able to visit Ingo - the underwater world of the Mer people. Sapphire finds out that the land of earth and air is threatened by the unravelling of the Tide Knot.
A great satisfying read and I'll continue on to the next book The Deep.

107) The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer (2007)
children's fantasy - audiobook
This is the sequel to Farmer's The Sea of Trolls which I really loved. Both books are epic adventures and would really appeal to keen child readers from about 10yrs. Farmer manages to blend both early Christian values with old Celtic pagan beliefs in this quest that takes Jack, a boy bard-in-training, and his companions into the world of hobgoblins, kelpies and elves. Think of it as a Lord of the Rings for younger readers. Lucy, Jack's selfish but pretty younger sister, insists on wearing a silver necklace to their village's 'Need-Fire' Ceremony even though metal has been banned by the bard. Her place in the ceremony is taken by Pega, the ugly slave girl with a heart of gold, but the damage has already been done to Jack's family - now plagued by bad luck and ill temper they need to take Lucy north to a monastery where miracles have been known to occur.

#167 - I'm so glad you found The Winter Queen. I'm about 50% into the book currently, but I'm reading slowly; reserving it for lunch time escapism at work - just 40 minutes each day. I'm actually enjoying it a lot in this way, as I go to work excited each day, just in the anticipation of picking the book up again come lunchtime.

That's a good looking haul of books, and I look forward to your reviews. Thomas Keneally is a great writer, but I must confess that I have never read Blood Red, Sister Rose. I do plan, however, to read Keneally's A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia. Look for a review on that one before the year is out! I also have my eye on his Searching for Schindler: A memoir.

I hope you don't mind, but I've been perusing your book list, and I see we both share Somme Mud - great book! Have you read it yet?

You also have Storm Boy! This was (nay, "is") one of my all time favourite children's books. I loved the 1976 film adaption, starring David Gulpilil, as well.

Edit: Touchstones!!!!

The title story in I sing the body electric is one of my most favorite Bradbury short stories. I hope you enjoy it.

>170 ronincats:: Iconic song in "Fame" also... :-)

#169 I got Somme Mud after reading about it on the threads here. I read a lot of YA lit and there are quite a lot of books about war and conflict, so it's good to read actual nonfiction firsthand accounts from time to time to keep the fiction in perspective and Somme Mud just looks like being an excellent read. I'll be getting to it sometime this year.

#170,171: I'm looking forward to my next Ray Bradbury read, I really liked The Illustrated Man and read a few aloud to my children.


108) The Kindly Ones by Anthony Powell (1962)
Book 6 of 12 in the Dance to the Music of Time series
Part of my 999 challenge.
I'm really enjoying reading this series though it takes time to track down the books. I got the first three in an omnibus at a bookstall on London's South Bank last year and raced through it, the next three books were harder to find. The storyline follows Nick Jenkins, his friends and acquaintances as they journey through life from the 1920s through World War II and beyond. In this book Nick is in his early thirties and WWII is about to begin. Powell starts with a lengthy intro with Nick recalling a particular day in his childhood when two sets of visitors came to their home, the cook gave his notice and the maid appeared naked in the parlour. I really enjoy the way people come into and out of his life and keep turning up unexpectedly and in unexpected company. Muchly recommended reading..
I'll be finishing the series once my 999 challenge is complete.


109) Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (2007)
fiction, part of my 999 challenge
This was a fun read. Set in the Khazarian Kingdom we follow the fortunes of two 'gentlemen' - the strong giant African, Amran, and his travelling companion, the thin and weedy Frank, Zelikman. Both are Jewish and skilled swordsmen who travel and live the life of the road. Not like anything Chabon usually writes but entertaining and quite hilarious, an adventure to savour.


110) Double Cross by Malorie Blackman (2008)
YA fiction
Book 4 of the Noughts and Crosses quartet & part of my 999 challenge
Another series I've really enjoyed comes to an end. Set in a society that is racially divided between the underclass Noughts (whites) and the upperclass Crosses (blacks), Blackman has created a powerful story of love, betrayal, terrorism, gang wars and death all mixed with the racial tension of the haves and the havenots.

edit: touchstones & syntax

#172: I wish Chabon had kept the original name of Gentlemen of the Road myself. It was a good fun read, but I think 'Jews with Swords' would have been a much better title!

I think I have Double Cross around my house somewhere . . .

I devoured A Dance to the Music of Time years ago. I had it in four volumes, each named after a season. I still have Spring, Summer, and Winter, but for some reason I parted with Autumn. I liked it well enough to be thinking about a reread.

>167 avatiakh: I've been hearing a lot about The Rehearsal recently too - will look out for your comments.

