Challenge: 50 Books discussion

I'll have to really work hard to make this! I'm not a fast reader and I've been working on Mary Queen of Scots for weeks now. I'll be finishing it soon and plan to read some quick fiction to make up for the time spent on Mary.

OK! one down -- Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser
49 to go

2. The Godfather of Kathmandu by John Burdett

Another brilliant story about the Buddhist Thai cop, Sonchai Jitpleecheep and his struggle with karma.

Book 3: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
I've never read Dawkins before and didn't know that besides being incredibly intelligent and logical (as I knew from seeing interviews) he's also quite droll. I would recommend this book to anybody who is questioning, as well as those of us who need no convincing.

i tried reading this book and couldn't get through it. i found the writing dry and i felt his logic circular. i read a good deal of it, but it felt like a reading assignment gone wrong.

Elizabeth wrote: "i tried reading this book and couldn't get through it. i found the writing dry and i felt his logic circular. i read a good deal of it, but it felt like a reading assignment gone wrong."

It's unfortunate that you didn't enjoy the book the way that I did. Good thing it's *not* a reading assignment.

4. Making Love by Jean-Philippe Toussaint. An odd little book, this. It was very well-written, with some nice language (translated from the French.) The book is actually about a break-up more than anything else, but there's an odd little twist that I won't give away here.

5. Point Omega by Don DeLillo

6. The Waitress was New by Dominique Fabre
meh. There was really no story here, and it's written as a stream-of-consciousness by the narrator, a bartender. It's poorly written - run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, things that don't make much sense.

7. Elizabeth, The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey. I was introduced to David Starkey in a podcast where he proclaims that Henry VIII wanted (and achieved,) above all else, fame. It's an interesting take on the infamous Henry and Starkey made his point (and very interestingly.)

I really enjoyed this biography of Elizabeth in her early years, showing how she became the amazing woman that she was and how she started out in becoming the amazing monarch that she eventually became. She's a fascinating character and his take on her is unique.

8. Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi: A Novel by Geoff Dyer
This book has had some really good reviews, but none of them were mine.

9. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin. once you start reading these John Rebus books, it's impossible to stop. this one is partially set in the very north of Scotland, in Shetland and the north sea, which i found fascinating. having been to Scotland only once, i enjoy the local color that Ranking brings to his books and also try to glean ideas for my next visit. the story? compelling, as usual.

10. Dead Souls, another by Ian Rankin. Unfortunately, I read the book prior to this out of order, so lost the story of Rebus's personal life, which underlies all the cases he works on. Rankin's really accomplished at getting your interest and keeping it. Not just for one book, but for book after book. I think it's about time to get back to more "serious" stuff, tho.

11. The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker.

i loved this book. not much happens, so i won't give you a summary, but the *way* nothing happens is so interesting; unlike _The Waitress was New_ which i read recently. in that book, not much happened and the not-much was written in a yawn-inducing way. i don’t think i made one mark in that book. the way that Nicholson Baker writes what doesn't happen is just...juicy. i made a million marks in this book.

i don’t know much about poetry (although i was chuffed to realize that i recognized many of the poets Baker mentions.) still, just like reading fever pitch when I knew nothing about soccer, i enjoyed every page, every paragraph, every juicy word.

there were innumerable astute observations; descriptions that make you wish you had said that. he writes about how to read a poem with the words “o’er” and “ne’er” “…I just barely graze my teeth with my lower lip, while thinking V. It’s like waving the vermouth bottle over the glass of gin.”

‘”Marseilles.” Do you hear that? It’s a mattress of a word, with a lot of spring to it. “Marseilles.”’

i think these lines are brilliant and just a small sample of the writing that’s in store for you if you read _The Anthologist._

12. The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever Edited by Christopher Hitchens

i've avoided this type of book for years, thinking that it would just be 'preaching to the choir' (as it were) and that i wouldn't really get much out of it. turns out that i have a lot to learn! this is like a 'primer' for skeptics, agnostics, and atheists. i had some trouble with the earlier writers; but really enjoyed the more contemporary pieces, including Ian McEwan (who I adore anyway), Richard Dawkins (ditto,) and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

13. A Day and a Night and a Day by Glen Duncan
http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1227...

the thing about Duncan is that his books always contain religion, sadism, and sex. not subjects i generally seek out (okay, maybe sex) but everything of his that i've read was so well written that i'm able to not only bear the rest, but to relish it. i think he did a brilliant job of telling a little about the torture Augustus endures, but then turning aside from the gory details (a bit like Tarantino turning away from the ear of the cop in Reservoir Dogs.) i could not have read this book at all if he had been more explicit.

14. Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

15. A Wild Haruki Chase by various authors

16. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
a brilliant, honest, candid account of Ali's life.

17. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

a delightful, light read. the characters were interesting and the story was compelling enough even though you know where it's going right from the start.

18. Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

19. Solar by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan ranks among my favorite authors and i enjoyed Solar. the main character, Michael Beard, is about as horrible an individual as you could hope to read about, but the story is fascinating, and, of course, because it's McEwan, it's well written. the part of the book, near the middle, about the 'unintentional theft' is one of the funniest things i've ever read. i read it twice and then had to read it out loud to my husband who wondered why i was laughing so hard. (not that this is a comedy, by any means, but that particular story is hugely funny.)

20. Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin.
yes, another Rebus book. i am yearning to return to Scotland and will spend more time in Edinburgh hoping to catch a glimpse of something mentioned in a Rebus novel. (although in this novel, they did talk about the Camera Obscura, which i was aware of when i was in edinburgh, but declined to visit on that day...for reasons i don't remember.)

are there other well-written books set in modern-day Scotland? i'm going through these Ian Rankin books pretty quickly and when i run out, i'll need another Scottish fix.

21. Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

22. The Falls by Ian Rankin. I really like how Rankin has developed the secondary characters in the Rebus series. Siobhan, in particular, has become an individual over the last few books. I look forward to seeing what else he does with this group.

Man, it doesn't usually take me this long to read a book like The Falls, but I scratched my cornea over three weeks ago and still don't have adequate vision in one eye. it's really slowing me down and i have had to set aside 'Mary, The Spanish Tudor' because the print is simply too small to read (even with the drugstore magnifying glasses that i bought.) in the meantime, i'm reading only on my kindle.

23. Innocent by Scott Turow
i'd forgotten how well Scott Turow writes! i read Presumed Innocent, as well as One L and The Burden of Proof, then somehow forgot to read any more of his books. Innocent had such great reviews, and, of course, gets your attention by continuing the story of Rusty Sabich after his first murder trial; i was compelled to read it. and i'm glad i did. Turow really knows how to drive a story; i was almost unable to put the book down to go to work. i hadn't read Presumed Innocent since it was first published, but i immediately remembered all the characters and what happened to them in the 'first' novel. it's obvious from how quickly i finished that i enjoyed it a great deal. i guess i'll have to pick up the other books that i've missed, hmm?

I saw Innocent in the store the other day & realized the same thing. It's funny how you can forget authors you love, especially if there's a long gap between books.

24. 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
a pleasant, light read. not sure what i was expecting, but i feel slightly ... dissatisfied. like i had an okay meal, but i want dessert and what i want isn't on the menu.

25. Tell All by Chuck Palahniuk
wicked funny. dark, cruel, sad, insightful, and wicked funny.

26. Old Filth by Jane Gardam
i really enjoyed this book. i thought that the author did a great job of slowly revealing his past and thereby revealing a whole culture and era. it reminded me a bit of 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' inasmuch as the main characters are two of the last of a dying generation. i see that there's another book by Jane Gardam that relates to this one -- it's from the perspective of Feather's wife, Betty. it goes into her history and how they met. i'm definitely going to read that.

27. The Book of Ralph by John McNally
i wouldn't have picked this book up, just because of the title. but my husband bought it for me and it turned out to be a pretty interesting read. it's set on the southwest side of chicago (and nearby suburbs) and there's mention of many 'landmarks' that i recognized. ralph and hank are interesting characters, too. i think everybody knew a ralph in school and will recognize him in this book. (i identified with hank a bit: "Politeness, I knew, would be the death of me.")

this isn't a novel, so much as a series of connected short stories. i also liked what the author did with the time line. this book was a pleasant surprise!

28. Blindness by Jose Saramago
i picked this book up because i saw the movie and there's always more to the book, right? i really did enjoy the book, although the movie was surprisingly faithful to it so i pretty much knew everything that was going to happen. this is the first book by Saramago that i've read, so i'm interested in seeing if some of his stylistic choices were specific to this book and meant to fit the story.

29. The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
this book is not so much a sequal to as a companion of 'Old Filth.' i love the way that the author teases out the details of the characters' lives. she plays with the time line creatively so that the information comes out slowly and reveals things about the past and the future. both books are complete on their own, but together they are really masterful.

30. The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
i was 'introduced' to Jess Walter by one of my favorite authors, Nick Hornby. he wrote a series of reviews for The Believer that were collected into three books: The Polysyllabic Spree, Housekeeping vs the Dirt, and Shakespeare Wrote for Money. in one of these he recommended a book by Jess Walter and i have been a fan ever since. this latest book is another brilliant example of Jess Walter's storytelling. he captures this time of financial insecurity, recession, and unemployment perfectly. added to this bleak time in our history, Matt also has a wife flirting with an old boyfriend and a father who suffers from dementia living with them. in spite of all this, the book is also amusing as well as insightful and sympathetic. i can't wait to see what Jess Walter writes next.

31. Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman

of course i knew that the new testament is not the unerring word of god, but this book, written by a biblical scholar, explains why this is so. in very understandable language, he explores how the 'original' texts were changed (and that we do not, in fact, have the 'original' texts at all) and some of the reasons for the changes, from accidental to deliberate changes to promote a belief.

the one thing that wasn't discussed in this book was how the books in 'the bible' were chosen to be included and how others were excluded. perhaps that's another issue altogether and i'll find another book about that subject.

