Challenge: 50 Books discussion

i'm going to challenge myself to read books that i already have in my library. i'm sure that i'll buy books in 2011 -- if i didn't it would be a first. however, i already have great books in my TBR pile.
i'm going to read:
-more histories and biographies
-more classics
-something by David Foster Wallace

1. Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs



3 stars

2. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen



4 stars

3. Drood by Dan Simmons



this book started out very interesting -- an interesting premise, interesting characters, an interesting villian. then about halfway through it stalled. it was repetitious, slow. and the ending, unfortunately, was a disappointment. i really had to struggle to finish.

Naomi wrote: "3. Drood by Dan Simmons



this book started out very interesting -- an interesting premise, interesting characters, an interesting villian. then about halfway throug..."

Wow - if I had written a review of this book, it could've said the exact same thing! :) I was so eager to read this one, but definitely struggled to get through the last half. It took me FOREVER to finish, because I didn't even want to look at it after a while!

some authors need a good editor. it started out so promising! that was the really sad thing.

Naomi wrote: "i'm going to challenge myself to read books that i already have in my library. i'm sure that i'll buy books in 2011 -- if i didn't it would be a first. however, i already have great books in my TB..."
I have made a similar promise to myself this year....to read what is unread in my home and not purchase another book until that is done. This will be a hard promise to keep. It was fun to sort through all the unread though....I have quite an eclectic stack to get through before purchasing will happen again (that is, if I can stick with that plan).

i "cheated" a bit by buying a few books right before the end of the year. otherwise, so far so good. looking at my TBR pile of books is like visiting the book store anyway!

4. The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith



3 stars

Amy wrote: "Naomi wrote: "3. Drood by Dan Simmons



this book started out very interesting -- an interesting premise, interesting characters, an interesting villian. then about ..."

Me three! I didn't think it would ever end! And yet there were parts of it that were quite good. If someone had cut a couple a hundred pages it would have been a much better story.

5. God on the Rocks by Jane Gardam



3 stars
meh. i read two of Jane Gardam's other books and some of the elements that worked so well in Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat don't work as well here. she plays with the time lines; you can't always tell right away where you are in the story -- which was very effective in the other two books, but didn't work as well here. the characters here, in addition, weren't as interesting. a book of 195 pages, if it were more compelling, would have been finished in a day or two. this took a bit longer and felt like work.

6. A Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith
3 stars

7. You Lost me There by Rosecrans Baldwin

You Lost Me There

...and Baldwin lost me, too. 2-1/2 stars. started out really well, then i lost interest

8. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

4 stars

i'm glad that i'm finally getting around to reading these classics by Jane Austen. i enjoyed both this book and Pride and Prejudice. i have a few others waiting to be read, too. so far this year my contemporary fiction picks have been a little disappointing, so it's good to have an author to fall back on.

9. 36 Arguments for the Existence of God - A Work of Fiction by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein



3 stars. once again, i have chosen a book that starts off very well and then devolves. the appendix was, however, very interesting (it's the actual 36 arguments and their refutations.)

10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

4 stars

i really enjoyed this classic 'horror' story. i hadn't read it before and was genuinely surprised that the monster is quite well-spoken and has human yearnings. he's actually not an altogether unsympathetic character.

two classics out of 10 books so far this year. not too bad. no non-fiction yet, however. i'll have to find something that isn't about politics as right now politics is making me depressed.

11. A Yank Back to England by Denis Lipman



Four solid stars
i really enjoyed this book. it's a bit memoir, a bit travelogue. written by an Englishman who has moved to America, it chronicles his visits back to England, in which he became a tourist in his home country; along with his aging and somewhat difficult parents. Denis Lipman shows warmth in writing about his parents and (mostly) patience in his travels. He has a completely different perspective on traveling in England than you usually read.

A perk that I hadn't expected was that he provided information on some out-of-the-way places to visit.

12. Howards End by E. M. Forster



a solid 4 stars, and another classic for my 2011 goal. i'm looking forward to reading A Room With a View later this year.

13. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman



this book is sooo not my typical read. i'm not into fantasy, and this book is partly that. i picked this up because it's the "One Chicago, One Book" selection, and because it's set in London, and because the main character is Scottish. (unfortunately, his scottish-ness didn't really figure into the story that much.) the fantasy aspects of the story are so well done that i not once snorted in derision. and that's high praise. the ending was perfect.

i will be looking at that underground map in a completely different way when i next visit London. and i'll be on the look-out for Door, de Carabas, and Richard.

14. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly



3 1/2 stars

i like Michael Connelly's books -- i like his characters and his books are quick reads. i think of books like this as 'pallette cleansers.' i just read Neverwhere and a few classics, and this was a nice change of pace. there was only one problem with this book. i don't want to say exactly what it was, but he took me out of the story for a minute and that really pissed me off.

BTW, i did not really like the recent movie adaptation of his book "The Lincoln Lawyer." i thought the casting was way off. Mickey Haller should have been older and darker, and Marisa Tomei is no Maggie "McFierce." i don't know how successful the movie has been, but for me it was a big disappointment.

15. The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith

3 stars

16. My Life in France by Julia Child



i was not a fan of Julia Child. she was annoying on her TV show, with her weird voice and all the goofy things she did. my interest in Julia Child was initially piqued by the movie Julie and Julia, which i thought was a harmless time-waster (and i *love* Meryl Streep in all her incarnations.) a very good friend of mine soon recommended this book and i *finally* got around to reading it.

as it turns out, Julia Child is somebody that i would have liked. she approaches life with an openness and zest that i really enjoy. when she and her husband Paul went to France, she didn't know the language and quickly set out to learn it. (he was working for the US government in a diplomatic capacity.) the cooking came from her love of the food, which she describes in such great detail that it was hard to read without wanting to eat that meal (right now!) she also writes about her and Paul's travels, describing post-war France in a delightful way that makes me wish i'd been able to be there.

she and Paul were then transferred from Paris to Germany and then Norway. in spite of the fact that these places were not France, which she loved, she still approached their postings with great interest and, again, openness.

i enjoyed this book far more than i would have imagined. Julie Child was a wonderful, curious, outgoing, intellectual person that i wish i had known. what a surprise.

17. Known to Evil by Walter Mosely



three stars. Mosely is one of my favorite authors for quick-read, fast-paced mysteries. i miss his Easy Rawlins character, but Leonid McGill is actually kind of similar.

oops

18. I Sold My soul on eBay by Hemant Mehta

I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith through an Atheist's Eyes

Mehta calls himself the 'friendly atheist' but i think he's the wishy-washy atheist. he wrote this book, after "selling his soul" on ebay. the fun part is, of course, none of have souls, do we? the deal was that he would go to churches as directed by the winning bidder and write about it. resulting in this book and a continuing blog (which i have checked out.) here are some of the problems i had with Mehta's approach:

he seems to think that 'popularity' has something to do with the credibility of a religion. he was raised jain and calls it "not a world series contender among religions in america." if it were more popular, would it be more credible? i doubt it, since he left the religion as a teenager. apparently he found it wanting. did he think a more popular religion would be "true?"

Mehta says in his book, many times, that he's trying to help churches understand atheists and how they 'come across' to atheists. does religion really need any help recruiting? are they so bereft of members that he has to help them? i think not.

on more than one occasion he refers to atheism as a "belief." it's not.

he mentions a number of times that churches should allow question-and-answer periods after services and engage speaker who are not religious to discuss things from another point of view. i think he doesn't really understand what it is that churches are about. he asks "is it really necessary to let go of reason to have faith?" maybe that question isn't for me, because i know the answer already.

i'm not Mehta's target audience, tho. i'm already an atheist and not likely to frequent any church for any reason. maybe if christians (he only visited christian churches -- no mosques, no temples) read this, it might get them to start questioning their beliefs and the way that their pastors present their beliefs. maybe, just maybe he could convince christians to use reason and logic.

Naomi wrote: "11. A Yank Back to England by Denis Lipman



Four solid stars
i really enjoyed this book. it's a bit memoir, a bit tra..."

This sounds like and interesting read

Naomi wrote: "12. Howards End by E. M. Forster



a solid 4 stars, and another classic for my 2011 goal. i'm looking forward to reading A Room With a View later this year."

A Room With a View is fabulous!

Anya wrote: "Naomi wrote: "12. Howards End by E. M. Forster



a solid 4 stars, and another classic for my 2011 goal. i'm looking forward to reading A Room With a View later this ..."

i'm looking forward to reading it. right now i'm struggling with Silas Marner and not ready for another classic, so i'll start it later.

