2009 challenge to Read 100 books

[[deleted user]]

55. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyers

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56. Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977 by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

[[deleted user]]

No social life.

[[deleted user]]

Actually, I don't watch many movies or play video games, and I'm in a committed relationship with a person who also works very hard. I'm a professor, and I read quickly. I spend a lot of my day reading journal articles and student work, so a novel is pretty relaxing. You should see how many books I read when I have the treadmill set up, but right now there are new kittens in that room and they don't yet understand about danger.

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read (Goodreads Author)
This story of a baby shortage set in the near future had some interesting characterisations. The main character of the story was portrayed as an enigmatic man of style, cool to the nth degree, had been so who disturbed by his disfunctional childhood that he kidnapped babies and sold them to the most deserving of the highest bidders and felt he did good in the world. In truth, of course, he was a most despicable felon and killer. The other main character was far too heavy-handed too often to be realistic. What he did was ok, but that he kept on saying it in cheap-thrillerese was cringe-making. The moral issues were lightly touched on, but not dealt with substantially which was a shame as the author made some interesting points. Nevertheless, it was a good story, well-told, but the unsatisfying ending reduced a four-star book (with a five-star cover) to three stars. A good beach or plane read.

[Wendy]

Update June 2009
43. Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer
44. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
45. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn
46. The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz
47. SOmething Borrowed by Emily Giffin

[[deleted user]]

57. Doris Pilkington: The Rabbit-proof Fence

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read
47 Women in the City of the Dead by Helen Watson

Helen Watson, an anthropologist, submerged herself in the life of the city of poor immigrants into Cairo that has grown up in the vast cemetery over the last 400 years.

More specifically, she attached herself to a small group of women who met everyday at one or other of their houses (tombs and shacks) for an hour or two of refreshments and storytelling. The book is written in paired chapters. The first chapter of each pair is a biography of one of the women and the second chapter is a story she has told. The women have come from far and wide in Egypt, not all from initally poor backgrounds, but all have wound up in poverty. All are illiterate and have no televisions, so their storytelling is a very well-developed art, always containing a moral.

The book cleared up a mystery for me. I have always wondered how come Arab Muslim women could allow themselves to be secluded away from life by their men. But they don't see it as we do, they relish the luxury of a life where dealing with the outside world and paid work is the responsibility of the man and that they are kept, precious birds, in as much luxury as their man can afford. Most of these women have to work, but will choose employment, such as tailoring, that can be done from within the home even if it is less well-paid than outside work. But life is short and brutal within this community, death comes early to the men and many children do not survive early childhood, so many are the widows some still with young children who have to work outside the home.

To be honest, I did skim over a couple of the stories, even of the most fascinating women, and the book would have been a three-star, until I read the last two absolutely luminous chapters. The last-but-one illuminates in a brilliant and unguessable story the feelings of a woman living a life of luxury reduced - or elevated - eventually to working for herself outside the home using the metaphor of a beautiful singing bird in a gilded cage.

The last chapter is one of the women's story about the author herself, how this community of illiterate Egyptian women see this researcher into their lives. It characterises her as a busy bee, as one who spends all her time observing and recording who will never understand their lives because she will not take the time to enjoy life and to live it. It was told with much humour and affection to take the 'sting' out of it.

Five stars. A wonderful book.

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read (Goodreads Author)
47 Women in the City of the Dead by Helen Watson
48 Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice reads like a memoir of Alzheimer's disease written by a family member but is in fact the first novel by a neuroscientist who, apart from being a great deal younger, lives the successful life of a top academic, as does Alice.

The book is unputdownable. I read through the night; dawn came and went and still I couldn't put it down but I don't really know why. The writing was ok, a bit heavy-handed at times, the denoument was predetermined and inevitable but still the book was as gripping as any top-ten thriller. Perhaps it was the progress through a disease that strikes at random and about which we know almost nothing from the sufferer's point of view?

