Thea Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Sweetness in the BellyThe Year My Son and I Were Born Garlic and Sapphires China Road Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper I had a hard time trimming it down to five, much less three. Great. Just Great. I've never heard of any of these!!! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Well, I was on a classic bent this year. Jane Eyre, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Candide (this one was absurd and kept my attention because I was shaking my head the entire time), Daisy Miller/Washington Square. I trudged through some other classics and stopped reading some after the first chapter, but these I enjoyed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 You know, I'm killin' myself trying to come up with 3 top books! I don't know if I've been uninspired this year, or if I can't remember what I read this year vs. last year, but all I can come up with that I remember thoroughly enjoying and wishing they hadn't ended are two; The Book Thief (Zusak) and Inkspell (Funke). I did like the Twilight series very much, but I wouldn't place it in the top 3. I also liked Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and while these would all be in the top 10 probably, they just aren't top 3 material for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratefulmother Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Enter Jeeves: 15 Early Stories (my first intro to Wodehouse) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society The Bruised Reed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melopher Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Song of the Lark & My Antonia by Willa Cather I read plenty of good books this year, but these were so fabulous I'll be reading them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Oh, Little Women of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I'm having a tough time coming up with a top 3 list too, and I've read a ton this year. I may need to employ a reading list, complete with a rating system for next year. You know, I'm killin' myself trying to come up with 3 top books! I don't know if I've been uninspired this year, or if I can't remember what I read this year vs. last year, but all I can come up with that I remember thoroughly enjoying and wishing they hadn't ended are two; The Book Thief (Zusak) and Inkspell (Funke). I did like the Twilight series very much, but I wouldn't place it in the top 3. I also liked Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and while these would all be in the top 10 probably, they just aren't top 3 material for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thea Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I may need to employ a reading list, complete with a rating system for next year. This is my New Year's Resolution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I may need to employ a reading list, complete with a rating system for next year. This is a good idea - I think I need to do this, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I've been keeping a reading list for a couple years now but I haven't started a rating system. That's a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Loma Landvk. Loved it, just loved it. It was fun and I really connected with the characters. These two I reread for the gazillionth time: A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Clan of the Cavebear by Jean M. Auel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratefulmother Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Oops! I already posted but I forgot two short stories that I read as a result of recommendations on this forum. I read these in October. Turning of the Screw by Henry James The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I've been keeping a reading list for a couple years now but I haven't started a rating system. That's a good idea. I have a notebook I started years ago where I write down the books I read. I also write down a rating 0-5 for each book. I like having the list to go back & look through. I was thinking this year, I need to expand my list & write my thoughts about each book too.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira in MA Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 dd(17) says her top 3 were: Measure For Measure -- William Shakespeare The Talisman -- Sir Walter Scott 1984 -- George Orwell Mine were: Non-fiction Reflections on the Revolution in Europe -- Christopher Caldwell This Is Your Brain on Music: the Science of a Human Obsession -- Daniel J. Levitin Education's End: Why Our Colleges Have Given Up On the Meaning of Life -- Anthony T. Kronman Fiction: Anna Karenina -- Leo Tolstoy Waverley -- Sir Walter Scott An Echo in the Bone -- Diana Gabaldon ~Moira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Two of the many I ready come to mind: Still Alice by Lisa Genova Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Interestingly, I read 1984 after I read Fahrenheit 451. I had to read 1984 in school because, well, it was 1984. I wanted to read it again to see if it was a good book or if it was just the thing to do at the time. Well, I came away comparing it to Fahrenheit 451 and it came up really, really short. Perhaps that is because Fahrenheit 451 reminds me more of the way that we live today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom3tn Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I'm having a tough time coming up with a top 3 list too, and I've read a ton this year. I may need to employ a reading list, complete with a rating system for next year. That's a great idea! I wish I'd been doing that all along. I used to read a lot until I had kids, and then for about 7 or 8 years I didn't read anything but parenting magazines and children's books. A friend invited me to join a book club and I remembered how much I loved reading. Now I read so much I forget about many of the books that I read. I should have been writing them down and rating them. Careful--that book is mentioned on that other thread a couple of times along with A Time Traveler's Wife (which I also enjoyed). :) Water For Elephants is great, I loved it; but there are some parts that will make you blush. If you are offended by things that may be too explicit, you may want to skip it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Ah...ha... After torturing my kids with an impromptu book discussion yesterday, I have a top two list. King Arthur and Carry On Mr. Bowditch are at the top of my list, simply because my son and I read them together and...and he liked them. He really, really liked them and Moby Dick, which for me was torture. The Well Educated Mind rounds out my top three, it inspired me to read outside my comfort zone. Next year I am definitely keeping my own notebook, which will be complete with a star rating system and notes. I'm also exploring the philosophy of marking in my actual book (s), but it still doesn't sit well with me. I'm having a tough time coming up with a top 3 list too, and I've read a ton this year. I may need to employ a reading list, complete with a rating system for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Precious Bane by Mary Webb Middlemarch by George Eliot Squashed by Joan Bauer Mrs. Mike by ? Frederica by Georgette Heyer Sorry, can't keep it down to just three!