aliciamay's 2014 Challenge progress-Part 2

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aliciamay's 2014 Challenge progress-Part 2

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1aliciamay
Editado: Nov 11, 2014, 3:13 pm

Welcome all! I had a blast with my 2013 challenge, so I’m back for a second year. In addition to playing along with the CATs and reading book bullets right away, I will be trying to make a dent in the TBR and my 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

My 2013 challenge was a pyramid structure and I found I didn’t really like having so few books in the lower categories. This year I will have a seven book minimum in 14 categories, for a goal of 98. (June update: changing to nine book minimum, for a goal of 126 books.) Books many fit into several categories, but I will only be counting them in one. I have listed possible reads in almost all the categories, but these will most definitely be changing once I import books leftover from 2013 and when I get distracted throughout the year.

While I didn’t come up with a clever theme I thought it would be fun to copy the idea of having each category represented by a favorite movie of mine (and now I have to re-watch them all). I hope you enjoy following my progress!

"The Shawshank Redemption" Off the Shelf - COMPLETED!
"Evolution" Sci-fi/Fantasy - COMPLETED!
"Clue" Mysteries - COMPLETED!
"The March of the Penguins" Non-fiction - COMPLETED!
"Bridesmaids" Women Writers - COMPLETED!
"Amélie" Non-American/Non-English - COMPLETED
"Best in Show" Award Winners - COMPLETED!
"The Bourne Identity" Books in a Series - COMPLETED!
"The Muppet Movie" Road Trip! - COMPLETED!
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" Plane Trip! - COMPLETED!
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" New(ish) Releases - COMPLETED!
"The Princess Bride" Recommendations - COMPLETED!
"¡Three Amigos!" Miscellaneous - COMPLETED
"The Big Lebowski" Favored Authors - COMPLETED!


3aliciamay
Editado: Ene 4, 2015, 11:26 pm

 

The Shawshank Redemption is a bit of a stretch for the category, but I had to find a way to use one of my all time favorites – Tim Robbins’ character works for a stint in the prison library and delivers books ‘off the shelf’ to the prisoner’s cells.

Off the Shelf
1) Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson - finished March 29th - 167 pages - 2 stars
2) The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie - finished May 11th - 550 pages - 3 stars
3) The Shadow-Line by Joseph Conrad - finished June 8th - 100 pages - 3 stars
4) The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan - finished June 21st - 127 pages - 3 stars
5) The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy - finished June 23rd - 337 pages - 3.5 stars
6) Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner - finished July 6th - 592 pages - 4 stars
7) The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass - finished August 8th - 576 pages - 3 stars
8) Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace - finished October 20th -1371 pages - 3 stars
9) Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernières - finished October 30th - 331 pages - 5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) The Hours by Michael Cunningham - finished November 28th - 240 pages - 3.5 stars
11) The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl - finished December 30th - 67 pages - 4 stars

More Possibilities:
Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe
On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin
Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor
The Joke by Milan Kundera
Dead Babies by Martin Amis
Marya: A Life by Joyce Carol Oates
Story of O by Pauline Réage
The Far Euphrates by Aryeh Lev Stollman

4aliciamay
Editado: Dic 13, 2014, 7:25 pm



A comedy starring David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Orlando Jones and Seann William Scott fighting aliens…need I say more why this is a favorite?

Sci-fi/Fantasy
1) She by H. Rider Haggard - finished March 22nd - 317 pages - 3 stars
2) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - finished May 21st - 268 pages - 4 stars
3) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - finished June 2nd - 181 pages - 4 stars
4) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - finished June 8th - 213 pages - 4 stars
5) Ubik by Philip K. Dick - finished June 25th - 240 pages - 3.5 stars
6) Childermass by Wyndham Lewis - finished July 16th - 320 pages - 1.5 stars
7) At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft - finished July 22nd - 186 pages - 2.5 stars
8) Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde - finished August 3rd - 399 pages - 3.5 stars
9) The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde - finished September 15th - 375 pages - 4 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde - finished December 13th - 416 pages - 4.5 stars

Possibilities:
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
The Lord of the Rings by J.J.R. Tolkien
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

5aliciamay
Editado: Ene 4, 2015, 11:28 pm



Love, love, love Clue, the movie based on the board game. So many great actors and so quotable. “Is there anybody else in this house, or isn’t there?! Yes or no?!”

Mysteries
1) Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie - finished January 4th - 272 pages - 3.5 stars
2) The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith - finished January 26th - 455 pages - 4 stars
3) Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie - finished March 16th - 352 pages - 3 stars
4) Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie - finished May 22nd - 256 pages - 3 stars
5) The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo - finished June 11th - 464 pages - 4.5 stars
6) Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett - finished July 17th - 224 pages - 3.5 stars
7) Black Coffee by Agatha Christie - finished August 9th - 290 pages - 3 stars
8) Trent’s Last Case by E.C. Bentley - finished August 14th - 230 pages - 4 stars
9) Murder in the Sentier by Cara Black - finished October 30th - 325 pages - 2.5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - finished November 10th - 217 pages - 3 stars
11) I am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley - finished November 23rd - 317 pages - 3.5 stars
12) Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley - finished December 29th - 372 pages - 3 stars

More Possibilities:
Tehran Noir edited by Salar Abdoh
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre

6aliciamay
Editado: Ene 4, 2015, 11:29 pm



I haven’t watched this nature documentary featuring the oh so adorable Emperor Penguins in a few years. But March of the Penguins had to represent the non-fiction category, if only so I could see the movie poster every time I post.

Non-fiction
1) Wheelmen by Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell - finished January 6th - 384 pages - 4 stars
2) Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough - finished January 10th - 480 pages - 2 stars
3) The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea - finished January 21st - 220 pages - 4 stars
4) K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs - finished May 19th - 342 pages - 3 stars
5) Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang - finished May 31st - 544 pages - 3.5 stars
6) Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin - finished July 28th - 304 pages - 4 stars
7) My Life in France by Julia Childs - finished August 9th - 368 pages - 3.5 stars
8) The Man Without A Face by Masha Gessen - finished September 17th - 304 pages - 4 stars
9) I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai - finished October 18th - 352 pages - 3 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux - finished December 25th - 512 pages - 4 stars

Possibilities:
Fitness Cycling by Shannon Sovndal
Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
Reckless Courage by William Fuller
Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
Going Clear by Lawrence Wright
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Irregulars by Jennet Conant

7aliciamay
Editado: Ene 4, 2015, 11:30 pm



Bridesmaids is the hilarious, and slightly raunchy comedy, written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo.

Women Writers
1) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - finished February 17th - 328 pages - 3 stars
2) The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert - finished March 16th - 512 pages - 4 stars
3) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett - finished March 20th - 352 pages - 4.5 stars
4) A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki - finished March 23rd - 432 pages - 4 stars
5) There But For The by Ali Smith - finished April 11th - 256 pages - 3.5 stars
6) Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - finished July 26th - 352 pages - 4 stars
7) Passing by Nella Larsen - finished July 30th - 160 pages - 3.5 stars
8) Fear of Flying by Erica Jong - finished August 22nd - 480 pages - 4 stars
9) To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - finished October 11th - 209 pages - 4 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain - finished November 25th - 661 pages - 3.5 stars
11) Orlando by Virginia Woolf - finished December 17th - 273 pages - 3 stars

More Possibilities:
The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt
To the North by Elizabeth Bowen
The Bell by Iris Murdoch
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
The Red Room by August Strindberg
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

8aliciamay
Editado: Dic 9, 2014, 10:17 pm



Amélie is a very sweet, French romantic comedy starring the lovely Audrey Tautou. If I had a romance category, this would probably be my choice for it too. This category is for books originally written in a language other than English, or by a non-American/non-English author.

Non-American/Non-English
1) The Stranger by Albert Camus - finished February 18th - 123 pages - 3.5 stars
2) Nemesis by Jo Nesbo - finished May 20th - 480 pages - 4 stars
3) Yes by Thomas Bernhard - finished May 30th - 135 pages - 3.5 stars
4) Pierre et Jean by Guy de Maupassant - finished June 10th - 150 pages - 3.5 stars
5) The Red and the Black by Stendhal - finished June 19th - 750 pages - 2 stars
6) The Nun by Denis Diderot - finished July 4th - 152 pages - 3 stars
7) The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - finished August 27th - 600 pages - 3 stars
8) Buddha's Little Finger by Victor Pelevin - finished November 4th - 335 pages 2 stars
9) Le Pere Goriot by Honoré de Balzac - finished November 8th - 400 pages - 3.5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE
10) Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos - finished December 9th - 396 pages - 4 stars

Other Possibilities:
Jacques the Fatalist by Denis Diderot - 304 pages
Reveries of the Solitary Walker by J.J. Rousseau
Queen Margot by Alexandre Dumas
Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
Hyperion by Friedrich Holderlin
Nana by Emile Zola
The Inferno by Henri Barbusse
The Trial by Franz Kafka

9aliciamay
Editado: Nov 23, 2014, 5:54 pm



I had to have a Christopher Guest movie represented. Plus I discovered that Best in Show was an Award winning movie itself, winning the American, British and Canadian Comedy Awards.

