2011 1001 Books - Final Analysis

I read a good mix of books in 2011, from chunky classics to short stories. 
Here are my top reads:

 And the bottom three:

 

 

 

 

 

12 in 12 Category Challenge

Here I am again!  Another year, another challenge, The 12 in 12 Category Challenge.   I have decided to take full advantage of the fact the group allows early birds, having started my own on the 29th of September.  I move around a lot, so wanted to start when I knew I had access to a lot of my TBR pile, I have a stack of over 60 books here with me in Spain (brought over by family, friends and myself) which is enough to be going with.  I have decided to read 12 books in 12 categories, keeping track of my progress here: Soffitta1's 12 in 12.  My categories will change, they always do (they already have!), but they will contain the usual suspects: 1001 books and Asian books.  I'm looking forward to seeing which books I read, concentrating on reducing the amount of books I have sitting in the U.K., where I have over 200 books cluttering up my parents' house. 

Here are my categories, as well as the first few books I've read:
 
Category 1: 1001 Books

This is a life time challenge, so will be part of every Librarything year challenge I do until I am at least 70.

 

Category 2: Films

1. Chocolat
2. On The Beach

 

Category 3: Asia

I have a huge amount of Asia-themed books on my TBR mountain.

Category 4: Spanish

I live in Spain and will be here until at least June next year, so seems apt.

1. Tintin Prisoners of the Sun (In Spanish)

 

Category 5: Crime

I enjoy mysteries, and again I have a stack at home.
1. The Last Testament

Currently reading: The Woman in White **1001 Book, ** Group Readalong

 

Category 6: Books in a Series

I have a few series sat at home TBR - Agatha Raisin, The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Hamish McBeath, Rebus and seried by Jean Auel and Tom Rob Smith. The plan would be to get cracking on one or more of them.

Category 7: Road Trip

Inspired by one of Katrinat's categories last year. The idea is that each book comes from a country bordering the previous one, e.g. a book set in Spain followed by one set in Portugal.

TBR - provisional journey, depending on my mood, I will start this journey in Spain or Pakistan.

Spain - France - Germany - Austria - Hungary / Romania - Ukraine - Russia - Mongolia - China - Bhutan - India - Pakistan

Here's the map I'll update as I travel.
Road Trip 12 in12

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

Starting point: Spain ... Fighting in Spain
Over the Pyranees to the French capital, Paris... The Lollipop Shoes
Then across the border to Cold War Berlin ... The Spy who came in from the Cold

Category 8: Fforde Ffebruary

I was very excited to see Jasper Fforde suggested on the group reads thread, even more so to see a whole month dedicated to him! Well, I have 6 of his books on my TBR pile, so I plan to read Thursday Next books as well as books related to them. To start things off, I have never read Jane Eyre, so how can I read The Eyre Affair?

Category 9: World Book Night

I took part in WBN 2011, giving out copies of All Quiet on the Western Front, and have joined the group which is trying to read all of the WBN books by World Book Night 2012. I had already read some, so am just reading those I haven't already read. As I did well in the charity shops a couple of weekends ago, even finding a WBN copy of A Life Like Other People's, I thought I'd change this category. These add up to 8, but as the next WBN is in April, I'll add from the new selection later. Check out www.worldbooknight.org for more details.

Category 10: Historical

Another favourite, I read a lot of historical fiction.

 

Category 11: Africa
Books by African writers or set in Africa.



1. The View from Africa

 
Category 12: Women Writers


Inspired by Carol Shields' Unless, there are so many great female writers out there. These will be prize winning and/or 1001 books.