The Sunday Philosophy Club

32. The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith

i started reading Smith because i'm going to run out of Ian Rankin books eventually. i wanted to read something set in Scotland, Edinburgh particularly (aren't any books set in Glasgow?) anyway, Smith's books are pleasant enough but he's not a *great* writer by any means. his language isn't remarkable. his characters are a little odd, which makes them interesting and the stories are pleasant. so it's an "eh" kind of review. i read one of his 44 Scotland Street books and now this Sunday Philosophy Club book and i know he has at least one other series. i'm going to keep him in mind if i get a hankering for a pleasant, easy-to-read story, but i'm still searching for novels set in Scotland that are a little more compelling.

One City
33. One City
three short stories by three Edinburgh writers: Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin, and Irvine Welsh. all writers that i like. good stories

Joshua Ferris
34. The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris (finished 07/18/2010)
i thought the story was compelling and really enjoyed Ferris's use of language. i tend to underline sentences that i think are particularly brilliant and there are a lot of underlined sentences in this book.

35. Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
this book started off being very interesting and i read it avidly. then i got to the ending which was so very disappointing. i don't think i'll look for any more books by this author. i think he just didn't know how to end the book (which is ironic, if you read the story-within-the-story) so he tacked on a couple of unsatisfactory endings.

36. One Day by David Nicholls
(07.28.2010)
4 stars
i enjoyed reading this book, although what Emma sees in Dexter was a bit of a mystery to me. i'm sure if i met him in real life i would detest him. but they remain good friends for years, as the author reveals their lives every st. swithen's day from the day that they meet. it's done skillfully so that you don't feel as if you have missed anything, nor are you bored by a lot of details between the last year and the current year.

37. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
(08/05/2010)
4 stars
i read this for a book club and was glad that they picked it! i didn't know much about Frank Lloyd's life, although i do know a bit about his architecture and enjoy visiting Oak Park to look at the houses and their furnishings. he was a truly gifted man. the little i knew about his personal life was that he had a number of women in his life over the years, leaving his first wife under terrible circumstances.

Loving Frank focuses on the woman that he left his wife for; Mamah Cheney. she wasn't a 'loose' woman, as some might suspect, but rather a very intelligent woman, driven not only by her love for Frank Wright, but also for her desire to have a life of her own. women at that time were identified chiefly by their fathers and husbands. Mamah desired more than that, at a time when society did NOT at all approve. by the end of the book i felt deep empathy for her and her wish to live in a way that i take for granted.

38. In the Woods by Tana French
Tana French

this story had an unusual twist, which got me interested right from the start. the main character and narrator, who is a detective investigating the murder of a little girl, is himself a victim of a crime when he was young. a crime that took place in the same town as the recent murder, and a crime that cost him his two best friends and which he has no memory of. it's a great start and the story was compelling throughout. the book was so good that i immediately downloaded Tana French's next book, The Likeness, and started it.

39. The Likeness by Tana French

****
(finished 08/17/2010)
what a ride. French's characters are really interesting...and frustrating. like real people. as much as i liked Cassie, the detective who narrates this book, she also did things that i just could NOT understand. French really draws you in and keeps you riveted the entire time. i can't wait to see what she does next.

Naomi, I just bought Tana French's newest book, Faithful Place. Loved the other two!

Rose

Obsessedreader wrote: "Naomi, I just bought Tana French's newest book, Faithful Place. Loved the other two!

Rose"

i have a sample on my kindle (and based on the other two books, i'm quite sure i'll buy it,) but i realize that once i read The Faithful Place that i'm out of Tana French books! i'm going to wait a bit until i read it.

i'd love to hear what you think of it when you're finished.

~naomi

40. The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
**
08/25/2010
i read this for a book club. i have say that i just didn't get the point. nothing happens. they drink, they argue, they go to a different town, they drink and argue some more. oh, and they watch bull fights.

41. Frank Lloyd Wright by Ada Louise Huxtable


****
08/28/2010

short biography of FLW, focusing more on his work than his life. very interesting.

Naomi, I just finished Tana French's The Faithful Place. I LOVED IT. It was a bit more difficult to get into than her other two books, but then. . .oh, I was swept away. This woman is a brilliant writer. She absolutely dazzles me.

Rose

Obsessedreader wrote: "Naomi, I just finished Tana French's The Faithful Place. I LOVED IT. It was a bit more difficult to get into than her other two books, but then. . .oh, I was swept away. This woman is a brilliant w..."

thanks, Rose for the comment. i have a sample of The Faithful Place on my kindle but haven't yet looked at it. maybe it's just what i need to break out of this reading logjam that i'm experiencing.
naomi

42. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart





2 stars
meh. i think that the author had a decent idea that he did not flesh out in this book. he could have explored more fully the relationship between what's happening now and how he envisions the not-so-distant future of america. and the ending was lame.