Lisa Genova self-published the book and it has reached the rank of 150 in 'books' on Amazon. When I see a self-published book with 10 or 15 glowing reviews, mostly written by people who've never written a review before, I think they are probably the author's friends and dismiss the review in favour of one by an independent publication (if there is one). But when a self-published book attracts 190 reviews and a 5 star rating, I know that the book is definitely worth considering, not just for my own reading pleasure but also to order for my bookshop.

This book is more than worthy of consideration, it is ourselves, our families as we might be, and its a good read too.

Five stars

[Fiona (Titch)]

I am on book 74 now:

Cross Country - James Patterson

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read (Goodreads Author)
47 Women in the City of the Dead by Helen Watson
48 Still Alice by Lisa Genova

49 Academy X: A Novel by Andrew Trees
This book was dreadful from beginning to end. Hardly any story, heavy-handed cliched characters and the entire subtext explained on the back cover. Money Rules. The book makes the points that kids of the rich don't go to prison for drug-taking, don't get suspended for plagiarism, don't get expelled for false accusations of sexual harassment, but get into Ivy League colleges instead.

It is hammered home that Jews are nerds and not-quite-socially-acceptable and neither are the middle class and that the rich will bribe their way out of situations and pay for what they want whether or not it's legal or moral, certain in the knowledge that almost everyone will certainly take the money and touch their forelock. Almost everyone - not the teacher who is protagonist of this story? Him too, but he finds a way of justifying it.

Badly-written rot, it also reads as though the author had an eye to a future screenplay or tv series. I hope not though it is the kind of schlock that turns up daily and is endlessly repeated.
This book is relieved with occasional humour and a rather clever naming of each chapter with the title of a classic book. There is a funny conversation where both the words spoken on each side are illuminated by a subtext of what is really meant and its a very fast read. But these little glimmers of light don't rescue the book from the darkness of the bottom of the box of books to be given to the next Red Cross jumble sale.

One and a half stars. I didn't hate it but I can't say I enjoyed it either.

[[deleted user]]

58. Nancy Mankins: Hostage: The Incredible True Story of the Kidnapping of Three American Missionaries

59. Anne Best: The Monk, the Farmer, the Merchant, the Mother: Survival Stories of Rural Cambodia

60. Unknown: Guida fotografica di San Marino

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read (Goodreads Author)
47 Women in the City of the Dead by Helen Watson
48 Still Alice by Lisa Genova
49 Academy X: A Novel by Andrew Trees

50 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne

This is a small, engrossing fable of a time of death of the body and destruction of the soul. In the way of fables its relationship to reality is a little tenuous and the hero is more the protagonist who moves the action along, more a cypher tha a fully-realised character. Viewed in this way its quite a brilliant, unputdownable book. Viewed as fiction, its somewhat flawed but then the flaws are exactly what make it a fable.

Reading other people's reviews, the book seems to polarise people to give it either one star or four or five. The subject is definitely one that arouses strong emotions in many people and also a desire for accuracy, but the book is a novel, it doesn't have to follow the same standards as history.

Its definitely worth reading for anyone with even a small amount of prior knowledge of the Holocaust.

[Beth]

Petra X, I loved The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas too and was surprised by the negative comments I had heard. The movie version is coming from Netflix tomorrow. Have you seen it? I've heard a lot of negative comments on the movie as well so it will be interesting to watch it.

[Petra X]

Beth wrote: "Petra X, I loved The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas too and was surprised by the negative comments I had heard. The movie version is coming from Netflix tomorrow. Have you seen it? I've heard a lot ..."

Tomorrow, I am swapping my book with a kid who has the dvd. It was supposed to be today but the kid brought the wrong school bag.... lol. I'm not in the US so Netflix isn't something I could use.

[[deleted user]]

61. Albert Wendt (Ed.): Some Modern Poetry from the Solomon Islands

[Beth]

Petra X, I can't wait to see the movie and I'm glad you'll be watching it too. We'll have to "compare notes" on it!