Award Winners
1) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Pulitzer Prize 2008) - finished January 17th - 335 pages - 4 stars
2) The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (Booker Prize 2013) - finished April 8th - 834 pages - 4 stars
3) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Pulitzer Prize 2013) - finished April 25th - 771 pages - 3.5 stars
4) Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer Prize 2000) - finished May 25th - 198 pages - 4 stars
5) The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (Booker Prize 2006) - finished May 26th - 357 pages - 3.5 stars
6) The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (Pulitzer Prize 1975) - finished July 21st - 345 pages - 3.5 stars
7) Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Pulitzer Prize 2009) - finished August 13th - 270 pages - 3.5 stars
8) The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (National Book Award 1954) - finished September 24th - 608 pages - 3.5 stars
9) Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (Booker Prize 1993) - finished October 25th- 307 pages - 3.5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (Booker Prize 2001) - finished November 16th - 384 pages - 4 stars

Additional Possibilities:
Independence Day by Richard Ford (Pulitzer 1996)
Operation Shylock by Philip Roth (PEN/Faulkner Award 1994)
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Booker Prize 2012)
A Death in the Family by James Agee (Pulitzer Prize 1958)
Small Island by Andrea Levy (Orange Prize 2004)

10aliciamay
Editado: Dic 5, 2014, 7:45 pm



I want to start on the Bourne Trilogy this year, so The Bourne Identity movie is the logical representative.

Books in a Series
1) Murder in Belleville by Cara Black - finished January 19th - 368 pages - 3 stars
2) Hot Six by Janet Evanovich - finished February 2nd - 368 pages - 3.5 stars
3) The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum - finished February 23rd - 566 pages - 3.5 stars
4) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - finished February 23rd - 374 pages - 4 stars
5) The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley - finished March 11th - 364 pages - 3.5 stars
6) Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo - finished April 8th - 368 pages - 3 stars
7) The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo - finished April 13th - 576 pages - 4 stars
8) A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley - finished August 11th - 388 pages - 3 stars
9) Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill - finished October 23rd - 256 pages - 3 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch - finished November 11th - 307 pages - 4 stars
11) The September Society by Charles Finch - finished December 5th - 320 pages - 3.5 stars

More Possibilities:
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Regeneration by Pat Barker
Rabbit, Run by John Updike

11aliciamay
Editado: Nov 30, 2014, 7:13 pm



This is a new category for my challenge allowing armchair travel around the United States, and what better movie to represent it than one about Kermit’s epic road trip from Florida to Los Angeles to get into show biz?

Road Trip!

1) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (NV) - finished January 20th - 204 pages - 4 stars
2) A Painted House by John Grisham (AR) - finished January 25th - 384 pages - 3.5 stars
3) The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (SC) - finished May 1st - 373 pages - 2.5 stars
4) The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (WI) - finished June 6th - 544 pages - 3.5 stars
5) Honolulu by Alan Brennert (HI) - finished June 23rd - 464 pages - 3 stars
6) Plainsong by Kent Haruf (CO) - finished July 25th - 301 pages - 3.5 stars
7) Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen (FL) - finished August 1st - 400 pages - 3.5 stars
8) The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler (MD) - finished October 21st - 352 pages - 3.5 stars
9) Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (NM) - finished November 7th - 297 pages - 4 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE
10) Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (ID) - finished November 30th - 219 pages - 3.5 stars

Other Possibilities:
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (MI)
Are you There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (NJ)
English Creek by Ivan Doig (MT)

12aliciamay
Editado: Dic 3, 2014, 12:34 pm



I remember my mom was none too thrilled when my dad brought home the Indiana Jones trilogy. She thought they were too gory for the young aliciamay…and she was probably right. Now if only I could get a hand on that old timey map that showed Indiana’s hops from country to country to show my progress of books where the setting is in different countries/locales.

Plane Trip!
1) A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (Chechnya) - finished February 1st - 416 pages - 4.5 stars
2) Haiti Noir edited by Edwidge Danticat - finished March 31st - 300 pages - 4 stars
3) Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (Jamaica) - finished April 1st - 190 pages - 4 stars
4) Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (Ukraine) - finished April 15th - 300 pages - 4 stars
5) Burmese Days by George Orwell (Burma) - finished May 12th - 285 pages - 3.5 stars
6) The Names by Don DeLillo (Greece) - finished June 9th - 352 pages - 3 stars
7) Young Torless by Robert Musil (Austria) - finished August 18th - 217 pages - 3 stars
8) The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (Japan) - finished September 11th - 496 pages - 3.5 stars
9) The Coroner’s Lunch by Collin Cotterill (Laos) - finished September 19th - 272 pages - 3.5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) The Absent One by Jussi Adler Olsen (Denmark) - finished December 2nd - 432 pages - 4 stars

More Possibilities:
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (Kenya)
How to Get Filthy Rich in Asia by Mohsin Hamid

13aliciamay
Editado: Dic 4, 2014, 8:47 pm



The latest Wes Anderson movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel, did not disappoint. Fans will be treated to the normal absurdity and stunning imagery and everyone should appreciate the many, many A-list actors and their stellar performances, as well as an engrossing story.

New(ish) Releases
1) Tenth of December by George Saunders - finished February 11th - 251 pages - 4 stars
2) The Son by Philipp Meyer - finished February 16th - 576 pages - 3.5 stars
3) Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - finished February 28th - 531 pages - 4 stars
4) Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - finished March 3rd - 529 pages - 3.5 stars
5) The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - finished March 5th - 344 pages - 4 stars
6) The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara - finished March 9th - 384 pages - 3 stars
7) The Dinner by Herman Koch - finished March 24th - 304 pages - 4 stars
8) The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith - finished July 8th - 455 pages - 4.5 stars
9) The Secret Place by Tana French - finished October 9th - 464 pages - 3.5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) Every Day is for the Thief by Teju Cole - finished December 3rd - 176 pages - 3.5 stars

Possibilities:
Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk

14aliciamay
Editado: Ene 4, 2015, 11:33 pm



I think my husband and I wound up with 3 copies of The Princess Bride as wedding presents (to add to the one we already owned) – a strong recommendation! Don’t be surprised to see some books that you have raved about : )

Recommendations
1) Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain - finished February 18th - 307 pages - 3.5 stars
2) The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - finished May 4th - 200 pages - 4 stars
3) This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper - finished June 3rd - 352 pages - 4 stars
4) The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - finished June 14th - 166 pages - 3.5 stars
5) War Dances by Sherman Alexie - finished June 27th - 208 pages - 4.5 stars
6) Sacre Blue by Christopher Moore - finished July 10th - 403 pages - 3.5 stars
7) The Secret History by Donna Tartt - finished August 31st - 576 pages - 4 stars
8) A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving - finished October 4th - 656 pages - 4.5 stars
9) The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen - finished October 6th - 395 pages - 4.5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally - finished November 22nd - 517 pages - 3 stars
11) There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene - finished December 31st - 427 pages - 3.5 stars

Possibilities:
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The German Lesson by Siegfried Lenz
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
Code to Zero by Ken Follett

15aliciamay
Editado: Ene 4, 2015, 11:34 pm



¡Three Amigos! is a western comedy that is also a little bit romance, action, adventure, historical fiction, and musical, so perfect for my Miscellaneous category! When I was a kid my best friend and I could sing and dance along to My Little Buttercup. Now I see from YouTube that many people did the same, but took it to the next level.

Miscellaneous
1) Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence - finished January 3rd - 400 pages - 2 stars
2) Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse - finished February 6th - 284 pages - 3.5 stars
3) Aimless Love by Billy Collins - finished April 28th - 288 pages - 4.5 stars
4) A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul - finished May 16th - 326 pages - 3.5 stars
5) Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham - finished June 16th - 308 pages - 4 stars
6) Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville - finished June 21st - 160 pages - 3 stars
7) The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner - finished September 3rd - 326 pages - 2.5 stars
8) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - finished November 1st - 317 pages - 4.5 stars
9) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - finished November 10th - 528 pages - 5 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene - finished December 9th - 288 pages - 4 stars
11) Support and Defend by Mark Greaney - finished December 22nd - 503 pages - 3 stars

16aliciamay
Editado: Ene 4, 2015, 11:35 pm



I wanted to have a category to chip away at some books from my favorite author’s oeuvres. These are books that I will read just because of who wrote them, much like I will watch any of the Coen brothers’ films.

Favored Authors
1) For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway - finished January 14th - 480 pages - 3 stars
2) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - finished January 20th - 112 pages - 5 stars
3) The BFG by Roald Dahl - finished February 9th - 212 pages - 4 stars
4) April Twilights by Willa Cather - finished April 3rd - 52 pages - 3 stars
5) The Professor’s House by Willa Cather - finished April 16th - 300 pages - 3.5 stars
6) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - finished July 15th - 505 pages - 4 stars
7) One Summer by Bill Bryson - finished September 6th - 509 pages - 4 stars
8) Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver - finished October 13th - 464 pages - 3 stars
9) Nightwoods by Charles Frazier - finished November 4th - 272 pages - 4 stars
CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10) Thirteen at Dinner by Agatha Christie - finished November 29th - 224 pages 3.5 stars
11) The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie - finished December 25th - 256 pages - 4 stars

More Possibilities:
The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
The Leftovers by Tom Perotta

17-Eva-
Jul 7, 2014, 7:09 pm

Happy new thread!! You've made great progress this year - congrats!

