Rebeccanyc's 2008 Books -- Joining Late

Avaland has convinced me to join this or the 50-book challenge group, late as it is in the year. Since I've already read 52 books, I picked this one, even though I doubt I'll make it to 75.

Here's what I've already read this year, starting with the most recent because that's how I listed them on my profile page and I'm too lazy to retype them in reverse order and can't figure out how to get my computer to do it for me. Starred titles are favorite books.

If I get a little more time, I'll come back and put in touchstones.

1. To Siberia by Per Pettersen
2. *Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
3. *By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
4. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
5. *The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists by Gregory Curtis
6. The Breezes by Joseph O'Neill
7. *Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
8. The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home by Sadia Shepard
9. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says about Us) by Tom Vanderbilt
10. *Blood-Dark Track by Joseph O'Neill
11. *In Hazard by Richard Hughes
12. The Terminal Spy: A True Story of Espionage, Betrayal, and Murder by Alan S. Cowell
13. Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson
14. *The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on America's Ideals by Jane Mayer
15. *A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
16. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
17. *A Way of Life, Like Any Other by Darcy O'Brien
18. *The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
19. Before by Ireni Spanidou
20. The Rebel Angels by Roberston Davies
21. Who Owns Antiquity? by James Cuno
22. Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
23. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
24. The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow
25. *What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
26. Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
27. *Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
28. *The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
29. Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan
30. *Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
31. Wolf Totem by Rong Jiang
32. *The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
33. Middlemarch by George Eliot
34. *Lush Life by Richard Price
35. The Successor by Ismail Kadare
36. *The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
37. *The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block
38. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony
39. *The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric
40. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee
41. Serve the People! by Yan Lianke
42. *What's for Dinner? by James Schuyler
43. *Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
44. *The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
45. The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation by Philip Shenon
46. *Unforgiving Years by Victor Serge
47. A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle by Liza Campbell
48. Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt
49. Our American King by David Lozell Martin
50. *The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan
51. *The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
52. The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival by Stanley M. Alpert

Welcome! What did you think of Will in the World? I read it, have an opinion, but would like to know yours because you've read it more recently than I did. As a side note, I've worked through and with production of the entire canon (including a few questionables, a musical, and two plays about Mr. Shakespeare), so I was interested in this biography.

Also welcome! What did you think of The Cave Painters? I saw it in my local library, but haven't picked it up yet.

Welcome - I am reading Tree of Smoke now and I really like it.

Yay! rebeccanyc is here (watch her, she's dangerous to one's TBR pile...or at least mine).

is Petals of Blood a new or older Ngugi?

Welcome.. I am interested in your #8. Any thoughts?

Welcome to our group of avid readers to love to share ideas regarding what we read, love to hear about what others read and spend lots of time either reading, or talking about it.

Thanks to Lois for convincing you to join us. I look forward to reading your posts!

Your list is impressive.

What a great list of books. I've added The Cave Painters and Enchanted April to my wish list.

Welcome to the group--I look forward to seeing what else you will read. It's fun to discover new books and authors from each other.

Glad to see you here, Rebeccanyc - I always enjoy reading your comments in the Reading Globally group, and you read some great stuff. Am looking forward to reading your posts here.

Welcome to the group! Sounds like you have a great start on your way to 75.

Hi Rebeccanyc, welcome to the group. I like your list!

Wow! Thanks, everybody for the welcome. I'm looking forward to learning about what you're all reading too.

#2, Will in the World -- I wasn't wild about it but plugged through it feeling all the while that I would have done better to try to read the plays and sonnets instead of the book.

#3, #8, The Cave Painters -- a wonderful book, beautifully written, insightful, thought-provoking and moving. I came upon after reading about it in an article in The New Yorker.

#4, Tree of Smoke -- fascinating, and I'm quite sure I missed a lot of the symbolism, etc.

#5, Petals of Blood is older, written in 1977 shortly and dealing with the period shortly after Kenyan Independence. It is much more overtly political than Wizard of the Crow and not at all satiric, and it landed Ngugi wa Thiong'o in jail.

