s.kaosar 2010 - 75 Books Challenge

Diskutera75 Books Challenge for 2010

Bara medlemmar i LibraryThing kan skriva.

s.kaosar 2010 - 75 Books Challenge

Denna diskussion är för närvarande "vilande"—det sista inlägget är mer än 90 dagar gammalt. Du kan återstarta det genom att svara på inlägget.

1s.kaosar
Redigerat: okt 25, 2010, 4:39 pm

The Attempt:

January 2010:

1. He Swung and He Missed by Nelson Algren

February 2010:

2. The Girl with Glass Feet: A Novel by Ali Shaw

Ida Maclaird is a woman turning to glass. A transformation, which began with no hint, no warning, and no known cause. Here is a book of simple words that are giftedly used. Most beautifully done is the chillingly realistic way in which the mythical is merged with the here and the now of the modern world, of how on one island life can be so different, so separate from our own life and world that we are mezmerized by it, yet look at little closer, a little deeper and you'll understand, know, and feel the story, the lives to be eerily similar to our own - to your own.

March 2010:

3. A Room With a View by E. M. Forster

A Room with a View is most certainly about discovering and knowing one’s own mind and nature, and thus knowing, then being true to oneself. Forster handle’s the plot and explores the mind, the suppressed being trapped by itself, society, and class-restrictions so well that one is left satisfied.

4. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline is a simple, sharp, and to the point read, written in manner that will surly give you (an adult) the heebie jeebies while keeping you anxious enough to continue to read. It does not bore nor demean your intellect by sugar-coating or going over the top. Neil Gaiman has written one intellectually, creepy children’s book quite capable of being enjoyed by any age group. Honestly.

5. The Loss of the Teardrop Diamond from Stopped Rocking and Other Screenplays by Tennessee Williams

Fisher Willow is sharp, sarcastic, bossy, and a snob. She is also young, rich beyond imagination and lively with a mind, spirit, and personality that fairly crackles with passionate revolt against the unfortunate suppressed society in which she lives. She is hardened, and yet I have never ached for a character as much as i have ached for Fisher. Brilliantly written, Williams very dialogue radiates with longing.

April 2010:

6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

An immensely enjoyable read and such a fun diversion from my usual picks. I’m very glad that I picked it up and gave it a go. A hilarious and inventive take on a most beloved classic.

7. Bliss by Katherine Mansfield

A short read about a married young woman who's too (too) naive and who's rosy outlook is shattered by her deceiving husband. Well written, "Bliss" maintains Mansfield's well-crafted and subtle style, charm, insight, though I was expected something better after having read her other stort story, "A Cup of Tea".

2alcottacre
mar 30, 2010, 11:58 am

Welcome to the group, Kaosar!

3elkiedee
mar 30, 2010, 12:21 pm

Welcome!

4Donna828
mar 30, 2010, 12:30 pm

Welcome, Kaosar. I liked your take on A Room With A View. Very satisfying indeed. Hint: if you want to create a link to the book, place the title inside the square brackets (just above the quotation marks on the keyboard), and it will magically appear in blue after you post. By clicking on it, you and others can go directly to the book to check it out.

5s.kaosar
Redigerat: mar 30, 2010, 12:58 pm

Thank you, alcottacre and elkiedee. I'm glad to be here! :)

Donna 828, it took me a bit but I really did enjoy A Room With a View. Thank you for the welcome and the helpful suggestion. I've already applied your advice!

6drneutron
mar 30, 2010, 4:38 pm

Welcome!

7s.kaosar
mar 30, 2010, 10:12 pm

Thank you, drneutron!

8s.kaosar
Redigerat: apr 5, 2010, 8:00 pm

Reading Progress:

Hey all! So right now I'm reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

Before this I finished reading The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, which, let me tell you, was a wonderful read, sad, yes, but wonderful! And so thought provoking too! I was a bit skeptical about reading a screenplay since it's been since High School that I’ve willing read anything of the sort but I really got into it. A happy surprise for me.

And then there was On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan...hummm...I could not get into that one. It's such a short book, the beginning was well written (and I’m sure the rest of it is as well), and I really did want to read it but it was so slow moving that I (and i never EVER do this) skipped to the last chapter and read the ending, which, as I guessed was depressing. I'm really not in the mood for depressing right now, which i suppose set me unfairly against the book. Perhaps later when i am in the mood for such a book i'll pick it up again. McEwan, with his firm and insightful grasp of the human thought-process and emption, has appealed to me before.

