Accumulated Reading Hours: 5
Books finished this session: 1
Pages read this session: 216
Accumulated Pages Read: 216
Total Books Read: 1
Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes
Currently Reading:
Chronicles of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery
Readathon Update #1
24 Hour Readathon
This is my second attempt at the readathon – any excuse to have a designated reading day! Last round I managed to read six books off my tbr list so this time I’m aiming for seven… okay, to be honest I’ll be happy to get through whatever I get through.
Like any animal settling in for their hibernation I’ve set up my nest with all the essentials: blanket (yes, the same comfy blanket that was dragged out for last time), pillow, cat, chocolate, tea (well soon), and of course BOOKS.
This is the pile I picked out, but now that I look at it, I realise that a fair few of them are ‘in between books’ that I picked out at the library this week, I’ll likely do some wondering to the bookshelf.
The pile as it stands
- Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes
- The Colour Purple – Alice Walker
- Avalon High Graphic Novels #1-3 – Meg Cabot and Jinky Coronado
- The Chronicles of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery*
- Selected Poems – T.S. Eliot
- Elizabethan Sonnets – Maurice Evans
- Collected Poems – Sylvia Plath
- The Dresden Files Graphic Novels: Welcome to the Jungle – Jim Butcher
*I know the picture has Anne of Avonlea but I picked up the wrong one and I’m too lazy to retake the photo – you’ll forgive me, yes?
‘Best’ books
I try to reply to comments directly through email, but not everyone who commented on my last post had attached emails, and enough people made the same/similar comment that I thought I’d do a follow up post.
I’d certainly agree with you that the books on the Dymocks Booklover list are not the ‘best’ books – I think we can all agree that if we were to compile our own list (now there’s an idea), that Twilight would not be in top billing.
For those not in the know, the Dymocks list is compiled mostly by (I believe) the VIP customers/members. Each year a poll is set up on the Dymocks website where you can submit your all time favourite book. This data is collated and used to formulate the this.
Unfortunately ‘favourite’ and ‘best’ do not always coincide – I’m sure we all have at least one chicklit-y, escapist book amongst our favourites!
But why don’t you start thinking about what you consider to be the ‘best’ books – come up with your top five. Start thinking now – I plan to make it next week’s MM.
The 2010 Booklover’s Best 101 List
I get very excited when Dymocks updates their Booklover list. Seriously. There’s markers and stickers involved.
I pull out the one from the year before and I look to see what’s risen and what’s fallen – and the worthiness thereof. Much consideration is given to the new books that find their way onto the list. Are they really the BEST? Or just new?
All in all, I sit there at the dining room table squealing with nerdy glee while the rest of my family runs away in fright.
Anyways, for those NOT lucky enough to get the catalogue, I thought I’d share. I’ve marked the ones I’ve read – why not see what you’ve read yourself?
1 The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
2 The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
6 The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
7 To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
8 The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
9 My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
10 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
11 The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
12 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
13 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
14 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
15 Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
16 Magician by Raymond E. Feist
17 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
18 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
19 Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
20 The Host by Stephenie Meyer
21 Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
22 Atonement by Ian McEwan
23 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
24 Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
25 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
26 Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon
27 Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
28 The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
29 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
30 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
31 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
32 Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
33 Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
34 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
35 The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini
36 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
37 Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
38 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
39 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
40 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
41 Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
42 The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
43 Persuasion by Jane Austen
44 Tully by Paullina Simons
45 Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly
46 Breath by Tim Winton
47 The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
48 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
49 A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
50 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
51 Emma by Jane Austen
52 The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
53 The Bible
54 Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly
55 A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
56 We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
57 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
58 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
59 The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
60 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
61 People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
62 The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
63 The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
64 Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
65 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
66 The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
67 Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
68 Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly
69 On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
70 The Princess Bride by William Goldman
71 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
72 Wicked by Gregory Maguire
73 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
74 Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
75 Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
76 Dewey by Vicki Myron
77 Dirt Music by Tim Winton
78 Marley and Me by John Grogan
79 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
80 Dune by Frank Herbert
81 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
82 The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
83 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
84 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
85 The Road by Cormac McCarthy
86 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
87 The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
88 The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
89 Possession by AS Byatt
90 Finnikin of The Rock by Melina Marchetta
91 No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
92 Graceling by Kristin Cashore
93 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
94 The Secret History by Donna Tartt
95 Silent Country by Di Morrissey
96 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
97 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
98 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
99 Still Alice by Lisa Genova
100 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
101 Gallipoli by Les Carlyon
Anne of Green Gables Challenge
Those participating in the Anne of Green Gables reading Challenge can now visit the blog to post their reviews!