#6, The Girl from Foreign -- I snapped this up because I have an interest in stories/history about Jews living in "exotic" places, and the Bene Israel of western India are a particularly fascinating group. The parts of the book about the author's grandmother's life and today's Bene Israel were particularly interesting; the parts that were more about her day-to-day efforts to research them less so.

#8, The Enchanted April is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

Of course, now I'm going to have even less time to read as I keep up with all of your threads and reading!

hi and welcome ... u have been reading some really remarkable stuff. any thoughts on books 1, 23, 35, 39, 44 and 46?

Thanks, deebee1.

#1 To Siberia The writing is beautiful and compelling as in Out Stealing Horses, as is the sense of place, but I started losing interest about 1/2 way through and there were some things that really annoyed me. Very interesting article about Per Pettersen in this week's New Yorker but note Spoiler Alert for To Siberia.

#23, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle I was really drawn into this by the writing and the world the author created, but I was turned off by the supernatural aspects and I found the end way too melodramatic and was disappointed that some of the issues about some of the characters were never developed. Trying to meld the story with Hamlet didn't work, at least for me.

#35, The Successor Interesting for a look at Albania, but it didn't grab me.

#39, The Bridge on the Drina Loved it, loved it loved it. A brilliant blend of history, imagination, and characters.

#44, The Radetzky March Ditto. (You can see I went through a mini Central European phase earlier this year.)

#46, Unforgiving Years Bleak, brilliant, and beautifully written; perhaps a notch below The Case of Comrade Tulayev.

We concur on Will in the World--phew! I think my ex had it right when he said he got tired of the phrasing "Shakespeare might have done this because..." (or words to that effect). I found it plodding and difficult to work through, but what the heck. Every book can't be an easy sail. Thanks for your thoughts.

I have The Bridge on the Drina home from the library because someone (and I cannot remember who now, sorry) had recommended it on their thread. Thanks for your input - I am really looking forward to reading it.

I really liked Will in the World! I've read all the plays but one, many several times, and also the sonnets. It was a fun romp through those works without having to reread them and I enjoyed how Greenblatt speculated on how his works and his life could have been interwoven. I thought it was an interesting way to look at Shakespeare, especially since we have so little actual knowledge of the details of his life and such a large body of work to consider. (IMHO)

Unfortunately, I lent my copy to a friend who lives in Germany and don't know when I'll ever see it again so I can't go back for a "2nd opinion." If I ever see it on a remaindered table I'll probably buy it again.

ETA I'm putting Bridge on the Drina on my wish list. When I've finished my exploration of Africa this year I may start with that area of the world to read about next. That book sounds like a good way to start.

Good to see you here, Rebecca! Bridge on the Drina is in one of my TBR piles (they're all over the place), and I'm going to have to find it and bring it to the fore.

Let me join the multitude of voices in welcoming you to this great group. I see you have read many great books so far. What was your take on The Terminal Spy?

Thanks, Trish. I found The Terminal Spy a quick read, an interesting and well-reported story, but I thought it was a stretch to make it a book -- could have been a long and detailed magazine article without a lot of "filler."

#17 MusicMom--Just goes to show you we are all types here! I was involved in presentation of the complete canon plus a couple of plays years ago, and I love the plays, the period, and the man. I've read a lot of Shakespeare biographies in the past, and actually performed in two "biographical" plays many years back, but this particular book I just found plodding. Full of of "what ifs" without any new facts about the period. Oh well, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Prop2gether

I've never read a straight biography of Shakespeare. Years ago in undergraduate school I took a course in Shakespeare as an elective--unfortunately the professor was terrible. I came to the course with a deep love of Shakespeare and he bored me to tears--I didn't think it was possible for Shakespeare to be boring. It was in that course that we discussed his life--so Will in the World was my first actual book about his life.

Could you recommend a better biography that I should read?

#22-I'm still locating titles for books I read long ago and far away (almost seems like a galaxy now!) and I'll check for some books I liked on the topic of Will and his world. I can tell you that William Gibson's A Cry of Players was a fascinating play about the early years of the poet.