9s.kaosar
Redigerat: dec 18, 2010, 1:24 pm

May 2010:

8. Chéri by Colette

A well-translated (by Roger Senhouse) novella with great insight into the particular time period, society, and life of French courtesans and their children. The most interesting aspect of Cheri was the character of Lea, the retired courtesan that becomes involved with Cheri, the beautiful but immature, pampered, and utterly spoiled young man who is the son Lea’s former competition. Lea takes up with him kind of as a job, a pet project in which she will change him, make him more cultured. Yet, neither Lea nor Cheri anticipate the impact they have on each other.

The novella, though not exactly luring, is smart and quite ahead of it's time bringing up such issues as age difference, sexuality, depression, child rearing, and much more. There is a second novella continuing with the adult or more "grown-up" life of Cheri titled The Last of Cheri. However, the absence of Lea in the second novella made me lose interest quite rapidly.

9. The Servants' Quarters by Lynn Freed

A very observant and thought provoking novel of girl's (I hate using it but...) "coming of age." All the characters are very well developed, and Cressida, the main character...well, Freed's writing in regards to her, is exceptional.

10. Silent Scream by Karen Rose

A well-written, well-paced mystery. As always I was sucked in right away. However, there are so many characters I got a little boggled - but still it was fun to read. This time it was about arson and there were many family dynamics and links that intermingled with the mystery, which if you read Rose, you'll notice is a major aspect of her books. Not her best but still worth the read.

10alcottacre
jun 3, 2010, 1:05 am

#9: I have never read Cheri before, so I will give that one a try. Thanks for the review and recommendation.

11s.kaosar
jun 3, 2010, 11:18 am

#10: I'm glad you're going to try it. It was well worth the read, especially for the historical and societal insight it provides.

Happy Reading!

12alcottacre
jun 3, 2010, 1:48 pm

Thanks!

13s.kaosar
Redigerat: sep 12, 2010, 11:17 pm

Reading Progress:

Hi all! As stated above I'm currently reading The Servants' Quarters and so far I'm engaged. The story takes place post WWII in South Africa and spans two decades. The main character is the spunky, smart mouth, and, for now, nine-year-old girl, Cressida, whom I like very much. Her absurd reasoning, which oddly make sense and her mischievousness is refreshing after having been engaged with some serious charterers in my reading recently. Also, I'm reading, Silent Scream by Karen Rose. I don't usually read those popular writers of mystery, suspense, and romance like James Patterson, Jeffery Deaver, or Mary Balogh but once in awhile they're enjoyable. However, I do read Karen Rose. Her books always have an excellent, realistic suspense plot more often than not dealing with serial killers, she writes well, and her characters are thoroughly developed. Plus, she's not corny.

So, what have I tried and liked, and what have I tried and dumped? Well, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which was, I have to say, imaginative and funny - surprisingly so. I'm not quite into the whole supernatural beings thing that seems so popular these days, but this, I mean who knew that zombies would go well with Austen's most well-known work! But, alas, after finishing that fun read, I had one dud. I tried to read The Postman Always Rings Twice, which was....ehhh....yeah, I couldn't finish it. Nothing against the actual story or even the writing, but it really didn't appealed to me. The characters were well developed but the dialogue threw me off – a lot. Also, the story, the plot, it wasn't strong enough to really grab my attention and hold it. So, in my opinion it was plain old blah. In fairness to the plot though, it was blah because unfortunately since the writing of the novel that particular murder mystery, sexually charged plot has been used and reused several times over. Anyway, then I read the short story Bliss by Katherine Mansfield, hoping for same lure as her short story A Cup of Tea had, but, though Bliss was well written in it's own right, it wasn't amazingly great either.

Finally, after that, I started to read The End of the Affair but I think it will just have to wait till I get on the plane to India this summer. Not too long now!

14alcottacre
jun 5, 2010, 12:22 am

I hope you have a great trip to India!

15s.kaosar
jun 6, 2010, 10:42 pm

#14: Thank you, alcottacre! I will be attending a relative's wedding and can't wait to get there myself! The colors, the festivities...the food! It is always a fun and rich experience to go there.

16alcottacre
jun 6, 2010, 11:44 pm

#15: Take me along for the food! I love Indian food. Unfortunately, I am the only person in my family who does.

17dk_phoenix
jun 7, 2010, 8:59 am

Oh, off to India to a wedding! Now THAT sounds like fun! Hope it's fantastic :)

18s.kaosar
Redigerat: jun 14, 2010, 4:35 pm

#15: Well, it's an acquired taste especially with all the spices and sometimes you either like it or you don't! But, yeah, sure tag along. The more the merrier!

19s.kaosar
jun 8, 2010, 4:54 pm

#17: Thank you, dk_phoenix! I'm hoping it'll be great too. The last one I attended there was a blast. This one has a lot to live up to!

20s.kaosar
Redigerat: okt 21, 2010, 4:14 pm

June & July 2010 :

NONE

Aug. 18 Update: Was going to read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and Dubliners by James Joyce but trip to India took over!

