2009 challenge to Read 100 books

[[deleted user]]

77. Mohja Kahf: The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf (Syria)
78. Alois Kayser: Nauru One Hundred Years Ago: 3. Games and Sports (Nauru)
79. Helene Cooper: The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood (Liberia)

[Gerry]

Shoshanapnw wrote: "77. Mohja Kahf: The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf (Syria)
78. Alois Kayser: Nauru One Hundred Years Ago: 3. Games and Sports (Nauru)
79. Helene Cooper: The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost A..." I envy you in having the time to read as many books as you have so far this year. It is none of my business but how many hours, on average, do you read each day??

[[deleted user]]

Gerry, I read pretty quickly, which helps--around a page a minute, depending on type size and genre. On most days I read for pleasure about two hours. If I'm really enjoying something, it may be more. I started "The House at Sugar Beach" on 6/30 with 30 minutes while on the treadmill and 30 minutes before bed. On 7/1, it was 1.5 hours on the treadmill, 3o minutes between other activities, and 30 minutes before bed. On 7/2 it was 75 minutes on the treadmill, 2 hours while showing my students a film I've seen around 10 times, and 30 minutes while watching television with my partner to wrap it up. I then read around 15 pages of my next book before bed.

[Gerry]

Well Shoshanapnw, my hat definitely goes off to you. You are living my dream. My biggest problem is guilt that i'm spending time reading when I should be doing something else. I'm a financial analyst so there is a great deal of reading involved with my job. My problem is keeping awake at night especially if you are trying to get through a difficult book. Thanks for sharing your message.

[Dan]

Here's what I've read so far in 2009. A little over halfway to a hundred by mid-year.

1. QBQ: The Question Behind the Question - John G. Miller
2. The Great Fire - Shirley Hazzard
3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
4. The Fabric of the Cosmos - Brian Greene
5. Master/Slave - N. T. Morley
6. Mythology - Edith Hamilton
7. This is Your Brain on Music - Daniel J. Levitin
8. At the Mountains of Madness - H. P. Lovecraft
9. Supernatural Horror in Literature - H. P. Lovecraft
10. Safe Word - Molly Weatherfield
11. Candide - Voltaire
12. Wild Decembers - Edna O'Brien
13. The Aeneid - Virgil
14. The Writing Life - Annie Dillard
15. The Return of the Soldier - Rebecca West
16. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
17. Delta of Venus - Anais Nin
18. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
19. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard
20. In the Forest - Edna O'Brien
21. Hideous Kinky - Esther Freud
22. The Death of Ivan Ilyich - Leo Tolstoy
23. The Country Girls - Edna O'Brien
24. Death in Venice - Thomas Mann
25. The Devil - Leo Tolstoy
26. Animal Farm - George Orwell
27. Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
28. Living by Fiction - Annie Dillard
29. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
30. Strait is the Gate - Andre Gide
31. For the Time Being - Annie Dillard
32. Little Birds - Anais Nin
33. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
34. The Hidden Connections - Fritjof Capra
35. Girl With Green Eyes - Edna O'Brien
36. Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
37. If on a Winter's Night a Traveller - Italo Calvino
38. Demian - Hermann Hesse
39. Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
40. The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
41. Girls in Their Married Bliss - Edna O'Brien
42. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
43. A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
44. Obedience - Will Lavender
45. In Search of Schrodinger's Cat - John R. Gribbin
46. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
47. Jacob's Room - Virginia Woolf
48. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
49. East of Eden - John Steinbeck
50. How to Build a Time Machine - Paul Davies
51. The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford
52. The Mind of God - Paul Davies
53. The Metaphysical Club - Louis Menand
54. Cannery Row - John Steinbeck
55. Love in a Cold Climate - Nancy Mitford
56. The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
57. The Taking - Dean Koontz
58. Sweet Thursday - John Steinbeck
59. Orlando - Virginia Woolf

[[deleted user]]

Gerry, I find that reading on the treadmill, or listening to audiobooks on my commute, helps assuage the guilt I'd feel if weren't multi-tasking. If I had my way, I'd spend half of every day in a hammock reading science fiction!

