75 books for 2009, 24 down. July 19

The list.

January
1. The Shack by William P. Young

February
2. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides- I think Eugenides writes the most beautiful and elegant prose I've ever read, hands-down.

3. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen- The story is great, the story telling is a little clunky. The story is good enough that I kept going.

4. Marley and Me by John Grogan

5. Ocean Star by Christina Dimari

March
6. Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

7. Salem's Lot by Stephen King

April
8. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

9. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

10. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

11. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

May
12. Run by Ann Patchett

13. Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth

14. The Handmaiden's Tale by Margaret Abbott

15. Duma Key by Stephen King

June
16. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaassen

17. A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

18. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand- I really enjoyed this one. It's a monster, but I was fascinated until about the halfway point. I think Rand is a little in your face about her metaphors, which take away the whole fun in metaphors in my opinion. She gets a little self-righteous and talkative by the end. Instead of letting Roark speak, she uses him as a platform to give her own speech to man kind in the final dramatic scene. I think this book could have been better with editing, but it's a classic, and I believe everyone could learn something from reading it. It was a great read, I just got a little worn out in the end.

July
19. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I loved this book. I loved everything about it- the plot, the characters, the pace, the themes, the parallels with today's world. I can't wait to start the next one which comes out Sept 1st. Pick this one up in August, and you'll be done in plenty of time to read the sequel when it comes out.

20. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut- I flew through this mostly because Vonneguts wit and humor propel the story forward, along with the reader. It was good, not great (see Cat's Cradle)

21. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho- Loved this little fable. I flew through this one too.

22. Rules of Prey by John Sanford- I read this on the recommendation of my father, and I didn't love it. I thought the plot was predictable, and the main character didn't have much. I do plan to read another couple in the series because my dad loves them so I figure I owe them another couple tries.

23. Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani- I thought this book was just okay. I was very hopeful in the beginning since its set in the 1950s and stars a beautiful girl who sews beautiful clothes, but somewhere around the middle, this book turns into a tragedy with one disaster after another hitting Lucia, and I had to wonder what the point was- If any of you have read this and can tell me why you think the author had all of it happen, let me know. I just didn't get the overall point to this book, what bound it all together. Lucia getting to go on a date with her old sweetheart when she's 70/80 was not a consolation.

24. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut- This is my favorite Vonnegut I've read (out of Galapapos, Mother Night, and Slaughter-House Five) I laughed out loud multiple times. the plot is crazy and it moves at a break-neck speed, which makes the book work. I would highly recommend this one.

25. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson (review posted below)

26. Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks

August
27. On Writing by Stephen King

28. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

29. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

30. Misery by Stephen King

31. My Life in France by Julia Child (review below)

32. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

33. Saints at the River by Ron Rash

September

34. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

35. Pilgrim Heart by Daryl Tippens

36. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (review below)

Welcome! Nice list...

Welcome!

Hi there, you have some good books in your list. Happy reading.

Welcome to the group!

Welcome. I like your choice in books.

P.S. No one's mentioned it yet, but while we congratulate you for "reaching" goals, numbers are a very small part of this group. We're much more hungry for information and opinions about books and authors. Nice list so far. Enjoy!

Welcome Andrea! I've only reached #24 but as was mentioned it's not about the numbers. There are some really great people here and you'll walk away with many recommendations.

If you want opinions, you got 'em. I edited my original list to include what I think of most the books. I'll go back and fill in the rest when I have more time. I also plan to write full reviews of each book I read for the rest of the year. Does anyone know how I link my review to this list? I think I've seen someone else do it.

review for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is leaps and bounds better than any other crime thriller I've tried (the Prey books come to mind). The novel's plot, characters, and tone are wrapped in a single theme- power. I was in awe when I finished and started to ask myself, what was this book really about? A twisted family, and a corrupt business? What unites these two main events in the book, and that's when it struck me- every character is involved in a power struggle.

As we meet the main character, Blomkvist, his power is being stripped away through the destruction of his reputation, a reporter's lifeline to getting jobs and reaching an audience. Complicated Salander not only struggles for financial independence from the state, she constantly struggles though the book with emotional power. She hides what she feels from others in order to trick herself into thinking she can't get hurt. Other examples appear throughout the novel, (I won't site specific examples for these characters in case you haven't read this yet) Harriet, Martin, Gottefried...and don't forget those little statistics that are clues at the front of each section.

Not only does the book deal with Blomkvist and Salander lacking power, it deals with what happens when the wrong people exploit it in pleasure (you know who I mean if you've read it) and then you have Vanger who could have exerted more power over certain people to guard the well being of those he loved.

As for what kind of read this was- for me, it had a slow first 80/100 pages, but once I hit Blomkvist's research of Harriet, I couldn't put it down, until the end when the plot delves back into the W. corporation. It made for a nice full circle, but I wish it could've been a bit shorter. Also, the theme is brought full circle as a corporation that has exploited and overstepped its bounds of power, falls, as a character also realizes she's powerless.

I can't wait to read the next in the series. ***

My Life in France by Julia Child review

While the film, Julie & Julia was delightful (especially Meryl Streep), My Life in France by Julia Child let me get to know the real Julia, how she came to cooking, the gusto with which she embraced life, and her astonishing perseverance, without the film's modern counterpart.

I lucked-out on this one, finding a hardback copy for $3- so little to pay for such a nice memoir. I have to admit, I didn't really know anything about Mrs. Child, of course I knew the name, but that she didn't get married until her late 30s? that she didn't publish until she was 50? facts I never would have guessed.

France shines beautifully as she describes the marketplaces, the people, the streets, her apartment. And she provides many details about her true love- besides Paul- FOOD. She spends much of book describing meals with friends, menus, working with recipes, writing her cook book. She even divulges what wine they drank with each dish.

