kirsty's 75 book challenge for 2010

Hi I'm a bit slow posting my thread but I've been keeping track of my 2010 books so far. The only problem is the more that I'm reading the less I'm getting done on my Information and Library Studies MSc dissertation. Oh dear!




January and February:

1. The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff
2. Family Album by Penelope Lively
3. Tomorrow by Graham Swift
4. Last night at twisted river by johnirving::John Irving
5. The man of my dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld
6. Pay it forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
7. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
8. The Rehearsal by cattoneleanor::Eleanor Catton

March
9. The Memory Keeper's daughter
10. Home cooking by Rachel Allen
11. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
12. Enchanted Glass by jonesdianawynnewynne::Diana Wynne Jones
13. Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris
14. The girl with the dragon tattoo by larssonbystieg::Stieg Larsson
15. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
16. Mr Toppit by charleselton::Charles Elton
17. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
18. Small Wars by Sadie Jones

May

19. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
20. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
21. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

June
22. Cloud Atlas by mitcheldavid::David Mitchell
23. City of Thieves by David Benioff
24. Fortune's Rocks by anitashreve::Anita Shreve
25. Diamond Star Halo by Tiffany Murray
26. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
27. Dead Cold by Louise Penny

July
28. Break no Bones by Kathy Reichs audio
29. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
30. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
31. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

August
32. The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
33. The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geralding McCaughrean
34. The lost art of keeping secrets by Eva Rice
35. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
36. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
37. The Information Officer by Mark Mills

September
38. My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler audio
39. These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer reread
40. Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink
41. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
42. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

October
43. The Einstein Girl by Philip Sington
44. When we were bad by Charlotte Mendelson
45. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
46. The Savage Garden By Mark Mills

November
47. Started early, took my dog by Kate Atkinson
48. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
49. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
50. What I Was by Meg Rosoff

December
51. Jump! by Jilly Cooper
52. One Day By David Nicholls
53. Snowball in Hell by Christopher Brookmyre

Recommendations welcome especially thrillers, fantasy and science fiction as haven't been reading much of those genres recently.
Cheers, kirsty

The books checked out of the library waiting to be read are: Small wars, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Little Children. Dead until dark and A week in December are leftover holiday books. I am only really interested in fiction but think I should try to have at least five nonfiction in my list. I enjoyed The Tipping Point and Blink so any other similar recommendations?

Welcome!

Welcome to the group!

Thanks for the welcome to the group!

My favourite read of the year so far has been The Bride's Farewell it was just lovely and I am looking out for the other titles by Meg Rosoff.

Goldengrove was fine but not really what I expected and my edition had terrible problems with the typesetting which was very distracting to read. The manipulative behaviour of the boyfriend character just didn't really ring true for me.

It was great to get a chunky new title from John Irving, it covered a lot of similar themes to his previous work but it wouldn't be up there with my all time favourites A widow for one year and A prayer for Owen Meany.

The Rehearsal is an experimental novel. It was not really my cup of tea. I just want a good story but I was quite drawn into it by the end and it is an unusual and assured first novel.

I hadn't read any Graham Swift since Waterland and while Tomorrow was good it didn't grab me the way Waterland had. The story is told from the POV of a woman who with her husband is about to break news to their 16 year old twins that could change all their lives. To be honest, I think if they had been upfront in the start it would have saved all the worry but then there would have been no story.

Spent an hour last night figuring out which books from my wishlist I could get from my library and which ones I would have to request. Looking forward to going on holiday and bringing a heap of good books.

Finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter this evening. It was alright. I gave it three stars. Good story but a bit chick lit and a few cringeworthy descriptive sections for my taste. Moving on to book number 11 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

I don't read very much nonfiction but I highly recommend Mountains Beyond Mountains. It gives an accurate portrayal of conditions in Haiti even before the earthquake. I am in total awe of Dr. Farmer and what he has accomplished.

Cool, thanks Mamzel. I had a look at the reviews and have added it to my wishlist. I work in Public Health so that aspect should be really interesting too. Thanks for the recommendation.

