Smiler: Probably Won't Make it to 75 this Year, But No Matter

The year's almost over and I'd been putting off joining in because started the year doing lots of things other than reading. I just decided to get over my fear of numbers (or rather not hitting a target number) and switched over from the 50 group as somehow seems livelier here. Maybe might give me an extra push, but since I have more hobbies than I can reasonably fit into any given day, I thought I'd finish up the year with no set goal and read whatever strikes my fancy in my huge tbr collection accumulated these past few years which will undoubtedly grow exponentially after exposure to this gang. :-)

My rating system is as follows:

★ - hated it (and/or didn't finish it)
★★ - it was just ok
★★★ - enjoyed it (good)
★★★★ - loved it! (very good)
★★★★★ - all-time favourite (amazing)

Here's what I’ve read so far—more or less by author order since I can't remember the actual sequence of the first 30 books or so—I'll keep adding reviews to books I've already read and linking them here but the ones I read from now on will get their own post. Without further ado:

1. L'immeuble Yacoubian (The Yacoubian Building) by Alaa El Aswany ★★★★★ (review)
2. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson ★★★★
3. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson ★★★★
4. Arthur and George by Julian Barnes ★★★½
5. Kandinsky by Ulrike Becks-Malorny ★★★½ (review)
6. The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom ★★ (review)
7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ★★½ (review)
8. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote ★★★ (review)
9. The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler ★★★
10. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ★★★ (review)
11. The Case Against Owen Williams by Allan Donaldson ★★★½ (review)
12. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde ★
13. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett ★★½ (review)
14. The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway ★★★★★
15. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver ★★★★½
16. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova ★★ (review)
17. La reine dans le palais des courants d'air
(The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest—Millenium 3) by Stieg Larsson ★★★
18. Dressed for Death by Donna Leon ★★★
19. Le retour du professeur de danse
(The Return of the Dancing Master) by Henning Mankell ★★★
20. The Road by Cormac McCarthy ★★★★½ (review)
21. Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan ★★★ (review)
22. Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Millan ★★
23. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx ★★★★
24. Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin ★★★
25. Strip Jack by Ian Rankin ★★★
26. The Black Book by Ian Rankin ★★★
27. Exit Music by Ian Rankin ★★★
28. Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin ★★★
29. Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin ★★★
30. Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran
(Mr. Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran) by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt ★★★★ (review)
31. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth ★★★ (review)
32. Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín ★★½ (review)
33. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut ★★★ (review)
34. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters ★★★½
35. Jim Dine: Flowers and Plants by Marco Livingstone ★★★★★ (review)
36. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf ★★★½ (review)
37. Sacred by Dennis Lehane ★★★ (review)
38. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe ★★★★½ (review)
39. Le rocher de Tanios (The Rock of Tanios) by Amin Maalouf ★★★★ (review)
40. Friends in High Places by Donna Leon ★★½ (review)
41. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams ★★★½ (review)
42. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood ★★★★ (review)
43. The Tenth Man by Graham Greene ★★★★½ (review)
44. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark ★★½ (review)
45. Lucian Freud On Paper by Sebastian Smee ★★★★½ (review)
46. A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane ★★★ (review)
47. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto ★★★½ (review)
48. The Surf Guru by Doug Dorst ★★★½ (review)
49. Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon ★★★ (review)
50. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner ★★★★★ (review)
51. The Manticore by Robertson Davies (TIOLI) ★★★½ (review)
52. Still Alice by Lisa Genova (TIOLI) ★★½ (review)
53. Blood from a Stone by Donna Leon (TIOLI) ★★★ (review)
54. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (TIOLI) ★★★★★ (review)
55. As-yet unpublished, un-edited manuscript by mystery writer ★★★★
56. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (TIOLI) ★★★

That's my last book for 2010! I'll write reviews for 54 and 56, but all subsequent books will be listed in my 2011 thread.

Welcome to the group! Glad you decided to take the plunge.

You've definitely made the right decision coming over here! I was in the 50 Book Challenge group a couple of years ago, and decided to come here for the atmosphere even though I only read 40-ish books in 2008. I've really enjoyed the friendliness of this group, and it's also magically managed to increase my reading, so that I hit 66 books last year and may even get to 75 this time. Welcome to a great group!

Welcome! You've got a great set of books this year.

Thanks Alcottacre! I see you've got more than 40 books on your 'currently reading' collection; you must tell me how you manage not to mix them all up in your head!

Zoe: I'm counting on getting that extra little push to read more, especially considering how many books I've accumulated these past few years that I've yet to read, but then again, if I have too much fun on the threads I'm not sure how that'll happen exactly! :-)

Ohhh...you've read a lot of books this year that I own, want to read but haven't read yet. Nice list!

40. Friends in High Places by Donna Leon ★★½

I discovered Donna Leon just a couple of years ago with the first of the Commissario Guido Brunetti novels, Death at La Fenice, which I enjoyed so much I began immediately accumulating as many of her other books I could via BookMooch. I followed that first read with Dressed for Death which I also enjoyed. Leon's books in some ways remind me of the Agatha Christies I more or less fed myself on as a teenager; clever and sophisticated, thrilling and suspenseful but never too graphic or violent. The Brunetti series is based in Venice, Italy, where Leon has lived many years and can therefore describe in great detail, bringing us far beyond the tourist attractions, and are peppered with Italian expressions and seeped in Italian mores, which I find is a fantastic way to travel on the cheap. Brunetti is a very simpatico character: well read, with a strong moral fibre but not overly zealous; happily married to an interesting woman who is prominently featured; with a wholesome family life which he takes pains to protect from the sordid details of his daily professional reality.

Friends in High Places took me a long time to warm to. The plot centres around some tedious bureaucratic business involving Commissario Brunetti's place of residence. A young government employee is found dead; Brunetti suspects foul play and eventually uncovers a conspiracy the likes of which could only happen in Venice. The story was convoluted and the pace fairly slow, and it was only towards the very end that I began to appreciate Leon's construction, which in reality is more of a character-driven observation on ethics and moral integrity than a suspense-filled thriller. I can see the value in this book as part of a series, and can appreciate it as such in retrospect, but would definitely not recommend that someone new to Donna Leon start with this one. Not my favourite so far.

