Sam's Big 50 (x 2...better make that x3)

[Sam]

1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - 28/01/2010, 5*

[Liz, Moderator]

Impressive start to the year. Good luck, it's on my 'Must read before I die' list!

[Sam]

Thanks Liz, I set it aside as my 2010 Reading Challenge and it's going well so far. It's not as difficult to read as I thought it was going to be but the characters are difficult to keep track of. Luckily my copy came with a bookmark listing the main people and how they're related which has helped :-)

[Sam]

2. The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden - finished 11/01/2010, 4*

Admittedly I'm still working on War and Peace, but it is quite long lol

[Sam]

3. CULT Fiction by Chancery Stone - finished 14/01/2010, 3*

And yes I'm still working on War and Peace lol

[Jo]

Did you win that on goodreads? I won a copy.

[Sam]

Yea I did get it through that, didn't realise it's more of a accompany to the novels but it was still good, certaintly got me intrigued.

[Sam]

I've done it, I have finished War and Peace and with 5 stars it was well worth it :-) right now for all those other lovely books I've been ignoring of late...

[Jo]

Well done! Good to hear that you enjoyed it!

[Sam]

Ta very much, I was impressed it only took a month, was expecting it to take a bit longer :-)

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

Ooh you finished!! If you rated it 5 stars I may have to think about finding my copy and giving it a read...

[Sam]

Zoe wrote: "Ooh you finished!! If you rated it 5 stars I may have to think about finding my copy and giving it a read..."

I would certainly recommend it, I really enjoyed and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. All the different people can get confusing though.

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

Yeah, that's what I found when I started reading it ages ago

[Sam]

4. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - finished 31/01/2010, 4*

[Liz, Moderator]

Sam wrote: "I've done it, I have finished War and Peace and with 5 stars it was well worth it :-) right now for all those other lovely books I've been ignoring of late..."

Woohooo! Crack open the champagne! Maybe I'll tackle it later in the year (I did Crime and Punishment last summer - perhaps not your typical beach read - and have been hoping to do at least one real biggie every year...)

On a lighter note, Dead Until Dark is on my want to read list too - The TV series, 'True Blood' is such escapist fun - I'll be interested to see how the books compare...

[Sam]

Oh I did Liz (well the Guinness anyway lol), you should definitely give it a go it was much easier to read than Crime and Punishment :-)

That's why I read it, I watched the series without realising it was based on a book series. The books are definitely better (aren't they always lol)

[Liz, Moderator]

It's funny, you expect 'the classics' to be dense & impenetrable, but it's not always the case... I enjoyed Vanity Fair far more than I expected and couldn't put it down.

I shall look forward to reading Dead Until Dark...

[Sam]

I agree, think it's got a lot to do with that 'classics' label, straight away you start thinking it'll all be written in ye olde english or some such thing. It's a shame I think as I bet it puts a lot of people off even trying them.

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

I don't think it helps that most of the classics people are forced to read in schools are the ones that are most boring!

[Liz, Moderator]

True, but certainly when I was at school (makes me sound sooo old), while I was totally able to read & understand the words & plot, I was still too young to actually 'get it'.

I've re-read some of the books I was given at school and it was like reading completely different books. But it would have been very easy to dismiss them forever...

[Sam]

That is true, I think it's the same with a lot of stuff you're made to do at school, because you have to do it you hate it but when you do it through your own choice you love it. I think we're probably just all a bunch of rebels lol!!!

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

Haha, that's definitely us! Book Rebels :)

We had to read Wise Children for AS Level English and it was so confusingly written that it wasn't that fun to read, but after we'd analysed it it actually wasn't too bad a book. But I think it did put me off reading any of her other books.

[Liz, Moderator]

Angela Carter is great - honestly! I have read Wise Children and it's just not one of her best (in my opinion at least....) Try The Bloody Chamber or The Magic Toyshop instead - both great - really atmospheric gothic tales.