1. The Sea, the Sea **1001 Book

11 in 11 Category Challenge: 6 Mystery COMPLETED

Category 6: Mystery
Books related with mysteries, crime or detective fiction.
1. The Big Sleep ** 1001 Book
2. Raffles
3. The Poe Shadow
4. In the Forest ** 1001 Book
5. An Arsonist´s Guide to Writers´ Homes in New England
6. Bombay Ice
7. Death on a Branch Line - part of the Jim Stringer Series starting with The Necropolis Railway
8. A Case of Exploding Mangoes
9. The Last Train to Scarborough - part of the Jim Stringer Series starting with The Necropolis Railway
10. The Somme Stations - part of the Jim Stringer Series starting with The Necropolis Railway
11. Crime and Punishment ** 1001 Book

I am pleased with this group, I do like to read crime books, but had never thought of having it as its own category. My favourites were A Case of Exploding Mangoes, a fictional narrative based on the death of a Pakistani leader, and In the Forest, also fiction that came from fact. 3 of the books were from the 1001 list, The Big Sleep is a great example of noir, Crime and Punishment was good but my head hurt with trying to remember the names (surnames, patronyms, nicknames) and the very creepy In the Forest. I didn't have any real duffers, but I was disappointed by The Poe Shadow, having read more of the author's work, and I felt Bombay Ice petered out.

Top Reads in May

I cracked on with my 1001 challenge and read quite a few. They were very varied, both in nationality of the authors and in genre. Three of my 1001 books were WW1 and 2 related. The first, Closely Observed Trains is a short 1001 book. I saw the film back when I lived in Prague, and it was pretty faithful to the book as far as I remember. A young man Milos, working for the Czech Railways under German occupation, has just come back to work after a suicide attempt stemming from unconsumated relationship with Masha. It is comic, but also full of tragedy. I dusted off Suite Francaise as part of a Librarything readalong. Suite française are the two books that Irène Némirovsky wrote in WW2, before her death in Auschwitz. The two books themselves are rather different, but as can be seen from the first appendix, the author planned to tie the threads together. This is not a book about heroes, rather this is the reality of people living in terrible times. At first, in the first book, I found it hard to sympathise with the characters, until I tried to place myself in their shoes, surely our own survival is the most basic of instincts. All Quiet on the Western Front, a reread for me, I was chosen by World Book Night to hand out the book in March, and so I read it on its way to a friend. I wanted to give out the book because, despite being written about a war which started nearly a century ago, I think it's still relevant today. All politicians should be made to read this before being sworn into office.
I especially enjoyed Burmese Days, I am a big George Orwell fan, and this is another of his good books. This is a biting look at life in Burma, the machinations of the British, Burmese and other nationalities. Diary of a Nobody was a lighter read from the list, very amusing! I have had this for a while, but it was only at Christmas that I realised it was on the 1001 list, so I bumped it up to the top of my reading pile. Mr. Charles Pooter is a nobody, well, he is no Pepys or Johnson, but he won't let that hold him back. What makes this funny is that Pooter takes himself rather seriously, opening himself up to being laughed at by others.



As for non-1001 reads, Seven Years in Tibet, I finally read it after being put off the beautiful but terribly dull film. The book is Harrer's own words, his experience in Tibet, a country which, even today, is one of the last really mysterious places on Earth. Harrer arrived in Tibet after escaping from a POW camp in India, a great adventure in itself. He writes about all aspects of Tibetan life, from life in the provinces to life in the capital, Lhasa, where he became a tutor of sorts to the Dalai Lama. Recommended.



I also read a good mystery, A Case of Exploding Mangoes. I bought this for the title, who could resist such a provocative one, especially with a great cover. I must admit, I know very little about Pakistan, and the case that the book is about, the suspicious death of General Zia, was completely unknown of by me. The book opens with an assertion of the ending, the death of Zia, and then moves back to explain how Shigri comes to be the only survivor. Keeping with the military theme, I also read Captain Pantoja and the Special Service. Captain Pantoja is ordered to Iquitos to deal with a military problem, he has to stop the frustrated servicemen jumping on the local women. His orders are to organise the "special service", where "specialists" provide "services". Pantoja applies his military ethos to the task in hand, making "Pantiland", as his enterprise becomes known, a great success. As to be expected, "Pantiland" is not universally popular, especially among the good burghers of Iquitos and the clergy. Very funny.

