bedda's books in 2009

I’ve never kept track of my reading so I really have no idea how many books I read in a year. I thought it was about time to find out. So this year I am going to list them here and see what happens. Since I just started today I have nothing to list yet so I have to run off and read something so I can come back soon with something to report.

I was going to wait and post several books at a time but my list looks pretty sad with nothing on it so I gave up that idea. I'm working on others but have finished one so far.

1. Hal Spacejock by Simon Haynes
It’s silly and goofy without becoming unbearably stupid. I liked it and will probably read the others in the series.

Hi and welcome to the 50 book challenge, bedda! I'm fairly new here myself. Given your first book, you might enjoy Bimbos of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool, both by Sharyn McCrumb. Look forward to seeing you around.

Thanks, theaelizabet! They do look like something I'd be interested in. I'll have to check them out.

2. The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French

3. The Virgin in the Ice by Ellis Peters

4. MythIon Improbable by Robert Asprin
Also silly and goofy and might even slip into the stupid at times but for reasons I find hard to define I like the Myth books anyway.

Church was canceled due to snow so I stayed home and read instead.

5. Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier
Improbable but suspenseful and a little mysterious. It kept me interested and wondering how it would all turn out.

I wish I would get snow so that I could stay home and read..

Good luck on your challenge you are doing great...

You're welcome to have some of our snow and the freezing temperatures too!

6. Monster Nation by David Wellington
Gory, but zombies should be, right? Interesting premise to explain the zombies.

7. Ramses: The Lady of Abu Simbel by Christian Jacq

We have the freezing temperatures just no snow. I just want to see some snow with the freezing temperatures. You are doing great on your challenge.

You really are doing great! I'm thinking you'll be joing the 75 book group before the end of the year!

I spent my weekend finishing all the books I had started.

8. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

9. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

10. Fall of the House of Usher and other tales by Edgar Allan Poe
I somehow have never gotten around to reading much Poe and thought now was as good a time as any. It seemed like it took me forever to finish this book. I guess I’m not as big a Poe fan as I thought I would be.

11. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

12. The Land of Terror by Kenneth Robeson

13. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

14. The Swiss family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Did these people shoot everything in sight or what? And it was a good thing that the father knew everything about everything too.

That's funny! I have been wanting to read that book for a while.
--BJ

Hey bedda! Just saw your thread pop up again and wanted to stop by to say it looks as though you're having a wonderful reading year!

billiejean – it is definitely worth a look. I liked it overall even though the father tends to be preachy and longwinded. Most of what they shoot is for food so it isn’t so bad but there were a few times when they seemed rather bloodthirsty.

Thanks theaelizabet, hopefully it will last. Right now reading is basically all I’m doing but I tend to get distracted by other things and have reading droughts. I think being able to see how fast (or slow) I’m reading will help keep me on track.

15. Escape by Rye James

16. Persuasion by Jane Austen

17. The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont

18. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

19. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb

20. Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen
Very interesting stuff.

21. Kahawa by Donald Westlake
Not my favorite Westlake book. I almost lost interest in the middle but I think Westlake pulled it out in the end.

22. A Kingdom in a Horse by Maia Wojciechowska
It was good but I kept thinking that it wasn't as good as Shadow of a Bull by the same author so I think I might have been a little unfair to this book.

23. Already Dead by Charlie Huston
This had to grow on me. When I first started reading it I didn't think I was going to like it.

24. Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
More zombies. I can't exactly put my finger on what it was about this book but I had to force myself to put it down to get some sleep.

25. Tanar of Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs

26. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
This was recommended to me and I always worry about what I will say if I don't like books that are recommended to me. But I don't have to worry about that with this one. It was very good.

27. Quicker Than the Eye by Ray Bradbury
Like every book of short stories, it had its ups and downs.

28. The Alien Factor by Stan Lee
I was worried in the beginning that this was going to be bad but, although not spectacular, it was good.

29. The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont by Robert Barr

You are really zooming along at top speed! Great job!
--BJ

Thanks, billiejean. I'm finding it fun to see the list grow. I just have to make sure I'm not tempted to read all kids books just so I can read faster!

30. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

yo yo yo homa g

31. Full Meridian of Glory: Perilous Adventures in the Competition to Measure the Earth by Paul Murdin
ER book, I'll have to write a review but I'm not sure yet what I'm going to say

32. Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

33. Dead Man's Mirror by Agatha Christie

34. A Lever Long Enough by Amy Deardon

35. Skinned by Robin Wasserman

36. Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor

37. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

38. Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

39. Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home by Harry Kemelman

40. The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntyre

What did you think of the Kemelman book? Seems like I have heard of these books before, but I haven't read one yet. Have a great day!
--BJ

I listened to most if not all of Kemelman's Rabbi series. I really enjoyed them. I have known very few Jews in my life. Consequently, in addition to enjoying the story of the books, I also enjoyed having a glimpse into another world of which I knew next to nothing.