[Petra X]

Yes, absolutely

[Fiona (Titch)]

75. For One More Day - Mitch Albom

[[deleted user]]

62. Hisham Matar: In the Country of Men

[Christina Stind]

30. The Raw Shark Texts (wow - amazingly creative book that really plays with the way words can tell and show a story)
31. The Kite Runner (finally I read this one and really liked it. Not quite what I expected - the plot twists really surprised me)
32. The Stand (re-read this one. Great book - enjoyed King's post-apocalyptic vision)
33. My Stroke of Insight (Brain scientist gets a stroke - did not enjoy this very much or as much as I'd expected)
34. Breakfast at Tiffany's (okay read - enjoyed it more after reading discussions of it)
35. Half of a Yellow Sun (great read about the Biafra-Nigeria war in 1967-70 which I knew nothing about before reading this book)
36. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Wolves at the Gate (Buffy season 8 is in graphic novels only - enjoyed this one)
37. The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time book 1. Okay read - too much borrowed from Tolkien)
38. I was a really good mom before I had kids (great book about focusing on what you really want for you and your family and learning to prioritise what you really want)

Almost done with The Great Hunt, Book two of The Wheel of Time, which I like better than the first book in the series. Planning on reading Martin Amis Dead Babies next and then Steinbeck East of Eden, continue with The Wheel of Time series - and hopefully start to read Tolstoy War and Peace soon as well.
Behind on my goal of reading 100 books - and it's not getting better by me starting to read Wheel of Time - so far 11 books published, each one at about 800 pages and definitely not getting better by planning to read War and Peace... But still trying!

[[deleted user]]

63. Black Stone: Grace Mera Molisa
64. Dreams of a Rainbow (Moemoea a te Anuanua): Kauraka Kauraka
65. Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love: Myron Uhlberg

[Petra X]

Beth wrote: "Petra X, I can't wait to see the movie and I'm glad you'll be watching it too. We'll have to "compare notes" on it!"

I watched the movie and I thought it was better than the book. It drew out the characters more and dropped the silly elements of the book (the young Nazi soldier's possible dalliance with the mother and the daughter's infatuation with him) and also made the little boy a year younger which fitted in more with his naivety. The ending of the book which is left entirely to your imagination is fully-played out in the film; I could hardly bear to watch it. Brilliant film and the book wasn't far behind it.

The acting of the boy in the striped pyjamas, Shmuel, was superb.

What did you think of it?

[Beth]

I watched it a couple of nights ago and I, too, thought it was very well done. I read the book about a year ago so I can't remember too much about the mother/soldier but I do remember the sister's infatuation with the soldier and it was nice that it wasn't so played out in the movie. When I read the book I was very shocked by the ending and so it was interesting to see if the movie ended the way I imagined and it did. Very sad. Both the book and the movie will stay with me forever, I think.

[Petra X]

Me too.

[[deleted user]]

66. Mark Dunn: Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
Author
67. Photographer: Vartan Derounian and Author: Alidz Jebijian-Agbabian: Dzalabadig: Images of Survival

[[deleted user]]

68. Blaga Dimitrova: Because the Sea Is Black

[Wendy]

Wendy's Updated List
48. Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel
49. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium, #1) by Stieg Larsson
50. The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
51. The Book of Love by Kathleen McGowan

[[deleted user]]

69. Ts. Bold (Ed.): Some Short Stories from Mongolia

[Beth A.]

It's exciting to see so many people at or beyond the 50% mark.
Happy reading everyone!

[Laura]

Petra, I love your reviews. You read many books I've heard little (or nothing) about, and even though our taste in books is different, you almost always make me want to read a book you've liked.

[[deleted user]]

70. James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon

[Petra X]

Laura wrote: "Petra, I love your reviews. You read many books I've heard little (or nothing) about, and even though our taste in books is different, you almost always make me want to read a book you've liked."

Thanks very much. You don't know just how good you made me feel when I read that :-)

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read (Goodreads Author)
47 Women in the City of the Dead by Helen Watson
48 Still Alice by Lisa Genova
49 Academy X: A Novel by Andrew Trees
50 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

51 The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History by Jonathan Franzen (memoir) 2½ star

I enjoyed some of the stories of him as a kid, especially the Christian stuff, less so his school exploits. However, I am not a fan of writer-as-hero books with context, and other characters, left fuzzy, and so I found the book mostly pretty tedious.

