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50bookchallenge
[ lifeless09 ] | Dec. 23rd, 2009 12:27 am The beginning 1. Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 
Summary: A young woman is on a sort of vacation with her employer. While her employer is sick, she befriends and falls in love with a wealthy, well-known man, Maxim DeWinter. They marry and move into the great house known as Manderley. Now she must overcome the pressures of filling in the former Mrs. DeWinter's shoes. Her death and the people who were close to Rebecca still haunt the house and the new Mrs. DeWinter. The narrator has trouble fitting in and no one seems willing to let her be herself, they keep expecting Rebecca. Soon enough, rumors and the past start to fit together to reveal who Rebecca was and what actually happened to her.
Review: I honestly love this book. It is the second time I've read this book but this was more a refresher for me since it has been years since I read it the first time. I love Du Maurier's dark style and the way this story turns from a simple love story to almost a haunting mystery.
2. Kiss Me Again, Stranger Daphne du Maurier 
Summary: This is a book of short stories all written by du Maurier.
"Kiss Me Again, Stranger" is a story about a man that has his life shaken up when he meets a young woman working at the movies. They hang out one night for some time and he falls completely in love. After that night, he never sees her again.
"The Birds" takes place in a small town on the coast where a farmer and his family live. England becomes overrun with flocks of attacking birds. Everyone is in trouble and tries their best to survive.
"The Little Photographer" is about an upper class French woman on vacation with her children. She meets a young photographer and falls in lust with him almost. They meet in secret for a while. Eventually she tires of the relationship and tries to break it off.
"Monte Verita" is the longest of them all and about a man and his friend who are both mountain climbers. His friend, Victor, meets a woman, Anna, and falls madly in love. She is a peculiar sort of woman but neither man really takes note of that. On a trip Anna and Victor climb Monte Verita. They stop in a small village and during the night Anna goes missing only never to be seen again. Victor has trouble coping that she now lives with a tribe of people who live higher up on the mountain. The narrator wishes to help his friend whose life is falling apart and possibly gain something for himself.
"The Apple Tree" is about an older man who has been widowed. He notices an apple tree outside of his house and no longer wishes to get rid of it but a lot of events occur that bring about old memories and delay his action to get rid of the tree.
"The Old Man" is one of the shortest where the narrator sees a family that is very different than any other in the neighborhood. He pays close attention to them and notices the father's in control. He never meets them but he watches them quite often. His constant watching leads to a gruesome discovery.
"The Split Second" is the story of a woman is having trouble living on her own after the passing of her husband and her daughter living in boarding school. She winds up coming back to find out that her house is no longer her home and everything is different.
"No Motive" is the last story. I don't know what the summary is for this one besides the fact that it is a murder mystery. I haven't read it and sites I look at won't give a description.
Review: Some of these I liked more than others. I haven't read all of "The Split Second" and I never touched "No Motive". I really enjoyed "Kiss Me Again, Stranger", "The Little Photographer" and, in a way, "The Old Man". "The Birds" is the short story Hitchcock based his movie off of and just like the movie, I wasn't very happy with it. I am struggling with "The Split Second". Overall, a decent book made up of interesting stories.
3. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane Katherine Howe 
Summary: A graduate student at Harvard, Connie Goodwin is able to move on and begin her dissertation. It is the summer now, so she has a little down time but she must begin her research. Her mother tells her about her grandmother's house in Marblehead, MA. Connie goes there to clean up the house and prepare it to be sold. It is a large, overgrown and rotting house. On the first night, she finds a 17th century Bible with a key and the name Deliverance Dane in it. Connie begins her research on this woman and finds out that she may have been accused as a witch during the Salem Trials in 1692. Interested in what might have happened to this woman and her physick book, Connie begins digging into the past. All while this story is told, Deliverance's story is told. Flashbacks to the past from other people's points of view explain more of what went on a few hundred years ago in Salem, MA.
