My Thoughts: Sour Sweet - Timothy Mo

I love Asian books and seeing the title and the author I expected this book to be set in China, however this book is about a Chinese family who have recently moved to 1960's London. The family - a young husband and wife, a baby and a sister all start of living in a small flat whilst the husband works in a Chinese restaurant. In the novel it is the women who are in charge, they pester the husband into setting up his own business and become much more integrated into the English culture than he does. However, Chinese customs and beliefs are still followed rigorously. The interpretations on British life and the misunderstandings are humourous and I could have quite happily have read another couple of hundred pages about the family life of the Chens.

The book alternated chapters between the Chen family and a group of Chinese gang members called the Hung Family. The chapters about the gang contained initiation ceremonies and lots of violence, they never really seemed to hang true and the link to the Chen family was very weak and appeared just there to provide the ending. Personally I just skim read these chapters as a means to get back to the Chan family drama.

This is my first read for the 2008 Booker Challenge, as this was short-listed for the Booker prize in 1982. Although it was an enjoyable read I can see why it wouldn't have won a Booker prize.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

My Thoughts: A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson

My brother has been trying to get me to read Bill Bryson for ages but I always thought that he enjoyed hem because they where written about places he had been to (he's travelled the world twice - I've been to 3 countries outside England!). I tried Byrson's book on Shakespeare, thought it was ok but I didn't learn much as I studied Shakespeare so often I've pretty much got the gist of the little bit of information there is to no about him.

So, when I saw that this was a bookring on Bookcrossing and I could read it just for the price of postage I signed up for it. And I'm so glad I did! I hadn't even heard of the Appalachian Trail that Bryson and his friend hike up across several states of America, I have no interest in hiking (well I hadn't when I started) and I'm not much of a non-fiction fan so it was a great surprise to enjoy this.

Bryson charts his trail, the problems, boredom, his annoyance at fellow hikers alongside an entertaining account of the history and nature of the trail. He writes so well that I felt that I could see the woods surrounding him, feel his frustration at Kratz his fellow hiker and at theAmerican government for not keeping the trail as well preserved as it should be. He comes across as a really interesting guy with a lot to say but with the ability to keep it short and focused.

I will certainly be digging out the copy of The Short History of Nearly Everything that has been lurking on my bookshelves since it got brought.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

The Classics Challenge: July - Dec 2008

Trish has set up The Classics Challenge - yet another challenge that I can't resist!

RULES (keep reading for the bonus):
OPTION 1: Read FIVE classics.
OPTION 2: Read FIVE classics from at least TWO different countries
OPTION 3: Read FIVE classics with any combination of at least TWO different countries and TWO different genres (see above for genres).
Cross-posting with other challenges is allowed (and encouraged!); Audiobooks are fine; books must be finished after July 1st to count for the challenge although re-reads are acceptable.
Lists don't have to be set in stone; you can change your selections at any time.
Have Fun. Oh ya...there will be a drawing for a prize or two. To be entered you must complete any one of the above options. You do NOT need a blog to participate.
Am I going to define what a classic is? Nope! There are lots of definitions offered on the Internet, but essentially we all have different opinions so don't stress too much--and see the bonus below.
BONUS!!
As you can see, I'm requiring FIVE classics for six months. For the sixth book, I would like the participants to offer suggestions for books that may not be considered classics but that you think should be or books that you think will be a classic one day. Leave your suggestions in the comments below. I'll compile a list of the suggestions and you choose a book from the list and make that your sixth read. I realize this means you may have to wait to make your list if you choose to participate in the bonus round, but I'm hoping this is a modern twist on the old classics challenge.
For example, I am going to suggest The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro.

I'm going to be doing Option 2 as I feel that otherwise I will fall into inly reading English classics which I have read a lot of in my studies.

At the moment I'm not coming up with a definitive list just possibilites, I will definately be poking around others sites looking for inspiration.

So far I'm thinking:

Bleak House

Jude the Obscure

The Awakening

War and Peace

Les Miserable

Gone With the Wind

The Sound and The Fury

The Water Babies

And as for the bonus it could be any of these:

Gilead

Poisonwood Bible

American Gods

Cold Mountain

All the Pretty Horses.

The Books I have actually read:

Junky, Burroughs (Cult Classic)

Siddartha, Hesse

Breakfast at Tiffany's, Capote

Gone With the Wind, Mitchell

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Kids Classic)

Neverwhere, Gaiman (Fantasy Classic)

My Thoughts: The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

This is the second novel I have read by Paulo Coelho and I have loved them both, its a shame I didn't discoved his works earlier in life!

'The Alchemist' is a short novel about the journey of a young shepherd to follow his dream to discover treasure in the Eygptian desert. The novel covers his journey from Spain across Africa and the Sahara. As with The Devil and Miss Prym the novel includes lots of philisophical thoughts and arguments, a belief in the self and some great descriptions.