>172 avatiakh: my son just bought the first book in the Noughts and Crosses series, so it's great to hear that it's a good one. He's read a couple of Blackman's standalone books and really enjoyed them.

And finally, Dance to the Music of Time is something that is hovering tentatively about my TBR list - sounds good. Where was this South Bank book stall??

#175 Here's a link to a very thoughtful discussion of The Rehearsal on our local tv book show. http://tvnz.co.nz/the-good-word/good-word-series-1-episode-10-video-2719609

The ending in the first Noughts and Crosses book is quite brutal which is also why the series is described as powerful.

Do dive into the Dance to the music of time, you won't be disappointed. No need to read them all at once, I'm enjoying revisiting Nick's world every now and then.
I spent a few days in London with my two youngest children last year and we spent most of our days riding buses and near the Thames. We loved the South Bank area and walked along it several times and the highlight of our stay was a performance of A Midsummer's Nights Dream at the Globe Theatre, which my 12yr old daughter, Dana, loved every minute of and even my 14yr old son,Liam, who only likes the 'literature' of Darren Shan was seen to be smiling! Anyway the bookstalls just appeared before us, around Waterloo Bridge, laden with used books and I was able to pick out about 3 great reads before my kids had had enough!
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/visiting-us/shopping/southbank-centre-book-mark...
I lived in London many years ago, but it's very different taking kids around, we had already had a couple of months on the road in Japan and Europe by then - so they were quite allergic to museums & art galleries, when we went to Trafalgar Square they wouldn't come down from the lions! They liked the British Museum, though we did a deal only to see the Roman Mosaics, the mummies and the Rosetta Stone beforehand. We then drove up to Northumberland, Edinburgh and back through Wales - they had a ball visiting castles, ruins of old abbeys and Hadrian's Wall and restored my faith.

Somehow didn't get you starred this year...........remedied that error now.

111) Something Invisible by Siobhan Parkinson (2006)
children's fiction
I was looking forward to reading this as I noticed that it was an IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honour Book last year and I hadn't read anything by Siobhan Parkinson, an Irish writer. It is a good story dealing with tough issues that a lot of current fiction for young people tends to do nowadays. Jake, 11yrs, is coming to terms with having a newborn half-sister, and that he is no longer an only child. He knows a lot of facts as he is an avid reader of encyclopedias, but doesn't know that much about life except that he wants to paint fish when he grows up. Well written and deserving of a wide readership but overall I'm getting tired with how so many children's books use death as a subject matter.


112) The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri (2002)
Italian crime fiction (1996)
My second Inspector Montalbano book and I love reading these. Montalbano is far cooler than Ian Rankin's Rebus and I'm savouring every bit of these stories. I came to the books after watching Luca Zingaretti play Montalbano on the tv series so I already know the outcome, but Camilleri's descriptions are not to be missed - he brings the sunsoaked towns of southern Sicily, and Montalbano's craving for good local cuisine to life, not to mention such an interesting assortment of characters with long memories of love and vendetta and I just love it.


113) The Underneath by Kathi Appelt (2008)
children's fiction - Newbery Honour Book
This will be going down as one of my top reads for the year. Good literature rises above its genre and this is a very fine book that does just that. Appelt evokes the most enchanting, soulful setting in the Chaddo area of the bayous on the border of Louisana and Texas. Here an abandoned calico cat finds friendship with an old hunting hound underneath a ramshackle shack and gives birth to two fine kittens. They are safe in the Underneath because in the house lives the meanest man that ever walked, who dreams of catching the king of all alligators. Appelt weaves in a magical, mythical story based on native folklore, and uses the trees to whisper and watch over the inhabitants of the forest as the story works towards the inevitable end. Her use of language is magic in itself.

>176 avatiakh: I hadn't realised you were in New Zealand! Must remember to look at profiles more often...

I got the first chunk of the programme for the Edinburgh Book Festival today and Eleanor Catton (Ellie in the programme) is speaking in the opening weekend - am definitely going to try to go.

I don't work anywhere near the South Bank so had never noticed the book stalls... I've only ever been round that area with the kids, who similarly HATE me spending ages browsing! But next Saturday I will be in London without the family, "helping" at a festival... evil plan hatching....

I've just finished The Ask and the Answer (your book #102 - gosh, you really are tearing through them this year!) and can I just say: wow. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to cope waiting for book 3.

#178 - The Terracotta Dog goes on the list! I love these internationally flavoured crime novels. This adds Italy to the list. I currently have complete sets (as of today's date, and where available in English) of the following series...

