Ricey attempts 75 in 2010 (not going to happen!)

I have only been a member of LT for a couple of days, but already I am loving it!

I always thought that I was a bit of a book lover, but from reading some of the various posts on this site, I have discovered that I am a mere amateur.

So it is with great trepidation that I join this group in an attempt to read 75 books in a year. I don't think I have ever read that many books in a 52 week period, but now that I don't have to study anymore, maybe I can give it a shot.

As I am starting this almost half way through the year, I will have to try to remember the books that I have read thus far.




Currently reading:
Snow - Orhan Pamuk
March - Geraldine Brooks

This won't be a complete list, but here goes!

December
38. The Stone Monkey - Jeffrey Deaver
37. The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson

November
36. Tales of the Unexpected - Roald Dahl
35. Ellis Island Interviews - Peter M. Cohan
34. The Spare Room - Helen Garner

October
33. Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
32. The Girl in Times Square - Paullina Simons

August
31. My Invented Country: A Memoir - Isabel Allende
30. Seeing George - Cassandra Austin
29. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
28. Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger
27. Snuff - Chuck Palahniuk

July
26. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
25. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow - Peter Hoeg

June
24. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
23. Octopussy - Ian Fleming
22. Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men - PeterFitzSimons
21. Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes

January to May (not in any particular order)
20. Tully - Paullina Simons
19. The Tears of Autumn - Charles McCarry
18. Sex and the City - Candace Bushnell
17. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
16. Salem Falls - Jodi Picoult
15. The Pact - Jodi Picoult
14. 9821122::The Necklace - Cheryl Jarvis
13. New York Days, New York Nights - Steven Brook
12. Murder on the Leviathan - Boris Akunin
11. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
9. First Among Sequels - Jasper Fforde
8. Eleven Hours - Paullina Simons
7. Deadly Decisions - Kathy Reichs
6. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
5. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
4. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
3. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
2. Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
1. Always Looking Up - Michael J. Fox

I'm never going to get to 75!

Welcome to the group!

Thanks!

You are most welcome. I hope you find a lot to like here :)

I think I've only just scratched the surface! This challenge will certainly encourage me to read more instead of watching mind-numbingly boring shows on TV!

Definitely!

Hi, welcome from me, too. You have already read quite a mixed bag of books this year, I see. I also recently read Tears of Autumn - what did you think of it? It was the first Charles McCarry book I have read, and I'm not sure if I want to continue with him or not.

There's always hope of getting to 75! This group will help immensely by giving you so many great suggestions. Two years ago I only read 44 books; last year, with the help of this group, it was up to 66; and now I'm finally on track to make 75.

Welcome to our friendly, well read and chatty group.

Welcome! Nice batch o' books to start the year!

Thanks to all for the friendly welcome!

I am trying to read as fast and as often as I can, but I just don't think I'm going to be able to make the 75. At least at the end of next year I will hopefully have improved on this year's tally, and so on through the years.

To JanetinLondon - I feel the same way about Tears of Autumn. I borrowed it from my father in law, who quite likes McCarry's style. It took me quite a while to get into the story. It was also my first Charles McCarry book, and I think that I have a lot of other books that I would like to read before I attempt any more of his books.

Well, must get back to the reading!

I am trying to read as fast and as often as I can, but I just don't think I'm going to be able to make the 75. At least at the end of next year I will hopefully have improved on this year's tally, and so on through the years.

The good news is we really don't care about the numbers! Sharing good books and getting to know fellow readers is what we're really about. 8^}

I wonder if you can help me to understand a bit about these groups. There are so many topics in this one group, yet people still seem to be able to keep up to date with what everyone is up to. Is there an easy way to do this? It all seems a bit overwhelming otherwise. I'm never sure which topics to read, etc.

Hopefully I will understand it one day!

In the 75ers group, not everyone keeps up with everyone else. As you say, it is a bit overwhelming. What typically happens is that people have several favorite threads that they track. If you look in the right hand corner across from where the group name is, you will see a grayed out star and x. You can 'star' people's threads - those you particularly want to keep track of - so that they are easier for you to see.

Okay, so I could 'star' my own so that it is easier to find each time I log on! So simple when you think about it.

Thanks for the tip!

Yes, you can. You can also put a link to your thread on your profile page so that you can access it from there.

Can you please tell me how to do that?

