Bonniebook's Best of Your Best 2010 Challenge, Chapter 2

I was having trouble downloading my own thread, so starting chapter two. Message below still very much applies. Link to Bonniebook's Best of Your Best 2010 Challenge chapter 1

I'm excited to be finally joining all you 75-ers! I feel like I know a lot of you already and hope to make many more reading friends here. I'll be lurking on the 10-10, Club Read, and 50-Book Challenges and following old friends wherever they go, but because I’m naturally disorganized, this is going to be the only challenge I do in 2010. Happy reading, everybody!

...in 2010:

40. The Handmaid's Tale (reread: 5/16/10)
39. Wild Swans - Jung Chang (5/14/10)
38. Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami (5/12/10)
37. In the Woods - Tana French (5/09/10)
36. Cost of Living - Mavis Gallant (5/07/10)

35. Little Rock: Crisis at Central High - Elizabeth Huckaby (4/25/10)
34. An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England - Clark, Brock (4/--/10)
33. House at Sugar Beach - Helene Cooper (4/20/10)
32. Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer (4/16/10)
31. Blankets - (4/08/10)
30. Blindness - Jose Saramago (4/03/10)
29. Strength in What Remains - Tracay Kidder (4/01/10)

28. Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay (3/30/10)
27. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (3/29/10 & reread on 4/26/10)
26. Scottsboro - Ellen Feldman (3/26/10)
25. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows (reread, 3/22/10)
24. Fun Home - Alison Bechdel (3/16/10)
23. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English - John McWhorter (3/15/10)
22. Netherland - Joseph O'Neill (3/14/10)
** Goodnight Nobody - Jennifer Weiner (audiobook)
21. A Room for Learning - Tal Birdsey (3/11/10)
20. Crazy Like a Fox - Ben Chavez (3/06/10)

19. Gifted - Nikita Lalwani (2/28/10)
18. Thirteen Moons - Charles Frasier (2/26/10)
17. The Devil's Highway - Louis Alberto Urrea (2/22/10)
16. The Ministry of Special Cases - Nathan Englander (2/20/10)
15. Game Change - John Heilemann & Mark Halperin (2/19/10)
14. Let the Great World Spin - Colum McCann (2/18/10)
13. Little Bee - Chris Cleave (2/16/10)
12. Zeitoun - David Eggers (2/15/10)
** The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe (audiobook)
11. The Good Mayor - Andrew Nicoll (2/05/10)

10. The Twin - Gerbrand Bakker (1/25/10)
9. The Hunger Games - Susan Collins (1/23/10)
8. A Homemade Life - Molly Wizenberg (1/17/10)
7. The Idea of Perfection - Kate Grenville (1/15/10)
6. You Remind Me of Me - Dan Chaon (1/10/10)
5. Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story - Jerry Newport (1/09/10)
4. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right - Atul Gawande (1/08/10)
3. Cancer Made me a Shallower Person by Miriam Engelberg (1/04/2010)
2. Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel (started in 2009, finished 1/04/2010)
1. Michelle, a biography by Liza Mundy (started in 2009, 1/02/2010)

Touchstones stopped working--sorry!

...Seattle Public Library books checked out this week: None

Currently reading:

Ford, Jamie: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (a book group reread)
Hemon, Aleksandar (editor): Best European Fiction, 2010
Kristof, Nicholas: Half the Sky

For new and old friends I come bearing gifts: My alphabetized list of books created from the "Ten Favorites of 2009" lists proffered by many of your LT friends on my bonniebook's Best of Your Best, 2009 challenge. I plan on choosing most of my books for 2010 from this list, but will also pick from my ever growing wish list--and, of course, I'll continue to make "bonnieruns" to my favorite independent bookstores. Note: I'm going to strike through the books I've already read, so if you want the "clean" version, go to message #177 in my bonniebook's 2009 challenge here. It's also fun to look at the individual lists to see who recommended what.

