Challenge: 50 Books discussion
2010
>
JOE'S 50 Books a Year 2010 Challenge
date
newest »
newest »
message 51:
by
Joe
(new)
May 18, 2010 11:26PM
43. Wild Child: and Other Stories; You don't have to know much about the author's life or background to realize how many aspects of his character and experiences shine through the lives, attitudes, emotions and timber of the characters and plots of these 14 stories. They will leave an effect on you as well. There's a story here for almost every palate.
reply
|
flag
44. The Road; a well-written page turning journey down the road of a post nuclear USA. It’s bleak. It’s morose. It’s brutal and the story’s characters find they are definitely not in Kansas any more. It’s a Cormac McCarthy masterpiece that spares no punches. Intense, graphic and a worthwhile read. Their journey will stay with you for a long time.45. A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer; Another good book for Christians on fasting and prayer although he does take a detour into the political, but it only strengths the points he makes about fasting and prayer. Yes it could have been said in less words, but then it wouldn’t be John Piper.
46. Hope & Other Dangerous Pursuits; Lalani’s first novel reads like a free flowing expose of the lives of four desperate people who attempt to leave their plight in Morocco to illegally cross the Straits of Gibraltar to Spain for a better way of living. While it ends somewhat abruptly, it's a satisfying quick read -- well worth it.
47. Going to Meet the Man: Stories; These eight short stories will leave you hungry for more writing my Baldwin. They are all powerful and each one a different perspective on the issue of race in America. Increasingly intense, they give the reader a first hand view of what racism does to its practitioners, its recipients and the indifferent. Each story leaves quite impression upon the psyche.
48. Fast Sketching Techniques; Solid technique on sketching (as opposed to drawing); for a visual artist, the technique comes in handy sooner rather than later. Author gives many exercise to sharpen this skill. Highly recommended.
June 201049. Shantaram; An exciting epic novel about an Australian prison escapee who ends up etching out a life for himself in Bombay’s slums, and then within its Mafia. This saga is rough, nerve-racking, funny, inspiring and long winded (with lots of pontificating by its main character/author. I alternately read the 933-page tome and listened to the 43 hour audiobook. The characters will live with you for a while afterwards. (Johnny Depp is slated to do the film version.)
50. Secret Son; I actually enjoyed this novel; (it just took me longer to get through than I had planned, but not due to any fault in the writing); it's a quick emotionally charged read, (however Lalami's first short story laced novel is clearly more exciting), but the plot in this one moves well and the dialogue is tightly written and gives the reader a strong flavor of Moroccan life on both sides of the fence. It's a solid YA book. I would recommend it.50th book!!!!
51. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet; touching story that flits between 1986 and life in Seattle during wartime period of the 1940s and the relationship between a Chinese American and his Japanese American classmate and childhood sweetheart.
52. Cross Country; an action thriller starring who else but Alex Cross doing his detective thing again in the U.S. and in a few countries in Africa. Mind boggling cruelties abound. Peter Fernandez and Dion Graham give keen performances in this lightning fast audiobook.
53. Three Wrecked Men; These three novellas plunge into the lives of young men who have been dealt a strong hand in life and show how they choose to play it. Most times these stories are raw, shocking and intense, but at no time do you feel sorry for them. They play the hand they’ve been dealt the best way a wrecked man can. They survive. The narrators do a decent job with the material, the strongest delivery is that of Dion Graham. Note: The language and subject matter may be offensive to some.
54. The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict: A quick read but potent visual smorgasbord, this manual is a sudden jolt into the world of visual journaling. It's not a manual of how-to-do, but a TO-do reference book full of ideas and triggers to get you journalling on a viSuAl bAsIs. I am both a writer and a visual artist, so this was like caffeinated candy for me. It really is visual ammunition for the art addict.
July 201055. The Good Earth; It’s an almost 80 year old classic epic depicting life in rural China written by the daughter of missionaries about the life and times of a farmer in pre-communist China where foot binding and land ownership was all the rage. It was written in the third person, through the voice/thoughts of the main character, which can be a little distancing, but the moral fiber of this classic tome shines through.
56. The Creative License: Giving Yourself Permission to be the Artist You Truly Are: This was very inspiring and it's going to be a reference manual for me; the author's definitely onto something with using drawing as a means to help tap into our creativity. I read it twice. 57. Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun: 52 rock solid fun and creative assignments, projects and exercises that will take the visual artist's creativity to new levels. For all skill levels. A fun reference manual with a year's worth of work.