Australia: Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood
Britain: Inspector Morse series by Colin Dexter
Iceland: Erlendur Sveinsson series by Arnaldur Indridason
Russia: Erast Fandorin series by Boris Akunin
Sweeden: Millennium series by Stieg Larsson
Thailand: Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep series by John Burdett
USA: Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke

#179 Our book publishing and chain bookstores are starting a trend of moving or amalgamating their head office to Australia, which puts our local writers at risk of less consideration in getting published or New Zealand books into the busiest stores.
I'm so jealous, I'd love to attend the Edinburgh Book Festival one year - last year I put together a funding application for travel to the UK/Ireland and tried to tie in as many book festivals, conferences, book related organisations to visit for either myself or another from the children's literature trust I worked for, as it organises a national children's literature festival each year. It was amazing how much is on in your part of the world. We didn't get the funding of course!
Still last year I was able to visit Seven Stories in Newcastle and the International Youth Library in Munich as part of my own travels.

#180 I'm really glad you put this list up Peter because you made me remember that I was meant to be tracking down a few books by Batya Gur who did a series of crime fiction set in Israel (my husband is from Tel Aviv). I haven't really picked up on this trend of crime by the country and will now be exploring it further. I have loved Ian Rankin's Rebus series - I just love how he brings the seedy side of Edinburgh and all the pubs to life. I'll be reading Akunin's The Winter Queen as soon as I've dispatched The Secret Speech back to the library. BTW The Shape of Water is the first Montalbano book.

edit: touchstone

>181 avatiakh: that is really bad news. There are some really outstanding writers out there (reminds me that I really meant to read more NZ lit this year... stretch my comfort zone beyond Maurice Gee!!!).

I'm v excited about going to Edinburgh. I get free tickets for the events through work, so it's just the travel, acommodation & sustenance to cover. I was organised enough to get cheap train tickets (although we may now have to change them as an event my son really really wants to go to is starting before our train gets in... argh. Dangers of booking before the programme is available!!), and we're staying in my husband's cousin's student flat - so it really will be a holiday on the cheap!

Let me know if I can be your "envoy" in any way! The programme is officially released tomorrow.

It must be fantastic to work for a children's literature trust - by which I mean, fill you with a sense of something worth doing (I suspect that working for arts organisations is never an entirely enjoyable experience...)

#178 I was so glad to read your positive review of The Underneath since I just picked it up from the bookstore because it looked good. I'm gonna have to bump it up!

#178: Kerry, I am with the others in adding The Underneath to the Planet. Thanks for your review and recommendation!

114) Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot (2007)
This was suggested to me by petermc as a possible followup to Lewis Carroll in Numberland: His fantastical Mathematical Logical Life which I read a few weeks ago. I'm so glad that he recommended this to me as it has been an absolute joy to read. A graphic novel of ambitious breadth and scope that chronicles the ties of the Sunderland region to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass it is also a full and entertaining story of the history and heritage of the region. Stunning.


115) Kiwi Companeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War edited by Mark Derby (2009)
A very interesting look at New Zealand's role in the Spanish Civil War. This is the first book that not only gathers the stories of the individuals who went to Spain, both combatants and noncombatants but also covers local politics of the event; from fundraising by the New Zealand communists & trade unions to New Zealand's Labour Government's political stance which had to tread between supporting the right to democracy in Spain without upsetting the Conservative British government's non-interference policy (New Zealand as part of the British Commonwealth followed British policy in those times).
I'm always keen to read about the Civil War and my followup to this will be Greville Texidor's fiction based on her time as a militia woman. Texdor was English born, but came to New Zealand in 1940 for eight years where all her work was written and published.

#180 petermc - Robert Wilson is another crime writer that I read from time to time. Though his murders are rather brutal, I do like how he links back to historical events. A Small death in Lisbon is about Nazi activities in Portugal, otherwise he's written a few set in Seville with the detective Javier Falcon.

#182 FlossieT - It is the sheer size and scope of the Edinburgh Festival that makes it a 'mustgo'. I hope you have a great time, and you are so lucky to have your accommodation sorted. Please tell us all about it, the programme looks stunning - who are you planning to see?
I've really enjoyed my time working for the Trust, but the unsuccessful funding applications wore me down, it's disheartening to see so much funding going to sports and so little to literature - anyway I gave up work earlier this year and am enjoying some free time. I still help as a volunteer with publications by writing reviews and articles.

#183 & 184: The Underneath won't disappoint.

edit: touchstones

#185 - I was looking at the collected works of Robert Capa the other day, and of course his iconic 1936 photograph, "Fallen Soldier", when I realized that of all the 20th century conflicts I knew least about, the Spanish Civil War was it! So, just a few days ago I picked up Antony Beevor's The Battle for Spain. Your review of "Kiwi Companeros" is most timely. Does the book make any mention of Australia or Australian involvement?