I particuarly loved the boy's spirit, and the way he was free to follow his dream.

For a different opinion see here.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

My Thoughts: A Kestrel for a Knave - Barry Hines

I've been reading this book with my Year 10 pupils as part of their exam preparation. I had never read the book, having only seen the film I managed to pick it as their essential read for a two year course! I really enjoyed it and thought it created a fantastic state of place so thought I'd review it on here in case anyone is interested. It also fits in with the Novella Challenge perfectly.

The novel is set in Nothern England in the 1960s. Set in a small working class town dominated by the coal mines, boys grow up pretty secure in the knowledge that they are heading for a working life spent in the mines just like their fathers and their fathers before that.

Billy, the novels main charcter is determined not to end up working in the mines. His life pretty much sucks! He lives in a single parent family (when those things were rare!), with a mother and brother too interested in drinking and gambling to pay attention to matters such as ensuring their is enough food in the cupboard, or that Billy is at home staying out of trouble. School isn't any better, the boy is bullied by both teachers and pupils, the classes just fill his day untill he is able to leave school and go start working life.

Billy's only escape from this is through training a kestrel, its the one thing in life that he is good at, the one thing he enjoys.

The descriptions in this novel create vivid pictures in your head of the various areas of Billy's life, from the cold bedroom, the council estate to the countryside surrounding the town.

My Thoughts: The Shadow of the North - Phillp Pullman

This is the second in a triology about a young woman, called Sally Lockheart, living in Victorian London. I read the first book a few months ago and really enjoyed it so I snapped up the chance to read the next one.

In this book Sally, a financial consultant discovers some dodgy dealings with an investment a client of her has made, she sets out on a voyage of discovery alongside her friends Fred and Jim, private investigators. Embezellment, fraud, photography, contacting the dead and bigamy fill the pages.

The story sounds very YA but actually has a fairly adult side to it as well. Its also well worth the read for the descriptions of Victorian London, the characters and the intricate plots that Pullman manages to create yet again.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

I

My Thoughts: Persian Brides - Dorit Rabinyan

This novel explores the lives of two Jewish girls, one aged 11 the other 14. One girl is desperate to marry, she waits constantly for puberty to start so she can start married life, at the age of 11 she is taunted by the other members of the village for her skinny body and child status. The second girl is heavily pregnant, spending each day waiting for her philandering husband to return.

This novel is praised for its language and descriptions, the reviews say that the descriptions bring the village and characters to life but I didn't feel that they did. I'm not saying that I regret reading the book, I don't, but I wouldn't say that I was gripped or pulled into the story. I was interested in all the Iranian rituals and the beliefs surrounding marriage and puberty, and the idea of children so young being so desperate and ready to marry. It was a good look at a different culture.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

My Thoughts: The Echo Maker - Richard Powers

In this novel a young man is involved in a car crash, this results in a form of brain damage which causes him to not be able to emotionally recognise his sister - he knows that the person in front of him looks, talks and acts like his sister but he can't believe it is really her. Then an over caring nurse gets involved and a neurosurgeon...

I had read about this book last year on different more American forums and blogspot and it seemed to get really good press. Maybe my expectations were to high, but I felt that it was just an average book. Far too long. It did have gorgeous descriptions of the migration of cranes and mythical stories but I felt the link to them was a bit weak. It seemed like something he wanted to write about and needed to find a book to wegde it in to.

If you have any comments or have reviewed this book yourself please feel free to add your review, comments or link.

My Thoughts: Peony In Love, Lisa See

I read this book as part of a bookring and absolutely loved it.

The novel is about the life of a Chinese girl living in Seventeenth Century China. Although at the time education for women and allowing women to the theatre were looked down upon, Peony is encouraged by her father to love literature. The book centre around the famous Chinese play, Peony in the Pavillion, and the story and characters of the novel grow to reflect those from the play.

Peony meets and falls in love with a hansome stranger just months before her arranged wedding, when her mother finds out she is locked away in her bedroom, and so the story of unforgetable love begins....

I thought that this book was well written and I learnt a large amount about Chinese customs, beliefs, herbal medicine and literature.