#5: I think I will have to go update my 'currently reading' section. I am only currently reading 16.

#4: drneutron, I somehow managed to miss your comment before writing my reply. Glad you like my list so far. I've got so many great books to choose from that it almost seems like I can't go wrong no matter what I pick next. That's not accounting for personal taste though, obviously.

#6: thanks Deesirings, I'd be curious to see what your take is on them once you've read them!

alcottacre: 'Only' 16?!? Still, my question remains.

#9: I try and chose a wide diversity of books, both fiction and nonfiction, so that there is very little overlap amongst them, making it easier to keep them straight.

That makes sense. I've had as many as 5-6 books going that way too but I've stopped doing that because it seems like it takes forever to finish them when I do that, unless that's what I'm after; for example poetry and short story books which I only have patience to read little by little, and I usually have an art book going as well as my usual fare of fiction.

41. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams ★½

I'm so disappointed with this one. I was absolutely certain I'd enjoy it, because I remember listening to the BBC broadcasts back in the late 80's and laughing my head off. With the first chapter I felt we were off to a good start, but then it became absolute gibberish to me and I had to force myself to get more or less halfway through, and even though it's a very short book, I just don't have the patience to finish it now. I had a similar experience with Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair this year, where it just seemed like the whole thing was written for people with a particular brain wiring which is obviously nothing like mine, since I could barely make heads nor tails of it. I'm pretty sure I have a funny bone, but I guess that kind of humour just isn't my cup of tea. Oh well. So many books, only two eyes to read with.

Our senses of humor are so individual, aren't they? I really enjoy the Jasper Fforde books but struggle with the humor in Terry Pratchett. I have not tried the Adams books yet, so I guess I will see how I fare with them.

I hope you enjoy your next read more, Ilana!

Jim: I started reading Alias Grace yesterday and while I knew in advance I would love it (Margaret Atwood is one of my favourite authors) I was absolutely delighted with it and can't wait to jump in again in just a few minutes. However, I'm finding I'm haunted with The Hitchhiker's and some of the characters—for example, I kind of want to find out more about the depressive robot—so now I'm wondering if I didn't throw in the towel too soon...

Welcome. You've been doing some interesting reading--we share several books in common.

Welcome! You've got a great list going (which is much more important than numbers anyway)!

Thanks for the warm welcome ladies! I've always been one to choose quality over quantity and always glad when I find others who feel the same way!

Just finished Alias Grace which was an excellent read. Will have to let it sit a little before posting my review. In the meantime, decided to pick up The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where I left off and finish it after all, after which I may or may not be tempted to re-write my review about it.

Today I decided that out of my TRRS (to read real soon) pile, I'd choose only small books to read this December, in hopes of upping my book count since I'm not a fast reader and can't devote as much time to it as I'd like, and that way perhaps reaching at least 50 this year. Which means finishing Wolf Hall—which I had put aside after reading the first 100 pages with much difficulty (how is one supposed to figure out who is saying or thinking something when it's all 'He' 'He' 'She' 'He'???)—is out of the question in 2010. Kind of silly of me to be concerned with numbers, I do know that, but then again it won't exactly be a case of quantity over quality so it's all good in the end, right? :-)

>12 Smiler69:
I'm so glad I went ahead and finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it gave me a completely different outlook on it and now I can't believe I almost missed out on such a fun book! Will post an updated review on it soon. Other hobbies to attend to for now.

20> If you've decided you like THHGttG, you might want to try the Dirk Gently books - honestly, I liked them much better than the Hitchhiker ones. I'm not sure if I can precisely say why, since it's been so long since I read either, but I've always remembered the Hitchhiker set to be somewhat less satisfying than the Dirk Gently books (I believe there are two).

Hi Kerri, I decided to run with your suggestion and added Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency to my BookMooch wishlist. It looks like there's a copy available out there, we'll see if the owner is willing to send it out. And yes, I looked it up and there are indeed two books in that series. :-)

Take Two (updated review)
41. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams ★★★½

What a difference 116 pages makes! I gave myself permission to stop reading books when I'm not enjoying them a couple of years ago, the only rule being that I have to read at least 100 pages before stopping, which is what happened with this one. After I posted my original review, curiosity got the better of me and I'm very glad it did, because I can now say I thoroughly enjoyed finishing the rest of the story. So much so that I'll probably read it again in future. The person I mooched this book from also sent me a nearly destroyed copy of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe as a freebie and though I wouldn't normally touch a book in such seriously bad shape, I think I may just pick it up before the year is out to see how the saga continues. Just won't be reading that one in bed what with brittle brown pages and all. Yuck!

43. The Tenth Man by Graham Greene ★★★★½

I absolutely loved this little book of just under 120 pages. Originally written for MGM in 1944 and then forgotten, the manuscript was found again in 1983 and published in it's present form. The story takes place in France during and immediately following WWII. In the opening chapter, a German officer informs a group of thirty prisoners that they must choose three men among their ranks to be executed the following morning. The men decide to draw for it, and when Jean-Louis Chavel, a rich and unpopular lawyer finds he's picked a piece of paper marking him for execution, he offers to give away all his possessions, including his family's country house, to the person who'll accept to take his place. The bulk of the story centres around Chavel once he is released, penniless, unable to find work and irresistibly drawn to the home of his ancestors, now occupied by the dead man's remaining family. This story was both fascinating and profound, touching on issues of identity, morality, courage and redemption. It was my introduction to Graham Greene, an author who's work I'll be sure to seek out.

#24: I had not heard of The Tenth Man. I will have to look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Ilana!

My pleasure Stasia. I just finished reading it before going to sleep and then kept thinking about it and tossing and turning. So I just had to get up again and review it. I noticed that in so doing I skipped over Alias Grace, but I'll be sure to make up for my omission soon enough!