Review: I really loved this book. I thought it was intelligently written and it brought to light a different view point than what has been said and done about the Salem Witch Trials. It did get a little slow with a lot of the flashbacks because I was more interested in what Connie was doing rather than Deliverance's daughter or granddaughter but it was still something that drew focus onto important plot pieces. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anybody that likes fictional mixed with truth and mysteries. Leave a comment | |
50bookchallenge
[ shkarlson ] | Dec. 23rd, 2009 02:46 pm TEMPERING PRINCIPLE WITH PRACTICALITY. Cyclical models of history often draw a cpnnection between the remoteness of an event in the living memory of the current population and the greater likelihood of something like that event recurring. Something like that appears to be at work in Paul Krugman's The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, material for Book Review No 46. Professor Krugman begins with a summary of macroeconomic hubris ("between John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman, we thought we knew enough to keep [stagnation and deflation] from happening again," p. 4; "The Central Problem Has Been Solved," chap. 1) and the collapse of Communism, taking the principal intellectual challenge to market-system economics in theory and practice with it. He then notes that early in the 1990s, ominous signs, not unlike those present in the 1920s and oh-so-visible with hindsight, appeared in the economies of developing countries and diffused to more developed countries and particularly their financial sectors. Professor Krugman does not make his case in detail, although he covers some of the same ground Michael Lewis's Panic, reviewed here, and Liaquat Ahamed's Lords of Finance: The Bankers who Broke the World, reviewed here, is a useful companion piece on events leading to the Great Depression. And thus we are contemplating the end of the Oh-Ohs, and Professor Krugman's concluding observation invokes that cycle. Depression economics, however, is the study of situations where there is a free lunch, if we can only figure out how to get our hands on it, because there are unemployed resources that could be put to work. The true scarcity in Keynes's world -- and ours -- was therefore not of of resources, or even of virtue, but of understanding. We will not achieve the understanding we need, however, unless we are willing to think clearly about our problems and to follow hose thoughts wherever they lead. Some people say that our economic problems are structural, with no quick cure available; but I believe that the only important structural obstacles to world prosperity are the obsolete doctrines that clutter the minds of men.
What makes this year's collection of Book Reviews intellectually intriguing is that other books contemplating The Latest Bubble to Pop, or Depression 2.0 would treat the Keynesian doctrines as obsolete.
(Cross-posted to Cold Spring Shops.)
Current Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Current Mood: creative
Current Music: Beethoven "Grosse Fuge."
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50bookchallenge
[ booksforfood ] | Dec. 23rd, 2009 10:37 am 71. The Accidental Time Machine - Joe Haldeman 
71. The Accidental Time Machine - Joe Haldeman - 288 pages (3.5/5)
Firstly, I want Joe Haldeman's life. He teaches two classes in fall on science fiction writing at MIT. The rest of the time he writes, draws, paints, plays guitar, and travels extensively with his wife, whom he's been married to since he was 22. What a life. Of Joe Haldeman's work, I've previously read The Forever War and Forever Peace. The second is not a sequel to the first, despite the similar names. The name of the sequel is, confusingly, Forever Free. In general, enjoy Haldeman's work because he has a degree in physics, and so the science in it is at least vaguely plausible, or perhaps one day possible. It definitely gives him an edge over other authors who treat technology very similar to how magic is used in fantasy. The Accidental Time Machine tells the story of a young graduate student at MIT, Matt, who, you guessed it, accidentally makes a time machine. He jumps a few weeks into the future, finds out he's wanted for a crime he didn't committ, and jumps forward again. He doesn't like that future, either, so he proceeds to jump again. This trend continues, with the increments getting longer and longer, because he hopes that eventually he will come to a future where they have invented a machine to send him back. This, in my opinion, is very silly logic, because he easily could have jumped into a future where humanity is extinct, the atmosphere is toxic, or there was a second dark age and there is no technology whatsoever. I enjoy Joe Haldeman's postulations of the future. In The Forever War, in order to combat human overpopulation, most of Earth's population becomes homosexual. In one of the futures in The Accidental Time Machine, Christianity has become beyond fundamental because "Jesus" has returned and is now president of the United States. In that future, he connects with a very naieve young woman named Martha, who ends up accompaning him to other futures, and eventually a robot named La also joins their motley crew. Initially, I was not too impressed with the pacing and dialogue, but once he leaves the near future of Earth and ventures through time, I enjoyed myself. I thought the end was too tidy and a bit of a cop out, but I was not upset with it enough that it soured my enjoyment of the book. I'll continue to read and enjoy Haldeman's future, but I wouldn't consider this his best work.
