75 Books...More or Less! discussion

In 2010 I read 50 books. This year the challenge becomes bigger... I will cross the fingers!!


1. The Man from London (Georges Simenon)

The message of the book is interesting. It talks about the human instincts when related with money.

2.The beautiful Mrs. Seidenman (Andrzej Zczypiorski)



I really love that book. I have enjoyed the writer's style, as he explains the present of the characters but he also anticipates their future years later. Lots of good stories of lovely people from Poland during the Second World War period.

3. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)

I have seen the films, but I have curiosity for the books. It's full of romantic love, fantasy..., but I sometimes like things like that.

Marta wrote: "1. The Man from London (Georges Simenon)

The message of the book is nice. It talks about the human instincts related with money."

Have you read anything else by Simenon? NYRB has reissued some of his work, but I haven't explored it yet. Worth a try?

Marta, I've had a lot of fun reading the Twilight books. Sometimes I do a lot of heavy reading and it can send you into a slump. I like to know I have son fun-lighter reading in the wings!

Jacob wrote: "Marta wrote: "1. The Man from London (Georges Simenon)

The message of the book is nice. It talks about the human instincts related with money."

Have you read anything else by Simenon? NYRB ..."


Hi Jacob!! Yeah, I have read 2 more Simenon's books. I started to be interested in his work because I can't find more Agatha Christie's books anymore in the bookshops/libraries (I have read all her main books :( ) So, I thought that Simenon could be a good choice for mystery.

In "The Man from London" I missed his well-known character Maigret. However, I can recommend you "Maigret and the Saturday Caller". I read it last December and I quite liked it. He has lots of novels to try. Just let me know if choose one of his books! Regards!

Andrea wrote: "Marta, I've had a lot of fun reading the Twilight books. Sometimes I do a lot of heavy reading and it can send you into a slump. I like to know I have son fun-lighter reading in the wings!"

Hi, Andrea!! Yeah, they're fun and rooomaanticc!! I'm looking forward for the 4th film. I have now more books to read, but I will surely read "New Moon" Regards!

4. Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons)



It made feel like being at university again reading Jane Austen, maybe because of the novel's atmosphere. This book is really excellent, full of witty and non-witty humour and perfect style. If you start reading it, you will quickly be buried in the story.

5. Contra el viento del norte/ Gut gegen Nordwind (Daniel Glattauer)



The book is written in German and there's a Spanish edition. Maybe the English version will appear soon.

It is about two people that start to write each other emails by mistake. Their relationship grows with the time, but they are afraid of meeting in person. It can seem a typical story with a typical ending, but it isn't, I promise! There's a second book, where the story continues.

Marta wrote: " 5. Contra el viento del norte/ Gut gegen Nordwind (Daniel Glattauer)



The book is written in German and there's a Spanish edition. Maybe the English ver..."


Sounds like a good one. I hope they translate it soon!

Hi Christy!! I've been checking on the Internet and the English version will appear the 3rd of February (my birthday's day :) ) with the title: Love virtually. Regards!!

Thanks for the info! I've added to the TBR. :)

I've finished...

6. Maldito Karma/ Mieses Karma (David Safier)



That was a really good book. It tells a funny story, that seems unthinkable, but that fact makes it original and different from other books.

The plot: A TV presenter is more interested in her job than in her husband and daughter. She suddenly dies, but she doesn't go to heaven (or hell)... instead of that, she changes into an ant! Is there a problem with her karma?

As it happens with the book that I read before, the English version hasn't appeared yet, but I'm sure it will.

7.Daughter of the Ganges (Asha Miró)



I feel that this book has appeared at the right time in my life. It's the biographical and real story of an Indian girl, Asha, that was adopted at the age of 7 by a family from Barcelona - my city :). After many years, she decides to travel to India in order to know more about her biological parents, visit the people and places of her childhood and help in a school.

Excellent, wonderful, intense.

Oh wow, this book looks great Marta. I love biographies and memoirs!

Hi, Andrea! Yes, I also like biographies. Sometimes real life can be more surprising than fiction! If you choose the book, just tell me if you have enjoyed it. Regards.

I will!

8. The book thief (Markus Zusak)

The plot is interesting and I have especially enjoyed the book format, as you can find little paragraphs or lines in bold. It is labelled as young literature, but I think that adults can also enjoy the book.

It tells the story of Liesel, a German girl that starts living with a couple, as her biological mother can't bring her up during the Second World War.

In a way, Liesel reminds me to Anna Frank, as Anna loved literature and writing and they are both witnesses of a terrible period.

I loved this book Marta! I agree, it is a great read for adults as well as young adults.

