An Orange July Nudge Please

Over at the Girlybooks Group during the month of July we are reading from those books nominated for The Orange Prize for Fiction. Hence, Orange July 2009.

I've been going through my TBR list, recent gifts and my bookfair booty from today and I've arrived with a total of 14 books on my list so far! Not sure that I can read all 14 in July and not sure which ones to read over the month. So I'm looking for some nudges please.

Since I couldn't fit all in the one photo, here's the first pile...


...and here's the second.


Small Island - The Orange of the Oranges ;-) and 2004 Winner. not pictured and the one I will be starting with first.
Next in the pictures

Fall on your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald 1997 long-list
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan 1996 short-list
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2004 short-list
Brick Lane by Monica Ali 2004 short-list
White Teeth by Zadie Smith 2000 short-list
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai 2007 short-list

Second pile
Everymans Rules for Scientific Living by Carrie Tiffany 2006 short-list
The Accidental by Ali Smith 2006 short-list
Bel Canto - 2002 Winner.
Gilgamesh by Joan London 2004 long-list
The Colour by Rose Tremain 2004 short-list
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields turns out this wasnt nominated for the prize but, what the heck, it ended up in the photo anyway ;-)

PS sorry about the blurry photo.

Hi, Kim! I have only read three of your books on the Orange TBR mountain: Small Island, The Inheritance of Loss and The Colour. I would highly recommend The Colour. I was pleasantly surprised and taken by this book. I thought its beginning was a tad slow, but it really paid off by the end.

Of the three, I would not recommend The Inheritance of Loss. I tried so hard to like this book, but it fell flat for me.

And you've already decided to read Small Island, and I don't think you'll be disappointed!

I'll be curious to read your reviews on the books you do select. =)

Jill

Hi, Kim--I've read Small Island, Purple Hibiscus, Brick Lane, White Teeth, The Inheritance of Loss, Bel Canto, The Colour, and The Stone Diaries from your list. Honestly, I liked all of them very much (including The Inheritance of Loss, although I've heard more people who feel as Jill does than as I do). Of those, I would most strongly recommend Small Island, Bel Canto, The Colour, and White Teeth (in that order).

You have a great month ahead of you--enjoy!

Haven't read them all but I'd go for The Hundred Secret Senses. That's after Small Island, which would definitely be the pick of the bunch. Must admit, I couldn't really see what all the fuss was about regarding Bel Canto, but I wouldn't go so far as to de-nudge it - it's a perfectly okay book - just doesn't really live up to its hype IMO.

My favourites are Bel Canto and The Colour. Happy reading!

My vote goes to White Teeth.

Small Island was good, except for a long stretch in the middle.

The Hundred Secret Senses--good, but kind of just another Amy Tan.

Brick Lane--really enjoyed this one, but the ending was a bit off.

White Teeth--loved it!

The Inheritance of Lost--I also gave up on it. I got about 75 pages in and the characters weren't grabbing me and nothing much was happening.

The Accidental--very unique book; I liked it.

I have read
The Inheritance of Loss and liked it!
Brick Lane- like it too
I started Fall on Your Knees and this was my couldn't finish book.
so my vote
Brick Lane and Inheritance of Loss

I would choose Bel Canto, Purple Hibiscus, The Stone Diaries, A Hundred Secret Senses, Small Island and, because I'll be reading it in July too, The Colour. It's going to be a great month! A couple of these I haven't heard of at all, but I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. Maybe do like Jill did in January - have one of your kids pick them for you!

KimB, I did like Bel Canto and White Teeth very much, my nudge goes to both of those. We've got a few matching TBR books for Orange July, and I was hoping to read Purple Hibiscus, Brick Lane and Gilgamesh (plus some others, Everyman's Rules looks mighty interesting too, but the others have been languishing on Mt TBR for longer). I'm afraid I couldn't finish Tremain's The Colour, and I tried twice.

How embarrassing, I've never even heard of Small Island...

Attempting to tally Nudges so far....

Small Island 4 an' a bit
The Colour 4
White Teeth 4
Bel Canto 3 -1/2
The Hundred Secret Senses 2- 1/2
Brick Lane 2
Purple Hibiscus 1
The Stone Diaries 1
Gilgamesh 1
The Accidental 1
Inheritance of Loss 1/2
Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living 1/2 for interest
Gilead 0 - which is good because I'll try to read this and Home one after another at some stage.
Fall on Your Knees neg 1/2

Still taking nudges.......

I'll nudge Purple Hibiscus, KimB! I really enjoyed it. Adichie's writing definitely matured in her next book (Half of a Yellow Sun), but PH was quite moving.

I liked Small Island, Bel Canto, and The Stone Diaries, too. Read Brick Lane and White Teeth several years back and recall liking them but they haven't stuck with me as much as the others. Inheritance of Loss was just so-so for me.

Defo the Rose Tremain book - I also read Brick Lane (so-so) and The Stone Diaries (good but not really great).

Another nudge for Small Island - I loved it. I liked Bel Canto but didn't love it. And I have lots of your stack of Orange books sitting here waiting for me!

I really hated Gilead--a real snoozer for me (but others have loved it).

Another nudge for Purple Hibiscus.

Lots of wonderful reads! I'll add another nudge for Purple Hibiscus.

Hi Kim, I really loved Gilgamesh and thought Everyman's Rules was wonderful. I think you might be reading Small Island which was great, as was The Colour and I have to say that I must be one of the few who liked The Inheritance of Loss. oh, and White Teeth was great too . . . .

Updated Nudges - I think I have everyones.

Small Island 4 an' a bit
The Colour 5
Purple Hibiscus 4
White Teeth 4
Bel Canto 3 -1/2
The Hundred Secret Senses 2- 1/2
Brick Lane 2
Gilgamesh 2
The Stone Diaries 1
The Accidental 1
Inheritance of Loss 1/2
Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living 1/2 for interest
Gilead 0 - which is good because I'll try to read this and Home one after another at some stage.
Fall on Your Knees neg 1/2

Ok, because I'm a bit contrary and it's a short book, I've read Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living. Very interesting book. Different style to anything I've read before, quite an ironic sense of humour in places. Great sense of place in the mallee country in Australia.

Read another outsider The Lost Dog. Quite a good read.

Now reading Small Island and I'm loving it!

Orange July has now moved into August and I thought I would just sum up what I read.
Small Island was a wonderful book and the best read of the month.
Bel Canto was also very good a very unusual story.
Purple Hibiscus I couldnt put it down, my 3rd favourite.
The Colour was well written an engaging story but the author does not really know NZ and the book fell down for me because of that.
Others read were
Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living - interesting, ironic book.
The Lost Dog - a good read but not in the same league as above.
The Girl in The Blue Dress ditto.

Next January we'll be doing this again in The Girlybooks group, but I'm not sure I'll be able to wait 'till then to read White Teeth. It looks too tempting by everyone's recommendations.

Way too late, sorry, but I would have definetly nudged you toward Fall on your Knees, besides Small Island and White Teeth.