2012 Challenges, Books, Quotes, The Classics Club

Book 105: Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

Well I survived the slog. At points I honestly didn’t think I would get through the novel and really should have waited having just finished the five books of Martin’s epic saga, but I did and I didn’t. It took me nearly three weeks to read the novel (which, yes I know, isn’t a lot of time for some people – but it was never-ending for me), and they were three very long weeks.

Counting for the Back to the Classics Reading Challenge, the Tea and Books Reading Challenge and The Classics Club, I am definitely glad I read the novel (aside from the story of course) because it puts me that much closer to my yearly goals! Technically I’ve finished the Tea and Books reading challenge (my original goal was Earl Grey Aficionado, or six books) but I upgraded last month to the Sencha Connoisseur level which is eight books.

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2012 Challenges, Books

Book 104: People in Trouble – Sarah Schulman

So far of the books my boss lent me last September this is by far my favorite. Although I enjoyed Donoghue’s Hood and Schulman’s first novel After Delores was good, this one just stands out as a moving piece of the time and serves as a great commentary. This goes towards my Mount TBR Reading Challenge putting me at 11/25 (44%).

What was great about this novel was from the opening line you knew it was going to be about voyeurism (or I realize that looking back). Schulman opens her novel with one of the greatest opening lines I’ve read in a long time. If it’s from something else PLEASE let me know! She opens with, “It was the beginning of the end of the world but not everyone noticed right away.” and from that point on takes you on a fascinating journey threw the AIDS underground of New York City.

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2012 Challenges, Books

Book 103: After Delores – Sarah Schulman

If you have ever been spurned in love, then you know exactly what the unnamed narrator of After Delores is going through. And over the four months of the book she goes through a lot and most (if not all) of it is somehow connected to Delores. This book counts as number 10 of 25 for the 2012 Mount TBR Reading Challenge. This is also my 18th book of the year, meaning I have read 30% of my goal of 60 books this year putting me roughly 6%/4 books ahead of schedule allowing me a little flexibility over the next few weeks.

After Delores reminded me of how much one event can effect an individual’s life. Something as seemingly small as a break up (especially a bad break up) can be life defining. It is clearly a stretch, but this made me think about history and those epic events that happen in an era (think 9/11, any major war) and how the news media casts everything in either the pre- or post-event light. This is what Schulman does but on the individual scale.

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2012 Challenges, Books, The Classics Club

Book 102: Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

It has been a long time since I read a (non-young adult fiction) book in a day, but this novel certainly sucked me in. It was very easy to read and I enjoyed the characters. And it’s not like I spent the day in my room reading, I was out and about getting my haircut and running errands!

I’ve always wondered how some people are able to read 100+ books in a year (and I may be wrong), but reading novels like this where you fly through the pages could have something to do with it! I would definitely love to go back and read some more of Christie’s works, but I doubt I will unless I participate in some sort of mystery challenge. On the plus side, this book counts towards THREE challenges! It counts towards my Mount TBR Reading Challenge (9/25) and counts as the first book for both the Back to the Classics Challenge (1/9) and The Classics Club (1/85)!

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2012 Challenges

Mount TBR: Climbing Mt. Vancouver (Checkpoint 1)

Bev of My Reader’s Block has called for the first check in of the 2012 Mount TBR (To Be Read) Reading Challenge and I’m quite pleased with my progress so far.  For this challenge I have read 10 of 25 books which is 40%!

Overall on my reading challenges I’m 15 of 30 books which is 47%.  I may end up taking some time off to just enjoy reading other books over the next few weeks knowing I don’t have to push myself so hard to stay on pace for my challenges.

So far my favorite book of the challenge is Murder on the Orient Express. It was incredibly enjoyable and fun, and I really liked Agatha Christie’s writing style.   A Game of Thrones and the other novels were definitely up there as well!  My least favorite (by far) was Two Serious Ladies. I’m most looking forward to the Brontë novels (especially Anne as I haven’t read anything by her), but we’ll see once I get to them! You can see my list here and check out the responses to the novels I’ve already read.