avatiakh (Kerry) keeps reading the Orange

Here are the Orange books that I've read in the past few years, I enjoyed every one of them too.

2008 & before
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

2009
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox

2010
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
Small Island by Andrea Levy
An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
When we were bad by Charlotte Mendelson

2011
The Siege by Helen Dunmore
Sorry by Gail Jones
The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
The Long Song by Andrea Levy

2012
The Hunter by Julia Leigh
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
Disobedience by Naomi Alderman

2013
Great House by Nicole Krauss
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
The Innocents by Francesca Segal
The people of forever are not afraid by Shani Boianjiu
Life after life by Kate Atkinson
Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany
Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge

2014
The mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Fred & Edie by Jill Dawson

2015
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Dear Thief: A Novel by Samantha Harvey

2016
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

2017
2018
2019
Girl by Edna O' Brien

I'm currently reading both Great House and Old Filth.

Hi Kerry. Just checking you out. I've not yet read Old Filth but it is waiting in the wings. Great House, I love, love, loved!~! Enjoy your Oranges my dear.

Hi Belva - I'm quite enjoying Great House but not reading much at all at present. Old Filth certainly grabs your attention from the start and I'm finding it a much more straightforward read compared to the Krauss. Just not getting much reading time at present.

Sometimes that happens Kerry. Our lives are more than just books.
***gasp*** Did I really say that? But seriously sometimes, rarely I grant you, but sometimes I just don't feel like reading. I just want to sleep or drone out in front of the T.V. with the hubby which I actually did today. Watched football all weekend. And I find that most days I only read when I go to bed but I may spend 3 or 4 hours reading before I get sleepy. And sometimes our lives get so busy that we don't have any time to read. It's all good.
Glad you are enjoying Great House. I haven't attempted Old Filth as of yet but it is definitely on the list. I am reading Tides of War at the moment and it is sloooooow going for me. Too many stories at the beginning for me to concentrate on right now so I find that I am not anxious to pick it up. Perhaps I should simply put it down for now and read something else.
later babe,

Starting to struggle with Great house, must push through a decent page count and maybe the book will finally draw me in. Finished Old Filth and loved it, great style of storytelling.

Well, must look around for an orange picture when I have a bit of time.

Hi Kerry,
I searched and searched for the Orange group, and finally realised I was a member already :) Woops.
I had wanted to read A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian for a looong time, and joined this group in anticipation of making that happen. It still hasnt, but luckily I am reading Old Filth now- so that qualifies. At last!
GLad you loved it, I hope I do too :)

Great House got a generous 3 stars from me. I'm afraid I didn't like it as much as others seemed to.

>#7:
Megan, you are cracking me up here girl!~!
I too, hope to love Old Filth when I get to it. Perhaps in Orange July.
Neither have I read 'Tractors' yet. I think I find the title a bit offputting which is silly, I know. Perhaps we will choose to read it at the same time.

>#8:
Danielle; nothing wrong with a 3 * read. Diversity is the name of the game here on L.T. I am just so happy that you did enjoy it. I look forward to seeing what you choose to read next.

I finished Great House back in January and enjoyed but but didn't totally love it.
This month I've read The Innocents which is on the 2013 longlist again I enjoyed it but didn't love it.
I've just started another longlisted novel, The People of Forever are not afraid.

I really look forward to what you have to say about The People of Forever Are Not Afraid Kerry. It sounds like a fascinating read to me. I hope you like this one a lot.

And I am just getting ready to start The Innocents. Hoping that I love it. I did love Great House when I read it. I love to see all of our differing opinions on the Orange listed books. It kind of excites me.

hugs,

I enjoyed The People of forever are not afraid though can see it would not be for everyone. Not sure when I'll tackle my next Orange read but on my list for the year is probably:

Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany - this has just won the inaugural Stella Prize in Australia and has been long/short listed for numerous other awards in Australia.
The Forrests by Emily Perkins - I need to read something by her, she hosted our local books show here in New Zealand for several years (alas no longer produced) and I always admired her book talk. I've also enjoyed Perkins chairing numerous visiting authors at our local writers festivals.
and because of all the great reviews:
Life after life by Kate Atkinson
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

I enjoyed The Forrests. I know that not everyone did but I did. And I love, love, loved Life After Life. It was an absolute 5*+ read for me.
Bring Up the Bodies is one that I am planning on reading for July along with the other short listed books of this year that I have missed.
Mateship with Birds; love the title so I will have to at least check that one out & read some reviews, etc.

Wondering what you are planning to read in Orange July? It's almost upon us.

I feel really booked up with other reads so will probably choose another Orange book for later in the year. I have a copy of Mateship with Birds on the way so will make a start on that towards the end of the month. I have finished Life after Life this month which makes 5 Orange books so far this year.