Now that I'm done, I will definitely buy the cook book, which I'm ashamed to say I don't yet own.

If you like reading about cooking, France, or finding your life's passion, pick up this book.

***

If any of you live in the Nashville area, a friend showed me the very best used bookstore I've ever visited- McKay's. Even better, the sections are clearly marked and the books are well-sorted into categories- by far the neatest most organized, biggest pile of books I've ever seen.

I bought 9 for $13 including 2 Hemingways, The Joy Luck Club, Angela's Ashes, The Awakening, To the Lighthouse, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Treasure Island, and Call of the Wild.

Check it out if you're nearby!

Nice bookstore recommendation. Too bad we cannot move Nashville to Texas :)

Hi! Just found your thread! Great list of books. And if I'm ever in Nashville, I will DEFINITELY visit McKays! Sounds wonderful!

My son lives in Nashville. I have just sent him an email dispatching him there as soon as possible.

Perhaps I should pay him a visit soon?

tloeffler, Yes you should! I'm telling you- aisles and aisles of books, most of them cheap, but good copies. I got Angela's Ashes for 50 cents and a great copy.

tymfos, I found your thread last night- thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Can you recomend your fav. ghost story? I read some Stephen King and loved Lois Duncan when I was in Middle School- she does all supernatural books, but I haven't found a good ghost story for a while :-)

Alcottacre, If I head up that way again, I'll give you a warning and you can give me a short-list of books you want. And I love your profile picture.

Thanks for reading this thread. I misnamed it, not knowing I couldn't edit it, so I think it always appears outdated. :-) oh well.

BREAKING DAWN REVIEW

Breaking Dawn was one of the worst books I've ever read and here’s why:

SPOILERS GALORE (if you could say there was a plot to spoil)

1) Bella’s disgusting pregnancy. Bella drinking human blood while she’s human? Vomiting blood “like a fountain” Edward eating through her stomach in some sort of weird vampire c-section. Disgusting, all of it.
When the reviews came out last summer, I read an article in which Stephanie Meyer defended Bella’s pregnancy by saying that if a girl wanted a baby, she should have it. Then I must ask, when did Bella want a baby previous to her pregnancy? It feels so tacked on because of it.

2) Why were there so many measurements? I felt like all of the descriptors were like “ a forty-eighth of an inch” “a fifty-sixth of an inch” “a sixteenth of an inch.” Open to a random page, and I can 75% assure you that there will be a number descriptor that’s not very descriptive at all.

3) They spend how long getting ready for this fight with the Volturi? Meyer builds up all this tension (kudos on that), and when they have the chance to fight together, they let the evil vamps go? As the Cullen’s witnesses leave, one of them mentions that the Volturi will probably come after them one by one, the reaction is equivalent to a shrug. Ok, Oh well, we’ll see.
The only reason not to kill the corrupt evil vamps is that another book is coming.
And I would hate to be the person making the final film- they’ll obviously have to re-write the ending so that the story line has an end- Meyer didn’t tie any loose ends up. It’s all still out there- the bad guys are still out there, able to attack at any second.

4) Bella’s easy transition to vampire. It was as if Meyer ran out of time to have Bella change because so much time was devoted to the pregnancy, and Jacob’s first person narration- which was confusing. Why couldn’t it have been in third? So she kept Bella the same, added some super powers, and called it a days work. Bella might be one of the most static, boring characters ever created. So obsessed over Edward because he looks perfect. If you can find a deeper relationship than that, show me. Because I read pages about his rock hard, perfect body, his bronze hair, his eyes. Please.

5) The only interesting character was Jacob and if you cut out the baby, he could have imprinted on Leah. That was the obvious, clean, much shorter ending to Jacob’s obsession with Bella.

I read these books just to see why people loved them so much. Four books later, and I don’t know. I genuinely liked the first book although I would have liked it shorter. But the 2nd? Like pulling teeth, that one.
I still want to figure it out. Any of you out there who love them that could deliver an answer? I would love to see it through any of your eyes, just point me to your review if you think it addresses any of my issue.

#18 My favorite ghost story? Hmmmmm . . . let me think about that. Really good ghost stories are hard to find these days. There is a thread here on the 75 challenge, a Haloween group read that has a few promising titles among the list, although a lot of them are other kinds of spooky, not just ghost stories.

#18. Turns out that your bookstore is just down the road from where my son lives, and he has promised to take me on my next visit. Now to find a weekend when he's not traipsing around with the marching bands...
Thanks for the tip! I can't wait!

re: #18 -- I found a few good ghost stories in Joe Hill's book, 20th Century Ghosts, which I am just finishing. (Despite the title, the stories in this collection are not all ghost stories, though most are at least creepy/weird.) I liked the title story, and the story The Black Phone, too.

Actually, I liked quite a few of the stories in the book, but the ones named above are the ones that I would call actual ghost stories. Maybe not my favorite -- but The Black Phone could come close, perhaps. That really creeped me out -- though the ghost part comes rather late in the story. (I won't say more -- don't want to give a spoiler!)

#13 I'm still trying to figure out a way to make a trip to Nashville to check out that bookstore . . .

Andrea, I loved the first Twilight book, and then was sorely disappointed when the rest of them went downhill. For me, the third book was the worst to get through... I think I fell asleep a few times while reading it. Oops. But the ending of Breaking Dawn really is the WORST... *tensiontensiontension*...OMG they're going to have a huge fight, who's going to die?... *tensiontension* ...wait... WTH... they're going stand around and talk about it??? . Yep... they talk a lot, then it's over. Talk about anti-climactic...!!! You're right though - I'm sure they'll have to re-write sections of the ending to make it actually... you know... interesting, not to mention actually finish the story. *sigh*