(P.S. Hi, I like new friends!) Current Location: California
Current Mood: awake
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50bookchallenge
[ muse_books ] | Dec. 23rd, 2009 05:22 pm Book 131: Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel Book 131: Beyond Black Author: Hilary Mantel, 2005
Genre: Contemporary Fiction. Literary. Ghost Story. Black Comedy.
Other Details: Harper Perennial Edition with interview and essay. Paperback. 466 pages
"Other mediums have spirit guides with a bit more about them — dignified impassive medicine men or ancient Persian sages — why does she have to have a grizzled grinning apparition in a book-maker's check jacket, and suede shoes with bald toecaps." - from Beyond Black.
I've tackled a few novels this year dealing with the subject of spiritualism and for the most part they proved a disappointment as they focused on fraudulent practices rather than the real thing. Mantel's pitch-black comedy was the exception as it captured perfectly the day-to-day life of a jobbing medium in which the presence of the recent and long dead are a fact of life.
Alison Hart makes her living as a medium, doing shows in scout halls, psychic fairs and spiritualist churches throughout the suburbs of London and the Home Counties. She channels the dead to pass on messages to their living relations. Alison is the 'real deal' though sometimes even she has to fake it. She is overweight, in constant pain and although on the surface is happy-go-lucky, underneath she is is troubled by memories of a childhood filled with dreadful abuse. As noted above rather than a serene spirit guide she has the seedy Morris, who constantly reminds her of that past.
She is accompanied by her personal assistant Colette. In contrast to Alison, Colette is severe and all-business, a sceptic who does not believe in Alison's gifts. Her concern is to put Alison on a diet and ensure she keeps to her timetable of engagements. Eventually Colette decides that Alison should write a book about her experiences so she can make more money. However, this process stirs up the past causing Morris and his spirit companions to torment Alison more than ever.
I had been looking for a copy of Mantel's latest book, Wolf Hall, when I spotted Beyond Black on the shelf with a quirky cover depicting a figure from the Marseilles Tarot pushing a vacuum cleaner. Even though I opted to buy a different edition for its extra features, including an interview with Mantel and a short essay on her research and writing process, that first cover really sums up the mixture of the extraordinary with the everyday found in its pages.
It is an unusual ghost story with a definite sting in the tale! A novel that is both very dark and very light and I admire Mantel for her skill in finding a balance between the two. I found it a superbly written, intelligent and witty novel and one of my favourites of 2009, though its tone and subject matter is not going to appeal to everyone.
Hilary Mantel on Beyond Black - January 2006 article when Beyond Black was chosen as the Book of the Month for The Guardian's on-line Book Club.Leave a comment | |
50bookchallenge
[ slimequeen ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 08:59 pm #104: "Nothing to Dread: A Niteblade Anthology 2008-2009" This anthology of Niteblade Fantasy and Horror Magazine features the editor's choice selections of fiction and poetry for the past year, as well as Christmas stories inspired by Marge Simon's cover artwork. The stories run a full gamut from horror-tinged fantasy about a particular mad hatter to teenage ghosts seeking a second chance at life. The book has a bit of everything across the realm of speculative fiction. Two of my own works are included, "Christmas Bloodbath" and "And Yet Stars Still Existed."
My favorites included "Christmas's End," a short-short that beautifully captured the emotions of Mrs. Claus as she awaits her husband's return, and the poem "Of Warmth, Of Dragons." Current Mood:  thoughtful
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50bookchallenge
[ jeepgirl77 ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 09:15 pm Books 40 and 41 Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 448
B&N Synopsis
Pendergast-the world's most enigmatic FBI Special Agent-returns to New York City to investigate a murderous cult.
William Smithback, a New York Times reporter, and his wife Nora Kelly, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Eyewitnesses claim, and the security camera confirms, that the assailant was their strange, sinister neighbor-a man who, by all reports, was already dead and buried weeks earlier. While Captain Laura Hayward leads the official investigation, Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta undertake their own private-and decidedly unorthodox-quest for the truth. Their serpentine journey takes them to an enclave of Manhattan they never imagined could exist: a secretive, reclusive cult of Obeah and vodou which no outsiders have ever survived.