I'd never read a biography of Shakespeare either, and it's been a long time since I read any of his plays. My father told me I should take a Shakespeare class in college, but I didn't, and of course now I wish I had, because I feel I need guidance in reading them. And because there's so much else I want to read too!

Whoa!!! You started off with a vengance here!!! I haven't gotten around to the rest of the Deptford Triology, having read the first Fifth Business. I really enjoyed the first and wanted to know if you thought the sequels stood up to the mark the first made?

What a flurry over fresh blood! we'll simmer down when your newness wears off, Rebecca, promise:-) While I've watched what you read for two years now, it's really neat to see the year's reading in list form.

chiming in on the Shakespeare conversations, like you rebeccanyc, I wish I had taken a Shakespeare course in college. I so enjoy his writing, but I plod through it because I want to check the historical period he is writing about, or the subject matter, and so I do google searches along the way....
Hamlet is my favorite.
The Pre-Raphaelite artists have wonderful, beautiful paintings based on some of Shakespeare's plays. For example, J.W. Waterhouse has a stunning painting of Miranda from The Tempest

http://www.artofeurope.com/waterhouse/wat6.htm

Here is a link regarding the painting referenced above

Thanks for the link, Whisper1! That was stunning. I had never seen that painting before. I wonder where the original is?

Beautiful, indeed. Thank you.

blackdogbooks, I loved Fifth Business so much, I ran out and bought the rest of The Deptford Trilogy and loved the whole series. The second two books expand in surprising ways on the mysteries of the first. I then ran out and bought The Cornish Trilogy, both because I loved Deptford but also because people on LT had told me it was even better. Alas, I was very disappointed with the first novel, The Rebel Angels, and although I've been told I'll like the second two better, I haven't started them yet.

avaland, thanks for the reassurance!

#53, The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples by Shirley Hazzard. A disappointment. I'm a big Shirley Hazzard fan, and was happy when I started this book, a collection of some of her essays about Naples, plus one by her late husband, Francis Steegmuller. There was her wonderful writing style and insight -- but then, as I moved from essay to essay, I found enough repetition to be annoyed. Not surprising for magazine pieces that were published separately, but irritating when collected.

#54 Chicago by Alaa al Aswany I was looking forward to this because I enjoyed The Yacoubian Building, and it started off promisingly. As avaland has noted, the book is more about Egypt than Chicago, and the characters were interesting. But then, and I think I'm agreeing with avaland here too, as the author brought in American characters, I felt they were quite stereotypical, and the picture of Chicago (as a stand-in for any US city) seemed not just stereotypical but outdated and inaccurate. This made me wonder whether the Egyptian characters were also stereotyped, since they seemed to be created to fill specific "roles." In the end, I really didn't feel the book held together in a way that made sense to me.

rebeccanyc

Interesting--I read The Rebel Angels many years ago for my Book Group and was underwhelmed so I never read the other two. I'll have to see if I even have them any more. Now I will have to go out and get The Deptford Trilogy because I really want to like Robertson Davies!

(edited to try to fix touchstones)

MusicMom, you can buy the books of The Deptford Trilogy separately, so if you want to dip your toe in the water, try Fifth Business (the first one) and see if it grabs you.

Thanks rebeccanyc--I've just added it to my wish list. It will go on my 2009 TBR pile! The reviews both here a Amazon.com have convinced me I should read this.

Message #29
Hi. I believe the J.W. Waterhouse painiting of Miranda is listed as "private collection" meaning someone owns it and it is not hung in a gallery.

Truth be told, my dream is to visit the Tate Gallery in London where some of my favorite Pre-Raphaelite paintings are displayed.

Whisper1

In the 90s hubby and I went to London and the last thing my Dad said as he took us to the plane was "don't miss the Tate Gallery." It was only about 6 blocks from where we stayed and we went 3 times in the 9 days we were there! It is truly incredible--I hope you get to go.

I read The Fifth Business several months ago and really enjoyed it but never made it to The Manticore. Thanks for the reminder that I need to finish out the trilogy!