#186 - Thanks for another excellent suggestion, in Robert Wilson. However, whereas Camilleri's books were quite easy for me to source locally, this one is proving a little harder.

Actually, I just expanded my 'world mysteries' collection, with a couple of novels from France, by Fred Vargas, staring Commissaire Adamsberg. As usual with most translations, they were released out of order, so it was easy for me to pick up the books which were released first, but are actually books 6 & 7 in the series.

As for The Shape of Water, I'll finish it today and I've been really enjoying it - enough to pick up the next five novels in the series

#187 I'll be following up on some of your detective suggestions Arnaldur Indridason & Fred Vargas in particular though I have a lot of crime lined up to read currently.

I have Battle for Spain, though I haven't read it yet, I have read Ghosts of Spain which looks at current Spain and the legacy of the Civil War. I did most of my reading on Spain many years ago. 'Kiwi Companeros' has a little bit about Australia mostly as comparison with the NZ effort. The few Australians mentioned either settled in NZ after the conflict or toured NZ to increase awareness in the conflict. A bit of googling led me to Australians in the Spanish Civil War and Letters from Spain. There aren't many official records kept on Civil War participants in New Zealand, the researchers got a lot of their info from archives in Spain and Russia. They weren't eligible for military pensions or welcomed to the RSA. Fascinating.
There is a LT Spanish Civil War group with book recommendations on their threads, one fiction title I'm following up on is CJ Sansom's Winter in Madrid as I really liked his Sovereign.

#187 cont: Just remembered that I have put Defence of Madrid : an eyewitness account from the Spanish Civil War by Geoffrey Cox, a New Zealand journalist on request at the library.

#181 From a local author's point of view, the consolidation of publishers and bookshops is a real worry - mind you, it started well before the current recession. I'm particularly sad to see Dymocks Wellington close down - it was an excellent bookshop.

#190 Hi Tim - Thanks for visiting my thread. We are also losing the flagship Dymocks in Auckland's Queen St which is a shame as they had a great range of books.


116) The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith (2009)
Sequel to Child 44 which I had enjoyed inspite of the unconvincing ending. What I enjoy most with these novels is the setting -1950s Russia with unrelenting snow, sinister agendas and an appealing protagonist. There are still flaws but overall a satisfying read and I'll continue to read the series.


117) Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes (1857)
classic fiction, 999 Challenge
Only for those who enjoy reading the classics as the language is fairly stuffy. We follow the growth of young Tom from boyhood to man and his life at Rugby School in the mid 19th century. Tom gets up to lots of escapades with his friends but also through careful intervention by the head matures into a thoughtful young Christian gentleman. He also turns into a mighty fine cricketer. Based on the writer's own experiences at the school. This is one of the first school stories published, and many more have come after. I went to boarding school for 4 years so have always been interested in reading these books. My favourite would be The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson which is set in 1880s Melbourne.


118) The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri
These books are very addictive and after thoroughly enjoying reading how Inspector Montalbano avoids promotion again I really must leave them alone for a couple of weeks and start looking for a Sicilian cookbook.

#191 It's a shame Tom Brown's School Days wasn't better. I always meant to read it as I enjoyed Flashman so much.

#188/189 - Thank you for your reply vis-a-vis "Kiwi Companeros". I really appreciate it.

#191 - I really liked Tom Brown's Schooldays when I read it many years ago, and subsequently made a pilgramage to Rugby while I was in England. If you haven't seen the Ripping Yarns parady, "Tomkinson's Schooldays" by Michael Palin and Terry Jones, then run to your nearest video store! Or, WATCH IT at youtube.

For anyone who's interested, the book The Getting of Wisdom is available at gutenberg.org in a variety of formats including ipod audio.

As for Andrea Camilleri, I'm currently 8 chapters into The Terracotta Dog, and look forward to reading The Snack Thief soon.

P.S. An interesting website on European Crime fiction, is Euro Crime. Worth checking out. I've already picked out several books to try from browsing the reviews there.

I am heading over to the Euro Crime website (to get into all kinds of trouble, I am sure!). Thanks for he mention, Peter.

#191. Book 116 The Secret Speech, I read Child 44 this year and really enjoyed it. Will be putting The Secret Speech onto the TBR mountain.

