Books read in 2010:

1. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
2. In the Woods by Tana French
3. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
4. Off Ramp by Hank Stuever
5. The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde
6. A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore
7. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
8. Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
9. Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
10. Push by Sapphire

Message modifié par son auteur, Mar 10, 2010, 1:26pm.

Hello, everyone, by the way! I am completely new to LibraryThing and I'm still trying to figure it out but I figured since my New Year's Resolution was to read 75 books in 2010, I'd join this group.

I'm a 19 year-old college student in Maryland, majoring in Political Science. My interests are eclectic, varied, and ever-changing. I am incredibly excited to read 75 new books this year and I'd love any recommendations. I love fast-paced literature, I love anything based on mythology or fairy-tales, I love good horror, and I just love a good read.

Welcome to both the group and LT! If you have any questions, just ask. We are a pretty friendly bunch.

Welcome! Based on our past history, you shouldn't have any problem finding recommendations here...

By the way, one of our members, blackdogbooks, is planning to put together a list of scary Halloween reads for us. Keep an eye out and join us!

Sounds excellent! I loved Middlesex and I'm going through that post-good book feeling where I don't want to read anything else so I need some good books to help me through.

Being snowed in at college, unfortunately, doesn't mean reading very much. My library is closed (maybe until Wednesday or Thurday!) and so I have to resort to reading my boyfriend's books such as Off-Ramp. It was an interesting book but I don't think it was my favorite.

#6: You are going to need to stock up your boyfriend's place with books! Maybe he won't notice an extra half dozen or so.

Actually, I visited a friend of mine of campus who gave me a few books to tide me over until campus reopens and they're all books I'm really looking forward to starting. I'm glad I have them though, it looks like there a lot more snow in our forecast tomorrow.

#8: Hooray for the friend! They quite possibly have saved your sanity.

I just finished "The Importance of Being Ernest" by Oscar Wilde. What a clever and hilarious book! I got some hints of Austen, particularly with the biting wit and social commentary. I wonder what Wilde thought of Austen. The book felt a little too scattered for my taste at times but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. I'd love to see it performed.

Now that the weather's calmed down a bit, I had a chance to take a trip to the library. I finished "A Spell of Winter" today, a book I got based on a LibraryThing recommendation. While the language was lovely and well-crafted, the plots and characterizations left, for me, a great deal to be desired.

I just finished up "The Bloody Chamber," a short story collection by Angela Carter. I really enjoyed the book, particularly because I love modern interpretations of fairy tales, myths, etc. My favorite short story was the title story but all the stories are very interesting. The collection provides not only a modern take but also a feminist one in some ways, as the heroines are given more power than the women of fairy tales of yore. I highly recommend the collection to anybody who's interested in fairy tales, although, I'd suggest keeping the book away from children as it there are graphic passages.

Today, I finished Margaret Atwood's "Year of the Flood." What an excellent book! It might end up becoming my favorite Atwood book. I would suggest reading Atwood's "Oryx and Crake" before starting this one, as it acts as a sort-of sequel/companion piece to the earlier novel. The novel highlights Atwood's excellent talent as a narrator and in this book, she truly allows herself to use her inventive mind for a very interesting novel. Highly, highly recommended!

#13: I enjoyed them both although I actually preferred (and I am in the minority, I know) Oryx and Crake, which was the first Atwood book I ever read.

I enjoyed Oryx and Crake a lot but in retrospect, it feels like much more set-up than narration.

I really like Angela Carter's work too. Have you read Bluebeard's Egg for another book with some fairy tale retelling in it?

I haven't! Which is quite surprising as I love Margaret Atwood. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hello and welcome!

I spent a few hours reading Enduring Love by Ian McEwan today. What a great book! I love McEwan and this book did not fail to disappoint. From the very start, it grabs your attention and while it may not be considered a traditional page-turner, I had trouble putting it down (I was even a few minutes late to class). I'm glad to continue on my streak of great books.

Now I have to go find some books for the 18 hour plane ride to Uganda!

I hate packing for long trips. What if the books I pack aren't the ones I end up wanting to read? Good luck.

I loved Year of the Flood and Middlesex too. I just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray, perhaps The Importance of Being Earnest will be my next Wilde.

I think you'll really enjoy The Importance of Being Ernest. Any recommendations for my long trip?

Long trips require long books: A Suitable Boy, War and Peace, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, lol

Uganda? That trip sounds fascinating- I've neve been to Africa except for North Africa. You don't fly direct do you? I imagine you have to go through London or some other European country- which makes it a little more inconvenient.
This is your chance to get through most of Don Quijote.

Haha! I could take Don Quijote. Yeah, I'm going through Amsterdam and then down to Entebbe. I want to take longer books but I also want to take books that will distract me and keep me entertained. Don Quijote might not do that since I need my google translate often.

On the long trips I take to Asia, I usually carry along several novels or other readings -- enough variety to keep me busy. Many times I take books of essays that provide enough variety. I always fear a miserable flight if I take only one book, and turns out I don't like it or am not in the mood for that type of story.
You may want to consider taking along Umberto Ecco's Travel with a Salmon, for instance.

I just finished reading Push by Sapphire. The book was really hard to get through because of the subject matter. It's a hard book to criticize on a literary level because it's so hard for me to get past what's actually happening. I'm not sure yet how I feel about the book, I think I need time to mull it over.

I was reading Push at my desk and a student wanted to check it out. It's overdue now and I am chomping at the bit to get it back.