Euro 1001-Library VBB

There were 20 books in the box at the start, and over 40 books are now winging their way around Europe to be read by new readers.  I am pleased that it has worked well, and that the list has moved so quickly!
Taken out of the box:
Closely Observed Trains (Abacus Books)
The Successor 
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
The Rings of Saturn: An English Pilgrimage (Panther)
MORVERN CALLAR
In the Forest: A Novel 
The Awakening  
Frankenstein 
Disgrace
A Clockwork Orange 

Suite Francaise 
The Diary of a Nobody (Penguin Classics) 
The Arabian Nights: The Marvels and Wonders of the Thousand and One Nights 
Silk   
The Sound of Waves 
The Light of Day
The Hours  
Agnes Grey
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Penguin Popular Classics)
Through the Looking Glass
Ethan Frome (Wordsworth Classics) 
Mother
The Cement Garden *1001-book*
Soldiers of Salamis (different cover)
Possession: A Romance
Barabbas
The Talk of the Town
The Grass Is Singing
Elizabeth Costello
The Age of Innocence (Vintage Classics)
Life and Times of Michael K: A Novel
Black Dogs 
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
To the Lighthouse 
Atomised
The Body Artist: A Novel(A 1001-Library Book)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
The Accidental 
Lady Chatterley's Lover: Cambridge Lawrence Edition (Penguin Classics) 
Nervous Conditions 
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Signet Books)
Portrait of the Artist
Invisible Cities
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The World According to Garp

52x 1001 Books in 2011, 1/2 way there

Here is my second quarter of reading.  A good mix of books, from classics to modern, from humourous to deadly serious.  My favourites would have to be The Reluctant Fundamentalist, A Fine Balance and Closely Observed Trains (Abacus Books).  Three very different books, but linked by politics.  In the Forest: A Novel was also great, dark and opressive. I am pleased that I read some books which I'd had for a long time, like A Fine Balance and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  No bad books here, which is not always the case with the 1001 List.  As for the next quarter, I still have some 1001 books here in Spain, but will be adding to the pile from the 1001-Library.  I am one away from having read 300 off the combined list, just need to choose the right book to hit that milestone with.

14. The Reluctant Fundamentalist Brilliant book, why, oh why was it removed from the 2010 edition?
15. A Fine Balance I am ashamed to say I had this for 3 years before reading it, worth the wait though ;) 
16.  In the Forest: A Novel  dark story based on fact.
17. The Arabian Nights: The Marvels and Wonders of the Thousand and One Nights (Signet classics) good to get beyond the Disney versions.
18. Under the Net (Vintage Classics)  my first Iris Murdoch, and certainly not my last! 
19.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  I had been given this (apparently) for Christmas years ago by my brother, but it was rediscovered in a box of books he gave me.  Good fun, very sarcastic.
20.Vanity Fair (Penguin Popular Classics)  another scary classic read, I took it travelling and got stuck in.  I enjoyed it, though there were parts which dragged. 
21. Burmese Days a biting look at life in Burma, the British living there and prejudice.  Very good.
22. Agnes Grey read as part of a Librarything Readalong, I thought that the life of a governess was well described, with the characters being very real. 
23. Closely Observed Trains (Abacus Books) finally reading the book after seeing the film.  Life at a sleepy station under German occupation, very short, but well-deserving of its place on the list.
24. Diary of a Nobody (Penguin Classics) nice to see a funny book on the list, and what great illustrations!

25. Suite Francaise Another Librarything readalong.  The first 2 books of an anticipated cycle cut short by the author's death in Auschwitz.  The chaos of life in WW2 written at close hand.

26.The Rings of Saturn: An English Pilgrimage (Panther) My second by the author, a tramp around East Anglia, looking at life there and its connection with the wider world.

Euro 1001-Library VBB

With the UK version doing well, I decided to set up a second VBB, this time for all Europeans.  This is partly selfish as I now live in Spain and have been accumulating 1001 books there.  There has been a good response so far.


The VBB started out with 20 books from three donors.

My additions: 
Suite Francaise I have just finished this, and it blew me away.  
The Diary of a Nobody (Penguin Classics) nice to see a lighter book on the list. 
The Arabian Nights: The Marvels and Wonders of the Thousand and One Nights Finally to read something I knew from so many other sources was great fun and insightful, there is a lot more to the collection than can be gleaned from children's versions. 
In the Forest: A Novel a strange story based on fact, very dark. 
Agnes Grey I requested this from the 1001-Library for a readalong, and was not disappointed by the tale of a governess. 
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Penguin Popular Classics) great fun, such a wonderfully written book. 
Through the Looking Glass the sequel to the above, and the story continues in the same crazy, literary way. 
Closely Observed Trains (Abacus Books)
 a short read, but a lot is packed into those 90-odd pages.  A quiet train station in occupied Czechoslovakia in WW2, but not as quiet as it seems.
The Rings of Saturn: An English Pilgrimage (Panther)
I am actually reading this right now, I bought it because my parents live in East Anglia.