Marta wrote: "Hi Christy!! I've been checking on the Internet and the English version will appear the 3rd of February (my birthday's day :) ) with the title: Love virtually. Regards!!"

sounds the story is interesting, my tbr gota new book thanks ;) but looks like the expected pub is 5th april

9. El alquimista impaciente (Lorenzo Silva)



I feel that my interest for mystery is coming back. I chose that book from the library, as the plot sounded appealing.

I have been amazed by the characters because they're powerful (the police officer, his assistant, the dead man...) and you feel both interested in the story and their personal lives.

The plot is about a man that is found dead in a hotel. He worked in a power station and had a family. A police officer, with the help of his assistant, starts to investigate, but it's difficult for them to find the truth of what has happened.

I'm not quite sure if the book is available in English.

10. Unspoken (Mari Jungstedt)

That book is the second one of a saga that relates crime stories that take place in Gotland, a Swedish island.

It has really good points. There is more than one story and you get to know different characters and their personal stories. You even don't need to read the first book in order to understand what happens in the second one. Good descriptions that make you feel as if you were watching a thriller and lots of intrigue.

The thing that I haven't completely enjoyed is the identity of the culprit. I think that there wasn't enough evidence and I have missed the existence of some more possible culprits in order to speculate with.

Anyway, I'm sure I will read more books of that saga. There are two characters whose story is left in suspense and I really love the whole atmosphere that the writer has created.

11. La peste negra (Luis Miguel Guerra)

The plot is about three important doctors from different religions that are called to France in order to talk about all the symptons that they have seen and find a cure for the Black Death in XIV.

What I have enjoyed about the book is the beginning (it tells where and how the Black Death started) and all the historical background in general. The writer himself is a historian and it's really interesting the way he mixes true facts with fiction.

12. Maigret on Holiday (Georges Simenon)



The police-detective Maigret is on holidays with his wife. She suddenly falls ill and is sent to a hospital managed by some nuns. One day, Maigret discovers that a person has introduced a note in his pocket that tells him to talk with a patient from the hospital who has had a strange accident.

I have enjoyed the novel, but the pace has been just a little bit slow compared with other books where Maigret appears.

13. The postman always rings twice (James M.Cain)



A really good book that talks about love and desire and how all that can be damaged by taking bad choices. An enjoyable reading that has surprised me.

14. The third secret (Steve Berry)

I have enjoyed that book. It was like watching and action film. Sometimes it's hardly credible, but that's OK.

The plot is in some way related with "The Da Vinci Code": a secret, the Church, a murder...

There's also an interesting atmosphere and the Popes and the world that surrounds them are shown in new ways.

15. El escribiente de lápidas (Olga Xirinacs)

In English, the title would be something like: "The headstone clerk".

It's a small book full of sweetness. It's a short story about a young boy that engraves names in headstones. There's a mistery in his workshop and in the cemetery. He also meets a girl whose brother has just died.

Marta wrote: " 14. The third Secret (Steve Berry)

I really enjoy Steve Berry, though this is one that I haven't read. I have his most recent sitting in my pile of library books, and after I read that I would like to go back to his earlier stand-alone novels that I haven't read yet.

Charleen wrote: "Marta wrote: " 14. The third Secret (Steve Berry)

I really enjoy Steve Berry, though this is one that I haven't read. I have his most recent sitting in my pile of library books, and after I read ..."

I haven't read any of his other novels, so I will take a look at them. Regards!

16. The best thing that can happen to a croissant (Pablo Tusset)

After a long pause, here I am again.

This book is full of humour and witty references. It talks about a man in his thirties that is unemployed (but he gets money from his rich parents and brother) and lives alone in a chaotic flat. Moreover, he doesn't want a serious relationship and spends his life drinking and visiting bars. One day, his brother disappears and his sister-in-law asks him to investigate. He immerses himself in a surrealistic adventure.

17. Curtain (Agatha Christie)

I got that book loonnggg time ago (1997?) for Christmas. When I was halfway through the book I discovered that there was a problem with the binding and lot of pages were missing :( That's annoying in a mystery book! I no longer had the ticket, so I decided to find another one in the future (2011).

This book is really important for a reason, but I will keep it as a secret (I'm adding more mystery).

Poirot, the well-known detective, is old now and returns to a house (which has been turned into a hostel) where there was a murder when he was younger. He suspects that there will be a new crime there and needs the help of his friend Hastings to find the murderer.

The best thing that can happen to a croissant looks very interesting! Not to mention, a fun title.

Andrea wrote: "The best thing that can happen to a croissant looks very interesting! Not to mention, a fun title."

It is!! Funny and surrealistic. Regards!!

18. Invitación a un asesinato (Carmen Posadas)

This book is about a rich woman, Olivia, who invites some of her past friends (but who are also her enemies) to spend some days on her yacht. She has an illness and she knows she's dying, so she prefers (and wants to provoke) to be killed by one of them.