On your profile page, you can edit by clicking on 'profile and account settings' next to the little pencil on the right hand side. Just copy and paste your thread address http://www.librarything.com/topic/92856 there, wherever you want it.

22. Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men - Peter FitzSimons

#20: What did you think of that one? It looks very good!

I loved it. It was just so fascinating to read about the pioneers of aviation, not just in Australia, but also around the world. I liked the way that the author incorporated a fairly decent history of early aviation into the story, instead of making it just about the one person. I think I would definitely read it again.

If you are interested in the history of aviation, you might give The Shoulders of Giants: A History of Human Flight to 1919 by Phil Scott a try.

I will look for the FitzSimons book. Thanks for the additional info.

Thanks for the tip on the book.

FitzSimons is an Aussie author, so I'm not sure how readily available his books are in the US.

It does not appear as though my local libraries have the FitzSimons book. I will try to get it through interlibrary loan.

Let me know how you go, and if you enjoy it as much as I did!

I sure will!

A late hello, and welcome to the group!

Another helpful link for posting stuff - http://www.librarything.com/topic/80911

Thanks for the welcome and for the link!

23. Octopussy - Ian Fleming

Hi Ricey! I see we both joined in June and are playing catch-up, so I thought maybe we could cheer each other on! Your list of books has a lot of interesting choices in it.

What did you think of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? I've had it on my list of books to read for a while but haven't gotten to it yet.

Hi valerette! I think I need someone to cheer me on! I have a very varied book collection. I like reading a little bit of everything, and choose books from my library based on what kind of mood I'm in at the time. I've come to the realisation since joining this site that I have a lot of books in my collection that I haven't read, so I'm trying to conquer them all before I buy too many more.

I actually quite like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was a bit wary about the way that it shot to fame so quickly, but my mum talked me into reading it because she enjoyed it. It's certainly a page turner, so don't start it unless you have time to sit down and read the whole thing!!

Hope we can keep in touch to keep encouraging each other!

Hi there Ricey, it takes a while to get the hang of LT but once you do there's no stopping you! Just an aside to discussion #14, you can keep track of where you have commented under the "talk" tab along the top, once you've gone into that you'll see a list down the left side, go to "Your Posts" and you'll get a listing of every thread you've commented on.

What did you think of the Michael J Fox book? I have heard his story is inspirational, is it told well?

Always Looking Up is quite inspirational. I found it quite well written. Michael J Fox splits the story into different sections, including Work, Family, etc. and I think that it works well in that format. I found it amazing that one person can have such an impact. He has fought so hard for people with Parkinson's Disease, and so many people have sat up and listened. His sense of humour shines through in the book as well, making it a very enjoyable read.

I finished reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen this morning. Not quite sure what to read next...

#35: I hope you enjoyed that one!

I enjoyed Water for Elephants, what did you think of it?

As far as what to read next,have you thought about the Take it or Leave it Challenge? It helped me choose what to read next off my "to read" shelf.

I actually really enjoyed Water for Elephants. I found it difficult to put down once I had started.

I've started reading Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow, but I'm finding it a bit difficult to get into.

When I've finished that one I might look in on the Take it or Leave it Challenge. It looks interesting and I'm sure it would make choosing books a lot easier!

#38: We would love to have you in the TIOLI Challenge! I hope you do join.

How do I join?

#40: At the top of the current month's TIOLI thread is listed the initial challenge along with the link to the wiki for the month. You can look at the wiki that lists the current challenges going on and decide which one(s) fit in with the books you have on hand. You can list them on the current thread so everyone else is aware of what you are reading and may possibly join you in reading one or more of your books. That is all there is to it.

How are things, Ricey? Are you enjoying Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow?

It's been so hot here I've just wanted to lay around in the air conditioning and read, so I've got quite a bit read this week, I hope you're having a good week!

I'm a little late, but welcome to LT, Ricey! I'm wondering where you are that your title is Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow which in the US is (or at least my copy is) titled Smilla's Sense of Snow........ Yet another one that I've had on the shelf for 20 years without getting to. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it!

Thanks for the welcome, LizzieD. I'm actually in Australia, but the book belongs to my sister-in-law who (I think) bought it in the UK.

I'm finding the book a bit tough to get in to. I've been pretty busy lately, so whenever I do get a chance to read, I usually find myself falling asleep without having read too many pages.

