Once again last year I failed in my personal goal to read 50 books that did not include plays. I only made it through 21 novels, bu with plays I did top 50. So my goal this year is, once again, to read 50 books not including plays.

Book 1 - The Ravenmaster's Secret: Escape From The Tower Of London
by Elvira Woodruff

Fast, easy youth-oriented story about the son of the Tower of London's Ravenmaster and a young Scottish girl who becomes imprisoned. It paints a semi-realistically grim picture of the conditions of Hanoverian England and the social system which divided even the lower classes from one another.
Obviously being a 'kids' book the language was fairly simplistic and there's very little conflict that isn't ultimately resolved well, at least for the main children in the story.

Currently Reading:
Peter Straub - Ghost Story

Upcoming:
No bloody idea.

Tags: historical fiction, young adult
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Watching Coupling

Book 1: Too Close to Home
Author: Linwood Barclay. 2008.
Genre: Thriller
Other Details: Hardback, 342 pages.

What's more frightening than your neighbours being murdered?
Finding the killers went to the wrong house...

Jim Cutter, his wife, Ellen, and their son, Derek have a fairly settled existence on the outskirts of Promise Falls in upstate New York. Then one hot July night their next door neighbours, the Langleys, are gunned down in their home and the Cutters' quiet lives are shattered. Albert Langley had been a prominent criminal lawyer and so it is natural for the police to consider that these murders might have been linked to one of his cases. However, there are factors that don't add up and these begin to prey on Jim's mind suggesting that the killers had gone to the wrong house. The idea seems crazy but then Jim begins a disturbing journey of discovery that uncovers secrets left, right and centre.

This was the January selection for one of my reading groups and I wasn't the only one that found themselves glued to the settee for the duration finding it almost impossible to put down. It was the subject of quite lively discussion last night from the observation that the cover blurb, quoted above, rather gave the game away to a discussion of its various red herrings and whether it counted as a whodunit, deconstruction of various characters' personalities and motivations, and finally some comparison to his first work, No Time for Goodbye (my 2008 Book 117), which we had all read in 2008.

Overall it received 'thumbs up' with only a couple of members in between liking and loathing and no 'thumbs down'. Collectively it was considered an easy read, perfect for the beach or as we had done, over the holidays.

Tags: thriller

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3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - So I've never read this book or seen this movie before but I've heard good things so I read it and I liked it. I thought it was going to be longer but it was very simple and to the point which for its readers (kids young and old) fits. I liked it and I plan on reading the rest of the books and I'm tivo'ing the movie that's coming on this weekend, haha.

Hi all. I joined the 50bookchallenge community in 2008. At the time, I was fostering an infant with lots of time on my hands. Our circumstances changed and I, well, simply FORGOT about livejournal in general. However, I have continued to be a bookworm and made my way back to this community to challenge myself for 2010 - my year of self improvement. My year will run from 1/1/2010 to 12/31/2010.

My first read of the year was The Host by Stephenie Meyer</b>, which I just finished yesterday. Like many others, I fell down the Twilight series rabbit hole last year. The Host is Meyer's first "adult" novel. It was yet another page turner and steeped with sci-fi, lovable characters, and impossible romances. I heard a fair amount of criticism about the adult nature of the relationships in Twilight, so I was surprised to find that most of the "adult" content in this book was mostly related to death, not sex.
Long and short of it... it's a long read, but you'll plow through it, just like the Twilight series.

I've now moved on to Smart vs. Pretty</b> by Valerie Frankel</b> (contributing editor to Mademoiselle). So far, it's a cute "chick lit" mystery novel, but nothing profound. A nice, short paperback to recover from the sheer volume of The Host.

I'm planning on book #3 being a P.G. Wodehouse book! Love them!


Read on!

♥,
Amy Lee

Current Location: My couch.
Current Mood: cold
Current Music: Watching Coco Chanel

I didn't post as I went along in 2009, and I only made it to ~30 books, but I thought I'd at least give a round up of my favorites of 2009, 2009 was a year of audiobooks Only #4 on my list was actually read in hard copy.

1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
*Amazing, heartbreaking audio performance. My SO and I both read it, and it fueled us with conversation for days.

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
*Another one I'm glad to have listened to. Simon Vance is definitely on my top audiobook readers list, and his narration on this one brought all of the characters to life. I've resisted watching any adaptations of Frankenstein before reading it, though I thought I knew the basic gist. If you've not read it, do. It isn't what you're expecting, though it's much more tragic.

3. Blindness by Jose Saramago
*One of the first books I read in 2009, and one that I think back to quite frequently. I'm beginning to see a theme. My top 3 books deal greatly with human cruelty. This one also has some amazing examples of human kindness.