Definately well worth picking up.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

Books I have read in 2008

103. The Host, Stephanie Meyer****
102. Passing, Nella Larson ****
101. All the Pretty Horses, McCarthy ***
100. Hardboiled/Hardluck, Yoshimoto ***
99. Choke, Palahnuik
98. East of Eden, Steinbeck *****
97. Life isn't all Ha Ha Hee Hee, Myal ****
96. Under the Skin, Faber ****
95. Sea of Poppies, Ghosh ***
94. Metamorposes, Kafka ****
93. The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Edwards ****
92. The Gathering, Enright ****
91.The Gargoyle, Davidson *****
90. Creatures of the Night, Gaiman
89. Coraline, Gaiman
88. Fragile Things, Gaiman ****
87. The Little Black Book of Stories, A.S Byatt ***
86. The Wooden Sea, Jonathan Carrol *****
85. The End of Mr Y, Scarlett Thomas *****
84. Two Carvans. Lewycka ****
83. The Stolen Child, Donohue ****
82. Rabbit Proof Fence, Pilkington **
81. Goodbye Tsugumi, ****
80. The Virgin Blue
79. The Famished Road, Okri ***
78. The Three Shadows
77. Varjak Paw
76. Skin, Roald Dahl ****
75. Portrait in Sepia, Allende ****1/2
74. Blankets
73. Yossel
72. The Changeling, Jenkins *** 1/2
71. Neverwhere, Gaiman *****
70. Gods Behaving Badly, Phillips ****
69. Theft: A Love Story, Carey ***
68. A Woman of My Age, Bawden ***
67. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
66. The Garbage Kid, Laird ***
65. The Fragrance of the Guava, Mendoza ****
64. Gone With the Wind, Mitchell *****
63. Apache, Landman ****
62. Tomaree, Robson ***
61. Gatty, Crossely-Holland****
6o. Journey to the River Sea, Ibbotson ***
59. The Unabridged PocketBook of Lightning, Foer**
58. The Secrets We Keep, Monroe ****
57. Persepolois: A Return, Satrapi ***
56. Stuart: A Life Backwards, Masters *****
55. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Capote ****
54. Siddartha, Hesse***
53. Persepolis, Satari *****
52. Mirrormask, Gaiman ***
51. Twilight, Meyer*****
50. Stardust, Gaiman****
49. The Red Queen, Drabble
48. Junky, Burroughs ***
47. A Dog So Small, Pearce ****
46. The Space Between Us, Umigar ****
45. A Pure Swift Cry, Dowd *****
44. Daughter of Fortune, Allende ****
43. The Sandman: Dream Country (Graphic Novel), Gaiman ****
42. Mister Pip, Jones *****
41. The Plague, Camus ***
40. The Orchard on Fire, Mackay ****
39. Moon Tiger, Lively **
38. Sour Sweet, Mo ****
37. A Walk in the Woods, Bryson ****
36. The Alchemist, Coelho ****
35. The Shadow of the North, Phillip Pullman ****
34. Persian Brides, Rabinyan ***
33. The Echo Maker, Richard Powers ***
32. Peony In Love, Lisa See *****
31. The Devil and Miss Prym, Coelho ****
30. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland ****
29. The Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevara ***
28. The Book of Dave, Will Self *****
27. The Ruby In the Smoke, Pullman ****
26. A Thousand Acres, Smiley *****
25. Twelve, McDonell **
24. The Ringmaster's Daughter, Gaarder *****
23. Waiting for the Barbarians, Coetzee ****
22. Like Water for Chocolate, Esquivel ***
21. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and 3/4 ****
20. The Passion, Winterson *****
19. Autobiography of a Geisha, Mesuda ****
18. Monster, Wuornos ****
17. The Bookseller of Kabul, ****
16. Cold Comfort Farm, Gibbons ***
15. The Sound Of the Waves, Mishma ***
14. Falling Leaves, Yen Mah ****
13. As I Walked Out One Summer Morning, Lee **
12. Roots, Haley ****
11. The Thirteenth Tale, Seterfield *****
10. The Shipping News ****
09. The Notebook, Sparks *****
08. The Savage Garden, Mills **
07. The Kite Runner *****
06.A Spot of Bother, Haddon ****
05. In the Eye of the Sun ****
04. Snow, Pamuk ****
03. Black Dogs, McEwan ****
02. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow, Hoeg ****
01.Empire of the Sun, Ballard ****

My Thoughts: The Devil and Miss Prym

I really liked this book, will definately be checking out more of this authors work in the near future.

The novel is based in a small village, the devil comes to visit putting temptation in the villagers way - if they murder someone the village the whole village will be given enough gold for them all to be rich. The novel focuses a lot on the idea of a sacrifice for the greater good.

Definately well worth a read.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

My Thoughts: Microserfs - Douglas Coupland

This has always been one of those books that I felt that I should read but never fancied it, when I saw it offered as a Bookring on Bookcrossing I thought I'd have a go. AND I really enjoyed it!

I don't like computers, wouldn't know how to prgram one and wouldn't know Star Trek from Doctor Who, but despite all the techiness of this novel I got sucked into their little world. Ultimately, this is a novel about twenty-somethings striving for promotion and getting lost in the world of work. They strive for the 'life' others have but never seem to escape their circular lives, then things start to change...

