Shinyone's 50 for 2009

1. Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac

2. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Excellent book set in a alternative 1962 in which Germany and Japan had won WWII. I found it to be surprising hopeful given it dystopian premise. Hugo winner. Definitely worth a reread.

3. Bellwether by Connie Willis

A fun book about chaos theory, sheep, fads, and the stupidity of corporate America, among other things. Parts of it made me laugh out loud. Another strangely optimistic book that just made me feel good.

I had decided that this year wanted to read BETTER BOOKS instead of more books, and I'm off to a good start!

Hi. I was just randomly checking challenges and saw that you were part of the Pere Goriot book group. I'm a little more than halfway through it and probably need to post something soon. Also, I've yet to read Bellwether, but I have read three other Connie Willis books and loved them all. I hope to read To Say Nothing of the Dog this year. See you over on Group Reads.

#4: Hi! I have been waiting for the conversation to start on Pere Goriot since I just went ahead and read the whole thing!!

To Say Nothing of the Dog is a lot of fun. I have also read her Doomsday Book which is more serious (people dying of the plague...not very funny!) but excellent. Have you read that one?

Hi again! Yes, I read Doomsday Book and loved it. I've also read Passage, which I enjoyed and Lincoln's Dreams, which was okay, but didn't capture me the way the other two did.

I'm probably going to finish Pere Goriot tonight or tomorrow, so I'll probably post something soon. Might as well. See you there soon, I hope.

I have both Passage and Lincoln's Dreams but haven't read them yet.

See you over on the group read. I need to formulate some thoughts on good old Pere Goriot so I can post.

4. Curious, If True by Elizabeth Gaskell

This is a collection of 5 short stories, which were originally published in magazines like Dickens' Household words. The best of them is "Lois the Witch," which takes place in Salem, MA and involves a girl falsely accused of witchcraft.

5. Firefly: The Official Companion Volume Two

My husband and I are huge Firefly fans, and he got me both companion volumes for Christmas. They contain lots of fun little facts, pictures, and thoughts by cast a crew members about the making of the show, plus the complete shooting scripts of every episode.

6. Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer

I usually really enjoy Sawyer's books, but this one fell kind of flat for me.

In honor of the Superbowl, I changed my ticker.

7. The Winds of Marble Arch by Connie Willis

I am loving Connie Willis, though I will admit that this collection of short stories is somewhat uneven. Overall, though, it is an excellent selection of 23 stories that range from the hilarious ("The Soul Selects its Own Society") to the heartbreaking ("Last of the Winnebagos").

I like your ticker. It looks just like mine. Glad to see another football fan. :)
--BJ

Thanks, BJ! I'll cheering for the Cardinals.

8. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

Unfortunately, Dickens died before completing this book. I knew that going in, though, so the lack of a conclusion didn't bother me. The book is still well worth reading. Dickens writes great characters as usual, and the story is intriguing. It is too bad we'll never know how it all would have played out, but I enjoyed the book anyway.

Now I am ready to go pick up Drood by Dan Simmons from the library tomorrow! (Touchstones aren't working for that one.)

Wow, I thought the Cardinals were going to win! As a former big Cowboys fan, I usually root for whoever is playing the Steelers. Anyway, it was a terrific game played well by both teams.
--BJ

>14 shinyone: I think my favorite one by Dickens must be Our Mutual Friend - if you ever have a chance to get to that one, I heartily recommend it!

>BJ, that was a great game! We were a little bit afraid at the very beginning that it would turn into a blow-out. So you are a recovering Cowboys fan? My husband is a big Redskins fan so I am obligated to root against the Cowboys. (-;

>girlunderglass, I LOVE Our Mutual Friend! I read it a couple of years ago after having lots of on-line people tell me how great it was. I had never heard of it. Now I tell people it is my favorite Dickens and I get a blank look. I also really love Bleak House.

