Lisa's 2009 75 Book Challenge

Lisa's Tracker:




And a page tracker:




The books I'm planning on reading in 2009 are listed in my 999 Challenge thread. Looking forward to this challenge!

Welcome to the group!

Thanks - looks like a great group!

Welcome to our group.

Welcome!

Thanks Whisper1 and Fog-struck, great to be here.

#1: Finished The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak on January 1. Really enjoyed it.

I have seen this book categorized as Young Adult, and perhaps that is because the main character is a young girl, but otherwise this is a very adult book, and I think that a lot of younger folks might not get every reference.

It is about a young German girl (Liesel) growing up during Hitler's rise and fall. I just finished The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, so it was very interesting to me to have that history fresh in my mind as I read this book.

Besides Liesel, you learn about her parents, neighbors and various other characters from her town, including a young Jewish man in hiding.

The book has relatively short chapters, and includes some handwritten and hand-drawn parts which add to the character of the book.

The author uses some foreshadowing, and although you find out in little snippets what will happen later in the book, when it happens it still moves you.

I thought it was a great read and recommend it.

4.5 stars
How I Got It: Birthday present from my friend/co-worker who lives across the pond

#2: Read The Yellow Wallpaper on the plane home yesterday. A very quick read. The VMC edition I had included an Afterword which was almost as long as the book itself!

I enjoyed this book (short story, or at most a novella). Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an early feminist, it recounts a wife's descent into madness.

The main character is the wife mentioned above; it is told in the first person, and the reader is not entirely convinced of what is real and what is in the narrator's mind.

This was a disturbing book - I felt helpless, like the narrator. A good book.

4 stars
How I Got It: Birthday gift from my friend/co-worker who lives across the pond

Thanks for the review of The Book Thief. I plan to read that this year too, but had been a little discouraged by it YA rating and a couple of negative reviews, Your review encouraged to keep it on the list and I look forward to seeing how much I will agree with your assessment!

MusicMom41 - I had the same thoughts re: its YA linkage, but I really liked it. I hope you do too!

#3: The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

A crime novel, this book starts out talking about a murder of a college student by a group of his friends(?).

After this foreshadowing, you learn about the narrator, a young man from California, apparently not particularly special, who manages to get transferred to a small northeastern college. This young man wants to continue his studies in Greek, and upon finding this seemingly impossible, he starts to fixate on the Greek professor and the 5 students he teaches. Eventually, the narrator is able to join this clique.

It takes the first half of the book to make it to the foreshadowed event, and the first half was quick reading. After the murder, things get a little murky, relationships change, some spiraling out of control, but I found it to be a slower read.

The character development was very good, along with the descriptions in general. Not too flowery, but I felt like I could feel and smell and taste what was going on. The author uses a Greek or French phrase here and there, and they are usually clearly explained or understandable through context, but not 100% of the time.

I wasn't totally expecting what happened in the end, but a fitting ending I believe. Although slow going for a little while, I do recommend this book. It reflects on a number of themes including friendships, morals, pantheism and college.

3.5 stars
How I Got It: Birthday gift from my friend and co-worker who lives across the pond

I read The Secret History a few years ago and enjoyed most of it... though parts were rather disturbing. The character development was excellent, you're right, and I'd say it's worth reading if even just for that.

However, it's highly unbelievable in this day and age that ANYONE could learn ancient Greek well enough to converse in it at a whim. I had professors who'd studied the language for 40 years and wouldn't be able to do that. Latin, yes. Ancient Greek, NO!

Love, love, LOVE Secret History! I agree with you, the characters are very well developed, and they all feel distinct (which can be hard when there's such a large cast of central characters).

message #9> MusicMom 41- Don't give up The Book Thief!! It is an excellent read.

dk_phoenix - that's an interesting observation; having only studied French and German, I had no idea it would be impossible to converse in ancient Greek!

Oooh, I loved The Book Thief! I was a sobbing mess by the end of it, I admit. My review of it is on my blog.

Yes, The Book Thief is excellent. I don't really understand why it is considered YA.

I think the YA tag at libraries is rapidly becoming a catch-all. If they do not know where else to put it, they stick it there. When I was at the library yesterday, they had Kafka's The Trial in the YA section. No way would I consider that to be something strictly for young adults, but that was where it was.

The Book Thief: OK, I'll admit it, I had a wet face at the end of it. But I'm so glad I read it.

Re: The Book Thief.

I bought this book for a class on YA literature because it is a winner of the Printz Award. I did not make any headway on it since I was looking for books that could easily be "sold" to teenage readers. All of the librarians taking the class with me agreed that Printz Award books are not a good choice for an average school library. They are honored for "literary excellence" which unfortunately does not translate into "my students will read it". I'm glad to hear it is a good book and I'll make a point to read it sometime this year as a book just for me and not for my students.

Looking forward to following your year's reads :)

#18 The Trial is YA section!!! Have they changed the definition of YA? Next thing you know, they would be putting Friedrich Nietzsche in YA section!

21 - Thanks Susan, I've got yours starred as well.

22 - I don't think I will be believing (or relying on) YA categorization...

Re: Book Thief - it's on my short list... Will be prepared with kleenex and only read during daylight, as I tend to "take my books with me" to bed...

Re: The Secret History - I had to come back to this one a second time to finish it; interesting that you thought the first half was a quick read, where I felt that way about maybe the first quarter, then I stopped being able to tell the difference between characters. A second attempt proved easier.

Re: The Yellow Wallpaper - was the "afterword" a piece written by the author about *why* she wrote The Yellow Wallpaper? I thought that absolutely made the story when I read it last year.

I think we have a lot of common tastes - am starring your thread, and so glad you joined us!

Thanks for your comments aglaia531, so glad to be here. I'll run right over and check out your thread as well!

Yellow Wallpaper The afterword was not written by the author, but I don't have it in from of me and can't remember who it was. It's includes more information about the author's life, and some additional interpretation about what's going in the book and how it related to Gilman's life.