Thanks Lemon-Crisis for your donations:     
Life of Pi  a modern classic
Silk another short book on the list, but beautifully written. 
A Clockwork Orange a very dark book, but one which asks many pertinent questions. 
Oliver Twist I've never read this, despite having acted in the musical version at school.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time such a quirky mystery

And from  blackwidow1971
Ethan Frome (Wordsworth Classics) Another I don't know, but a copy is on its way to me :)
The Light of Day I know the author but not the book.
MORVERN CALLAR Crazy with a capital C
The Accidental seems to be a Marmite book 
The Successor  a great find through the 1001-Library 
Soldiers of Salamis (different cover)  A Spanish entry on the list, I haven't read it.

Reading in Semana Santa

Ah, Easter break, 10 days off from the school.  I did a bit of travelling, lots of sleeping and managed to squeeze in some reading ;)  I tried to tackle some of those books that had been hanging around for a while.   A mixed bag, but good on the whole, I have managed to slot them all into my 11 in 11 Category Challenge.

First up was Under the Net, which I had had on my shelf for a while.  An intricate, incestuous web, on which the narrator fumbles his way, cadging lodging and money off friends. A frustrated writer and translator of French novels, Jake Donaghue hopes he will one day make it big, though his only literary attempt sank without a trace and cost him a friendship. My first Iris Murdoch, and it certainly won't be my last.  At the moment it is sitting on my read shelf (still woefully emptier than my TBR shelf), and I'll see if a friend wants it.  If not, I'll donate it to the 1001 Library.

I took the impetous of a Librarything readalong for my next two, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequel, The Restaurant at the End of the World.  I enjoyed both,  I'm not entirely sure why I hadn't read them before, although I reckon it was the sci-fi aspect that put me off.  I found the black, British humour very funny, and was surprised to see how far Adam's creation had entered popular culture.

In Valencia, I picked up An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England just for the title! A mystery, a 28-year-old New Englander gets out of prison after serving 10 years for burning down Emily Dickinson's house, but the arrival of man looking for revenge makes him realise that he will never quite escape his dark past.  I left this at the OBCZ in Cafe Rialto, Valencia, where I enjoyed a great Menu of the Day in gorgeous surroundings.

As I was going to go on a train journey up to Zaragoza, The Great Railway Bazaar was an obvious tie-in choice.  Theroux's journey from London to Japan and back by train, biting at times, amusing. 

In Valencia I picked up El Emperador in a double book.  It is a collection of short stories, most with a twist. I recognised a couple, which makes me think I have read before in English or German.  I tried getting into El Negociador, but found it too dated.  I left this in the hostel in Zaragoza.

I have been having a bit of a Jane Austen fest this year, reading lots of related books.  Jane Austen - A Life is a well researched look at the author's life, from her family roots, through her books to her legacy. Thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I am currently enjoying BBC 4 Extra's replaying of Sense and Sensibility.  I left it in the hostel in Zaragoza.

I picked up Lost Innocence at the hostel in Zaragoza, trashy, but interesting enough to hold my attention.  I am now over halfway through Vanity Fair, I got stuck into it last night, really enjoying it. I just needed time away from thinner books to get stuck into it.  The Pillars of the Earth was a great find in the hostel in Valencia, I can't wait to get stuck into it.  I also got a Bookcrossing book in Zaragoza at the hostel, Dinner for Two. (flame), which I have seen about, but never read.

11 in 11 Category Challenge - 3/4 done

The next 30 books read.  I am steaming ahead nicely with the 11 in 11 Challenge.  This year, I have more of my books with me, so it has been easier.