Always good to see Pendergast back in action, and this one was quite a good read. However, I would like to see the authors return to more of the original style and not as far-fetched as this one tended to be. Also, can we please see Viola Maskelene again? I liked her. Constance, too! Books completed: 40/50
Pages completed: 12,915/20,000
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 607
B&N Synopsis The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. And yet... As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate -- and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince. So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability. I hadn't read this in ages, and this is only my 2nd reading of it (I believe). I liked this far better the second time around, and it made mourn how badly they butchered the movie. They left SO much out that was crucial to the storyline.
Books completed: 41/50
Pages completed: 13,522/20,000Current Location: home
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50bookchallenge
[ blinger ] | Dec. 23rd, 2009 11:32 am Books 30 & 31 - 2009
Book 30: A Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton - 326 pages
My little synopsis: With her harem of lovers/guards, Merry is now set with the task of not only getting pregnant with an heir in order to beat her cousin Cel to the Unseelie throne, but of protecting herself and her own before Cel gets out of prison. Back at work for the Grey Detective Agency, she is called upon by Maeve Reed, former Goddess and member of the Seelie court, who has a strange request for Merry and her men. Moreover, someone has let loose the evil Nameless and large numbers of people are turning up dead under mysterious circumstances that Merry knows has more to do with the Sidhe than the police are willing to admit. Never a dull day for an Unseelie Princess!
I liked this book, if not as much, than 90% as much as the first book. It seemed a bit slower and less seemed to happen though I'm not sure this is actually true. Again, the sex scenes are over the top, and if I hear Merry describe any part of her body as moon-like again, I'll deck her. Nonetheless, I do find this series engaging. The first part can drag a bit as Hamilton seems to waste a bit of time re-introducing things (I personally think that if you start a series midway through than its your own fault if things don't make sense - going over what happened in previous books is a waste of time). However, once she finally gets into the story, it’s good. Her harem of men are all delightfully funny and intriguing in their own way - I can't quite pick a favourite just yet. And I liked Andais more in this one - sure, she's sadistic and insane, but I felt she was more vulnerable and showed more humility in this one. Overall, I think this series has promise, but given what I've read in the reviews of later books on facebook, I'm not holding my breath for it to get better and better!
30 / 50 books. 60% done!
11121 / 15000 pages. 74% done!
Book 31: The True Story of Butterfish by Nick Earls – 280 pages
My little synopsis: Curtis Holland was one half of Brisbane’s success story Butterfish, until the band’s third album tanked and the group disbanded. Moving back to suburban Brisbane to produce, Curtis’ attempt to move on with his life is complicated by his new neighbours, single mum Kate and her two children, Annaliese and Mark. But just as he’s coming to grips with the tough guy routine from Mark, and Annaliese’s crush on him, his former band mate Derek flies back into town.
Um, this book was different. It seemed to meander through a lot of people and topics but never quite reached a climax. Earls writes people really well. Curtis, the unwilling rock star; Kate, the struggling single mum; Annaliese, part woman, part girl, enamoured with Curtis; Mark, hating on his father while writing porn and raising fish to make money for his mum; Derek, hiding from reality under the lights of L.A. They are all very real and very believable. Yet, instead of exploring these people fully, Earls seemed to spend more time talking about Brisbane. I know that you take the Gateway Arterial to the airport, I know city cats, I know the highway to Caloundra. I’ve lived in Brisbane my whole life, I know these places. And I can’t imagine why a non-local would even care about how to get to Brisbane Airport, or the timetable of the public transport, or a highway to a small beach town. Earls seemed to spend more time babbling on and on about these details than he did about the characters. No one cares! Honestly, I truly feel that the reason that Brisbane, and Australian in general, writers don’t do well overseas is because they get too caught up in talking about Australia, and forget to tell a story. I was tired of reading about Kenmore and Gap Creek Road by page three (having said that, maybe I’m just annoyed because all books set in Brisbane seem to be set either in the CBD or on the North side (Kenmore being a North side suburb) and I am from the humble South side and would like for once a book to be set in my area!). Oh well, moving along, I think this book had some very bittersweet, very poignant moments and after I got through the first 120 or so pages I really got into it. Overall, an interesting look at fame and relationships and regret that could have been a whole lot more if it had talked about something other than Kenmore!