The Secret History I spent a lot of time paying attention to the characters in the beginning, going back to where they were first introduced, so that I could "see" them as I read, and then as things progressed, I had an easier time distinguishing Francis from Charles, etc.

The Book Thief Yeah, I finished it in bed, crying. I'm thinking that's not necessarily a bad to place to finish a book like that - better than on an airplane, or in an airport lounge (where I am now...!).

Happy Reading!

#4: Watchmen by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons

Wow, not sure where to start with this one. On the plane home yesterday this guy saw me reading it and couldn't stop talking about how great it was and that it was the best book he ever read and that he was envious that I was reading it for the first time. I don't think I will put it in that last category, but it is a good book.

First, there is a lot going on in this book (graphic novel). You have to keep several story lines clear, one at least that is only peripherally linked to the main plot, which is that someone is killing off (or getting rid of) the superheroes.

The story takes place in an alternate historical era where Richard Nixon is president (and apparently gets away with Watergate). Superheroes were outlawed in 1977 (a law against vigilanteism) and most of them have retired from superheroics, with one active, and two working for the government. The story gets going with a former superhero getting murdered, and the one active superhero investigating the murder. Then more and more superheroes get murdered, framed, or in other ways gotten rid of. This affects the balance of power with Russia, and shortly World War III is almost upon us. The rest of the story is about how the world is saved.

It started out kind of slowly for me, but got better and better. The book definitely meets the definition of a "graphic" novel because there was lots of blood.

A couple of comments on the structure: there are 12 chapters and at the end of each chapter there is some non-comic book material. (Sorry to say comic book, just trying to differentiate from illustrated panels and other stuff). The material at the end of each chapter is very different - there is a memoir by one of the older superheroes, an essay on one of the superheroes, an essay on birdwatching, some newsclips, interviews, memos, a history of pirate comics (a continuing sub-story in the graphic part of the novel), arrest sheet, psychiatric evaluation of one of the superheroes, and more. Some of this material is very interesting and adds to the experience, and some I couldn't quite get through.

In the end, I liked it. The ending itself is not 100% tied off, and you wonder what is going to happen next, but it's not like a cliffhanger in that you need to go out and buy next week's issue (I don't think there is a direct sequel, but I could be wrong).

Edited to add a comment about the 'extra' material.

3.5 stars
How I Got It: Amazon

I have a copy of Watchmen sitting in my TBR pile. Thanks for the review, Lisa!

#5: Book Lust by Nancy Pearl

I bought this book before discovering LibraryThing, and even after the LT discovery, I'm glad I picked it up.

This is a book about books. Nancy Pearl has put together 172 short chapters, arranged alphabetically, that list books, some described, and some not. I placed a ton of colored tabs throughout this book with ideas to significantly increase my wishlist and TBR pile. The chapters run the gamut, from 'Academia - The Joke' to 'Zero: This Will Mean Nothing to You.' Some of many , many chapters I starred include: Bomb Makers (books about those involved with the development of the atomic bomb), Companion Reads (listings of 2-4 books recommended to read together), Les Crimes Noir, Epistolary Novels, First Novels, The Islamic World, The Middle East, 9/11 and WWII Fiction.

You can go about reading this book in a number of ways - as purely a reference work for use at the library or bookstore, so when you're in the mood for a 'Technothriller' you just go directly to that chapter and pick something. You could breeze through it, just reading chapters about categories of books you already like and are familair with (which is what I did the first time), or you can read all the chapters in detail, and consider broadening your reading lists, which is what I did the second time through.

For all lovers of books, and especially those who are looking for new books in favorite genres and those interested in exploring new genres.

I see myself using a lot from this book to construct categories for the 101010 Challenge.

4 stars
How I Got It: Amazon

I'm not sure what's going on... my posts keep getting deleted when I hit 'submit' or half of the post suddenly disappears... I'll try again.

#15: Let me put it this way... I believe a prof of mine once said "Typically, in a language you have regular verbs and a select few irregular verbs. In Attic Greek... well, that's not quite right. Attic Greek has maybe 5 regular verbs. As for the rest..."

I'm way behind--on everything. I'm trying to catch up on the posts tonight.

Thanks for the encouragement about The Book Thief. It will be a definite read this year.

re The Trial as YA--some HS teachers use this book (at least they used to!) and maybe the librarians figure that no one will read it unless they are forced to--hence YA. I just bought a copy of the translation I had been looking for and plan to read it in my classics category. I have never read Kafka and feel I need to. One of my sons read Metamorphosis--because "he had to" :-)--but I didn't take the opportunity to read it at the same time (I usually did--that may have been when I working on my second degree and had enough reading on my own!) so now I intend to make up for a hole in my literary education.

Lisa--

101010!! Help!!!!

I've enjoyed your reviews--you make the books sound intriguing.

I read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich right after my first son was born and Hubby was in graduate school. I read it in the rocking chair with hassock for my feet. I would prop the baby on my legs--his head at my knees and feet pressing into my tummy--and I would read a lot of it out loud to keep him entertained. When he was in the sixth grade they had to do a major term paper (with foot notes!) and he chose The Luftwaffe in WWII as his subject. In High School he took that same paper, rewrote the introduction and entered it into a Social Science Fair and won first place. I think it was my early influence--don't you? BTW I really loved that book!

I'm way behind--on everything. I'm trying to catch up on the posts tonight.

Thanks for the encouragement about The Book Thief. It will be a definite read this year.

re The Trial as YA--some HS teachers use this book (at least they used to!) and maybe the librarians figure that no one will read it unless they are forced to--hence YA. I just bought a copy of the translation I had been looking for and plan to read it in my classics category. I have never read Kafka and feel I need to. One of my sons read Metamorphosis--because "he had to" :-)--but I didn't take the opportunity to read it at the same time (I usually did--that may have been when I working on my second degree and had enough reading on my own!) so now I intend to make up for a hole in my literary education.