#192 I enjoyed Tom Browns Schooldays but the language and style of narration are definitely old fashioned. Mischievious Tom gets up to lots of adventures in the countryside around the school with his friends, and the book depicts school life in those years wonderfully; fights, prep, fagging, bullying, pranks, friendship, mentoring. I was especially delighted with the love of the natural world that shines through the story. Hughes captures the growing maturity of Tom especially well, how he develops a strong set of values and deepens his Christian faith. The headmaster is always in the background, but his influence and reforms slowly turn the school into a safer environment. It is sometimes thought of as an older children's classic but the language could prove to be a barrier to today's youth. Flashman is a very nasty bully.

#193/194 I'm also off to Euro Crime. I'm pretty sure we have a Ripping Yarns dvd, I bought it for my son's birthday a couple of years ago, I'll have to have a look for it.

119) Friday or The Other Island by Michael Tournier (1967)
translated from French
I didn't realise there was a Robinsonade genre (thankyou wikipedia) as there have been so many books inspired from the original Robinson Crusoe which was published back in 1719. Apparently it is very popular in science fiction (think TV's Lost in Space). Back to my book, I came across it while browsing in a used bookstore and the blurb intrigued me. Robinson Crusoe is one of my memorable childhood reads, I still have the copy which had belonged to my great grandfather and I remember being captivated by this survival adventure, and it probably started my love of reading the classics.
This version is excellent, focusing on modern philosophical ideas and Robinson's continually changing interpretation of being civilised and how he should live his life in reference to the natural world around him. Friday, of course, puts all Robinson's beliefs to the test. There were times when I wanted to kick Robinson for being such a racist, puritanical, obstinate b***d. The ending is delightful.

How cool that you have your great-grandfather's copy of Robinson Crusoe!

The Tournier book looks good. I will see if I can find it. I liked Robinson Crusoe a lot as a kid, too.

>190 timjones: Dymocks has closed?? Noooooooooooooooo... that's like an important piece of my childhood gone. Next you'll be telling me Marsden Books in Karori has packed up.... (please don't).

completely unrelated to this thread (sorry - but I do read this thread to see what you have been reading!) but Dymocks on Queen St Auckland is having it's closing down sale. I think it's only got a week left... After Whitcoulls bought out Borders Dymocks was my shining hope. I grew up in a town that only had Whitcoulls (Tauranga) which mainly sold cards and stationary and then to go to uni in Auckland and discovering other bookshops... not to mention the libraries... I was in heaven...

oh my! I should simply copy your thread and paste it into my tbr pile.

For now, I'm adding books 92,93,94 and 113.

Interestingly I just returned from a foray at Barnes and Noble and saw the bookTh1rteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I almost purchased it. Now, you have given me a great reason to visit the store again tomorrow.

Your library contains a lot of YA, and this has become one of my favorite genres.

I'll be sure to visit your thread more often.

Linda

#199,200: Sad about Dymocks. I went to the closing down sale about 10 days ago when books were reduced by 40% and the selection was pretty good. I'm thinking about buying a membership at Auckland Libraries, I'm with Manukau Libraries and they just don't have such a good selection, though they do purchase many of my suggestions.

#201 Linda - a couple of those books are New Zealand publications so might be hard to come across. Definitely try The Underneath & Thirteen reasons why. I'll try to think of a couple of North American equivalents for the 2 NZ books and post again.

I'm absolutely freezing, it's winter here and I'm using my husband's computer as my laptop is being repaired, his study must be the coldest room in the house today!

Kerry
It is raining AGAIN here. I'm ready to build an arc.
It has been the rainiest spring/summer I can remember.

Just catching up on your thread - wow you're getting through some good books! I missed the Wellington Dymocks closing down sale, which was probably a good thing for my wallet. Am adding the book about the NZers who went to the Spanish civil War to my wishlist.

#199 Rachael, don't worry, Marsden Books is still there (but doesn't open on Sundays - fair enough but it means I seldom buy anything there!)

It's freezing here too...

Oooo... Weather reports! I love these ;)

It's pouring in Tokyo too! It's summer, but from the beginning of June to mid July we have, what they call in Japanese, the Tsuyu. With temperatures in the high 20s, and more rain expected, it will be mushi-atsui over the next week. My laptop is in our tatami room, with shoji opening onto the garden; and from where I sit, it's warm and cozy. I'm enjoying watching the rain form puddles in the garden. A happy and lazy Sunday to all... :)

Glossary
Tsuyu - Rainy Season
Mushi-Atsui - Hot and humid
Tatami - Traditional Japanses straw matting
Shoji - Paper screen doors

Update (because I know you want one): A still and humid evening, just as we expected! Talking to my folks on the Gold Coast in Australia this eveing, it's pouring with rain there too! Rain everywhere...

Peter, are you trying to make me jealous - "temperatures in the high 20s"

I would like the temperature to hit two digits.

