KERRI's Looking Beyond 50 for 2010!

[Kerri]

[Maggie]

GOSH!!!!!!

[Kerri]

1.Life, the Universe and Everything byDouglas Adams 1/1/10

[Kerri]

2. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams 1/2/10

[Kerri]

3. Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams 1/4/10

[Kerri]

4. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 1/7/10

[Kerri]

5. Every Breath You Take: A Novel by Judith McNaught 1/9/10

[Kerri]

6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 1/14/10

[Kerri]

7. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 1/16/10

[Kerri]

8. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 1/18/10

[Kerri]

9. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 1/23/10

[Kerri]

10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 1/26/10

[Kerri]

11. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson 1/31/10

[Kerri]

12. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 2/8/10

[Kerri]

13. Dracula by Bram Stoker 2/15/10

[Kerri]

14. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 2/19/10

[Kerri]

15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 2/21/10

[Kerri]

16. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 2/22/10

[Kerri]

17. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall 2/24/10

[Kerri]

18. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 2/28/10

[Kerri]

Leigh Anne wrote: "This is one of the few books I own - it never fails to make me laugh and cry - did you enjoy it?"

Leigh Anne,
I did enjoy it. I started it with VERY high expectations so was a little perplexed for the majority of the book which seemed liked a lot of reading and not a lot of going anywhere. For me, it wasn't a non-stop page turner of a book UNTIL the last 100 pages or so and then it became perfectly clear what an awesome book it was. I loved the capital letters for Owen's voice...thought that was ingenious. One other note: when I'm reading a book I don't like to stop to take notes, but usually find something that I want to reflect on later so turn the corner of the page down (I know, I know...not the proper way to handle a book, but better than writing in it....I need to get those sticky arrow things). A Prayer for Owen Meany had more turned down corners, when I finished reading it, than any other book I've ever read AND, when I went back to look at each of those pages, I knew EXACTLY why I had turned the corner down....that doesn't always happen...half the time, when I go back, I have no idea what caught my attention. I'm still letting the story swirl around in my head and am looking forward to a big discussion with a friend who is also reading it. One of the ladies in one of my reading groups wrote that she thought A Prayer for Owen Meany would one day be considered a true classic from the 20th century....I absolutely agree.

[Kerri]

Oh...special note to my librarian friend....I NEVER turn down corners of library books or books I have borrowed from friends....only my own.

[Kerri]

19. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 3/3/10

[Nance]

Kerri wrote: "19. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 3/3/10"

I was just wondering what you thought of this book? I bought it about 2 weeks because the story sounded intriguing to me. I haven't read it yet. What's your opinion?

[Kerri]

Hi Nance!
I gave it three stars, BUT I am pretty tough when I assign stars! I probably would have given it 3.5 if that was possible. I am VERY glad I read it....Oscar Wilde wrote some amazing and original quotes. He did a great job of creating an intriguing story which revolves around vanity, narcissim, influences of others on a person's soul and how one leads their life in general. However, there were quite a few parts that went on forever.... I had to laugh at one point when the story was getting monotonous enough that I started skipping ahead and then remembered one of the quotes from earlier in the book....this is not the exact wording, but it was something like "a person who tries to exhaust a topic will often exhaust his listener." I also felt it was a little "anti-climatic" and left a few things unanswered, BUT I would not use that to determine if you read it or not. I can see why it is considered a classic and, as I said above, I am glad I read it. I know I will go back to it many times when I need a good quote!

[Nance]

Kerri wrote: "Hi Nance!
I gave it three stars, BUT I am pretty tough when I assign stars! I probably would have given it 3.5 if that was possible. I am VERY glad I read it....Oscar Wilde wrote some amazing an..."

Kerri,
Thanks so much for the incite to the book! It just looked very interesting to me, and from what I've read about Oscar Wilde, he was a very controversial individual. So, he had my interest piqued. I'll give it a try. I have a few other books that I am reading right now, but I was interested to see what someone else had to say before I dug into it. Thanks!

[Kerri]

Nance,
Yes, I would imagine that this could have been a controversial book when it was originally published. There are some things implied that most likely created quite a stir at the time. I do intend to read up on Oscar Wilde. I read Dracula recently and the foreword mentioned that Stoker and Wilde were acquaintances and that they maintained a correspondence until Wilde's death. I get the feeling there might have been an interesting "artistic men's club" that maybe pushed the limits of propriety for their time. Couldn't help, but wonder if some of Wilde's life paralleled some of his characters' lives.