Good! I look forward to your review of Alias Grace, which I know I will eventually get around to reading. I have only owned the book for a little over a year now.

>27 alcottacre: One of the reasons I joined this group is that I have so many great books in my library now that it feels criminal to let them sit there for months and years until I get around to all of them. I figure if I can push myself to read more per year, I'll won't let my books languish for too long. Or less so anyway...

I'm so excited; I just received The Redstone Diary 2011: The Artist's World by Julian Rothenstein. It's more or less sold-out everywhere and I was lucky enough to get it from the BookDepository before they ran out. Last year I got A Russian Diary: Russian Children's Books 1920-1935. These are not mere diaries, they're books in their own right and collector's items; beautiful rarely seen images printed on high quality paper stock, and wonderfully designed. Just the thing to appeal to my artist/designer sensibilities. The Artist's World features work, quotes, photographs and diary pages of such artists as Paul Klee, Frida Kahlo, Magritte, Pierre Bonnard just to name a few of the more widely known ones, and the cover illustration is by one of my favourite illustrators of all time: Saul Steinberg. I've become a big fan of Redstone Press, the publishers of these and many other wonderfully creative projects out of the U.K. I know this is all pretty obscure to most people since there are just a handful of LT users who have listed these books and I'm the only one with the 2011 diary so far, but it's all good!

#30: The Redstone Diary 2011: The Artist's World sounds wonderful! I admit, I have never heard of Redstone Press. I will have to investigate. Thanks for the info, Ilana!

No worries about reaching 75... some don't, some do..
No one cares. You have some nice interesting reads posted here. :)

>31 alcottacre: Stasia, if you'd like to see more, I posted a re-edited version of this entry on my blog where I also included links to some of the inside pages of these diaries and other Redstone publications.

>32 mckait: Hi Kat (can I call you Kat since you obviously have a love of kitties, much as I do too?) Thanks for the encouragement, maybe I'll manage to get a few more in for 2011—I've got plenty more good reads where that came from! :-)

#33: Cool! Off to look. . .

Thanks, Ilana!

I'm posting this review out of turn since I skipped over it with the last one. Not that it matters any!



42. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood ★★★★

In 1843, sixteen year-old servant girl Grace Marks is spared from hanging because of her young age (unlike her presumed accomplice James McDermott) and instead convicted to life imprisonment for a double murder she doesn’t remember committing. As her sanity is in question, she spends some time in a mental asylum before being transferred to Kingston penitentiary and some years later, is visited by a young doctor eager to advance himself in the growing field of treatment for the mentally ill. The book centres around Grace’s narration to Doctor Jordan—both verbally and in her own mind—describing her life, from a difficult childhood in Ireland, emigration to Canada and experiences as a maid, having been forced to work from the age of thirteen, and leading up to the day of the murders and subsequent capture with James McDermott, her alleged paramour. There is no question that Margaret Atwood is a master at her craft, and here she takes a true event—Grace Marks was widely known in her time as a notorious murderess—and filling in the details, manages to make Grace’s description of her daily life and chores a compelling and captivating read. No small feat! I loved this book, my only reservation being that I guessed at the dénouement from the beginning and was hoping for a twist in the end which never came for me. Still, a very satisfying read which I recommend wholeheartedly.

Just finished reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I feel bad for not loving this book, but in a word, my opinion of it was: 'meh'. I'll try to write a more substantial review soon. Off for some brainless escapism now; Dennis Lehane with A Drink Before the War, the first of the Kenzie & Gennaro series which I'm reading out of sequence.

#36: I need to find what I did with my copy of that one!

You are moving right along!
This is always a good time of year at LT, getting ready for the new 75 ers year..
and seeing what new challenges appear in the group. I stay away from most of them.. simplicity is the key for me! But keep watching, there may be some that you will like..

>39 mckait: I'm hoping to reach at least 50 this year, which should be feasible but not at all obvious considering how many hobbies I've got keeping me busy (and never mind all the procrastinating!)

Silly question: how do I find people's threads? I know I can do a search for a member but then everything they've ever posted shows up which isn't all that helpful...

Smiler, I'm just sort of catching up here. If you want help with getting back to Wolf Hall, my friend Liz1564 wrote a dynamite review that clarified a lot of the problems I had with the book. I do recall that I figured out that "he" is always Cromwell, and Liz points out that Mantel manages to tell everything looking over C's shoulder - something I didn't catch - which makes this one a real achievement. Enjoy! (The review is dated October 3, so you have to go back several pages to find it.)
(Oh. And I love Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro series!)

>41 LizzieD: Thanks for the input Peggy! I put the book aside and decided I'll pick it up again in 2011, but what you've told me already seems very helpful. I'll be sure to look up your friend's review too!
Re: Lehane: I have several other of his books (non-K & G) waiting on my shelves, but something tells me I'll be getting through that whole series sooner or later. Some of his prose makes me cringe, but it's also kind of addictive!

44. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark ★★½

As I said in an earlier post, I really wanted to like this book, having heard so many good things about it over the years, and found certain aspects of it equally amusing and annoying; Spark's descriptions of what each girl from the Brodie set was best known for and certain expression repeated throughout the story ("Rose Stanley, who was later known for sex" "You are the crème de la crème"). I couldn't relate to any of the characters and found little to like about Miss Brodie herself. For all her independence, she needs to have the girls involved in every aspect of her life and her insistence and constant reminders that she is in the prime of her life seem pathetic more than anything else. While her emphasis on art and beauty was one of the few things I could relate to, it seemed horrific when combined with the knowledge of her Fascist leanings, and kept me wondering what kind of message the author was trying to convey by attributing such distasteful qualities to her main character. I may read more of Spark's work someday but I'll be in no special hurry to get to it.