[Sam]

Ooooo I like the sound of those two Liz, think I may have to have a look at them. Thankfully I didn't do English AS but a few of my friends did and they had to read Wise Children and struggled with it. Like you Zoe they found it better once it was explained more but it did put me off her, might have to give her a go now though...

[Sam]

Oh I almost forgot...

5. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris - finished 03/02/2010, 4*

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

I might consider reading another one of her books... I'll see what the library/cheap book store have :)

[Sam]

6. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris - finished 05/02/2010, 5*

[Sam]

7. Work, Sex And Rugby by Lewis Davies - finished 09/02/2010, 5*

[Sam]

8.Riddler's Gift, The: First Tale of the Lifesong by Greg Hamerton - finished 11/02/2010, 5*

Highly highly recommended reading!

[Sam]

9.The Devil's Larder by Jim Crace - finished 14/02/2010, 2*

10.The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury - finished 16/02/2010, 4*

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

Sam have you read Jim Crace's Plague story Pest House?
I loved it!

[Sam]

I'm not sure, the stories in Devil's Larder don't have titles they're only numbered. What's it about?

[Sam]

11. The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid - finished 19/02/2010, 4*

[Sam]

12.The Coming Global Superstorm by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber - finished 22/02/2010, 1*

13.The Judge's House by Bram Stoker - finished 22/02/2010, 5*

[Sam]

14.Education, Edukation, Edukashun by James Rainsford - finished 28/02/2010, 5*

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

Glad to see you enjoyed it too! :)

[Sam]

Zoe wrote: "Glad to see you enjoyed it too! :)"

Oh yes, my mum's going to read it next, she couldn't get over my laughing out loud when I was home in the week, I don't tend to do that much so she's intrigued :-)

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

Hehe cool :) It was very funny! Do you think you'll read his next book when it's out?

[Sam]

Yea I think I will, what about you?

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

Yeah I hope to! The bit at the back of the other book seemed quite promising

[Sam]

I didn't actually read that bit. I'm not a fan of having those tasters of other books in the back, I kinda get annoyed as I think I've more left to read than I actually have. And I hate getting into it then not being able to finish it straight away. Bit picky I know lol!

[Zoe, UK Book Club Creator]

Haha, I know how you mean! They annoy me too but I just can't help myself :P

[Sam]

15.Angels of Death: Inside the Bikers' Global Crime Empire by William Marsden - finished 04/03/2010, 3*

[Em]

Sam wrote: "I didn't actually read that bit. I'm not a fan of having those tasters of other books in the back, I kinda get annoyed as I think I've more left to read than I actually have. And I hate getting i..."

Sam, I agree with this and it's hard to resist reading it when you've enjoyed the actual book, then you're left hanging... I do usually end up buying the next book though so despite my misgivings, the method does work on me!

Also, I generally don't read the lengthy introductions and notes etc that some books have at the start and end. Part of me thinks I should make the effort and I might learn something but then I decide there's no real need to and I'm compelled to just pick up another book instead.

[Sam]

Yea I usually end up buying the next one despite not having read the sample chapter, especially if I've enjoyed a book. I can see why they do it though lol.

I read the introductions as I often find it helps explain parts of the story better and makes it a bit more enjoyable but I'm not a huge fan of lengthy notes and additional information. I do occasionally read them but only if it seems like it'll add something to the book (or if I don't get distracted by my next read lol).

[Liz, Moderator]

I've stopped reading the preface, intros, notes etc of books completely. The last time was on Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and they contained so many spoilers that the book was almost ruined before I'd started... Never again!

[Em]

Yeah, if you're going to read them at all you need to make sure it's after you've finshed the book. Even if it doesn't have spoilers they sometimes seem to be telling you what to make of the book before you've even begun.

[Sam]

16.Southcrop Forest by Lorne Rothman - finished 06/03/2010, 5*

17.Poems Selected by Derek Mahon by Dylan Thomas - finished 06/03/2010, 5*

[Sam]

18.The Masked Man by Paul Doherty - finished 09/03/2010, 5*

[Sam]

19.Outlaw by Angus Donald - finished 12/03/2010, 5*