18rabbitprincess
Jul 7, 2014, 8:58 pm

Happy new thread! I saw The Muppet Movie for the first time this year and really enjoyed it. :)

19lkernagh
Jul 7, 2014, 10:59 pm

Happy New Thread! We watched The Grand Budapest Hotel movie last night.... Love it! Of course, I kept interrupting our viewing pleasure when I noticed who some of the actors were. ;-)

20christina_reads
Jul 8, 2014, 10:22 am

I saw on your previous thread that you're planning to read Great Expectations and then Lost in a Good Book. I support this plan...Miss Havisham is such a great character in both books! I'm excited for you! :)

21mamzel
Jul 8, 2014, 12:13 pm

Happy new thread!

I really enjoyed The Grand Budapest Hotel too. It was such a hoot!

22DeltaQueen50
Jul 8, 2014, 5:05 pm

You have used some of my very favorite movies in your challenge. I don't suppose I will ever grow tired of watching The Big Lebowski, and it's the perfect choice for your favored authors category.

23dudes22
Jul 9, 2014, 6:28 am

Happy new thread! I love reviewing what others have read already when a new thread starts. You've made great progress already!

24aliciamay
Jul 9, 2014, 4:27 pm

>17 -Eva-: Thanks! The challenge continues to motivate me to read more, and more varied books too.

>18 rabbitprincess: That’s awesome that you saw it for the first time just recently. Glad you enjoyed it!

>19 lkernagh: Thanks! I was very surprised when I recognized a few of the actors, especially Tilda Swinton. I don’t think she will every look that wrinkly in real life – that woman does not age!

>20 christina_reads: Oh good. And I am just one book away from startingGreat Expectations. I know the gist of it, but shockingly haven’t ever read the full version. I’m also looking forward to getting back to the Thursday Next books. I don’t know why I stopped after the 1st one.

>21 mamzel: Thanks mamzel! It was a fun and weird for the sake of being weird movie. Makes me want to find a hotel like that too. Looks like it would be a great vacation of bathing, reading, and eating : )

>22 DeltaQueen50: We share the same good taste ; )

>23 dudes22: Thanks dudes! The new threads are a great ‘at a glance’ summary of the last months of activity.

And now I have more catching up to do…3 mini reviews and lots of threads to visit!

25aliciamay
Jul 10, 2014, 3:11 pm

#77
The Nun by Denis Diderot
Category: Non-American/Non-English (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 152
My Rating:

A young woman is forced by her family to become a nun. Even though she is virtuous and devout she cannot bear losing her freedom and committing her life to a convent. She encounters a myriad of problems in her convents and she is writing her melodramatic story to an interested Marquis in the hopes that he can help her flee the convent.

#78
The Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Category: Off the Shelf (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 592
My Rating:

A wheelchair bound retired historian is researching his grandparents lives while struggling thru personal challenges of his own. The book interweaves the stories of life on the American frontier alongside life in 1970s California. While I liked the book, it was cursed with my really high expectations for it (Pulitzer Prize winner, highly rated here, and highly recommended in RL). I kept waiting for the ‘aha’ moment or for it to pick up the pace, and then when the event that has been hinted at for 500 pages happens, the details are unclear and the recollection blurred. Upon reflection I think the pacing of the book and the treatment of the climax reflects that of the characters and the endurance required in their lives, and to some extent our own.

#79
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Category: New(ish) releases (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 455
My Rating:

A little known author goes missing and his wife hires Cormoran Strike to investigate. It is soon revealed that his disappearance is more serious than first thought and the mystery behind it is tied up in his new, unpublished novel. The second book in this series, we also get to learn more about Cormoran and his assistant Robin plays a larger role. There is obviously more to come in this series (just checked and 5 more books are planned) and I’m looking forward to what’s in store for the pair.

26dudes22
Jul 10, 2014, 4:37 pm

I just finished the first Strike book and although I didn't think it was the best PI book I've ever read, I'm going to at least read the second eventually.

27aliciamay
Jul 10, 2014, 5:15 pm

^ No, definitely not the best ever, but good and entertaining. That makes me wonder what the best PI book is...

28aliciamay
Jul 11, 2014, 1:11 pm

#80
Sacre Blue by Christopher Moore
Category: Recommendations (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 403
My Rating:

A clever and funny book that presents an alternative history centered on the art world of the late 1800s. We quickly learn that Van Gough didn’t kill himself, rather he was murdered by the villainous Colorman. Painter/baker Lucien and his friend Henri become ensnared in the Colorman’s plot and must work to save themselves and their muse.

29aliciamay
Jul 16, 2014, 3:10 pm

#81
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Category: Favored Authors (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 505
My Rating:

If I wasn’t favorably predisposed to Dickens I probably wouldn’t have liked Great Expectations as much. Pip was so unlikeable with how entitled he soon became and how quickly he abandoned his family and roots. And there were the far-fetched coincidences that brought the story too nicely together. But Pip grew up and matured and there were many other characters that were fun to follow throughout the story. Plus the ending, while not being saccharine sweet, was pretty near perfect all things considered.

#82
The Childermass by Wyndham Lewis
Category: Sci-fi/Fantasy (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 320
My Rating:

My complaints about previous books being long winded or incomprehensible have been unfounded. Before starting this book I did not realize that Lewis is likened to an anti-Semitic James Joyce. The first bit of the book I kind of got…two school mates find each other in Purgatory after dying in World War I. And because they have so much time on their hands they wander around and describe the weirdness that is Purgatory. They met the Bailiff who is verbose about early 1900s culture and there are some literary jabs at Joyce and Gertrude Stein, which not having read their works fell on deaf ears. So the lesson that I learned from this book is that I’m not ready to tackle Joyce or another Lewis for a good many years.

30lkernagh
Jul 16, 2014, 9:34 pm

I have a special place in my heart for Great Expectations - Miss Havisham is such a fantastic character! - so I am glad to see you grew into the story. Did you know that Dickens actually wrote two endings to the story - he decided to change his original ending - and it is the second ending is the one that readers encounter today?

31aliciamay
Jul 17, 2014, 5:08 pm

Miss Havisham is great. I am looking forward to seeing how she appears in Lost in a Good Book. I didn't know that there was a different ending. I wonder if that is floating around on the interwebs at all. Now I'm very curious what it could have been!

32lkernagh
Jul 17, 2014, 10:09 pm

There are web resources that discuss the alternative endings:

http://greatexpectationsnovel.weebly.com/the-endings.html

One site even mentions that Dickens wrote three endings, two of which were very similar expect for the final sentence:

http://argumentativeoldgit.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/the-three-endings-of-great-e...

33aliciamay
Jul 18, 2014, 1:08 pm

Thanks for posting those. I had a totally different take on the published ending, more in line with the original ending. I thought that Estella saying that they would be friends apart and the last sentence where Pip "saw no shadow of another parting from her" meant that he would never see her again and therefore never part from her. It seems odd how to me the ending is perceived as 'they lived happily ever after'. Even though Estella has found her heart and suffered through a bad marriage, I can't see her slumming it with Pip the Clerk in Turkey. What was your interpretation of the ending?

34aliciamay
Jul 18, 2014, 4:47 pm

#83
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
Category: Mysteries (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 224
Mystery CAT: Noir & Hardboiled
My Rating:

This book was a very deadly introduction to the hardboiled genre, but not graphically so. A PI is called to a mining town only to find his client is murdered before they can meet. The PI stays on to clean up this corrupt town. And by clean up, I mean pit all the factions against one another so they all are killed. I did find it enjoyable how well the PI played all sides and was always a step ahead of everyone else, or at least able to anticipate what was next.

35lkernagh
Editado: Jul 19, 2014, 11:16 am

>33 aliciamay: My interpretation of the published ending is very similar to yours. I never thought that Pip's closing remark meant marriage, although it does imply that Pip continues to carry a torch for Estella. I prefer the original ending and still don't understand why Dickens wrote the ending that is now published with the book.

36aliciamay
Editado: Jul 25, 2014, 5:15 pm

I made a deal with a coworker that while he is out of the country for two weeks I would water his garden and get to harvest any produce that was ready. I HAVE HAD FRUIT COMING OUT OF MY EARS. So since Saturday I have frozen blueberries, made raspberry chia freezer jam (this stuff is so amazing, simple, and a lot less sugar than regular jams), two kinds of plum jam, apple butter and apple sauce. It has been raining most of the week so I haven't been to the garden to water and I am afraid of what more I am going to find tomorrow. It's a good problem to have though : )

All of this, (oh, and a day boogie boarding at the beach because the waves were good) and still working my day job, has been cutting into my book reading time, but audio books have saved the day.

#84
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Category: Award Winners (6 of 9 complete) – Pulitzer Prize 1975
Pages: 345
My Rating:

I picked this book up knowing nothing about it, but solely because it was available and I am gradually trying to read all the Pulitzer winners. I’m glad this was how it worked out because otherwise I probably would’ve skipped a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg. The parts about war theory and what the regiments/squads/battalions were doing may as well been in French for all that I got out of them. But the story was made readable (and not obscenely gory for a Battle with about 50,000 casualties) by focusing on the main characters of the Battle and their feelings and motivations throughout the three days. Plus a lot of the story was factual so I learned quite a bit too.

#85
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Category: Sci-Fi / Fantasy (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 186
Geo CAT: Polar Regions
My Rating:

Just when I had been thinking that sci-fi wasn’t so bad, I come across this book. An Antarctic expedition uncovers a lost civilization. The expedition leader is telling the full story on their expedition to dissuade any further expeditions for the good on the human race.