Thanks, lbradf! I was thinking that they were pretty good books.
--BJ

I liked Kemelman’s book too. I liked Rabbi Small. There were a lot of Jewish terms I was unfamiliar with but that actually made it more interesting. This is the first Rabbi Small book I’ve read but judging by this one I think I might read some more.

41. Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

42. Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

43. Alan Quatermain's Wife by H. Rider Haggard

What did you think of Third Policeman?
--BJ

I’m still not sure what I thought of The Third Policeman. It was interesting, but a lot of it was wondering what was going on and if it was ever going to make sense. It does to a degree by the end. It’s not for everyone I don’t think. It is certainly not a linear, straight forward, follow a well defined plot sort of a book. It’s hard to define. It was unusual, surreal and sometimes weird. I’m glad I read it because it was different but I’m pretty sure I missed something here, some subtle point, or deeper meaning that the author had in mind behind the absurd that I just didn’t get.

Sounds kind of interesting! I will check it out sometime. Thanks for your review!
--BJ

44. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Girl meets good vampire story. Not a unique concept but I liked it. Some of the characters are very interesting.

45. Eyes Wide Open by Jud Wilhite

46. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

47. Guide to Pirate Parenting by Tim Bete
A silly, goofy, very quick read.

48. Crimes of Paris by Dorothy Hoobler
I found this book fascinating.

49. Tarzan at the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs

50. I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle
I found this surprisingly funny.

51. City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

52. Adventurers for God by Clarence W. Hall
Published back in the '50s so these are older accounts but there are some very interesting stories here.

53. Lost and Found by Carol Parkhurst

54. The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Scary, evil vampires. Just the way I like them.

55. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Not exactly a whole lot of plot here but it is very funny.

56. Seth Bullock by David A. Wolff

57. Savvy by Ingrid Law

58. Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey
The Cinderella story but original in some ways too.

59. Krono by Charles L. Harness

60. Darkness by John Saul
I didn't find this scary, or really even spooky. Maybe it's just me.

61. Saga of Beowulf by R. Scot Johns
Okay, I finally finished. It only took me a month. I liked the book but it was slow going for me. A lot of action and a lot of people to keep track of.

62. Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

63. Humpty Dumpty: An Oval by Damon Knight

64. Maze in the Heart of the Castle by Dorothy Gilman

65. The Lab by Jack Heath

66. The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong
It stopped in the middle of the story! I'll have to read the next one. I need to know what happens.

67. Who Can Save Us Now? edited by Owen King and John McNally

68. Milk Eggs Vodka by Bill Keaggy
Interesting but I think I liked the fun food facts better than I did the grocery lists.

68. Next by Michael Crichton

69. Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini

70. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

71. Captain Freedom by G. Xavier Robillard

72. undiscovered gyrl by Allison Burnett

73. Case of the Empty Tin by Erle Stanley Gardner

74. Well Between the Worlds by Sam Llewellyn

75. Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay

76. Tarzan the Invincible by Edgar Rice Burroughs

77. She by H. Rider Haggard

78. The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul

79. Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
Interesting but I can't say I enjoyed it.

80. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

81. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Funnier than I thought it was going to be. Now I want to read the rest of them.

82. Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian

83. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

84. The Shack by William P. Young

What did you think of The Shack? My husband and some others have recommended it to me, but I have yet to read it.

The Shack was interesting. I think Young raises some interesting points and explains some things well but there were a couple of times when some of the ideas struck me as just strange (yes, stranger than meeting God in a shack). It will make you think so I think it's worth reading but at the beginning I was a little bored with the story (it did pick up though) and the dialog sometimes sounded staged, they just didn't talk like anyone I've ever met would talk. It's a quick read and though I had no interest in reading it when I first heard about it and I don't know that it has changed my life I'm glad I gave it a shot.

85. Free For All by Don Borchert

86. Arsenic Soup for Lovers by Georgia Z Post
Some of them were kind of amusing but some of them were just odd. Nothing very exciting.

87. Violet Wings by Victoria Hanley

88. The Terror by Dan Simmons

89. Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

90. Unquiet Dreams by Mark Del Franco
Second in the series. I really liked it and will be reading the rest.

91. The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood
My friend told me this wasn't my kind of book but I read it anyway. Next time I think I'll listen to her.

92. Assassin by Rye James

93. Pompeii by Robert Harris

94. Do-Over by Robin Hemley

95. Terminal Logic by Jefferson Scott

96. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

97. The Wrath of Alexander the Great by Terry McCarthy

98. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Josilyn Jackson

99. The Giver by Lois Lowry

100. Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper

101. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

102. Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

103. Immortals: The Crossing by Joy Nash

104. Salem's Lot by Stephen King

105. Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips

106. Catching Fire ny Suzanne Collins

107. Questory of Root Karbunkulus by Kamilla Reid

108. The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

Just managed to fit two more in at the very last second.

109. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene

110. The Music of Reason by Theoni Pappas

Wow! You more than doubled the challenge!