[Gerry]

I'm with you there. On a deserted island somewhere.

[Jenny]

Oooh, is it too late to join this? I think I might be able to make it to 100 by the end of the year.

[Gerry]

That is what I love about dreaming. Anything is possible. That and winning the lottery wouldn't hurt.

[Jenny]

Ok, so here's my list. It looks like I'm behind since the year is half over.
1. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

2. That's Not in My American History Book by Thomas Ayers

3. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

4. Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

5. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

6. Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer

7. Tall Grass by Sandra Dallas

8. Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

9. Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr

10. The Woman who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle

11. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

12. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

13. White Oleander by Janet Fitch

14. Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

15. On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons

16. A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

17. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

18. Austenland by Shannon Hale

19. Raising Bookworms by Emma Walton Hamilton

20. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irvin

21. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

22. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

23. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

24. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

25. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

26. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

27. American Lion by John Meacham

28. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

29. Wild Nights by Joyce Carol Oates

30. Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

31. Max by James Patterson

32. Mayflower by Natheniel Philbrick

33. Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

34. Star Wars: Bloodlines by Karen Traviss

35. Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida

36. Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

37. Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland

38. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

39. Revolutionary Road by Ricard Yates

40. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

41. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

and, I'm currently reading War and Peace, Shanghai Girls, Book Lust and Drums of Autumn.

[Gerry]

not by much. good list. a lot of variety.

[Christina Stind]

Here's my list of all the books I've read this year - I'm behind as well...

Completed books '09:
1. One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich (amazing book from nobel prize recipient about life in a Siberian work camp)
2. Beginner's Greek (nice novel about love...)
3. Rebecca (Last night I dreamt of Manderlay...)
4. Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay (funny book about being a new mother)
5. The Rules of Attraction (my first Brett Easton Ellis - liked it a lot!)
6. Alias Grace (real life Canadian murder mystery)
7. The Social life of dogs (funny book about the author's dogs (some of them))
8. Anna Karenina (simply amazing!!!)
9. The Year of Fog (interesting book about a child gone missing)
10. The Forest (about the history of the New Forest in UK, told in short stories about the people living there, didn't like this one very much)
11. Middlesex (Amazing book!)
12. The Audacity of Hope (interesting - especially to see the differences between US and Danish/European politics)
13. Chicago (about Egyptians muslims - a very different read from what I'm used to)
14. Hogfather (a nice Discworld novel)
15. Stolen Innocence (one of the girls from Warren Jeff's people tells her story)
16. Death and the Penguin (great novel about a man and his penguin - and the mafia)
17. Hotel New Hampshire (Never read this John Irving-novel before - loved it)
18. House in Paris (really great novel about two children happening to meet in a house in Paris and the story of why one of them was adopted)
19. Man Gone Down (amazing debut - not an easy or light read in any way but very rewarding and interesting - about a father struggling to get by in today's America)
20. Håndteringen af udøde (Handling the undead - the recently deceased wake up again and cause a lot of problems - liked this one a lot)
21. The Handmaid's Tale (for the group read)
22. Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (not my thing - rather repetitive - for the 1001-books you must read... list)
23. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (loved it!)
24. Wonder Boys (enjoyed this one a lot as well)
25. City of God (very impressive book)
26. After Dark (another good book by one of my favourite authors, Haruki Murakami)
27. The gravedigger's daughter (I love Joyce Carol Oates - this was a great novel about a girl of immigrant parents who suffer from abuse from her husband and have to make her own life)
28. Going Postal (a really good Discworld novel! Very funny!)
29. Watchmen (the best graphic novel ever! Such an amazing combination of words and pictures - really show what graphic novels can do at their best!)
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)
39. The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time book 2 (Better than the first - nice easy fantasy)
40. Buddha vol. 2 (Manga - I love this series about Buddha's life)
41. Dead Babies by Martin Amis (Did not like this very much)
42. Eldritch Horrors (short stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft - some really good stories in this book)
43. East of Eden by Steinbeck (great book - loved it)
44. A son of the Circus by Irving (not the best Irving book but I just love his books)
45. The Moon is down by Steinbeck (re-read - love it)

Currently I'm hard at work on Tolstoy's War and Peace.