45. Lucian Freud On Paper by Sebastian Smee ★★★★½

Am I cheating by including an art book featuring merely two essays as introductions to a catalogue of Lucian Freud's works on paper? Yes, probably. But taking the time to read an art book is something new to me since up until recently I've been content with just looking at the images. But I've decided that it's time that I to start reading all these great art books I've been accumulating over the years to see what I've been missing. I discovered this book at my art school and had to have it. I've never paid much attention to Lucian Freud (grandson of that other famous Freud) as a painter, but was immediately drawn to his earlier drawings. However, the introductory essay by Sebastian Smee reminded me why I've never particularly liked reading about art in the first place; interpretations of the artist's intentions and approach always bother me because what makes great artists great is their capacity to express themselves so well via images and all the verbiage just seems to get in the way. I also strongly dislike when the authors assume one has seen the entire artist's catalogue and can recall at will any image that is mentioned and also when no efforts are made to help the reader find the images within the book when they are described in the text. The second essay, by Richard Calvocoressi, about Freud's forays into book illustration at the start of his career proved much more interesting, and all the images described were in close proximity to the text which proved much more reader friendly. All that hardly matters in the scheme of things; I purchased this book for the wonderful and rarely seen drawings and etchings the artist has worked on from adolescence to the present day and they are beautifully reproduced on quality paper. I rated this book five stars before reading it and knocked back a half star because of Smee's intro, but it still remains one of my favourite visual art books in my collection.

#44: Am I cheating by including an art book featuring merely two essays as introductions to a catalogue of his work?

Nope! If it is between covers, it counts!

Bless you, woman! :-)

Not that my opinion really matters, but there you go!

I agree.. a book is a book.. and we choose what we will consider books that count.. or not all on our own. No one minds what we decide. It is all about relaxing with a book of our choice here at 75.

I'm all for a laid-back attitude which is why I'm counting on joining the 2011 group as well. In the meantime, I'll keep cheating my way to at least 50 for 2010!

Sometimes, it can be a struggle to fit in a picture book when work and chores and family life are all clamoring for your time. And it can take a while to get through an art book, because the pictures are usually asking for a long look...

I've been trying to decide if I want to add the books we stock at work (art museum store) and which I've read or not. I love looking at the children's books about art and artists. I did write a review for one, because it was a little bit hilariously bad (Luke's Way of Looking) and implied that the poor kid has some neurological disease, if you're a bit literal the way I can be sometimes.

And it can take a while to get through an art book, because the pictures are usually asking for a long look...

Indeed. Usually in my case, multiple long looks which always distract me away from the text, but it's all good. Omg, if I worked in a museum store, I wouldn't bring any pay home! Mind you what I do with art books is look at them in the store and buy them online at a fraction of the cost. I just got an Egon Schiele book that I had seen at the Montreal Fine Arts Museum selling for $80 CAD. On the BookDepository site it was listed at just under $50 and when my payment went through, they only actually charged me $25!!! How crazy is that? I got in a lot of trouble with the owner of an art store when I mentioned buying books online though, so really shouldn't broadcast that sort of thing too much. Anyway, I have every intention of counting my art book reads toward my target goal, so there'll probably be a few cropping up in the coming year.

46. A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane ★★★

It's only rarely I rate a crime fiction book higher than three stars, and even rarer that I bother reviewing them. Most books of this genre are a guilty pleasure of mine, much like watching action shows on tv, and only rarely do I find thrillers in which the quality of the writing matches the appeal of the fast-paced plot. Then again, I can't live on a diet of award-winning literature alone so I do adjust my expectation level as needed... up to a point. This is my second Lehane book; I started with Sacred, the third in the Kenzie & Gennaro series and this is definitely a case where I wish I'd started chronologically, if only to follow the two main character's relationship as it evolves.

To sum up the plot without giving too much away: our detective duo is hired by two powerful senators to find sensitive documents which have been allegedly stolen by a black cleaning woman who has gone missing. They manage to locate her and she is gunned down shortly after having shown Patrick Kenzie a photo which seems to incriminate one of the two senators, and the private detectives are left to their own devices to find the other pictures which reveal the nature of the crime and the reason for the killing. As can be expected, the plot thickens substantially. The title of the book is a reference to a moment in the story when Kenzie, Gennaro and another character have drinks in a local bar before an anticipated gang-war erupts. At the head of the two rival black gangs are a sadistic, crack-selling, pimping father on the one side, and his giant, sixteen year-old, hate-filled killing machine son on the other. Lehane is good at spinning his story and keeping the pace brisk, with plenty of twist and turns to keep the reader hooked. The story's core message, not too surprisingly references the problem of black vs white race relations and prejudices. The problem is that Lehane insists on beating his reader over the head with these issues and it seemed more than anything like his way of coming to terms with his own conflicting emotions on the topic via Patrick Kenzie's ongoing inner dialogue on the matter. Aside from that, I knew there would be plenty of cringe-worthy prose and one-liners: "With Bubba and Devin around, I felt safer than a condom at a eunuch's convention." There's no accounting for what some people find amusing, and I suppose this sort of questionable humour is in keeping with the macho stance of classic authors of the noir genre, which Lehane is often compared to. But I guess I'm not all that bothered since I'll probably be catching up with the rest of the series soon enough.

My latest read is a truly fantastic work of fiction. I wish I could share it with you guys, but it's actually a yet-to-be-published just-finished manuscript. Written by none other than my hugely talented mother, who has been a full-time fiction writer for the past decade or so but who sadly is lacking in the self-promo department (aren't most creative types that way?) and hasn't seen any of her work in print yet. A travesty in my humble opinion. Anyway, I think I'll still review it in this thread when I'm done with it, or at least put a mention in since of course I can't give much away for obvious reasons. Anyone have good suggestions on how to get a manuscript read by the right people in good publishing houses and/or agencies, by all means contact me!

>53 Smiler69:
p.s. if you can direct me to a helpful thread, that would also be greatly appreciated!

#53: I wish I could help, Ilana, but I know nothing of the publishing industry.

There are at least a couple of groups here on LT for writers. Hobnob With Authors is a place where authors and readers connect: http://www.librarything.com/groups/hobnobwithauthors

I believe that this has been the subject of a thread of two in that group. Also, there's Writer-readers: http://www.librarything.com/groups/writerreaders

There's also Writer's Brag and Rag Bag: http://www.librarything.com/groups/writersbragandragbag

>55 alcottacre: No worries Stasia, I kind of posted that message like you would put a bottle out to sea since it's something I'm completely unfamiliar with.