MusicMom...
How I envy that you got to the Tate museum. I have to ask if you remember Waterhouses' painting The Lady of Shalott That will be the first one I see when I go there...hopefully next year.

And best of all--the Tate is free! Floors and floors and floors of glorious art to walk through, sit and gaze at, and come back to, if you want. And if you want to see a truly magnificent Turner plus a very significant Hogarth collection, visit the John Soane House Museum (which, incidentally, is also free).

#55, *A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré. I haven't read anything by le Carré in many years, but this got such a rave review in the NY Times that I ran out and bought it and it hasn't disappointed me. Great plotting and timing, great characters, great look at moral ambiguities, human nature, and the nature of spying in the world gone by and the world today.

#40 rebeccanyc: I have never read anything by John le Carre, so it sounds like that books is a place to start. Thanks for the recommendation!

He wrote a lot of great cold-war era thrillers, and then (I hear) seemed to flounder around after the fall of the Berlin wall, but he's back to his old self here. It's hard to put it down!

Hi rebeccanyc and welcome! Interested to read about the Le Carre - I've never read any although my dad used to love them. It does sound really worth a look.

Hi rebeccany

Like FlossieT, I've never read any LE Carre books. After raeding your review, I'll given him a try.

Thanks.

rebecca, I don't think I've read any Le Carre since The Little Drummer Girl ages ago! It's interesting that you have read and liked this new one. Might have to think about it. . .

I read The Mission Song and had decided that I didn't understand what all the fuss was about...it was pretty poor. I have a half-hearted plan to go back and try one of the early ones at some point.

That's about how long it is since I read Le Carre, avaland; it was the NYTimes Book Review front-page review that got me interested in this one.

Fifth Business is a Canadian classic and I could have sworn I read it in college (CEGEP) back in the 70's. I also was convinced I didn't like it. I have just now gone and Googled it and read a synopsis - it sounds entirely unfamiliar!!
Either a complete part of my memory bank has been wiped out or I evaded reading it and passed the course anyway. Now I do know I read The Double Hook by Sheila Watson for that course and didn't like it!
I even remember the prof's name - Debbie Seed.
So...think I will be looking for a copy of Fifth Business - there are 1000s out there on the second hand market here.

dihiba, I had tried Robertson Davies when I was younger (I also was in college in the 70s, but I didn't read it then) and didn't like him. I had to be pushed (here on LT) to try Fifth Business, but then I was hooked.

I've managed to read a lot in the past several days, thanks (?) to a cold that has made me unfit for much else.

#55 Indignation by Philip Roth. As I've said many times, I'm a big Philip Roth fan, although I like some of his novels a lot more than others. This very short book left me with mixed feelings. As always, Roth's writing is brilliant, and his settings are vivid and fascinating. He creates interesting characters, and great set pieces, but in this case the protagonist just seemed a little one-dimensional to me (although there's a reason for this which it would be a big spoiler for me to reveal). Ultimately, I was dissatisfied when I finished the book.

#56 Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh
#57 Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
After I read The Condition, which is one of my (many) favorite books of the year, I special-ordered two earlier novels by Jennifer Haigh because I thought she was such a terrific writer. Her first novel, Mrs. Kimble, was good but not outstanding, but it showed her interest in juggling multiple interconnected characters over time. Baker Towers, her second, was orders of magnitude better, with much more complexity and perceptiveness, and a great picture of a dying mine town to boot. It's exciting to see how Haigh's talent has grown, and I'm really looking forward to whatever her next novel is.

RebeccaNYC, I'm yet to read any Roth (hmm, hope I got the touchstone right there - it doesn't seem to like 'Philip Roth'...) but as it happens (I guess to do with the publication of Indignation, a UK radio quiz called 'The Write Stuff' (a sort of literary panel game) was featuring Philip Roth as author of the week. At the end of the show, the panellists all had to produce a "children's tale in the style of Philip Roth" - very, very funny. I think it's still on the BBC website (at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/writestuff) for about another week.