31 / 50 books. 62% done!
11401 / 15000 pages. 76% done!
Currently reading:
- From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology by Lawrence Cahoone – 600 pages - The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Volume 2: The One Tree by Stephen Donaldson – 472 pages - Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton – 367 pages - Next by Michael Crichton – 540 pages
And coming up:
- The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory – 486 pages - Angels and Demons by Dan Brown – 620 pages - Nightlight: A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon – 154 pages Current Location: Seven Hills, Brisbane, Australia
Current Mood:  sick
Current Music: Pieces of You - Ashleigh Mannix
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50bookchallenge
[ keitorin ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 07:31 pm [Book 07] CUT by Kawai Touko 
Title: CUT
Author: Kawai Touko
Genre: Yaoi
Themes: Abuse, depression, school life, BDSM, cutting, scars, violence
Book details: Manga, 200 pages
Rating: 5/5
Summary: Sakaguchi is in a sexual relationship with his step father that is abusive, but he enjoys the pain because it helps mask darker memories from his past. He then meets another student who also has a troubled background who may be the person to help him stop his self-inflicted pain.
My Review:
I first read this story a long time ago and thought it was time I did a reread.
Eiji's story is so horrible. What's sad is that I can see that happening in real life, and unfortnutely there are a lot of parents who feel that way towards their children. Chiaki's story is also sad, but in a different way. What Chiaki puts himself through because of guilt is the worst part. It's sad that the only way Chiaki knows how to comfort Eiji is through sex (and pain for himself).
I love how by the end they both came clean about why they did the things they did. They both wanted to move on because they had each other, and they couldn't go on properly if they could hide behind their past. The end of chapter five totally made me cry!
The epilogue is an awesome ending. I love how the scars of the past are still there, they both know they probably always will be. But they're still happy together, they get through it together.
 
Currently Reading
To Read
Read Current Mood:  okay
Current Music: Butterfly Boucher - Never Leave Your Heart Alone
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50bookchallenge
[ keitorin ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 05:40 pm [Book 06] Hunter x Hunter volume 5 by Yoshihiro Togashi 
Title: Hunter x Hunter volume 5
Mangaka: Yoshihiro Togashi
Genre: Shounen, action, adventure, supernatural
Book details: Manga, 192 pages
Rating: 5/5
Baka-Updates Manga Summary: Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other men. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters.
My Review:
I really like the inside illustration - Killua as "dark" and Gon as "light"! And yet they both have a bit of the other in them.
We see another side of Killua here, one you'd not think possible for him. Rereading this just makes me realize how great the story is. I love watching the characters change and grow like this, knowing what the futuer holds! Gon is awesome in this volume, particularly chapter 37! It's so awesome to see him defend Killua, getting angry like that for his friend. ^_^
ROFL, and the 'dress up Gon' game! I love the editor's note: 'Is it just me or does a lot of these dress-up clothes seem ecchi?'. ...It's not just you, editor-san.
More Hisoka creepy face too! Perhaps the creepiest because of the ah, innuendo. XD
Gon's temper really shines through in this volume...
( Spoilers )
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: The Dears - You and I Are a Gang of Losers
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50bookchallenge
[ gwynraven ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 03:42 pm Book #93 -- Joseph Bruchac, Night Wings , 192 pages.
An adventure novel about a young Abenaki boy and his grandfather forced by an unscrupulous monster hunter to guide him in his quest for a mythical treasure guarded by a beast sacred to the Abenaki people. It's very well done, with the right blend of traditional and modern; material and spiritual.
Book #94 -- R. L. LaFevers, Flight of the Phoenix (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book I) , 134 pages.
The first adventure of Nathaniel Fludd, born into the intrepid Fludd family, famous explorers and Beastologists. Nate doesn't think he has what it takes to be a Fludd, but he'll find he's full of surprises. Quite a fun YA book.