An Alphabetized List of Your Top Tens for 2009

Abani, Chris: GraceLand
Ackerley, J. R.: Hindoo Holiday
Adamson, Gil: The Outlander
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi: Purple Hibiscus; The Thing Around Your Neck
Adiga, Aravind: The White Tiger
Achebe, Chinua: Things Fall Apart
Alexie, Sherman: Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi: Infidel
Allen, Sarah Addison: Garden Spells
Anderson, Laurie Halse: Wintergirls
Anderson, M.T.: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1
Antunes, Antonio Lobo: The Fat Man and Infinity
Armstrong, Kelley: The Summoning
Atwood, Margaret: Alias Grace; The Handmaid's Tale; The Penelopiad; The Robber Bride
Auster, Paul: The New York Trilogy
Azzopardi, Trezza: The Hiding Place
Bahr, Howard: The Black Flower
Baker, Russ: Family of Secrets
Bakker, Gerbrand: The Twin
Balzac, Honore: Old Goriot
Banks, Ian: The Player of Games
Barbery, Muriel: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Barlow, Tony: Sharp Teeth
Barry, Brunonia: The Lace Reader
Batataille, Marion: ABC3D
Bauermeister, Erica: The School of Essential Ingredients
Bazell, Josh: Beat the Reaper
Beals, Melba Pattillo: Warriors Don't Cry
Bemrose, John: The Island Walkers
Benson, E.F.: Mrs. Ames
Benson, Mary: At the Still Point
Bhutto, Benazir: Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West
Bishop, Holley: Robbing the Bees
Bolano, Roberto: 2666
Boyle, Kay: Thirty Stories
Boyne, John: Mutiny on the Bounty
Bourdain, Anthony: Kitchen Confidential
Bradbury, Ray: Dandelion Wine
Bruen, Ken: The Guards
Bryson, Bill: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid; Notes From a Big Country
Bulgakov, Mikhail: The Master and Margarita
Butcher, Jim: Princeps' Fury; Turn Coat
Canfield, Dorothy: The Deepening Stream
Carroll, Lewis: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Cather, Willa: My Antonia; The Song of the Lark
Chabon, Michael: Yiddish Policeman's Union
Chace, James: Acheson: The Secretary of State Who Created the American World
Chang, Jung: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Chaon, Dan: Await Your Reply
Chaplin, Charlie: My Autobiography
Childe, Julia: My Life in France
Clarke, Gerald: Capote: A Biography
Coelho, Paulo: The Alchemist
Collins, Susan: The Hunger Games
Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White
Conroy, Pat: The Water is Wide
Cooper, Gwen: Homer's Odyssey
Cooper, Helene: The House at Sugar Beach
Courtenay, Bryce: The Power of One
Cullen, David: Columbine
Cummings, Quinn: Notes From the Underwire
de la Parra, Teresa: Iphigenia
Dallas, S.: Tall Grass
Diamond, Jared: The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution of the Human Animal; Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Dickens, Charles: Hard Times; Little Dorrit
di Lampedusa, Giuseppe Tomasi: The Leopard
Dinesen, Isak: Out of Africa
Dittmer, John: The Good Doctors
Djebar, Assia: So Vast the Prison
Doctorow, Cory: Little Brother
Donoso, Jose: The Obscene Bird of Night
Dunn, Mark: Ella Minnow Pea
Du Marier, Daphne: Rebecca
DuPrau, Jeanne: The City of Ember, The People of the Sparks
Earley, Tony: Jim the Boy
Easterly, William: The White Man's Burden
Elliot, George: Silas Marner
Emecheta, Buchi: The Joys of Motherhood
Enger, Leif: Peace Like a River
Erdrich, Louise: The Plague of Doves; The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Eugenides, Jeffrey: The Virgin Suicides
Evans, Pollly: On a Hoof and a Prayer: Exploring Argentina at a Gallop
Fallada, Hans: Every Man Dies Alone
Farmer, Paul: Pathologies of Power
Ferris, Joshua: Then We came to the End
Fforde, Jasper: The Big Over Easy; The Fourh Bear
Figes, Orlando: The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
Follett, Ken: Pillars of the Earth
Ford, Jamie: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Francis, Brian: Fruit
Frank, Anne: Diary of a Young Girl
Frank, Thomas: What's the Matter With Kansas?
Fraser, Antonia: The Pleasure of Reading
Frazier, Charles: Thirteen Moons
Frost, Jeaniene: Halfway to the Grave
Fuller, Alexandra: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight:
Funke, Cornelia: Inkheart
Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book
Galloway, Janice: Clara
Galloway, Stephen: The Cellist of Sarajevo
Garton-Ash, Timothy: The File
Gaskell, Elizabeth: North and South; Wives and Daughters
Genova, Lisa: Still Alice
Goldsworthy, Peter: Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam
Goodwin, Doris Kearns: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Grace, Patricia: At the Still Point; Waiariki
Grandin, Temple: Animals Make Us Human
Grann, David: The Lost City of Z (unfinished)
Graves, Robert: I, Claudius
Greene, Graham: The Ministry of Fear
Grenville, Kate: Secret River; The Idea of Perfection
Groff, Lauren: The Monsters of Templeton
Grossman, Vasili: Life and Fate
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants
Gurnah, Abdulrazak: Desertion
Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Hage, Rawi: De Niro's Game
Hakamura, Ishio: The Remains of the Day
Hajdu, David: The Ten-Cent Plague
Hale, Shannon: Rapunzel's Revenge
Hammett, Dashiell: Red Harvest
Hanff, Helene: 84 Charing Cross Road
Harding, Paul: Tinkers
Harvey, Samantha: The Wilderness
Helm, Sarah: A Life in secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII
Hollinghurst, Alan: The Line of Beauty
Hoesseini, Khaled: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Hoffman, Alice: Blackbird House; The Ice Queen
Hornby, Nick: The Complete Polysyllabic Spree; Housekeeping vs. The Dirt
Houellebecq, Michel: Atomized/The Elementary Particles
Hustvedt, Siri: What I Loved
Huxley, Aldous: Brave New World
Ishiguro, Kazuo: The Remains of the Day
James, Henry: Portrait of a Lady
Jamison, Kay Redfield: Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illnes and the Artistic Temperament
Jansson, Tove: The True Deceiver
Jelloun, Tahar: This Blinding Absence of Light
Jones, Gail: Sorry
Jones, Lloyd: Mister Pip
Johnston, Wayne: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Jordan, Hillary: Mudbound
Kamkwamba, William: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Kapuscinski, Ryszard: The Shadow of the Sun
Kawabata, Yasunari: The Master of Go
Kay, Guy Gavriel: Tigana
Kent, Kathleen: The Heretic's Daughter
Kirn, Walter: Up in the Air
Kluger, Steve: Last Days of Summer
Knisley, Lucy: French Milk
Koestler, Arthur: Darkness at Noon
Kopelman, Jay: From Baghdad, with Love: A Marine, A War and a Dog
Krakauer, Jon: Into the Wild
Kramer, Clara: Clara's War, One Girl's Story of Survival
Krasikov, Sana: One More Year
Kristof, Nikolas: Half the Sky
Lahari, Jumpha: Interpreter of Maladies
Lamb, Wally: The Hour I First Believed
Land, Brad: Goat: A Memoir
Lansens, Lori: The Girls
Larson, Kate Clifford: Bound for the Promised Land
Larson, Stieg: The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo; The Girl Who Played with Fire
Lawson, Mary: Crow Lake
Le Carre, John: Smiley's People; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Lehane, Dennis: The Given Day
Levy, Andrea: Small Island
Levy, Ariel: Female Chauvinist Pigs
Lewis, C.S.: Till We have Faces
Lipman, Elinor: Inn at Lake Devine
Lively, Penelope: Family Album
Llosa, Mario Vargas: Conversation in the Cathedral
London, Joan: Gilgamesh
Longfellow, Ki: The Secret Magdalene
Lovell, Mary: The Biography of Jane Digby, A Scandalous LIfe
Ludum, Robert: The Bourne Trilogy
Lychack, William: The Wasp Eater
Lynch, Jim: Border Songs
MacDonald, George: The Highlander's Last Song
MacMillan, Margaret: Paris 1919
McCann, Colum: Let the Great World Spin
McCarthy, Cormac: All the Pretty Horses; Blood Meridian; The Road
Macintyre, Ben: Agent Zigzag
Mackinnon, Amy: Tethered
Maguire, Gregory: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Mandel, Emily St. John: Last Night in Montreal
Mann, Charles: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall
Maraini, Dacia: The Silent Duchess
Marchetta, Melina: Jellioe Road
Mahjoub, Jamal: Traveling with Djinns
Martel, Yann: Life of Pi
Matin, P.D.: Body Count
Matthieseen, Peter: Shadow Country
Maugham, Somerset: Of Human Bondage
Mawer, Simon: The Glass Room
Maynard, Joyce: Labor Day
Mee, Benjamin: We Bought a Zoo
Melling, O.R.: The Hunter's Moon
Mercer, Jeremy: Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs
Mistry, Rohinton: A Fine Balance
Mitchell, David: Cloud Atlas; Black Swan Green
Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Anne of Green Gables
Monroe, Alice: The View From Castle Rock
Moore, Christopher: Lamb
Morrison, Toni: Beloved; A Mercy
Mortensen, Greg: Three Cups of Tea
Morton, Kate: The Forgotten Garden
Morton, Kate: The House at Riverton
Murakami, Haruki: Norwegian Wood; The Wild Sheep Chase
Murphy, Lynda and Julie Rugg: A Book Addict's Treasury
Myron, Vicki: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat
Nemirovsky, Irene: Suite Francaise
Newport, Jerry and Mary: Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story
Niffenegger, Audrey: The Time Traveler's Wife
Nicoll, Andrew: The Good Mayor
Nolen, Stephanie: 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa
Novogratz, Jacqueline: The Blue Sweater
Obmascik, Mark: The Big Year
O'Brien, Tim: The Things They Carried
O'Connor, Flannery: Wise Blood
Ogawa, Yoko: The Housekeeper and the Professor
Olmstead, Robert: Far Bright Star
O'Reilly, Tim: The Twitter book
Otsuka, Julie: When The Emperor Was Divine
Palahniuk, Chuck: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey
Parker, Dorothy: Complete Stories
Patchett, Ann: Bel Canto
Pausch, Randy: The Last Lecture
Pears, Iain: An Instance of the Fingerpost
Peck, M. Scott: In Search of Stones
Pennell, Joseph Stanley: The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters
Petterson, Per: Out Stealing Horses
Phillips, Jayne Anne: Lark & Termite
Plotz, David: The Genius Factory
Pollan, Michael: The Omnivore's Dilemma (unfinished)
Proulx, E. Annie: The Shipping News
Raabe, Tom: Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction
Remarque, Erich Maria: All Quiet of the Western Front
Reynolds, Sheri: The Rapture of Canaan
Rhodes, Dan: Gold
Rhodes, Jewel Parker: Douglas's Women
Roberts, Richard Samuel: A True Likeness
Robertson, Don: The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
Robinson, Marilynne: Gilead; Housekeeping
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
Roth, Joseph: The Radetzky March
Ruesch, Hans: Top of the World
Rushdie, Salman: Midnight's Children (unfinished)
Russell, Mary Doria: A Thread of Grace
Sabato, Haim: The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale
Sandoz, Mari: Crazy Horse
Safran Foer, Jonathan: Everything is Illuminated
Saramago, Jose: Death with Interruptions
Satrapi, Marjane: Persepolis
Savage, Sam: Firmin
Scheeres, Julia: Jesus Land
See, Lisa: Shanghai Girls
Setterfield, Diane: Thirteenth Tale
Shaara, Michael: The Killer Angel
Shaffer, Mary Ann & Ann Barrows: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shamsie, Kamila: Burnt Shadows
Sheff, David: Beautiful Boy
Shields, Carol: The Stone Diaries
Shlink, Bernhard: Flights of Love
Sigman, Dr. Aric: Remotely Controlled: How Televison is Damaging...
Silvey, Craig: Jasper Jones
Singh, Khushwant: Train to Pakistan
Small, David: Stitches
Smith, Helen: Not So Quiet
Smith, Tom Rob: Child 44
Spiegelman, Art: Maus I; Maus II
Stanisic, Sasa: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone
Stein, Garth: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Steinbeck, John: East of Eden; The Moon is Down; Of Mice and Men
Stewart, Amy: Flower Confidential
Stockett, Kathryn: The Help
Strout, Elizabeth: Amy and Isabelle; Olive Kitteridge
Suskind, Patrick: Perfume: Story of a Murderer
Tartt, Donna: The Secret History
Thackery, William Makepeace: Vanity Fair
Thiong'o, Ngugi wa: Wizard of the Crow
Tinti, Hannah: The Good Thief
Toews, Miriam: The Flying Troutmans
Tobin, Betsy: Ice Land
Toibin, Colm: Brooklyn
Tremain, Rose: The Road Home
Triolet, Elsa: A Fine of Two Hundred Francs
Tsiolkas, Christos: The Slap
Tye, Larry: Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend
Unsworth, Barry: Land of Marvels
Urgresic, Dubravka: Thank You for Not Reading
Urrea, Luis Alberta: The Hummingbird's Daughter
Valenti, Jessica: The Purity Myth
Verghese, Abraham: Cutting For Stone; The Tennis Partner
Vincent, Norah: Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Looney Bin
Waugh, Evelyn: Vile Bodies
Waters, Sarah: Affinity; Nightwatch
West, Rebecca: Return of the Soldier
White, Antonia: The Lost Traveller
Wiesel, Elie: A Mad Desire to Dance; Night
Wilde, Oscar: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Winterson, Jeanette: Oranges are not the Only Fruit
Wood, Charlotte: The Submerged Cathedral
Woolf, Virginia: Jacob's Room; A Room of One's Own
Wouk, Herman: The Glory; The Hope
Wroblewski, David: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Wyndham, John: The Day of the Triffids
Yglesias, Rafael: Happy Marriage
Young, Emily Hilda: Miss Mole
Young, Fellicity: Harum Scarum
Young, William: The Shack
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz: The Shadow of the Wind
Zakaria, Fareed: The Post-American World
Zaniewski, Andrzej: Rat
Zusak, Markus: The Book Thief

My TBR pile is relatively small by LT standards, but it's too long for me. I want to get it down to 10 books. (Note: This list won't include library books waiting to be read.) Of course, I am continuing to add to the pile even as I'm trying to pare it down. ;-) For my own benefit, I'm also going to start noting where and when, and sometimes why, I got the book.

New Year's Resolution: By the end of the year 2010, there will be no more than 10 books in this list.

List of Books To Be Read in 2010:
Angier, Natalie: The Best American Science Writing, 2009 (bonnierun, TPB w/arubabookwoman)
Blackmon, Douglas: Slavery by Another Name (bonnierun/wishlist, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Chaon, Dan: You Remind Me of Me (bonnierun, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Chalmers, Robert: Fortune's Bastard * (Ryan's book)
Change, Jung: Wild Swans (rec by arubabookwoman)
Clark, Brock: An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (bonnierun, Powell's Books, 12/31/09)
Coelho, Paula: The Alchemist
Ehrenreich, Barbara: Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream *
Enright, Anne: The Gathering
Erdrich, Louise: The Bingo Palace
Frazier, Charles: Thirteen Moons
French, Tana: In the Woods (bonnierun/discounted, Third Place Books, 4/10)
Gallant, Mavis: The Cost of Living (Christmas gift/Ryan, 2009)
Ghosh, Amitav: Sea of Poppies (bonnierun/discounted, Third Place Books, 11/09)
Hamid, Mohsin: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Hosseini, Khaled: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Kinzer, Stephen: Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq *
Kramnick, Isaac: The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of a Secular State *
Kristof, Nicholas & Sheryl WuDunn: Half the Sky (Christmas gift/Ryan, 2009)
Mahfouz, Naguib: Palace of Desire
Mistry, Rohinton: Family Matters
Mitchell, David: Cloud Atlas (bonnierun/best of your best 2009, Powell's Books, 12/31/09)
Morrison, Toni: A Mercy
Murakami, Haruki: Norwegian Wood (bonnierun/best of your best 2009, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Murakami, Haruki: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle *
Perstein, Rick: Nixonland *
Rushdie, Salman: Midnight's Children unfinished
Saramago, Jose: Blindness (bonnierun, Powell's Books, 12/31/09)
Smith, Zadie: White Teeth *
Thaler, Richard: Nudge *
Thiong'o, Ngugi Wa: Wizard of the Crow (best of your best 2009/Alcottacre, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Toltz, Steve: A Fraction of the Whole * (rec by Ryan}
Undset, Sigrid: Kristin Lavransdatter * (gift by LT/Maggie?)
Vowell, Sarah: The Wordy Shipmates * (bonnierun, Third Place Books, 1/09)
Weiland, Matt (edit.): State by State * (Christmas gift/Ryan, 2009)
Wroblewski, David: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle * (Costco/discounted, 1/09)

*Books started and unfinished, or parts skimmed over and want to reread

The year is new enough that I'm going to again post my "Top Ten Favorites of 2009" for those of you who want to know whether we might have similar reading interests. I was surprised that 2 mysteries/crime detective novels made it onto my list along with Lush Life--not my normal genres at all, but some of you LT-ers *coughMarkcough* convinced me that they were great stories and you were right! I read a total of 140 books last year, not including a few re-reads or the dozens of children's books I read as part of my work. Don't know if I'll read as many books this year, given my new resolution to get out more, but if I give up even half of my TV time, I might read even more. Either way, I know that your recommendations will greatly add to my reading enjoyment.

