The Catcher in the Rye (15) ... did I miss something?

So, JD Salinger's book, The Catcher in the Rye, is a book that is talked about on a regular basis. It's one that I kept thinking I should read to see what all the fuss is about and make sure I wasn't missing out on anything. Well, maybe it's just me - but I just don't get what people see in this book. Yes, it's different to anything else I've read - almost like a free form diary of a disgruntled 16 year old boy(Holden Caulfield). He hates and loves at the flick of a switch - fickle in some ways, but deeply loyal in others (to his sister Phoebe). It's written with all the slang of the fifties and the language can be a little fruity. It feels like the unedited thoughts of Holden as he spends a couple of days trying to decide what to do after he is expelled from yet another school. Too afraid to go home to feel the wrath of his father, he wanders around New York encountering people he takes an instant dislike to, or who he thinks he might have a connection with - but that tends to fade quickly. Generally an unhappy, angst-ridden rant against the world he finds himself in and doesn't understand - it's hard to feel any sympathy with Holden who seems to have brought all his woes on his own head. This book irritated me, and I cannot fathom why it seems to have influenced so many people. Maybe I'm too old - and if I'd read it as a teenager with all those hormones running through my veins then perhaps I would feel differently - but I don't think so. A book elevated beyond its content - don't bother reading if you haven't done so.

My STAR rating: TWO.

Length: 192 print pages.
Price I paid: free (borrowed from my local library)
Formats available: print; audio; ebook.

Great Expectations (17) is a great start to the year

First book to be completed this year is Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, which I read on my Kindle. Almost everyone will have an idea of what this book is about, which starts with a young boy (Pip) coming across a convict (Magwitch) on the marshes and stealing food from his sister to give to the convict, as well as a file to free himself from his leg-irons. Magwitch is recaptured in dramatic style, and Pip's life changes with the invitation to go to Miss Havisham's grand house - where he meets Estella, a girl destined to break his heart. As he gets older, he receives word that he is to come into money - the Great Expectations of the title. His head is turned and he wants to become a gentleman to impress the increasingly beautiful and unattainable Estella. When he discovers the true identity of his benefactor, his life begins to crumble. Pip is a hard character to like - I just wanted to slap him at times ... not happy with his lot and jumping at the chance to leave behind the people who care for him to try to impress people that don't! Will there be redemption? This is Dickens at his best - great characters, great plot and definitely NOT an ending that ties up all the loose ends. Good start to 2013!

My STAR rating: FOUR

Length: 512 print pages.
Price I paid: free.
Formats available: Print, unabridged audio download, abridged audio CD, ebook.

The scores on the doors!

I have now looked closer at the challenge I have set myself ... and am a little scared! Of the 100 books on the list, I've definitely read 29. I think I might have read a couple more, but couldn't guarantee it, so I'm keeping them on the "to do" side of the balance sheet. On a more positive note, of the top 25 books on the list, I've read 14, so not too bad on that score.

The books I've already read are ...

1. The Lord of the Rings (fabulous epic).
2. Pride and Prejudice (ahh!)
3. His Dark Materials (so much better than Harry Potter)
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (laugh out loud, resistance is useless)
8. Nineteen Eighty Four (read this at school, but thought it was one of the best books I've read)
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (read in my teens)
11. Catch 22 (not my cup of tea)
12. Wuthering Heights (I hated all the characters and couldn't wait for them to die!)
13. Birdsong (my favourite book - if you haven't read this, YOU MUST DO SO NOW!)
14. Rebecca (went through a massive Daphne du Maurier phase in my youth - cracking story)
18. Little Women (good in parts)
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin (very enjoyable, but I couldn't get the image of Nicholas Cage out of my head!)
22. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (good story, but I found the writing a bit sub-standard, so didn't pursue the rest of the series ... until now it seems!)
25. The Hobbit (Golem, hairy feet, magic ... what's not to like)
35. Charlie and the Chocolate factory (memories of childhood bedtime reading)
37. A Town Like Alice (loved this book, and other Nevile Shute books which I raced through in my twenties)
46. Animal Farm (another MUST READ)
47. A Christmas Carol (a classic, familiar story, but good to read for yourself rather that just rely on the TV or film adaptations)
52. Of Mice and Men (heartbreaking)
59. Artemis Fowl (Funny and clever and definitely not just for kids)
63. A Tale of Two Cities (I discovered a depth to the story that doesn't come across in TV adaptations)
65. Mort (I love Terry Pratchett and this is a cracker)
70. Lord of the Flies (shocking)
71. Perfume (odd, but satisfying)
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Awesome, heavy, heart-breaking, but totally believable)
75. Bridget Jones's Diary (daft and funny)
79. Bleak House (deep, detailed and gripping)
84. Gormenghast (Fabulous fantasy with brilliant characters)
93. The Colour of Magic (the first of the Discworld novels, and it's a doozy)

I do NOT expect to have read all of the remaining 71 books by the end of this year ... I do have a day job and other things to do except read after all ... but I'll be disappointed if I don't reach 70 by 31st December 2013. I'm a good way through Great Expectations (17), and have just started Jane Eyre (10) too, so am on my way ...

New year, and a new challenge ...