>56 drneutron: I'll be sure to pass on that info. Thanks for your help Jim!

47. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto ★★★½ (review)

Two short stories about young women coping with grief. The first story, Kitchen, is about a student who finds herself completely alone following the death of her grandmother. She is taken in by a boy and his unusual mother, and their relationship, as well as the time she spends cooking, help her to move forward. The second story, Moonlight Shadow, is about a girl who has recently lost her first love to a traffic accident and how her relationship with the young man's brother along with an encounter with a strange woman help her move toward closure. One might think that these themes would make for gloomy reading, but the surprise is that Yoshimoto's writing is at once poetic and fresh, grounded in a zen-like appreciation for taking things as they are, and the hopeful message that embracing difficulty brings it's own rewards. Inspiring.

#58: I already have that one in the BlackHole. I am going to have to bump it up some!

The BlackHole being...?

Oh - that is what I call my TBR pile. It started out as Mount TBR, morphed into Continent TBR, then Planet and I finally figured out if I just named it the BlackHole, I would never have to change it again :)

Right. You've just described my entire library! lol

LOL!

I don't know if I've mentioned it to anyone here, but I'm a little bit obsessive about tagging and re-tagging and sorting my books (there must be a group for people like me!) and in so doing today, I discovered that I had to forgotten to include another Ian Rankin book among my 2010 reads. So I just did and then took the time to re-number all subsequent reads and now am ridiculously pleased with myself that I'm that much closer to 50 books this year. Totally retarded—especially when you consider I could be spending all this time reading to begin with—that I am well aware of! :-)

Just received The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt today. It'll my my first Byatt read and the storyline is right up my alley, but since it's quite hefty and I don't want to fall short of my goal for 2010, I'll start it with the new year. Can't wait!

48. The Surf Guru by Doug Dorst ★★★½

An Early Reviewers book of short stories which I started reading earlier this year and dropped halfway through. I'm glad I decided to get back to it as would have missed quite a few great reads. This collection of hugely diverse stories in terms of styles, storylines, structure and tone gives a good idea of the author's seemingly boundless imagination and there are plenty of gems to be found along the way.

#65: Peggy and I are reading that one together right now and enjoying it. I hope you like it as well when you get to it, Ilana!

>53 Smiler69:: I hope you're finding the help you need on those threads! I'm a fiction writer and am constantly surrounded by publishing news/info/etc., and I can tell you off the top that she'll either need an agent (if she's looking for a traditional pub contract) or to go to a small publisher that takes unsolicited manuscripts. There are pros and cons on both sides, of course, and both will take LOTS of hard work, but the dedicated writer will have it pay off. I've heard it quoted that it takes the average writer 10 years to get their first book published. But then they're published! Yay!

>67 alcottacre: I have a very good feeling about this book Stasia. I've been wanting to read one of Byatt's books for a long time and several times almost picked up a very good copy of Possession at my favourite used book store, but was apprehensive about it because am not especially a poetry aficionado. There's a good chance I'll start off the year with it The Children's Book. The cover alone is so very inviting!

>68 dk_phoenix: Hi Faith! I passed on the links to my mom who says she'll get around to it eventually. She prefers spending her time writing for now and I can understand that. I know she's done the rounds of agents and publishers several times with different manuscripts and don't think she's very keen on going with small publishers which I can also understand. As you say, it does take a while until most writers get published so there's always hope. Good luck with your own endeavours!

Hi Ilana

I'm not sure how I managed to miss your thread, but promise to follow you in 2011.

No troubles Linda, it's just been a couple of weeks since I joined and I consider this a warmup for the year ahead!

#69: I think The Children's Book will be a wonderful start to 2011 for you!

As far as Possession goes, I am not much of a poetry lover either, but I enjoyed that book as well.

49. Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon ★★★½

What does the murder of a young American Sergeant stationed in Vicenza and the theft of priceless Impressionist paintings from the palazzo of a Milanese arms dealer have in common? Commissario Brunetti isn't quite sure, but his instincts tell him to keep pursuing these cases even as doing so goes against his superior's orders. In the process he uncovers a conspiracy that involves the powers that be which threatens the well-being of all residents of Italy and beyond. I quite enjoyed the second of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series, my only regret being that I haven't been reading this series in it's proper sequence, although that is by no means a requirement. I was complaining about the slow pace of Friends in High Places in my review of the last Donna Leon I read, and in hindsight I think I was missing the point; Brunetti enjoys all the small pleasures of life; food, wine, time spent with his family, and the small details which can only be appreciated by one living in Venice. Leon's pacing, contrary to typical thrillers, is deliberately unhurried when it needs to be and allows us to go on journeys of discovery right along with her main protagonist.

Thanks for putting a link to your thread on the thread discussion page. I really enjoyed Possession even though I'm not that fond of poetry. (True confession: I skipped some of the poetry and don't think I missed anything.)

#74: That one is sitting patiently on my nightstand waiting for me to get to it one of these centuries. I am glad to see you enjoyed it, Ilana.

>76 alcottacre: The good news is that this series, like most good books, is quite timeless, so you can take all the time you want before getting to it Stasia, and I'm sure the pleasure of reading it will not be diminished over time.

>75 bonniebooks: Sorry for skipping over you Bonnie... am not fully awake yet! Believe it or not, this is still early morning for me, a very late riser indeed I am. Glad you stopped by my thread, I remember enjoying your comments very much when I was in the 50 Books group back in... 2009 was it? seems farther back than that somehow. I'm only just starting to allow myself to skip through or rather read diagonally parts of books that don't particularly interest me. Started doing that with A Suitable Boy this year, so I'm glad you've shared your naughty admission with me regarding Possession, which I get the feeling I will very much want to read after The Children's Book. I do try to reconcile myself with poetry now and then so we'll see how I deal with those parts. All in good time of course, with so many great books to read!