Lisa--

101010? Help!!!!

I've enjoyed your reviews--you make the books sound intriguing.

I read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich right after my first son was born and Hubby was in graduate school. I read it in the rocking chair with hassock for my feet. I would prop the baby on my legs--his head at my knees and feet pressing into my tummy--and I would read a lot of it out loud to keep him entertained. When he was in the sixth grade they had to do a major term paper (with foot notes!) and he chose The Luftwaffe in WWII as his subject. In High School he took that same paper, rewrote the introduction and entered it into a Social Science Fair and won first place. I think it was my early influence--don't you? BTW I really loved that book!

dk_phoenix - French has lots of irregular verbs, we had that kind of joke in French class as well, but perhaps it's not as bad as ancient Greek.

For that matter, English is pretty tough to learn because of all the irregular verbs.

MusicMom41 - you are actually going to get caught up on all the posts? I've been out of town for 3 weeks, and although I checked in, I'm not sure I'll ever catch up, even on the starred threads! But, I'll try.

Neat story about your son - I do think we absorb a lot more as children then anyone really knows.

Thanks for your comment on my reviews - I don't think I'm really very good at them, a lot of the reviews I read here are much more erudite (ooh $10 word) than mine. As I continue to go through the cataloging exercise at home here, there are a lot of books that I'm not sure I read before or not. If I was good about rating and reviewing them, then I'd always know, so that's part of my plan.

As far as 101010 goes - I'm not sure I will actaully be able to complete the 999, but I like the idea of planning my reading, and venturing out a bit with it. S0, 999 or not, I will still prpobably do the 101010...

Lisa

I'm only checking up on the starred ones and, no, I'll not get caught up completely unless i give up reading books! so right now I'm concentrating on books that look appealing to me--I'm glad we high light the books in blue--makes skimming easier!

I rate reviews this way--if you loved the book and can convince me I ought to try it, that's a good review! That's also what i strive for on the book I love--to get you to try them. This is what makes LT so special and why i try to keep up with at least the starred threads.

I agree--I do like planning my reading by categories so I read widely. It keeps me interested and I don't get bored. So I will probably do categories next year--in fact I've already decided I need a "Music" category next year. My problem is that if I set myself a challenge I get kind of stressed when I'm having trouble meeting it--and stress in my "hobby" isn't what I'm looking for. The best solution would be to overcome my OCD and not worry about completing the challenge, just enjoying the "ride." I'm very good at encouraging others in that area--"physician, heal thyself!" :-)

OCD - I got that too.....

#6: Hitler Victorious, edited by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg

I really like short stories, but this was not a book of great short stories, more just stories around a theme. I was hoping for better.

Still, out of the 11 stories, there were some good ones, which I'll summarize here:

Two Dooms by C.M. Kornbluth - about the guy involved in the Manhattan project who discovers the critical information necessary to fast track the bomb, and has second thoughts.

Reichs-Peace by Shiela Finch - about how Hitler's widow tries to keep the peace

Never Meet Again - in a world where Hitler won, a German engineer wants to change the past because of what the state did to him

Enemy Transmissions - about the state's dream study program

Valhalla - about how Hitler has to pay in the end

So, half were above average, maybe one more about average. Glad I read it. It did link up well with the other WWII books I have read recently (The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and The Book Thief). That reminds me, one of the books mentioned in one of the stories was Shirer's The Rise of the Third Reich!

3.5 stars
How I Got It: Been on my shelves forever - I think it was from the Science Fiction Book Club

#7: The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

What a little treasure. My second VMC, The Magic Toyshop is about a girl (15) and her 2 siblings sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle and cousins.

What a strange family she has joined - the Uncle, huge and imperious; the Aunt, struck dumb on her wedding day; and her two brothers, one a quiet fiddler, the other a gangly dancer. Everyone works for Mr. Flower (the uncle) to support his toyshop. Yet he is disdainful of anyone who buys a toy because of its novelty. And he loves his puppets.

The story revolves around Melanie and how she manages to endure in this environment.

One quibble is that I was occasionally thrown out of the story by some issues with writing. One example I can point to is this: "And their father, who was he? Everything, family jokes and their parents' love-letters before they were married (if their parents had exchanged love-letters) and cut locks of treasured hair and clippings of birth announcements from yellowed old local newspapers. She felt she would die if she could not know everything." The parenthetical statement is out of character and just didn't go along with the mood of the narrator. It stopped me in my (reading) tracks....

But anyway, there wasn't that much of that. And I really did like it, it had a lot of unexpected moments in it.

4 stars
How I Got It: From my VMC Secret Santa! (parmaviolet)

#8: Blown Coverage by Jason Elam and Steve Yohn

This book, cowritten by NFL player Jason Elam, is a continuation of events that have happened in 'PFL' player Riley Covington's life after the terrorist attacks on the 'Platte River Stadium.' I did not read the first book, and there is quite a lot of reference to previous events, so this book does not standalone too well.

The Cause continues to attack the evil Satan and specifically Riley Covington and his family. Riley and his friends in football and in the government band together to stop the terrorists.

This book should've been branded 'Christian Lit' or something. I have never read a more proselytizing book before. We are contantly hearing Riley pray to himself, or with his newly-born-again football player friend, or with his family. And it goes on and on as he tries to justify wanting to kill the terrorists. The characters are very one-dimensional. For a 'Christian-Lit' book, it was filled with violence and blood and guts.

I won't read another book by the authors. I give it 1 star.

1 star
How I Got It:ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Lisa

Sounds like you were too generous in your rating! ;-)

LOL - I tried to think about how I had rated books in the past. I did read the whole thing, so perhaps that gets it above 1/2 a star.....

With that rating I actually did wonder why you finished it. Was it compulsion--I sometimes have trouble admitting "defeat"--or was there a hint of redeeming factor--e.g. something in the plot that you did want to find out about?