I'm know I'm cheating a bit by recommending two books-about-books here: Ex-Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman and Housekeeping vs. Dirt by Nick Hornby. But I loved them both and I wouldn't have gone looking for A Complicated Kindness if not for Hornby's quote about Toews which I think could be used to describe all of my favorites:

"You may think you don't want to read about the problems of growing up Mennonite, but the great thing about books is that you'll read anything a good writer wants you to read."


My Top Ten favorite books in 2009:
1. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
2. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway
3. Mudbound - Hillary Jordan
4. A Complicated Kindness - Miriam Toews
5. The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill
6. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
7. The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon
8. What is the What - David Eggers
9. Still Alice - Lisa Genova
10. Lush Life - Richard Price

Other books in contention for the #10 spot:
A Case of Exploding Mangoes - Mohammed Hanif
Gardens of Water - Alan Drew
Property - Valerie Martin
Sharp Teeth - Toby Barlow - because it surprised me how much I enjoyed a book about werewolves--and I just loved that cover!
Gold - Dan Rhodes
The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

My favorite re-reads in 2009:
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Special Topics in Calamity Physics- Marisha Pessl
During the Reign of the Queen of Persia - Joan Chase
Isabel's Bed and Inn at Lake Devine - Elinor Lipman
Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen

I still want to use book covers to more easily find my comments about books I've read, so I'm going to ask all you graphic-loving LT-ers to please not post any graphics on my thread--just because I kept messing up my lists last year, either skipping over books, misnumbering a book, or posting a book twice. I'm thinking the covers will stand out a lot better if they're the only graphics, though I'll probably still mess up, knowing me. Hope you all will still join me in talking about books and our lives--I love all your comments! :-)

9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

I started this book before I began my trip down to be with my sister, then found myself guiltily making up excuses to stop so that I could read just a few more pages. Once I got there, it was a little creepy to be enjoying reading it so much while I was keeping my sister company. I kept worrying that my brother-in-law was going to ask me about what I was reading and afraid that I would blurt out, Spoiler Alert "Oh, it's a fun thriller about teenagers being forced to fight to their deaths!" This is definitely a YA novel, but it kept me entertained and wanting to read more.

10. The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker.

Again, another weird book to be reading while my sister was going through the very hard and slow (at least for her) process of dying. I wish I had pulled a couple of quotes from this book before returning it from the library. Loved the writing and the complex evolution of relationships between Helmer and his father, his neighbor, his almost sister-in-law, her son, and the farmhand--though I was confused about that last one. (I would ask a question of others who have already read this book, but don't want to be a big spoiler). Actually, this was a great book to be reading as Helmer was grappling with many of the same issues that I was thinking about--both in terms of my sister's life as well as my mother's and my own.

At the risk of overgeneralizing and showing my ignorance, the Scandinavians I've read tend to have a very subtle, quiet, contemplative style to their writing. I liked this one much more than Per Petterson's Stealing Horses.

Ummm, how many are you starting?

LT seems to be having some difficulty today. I have had to type up a couple of messages twice because the original does not show. Now it looks as if double posting may be the order of the day.

Hi, Stasia! Nah, that was just my way of quickly reserving space so that I could recreate some parts of thread 1 that I wanted to be sure were up top on this one as well. I'm so laughing, though, because I thought about waiting until the middle of the night when I knew the likelihood of anyone noticing it before I was finished would be you! Glad to have you as my first visitor. :-)

OK, glad to know that you are the problem and not LT :)

BTW - did you post a link to this thread on your old one?

Found you quite by accident Bonnie. We loved at least five of the same books last year, plus two more from your also rans. Who says we're not sisters?

11. The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll.

This was a little, quirky fairy-tale of a book. I didn't find it that funny or that romantic, but I liked it, especially one "evolvement" of a character (I laughed out loud) at the end of the book that some people might hate. I normally don't like books like this, so it's high praise from me to say I was entertained.

Hahahahaha!

ETA this looks really ridiculous but when I wrote it there was a comment from Bonnie right above this. Apparently it's in the LT cosmos not to be seen again.

I like your idea of noting the books you checked out of the library this week!

I'll be sure to follow your thread.

OK, so some people might think brenzi is "the crazy sister" based on her laughing maniacally for no reason in message #14. ;-) What happened was I accidentally erased and reposted over the original message that brenzi was responding to. Imagine the following comment from me in msg #13 instead of the comments about The Good Mayor and brenzi's generous laughter at my dumb joke makes more sense:

A replay of the original msg #13: Not me! We're obviously "the two Bonnies who got separated at birth, but found each other again on LT." Yeah!

And since I also said something to Stasia in that same message about most likely being the source of "the problem" on my own thread, I guess I'm prescient too, huh, as I'm continuing to confuse you all!

Checking in and browsing all those lists again... which is VERY BAD for my 'read stuff off your own shelves, woman!' attempt to curb book buying for a while. I'm forbidding myself from going near any charity shops, and adding to my wishlist but never looking through it... Not just to be sadistic, but because we're either moving or renovating soon and I promised myself I'd save up for some new furniture for myself, including a new sofa, a decent TV instead of this huge old CRT monstrosity I see before me, and a beautiful Moroccan table I've got my eye on. So I'll *ahem* maybe look through those lists again, y'know, later. :-)

#16: I just want you to know that your new thread makes no sense whatsoever, Bonnie. I love it!

...so... confused... LOL

Yes, prescient, that's it.

Impressive lists! Some of your 2009 favorites were mine as well, and I believe I read them based on your recommendation, so thank you!

Zeitoun is a book my book club selected for May? June? So it is in my future as well. I can't wait to hear what you think of it.

Have a great day!

I love the graphics on your new thread, Bonnie. We're so glad to have you back again jazzin' up the place!

Hi Bonnie- Looks like you've been busy today! Nice job! Now my Challenge looks so drab! :-(

All looks good to me here, things must have come into order.

Glad you got to read The Hunger Games it was on my top ten last year. Now you need to read book two (Catching Fire), which was just as good, before the third comes out in September.

Greetings!~ (Thread crumb.)

Hi Bonnie, I like quirky, so I'll have to check out The Good Mayor - thanks! Oh and I really like the book covers on your thread - it's such a nice touch.

Eeek very quick message because Teresa is eating yoghurt, perhaps without a spoon, elsewhere, but I am really looking forwrd to hearing what you think of Half the Sky. If you like it I will probably buy it. (no pressure or anything!)

*flitting through with a wave* Love the look of your 2nd chapter. I'm with Mark, my thread looks really drab in comparison.

Hi! Just caught up with you . . . *star*

Hi, bonnie! I just found your thread, so I'm happy about that :-) What a list you've got going, and great reviews, here and on Part 1.

I'm sorry about your recent loss.

See you soon.

Starred as usual! Loved The Twin by Bakker. Glad to see you again. Your thread seems to be normalling out. ;)

** The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe.

This is only my first audiobook experience, but it didn't come close to a satisfying reading experience as far as I'm concerned. Katherine Kellgren's voice actually got in the way of immersing myself in the Howe's story. Her different "voices" for the women were not great. Because her natural reading voice sounded older, in order to represent the younger main character, Connie, and her friend, Liz, Kellgren made their voices sound breathy and vacuous; but Professor Chilton's voice was especially annoying. That said, it was nice to have something to listen to while I was putting together some games and word lists for my students, so it did provide entertainment--much like listening to TV while working, but I wouldn't equate it to reading.

I know other LT-ers have had much better experiences with audiobooks. And I know that I'm both more critical and more distractible than many readers. This sounds crazy, but I actually thought towards the beginning, "I can't listen and focus on how I'm feeling about the words and/or "seeing" this story because this woman talking at me is really distracting me!" LOL! Made me realize how much I'm creating visual images and my own auditory and emotional experiences in my mind as I'm reading. I'll definitely try it again, but I think I'll reserve my audiobook experiences to books that would be qualified as "light" reading or nonfiction for awhile.

Thanks, everyone for positive comments about the visual look of my thread. I like it too, and it keeps me organized--loving that!

>27 cushlareads:: Buy it, Cushla! It's so worth it. :-)

eta: Still reading Zeitoun, but The Olympics are distracting me.

Bonnie, I am also being distracted by the Olympics. It is taking me forever catching up on reading threads tonight because those moguls are that mesmerizing. How do they do that? Makes my knees hurt to watch.

I just had to comment on your first audiobook experience. Isn't it funny how much we depend on our own voice in the head and are put off by the professionals? I will say a.b.'s are lifesavers on long car trips for me as motion sickness is a problem for me. Unfortunately, I have to choose something my DH will listen to as well which is limiting.

Bonnie,

You did a great job of describing all the reasons I don't care much for audiobooks too. I have to see the words. What I like to use them for is when the weather gets better and I can get outside to walk and then I choose titles that I would never actually read.

Bonnie- How are you? I hope you had a good weekend! Sorry your first audiobook experience was just a fair one but don't give up! I'm also very selective on what I choose to listen to but it has been very rewarding. Nevertheless, nothing beats a real book!!

The only time I really enjoy an audio book is when I am being taxi mom and obviously can't drive and read at the same time!! I have done a few lighter books that way, but the voice of the narrator really does make or break it for me.

Thanks, friends! I was feeling like the bitchiest LT ever, so really appreciate your comments. Mark, if I had your job--or if I was still playing "taxi mom" like Berly--I would probably be a big fan of audiobooks.

Berly, so true about narrators. I have a friend who loved the voice of the man who narrated the Harry Potter books (she'll, of course, know the name, but I don't) that she listened to him every night long after she had listened to the books all the way through a couple of times over.