Category 1:  Latin America

5. La Ciudad de las Bestias
6. El Reino del Dragon de Oro  
7. Relato de un Naufrago 
8. El Bosque de los Pigmeos Spanish 

Category 2: 1001 Books

6. Platero and I

7. Invisible Man
8. The Reluctant Fundamentalist
9. A Fine Balance

Category 3: History  (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
8. The Clan of the Cave Bear in Spanish
9. Salt and Saffron

Category 4: Books in a Series

6. The Sun over Breda - No. 3 in the Captain Alatriste series
7. The Lost Luggage Porter - part of the Jim Stringer Series starting with The Necropolis Railway

Category 5: Asia

7. The Royal Ghosts
8. The Interpreter of Maladies
9. Brixton Beach
10. Difficult Daughters
11. Queen of Dreams 

Category 6: Mystery

Mysteries, Crime, Detective Fiction.
1. The Poe Shadow
2. The Big Sleep ** 1001 Book
3. Raffles
4. In the Forest **1001 Book 

Category 7: German Speaking World
 

4. Golem: An Old Prague Tale in German
5. The Pigeon ** 1001 Book

6. Effi Briest **1001 Book
7. West of the Wall

Category 8: Film and Adaptations

10. Stardust in Spanish
11. The Arabian Nights ** 1001 Book

 

Category 9: Links

6.  El Capitan Alatriste - the first installment of the Captain Alatriste series, of which I have just read no. 3, but this is the graphic novel.
7. Austenland Jane Austen link to I was Jane Austen's Best Friend
8. Persuading Annie Jane Austen link to I was Jane Austen's Best Friend 

 

Category 10: Travel
I had a bit of tinker with this category as I have ended up with more 1001 books than expected.

2. Driveby Saviours
4. The Monkey and the Monk
5. Felicia's Journey **1001 Book
6. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ** 1001 Book
7. Through the Looking Glass **1001 Book

Category 11: British Authors

10. Under the Net ** 1001 Book

Top reads:

Well, I think the challenge has been going really well, and, as I have been mainly reading books from my TBR pile, not from book exchanges, I have been satisfied

I am powering on with my 1001 Book Challenge of reading one a week.  These books make up the best the third quarter.  I loved Platero and I, I recently moved to Spain and found it utterly picturesque.  I took part in World Book Night, and while I didn't give out The Reluctant Fundamentalist, I already had it on my shelf and bumped it my TBR pile.  I read it voraciously over a day, it is well-written, thought-provoking and one I will reread in the future.  I was horrified to see that I had had A Fine Balance on my shelf for 3 years.  Oops!  Worth the wait though, interconnected stories skillfully brought together against the backdrop of '70s India.

I also read some lighter fiction, and these were the best 3:

Salt and Saffron was a great example of storytelling, I  just couldn't put down the account of an Indian/Pakistani family.  Persuading Annie was great fun, reading a modern update of a book I really like, Persuasion. Brixton Beach , a gift from my Mum, gripped me from page 1, though it did taper out a wee bit at the end.  

And least favourite:

West of the Wall

 - winning a prize for the stupidest plot twist of the challenge.  Ugh.

1001 VBB Round 3

The list is ready to go out again for its third time.  More players this time, which is fantastic!  Once again, the selection is rather varied.

1. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie A short, but very compelling book. 

2.Aesop's Fables the classic stories, many you know from childhood.

3. Atonement One of many books by the author on the list, but for me, the best.

4.The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Five Parts  Another book I have on Mount TBR and will read it this month as part of a Librarything readalong.

5. Things Fall Apart I read this last year as I was trying to read more African books, what a find!

6. Diary of a Nobody (Wordsworth Classics) I have this on Mount TBR, looks fun.

7. The Scarlet Letter (Arcturus Classics) I read this at school, and it really left a mark.

8.The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories (World's Classics) The titular story is on the list, but the book as a whole makes a good short story collection.

9. The Maltese Falcon (Crime Masterworks) I saw the film a few years ago and so couldn't get Bogart out of my head when reading this.  A great example of noir.

10. Schindler's List If you have only seen the film, you should read the book.

11. Sputnik Sweetheart One of Haruki Murakami's books on the list, worth a read.

12. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I read this a few years ago, and enjoyed it.  I am not a huge sci-fi fan, but since reading this I have tried more.  