I've just bought a couple of guidebooks for South Africa for my hols. I was looking for some fiction set in South Africa to read while I was there but it all looks a bit depressing. The only thing that caught my fancy was The Land of Green Ginger by Noel Langley a South African author.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was a gentle humourous read. I gave it three stars.

Moving on now to Small Wars by Sadie Jones. I was not a big fan of The Outcast as anything set in the fifties seems determined to be a bit stifling and grim but I'll give this one a shot.

I am on a countdown to my holidays now and will have to start picking out books to pack. I'm thinking Dead until Dark for the plane.

I really liked The Outcast (sorry you did not enjoy it more), so I am curious as to how Small Wars is.

Small Wars is good so far, it is set in Cyprus in the fifties. I don't know much about the conflict so that part is interesting.

I toddled off to the library today with my LibraryThing wishlist print out and got two more of my books plus Blood Safari which looks apt for my hols next week.

#13: Thanks for the input about Small Wars. I will look for it.

Hmm I could use some insight into the situation on Cyprus during the 50s... I'll have to keep an eye out for Small Wars too.

Got my holiday reading all sorted:

- Wolf Hall
- Dead until Dark
- Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
- The Secret Scripture
- Mr Toppit
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

#16: Some very good books there! I hope you have a chance to get them all read while you are on holiday.

Phew! April was a bit of a right off as I had to finish my dissertation but back to the reading after that. I have just finished The Historian. It is a rather highbrow vampire hunter/hunted book. I found it good, very interesting and informative but a little bit stodgy and the principal characters were a bit distant, the secondary characters were warmer. It took me ages to plough through, had to renew it twice at the library so I've now moved on to something lighter Percy Jackson and the Sea Monsters! I got Her Fearful Symmetry out the library too so looking forward to that.

#18: I liked The Historian too, although it seems to be one of those books people either like or cannot stand.

Congratulations on finishing your dissertation!

Up to book number 20. Got to pick up the pace a bit! Just finished Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters the second in the series. Percy is all at sea with Annabeth, Clarisse and a long lost relative. More easy to learn lessons about Greek mythology and it ends on a cliffhanger. Thoroughly enjoying the series, looking forward to the next one.

#20: I think that series improves from book to book, so I hope you continue enjoying them.

I'm heading over to Scotland this afternoon for the weekend. I'm only taking hand luggage to avoid paying Ryanair any extra cash and am wondering if I can squeeze in two library books. Maybe I will just treat myself to one at the airport or train station if I finish Her Fearful Symmetry ... decisions ... decisions. It is lovely weather here in Dublin today and in Scotland I hear. I am going to take the puppy out for a walk, give him a big kiss on the snout and then head for the airport. A weekend of travelling, reading and seeing old friends (who also love to talk books), can't wait.

Sounds like a great trip! Safe travels.

Latest read was Her Fearful Symmetry. The title paraphrases a line from "The Tyger" by William Blake but is presumably an allusion to the identical and mirror image twins in the novel. And is it a play on words as much of the book is set in and around cemetery (or is that just me?).

The novel is set mainly in London around Highgate Cemetery and is an excellent and inviting advertisement for this attraction. Two sets of twins - mother and aunt and daughter/nieces - are bound together and pushed apart by their twinness and the boundaries between the living and dead become blurred. The star of the book is Martin - the charming intelligent academic upstairs neighbour afflicted with OCD. You are rooting for him, you just wouldn't want to be living with him.

It is not The Time Traveller's Wife but it was an OK read. I found the ending a little distasteful. For a portrait of London through the eyes of Americans abroad by an American I thought the author did an excellent job. Dan Brown - look and learn, factchecking is not a sin. If you enjoyed The Time Traveller's Wife I would recommend it with the caveat that it is just not as good.

The current read is Cloud Atlas, six voices tell stories in different periods of time from the 1800s to the science fiction future. Each of the stories overlap to tiny degrees but I am only part way through the book so this may only be initally. Each of the voices tell the story in a distinctive voice - my favourite so far has been the chatty catty letters from a dissolute bisexual would be composer in the 1920s. The reader's view of his general reprobate behaviour is softened by the references to the first world war - a brother lost, experience of trench warfare and shell shock. He is a well rounded well drawn character and am hoping to meet him further on in the story.