19. Silas Marner by George Eliot



3-1/2 stars

like many other readers, i didn't read Silas Marner when i was younger -- it was never a requirement in a class so i successfully avoided it. now that i'm trying to catch up on the classics and augment my pitiful education (not that i didn't do well, but my classes weren't as demanding as i now wish they had been) i decided to read some George Eliot.

while i enjoyed the story quite a bit, i didn't appreciate George Eliot's writing style as much. the beginning of the book was a little slow as well. i was going to read Middlemarch, but when this shorter book was given to me i decided to read this first. now i'm not sure if i want to tackle Middlemarch at all.

Naomi wrote: "20. Silas Marner by George Eliot



3-1/2 stars

like many other readers, i didn't read Silas Marner when i was younger -- it was never a requirement in a class..." I read Silas Marner when I was in high school. I agree with you. It is particularily slow at the beginning. I think writers in those days felt like they could take their time, and readers were more able to sustain a slow speed.

Sherry wrote: I read Silas Marner when I was in high school. I agree with you. It is particularily slow at the beginning. I think writers in those days felt like they could take their time, and readers were more able to sustain a slow speed. /i>

that's quite possible! i'm sure that my own attention span is not as long as it used to be. did you like this book when you read it in high school?

Naomi wrote: "Sherry wrote: I read Silas Marner when I was in high school. I agree with you. It is particularily slow at the beginning. I think writers in those days felt like they could take their time, and re..." I retained the story more than I have many others. I found it compelling at the time.

20. Role Models by John Waters



oh, my. this book is not for everybody. i'm not sure if this book was for me, either, although i give it 3-1/2 stars. i'm not a big John Waters fan. i haven't seen all his movies and the ones i enjoyed were probably his more main-stream films (Serial Mom, for instance.) Waters has been making the rounds of talk shows lately (Maher, Letterman) and i do find him oddly fascinating and very funny, so i picked up his book.

and knowing OF his films, even if i haven't seen them all, i had some idea what i was getting into when i picked this book up. the fact that the first chapter is on Johnny Mathis softens up the reader and keeps you reading, but pretty soon you get to some disturbing stuff.

*mildly* disturbing -- to me, anyway. perhaps more so to many others. but he's not Bret Easton Ellis, for god's sake. he's just a little kinky and not afraid to write about it and the kinky folks he admires.

i think i'll go put Serial Mom on my Netflix queue right now.

Hairspray is great! If you haven't seen it, it's fun.

Sherry wrote: "Hairspray is great! If you haven't seen it, it's fun."

i agree - i've seen hairspray and really enjoyed it. i also loved cry baby (how can you go wrong with early Johnny Depp?) i just had Serial Mom on my mind. have you read any of John Waters' books?

21. Northanger Abby by Jane Austen



2-1/2 stars. i can see why even though this is the first book she wrote, it was not the first to be published. it's nowhere near as good as Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. The conclusion was very abrupt, i felt, and her 'voice' as narrator was intrusive. i'm not finished with Jane, tho! i still have Presuasion and Emma to read.

22. Godless by Dan Barker

Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists

3-1/2 stars

i've been listening to Dan Barker on Freethought Radio for years, so it's about time i got around to reading his story of evolution from evangelical (fundamentalist) preacher to atheist.

and it's pretty damn interesting. Barker was raised in a fundamentalist household, and he started preaching as a teenager. he was a true believer, not only preaching but writing songs for christian singers, etc. he had a traveling ministry, moving from place to place, preaching his truth to other believers.

but once he started asking questions, it was all over. he decided reason made more sense than blind faith and has become a leading advocate for the separation of church and state in the US.

in a way, he's still a bit of a preacher. except now he doesn't preach about god, he preaches reason and logic. the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the organization of which he is co-president, is one of the largest atheist groups in the US. they educate people on atheism and fight the pervasive encroachment of religion into the government of the US.

the book starts with his history, which is very interesting. he has several chapters about why he is now an atheist and quite a bit about answers to the usual arguments for belief in god. i skimmed that chapter, as it's very similar to Dawkin's arguments, which i had already read.

he has a chapter itemizing discrepancies in the bible, listing the quotes, chapters, and verses with commentary.

all in all it's a very interesting and educational book that i would recommend to anybody who is questioning their faith, as well as those of us who never had any.

23. Blame by Michelle Huneven

Blame

3-1/2 stars

24. To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild



4-1/2 stars

while i enjoy history, i generally shy away from 'war books.' i find them dry and boring and war in general just doesn't appeal to me. i *had* to read this book after hearing the author on Democracy Now! it's not just about the battles and strategies. it's also about the people involved in the war and their sometimes unusual relationships with the people who were opposing it.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book and had trouble putting it down, even though i was on vacation when i read it.

i only wish that i had bought the hardcover because the diagrams and photos would have been better than what i was able to see on my Kindle.

