The Next Best Book Club discussion

Right... So I'm not buying any new books until I've read the ones I already own (except incomplete series books, which account for 14 books below - marked with an *), or until 2010, whichever comes first.

Crossed off books are read.
Underlined books are accounted for in another challenge.
Bold are currently reading.


Heres the full list:

1. 100 Great Fantasy Short, Short Stories
2. The 120 Days of Sodom and Other Writings
3. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
4. The Age of Innocence
5. The Alchemist's Daughter: A Novel
6. American Gods
7. The Amityville Horror
*8. The Amulet of Samarkand
9. The Andromeda Strain
10. Angela's Ashes
*11. Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony
12. The Bachman Books : Four Early Novels by Richard Bachman
13. Beloved
*14. Blackwood Farm
15. Bleak House
*16. Blue is for Nightmares
*17. The Book of Shadows
18. The Brothers Karamazov
19. Catch-22
20. The Chamber
21. The Client
22. The Count of Monte Cristo
23. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
24. The Dante Club: A Novel
25. Death Be Not Proud
26. The Dogs of Babel
27. Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America
28. Emma
29. Everest is Hollow
30. Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales
*31. The Eyre Affair
32. Fall on Your Knees
33. A Farewell to Arms
34. Fatal Cure
35. Foucault's Pendulum
36. The Fountainhead
37. Girl with a Pearl Earring
*38. The Golem's Eye
39. Heart-Shaped Box: A Novel
40. Hell House
41. His Dark Materials Omnibus
42. Howard's End
43. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
44. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
45. The Idiot
46. Imajica
47. Inferno
48. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
49. Jurassic Park
50. The King of Torts
51. The Kite Runner
52. Labyrinth (Audiobook)
53. Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon
54. Land Under England
55. The Last Juror
*56. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson)
57. Lisey's Story
58. A Little Princess
59. Lorna Doone
*60. Lost in a Good Book
61. Madame Bovary
62. Magic Terror
63. Middlemarch
64. Middlesex
65. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
66. My Antonia
67. Mystery
68. Neverwhere
*69. New Moon
70. Northanger Abbey
71. The Odyssey
72. Oryx and Crake
73. Othello
74. Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained
75. The Partner
76. The Pelican Brief
77. The Picture of Dorian Gray
78. The Plague
79. The Princess Bride
80. The Reader
81. Rebecca
82. Roots
83. The Runaway Jury
84. The Scarlet Pimpernel
85. The Screwtape Letters
*86. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson)
87. A Separate Peace
88. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
89. To Reign In Hell
90. Showdown
91. Solaris
92. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories
93. The Tales of Beedle the Bard
94. The Teeth of the Tiger
95. Tess of the D'Urbervilles
96. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
97. Thinner
98. Tigana
*99. The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson)
100. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
*101. Twilight
102. Uncle Tom's Cabin
103. Vital Signs
104. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse
105. Water For Elephants
106. What Dreams May Come
107. Where The Heart Is
*108. White Is for Magic
109. The Wind in the Willows
110. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
111. The Woman in White
112. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
113. Year of Wonders

January:

Read: 12
Left To Read: 100
Total Pages Read: 4148

12) 01/31/09- 79. The Reader (218 pages)
11) 01/28/09- 9. The Andromeda Strain (327 pages)
10) 01/26/09- 106. Where The Heart Is (358 pages)
09) 01/23/09- 82. The Runaway Jury (550 pages)
08) 01/21/09- 39. Heart-Shaped Box: A Novel (354 pages)
07) 01/18/09- 23. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (226 pages)
06) 01/17/09- 27. Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America (284 pages)
05) 01/15/09- 22. The Count of Monte Cristo (1276 pages)
04) 01/04/09- 90. Solaris (204 pages)
03) 01/02/09- 37. Girl with a Pearl Earring (240 pages)
02) 01/01/09- 92. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (111 pages)
---
01) 12/31/08- 41. His Dark Materials Omnibus

February

Read: 18
Left To Read: 94
Total Pages Read: 6688

18) 02/20/09- 51. The Kite Runner (371 pgs)
17) 02/17/09- 64. Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil (388 pgs)
16) 02/14/09- 49. Jurassic Park (399 pgs)
15) 02/13/09- 13. Beloved (324 pgs)
14) 02/08/09- 50. The King of Torts (470 pgs)
13) 02/04/09- 6. American Gods (588 pgs)

I love listing! :) Is your To-Be-Read shelf the ones you own and need to read? If you want, I will make the list for you...