I guess I still wanted to see how it ended, how they got the bad guys, who dies in the end. I will say that I felt like I had to finish it because it was an ARC that I was committing to reviewing

hey Lisa - I noticed we have some common books in our challenges - The Yellow Wallpaper is one of my favorite books, The Secret History was the first book I read this year and loved it, and I'm planning to read The Book Thief really soon. Also, there's of course Book Lust, that I think will ensure that we have some more common reads in the future...I think I remember seeing The Magic Toyshop recommended somewhere in the book, if I'm not mistaken :) I've starred your thread, can't wait to see what you read next!

How funny - I have your thread open in another tab right now, and I was reading your review of The Secret History. Your thread is starred as well! Happy reading!

#9: The Time Traveler's Wife

I just finished The Time Traveler's Wife. I loved it.

It's (obviously) a story about a time traveler. I can tell you that much without giving anything away. It's really a great love story, and it goes back and forth in time, spanning the life of the time traveler and its intersection with the girl who eventually becomes his wife.

The way it is written is pretty neat. It goes forward in time from when the woman meets the man in his present and then criss crosses back to when he meets her as a young girl, and then back and forth, farther into the future, and also into the past. It was really elegantly done.

Love the characters - Henry is soooo funny, and so is Clare. I can picture everyone and everywhere - the depictions are great.

There is a lot of forewarning of what's going to happen (it works that way with this sort of time travel anyway), but I still was turning the pages and had to get to the end.

What a great first novel.

5 stars
How I Got It: Christmas gift from my brother and his family
What I'm Reading Next: Obama: From Promise to Power

The Time Traveler's Wife sounds lovely, great review! Also, I like those rating/how i got it/what I'm reading next boxes you added, you should have them for all your books

Thanks girl! I just thought about spicing up the entries today with the extra info, and I'll definitely update my other entries. It will help remind me how my year of reading goes!

Lisa thank you for all your reviews more books to add to the pile!

Here's my January summary. I finished 9 books in January:

1. The Book Thief, 4.5 stars, see msg 7
2. The Yellow Wallpaper, 4 stars, msg 8
3. The Secret History, 3.5 stars, msg 11
4. The Watchmen, 3.5 stars, msg 26
5. Book Lust, 4 stars, msg 28
6. Hitler Victorious, 3.5 stars, msg 37
7. The Magic Toyshop, 4 stars, msg 38
8. Blown Coverage, 1 star, msg 39
9. The Time Traveler's Wife, 5 stars, msg 46

Average 3.67

I'm stuck on the Obama biography I'm reading - I WILL finish this weekend. I'm not sure why it is taking me so long - it is not a long book. It's not a page turner, but it's OK. I do read non-fiction slower than fiction, but this book is really moving at a glacial pace for me. Although it is interesting, and I am learning a lot. Oh well.....

This has been an insane week - I just counted them up and I had 25.5 hours of conference calls. Today I had 7!!!!! I am exhausted.

Lisa

No wonder you are reading slowly! Especially if it is not a "riveting" book. I suggest you pick something you would really love to read over the weekend and pick up Obama later. That's what I do when I get "stuck" but still want to finish a book. Sometimes "clearing the brain" (similar to rebooting!) will make the rest of the original book go much better.

I've actually go a book on "hold" right now. :-)

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks for the good thoughts. I finished it today!!!! The last 4 chapters went pretty quickly. It was probably best that I didn't pick up something more fun - I had a lot of work to do over the weekend, and was at my computer until about midnight working on Sunday, so maybe I was just feeling the stress of work.

This continues to be a rough time for work, I think I just need to make it through to next Monday, and I will be breathing a big sigh of relief, and will be able to relax and enjoy my reading more.... Plus I will have about 6 hours of flying time between tomorrow and Thursday, so hope to enjoy some reading then as well. I think I will also not pick up another presidential biography for awhile... ;-P!

#10: Obama: From Promise to Power by David Mendell

Finished this biography of our newest president today. I wanted to read a biography of Obama - I wasn't ready to read an autobiography until I read an outside party's perspective.

Mendell is a Chicago Tribune reporter who has been covering Obama since he began his campaign for the Senate.

Obama: From Promise to Power covers Obama's entire life, although it's much more detailed during the time Obama was in Chicago, and very detailed from the beginning of Obama's Senate campaign. It ends with Obama's announcement of his presidential campaign.

The book is heavily notated, with a great deal of material coming from personal interviews with Obama, Obama's family and people from his staff and working on his campaigns. The author spent time in Hawaii to get a sense of what it was like for Obama as a youth. In addition, he does quote Dreams from my Father and The Audacity of Hope as well.

Mendell is not totally fawning - it does have criticisms of Obama - but I would say Mendell likes his subject. It does offer opinions different from Obama's own memoirs.

Although I was interested in learning more about Obama, this book did not hold my interest. At 387 pages, I expected to be through it pretty quickly. Yet I was mired down in the middle of the book, where eight chapters (albeit not very long ones) covered the bulk of his Senate campaign. It wasn't until the about the end of his campaign, and the chapter on his speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention that the book started to move a little more quickly. Perhaps this was just a little too much detail for me.

Towards the end, there were three chapters on his trip to Africa, which I found very interesting, and then finally the last chapter leading up to Obama's declaration of his run for the presidency.

So, I liked parts of it and I learned a lot, but it was slow going. I'm going to give it 3 stars, taking into account that I've had an extremely tough last two weeks in terms of work.

3 stars
How I Got It: Coming back from London, picked it up at JFK airport.
What I'm Reading Next:Heart of Darkness and probably something from the fantasy genre.

-edited to fix the bold font!

Lisa

I hope you like Heart of Darkness! It is not universally popular, although most will agree it is worth reading. I'm not sure why, but I found it riveting and loved it. I may sneak it in as a reread this year--if I decide to allow rereads!