#86
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Category: Road Trip! (6 of 9 complete) - Colorado
Pages: 301
My Rating:

Book blurb: “…lovely, rough-edged book, set on the very edge of the Colorado plains. Tom Guthrie is a high school teacher whose wife can't--or won't--get out of bed; the McPherons are two bachelor brothers who know little about the world beyond their farm gate; Victoria Roubideaux is a pregnant 17-year-old with no place to turn. Their lives parallel each other in much the same way any small-town lives would--until Maggie Jones, another teacher, makes them intersect. Even as she tries to draw Guthrie out of his black cloud, she sends Victoria to live with the two elderly McPheron brothers, who know far more about cattle than about teenage girls.”

Haruf is a very talented writer and I was engrossed in this story, but I was thoroughly turned off by some of his overly descriptive passages (a horse autopsy and a pelvic exam are two that will never leave my mind) and my tbr pile will not be increased with the other two books in this trilogy. He is also overly gifted with creating despicable characters, to the extent that they overshadowed the good people of the story. And the third straw was the actions of the father throughout when he was dealing with the flunky student in his class. Maybe it is realistic that when a student assaults a teacher the student is only suspended and doesn’t have charges pressed. But when that same student kidnaps your young sons, drives them five miles from town, throws their shoes and pants and underpants in the brush, leaves them to walk home in the dark in April and rather than involving the cops you go to the kids house and confront him and his vile parents - I’m done with you.

37dudes22
Jul 26, 2014, 8:03 am

I was a little curious about where you would live that blueberries, raspberries, and apples are all available at the same time. Of course, that's lots of work for you, but they'll be good to have when the fresh fruit isn't available.

I was interested in your comments on Plainsong (although I didn't read the spoiler). I've got this in my TBR pile and had heard that the writing was really good. I've read other books where the story was disturbing, but the writing so good that I had to keep reading. I'm hoping this will be the same when I eventually get to it.

38-Eva-
Jul 26, 2014, 9:01 pm

"It's a good problem to have though"

Yeah, I wouldn't complain about that - especially if it's a temporary windfall. :)

39aliciamay
Jul 26, 2014, 10:08 pm

>37 dudes22: I'm in Southwest Washington, but my coworker lives at a slightly higher elevation and that pushed raspberry season back. But then he has an early variety of blueberry and apple, so there's a lot of fruit coming in for a while. I know I will enjoy having the varieties in the dead of winter.

"...the story was disturbing, but the writing so good that I had to keep reading." That is Plainsong exactly. It's a book I wouldn't recommend, but is worth a read...if that makes any sense.

>38 -Eva-: That's right! When I stopped by today luckily the plums were done and there were only enough raspberries to eat on site, but there are more apples and blueberries to pick - most of which I'll bring into work for people to grab. But maybe another batch of apple butter wouldn't be so bad.

40aliciamay
Jul 28, 2014, 2:12 pm

#87
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Category: Women Writers (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 352
Geo CAT: Polar Regions
My Rating:

A fun, quirky, but serious book following a turbulent time in lives of three members of an upper class family in Seattle. Bonus was the information and trip to Antarctica.

#88
Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin
Category: Non-Fiction (6 of 9 complete)
Pages: 304
Random CAT: Books about Books
My Rating:

Emma Larkin goes to Burma and learns about the time George Orwell spent in the country prior to becoming a novelist. She also explores the history of Burma and the parallels with Burmese Days, Animal Farm, and 1984. This was a very interesting book (especially if you’ve read the Orwells) and shed light on a country whose history has been muddled.

41aliciamay
Jul 31, 2014, 2:49 pm

#89
Passing by Nella Larsen
Category: Women Writers (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 160
My Rating:

We share a few pages with two light skinned African American women in 1920s New York. The women grew up together in Chicago and they bump into each other several years later at a white only restaurant where both women are ‘passing’ as white. Irene only passes occasionally for convenience’s sake in restaurants and stores, but Clare lives her life as a white woman and is married to a white man that does not know her secret. Tensions rise as Clare spends an increasing amount of time in Irene’s black social circle.

Larsen is talented in creating vivid scenes and characters in short amounts of time and this book was also enlightening of an issue I didn’t realize affected African Americans in the early century. I was disappointed that with the unique racial tension that she builds, the end is tarnished with the too common problem of infidelity.

42aliciamay
Editado: Ago 1, 2014, 4:07 pm

July Summary:

In July I finished 13 books and listened to/read 4,806 pages, which includes 500 pages from Infinite Jest. My favorite read from the month was The Silkworm (a good, fun mystery) and my least favorite was Childermass (awful).

CATs completed
Mystery CAT: 1
Random CAT: 2
Geo CATs: 2

August Reading Ideas
How is it August already?!?!? Once again I think I over planned my month, but oh well. Here are the books that I am currently reading:
Infinite Jest – just maybe this will be the month I finish
Lost in a Good Book – started this for July’s random CAT

And here’s what’s hovering at the top of the TBR pile:
Fear of Flying – An ER book from months ago that I had forgotten about and didn’t get to last month. Now it should fit for the Geo CAT.
The Tin Drum – Geo CAT
My Life in France – Geo CAT
Reckless Courage – Geo CAT
Dangerous Liaisons – Geo CAT
Le Pere Goriot – Geo CAT
Abundance – Geo CAT (don’t know if my library hold will come through in time though)
Young Torless – Geo/Random CAT
Olive Kitteridge – Random CAT
The Secret History – Random CAT (again, might not get this in time)
One Summer – Random CAT
Trent’s Last Case – Mystery/Geo CAT
Black Coffee – Mystery/Geo CAT
A Red Herring without Mustard – Mystery/Geo CAT
Buddha’s Little Finger – 1001 project to collaboratively read all the list books

43dudes22
Ago 2, 2014, 6:16 am

Wow! 13 books in a month is great! And I see your have some good/interesting reads planned for August too. I read My Life in France a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

44rabbitprincess
Ago 2, 2014, 8:21 am

Looks like a good plan for August! Enjoy!

45aliciamay
Editado: Ago 4, 2014, 12:48 pm

Thanks Dudes! I started the introduction yesterday of My Life in France and it is going to be good. Then I had to re-watch the clip of her on David Letterman years ago and it made me laugh-cry, http://youtu.be/SHX0pv8_JOE. She's so good natured and unflappable.

Thanks RP! I must say I'm looking forward to the mysteries the most. I realized I leave for a short trip to see the family in less than 2 weeks and Fear of Flying will probably be my plane book. At least my copy doesn't have this cover : )

46aliciamay
Ago 4, 2014, 1:39 pm

I spent some quality time in the hammock on Saturday and Sunday and finished a couple books I started in July. Here was the conversation between my husband and me on Saturday morning,

Him: "Do you want to go to Hood River and hit up a couple of your favorite pubs with me and John and Spencer?"
Me: "Uh, I have a pretty busy day today. I have a pedicure appointment plus I need to lay off beer for a while. You go have fun with your friends"
Him: "So after your pedicure you want to spend the day in your hammock with a glass of wine?"
Me: "Do you mind?"

And so I don't sound like too much of a diva, I also ran a few errands, cleaned the deck, and did laundry.

#90
Basket Case by Carl Hiassen
Category: Road Trip! (FL) (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 400
My Rating:

This didn’t tickle my funny bone as much as some of the other Hiassen’s I’ve read, but it was still a good mystery focused around the has-been investigative journalist who is writing the obit for a has-been rock star who died in a diving accident.

#91
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
Category: Sci-Fi / Fantasy (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 399
My Rating:

Enjoyable, but this book really felt like filler for the series. It spent a lot of time with the residual fame Thursday found from The Eyre Affair and then a lot of set up for The Well of Lost Plots. Guess I’ll need to keep reading to find out what happens to Landen.

47LittleTaiko
Ago 5, 2014, 9:18 pm

>46 aliciamay: - Ha! Love that your husband gets you. Hope ou enjoyed the hammock, wine, and book!

48aliciamay
Ago 6, 2014, 5:26 pm

^ Yeah, he's a keeper. I had a rough day at work yesterday, so I retreated again to the hammock, started My Life in France (which I am tickled with so far), and opened a bottle of wine. I think it is my favorite reading spot in the summer : )

49-Eva-
Ago 6, 2014, 9:38 pm

>46 aliciamay:
Sounds like a perfect day to me - preferably without the errands. :)

50lkernagh
Ago 7, 2014, 1:31 am

>46 aliciamay: - Your hubby is a keeper!

51aliciamay
Ago 8, 2014, 5:11 pm

>49 -Eva-: That would have been my preference too!

>50 lkernagh: Yes, but he could use a lesson from your SO with the flowers : )

#92
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
Category: Off the Shelf! (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 576
Geo CAT: Western Europe
My Rating:

This is a long and messed up book detailing the memoirs of Oskar, our unreliable narrator. Oskar is telling his life’s story from an insane asylum, although we don’t find out until the end of the book why he is there. Oskar is born in Poland in the 1920s with the intelligence of an adult. Rather than grow up to run his father’s grocery store, he decides to stop growing at the age of 3 and focuses on playing his tin drum and shattering glass with his voice. The story concludes 27 years later in Germany and Oskar has survived the occupation and liberation of Poland, joined a traveling dwarf troupe, become the leader of a youth gang, was a nude model, worked for a stint as a tombstone engraver, and finally becomes a world famous drummer. He’s also had numerous love affairs and maybe fathered a child (who grows up, much to Oskar’s dismay) with the woman that becomes his stepmother. I could tell the novel was more than what was presented and is full of political and religious allegory, but I failed to grasp most of it. As one reviewer said, “I apologize to the author for penalizing his work for my own shortcomings.”