Which of Roth's books would you consider to be the best entry point for someone coming new to his work?

Flossie, I consider American Pastoral his masterpiece, and I'm less enamored of the other novels in that "series," I Married a Communist and The Human Stain. I especially didn't like The Plot Against America. Then there's the whole Zuckerman series, which I haven't read in ages, but I would recommend starting with the first, The Ghost Writer. His work is definitely uneven, so others may differ.

Edited to fix touchstone.

Thanks, rebecca - will put American Pastoral on my list; Roth is one of those writers I've always thought I ought to try but been a bit wary of actually picking one up since he seems to attract such strong opinions.

I'll be interested to know what you think when you finish it, Flossie.

#58 I finished The White Tiger, this year's Booker winner by Aravind Aviga. I found it compelling and darkly humorous but very dark overall, and it provided a picture of a part of life in India that I haven't read about before. The author has given the narrator a voice that kept me reading even about very unappealing and even horrifying events. Not sure I consider up to the level of some other Booker winners, but it's the only one of the short list I've read this year.

Edited to see if I can get the touchstones to work but seems like they're not happy this morning.

#53 rebeccanyc: Sounds like something I would like to read, so on to Continent TBR The White Tiger goes. Hopefully, I will have better luck with it than some of the other Booker winners which, for me, have turned out to be unreadable. Thanks for the recommendation!

rebeccanyc, I madly decided to Booker read this year.... didn't quite make it through the whole longlist though. I thought The White Tiger was very bleak.

There's an interesting piece on The White Tiger in the LRB this week, about how genuine the "Indian-ness" of the novel is - worth a read. It made me feel a little bit better about my own reactions to the novel!

Flossie, thank you for the interesting article; I think it's a general problem with reading fiction from cultures that seem/are very different from the reader's to get a sense of what is accurate and what isn't. I've read a fair amount of fiction from India and The White Tiger intrigued me because it portrayed locations and class relationships that hadn't been explored in other books I've read. And I do agree with you that it was very bleak.

hi rebecca and flossie (thanks for sharing that article), was just wondering if either of you has read A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. i'm halfway through it now, and think it's written wonderfully, perhaps the best of all i've read so far of narratives about India (class relationships figure as a main theme here as well). And from what i know and have experienced of the said culture/society, it is a quite accurate depiction. i've not read The White Tiger yet, but was wondering how both novels differ in terms of approach and style.

deebee, No, I haven't read A Fine Balance, although I've heard it's excellent.

Tom2000, do you have something specific to say about the specific books in this thread?

sorry, rebecca, I flagged #58 for commercial solicitation.

No problem, avaland, I debated doing that myself.

#59 Count D'Orgel's Ball by Raymond Radiguet

A strange, haunting, novel -- short, but every word counts. Most interesting because the author was only 20 when he wrote it. A look at how we hide our innermost feelings even from ourselves.

#59 sounds interesting. I like your description.

I agree with Whisper on book 59 - it does sound interesting. On to Continent TBR it goes!

A Fine Balance was excellent. I would also recommend a short novel Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya. This was from my son's HS reading list and I got to it last year. A friend was bored, but I found it fascinating.

#57: deebee, I've also read A Fine Balance and have made exactly that comparison on the Booker thread on LT. It examines similar issues, but Mistry's novel is more about the rural side of things, and also, being set earlier in time, is less concerned with the explosion of capitalism (shopping, driving, the internet etc. etc.) than The White Tiger.

I thought Mistry's was by far the better book - very gloomy, but somehow I felt like he allowed the characters to keep some sort of spiritual dignity even through all that they suffered.

#59 Counting My Chickens by the Duchess of Devonshire, aka Deborah Mitford, the youngest of the Mitford sisters.

I'm cheating and posting this before I finish it, because I'm about to go on a week-long computerless vacation and, although I'll finish the book before I leave, I probably won't have time to come back to LT.

I bought this book because of an LT recommendation and my Mitford fascination, and am reading it now because I needed something short and easy to read before my trip. It's charming in a lightweight sort of way, and mildly amusing, and no doubt will get me in the mood for tackling The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters when I return.

