You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Tejas Janet's Halting Hi-Octane Challenge
Your list looks good. I didn't verify that they are all over the 200 page rule.There are some interesting titles on your list.
Thanks for mentioning that. I double-checked and found one book on my list not meeting this requirement (American Fried by Calvin Trillin). Will need to replace it, but haven't decided on what yet. My selections are weighted towards the lengthier side:
with 7 books in the 200 to 299 page range, 12 in the 300 to 399 range, and 6 in the 400 to 499 range. I found that I had trouble finding books I was interesteed in reading that were closer to the 200 page mark. Do others have this problem, too?
Over 200 pages is fine. I tend to lean towards longer books myself. It's like having a "rich taste"... I always manage to pick out the most expensive things. Somehow, I always manage to find the long books without trying.
Finally ready to go... finished up some loose ends on my nightstand and now I can start on my 2013 TBR books : )
I've revised my list due to library availability issues for 3 of my first 4 books: The Cat Who Came for Christmas by C. Amory
The Child Thief by Brom
A Girl from Yamhill by B. Cleary
Meditations from a Movable Chairby A. Debus
I'm rather relieved that my first book will be a warm, fuzzy cat story : ) Just finished reading 2 emotionally difficult books -- Leila Levinson's amazing memoir, Gated Grief: The Daughter of a GI Concentration Camp Liberator Discovers a Legacy of Trauma, which I would give a 4.5 stars but rounded up to 5 since that's not an option. And the other was Russell Bank's novel,The Sweet Hereafter, which I have yet to rate as I have mixed feelings about it.
Time to check in! Have finished the first four on my ABC author list. Enjoyed all and wrote short reviews on Goodreads.Next up -- Silas Marner by George Eliot (couldn't get library copy of Timothy Egan book/will read that another time). This will actually be my first George Eliot book ever. Thanks YLTO for prompting me to broaden my reading!
Janet wrote: "Time to check in! Have finished the first four on my ABC author list. Enjoyed all and wrote short reviews on Goodreads.Next up -- Silas Marner by George Eliot (couldn't get library copy of Timoth..."
I'm glad you are enjoying the challenge! I am going to start my "B" book sometime this evening! I'm a bit behind! I plan to read
Hi Janet. I have never read Silas Marner, but I read Mill on the Floss. It was slow in places, but I liked it. I liked her style of writing.
Completed Silas Marner -- I found that it had a few slow places, too, but overall I still enjoyed it a lot. I liked her style of writing, and I'm glad I've finally read something by her now. Only took me 50 years to get around to it!
You're doing great - 5 books completed already! :)
Completed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.Next up will be Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande.
G and H completed. Updated my list in top of this thread. Now on to I...
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
If I finish it by tomorrow, it will count toward the January Tell Me a Story challenge. I'd hoped to have another day or so, but we'll say how it goes...
Tejas Janet wrote: "Completed Silas Marner -- I found that it had a few slow places, too, but overall I still enjoyed it a lot. I liked her style of writing, and I'm glad I've finally read something by her now. Only t..."I love Silas Marner! I used to teach this book, and the girls in my class and I would cry at the end of the book every year. He is such a wonderful main character, so easy to love.
You have some wonderful books on your list. The Snow Child is on my tbr, too. I look forward to your review. ; )
You've got a good pace going! Looks like there are some books I'm going to be stealing from your list. I've read one book by Xinran, looks like I've decided to read another one for my X book. Thanks!
jaxnsmom wrote: "You've got a good pace going! Looks like there are some books I'm going to be stealing from your list. I've read one book by Xinran, looks like I've decided to read another one for my X book. Th..."Funny because I only found this book because of borrowing it from someone's else ABC list!! I love finding books here : )
Connie wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "Completed Silas Marner -- I found that it had a few slow places, too, but overall I still enjoyed it a lot. I liked her style of writing, and I'm glad I've finally read somethin..."What a great book for teaching in middle or high school. The only female authors taught in my English literature schooling 30 plus years ago were poems by Emily Bronte and some stories by Eudora Welty. Wow.
Tejas Janet wrote: "G and H completed. Updated my list in top of this thread. Now on to I...
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
If I finish it by tomorrow, it will count toward the January Tell Me a Story challenge. I'd..."
You can do it!
Thanks, Judy! I'm definitely going to check this out : )
Completed The Snow Child. Counting it for ABC challenge. Off to the library and used book store --Half Price Books. Fun fun fun!
Completed Paris in Love by Eloisa James.
Next up: "K"
Traveling With Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story
It's a mother/daughter memoir by author Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, making her writing debut. I've read and enjoyed Sue Monk Kidd's novels, The Mermaid Chair and The Secret Life of Bees. It looks like it's going to be really good :)
Re: Traveling With Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story Glad to be reading this now as it's really speaking to me on issues related to aging, womanhood, creativity, and self-identity.
With my 51st birthday just a few short weeks away, I find myself struggling with some things that sort of took me by surprise, but will hopefully find my way forward with grace and greater understanding in the coming year...
Any way, I'm really impressed with this book!
I'll be interested in your assessment of the Rob Lowe book.
Finished withL
-- by Rob Lowe
liked but didn't love this one; nice guy and nice looking, too
and
M
by Nicole Mones
really enjoyed this well-researched, well-written book
Next up is N
by Stephen Nissunbaum
The Battle for Christmas is a "no go" for me. It's a scholarly work and while it seems well done, I lack the interest and stamina necessary to slog through its full 350+ pages. I settled for reading the first and final chapters, and that was plenty!Instead, I think I'm going with Suite Francaise by Irène Némirovsky.