Donna, I'm so going to try to check out an audio-book for my next long trip in the car.

And, P.S. Did anybody else listen to Raffi and such over and over again in the car when your kids were little? So would have loved audio-books from the library back then.

eta: audio-books in place of the last book.

Jim Dale narrated Harry Potter books -- have heard rave reviews about his reading.

So how did you like Physick other than that? I hated it.

Oh, are the Olympics on? That's what I get for keeping my TV out in my studio. I haven't watched a minute of it. I am half way through Possession though!

I choose titles that I would never actually read

Same for me with my first few audiobooks, not wanting to sacrifice a great "read" ... disasters. I'm a visual person, so probably the iffy content + audio delivery were too much distraction to overcome. Plus first-person narrators who drone on and on seem much more annoying in audio than in print.

I had better experiences when I tried audios of books I did want to read, especially on car trips. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was good, and I want to listen to To Kill a Mockingbird just for Sissy Spacek's reading, which everyone reports is fabulous.

I loved Raffi! I had forgotten all about him.

We listened to Raffi too! Baby Beluga was mine and my son's favorite.

12. Zeitoun by David Eggers.

Well, I finally got to read Egger's non-fiction book about a Syrian-American Contractor and father of four (called by his last name Zeitoun because his first name was too difficult to pronounce) who was arrested on his own property in New Orleans a few days after Hurricane Katrina struck. This book is really three excellent stories in one. First, it's an unvarnished picture of what it's like for one Muslim family to live and work in a primarily Christian nation. (This is an atypical family in that his wife, Kathy, is an American who converted to Islam.) Second, it's a vivid description of Zeitoun's experiences during the hurricane, the destruction he saw, and then how he navigated through the city after the flooding, helping as many people (and dogs!) as he could. Finally, **Spoiler Alert!**it's the outrageous story of how Zeitoun came to be arrested a few days later and treated like a potential terrorist without any of the rights we expect as Americans. And, imo, there was no excuse for how he and others were sometimes treated, suspects or not. It really scares me how some members of law enforcement and our military organizations behave like vicious criminals themselves.

I'm not surprised at the stupidity and/or vicious behavior of some people working in law enforcement, our military, FEMA, and/or Homeland Security--nor surprised at the bureaucracy and apathy on the part of all too many working within those agencies that continued to create more problems for the Zeitoun and his family after he was released (e.g., their problems with the FEMA trailer--how crazy, but familiar was that?). Anybody following the news has heard many stories like these--even worse, and it is so discouraging, so maddening and so overwhelming to think of how, or even if some of these things will ever be fixed; but it feels all the more scary as Eggers draws you along, and in, until it feels like all these things could happen to you--or at least someone you love very much.

Some people may complain that my comments are not patriotic, but that's what I love about America, and our democracy, flawed as it is. We can at least speak out about egregious actions perpetrated and/or supported by our government, and, thus, try to make things better for the future. And I thank David Eggers for trying to do that. Btw, he includes a list of organizations that will be supported in part by the profits generated by the sale of this book, so kudos for that as well.

We must speak out about egregious actions perpetrated or supported by our government. Otherwise, there is no democracy, or not one worth caring about. Thanks for your review. I'll be reading this one in a few months, as my book club selected it, and until now I had no idea what the book was about. I really look forward to it.

Hear, hear! I really want to read Zeitoun as well. Thanks for your comments, Bonnie and Anne.

Hi Bonnie- Excellent review! I read it last October and loved it. It was my first Egger's and it will not be my last!

I also loved Zeitoun and would recommend What is the What by Eggers. He has a good heart and is a talented writer to boot.

>44 AMQS:: Thanks, Anne and Terri! You two didn't seem to mind, but I put in a *spoiler alert* just in case I said too much for some LT-ers. Don't want to be a hypocrite, since I go out of my way make sure I know as little as possible about the books I'm going to read.

>46 msf59:: Thanks Mark! I knew both you and Donna highly recommended Zeitoun (along with Deborah) so I had a lot of confidence that I would love it too. Now I get to go back and read your reviews...yeah! :-)

>47 Donna828:: And, Donna, I totally agree with the your opinion about Egger's "good heart." That was so evident in his first book, A Heart-Breaking Work of Staggering Genius, and I put What is the What on my Top Ten for 2009 so no disagreement regarding his writing talent. I love the short story collections, The Best American Non-Required Reading that he and his crowd of student editors/writers choose every year, so he seems to be good at recognizing talented writers as well.

LT wouldn't let me edit the the post above, so will add here: Mark, loved the quote you included; I've got to remember to do that more. One quote can tell you a lot about a book. And, Donna! Beautiful, beautiful writing! Ignore my rant, everybody, and just go read what Donna has to say about this book!

I go out of my way make sure I know as little as possible about the books I'm going to read.

Me too, Bonnie. I was traumatized as a child when, the first time I read Little Women my mean big sister asked "Did Beth die yet?" and of course she hadn't yet. (I have since forgiven my sister and think she's wonderful.) (Just in case she's reading this.)

Bonnie, I'm going to look for Zeitoun now - thanks.

I can relate in a small way to the author's surname thing - my husband's (and kids') surname has no vowel, but is extremely common in China and Hong Kong. It gets mispronounced ALL the time and it drives me bonkers. I don't mind over here, where Chinese faces are nonexistent, but in New Zealand there are plenty of Chinese families and they've been there forever. I used to get really frosty when people would say "Is Mr Nig there?" but age has mellowed me... (but I have just ranted for a paragraph, so maybe not by much!)

Terri, that is dreadful about your older sister telling you about Beth! I cried buckets over Little Women.

Bonnie, I'm envious of your TBR list. I just got around to making a separate collection of the "to read" books in my library and there were over 330 of them! And I'm not even sure I've gone through the whole library yet!
Some day ...

It was interesting to hear about your first audiobook experience. I had my first this past year when I got an LTER copy of The Elegance of the Hedgehog that I hadn't noticed was on CD. It took me quite some time to warm up to the main characters, and I wondered if I would have had the same reaction to them if I'd been reading the book. I don't think my internal voices could have sounded half as annoying and unlikable as the actresses' voices did!
It turned me off to the idea, but the post above about Sissy Spacek narrating To Kill a Mockingbird made me think listening to a book I already know could be great on a road trip. I'll have to try that.

Terri, how criminal to get that spoiler about Beth! I'm glad you've managed to forgive your sister. :)
I have a happy Little Women story - the copy I was given as a child was abridged, but I didn't realize it. (I think I probably didn't know what that meant when I first saw it, and then I stopped noticing it.) Each chapter kept in the book was fully intact, but a bunch of chapters had been completely removed. I was so surprised when I bought a replacement copy in my 20s! It was the fulfillment of that wish to be able to read more about the characters after you've finished a great book. :)

Hey Bonnie- I loved Egger's simple but affecting prose! And one thing is for sure, I need to read more of his work. Bad Mark! I do have A Heart-Breaking Work sitting in my tbr but that's it!

Loved your review of Zeitoun, Bonnie. I heartily recommend this book, and What Is the What.

>49 bonniebooks:: Thanks for the kudos, Bonnie. That book struck such an emotional chord in me that the review practically wrote itself. I am soooo looking forward to his next book.

>52 madhatter22: Apparently there were two versions of Little Women. I think it was a British version that did not have Beth die! I just learned about this a couple of years ago.

Great review of Zeitoun Bonnie. I read and loved it last year too. Agree completely with your comments about the treatment of Zeitoun. I was appalled also. I have A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius ready to be read maybe in April for my memoir category.

I love all the discussion on my thread. Feeling all mushy and wishing I could have you all over to my house to discuss books all day and into the night! **Bonnie gets distracted imagining the perfect setting for her literary salon...a chaise lounge by the fire for Terri, so she can put her feet up and keep throwing out her funny little "bon mots" and a nice leather Barcalounger for Mark because he's on his feet all day...wonders what the rest of her friends want? **

>52 madhatter22:: I wish I could feel better knowing that someone else has way more books on their tbr pile than I do, but know that the anxiety is mine and not necessarily shared by others on LT. Love the quotes that others have shared about unread books in their libraries actually. For example, the one on lunacat's profile:

"The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more." Gabriel Zaid

The problem is that I've never identified myself with the "cultured" class--rather resent them actually. (Although I keep noticing myself saying "actually" a lot and am starting to hear a British accent creeping into my self-talk, so...) Maybe another year on LT will reduce some of my anxiety over my puny little tbr stack, and I 'll start to view them as a kind of "security blanket," or a "pile of treasure just waiting for me when I need to dig into it, or I can have a special shelf in my literary salon or...OK, now I'm just getting carried away again, but thanks, Shauna, I do feel better now! Though I daren't listen to an audio book of To Kill a Mockingbird; it's one of my "comfort food" books and I know once I hear Spacek's voice it will never be the same.

>55 Donna828:: Donna, I believe it--your review reads like poetry. Wish I had that talent, but I know we all add something to the mix.

>57 brenzi:: Bonnie, David Eggers keeps tackling more serious, and more global, topics, so don't know how it will feel to work backwards to his memoir. Excellent writing though.

I will take a hot cuppa, thank you very much, hostess Bonnie.

You can borrow some of my TBR stack if you like. Hmmm...salon. I would like a bottle of wine, a wine glass, an ashtray (smokeless so I don't bother the others).

"I wish I could feel better knowing that someone else has way more books on their tbr pile than I do, but know that the anxiety is mine and not necessarily shared by others on LT...Maybe another year on LT will reduce some of my anxiety over my puny little tbr stack, and I 'll start to view them as a kind of "security blanket," or a "pile of treasure just waiting for me when I need to dig into it,..."

I feel anxious too, Bonnie! I have a very, very small TBR pile (well, compared to that of the other LT members) but I still feel way more anxious than I should. For example, sometimes I think that, even though I'm a relatively healthy 20-something but still what if I were to die tomorrow and I never get to savour those books? Yeah, I know it's crazy but that's just the way I feel sometimes. I need to learn to embrace my unread books and not rush to finish them like I do.

I just read The Wild Things by Dave Eggers this year. It was interesting to compare the book to the movie. I did NOT try to compare it to my children's classic because that is just untouchable. I enjoyed his writing and will have to look for others he has written. And Bonnie, if you have a book discussion at you house, I will sit anywhere, even the floor!!

