Challenge: 50 Books discussion
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Susan and the Pups 2015 Reading Challenge
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Susan
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Jan 01, 2015 12:28PM
Because of my dismal failure in 2014 (only read 64 of 80 books, which I definitely blame on the Pups. Hunter and Henry are just not keeping up their end of the reading challenge), I am going for 65 books this year. And I hope I read better books this year; 2014 was not a stellar year as far as memorable books.
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Susan wrote: "Because of my dismal failure in 2014 (only read 64 of 80 books, which I definitely blame on the Pups. Hunter and Henry are just not keeping up their end of the reading challenge), I am going for 6..."My "evil twins" are definitely a handful at times, fortunately audiobooks keep my hands free for their enjoyment. Good luck in 2015.
I love audiobooks, too. My two are weimaraners. What are yours?
Susan wrote: "I love audiobooks, too. My two are weimaraners. What are yours?"I'll bet they are beautiful. Mine are a shitzu/border collie and a lhasaX; the Lhasa was a rescue who's age was only really only a guess but both will be 10 this year.
Mod
You need to tell Hunter and Henry that they need to start pulling their weight! Fewer walks, fewer "let's chase the ball" times, and they need to start reading to you when you're too tired to read! Geez, you'd think by now they'd be able to help with the reading a little more!
Good luck for 2015, and I hope you find books that interest you more this year. (By the way, 64 is still a great accomplishment!)
I'll bet they are beautiful. Mine are a shitzu/border collie and a lhasaX; the Lhasa was a rescue who's age was on..."Yes, they are both pretty, and pretty spoiled. Much bigger than yours must be, though I can't quite picture what a shitzu/border collie would look like. I often wish I had smaller dogs, but when one of my big boys cuddle with me, I know I've been cuddled.
Tiffany wrote: "Susan wrote: "Because of my dismal failure in 2014 (only read 64 of 80 books, which I definitely blame on the Pups. Hunter and Henry are just not keeping up their end of the reading challenge),......"Yes, Tiffany, we have already discussed the New Years resolutions I have made for them, but they don't really seem interested. And, thank you for the words of encouragement.
Mod
hehehehe
No. 1 - The Night Villa by Carol Goodman **** I teetered between giving this 3 or 4 stars. It is probably a 3-1/2, but, what the heck, it is the first book of 2015, so I'll give it 4. This is a very good who's-doing-it, about anthropologists seeking ancient scrolls buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Pages Read: 392.
No. 2 - An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine ***** Wow. Only my second book of the year, and I struck pure gold. A fabulous book.Pages Read: 392 + 291 = 683 pages
No. 3 - Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind by Sarah Wildman *** When my friend picked this book for our book club, I thought, Oh no, not another holocaust/WWII book. Years ago WWII used to be one of my subjects. However, I guess due to the aging and disappearing of the members of the greatest generation, there has been in recent years an influx of books on this subject. Despite this, I find there are still things to learn about the subject, even more ways that this atrocity affected people. I found the book informative, if somewhat repetitious. The most interesting part to me was difficulties that educated emigrants found in their new countries, and the attitude of those who did not escape towards those who had escaped. There is not just the sigh of relief that they made it out. As to Ms. Wildman's research, I felt the book would have been more to the point had she followed up the more recent leads first than last. I also did not like Ms. Wildman's inserting herself into the story. She was whiny and unlikeable and I didn't care how uncomfortable her journey was at times; particularly when comparing it to the journeys of those she is writing about.Pages read: 683 pages + 377 = 1,060 pages
No. 4 - The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber ** A bit too slow moving for me, but the concept was interesting. I would have liked a more definitive ending. I thought several times that it was going in a certain direction, but no. Instead of going from A to Z, it went from about E to M and then stopped.Pages read: 1,060 pages
Listening time: 19 hours and 27 minutes
No. 5 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ***** Excellent Pages read: 1,060 + 333 = 1,393 pages.
Listening time: 19 hours and 27 minutes.
No. 6 - A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki ***** (audiobook) Read a second time for an IAL discussion class. Loved it the second time, too.
I loved this book. It is very informative about the present-day Japanese culture, the Japanese attitude toward suicide, bullying, and, of course, time. Such an excellent book.
Pages read: 1,393 pages
Listening time:19 hours and 27 minutes + 14 hours and 48 minutes = 34 hours and 22 minutes
No.7 - The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery ***** 2/3/15 Reread, again for IAL class, to compare with A Tale for the Time Being as similar themes. I enjoyed it again this time through, although I found my annoyance at Renee's and Paloma's attitudes rising a bit.
2/1/10 I had the great good luck to read this with my Adult Learning Class in Literature in French Translation, with an excellent teacher and wise, astute class members. I think that I would have missed a lot in the book without their input. With their help, I loved the book.
Pages read: 1,393 + 525 = 1,918 pages
Listening time: 34 hours and 22 minutes
No. 8 - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin ***** (audiobook) 2/9/15 -Read again for book club; had the same experience as before.
5/31/14 - This book is a guilty pleasure. It is sweet, funny, wholesome and sentimental, but also well written.
Pages read: 1,915 pages
Listening time: 34 hours and 22 minutes + 7 hours = 41 hours and 22 minutes
No. 9 - Landline by Rainbow Rowell ** (audiobook)This is really **1/2 stars, but I couldn't quite get it to three. The premise is interesting, and I would be fascinated if it were my life. But so many of the phone calls felt like being locked in a room and having to listen to another couples' conversation for hours on end.
Pages read: 1,918 pages
Listening time: 41 hours and 22 minutes + 9 hours and 3 minutes = 50 hours and 25 minutes
No.10 - The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton ** I guessed all the secrets in the first few chapters. I did not like the author's style of writing. The characters just said and did things without there being any explanation. I often didn't know what characters were planning to do, and they just seemed to be running around willy-nilly. I felt there should be more explanation.
Pages read: 1,918 pages + 393 pages = 2,311 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minutes.
No. 11 - Florence Gordon by Brian Morton *****I loved the writing style of the author, and I thought that the relationships he described were true to life. There were also a lot of blank pages and large margins which made the reading go very quickly :-).
Pages read: 2,311 pages + 320 pages = 2,631 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minutes
No. 12 - Middlemarch by George Eliot ****I enjoyed the relationships in the book, but was bored by the politics.
Pages read: 2,631 pages + 904 pages = 3,535 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minutes
No.13 - Sweetland by Michael Crummey *****Excellent. The writing is beautiful. Even the incomplete sentences. Filled with unusual characters who are each accepted in their small community, which is being taken from them, it is an anthem to how important we all are to each other.
Pages read: 3,535 pages + 318 pages = 3,853 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minutes
No. 14 - Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper **It is hard not to think immediately of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry when you read this book, and contrast and compare: old British man, old Canadian woman, crossing England, crossing Canada, spouse waiting at home, attention of the media. A different story unfolds, of course, different memories of good and bad. But is it different enough? I think this will be the latest writing device for writing class - make a character, make it walk somewhere, find out why. Explain. I could do it with myself as a character.
Pages read: 3,853 pages + 305 pages = 4,158 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minutes
No. 15 Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman *****I have always been interested in the story of Michael Rockefeller because at the time of his disappearance Nelson Rockefeller, his father, was the governor of New York State, where I lived. I was also at an impressionable age. I can remember the newspaper stories from the time. His story was told here in fascinating depth, and the author has very interesting insights into the lives and thoughts of the Asmat people.
Pages read: 4,158 pages + 318 pages = 4,476 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minutes
No. 16 The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters *****Excellent. This is my third Sarah Waters book, and this is definitely my favorite. The author has such a smooth writing style and excellent ability to write conversation that moves trippingly on the tongue, that I seemed to fly through the book. Admittedly,I was tricked into reading this because I didn't realize it dealt with (view spoiler), but by the time it came about, I was completely engrossed in the story.
Pages read: 4,476 pages + 565 pages = 5,041 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minute
No.17 A Sudden Light by Garth Stein *Very disappointing offering from the author of The Art of Racing in the Rain. It is a mystery with absolutely no suspense, and a ghost story without a frisson of terror. Every question asked is instantly answered in letters and journals that are as difficult for the boy to find as if they were neatly labeled and laid out on the dining room table. I listened to the audio book and the narration is also bad. The narrator from the beginning gives the "bad guy" a nasty, snarky voice so you suspect that person immediately.
Pages read: 5,041 pages
Listening time: 50 hours and 25 minute + 11 hours and 34 minutes = 61 hours and 59 minutes.
No, 18 - River Thieves by Michael Crummey. ****I love books about Canada and by Canadians. It must have been my upbringing right across the St. Lawrence River from Canada. So, of course I have found Michael Crummy. This is the second of his books that I have read. I enjoyed this book about the settlers in Newfoundland and their relationship with the Red Indians. At times, however, I found the narrative confusing, with information of prior events supplied much later, and it made it rather hard to follow. I can understand why it was done that way, but it was still confusing. That is why I give it four stars rather than five.
Pages read: 5,041 pages + 333 pages = 5,374 pages.
Listening time: 61 hours and 59 minutes.
No. 19 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson ***** (audiobook)Reread April 9, 2015 --Read again, loved it again, Looking forward to discussion with library book group.
May 9, 2013 - I absolutely loved this book. It combines "what if," "the road not taken," and "practice makes perfect" to perfection. It is the same idea as Replay by Ken Grimwood, but with much better writing. The writing is amusing and entertaining throughout despite the seriousness of the subject.
Pages read: 5,374 pages.
Listening time: 61 hours and 59 minutes + 15 hours and 34 minutes = 77 hours and 33 minutes.
No. 20 Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster **I saw this recommended as being something akin to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. one of my all time favorite books. Well, everyone has a right to his own opinion. I have read Paul Auster before and liked his writing a lot, so I am disappointed on a second level. Speedread through the second half. I guess I'll just have to reread TAAOKAC if I want that same experience. I'm rereading a lot of my favorites this year.
Pages read: 5,374 pages + 293 pages = 5,667 pages
Listening time: 77 hours and 33 minutes.
I have been interrupted in my reading by many personal concerns, including the death of my mother.No. 21 Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ******
Pages read: 5,667 pages + 333 pages = 6,000 pages
Listening time: 77 hours and 33 minutes
Reread for the second time this year for my book club. Found it even better the second time through.
No. 22 Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar ***
Interesting. I am not a fan of epistolary fiction to begin with, and not too well informed about the Bloomsbury Set, and there were many characters I was unfamiliar with being mentioned and wandering through the story. I thought Virginia was a complete nuisance. Kind of interesting how their set was constantly switching (although switching is not the correct word, since they rarely let the old ones go) lovers regardless of gender.
Pages read: 6,000 pages
Listening time: 77 hours and 33 minutes + 11 hours = 88 hours and 33 minutes
So sorry about your mom, Susan. It is the absolute worst thing in the world.
Susan wrote: "I have been interrupted in my reading by many personal concerns, including the death of my mother.No. 21 Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ******
Pages rea..."
Condolences on the loss of your mother, Susan. I hope you have lots of great memories of her - they will help keep her with you.
I can't wait to read Station Eleven. I just bought it for my Kindle last week.
Thank you, Ann.And I think you will enjoy the book.
Thank you, Donna. My mother had a good, long life, but it is still hard.
No. 23 Our Lady of the Lost and Found: A Novel of Mary, Faith, and Friendship by Diane Schoemperlen ****I enjoyed this book but am a little uncertain why. A single, fortyish, woman writer between novels is unexpectedly (well, how else could this happen?) visited by the Virgin Mary, who requests that she be allowed to spend a week at her house for a small vacation before the month of May, a notoriously busy month for Mary. The story continues alternating between the writer's account of Mary's rather uneventful visit, historical accounts of many, many, many of Mary's visitations to saints and regular folk, and the writer's musings on Life and her own life. The account of the visit is vaguely amusing, the accounts of the visitations are too many, but the writer's musings are interesting and insightful. I had to read this book quickly to finish it in time for the class discussion, and I believe that I will go back and give more time to the musings. Class discussion, of course, was excellent.
Pages read: 6,000 pages 384 pages = 6,384 pages
Listening time: 88 hours and 33 minutes
No. 24 - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo ****I started out reading this straight. I was into it a ways before I realized that the author is a nutty as a fruitcake. Despite that, I got some good ideas from her, like folding most of my clothes and and putting them on edge instead of on top of each other. It is a bit difficult to master, but I think it might work.
Pages read: 6,384 pages + 206 pages = 6,590 pages
Listening time: 88 hours and 33 minutes
No.25 - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett **Not really my type of book, but parts were interesting.Read for library book club.
Pages read: 6,590 pages + 274 pages = 6,864 pages
Listening time: 88 hours and 33 minutes
No. 26 - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce *** It got better as it got toward the end. I actually cried at the end. Again, so much about David. And all the while I thought about David as Queenie finally asked him, "What are you for?" Just to make others miserable, I guess.
Pages read: 6,864 pages
Listening time: 88 hours & 33 minutes + 10 hours and 36 minutes = 99 hours and 9 minutes
No. 27 - Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen ****Thought it would be too dippy when I started reading, but it is cute and sweet-dippy. Reminded me of an earlier Alice Hoffman. Quick read. Read for new book club a friend and I are trying out.
Pages read: 6,864 pages + 292 = 7,156 Pages
Listening time: 99 hrs., 9 mins.