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I love Hogfather and the movie is really quite good. I must say though, in audio format , Good Omens is a truly brilliant book. Agnes Nutter...I also enjoyed The Wyrd Sisters and The Wee Free Men as well. Off to watch The Waters of Mars(Dr Who) with dd . Movie of Hogfather? I had no idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Without a doubt, Moby Dick was the best book that I read this year. I can't even think of what came close as a second but I'll work on that thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcelmer Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Notes from the Tilt a Whirl...... "a colorful whir of profound and profoundly amusing meditations on creation, existence and God" LOVED it! :D I also really enjoyed listening to and reading online almost anything by PG Wodehouse. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett is lovely, a New England piney flavor book. The Lost Coin by James Blaylock is another that I reread again this year. I love Andrew's kitchen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in the NH Woods Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Kurt Wallander mysteries (Henning Mankell) Mankell creates a rather loveable, if flawed character. Serious subject matter with occasional influxes of dry humor. Rewarding plot line. The Little Stranger (Sarah Waters) Quirky combination of mystery, personality, and the power of the human psyche. Some are dissatisfied with the ending; I think it is very fitting. ;) kid's books: The Great Brain series (Fitzgerald) Very funny, in a wicked sort of way. My kids beg for more chapters, and I have no problem obliging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Once and Future King Hold onto Your Kids (reread) Watership Down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUJLBE Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald (autobiography by author of Mrs Piggle Wiggle-story of going back to the land long before it was a trend or statement) Island of the Lost by Joan Druett (fascinating true story of 2 shipwrecked crews in the 1800s south of New Zealand-utterly absorbing and I do not like reading history books) The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner (Weiner is a self-admitted whiner but his ventures across the globe do reveal fascinating tips on what creates happiness..... and what destroys it-envy, for instance, which is the basic tenant of the advertising industry) Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald (autobiography by author of Mrs Piggle Wiggle-story of going back to the land long before it was a trend or statement) Susan Love this book. She has several others, including The Plague and I, a story about when she had tuberculosis. Interesting to read how they treated it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUJLBE Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald Kiana-"Love this book. She has several others, including The Plague and I, a story about when she had tuberculosis. Interesting to read how they treated it." It was amazing to me to see the love for Betty MacDonald still alive 50 years after her death (at age 50) as evidenced by her web site http://bettymacdonald.net/ It was also amazing to read how her book inspired the Ma and Pa Kettle movies and how the real life Kettle-like characters she satirizes in the book were astute enough to sue her in the 1940s (looking for money I assume). I will look for the Plague and I. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melhouse Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I've read The Egg and I and The Plague and I. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books. Enjoyed them all!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 (edited) Fiction:Baron in the Trees (Calvino) I love this book! Calvino's a favorite of mine, but I read this years ago. I am not reading enough. I'm spending far too much time here arguing the finer points of grammar and ignoring the clutter consuming my house... Of the few books I've managed to get through this year, ones that come to mind that I enjoyed are: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (nonfiction) loved this book! The Book Thief ETA: Looking back through the list, I remembered I read The Good Earth this year, and enjoyed it. Edited December 28, 2009 by matroyshka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 In Search of Eden Sarah's Key Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett is lovely, a New England piney flavor book. I read this in college (YEARS ago) as part of my New England Literature class, and I loved it!!! I wonder if I still have it in a box in the attic... hmmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlynn Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I see a couple of my favorites this year already listed... Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society http://www.amazon.com/Guernsey-Literary-Potato-Society-Readers/dp/0385341008/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Fun read! Watership Down http://www.amazon.com/Watership-Down-Novel-Richard-Adams/dp/0743277708/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262059460&sr=1-1 still reading this one with my son...have never read it before! Sister Carrie http://www.amazon.com/Sister-Enriched-Classics-Theodore-Dreiser/dp/1416561498/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262059510&sr=1-1 Not a cheery novel, but loved it anyway The Forgotten Garden http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Garden-Novel-Kate-Morton/dp/1416550542/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262059428&sr=1-1 another easy read, perfect for a few days off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I just finished "Little Men" and really enjoyed it. Cried again though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 What a great thread....committing to spending more time at the library and less at bookstores this year. This gives us a great start. Crazy year for me. Too many textbooks to read and papers to write, but I enjoyed, probably morosely so, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Non-fiction: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan The Art of the Public Grovel by Susan Wise Bauer Fiction: Watership Down by Richard Adams The Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester Unwind by Neal Shusterman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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