WomblingStar's 999 challenge

I am a bit late joining this but I like a challenge!

My categories are:

1. War/conflict - 4/9

2. Children's fantasy & science fiction - 9/9

3. Natural history & science - 2/9

4. Bande dessinées (french & belgium) - 1/9

5. Translated books - 8/9

6. Crime and mystery - 9/9

7. Graphic Novels - 6/9

8. Banned books - 3/9

9. Books from other people (borrowed/2nd hand/gifts) - 8/9

I cannot wait to start! I may include some of the books I have already read in 2009 to make it easier.
Hopefully this will mean I read some on my 'to read' shelf which is overflowing!




Books in more than one category - 6

Category 1 - War and conflict

1) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - finished 7/1/09 ****

2) The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne - finished 2/6/09 ****

3) My Story, Blitz: The Diary of Edie Benson, London 1940-1941 by Vince Cross - finished 12/6/09 **

4) The Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon - finished 26/6/09 **

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Category 2 - Children's fantasy & science fiction

1) Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling - finished 26/1/09 **

2) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - finished 26/4/09 ***

3) New Moon by Stephanie Meyer - finished 29/6/09 ***

4) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - finished 28/7/09 ***

5) Koyasan by Darren Shan - finished 30/7/09 ****

6) Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer - finished 8/8/09 ****

7) Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer - finished 12/8/09 ****

8) The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery - finished 17/8/09 ***

9) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - finished 19/11/09 ***

Completed!

Category 3 - Natural history & science

1) Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin - finished 8/5/09 ****

2) Dry Store Room No.1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey - finished 11/7/09 *****

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Category 4 - Bande dessinées (written in french)

1) Marsupilami, Tome 0: Capturez un Marsupilami! by Franquin - finished 29/6/09 ***

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Category 5 - Translated Books

1) Nicholas in Trouble by Rene Goscinny (french) - finished 7/3/09 *****

2) The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (german) - finished 16/4/09 ****

3) One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn - finished 27/5/09 **** (Russian)

4) The Trial by Franz Kafka (german) - finished 31/5/09 ****

5) Vampire Loves by Joann Sfar - finished 8/8/09 *** (french)

6) The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery - finished 17/8/09 *** (french)

7) Queen Margot: The Age of Innocence v. 1 by Olivier Cadic - finished 20/11/09 ****

8) Yakari and Great Eagle (Yakari) (v. 1) by Derib + Job - finished 22/11/09 *** (french)

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Category 6 - Crime & mysteries

1) The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - finished 17/2/09 ****

2) Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith - finished 23/2/09 ***

3) Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith - finished 2/3/09 ***

4) The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith - finished 7/3/09 ***

5) Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult - finished 13/4/09 **

6) Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks - finished 27/6/09 ****

7) A Wicked Deed by Susanna Gregory - finished 22/7/09 ***

8) The Eyre Affair by Jasper FForde - finished 30/8/09 ****

9) The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House - finished 2/11/09 *****

Complete!!!

Category 7 - Graphic Novels

1) Owly: "The Way Home" and "The Bittersweet Summer" by Andy Runton - finished 04/06/09 ***** (gift)

2) Vampire Loves by Joann Sfar - finished 8/8/09 ***

3) Asterix the Gaul by Rene Goscinny - finished 4/11/09 ****

4) Lullaby Volume 2: Power Grabber: Power Grabber v. 2 by Ben Avery - finished 8/11/09 ***

5) Queen Margot: The Age of Innocence v. 1 by Olivier Cadic - finished 20/11/09 ****

6) Yakari and Great Eagle (Yakari) (v. 1) by Derib + Job - finished 22/11/09 ***

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Category 8 - Banned Books

1) Animal Farm by George Orwell - finished 18/4/09 ***** (banned in the USSR)

2) One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn - finished 27/5/09 **** (banned in the USSR)

3) Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck - finished 14/8/09 ***** (banned in the USA)

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Category 9 - Books from other people (borrowed/2nd hand/gifts)

1) The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir - finished 31/3/09 ***** (present)

2) Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult - finished 10/4/09 ** (borrowed)

3) Emma by Jane Austen - finished 25/5/09 **** (present)

4) Before I Die by Jenny Downham - finished 29/5/09 *** (borrowed)

5) Owly: "The Way Home" and "The Bittersweet Summer" by Andy Runton - finished 04/06/09 ***** (gift)

6) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Carnival of Souls by Nancy Holder - finished 09/06/09 ***

7) Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup - finished 23/6/09 **** (gift)

8) The White Queen by Philippa Gregory - finished 9/9/09 ****

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Woo Hoo! I am a ninth of the way there!!!!!
(little dance of joy)

Welcome! I look forward to seeing what you read next.