Hi, Shinyone,
I lost my love of the Cowboys when Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry after 29 years. I was also an Oilers fan and now I root for the Tennessee Titans (formerly Houston Oilers).
--BJ

9. Drood by Dan Simmons

I just finished this, and I need to digest it for a while before I write my thoughts.

Hi, Shinyone! As a Connie Willis fan, I've been lurking from the beginning. :-) Thanks for the review on her short stories. I'll have to go check them out.

I second bonniebook's thanks for the Willis review. I've eyed The Winds of Marble Arch in the library. It's quite the doorstop, isn't it? I'm sure I'll get to it eventually.

Thanks for stopping by! The Winds of Marble Arch is quite a doorstop, but I got through it quickly, and short stories aren't usually my thing. If you have enjoyed her other books you will enjoy this collection.

I had finally started on My Antonia for the Monthly Author Reads group, and after not making any progress the last couple of nights, today I left it at work!! Now I am not sure what to do this weekend. Should I try to read more of My Antonia online? (I don't really like trying to read books off a computer screen.) Or do I start something totally different, and if so, what?

Decisions, decisions.

I say your unconscious is trying to tell you something, take advantage of your 'loss,' but then My Antonia is by Willa Cather, isn't it, and I've never been a big fan of hers, no matter her reputation. Have fun reading whatever you decide.

Well, while the hubby and I were out and about today I stopped by work to retrieve My Antonia, but haven't read any more so far. We were out all afternoon, and this evening I've been working on our taxes. Good times.

10. My Antonia by Willa Cather

Life has really been interfering with my reading this month. Stupid life!!

Some parting thoughts about Drood and My Antonia:

Drood

I had very high expectations for Drood (still no touchstone – drat!) and I was not at all disappointed. Dan Simmons paints a fascinating picture of Dickensian London and its dark underbelly. The story is about Charles Dickens and his obsession with the mysterious “Drood,” a sinister figure Dickens encounters in the aftermath of a horrific train crash, but the narrator is Dickens’ friend and literary rival Wilkie Collins. We soon realize that Collins is not the most reliable narrator, as he spends most of the book imbibing huge quantities of laudanum when he isn’t smoking opium. Much of the book has a nightmarish quality, and as Dickens and Collins pursue Drood through the crypts and opium dens of London, it is often unclear what is real and what is delusion. And as always with Simmons, the writing is superb.

My Antonia

This book made me really think about my great-grandparents and what life must have been like for them, homesteading in North Dakota. Cather is writing about Nebraska, but I was really reminded of the area my family settled in: the harshness of the landscape, the brutal winters, the isolation. Antonia is Bohemian, and in the book she carves out a life that allows her to hold on to the language and culture of her people. My family is German (Germans from Russia, to be even more specific) and my generation is the first not to grow up speaking German. I finished this book two days before my 96-year-old grandfather died in North Dakota, and I thought about it a lot when I was up there for his funeral. It is strange how sometimes a book comes into your life at just the right time.

> It is strange how sometimes a book comes into your life at just the right time.

And so satisfying! I've come to appreciate so much more how interactive the reading process is. For example, I know that Gilead might have been a very different book for me had I not read it very soon after my sister's death.

11. The Joiner King by Troy Denning

My longish-review: (contains spoilers if you have not read the New Jedi Order books)

Remember when Star Wars was simple? You had your good guys; you had your bad guys. Light and dark. Jedi and Sith. Those good old days are gone.

"Right and wrong, good and evil, light and dark – most of the time, they are illusions that prevent us from perceiving the greater reality. The Jedi have learned to distance themselves from these illusions, to seek the truth beneath the words." - Luke Skywalker in The Joiner King