Olivia is finally found dead. Her sister, Agata, will lead an investigation in order to disclose everything about her death. Was it an accident? Was it a murder?

There are many references to Agatha Christie and her books.

Marta, what a fun plot!

Andrea wrote: "Marta, what a fun plot!"

Hi Andrea!! Yes, she's quite an original writer. I also loved one of her previous books called: Little indiscretions. It's also a mystery book, with an unexpected ending. A really good one. Regards!

19. El mundo de hoy (Ryszard Kapuscinski)

This book is a compilation of fragments from other books written by this great journalist.

The fragments are about the qualities that he thinks a correspondent needs, the present situation in some countries, the poverty that he saw...

I have specially been amazed by his reflections about poverty.

He had a really interesting life.

I will have to see if any of her books are available at the library!

20. El laberinto de la felicidad (Álex Rovira/Francesc Miralles)

This book is about a woman that loses her job and wakes up in a strange maze with some characters. She needs to find the exit and on her way she learns things about life that she writes in her notebook. Full of good quotes and thoughts.

21. Manual para no morir de amor (Walter Riso)

This is a really interesting self-help book about some bad habits that we find in (love) relationships. It gives good ideas to deal with/change those wrong patterns.

22. The Neverending story (Michael Ende)

It was good to enjoy the fantastic universe of this book. I'm looking forward to watching the film version! (It's strange, but I have never seen it. Oopsss!)

23. Cada siete olas (Daniel Glattauer)

This is the sequel of the book: Contra el viento del norte. The (e-mail) relationship between the two characters continues and they even meet in person. They both have another relationship and their feelings about each other are not totally clear.

What I really love about the two books is their realistic conversations. You can see and feel their puns, jokes, sadness, happiness...

24. Si tu me dices ven lo dejo todo... pero dime ven (Albert Espinosa)

This is such a wonderful book! The writer himself has experienced some of the things written in the book and that makes it more special.

It's the story of a man whose girlfriend leaves him. He decides to accept a case (he's a detective and he has to find a child who has disappeared) in order to clarify his mind. The case takes him to Capri (a magical island where he has already been). He remembers then two important people that he met when he was a child and we also get to know his past and the problem with his ex-girlfriend.

It think it's not just a novel. It's also a self-help book with lots of special stories and characters.

5 stars!

25. The road (Cormac McCarthy)

When I was borrowing that book in the library, the librarian told me: "I have read that book. It's sooo sad. Don't read it before going to sleep".

I couldn't wait and I did exactly the contrary. I started at around 11 pm and I had to finish it the same night. I just couldn't stop reading the book. There's a strange atmosphere and you need to know more about it.

What we find in the book is a father and a son that are trying to escape and go somewhere far. We don't know what has happened with the Earth, but there aren't many people left (some are good and others bad). They are always in need of food and hiding.

There is so much hopelessness... but also love and hope coming from the father. I feel that it's a masterpiece.

26. El món sobre rodes (Albert Casals)

That's the autobiographical story of Albert, a Catalan teenager who is in a wheelchair and has travelled many times alone to Europe and Asia.



27. Todo lo que podríamos haber sido tú y yo... sino fuéramos tú y yo (Albert Espinosa)


A man has recently lost his mother and he remembers her. He also has a special gift and he's called in order to analise a strange person that has been found.

Marta wrote: "25. The road (Cormac McCarthy)

When I was borrowing that book in the library, the librarian told me: "I have read that book. It's sooo sad. Don't read it before going to sleep".

I couldn't wait a..."


This is a book that I've checked out from the library twice, and both times had to return it without reading it. I still want to read it but I've just never been in the right mindset for it.

Charleen wrote: "Marta wrote: "25. The road (Cormac McCarthy)

When I was borrowing that book in the library, the librarian told me: "I have read that book. It's sooo sad. Don't read it before going to sleep".

I c..."

Hi Charleen! I hope you read it :) Looking forward to hearing your impressions about it. It's strong, but I have also seen some beauty on it.

28. El tiempo que querría (Fabio Volo)

A novel that talks about a man that has split up with his girlfriend but he wants her to come back. We also get to know his difficult relationship with his father since he was a child.

It mixes pain with humour and there are really nice conversations about sex and the woman world between the main character and his friend. I'd recommend that book.

29. Miss Marple's Final Cases (Agatha Christie)

It's difficult to find more Agatha Christie's books in the shops/libraries where I live because have read the main ones :( I felt happy when I discovered that one the other day. Fast reading and really good short stories. I have enjoyed one about a strange doll that seems to change her position in a room by herself.

30. Manaos (Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa)

I have just discovered this writer and I have to say that I'm fascinated with him. I read his books in the same way as Agatha Christie's ones: fast, with suspense...

Manaos tells the story of four people who escape from a rubber plantation and have to cross the jungle in order to find freedom.