Naomi wrote: "23. Godless by Dan Barker

Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists

Wow, this sounds interesting!

25. The British Soldier of the First World War by Peter Doyle
bookcover:The British Soldier of the First World War|5750152]


this was a nice supplement to my reading of _To End All Wars_. this book provided some addtional information (from a completely different perspective, by the way. 'yay, war!') and included many photos that were helpful in envisioning what i read in the other book.

26. Extract from Adam's Diary by Mark Twain

3 stars
a very, very short book that's just what it says: Mark Twain's translation of adam's diary. very funny.

27. British Postcards of the First World War by Peter Doyle



3 stars. another book to supplement my reading of To End All Wars.

it's not quite mid-year yet, but i thought i'd take a look at my progress and see how i'm doing in comparison to my goals. with 27 books read, i'm a bit beyond pace for 50 books this year. (i read 54 last year, i think -- or was it 56?)

i said i'd read books that i already owned. well, of the 27 i've read, only 5 were bought prior to this year. that book-buying habit is hard to break and (if you're familiar with accounting...) i seem to be working on the LIFO system. last in, first out. (or last bought, first read.)

i've done much better on reading more non-fiction. 8 books have been non-fiction, which is better than i did last year. and five have been classics. not bad!

Great mid-year (almost) report! I'm afraid I have also been on the LIFO system lately. They're not necessarily "new" books, but just ones I've picked up at library sales, recently heard about, etc. Anyway, I've decided to create some "challenges" for myself so I'll get back to those bookshelves in the basement!

Ann wrote: "Great mid-year (almost) report! I'm afraid I have also been on the LIFO system lately. They're not necessarily "new" books, but just ones I've picked up at library sales, recently heard about, etc...."

good luck to you, Ann! i hope that you're successful in your quest to read those "older" books.

28. The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry



3 stars

so here's the thing. i'm in London. i love London, i really do. and i love bookstores. so i go to a bookstore in London (um, actually several) and this book is everywhere. and i like Stephen Fry. so there ya go. came home with this book. (and, if i have to be honest, a couple -- er, a few more.)

this particular book covers the period from around the time he went to Cambridge and his early career. it ends before the career that i'm familiar with starts -- i.e. Laurie & Fry, Jeeves & Wooster, etc. he writes just the way that you would imagine. he's wryly funny; very English. and there are no big revelations. he doesn't tell you nasty secrets about his colleagues and friends, which is fine with me. i hate reading petty bullshit and gossip from somebody who has lived a very fortunate life. Fry knows how fortunate he has been and that comes across in this gentle and gentlemanly memoir.

29. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson



4-1/2 stars

This is a fascinating look at Germany in the early 1930s, told from the perspective of the American ambassador and his daughter. Erik Larson drew from their letters and diaries and related the story of their lives as Hitler consolidated his power. it's a really fascinating story and Larson tells it very well.

Ambassador Dodd is a historian and a scholar. he had no background in diplomacy. he attended college in Germany and had fond memories. he brought his family with him -- his wife, his son, and his daughter Martha, who turns out to be quite a character. she's quite wild and has affairs with a number of Germans and a Russian while she's in Germany. she's able to show a more human perspective on some of the Nazis she met and was involved in. Dodd made some mistakes as Ambassador, but he was a truly honest man and spoke out against what was going on even when our government was still trying to appease the Hitler government.

i loved Erik Larsons 'Devil in the White City' and liked this book even better.

30. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan



this is a very informative book on a subject that i know little about, but Pollan makes it interesting and understandable. i had heard of the tulip market in the Netherlands, but none of the details. he weaves that story in with general information about flowers, their history, and their place in our world. i also had no idea how many chemicals it took to farm potatoes! i will never eat a conventionally grown potato again. i do try to buy organic when i can, but with some produce i won't buy anything but organic. now potatoes are in that category, too. (apples, another subject of his book, were already organic-only on my shopping list.)

i'm looking forward to reading more of his books.

31. Animal Farm by George Orwell



the first time i read this book i was in 7th grade and didn't understand all the nuances. the subtitle is 'a fairy tale' and to me that's what it was. (maybe there was a preface or introduction that explained the subtext, but knowing me, i didn't bother with that.)

obviously, i have a better grasp of what the real story is and enjoyed the book on both levels. it's no wonder that this book is still in print after more than 50 years.

(btw, 31 books before the end of june -- pretty good!)