October Reading Summary
October was a good month. I started my new job on the 3rd and haven't had much free-time but the commute to work is long and boring so I've been reading a lot more. This month feels more productive, even though I only read a total of 7 books, but I think it is because I ticked some pretty big book names off my list.
1) Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
2) Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (BBC Big Read #052)
3) The Princess Bride - William Goldman
4) The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger (BBC Big Read #015)
5) The Girl's Guide to Losing Your L plates - Maria McCarthy
6) Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo
7) Holes - Louis Sachar (BBC Big Read #083)
I must admit, Slaughterhouse Five and Catcher in the Rye were not what I was expecting. I'd heard of them and heard they were notorious and often banned in American schools, so I guess I was expecting something more... offensive, I guess? But they were tame. Brilliant, more interesting than I expected, and shorter than I expected too. I really enjoyed reading them.
The Princess bride was epic. It made me want to watch the film again and is now one of my favourite books.
Of Mice and Men was also pretty short and I enjoyed it - it will also come in handy as I've heard it is on the syllabus in some schools so i may have to teach it. As are private Peaceful and Holes, which were such good reads - I could hardly put them down! I dreaded the bus pulling up to the stop I got off at, purely because it meant having to put the books back in my bag.
The Girl's Guide to Losing You l plates was a good read too - lots of facts and tips about learning to drive - most of which is irrelevant to me since my fiance's dad is a driving instructor so i don't really need tips on how to find one. But still...
102 books in total for 2011 so far! And 2 months to go! Since I seem to be okay at reading 7 books a month now, I could maybe see a final total of about 120 books. I'd really like more of them to be from the BBC Big Read Top 100 though. Should at least try and read all of the top 10 - but Lord of the Rings Trilogy may be a bit too much to read in 2 months! lol.
1) Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
2) Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (BBC Big Read #052)
3) The Princess Bride - William Goldman
4) The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger (BBC Big Read #015)
5) The Girl's Guide to Losing Your L plates - Maria McCarthy
6) Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo
7) Holes - Louis Sachar (BBC Big Read #083)
I must admit, Slaughterhouse Five and Catcher in the Rye were not what I was expecting. I'd heard of them and heard they were notorious and often banned in American schools, so I guess I was expecting something more... offensive, I guess? But they were tame. Brilliant, more interesting than I expected, and shorter than I expected too. I really enjoyed reading them.
The Princess bride was epic. It made me want to watch the film again and is now one of my favourite books.
Of Mice and Men was also pretty short and I enjoyed it - it will also come in handy as I've heard it is on the syllabus in some schools so i may have to teach it. As are private Peaceful and Holes, which were such good reads - I could hardly put them down! I dreaded the bus pulling up to the stop I got off at, purely because it meant having to put the books back in my bag.
The Girl's Guide to Losing You l plates was a good read too - lots of facts and tips about learning to drive - most of which is irrelevant to me since my fiance's dad is a driving instructor so i don't really need tips on how to find one. But still...
102 books in total for 2011 so far! And 2 months to go! Since I seem to be okay at reading 7 books a month now, I could maybe see a final total of about 120 books. I'd really like more of them to be from the BBC Big Read Top 100 though. Should at least try and read all of the top 10 - but Lord of the Rings Trilogy may be a bit too much to read in 2 months! lol.