58. Brick Lane: A Novel: The story of the life of an illiterate woman from a Bangladesh village who moves to London’s Brick Lane in an arranged marriage. Unfortunately, I found the storyline to be like a never ending diatribe.
59. Absolute Surrender: Murray sums up how the entire Christian life should be lived, should we ever decide get serious, in this simply written enlightening straightforward book.60. The Power of Simple Prayer: How to Talk with God about Everything: If Meyers knows anything, she knows how to motivate believers to pray; this practically written, word specific book will totally change your view of prayer.
August 201061. The School of Obedience; simply stated pastoral manual on obedience to God and its benefits to a deeper Christian life.
62. The Book Thief: A simple bittersweet story of how a German girl survives during Nazi Germany through the books she steals and learns to read and how this affects the lives of the people she comes to know.
63. Through the Psalms with Derek Prince: Great devotional walkthrough of the familiar passages of the psalms; great commentary by Prince.64. Wise Blood: A quick wild ride of intensely written prose, doused with some pretty vivid characters who will enthrall you with their obnoxious ways, and whom you will likely forget soon after you finish this tale. Bronson Pinchot gives this a brillant read.
65. I Am Legend: This is an intensely riveting, tightly woven piece of sci-fi that delivers quite a punch and is a nice departure from the movie featuring Will Smith; it’s a worthwhile read and the audiobook was expertly narrated by Robertson Dean.
September 201066. The Hunger Games A riveting action packed YA sci fi featuring a 14-year old heroine and a post war North America that you won’t soon forget.
67. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: Powerfully written coming of age narrative by a Native American reflecting on his early life, its good times and bad will make you laugh and cry enough to read this book again.
68. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: A wonderful classic about the brave character of a reluctant hero--even if that hero happens to be a mongoose.69. There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America: A shocking sociology documentary that was written 20 years ago, but it is still unfortunately pertinent in our society.
Eight more and you'll need to blow this pop-stand. :) Luckily, you hedged your bets and joined the 100 Books a Year 2010 Challenge. As to your comment you left in my 50 Books a Year. It was your great review of "Help" that piqued my interest especially your comments on the audiobook version. So I gave it a listen. Flat out thoroughly enjoyed it! The narrators did a superb job of bringing that solid piece of writing to life.
Joe, I sent along an email on your other two queries, i.e. "HIT" and "Avatar".
Garth wrote: "Eight more and you'll need to blow this pop-stand. :) Luckily, you hedged your bets and joined the 100 Books a Year 2010 Challenge. As to your comment you left in my 50 Books a Year. It was your ..."
That is my audiobook of the year; the narrators brought the book to a unbelievably heightened new level. I couldn't stop listening to it.
And yes I never thought I would have topped off this group so quickly. I guess 75 would be a good cut off.
i really liked Wise Blood. Flannery's language is terse yet so vivid. come to think of it, the same could be said of her characters.i recently read Hunger Games and was pleasantly surprised. people had recommended it, but i put if off cause it was a young adult novel. once i picked it up, i couldn't put it down. same goes for the second installment, Catching Fire.
lastly, love Sherman Alexie. his book of short stories called, 'the long ranger and tonto fist fight in heaven' is wonderful
Thanks Sooz; I'm gonna have to pick up a copy of THE LONG RANGER; I'm really into short stories and you've just confirmed it for CATCHING FIRE too.
nice to hear that someone appreciates short stories ... not a lot of people do it seems. AND not all good writers are good short story writers!writers like Maupassant, Hemmingway, Sommerset Maugham, Chekov, Zola and D.H.Lawerence really shine in the short story genre - but not all writers do that's for sure.
i really liked, A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Conner too.
present day writers of short stories (besides Alexie Sherman) i've liked are David Eggers and Andre Dubus.
what about you Joe - any recommendations for short stories?
Hemmingway, DH Lawerence and Eggers are definitely favorites of mine; I also enjoyed James Baldwin's GOING TO MEET THE MAN; Laila Lalani does a great job with the well paced HOPE & OTHER DANGEROUS PURSUITS and there's T.C. Boyle's excellent WILD CHILD AND OTHER STORIES.
70. Gideon the Cutpurse: Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy: An engaging YA time travel scifi trilogy. Look forward to more.71. In a Strange Room: Bleh! This lost traveler’s trips weren’t worth reading about. The writing and storyline don't improve until two thirds of the way through. Pass on this one.
72. Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales: The stories are a nice assortment sampled from all parts of Africa, but the main event is found in the 19 narrators who bring these folk tales to life. Definitely worth a listen.
73. Catching Fire: So far this is my winner for YA scifi trilogy of the year. Part 2 takes place immediately after Hunger Games. You want to read this series.
74. Mockingjay: A brilliant ending to a very intriguing young adult sci-fi trilogy. Get all three books because the characters and storyline will demand it. Good work.75. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven: A hodgepodge of short stories, many connected in some way, but all speak of Spokane Indian life on the reservation. The good thing: each of the 24 stories is better than its predecessor; the bad thing: most are very melancholy. Still a worthwhile reading.
October 201076. Life of Pi: The survival story of an Indian teen and a Bengal tiger in a boat in the Pacific Ocean on a long and torturous ride that is intriguing--at the very least--especially the last 20 pages... check it out.
77. Birdland: A depressed teen finds a way to overcome the loss of his older brother and recovering family. Touching.
78. The Candy Shop War: An action packed eye-opening small town war with kids, magicians and candies that make strange things happen when you eat them.
79. The Monkey King: A Superhero Tale of China, Retold from The Journey to the West: a super Chinese fable of the infamous Monkey King. A worthwhile story to read. Stands the test of time.80. The Yellow Wallpaper: Insanity has a new name and her is written in this book. A classic short story.
81. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure: If you loved the movie, you'll love the book; if you don't know the movie (inconceivable!), then check this out first.
82. Glorious: A fictional account of the life of a writer from the Harlem Renaissance. A quick and riveting storyline that will stay with you long after you finish especially the author’s imaginative use of historical figures.
hahahaha! I LOVE The Princess Bride :)
November 201083. I, Robot: Futuristic urban sci-fi. This reads like a graphic novel, but I got caught up in the stampede of a storyline. This is my first Doctorow book and merits another read through. It won’t be my last.
84. The Worshiping Artist: Equipping You and Your Ministry Team to Lead Others in Worship: Strong refreshing teaching/study on the inner and outer life of a worshipping Christian artist. Also for the layman, Noland shares very revealing and enlightening information that will help artists who minister in the church grow and prosper in the walk. Highly recommended.
85. The Master's Indwelling: powerful heartfelt writing by Murray of sermons he's given that are still on point.86. Reading Like a Writer; It was a long read, but provided a worthwhile examination and reintro to the classics for your troubles.
December 201087. Patti LuPone: A Memoir: Lupone gives an apt reading on her survival in the treacherous waters of the entertainment industry. Very revealing and at times rewarding delivery. Her fans will love it.
88. Girl in Translation: Hong Kong immigrant coming of age novel that vacillates between being a fictionalized narrative and romance novel. Would have been quicker to read this than listen to it. Writing is a little choppy, but enjoyed the narrator.
89. The Daydreamer: Seven short stories sewn together as one foray into the life of a daydreamer. A children’s book for all ages. McEwan’s writing is excellent and he makes every word count. These imaginative stories will stay with you for a long time. If you’ve ever daydreamed, this is a must read.
I know I passed 50 months ago, but I might as well finish out the year...
90. The Time Thief: Solid middle book of the time travel trilogy. Storyline pulls me right into the final book.91. Gregor the Overlander: Really loved the premise and the storyline of Collins' first YA series. Looking forward to more adventures in the Underland.
92. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Nothing new here, but Elijah does a great job of narrating this period piece of Antebellum folklore.93. Rogue Male: an old British thriller that still stands the test of time. I enjoyed this short novel about a hitman who is thwarted from completing his assignment and then tortured.
94. Invisible Man: Waited a long time to read this one. The storyline is shockingly riveting even nowadays. The long soliloquies are somewhat distracting though. Morton's reading is brilliant.
95. A Christmas Carol: An Original Performance by Tim Curry: A classic read and performance by Tim Curry. He adds nuances I've never heard before that take this familiar tale up a new level. Loved every moment.
96. Holiday Classics By O. Henry: Nice reading of three short tales “The Gift of the Magi", but I wasn't moved by any of them.
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Holiday Classics (other topics)Rogue Male (other topics)
A Christmas Carol (other topics)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (other topics)
Invisible Man (other topics)
More...