Finally got my laptop back after a week in the repairshop so can finally post some of my reading.


120) Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (1995)
fiction
Another 999 challenge book that has been on my tbr pile for a very long time. I really liked the plot construction with this novel, adding the past as a footnote story to each chapter. The book follows the fortunes of Ruby Lennox and her family's story from the end of the 19th century to the 1990s. Each chapter tells of a memorable event in Ruby's life followed with a story from the past that sheds light on the older members of her family.

121) The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (2008)
children's fiction
Another 999 challenge book and I really enjoyed this by one of my favourite children's authors. An attractive story set just as WW2 is about to start. Young Tally wins a scholarship to a progressive boarding school in the country. At first the school's philosophy is almost too different, but Tally soon fits in and begins to love the freedom and friendship it offers. Tally supports the idea of a schooltrip to the central European kingdom of Bergania for a folkdancing festival as she has been captivated by a travelogue feature on Bergania at the local cinema. The King seems so brave standing up to the Nazis and the prince looks interesting too, hiding under his heavily plumed hat.
Ibbotson came to England from Austria when she was a child to escape the threat of Hitler, and she attended a progressive boarding school. These experiences give this delightful fun story lots of insights into a truly free educational experience and also the politics at play at the time. Spanish children - now orphaned refugees of the Civil War are mentioned compassionately. The earnest King who wants to stand up to Hitler, but is a ruler of such a small kingdom, and the issue of monarchy versus a democratic state. The titled refugees from Eastern Europe and Russia that came to London in these times hoping to return but by the war's end the times had moved on from them.


122) Mindscan by Robert Sawyer (2005)
scifi
Another intelligent scifi novel by Sawyer. Set in the near future where it's now possible to have your consciousness copied into a new android you. This opportunity has just started to be marketed and older rich individuals are signing up. For younger Jake Sullivan it's also a godsend as he suffers from a syndrome that could see him die at any time. The old biological bodies are sent to the far side of the moon to live in retirement while the 'new' improved android version gets to continue your life on earth. Complications set in when Jake's new android friend Karen finds out that her son is suing her for loss of his inheritance and then Jake's old biological self is taking hostages up on the moon demanding to be reinstated to Earth. The legal issues of when, how, what it is to be a human being is fought out in the courts. Very smart, interesting and Sawyer adds in the extra dimension of a liberal Canada versus a conservative USA.


123) The Luxe by Anna Godbersen (2007)
teen romance
OK with a cover like this, I just had to read it eventually. This is the first in a series. Set in 1899 New York society, this is a very readable escapist romance with predictable outcome - glamour, loose morals, money, betrayal etc etc. Overall I felt the characters were too modern for the time but I can see this being popular with teen girls.

124) The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin (2003)
Russian fiction (1998)
First in the Erast Fandorin detective series set in 1870's Russia. Very enjoyable following the escapades of young Fandorin as he blunders his way to foiling an international conspiracy. I'll be reading the rest in the series.


125) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F Scott Fitzgerald (1921)
short story
Very weird premise in this tall tale. I saw the movie a few months ago, so wanted to see what it had been based on.


126) Fugitive by Philip Margolin (2009)
crime fiction
I discovered Philip Margolin a few years ago when I read and really liked his thriller Sleeping Beauty. His latest offering is ok but the twist wasn't quite there for me.

Have I have to ask how The Curious Case of Benjamin Button compares to the movie? I heard its different but I am not sure how...

127) Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2008)
The Missing: Bk 1
children's fiction
A new time travel series for children. This first book sets the background for the series which will probably be popular with children, though I wasn't so captivated. In the prologue an unidentified plane suddenly appears at airport gate 2B, onboard are 36 babies, once offloaded the plane disappears. Switch to 13 years later and 13yr old Jonah who knows he's adopted suddenly starts receiving mysterious letters. Then his friend Chip discovers he's adopted and gets the letters as well. The FBI are involved along with adults from the future and children from the past. A little confusing but I think the second book Sent should be exciting.


128) Guardian by Julius Lester (2009)
teen fiction
Julius Lester writes a powerful haunting novel about a public lynching in 1946 from the perspective of Ansel, a 14 year old white boy. Included are author's notes on why he chose to write on this subject and from a white boy's point of view.
'Mind your own damn business, nig...,' and he stops. Willie knows what Ansel was going to call him. He is hurt. He knew better than to let himself start to trust. Neither boy is old enough to understand that Ansel's stopping himself from uttering the word is more important than the fact that he almost said it.