4. Inversions by Iain Banks
Sort of sci-fi that feels like historical fiction. Besides being a page-turner, it's also brilliantly written.


I'm attempting the challenge again in 2010, with my first book being Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

#4: Jenny's Birthday Book by Esther Averill

I read and loved The Hotel Cat two years ago. I thought it was the only Esther Averill book my library had (having looked many times) but my daughter ended up finding Jenny's Birthday Book. She loves cats and was instantly drawn to Averill's illustrations. As soon as I saw the little black cat with the red scarf I knew she had found a gem of a book. It's a much shorter book than Hotel Cat but just as charming.

#5 Lizzi & Fredl: A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith by William B. Stanford

I was sent this book for review on my blog. On GoodReads it's gotten good ratings (4s and 5s) but I just couldn't get into it. It switches between dramatic passages written in novel form with lots of dialogue and action scenes and then long passages of over written description. Yes, this four people had a traumatic experience during WWII (just like most people in Europe) and thankfully they survived. The presentation of their stories though doesn't work for me.

#6 Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Tree House #27) by Mary Pope Osborne

Why do series authors feel compelled to write holiday themed books? They're rarely as good as their other books. Thanksgiving on Thursday is no different. Jack and Annie go back to the first Thanksgiving feast with the Pilgrims. This book was so bad it's put my son off the series for now.

#7 High Tide in Hawaii (Magic Tree House #28) by Mary Pope Osborne

I read this one by myself because my son has declared himself done for now with the Magic Tree House books. Jack and Annie go to Hawaii to pre-colonization days where they learn to hula and surf. They also manage to survive a tsunami. For a better book with similar themes, I recommend Nation by Terry Pratchett.

Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Saint Lucy (Catie Curtis)

Book 01: The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Retold by Kieran McGovern.

My stupid library gave me the level 4 book of Penguin Readers instead of the real The Picture Of Dorian Gray book. They tend to do that a lot, unfortunately. I did read it, because it was very short. I've placed an order for the real book once again, which probably means I have to wait for it for another few weeks. Good thing I have many good books at home right now.

So I'm counting this one, since I did read it, but I'll post about  it when I've read the whole book. :)



Book 02: Candide by Voltaire. || 3 out of 5 stars.

Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that -- contrary to the teachings of his distringuished tutor Dr. Pangloss -- all is not always for the best.



Book 03: 1984 by George Orwell. || 4 out of 5 stars.

Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman
Perfect book for being sick. So much like my childhood experience of reading and rereading and re-rereading Roger Lancelyn Green's Myths of the Norsemen that I fell asleep in the middle. Soothing (er, the experience, not the storyline) and gorgeously told.
(3/200, 1/100)

Living with Wolves, by Jim and Jamie Dutcher
I gave this as a Christmas gift and was so intrigued that I had to get myself a copy to read. The text is fairly basic but the pictures are absolutely stunning. Also I am a bad bad pet owner because I played the CD of wolf sounds even though I knew that my cats would probably freak out. Sure enough, the youngest one STILL hasn't come out of hiding, an hour later. I will definitely be reading Wolves at the Door, the more-story-fewer-pictures version of this. (Though if you were picking just one, I'd be inclined to go with the pictorial. They really are beautiful pictures.)
(4/200)

Current Mood: very tired of being sick
Current Music: KMRB is offering up Lucinda Williams, "Broken Things"

Title: Truly, Madly
Author: Heather Webber
Genre: Mystery/Romance

Truly, Madly is a cute and engaging book. Ms. Webber hooks you in early with a likeable heroine. Lucy is trying to make her own way in the world without the benefit of her trust fund, or her family’s fortune. Unfortunately her father ropes her into taking care of the family business while he goes for a little R & R. Lucy is apprehensive of her ability. Unlike the rest of her family, Lucy isn't a matchmaker, but a finder of lost inanimate objects. With all worries and the support of the family chauffer Lucy makes her debut in the office immediately getting caught up in the plight of one of their clients who really just wants his lost love back. This leads Lucy to the vision of his family's heirloom engagement ring on the finger of a skeleton. She asks the P.I. upstairs for help.

The characterizations weren't too in depth, but there's enough there to become enchanted by the quirky characters in Lucy's life. This is a great for when you want a light read to pass the time. There's a nice twist to solving the culprit of the crime, that isn't telegraphed too early to spoil the mystery.

It's a new year, and it's time to start another 50 book challenge.

Yesterday, I finished the latest Doonesbury book by G. D. Trudeau, called Tee Time in Berzerkistan, which gets the world up to the early days of the Obama Administration. Once again, it gives an odd viewpoint to the news of the day. If you like Trudeau, then this is a must; if you don't, don't bother with it.