52 Skin Art by Philippe Di Folco (Photography, tattooing) 4-star
53 The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald (Fiction) 4½ star
54 Swami and Friends by R.K. Narayan (Fiction) 4-star

I might write reviews for these three later.

[[deleted user]]

71. Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views from the #1 Fan Site

[[deleted user]]

72. Peter and the Starcatchers

[Christa (is on top of the world!)]

I'm in! I've alrady got over a hundred on my to-read list anyways but I'm shure I'll get through about 30 this summer. Plus I add at least three more books to-read a day, so I don't think I'll ever stop.

[[deleted user]]

73. Zayd Mutee' Dammaj: The Hostage

[Epee]

I am so impressed with everyone posting here. I think I need to do a speed-reading course. There is no way I could even read 50 books a year.

[[deleted user]]

74. Dalai Lama XIV: How to See Yourself As You Really Are

I read this in February and forgot to review it!

[Fiona (Titch)]

78. The Beekeeper - Maxence Fermine

[[deleted user]]

75. Kathryn Davis: The Thin Place
76. Elvia Alvarado: Don't Be Afraid Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart: The Story of Elvia Alvarado

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read (Goodreads Author)
47 Women in the City of the Dead by Helen Watson
48 Still Alice by Lisa Genova
49 Academy X A Novel by Andrew Trees
50 The Boy in the Striped Pajamasby John Boyne
51 The Discomfort Zone A Personal Historyby Jonathan Franzen (memoir) 2½ star
52 Skin Art by Philippe Di Folco (Photography, tattooing) 4-star
53 The Bookshop A Novel by Penelope Fitzgerald (Fiction) 4½ star
54 Swami and Friends by R.K. Narayan (Fiction) 4-star
55 Bachelor of Arts by R.K. Narayan (Fiction) 3 star

[M]

I've enjoyed seeing what everyone is reading. Since we're at the half-way mark for the year, here's my 2009 ytd list --- a lot more nonfiction than fiction, lately ---

54.Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever
Kirn, Walter

53.Crazy Love
Steiner, Leslie Morgan

52.Statements: True Tales of Life, Love, and Credit Card Bills
Borkowsky, Amy

51.Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir
Buckley, Christopher

50.My Two Polish Grandfathers: And Other Essays on the Imaginative Life
Rybczynski, Witold

49.Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope
Guibert, Emmanuel

48.The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy: Recollections and Short Essays
Soto, Gary

47.One-Dish Vegetarian Meals: 150 Easy, Wholesome, and Delicious Soups, Stews, Casseroles, Stir-Fries, Pastas, Rice Dishes, Chilis, and More
Robertson, Robin G.

46.Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life
Thomas, Abigail

45.Loving Edith
Tannen, Mary

44.Ghost Light: A Memoir
Rich, Frank

43.Kafka Was the Rage: A Greenwich Village Memoir
Broyard, Anatole

42.Lost Daughter
Ferrante, Elena

41.The Urban Hermit: A Memoir
Macdonald, Sam

40.Lessons from the Land of Pork Scratchings: A Miserable Yank Discovers the Secret of Happiness in Britain
Gutfeld, Greg

39.Writing
Duras, Marguerite

38.The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
Saks, Elyn R.

37.Fodor's Essential Italy, 2nd Edition: Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between
Fodor's

36.Black Girl in Paris
Youngblood, Shay

35.Venice: A Cultural and Literary Companion (Cities of the Imagination Series)
Garrett, Martin

34.Walking With Garbo: Conversations and Recollections
Daum, Raymond

33.American Born Chinese
Yang, Gene Luen

32.Annie Leibovitz at Work: The Making of a Photograph
Leibovitz, Annie

31.The Place You Love Is Gone: Progress Hits Home
Pierson, Melissa Holbrook

30.Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide
Babcock, Linda

29.Zig-zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly How Ziggy Saved My Life
Wilson, Tom

28.Slacker Girl
Koslow, Alexandra

27.Thinking About Memoir
Thomas, Abigail

26.Work in Progress: An Unfinished Woman's Guide to Grace
Armstrong, Kristin

25.College Girl
Weitz, Patricia

24.Difficult loves
Calvino, Italo

23.Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown: Notes from a Single Girl's Closet
Halpern, Adena*