52lkernagh
Ago 8, 2014, 6:41 pm

>51 aliciamay: - To be honest, my SO has to suffer through my post-work day rantings of all things I cannot verbalize at the office so the fact that he surprised me with flowers may have been a strategic move on his part to sweeten a long weekend! It worked, so I will keep him!

53-Eva-
Ago 9, 2014, 12:17 am

>51 aliciamay:
I saw the surreal movie-version of that when I was a kid and, although I remember very little of it except some very bizarre scenes, the book is one I plan to read at some point.

54aliciamay
Ago 12, 2014, 4:52 pm

>52 lkernagh: Strategic flowers still smell as nice ; )

>53 -Eva-: I saw that The Tin Drum movie won the Oscar for best foreign film. Makes me wonder if this is one of the rare instances where the movie is better than the book.

55aliciamay
Ago 12, 2014, 4:53 pm

A few more nice summer reads done!

#93
Black Coffee by Agatha Christie
Category: Mysteries (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 290
Geo CAT: Western Europe
Mystery CAT: British
My Rating:

I guess this was initially a play that was adapted later into a book. The premise was typical – brilliant scientist contacts Poirot because he thinks someone in his household is going to steal his formula; he is murdered just before Poirot arrives leaving Poirot to correctly solve the mystery despite red herrings and Hasting’s skirt chasing.

#94
My Life in France by Julia Child
Category: Non-Fiction (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 368
Geo CAT: Western Europe
My Rating:

4.5 stars for the story of Julia Child and her circuitous route to becoming a superstar chef, as well as some stunning photos from Paul Child. Julia was a remarkable woman who lived a remarkable life and made the best of every moment. But downgraded one star for the writing and organization of the book – it seemed so amateurish that I really couldn’t tell what the co-author contributed. The writing was jarring, especially the transitions, and I also had a problem with how Paul’s photos were used. There was one section discussing a black tie dinner celebrating a renowned foodie’s birthday and smack dad in the middle was a picture of a random French woman and her dog.

#95
A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley
Category: Books in a Series (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 388
Geo CAT: Western Europe
Mystery CAT: British
My Rating:

Flavia really got on my nerves in this installment and it’s hard for me to remember that she’s just 11 years old. Although she showed some maturity while dealing with her sisters, she really needs some humble pie when it comes to her dealings with the police.

56aliciamay
Ago 26, 2014, 1:29 pm

#96
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Category: Award Winners (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 270
My Rating:

This was more of a group of short stories focused on the lives of a series of characters in small town Maine.

#97
Trent’s Last Case by E.C. Bentley
Category: Mysteries (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 230
Geo CAT: Western Europe
Mystery CAT: British
My Rating:

An engaging mystery with a not all-knowing detective with a double twist ending.

#98
Young Torless by Robert Musil
Category: Plane Trip (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 217
Geo CAT: Western Europe
My Rating:

Torless is a young lad at an elite boarding school in Austria. He and his friends bully their roommate because he is gay, while all the while Torless is in love with him. So sad how cruel these boys were.

57aliciamay
Editado: Ago 28, 2014, 4:32 pm

#99
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
Category: Women Writers (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 480
Geo CAT: Western Europe
My Rating:

I received a 40th anniversary copy thanks to the Early Reviewers program, but I didn’t really know what to expect from this book, other than it should be interesting since it is a seminal feminist book. I was nicely surprised by how much I enjoyed it and found that it still resonates to today’s reader. Isadora Wing travels to Vienna with her psycho-analyst husband to attend a conference. Then she takes off on a jaunt through Europe with another man and we are treated to the story of her life. We learn about Isadora’s struggles; what is her role as a woman when she wants to be more than a just a wife and also has sexual fantasies about other men, what does it mean that she’d rather be a writer than a mother, is she strong enough to ever be without a man? One interesting tidbit that resonated with me was how Isadora refused to learn how to type (even though it would help her immensely as a writer) because she felt that would box her in as a stereotypical woman and somehow define her. It made me appreciate that I don’t feel this is the case any longer and allows women the freedom to pursue a full spectrum of skills, jobs, hobbies, etc.

58aliciamay
Sep 3, 2014, 1:58 pm

Finished out August by finishing two chunky books.

#100
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Category: Non-American/Non-English (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 600
Geo CAT: Western Europe
My Rating:

#101
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Category: Recommendations (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 576
Random CAT: Back to School
My Rating:

59aliciamay
Sep 3, 2014, 2:27 pm

August Summary:

In August I finished 12 books and listened to/read 5,289 pages. They were all 3-4 star reads, but my favorite from the month was Fear of Flying with runners up being Trent’s Last Case and The Secret History.

CATs completed
Mystery CAT: 3
Random CAT: 2
Geo CATs: 8

September Reading Ideas
So I am STILL reading Infinite Jest (600 or so pages to go). This month I’m trying a new strategy of not starting any other books on my Nook until I’ve finished IJ. So I might actually finish or my reading count for September will be really low. At least I’ve already finished The Sound and the Fury. And here are the rest of my plans for the month:

One Summer – intended for last month’s Random CAT, but didn’t get it from the library in time
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – Geo CAT
How to Get Filthy Rich in Asia – Geo CAT
The Coroner’s Lunch – Geo CAT
The Man without a Face – Geo CAT
A Prayer for Owen Meany – Random CAT
The Well of Lost Plots - Mystery CAT
Buddha’s Little Finger – 1001 project to collaboratively read all the list books
Dangerous Liaisons – didn’t manage to crack this open for last month’s Geo CAT
Death Comes for the Archbishop – monthly author read
To the Lighthouse – 1001 book just because
The Adventures of Augie March – 1001 book just because

60aliciamay
Sep 3, 2014, 2:47 pm

#102
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Category: Miscellaneous (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 326
Random CAT: Toronto Film Fest
My Rating:

So many things I didn’t like about this book: stream of consciousness narration, overly repetitive, an overabundance of the n word, and unreliable narrators (thank you Wikipedia for explaining what was going on). I didn’t rate it lower because at least the last section of the book was readable and kind of delivered the point of it all. I’m very curious how they made a movie based on this book.

61rabbitprincess
Sep 3, 2014, 3:03 pm

>60 aliciamay: I too would like to know how they made a movie out of it.

62-Eva-
Sep 3, 2014, 8:25 pm

>60 aliciamay:
We went through that one quite extensively at Uni, but I would like to re-read it now with some distance and see if it's enjoyable (at Uni, we mainly read to be able to write about said work, unfortunately, no time for enjoyment).

63japaul22
Sep 3, 2014, 8:34 pm

>60 aliciamay: I've never seen the movie and can't imagine how it would work either. But I, however, love that book! I did an extensive year long group project on it my junior year of high school. It was so difficult and I really loved puzzling it all out. I'd never read a book like it before and it made a big impression on me. I have no idea if I would like it so much if I'd read it first as an adult though. I imagine the answer is probably no.

64christina_reads
Sep 4, 2014, 9:59 am

>60 aliciamay: Haha, your reaction to this book is my reaction to Faulkner in general. Oddly enough, I did "like" The Sound and the Fury much better than Light in August or As I Lay Dying...but that is really not saying much!

65mamzel
Sep 4, 2014, 11:49 am

From your planned reading I see 4 books that I have read and rated very highly. I think you have some good reading ahead!

66aliciamay
Sep 8, 2014, 2:23 pm

>61 rabbitprincess: It's airing at the Toronto Film fest so I wonder if you'll hear anything about it. I'm guessing there will be some news about it since James Franco and Seth Rogan are in it (which makes the movie even more perplexing to me!).

>62 -Eva-: Ah yes, nothing can sap the enjoyment out of a book like a lit class with deadlines!

>63 japaul22: I think this book would be helped by a guided study of it because I'm sure there was a lot Faulkner was doing that slipped by me. And I like your attitude of puzzling it all out.

>64 christina_reads: Nooooo...I was hoping that other Faulkners would be better!

>65 mamzel: That's good news! I'm looking forward to them all, well maybe not To the Lighthouse as much.

67aliciamay
Sep 8, 2014, 2:53 pm

#103
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
Category: Favored Authors (7 of 9 complete)
Pages: 509
My Rating:

This was a little dryer than other Bryson books (I don’t think I laughed once), but he did a fine job of making history interesting. Some of the major events/people from 1927 that he focused on were the flight over the Atlantic and Lindberg’s subsequent fame, Babe Ruth and his baseball career, and prohibition. Some anecdotes that still baffle me: President Coolidge’s son died from an infected blister, the government was poisoning industrial alcohol to dissuade people from drinking it, Lindberg and his plane were in danger at the landing field in Paris because an over excited mob threated to crush/tear them apart – it seemed that the crowds were more dangerous than a solo Transatlantic flight!

68rabbitprincess
Sep 8, 2014, 10:53 pm

>66 aliciamay: So it is! I do recall seeing that in the listings and fleeing, because Faulkner and I do not get along. Interesting that Franco both produces and stars in it!

