Robin M Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Today is the start of Week 25 in the quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks and should have you starting book # 26. Which means --- Drum roll, please. We are halfway towards our goal of reading 52 books for the year. You all are doing a fantastic job. :) You may post your reviews, thoughts, reactions to the books you've read here or on the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Blog. ******************************************************* Happy Summer! I'm looking forward to the long days of summer, relaxing on the patio with a glass of ice tea and reading. Aren't you? Even in the midst of vacations, gardening, summer activities and summer lessons, time reading is well spent. I'll tell you a secret...I have discovered that reading is more enjoyable than watching television. Reading engages my mind, taking me away to places I've never been, is entertaining and educational. I've just about given up television and occasionally will watch a netflix dvd or some show we decided to dvr. But I discovered I'd much rather be reading. And I have discovered many new to me authors along the way. What's on my plate this week: I currently reading "Walls of Phantoms" a huge book of 1300 pages which is a modern retelling of the Odyssey and Epic of Gilgamesh. For class I reading "A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce. Waiting in the wings is "Duma Key" by Stephen King for when bored with reading "Walls." So gang - How is it going? Can you believe this is the halfway point already. Are you halfway there, nearly there, past it or just hanging on. I've got the pom poms out to cheer every one on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I read "Don't Go There!" A travel guide to the must miss places of the world. I liked it, though parts really grossed me out! Also read a historical fic set in Indonesia in the late 60's. Not a fantastic book, but it was a new setting for me so I enjoyed it. Until the last page. I think insufficient endings are worse than bad ones. Now I'm reading a book written by a librarian about all the crazy people he meets. It's fun :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I finally finished Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife. It only took slightly longer than a week, but it seemed like so much more. This morning I started Dorris Lessing's The Grass is Singing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Actually, I am on Book #28. I am amazed that I have kept up so far. I was so sure I was going to fizzle by the time March rolled by. Anyway, I finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. It was a very good story. I like the twist. Usually, we hear of the Holocaust from the perspective of the Jews. This time, the story is told from the German point of view. An added twist is that the main character is a 9 yr. old. Next book is Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I'm currently reading The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Time travel gone wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Grapes of Wrath is this weeks selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I think I just finished book 30. We're on vacation this week, and I just finished all 3 books I brought with me, so I'll be going out tomorrow to buy another one :D I read The Mistress's Daughter by A.M. Homes (very good memoir about the author's birth parents tracking her down when she was in her 30's), Grave's End by Elaine Mercado (a true story about a haunting in NY), and Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (an okay teen-type vampire novel). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I am starting the Amelia Peabody series, finally. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I'm so far behind :( I finished two books this week which puts me at 17. One was an audio book (and I'm counting those!), Moscow 1941. The other was The Lord of the Flies. I've already started on Animal Farm. I'm really hoping to catch up this summer! Is anyone else woefully behind but still plugging along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I'm so far behind :( I finished two books this week which puts me at 17. One was an audio book (and I'm counting those!), Moscow 1941. The other was The Lord of the Flies. I've already started on Animal Farm. I'm really hoping to catch up this summer! Is anyone else woefully behind but still plugging along? I am behind. But I am going to keep going! Hang in there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraida Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Week 1: The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch Week 2: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Week 3: The Book and the Brotherhood by Iris Murdoch Week 4: The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie Week 5: The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie Week 6: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Week 7: Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie Week 8: Paper Towns by John Green Week 9: Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen Week 10: Saville by David Storey Week 11: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald Week 12: Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald Week 13: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Week 14: Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai Week 15: The White Hotel by D. M. Thomas Week 16: What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn Week 17: Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner Week 18: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith Week 19: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood Week 20: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood Week 21: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood Week 22: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood Week 23: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Week 24: Possession by A. S. Byatt Week 25: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Week 26: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry Blessings Zoraida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Week 1: The Templars Week 2: End of America Week 3: Kluge Week 4: Spook Week 5: Panic in Level 4 Week 6: Killing the Imposter God Week 7: Journeys to a Mythical Past Week 8: Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blonds? Week 9: When Men Become Gods Week 10: The Score Week 11: More Harm Than Good Week 12: The Unthinkable Week 13: Deep Survival Week 14: How Not to Die by Jan Garavaglia Week 15: Web of Conspiracy & Secret Societies Week 16: Marley & Me and Be the Pack Leader Week 17: Cesar's Way Week 18: TWTM again (new edition) Week 19: The Great Pyramid Week 20: The Survivors Club Week 21: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue Week 22: Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life Week 26: Jesus Papers. I am still working on The Jesus Papers but since I double up some weeks this is actually book number 26 for me. I have no idea what I am going to read next. I have so many books it is hard to choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I started Shaara's The Rising Tide the day my dd's fiance was killed, three weeks ago. Just finally finished it today and started The Steel Wave, also by Shaara. Just not much reading getting done... I'm so sorry to hear of this! I hadn't heard it earlier. So sorry for your loss!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I'm so far behind :( I finished two books this week which puts me at 17. One was an audio book (and I'm counting those!), Moscow 1941. The other was The Lord of the Flies. I've already started on Animal Farm. I'm really hoping to catch up this summer! Is anyone else woefully behind but still plugging along? Heheh. I'm only as far as I am because I'm reading easy novels. You're reading "proper" books! ;) Rosie Edit: I started Shaara's The Rising Tide the day my dd's fiance was killed, three weeks ago. Just finally finished it today and started The Steel Wave, also by Shaara. Just not much reading getting done... Oh! Hugs to your daughter in particular :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I can't remember what book number I'm at, but it is in the 20s. Last week I read the Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A lovely, "lite" read. I knew how the story would end, but was happy to go along with it. Someone else had read it a few weeks ago and recommended it. I also read the Witch in the Wood, the 2nd of the 4 books from Once and Future King. I am currently listening to The Lost City of Z, and find it fascinating. I'm listening while I crochet -- a perfect way to spend a summer afternoon or evening! I'm also reading The Good Earth. Can't believe I've made it this far in life without having read it, especially since I have a BA and MA in Chinese Studies! Very good so far -- it captures pre-revolutionary rural Chinese life perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I haven't posted in about 5 weeks :svengo: Shame on me. Here's my list, most recent reads bolded: 1. Nine Days a Queen 2. Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist 3. Driving Over Lemons 4. Father Arseny: A Cloud of Witnesses 5. Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future 6. Grandma's Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the way we cooked 7. Vanity Fair 8. Spiritual Counsels of Father John of Kronstadt 9. Les Miserables 10. Macy's, Gimbels and Me by Bernice Fitz-Gibbon 11. The Middle Ages by Morris Bishop 12. The Scarlet Letter 13. Our Hearts' True Home, Virginia Nieuwsma, ed. 14. Introducing the Orthodox Church by Anthony M. Coniaris 15. Model Behavior by Jay McInerny 16. Readings in Christianity, compiled by Robert E. Van Voorst 17. Married to a Catholic Priest by Mary Vincent Dally 18. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Robert B. Cialdini 19. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert 20. Gold Rush: A Literary Exploration by various authors 21. Navajo Silver: A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing by Arthur Woodward 22. Baghdad-by-the-Bay by Herb Caen 23. Encore Provence by Peter Mayle 24. Finding My Way by Borghild Dahl 25. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon 26. The Suez Canal by Gail Stewart 27. Unseen Warfare - classical spiritual work 28. A Concise History of Bolivia by Herbert Klein (put this one on hold for the time being) 29. In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger 30. Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie 31. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 32. New Mexico: A History of Four Centuries by Warren Beck 33. Emma by Jane Austen 34. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 35. Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle by Dorothy Gilman 36. Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner 37. Homeschooler's College Admissions Handbook by Cafi Cohen 38. Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart 39. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart 40. The Stormy Petrel by Mary Stewart 41. Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss 42. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 43. The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie 44. Lost Horizon by James Hilton 45. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 46. Five Thousand Years of Glass, ed. Hugh Tait 47. Poems of Home and Travel by Bayard Taylor 48. Highway 99, A Literary Journey through California's Central Valley, various authors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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