Carolyn, gotta tell you, I'm finding Heart of Darkness to be fantastic.

I read the first 5-6 pages or so before going on a short trip to Houston, and decided I didn't want to take it with me (so brought a Pratchett with me instead - my first, by the way) because it did seem a little dense.

From page 8 on I have been enthralled. Love his descriptions! I know I could be finished really quickly - it's such a short book - but I'm really savoring it, I don't really want it to end.

I had to read this quote to my husband at breakfast yesterday,

"He was a lanky, bony, yellow-faced man, with big intense eyes. His aspect was worried, and his head was as bald as the palm of my hand; but his hair in falling seemed to have stuck to his chin, and had prospered in the new locality, for his beard hung down to his waist."

And there's more, of course - as you know! This book is wonderful!

Lisa

I'm so glad you like it! You are correct to take is slowly--this is not a plot driven book, it's more about Place and Atmosphere and the effect of those two "forces" on the characters. IMO

I'm ashamed to admit it's the only Conrad I have read so far, but I intend to read Lord Jim in my classics category this year. I read mixed reviews about that one, too, but his writing is so incredible that I think I will like it no matter what the plot is!

#11: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Wow - what a book. It's short - 117 pages, and I wanted it to be longer. I was savoring every page. The descriptions were amazing.

I was a little worried after reading 7-8 pages, it was very bleh. But as soon as Marlow started to get into his story, it was wonderful.

This story is told to the narrator, who is on a boat with Marlow, sitting on the Thames, waiting for the tide to turn. As they are waiting, Marlow tells his story about going up the Congo River, and his meeting with Kurtz, an agent of the company, renowned for finding so much ivory.

I had to read aloud this passage when I came across it:

He was a lank, bony, yellow-faced man, with big intense eyes. His aspect was worried, and his head was as bald as the palm of my hand; but his hair in falling seemed to have stuck to his chin, and had prospered in the new locality, for his beard hung down to his waist.

And this short book is filled with this! Turn the page, and it is filled with a description of the river, It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention. It looked at you with a vengeful aspect.

This book is more about the narrative and the symbolism than the story. It starts out with Marlow musing about how the Romans found England to be when they first arrived - dark and uncivilized. And then segues into his trip up the Congo. And ends with him visiting Kurtz' fiance.

I didn't realize at first that Apocalypse Now was based on Heart of Darkness. I first saw that movie when I was 16, and I sat through it twice in the movie theatre, and that movie was about 2.5 hours long! In reading this, it's obvious Kurtz is the same. They talk about his method "being unsound" and his last words were, "the horror, the horror." The Dennis Hopper character is the same in the book too. It was sometimes hard to not have Marlon Brando and Dennis Hopper in my head.

Overall, I give it 4 stars - 1/2 star off for slow start and slow ending, and 1/2 star off for a little less story than I would like.

4 Stars
How I Got It: Easton Press collection, 100 Greatest Books of All Time
What I'm Reading Next:Rincewind the Wizzard 4-1 Pratchett

Edited to fix italics

hi Lisa

I am scanning all my covers and stood some time with Heart of Darkness in my hands. After your review, I suppose I am going to read it soon. Thanks.
Anita

Hi Anita,
I hope you like it - as MusicMom has said in earlier posts, not everyone does - the imagery is wonderful!
-Lisa

Finished Rincewind the Wizzard this morning, a compilation of The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Sourcery and Eric. Planning on a thorough review a little later. For now, I will say that the quality of these 4 was erratic. I really liked The Light Fantastic and Sourcery - Eric and The Colour of Magic less so. I think because there was more of a plot in the middle 2 stories/books. I didn't really care about The Colour of Magic - it was just the wizard-not and the tourist and his luggage traveling around. It was also very manic, if that makes any sense. And with Eric, I sort of lost what was going on.

Anyway, my first foray into Pratchett was positive, and I will definitely read more by him.

hmmm... I just mooched The Colour of Magic about three days ago... I sure hope I will like it more than you did :(

Well - give it a try. There was lots of funny stuff in The Colour of Magic, and Pratchett introduces characters that we see more of as we go, so it's important to have some character study I suppose. It's just that I didn't think there was much of a plot. But it's short....!

If you can, I would get The Light Fantastic as well, as it continues the story of Rincewind and Twoflowers, and I did like it a lot better.

>57 LisaMorr:
Conrad is one of my favorite writers! Last year I read Chance, a tale in two parts, which I think you might like, too. The Secret Agent is another one that I loved.

eta: touchstones

Thanks for the recommendations, marise - they both look interesting, so I'll be on the lookout for them. I think the only other Conrad I have at home is Lord Jim - have you read that?

The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic were the two earliest Discworld books by Terry Pratchett and they were basically parodies of basic elements of fantasy fiction. The first book is actually broken into sections that correspond to distinct types of fantasy. These two books are not representive of the later Discworld books, which gain in strength, plot and potency as the world develops. Pterry fans appreciate them for what they are, and they are funny, but there is so much more beyond them. If you haven't made the acquaintance of Granny Weatherwax or Sam Vimes or Death's granddaughter Susan, you haven't experienced the Discworld!!

Thanks Roni - I knew this was early stuff. And even though I wasn't thrilled, I did enjoy most of the book, and will definitely be reading more Pterry!

when do they come in? (Granny Weatherwax or Sam Vimes) ? :)

Granny is a recurring figure in the 6 Witches books, starting with Equal Rites, while Sam is a major figure in the 7 City Watch books, starting with Guards! Guards!. If you go to http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/index.html you can download a chart that shows what books go in which series in what order--always a handy little gadget!

ETA Death first makes a major appearance in Mort in the 5 Death books, with Susan a major figure in Soul Music, Hogfather and Thief of Time--I don't recall if she appears in Reaper Man or not.

wait - so I shouldn't read the novels in the order they were published but instead I should read all the Rincewind ones first then all the Witches ones, etcetera?