69aliciamay
Sep 16, 2014, 12:49 pm

#104
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Category: Plane Trip! (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 496
Geo CAT: Eastern Asia
My Rating:

The book blurb, “The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island that is the Japanese Empire’s single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged Dutch East Indies Company; and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, costly courtesans, earthquakes, and typhoons comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk who has five years in the East to earn a fortune of sufficient size to win the hand of his wealthy fiancée back in Holland. But Jacob’s original intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with Orito Aibagawa, the disfigured daughter of a samurai doctor and midwife to the city’s powerful magistrate. The borders between propriety, profit, and pleasure blur until Jacob finds his vision clouded, one rash promise made and then fatefully broken.”

While the premise was promising and it was interesting to learn a little bit about Japanese history, there were too many subplots and diversions to keep the story moving and engaging.

#105
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
Category: Fantasy/Sci-Fi (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 375
Mystery CAT: Book themed
My Rating:

This is the third installment in the Thursday Next series and I think I am finally getting into the rhythm of the series. Thursday is spending her time in an unpublished work because the real world is too dangerous for the expectant mother with Aornis Hades still seeking revenge for her brother’s murder. But the Well of Lost Plots is not the sanctuary sought for, when Thursday becomes embroiled in a murder conspiracy that threatens books as we know them. I liked this book more than the last one and Fforde’s love of books and language is apparent and infective.

Can’t believe that Fantasy/Sci-Fi is my first completed category!

70electrice
Sep 18, 2014, 12:50 pm

>69 aliciamay: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is already on the BB list but your review makes me want to read it even with the multiple sub-plot :)

I read the first one of Thursday Next last year, it was so-so. I'll try the next one, it appears that maybe I need to get into it ...

71aliciamay
Sep 18, 2014, 4:28 pm

I hope you like it electrice! For me, it suffered a bit because I had such high expectations from Cloud Atlas, but was still a good read.

I really liked book 1 of the Thursday Next series just because I thought it was so original. Book 2 was ho-hum enough that I was ready to give up on the series if book 3 disappointed. Luckily (or unluckily for my TBR list) I thought The Well of Lost Plots was lots of fun and had a good mystery to boot.

72dudes22
Sep 20, 2014, 7:12 am

I think I felt the same as you and so have not been rushing to read book 3. Knowing it's better than 2, I'll be more apt to pick it up.

73electrice
Sep 22, 2014, 5:34 am

>71 aliciamay: I have Cloud Atlas but didn't get to it yet, maybe I'll start with Jacob de Zoet ... I'm not giving up on Thursday just yet then :)

74aliciamay
Oct 1, 2014, 4:33 pm

#106
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen
Category: Non-Fiction (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 304
My Rating:

Book blurb: “In 1999, the “Family” surrounding Boris Yeltsin went looking for a successor to the ailing and increasingly unpopular president. Vladimir Putin, with very little governmental or administrative experience—he’d been deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, and briefly, director of the secret police—nevertheless seemed the perfect choice: a “faceless” creature whom Yeltsin and his cronies could mold in their own image. Russia and an infatuated West were determined to see in him the progressive leader of their dreams—even as Putin, with ruthless efficiency, dismantled the country’s media, wrested control and wealth from the business class, and destroyed the fragile mechanisms of democracy. Within a few brief years, virtually every obstacle to his unbridled control was removed and every opposing voice silenced, with political rivals and critics driven into exile or to the grave.”

This book was part biography/Russian history and part memoir because of the author’s involvement in the story and I didn’t think that worked very well. Her repugnance of Putin and his policies is palpable and lead to bias. Even taking the narrative with a grain of salt, I am dismayed at the corruption in the country and actions that Putin is able to get away with (he is worth billions, btw). Kudos to Gessen for taking on this powerful man and telling the story that the West doesn’t want to hear. With the above caveats, I basically recommend this book to everyone just because it is such an eye opener to modern Russia.

#107
The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill
Category: Plane Trip! (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 375
Mystery CAT: Book themed
My Rating:

Book blurb: “Laos, 1972. The Communist Pathet Lao has taken over. Most of the educated class has fled, but 72-year-old Dr. Siri Paiboun, a Paris-trained doctor, remains and is appointed state coroner. When three bodies are recovered from a reservoir, Dr. Siri establishes that the cause of death was not drowning they seem to have been electrocuted. And then there is the inexplicable death of a Party bigwig's wife at a banquet. Dr. Siri doesn't think her death was from natural causes.”

I liked the mystery, Dr. Siri and his staff, and the fact that the book takes place in 1970s Laos. Could’ve gone without the mystical aspects, but that’s not a deal breaker to continue on with the series (especially since mamzel tipped me off that this leads to some hilarity later on).

#108
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
Category: Award Winners – National Book Award 1954 (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 608
My Rating:

Book blurb: “This grand-scale heroic comedy tells the story of the exuberant young Augie, a poor Chicago boy growing up during the Depression. While his neighborhood friends all settle down into their various chosen professions, Augie, as particular as an aristocrat, demands a special destiny. He latches on to a wild succession of occupations, proudly rejecting each one as too limiting. It is not until he tangles with a glamorous perfectionist named Thea, a huntress with a trained eagle, that his independence is seriously threatened. Luckily, his nature, like the eagle's, breaks down under the strain. He goes on to recruit himself to even more outlandish projects, but always ducks out in time to continue improvising his unconventional career.”

Yet another coming of age story and I’m sure if I had read this in the 50s it would’ve been quite entertaining and salacious.

75aliciamay
Oct 1, 2014, 5:09 pm

September Summary:

As many of you know, there is a direct inverse relationship between the busyness of real life and the amount of reading one gets done – and time spent on LT for that matter. September was my month to experience this first hand! I finished 7 books and listened to/read 2,495 pages (half the amount of pages as August). But I completed two categories. Looking back on my September reading plans, I had this to say… This month I’m trying a new strategy of not starting any other books on my Nook until I’ve finished Infinite Jest. So I might actually finish or my reading count for September will be really low. haha. I’m only partially going to blame my September totals on IJ (of which I only read about 200 pages of).

The Sound and the Fury was the disappointment of the month, but the other six books were pretty good.

CATs completed
Mystery CAT: 1
Random CAT: 1
Geo CATs: 2

October Reading Plans
I had initially thought I could finish my challenge in October and had all my remaining 18 books planned out for September/October. But now it’s looking like November I will cross that finish line. Which is more than fine, but I had kind of psyched myself up for many months of a reading free for all. Here are the books I have slated to read in October and then the leftovers will be November reads:

Infinite Jest – 400 pages to go!
A Prayer for Owen Meany – I started this for the September Random CAT and am about half done
Buddha’s Little Finger – 1001 project to collaboratively read all the list books that I’ve managed to read a whole 30 pages of
Dangerous Liaisons – meant to read this for August’s Geo CAT
Death Comes for the Archbishop – September monthly author read that I didn’t get to
Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord – Geo CAT
Murder in the Sentier – Mystery CAT
I am Malala – group read
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha – Random CAT
Thirty-Three Teeth – Mystery CAT
The Accidental Tourist – Random CAT
The Keeper of Lost Causes – Random CAT
Lolita – Random CAT
To the Lighthouse
Jacques the Fatalist
The Secret Place
Flight Behavior
Nightwoods

76lkernagh
Oct 1, 2014, 11:01 pm

I totally agree with the whole direct inverse relationship thing! I see you still made great progress with 7 books / 2,495 pages read. ;-)

77RidgewayGirl
Oct 2, 2014, 2:22 am

I tried to read Infinite Jest last year and managed over 600 pages before just sort of tapering off it. Someday, I will read the rest as it irks to have gotten so far without finishing.

78japaul22
Oct 2, 2014, 9:02 am

I started the Dr. Siri series a year or two ago and despite liking the first book, I've not gotten back to it. Maybe some day!

You've got some great books lined up for October/November! I loved Dangerous Liaisons, To the Lighthouse, and The Secret Place. Death Comes for the Archbishop is a book I keep meaning to get to, and Lolita I loathed, but appreciated the writing and still think about, so I still consider it a "must-read". I'll be looking forward to your reviews!

79aliciamay
Oct 2, 2014, 3:28 pm

>76 lkernagh: Oh yes, 7 books is nothing to sneeze at. But I had been on such a roll!

>77 RidgewayGirl: I was wondering how you were getting along with Infinite Jest. It's not that is it bad enough to abandon, but I just have a hard time motivating myself to read such a depressing book.

>78 japaul22: Thanks japaul! To the Lighthouse and Dangerous Liaisons are two that I'm not looking forward to as much so I'm very glad to hear you liked them.

80rabbitprincess
Oct 2, 2014, 5:48 pm

Interesting lineup! Good luck with the final push to finish your challenge! :)

81aliciamay
Oct 2, 2014, 6:04 pm

Thanks RP! It is kind of an eclectic bunch of books. This challenge has been very good in making me flit around topically.

82aliciamay
Oct 7, 2014, 4:46 pm

#109
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Category: Recommendations (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 656
My Rating:

Book blurb: “In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys—best friends—are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball and kills the other boy’s mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn’t believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God’s instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying.”

And another coming of age story! But it was so much more and this one had many things going for it: likeable and interesting characters, a bit of mystery, and ominous foreshadowing. Plus, since the book’s jumping off point was the 50s it didn’t seem as dated as The Adventures of Augie March. I still can't figure out if this is a satire and there were a few other nit-picky things that irked me, but I really liked the book overall.

#110
The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Category: Recommendations (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 395
Random CAT: Book Bullet from -Eva-
My Rating:

Book blurb: “The Keeper of Lost Causes, the first installment of Adler-Olsen's Department Q series, features the deeply flawed chief detective Carl Mørck, who used to be a good homicide detective — one of Copenhagen's best. Then a bullet almost took his life. Two of his colleagues weren't so lucky, and Carl, who didn't draw his weapon, blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing Carl expects.

