2008 - books, books, books!
I've decided I want to do this this year, on the chance that it might actually motivate me to finish a book more often! (Plus star ratings, because I cannot deny the opportunity to bust out my inner Roger Ebert. Except I'm going with five instead of four, because FIVE'S BETTER. Yup.)
(Rereads are italicized.)
01. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray | * * * * * (Jan. 4)
AMAZING. Incredibly poignant, satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
02. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding | * * * * (Jan. 7)
HEE.
03. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding | * * * * (Jan. 11)
HEE. Again. Especially the Colin Firth parts, which make my life.
04. Strange Things: The Malevolent North In Canadian Literature by Margaret Atwood | * * * * (Jan. 15)
Really interesting exploration of some of the fundamental themes in Canadian literature; I like Atwood a lot. Also, WENDIGO.
05. Persuasion by Jane Austen | * * * ½ (Jan. 17)
Particularly liked the beginning, got a little restless with it toward the end. However, it's Jane, so overall, it's all good.
06. No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod | * * * ½ (Jan. 29)
Very nicely written and poignant, but it didn't really captivate me.
07. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory | * * * (Jan. 30)
Nowhere in the same realm as The Other Boleyn Girl, in terms of really good trashy historical romance fiction (ah, Philippa), but I did like her characterization of Katherine, and the relationship between her and Arthur was incredibly sweet.
08. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell | * * * * (Feb. 4)
It took me about eighty years to read this one all the way, but worth it, I'd say! Good characterization, very pretty writing, and the social issues it explores are really interesting to me. Also, Mr. Thornton.
09. Away by Jane Urquhart | * * * ½ (Feb. 9)
Really beautiful writing, but the characters frustrated the hell out of me.
10. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood | * * * * * (Feb. 22)
FRIGGIN' EPIC. Unbelievably gorgeous writing, fascinating and intricate characterization, humour and darkness and compelling relationships; I cannot gush about this book enough.
11. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs | * * * * (Feb. 24)
One word: CRACKTASTIC.
12. Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment by David Bodanis | * * * ½ (Mar. 10)
I've never been big on non-fiction (existent stuff! How unseemly!), but I thought this was a pretty interesting read. Ah, brilliant intellectuals in love.
13. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole | * * * * (Mar. 14)
I had to read this for Western Civ, and therefore really wasn't looking forward to it, but it actually wound up being rather entertaining! She was a very cool lady.
14. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro | * * * ½ (Mar. 17)
It took me awhile to get into this one, and then I kinda lost interest toward the end as well, but I did really like a few of the stories!
15. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster | * * * * (Mar. 20)
I liked it a lot! He writes beautifully. Which, duh. But I found so many of the passages in this very striking, and I really loved the characterization as well. (Especially my beloved Cecil Vyse. Poor Cecil Vyse.)
16. The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe | * * ½ (Mar. 25)
Ughhh, I just could not get into this one. It had a few really beautiful passages, but most of the time I was just forcing myself through it.
17. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy | * * * * ½ (Apr. 1)
I picked up this book at random, and, to my surprise, really, really totally loved it. Beautiful writing, wonderfully vivid characters with fantastic chemistry -- plus sheep drama! My kind of classic, I say. Also, Bathsheba/Gabriel! Oh, my heart.
18. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen | * * * * (Apr. 4)
I hadn't read this book for years, so I really enjoyed going back to it and brushing up on the source material for the movies that I have watched roughly eight billion times. (Also, Mr. Palmer ftw!)
19. Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King | * * * * (Apr. 8)
I enjoyed it! I'm not sure I got most of it, but it was bewildering in an enjoyable way.
20. Affinity by Sarah Waters | * * * ½ (Apr. 10)
I wasn't completely crazy about this one. In terms of the writing and the atmosphere, it was brilliant, but I never quite got invested in the characters, and really, it was just kinda depressing! I also accidentally got spoiled by the IMDB page for the upcoming movie, so the plot twist at the end wasn't as 'omg!!!1' inspiring as I think it would have been otherwise. So, yeah, good but not a favourite.
21. All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein | * * * * * (Apr. 13)
Powerful and horrifying and beautiful. What an incredible human being.
22. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling | * * * * * (Apr. 13)
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
23. Flush: A Biography by Virginia Woolf | * * * * (Apr. 17)
So very cute and clever. It makes me happy that this book exists.
24. Icefields by Thomas Warton | * * * (Apr. 19)
Quite prettily written, but it didn't really do a lot for me.
25. A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery | * * * * (Apr. 23)
Super-cute!
26. Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky Lee | * (Apr. 27)
Words cannot possibly express how much I did not give a damn about this book.
27. Afterimage by Helen Humphreys | * * * * * (May 5)
Oh, gosh, this was a fantastic book. Wonderfully engaging characters and relationship dynamics, and it was just so beautifully written that there was at least one passage on each page that I just wanted to type up and frame or something. Gorgeous, gorgeous book.
28. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot | * * * * (May 7)
Aw, this was some darn good fluffy reading! I think these books may have actually gotten their groove back. Mia being friends with Lana was weirdly delightful to me. And MIA/J.P.! <3 (Because who needs friggin' Michael anyway? Not the second Princess Diaries movie, and not I.) That was good stuff.
29. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer | * * * (May 10)
Oh, this book, this book. In terms of pure mindless entertainment value, it passes the test. But then you stop, and you think about it, and that's when things get messy. However -- Bella and Jacob awkwardly semi-dancing at prom at the end, ajflsa;jfad! <3 They are so inconveniently cute. And that would be my favourite thing about this book.
30. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys | * * * (May 13)
I didn't really get into this one. It was beautifully written, but I never really got all that swept up in it.
31. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby | * * * * ½ (May 17)
Oh, I really enjoyed this one. Funny and thoughtful and bittersweet.
32. How To Be Good by Nick Hornby | * * * * * (May 20)
Loved it completely. <3
33. About a Boy by Nick Hornby | * * * * * (May 21)
Hornby, how are you so awesome, sir?
34. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery | * * * * * (May 27)
Oh, this is one of my very favourite books in the history of all books.
35. Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery | * * * * ½ (June 10)
<3
36. The Oblivion Society by Marcus Alexander Hart | * * * * (June 24)
Oh, this was a fun read. Witty, good characters -- and zombies and lots of gore! How does one beat that?
37. A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson | * * * * * (July 1)
Oh, dude, I LOVED THIS BOOK. I was not really expecting to, but man, it was wonderful and romantic and sweet and witty and clever with lots of really excellent characters, and I LOVED IT. There was even a stuffy fiance for me to adore madly! It was glorious.
38. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark by Campbell Black | * * * (July 6)
Hahaha, my summer reading has taken a turn for the particularly erudite, huh? But don't blame me! A girl needs her Indy/Marion however she can get it! And a lot of the stuff between them was actually quite different from what we saw in the actual film. And, ya know, not as good, but whatever! INDY/MARION, homies. It's important.
39. A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson | * * * * * (July 10)
Dude, I loved this one even more than A Company Of Swans! And oh, it is just so sappy and all the plots are kind of just pretty much the same and yet the love, the love!
40. Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson | * * * * * (July 13)
THERE ARE NO WORDS. FOR THE AWESOME.
41. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters | * * * * * (July 19)
Phenomenal, as always. She is definitely one of my very favourite writers.
42. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson | * * ½ (July 19)
Ya know, I think knowing the plot twist kind of ruins this one. On the plus side, it is an excellent soporific.
43. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh | * * * ½ (July 28)
Overall, this one just went over my head, but I did think it was beautifully written, and y'all know I was completely eaten up by Charles/Sebastian. I think I might do better with this if I reread it.
44. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot | * * * * * (August 11)
This book will always be AWESOME.
45. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro | * * * * * (Sept. 4)
I was surprised by how much I completely loved this one. Eerie, mysterious, beautifully written, incredible characters and relationships -- I cannot gush enough.
46. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte | * * * * * (Sept. 10)
Oh, fine, it was pretty flippin' spectacular the second time around.
47. Abarat by Clive Barker | * * * * * (Sept. 18)
A most wonderfully imaginative adventure! I hadn't read any fantasy in quite awhile, so this was really nice. Fact: magic is awesome. As is the name Candy Quackenbush.
48. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | * * * ½ (Sept. 21)
... really a downer.
49. Gertrude & Claudius by John Updike | * * * (Sept. 24)
It didn't really live up to my expectations, but that might be because I have an odd fondness for these guys.
50. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens | * * * * ½ (Sept. 25)
Better than I expected! However: long. Charles Dickens, I will never forgive you for making Lizzie Gaskell rush the ending of North and South. LOOK WHO'S TALKING.
51. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes | * * * ½ (Oct. 5)
Occasionally compelling, and interesting subject matter, but overall this one was just kinda flat to me.
52. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde | * * ½ (Oct. 7)
Wow, I was so unimpressed with this book, especially after hearing great stuff about it for years. I thought the concept was very clever, but pretty much wasted on a poorly written, poorly characterized, poorly paced book. So ... that was a bummer!
53. Adam Bede by George Eliot | * * * * (Oct. 8)
There were lots of things about this book that I didn't like (stfu, Dinah; aaahhhh, the dialects!; Adam/Dinah, for real?, etc.) but I did find it very, very engaging.
54. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy | * (Oct. 14)
Cannot comment. Hatred still burns too brightly. AAAAUGH.
55. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins | * * * * ½ (Oct. 23)
The only thing I didn't dig about this book was stupid Laura. Seriously -- who falls for Laura when there's Marian?? Oh, Victorian dudes and their notions of perfect women.
56. Villette by Charlotte Bronte | * * * * * (Oct. 25)
Ohhhh, gosh, I loved this a lot. I think this had the effect on me that Jane Eyre has on most people. And Lucy/M. Paul just owned me. Why is there no beautiful film adaptation of this?!
57. Set in Stone by Linda Newbery | * * * * ½ (Oct. 28)
Words cannot express how good it felt to read something that is not remotely academically renowned! O, sweet ecstasy! I really, really enjoyed this -- it's your basic Victorian Gothic story with some propriety covering up some ~shocking secrets~, but it was all really well-done. Good characters with interesting dynamics, good plot twists, well-written. I think it would have been more resonant if it had been longer -- I felt like there was such potential, particularly with the characters and their dynamics, that never quiiite got realized -- but it was still an utterly lovely read! SUCK ON THAT, ACADEMICALLY RECOGNIZED LITERATURE.
58. Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden | * * * ½ (Oct. 28)
A slight improvement over our other Contemporary Lit reading so far (Never Let Me Go not included), but it still never really got me. At least there were wendigos.
59. The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner | * * * (Oct. 29)
I think I might have appreciated this more if I hadn't had to read it in two days. But honestly, it's hard to tell.
60. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard | * * * * * (Nov. 6)
Now, this was just fun. (At last.)
61. Falling Man by Don DeLillo | * ½ (Nov. 8)
Meh.
62. Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett | * * * * (Nov. 11)
Oh, this was really cute! I got a little lost occasionally, because I didn't know it was a series and then -- well, hadn't read the other books in the series. But it was all clever and whimsical and magical and you know I'm gonna dig that.
63. Making History by Stephen Fry | * * * * ½ (Nov. 14)
Ohhh, the bliss of this reading experience! This was one of those 'couldn't put it down' reads, which I have not had in such a long time that I actually forgot what it felt like. And the writing was so vibrant and witty and I totally loved Michael and there was boylove and it was EXCELLENT GOOD STUFF.
64. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy | * * * ½ (Nov. 17)
65. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky | * * * * (Nov. 18)
66. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells | * * * (Nov. 24)
67. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella | * * * * ½ (Nov. 30)
68. The Secret River by Kate Grenville | * * * ½ (Dec. 3)
69. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling | * * * * * (Dec. 4)
LOVE FOREVER.
70. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella | * * * (Dec. 9)
71. Coraline by Neil Gaiman | * * * * (Dec. 15)
72. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx | * * * * * (Dec. 23)
73. Pretty Things by Sarra Manning | * * * * ½ (Dec. 25)
74. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks | * * * ½ (Dec. 28)
75. Damosel: In Which The Lady of the Lake Renders a Frank and Often Startling Account of Her Wondrous Life and Times by Stephanie Spinner | * * * (Dec. 28)
76. Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder by Gyles Brandreth | * * * * (Dec. 30)
(Rereads are italicized.)
01. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray | * * * * * (Jan. 4)
AMAZING. Incredibly poignant, satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
02. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding | * * * * (Jan. 7)
HEE.
03. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding | * * * * (Jan. 11)
HEE. Again. Especially the Colin Firth parts, which make my life.
04. Strange Things: The Malevolent North In Canadian Literature by Margaret Atwood | * * * * (Jan. 15)
Really interesting exploration of some of the fundamental themes in Canadian literature; I like Atwood a lot. Also, WENDIGO.
05. Persuasion by Jane Austen | * * * ½ (Jan. 17)
Particularly liked the beginning, got a little restless with it toward the end. However, it's Jane, so overall, it's all good.
06. No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod | * * * ½ (Jan. 29)
Very nicely written and poignant, but it didn't really captivate me.
07. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory | * * * (Jan. 30)
Nowhere in the same realm as The Other Boleyn Girl, in terms of really good trashy historical romance fiction (ah, Philippa), but I did like her characterization of Katherine, and the relationship between her and Arthur was incredibly sweet.
08. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell | * * * * (Feb. 4)
It took me about eighty years to read this one all the way, but worth it, I'd say! Good characterization, very pretty writing, and the social issues it explores are really interesting to me. Also, Mr. Thornton.
09. Away by Jane Urquhart | * * * ½ (Feb. 9)
Really beautiful writing, but the characters frustrated the hell out of me.
10. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood | * * * * * (Feb. 22)
FRIGGIN' EPIC. Unbelievably gorgeous writing, fascinating and intricate characterization, humour and darkness and compelling relationships; I cannot gush about this book enough.
11. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs | * * * * (Feb. 24)
One word: CRACKTASTIC.
12. Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment by David Bodanis | * * * ½ (Mar. 10)
I've never been big on non-fiction (existent stuff! How unseemly!), but I thought this was a pretty interesting read. Ah, brilliant intellectuals in love.
13. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole | * * * * (Mar. 14)
I had to read this for Western Civ, and therefore really wasn't looking forward to it, but it actually wound up being rather entertaining! She was a very cool lady.
14. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro | * * * ½ (Mar. 17)
It took me awhile to get into this one, and then I kinda lost interest toward the end as well, but I did really like a few of the stories!
15. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster | * * * * (Mar. 20)
I liked it a lot! He writes beautifully. Which, duh. But I found so many of the passages in this very striking, and I really loved the characterization as well. (Especially my beloved Cecil Vyse. Poor Cecil Vyse.)
16. The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe | * * ½ (Mar. 25)
Ughhh, I just could not get into this one. It had a few really beautiful passages, but most of the time I was just forcing myself through it.
17. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy | * * * * ½ (Apr. 1)
I picked up this book at random, and, to my surprise, really, really totally loved it. Beautiful writing, wonderfully vivid characters with fantastic chemistry -- plus sheep drama! My kind of classic, I say. Also, Bathsheba/Gabriel! Oh, my heart.
18. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen | * * * * (Apr. 4)
I hadn't read this book for years, so I really enjoyed going back to it and brushing up on the source material for the movies that I have watched roughly eight billion times. (Also, Mr. Palmer ftw!)
19. Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King | * * * * (Apr. 8)
I enjoyed it! I'm not sure I got most of it, but it was bewildering in an enjoyable way.
20. Affinity by Sarah Waters | * * * ½ (Apr. 10)
I wasn't completely crazy about this one. In terms of the writing and the atmosphere, it was brilliant, but I never quite got invested in the characters, and really, it was just kinda depressing! I also accidentally got spoiled by the IMDB page for the upcoming movie, so the plot twist at the end wasn't as 'omg!!!1' inspiring as I think it would have been otherwise. So, yeah, good but not a favourite.
21. All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein | * * * * * (Apr. 13)
Powerful and horrifying and beautiful. What an incredible human being.
22. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling | * * * * * (Apr. 13)
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
23. Flush: A Biography by Virginia Woolf | * * * * (Apr. 17)
So very cute and clever. It makes me happy that this book exists.
