Category: Other

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2010 Other Recommended books

The Best Books of 2010? Part 1: Authors We Know and Love

December 2010 UPDATE: See which 2010 books I actually enjoyed the most.

The lists for the best 2009 books are everywhere at the moment, so I thought it would be nice to have a look at some of the books which might make the same lists next year.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet – David Mitchell

I have loved all of David Mitchell’s books, especially Ghostwritten and Black Swan Green. His new book is set on the tiny island of Dejima, the Dutch East India Company’s remotest Japanese trading post in 1799. I am really looking forward to reading it and am hoping it is good enough to win him the Booker Prize, as it would be fantastic to see him win.

Trespass – Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain won the Orange prize in 2008 with The Road Home, so it is exciting to see that she has a new book out in 2010. Trespass is set in an isolated French farmhouse and is described as a powerful, unsettling novel. I can’t wait!

 

So Much for That – Lionel Shriver

If you loved  We Need To Talk About Kevin as much as I did, then you will be looking forward to reading her latest book. It focuses on a woman suffering from an aggressive form of cancer, so I’m sure it will be another emotional read.

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ  – Philip Pullman

This promises to be the most controversial release of 2010. I loved the His Dark Materials Trilogy and hope that this will be just as good. Either way, I’m sure this will be the most talked about book of 2010!

Beatrice and Virgil – Yann Martel

A book about a taxidermist, a howler monkey and a donkey called Beatrice doesn’t sound like the best book of the year, but the premise of Life of Pi didn’t look very good either. Another contender for the Booker prize?

The News Where You Are – Catherine O’Flynn

What Was Lost was a very promising debut, so I am looking forward to finding out what her second novel is like. She has originality on her side – I’ve not read a literary mystery focusing on a television anchorman before!

 

Shades of Grey – Jasper Fforde

I loved The Eyre Affair, but for some reason I haven’t got round to reading any more of his books. I need to fix that, but I know that all Fforde fans are getting excited about this release.

More 2010 Books….

Which books are you most looking forward to in 2010?

Read Part 2: The Best Books of 2010? Debut/Lesser Known Authors

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Other

I’m taking a short blogging break…

thumb_wedding_wedding_cake_1This weekend a good friend from University is getting married, so I’m taking a short break from blogging to celebrate – I’ll be back next week.

Have a great weekend!

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Booker Prize Other

The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge

The Complete Booker originated in August, 2007 to bring together book lovers and bloggers interested in reading winners of The Man Booker Prize for Fiction. 

This year the blog is hosting a challenge – it runs from January 1 – December 31, 2010.

There are several levels of participation:

Winners Circle: read at least 6 winners

Contender: read at least 6 short listed nominees

Longshot: read at least 6 long listed nominees

Booker Devotee: choose a year, and read all 6 shortlisted works from that year

Booker Fanatic: choose a year, and read all 13 long- and shortlisted works from that year

I love the Booker prize and so I am going to try to be an over-achiever for this challenge. I plan to complete all the levels of participation!

I am going to read all 13 books longlisted for the prize in 2010 and will hopefully manage to strike off the other levels at the same time. It is going to be a challenge, but hopefully one I’ll manage.

Here is my list of the Bookers I’ve read so far.

Are there any years you’d prefer me to complete?

Which is your favourite Booker book?

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Other

November Summary and Plans for December

I read 12 books in November, but unfortunately I enjoyed this month’s selection less than previous ones. My favourite was The Help byKathryn Stockett, which made it onto my list of  The Best Books of 2009.

My favourite this month

Books reviewed during November

The Help – Kathryn Stockett stars4h

Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami stars41

The Nutmeg Tree – Margery Sharp stars41

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi (Book and Film) stars41

Equator – Miguel Sousa Tavares stars41

Perdido Street Station – China Miéville stars3h

Stalking Richard & Judy – Valentine Honeyman stars3h

The Turn of the Screw – Henry James stars3h

Indignation – Philip Roth stars3h

The Brutal Telling – Louise Penny stars3

Outlander (Cross Stitch) – Diana Gabaldon stars21

The Blind Owl – Sadegh Hedayat stars21

The Magicians – Lev Grossman stars1 (DNF)

Plans for December

I have several books lined up to read in December.

