The Next Best Book Club discussion

I'm setting a goal of reading at least 50 books in 2010. Wish me luck!

Lisa
www.LLLeibow.com

1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

2. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

3. You Are Not A Stranger Here: Stories by Adam Haslett

Good luck! What did you think of Mrs. Dalloway?

Hello, Liz, Thanks for asking!...nobody writes like that anymore -- wonderful. I wanted to read it because of it's prominent influence on "The Hours." As a writer, I read it with an eye toward the craft. It was fascinating to read an omniscient narrative. Contemporary style shuns "head hopping" but Virginia Woolf delved into so many character's views, here. I really enjoyed the experience of learning about Mrs. Dalloway's character through all of the characters she encountered during the day of her party.

Lisa,

Mrs. Dalloway was my first Woolf read and it got me hooked on her but my favorite so far is To the Lighthouse. It's very similar in style to Mrs. Dalloway but the story and Woolf's insights into human nature are much more compelling in my opinion. I think you'd enjoy it.

I second the recommendation for To the Lighthouse! That book is one of my favorites, as is The Hours!

4. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

How did you like The Picture of Dorian Gray?

5. Roots by Alex Haley

6. Betrayal by Harold Pinter

7. Fluke by Christopher Moore

8. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

9. The Photograph by Penelope Lively

10. Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey

11. The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed

12. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

13. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

14. Torn by Amber Lehman

15. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

16. American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meacham

17. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

18. Beloved by Toni Morrison

19. Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

20. Tinkers by Paul Harding

21. Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

22. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

23. The Essential It's A Wonderful Life Scene by Scene Guide to the Film by Michael Willian

24. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

25. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Yikes! Only half way there! I better get going...

26. Finn by John Clinch

27. The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein

28. Monty Python's Tunesian Holiday by Kim "Howard" Johnson

29. The False Friend by Myla Goldberg

30. The Lace Reader by Brunaria Barry

31. Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

32. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Not quite 50 but good try - well done! xx

Thanks, Claire. I am disappointed I missed the goal, but I accomplished a lot in 2010. In addition to reading these 32 books, I finished revising a novel manuscript and wrote a first draft of another novel, as well as several short stories. No looking back. Time to set my 2011 challenge. I think I will aim a little lower and see what happens.

That's brilliant :) gd luck in your next challenge x