I have just finished The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.
I really enjoyed this book set in post war Germany. It covers the difficulty the post war generation have with living with the Nazi past and the Holocaust very sensitively. It was unusual as I felt sympathetically towards Hanna despite her being a POW camp guard, and it also touches on how repeated exposure to horror can lessen its effects and make us immune to it.

Nice start, WomblingStar. I love your name!

A quick read - Animal Farm by George Orwell.
It was banned in the USSR for being anticommunist. Orwell also found it difficult to get published here in the UK as the war had just finished and we were pro-Stalin at the time.

This book is so easy to read and follow, much easier than I expected. I think the animal version of a revolution is very clever and he has been proven to be right so many times. It is at times upsetting to read but I would recommend it to everyone.

It follows a farmyard of animals who overthrow the human owner to take control of the farm for themselves. The pigs become the natural leaders as they are the cleverest. However, the rules of 'animalism' change and very soon the farm is no better for the lower classes than before the revolution.

The prologues included in my version of the book, including Orwell's prologue for the Ukranian translation, were very a interesting background to the politics of the time, and a good explanation as to why he wrote the book.

Next book an easy one..... Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

This was an easy read, nothing challenging about it at all. Yet it was really engaging and I often found myself reading into the small hours. The vampire and human love theme has been done many times before but it still felt a bit original and entertaining. Might have to read the next in the series soon. I would recommend it for young adults and the young at heart who fancy something light.

My next book took much longer to read. (Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin)Probably because it is non-fiction and I was having a hard time concentrating. However, it was a very good book. It was a really enjoyable book and very interesting. It was easy to read and explained the technical science in basic language. It covers paeleontology and the finding of a creature that explains a step in evolution. It also covers how we have evolved from single cell organsisms and embryology. Very interesting and would recommend it.

Book club book - Emma by Jane Austen.
I love Austen, and this book is one of her best. The character of Emma is great. She is a fun person and really human. She is a romantic that wants everyone to be happy, but makes so many mistakes along the way. I like the era the novel is set in, with everyone very much set in their social status. The other characters are great, my favourite being Miss Bates.

A quick read - One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
I really enjoyed this book. It is set in a 'special' Russian hard labour camp and it portrays the hardships and how important the smallest things in life become. It is also frightening just how little could get you interred into one of these camps. An educational and thought provoking read that I would recommend.

Ivan Denisovich is a book that has stayed with me. I will occasionally think of him building his wall in the frigid temperatures or the soup or the walk to and from the camp.

Ivan Denisovich is one of my favorites too. I love to reread that one.

It was really good and I think it will be one I will reread fairly soon.

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

This is about a teenager dying from cancer and trying to do everything she has put on a list before she dies.
I found it hard to engage with the characters in this book, even though I thought I would find the subject of dying very poignant. The main character is not very nice and neither is her friend and I found for the first part of the book I really did not like her or feel sorry for her. However, it changed in style near the end and the last part was very moving and was better written. I don't think this is a great book, and with such a moving topic it could have been a lot better.

The Trial by Franz Kafka

This a quite a strange book but very good. It is about a man who is arrested and on trial but is never told what his crime was. He tries to get people to defend him without success, and tries on his own but it is no help. He seems to go a bit mad in the process. The trial itself is very strange, not held in proper court rooms, no one knows who the officials are. A really interesting psychological story.

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

A great book about innocence as seen through a childs eyes. It describes a really horrible part of history as seen by someone who has no understanding of the events going on around him. It is very moving. The author has captured the thoughts of a child really well. I think the scariest thing is the portrayal of his father as someone who cares a lot for his family, and yet is someone who ordered the deaths of thousands of Jews. I would recommend this as a quick read. The film was very good too.

Owly: "The Way Home" and "The Bittersweet Summer" by Andy Runton

I love Owly and Wormy. They are so sweet. This book only takes a few minutes to read but it makes you feel warm inside. Who knew a worm could be so expressive?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Carnival of Souls by Nancy Holder

This was a fun book for Buffy fans. The storyline is in keeping with the series and quite good. The characters fit with the series well and it is good to see their dark side. Did not like the ending which was a bit daft.

My Story, Blitz: The Diary of Edie Benson, London 1940-1941 by Vince Cross

This is part of a good set of historical fiction for kids that tries to educate them by telling them what it was like to be a child in that particular time through a kids diary. This was good for showing how people suffered in the Blitz, how they kept going, the problems of being sent away and losing family members.

Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup

This is a really easy but entertaining book to read. I have not seen the film yet but would definately like to see it based upon the book. It can be hard to follow in places as it jumps around the main characters life as it shows how he obtained the knowledge to win the contest, but overall it is a great tale. The end twist is very good and finishes the story well.

The Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon

This is a romance story set in the crimean war with a particular interest in looking at the changes in medicine and nursing during this period of history. I found it hard to identify with any of the characters in this book and did not feel for them, which made it hard to really enjoy the story. I did find the medicine parts interesting though.

Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks

This was a good James Bond novel and it felt like it was written by Ian Fleming, so I think Sebastian Faulks really did his homework. Bond seems much more real in the novels than he does in the films and much more believable storylines (although sometimes it still requires a lot of imagination). A fun read which I would recommend to every Bond fan.

New Moon by Stephanie Meyers

Second book in the Twilight series. I probably did not like it quite as much as the first book but it was still a good read and kept me interested all the way through. I liked the fact that it followed Bella through other relationships rather than just with Edward. It does leave me wanting to find out what happens next in the story (so it is a good thing I already have book 3!).

Marsupilami Tome 0 : Capturez un Marsupilami! by Franquin

This book is a collection of short cartoons rather than one story. It was released to celebrate 50 years of Marsupilami. It is fun to read and I just love the Marsupilami characters.

Few 3/9 of the way there!

Dry Store Room No.1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey

This book is really interesting and a fascinating read. It shows the behind the scenes work of an amazing place and introduces the reader into the work of a researcher and the people past and present at the museum. It reads very easily and a non-scientist would be able to understand and enjoy the book. It really increases my love for museums and I would love to visit the museum after reading this. It also introduces the reader into the important work of identifying all the species in the world and the relevance it has to modern life.

A Wicked Deed by Susanna Gregory

This was not my favourite of the Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles, but it was still a good story. It was full of superstition and mystery and the ending was not what I thought it would be. It is set in the 14th Century and not in Cambridge like the other novels, but in rural Suffolk. I liked the intrigue and fighting between the Manor lords and also the way the people believed in the folklore even though at the time this was considered heresy. It was also interesting to read about the devastation of the plague to the rural villages and the problems it left behind for many years. A good crime novel, but not the best.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This is an unusual story about a boy being brought up in a graveyard by ghosts. It is also a bit of a murder mystery and a love story at the same time. The twist at the end was good, I did not see it coming. I liked the portrayal of the ghosts which is very similar to how I would imagine them.

Koyasan by Darren Shan

This was a short story that was part of World Book Day in 2006. It is a story about a scary graveyard and a young frightened girl who has to do battle with the graveyard spirits in order to save her little sister's soul.
I thought this was a really good short story and I enjoyed it.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

The third book in the Twilight series. I think this is quite a good series. It is not the most amazing literature but the stories are good enough to keep you hooked and up late reading. The third book sees Bella trying to manage her feelings for both Edward and Jacob and stay alive/become a vampire at the same time. It moves quickly and I think I preferred it to the second book New Moon.

Vampire Loves by Joann Sfar

Joann Sfar has an interesting style of graphic novel. It often rambles but includes insights that are very perceptive. This novel is about a vampire called Ferdinand who has no luck in love. It follows him and his strange friends as they try to fall in love. It is quite funny and light hearted but very insightful.

Ok, I am giving in because I am never going to hit the 81 in time for 9/9/9 and I may not even make it by the end of the year so I am going to use the rule that 9 books can be under more than one category. I don't like doing this but it will mean I can hopefully complete the challenge.

Have you seen the theater trailer for New Moon? It looks ghastly! (Of course, I seemed to have entirely missed the magnetic pull of these books).

I have not seen it. I have not watched Twilight movie yet either.
The books are not amazing but there is something about the story that draws you in and makes you want to find out how it all ends. I am reading the 4th one now.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

I finally finished the series and what a finale! It was a good ending and I enjoyed the read

Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck

This is a really moving story which is only short, but it grabs you and makes you want to read it in one go. I read this originally when I was at school so I could remember most of the story but I had forgotten how good it was. A great read.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

This is a nice children's story about a little prince from another planet who falls to Earth and meets a plane mechanic lost in the desert and teaches him something about life.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

I really enjoyed this book. I have liked her fiction on the tudors and it was nice to look at another part of our history. Elizabeth is a really strong character and the mysteries of the time are still not resolved.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Once I was used to the alternate reality this was a really enjoyable book with lots of literary references.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale

This was a fascinating read and my suggestion for the October book on ravelry. It reads like a novel but is a non-fictional tale which is particularly gruesome in that it concludes that a child murdered her half-brother for revenge. I liked the references to detective stories in that era and how they often used this crime for inspiration, and just how new detectives were.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale

This was a fascinating read and my suggestion for the October book on ravelry. It reads like a novel but is a non-fictional tale which is particularly gruesome in that it concludes that a child murdered her half-brother for revenge. I liked the references to detective stories in that era and how they often used this crime for inspiration, and just how new detectives were.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I read this on my iPhone for the Ravelry book club November read. I quite enjoyed it which surprised me as I did not like it as a child. Very strange tale though.