Musing Mondays (April 5)
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the upcoming readathon.
Are you planning on participating in the upcoming readathon? Why not tell us a little about your plans: reading solo or with a partner/group? How long to do plan to read? Do you have your books chosen? If not reading, do you plan to be a cheerleader? The floor is yours.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.
I really enjoyed participating in last years Readathon and so I’ve definitely signed up for the one on the 10th. I haven’t made any concrete plans yet, beyond a general ‘hmm, I might read [insert book from trb pile here]’. This is, in fact, the main reason I’m asking this question – I like to hear what other’s have in mind.
I do plan on reading books from my tbr pile – it’s getting to the ‘staggering’ end of the spectrum – with some poetry (already borrowed from the library) in between.
I’ll be reading solo again this readathon, but my family were very good last year in leaving me be and providing regular cups of tea, so I imagine things will go well.
March Wrap-Up
Books read:
- Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
- Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides
- Tomorrow, When the War Began – John Marsden
- You Better Not Cry – Augusten Burroughs
Musing Mondays (March 29)
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about multitasking.
Do you – or are you even able – to do other things while you read? Do you knit, hold a conversation, keep an eye on the TV? Anything?
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.
Week before last I had a birthday present to knit up that – I’ll admit – I had left to late. Several people I talked to said they couldn’t imagine me having any problems, after all, I’d just knit while I read right?
I can’t quite manage this – I don’t have enough hands for the book and the needles and, well, it’s just not pretty (and I know, you’re going to suggest audio books, I’m just not entirely sold yet).
In fact, while I consider myself to be a fairly skilled multi-tasker. There isn’t actually a great deal I can do while reading – not beyond listening to a bit of music anyway.
Wordless Wednesday
And some words (yes I’m cheating): If you scroll through my blog you’ll notice that I’ve been a terrible blogger of late. I hope to shake this bug I’ve had and get caught up on the reviews.
In the meantime I’m going to bed with the book I haven’t finished for bookclub – see, I’ve been a bad reader too!
Teaser Tuesday (March 23)
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
- Grab your current read.
- Let the book fall open to a random page.
- Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
- You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
"I have deceived even your very eyes: what your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light, who in the night overheard me confessing to this man, how Don John your brother incensed me to slander the Lady Hero." (5.1)
Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare
Musing Mondays (March 22)
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about tbr books.
Where do you keep the books on the top of the tbr pile? Not the bunk of the mountain, but just the tip of the peak – the ‘almost up to’ books?
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.
I did a little tidying this week and realised just how many books had migrated from my bookshelf to my bedroom. There were… well quiet a few. In doing this I sent some shuffling meekly back to the shelf and put the rest in their usual tbr spots.
The books I’m reading now plus one or two ‘next’ books sit on the shelf above my bed for easy reach – nothing worse than having to leave a nice warm bed to grab another book.
I also have another pile tucked up on the corner of my desk. I consider this to be my ‘priority tbr pile’ and is made up of library books, borrowed books etc.
What about you? Where do you keep your tbr books?
Musing Mondays (March 15)
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about picture books.
Do you have a favourite picture book, either from your own childhood, or reading to you children?
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.
One of the little girls I babysit, my cousins three year old daughter Kaitlyn, is a budding book worm. I walk in the door and she comes toddling out with books under her arms, wanting to be read to. I don’t mean that she comes out with one book, or even two – no, she brings out a pile. As such, I’ve been reading more picture books over the past six months than I can ever remember having read before.
My #1 favourite picture book is still Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (was very excited to see the movie, and yes I did enjoy it). But it’s not my only favourite. I decided to go cover gathering…
Musing Mondays (March 7)
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about dust jackets.
Do you prefer books with a dust jacket? What do you do with your dust jacket while reading? Leave it on or take it off? (Question courtesy of Kim from Page after Page)
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.
I don’t actually have a great many books with dust jackets* – mostly because harcover books are just a little out of my price range. But when Kim mentioned dust jackets on her blog last week it got me thinking. I do like them in principle; it is, after all, a good idea to protect the book cover. But when it comes to my books they don’t really serve this purpose.
