glwebb's 2007 books

Fat chance of reading 50 so I'll cop-out straight away and just track what I read in 2007.

So far:
1. The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed by John McPhee
2. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
3. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
4. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

Current progress:

57/50 (114%)

6. Peace Kills by P. J. O'Rourke

7. Flow, My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick

8. The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross

9. Missile Gap by Charles Stross
10. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

11. Cell by Stephen King

12. Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee

Hi, gl ~ You're not doing too bad so far. If you want to track your progress to see how you're doing, you can go to this site: http://www.zokutou.co.uk/wordmeter/. Here's your progress so far (assuming 12 out of 50):

12 / 50
(24.0%)

Thanks for that.

13. World War Z by Max Brooks

14. The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

A very funny book, you ought to make time to read this one.

15. Monster in a Box by Spalding Gray

16. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

17. American Tabloid by James Ellroy

18. Three men in a boat : to say nothing of the dog by Jerome K. Jerome

19. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

20. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

21. The Atomic Bazaar by William Langewiesche

22. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre

Oh, I love John Le Carre. I have read this one, but long enough ago that I could read it again--I don't really remember how it ends. Thanks for reminding me about this one.

Well if you don't remember how it ends then it's definitely time to read it again, forgetting what happens can only help when re-reading a thriller.

It is the first Le Carré novel I've read, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I've got another one of his in the ever growing pile of 'books to be read real soon now', and I'll probably buy some more.

I re-read The Russia House last year, after not reading it for probably 10 years. I remembered enough to know that I liked it and for the characters to be familiar, but not enough to really remember how it turned out. Well, I did remember the movie with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, but the book is always different. It was excellent, anyway, is that on your list?

No the other one I've got is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and if I enjoy that I'll go on and read the rest of the 'Karla trilogy'.

As you can see I read American Tabloid recently, for the second time and about 10 years after the first time. I also remembered liking it but had managed to forget much of the details of the plot. I'm sure I read it more quickly this time than the first time as I finished it over four to five days, and I think that helped to keep track of what was going on in a very tersely written and complicated story. It's the book I've most enjoyed reading this year, so far.

The trouble with this 50 Book Challenge and reading new authors, Philip K. Dick is new to me as well, is that you realise how many books you'd like to read and how few you do. Still the challenge has spurred me on to read more than I have for a long time, and I think I may yet reach 50 by the end of the year if I sustain my recent rate.

Yes, that is exactly why I am always trying to read faster--because there are so many good books to read! Philip K. Dick is one of my favorites as well. Good luck with making the challenge!

23. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre

24. Zodiac by Robert Graysmith

25. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

26. The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre

27. Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

28. The Curve of Binding Energy by John McPhee

29. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

30. Smiley's People by John Le Carre

31. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

32. Sideways by Rex Pickett

33. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

34. The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth

35. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

36. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

37. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

38. Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

39. Moonraker by Ian Fleming

40. Oxford Guide to Plain English by Martin Cutts

41. The Ipcress File by Len Deighton

42. Linux iptables Pocket Reference by Gregor N. Purdy

43. The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre

44. Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming

45. The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross

46. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome

47. From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming

48. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

49. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

50. The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan

That's fifty--congratulations. Enjoy your victory lap!

Thank you, I'm going to keep on going until the end of the year. So...

51. The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham

52. The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers

53. White Jazz by James Ellroy

54. A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler

55. Doctor No by Ian Fleming

56. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

57. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

Woo-hoo! You did it, glwebb, and even exceeded 50! And you thought you couldn't do it. Congrats!

Happy Newe Year!

Happy New Year to you as well. Yes I did quite a bit better than I expected.