I have to laugh at all this talk about small or really, really large TBR piles. The other day I just mentioned in passing to my hubby that another book case was needed in the office we have upstairs that he rarely goes into and he's like "Really? Why?" Then a few days after that he wandered in while I was in ther reading (what else?) and looked at the shelves and flipped out. "Why in the world do you get books from the library when you have all these here to read?? Don't get any more books from the library until you read all these."

Hahahahaha funny, funny man. He just doesn't get it at all.

Berly- There's plenty of room on my Barcalounger, (thanks Bonnie!). No sense sitting on the floor, hop aboard, don't forget your book! I really like this setting!

Leather wingback by the fire, please. 8^}

Hi guys - Could I have the cozy club chair? And I'll bring some more wine and some cheese.

>63 brenzi: lol!

French roast coffee, drip or French press, strong, with half and half please. And some chocolate. What a great hostess!

I hope there's room for me around the fireplace. Anywhere will be fine. Oh, and I'll bring some chewy Brownies -- and some Blondies for Stasia. What book will we be discussing?

#63: My hubby does not get it either, Bonnie, so you are not alone there.

#68: I appreciate the Blondies, Donna.

>63 brenzi: brenzi, thanks for giving me a laugh! Of course we're still going to get books out of the library, all those TBR books at home are in case we're snowed in for a year or something equally drastic! :-)

Oh, and hi Bonnie! *waves*

OMG Bonnie I feel like such an awful guest. I forgot to bring something. Well some first graders gave me a recipe book that they had all contributed to, for Christmas so let me pick something from that. Let's see, how about .......oh yes, Death by Chocolate Cake and for Stasia hmmm.........Dreamsicle Pudding.

>70 bell7: in case we're snowed in for a year

Yes, you never know but it's good to be prepared.

I think if everyone brought along their top 10 favorite books of all-time, we would be covered for reading material. It would be interesting to see what everyone brings!

I did not make any contribution to the goodies, so since I am best at breads, I will bring in a couple of loaves of homemade bread, with some butter. Today I am making Maple Whole Wheat bread. How does that sound?

Warm homemade bread with butter? I'll take that over most desserts!

I would have such a hard time choosing 10 favorite books, Stasia, but would love to hear everyone else's. Actually...(There's that British accent creeping in) people might be surprised that Ellen Foster would be one of mine. Maybe I'll go over to my "favorites" collection and try to choose the rest. Cheerio!

#73: I will take bread over dessert any time.

Maybe we should start a thread with everyone's all-time top 10? It would be interesting to see what we would end up with in your salon, Bonnie.

I suspect that there would be lots of overlaps, so maybe we wouldn't end up with too much to read anyway.

It would be interesting to see what the outliers are though.

I just went through my "favorites" collection and I just can't do it! It's like saying which of your children you love the most. Also, there are books there that I loved for different reasons, and at different times in my life. How do I compare a book I read as a teenager (e.g., Gone With the Wind) that I haven't read in 40+ years with a new favorite from last year when I was reading so many good books because of all my LT recommendations? I could probably--almost--do it if I had to choose from different genres or could make up my own weird categories. Nah! I'm too indecisive. But start the thread, Stasia, because I need to start stocking my salon! ;-)

13. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

I loved the cover and title of this book, but the story not so much. I wanted to love Little Bee, since Cleave tries to address an important topic, and it's worth reading for that reason alone, but the plot (and dialogue) was often not plausible nor that interesting, especially when Cleave concentrates on Sarah's relationships. Loved Little Bee's voice and her part in the story. And Charlie/Batman was so real! My sons didn't quite go there, but my best friend's son wore out two Buzz Light Year costumes. You can tell Cleave was relying on his own experiences there, and was a much better writer for it. Loved the first paragraph of this book:

Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl. Everyone would be pleased to see me coming. Maybe I would visit with you for the weekend and then suddenly, because I am fickle like that, I would visit with the man from the corner shop instead--but you would not be sad because you would be eating a cinnamon bun, or drinking a cold Coca-Cola from the can, and you would never think of me again. We would be happy, like lovers who met on holiday and forgot each other's names.

I've had this book on the pile for a little while and that opening paragraph really sucked me in but your lukewarm review is no help at all. Hmmm, have to think about this some more.

>73 bonniebooks: Hi Bonnie - I'm not surprised you liked Ellen Foster because I really liked it, too. In fact, I've read a lot of Kaye Gibbons. All pre-Oprah endorsement, however.

As for Little Bee, I always breathe a sign of relief when I book I had quickly given up on gets a less than enthusiastic reception from someone whose opinion I respect. Makes me feel less guilty!

I'll bet money that you'll like it better than I did, Bonnie--I'm a tough customer. After I wrote my own comments (wouldn't call them a review) I went to read the official reviews and read similar comments, so don't think I'm completely off-track. There were a couple of rave reviews, too, though I'm a cynic about the source of those sometimes.

Hey for all my LT friends who love the Russian authors, there was a really good review of The Possessed in the New York Times here. I really want to read this book now, though maybe not the authors she was praising.

Oh hi, Joanne! I missed your posting. I'll have to go check to see if yours was one of the reviews I just read. And gees, thanks for the compliment! It got me singing: R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Find out What it means to me...Sock it to me, sock it to me...

I just found Let the Great World Spin Yaaay!

Yaaaay! Hope you love it too.

I found Little Bee at Goodwill a few weeks ago, only under its European name, which is escaping me at the moment. I'm still going to read it, so there.

eta The Other Hand.

Another Yaaay! for Let the Great World Spin! Enjoy!

#77: OK, stockroom for your salon is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/85082

Hi Bonnie- Make it a trifecta! Yaaay for the McCann book!

Bonnie I will be in disbelief if you don't like Let the Great World Spin.

I've had Little Bee on my TBR for a while, I think it was an Amazon rec. I'm sorry to see you didn't like it...and starting to wonder if I should remove it from the list, though I love that paragraph you quoted. Is the writing that good throughout, at least?

>88 spacepotatoes:: Unfortunately, not. I'm not saying don't read it; I was just disappointed in parts of it. But I am so not going to have any credibility after my next posting, so you may just want to ignore me anyway. I know Wookiebender loved it; read her review before you count it out. I would say borrow rather than buy it though.

Don't freak out, everybody, but so far I'm not loving Let the Great World Spin. Good writing, but just not my kind of book. I'll eventually read it, but wanted something that I can immerse myself in more fully today. I like being inside a narrator's head--knowing what s/he's thinking and feeling. McCann's writing style just created too much distance between me and the first main character and I didn't like him (Corrigan) very much either. So when McCann switched to a new set of characters--even though I know the stories eventually overlap--I just didn't care enough to continue. I will recommend the book to my son who lives in NYC though. He'll like getting a description of what the city was like in the 70's. And I'm not saying I won't eventually like the book. So don't faint or anything, Bonnie! (See #87)

>85 alcottacre:: LOL! Stasia, that's so incredibly cool!

I'm speechless and now I'm running away....

I'm not going to faint I'm just going to move Little Bee to the top of my list LOL.

>93 brenzi:: LOL! You should, Bonnie! Because I liked the first part of Little Bee better than Let The Great World Spin though the latter is much better writing. Some of my dislike of the first main character in LTGWS is personal, so maybe if McCann had started elsewhere in the story, I would have liked it better. And, Mark, you can run, but you cannot hide--as evidenced by the fact that I just posted on your thread! Mwwwahhhahaha!

Hey Bonnie, just checking in after being away way too long. You've read some super books this year and I'll be adding many to my wishlist. I saw Little Bee at Border's on Monday and it was tempting but with so many books on my shelves I just haven't had an appetite to buy any books. Isn't that crazy?! *off to check if I'm running a fever*

Bonnie, I do so appreciate your honesty in your reviews and in admitting that you are quitting a book that is not for you. For the record, I thought Little Bee was an okay read, but way overhyped with all that silly stuff about a "secret" and I very much disliked the ending. So much, in fact, that I added a spoiler-type rant to my review.

I loved Let the Great World Spin, but can see why you didn't. I do hope you try it again at a later date. You never know....you could end up in the fan club!

>90 bonniebooks:, Bonnie - Sometimes the times not right. I know exactly what you mean. I found Corrigan and the hookers to be a little offputting but then when the scene shifted to the women's group, I was hooked (no pun intended).

14. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

So, Mark and Bonnie shamed me into reading the rest of the book and I have to admit that I loved the next chapter (which as you know, Joanne, was the women's group). Spoiler Alert! I could so relate to that chapter because one of my sons keeps saying he's going to join the military after he finishes school and I'm terrified of that. Plus, that story is told in the first person (we're inside of Claire's head) and that gets me more immersed in the story--and the same with Tillie's chapter (I think it's Claire and Tillie, I don't have the book in front of me and I'm terrible with names, both in RL and when I'm reading) and then again with Gloria's and Jasla's chapters.

I could have skipped a couple of chapters--in fact, I did skip one--but over all Let the Great World Spin was a good book.

P.S. I thought Little Bee was an OK read too, Donna, and totally agree with you about the silliness of the flyleaf, because the story played out in very predictable ways and when you think about the very end Spoiler Alert Again!--absolutely nothing happened.

I am glad that Let the Great World Spin redeemed itself a little for you, Bonnie, since I have that one on tap to read this year.

Returning to the room with a smile...

Ohhh, I'm so late to this party! I'll go for a nice plump floor cushion and a cosy crochet blanket - not sure what foodie stuff I could contribute though. AHA!!! I make a mean orange drizzle cake - problem solved!

Bonnie - I guess we all have different relationships with our TBR piles, huh? I have about 650 books on mine, or something ridiculous like that (though I swear I don't know where they're all hiding because the piles never LOOK that big), so I try not to look at it too often or it makes me lose focus on whatever I'm reading now, wanting to read them all at once! Though I must say, this act of reading a book and then giving it to the shop if I'm not going to read it again, thus contributing to the business, creates quite a nice feeling of satisfaction...

Elliepotten ~ v. glad to see your post about your 650 TBR books as it makes me feel less overwhelmed by my 360 or so. :) (I'm wondering now what the largest # of TBR books listed on LT is ... anyone have more than Ellie?) I also liked your comment about the satisfaction of giving your books to the shop. I've just started putting some of mine on BookMooch and it's made me really excited to give them away, whereas a few years ago I couldn't bear to part with a book unless I'd really hated it.