Actually, you can leave the Rincewind ones until the end if you want--they are my least favorite Discworld books! And no, you don't have to read all the ones in one series before starting another, simply read the earlier ones within a series before reading the later ones. Also there are some, like Small Gods, that don't fit into a series. If you wanted a good feel for Pratchett for a start, though, read the first Witches book and the first City Watch book.

As mentioned, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic were the two first Discworld books and written as parody, before Discworld got its soul, so to speak. And Sourcery was mainly written because people wanted more of TCOM and Rincewind. They are very funny, but attract a slightly different audience than the later books. If you enjoy them, there is nothing wrong with reading through the books in publication order. It is just that some people stop after the first few thinking that that is all there is, and never really get into the more developed stories.

Thanks for the advice! Like I previously mentioned to Lisa, I've already mooched The Colour of Magic, so I am going to read it, but if I don't like it, I'll pick the first Witches or the first City Watch books next.

Sounds like a plan!

#12: Rincewind the Wizzard by Terry Pratchett
649 pages

Finished this last week, and now finding time to post my review.

I have heard a lot of good things about Terry Pratchett and the Discworld here on LT, and had this book in my library for some years, so thought I would give it a try.

This book includes The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Sourcery and Eric.

The Colour of Magic is Terry Pratchett's first Discworld novel. It introduces many characters that will continue to entertain us in Discworld novels. The story is about how Rincewind the Wizzard meets up with Twoflower, the first tourist of Discworld. Rincewind is supposed to protect Twoflowers, but as Rincewind is not really a wizard, and quite cowardly as well, this is not very simple. Luckily, Twoflowers is very rich and has The Luggage, a large wooden chest that moves on hundreds of little legs and will snap at Twoflowers' enemies. Twoflowers is naive, and believes that no one would want to hurt him, which continuously frustrates Rincewind.

The story progresses with Twoflowers touring the world and the Luggage and Rincewind trying to protect him.

I didn't find that there was enough story to suit my tastes. It's funny, with lots of satire and current cultural references.

The next story was The Light Fantastic, which was a continuation of Rincewind's, Twoflowers' and the Luggage's adventures. I liked this one better - there was a little more of an overall plot, and it was wrapped up nicely.

Sourcery was next, and I think I liked this the best. It is about the 8th son of an 8th son (who is a wizard) which makes him a Sourceror (I think I've got that right...). Wizards deal with magic, but they are not amazingly all-powerful. A Sourceror, however, is the source of magic, and is extremely powerful. This story is about what happens when the Sourceror comes to Unseen University and wants to change things, and how Rincewind helps to save the day.

I mentioned how Pratchett introduces a lot of pop culture in his books - here's an example:
"The Current patrician, head of the extremely rich and powerful Vetinari family, was thin, tall and apparently as cold-blooded as a dead penguin. Just by looking at him you could tell he was the sort of man you'd expect to keep a white cat, and caress it idly while sentencing people to death in a piranha tank..."

I thought this story was a real page-turner, and enjoyed it.

The last story in the book is Eric. Eric is a demonologist who summons Rincewind, apparently accidentally, as Rincewind is not a demon. Eric refuses to believe Rincewind is not a demon, and expects him to grant three wishes. Interestingly enough, special things happen when Rincewind snaps his fingers. We travel around the world with Eric, Rincewind and the Luggage, ending up in Hell.

This story had a bit of a trick in it, and I found it somewhat confusing until the trick was revealed. It was OK, but not one of my favorites.

So, I enjoyed Terry Practhett's Rincewind the Wizzard and Discworld, but not all of the stories equally.
I will give the whole book 3.5 stars - 4 stars for The Light Fantastic and Sourcery and 3 stars for The Colour of Magic and Eric.

3.5 stars
How I Got It:Science Fiction Book Club - been on my shelves for years
What I'm Reading Next: How the Scots Invented the Modern World

I'll be interested in seeing what you think of How the Scots Invented the Modern World. It has been languishing unread in my personal library for a while now.

Stasia, it's a little slow to start - hopefully it will get a little better...!

February Summary:

Only 3 books read - it's a short month, and I guess I let work get in the way of reading....

10. Obama: From Promise to Power, 3 stars, msg 53
11. Heart of Darkness, 4 stars, msg 57
12. Rincewind the Wizzard, 3.5 stars, msg 73

February average: 3.5 stars

Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the review of Rincewind the Wizzard. I tried The Colour of Magic a few years back and didn't finish it. I think I might try again since it sounds like the series gets better as it goes.

Lorie, I think it's worth a try!

Lisa, Rincewind the Wizzard IS actually 4 books--I happen to have all 4 in different volumes. I think it would be quite proper to count them as such. I hope you will go on and try some of the other Discworld books--they are much more developed than these, with Sourcery being the closest to them in plot development.

Hi Roni - I will definitely check out more Discworld books. I'm pleased to know that Death is in a lot of them - he's pretty funny.
I'm debating on counting them as 4 books - I think I have 2 more books like that on my 999 list, omnibuses. My OCD says to count it as one, because it is physically one book in my library. My plan is to count them as 4 if I find myself just this close to finishing.

you haven;t posted in two weeks?? Where ave you disappeared to, girl?

I'm here, lurking a bit, skulking around, not getting much read, still on the same book I started some time ago (How the Scots Invented the Modern World), p. 393 and counting. Slipped a book in on organization (Sorted) but I haven't had time to post a review (I guess I was hoping to become magically organized so that I would have more time to read and post, but that didn't happen - getting organized actually requires work, darn it! But still I though it was an alright book - yeah I know, nonstandard usage....). I was in Alaska for two weeks, and now I am on another longish trip, and have just been completely drowning in work that I haven't been able to spend much time here or reading even - what a crime! I did just catch up on your thread - 140 or so posts, and fabulous reviews, you hot reviewer you! Thanks for checking in! I'll get out from under in another couple of weeks, I hope.