I'm trying to get moving again on my ABC challenge. Stalled for awhile. I think it's because I've been trying to do Suite Francaise as an audiobook, and it turns out that I just don't enjoy listening to someone reading to me as much as I thought I would. I'm going to switch over to reading this instead and see how that goes. I like the story so far. I'm just not very far though!!
I especially liked the Chinese food/history cultural aspect, a prominent feature of the story line. This is an ever-popular genre for me though, food writing I mean. Even better (imo) is food and memoir writing together in an interesting locale :)
Completed Suite Française. Almost gave up on this because I started it as an audiobook. For some reason, the reader got on my nerves. Finally, I just switched over to reading the book in print. So glad I did. Pretty wonderful book. Next up is a lesser known book by George Orwell -- Down and Out in Paris and London. I'm planning to focus on the ACB challenge for awhile so I don't start falling behind on my goal. But I've enjoyed the group read of Haunted Ground and also the 5 books I read for the classics challenge. Pretty pleased.
TJ, you have some wonderful books on your list, and you are making fantastic progress! Smoking hot! Way to go girl!
jaxnsmom wrote: "I have The Last Chinese Chef on my bookshelf, so I'm glad to hear you liked it."I LOVE The Last Chinese Chef, and I think you will like it, too. Nicole Mones is an author I find myself rereading because she is so good.
Completed Down and Out in Paris and London. Link to my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....Started The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen. This is an autobiographical work by Master Chef Jacques Pepin.
I used to watch him on PBS, first with the show on chocolate, and then cooking with his daughter.
Galluping Gourmet and Julia Child were my only options at first as a 7-year-old interested in cooking. Kind of long-standing love/hate relationship to cooking followed. Then enter Jacques Pepin with his way of teaching without intimidating, and I began to really find my way in the kitchen - my kitchen any way :)
Connie wrote: "TJ, you have some wonderful books on your list, and you are making fantastic progress! Smoking hot! Way to go girl!"Thanks!! Cheers back to you :)
Tejas Janet wrote: "Galluping Gourmet and Julia Child were my only options at first as a 7-year-old interested in cooking. Kind of long-standing love/hate relationship to cooking followed. Then enter Jacques Pepin wit..."I remember watching The Galloping Gourmet too. I even bought a couple of his cookbooks. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I didn't drink enough wine while cooking to make them turn out like they did on TV. :)
Hee hee... he certainly did like the wine :s
Finished with Jacques Pepin's The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen. Enjoyed this book. Slow in a few places, but it read kind of like a novel with the unfolding of his life story. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Next up for me is Quindlen's Every Last One, which I think I'll read fairly quickly since it's supposed to be so depressing. It's possible I'll start it but decide not to finish. Have to pick it up from the library first though, which I can't do until Friday.
I changed my reading plans because of a library hold snafu. Hence I read The Fall instead of Every Last One by Anna Quindlen, which I wasn't in the mood to read any way because of how depressing it is said to be.I'll be making additonal changes to my reading list given that quite a few of my upcoming books aren't available at the library, and I don't think I'm willing to shell out the bucks to acquire them. I just don't care about reading them that much.
If I did, I'd spend the money, but instead I think I'll find some alternatives that are available via the library or other economical options. Looking is half the fun any way :)
Finished The Vikings. My review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....
I liked it. Read because I'm watching the new Viking series on the History channel. Was curious about its accuracy.
Started Suzy Spencer's Secret Sex Lives: A Year on the Fringes of American Sexuality, but found it unappealing. After the first few chapters, I skimmed through the read and called it done. Than as I had another book with S author on hand, I decided to give it a go and count it instead for my alphabet challenge. 
The Golden Gate took me a while as I didn't want to rush through it. Was quite impressed. Gave 5 stars.
Now on to Thurber Country.
You are reading some lovely books and such great diversity! ; )
Completed Thurber Country. Wanted to like it more. It was pretty good. Seems I liked My Life and Hard Times so much more, but I read it many years ago and rated it only recently. I may have to revisit it and see how it's held up for me.Next up is
The Ministry of Pain.
I've updated my reporting list at the top of this post. The other thread can be deleted. Thanks!
Thanks TJ. Just in case you aren't aware, I have created quick access threads. One is for the 2013 Alphabet Challenge, and the other is for the 2014. You'll find them at the top of the Year Long Reporting Folder.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic (other topics)Kon-Tiki (other topics)
The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic (other topics)
The Book Thief (other topics)
Daughter of China: The True Story of Forbidden Love in Modern China (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Nicole Mones (other topics)Irène Némirovsky (other topics)
Eowyn Ivey (other topics)
Current, updated list of books completed for this challenge...
Round One: Author's Last Name
The Cat Who Came for Christmas by Cleveland Amory
The Child Thief by Brom
A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary
Meditations from a Movable Chair by Andre Dumas
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande
Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali by Kris Halloway
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Paris in Love by Eloisa James
Traveling With Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pepin
The Fall by Ryan Quinn
The Vikings by Else Roesdahl
The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth
Thurber Country by James Thurber
The Ministry of Pain: A Novelby Dubravka Ugresic
Memoirs of a Muse: A Novel by Lara Vapnyar
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Daughter Of China by Meihong Xu
Confessions of a Tax Collector: One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS by Rick Yancy
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Round Two: Book Title's First Word
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Baghdad without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia by Tony Horwitz
The Cat That God Sent by Jim Kraus
The Dark Path: A Memoir by David Schickler
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee
The Gay Place by Billy Lee Brammer
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing up Groovy and Clueless by Susan Jane Gilman
Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience by Gitta Sereny
Jane's Window: My Spirited Life in West Texas and Austin by Jane Dunn Sibley
Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
The Long Exile by Melanie McGrath