I only have a mere 475 in my TBR. Very modest.

(BookMooch started to work for me, but in 17 months I've got rid of 108 and replaced them with 135. I like doing it, but it doesn't make the TBR any smaller or free up any shelf space)

>101 elliepotten:-103: Well, you're obviously women of culture, so it only makes sense that your tbr's are so much larger than mine. Though, Ellie can pretend her tbr's are just part of a very special stockroom--for invited guests only.

15. Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

A gossipy replay of what was going on "behind the scenes" during the last presidential election. Lots of good reviews already on this book. Will just say I loved it! No surprise, given that I spent hours on my computer everyday reading about the candidates and their campaigns in 2007-2008. Much better (as in more fun) than David Plouffe's book.

Hey Bonnie- I might reconsider reading Game Change. I wasn't so sure, considering the authors involved, (maybe to right?), but readers seem to really like it. I just finished listening to The Audacity to Win by David Plouffe and truly loved it. I didn't find it tedious at all. I liked his no nonsense approach!

Mark, I would encourage people to read Plouffe's book. I didn't say it wasn't good; he just didn't have anything new to say to someone like me who spent hours every day following the race as it was unfolding. But for someone who wasn't as addicted as I was during the Presidential race, Plouffe's book should be an interesting overview of what was going on behind-the-scenes.

But, come on, let's face it, Plouffe is not going to say anything that would in any way harm the man he helped get elected (and will likely lead the team again to get him re-elected in 2012), so that makes his book less interesting, and potentially more biased, than Game Change in my opinion. Of course, it still says something very positive about both Obama and Plouffe that Plouffe doesn't have an ax to grind.

I'm so excited that you loved Game Change! I was listening to a podcast yeseterday (one of the Economist ones - they have a new monthly books one) and they were raving about it. I've just done a splurge on Amazon and Book Depository, so it'll be a month or two, but I'm definitely going to buy it.

Bonnie- You made some very points! So you feel Game Change was unbiased as well?
BTW, are you joining us for the G. R. of Midnight's Children? You better be, missy!

Oy, am I behind here...

Going alllllll the way back to #78: it seems sometimes that an author has an amazing 1st paragraph, or chapter or so, but then just doesn't know how to sustain it throughout. Little Bee sounds like it had potential.

If my TBR stack dips below 500, I get anxious. The bedside stack, just now counted, has 72...next to my leather wingchair in the living room has a measly 11 because The Divine Miss calls it a mess...and the den on the lower level has 433. Plus various bookcases around and about. The read books are, increasingly, making it out the door to various destinations, from the liberry sale to different LT friends and even the odd sibling. (My son-in-law threatened my life if I sent more books to my daughter.) My goodness, Bonnie, imagine your salon with ALL the TBR stacks in it! I think the Library of Alexandria would pale in comparison.

Ah Ricardo, your TBR stacks sound rather like mine. Nice to know I'm not the only one with piles of books here, there and everywhere - and learning to actually let go of a tome or three once they've been read!

If it has a flat surface in my house - there is a book on it!

We have two layers of books on one of our bookshelves--the first, inner layer is books, stacked with spine out. The second, outer layer is books stacked horizontally wherever we can fit them in.

I'm trying to convince my husband to store the paperbacks (he wouldn't even have to get rid of them). We both are awful at any kind of book weeding.

Karen O.

Currently, there are books on top of my glass door bookshelf in living room that is stacked two deep with books piled on top of those. I have books on an antique school desk in our fancy living room. Upstairs I have another bookcase nearly filled but not double stacked with books on top and then I have stacks of books piled on my side of the bedroom around a rubbermaid tub full of books. Whew! And I still don't think I have enough books. I have four pages wishlisted on Amazon.com. I AM A BIBLIOHOLIC!

*Waves Hi from behind a book pile next to the computer*

16. The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander

17. The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

18. Thirteen Moons by Charles Frasier

19. Gifted by Nikita Lalwani

20. Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City by Ben Chavez

21. A Room for Learning by Tal Birdsey

Did you like Thirteen Moons? I liked it a lot, actually better than Cold Mountain.

How was The Ministry of Special Cases - I'm about to read it

>123 rocketjk:: Yes I did, Jerry, but not at first. I wanted to like it, because I loved Cold Mountain so much (one of my Top 100), but felt impatient with the pace of his storytelling. It's like molasses--deep, rich, but oh so slow. I happened to see the audiobook at the library, so decided I'd listen to it. Will Patton's twangy drawl was perfect. I listened to about half of the book, then went back and started reading it again from the beginning and really enjoyed it. I can understand that a guy would like Thirteen Moons more, but I bet most women will like Cold Mountain better.

>124 avatiakh:: I really liked it, Kerry. I'm still thinking about what I want to say about it.

Hi Bonnie- Haven't seen you around much lately but at least you are knocking out some books. I actually have a copy of The Devil's Highway on it's way from BM. I've heard very good things about it. Did you like it? Also, I've been on the fence forever, on Thirteen Moons, maybe I'll try the audio too. BTW, I loved Cold Mountain!

Oh oh oh.... what a delightful stack of books .... I've got The Mystery of Special Cases in my TBR Tower .... glad to hear that you liked it ... and can't wait to read your review ... *hint, hint *

Crazy Like a Fox and A Room for Learning sound interesting ..... I'm so glad you're spending this weekend writing up all your reviews ...eager hearts are just going to be sitting here drinking tea and chewing on double fudge cakes until we see them posted. ;-)

Patiently waiting for Bonnie's reviews - can I have them for my birthday present?

I'm curious to get your opinion on Gifted and The Devil's Highway, as I enjoyed both books.

You are reading such very interesting books. In particular, Thirteen Moons looks great.

The Ministry of Special Cases seems really interesting! I'm curious to see what you write about it. Yet another added to my list...

>129 alcottacre:: You got it, Stasia! But I believe in celebrating 'birthday weeks' and 'birthday months' so it may still be awhile! :-)

#133: How about I just ask for one for my birthday and not all of them?

Work's boring, huh? ;-) Hmmm...I've got one hour, my time--can I do it?

#135: I am sitting here waiting for the guy to come in who wants to get his gal out of jail.

I am putting in a request for the review of The Devil's Highway. I loved Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter.

I tried a Nook today and was happy (because now I'm not at all tempted by it anymore) that I didn't like the look or feel of it. It felt small, yet way too heavy in my hands (much heavier than a paperback) and I couldn't get the print big enough to make it worth buying for my mother.

#137: I think I am going to stay away from the e-book readers for a while longer. I just like the feel of a book in my hands to much to give up that small pleasure.

I agree with you guys about the e- book readers. I like books way too much! Plus I love the bookstore, the smell of the new books, all of the colors and just wandering up and down the aisles. Also I like my librarians and hanging out at the library. Strangely enough going to the library is still something I can do with my almost teenage son, even though he mostly spends time playing games on the computers.

#139 - the smell of the new books in a bookstore - isn't it the best? I wish I could get that scent in a can or a candle - I'd love my house to smell of that! Maybe I need to buy more new books and fewer used....

22. Netherland by Joseph O'Neill

I liked this book, but didn't love it--primarily because, though I was enjoying O'Neill's writing, I kept wondering, "Where is he going now? What is this book eventually going to be about?" It felt more like the unraveling of a story--I never felt like I got the knitted whole of it. But the parts were good.

Well, I've pretty much caught up on all your threads--could have read a couple of books in the time it took me, but it was worth it. Now have to catch up on my own thread. Hmmm...I wonder if I could pay someone to write my comments for me.

Hi Bonnie! What did you think of Netherland? I read it, earlier last year and was disappointed. There is no question, he is a talented writer and there were some good sections but overall..meh!
BTW- I got a perfect softcover of The Devil's Highway today! Looking forward to it!

>143 msf59: Yes, disappointed. That's the word I was thinking of too.

23. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English by John McWhorter

24. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

This book wasn't quite the "tragicomedy" that I expected it to be. Hard to talk about it, though, without giving some of the plot away.

How did you like book #23? A friend gave this to me as a gift. I haven't read it yet.

The hubby and I tested out a Sony e-book reader at Best Buy recently and were very unimpressed. Nothing beats the real thing!

Your book #23 sounds really interesting, what did you think of it?

Hi Bonnie! Lots of good reading going on here!!

25. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows.

It feels wrong to call a book that includes descriptions of the German occupation of one of the Channel Islands off the coast of England as a "fun" book or a "light read," but The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is mostly that kind of story. There's a little romance, some good history, and a lot of charm to this book. Makes me want to travel there.

hey you read The Guernsey .... I am just waiting for richard to sign in and poop all over this

Curious what you thought about Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue. I love the subjects John McWhorter writes about, but his writing kind of drives me crazy (repetitive, too many off-subject personal asides, gratuitous pop culture references). I got through The Power of Babel b/c the subject matter was so interesting, but I couldn't get through more than a chapter or two of Word on the Street.

>150 cameling:: Yeah, and it was my second time too, because I was reading it for my book group. I think it was a good morning's read--a little sweet, but I enjoyed it just as much this time around.

>151 madhatter22:: McWhorter spent at least half of this small book explaining why he believed that the grammatical forms of do/did and -ing came from the Celtic languages. He had me convinced early on, so much of this book had much more detail about too few aspects of the English language for me to recommend it. "Repetitive" was the word that came to mind when I was reading it as well.

eta: Sorry, Linda and Andrea! I forgot that you had asked about Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue as well. I was going to go through my books to recommend a better one, then didn't.

Hi Bonnie- I've had The Guernsey Literary in the stack for quite sometime! Maybe one of these days...

Mark, me too! I really must pull it out from the bottom of the pile and get around to reading it!

The Guernsey Literary has been on my nightstand for months - that's my reading 'short stack' so you'd think I'd have read it by now!! I've heard good things about it...from most people that is... ;)

Once I got past the name, I enjoyed Guernsey.

I liked Guernsey too! I wish I could go there, I like islands.

>156 Copperskye:: Ha! Glad I'm not the only one who had a problem with the name. I have a copy on the shelf, but have been skeptical. Perhaps I should dust it off ... :)

I was very skeptical about the book but once I started I couldn't put it down! I'm glad to see you enjoyed it!

Hey Bonnie...