#25: I really liked that one when I read it last year. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Today has been a successful book-y day apart from the slight detour to the vet. Ralphy the cocker spaniel is feeling lots better thanks to Pat the Vet. This Saturday's Guardian Review section reviews a new Barbara Trapido and that goes straight into the wishlist. It also has the longlist for the Guardian children's book prize and I'll be adding Morris Gleitzman to my list of authors to look out for. The paper also is featuring Cloud Atlas as its book club book for the next few weeks - so I'll save those articles until I've finished the book. Dropped into the library this afternoon and picked up the new William Dalrymple which the lovely OH should enjoy and requested Diamond Star Halo and another one for the OH about the trials and tribulations of a safari guide by Peter Allison Don't run, whatever you do which might remind him that he really wants to take me to Botswana to see some hippos!

#27: I have had the Peter Allison book in the BlackHole for a while now. I hope I can get a copy soon. I look forward to seeing what you think of that one.

I love Barbara Trapido too - I was lucky enough to snag a review copy of Sex and Stravinsky - it's not her best but a not her best Trapido is still pretty good.

Oh, you are so lucky. I am looking forward to it. I love The Travelling Hornplayer so much. I saw Barbara Trapido speak years ago at the Edinburgh Book Festival. I think she might have been at the Hay Festival this year.

Finished Cloud Atlas. Quite a challenging read but very enjoyable. Moving onto The City of Thieves having seen it recommended by lots of LTers.

#31: Glad you liked Cloud Atlas. Like you, I found it worth the effort of reading.

I loved City of Thieves by David Benioff, it was a great read. I've started Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry it's really well written but it just wasn't doing it for me so I've put it on the backburner while I read Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve.

#33: The local library has City of Thieves. I will have to see if I can get it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Whipped through Fortune's Rocks. Moved onto Diamond Star Halo. It's the 1970's and a farm in Wales has been converted into a recording studio. An American rock band arrive with a pregnant girl and the family that run the studio are left holding the baby.

O O OH A new Kate Atkinson is out soon. Went straight onto the wishlist.

Finished Diamond Star Halo today. Really enjoyed it, seems to be a bit autobiographical. The author biog says that Freddie Mercury wrote a little bit of Bohemian Rhapsody at her house, how cool is that?

Started The Yiddish Policeman's Union after seeing how many LT ers had recommended it.

Delighted to announce I've been awarded by MSc in Information and Library Studies and will graduate next month. Big happy smiley face :)

My dissertation was on tagging results in LibraryThing so everyone here deserves some credit! thanks

Congratulations!

Hooray for you! Congratulations.

Wow! Congratulations, Kirsty.

Thanks for the congratulations. I'm really looking forward to my graduation next month in Aberdeen.

I've just finished The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon a thriller set in an alternative reality where a section of Alaska has been designated a temporary settlement for displaced Jewish peoples after WW2. It was very much in the style of the hardboiled detective thrillers, Raymond Chandler-esque with a sprinkling of yiddish terms thrown in. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I've moved onto a Louise Penny murder mystery. Unfortunately the library didn't have Still Life (touchstone not working) which many LTers have raved about but I got the next one Dead Cold (touchstone not working). I'm hoping it is not going to give too much about the first one as I would like to go back and read that one.

Really enjoyed Dead Cold by Louise Penny. A murder mystery in the Three Pines series set in Canada. A would-be Martha Stewart-type lifestyle designer is murdered in a complicated set-up. Penny creates a lovely village atmosphere in Three Pines, one of the blurbs likened it to St Mary's Mead and it has that idyllic quality - bookshop, bisto, boulangerie. I'd be moving in.

I've now started the Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

Congrats on your upcoming graduation!

I like your review of The Yiddish Policeman's Union. I think I need more Michael Chabon in my library. :)

Congratulations on your MSc success.