24. Icefields by Thomas Warton | * * * (Apr. 19)
Quite prettily written, but it didn't really do a lot for me.
25. A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery | * * * * (Apr. 23)
Super-cute!
26. Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky Lee | * (Apr. 27)
Words cannot possibly express how much I did not give a damn about this book.
27. Afterimage by Helen Humphreys | * * * * * (May 5)
Oh, gosh, this was a fantastic book. Wonderfully engaging characters and relationship dynamics, and it was just so beautifully written that there was at least one passage on each page that I just wanted to type up and frame or something. Gorgeous, gorgeous book.
28. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot | * * * * (May 7)
Aw, this was some darn good fluffy reading! I think these books may have actually gotten their groove back. Mia being friends with Lana was weirdly delightful to me. And MIA/J.P.! <3 (Because who needs friggin' Michael anyway? Not the second Princess Diaries movie, and not I.) That was good stuff.
29. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer | * * * (May 10)
Oh, this book, this book. In terms of pure mindless entertainment value, it passes the test. But then you stop, and you think about it, and that's when things get messy. However -- Bella and Jacob awkwardly semi-dancing at prom at the end, ajflsa;jfad! <3 They are so inconveniently cute. And that would be my favourite thing about this book.
30. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys | * * * (May 13)
I didn't really get into this one. It was beautifully written, but I never really got all that swept up in it.
31. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby | * * * * ½ (May 17)
Oh, I really enjoyed this one. Funny and thoughtful and bittersweet.
32. How To Be Good by Nick Hornby | * * * * * (May 20)
Loved it completely. <3
33. About a Boy by Nick Hornby | * * * * * (May 21)
Hornby, how are you so awesome, sir?
34. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery | * * * * * (May 27)
Oh, this is one of my very favourite books in the history of all books.
35. Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery | * * * * ½ (June 10)
<3
36. The Oblivion Society by Marcus Alexander Hart | * * * * (June 24)
Oh, this was a fun read. Witty, good characters -- and zombies and lots of gore! How does one beat that?
37. A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson | * * * * * (July 1)
Oh, dude, I LOVED THIS BOOK. I was not really expecting to, but man, it was wonderful and romantic and sweet and witty and clever with lots of really excellent characters, and I LOVED IT. There was even a stuffy fiance for me to adore madly! It was glorious.
38. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark by Campbell Black | * * * (July 6)
Hahaha, my summer reading has taken a turn for the particularly erudite, huh? But don't blame me! A girl needs her Indy/Marion however she can get it! And a lot of the stuff between them was actually quite different from what we saw in the actual film. And, ya know, not as good, but whatever! INDY/MARION, homies. It's important.
39. A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson | * * * * * (July 10)
Dude, I loved this one even more than A Company Of Swans! And oh, it is just so sappy and all the plots are kind of just pretty much the same and yet the love, the love!
40. Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson | * * * * * (July 13)
THERE ARE NO WORDS. FOR THE AWESOME.
41. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters | * * * * * (July 19)
Phenomenal, as always. She is definitely one of my very favourite writers.
42. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson | * * ½ (July 19)
Ya know, I think knowing the plot twist kind of ruins this one. On the plus side, it is an excellent soporific.
43. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh | * * * ½ (July 28)
Overall, this one just went over my head, but I did think it was beautifully written, and y'all know I was completely eaten up by Charles/Sebastian. I think I might do better with this if I reread it.
44. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot | * * * * * (August 11)
This book will always be AWESOME.
45. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro | * * * * * (Sept. 4)
I was surprised by how much I completely loved this one. Eerie, mysterious, beautifully written, incredible characters and relationships -- I cannot gush enough.
46. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte | * * * * * (Sept. 10)
Oh, fine, it was pretty flippin' spectacular the second time around.
47. Abarat by Clive Barker | * * * * * (Sept. 18)
A most wonderfully imaginative adventure! I hadn't read any fantasy in quite awhile, so this was really nice. Fact: magic is awesome. As is the name Candy Quackenbush.
48. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | * * * ½ (Sept. 21)
... really a downer.