It would be so nice to be warm! We are having quite a cold winter for us (nowhere near as cold as it gets in the northern hemisphere, but still cold to me!), and I can't wait for a little bit of warmer weather.

I might snuggle down next to the heater and under a blanket today and try to get back into Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. The housework can wait!

I finish reading Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow last night. I'm not sure if I enjoyed it or not. I was expecting a bigger ending than what it gave me.

Hi, Ricey. I know what you mean about Miss Smilla - I read it last year and enjoyed most of it, but I found the ending very disappointing.

Hope the weather warms up for you soon!

I read Smilla's Sense of Snow earlier this month for the Take It or Leave It Challenge...it has an ISBN ending with 4, and I will agree with you both that the ending was anticlimactic, very unsatisfying. I generally liked Smilla's character, however, and found the mystery intriguing and different.

>45 Ricey: & ff: I read it a couple of years ago and felt the first part was wonderful but the last section seemed like a Dirk Pitt novel.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who wasn't 100 per cent satisfied. I was really enjoying the book in the last hundred pages or so and it seemed to be building up to so much more...

#47: Unfortunately I couldn't technically use Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow as a part of the TIOLI challenge. My copy is from the UK, so the ISBN ends with a 5, instead of a 4. Ah, the technicalities!

I had had this book on my "to read" list but based on the comments here I think I'll take it off. It's so disappointing when books do that!

Everybody is different though. You might find that you enjoy it.

Finally finished Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. So many twists and turns that I didn't quite see coming.

#52: I liked that one a lot. You are right - many twists and turns.

I finished Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk yesterday. It's the first time in a long time that I have finished a whole book in a single day. It doesn't happen much anymore.

Snuff was definitely an interesting book, to say the least. I am sure that it wouldn't appeal to many people, but it was an easy read.

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger this morning on the train back home. It was a nice story, but I was hoping for so much more, based on The Time Traveler's Wife.

Next up is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have decided that I need to read more classics.

Hi. I hope you love The Great Gatsby. It seems to be a book that works for any age. I loved it when I was in my 20's, I'm now in my 50's and still love it, and my teenage daughter just read and loved it, too.

I just can't believe that there are so many classics that I have never read before. I keep wondering why I have never bothered. And there are so many good ones.

I was watching a book club TV show last night and they were talking about Anna Karenina. Now that one is going on the wish list.

#57: We have been reading Anna Karenina here in the group. I would recommend the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation if you can get your hands on it.

Thanks for the tip. I've just changed my amazon wish list.

#59: No problem. AK is the third of P/V translations I have read, and they have all been excellent, which is why I do not hesitate to recommend them.

I think the Oprah's Book Club version is a P/V translation?

#61: Yes, it is, much to my surprise. I tend to stay away from Oprah's Book Club recommendations.

Just finished The Great Gatsby.

Hmmm, what to read next?

Anna Karenina?

Unfortunately I haven't got a copy of it yet. Otherwise I would love to.

After raiding my sister-in-law's library, I have decided to start Seeing George by Cassandra Austin. I'm twenty pages in, and already it is interesting.

#63 - so what did you think?

#66 - It's a great little story, isn't it? I think I'll definitely have to read it again.

Just finished Seeing George by Cassandra Austin. What a lovely little story! Sometimes it's so refreshing to pick up a nice little book like this one that just has a lovely story to it.

I think I will read My Invented Country by Isabel Allende next.

>68 Ricey:, haven't tried that one of Allende's, just Portrait In Sepia which was pretty good. Not sure if I was moved enough to go for more though! I hope you enjoy it.

#69 - I am enjoying it so far. I have learned a lot about Chile that I didn't know. This is the only book of hers that I have, so I had to make do.

#70: My Invented Country is, thus far, the only one of Allende's books I have ever read. I enjoyed it.

Glad you liked The Great Gatsby!

I just finished My Invented Country by Isabel Allende. I really enjoyed this book. It was just as though someone was sitting in my lounge room with me, telling me a story.

Next up is Snow by Orhan Pamuk.

Well, after a pretty unsuccessful September (I didn't finish any books at all), I have finally got back on the reading wagon. I finished The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons.

I have already made a start on Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I was in the US for two weeks in September, and ended up buying about ten new books, which gave me the dilemma of how to get them home with me. I can't believe how cheap books are in the US. Books that we would pay at least $20 for in Australia were less than half that price in a lot of US bookstores. I now know why so many US LTers have so many books!