I loved Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow. There was something so diaphanous about them.

#77: Very true!

>79 nancyewhite: Nancy: 'Diaphanous' is such a great word to describe them! Something that conveys both the strength and the weakness that these stories describe.

50. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner ★★★★★

Edith Hope is a reasonably successful writer of romantic fiction who has been exiled to Switzerland and the Hotel du Lac by by her friends in order to sort out her life. The hotel is the sort of quietly sophisticated, unexciting place which attract a regular exclusive clientèle and only those newcomers who come with the right recommendations. When she arrives, there are only a few guests remaining as it is almost the end of the season, and Edith decides to make the best of her time in hopes of making progress on her latest novel Beneath the Visiting Moon. We find out that she has been having an affair with a married man with whom she maintains a one-sided correspondence, but on the whole she has mostly lead a quiet and unassuming existence. Edith thinks she looks like Virginia Woolf, and it's obvious that Brookner has been influenced by that author in the best way, with stream of consciousness prose which is absolutely true to life and which is filled with the kinds of observations on people that are only arrived at after much time given over to mulling on such matters. The story relates the time Edith spends at the hotel, where she befriends other guests, including the widowed Mrs Pusey and her preternaturally youthful daughter:

Reciprocity was a state unknown to Mrs Pusey, whose imperative need for social dominance, once assured by her beauty and the mute presence of an adoring husband, had now to be enforced by more brutal means.

While the story itself is quite good, the quality of the writing is what makes this little novel truly exceptional. I absolutely loved this little book. I've given this one five stars, a rating I only reserve for those books which have managed to become instant favourites. Wholeheartedly recommended.

ETA: Another version of this review can be found here.

I would have loved this book too--except that it terrified me! Even though I was married at the time, it was a very unhappy marriage and I was so afraid of having a life like Edith's.

P.S. Ilana, I really enjoyed the 50-book group, but so many people went over to the 75-book group, I eventually succumbed myself. As much as I truly love, love the 75-book group, I'm going to join a smaller group next year. Hope I won't live to regret it and have to come crawling back! ;-)

>83 bonniebooks: LOL. I can only imagine how scary that would have been for you Bonnie! I found myself rooting for Edith and very much hoping it would end as it does. Now at 41 and blessedly single for a good many years, I find myself finally making peace with, and quite happy with being an old maid, though my friends always laugh at that since it would seem I look much too young for such a title! :-)

>84 bonniebooks: I saw you make a comment to that effect on the group feedback thread. I came over here because I remember good people switching over so you can't leave!!! Please don't do it. Please?!?

Or we can both switch back to the 50 book group, *she says with a wicked grin.* The thing is, you can still follow people here, and ask them to follow you even in another group. Once you star a friend's thread, it really doesn't matter where they are.

By the way, it didn't bother me that at all that Edith was single. I just didn't like the relationship that she was putting up with, and she was just so repressed and cautious.

>87 bonniebooks: Bonnie: nu-uh, not switching back... one reason I switched to THIS group is it's just so much livelier and there's so much more stuff happening and it's so well organized and and and... Stay, puhhhhlease!!!

>88 bonniebooks: Funny thing about books, because timing has a lot to do with how we appreciate them (or not). Had I read this a few years ago, even maybe just a couple of months ago, before I read To the Lighthouse, I might have had a completely different opinion about the book, the storytelling and Edith herself for sure. It would have bothered me that we don't know whether she's going back to David or not and I would have thought her incredibly pathetic because she embodies (so to speak) all those qualities I dislike about myself and that nobody sees in me but me, because apparently I come off as bold and self-assured and 'with it' in RL while I feel like a simpering flake much of the time. But somehow, I was rooting for her all the way. I thought: how can I dislike someone who has such wonderful observational skills?

ETA: replaced the very negative 'loser' with less hurtful and sometimes charming 'flake' :-)

Belatedly coming in to say hello on your thread and welcome to the group! Your reading list for this year contains some familiar titles and it looks as if we've enjoyed some of the same books, though 1222607::The Road and 3841941::Exit Music are the only ones I've read this year, the others were longer ago.

Anyway, I shall look out for you in the 2011 group and look forward to seeing what you'll be reading in the next few months.

>90 gennyt: Hi Genny, I've been over in 2011 all this time and didn't even think to check back on my own thread here! Thanks for stopping by and I'll definitely look you up. My thread is already up over there. Stop by and participate in a poll I set up when you get a chance!

51. The Manticore by Robertson Davies (TIOLI) ★★★½

I read this book, the second of the Deptford Trilogy following Fifth Business as part of the December TIOLI challenge—Read a Book with an Animal on its Front Cover—as I had assumed the creature on the cover was simply a lion before I learned what a Manticore was thanks to wikipedia:

The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a shark), and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged, or both. The tail is that of either a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims.

I assumed the Manticore would be used purely figuratively in the story, but I was soon to be proven wrong. The protagonist is David Staunton, a successful Canadian criminal lawyer and son of the recently deceased Boy Staunton, a rich and powerful magnate who has died in suspicious circumstances. David has arrived in Zürich, Switzerland shortly after his father's funeral to seek help from a Jungian analyst following a nervous breakdown. The novel mostly consists of David's retelling of the course of his analysis, during which he goes over the events of his life from childhood to the present day, and also shares some of his dreams, which is where we come across the manticore in question.

Having had a lifelong interested in psychology, I found this story quite compelling. Although I am by no means a Jungian specialist, it was clear that Davies was very thorough with his research, which made the exchanges between David Staunton and his therapist completely plausible on the one hand, while on the other allowing him to use symbolism to great effect. While the story Staunton tells is filled with amusing incidents and humorous details, I failed to connect with it fully, which was slightly disappointing to me since I am such a fan of Robertson Davies, one of our great Canadian authors and a genius in his own right. However I am glad I read it and I feel the story will stay with me and reveal to me various layers of meaning over time, and though I can't say I absolutely loved it, I liked it enough to consider it worth recommending.