21s.kaosar
Redigerat: okt 21, 2010, 3:47 pm

Have a great summer everyone!

22alcottacre
jun 15, 2010, 3:53 am

Have a great summer as well, Kaosar! Have a wonderful trip to India.

23s.kaosar
Redigerat: dec 20, 2010, 3:15 pm

August 2010:

11. Annie's song by Catherine Anderson

September 2010:

12. Inner harbor by Nora Roberts

13. Burning wild by Christine Feehan

14. Lion's heat by Lora Leigh

October 2010:

15. Kept by Jami Alden

16. Beastly by Alex Flinn

17. Bengal's Heart by Lora Leigh

24alcottacre
okt 22, 2010, 12:44 am

Hope you had a wonderful vacation! Welcome back!

I am a big fan of Catherine Anderson's books. Annie's Song is one of my favorites.

25s.kaosar
okt 22, 2010, 10:37 pm

Stasia, hello! I had a wonderful vacation. The wedding was beautiful and loads of fun. Lots of good food, shopping, music, dancing, pampering, and generally getting spoiled!

Thank you for asking and for the welcome! I actually came a few months ago but fell very ill and did a lost of resting than keeping up online or reading hence the late arrival back here. But (Thank God) I am must better now. I've been zapped of my creative juices and am so happy to read again for luxury and for inspiration but first i went on a feel good romance novels binge. My guilty pleasure!

I've read Annie's Song twice, I read it this 2nd time because I remember what a tender, loving story it was, and what a satisfying read it was. Catherine Anderson made the story and it's character's really feel and breathe through the pages. I'm so glad I found someone else who also enjoyed it!

26alcottacre
okt 23, 2010, 2:16 am

#25: I am glad to hear you had a great time at the wedding, but sorry to hear you have been ill.

Have you read any of Anderson's other books? I also very much enjoy her Phantom Waltz.

27s.kaosar
Redigerat: dec 18, 2010, 2:13 pm

Det här meddelandet har tagits bort av dess författare.

28s.kaosar
Redigerat: dec 20, 2010, 4:02 pm

Well, I’ve read quite a few interesting books this year, though I’ve come nowhere close to reading 75! Still, what I did read, before my romance novel binge, was well worth it. Currently I’m reading In the Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy and though I know the year is not yet over, I doubt I’ll finish this before the year actually ends.

My favorite read this year was the play by Tennessee Williams, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond as well as The Servants’ Quarters by Lynn Freed. If you ever get the chance read both. The play is like a breathing ache and though I was aware of Williams’ talent before, this play reaffirmed it. The Servants’ Quarters by Lynn Freed was another star this year. The development of everything from plot to character in this short novel and the style of Freed’s writing was a pleasure to read. One thing I can always appreciate if nothing else is a well written book. When I come across one I am excited and impatient to just sit and read for hours while at the same time anxious that the book will end. Freed’s The Servants’ Quarters was one of those books. The one read that disappointed me this year was Bliss by Katherine Mansfield. After having read Mansfield’s short story A Cup of Tea I was really looking forward to reading this other work by her and though the narrator’s observations were interesting, the writing seemed juvenile.

29alcottacre
dec 20, 2010, 5:50 pm

I do hope you are planning on joining us again next year, Kaosar! The new group is already up and running: http://www.librarything.com/groups/75booksin20111

30s.kaosar
dec 29, 2010, 10:59 am

Stasia, thank you for the invite, i'll be sure to join and attempt to read 75 books...though this year I was unable. Still, it was fun!

Thanks again!

31alcottacre
dec 30, 2010, 5:22 am

No problem. I look forward to seeing what you are reading in 2011!

32s.kaosar
Redigerat: jan 4, 2011, 11:22 am

December 2010:

18. In The Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy

This was another star read of this year. It started of oddly and ended beautifully leaving you hopeful and serene. Well written. The story and characters, I liked at times and disliked at others...very much like life itself. Well worth it.

33alcottacre
jan 1, 2011, 2:54 am

#32: That one looks very good! I will have to see if my local library has it.

Happy New Year!

34s.kaosar
Redigerat: jan 4, 2011, 12:06 pm

Stasia, In the Company of Angels was a well developed and well written novel. The material and the writing had me surprisingly engrossed. I would definitely suggest it.

Happy New Year to you too! I hope it's a good one!

35alcottacre
jan 5, 2011, 4:29 am

#34: Unfortunately, my local library does not have it yet. Maybe soon.

36s.kaosar
jan 6, 2011, 5:14 pm

Stasia, that's unfortunate. I actually acquired it through the Early Reviewers program here, though, let me tell you, it was very late in arriving.

37alcottacre
jan 6, 2011, 9:53 pm

#36: it was very late in arriving.

I have had that problem a couple of times now.