I hope to read a lot while I'm away, and have much to report here when I return.

Travel reading is the best......since you are not in familiiar surroundings, it so much easier to block the rest of the world out and let your mind become fully engaged in the story!!! Have a safe and reading productive trip.

Thanks blackdogbooks. I was able to read for hours a day -- wonderful -- and finished three books:

#60 Buddenbrooks
#61 Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Lawrence Bergreen
#62 The Paris Review Interviews III

Needless to say, I am now totally swamped with e-mail/phone calls/work, but I'll be back soon with minireviews.

Must know more about Buddenbrooks as it is on one of my lists and I will be reading sometime soon! What did you think?

blackdogbooks, See below -- Buddenbrooks is now one of my favorite books!

#60 *Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
Somewhat to my surprise (after my multiyear struggle with The Magic Mountain, I found this compulsively readable, really a page-turner. The characters and their environment are beautifully drawn; their lives, even when you know in advance that things will not turn out well (the subtitle is, after all, "the decline of a family"), fascinating. It is also a vivid picture of a world that was then also in decline and now has vanished. And the most amazing thing (to me) was that Mann had so much insight into the character and psychology of people of all ages when he was only 25 years old! Can you tell I loved this book?

#61 Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Lawrence Bergreen
I've been interested in Marco Polo for years (since learning about him in elementary school) so I snapped this book up. It uses Polo's own book about his travels (which appears in dozens of forms, for reasons explained in this book) as well as other more or less contemporary works and the author's own research to describe Polo's journeys, the people and environments he met along the way, and especially the wonders of the court of Kublai Khan. It was quite readable, although some descriptions were a little too lengthy and there was some repetition.

#62 The Paris Review Interviews III I've really enjoyed all the volumes in this series; it's almost uncanny how much the authors sound like themselves in their interviews. However, although there were some fantastic authors interviewed in this volume, I think some of the real highlights were in the first volume in this series -- or maybe I was just fascinated when I read them because it was my introduction to the Paris Review author interviews.

It's been ages since I read Buddenbrooks. You have me fantasizing about a reread, rebecca.

I have also been considering a reread of Buddenbrooks and this may tip the balance! It has been years, but I remember loving it.

Buddenbrooks moves up in the list of possible reads for next year!!

I'll be considering Buddenbrooks for my classics category in 999--I'm ashamed to say I've never read Thomas Mann and I'm sure I should "before I die."

#63, Speak Softly, She Can Hear by Pam Lewis

I was in the mood for some lighter reading, so picked up this book which has been on the main display table of a bookstore I go to once a month or so for more than a year -- it sounded intriguing. But I have to say,that although it was badly written, somewhat predictable, and annoying in that some of the details of the 60s/70s time frame seemed to date from later years, it was a page turner in that I wanted to find out how the protagonist eventually got rid of her tormenters.

#64, Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier

Enjoyably creepy and well written short stories. "The Birds" in particular is much more compelling than the quite different Hitchcock film, with beautiful details of a stark landscape.

#64 sounds great!

#65, The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant

This was a Booker short-list title, and I must say I enjoyed it more than the winner. Beautifully written, and in a mostly subtle way, it provides insights into families, history, and secrets, and is full of interesting characters. I found it snuck up on me; when I started it, I didn't expect it to be as rich and thought-provoking as it turned out to be.

I'm intrigued, Rebecca. I may have to keep my eye out for it. I have a previous Linda Grant on the shelves, still TBR.

I agree with avaland. The book does sound intriguing. Thanks for the recommendation. On to Continent TBR it goes!

I heard Linda Grant at an authors' festival roundtable a month ago -i was very impressed with her comments and bought her book- it is on my TBR pile- and I will get to it in January.

I'm going to look for her other books when I get a chance.

I'm definitely not going to make it to 75: Doctor Faustus will undoubtedly be taking me the rest of the year, even if I mix in a few shorter, lighter books.

As long as you are enjoying your reading- who cares about a specific number- this group has helped me track my reading, basically.