 

And added by me:

13.  The Big Sleep: A Philip Marlowe Mystery (Penguin Fiction) If you have read The Maltese Falcon, I recommed this. 

14. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay  Had been on my TBR pile for a while.  I fairly cantered through this.
15. The Time Machine (Everyman Paperback Classics) Another short book on the 1001 list, very much of its time, but still worth a read today.
16. Invisible Man I read this recently, about Civil Rights in '60s America.

52 1001 Books in 2011

I am about on track, I have read a quarter of my target, but I need to up my game as I know I'll slow down.

A lot of my books have come from the Bookcrossing's 1001-library, which has really helped as I am not in the U.K.  In all, it has been a good run so far, no really bad books.  I didn't enjoy The Mysteries of Udolpho as much as some of the others, but that has more to do with the genre than the book.  It is good to knock off some of the books which have been on my radar for a while.  Not sure what is up next, I have a quite a stack in front of me right now, but as I also have reports to write, I may not have much time over the next 2 weeks.

1. The Day of the Triffids

I remember seeing bits of an old BBC adaptation as a kid. Really good one to kick off the year with, a sci-fi book that proposes a possible future, one that i n today's GM world is actually not that unimaginable.

2. The Big Sleep

I found Marlowe's fast talking style very fun and entertaining, and will look out more in the series.

3.The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay

Also very good. 2 very different cousins come together and create The Escapist, a comic book hero who fights the Nazis.

4.The Story of Lucy Gault  

One of the best I have read recently. This is a beautifully written book, Lucy's story unfolds slowly, but in a very moving way. 

5.The Graduate

As with some of the other books I have read recently, it is odd reading the book when you know the film so well. There is a lot of dialogue in the book, so you can see how it was easily adapted.

6. The Mysteries of Udolpho (Oxford World's Classics)

Second time lucky, actually read this in a few days after having given up on it last time. Very melodramatic, lots of poetic descriptions, but actually rather fun at times. 

7.The Pigeon

The Pigeon is a day in the life of a 50-something-year-old man. His monotonous existance, one of his own choosing and making, is thrown out of kilter by the appearance of a pigeon outside his room. The pigeon disrupts his routine, causing him to consider leaving his sanctuary forever. Thought-provoking. Nice to read a short 1001 book! 

8. Felicia's Journey

A very dark book, the sad story of a pregnant Irish girl searching for the father of her child, with not much to go on except he was working at a lawnmower factory near Birmingham. One day she is offered help by the catering manager of a different factory. Good read, sinister and sad though. Sensitively written, as was The Story of Lucy Gault by the same author.

9. Effi Briest

A girl marries her mother's former suitor and is taken off to live far away. A chain of events are set in motion, almost inevitably, and as upstanding Prussians, they can't avoid the rules that society makes them play by Very well written, very sad. 

10. The Monkey and the Monk

This is the journey of the monk Xuánzàng who is sent to the West for Buddhist scrolls to bring back to Chang'an (modern day Xian). The journey is full of obstacles, traps and dangers that the travelling band must come through to reach the West.

This is a book which is easy to recommend, first to those interested in religion in China, secondly to sinophiles, but, perhaps most importantly, for those wanting to read a good story full of colour, drama and great characters.

11. Through the Looking Glass

As with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it is the combination of words and images that make the book so memorable, so charming. This is a book to amuse children and adults alike, great fun and deservedly a classic. 

12.Platero and I

A man and his donkey, musings on life in southern Spain. This is a collection of anecodotes and shows the close relationship the narrator has with his faithful Platero, a donkey with a lot of feelings.

13.Invisible Man 

A young black man and the struggle for equality.

1001 VBB Round 2

The first round finished a month or so ago, and it is time to send it out again.  There was a bit of a gap between the rounds to allow people to read some books.  I'm glad to pass on three that I have recently read and enjoyed. 

Here are my additions:
1.The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West  The Chinese epic, a monk is helped on his journey to the West by a rather talented, but naughty, monkey.

2. The Mysteries of Udolpho (Oxford World's Classics) this is the book mentioned in Northanger Abbey, it was the heroine's favourite.
3.Ivanhoe (BBC) my first Sir Walter Scott, I had put off reading him for years, but really liked this, especially the mentions of Robin Hood and Prince John.