22.The Writing Life
Gilchrist, Ellen

21.Midnight Sun (Twilight, #5) (partial draft)
Meyer, Stephenie

20.Nothing to Be Frightened Of
Barnes, Julian

19.That Went Well: Adventures in Caring for My Sister
Dougan, Terrell Harris

18.Welcome to the Departure Lounge: Adventures in Mothering Mother
Federico, Meg

17.Live Through This: A Mother's Memoir of Runaway Daughters and Reclaimed Love
Gwartney, Debra*

16.The Philosophy of Andy Warhol :
Warhol, Andy

15.Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4)
Meyer, Stephenie

14.Dating Amy: 50 True Confessions of a Serial Dater
DeZellar, Amy

13.A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember
Levison, Iain

12.When You Are Engulfed in Flames
Sedaris, David

11.The Making of a Writer: Journals, 1961-1963
Godwin, Gail

10.Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student
Kimes, Martha

9.Miles from Nowhere
Mun, Nami*

8.Eclipse (Twilight, #3)
Meyer, Stephenie

7.Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie is Not the Answer
Lancaster, Jen

6. The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss
Dann, Patty

5. Story of My Life
McInerney, Jay

4. Tramps Like Us
Buckley, Kristen*

3. How to Travel with a Salmon & Other Essays (A Harvest Book)
Eco, Umberto

2.Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences
Holland, Barbara

1.New Moon .(Twilight, #2)
Meyer, Stephenie

[Gerry]

I'm new to this keeping count of how many books I have read in a year. I always thought I was an avid reader, but the above testimonies are amazing to me. I love to read, but working full time (about 10 hrs. a day) so early to bed, it takes me at least a good week or two to get through an average size book. I guess I must be slowing down in my old age.

[Wendy]

Updated list for end of June
52. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
53. The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano
54. Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
55. Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck
56. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
57. Season of Strangers by Kat Martin
58. With This Ring by Amanda Quick

[Petra X]

Gerry wrote: "I'm new to this keeping count of how many books I have read in a year. I always thought I was an avid reader, but the above testimonies are amazing to me. I love to read, but working full time (abo..."

You have a heavy schedule for a lot of reading. Also some people read faster than others which can get expensive if you like to own new books rather than borrow or buy used, like me. Luckily I have a bookshop so I don't have to pay full-price, but when I used to, I would do without new shoes, anything, to buy the books I wanted.

[Petra X]

June 2009

46 The Baby Merchant by Kit Read (Goodreads Author) (Fiction) 3 star
47 Women in the City of the Dead by Helen Watson (Sociology) 5 star
48 Still Alice by Lisa Genova (Fiction) 5 star
49 Academy X A Novel by Andrew Trees (Fiction) 2 star
50 The Boy in the Striped Pajamasby John Boyne (Fiction) 4 star
51 The Discomfort Zone A Personal Historyby Jonathan Franzen (Memoir) 2½ star
52 Skin Art by Philippe Di Folco (Photography, tattooing) 4-star
53 The Bookshop A Novel by Penelope Fitzgerald (Fiction) 4½ star
54 Swami and Friends by R.K. Narayan (Fiction) 4-star
55 Bachelor of Arts by R.K. Narayan (Fiction) 3 star

July 2009

56 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Fiction) 5 star]

[Gerry]

Well Petra you are living my dream. I have always said probably to my wife's chagrin, that if I ever won the lottery, I would open a used book store. Not really to make money, but to be surrounded by books. I envy you.

[Petra X]

Gerry wrote: "Well Petra you are living my dream. I have always said probably to my wife's chagrin, that if I ever won the lottery, I would open a used book store. Not really to make money, but to be surrounded ..."

It is a kind of dream, living on a Caribbean island with my own bookshop (new, not used). In fact the only thing missing is money. I have an espresso bar/internet cafe upstairs and that has failed to get off the ground. So it may be back to painting t-shirts and glass again soon. I hope not, I like books better.