LMHTWB's Alphabet Challenge -- Authors

Having finished my 50 Book Challenge early (see http://www.librarything.com/topic/129663) and seeing there's a month left of the year, I'll launch on an author alphabet challenge. This is also a great way to force myself to read some new authors, since I don't think I've read any 'q' or 'x' authors yet.

Here's my rules:

no time limit
by author's pennames
not read in order
no subject/genre restrictions

Author List

A: Margaret Atwood
B:
C: Daniel Coleman
D:
E:
F:
G:
H:
I:
J: Ethan Jones
K:
L:
M:
N:
O:
P: J. M. Porup
Q:
R: Philip Roth
S: Graeme Smith
T:
U:
V:
W: Kimberly Wilson
X:
Y:
Z:

Wilson, Kimberly

Clutter Be Gone!
This is a short ebook, which I won through the Member Giveaways. The books is about removing clutter from your house. It's not the longest nor the most complete room-to-room manual, but for some reason, it worked for me. I think it was the simple method -- pick an area, put everything in the middle of the room, and then sort it out. This worked a lot better than either the "work for 15 minutes and then rest" or the "do one drawer at a time" methods. The one suggestion I didn't like was to eliminate physical books in favor of ebooks. Sigh...

Welcome and happy reading :-)

Roth, Philip

Exit Ghost
I was really looking forward to reading (okay, listening) to this Philip Roth book, but I was upset more than pleased by it. Yes, the writing was wonderful. And the narration on the CDs was great. The story about an older writer facing health problems and then lusting have a lady half his age, while trying to prevent a biography of his ideal from being written because of allegations of incest. Oh, did I mention the friend with brain cancer? Not the happiest of stories, which isn't a bad thing. I just couldn't find any great redeeming values in the story and stopped listening to it 3 or 4 times.

Welcome and have fun :)

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to trying some new authors.

Coleman, Daniel

Gifts and Consequences
This Member Giveaway book is an interesting book about the choices we make and the value of our word. The characters are intriguing and interesting. The background story for why Jonathan makes people's wishes come true is poignant and caused more than a few tears. I really liked Coleman's writing style, so I've moved on to another one of his books Hatter.

Good luck with this new challenge!

Atwood, Margaret

Oryx and Crake
While I have read the physical book years ago, I listened to this on CD for the last week or so. This was a wonderful book, if a dystopian novel can be called wonderful. The story was interesting with strange but real characters. The flash-backs worked, unlike what happens in more novels. And the narration was clear and wonderful. Yes, I love this this book and these CD's. And now I'm on to the next installment The Year of the Flood, also on CDs.

Hi Linda
I loved this book too and have done it in the same order as you did, first the reading and later the listening. My local library has got a copy of The Year of the Flood so probably I'll give it a go. I will read your opinion about that book when you've read it.

Happy reading :-)

>11 Ameise1: Well, I listened to the first CD and part of the second yesterday on my commutes and, well, ... I LOVE IT! So far, it seems even better if that is possible... I'm tempted to drive somewhere today just to listen to more of it...

Good luck with the challenge.

Good Luck and have fun with your challenge!

>13 heathn: & 14 Thanks!

Porup, J. M.

The Second Bat Guano War: a Hard-Boiled Spy Thriller
I hate when I have to criticize a book from an indie author, but sometimes I just have to do it. This book was boring and honestly, if all the characters had died, I would not have cared. The main character was a foul-mouthed, cocaine-snorting American living in Bolivia, with a dark past told in a series of flash-backs. I'm not sure where the 'hard-boiled spy thriller' came from. It just was not good.

I like your rules for the challenge. They are pretty much the same ones I've been following!

Smith, Graeme

Jack Shadow
Very interesting and surprisingly complex novel. It started out rather light, similar to his other book A Comedy of Terrors, which I really loved. This one, well, not sure what to think. It got very complex in spots but I only noticed the complexity after it got complex so I did get a bit lost. I will have to re-read this sometime and honestly, it is good enough to take the time to re-read it.

Jones, Ethan

Arctic Wargame
Great thriller by a new author! The story was interesting with enough plot twists and the right amount of drama to pull the reader along. The characters might have been fleshed out a bit more, but in a thriller, they were okay. The military details were not too much, not too little for the average reader. Really good, and because of a previous not-so-thrilling thriller by another author, I was pleasantly surprised!

Now, I'll have to buy the second book...