100 NEW Books for 2009

I'm trying for 100 new books this year. I have no trouble rereading old favorites, but I think I'm missing some wonderful opportunities to get some new favorites. So far I've only managed 3 books this year; Breaking Dawn, Eclipse, and Fish Out of Water. I'm working on Persuasion, Wuthering Heights, and Pillars of the Earth.

I have a degree in English literature and I think it's awful the amount of classics that I've missed. I had never read a Dickens novel until about 2 years ago. Had only read Mansfield Park from the Austen line. So this year I'm making it my mission to try and get to all the old classics and any new ones that have cropped up.

Kiwi

Good luck with your challenge annekiwi!

I love the old classics but there are some I still haven't read!

This challenge is a great way to get to those classics read. That is one of the reasons I decided to join. Once I listed all the classics I wanted to read I still had lots of room left over for other books.

I read a book this weekend called Hex in the City or at least that's what I think it's called. I can't even remember who wrote it. It wasn't brain candy, it was more like brain crack. Awful. It was more like the beginning of an idea for a book than a book itself. The sentences were very simple (which isn't always bad) and the characters badly developed. It was a very superficial read. But I'm going to count it toward my 100 because I did read it and it is technically a book. Also, I don't know how far I'm going to get on this challenge. A water pipe broke on my second floor and flooded my house. For hours it was raining in my house, right down onto my library. Right onto my 1868 Complete collection of the works of Charles Dickens. Does anyone know how to make this less damaging or how to lessen the extent of the damage already done?

Kiwi

I finally finished Persuasion by reading it on my lunch hour. And I read something called If You Could See Me Now. I loved Persuasion. Sometimes I find it hard to read the Austen books because the writing is so much more complex than today's writing. Still, I really enjoy it because it is so descriptive without being overly so. Not the minutiae of every minute, but more along the lines of "she blushed" and you know exactly what she's thinking and feeling without more words.

If You Could See Me Now was an interesting book. Spoiler Alert. It just didn't work for me. I think the whole idea of imaginary friends and adults just a bit too ludicrous. I guess part of the problem is that my son has imaginary friends right now (one is a good "bad guy" named Fragile - I have no idea how that started) and he always insists that he's pretend. Besides the movie DROP DEAD FRED already covered this.

#4: I do not know if anyone has already suggested this group to you or not, but you might try the Book Care and Repair group to see if they can help save Dickens. They are here: http://www.librarything.com/groups/bookcareandrepair

Thanks, alcottacre. I'll have to check that out.

Finished The Burnt House last night. Took forever to read since I'm still displaced. I don't know why it takes me so long to read when I'm not at home. I guess I feel like I have to do other stuff, like actually clean and help out, instead of sit on my butt and read to my heart's content. Now I'm working on Testimony of Two Men. Was one of my mother's favorite books and I remember the 1970's miniseries with David Baxter. I think I'll enjoy it immensely.

I also read Pictures of Hollis Woods, a young adult book, last night. Took about an hour. I was pre-reading to see if it was appropriate for a young adult I know. I really liked how the author used pictures, art, and colors to tell the story.

Not counting this one toward my 100 because even though it is a book, it seems like cheating to include it.

I finished Atticus and Evil Without a Face this week.

ATTICUS was stellar. I cannot rave enough about how wonderful it was and how amazing to read such a well written story that details the unconditional love of a father for his son, no matter how undeserving the son may be acting.

EVIL WITHOUT A FACE fell short of its goal. It really had potential, but it lacked detail. There were so many question that remained unanswered. And not in a good, fill it in for yourself kind of way.

Finished The Woman Who Walked Into Doors this week. I feel ambivalent about it. I like that she stood up for her daughter but why didn't she stand up for her kids earlier? Why was direct violence against her kids so anathema but the constant violence against her was okay for them to witness? I don't really understand the mindset of abused women. Still, an interesting book and I am glad I read it.

Royally Jacked by N. Burnham

The Royal Pain by Mary Janice Davidson

Still working on Sense and Sensibility.