#44 - Thanks very much

As well as reading Wolf Hall I'm going to try out a few audio books. I have some time on my hands now the studies are over and thought I could listen to some books while doing an embroidery. I've started with Break no Bones by Kathy Reichs.

Still ploughing through Wolf Hall and listening to My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler.

Finally finished Wolf Hall today. It was a big read but really enjoyed it. See my review here http://www.librarything.com/work/9209435/reviews/60637907

Starting Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I really enjoyed The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale see my review here http://www.librarything.com/work/87380/reviews/57365685

I am going to stick with young adult fiction for a while and am starting The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

#48: I have had that one in the BlackHole for a while now. I really need to bump it up! Thanks for the reminder.

I've finished The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor first of the trilogy. I think I might explore the other two some time in the future. It was a reimagining of the Alice in Wonderland story. Never was a big Alice fan myself, much preferred Peter Pan, but enjoyed this version of events.

I'm still listening to My Horizontal Life and I've started two new books. The last family in England is narrated by a dog I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I have a bit of a phobia about books where something bad happens to the dog. The film of Marley & Me got switched off two thirds of the way by the OH when the dog started looking a bit creaky. So as a back up I've also started The Welsh Girl so far so brilliant. The opening chapter is great. So looking forward to the rest.

You have read a lot of interesting titles, of which several have now found themselves on my TBR list. I'll be interested in seeing what you think of The Last Family in England.

I am thinking about reading Wolf Hall, but it has me wanting to wait until I get a Nook so I don't have to haul a huge book around.

Thanks, dragging round those big books can build up the muscles!

I will be interested in seeing what you think about The Welsh Girl when you are done with it.

Finished The Welsh Girl last night. Fantastic book set mainly in Wales during the second world war. The three main characters are a Welsh girl, a German POW and a German refugee in the British Army. These three characters are all bilingual and this influences their interactions and sets them apart from others. The story raises questions of belonging, identity and definitions of freedom. Thoroughly recommended.

I have now moved on to The Death-Defying Pepper Roux a young adult fiction romp with just a touch of a fantasy element.

#54: I need to move The Welsh Girl up the stack. Thanks for your input.

Hi, Kirsty! I'm catching up on some 75-book threads, and I finally got to yours. Looks like you've had some great reads this year! I'll keep checking in to see what you're reading next.

Karen O.

Nice of you to drop by :)

All the touchstones on my month by month list have disappeared. What is going on with that?

Had a panic that I was going to have finished all my library books before Saturday so had a dig around the house for something else to read and came up with Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard. He is a new author for me so think I will give it a shot next.

I finished The Death-Defying Pepper Roux on Friday. This was a young adult fiction book about 14 year old Pepper who is on the run from his own fate. It is an incredibly sweet book that had we welling up towards the end. I'll be looking out for more from this author but after a run of YA books maybe not for a while.

I headed to the library this morning and picked up:
The lost art of keeping secrets
Prep
Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink

I've started The lost art of keeping secrets. Chick lit set in 50s England with a real Mitford-esque vibe. Still reading The last family in England though think I might give it up. The anxious labrador narrator is upsetting me.

#59: Adding The Death-Defying Pepper Roux to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Kirsty.

Finished The lost art of keeping secrets last night (stayed up late to finish it). It is a lovely fluffy romance set in 50s England. Perfectly sweet.

I've just started Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. It's been on the wishlist for ages now. Narrated by a young teenage girl, it is set in a boarding school in New England.

I already have The Lost Art Of Keeping Secrets in the BlackHole, but the local library does not have it yet. Hopefully soon.

I just read two books by Geraldine McCaughrean, the author of Pepper Roux, myself, and will be looking out for that one at some point. I have The Lost Art in the library pile too.

Is Prep any good? I was thinking of ordering a copy in the large Amazon order I'm planning.

I really loved Pepper Roux. He is just such a sweet character. The Lost Art was great too.