#92: though I can't say I absolutely loved it, I liked it enough to consider it worth recommending.

That pretty much sums up how I felt about The Manticore. I enjoyed The Fifth Business more than the second book in the trilogy. I still need to get to the third.

I'll try to get to World of Wonders this year. I waited too long between the first and second book and forgot what the first one was all about, more or less, but then they all stand up to being read as individual works anyway.

I also need to get back to The Cornish Trilogy too!

WOO-HOO! I just finished my 52nd book of the year last night, and quite very happy about that since that means I've beat my previous yearly record of 51 books, and did so albeit the fact that I didn't read AT ALL for the first few months of 2010! If I keep this up, there's a chance that I could actually get close to the 75 mark, or day I say it? maybe even beat it in 2011! Better not get ahead of myself though.

I the meantime, I've yet to review Still Alice, which I'll try to do sometime later today as still need to let that one work itself out somehow. For now, on to another Donna Leon mystery with Blood from a Stone as I have to send it out to a bellow BookMoocher in the coming week or so.

Congrats on meeting your goal this year :)

And, apparently, exceeding it, since you've still almost two weeks left!

ETA: I did a sparkly glitter graphic, but it's now showing for me. I hope you can see it, at least.

>95 alcottacre: not sure how that happened, but I skipped right over this message and didn't notice it before Stasia. I read The Cornish Trilogy over 20 years ago and that was when I fell in love with Robertson Davies. I almost bought a brand new copy of the Trilogy at the used book store last month for peanuts, but then I decided it's too big to hold while laying in bed and I'd rather buy the three books individually. Will be interesting to see how I react to it all these years later... when do you think you'll be reading it again? Might be fun to share that read (even though I know you'll read the whole thing in like, an hour, and it'll probably take me a whole month!)

>97 keristars: :-( can't see the glitter graphic either. :-(
But yes, I'm actually hoping to get to 54 this week, which would average out to just over one book per week this year. I'm currently reading Blood from a Stone and usually get through mysteries in 2-3 days (fast reading for me!) and then I'd like to read The Grapes of Wrath since I've got a copy sitting here which I need to send out to a fellow BookMoocher all the way in Malaysia by the end of the month... should be able to get through that in 4-5 days and then... whew! If this keeps up... the sky's the limit... and maybe just maybe I'll make it to 75 in 2010 (wishful thinking obviously!) :-))
(very moody today, are the smilies indicative of that in any way?)

#98: Ilana, thus far I have only read the first book in the Cornish Trilogy. I am up for a read along in 2011 if you want to read it with me. We can start from the first book again, as it has been a while since I read it.

Stasia, I think I got ahead of myself when I asked you about that shared read. I have so many books in my TBR that I'm thinking I should probably stick to books I haven't read yet in 2011. Émile Zola doesn't count because I haven't read most of the Rougon-Macquart series and those that I have read... I just don't remember (other than Nana which I've read 3 times!) But then again, I might change my mind about the Cornish Trilogy in the course of the year. I'm sure we'll be in touch! :-)

52. Still Alice by Lisa Genova (TIOLI) ★★½

Alice Howland, a respected Harvard scholar and linguistics professor begins experiencing disturbing lapses in memory which she at first attributes to the onset of menopause, a likely occurrence at the age of fifty. After a visit to a neurologist, she is told she's actually been experiencing symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's, a rare genetic condition. Each chapter describes the evolution of the disease from one month to the other over the course of a year, as Alice and her family must come to terms not only with her losing her memory but also with the loss of her professional life, autonomy and dignity. Genova's storytelling made for a compelling read, however I had a hard time believing the disease could progress quite as quickly as described, and the portrayal of a brilliant woman with so much to lose was a bit too melodramatic for my taste. I've been putting off writing this review because haven't been able to muster up much enthusiasm to describe a book which filled me with dread from beginning to end; I was glad I was done reading it, and now I'm glad I'm done writing about it.

#100: No problem, Ilana!

#101: Sorry you did not like that one more. I really enjoyed the book. I hope your next read is a better one!

>102 alcottacre: This probably wasn't the best timing to read that book. The holidays are a bit of a sad time of the year for me and there's no way around the fact that Still Alice tells a depressing story, but it's not like I expect to LOVE every single book I read either!

#103: it's not like I expect to LOVE every single book I read either

I do not expect to either, but I hold out high hopes :)

Have a wonderful holiday!

Hi There.

I look forward to your participation in the 2011 75 challenge group.

>104 alcottacre: Thanks for the good wishes Stasia, I hope your holidays were all you wanted them to be this year. Here's to nothing but good books in 2011 (wishful thinking, but it's a good thought, right?)

>105 Whisper1: Hi Linda, that's very nice of you to say, thanks! I started my 2011 thread some time ago, here it is in case you want to check it out. I'll keep this one going until the 31st and post whatever new reviews I come up with between now and then. I have one coming up tonight actually!

53. Blood from a Stone by Donna Leon (TIOLI) ★★★

I quite enjoyed this, my fourth and final Commissario Brunetti mystery for 2010. The story happens to take place just before Christmas, so I included it in one of the TIOLI challenges for December.

This time, our simpatico detective is called in when an illegal black street vendor, presumed to be Senegalese, is murdered by professional hit-men while surrounded by his co-workers and a group of tourists vying to buy the counterfeit handbags they have on offer. While searching through the man's personal effects, Brunetti discovers a big cache of uncut diamonds hidden in a box of salt. He calls on a old friend of his father's, a local diamond seller, to help him find the provenance of the diamonds which he hopes will lead him to narrow down the most likely suspects. Once again, as seems to always happen, his superior, Vice-Questore Patta forbids Brunetti to pursue the matter, but the latter's need for answers is only exacerbated when he discovers both the Italian ministries of Interior AND of Exterior Affairs have had a hand in halting the investigation. On the home front, Guido Brunetti and his wife Paola face the possibility that they may have inadvertently influenced their daughter when she makes an offhand comment about the murder victim only being a Vu' Compra*, which may or may not have been meant as a racist comment.