I'm pretty sure her Orange Prize winner, When I Lived in Modern Times is out of print in the US or, at least was when I wanted to pick it up. I think I went through ABE.

The idea of a challenge is "something to reach for"--I'm sure you enjoyed your reading year and we've all enjoyed discussing with you. I've added to my tbr from your list--thanks for the suggestions!

See you in 75 for 2009!

Thanks, MusicMom and torontoc. I really didn't join the group to reach a numerical goal, but to have a way of logging my reading and talking to other intelligent book-lovers. Even though I joined late (thanks, avaland), it has more than met those more meaningful goals.

Hi rebeccanyc
I've added The Clothes on Their Backs to my list.

#66, Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann

Finally finished this, and well worth the time I put into it. The beginning is the most difficult, with a lot of musical material that is simply beyond me, but I gave it a good try. After the middle, it became a lot easier to read, although still demanding of very close attention. A brilliant book, as a story and (as Mann meant it), a metaphor for the rise and fall of Nazi Germany (it was published in 1947).

With luck (i.e., plenty of reading time), I might be able to finish something else before midnight on December 31!

Here's wishing you luck and plenty of reading time between now and the end of the year!

I will have to look for Doctor Faustus. The only Mann I have read is The Magic Mountain which I really liked.

#90: Try out Death In Venice. I, too, want to read Dr. Faustus

Thanks for the suggestion, Joycepa. I will add Death in Venice to Continent TBR as well.

I see that the TBR has added a great deal of territory and swelled to continent size! Heavens--be careful of a landslide. :-)

Yes, and Continent TBR is well on its way to becoming Universe TBR :)

Mine too. As I look towards 2009, I see a competition starting between the newer books on the TBR (the ones whose attraction is still fresh in my mind) and the older ones (the ones I think I should read first) -- not to mention of course the even newer ones I'm sure to acquire and the books I'd love to reread . . . .

>95 rebeccanyc: I cannot help but think of how lovely it is to be surrounded by read and unread books. Lots of them. Both a cozy, secure feeling and one of being surrounded by a thousand open doors. . .

#95: I m engaged constantly in that struggle! How terrible! :-)

#96: I quite agree about the secure feeling. For me, there is this vague sort of limit--somewhere around 60 books on the TBR shelves, life is wonderful. Get below 50 or so, and anxiety starts to creep in. What if I wake up one morning--and I'm down to--gasp--10? Or--the heavens forfend--five??

Honestly, it's scary to contemplate.

#97, I'm quite sure I'll never get down to 5 or 10 or even 25. Since I buy books faster than I read them, it's a mathematical certainty!

Actually, I have to admit that having out-of-control TBR piles is relatively (2 years or so) new to me. I distinctly remember a point in mid-2006, after my daughter was born (and the murderous no-sleep weeks were out of the way), when I realised that I had read ALL of the books in my official TBR piles, and was reduced to trawling the shelves for books that I bought decades ago for my degree and somehow passed over. Clammy palms, racing heartbeat - I'm not going there again ;)

I used to suffer two annual "I have no books!" periods: one in late summer after the publishers had finished their summer run and my vacation had chewed through them, and the second in late winter when Christmas books had been exhausted. No fear of this now.

One thing I have noticed about LT--the quality of my TBR pile has increased as well as the quantity. I'm reading better books (even my "fluff" is more literate!) and I'm not reading books just because "they are there." I used to finish almost everything--it had to be REALLY BAD for me to put it aside. Now, if it is just so-so I factor in how much time it will take to finish--if it is more than I might spend on a movie or two, I chuck it. Too much good stuff out there to waste valuable reading time on something that I'm not really enjoying--or at least getting benefit from.

Sneaking in under the deadline:

#67, Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
I've been meaning to read this since we got it 3 or 4 years ago, but my sweetie lent it to his mother and we surreptitiously retrieved it when we visited her for Christmas. Fascinating, perceptive, and very well written -- but now his real challenges begin.

If I find a really short book to start, maybe I can finish something else before midnight!