But... I was being serious! I love listing.

...You should see my movie list. It's beautiful. It's in Excel, with tabs and columns and release years. *sigh*

I should do a similar book list. :)

Wow.... this is intense! Good luck with all of it, Becky!

Thanks... I hope I can do it!

If I can recommend three to move to the top of your TBR list:

Angela's Ashes
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Middlesex

I liked or loved quite a few on your list, but don't want to muddy the waters. I am sooooo impressed with this listing you guys do! I love to do and grocery lists, but this...amaztastic!!!!

You know I wish you luck, right?

Jessica,
I will read The Picture of Dorian Gray for my Classic read in March.
I am planning on reading the other two very soon as well. :)

Yes I do Kandice! Thank you! :)

Becky wrote: "Jessica,
I will read The Picture of Dorian Gray for my Classic read in March.
I am ..."

Great! :)

If I was deserving of a vote, I would recommend The Woman in White for a classic soon (I mean, I guess you'll read it this year anyway)...but still, one of my fave books ever!

Hmm... Maybe in April?

cool, I'm patient! haha, I don't actually know anyone else that has read it I don't think.

I'd read it sooner, but I'm doing this goal.

Gotta stick to my goals you know! :)

Hmm so I wrote something on this thread about American Gods, or at least I thought I did, but I don't see it. I have it but need to read it. What did you think? I seem to be hit or miss with Gaiman because I liked Neverwhere, but couldn't get into Stardust.

Stardust seems to be the least favorite of Gaiman's books... It seems that everywhere he's mentioned, people didn't like that one! I haven't read it, so I can't compare, but I did really like American Gods. I'd highly recommend it if you like mythology and legends!

Be prepared though, some of the references aren't clear until the end, and then maybe only on re-reads. I love books that allow you to discover new things every time you read it!

Did you read my review?

I have to say, Becky, you take your book reviews seriously! I feel so lazy after reading them. Mine usually consist of "it was good" or "it was slow" and yours are analasises (sp?)!!!! I have started specifically looking for yours on books I am interested in, or considering.

Heh, if you think that my reviews are analytical, you should see my friend Shannon's! She's one of the mods of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy group, you should check some of them out. She puts me to shame!

Thank you, too by the way! :)

I will look at hers. I am always afraid I'll come off sounding dumb or pompous, so I just give a small opinion. In my head, though...I am long winded.
You're very welcome.

I just write what I think. I use the private notes section a lot, and I jot down thoughts as they pop into my head.

I don't really put a ton of thought into them, and I rarely expect anyone to read them, so I am surprised when I get comments and votes. They always make my day when I see those!

Just finished: Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil (388 pgs)
Now starting: The Kite Runner

This is a GREAT idea ... read books from our "owned" TBR piles/shelves and be accountable! Goes along with the trying not to buy any more books thread!

Any rules? Any limits? Any suggestions? Since I "read about, see, hear of, etc." new books to add and the temptation is GREAT! ... ;o)

I know, the temptation is there... and this group doesn't help AT ALL!

My rules are:
No acquiring new books until I have read all the books that aren't marked with a * below, or until January 1, 2010- whichever comes first.

No borrowing books, no Ebooks, no library books, no freebie giveaway books, no gifts, nothing, until I've read what I already own.

Once I am down to the books marked with the *'s, I can then buy books again.

Kandice wrote: "I liked or loved quite a few on your list, but don't want to muddy the waters. I am sooooo impressed with this listing you guys do! I love to do and grocery lists, but this...amaztastic!!!!

You ..."

Amaztastic - what a great word, Kandice!

I too like to make lists and have all (or most) of the books I own on it. However, to make room in my small living space (went to half of what I used to live in!), I've given away almost all my fiction to the library, since I now listen to CDs on my 180 minute, round-trip commute to work. So all I have left on my TBR shelves is non-fiction.

Would love to see your Excel setup, Becky. How did you move that list to Goodreads (above), or did you type each one in individually? And ... how were you able to edit (line through) that list without reposting it?

My daughters will be so proud of me if I can clear out some of these books by actually reading them! ;o)

PS Becky, "Year of Wonders" needs to go closer to the top, along with "Lorna Doone" (a childhood favorite!).