Progress toward goals: 356/365 = 97.5%
Books: 94/100 = 94.0%
Pages: 23464/25000 = 93.9%
2009 Book List
cross-posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gwynraven 2 comments - Leave a comment | |
50bookchallenge
[ krinek ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 12:01 pm 55. Dreamside by Graham Joyce 
Title: Dreamside
Author: Graham Joyce
Year: 1991
# of pages: 254
Date read: 11/6/2009
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Description:
"It began as an experiment in college -- a seemingly harmless investigation in to 'lucid dreaming,' the ability to control one's dreams. Ella and Lee, Honora and Brad: four students linked by youthful longings, all four of them game for something new.
But the dreams turned more and more real -- and when the four of them learned how to meet one another on Dreamside, the experiment began to engulf their waking lives. Then, in a spasm of violence, they flew apart, fleeing from Dreamside and from each other.
Now, ten years later, the dreams have returned to upend their adult lives -- and, most frightening, to drag the four of them back into one another's company. Worse, they each need the others' help.
The dreams of youth fade, if you're lucky. If not, they can consume you -- and they will." -- from the inside flap
My thoughts:
This book was an interesting look at lucid dreams and what happens when dreams invade reality. I like the interactions between the characters as they struggle to understand what happened years ago.
Progress:
55 / 100 books. 55% done!
18244 / 30000 pages. 61% done!
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50bookchallenge
[ misstreebc ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 07:42 am # 85 A Taste For Death
A Taste For Death
P.D. James
When two bodies are found in the little vestry of St. Matthews by an unlikely pair of friends, a spinster and a young boy, it's up to Adam Dalgliesh to make sense of the sparse evidence, to find out if there was a connection between the two dead men, one a homeless vagrant and the other a wealthy well-known politician, and to prove that it was a case of double murder rather than murder/suicide.
I really liked A Taste For Death. James writes extremely well, moves the plot along, and delves deeply into the psychology and motives of the characters.
My interest was captured from the beginning, with the surprising friendship between the spinster, Emily Wharton, and the street kid, Darren Wilkes. Even though it wasn't central to the plot, I found it quite intrigueing.
I definitely plan to read more of this author's work! I can see why she is so highly regarded.
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50bookchallenge
[ deirdre_nyc ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 10:31 am Achieved: 50 Book Challenge! I made it. I know the year's still not quite over and I'm deep into The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver so there may be a few additional titles, but I made it to 50 books and that makes me happy.
There are at least four books that I own and feel guilty about not reading this year. Maybe I'll get to them early enough in 2010 to get them done. So here is my list:
1. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, by Niall Ferguson. 1/1/09
2. Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food, by Jan Chozen Bays, MD, 1/3/09
3. Just After Sunset: Stories, by Stephen King, 1/3/09
4. Bread Body Spirit: Finding the Sacred in Food, Edited by Alice Peck, 1/11/09
5. Foods Jesus Ate and How to Grow Them, by Allan A. Swenson, 1/23/09
6. Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed & Forgery in the Holy Land, by Nina Burleigh, 1/25/09
7. Company of Liars, by Karen Maitland, 1/31/09
8. House of Happy Endings: A Memoir, by Leslie Garis, 2/5/09
9. I Never Thought Addiction Could Happen to Me, by Loree Taylor Jordan, 2/6/09
10. Patty's Got a Gun: Patricia Hearst in 1970s America, by William Graebner, 2/6/09
11. The Kiss: A Memoir, by Kathryn Harrison, 2/7/09
12. Dread: How Fear and Fantasy have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to the Avian Flu, by Philip Alcabes, 2/21/09
13. No one belongs here more than you: Stories, by Miranda July, 2/22/09
14. A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana, by Haven Kimmel, 3/1/09
15. An American Trilogy: Death, Slavery, and Dominion on the Banks of the Cape Fear River, by Steven M. Wisw, 3/9/09
16. Love Junkie: A Memoir of Love and Sex Addiction, by Rachel Resnick, 3/12/09
17. Dooms Day Book, by Connie Willis, 3/20/09
18. Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher, 3/21/09