[Jenny]

I'm working on War and Peace as well. I've been reading a chapter a day since March. It's going to take me the rest of the year to finish it.

[[deleted user]]

80. Semisi Nau: The Story of my Life: A Tongan Missionary at Ontong Java (Tonga)

[Petra X]

July 2009

56 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)

I've recently got a bit fed-up with books that have disappointing endings - most of Jodi Picoult, both of Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies and The Glass Palace A Novel, and even Narayan's Swami and Friends and Bachelor of Arts. So I was really surprised at the excellent ending of The Dark Room. Narayan can really write characters and I had built up in my mind a full picture of the wife, Savitri, the main character. Nothing she does is a surprise to me, I have every sympathy for her but... I do not know her! The last few paragraphs changed everything I had thought of her, both her place in her society, her religious beliefs and even high-falutin' morals. Such stunning writing!

[[deleted user]]

Don't bother with The Hungry Tide then.

[Petra X]

Ok. Unless I have to fly to the UK to see my mum again and need a saga!

I wish you had reviewed Semisi Nau as it sounds really interested. I'm also looking for some books on the history and culture of Australia aborigines. Those I've seen have that patronising reverent pc feel to them and I'm more interested in something solid. I know you have been reading books from everywhere and wondered if you had any recommendations for me?

[[deleted user]]

Semisi Nau: I will, and it'll go on my update--I usually update reviews in blocks of 3 or 4.

Australia aborigines: for the region, try these publishers/book sellers:
http://www.uspbookcentre.com/
http://ipsbooks.usp.ac.fj/index.php
http://www.pacificislandbooks.com/

For books, I've read Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time and I have but haven't yet read An Aboriginal Mother Tells of the Old and the New.

For applied non-fiction (social justice, for example), you might look at publications of the Dulwich Centre: http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/publi..., which I admire as an institute.

[Petra X]

Shoshanapnw wrote: "Semisi Nau: I will, and it'll go on my update--I usually update reviews in blocks of 3 or 4.

Australia aborigines: for the region, try these publishers/book sellers:
http://www.uspbookcentre.com..."

Thanks, I'm going to check all these links right now.

[Petra X]

Petra X wrote: "Shoshanapnw wrote: "Semisi Nau: I will, and it'll go on my update--I usually update reviews in blocks of 3 or 4.

Australia aborigines: for the region, try these publishers/book sellers:
http:..."
Nice links, loads of lovely books to look through. The Dulwich link doesn't work, but I'll look for it another way.

[[deleted user]]

Sorry, I had some trouble with the link and a comma was appended. Try this:

http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/publi...

[Petra X]

Shoshanapnw wrote: "Sorry, I had some trouble with the link and a comma was appended. Try this:

http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/publi..."

Works, wonderful books.

[[deleted user]]

I admire their work a lot.

[Petra X]

Now I have to see if I can find the books at a better price. I will buy loads of them and justify it as "stock" for my bookshop and hope that someone besides me actually buys at least one of the. Cognitive dissonance, you know :-)

[[deleted user]]

:) If you have therapists in your community, you could target them as customers. Most therapists I know in rural/geographically isolated areas are thrilled to have access to more esoteric resources, especially if they don't have to pay shipping. Community organizers might like their materials, too.

I've been happy with the books I bought from IPS, which include one I've barely dipped into on indigenous medicine in the Marshalls. It looks like USP may have similar works for some other islands.

[Petra X]

Shoshanapnw wrote: ":) If you have therapists in your community, you could target them as customers. Most therapists I know in rural/geographically isolated areas are thrilled to have access to more esoteric resources..."

There are three on the island. One writes books she wants me to sell, but only buys Nora Roberts and Christine Feehan herself once or twice a year. The other two , both of whom I know quite well, have never ever even been inside my bookshop to my knowledge. Lots of people consider having a bookshop on the island unnecessary when you have Amazon with its huge discounts (they forget the postage and then having to go to another island to pick the books up adds another $59!). I wish I could find some way in to these people, therapists or not. One day last week I didn't even sell a single book.

