Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Books Alive Reading Challenge
At the beginning of the year I signed up for a challenge. I thought I could read 100 books in a year. I was doing very well until the birth of Baby Bug at which point in time the wheels feel off... Still, I was happy that I had managed to read 42 books come August.
September is THE month for Books with schools everywhere having their book weeks and the publication of 'Books Alive 50 books you can't put down' guide. This was the kick I needed to pick up a book again and start reading. I joined another challenge hosted by Book Thingo to read as many books as I can for September. The added benefit is that I will also be adding to my yearly total!
43.On, Off ~ Colleen McCullough
This took me awhile to get into, but once I had the characters worked out I found it to be not a bad story. Unfortunately I did not much like the end which did spoil it for me, I prefer it when the bad guy is safely locked away when I close the book for the final time.
44.The Unknown Terrorist ~ Richard Flanagan
This was a story about a pole dancer found herself to be Australia's most wanted terrorist. It does leave you wondering at the power of media hype and spin.
45.Lord John and the Private Matter ~ Diana Gabaldon
I enjoyed this enough that I am going to hunt out other Diana Gabaldon novels to learn more of Lord John.
46.Choo Woo ~ Lloyd Jones
Sometimes a story is so horrid it can leave you feeling sick to have the idea placed in your head, while being so well written you have to keep reading. This is that book. I can't recommend it as it was very disturbing...
47.The Guernsey Literacy & Potato Peel Pie Society ~ Mary Ann Shaffer
I am now in love with most of the characters on Guernsey and read this in a day.
48.The girl with the dragon tattoo ~ Stieg Larsson
A mystery thriller which I really enjoyed. The computer savvy Lisbeth did not always work for me as a character but it was a great story which had me reading into the night. I have reserved the sequel and can't wait to get into that one as well.
49.The Undomestic Goddess ~ Sophie Kinsella
This was a light bit of fluff which was an enjoyable read over a couple of cups of coffee. I do like the idea of being able to reinvent yourself and start again but the leap from high profile lawyer to domestic help is a bit much. Love wins in the end which is always nice :)
I managed to read SEVEN books for September which brings my yearly total to 49. Not bad!
I am now starting:
As Darkness Falls ~ Bronwyn Parry.
Bronwyn is a local Aussie writer featured in the Books Alive campaign this year with her latest novel Dark Country which I will be reading soon.
edit 1/10/09 12:44am
50.As Darkness Falls ~ Bronwyn Parry I finished this one last night!
A mystery set in the Aussie Outback with a healthy dose of romance thrown in for good measure. It is a great first novel and I can't wait to read Bronwyn's second book Dark Country.
My total for the month is now EIGHT books and gives me FIFTY books for the year!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
OMG thats a lot of reading WELL DONE! I'd be lucky to read 7 books in a year!
ReplyDeleteWELL DONE! I struggled to finish 2 in September (admittedly one was nearly 1000 pages ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm now tossing up whether I read the next Diana Gabaldon in time for the new release which should be here in the next couple of weeks, or read something lighter / shorter.
I've got that books alive listing, am planning on working my way thru it in 2010!
Great list! When I had a baby, I switched to Mills and Boon because I had a hard time with all the interruptions to my reading time. (Not that it was a sacrifice since I mostly read romance.) How did you like As Darkness Falls?
ReplyDeleteGee, you're a reading machine! I'm going to get a hold of the Potato society. Everyone seems to enjoy it
ReplyDeleteI found some reading notes:
ReplyDeletehttp://bronwynparry.com/blog/books/dark-country/reading-group-notes/
"On his return to Dungirri, Gil notices how ‘economic decay had eaten through the core of the town’ leaving it ’shrivelled to a dry, dead husk.’ How does the depiction of Dungirri in the book relate to your experience of, or understanding of, the issues challenging rural communities?"
Good question. It is an annoying sentence, overflowery perhaps. I have found that our town seems to decay from such things as infighting, but I am not sure as I am "new".