I have to make it clear (G)Emma made up that word! We all just use it.

Thanks Liz!
Fiona was actually the one who did the excel sheet, I was just saying that I should one day. I think that from your "my books" page you can export to excel, but I'm not 100% positive on that - I'll have to play around with it.

In order to cross out the books without reposting the list, I just click on "edit" (which should be on every post that you make) and do "<.s.> text <./.s.>" just without the dots...

I tried to read Lorna Doone a while ago, but I admit that the book didn't grab me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it though.

How are you finding Kite Runner? Another one I own but haven't gotten to. Isn't that dangerous territory, since you want to read Thousand Splendid Suns?

It is definitely dangerous territory! But it was well worth it! Highly recommended, but invest in some tissues.

OK, so I am done with "The Kite Runner", what should I read next? Gimme some recommendations from my list ladies! :)

Fiona, you know perfectly well that I do not own ICTC, and therefore cannot read it!

Silly girl.

Northanger Abbey is one of my favorites, so I'd have to recommend that one. (I'll be starting ICTC in the next couple of days, though - it looks really good.)

Oh, I should mention that I have the following books on another challenge (I'm reading one classic per month), so they are not included... Sorry! :)

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Plague - Albert Camus
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
The 120 Days of Sodom and Other Writings - Marquis de Sade
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Emmuska Orczy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

OK, I decided to take Liz's recommendation from yesterday and read Year of Wonders.

I'll be interested to see what you think of Year of Wonders. I've been debating on whether I should add it to my TBR list or not.

Jamie, I'm almost done with the book, and so far I am really liking it. It's an interesting look at how people reacted to difficult situations. Very interesting. I love learning about what people's lives were like before modern technology -- or technology at all, really!

Read: 19
Left To Read: 94
Total Pages Read: 6992

19) 02/22/09- 113. Year of Wonders (304 pgs)

I'm so angry! I just found another book hiding on my shelf! :(

Read: 20
Left To Read: 93
Total Pages Read: 7088

20) 02/24/09- 87. A Separate Peace (196 pgs)

Hello! I found you! I just joined this group... on my update feeds I would always see you and Kandice chatting it up in this group so I thought I would check it out. I probably won't be able to join in their group reads (too many books so little time) but I love to be able to list my books here.

Hi Angie! I'm glad you joined! If I had known that you were interested I'd have sent you an invite. Although I suppose it wasn't that much trouble to find me, since I'm such a blabbermouth on here! ;)

You'll have tons of fun here though... Its completely addictive!

Becky wrote: "Right... So I'm not buying any new books until I've read the ones I already own (except incomplete series books, which account for 14 books below - marked with an *), or until 2010, whichever comes..."

I only have twenty thousand leahues under the sea here and using it for the spring challenge. Read in the past the Jekyll story...I think I liekd it but thought it was weird.

Becky wrote: "Stardust seems to be the least favorite of Gaiman's books... It seems that everywhere he's mentioned, people didn't like that one! I haven't read it, so I can't compare, but I did really like Ameri..."

I only read stardust by him but really liked it. Loved the movie.

I have read several Gaiman books and yes I have to admit Stardust is my least favorite. It is still very good but my least favorite out of his books.

I haven't read Stardust yet... I've read Good Omens and American Gods, both of which I loved. I am also reading Neverwhere next month, and I fully anticipate loving that one too! :)

Read: 21
Left To Read: 92
Total Pages Read: 8094

03/03/09- 48. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Yay Becky! Go Becky! It's your birthday!


Well, not really, but you get the idea....

So, Becky, how'd you like JS&MN?

LOL Kandice... I wish it was my birthday, then I'd have my Kindle! 7 more months. *sigh*

Alisha, it was OK. I wanted to like it more than I did. There was just so much build-up that it felt that the ending was gonna be explosive and amazing, and it just wasn't. Things kinda just fell together but the resolution wasn't there.

I did like the writing style, and the social commentery/comedy aspect, but it was just so wordy! Clarke used 4 pages where another author could have said the same thing in 4 sentences. I know that the style she was going for is more of a eloquent and elegant communication style, but at times I just felt like she would never get to the point.

Like I said, I wanted to like it so much. Everything I like in a book was in this one, it just wasn't well executed. :(