I had issues with Prep. I have possibly made the mistake of reading Sittenfeld's work in reverse order starting with American Wife which I thought was fantastic. I found the central character of both Prep and The man of my dreams very difficult. They are neurotic, depressive, withdrawn, incredibly self-conscious. Someone else commented that they just want to shake the main character of Prep and tell them to snap out of it and that is entirely how I felt. I skimmed the book a bit towards the end, and I rarely do that, because I just had got fed up with the whinging. That being said the book is interesting and well written. I'd go directly to American Wife and would be keen to see which direction Sittenfeld goes next.

Keeping on the teen narrator theme I've started The Brief Second Life of Bree Tanner not having read any of the Twilight series I thought I should give this a pop. Glad I got it from the library though, I've seen picture books with more words to the page, you wouldn't want to have bought it.

Thanks, though if Prep is still £3.20 I may risk it. Is the main character a teenager - isn't that what teenagers are like?

You can't go wrong for 3.20! Yes the main character is a teen.

My beloved asked me if I could name a film that was better than the book. My response was The Princess Bride. Any other suggestions?

#68: As I watch next to no movies, I am not going to be helpful with that. Sorry.

Stardust. At least, I thought so.

#79 Stardust good call. Seen the movie twice; read the book once. The maths alone would suggest you were right! Fabulous name Dr Neutron. I am wondering if you are a superhero force for good or evil. Evil would be more interesting and possibly give you more free time to read.

I have finished The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I thought it was alright, I might read the Twilight books now. In the meantime, I am moving on to The Information Officer by Mark Mills. Don't know much about this. I think it is a mystery or a thriller. To be honest it is two feet away from me and I can't even be bothered to reach over and check the back cover to confirm this. Another book by the same author was a Richard and Judy book so saw it in the library and thought I'd give it a shot.

#71: I enjoyed Mills' The Savage Garden more than I did The Information Officer. I will be interested in seeing what you think of it, Kirsty.

Fabulous name Dr Neutron. I am wondering if you are a superhero force for good or evil. Evil would be more interesting and possibly give you more free time to read.

I came up with the name on the spur of the moment joining LT. I've got a PhD in physics by inventing a new way to measure really high energy neutron flux. But I only use my physics superpowers for good!

#73: That's very cool, Dr Neutron! What was that song the Pointer Sisters did? (googling) Yes! "The Neutron Dance"!

Kirsty, just stopping by to say "hi" and "goodbye." Happy reading!

Karen O.

I'm rereading These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer, a 1929 edition I liberated from my parent's house at the weekend.

Georgette Heyer has been on my radar for some time now so I'm looking forward to what you think about it. Have you read anything else by her and have a recommendation?

They are great fluffy reads. They have you craving for a powdered wig and a dandy in tight breeches! These Old Shades is my favourite. I haven't read her for 20 years but I think I also enjoyed Regency Buck. Just looking at Amazon I can see she also wrote detective stories set in the 20th century but I've only read the regency romances. I only grabbed one from home so I will have to look for more in my local library.

Finished Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink author of The Reader. It is set in 1980s Germany almost up to the reunification period. I didn't enjoy it as much as The Reader. It touched on interesting aspects of Germany during the war and postwar much like The Reader did but the action was mainly centred on the 80s and the central character's search for an end to a war homecoming story he had heard as a child and ultimately his father.

I'm now reading The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny the third (I think) of the Three Pines murder mysteries and listening to classic sci-fi Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.

I love the Louise Penny series. I hope you enjoy it as well.

I finished The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny. It was alright but I won't be reading another one. I've started Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Set in the 1950s it's the story of a young Irish woman starting a new life in America. So far its excellent.

I'm also still listening to Stranger in a Strange Land and dipping in and out of At home: A short history of private life by Bill Bryson

I'm sorry to hear that you did not enjoy the Penny series more. I hope you find something you like better!

I did! I found something I absolutely loved Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Unfortunately I've finished it so have started a pre WW2 thriller called The Einstein Girl by Philip Sington.

#82: I am glad you found a book that you enjoyed better!

I read Stranger in a Strange Land this year and had very mixed feelings on it so I'd be interested to hear what you think!