[Kerri]

20. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck 3/5/10

[Kerri]

21. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll 3/6/10

[Kerri]

Leigh Anne wrote: "Wow - I'm glad you got so much out of the book! And, somehow, I knew you wouldn't be a library-mangler. ;)

Seriously, I'm half-tempted to go pick up "Owen" again right now, except I have to fin..."

I had a literal LOL moment when I saw the size of that book in the store (because I had been considering picking it up to read)....it should ABSOLUTELY count as 2...minimum! I'm not a die hard King fan so couldn't give up my precious time for it...too many other promising books to read. Maybe your review will persuade me otherwise...............

[Kerri]

22. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane 3/7/10

[Kerri]

23. Tell No One by Harlan Coben 3/8/10

[Kerri]

24. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 3/10/10

[Kerri]

25. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 3/11/10
Finished Wide Sargasso Sea this morning. An interesting explanation as to what exactly happened to Jane Eyre's Bertha and Rochester to make one crazy and the other bitter.

[Kerri]

26. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 3/14/10

Awesome book...one of my top ten favorites!

[Nance]

Kerri wrote: "26. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 3/14/10"

Kerri,
I'm reading this now. Only on page 50. It's for a bookclub read. What did you think of it?

[Kerri]

Nance wrote: "Kerri wrote: "26. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 3/14/10"

Kerri,
I'm reading this now. Only on page 50. It's for a bookclub read. What did you think of it?"

It is an awesome book. There were parts that got a little technical with some of the medical procedures, but they were still interesting. It was a beautiful story with very likeable characters.

[Nance]

Ok, thanks so much. All the book critics wrote that the book was so good. So, I just wanted to get another reader's opinion.

[Kerri]

Started out thinking 50 books in a year was maybe a possibility...then got excited and thought maybe 75....but am on such a roll, I've developed a secret ambition to hit 100!

[Kerri]

27. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick 3/16/10

Officially "my least favorite book of 2010...so far."

[Kerri]

28. Holding Up the Earth by Dianne E. Gray 3/19/10

[Kerri]

29. Wilde by Jonathan Fryer 3/20/10

Extremely interesting biography of Oscar Wilde. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray for a book club read at the beginning of the month. I knew virtually nothing about Oscar Wilde except that he was a playwright and had written The Importance of Being Earnest. The Picture of Dorian Gray started off with some pretty strong hints of unconventional behavior involving older and younger men and culminated with outright scandalous behavior involving brothels and opium dens. I was surprised at the success and acceptance his novel must have received at the time it was released being that it was published in the late 1800's (obviously I wasn't too educated on the lifestyles of certain circles in the 1890's in London and Paris!) I was so intrigued by this that I HAD to read more about Oscar Wilde especially after I had seen that he was sent to prison for two years for gross indecency. The story of his life is fascinating and full of scandal....mimicking the story of Dorian Gray and, most notably, Wilde's character, Lord Henry Wotton, who was quite obviously fashioned after himself.

[Nance]

Kerri wrote: "Started out thinking 50 books in a year was maybe a possibility...then got excited and thought maybe 75....but am on such a roll, I've developed a secret ambition to hit 100!"

The way that you're going, you'll read 100 books with no problem. You've already read 10 more books than me! Where do you find the time? Happy reading!

[Kerri]

30. Never Cry Wolf : Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves by Farley Mowat 3/24/10

A somewhat interesting accounting of the author's on-site research of wolves in the barren north in the 1960's. I think there's some controversy regarding how accurate his information is. I can't say I liked the book, but it was definitely in the "ok" category....kind of boring for me, actually....it was a fairly short book and should have been a quick read, but I had a tough time not nodding off to sleep everytime I picked it up. I think I need to move on to something a little more spicy!!!

[Alex]

Kerri wrote: "Started out thinking 50 books in a year was maybe a possibility...then got excited and thought maybe 75....but am on such a roll, I've developed a secret ambition to hit 100!"

You go girl!!

[Kerri]

31. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray 3/27/10....3 stars

[Kerri]

32. Briar Rose by Kimberly Cates 3/28/10....2 stars

A so-so historical romance....pretty basic as romances go. I was in the mood for a mindless read and it fit the bill fine. I wouldn't recommend it for anything beyond that.

[Kerri]

33. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 3/30/10.....5 stars

[Kerri]

34. The Handmaid's Taleby Margaret Atwood 4/7/10.....4 stars (would've done 3.5-3.75 if possible)

[Kerri]

35. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 4/14/10...5 stars