Lisa

Darn that RL! It can really interfere with one's reading! Hope things will calm down for you--we will be here waiting!

Catching up with my thread! Read this in mid-March.

#13, SORTED!: The Ultimate Guide to Organising Your Life - Once and For All by Lissane Oliver
205 pages

In my ultimately unreachable goal of organizing my life, I picked up this little book. I have read several books and articles purporting to be able to solve my organizational dilemmas, and this one is better than most in terms of being able to help me help myself.

Here's what I especially liked about the book:
- short chapters with illustrations
- a chapter at the beginning of the book with recommendations for the specific types of tools one should arm themselves with to tackle organization projects (e.g., file folders, rubber bands, boxes, magazine holders)
- the recipes! These are short chapers that are focused on one individual task, like organizing your desk, your junk drawer, your closet, your media, your paper files, your computer files. Each recipe starts out with the tools you should have for the job, and gives an estimate of the amount of time you should have to at least get a good start on a project.

I liked the book, have already done some of the recipes, and found it useful.

4 Stars
How I Got It: Found it on a bargain table at the Anchorage Barnes & Noble
What I Finished After Reading This: How the Scots Invented the Modern World

#14: How the Scots Invented the Modern World:The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It by Arthur Herman
431 pages

I read this book because I work with a lot of people from Scotland and am regularly told that the Scots invented everything. So, I thought I would see how true it is. My conclusion is that it appears from this book that the Scots invented a lot of things.

I say appears because I think that the author was probably not looking at inventions and discoveries outside of Western Europe.

This was not a page-turner for me. It took me all of March to get through, although I will admit that I was distracted by work. I did finish it on March 31 to get it into my March reads though. As I have admitted before, I generally can't get through non-fiction as quickly as I get through fiction. Even so, it took me a long time to read.

I think I expected the book to be more of a listing of things invented by Scots, when it was more of a history. I learned a lot - and maybe that's because I'm pretty ignorant of Scottish/British/English history. For example, I had never heard of the Scottish Enlightenment.

This history starts in the early 1700's and sets the stage for the Scots to 'invent the modern world'. The pillar for this was that Scotland boasted an amazing literacy rate, estimated to be as high as 75% by 1750, due to the School Act, where the Kirk (the Scottish Presbyterian church) required a school in every parish.

Something that bugged me about the book is when the author would take credit for inventions and discoveries of people who were not Scottish, but because the person in question worked with the Scottish historical school or had friends that were Scottish, for example. The author really took this far when he claimed for Scotland Thomas Jefferson because Thomas Jefferson's alma mater had been later overhauled in the Scottish university model.

He also ascribed to John Witherspoon (president of Princeton starting 1768) a role in the American Revolution that I question (based on some of the other exaggerations in the book). I had never heard of Witherspoon's role and will have to do some more reading about the American Revolution to confirm it.

I wasn't sure how I was going to rate this book until just now, after completing this review. I'm giving it 2.5 stars because the disingenuousness of the author made me doubt some of his conclusions.

2.5 stars
How I Got It: Amazon.com
What I Finished After Reading This: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone

March Summary

Really let work get in the way of reading - only 2 books in March:

13: SORTED!" The Ultimate Guide to Organising Your Life - Once and For All, 4 stars, msg 84
14: How the Scots Invented the Modern World, 2.5 stars, msg 85

March average: 3.25 stars

#15, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone by J.K. Rowling
309 pages

So what can I say that hasn't already been said about the Harry Potter phenomenon...nothing much I imagine. It was a quick, fun read for me. From Rowling's writing I could imagine what was happening in good detail. I liked the long lists of things scattered throughout the book - the list of things to buy before going to Hogwart's, the piles of food on the table, all the different classes and what you learned in each one. I wished for a little more detail about some things, such as the Sorceror's Stone itself. But it wasn't so simple that I knew who the bad guy was before the end.

I think this is the shortest one in the bunch, and I am looking forward to the next.

I'm giving it 3.5 stars - a good story, well told, but a bit simplistic. It does draw me in to read the next one.

3.5 stars
How I Got It: A boxed 4-book set from Amazon.com.
What I Finished After Reading This: Listening for the Bugles

Lisa

If the first book in the series made yu want to read the next one, I think you will like the series. They keep getting better and more for older readers as the children grow. There is a reason so many adults had as much fun as their children reading this series. imho :-)

Carolyn - I had heard that they keep getting better, so I'm sure I'm in for a great ride! For me, 3.5 stars is not a bad rating. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest.

Lisa

When I read it I was overwhelmed. I hadn't read any fantasy for several years and mainly what I had read was Lord of the Rings (several times) and The Chronicles of Narnia and The Prydain Tales with my children when they were growing up. That book got me started back into fantasy reading. So I rated it 5 stars because of the impact it had on me. I loved the series, too. However, if it had come out now, since I have been getting such an education in fantasy and science fiction reading on LT I think 3.5 stars is a good rating for it--I consider that above average rating and it's an above average book.

#16, Listening for the Bugles by Denny Spencer
189 pages

This book is written by a golfer who has competed on the Senior PGA Tour. It's a nice golf story with some laughter and sorrow and joy. I did not find the writing to be especially engaging until the last part of the book, when the golf battle ensues and is told wonderfully. The author knows golf and knows golf writing, which saved the book. Until the last 50 pages, this book was not going to get even my 'good' rating (3 stars). This is because I found the writing to be awkward and not descriptive enough. I really had no idea what the main characters looked like.

But, the last epic golf battle saved it for me, as I was able to picture every shot.

So, 3 stars, but only if you love golf.

3 stars
How I Got It: A gift from someone I work with and have golfed with who knows how much I love golf
What I'm Reading Next: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Lisa

Can't wait for your review of Age of Innocence--It is one of my all time favorites. I hope you enjoy it. I read it several years ago and can't bring myself to read another Wharton although I own 3 others because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed! Isn't that silly?! I did read The Buccaneers later on for a book group and was a little disappointed--although it was probably a 3 star book.