I'm listening to Stranger in a Strange Land but I'm not great with audio books so have kind of stalled with it. Will have to pick it up again soon. I finished The Einstein Girl an interwar years thriller set in Germany. It was pretty good. A naked girl is found by a lake outside Berlin and next to her is a flyer for a lecture by Einstein. She is suffering from amnesia and is taken under the care of a psychiatrist who met her briefly before whatever trauma she suffered. He takes it upon himself to unravel her story. PreNazi Germany is evoked ominously seeming dark, troubled and chaotic. The Nazi desire for racial purity has started to manifest itself with the beatings or disappearance of Jewish characters and requests to catalogue the mentally ill and their families. Einstein himself features as a character and I would be interested to read more about him and his family.

I've now started When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson a modern family drama set in London revolving around the family of a successful female Rabbi.

#86: The Einstein Girl looks interesting. I will have to see if I can locate a copy. Thanks for the recommendation, Kirsty!

I enjoyed When We Were Bad, the domestic Jewish drama set in North London. It had a review on the cover from Barbara Trapido and that is what is reminded me of but without the occasional magical realism.

I've started Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro recommended and loaned by a friend and would have languished on the TBR pile but I didn't want to hog it and was inspired to start it when I saw that a film version has just premiered at the London Film Festival.

This is my post from the "5 best reads of Q3" thread:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean
These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

Wolf Hall and Brooklyn were stand out brilliant. The Welsh Girl I would whole-heartedly recommend. The Death-Defying Pepper Roux, young adult fiction, was just so sweet. These Old Shades was a reread and you can't beat Georgette Heyer with a big stick.

It was a so-so quarter, a couple of others I enjoyed but a couple I had to slog through.

********************
Good to see Never Let Me Go featured in few others best reads.

I enjoyed Never Let Me Go very much when I read it a couple of years ago. It was the first Ishiguro book that I had read up until that point.

I haven't read The Death Defying Pepper Roux yet but I intend to borrow it from the library at some point. Stop the Train and Pull out All the Stops were terrific and STT would be on my best reads of the quarter. A Little Lower than the Angels is also good. And no, if touchstones go haywire I don't mean a Thomas the Tank Engine book!

Thanks Elkiedee - I'm going to have to look out for those other ones.

I finished Never Let Me Go today. Really enjoyed it, in its sad and wistful way.

I'm starting The Savage Garden by Mark Mills

I really liked Never Let Me Go and I think the movie just came out so I'm hoping it will do a good job of showing that wistful sadness.

Finished The Savage Garden by Mark Mills and have to agree with alcottacre it's better than The Information Officer although that was interesting from the POV of being set in war torn Malta. The Savage Garden is an architectural murder mystery set in 1950s Italy.

Now moved on to The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Was also delighted to spot a new Douglas Coupland on the bookshelves. Haven't bought yet ...

#94: I am glad you enjoyed The Savage Garden, Kirsty. I will be interested in seeing what you think of The Angel's Game, which I have still not managed to read despite my love of The Shadow of the Wind.

I'm finding The Angel's Game a bit of a slog. I don't remember much about The Shadow of the Wind but don't think it was this much hard work.

I took a break from it to read Started Early Took My Dog. I love Kate Atkinson and this was not a disappointment. I thought it was fantastic. It didn't have me blubbing like Case Histories always does but it was wonderful nonetheless.

Back to The Angel's Game now with renewed vigour and try and get shot of it before the weekend.

I hope The Angel's Game improves for you, Kirsty!

Thanks Stasia, I finished The Angel's Game yesterday. The ending zipped along but was a bit gruesome. I think I was making some grimace-y faces on the train while I was reading it :)

Next on the list is Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson which I am keen to get started. The front cover says it is one of The Observers 100 Greatest Novel's of all time!

We have just booked a holiday - very short notice - we are off on the 26th to Japan. I have to start planning the holiday reading. For the first time I am seriously thinking a e-reader would be handy but I do have a couple of big books i have been saving for a trip The Passage and Skippy Dies I am tempted to add the new Jilly Cooper to that list.