Here are the ones I hope to finish next month: 

Have you read any of the books I plan to read?

I hope that you had a great November and I look forward to sharing more book discussions with you in December!

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Book Prizes Other

Book Awards Challenge III Complete!

Click to sign up

The Book Awards III Challenge ran from July 1 to December 1, 2009 and the challenge was to read: 5 books from 5 different awards

I thought that was too easy for me, so to make it more difficult I decided to seek out some of the lesser known awards, and ban myself from including Bookers, Pulitzers or Orange Prize winners in this challenge.

I love reading prize winning books, so I found it easy to complete this challenge, despite my personal restrictions.

The books I read were:

The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman (Audio Book) Newbery Medal 2009  stars3h

Perdido Street Station – China Miéville Arthur C Clarke Award 2001 stars3h

De Niro’s Game – Rawi Hage International IMPAC Literary Award 2008 stars3h

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi (Book and Film) Alex Award 2004  stars41

2666 – Roberto Bolaño National Book Critics Circle Award 2008  stars51

I enjoyed looking through lists of book prizes and hope to read many more prize winning books next year.

Did you manage to complete the Book Awards Challenge?

 

 

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Other

Which books are you going to give this Christmas?

Today is Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days before Christmas, so I thought I’d put together a list of ideas for anyone who is struggling to think of books to buy for their loved ones.

The Gruffalo Jigsaw Book by Julia Donaldson‘); ?>

The Gruffalo is a classic of children’s literature and this jigsaw version is the best copy to have. It is beautiful and the chunky card pages means that it stays that way (as long as you can persuade them not to remove the jigsaw pieces!) Suggested age range: 0 – 6 years

That\’s Not My Bear (and all the other books in this wonderful series) by Fiona Watts ‘); ?>

Babies and toddlers love the different textures in these books and the simple, repetitive nature of the each page means that they quickly learn to recite the words, so they can ‘read’ the books for themselves – giving them an immense sense of achievement. Suggested age range: 0 – 2 years

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers‘); ?>

A story that all book lovers will enjoy reading to younger children. Little ones will be giggling all the way through and they love seeing the place where the back cover has been nibbled! Suggested age range: 3 – 6 years

Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus ‘); ?>

It has been 80 years since Winnie-the-Pooh first went on the shelves, so this authorised sequel is a must for all fans. Suggested age range: 5 – adult

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick ‘); ?>

This novel in words and pictures is beautiful. It is a gentle mystery that I enjoyed reading, even as an adult. The book is aimed at children between 9 and 12 year old, but my 4 year old boy enjoyed looking at all the pictures too. If I knew anyone 7 – 12 years old, I’d be buying this for them this Christmas. 

The Arrival by Shaun Tan ‘); ?>

This is a story without words, but the depth of the emotion contained within the pictures is outstanding. Suggested age range: 10 years – adult

The River Cottage Meat Book – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall‘); ?>

This is the best cook book I’ve ever found. It is as much a reference guide, containing everything you’d ever want to know about different cuts of meat, as it is a source of fantastic recipes. Recommended to anyone who enjoys cooking meat.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell‘); ?>

I haven’t read this one yet, but I’d love to receive a copy for Christmas! Malcolm Gladwell’s insight into our every day lives is always fascinating – this will appeal to a wide range of adults.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – Winifred Watson‘); ?>

If you are trying to find a present for a literature lover then you can’t go wrong with any book from Persephone. You just have to decide whether to go for one from the Persephone Classic range, or one of the grey ones with the beautiful end papers – impossible choice!

I admit that I know nothing about teenagers. Which books will you be buying for the teenagers in your family this Christmas?

Are you planning to buy books for Christmas?

Which books do you recommend?