Fifty book challenge 2009

[triggerhappy]

Originally Posted by sylvianorth

'Billy' by Pamela Stevenson also.

I enjoyed that, but there was something kind of weird about reading a wife's account of her husband's childhood abuse. Connolly has talked about it in public several times, but something about her telling of it didn't ring true.

[the.definitive]

Originally Posted by the.definitive

5. Change of Heart - Jodie Picoult. .

6. Junk - Melvin Burgess. Loved it, it was actually impossible to put down. And it was weirdly heartbreaking.

[ElegantlyRotten]

Originally Posted by ElegantlyRotten

1. The Distance Between Us - Maggie O'Farrell
2. Anybody out There? - Marion Keyes
3. My Friend Leonard - James Frey

4. The Leisure Seeker - Micheal Zadoorian
5. Marley & Me - John Grogan

[princessoPUNK]

Originally Posted by princessoPUNK View Post
1. Diary of a Wife - Anias Nin
2. Scoop - Evelyn Waugh
3. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination - Helen Fielding
4. The Weight of Water - Anita Shreve
5. A Wedding in December- Anita Shreve
6. The Unconsoled - Kazuo Ishiguro
7. Love, Etc. - Julian Barnes
8. Vienna - Eva Menasse
9. The Family Way - Tony Parsons
10. A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy - Charlotte Grieg
11. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
12. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
13. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
14. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
15. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer

16. Class, The Secret diary of a Teacher in Turmoil - Jane Beaton

Chicklit based around a teacher from Govan going to work in a posh Southern England boarding school. It was a bit like mixing a Chris Manby book with the Mallory Towers series. Lighthearted and fun.

17. Those Faraday Girls - Monica McInerney

This is a brilliant book, based around a family of Five sisters living with their dad, the youngest of whom has a baby. It manages to give insights into all of their lives at various points without becoming tedious, and is honest about the fact that life is not always rosy, and families have problems.

[sylvianorth]

Originally Posted by triggerhappy

I enjoyed that, but there was something kind of weird about reading a wife's account of her husband's childhood abuse. Connolly has talked about it in public several times, but something about her telling of it didn't ring true.

Yeah so far it's obvious that it's written from the point of you of someone who adores him, loads of 'Billy is amazing and here's why'. Guna stick with it though.

[Rowsbette]

Originally Posted by the.definitive

6. Junk - Melvin Burgess. Loved it, it was actually impossible to put down. And it was weirdly heartbreaking.

That was one of my fave books when I was younger, I remember staying up til the wee small hours to finish it on a few different occasions. *adds to list of books to reread once I've finished uni*

[the.definitive]

Originally Posted by Rowsbette

That was one of my fave books when I was younger, I remember staying up til the wee small hours to finish it on a few different occasions. *adds to list of books to reread once I've finished uni*

I was reading it on my lunch break today and had to actually tear myself away from it when my hour was up, it's a very addictive read! (no awful pun intended)

[Fiona_B]

1. piercing - ryu murakami
2. cross country - james patterson
3. in the miso soup - ryu murakami
4. darkly dreaming dexter - jeff lindsay
5. dearly devoted dexter - jeff lindsay
6. dexter in the dark - jeff lindsay
7. the unbearable lightness of being - milan kundera
8. the catcher in the rye - j.d. salinger
9. american psycho - bret easton ellis
10. after dark - haruki murakami
11. dexter by design - jeff lindsay
12. three and out - tom henry
13. coraline - neil gaiman

14. fleshmarket close - ian rankin

[princessoPUNK]

Originally Posted by princessoPUNK

Originally Posted by princessoPUNK View Post
1. Diary of a Wife - Anias Nin
2. Scoop - Evelyn Waugh
3. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination - Helen Fielding
4. The Weight of Water - Anita Shreve
5. A Wedding in December- Anita Shreve
6. The Unconsoled - Kazuo Ishiguro
7. Love, Etc. - Julian Barnes
8. Vienna - Eva Menasse
9. The Family Way - Tony Parsons
10. A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy - Charlotte Grieg
11. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
12. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
13. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
14. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
15. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
16. Class, The Secret diary of a Teacher in Turmoil - Jane Beaton
17. Those Faraday Girls - Monica McInerney
.