My Beloved plans on rereading his Murakami collection to get him in the mood.

#98: Gruesome ending to The Angel's Game? I think I will put it off for a bit yet.

I read Robinson's Gilead, but have not tried Housekeeping yet. I need to get to it sometime.

Trip to Japan?! How cool!

Thanks Stasia - really looking forward to my hols! :)

Housekeeping was a slim novel, beautifully written and full of loss and the nature of transience.

Currently reading BOOK NO. 50 of 2010 (woo hoo!) What I Was by a young adult author whom I absolutely love Meg Rosoff.

Congratulations on hitting book 50!

On your nightstand now: What I Was by Meg Rosoff

Favorite book when you were a child: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Your top five authors: Douglas Coupland John Irving Jilly Cooper Barbara Trapido Kate Atkinson - these are my top 5 writers writing today that I would go out and buy their book straight away

Book you've faked reading: Moby Dick and Waiting for Godot

Book you're an evangelist for: Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies and Bel Canto By Ann Patchett

Book you've bought for the cover: How I live now beautiful cover for a beautiful book

Favorite line from a book: I may have to paraphrase this but "Charlotte was a good friend and a good writer" from Charlotte's Web I saw it used as the dedication in a book and was really touched by it.

Book that changed your life: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Book you most want to read again for the first time: I wish I'd read I capture the castle by Dodie Smith in my teens

Konnichiwa from Kyoto. I'm here on my hols.

So far holiday reading has consisted of Jump! by Jilly Cooper. I love Jilly Cooper but I'd be loathe to recommend this to anyone who hadn't read her before as it is pretty hackneyed. Now racing through One Day by David Nicholls which is fantastic and I will be foisting this on everyone!

Also in the bag are The Passage and Skippy Dies they are both tomes, not sure how I thought I was going to get through both of those. :)

#103: both tomes, not sure how I thought I was going to get through both of those. :)

Wishful thinking? It is the holidays after all! I hope you have a great time in Japan!

Japan! How cool - have fun!

Japan was very cool. In 2011 I'm going to be looking out for some good fiction books on Japanese history.

I'm somehow stuck in the middle of reading three books - A Snowball in Hell, Skippy Dies and At Home. I was listening to an audio book of Stranger in a Strange Land but left my MP3 player on the plane. Doh!

Nearly time for Christmas holidays so hopefully lots of time to finish all those books. :)

Here's me in Kyoto channelling Memoirs of a Geisha! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7448878&l=0a76c42ba0&id=575262753

I've posted my top 5 for quarter 4 2010 on this thread http://www.librarything.com/topic/105093 - in review it has been a very good quarter, quality if not quantity.

106 + 107: Glad your trip was amazing, but how could Japan not be amazing? I like the picture of you! Bummer about your mp3 player though...Merry Christmas!

Great photo!

Looks like you had a great time in Japan, Kirsty!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I am at work, covering Reception, but it's very quiet so I might *whisper it* .... read my book!

#112: I know what you mean. It has been quiet here all night long.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Boxing Day or St Stephen's Day as it is called here in Ireland.

I finished Snowball in Hell by Christopher Brookmyre. It was a gruesome heist story commentating on the notion of fame and celebrity. I enjoyed the thriller element but some of the venting about celebrity was a bit crude for my taste. I preferred the tone of All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye.

I've picked up Skippy Dies again. It was an Irish contender for the Booker - on the longlist. Waiting to see if I agree (with the Irish papers!) that it should have gone further in the process.

Santa brought me Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.

Nice Santa! I hope to get to Freedom next year.

This is my post on the "Your best books of 2010" thread http://www.librarything.com/topic/105095&newpost=1#lastmsg

I thought I should close off this thread.

Final result was 53/75. Just a smidgeon over a book a week. I read lots of great books during the year and excited about my reading for 2011 with a wishlist packed full of LT recommendations. Can't imagine I will get much closer to the 75 in 2011 but love being part of the group. :)

2011 thread starts here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/105421

See you there *waves*