Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Well, I just discovered this, so the first bunch of books of this list are those I already read since January 1rst.

1: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Rebecca Wells

2: Sex and the City, Candace Bushnell

3: Gods behaving badly, Marie Philipps

4: Hectors Reise oder die Suche nach dem Glück, Francois Lelord

5: The Nanny Diaries, Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus

6: Lipstick Jungle, Candace Bushnell

7: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

8: 44, Scotland Street, Alexander McCall Smith

9: The Fabulous Girl's Guide to Grace Under Pressure, Kim Izzo

10: Princess Academy, Shannon Hale

Off and running! Congrats on your first 10! And great choices, if I may comment!

Thanks! While my first readings this year do not reflect my usual taste in books, I have to say that pure chick-lit can be very entertaining and great to read in bed during this dark time of the year.

11: Pride and Promiscuity The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen Parody by Arielle Eckstut

12: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Guess I couldn't avoid to borrow it, when it was finally on shelf in the library. An easy, light read, yet more for young adults than I expected. I cringed more than once during Edward/Bella scenes and felt old, thinking that I would have likes the book as a 12-year-old - only.

13: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend

Is Princess Academy good? I think I might put the "Sex and the City" book on my list. I have the entire series but haven't read the book!

Aprile, "Princess Academy" was actually a (very) young adult's book, maybe for girls around 11-13 years old. It was in the entrance shelf for new books and I picked it up without really checking. I read through it and thought it was a nice story for girls of that age only.
"Sex and the city" was a huge disappointment for me, who adores the series too. The screenwriters must have been extremely talented to make such a milestone serie out of this crap. The 4 girls we know and love cannot be found in this book, instead we meet a whole lot of superficial, boring people and the writing is awful. Read it maybe just to know the basis for the serie, not because it's good.
Anyway, all the best for your further readings!

As I've been reading but not able to access internet for a while, I add some more books at once.

14: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

15: The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

16: A Piece of Cake A Memoir by Cupcake Brown

17: Silence of the Grave A Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason

18: Roses Are Red by James Patterson

19: Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

20: Lonely Planet New Orleans by Tom Downs

21: Disappearing Moon Cafe A Novel by Sky Lee

Sarah wrote: "19: [b:Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West|37442|Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West|Gregory Maguire|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I......."


Did you like this? I found it REALLY hard to get into. I actually stopped reading it and then was able to read it through before I saw the musical.

22: The Queen and I by Sue Townsend

@Aprile
I found it hard during the first chapters and read the beginning 2-3 times until I got further and really into the book, but then I loved it! You're so lucky to have seen the musical, how did you like it?

23: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Sarah wrote: I found it hard during the first chapters and read the beginning 2-3 times until I got further and really into the book, but then I loved it! You're so lucky to have seen the musical, how did you like it? "

I was the same way. Once they got to the school part it picked up. But the first time I tried to read it, I couldn't get through the beginning.

The musical was AMAZING. It didn't focus much on the beginning of the story, so it moved along quite quickly. The music is fantastic as well. It was so different, but so great. I'd love to see it again.

24: Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King

@Aprile
It's definitely in my plans to see the musical one day in the near future. I guess I will have to see it in Germany, as I won't have the opportunity to get back to the US soon enough - I hope they've done a good job in translating it :S

25: The Diviners by Margaret Laurence

26: The Jane Austen Book Club A Novel by Karen Joy Fowler

You are doing so well! Over 1/2 way!!!!!!

Half-way! Whohoo!

27: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

and I forgot two books I read in January...

28: A brief history of Finland by Matti Klinge

29: Facts About Finland by P. Elovainio

I love it when that happens!

True, I felt like finding a leftover easter egg, surprise surprise :) But I think as I have been pretty accurate all the time, this was a one time experience.

30: Cane River by Lalita Tademy
Mhm, too bad I'm so busy with school work, otherwise I would not fall behind so much in my rhythm. :(

30 is so great though!

31: The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

32: Obasan by Joy Kogawa

33: Voodoo in New Orleans by Robert Tallant

34: Le Cheval Soleil by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir

35: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Sarah wrote: "35: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner"

Ohhh - my favorite! Did you like it or did it make your brain hurt?

@Molly
Actually both happened :) I found it really difficult to read and had to fight my way through it, but I also found it fascinating. I think it is one the books that I have to read more than once to really grasp it.

36: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Sarah wrote: "@Molly
Actually both happened :) I found it really difficult to read and had to fight my way through it, but I also found it fascinating. I think it is one the books that I have to read more than ..."

I try to read it every couple of years. It's always a new experience.

The Kite Runner was a really good book as well. I haven't gotten to his next one yet.

@Molly
I think that's what I will do with Faulkner, read it again after some years and see how I feel about it as I get older.
I liked the Kite Runner alot and I bought A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I forbade myself to start it before I am not done with some "urgent" books. :)

37: Q & A by Vikas Swarup

38: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Okay, now I understand why everyone is listing it as a classic. Even if I could not identify with this overshy new Mrs Winter, I could identify with her thoughts about capturing wonderful moments and her view of nature and Manderley. The writing was superb and the plot great. I loved it

39: The Voodoo Queen A Novel by Robert Tallant

40: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen