Challenge: 50 Books discussion
2010
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Fran's list for 2010
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Fran
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Jan 02, 2010 07:35AM
#1, Amsterdam, Ian McEwan, loved it!
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#2 The House on Tradd Street, Karen White, OK
#3 Lake Wobegone Summer 1956, Garrison Keillor
#6 Angry Conversations With God, Susan E. Issacs
what is # 6 about? would you recommend it?
In it the author, Susan Issacs, examines her life through imagining couples counseling with God. The author is very funny, and I wanted to like it, but... I'm a midwesterner and have a hard time with too much self-examination. I didn't like Eat,Pray,Love either. By the time she was forty, and still making adolescent decisions, and blaming God, I just wanted to shake her. I finished it, hoping for insight, but it wasn't there. And in the prologue, when she mentions finally finding someone, my own snarky thought was, and how long will this one last?
#7 The Skeleton in the Closet, M.C.Beaton
#8 To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
Fran wrote: "#1, Amsterdam, Ian McEwan, loved it!"I have Atonement by Ian McEwan toward the top of my "to read list." Have you read that one by him and if so, how does it compare to Amsterdam?
I haven't read Atonement although I also plan to. I understand it's more serious?
Fran wrote: "#1, Amsterdam, Ian McEwan, loved it!"
Atonement is on my list as the best book of the 21st century so far - I liked it much more than Amsterdam and I've read it twice!
Atonement is on my list as the best book of the 21st century so far - I liked it much more than Amsterdam and I've read it twice!
#10 Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
#11 The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley
Fran wrote: "#7 The Skeleton in the Closet, M.C.Beaton"Hi. I read the description of the book, sounds interesting. Is it any good? Would you recommend it?
Fitz wrote: "Fran wrote: "#7 The Skeleton in the Closet, M.C.Beaton"Hi. I read the description of the book, sounds interesting. Is it any good? Would you recommend it?
"
I love M.C. Beaton, short, fun mysteries that can be read over a weekend. If you like that sort of thing, not too deep, this is perfect to curl up with on a Sunday afternoon, forgotten by Monday morning.
Fran wrote: "Fitz wrote: "Fran wrote: "#7 The Skeleton in the Closet, M.C.Beaton"Hi. I read the description of the book, sounds interesting. Is it any good? Would you recommend it?
"
I love M.C. Beaton, shor..."
Alright, thanks! Maybe i'll try reading one of her books if i can find them at my local bookstore.
i've read a couple of your reads: To Say Nothing of the Dog. i think this is the one of hers i liked. i remember there was one i quite liked, so i tried a couple of others and was disappointed.Shutter Island i just finished it. i can see why they are making a movie. the story lends itself to a movie first of all - the psyc / thriller is so popular now. but also because the writing is so visual - a screen adaptation would be pretty easy. quick easy and enjoyable read
Sooz wrote: "i've read a couple of your reads: To Say Nothing of the Dog. i think this is the one of hers i liked. i remember there was one i quite liked, so i tried a couple of others and was disappointed...."
but won't the movie be a disappointment after you know the book?
#12 The Case of the Curious Curate, M.C. Beaton#13 Look Again, Lisa Scottoline
Fran: i try not to compare book to film. of course some comparison is inevitable, but i find if i can seperate the two mediums and not expect the movie to BE the book, i can enjoy both.
#14 Pope Joan, A Novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross
#15 A Day In the Life of Ancient Rome, Alberto Angela
#16 Chest Pains, Janet Nichols Lynch, very good
#17 The Siege, Stephen White#18 Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardner, M.C.Beaton
#20 Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger
#21 The Birth Order Book, Dr. Kevin Leman
#22 Silent Partner, Jonathan Kellerman, ok.
wow. you are like some kind of reading machine.
:)
Usually one audio and one written going at a time. The kids are grown, I only work three days a week, and as my hobbies are solitary, they are usually accompanied by an audio book.
#23 The Five Bells and Bladebone, Martha Grimes
#25 Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
#26 Heresey, S.J. Parris#27 The Nature of Monsters, Clare Clark
#28 Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist, M.C.Beaton, fun series, if only I can find the one where she married James Lacey.
#29 Four Souls, Louise Erdrich, should have read the prequel.
Fran wrote: "#28 Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist, M.C.Beaton, fun series, if only I can find the one where she married James Lacey."
I have never read this series, but I'm a retired librarian and this kind of question always triggers my itch to research. Check the website http://www.agatharaisin.com. It lists #11 as being about her recent marriage to James Lacey, so it might happen in #10 - seems as though it has to be one or the other. Good luck.
I have never read this series, but I'm a retired librarian and this kind of question always triggers my itch to research. Check the website http://www.agatharaisin.com. It lists #11 as being about her recent marriage to James Lacey, so it might happen in #10 - seems as though it has to be one or the other. Good luck.
Thanks, the library seems to be missing some of the older ones. They are still lots of fun, even out of order. I just can't help but love a fellow squat, bossy, middle-aged woman who always seems to be saying the wrong thing. I'll try that site. It will definitely help to know the title I'm looking for.
#29 Isle of Palms, Dorothea Benton Frank#30 Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell, M.C. Beaton, in which she files for divorce.
Fran said:"#30 Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell, M.C. Beaton, in which she files for divorce." Back and forth, and back and forth, so go Aggie and James, so it was inevitable that someone would file for divorce...but I don't think we've seen the last of James. And in between there's Charles and Roy, not to mention her friend Bill, to keep her busy, and us chuckling.
#31 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson Loved It!
Fran, I just could not finish that book (Spellman Files)...I had to skim through to the end to find out what happened, and was satisfied with the ending...but the machinations of this crazy family was too much for even me, and I began to wonder where she got her characters from (I hope not from her own family, lol) I thought the writing was OK but I had mixed feelings about the premise...I thought it was a little too over-the-top. I understand there are other Spellman Family books out there now.
I agree Carol, a little too "over the top".
#33 Ice Cold Grave, Charlaine Harris,#34 Bridge of Sighs, Richard Russo, Very good but went on too long.
#35 The Tale of Halcyon Crane, Wendy Webb, four stars, entertaining ghost story.
#36 Courting Trouble, Lisa Scottoline, funny, and although the characters were a little cliched they were very likable. Three stars