And from the other participants:

4. Middlemarch a classic that I haven't read
5 The Secret History Definitely one of my favourite books from the list.
6 Schindlers Ark the book which the Oscar-winning film was based on.

7. Unless I have read another book by the author, but not this one.

8. The 13 Clocks a fun children's book with great illustrations

9. Amsterdam The ultimate test of friendship?

10. Enduring Love Creepy, very creepy.

11. Embers This is one of my favourite 1001 books, melancholy, but very well-written.
12. Cloud Atlas This book seems to divide readers, some love it, some love parts of it, some hate it.  The style of different stories linked with a common theme worked well, in my opinion.
13. All Souls' Day
14. Cost
15. In Cold Blood The account of a chilling murder, where the writer got too close to one of the murderers.
16. MORVERN CALLAR  "Bonkers" was the word someone else used to describe this book, and I agree!  Still very much worth a read. 

World Book Night - the list

World Book Night offered 25 different books, a good mix, with something for everyone.  I have read quite a few, but am taking up new Bookcrosser  LucyInTaunton's challenge to read the rest of the list by next year's World Book Night.  I have even already signed up for next year, as I think it is a great cause, and because of the bemused, but happy, look on the faces of those I gave books to.

 1. A Fine Balance

 this is on my TBR pile, I have crammed it into my suitcase and brought it back to Spain to read.

2. A Life Like Other People’s

 I know nothing about this and will have to find myself a copy.  Last year I read his book, The Uncommon Reader, which I thought was brilliant.

  

3. Agent Zigzag

  I am curious about this one, but have never read it.

4. All Quiet on the Western Front

 This was the book I gave away, a classic book about young boys sent to die in a pointless war.  Unfortunately still relevant today.

 5. Beloved

  I must admit that I didn't enjoy this, I found it tough to get into, and in the end felt it missed the mark.

 

6. Case Histories

  My second choice to give away.  I really like Atkinson's style, this is a quirky mystery.

 

7. Cloud Atlas

  I really liked reading this, some people found some of the interconnecting stories less enjoyable, but not me.  It was what made it different, the different settings took the book to a new level.

 8. Dissolution

 I haven't read this, but Mum is a big fan.  I will steal her copy ;)

 

9. Fingersmith

 One of the best books on the list and one of my favourite books.  A well-written mystery with lots of twists and turns and emotions.

 

10. Half of a Yellow Sun

 On my pile at home to read.

 

11. Killing Floor

  I think of all the books, this looks least like my cup of tea.

 

12. Life of Pi

  Brilliant prize-winning book.

 

13. Love in the Time of Cholera

Not his best book, I found it rather rambling.  I much preferred 100 Years of Solitude.

14. New Selected Poems

I don't often read poetry, but I did enjoy studying his poems at school, one of the few poets I did like.  I will look this one out.

 

15. Northern Lights

  Excellent opening to a great series.  For YA or adults.

 

16. One Day

  I read this recently, it is about a couple meant to be, but with bad timing.  Well-written, good for commuting, a weightier piece of holiday fiction.

 

17. Rachel’s Holiday

 I read this at school, and was quickly drawn in by the plot.  Told through the eyes of Rachel, slowly she pieces her life together and sees how she has affected those around her.  Very good.

 

 18.  Stuart

 I am not usually one for this kind of book, but if I find a copy, I'll give it a go.

 

 

19. The Blind Assassin

  This was my first Atwood, very well told, this inspired me to find more of her work,  though I must say I think my favourite is The Handmaid's Tale.

 

20. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

  A quirky book, with an unusual narrator.

 

21.The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

 I read this last year, a short read, but very interesting.  The effect of a teacher on "her girls".

 

 

22. The Reluctant Fundamentalist

 I already had this on my TBR pile, and have brought it back to Spain to read.  Also a 1001 Book.

 

 23.The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

 There is a copy of this at work, so will check it out.

 

 24. The World’s Wife

  I haven't heard of this one, or even the writer.  Must investigate.

 

 25.Toast

I was given a copy of this by a fellow WBN giver, my Dad snaffled it, but I hope to get it back to read before passing it on.