19. This Boy's Life, by Tobais Wolff, 3/28/09
20. Normal Eating for Normal Weight: The Path to Freedom from Weight Obsession and Food Cravings, by Sheryl Canter, M.A., 3/29/09
21. Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History, by Helene Stapinski, 4/11/09
22. John Henry Days, by Colson Whitehead, 4/30/09
23. Brother I'm Dying, by Edwidge Danticat, 5/3/09
24. Middlemarch, by George Eliot, 5/14/09
25. Apples and Oranges: My Brother and Me, Lost and Found, by Marie Brenner, 6/7/09
26. Fierce Attachments: A Memoir, by Vivian Gornick, 6/12/09
27. The Solitude of Self: Thinking About Elizabeth Cady Stanton, by Vivian Gornick, 6/15/09
28. Women In Utopia: The Ideology of Gender in the American Owenite Communities, by Carol A. Kolmerten, 6/21/09
29. The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton, 6/26/09
30. The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative, by Vivian Gornick, 6/30/09
31. Born in the Wrong Country, by Milton Lee Norris, 7/3/09
32. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin, 7/12/09
33. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, by Richard Wrangham, 7/26/09
34. The Fallen Man, by Tony Hillerman, 8/9/09
35. My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands, by Chelsea Handler, 8/12/09
36. Man Versus Nature: The Field & Stream Guide to How to Stay Alive in the Outdoors, by Howard Earl & Frederic T. Jung, 8/14/09
37. The Locked Room, by by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö, 8/20/09
38. Underworld, by Don Dillio, 9/6/09
39. The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler, 9/11/09
40. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, 9/27/09
41. Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity, by Kerry Cohen, 10/1/09
42. Killing Castro, by Lawrence Block, 10/26/09
43. The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner, 11/8/09
44. Unafraid of the Dark: A Memoir, by Rosemary L. Bray, 11/17/09
45. Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia, by Ahmed Rashid, 11/21/09
46. Silas Marner, by George Eliot, 11/29/09
47. It's All About You: A Daily Comic Strip, by Tony Murphy, 12/2/09
48. Cousin Henry, by Anthony Trollope, 12/3/09
49. Madam Bovery, by Gustave Flaubert, 12/13/09
50. Landscape for a Good Woman: A Story of Two Lives, by Carolyn Kay Steedman, 12/16/09
-- Current Mood:  bouncy
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50bookchallenge
[ fanabana ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 03:29 pm 101. The Ghost Road- Pat Barker, 276 pages, 5/5
Final part of the Regeneration trilogy. Although this isn't my favourite book of the series it's probably the one I've gotten the most out of, just because I know so much more about WW1 than I did when I read the first one. Definitely recommended.
102. A Prayer For Owen Meany, 637 pages, 5/5
This really was an outstanding novel. Owen Meany grows up believing he is God's instrument. His best friend thinks nothing of it until his death when it becomes clear that everything in his life had a purpose. This book was funny and tragic and a real page turner.
103. Dissolution- CJ Sampson, 439 pages, 2.5/5
I'd heard great stuff about the Shardlake books but this was really not for me. All but one part of the whodunnit ending was obvious way before the end of the book and one particular thread of the plot was extremely annoying. I don't think I'll bother with the others.
104. Movies In Fifteen Minutes- Cleolinda Jones, 401 pages.
I bought this in a hurry for my mother for Christmas but when I got home and saw what it actually was and that it was written by an LJ'er I decided to keep it for myself. It's hard to explain what the book is exactly so I'll just direct you to Troy in Fifteen Minutes which is an example of the style and humor of the book.
Books: 104 Pages: 29141 Current Mood: busy
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50bookchallenge
[ cat63 ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 03:02 pm Book 63 for 2009 The Case Of The Late Pig by Margery Allingham
I came to Margery Allingham's detective novels featuring Albert Campion via the BBC's adaptations with Peter Davison in the title role, and the books which were used for the series were the easiest to get hold of, so this is one of the few series with which I've broken my usual rule of reading in order.
This was one of the adapted books and one of the first I read at the time. Re-reading it to my husband I can see some justice in his accusation that it was rather slow to start and plods along rather. And the resolution is perhaps a little too rapid. But I enjoyed the writing and the characters nonetheless.
