100 books from my tbr-shelf

[Elisabeth]

My reading goal is to read 100 books that I own but haven't read yet.
My challenge will be between 2009-05-24- 2010-05-24.

[Susan C]

I think I just might join you. It always helps to have someone to push you and support you (just like a workout partner)

[Elisabeth]

That sounds great! :)

[Fiona (Titch)]

Liz, I am already readin 150 for this year. I have read 68 so far lol.

[Elisabeth]

:D I've already read until now 43 books but I think that I'll have another challenge anyway, that stretches until May 2010 :)

[Fiona (Titch)]

You go Liz lol. I am hoping for 200 (but thought 150 was a good enough lol.)

[Elisabeth]

You go too Fiona! good luck with your challenge :)

[Fiona (Titch)]

Thanks sweetie x

[[deleted user]]

You can do it Liz. That is what a lot of us are doing so this is a support group!

[Susan C]

I'm almost done with my first book Messiah by Boris Starling. It's a great thriller. Then I will read two books at the same time, my bookclub book The Talented Mr. Ripley and a Jean Plaidy book.

Are you going to keep a list that you continue to add to Liz?

[Elisabeth]

Thanks for the support! :)
I've just finished one book from my tbr-shelf:
1. Stephen King-The Long Walk

[Elisabeth]

currently reading:
Charles Dickens - Bleak House
&
Sheila O'Flanagan - To Good To Be True :)

[Susan C]

Liz I already finished one and now I'm reading two simultaneously one for pleasure the other for bookclub.

1. Messiah by Boris Starling - is was a 5 star read
with an awesome ending.

[Susan C]

Liz, I do not text and GR is the first blog type thing that I've tried, so I looked up what :) meant and it said "humor as in Ha-Ha, Yeah Right". So in your message #2 do you really think it's great that I want to try to complete the challenge with you or were you being sarcastic? Be Honest!

Because I don't want to infringe on a goal that you planned just for yourself!

Thanks

[Elisabeth]

Oh, no I was not being sarcastic! absolutley not! For me ":)" means that I think it is great that you want to do the challenge with me!

[Elisabeth]

Susan, have you read Bleak House by Charles Dickens? I'm on page 352 and I think that is going to take some time before I've finished it...

[Susan C]

I unfortunately (for me) don't have any interest in Dickens. A friend who's not a big classics reader loves Great Expections, so maybe I might try it someday.

Did I read on your profile that you're living in Sweden?

You'll see that most of my reads are suspence because they are my favorites. But I run a bookclub, so we end up reading all kinds of books. That's what makes it so interesting, we are in our 8th year.

I am taking the June challenge on one of the groups and reading The Woman in White and Pride & Prejudiced & Zombies. I've already read P&P and really enjoyed it, so I hope this is a funny take on the story because I'm not really into zombie books.

Have a great weekend!

[Elisabeth]

I've read Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and David Copperfield by Dickens and I really liked those. However, Bleak House is kind of "slow" before things start to happen. But then, I'm Swedish and I don't understand all the old English words that come up in the book so maybe that is why I have a hard time reading it.

I live in the northern part of Sweden. Right now it is summer and nice weather here

I also run a book club but mine just started. I like all kinds of books, usually crime novels, suspense novels and chic-lit as well. Classics is also a favourite.

Where is the june challenge? I would also like to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Today I finished reading a book that I had borrowed from the library, Mitch Albom - Five People You Meet In Heaven. It was OK. I would give it 3.5/5.

Have a great weekend you too!

[Susan C]

The Next Great Book Club. It's hard right now to get a cheap copy of P&P&Z, so if you're planning on buying one, you might as well by a new softcover(it's close to the same price).

I think a lot of people are doing this challenge because Borders is sold out, people are on long lists at their libraries, and the used copies are now pricey!

[Elisabeth]

They didn't have P&P&Z at my library... so if I want to read it, I'll have to buy it. So that book will have to wait.
Please tell me after you've read it what you thought about it!

I'm doing Cynthia's Summer Challenge, are you doing that one as well? I think that it is fun searching for books etc that can work in the challenge.

[Susan C]

No but I will look it up.

Thanks for adding me as a friend. Your my only European friend. How cool is that!

It's 1:41pm here in Pennsylvania (East Coast). What's the time difference?

[Susan C]

Oh my gosh there is now way I'm ready for a challenge like that. It will be enough to do my June reads challenge, bookclub, and our 100 by 5/2010.

That challenge kinda scares me, but I wish you the best of luck. You must be more determined than I am right now with my reading goals. Wow the anxiety of keeping up with something like that. Ugh!

[Elisabeth]

I thought that I just try the challenge out for fun. To be honest,I will probably forget about the Summer challenge after a while. What is the June challenge?

Right now the time is 20.10pm here in Sweden.

[Susan C]

Do you 2:10pm or military hours? What day is it, it's Sunday here.

The June Challenge is the one I mentiond in posts 17 & 19.

[Elisabeth]

8.10pm I mean, but now it is 9.27pm here. It is Sunday here as well.

No, I was just thinking about what you did in the June Challenge? Is it the one where you read two books for June? One classic and one fiction?

[Susan C]

Yes you are right about the June Challenge;

Women in White = classic
Pride&Prejudice&Zombies = fiction

It looks like you are about 3 hours ahead of me. It's spring here until June 21st (I think).

[Susan C]

Susan wrote: "Liz I already finished one and now I'm reading two simultaneously one for pleasure the other for bookclub.

1. Messiah by Boris Starling - is was a 5 star read
with an awesome ending."
2. First Cut by Dianne Emley
3. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Highsmith

[Elisabeth]

I'm currently reading books that I have borrowed from the library... But I'm soon finished with Too Good To Be True by Sheila O'Flanagan.

[Susan C]

Liz do you usually read one book at a time or do you have a couple going at the same time?

I like to be reading one nonfiction and one fiction at the same time. I feel that I won't get the stories jumbled together. It seems to work so far for me.

Right now it's Deviant by Harold Schechter (NF) and
Criminal Minds:Jump Cut by Max Allen Collins (F).

My bookclub is reading A Thousand Splemdid Suns this month. Have you read it and any thoughts?

[Elisabeth]

I have a couple of books going on at the same time. It is usually two fiction books that I read at the same time but I have also tried to read a nonfiction and a fiction book at the same time as well. and it works for me too.

Yes, I have read A Thousand Splendid Suns and I thought that it was great. I really liked it. Have you read "The Kite Runner"?

Right now I'm reading three books at the same time:

Charles Dickens - Bleak House (my own)
Sheila O'Flanagan - Too Good To Be True (my own)
Reginald Hill - Deadheads (borrowed from the library)

[Susan C]

Liz wrote: "I have a couple of books going on at the same time. It is usually two fiction books that I read at the same time but I have also tried to read a nonfiction and a fiction book at the same time as we..."

We read The Kite Runner for my bookclub and we all agreed it was good, but I've heard A Thousand Splendid Suns is even better.

[Fiona (Titch)]

I am now on book 75. I am getting halfway through my list this year x

[Susan C]

1. Messiah by Boris Starling - is was a 5 star read
with an awesome ending."
2. First Cut by Dianne Emley
3. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Highsmith
4. Jump cut by Max Allan Collins

[Elisabeth]

1. Stephen King-The Long Walk
2. Charles Dickens - Bleak House

Finally finished reading Bleak House. Thought that it was a great book. I'm currently reading a book by Sheila O'Flanagan and Cormac McCarthy's THe Road.

Susan: I have to agree. A Thousand Splendid Suns was better than the Kite Runner!
Fiona: Splendid work! :)

[Elisabeth]

Ruth: I couldn't put it down either (A THousand splendid suns)

[Elisabeth]

I plan to write an essay about Dickens this autumn, so I plan to read as many books by him that I can during the summer and then decide which books that I'm going to use in my essay. My next book to read is Oliver Twist. I read it once when I was about thirteen years old and I really liked the book. I also read Great Expectations and I think that it is great.

[Elisabeth]

1. Stephen King-The Long Walk
2. Charles Dickens - Bleak House
3. Sheila O'Flanagan - Too Good to be True

[Elisabeth]

Liz wrote: "1. Stephen King-The Long Walk
2. Charles Dickens - Bleak House
3. Sheila O'Flanagan - Too Good to be True
"

4. P D James-Unnatural Causes Not my fav. crime novel but it was OK.

[Susan C]

Keep it going Liz. I'm almost done with another one: In the Forest of Harm. Then I really want to get into Women In White to try to accomplish the June Challenge.

[Elisabeth]

I'm currently reading Norman Lewis' "The Honourable Society", Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and P.D James The Murder Room.

[Susan C]

A book suggestion is Gentlemen and Players. It's really,really good and has a twist at the end which I never saw coming.

[Elisabeth]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[Elisabeth]

5.
Norman Lewis- The Honoured Society The Sicilian Mafia Observed

[Susan C]

1. Messiah by Boris Starling - is was a 5 star read
with an awesome ending."
2. First Cut by Dianne Emley
3. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Highsmith
4. Jump Cut by Max Allan Collins
5. In The Forest of Harm by Bissell - new author to me which I enjoyed. I've already bought a few of her other books.

[Susan C]

Liz,
another book I loved that is long but well worth the time is Ladies of The Club. You can skim the first 100 pages because they deal mostly with Ohio politics, but the book made me laugh and weep. I think of the characters often. It follows two best friends through their lives from "high school" until the end of their lives.

The woman who wrote it, finished the book in her 80's.
It took her a lifetime to write it.

If I haven't mentioned Pope Joan to you yet, it's another must read.

Happy Reading!
Susan

[Fiona (Titch)]

I have now read 77 books this year lol.

[Susan C]

Way to go!

Why did you write laugh out loud at the end?

[Kim]

I really ought to try to do this. I have joined the 50 book challenge- but have managed to read an average of 10 books a month this year so far. The biggest thing would be to ONLY read off the TBR pile for the rest of the year- then my books might fit on their bookcase again!

[Fiona (Titch)]

Because its taken me a while to read that book.

[Susan C]

What was book was it?