18. Stories we Could Tell - Tony Parsons

[the.definitive]

Originally Posted by the.definitive

6. Junk - Melvin Burgess. Loved it, it was actually impossible to put down. And it was weirdly heartbreaking.

7. The Beach - Alex Garland. I've avoided reading this for YEARS because I went to see the film and I hate reading books after I've seen the movie. Thankfully I've forgotten most of the film by now and somehow managed not to picture Richard as Leonardo DiCaprio.

[Rowsbette]

Originally Posted by the.definitive

The Beach - Alex Garland. I've avoided reading this for YEARS because I went to see the film and I hate reading books after I've seen the movie. Thankfully I've forgotten most of the film by now and somehow managed not to picture Richard as Leonardo DiCaprio.

Stop reading books that I want to reread! Making me jealous.

If I traded the time I spent watching Eastenders and reading Closer for proper reading time, I could probably afford to do some pleasure reading amongst my studying. But sometimes your brain just craves trash.

[the.definitive]

Originally Posted by Rowsbette

Stop reading books that I want to reread! Making me jealous.

If I traded the time I spent watching Eastenders and reading Closer for proper reading time, I could probably afford to do some pleasure reading amongst my studying. But sometimes your brain just craves trash.

The only reason I'm even getting though some half-decent reading is because I'm too poverty stricken to buy rubbish mags! I'm actually making a pact with myself to limit my gossip-mag reading to my lunch break in work, I've got loads of charity-shop book buys to get though.

[sylvianorth]

Originally Posted by Rowsbette

Stop reading books that I want to reread! Making me jealous.

If I traded the time I spent watching Eastenders and reading Closer for proper reading time, I could probably afford to do some pleasure reading amongst my studying. But sometimes your brain just craves trash.

Of COURSE. I'd actually reccomend Belle Du Jour's 'Call Girl' books if you want some 'smart' trash. The books themselves aren't too and there's enough chat about girl stuff to make it an easy but enjoyable read, but Belle herself isn't an idiot (assuming of course she's real).

[Rowsbette]

Originally Posted by the.definitive

The only reason I'm even getting though some half-decent reading is because I'm too poverty stricken to buy rubbish mags! I'm actually making a pact with myself to limit my gossip-mag reading to my lunch break in work, I've got loads of charity-shop book buys to get though.

Good call, I should probably do the same. I've actually overdosed on gossip mags lately, it's that same horrible sickly feeling you get when you've eaten too many sweets. I've stopped buying books as our whole flat is overflowing with them, but they just seem to be breeding. Very strange.

Originally Posted by sylvianorth

Of COURSE. I'd actually reccomend Belle Du Jour's 'Call Girl' books if you want some 'smart' trash. The books themselves aren't too and there's enough chat about girl stuff to make it an easy but enjoyable read, but Belle herself isn't an idiot (assuming of course she's real).

Haha, it's this thread that stops me reading book-trash! I remember one year I read an Adele Parks book and it just seemed to undermine the rest of my list... urgh, what a snob I am. Still, the last book I read was pretty trashy. And Belle du Jour does look pretty interesting... I'll maybe make that one for my summer hols.

[princessoPUNK]

Originally Posted by Rowsbette

Haha, it's this thread that stops me reading book-trash! I remember one year I read an Adele Parks book and it just seemed to undermine the rest of my list... urgh, what a snob I am. Still, the last book I read was pretty trashy. And Belle du Jour does look pretty interesting... I'll maybe make that one for my summer hols.

My list is always a mixture of some chicklit, a bit of sci-fi/fantasy, good modern writers, and classics. You need the trash to balance out the good stuff, its all about reading for your mood. The Belle du Jour books are quite good, definitely holiday reading worthy.