129) The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton (2008)
New Zealand fiction
Debut novel for 23 yr old Catton and very impressive. I heard her speak and read from her book at an event at the recent Auckland Writers and Readers Festival and I was very keen to read it. Performance and seduction interplay with almost malicious intent throughout. Everything about the novel is immaculate, the writing sets a tempo - the schoolgirl chapters follow days of the week, and the theatre school chapters follow months of the year both culminating in a fascinating finale of performance. As a reader you feel that you are the audience for the characters. A schoolgirl has been seduced by the school music teacher, rather than feeling sorry for the girl, her classmates wonder why he chose her and not them. Did he seduce her, or did she seduce him? What made him pick her? A school leaver auditions for theatre school and we follow his progress through his first year of acting. A lonely teacher of the saxophone observes her students as they prepare for their end of year recital.
A quote from pg2 that I just love -
'I require of all my students,' the saxophone teacher continues, 'that they are downy and pubescent, pimpled with sullen mistrust, and boiling away with private fury and ardour and uncertainty and gloom. I require that they wait in the corridor for ten minutes at least before each lesson, tenderly nursing their injustices, picking miserably at their own unworthiness as one might finger a scab or caress a scar. If I am to teach your daughter, you darling hopeless and inadequate mother, she must be moody and bewildered and awkward and disatisfied and wrong. When she realises that her body is a secret, a dark and yawning secret of which she becomes more and more ashamed, come back to me. You must understand me on this point. I cannot teach children.'

#210 clfisha - the movie is very different from the short story. In the movie Benjamin is disowned by his father when he's born and his mother dies in childbirth - his father abandons him outside an old folks' home. In the story he grows up in his family home with his father trying to get him to be more childlike. I think they took just the idea and wrote a whole script from that.

Thanks. I might give the book ago since its different.

It is only a short story so doesn't take long to read.

Wow, you have been busy reading lately!! The Rehearsal looks interesting, and the cover of The Luxe just might be enough to get me to read it too!

Some great reading lately, Kerry!

I will be reading Robert Sawyer's Flashforward in the next couple of weeks. Have you read that one by him?

The Rehearsal looks interesting. Always on the look out for interesting NZ authors. Thanks.

Yes, I LOVED that passage too. The pages just spark with energy and wit and advanced perceptions. I haven't got far yet so hope the rest is the same.
I figure anyone from 17 yrs up would enjoy it - if there's a younger audience I'd be interested to know.

I saw a movie trailer the other day for a Bruce Willis movie which looked a little like the story in the Sawyer book.....androids living out the lives of their human owners.

>211 avatiakh: have now got a copy of The Rehearsal from work and it's in my to-read-very-soon pile - great to hear that it is as good as the reviews suggest! Have requested tickets for Eleanor Catton at Edinburgh in August too - fingers crossed.

edit for touchstone

130) Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar (2007)
558pgs
Another 999 challenge book.
This was a thoroughly entertaining read, I didn't want the book to end. For the first few pages I was a bit apprehensive as I thought it might be too silly but a couple more pages and I was hooked into the hilarity that only a dysfunctional werewolf clan like this could produce. Kalix is a young teen werewolf, living on the streets of London, addicted to laudanum, depressed and outlawed from her clan after a brutal fight which severely injured her father, the Thane of the MacRinnalch clan and Master of Werewolves. Hunted down and almost on death's door, she is rescued by two students and the rest of the story is a marvelous interplay between humans, werewolves and the irrepressible Fire Queen and her almost-niece Vex.
My only quibble is the numerous proofing errors through the book.

#215,217,218,220 - Cait86, dianestm, northshorebookchat, FlossieT: The Rehearsal is a joy to read. I'm continuing my NZ journey with Misconduct by Bridget van der Zijpp, another first time writer who was on the same session at the Writer's Festival. Both books are currently Montana Book Awards nominees. The session was chaired by Bill Manhire and also included Anna Taylor - all three women were students of Manhire in the Creative Writing MA at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University. Alison Wong's 'As the earth turns silver' had heaps of good reviews this weekend, another graduate of the same MA programme and I have requested a copy of this as well. So many good writers coming out of this Institute or is it something in the water down there?

#216 alcottacre: I haven't read Flashforward, my library doesn't have many of Sawyer's books and they aren't available in any bookstores. I have my eye on Rollback but there are quite a few other scifi writers I've been intending to read and I should get back to Iain M Banks' Culture books as I was impressed with his The Player of Games.

#219 blackdogbooks - Thanks, I watched the trailer for Surrogates - it looks interesting, scary and lonely. Welcome to the future!