Glad to see you back on the reading wagon - and posting again, Ricey!

>74 Ricey: Too right Ricey- books here In NZ (and in OZ) are so expensive, if you want a new release it'll be $35 - $40. That's why its second hand all the way for me, with the occasional book depository one as a treat!

I love going to the second hand book store. It's so frustrating now that I know that the price of a second hand book here is what I would pay for a new one in the US... Oh well, it just makes them all the more precious to me!

#77: I will happily act as a clearinghouse for you (and anyone else overseas who is interested.) I can ship the books to you if there is something you are interested in and you would probably end up paying less than if you got them in NZ.

That's a really generous offer! I'll definitely think about that one. I have some options at this stage. I generally tend to pick up my books when they are on sale. It does get annoying when people put you on to a book that you are really interested in on the TIOLI, and it is still full price.

I have joined as a member of the Strand Bookstore in New York, and have asked them to tell me how much it would cost to ship here.

One way or another, I will incease the size of my library!

#79: One of the highlights of my visit to NY in September was getting to go to The Strand. It is the most marvelous place!

I am sure we can work something out, maybe shipping books 6 at a time or something, to save on the postage costs. Think about it, and just let me know.

Another book down (finally). I really have not been able to find the time or the inclination to read much lately.

Eat Pray Love was a little bit disappointing to me. There was so much hype about it all, and it just didn't do it for me.

Oh well, on to the next book...

#81: I am one of the people who enjoyed Eat Pray Love but I know a lot of people did not care for it.

I hope your next read is a better one for you!

I finished The Spare Room by Helen Garner. It was an interesting little book about what happens to friendship when one friend has cancer. I'm still not sure if I enjoyed this one or not.

@81 I felt the same way about Eat Pray Love, I loved the Italy part but other then that I was a little dissapointed.

Has anyone seen the movie, is it better or worse then the book.

I liked the Italy part, and the Indonesia part was interesting, but I found the India part so difficult to get into. It seemed like a real chore, reading that section.

I have heard that the movie isn't the best. And I think they change the story around a fair bit about the reasons for the divorce, etc. I hat it when they do that.

I don't usually like seeing movies that have been based on books that I have read. I usually find myself sitting through the whole movie wondering why they have changed parts that I deemed were vital to the story!

#85: I am the same way about seeing movies about books I have read. Especially if I loved the book in question!

I finished Ellis Island Interviews. I really enjoyed this book, although it did get a bit difficult to read in parts. It was definitely thought provoking. It really makes you think about how lucky you really are, and makes you appreciate what you have, and what you never had to go through to get where you are. A lot of people think that they have it tough these days. They really don't know what tough is...

Next up I'm going to read Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl. A slight change of pace...

#87: Ellis Island Interviews looks interesting! Thanks for the mention. I will see if I can locate a copy.

I got mine at Ellis Island when we were in New York in September. I'm not sure how widely available they would be elsewhere.

#89: I will have to look at ABEBooks and since if I can find a copy. Since I am on a book buying ban right now, it is going to have to wait until next year though!

Ah, book buying bans... They never work for me. Back in February, I swore to myself that I wouldn't buy any new books this year, because I wanted to save some cash for holidays, etc. I can't even remember how many books I have bought this year. And I just bought 12 second had ones on the net the other day. It's lucky that my husband is a reader too, so he understands my compulsion to buy books!

#91: I am just doing this ban until the end of the year (with the exception of November 30th when a group of LTers is getting together in Joplin, Missouri at - where else? - a bookstore.)

My hubby is not a reader, so he does not understand my compulsion, but he lives with it :)

Re: book- movie adaptions, I cant usually abide by them for the same reasons mentioned in message 85. In saying that though, I went to see The Road, one of my favourite books of all time, and found the film to be spot on. I haven't seen a film before or since that has so accurately portrayed how I felt the book was. It was harrowing and depressing and so moving and intense. I was appalled by it but loved it so much.

I haven't read Eat Pray Love, but saw the movie with my mum for her birthday. The movie was watchable but only because I had (well-founded) low expectations. I didn't think it was as bad as the movie reviews I heard on it, but it wasnt much to write home about! Apparently quite different from the book in that the main character is more superficial and not quite as spiritual as she was in print.