The Joiner King picks up about 8 years after the New Jedi Order series ended, with the Jedi still trying to work out the implications of their new understanding of the Force. Jacen has been off for several years studying all sorts of different traditions and honing his Force powers in new ways. He, along with Jaina and the other survivors of the mission on which Anakin was killed, are summoned, apparently through the Force, to the Unknown Regions to help a colony of insectoid aliens in a border war with the Chiss. The problem is, the Jedi are being assimilated into the hive mind, and Han, Leia, Luke, and Mara all rush off to try to bring them back.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. There was good action in addition to some more interesting insight into the new philosophical direction the Jedi have taken. It was clear that Luke has his doubts about the new moral relativism of the Jedi order, and I hope that will be developed more fully as the series continues. The part of the book I had the most problem believing was that Jaina and her friends could be so quickly taken in by this insect colony and be so much under its control. They are Jedi, after all. I would expect them to be better able to resist what was essentially mind control. The descriptions of Jaina and Zekk rubbing forearms like giant bugs really creeped me out after a while, and I am hoping that Jaina snaps out of it in the next book! (3 1/2 stars)

12. The Shack by William P. Young.
I read this book to see what all the fuss is about, and I was not impressed. I know lots of people are saying that this book changed their lives, and I don't want to have rotten tomatoes hurled at me, but I really didn't like this book and would not recommend it. The writing is mediocre, for one thing, and for another thing I have some serious issues with the theology in the book which I will not go into here. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

13. Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris

This book was like a breath of fresh air after reading The Shack. Kathleen Norris is one of my favorite religious writers, because she is so entirely down to earth. She writes with honesty about her own struggles with faith, and does not presume to have all the answers.

In Greek, "acedia" means the lack of care. In the 4th century, monastics saw it as one of the "8 bad thoughts." It was later absorbed into the 7 deadly sins as being the same as "sloth," but acedia is not simply laziness. Norris explores the similarities and differences between acedia, which ancient monks saw as a spiritual malady, and depression. In doing so she relates more of her own story: her return to the Christian faith and her exploration of the monastic tradition, her life as a writer, and her marriage and the prolonged illness of her husband. 4.5 stars

14. The Dragon in the Sword by Michael Moorcock

I needed something a bit lighter after my last two books, so I grabbed a random fantasy book off my tottering TBR. This was my first Moorcock, and I enjoyed it despite the fact that it was "the third and final story in the history of John Daker, The Eternal Champion." Usually I am a stickler for reading series in order, but I bought this book second hand on the strength of this blurb from the back cover: "On a dark ship piloted by a blind captain...amid the slave stalls of the Cannibal Ghost Women...through the tunnels of doom and the planes of hope...the Eternal Champion must now confront the heart of evil itself -- a man named Adolf Hitler." Cannibal Ghost Women AND Hitler. I'm in!

Well, it took a long time to get to the Hitler part, but the book was an enjoyable ride. I would like to read more by this author and learn more about the previous adventures of this Eternal Champion guy.

Now I am moving on the The Forsyte Saga.

15. The Man of Property by John Galsworthy

I am counting each of the three books contained in The Forsyte Saga as a separate book, because it's my challenge and I can!! Bwaa ha ha!!!

I was thinking that I had read this book before, many moons ago, and was surprised that I did not find it even the least bit familiar. I consulted my spreadsheet and discovered that I read In Chancery back in 1990. I remember that my mom had the whole series in Scribner paperback, all 9 volumes. For some reason I read only In Chancery. There I go again reading a series out of order, which may explain why I evidently didn't like it well enough to continue with the series.

Now that I am older and wiser (and reading the books in their proper order) I am really enjoying the story and looking forward to reading on, but I am going to take a break from the Forsytes and read The Book Thief next. I've been hearing such wonderful things about it and finally got it from the library yesterday, so it is up next.

Just finished The Book Thief yesterday. I think you'll like it!

I am behind on my reading groups! I haven't even started TFS or Pale Fire yet. Sounds like I will like it though. :)
--BJ

BJ, I am not going to read Pale Fire. The Forsyte Saga has been on my shelf for a few years now, and the group read seemed like a good motivation to finally read it!

16. The Book Thief

Wow. What a great book. Read it, people!! Go read it!

17. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I have read this book every year since 2006. It is the only book I read every year, and I suppose that makes it my favorite book. It is a lovely, romantic comfort read, just the thing for these last few days as I have been suffering from a nasty cold.