Belva - I'll check out your thread to see what you're reading

I think I know the feeling Kerry. One of these years I am not going to plan my reading out each month for the month/year like I always do. I am so anal about it. But it would be nice to sometimes just grab something that I want to read instead of planning ahead.
Five Oranges on the year isn't too shabby. I am excited to hear what you will have to say about Mateship With Birds.

I have to say that I didn't much enjoy Mateship with Birds, in fact probably my most disappointing read for the year. I've read a couple of extensive reviews of the book and can see what they're getting at but it just didn't work for me. At all.

Mateship with birds by Carrie Tiffany (2012)
fiction / australia

I'd been looking forward to reading this one, it was on the Orange Prize longlist earlier this year as well as the Miles Franklin Award shortlist and won the inauguaral Stella Prize which is the Australian equiv of the Orange Prize. It also won the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award (Christina Stead Prize, 2013) and was on the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction Shortlist (2012) and Melbourne Prize Best Writing Award Finalist (2012).

I did not enjoy it. Luckily it was a quick read and I'm writing my comments now so I can push the book far from my mind....
I've read a couple of reviews and can see why it's so highly thought of. It's about a lonely farmer in 1950s rural Australia and his relationship with his neighbour, Betty, and her two children. Harry is socially inept but highly observant, and keeps a journal on the family of birds that live in his backyard. It is really wonderful in its evocation of the rural lifestyle, Harry loves his cows, his dog, his birds and I really enjoyed the parts of the novel set around his relationship with nature. He cares but doesn't quite know how to show it. Betty is unsure too, her children have been the product of sexual encounters rather than loving relationships that failed.
But then I just found it difficult to read through too many pages of crude sexual observances (Harry tries his hand at writing a 'how to manual of sorts for Betty's teenage son) and then there was the altercation with another neighbour who had been 'carrying on' with his pet ewe....well I never! I got the point, no one had taught these poor men how to talk to women, how to communicate, how to build relationships with people.

From the Stella Prize website - "Her second novel, Mateship with Birds, is a triumph of noticing and, having noticed, of carefully, meticulously assembling the things that have been noticed into a novel that shows, on almost every page, not just an eye for detail, but also a conviction that every detail is in some way connected and that the connections have meaning. Mateship with Birds seems like a natural extension of Tiffany’s sculptures: her skills in the meticulous piecing-together of fragments are apparent in this novel, where she uses several different kinds of text – letters, diaries, homework, nature notes – to weave a single strong narrative showing the interconnectedness of all things, and supported by a broad and generous world view....For Mateship with Birds is, above all, about sex and desire: ‘mateship’ here is translated from its familiar Australian meaning into a word for the practice and the art of mating. The book juxtaposes, in unexpected and surprising ways, its observations about love, sex, character, instinct and the natural world to create an original, tender, frank and funny version of the oldest story in the world: how a man and a woman get together."
Christina Stead Award judges - "In this wonderfully lyrical book, Tiffany evokes the breadth of a rural landscape through her moving story of two wary people who each lack the confidence to believe they could be loved by the other. The simplicity of Tiffany’s language and the gentleness of her narrative give to the story a poetical brilliance that is at once energetic and serene. With an eye for detail and a willingness to confront topics more easily left untouched, Tiffany has created in Mateship with Birds a memorable work of gentle beauty, wry humour and delicate but earthy imagery."

Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge (1998)
fiction, audiobook

I decided to slip this audiobook in before going back to a nonfiction listen. I've now read 3 Bainbridge books this year and will definitely be going on to read more. This was historical fiction set between 1846 and 1854. While the book is about Master Georgie, the story is told by 3 narrators who are involved with his life in different ways. The book starts out in Liverpool but moves on to a Crimean War setting. Georgie's interest in photography is part of the story and the book is divided into six plates rather than parts. You never quite pin down the essence of Georgie as you are more seeing him as each narrator sees him. I won't blather on and will point you to rebeccanyc's eloquent review on the book page.
This won several awards and was also longlisted for the Orange Prize and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Bainbridge was famous for being the Booker Bridesmaid, shortlisted five times without ever winning, and in 2011 Master Georgie won a public vote for the 'Best of Beryl' Booker.

Nice review, Kerry. I do want to read one of Beryl Bainbridge's books, so I'll start with this one.

Darryl, I think you'll enjoy Bainbridge. Georgie is a doctor who signs up to a field hospital.

Thanks for mentioning that, Kerry; Ill nudge it a bit higher on my wish list.

I'll have to check through my reading for last year and see if I read more Oranges than just The history of love in Jan.

Hi, Kerry. I see that you consumed an Orange already this month in spite of yourself. Good! And thanks for your encouragement about the Krauss. I'm going to get on with it.

Looking to read The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney for Orange Jan.