* The peddlers in Venice are nicknamed "Vu' Compra" because as foreigners, they often use what is considered bad Italian to say "Do you want to buy?"

I have a few of the Donna Leon books and hope to read them in 2011. Thanks for the excellent review.

>108 Whisper1: I've been getting most of my Donna Leon books via BookMooch this year. I send them out to other BookMoochers, so they don't stay on my shelves very long, but I'm glad I discovered this author as quite enjoy her style. I'd describe it in one word as 'tasteful', which isn't necessarily what I want from every mystery books I read, but is a very rare quality in contemporary crime fiction nonetheless and reminds me of the first mystery writer I ever discovered, Agatha Christie.

Hi Ilana, I have the first book in the Commissario Brunetti series to read (one day) although I'm slightly daunted by how long the series is!

I wouldn't worry too much about the whole series Heather. I started with Death at La Fenice too and obviously liked it enough to continue, but nothing says you have to read them all, and I'm finding reading them out of sequence isn't a problem either. So go ahead and give it a go. Worse comes to worse, you'll find you're not that keen and that'll be one less series to worry about! lol

impossible to catch up.. so just visiting. See you in 2011!

No worries Kat, I gave up altogether on trying to keep up with the 2010 threads. Hardly keeping up with 2011 as it is! See you on the other side! :-)

54. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (TIOLI) ★★★★★

Steinbeck's Pulitzer Award-winning book tells the heartbreaking story of the Joads, a fictional family of displaced farmers from Oklahoma, forced out of their homes because of years of bad crops in an area ravaged by the dust bowls of the 1930's. The Joads set out on the road in a jalopy packed to the brim with the few belongings they will need while they make their way to California, where there is a promise of plenty of jobs and prosperity.

In this social commentary, Steinbeck alternates between the narration of the Joads' progress, and vignettes describing the realities and hardships which directly affected approximately half a million Americans who sought to better their lives of extreme poverty and near-starvation, prompted by advertisements which promised plenty of work picking the ripe harvests in California. The 'Oakies' the term then used to describe these desperate people, were despised by their fellow countrymen because of their extreme poverty and forced vagrancy, but Steinbeck squarely places the blame on big business and the drive for profit at all cost, which was the reason why the farmers were first driven off their lands and then kept in a cycle of poverty they had very little hope of getting out of. The novel received much critical acclaim and was widely read when it was published in 1939, and Steinbeck was later awarded the Novel Prize largely because of it. But not surprisingly, he was also harshly criticized and labeled as a 'Red sympathizer' by those very same people he condemned in the novel.

This novel is now among my all-time favourites and I will no doubt eventually read it a third time if not more.

56. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (TIOLI) ★★½

Jonathan Livingston is a seagull unlike the others. Not content with just following the flock in search of food for sustenance, he spends his days perfecting his flying technique and cares little about the fact that others disapprove of him. When he dies, he meets an ancient seagull 'spirit' who takes him under his wing(!) and teaches him to fly in ways Jonathan could never have imagined himself doing in his lifetime. When he is given the choice of evolving to yet another dimension of 'higher' being, Jonathan chooses to go back to his flock to teach others the lessons he has learned. This is a classic spiritual parable which reminds us that in order to reach our full potential, we have to keep striving towards our goal and we musn't be afraid to be different. A good life lesson for people of all ages and a very quick read, but the book itself would greatly benefit from a thorough redesign. With a change from the unappealing black and white photos and cheap printing to good photography and a nice layout, this story would remain just as fresh and inspiring as it was 40 years ago.

This is my last review for 2010. My 2011 thread is right here.

Ilana, thanks so much for the review of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It sounds silly, but although I have been hearing about that book for pretty much my entire life, I never knew what the plot was!

I'm glad to oblige! There are so many books like that—classics mostly—that we've heard about our whole lives and don't really know anything about! I remember as a very young child they showed us some kind of slideshow/audio presentation of Jonathan Seagull, but it was so long ago that reading it was like discovering it all over again!

Ditto the thanks. I remember when all the other girls in my ballet class had to read it in middle school, fifteen years ago, but since I went to a parochial school, my class had a different reading list than the public schools. It always sounded dreadfully boring to me and too much of a 1970s thing (possibly because the books the others brought to read during break looked straight out of the 70s?). Now I know that I was probably right to avoid it ;) (I'm not much of a fan of spiritual parable stories, unless they're parodies.)

Keri: I saw it at the used bookstore I like to go to and I remembered that it was a pretty big deal when I was in kindergarten (or that's when I think it was) which would have been... around 1975? So yeah, it's definitely dated. I'm not so big on spiritual parables either, but I find that once in a while I'm in the mood for a little 'uplifting'. But these days that stuff mostly makes me grumpy. I'm trying not to read too much into that! But to tell you the absolute, complete, unvarnished, whole truth, I picked it up at the end of the year to bump up my numbers a little. Wasn't cheating—I mean, hey, I had to get to it sometime, right? ;-)

Aaah...Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Makes me think fondly of my "self-help" years when I was getting a degree in psychology. The more things change, the more they stay the same. ;-)

I know, right? I was thinking the same thing when I read it Bonnie. I mean, it may be over 40 years old, but when you think of it, spiritual books didn't change all that much from when they used to be called 'New Age' (and how I DETEST that label).

Just as an aside, I can't believe there are people still reading this thread, how cool!

I've got your 2011 thread starred too and have read all 100+ messages. Will unstar this one, so I don't confuse myself--easily done! ;-)

See you on the other side Bonnie!

That's all folks! You can find me right here from now on!

Great reviews, Ilana! I am looking for many more from you in 2011!

Thanks Stasia! It's a treat having you as a reader. :-)

Not sure why, but thanks just the same!

Welllll... a) it's nice knowing there's someone reading my reviews, including the ones from 2010 now that most of us have put 2010 behind us. b) even nicer knowing there's someone appreciative reading said reviews.

What can I say? I am still attached to 2010 :)

As far as the reviews go, in general the 75ers really appreciate them!