But it all becomes clear when he sees his new office in the basement. Carl's been selected to run Department Q, a new special investigations division that turns out to be a department of one. With a stack of Copenhagen's coldest cases to keep him company, Carl's been put out to pasture. So he's as surprised as anyone when a case actually captures his interest. A missing politician vanished without a trace five years earlier. The world assumes she's dead. His colleagues snicker about the time he's wasting. But Carl may have the last laugh, and redeem himself in the process. Because she isn't dead... yet.”

Holy moly! The bad guys in this book were about as bitter, sadistic, cruel, (insert any other vile adjective) as I’ve ever encountered. So bleak, but then parts of the story pulled on my heart strings. And ultimately I want more! I’m trying to hold off starting the next one, and getting to know more about Mørck and Assad, until I finish this year’s challenge.

83dudes22
Oct 8, 2014, 7:34 am

I have this as a BB too, although I think I took it from Judy (DeltaQueen). I'm hoping to get to it later this month.

84VivienneR
Oct 8, 2014, 10:55 pm

>82 aliciamay: & >83 dudes22: I loved The Keeper of Lost Causes - story, characters, plot, everything. I recommended it to everyone who would listen, and some who didn't. Then I read the second in the series and hated it. The characters were still there but it had no story and was filled with gratuitous violence. As a result I crossed Jussi Adler-Olsen off my reading list.

85DeltaQueen50
Oct 9, 2014, 5:15 pm

>84 VivienneR: I don't think I disliked the second Jussi Adler-Olsen book as much as Vivienne, but it certainly was nowhere as good as the first. I have heard from reliable sources that the next book is very good so I am continuing on with the series, for now.

86VivienneR
Oct 9, 2014, 10:12 pm

>85 DeltaQueen50: Let me know how it goes with book 3. I don't often hold a grudge but in this case I went from raving about the author to raving mad at him.

87RidgewayGirl
Oct 10, 2014, 1:58 am

Well, I'm halfway through the second book, which is taking me a lot of time to read. Mainly, that's because I'm reading it in German, but it does seem different in tone from the first book, which I read in English, so take that with a grain of salt.

88odudu
Oct 10, 2014, 2:46 am

Este usuario ha sido eliminado por spam.

89aliciamay
Oct 10, 2014, 12:12 pm

I remember hearing a TV writer (of course I can't remember for what show) talk about how they had years to work on the first season and then, if successful, they had to rush to put out a second season and weren't as happy with the result. I'm suspecting authors face the same dilemma.

Thanks all for the warning about the 2nd of the Department Q series - I'll try to lower my expectations!

90aliciamay
Oct 10, 2014, 2:34 pm

#111
The Secret Place by Tana French
Category: New(ish) Releases (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 464
My Rating:

A teenage boy from the neighboring boy’s school is found murdered on the grounds of a posh girl’s school. The case goes nowhere until a year later Holly Mackey, daughter of Detective Frank Mackey, finds an ‘I know who killed him’ card that was posted on the school’s Secret Place bulletin board. The book alternates perspectives between Detectives Conway and Moran, who are working the murder and Holly and her friends who are much entwined with the murder. I loved the Detective sections and would really like to see another book with Conway and Moran parters in the Murder Squad. But, while I recognize that French did an amazing job with the teenage girl mind, I didn’t enjoy those parts as much. And the lingo (totes, like, jeal, etc.) got on my nerves.

91RidgewayGirl
Oct 13, 2014, 1:42 am

I live with a thirteen-year-old girl. You get used to the lingo over time.

92aliciamay
Oct 13, 2014, 2:37 pm

^ I imagine so. I was even getting more used to the language towards the end of the book.

93aliciamay
Oct 13, 2014, 2:39 pm

The fall rain is mostly holding off here in the Pacific NW, so I am trying to cram in one last outdoor project before that changes. So I spent the weekend painting trim boards that need to be replaced and cruising through two audio books. Now crossing my fingers for another evening or two of good weather to install!

#112
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Read by Juliet Stevenson
Category: Women Writers (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 209
My Rating:

Masterfully written with so much said in so few words.

#113
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Read by Barbara Kingsolver
Category: Favored Authors (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 464
My Rating:

Not my favorite of Kingsolver’s books. An interesting plot, but the main character, Dellarobia, was too self-righteous for me to care as much about her story.

94japaul22
Oct 13, 2014, 2:41 pm

I'm glad you liked To the Lighthouse. I've found Virginia Woolf's books challenging but very rewarding. I'm just starting The Waves which I've heard is experimental enough that my approach is just going to be to appreciate the language and plan to reread it in the future to get a second crack at really understanding it.

95aliciamay
Oct 13, 2014, 2:45 pm

^ I think that's a good approach for any of Woolf's work! I'll be watching for your review of The Waves.

96aliciamay
Oct 28, 2014, 6:08 pm

My reading has been progressing even if my posts haven't! Maybe, just maybe, things will be back to normal...until Thanksgiving.

#114
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Read by Archie Panjabi
Category: Non-fiction (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 352 pages
My Rating:

A fascinating story about a remarkable young woman, but I was so disappointed in the writing. It didn’t seem like the editor or co-author did any work.

#115
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Category: Off the Shelf (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 1371
My Rating:

Well, I finished. Parts were great and Wallace can certainly write, but the subject matter of addiction and the consequences was so bleak and depressing that I had to read this in very small doses.

#116
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
Read by George Guidall
Category: Road Trip! (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 352
Random CAT: Book Bullet
My Rating:

A couple struggles with their relationship following the death of their son.

#117
Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill
Read by Clive Chafer
Category: Books in a Series (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 256
Mystery CAT: Global
My Rating:

Dr. Siri is at it again trying to figure out what is killing people and leaving the bodies very mutilated. Luckily for him, Nurse Dtui is on the case too.

#118
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
Category: Award Winners – 1993 Booker Prize (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 307
Random CAT: Book Bullet
My Rating:

A glimpse into the lives of young boys in Ireland, which invoked the following responses in me in equal measure… ‘Oh, those poor kids.’ and ‘Oh my God, those kids are monsters!’

97RidgewayGirl
Oct 29, 2014, 4:03 am

You read all of Infinite Jest. I'm tremendously impressed. Still stuck around the 600 page mark myself.

98aliciamay
Oct 29, 2014, 11:40 am

>97 RidgewayGirl: For selfish reasons I would love it if you finished...I would really like to read one of your detailed and thoughtful reviews on it.

99-Eva-
Nov 1, 2014, 6:39 pm

You have made great progress indeed! As long as the reading is still happening, we'll be happy to have you whenever you have time to come by!

100aliciamay
Nov 2, 2014, 1:41 pm

Thanks Eva! My husband has been out of town this weekend and I've turned into a bit of a curmudgeon about Halloween (I hunkered down in a back bedroom with the dogs, a book, and glass of wine), so I have more to post. Here are the books I finished out October with...

#119
Murder in the Sentier by Cara Black
Read by Carine Montbertrand
Category: Mysteries (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 325 pages
Mystery CAT: Global
My Rating:

And I’m done with this series. Aimee is thrust into a mystery involving a 70s terrorist group that her mother may have been a part of. Aimee is a hapless detective, but without the endearing characteristics of say Stephanie Plum. She’s rather bitchy and far too wrapped up in herself (and the brands that she is wearing). If only Rene, her dwarf business partner, had played a larger role this book, and series, may have been saved.

#120
Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernieres
Category: Off the Shelf (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 331 pages
Geo CAT: South America
My Rating:

Senor Vivo is a professor in a fictional South American country - but sounds like Colombia - who starts writing newspaper editorials pointing out the atrocities of the cocaine trade. This naturally brings the wrath of the Coca Lord down on Vivo, but through chance and luck he is able to avoid the many assassination attempts. The book is violent and tragic events ensue, but de Bernieres’ crafty use of magical realism distracts from the gruesome reality and ultimately makes this book optimistic. I loved the book and it is staying on my shelf for the future, but I can’t blatantly recommend it due to the sex, violence, and weirdness.

101RidgewayGirl
Nov 2, 2014, 1:49 pm

Louis de Bernieres is such a fun writer. I loved that trilogy. And I also unfortunately share your opinion of the Cara Black series. I wanted to like it so much.

102aliciamay
Nov 2, 2014, 2:07 pm

I didn't realize that Senor Vivo was the second book in the trilogy - I'll need to track down the first book at some point. Luckily I have Captain Corelli's Mandolin on my shelf.

I will miss the glimpse of Paris that the Aimee LeDuc books bring, but not much else!

103aliciamay
Nov 2, 2014, 2:11 pm

October Summary:

I was able to get back into the swing of things reading-wise in October. I finished 12 books, listened to/read 4,213 pages, and knocked out a few more categories. Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord was my favorite of the month and is competing with Of Mice and Men for my favorite of the year. The Keeper of Lost Causes and A Prayer for Owen Meany deserve honorable mention for the month too. Murder in the Sentier was the disappointment of the month...the silver lining is that there is one less series to follow!