[Petra X]

July 2009

56 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)

[Michael]

Very prolific reading! Hopefully you'll read my new novel, Black Shoes, when it comes out next month!
My favourite book over the past year is Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. The Devil's Double, by Latif Yahia, still remains my all time favourite though.

[Michael]

Jen wrote: "Ok, so here's my list. It looks like I'm behind since the year is half over.
1. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

2. That's Not in My American History Book by Thomas Ayers

3. The Little Giant of Aberdee..."

I've got to find some time to commit to War and Peace!

[Dan]

60. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

[[deleted user]]

81. Jonathan Stroud: Heroes of the Valley

A little YA F&SF to leaven the tales of actual war so prevalent in the memoirs I've been reading. Took a little while longer because one of the kittens was fascinated by its shiny cover lettering.

[Dan]

61. Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck

[Jenny]

42. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

[[deleted user]]

82. Angelina Jolie: Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Ecuador
83. Ammon Shea: Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages

I'll catch up my reviews this weekend. I'm finishing up a class tonight and will have more time after I grade everything.

[Petra X]

Did Angelina Jolie write it herself?

[[deleted user]]

I'm assuming so given that it's not well-written but develops over time stylistically. It's like reading someone's notebook or journal.

[Dan]

62. The Ornament of the World - Maria Rosa Menocal

[Petra X]

July 2009

56 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan(Fiction, Indian)

[Jenny]

43. Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
44. Book Lust by Nancy Pearl

[[deleted user]]

84. Sarah Vowell: The Partly Cloudy Patriot

[Petra X]

July 2009

56 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)

59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
As always with Narayan, the writing is a joy to read. The prose flows smoothly, the descriptions come to life and dialogue reads as true. I liked the story too (writing about it would spoil it) but the metaphysical aspects were not believable and once I reached that part of the book, it became a bit heavy-going. Some authors, especially South American ones like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Amado, have such a touch writing magical realism that you automatically accept those aspects as credible. Narayan didn't have that ability, and, in an effort to distinguish the dialogue between the living and the dead, he over-wrote the latter's speech which became speech that the character would not have uttered previously when living.

Of the four Narayan books that I've just read in chronological order, this one is by far the fullest, rather than detailing a very small episode in life. However, it is also supposed to be the most autobiographical and given the un-believability of the metaphysical aspects of the story, I can only comment: Really? [close:]

[Dan]

63. Fuzzy Thinking - Bart Kosko

[[deleted user]]

85. Stephenie Meyer: Breaking Dawn

[Christina Stind]

Still working on War and Peace. So far it's definitely a rewarding read but heavy. I'm actually surprised at how much heavier it is than Anna Karenina. But it's a good book and for me, at least, it gets better when I have the time to read a lot in one sitting.

[[deleted user]]

86. Yoko Tawada: The Bridegroom Was a Dog

[Petra X]

July 2009

56 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)

60 Seaside Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Interior design, architecture, photography)

This little book is full of beautifully-photographed interiors of houses situated by the sea. If you like style books, but not the prices, this book at under $10.00 is definitely one for your bookshelf.

[Wendy]

Updated Book List
59. The Unlikely Lavender Queen by Jeannie Ralston
60. I Thee Wed by Amanda Quick
61. The Beach House by Jane Green
62. The Sign for Drowning by Rachel Stolzman
63. A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore
64. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
65. Too Far Gone by Marliss Melton
66. Gone to the Dogs by Mary Guterson
67. Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian
68. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

[[deleted user]]

87. Stephenie Meyers: Midnight Sun

[Petra X]

Emilee wrote: "Petra you should try to do online store maybe that would help."

Can't. Can't get into the US postage system from here and the island postage system would mean a book to the US could take a month or more and would cost easily as much as the book to post.

[[deleted user]]

I hear you, Petra, but I just ordered a bunch of specialty/niche books from Fiji and happily spent more on shipping (DHL) than on the books themselves. I'd buy harder-to-find Caribbean authors on those terms.