>149 bonniebooks:: It feels wrong to call a book that includes descriptions of the German occupation of one of the Channel Islands off the coast of England as a "fun" book or a "light read
I agree. I felt that literary guilt too. Same feeling I had when I enjoyed Three Day Road with it's horrific imagery of WWI.

I have to re-read Guernsey again later this year with my book club too. It was a 2008 fave of mine, and I have a feeling that reading it with the 'girls' will enhance that feeling.

>160 L-Anne:: Actually, Louanne, everyone loved the book, but it was a total DUD when it came to creating any discussion. Each person worked hard to try to find something to discuss, but nothing held up past a few comments. In contrast, our February selection, The Lovely Bones, supposedly generated a huge amount of discussion, even though the book was so distasteful to many. I didn't read it or attend, because my sister had just died and neither the book or the discussion appealed to me right then, so I can't compare the two discussions, but I'm wondering if your group will have the same "problem"?

26. Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman

This is a novel based on the true story of nine young black men who were pulled off a freight train, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death (there were multiple trials and mistrials) for doing and saying things that they never actually did, based solely on the testimony of two white girls who didn't want to get into trouble for being on the trains, themselves. The Scottsboro trials took place in the 1930's in Alabama. Link to related website here

Although I think I would have rather this had been a nonfictional account, I still would highly recommend Feldman's book, because there are just so many issues to think about and discuss while reading this story: prejudice/racism, anti-semitism, sexism, women's rights, the impact of journalism/media, states rights, socialism/communism, social mores/cultural values, the depression, capital punishment, our justice system, including the history of the Supreme Court... made all the more potent because she's made this book so personal.

I have always found that with a book group, discussions of books that everyone likes are dull as dirt. The best discussions always have an opposing view!

I'm with Terri. Group reads where everyone agrees put me to sleep. Book reads where everyone disagrees or, at least, where there's much food for thought are fun.

>163 tloeffler: & 164: I was going to choose The Help for our next book group read, but I'm worried we'll have a bit of the same problem, especially since we think so much alike politically as well. I'm wondering...If I come up with a short list, maybe I can get some feedback/advice from my LT friends? Coming soon...

27. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

I am so in love with this book! Jonathan Safran Foer is so inventive in how he's combined pictures and words to create such a poignant story. It's so funny/sad and feels very real in its own crazy way.

edited to add a "hard link" because the Touchstone wasn't working and I want everyone to read this book! :-)

#166: I read Everything is Illuminated and really enjoyed it, but have not gotten around to that one yet. I will have to bump it up in the BlackHole. Thanks for the reminder, Bonnie.

28. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

If you like fantasy, pretend wars between pretend countries, a little romance, heroes and antiheroes; and plot points created and/or moved along and resolved by the magic of Wizards, supernatural powers or gods; you'll maybe love this book. My only excuse for spending most of a day reading it was that it was pouring raining and I'm on vacation. Sure, the author was good at creating some excitement and tension, but I Just-Didn't-Care!

eta: trying to fix the pic. Why can't I get a pic from LT to work??! :-(

Message 162. I believe Stasia recommended this one awhile back. Your review, coupled with her recommendation make this a must read.

#168: Sorry you did not enjoy Tigana more, Bonnie. I hope your next read is more enjoyable for you!

Well, I was still coming off the "high" of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close so that probably made me even more critical, but the contrast of those two books made me think a lot about how interactive and truly personal reading is, and I consider that a good outcome. For example, I've decided that--in general--Fantasy just doesn't do it for me.

edit. to nix an extra word.

#171: The one genre I cannot do is Horror. Manuel and I were discussing this earlier this morning - how reading is so dependent on the reader and no 2 books will ever be the same for everybody because every reader brings their own experiences to the book.

So true! I wouldn't read Horror either, though I really liked Sharp Teeth--would that book fall into that category?

#173: I took a look at the tags on Sharp Teeth. It seems pretty well divided between 'Horror' and 'Urban Fantasy,' so it looks like a case where it is up to the reader.

I do like horror. But I prefer gothic style horror stories, where the hint of menace is more implied and non-graphic to the more bloody and gory modern horror books. Of course, I think that also has something to do with my preferring old classics over modern books.

Dracula, which is one of my all time favorite books, is obviously a horror classic.

Last month I read this collection of horror short stories called For the Blood Is the Life and Other Stories by F. Marion Crawford and enjoyed it very much.

I also tend to look up anthologies of old time horror/ weird tales. In fact, I had earlier read two stories that feature in the book, The Upper Berth and The Screaming Skull (seriously, can the story title BE anymore creepy!), in another horror anthology. So, yeah I do horror (but only non-violent, old time creepy ones!).

I can do the non-violent, old-time creepy ones, too. I like gothic as well.

Hi Bonnie- Tigana sounds good! I don't mind making an occasional side-trip to fantasy-land. I've had Sharp Teeth on my WL forever!

# 176 Hi alcottacre! My attraction to Gothic recently increased after reading a non-fiction book on Gothic lit called The Tale of Terror: A Study of the Gothic Romance!

As a result since last month I’ve read a satire on Gothic novels called Nightmare Abbey, a collection of weird tales For the Blood Is the Life and Other Stories, etc. So, I’ve kind of been having a Gothic/ horror binge. Of course, Nightmare Abbey is more of a comedy than horror but the set up is still Gothic.

BTW, if anyone is interested check out my review of For the Blood Is the Life and Other Stories here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/54874730

or at my 50 book challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/80925

#178: Thanks for the recommendation of The Tale of Terror. I will look for it.

# 179 You're welcome! But I've got to warn you the work is a little bit too extensive. Birkhead obviously loved Gothic fiction. I presume she had read almost all of the books she speaks of in the book. It seems as if she tried to cram in the summary and criticism of all of the books she had read in to this one book! At times I felt somewhat overwhelmed by the ‘barrage’ of information.

Having said all that the book is rather informative. It did help add quite a few new books to my TBR pile. So, it's all good. :-)

#180: It sounds like an excellent reference source if nothing else.

# 181 Yes, you’re right. And she does seem sincere in her efforts to understand the origin and development of Gothic Romance and horror tales in English literature.

#182: I think I am just going to go ahead and buy a copy rather than get it from the library.

>177 msf59:: LOL! Oh no, Mark! Is this an April Fool's Joke? ;-) You're supposed to want to read Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close not Tigana! Oh well, Musicmom and Lunacat will be happy. :-)

Well, folks, I'm not going to be able to respond to any your comments for a few days as I'm going to spend the rest of my vacation at a very quiet, very exclusive B & B that doesn't have internet service. Since I've already got my reservation, I'll link it here for any of my LT friends who might be interested.

Have a wonderful time with the beetroot picking Bonnie, and I hope the farmer is nice.

Edited just because.

# 183 Glad to be able to help increase your book collection, alcottacre!

# 185 That sounds refreshing and peaceful! Have a good time, Bonnie! ;-)

#185: Have a wonderful time, Bonnie!

Errr...sorry for the spoiler!

Edited to remove spoiler!

The reviews for the beet farm are unusual, to say the least. Have an wonderful, adventurous time!!!

>185 bonniebooks: !! :))
But don't go chasing after the proprietor, from what I saw recently, he's interested in a new girl.

and YAY for being in love with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Me too!

>191 detailmuse:: Ha! Ha! Consider me forewarned! I have a love/HATE relationship with him already!

I'm really glad I'm tagging my books with a "rec by..." because then if I really love a book, I can go see what else they've recommended. :-) I'm really looking forward to The Things They Carried (another one of your recs). I bought it for my son, and I've got it requested, so between the two I hope I get to read it soon.

>185 bonniebooks: Gosh I wish I could join you at Shrute's Farm. What a fantastic place for a B&B. Great reviews too. You know how to pick 'em sis;-)

I'll invite you next time, Bonnie--my treat! ;-)

Bonnie- What about me?? Shuffles away...pouting!
Actually, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close sounds very good. I have not read him! Have a great time, my friend!

Mark, click on the link, and if you still want to go--and can get a reservation--your whole family is invited! :-)

I'm also a fan of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Bonnie- Thanks for the invite, I feel much better now! Actually, we'll be heading to the Northwest in June, to visit my sister in Salem OR!

29. Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder

Comments coming soon.

#19: I hope you liked it, Bonnie.

*Stasia, nervously pacing back and forth awaiting Bonnie's word*

Never fear, Stasia, I thought it was really good.

Whew! I am glad you liked it.

That's right, I have you to thank for the recommendation. THANKS, Stasia! :-)

You are quite welcome. I understand when people do not like books that I really like, but I do not like it much, lol.

30. Blindness by Jose Saramago

A man, sitting in his car, waiting for the light to turn green, goes instantly blind--can only see a 'sea of white.' The man who drives him home also goes blind very soon after, and then the persons they come in contact with go blind, including the doctor the first man goes to see. Wives, other patients who were in the same doctor's waiting room, taxi drivers, hotel maids...only the doctor's wife is exempted, and it is through her eyes that we get to "see" what happens as this epidemic of unexplained "blindness" evolves.

A decision is made to quarantine these first victims in an abandoned mental hospital, and it is here that much of Saramago's story takes place. And though the number of people eventually interned in this hospital quickly balloons up to 300+ people, this story mostly centers around these first 10 or so people (including a young boy) who band together to try to survive the ever filthy, frightening, violent and degrading conditions inside.

I love how Saramago creates a sense of disorientation/blindness for the reader by the way he punctuates with commas and caps, so you know someone new is talking, but it takes awhile to figure out who--like being in the dark, yourself. Just as Saramago uses the eyes of the doctor's wife to force us to "see," he also puts words in her mouth that he wants us to hear.

A quote from the doctor's wife: ...let us not forget that that was our life during the time when we were interned, we went down all the steps of indignity, all of them, until we reached total degradation, the same might happen here albeit in a different way, there we still had the excuse that the degradation belonged to someone else, not now, now we are all equal regarding good and evil, please don't ask me what good and what evil are, we knew what it was when we had to act when blindness was an exception, what is right and what is wrong is simply different ways of understanding our relationship with the others, not that which we have with ourselves, one should not trust the latter, forgive this moralizing speech, you do not know, you can not know, what it means to have eyes in the world in which everyone else is blind...

The doctor's wife again: Let's Open our eyes, We can't, We are blind, said the doctor, It is a great truth that says that the worst blind person was the one who did not want to see...