CATs completed
Mystery CAT: 2
Random CAT: 3
Geo CATs: 1

November Reading Plans
This is going to be the month I finish the challenge! Here are the books to take me across the finish line:

Lolita – actually finished this yesterday, a day late for October’s Random CAT
Buddha’s Little Finger – 1001 project to collaboratively read all the list books that I might finish today
Nightwoods
Le Pere Goriot
Unbroken - group read and Random CAT
Death Comes for the Archbishop – September monthly author read that I didn’t get to

And the other’s I have slated for November:
Daughters of Mars - Geo CAT
True History of the Kelly Gang - Geo CAT
I am Half Sick of Shadows - Mystery CAT
Testament of Youth - 1001 group read
Dangerous Liaisons - I meant to have this be one of the books to finish the challenge, but my library hold just came in on the 600+ page Testament of Youth, so I need more time and opted for the audio version of Le Pere Goriot to finish the category instead.

104aliciamay
Nov 2, 2014, 2:32 pm

#121
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Read by Jeremy Irons
Category: Miscellaneous (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 317 pages
My Rating:

I am mighty impressed with Nabokov. He turned a repulsive subject matter into a book that I want to keep reading. He tip toed around the serial rape bits and left you with a beautifully written tale of a misunderstood man, misunderstood because the book is told fully from his perspective. I am utterly creeped out that I felt this way while reading the book and only when the lovely Jeremy Irons wasn’t talking in my ear could I see Humbert Humbert for what he is. Extra ½ star for Irons’ narration.

105-Eva-
Nov 2, 2014, 6:12 pm

>1004
Irons is such a fantastic reader, isn't he.

106mamzel
Nov 3, 2014, 12:01 pm

I'm a Halloween Scrooge as well. My daughter and her friend threw together some last minute decorations and handed out a little candy for old times sake but I just sat in front of the TV and enjoyed the gourmet pizzas they made.

107aliciamay
Nov 3, 2014, 3:35 pm

>105 -Eva-: Indeed! I need to find other books that he has read.

>106 mamzel: I like the sound of your Halloween as much as mine!

108-Eva-
Nov 6, 2014, 7:31 pm

>107 aliciamay:
He even managed to make me like The Alchemist, which is not actually a book I care for. :)

109aliciamay
Nov 7, 2014, 4:39 pm

I think I liked The Alchemist when I read it, so it would be a real treat to have Jeremy Irons narrate a re-read.

#122
Nightwoods by Charles Frazier
Read by Will Patton
Category: Favored Authors (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 272 pages
My Rating:

Two children go to live with their aunt after their mother is murdered. The aunt is used to a solitary life and does her best to nurture the two traumatized kids. After beating the murder wrap, their stepfather is looking for the kids to silence them as witnesses and to find the money that has gone missing. More suspenseful and entertaining than other Frazier books, but not as significant.

#123
Buddha’s Little Finger by Victor Pelevin
Category: Non-American/Non-English (8 of 9 complete)
Pages: 335 pages
My Rating:

This was a modern Russian novel that alternated between scenes in a mental ward and the Russian revolution. A weird mix of Russian history, philosophy, and Buddhism. Didn’t work for me.

#124
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Category: Road Trip! - New Mexico (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 297 pages
My Rating:

I don’t know how Cather does it. Here she transports us to 19th century New Mexico where we follow the life of an Archbishop and the members of his wild territory.

Two books to go!

110lkernagh
Nov 7, 2014, 10:27 pm

Yay for two books to go!

111aliciamay
Nov 10, 2014, 1:49 pm

#125
Le Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
Read by Paul Hecht
Category: Non-American/Non-English (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 400 pages
My Rating:

Pere Goriot is a retired vermicelli merchant who has spent all his money spoiling his daughters and setting them up in successful marriages. To repay their father’s generosity and doting, the daughters and sons-in-law banish him to a boarding house and he is only allowed to see his daughters in secret. The book started off slow, but then as the poor decisions compounded and a bad end loomed the pace really picked up.

#126
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Read by Edward Herrmann
Category: Miscellaneous (9 of 9 complete)
Pages: 528 pages
Random CAT: Disaster
My Rating:

I could not put this down. Unbroken is the biography of Louis Zamperini - a wild child who finds discipline and a purpose through running. He runs in the Berlin Olympics in 1936 at the age of 19, but when war breaks out his running career is interrupted and he enlists in the Air Force. While on a search mission in the Pacific, his own plane goes down and he and two crew members are forced to drift in a poorly equipped life raft waiting to be found. Unfortunately they are found by the Japanese and held at a number of prison camps, where the sadistic treatment faced by all the prisoners, and Louis in particular, was horrifying. And yet he survived.

In a tale filled with ‘and then it got worse’ situations, Hillenbrand was able to highlight the resilience and humanity found throughout these experiences and kept the book from being a complete downer. There were parts that brought tears to my eyes, parts that had me raging at society, and then laugh out loud parts. What a great book to complete my challenge!

So I've completed my challenge, but I'll be hanging around reading for the CATs, working on a few series, and a general free for all of reading.

112RidgewayGirl
Nov 10, 2014, 2:16 pm

Congatulations on finishing! Unbroken is a great book to end things with. I'm glad you'll still be hanging out here.

113dudes22
Nov 10, 2014, 4:25 pm

Congratulations on finishing. I picked up Unbroken for my husband at a library sale and I'm planning to read it too at some point. I think I remember seeing something on TV about him around the time that the movie came out.

114rabbitprincess
Nov 10, 2014, 5:14 pm

Congrats on finishing your challenge!

115AHS-Wolfy
Nov 10, 2014, 5:43 pm

Congrats on completing your challenge!

116DeltaQueen50
Nov 10, 2014, 6:53 pm

Congratulations on finishing your challenge, I was disappointed that I couldn't join in the group read of Unbroken since I am on such a long waiting list at the library.

117LittleTaiko
Nov 10, 2014, 9:03 pm

Congratulations on finishing your challenge! Even better that it ended with such an amazing book.

118japaul22
Nov 10, 2014, 9:12 pm

I loved Unbroken! Congrats on finishing your challenge!

119MissWatson
Nov 11, 2014, 3:07 am

Well done on finishing your challenge. Enjoy the free reading!

120aliciamay
Nov 11, 2014, 3:08 pm

Thanks all! Once again having this challenge allowed me to discover some treasures (like Unbroken) and read more in a year than I probably ever have.

121lkernagh
Nov 12, 2014, 8:47 pm

Yay for completing your challenge, and what a book to end with!

122VivienneR
Nov 13, 2014, 9:25 pm

"Completed, completed, completed" Doesn't that look great! Congratulations!

123aliciamay
Nov 14, 2014, 3:37 pm

>121 lkernagh: Thanks Lori - I definitely went out on a high note!

>122 VivienneR: It sure does! I'm glad to finish early because I'm finding a little more time to spend on LT. Before I was often faced with the dilemma I could read and finish my challenge or LT. Off to catch up on your thread...

124VivienneR
Nov 15, 2014, 1:37 am

>123 aliciamay: I'm thinking if I put my mind to it I might just manage a finish line squeaker. Maybe that's my problem, I need to spend less time reading on LT ;)

125-Eva-
Nov 16, 2014, 12:40 am

Congrats on finishing the challenge!!!

126aliciamay
Nov 17, 2014, 4:08 pm

>124 VivienneR: But at the minimum you've well exceeded the total you wanted to read!

>125 -Eva-: Thanks! Looks like you'll be crossing the finish line soon too : )

127aliciamay
Nov 17, 2014, 4:09 pm

#127
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Read by Hollywood for the Ears
Category: Mysteries (10 of 9 complete)
Pages: 217 pages
My Rating:

My reading of this classic noir was not helped by the audio edition, but I couldn’t resist Michael Madsen as Sam Spade.

#128
A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch
Read by James Langton
Category: Books in a Series (10 of 9 complete)
Pages: 307 pages
Mystery CAT: Historical
My Rating:

The first book in the Charles Lenox series finds us in high society 19th century London. Lenox is an amateur detective and is asked to look into the suicide of a friend’s former maid. I couldn’t help but think of Lenox as a sober and less eccentric Sherlock. I'm looking forward to the next book for December's Cozy CAT.

128mathgirl40
Nov 20, 2014, 8:18 am

Congratulations on finishing your challenge!

The Charles Lenox series sounds appealing. I hadn't heard of this series before but I will have to keep it in mind.

129aliciamay
Nov 20, 2014, 2:26 pm

>128 mathgirl40: Thanks! I have dudes22 to thank for the Charles Lenox series; I hadn't heard of it before either.

130dudes22
Nov 20, 2014, 7:53 pm

And I have Kay (RidgewayGirl) to thank for my BB on this series. ( I'm pretty sure it was her anyway)

131aliciamay
Nov 23, 2014, 9:04 pm

Finished off a few books over the past several days. Just posting the basics for now and maybe I'll add thoughts later.

#129
The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Read by Gianfranco Negroponte
Category: Award Winners - Booker 2001 (10 of 9 complete)
Pages: 384 pages
Geo CAT: Oceania
My Rating:

#130
Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
Read by Jane Nolan
Category: Recommendations (10 of 9 complete)
Pages: 517 pages
Geo CAT: Oceania
My Rating:

#131
I am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Read by Jayne Entwistle
Category: Books in a Series (11 of 9 complete)
Pages: 317 pages
Mystery CAT: Historical
My Rating:

132ELiz_M
Dic 31, 2014, 10:16 am



You've have quite a good reading year, finishing the 2014 CC so early and doing quite well on the 1001 list! Happy new year! I hope it is filled with good times and great reads!