The plot centres on a man named Peters (known as "Pig") who bullied Campion when they were at school together. Campion attends Pig's funeral in the village of Tethering. A few months later he is summoned to the neighbouring village of Kepesake to investigate a murder, in which the victim bears an uncanny resemblance to the late Pig... Leave a comment | |
50bookchallenge
[ bobinwales ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 01:53 pm 55. Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman
56. Nobody Likes You – Green Day - Mark Spitz
57. The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman
58. The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman
59. The Book Of General Ignorance - QI
60. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
61. Peter Pan - JM Barrie
62. Assassin’s Apprentice - Robin Hobb
63. Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb
64. Assassin’s Quest - Robin Hobb
65. Fool’s Errand - Robin Hobb
66. The Golden Fool - Robin Hobb
67. Fool’s Fate - Robin Hobb
( This years books )
Total Books: 67
Total Pages: 29792 3 comments - Leave a comment | |
50bookchallenge
[ grumpy_mr_gruff ] | Dec. 22nd, 2009 01:52 am Book 19: Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima (1966) First line: "When conversation at school turned to the Russo-Japanese War, Kiyoaki Matsugae asked his closest friend, Shigekuni Honda, how much he could remember about it." Summary: It is the early 20th century and Japanese society struggles with the inexorable westernization of the country. Kiyoaki, feckless son of a samurai-turned-nouveau-riche lord, falls in love with Satoko, daughter of a waning aristocratic family. Kiyoaki's ambivalence toward his lover sends their lives in a downward spiral after Satoko is engaged to a prince of the Imperial Family. Kiyoaki's boarding school friend Honda observes Kiyoaki's fall and features prominently in the remainder of Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy.
Reaction: I've been putting off this review for a long time now. Proper appreciation probably requires a greater grasp of Japanese history and culture than I possess. Still, Spring Snow is a haunting novel even without the full social context. Mishima (and translator Michael Gallagher) perfectly captures the youthful personalities of Kiyoaki and Honda. On the edge of adulthood, they remind me of friends from my college days - Honda, the driven and career-oriented go-getter and Kiyoaki, the slacker paralyzed by any responsibility. Being more critical and introspective than most, the two friends stand outside the circles of their more popular peers. Their (often sophomoric) discussions provide insight into the Japanese mainstream of the period and illustrate the social turbulence of Meiji era westernization.
The characterization alone made this an enjoyable read. Then there's the tragic love story. I prefer tragedies to comedies, but romances usually feel way too sappy for me to enjoy. Mishima avoids sentimentality and his narration reveals the relationship perhaps as dispassionate-but-astute Honda sees it: a delicate, passionate, but ultimately doomed affair. Kiyoaki and Satoko are drawn to each other's beauty, but Kiyoaki's psychic paralysis and ingrained misogyny prevent him from pursuing the culturally sanctioned path of courtship and marriage. Instead, the couple arranges secret, forbidden meetings. Their encounters become increasingly self-destructive, especially after Satoko's parents arrange her marriage to a member of the Imperial Family. The couple's fragile passion is touching, especially in the face of their unthinkable defiance of Imperial decree. The unsustainable and ultimately destructive path is hard to read (even for Kiyoaki's flaws, both lovers are sympathetic), but it makes the ending more poignant.
Bottom line: Worth the read. There is much more to be found in this book than I can discuss here. Mishima created realistic psychological descriptions of Kiyoaki and Honda, but also of supporting characters (who reappear in later books of the tetralogy). I will leave these characters (and other themes) to later reviews. The next novel, Runaway Horses, is in my to-read stack.
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50bookchallenge
[ sejdb ] | Dec. 21st, 2009 08:59 pm Books 30-43 No comments on the books, just a listing of the title and author.
30. Wonderous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould by Kevin Bazzana
31. Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase by Marion Meade
32. Chaplin by Stephen Weissman, M.D.
33. The Circus Parade by Jim Tully
34. 33 1/3: The Velvet Underground and Nico by Joe Harvard
35. John McGraw by Charles Alexander
36. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (re-read)
37. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut (re-read)
38. After Many a Summer: The Passing of the Giants and the Dodgers and a Golden Age in New York Baseball by Robert E. Murphy
39. Sperm Wars by Robin Baker
40. xxxHolic Volume One by Clamp
41. xxxHolic Volume Two by Clamp
42. xxxHolic Volume Three by Clamp
43. Cobb by Al Stump Leave a comment | |
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, 217 pages.