No. 28 - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie *****Excellent book. In my forgetfulness and insularity, I did not realize what it was actually about or what half a yellow sun meant, until well into the book when the word Biafra appeared. Then long-ago memories of children with toothpick limbs, extended bellies and rust colored hair emerged. I remembered the plight of the starving Biafrans, but where was Biafra, and where did it go. This is a beautifully written book with engaging characters and a fascinating and disturbing plot. Highly recommended. I will be using it in my contemporary literature class that I be teaching in connection with the Institute of Adult Learning at the local Community College.
Pages read: 7,156 pages + 433 pages = 7,589 pages
Listening time: 99 hrs., 9 mins.
No. 29 - Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng ****An excellently-written book about a family's failure to communicate. Read for my Kent Island Book Club.
Pages read: 7,589 pages + 297 pages = 7,886 pages
Listening time: 99 hours, 9 mins.
No.30 - A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott (audio book) ***An entertaining enough book in which a young midwest woman goes to Hollywood to try to make it as a screen writer in the 1930's. She encounters real people from the era and is on the sidelines of the making of Gone With the Wind. It is ironic that I was reading this tribute to the movie at the same time that some people are trying to get rid of the Confederate flag, and there is speculation about the need to ban GWTW for its racism.
Pages read: 7, 886 pages
Listening time: 99 hrs., 9 mins. + 10 hrs., 57 mins. = 110 hrs., 6 mins.
No, 31 - American Ghost: A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest by Hannah Nordhaus *****This book was not quite what I expected, but it was so much more. The author is researching her family history, which is unique in itself -- her great-great-great-grandfather was a German Jewish immigrant who became the richest man in Santa Fe, NM -- for the unusual reason that her great-great-great-grandmother is reportedly a ghost in a Santa Fe hotel that was once her opulent home. The resultant book is part history, part genealogical research, and part sampling of the world of psychics and paranormal researchers. All in all, the book delves into many aspects of her 3Xgreatgrandmother life, death, and post-death, and is satisfyingly interesting at every point. Very well written
Pages read: 7,886 pages * 322 pages = 8,208 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs., 6 mins.
No. 32 - THE CARTOGRAPHER OF NO MAN'S Land by P.S. Duffy *****Engrossing story taking place in Nova Scotia and in the trenches of WWI France. Amazing language that brought to life many images that will stay in my mind for a long time.
Pages read: 8,208 pages + 370 pages = 8,578 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs. 6 mins.
No.33 - The Sunken Cathedral: A Novel by Kate Walbert *****Good story written in an interesting fashion -- from different points of view and with footnotes.
Pages read: 8,578 pages +240 pages = 8,818 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs. 6 mins.
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No. 34 - A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler *****
I love Anne Tyler's writing and her characters. Tyler's characters age along with her and we get a heroine in her early 70's and the attendant problems of that age. The situations, the conversation, everything is so true to life. Particularly poignant for me because I recently lost my mother and things about the funeral in this book feel so true to life. And the passing of the family home from the family felt equally as real. But in each of her books there is always something that makes me stop and say, "Wait a minute!" In this book: they just kept him?
Pages read: 8,578 pages + 560 pages = 9,138 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs. 6 mins.
No 35 - The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson ***Reading for new book club. Realized I read it before six years ago. Informative, but, of course, some topics were more interesting than others.
Pages read: 9,138 pages + 304 pages = 9,412 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs. 6 mins.
No 36 - The Daylight Marriage by Heidi Pitlor ***
This seemed to be a cross between the first part of Gone Girl and the last book that we read for the Kent Island Book Club, Everything I Never Told You. I am trying to discern the significance of the title. I read this book in one day.
Pages read: 9,412 pages + 245 pages = 9,657 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs. 6 mins.
No. 37 - The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson *****I thought this book was wonderful -- humorous and informative. However, I can't imagine recommending this to others because I think they might get bogged down by it. Does that mean that I consider myself superior to most readers I know? Must be.
Pages read: 9,657 pages + 384 pages = 10,041 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs. 6 mins
N0. 38 - A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley **** Read for my new book club -- now I am calling it the Yacht Club Book Club -- and I found it very interesting and informative about a woman's life in 1355 and the problems she faces to practice her occupation and her faith, and to establish herself as an individual. It is the first book of a trilogy, and I am not sure if I will continue on on my own with the next two books. Wondering a bit, too, about the direction of this club.
Pages read: 10,041 pages + 438 pages = 10,479 pages
Listening time: 110 hrs. 6 mins
Susan wrote: "No. 37 - The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson *****I thought this book was wonderful -- humorous and informati..."
I've owned this for about 2 years - must get to it! We'll see if I get bogged down ;)
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Heidi Pitlor (other topics)Amy Stewart (other topics)
Lisa Genova (other topics)
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