The doctor's wife yet again: ...Those who are still alive have a greater need to rise again by themselves and they don't, We are already half dead, said the doctor, We are still half alive too...

>205 bonniebooks:: That was one of my top reads last year. I hope you liked it!

I did, Tad, but I have to confess to wanting to turn a "blind eye" to all that's bad in the world after reading this plus Strength in What Remains and just read something "light" for a change. I know, I know, Saramago would be sooo disappointed! ;-)

What a great review, Bonnie. I've got this already in my TBR Tower ... guess I'll move it up a notch

Bonnie- Excellent review! I've never read this author but I've seen him mentioned on LT for quite some time!

Superb review, Bonnie! I read another book by Saramago and it didn't do much for me (so much so that I'm having a hard time recalling the title ...), but this one sounds better.

Great review, Bonnie! Blindness is one of my 10 favorite books of the past decade, and even though I'm a huge Saramago fan, all of his other books pale in comparison to this one, IMO.

#205: I have that one sitting in my house somewhere waiting for me to read it. I definitely need to get it done!

Bonnie,

You have me scurrying to get this book. Thanks for that great review. I'm now really looking forward to it.

Adding a bunch of stuff from your thread -- Blindness , Extemely Loud and Incredibly Close

Hmmm, touchstones don't seem to be working now. For either book. Grrrr.....

At the risk of toppling the TBR Tower, I'm pulling Blindness out from the bottom and moving it up. I'm starting on a Steinbeck roll so I know you'll forgive me if I read The Moon is Down first. I know John is your first love!

Blindness sounds really good, Bonnie. I will look for it at the library. :)

I have Blindness. I want to read it, but I'm also afraid of it because I saw the movie first and was very disturbed by it. The rape scene got to me.

>215 Donna828:: Or maybe not... I don't see Steinbeck on your list of favorite authors. I know someone on LT loves John. LOL. I will say that The Moon is Down was excellent and recommended whether or not you are a Steinbeck fan.

I recently finished The Short Novels of John Steinbeck. Sorry to Say I wasn't to crazy about them. Of the 6 the only one I liked and could somewhat relate to was Cannery Row. Now I'm wondering if I really want to reread The Grapes of Wrath or read East of Eden.

31. Blankets by Craig Thompson

#220: That one has been in the BlackHole for a while now, Bonnie. I cannot wait to see what you think of it.

Hope you enjoyed your vacation, Bonnie! Just catching up on your thread and I see lots of reviews for books on my TBR. I'm glad to see you enjoyed them! Blindess is a novel I would have never heard about if not for LT, so I am really looking forward to that one eventually. I've also been meaning to get around to Johnathan Safron Foer one of these days as well. Too many great books out there, too little time :)

32. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

There were large segments of this book that were great--beautiful, funny, and tragic--but other parts were way too strange for me. That's too bad, because there's a very serious part of this story that needs to be heard--and which I was invested in--but too often I felt like I was reading a book written by a young male author who, at least in the beginning, was trying too hard to be funny, who went overboard in his attempts to find a new way to structure his story, and who appeared to be way too influenced by his own masturbatory fantasies. But maybe I'm just too old!

Hi Bonnie- How are you stranger? I have yet to read Foer. I'll have to give him a try. I landed a nice softcover of Blindness, based on your glowing rec, can't wait to give it a shot! hope you are having a nice weekend!

Me too Mark. Mine came from PBS the other day; no idea when I'll get to it though. Thanks Bonnie for the rec. I'll be passing on Everything Is Illuminated because, guess what? I'm too old too!

#223: I liked that one better than you did from the sounds of it, Bonnie. I hope you enjoy your next read better!

I'm joining the "old" club. I tried to read the Foer book and didn't get very far before I realized I just wasn't hip enough to get it! Congratulations for sticking it out, Bonnie. I guess that makes you our club president.

The best way to enjoy Everything is Illuminated, IMHO, is by audio. I enjoyed this book immensely. It was the movie that disappointed me. I just couldn't imagine Elijah Wood was really the protagonist in the story. He just didn't look the part. :)

I really enjoyed Everything is Illuminated, especially the weird and wacky bits (I find it impossible to not love a book that has this snippet in a newspaper: "Avrum R Killed in flour mill mishap, leaves behind a lost siamese cat of forty-eight years, tawny, chubby, but not fat, personable, maybe a little fat, answers to 'Methuselah,' OK, fat as shit. If found, free to keep").

I was disappointed in the movie because it did not have all the strange stuff, but "just" the story of Alex and Jonathan. Which I always considered as secondary to Brod's tale.

I think it needs a re-read though, it's been some years since I last read it...

>229 wookiebender:: I was disappointed in the movie because it did not have all the strange stuff, but "just" the story of Alex and Jonathan. Which I always considered as secondary to Brod's tale.

For me, it was just the opposite. The best parts for me were: Alex's letters to Jonathan, and his retelling of their trip, as well as the stories of both Alex's and Jonathan's grandfathers, and how they interrelated and represented yet another place/time where Jews were persecuted and killed.

But, again, I really loved Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Thought his use of pictures with the text was extremely creative, and am even going to read it again for book group next week.

eta: I'm going to have to try more audio books, but folks you've got to read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close because the picture included are so important to the story.

>224 msf59:: Mark, your comments remind me that writing--at least my writing--falls so short of RL discussions with friends about books, because my intention was not to write a "glowing review." For example, I liked Blindness because it made me think about some serious issues, and about what kind of person I think I'd be in those kinds of situations, but I didn't love, love the book. (Sorry, Kidzdoc!) I'm just not that fond of post-apocalyptic genre; I think the real world gives us enough of those kinds of dilemmas that too much of the time too many of us (especially myself) are ignoring. What I did appreciate/love was Saramago's technique in creating--through a simple punctuation change--a feeling of disorientation/blindness for the reader. Which is a much simpler, more limited "love," and somehow that got translated to people thinking I loved the whole book.

I'm a very emotional reader. What books I love or don't love probably say more about me than about the quality, or "goodness," of the books I'm reading. I loved Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I didn't love Blindness. It will be interesting to see which one you like better.

Hi Bonnie- Maybe "glowing" was the wrong word choice, but the main point was your review (along with Darryl's high praise) inspired me to seek out this book and explore it for myself. Take care, my friend!

bonnie, stop spleening me! :) I also found Everything is Illuminated's Trachimbrod storyline less engaging than the other ones; but 4.5 stars overall for me, imaginative and original. Five stars to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close ... I did listen on audio (the first audio I ever managed to finish, I think; the narrator had a perfect young voice) but then I did flip through a copy of the book and knew I had to read it too, someday.

I wasn't picking on your choice of words, Mark. I had just been feeling guilty that I wasn't coming clean about how I really felt about the book after I read other LT-ers' reactions to my comments. There have been quite a few books that I've said nothing about this year, because I just don't know how to condense my feelings/thoughts into a paragraph or two. I really admire those that can do this.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Aaah! That felt good! That's one of those words that has entered my mental vocabulary already, MJ! :-)

eta: meaning I've used it inside my head but hadn't had it used against me! LOL!

Bonnie- No sweat! Regardless, I admire your opinion, if I agree or not. And that's a good suggestion about putting the thread links on your profile! I've been doing that for awhile now. Very handy!

...folks you've got to read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close because the picture included are so important to the story.

Bonnie is *so* right about this. I started listening to this book on audio, and it was only when I was halfway through the book did I see in a hard copy that there were pictures!! I then got the hard copy from the library and started reading the book all over agin. Phew! At least I didn't miss them...

*now looking for a copy of Foer's new "foodie" book*

bonnie, stop spleening me!

One of the things that I loved the most about Everything was Illuminated was Foer's creative use of language. I simply have no idea how he put that story together. If it were me writing that book, I would have completely evaporated somewhere in between thumbing through dictionaries and thesaureses. :)

At long last, just when it's time for you to begin a new thread, I've caught up with your posts. Lots of great reading & many to go onto my wishlist. I loved Extremely Loud too and consider it one of my all time favorite books.........ever!

I simply must read some Foer. His books have been on my lists for a long time. Any opinions on which should be read first?

"I'm a very emotional reader. What books I love or don't love probably say more about me than about the quality, or "goodness," of the books I'm reading."

That is what I've been trying to explain for so long! My likes, dislikes, my reviews and my ratings all express my feelings about the books. Thank you Bonnie for finally putting my thoughts in to words!

What Porua said.

--> 240

I think all three of Foer's books are so totally different that it doesn't make any difference with which one you start (although I haven't read his newest nonfiction). If I were you, I'd probably start with his oldest and read them in the order he wrote them.

ETA: A word to the wise: Some people dislike his novels because of the (how to describe this?) silly devices (?) he uses in his writing. I loved them all! My point is that his writing is not for everyone ("What Porua said").

Well, I'm prejudiced because I liked Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close so much better than Everything is Illuminated so I would say read Extremely Loud... first.

Hi, Bonnie!
I finally caught up with all your reading this year. Hope you had a wonderful time at the B&B.
--BJ

Although I own Everything is Illuminated I put it down after reading the first page and haven't pick it up again. For some reason the writing made me feel as if I were old, I don't think 40ish is old, by any means. This is the only book that I ever felt this way about. Horrible feeling but I'll try again at some later date.

>245 billiejean:: Hi, BJ! Glad to see you! I wonder if my April Fool's Joke was really on me after all?! ;-) I didn't really go on vacation, everybody. If you clicked on the link, you would find that it was a real travel site, but the B&B was Shrute Farms which is a beet farm "owned" by the character Dwight Shrute on The Office, one of my favorite shows. The "visitors" comments were a real hoot!

>241 Porua:: Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends.

Thanks, Porua, but I think this quote on your profile by Dawn Adams better says what I was thinking--that you can know me by the books I love.

#247 Sorry that I did not catch the joke! LOL!
--BJ

33. House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper

Comments soon.

About time for a new thread, Bonnie?

Your wish is my command! :-)

LOL! If only my life were that easy.

Hey! Where's the new thread, is there a link?

And Bonnie, I like your thoughts on Everything is Illuminated. I had that impression of the book from other things I've read about it.

Finally! I've got the new thread up! Here's the link to Bonnie's Best of Your Best 2010 Challenge, Chapter 3 Hope you all haven't forgotten me! ;-)

Bonnie- We would never forget you or at least I won't! When are we allowed to post on your new thread??

Yay! A friend! You can post now, Mark. :-)