That would be a good thread, wouldn't it? What do book is your favorite reread? "...lovely, romantic comfort read..." Gotta go check that out! :-)

I hope that you are feeling better, shinyone!
--BJ

Thanks, BJ! I am feeling better but can't seem to get over my cough.

18. The Unseen Queen by Troy Denning

This is the second book in the Dark Nest Trilogy, and felt like mostly filler to me. Basically, it set the stage for the 3rd book, where hopefully we will get to the good stuff.

19. The Swarm War by Troy Denning

The final book in the Star Wars Dark Nest Trilogy. I read a lot of it while up in the middle of the night coughing the last few nights. It was pretty good. I enjoyed seeing Leia becoming a real Jedi, and Luke showing just how powerful he really is. I am really hoping that Jaina gets back to normal in the next series of books, though. Her character was extremely annoying in this trilogy!

I haven't decided what to read next. Maybe I will continue to the next part of The Forsyte Saga... I am also going on vacation in 2 weeks so I am trying to plan ahead for my vacation reading. I always have a hard time picking books to take on trips.

Time to catch up here:

20. In Chancery by John Galsworthy

21. Opening the Bible by Thomas Merton

And my first abandoned book of 2009:

Twilight!! 200 pages was all I could take. After the second reference to his shirt clinging to his perfectly muscled chest, I decided I was done. I don't like Bella, I find Edward somewhat creepy and stalkerish, and I thought the story was boring and not at all romantic. I already suffered through finishing one book I hated this year, but that one was a lot shorter!

All due respect to all the Twilight lovers out there...I gave it a chance, but it just wasn't for me. Please don't hate me.

Two more days until vacation!!!!

Major reading slump here. I took a couple of books on vacation and couldn't manage past page 10 in either of them. Then I swiped a book from one of the relatives (actually she had a bunch of books that she wanted to get rid of and told us to take what we wanted), Shakespeare by Bill Bryson (touchstone not working, darn it!). Didn't manage to finish it while in California so I brought it home.

I haven't really felt like finishing it, even though I am enjoying it, so the other day to try to get over the slump I picked up Sense and Sensibility for a reread. That one is going better.

Yesterday I went to the library and picked up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and just had to start it last night.

So I am reading 3 books right now, which is not like me!!

Hi, shinyone!
I am going to have to tell my daughter about that zombie book. Zombies totally creep me out. She wanted me to watch that Shaun of the Dead with her and it was not pretty. But since she likes zombies and P&P, I think that she will like that book. Have a great day!
--BJ
By the way, relatives who say take as many books as you want are truly the best! :)

Yay! I finished two of the three I had going, so now I can focus on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

22. Shakespeare by Bill Bryson
This isn't as funny the other Bryson books I have read, but it was quite entertaining. I enjoyed the descriptions of what London was like in Shakespeare's time, and the part at the end of the book on the various theories about who really wrote Shakespeare's plays.

23. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Sometimes you just need to revisit an old favorite. I have now read S&S 5 times, and it is wonderful every time. Last night I celebrated finishing it by watching the lovely Emma Thompson movie adaptation.

I've been seeing that P&P and Zombies book everywhere lately! I'm looking forward to your thoughts about it when you finish.

Re: the Sense and Sensibility movie, that Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet one is great isn't it? It just feels good to watch. I like that one much better than the Kiera Knightley adaptation of P&P.

Thanks for stopping by, spacepotatoes. I think of the Kiera Knightley P&P as the Reader's Digest Abridged version. I actually like a lot of things about it, and it is good when I need a quick fix, but nothing beats the Colin Firth miniseries.

I am now half-way through my 50 books!

24. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I think that the idea of this book was funnier than the book itself. I was actually kind of bored by it by about half-way through, but kept reading just to see if any of the major characters would be killed in nasty ways. So much of it was simply, word for word, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, with the stray sentence changed to include a reference to the zombies that were overrunning the English countryside or the training in the "deadly arts" that the Bennett sisters had received. Every so often zombies attacked. There were a couple of parts that actually did make me laugh out loud, though some of the humor was pretty juvenile. (There are several interesting puns involving the word "balls," for example.) All in all, I'm not sorry I read it, but I will probably stick to the zombie-free original version of P&P in the future. In the interest of full disclosure, P&P is one of my all-time favorite books and I have read it several times.

25. Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea by Nancy Atherton

I had a very stressful week, so I stayed with light reads. The aunt Dimity books are fun little mysteries with engaging characters. I have read four of them now and will eventually read the rest.

Next up: The Graveyard Book

I have heard lots of good things about The Graveyard Book. Hope the stress at work improves. Take care.
--BJ

Hmm....should I find the results of this book quiz disturbing?

You're 1984!

by George Orwell

You have this uncanny feeling that you're always being watched. Thus
life has become a bit of a show as you try to portray yourself as much more reputable
than you actually are. All around you, people seem to accept an unending stream of lies
and propaganda without flinching. Your only hope may be a star-crossed love affair, but
pain seems stonger than love. If you have any older brothers, be very wary of
them.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Edited to add: Well, I have been re-watching the X Files...maybe that explains it!!

Ewwwwwwwww, shinyone, I am disturbed for you.
N/B

I appreciate your concern, N/B. Now I have to go check my house for listening devices.

Chuckle! It did make me go read your profile again, shinyone, to see if there was anything there that would match up with the "real" you! ;-)

26. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I really enjoyed this book and was kind of sad to have it end. I think that if I had read this book as a kid it would have made me want to go live in a graveyard and make friends with all the ghosts! Am I the only one who wants to know what happens to Nobody Owens after the end of this book? I would also like to know more about Silas. After reading this, I feel like I have made some new friends, and I hate to say goodbye to them.

27. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke

A fun collection of short stories. If you liked Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, you will like this book. I read almost all of it in one sitting.

I am doing really well toward my 50, but not so well on diminishing the TBR. It was below 100 for a little while, but I just keep buying more books and I have been readinIg a lot of library books, too. Oh, well, I suppose there are worse things...

That's what I always say. There are lots worse things than that!
--BJ

28. O, Pioneers! by Willa Cather

I think I liked My Antonia better, but this one was good too. It was definitely sadder than My Antonia.

Unfortunately, this was a library book, so not helping the TBR. And I was having a bad day at work so I went to Half Price books over lunch to cheer myself up (amazing what being surrounded by books can do for my mood) and ended up buying two more books. Darn you, dollar rack!!

Well, maybe the shopping-feel good receptors in your brain will stay satisfied for a while. Happy reading!

Half Price Books is my favorite book store. Wish we had one in Tulsa. Have a great day!
--BJ

Maybe I'll finish another book in May, and maybe I won't.

Since it is now officially Summertime, meaning that I no longer have choir practice two nights a week and therefore theoretically have lots more time to read, I have started a couple of biggish books that I have been waiting to read: Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson and Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. I am going to really, really try not to rush through them.

I still need to finish reading part 3 of The Forsyte Saga. I started it the week before last and just couldn't seem to get anywhere with it. Maybe after Quicksilver I will get back to it.

I am still reading The Forsyte Saga, too. But I am on Part 2. I really like the book. I just started reading it at a kind of busy time in my life, so I have not devoted enough time to it. But I do plan to read all three parts. I like that it is officially Summertime. It has a nice ring to it! :) Have a great day!
--BJ

29. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson

I was happy to have a quiet night at home tonight so that I could finally finish this behemoth. Most of the time while I was reading it I was thinking that Cryptonomicon was better, but I found myself reaching the end and wanting to go grab the next volume off the shelf and dive right into it. I think I will be giving this one a solid 4 stars once I am able to put together enough coherent thoughts to review it.