49. Gertrude & Claudius by John Updike | * * * (Sept. 24)
It didn't really live up to my expectations, but that might be because I have an odd fondness for these guys.
50. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens | * * * * ½ (Sept. 25)
Better than I expected! However: long. Charles Dickens, I will never forgive you for making Lizzie Gaskell rush the ending of North and South. LOOK WHO'S TALKING.
51. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes | * * * ½ (Oct. 5)
Occasionally compelling, and interesting subject matter, but overall this one was just kinda flat to me.
52. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde | * * ½ (Oct. 7)
Wow, I was so unimpressed with this book, especially after hearing great stuff about it for years. I thought the concept was very clever, but pretty much wasted on a poorly written, poorly characterized, poorly paced book. So ... that was a bummer!
53. Adam Bede by George Eliot | * * * * (Oct. 8)
There were lots of things about this book that I didn't like (stfu, Dinah; aaahhhh, the dialects!; Adam/Dinah, for real?, etc.) but I did find it very, very engaging.
54. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy | * (Oct. 14)
Cannot comment. Hatred still burns too brightly. AAAAUGH.
55. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins | * * * * ½ (Oct. 23)
The only thing I didn't dig about this book was stupid Laura. Seriously -- who falls for Laura when there's Marian?? Oh, Victorian dudes and their notions of perfect women.
56. Villette by Charlotte Bronte | * * * * * (Oct. 25)
Ohhhh, gosh, I loved this a lot. I think this had the effect on me that Jane Eyre has on most people. And Lucy/M. Paul just owned me. Why is there no beautiful film adaptation of this?!
57. Set in Stone by Linda Newbery | * * * * ½ (Oct. 28)
Words cannot express how good it felt to read something that is not remotely academically renowned! O, sweet ecstasy! I really, really enjoyed this -- it's your basic Victorian Gothic story with some propriety covering up some ~shocking secrets~, but it was all really well-done. Good characters with interesting dynamics, good plot twists, well-written. I think it would have been more resonant if it had been longer -- I felt like there was such potential, particularly with the characters and their dynamics, that never quiiite got realized -- but it was still an utterly lovely read! SUCK ON THAT, ACADEMICALLY RECOGNIZED LITERATURE.
58. Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden | * * * ½ (Oct. 28)
A slight improvement over our other Contemporary Lit reading so far (Never Let Me Go not included), but it still never really got me. At least there were wendigos.
59. The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner | * * * (Oct. 29)
I think I might have appreciated this more if I hadn't had to read it in two days. But honestly, it's hard to tell.
60. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard | * * * * * (Nov. 6)
Now, this was just fun. (At last.)
61. Falling Man by Don DeLillo | * ½ (Nov. 8)
Meh.
62. Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett | * * * * (Nov. 11)
Oh, this was really cute! I got a little lost occasionally, because I didn't know it was a series and then -- well, hadn't read the other books in the series. But it was all clever and whimsical and magical and you know I'm gonna dig that.
63. Making History by Stephen Fry | * * * * ½ (Nov. 14)
Ohhh, the bliss of this reading experience! This was one of those 'couldn't put it down' reads, which I have not had in such a long time that I actually forgot what it felt like. And the writing was so vibrant and witty and I totally loved Michael and there was boylove and it was EXCELLENT GOOD STUFF.
64. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy | * * * ½ (Nov. 17)
65. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky | * * * * (Nov. 18)
66. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells | * * * (Nov. 24)
67. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella | * * * * ½ (Nov. 30)
68. The Secret River by Kate Grenville | * * * ½ (Dec. 3)
69. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling | * * * * * (Dec. 4)
LOVE FOREVER.
70. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella | * * * (Dec. 9)
71. Coraline by Neil Gaiman | * * * * (Dec. 15)
72. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx | * * * * * (Dec. 23)
73. Pretty Things by Sarra Manning | * * * * ½ (Dec. 25)
74. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks | * * * ½ (Dec. 28)
75. Damosel: In Which The Lady of the Lake Renders a Frank and Often Startling Account of Her Wondrous Life and Times by Stephanie Spinner | * * * (Dec. 28)
76. Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder by Gyles Brandreth | * * * * (Dec. 30)