LM, that was an insightful review of How the Scots Invented the Modern World. I'm usually leery of books with titles that make such wide-ranging claims. The subtitle really puts it over the top. I think I'll skip this one. Thanks for the review. Which reminds me that I have Crowded With Genius: The Scottish Enlightenment: Edinburgh's Moment of the Mind by James Buchan sitting on the shelf unread. At least the title doesn't seem as boastful.

VG

Carolyn, just finished The Age of Innocence and really enjoyed it. I'm mulling over my thoughts for a post.

VG - thanks for your comments on the review of How the Scots Invented the Modern World. I did learn a lot, and I could've posted a list of all the things the Scots 'invented' and all of the things I learned from the book but I guess that would take away from anyone who really wanted to read it. It will be interesting to hear what you think of Crowded with Genius when you take it off the shelf.

So do you think How the Scots Invented the Modern World (2001) a response to How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe (1995)?

Could very well be, Susan!

Hi Lisa
I'm simply spending some time to try to catch up on threads.

I like your description of SORTED!: The Ultimate Guide to Organising Your Life - Once and For All by Lissane Oliver

I think that I am organized...until I cannot find something!

I am organized - until my husband moves my stuff and I can no longer find it. Does the book give any hints on organizing husbands?

Stasia
I'll ship my sheltie Simon to Sherman TX where he can herd Keri and reign him in when he dislocates your stuff.

#99: I will take good care of Simon while he's here - and if he works a miracle in herding Kerry, I may keep him! I am sure my dogs would not mind another playmate, lol.

If anyone finds a book for organizing husbands, it will definitely make the bestseller's list and as far as I'm concerned, should earn a Noble Peace Prize!
I don't know how many times I've wanted to kill my husband because something I put in one place, he moved to another and then couldn't remember where! OTOH, he really is a sweetie, so I'll keep him!

I could say I've been off organizing my stuff, but no, WORK again interferes....

My husband always quotes his very helpful grandmother - "Where's my (something), Grandma?" and Grandma says, "It's where you left it last."

Grandma is also the one who said to my husband when, as a child, he asked what a mulch pile was - "A mulch pile, Micheal, is a pile of mulch."

There's another one: OTOH...

I'm likin' that grandma! What a hoot!

#17, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
307 pages

Written by Edith Wharton and published in 1920, this book is written from the point of view of a man, Newland Archer, (which I wasn't expecting) and takes place in 1870's New York. It is about the social mores of the time - what you can and can't do within the social structure.

Newland wanted the Countess Olenska, even though he publically disparaged her. You could FEEL how much he wanted her in this book.

Can't say a lot about this classic without saying too much, I suppose. I found the ending to be excruciatingly sad, although everyone lived relatively happily ever after.

I found it very interesting that just within Newland's life, radical changes had occurred within the social structure, such that his own son would be marrying someone who would've been inconceivable in Newland's earlier days.

Something I thought was very interesting throughout the book is that Newland would imagine an entire conversation with his fiance, and then take action on this imaginary conversation as if it actually occurred.

I think that there was only one innocent person in the whole book, and that was the Countess herself, who didn't seem to be pretending to be someone else, like everyone else was.

More than a month after finishing reading this book, and it still resonates with me, which I think is a sign of a great book. This book invoked feelings of frustration, longing and sadness. So, 5 stars!

5 stars
How I Got It:Christmas present from my brother and his family
What I Read Next:The Python Years

The Age of Innocence is one of my favorite books of all time. It really brings that era -- or least the social strata it talks about of that era -- to life.

CAUTION--SPOILER AHEAD!

I thought the ending was poignant but not sad. If Newland had ever had the courage to take the other course it would have ended in disillusionment because he would never be able to become the "free spirit" he would have needed to be (I think the Countess knew this, also). However because of this experience he had with Ellen, Newland made a better husband for May than he would have if it had never happened. imho :-)

The Age of Innocence is on my tbr list for quite a long time now. I vow to read this book before summer's end.

Thanks for your great comments.

105: That's a good point Carolyn. I guess I thought that maybe he could've been the bohemian, if he could've just made the jump, cut loose. So I felt for him, sitting on that bench, entire lives lived, and what might have been. I remember him sitting in the coach in the heat, waiting to see her outside her hotel, and if he could've just done it! And there he is on the bench.

106: Whisper1 - it's a good summer read; there are some perfect summer moments in the book. I hope you enjoy it! I'm so glad I finally read this classic.

#104: I read The Age of Innocence a long time ago (after viewing the film with Daniel Day Lewis), so it has been a while. Looks like I need to give it a re-read!

I got woefully behind and just stopped posting. I want to at least tally up what I read in 2009, which I'll do here, and then do better in 2010...maybe!

18. The Python Years
19. Persepolis
20. Nanotech

21. Down to a Sunless Sea
22. Deerskin
23. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
24. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
25. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

26. The Winner
27. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
28. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
29. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
30. Reaching the Top: Factors That Impact the Careers and Retention of Senior Women Leaders by Wanda T. Wallace

31. Loose Lips
32. The Sims 2 Revised
33. The Reader
34. V for Vendetta
35. Don't Open This Book

36. Preludes and Nocturnes
37. The Sanctuary
38. Mrs. Dalloway
39. The Kite Runner
40. The Complete Maus

41. Exit Wounds
42. The Gardens of the Dead
43. Devil May Care
44. Palestine
45. Cell

46. The Spellman Files
47. Curse of the Spellmans

47 books - is that all I read? Wow! I failed miserably!

Nahhh - I guess work and life got in the way a little here and there.

I read a lot of different books and enjoyed it.

Exactly... that's not failing miserably... :) Good job. Looking forward to the lists to come in 2010.

Thanks! Looking forward to 2010 also!