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

My Thoughts: The Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara

My problem with this book was I had such high expectations, I thought it'd make me want to grab a backpack and take myself off to explore the beauty and culture of South America. The film had.

However I felt that I never got to 'see' South America or to 'know' the two travellers. As the book moved so fast from one area to another there was very little detailed description, the scenarios which were played out so well in the film were mentioned but also not given a lot of attention.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

My Thoughts: The Book of Dave - Will Self

This book covers two worlds in alternate chapters, one is the world of Dave, a London Cabbie struggling to cope with his divorce and the lack of time he is able to spend with his child. In a state he writes The Book of Dave, a book of rules about how the world should be run. The second world is a dystopian London, The Book of Dave has been found and they live strictly by his misogynistic rules, women treated as baby incubabtors and the week divided equally into Mummytime and Daddytime.

I loved this book, the first chapter was bloody hard work as I had no idea what was going on and the phonetically spelt Cockney was torturous, but I perservered, things started coming together and the dialect become so familiar that I could read it with no problem.

The novel is filled with many messages about the way that family life is disintegrating in our multi-racial societies.

Definately well worth the effort and I'll be adding novels by Will Self to my mental TBR list.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

The Complete Booker

I have also joined The Complete Booker Challenge and the 2008 Booker Challenge to help me complete the first one.

So far I have read 16 Booker winners (I knew my degree would come in handy somewhere!). I have now signed up to try and read all of the Booker winners. The 2008 challenge, challenges participants to read 6 books which have won, been shortlisted or longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, they can be from any year.

I'm planning on reading:

1. The Gathering (winner)

2. The Famished Road (winner)

3. Sour Sweet (Short listed 1982)

4. Moon Tiger (winner 1986)

5. Mister Pip (Short listed 2007)

6. The Orchard on Fire (Short listed 1996)

Extra: Sea of Poppies, Amitav Ghosh (2008 nominee)

My Booker Read's So Far and What I Still Need To Read:

1969 Something to Answer for
by P.H. Newby

1970 Elected Member
by B. Rubens

1971 In a Free State: A Novel
by V.S. Naipaul
1972 G.: A Novel
by John Berger
1973 The siege of Krishnapur;
by J. G Farrell
1974 Holiday
by Stanley Middleton
1974 The Conservationist
by Nadine Gordimer
1975 Heat and Dust
by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
1976 Saville
by David Storey
1977 Staying On: A Novel (Phoenix Fiction Series)
by Paul Scott
1978 The Sea, The Sea (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
by Iris Murdoch
1979 Offshore
by Penelope Fitzgerald
1980 Rites of Passage
by William Golding
1981 Midnight's Children (Everyman's Library)
by Salman Rushdie ***** (Really struggled with it, but definately worth perservering)
1982 Schindler's Ark (Coronet Books)
by Thomas Keneally
1983 Life and Times of Michael K: A Novel
by J. M. Coetzee
1984 Hotel Du Lac
by Anita Brookner ***** (Not my type of thing)
1985 The Bone People: A Novel
by Keri Hulme ***** (A fav of mine)
1986 The Old Devils
by Kingsley Amis
1987 Moon Tiger
by Penelope Lively ***** (ok but not outstanding)
1988 Oscar and Lucinda: movie tie-in edition
by Peter Carey ***** (Ok, but didn't live up to my expectations for it)
1989 The Remains of the Day
by Kazuo Ishiguro ***** (A really good read)
1990 Possession: A Romance
by A.S. Byatt ***** (One of my all time favs)
1991 The Famished Road *****
by Ben Okri
1992 The English Patient
by Michael Ondaatje ***** (A modern classic)
1992 Sacred Hunger (Norton Paperback Fiction)
by Barry Unsworth
1993 Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
by Roddy Doyle ***** ? (Read for Uni, I can't remember it at all)
1994 How Late It Was, How Late
by James Kelman
1995 The Ghost Road
by Pat Barker
1996 Last Orders
by Graham Swift
1997 The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy ***** (A really good read)
1998 Amsterdam: A Novel
by Ian McEwan ***** (He's written a lot better material)
1999 Disgrace
by J. M. Coetzee ***** (I wasn't impressed)
2000 The Blind Assassin: A Novel
by Margaret Atwood ***** (A great read as expected from Margaret Atwood)
2001 True History of the Kelly Gang: A Novel
by Peter Carey
2002 Life of Pi
by Yann Martel ***** (A really great read)
2003 Vernon God Little
by DBC Pierre ***** (One of my all time most hated reads)
2004 The Line of Beauty: A Novel
by Alan Hollinghurst ***** (A good read)
2005 The Sea (Man Booker Prize)
by John Banville
2006 The Inheritance of Loss
by Kiran Desai ***** (I thought this book was trying to be too clever)
2007 The Gathering
by Anne Enright