In this, my third year of blogging about books, I have decided to challenge myself to reading as many of the novels voted as being in the Top 100 Books during the BBC's Big Read debate back in 2003. Hundreds of thousands of people nominated the books that meant the most to them. This was a vote by the people, for the people, rather than a list created by a bunch of well-meaning literatis out to improve the minds of the common people. So, ten years on, I thought it would be interesting to revisit the list and see how many I'd already read and what gaps I should look to fill.
So, what's on the list ... you might want to join me and see what you can do during this year too to get as many of these read as you can!

Here is the full list:

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

As I look through it, I've already read a few of these ... but a good few of thos I wouldn't mind reading again, which is a good sign. Onwards, onwards, into the valley of books ...

Iain Banks - an excellent way to end 2012

My last book of 2012 is Stonemouth, by Iain Banks, which I read in audio format, with Peter Kenny narrating. It's the tale of Stewart Gilmour, who arrives back in his hometown of Stonemouth after a five year exile imposed on him by the Murstons - the local gangster family - after he broke the heart of their precious Ellie. Having had to literally run for his life when leaving Stonemouth all those years ago, Stu is not quite sure what kind of a reception he will get. It's tough, raw, violent, very sweary but also highly amusing in places. The back story is slowly revealed as Stu catches up with all the people he grew up with, lost his virginity to, got roaring drunk with, fell in love with and those who will always be his friends no matter how many years and miles get in the way. There are some great characters in this book - hard men, manipulative women, caring parents and ex-girlfriends. My favourite character is "Ferg", a drunken, drug-ridden bisexual who gets most of the best lines in the book. Stu has only been allowed home to attend a funeral, but the undercurrent of unfinished business pervades everything, and all roads lead to one heck of a finish. This is a very satisfying book - well worth the journey if you can handle the copious amount of swearing - but somehow, in a thick Scottish accent, it doesn't sound out of place or even over the top. I really enjoyed this book - Iain Banks on good form again. Not his very best (Transition, The Wasp Factory and Steep approach to Garbadale get my votes on that score), but certainly up there.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 448 print pages
Price I paid: £7.99
Formats available: Print, unabridged audio download and CD, ebook.

The Hunger Games ... I now know what all the fuss is about

I've been seeing The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins in bestsellers lists all year, and the film of this, the first book in a trilogy also received good reviews. So, when an offer came in on my usual audio book account I decided that I would give this book a punt. And I'm pleased to say that it is a punt that has paid off. This is the story of a 16-year-old girl called Katniss Everdean, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world, where there isn't enough food, but there are many, many rules! Every year, a boy and girl from each of the 12 districts is selected at random to take part in The Hunger Games - where the prize is 12 months worth of food for your district. There is only one way to win the games, and that is to be the last one to remain alive - and it's all shown live on TV! When her beloved younger sister is selected, Katniss volunteers to go in her place, and begins a journey into the brutality of the games where she has to find the strength of character to not only survive, but also to kill other children. I know that this sounds immensely distasteful - and indeed, the premise is just that. However, it is also an uncomfortable look into a future that is deeply unpleasant,and yet believable. Can our young heroine stay alive and keep at least some of her moral code and beliefs intact, or will the experience totally dehumanise her and all involved in the Games? This is a good read and a great central character. I think I might read the other two books in print or ebook as I found the narrator a little on the irritating side - but that's a personal thing. Don't be put off by the subject - this is a good read and I really do want to spend time with this character and see where she goes and how the narrative develops.

My STAR rating: FOUR

Length: 464 print pages
Price I paid: £4.00.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Malta - small island, big place in history!

Last year, I read The Information Officer, a thriller based in Malta during the second world war. I found it to be a bit of an eye opener, as I was unaware of how Malta was under the cosh during that time. My brother-in-law, after reading my blog about this book, offered me two books of his about this Mediterranean island. I have just finished one of these, The Great Siege: Malta 1565, by Ernie Bradford, which I read in print. I was not disappointed! What could be a very dry bit of history from the time of Elizabeth I, is really brought to life by the author, who details the events of the epic defence of the island by a few thousand men, including the Maltese, led by the Order of the Knights of St John, against the hordes of a Turkish army and navy who were ordered by the Sultan to take this strategic lump of rock. The Order was determined to hold out in their new home after being routed out of their base in Rhodes some 40 years previously by the same man (Sultan Soleyman the Magnificent) who now had his sights on Malta. The Order were led by Grand Master La Valette, an exceptional leader who at the time of the siege was 70 year old, but still put on his armour and fought side-by-side with his men. It was brutal. The loss of life was particularly huge amongst the Turkish army, who were forced to try and break through the walls of the various forts through sheer force of numbers. Huge amounts of bravery was shown on both sides, especially when it became clear that the promised reinforcements from Sicily were not forthcoming. The Knights and the islanders were not to be moved, and eventually, the Turkish army - diminished by hunger, disease and, of course, the fighting, left Malta, vowing to return - but never did. Although shattered by the siege, the Order helped to rebuild the island and never longed to return to Rhodes again. I do like a bit of history! A very readable account of an event I knew nothing about - thanks Mr Bradford!

My STAR rating: THREE

Length: 256 print pages.
Price I paid: free loan from my brother-in-law.
Formats available: print, audio CD, audio download, ebook.