I'm not sure what's up next. Apparently his is one of those books you finish and then think, "Now what?" I had planned to finish The Forsyte Saga next, but now I don't quite feel in the mood for it. Still, it would be nice to get it off my bedside table, where it has been languishing since March.

30. To Let by John Galsworthy

I finally finished The Forstye Saga! To Let was not my favorite part. I was tired of Soames, who is still a jerk. The love story between Jon and Fleur was not as compelling as the stories of the previous generations. Taken as a whole, though, I really enjoyed this trilogy and the way Galsworthy showed the Forstye family dealing with the changing times at the beginning of the 20th century.

31. From a Changeling Star by Jeffrey A. Carver

I very much enjoyed this book, so much so that I probably read it too fast because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen.

32. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

This was a good summer fluff read. I enjoyed the first season of True Blood and wanted to read the books the show was based on. This book was basically seaon one of True Blood, but lighter and less like porn. I want to read more of the series, but it will be a while. I requested the 2nd book from the library but there are 34 people ahead of me.

33. Omega by Jack McDevitt

Another enjoyable read from Jack McDevitt. I like him because he makes you think a little bit but not too much, and I enjoy visiting the planets and alien civilizations (or ruin of civilizations) that he dreams up. 3 1/2 stars

34. Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

I finished this the other night and realized that I should read more historical fiction. It was my first Bernard Cornwell, and I read it because a) it looked so inviting on the "new books" shelf in the library, b) I've been meaning to try Cornwell, and c) I love Shakespeare's Henry V. Shakespeare's King Henry definitely gave a better speech at Agincourt (go figure) but it was interesting to get a more unbiased view of the English and French and to learn a bit of the background leading up to the battle. This book was very violent - not surprising, given the subject matter, but definitely more disembowelment and rape that the average book I read. Still, it is a very entertaining book, and one where without even realizing it, you learn some things.

And now I am re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in preparation for the upcoming movie.

35. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I love, love, love, the Harry Potter books. Saw a preview for the movie yesterday, too, and it looks fantastic. I can't wait!

It was a good 4th of July weekend. We went out of town to visit friends and I was able to finish two books on the trip. I love it when my husband drives and lets me read.

36. Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome

I have wanted to read Three Men in a Boat ever since I read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. It is very funny. For something that was written in the 1890s, the humor has aged quite well. Three Men on the Bummel was not quite as funny but it was good too, and his comments on Germany were very interesting considering the book came out before World War I. He talks a lot about the Germans' love of order, and their unquestioning obedience to anyone in uniform...kind of weird reading that knowing the country's future.

37. Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis

Yes, Connie Willis again. I guess this is her year.

I did that too with Connie Willis. I read To Say Nothing of the Dog and then went on to read several more of her books even though I don't normally read/like SF. Though have to say that they're really not very SF.

No, they aren't very SF. I like SF, though, so that wouldn't be a problem for me. I just love her writing. I finished this book in the car on the way home today, and my husband looked over as I was closing the book. He said, "It must have been pretty good," and I looked down and I had goose-bumps all down my legs and arms. Yep, it was pretty good. And it's not her best book!

I will wait a while before I read Passage.

38. WWW: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer

One of Sawyer's best books, in my opinion. I only wish the next book in the trilogy was coming out sooner!

My review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/6416682/reviews/47419814

39. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

40. Rainbow Valley by Lucy Maud Montgomery

41. A Shortcut Through Time: The Path to the Quantum Computer by George Johnson

42. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

These books are just nice, fluffy fun. I got sick of waiting for the library copy to come in (still 12 people ahead of me as of Thursday!) so I broke down and bought it. I also bought the next one, Club Dead.

The vampire book was a digression from the book I am supposed to be reading, The Mysteries of Udolpho. I slogged through book one of four, 160 pages of a weepy heroine, mediocre poetry, interminable descriptions of scenery, and the most egregious overuse of commas in literary history, and I thought I deserved a reward.

Please, someone, tell me it improves????

Still working on The Mysteries of Udolpho, which did improve. I digressed again yesterday, though, since a book I had been waiting for came in at the library.

43. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

44. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

DONE!!!! That one was a challenge, and I am so glad to be finished with it.

45. Wings of Wrath by C.S. Friedman
(Book 2 of the Magister Trilogy)

More good fantasy from one of my favorite authors. I love that everything isn't black and white. It is sometimes hard to know who the "good guys" are, which keeps things interesting. I look forward to the third installment.

46. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Almost to 50!!

47. My Life in France by Julia Child

I never would have expected to find Julia Child so interesting, but she had a fascinating life. I love that she moved to France in her 30s, unable to speak French, not knowing how to cook, and became "The French Chef." I love how fearless and adventurous she was. I found her story quite inspiring.

48. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Yes, more fluff. The heart wants what it wants.

Done with my 50!! For my last two books I tried to pick from the books that have been on my shelf the longest. I have had both of these for several years.

49. Shadows fo the White Sun

This is a science fiction book I picked up at a garage sale probably almost a decade ago. I wasn't missing all that much by not reading it, as it turns out. It is a surprisingly convoluted story for being a relatively short book, and it didn't do much for me. Not a keeper.

50. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I expected that I would read it, get it over with, and probably not keep it. I guess this was similar to my experience with James Joyce last year, when I decided I had to read Portrait of the Artist because I'd had it so long...and ended up finding it very interesting and worth keeping.

51. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Congratulations on reaching your goal, shinyone! Chuckling over the title of your next book; it's sort of like the "cherry on the top of the cake" isn't it? What did you think of it?

Congratulations!

Thanks, bonniebooks and spacepotatoes! By the way, spacepotatoes, my husband loves your username so much that he named his fantasy football team after you. Hope he isn't violating any copyright laws. (-;

That's hilarious, shinyone! Hope the name brings his team good luck :)

52. The Ultimate X-Men (edited by Stan Lee)

Short stories about the X-Men.

53. Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

I really enjoyed this one. I hadn't realized that it was connected to Oryx and Crake, but the stories parallel each other and have some of the same characters. I found this one to be less creepy than Oryx and Crake, though.

54. The Confusion by Neal Stephenson

Wow, The Year of the Flood is LESS creepy than Oryx and Crake?? I'm reading Flood now and I've been finding it pretty darn creepy at times. Blanco actually gave me nightmares the other night. I didn't find it so disturbing as I read but I guess it got under my skin more than I'd thought. I guess I'll take this as a warning if I read Oryx and Crake down the road.

Well, when you get to the end of Year of the Flood the stories overlap, and you meet the genetically engineered "people" from Oryx and Crake, and I found them to be extremely creepy. Year of the Flood spends more time on characters who are at least KIND OF normal. Obviously the setting of both books is a bit of a nightmare-scape, but I remember finding Oryx and Crake to be a lot more disturbing. Maybe this one was less disturbing because having already read Oryx and Crake I was sort of prepared for the creepiness?

55. Muse of Fire by Dan Simmons

I had seen this very short book selling for $35, and even I don't love Dan Simmons THAT much. (Sorry, Dan!) But I found it at the library. It's no Hyperion,but it's an interesting read. 3 1/2 stars

56. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

OK, to sound much like my last comment, it's no Possession, but it's quite good. My only criticism: She gets bogged down in giving us history lessons every once in a while, interrupting the flow of the story. 4 stars

57. The Voices of Heaven by Frederik Pohl

In a word, Zzzzzzzzz. Okay, that's not really a word. There were the kernels of a couple of interesting ideas in there, but he really didn't do anything with them. I thought it was pretty unispired. 2 stars

edited to fix an incorrect touchstone

58. The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn

I love Zahn's Star Wars books so I thought I'd check out some of his other stuff, and I really did enjoy it. Nothing deep here, but it was sort of a "who-done-it?" set on a spaceship. It definitely held my interest. The ending seemed a bit far-fetched, but then again if you are going for realism you shouldn't read books with big space ships on the front cover. 3 stars.