The whole time they’re on my shelf that dust jacket stays on, keeping them nice and cozy. But as soon as I take them down to read, that dust jacket comes straight off and stored somewhere safe till I’m done. After all, I wouldn’t want the jacket to get damaged! Somehow, I think this is defeating the purpose.
But what about you guys, how do dust jackets fare in your library?
*Okay, I just counted, I have 15, which I have to say, is more than I thought I did.
Anne of Green Gables Challenge
After talking about it last week, several people seemed interested in an Anne of Green Gables reread challenge, and so I set one one – always happy to have some good Anne company!
Option 3: The eight central books in the series:
- Anne of Green Gables
- Anne of Avonlea
- Anne of the Island
- Anne of Windy Poplars/Windy Willows
- Anne’s House of Dreams
- Anne of Ingleside
- Rainbow Valley
- Rilla of Ingleside
as well as any related material.
Literary Lusts: Friedrich Bhaer
Literary Lusts is a meme hosted by Elena over at With Extra Pulp, wherein we discuss any literary characters we may have had developed a crush on.
Sometimes – okay, ALL the time – I forget to post my responses to memes, especially when they don’t, quite handily, have the day in the title. This is why I’m doing the Literary Lust post today, instead of yesterday. This is my third post on this subject, and I’m a little concerned that I haven’t run out of people yet…
Friedrich Bhaer
from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
I know he’s not a major character (not right away, at least) but think about it. He’s a well-learned, extraordinarily kind and gentle man. He’s wonderful with children, believes in honesty, and has an accent to boot. He not only puts up with Jo’s temperamental ways, but actually loves her all the more, and compliments her so well. At the risk of being pelted with tomatoes, I was never disappointed that Jo turned Laurie down – I knew she would find her Friedrich.
You’ve got to love a kindly literature-nerd*.
When it comes to movie adaptions of Little Women, there are of course several Friedrichs**, but my favourite will also be the version of my generation: Gabriel Byrne. Really, would you turn down this man:
* My love for Friedrich is in no way connected to my long-standing wish to be Jo. No. Never. Not at all.
** In looking for Professor Bhaer pictures I discovered that William Shatner and John de Lancie were in a production of Little Women together, as Friedrich Bhaer and Frank Vaughn respectively. This makes the nerd in me very happy … and very giggly.
Teaser Tuesday (March 2)
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
- Grab your current read.
- Let the book fall open to a random page.
- Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
- You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
The seclusion room etiquette was, If you weren’t locked in, anybody could join you. A nurse could interrupt your yelling to try to find out why you were yelling, or some other crazy person could come in, and start yelling too. (147)
Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen
February Wrap-Up
I mentioned it earlier this week, but things have been a little busy round my neck of the woods – in fact, blogging wise, this month has been pretty much non-existent. I have, however, gotten a far bit of reading done (all in 5-minute, waiting room snatches), and am now being punished by a nice stack of unreviewed books. Must get onto that.
Books read:
- Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Rebecca Wells
- The Sandman: The Dream Hunters – Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano
- 13 Little Envelopes – Maureen Johnson
- Portrait Photography – Mark Cleghorn
- The Bermudez Triangle – Maureen Johnson
- Little Brother – Cory Doctorow
- 84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff
- The Looking Glass Wars – Frank Beddor
Books not yet finished:
- Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen
Challenges completed:
- um. none.
Musing Monday (March 1)
Sorry for today’s question being up later than usual – I spent all yesterday freaking out about there being a tsunami morning and all today cursing the storms for knocking out my net. I guess my priorities were a little skewed.
I hope that anyone living in areas affected by the earthquake or resulting flooding is doing okay, and my thoughts are with them.
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about a story format.
How do you feel about books written in a differing format – whether this be journals or letters (epistolary), verse novels, or any other form? Is this something you enjoy? Or do you prefer straight forward chapter prose.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.
I find that reading books with a different format – whether that be in verse, shorter chapters, letters, what have you – makes me more aware of what I’m reading. This can be both good and bad: good because I feel that I’m concentrating more on what I’m reading, but bad because I don’t feel absorbed into the book like I would with really good prose.
That having been said, I really enjoy this in a book. This question came up because I just finished reading Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted. Though I’ve seen the movie several times, and knew the main character to be a writer, I’ve never picked up the book before. I expected it to be a journal, and was surprised by the short chapter, topic-like contents. This format have it such a beautiful focus, and I’ve been wondering if it would have been as effective if it were told another way.
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