Hello,
I was skulking and lurking around and came across some of your comments and wanted to ask you about them. Hope it's okay that I stalked you 'til I found ya.
Anyhoo----you were talking with (I think) BrainFlakes and saraslibrary about Andy Griffiths books and two series came up for juvenile boys. The Psycho Butt series and The Just series. So....my question is....what age boy would these be appropriate for or enjoyable for? I'm looking for series books for my eleven year old grandson who just finished the Harry Potter books and seems to be at a loss as to what to read next. Would these be too juvenile for him?
What do you think?
Thank you for your input.
belva

Hi belva
I'm truly a total fan of the 'Just' series and have been to a few Andy Griffiths events in the past with my children. They are especially excellent for reluctant readers.
Your grandson would enjoy the "Just" series, it's just totally zany, but it would not be taxing his brain cells. I wouldn't personally recommend the 'Psycho Butt' books, here they are the 'Psycho Bums' books and I just don't really go for stories about runaway butts, haven't read them even though my kids did. I know that they would be ok for his age range as they are more demanding reads than the Just series. Andy's website is worth a visit: http://www.andygriffiths.com.au/
Series that I'd recommend are the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer, Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy, Philip Reeve's Hungry City Chronicles or Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak vampire series, also Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest series. Here's a link to my colleague Wayne's booklist for boys which gets updated each year.
LT member richiespicks does excellent reviews of children's and teen books, he has a website as well though it seems to be down at present.
Hope this is helpful
kerry

131) Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy (2005)
YA fiction - audiobook
A disturbing story that draws you in. A child has been murdered by her 11 yr old friend, Jennifer Jones. Now six years later on JJ's release, unscrupulous media want the story, she just wants a normal life. Skipping between past and present the reader slowly finds out the why and how about JJ and her actions as the media slowly closes in. Recommended.

Thank you so very much for all the time and effort you put into your response to my request. I've got my list all ready for our next trip to town. I truly appreciate your help.
Sincerely,
belva

#224, looks like an intriguing book. Added to the TBR mountain. Cheers

#224 Looking for JJ sounds very disturbing, but worth a read. I wonder if you've read Boy A (can't find the touchstone, but hopefully have linked to the relevant page)? I was given it as an ARC a while ago and it really stuck in my mind. Although it's not a YA book, it begins with the same pretext - although it deal's more with "Boy A's" attempts to reinvent himself and the effects of living a lie.

#221 I like the sound of Lonely Werewolf Girl too - I very much enjoyed The Good Fairies of New York...

Edited to correct "Boy A" link (I missed a speech mark) - hope it works now!

#227 flissp - something went wrong with your linking and I'd love to know the book you were about to mention.
I have The Good Fairies of New York and will eventually get to it. Lonely Werewolf Girl was a lucky find for me at Borders earlier this year when I was looking for a different type of werewolf book - there seem to be lots of romantic angst books around the werewolf/vampire genre and now there is a mass of teen ones as well.

132 The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson (2004)
children's fiction
I had to pick up another Ibbotson book after enjoying The Dragonfly Pool. This was another excellent book, though definitely a children's book, with an intricate plot revolving around Annika,a 12yr old in 1910 Vienna. Found abandoned as a baby in a mountain church with just a note, Annika was brought home by Ellie and Sigrid, the cook and housekeeper for three professors and has a happy childhood. She dreams of her unknown mother turning up, a grand lady coming in and saying "Where's my daughter" and when it actually happens the plot begins to thicken. The majestic horses of the Spanish Riding School also get a star turn.
I'll now move on to Ibbotson's adult novels which have recently been republished for the teen market.

I found this fab clip for Fourth Estate publisher's 25th anniversary: http://vimeo.com/2295261

Hello. I'm trying to catch up on threads. Congratulations on reading 132 books thus far. That is an incredible feat! Looking for JJ sounds very interesting.

I had already put Lonely Werewolf Girl on Planet TBR, and now Looking for JJ is there as well, keeping it company. Thanks for the recommendations!

#228 I've gone back and hopefully corrected the LT link for "Boy A" in #227 - hope it works now, if not, here's the Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boy-Jonathan-Trigell/dp/1846686628/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&am...

...yep, think the romantic angst books probably partly stem from the Twilight thing!

Eva Ibbotson - I keep seeing her name mentioned and have been struggling to remember where from - I've just worked it out, she wrote a book called Which Witch? that I loved when I was small... Now I wonder what I've done with it...

ps, love the 4th estate animation!

#232 I'll try to find that book it looks interesting, my library only has one book by the author.
I've read most of Ibbotson's magic books like Which witch? and am now enjoying her romances which make lovely light reading between heavier reads.

I've started a new thread as this one is a bit long and takes time to load with all the images.

Find me here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/68536