Devon Book Club discussion

So - how many have you read? What are your favourites? what's missing? I'll use the responses to build the first "poll" to vote for our top 10 authors

For me 41 read
Favourites Anna Karenina; Crime and Punishment; One Hundred Years of Solitude (love the Russian authors)and for a bit of a pacy read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and for reflection Life of Pi
Missing - anything by Murakami Haruki; To the End of the Land; American Gods; vikram seth A Suitable Boy and loads more

So ... are you asking for ranking on the books you mention? Or members' top ten?

41 read? Am I missing a list ....?

Sonia wrote: "41 read? Am I missing a list ....?"

well spotted - forgot to attach the link!
http://www.kansascitymamas.com/goodre...

Not asking for your top 10 - just mention the ones you like most and I'll see who comes up most often - not very scientific - just a bit of fun

Understood :)

19 read

Enjoyed - in chronological order ... The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Thorn Birds, The Great Gatsby, The Book Thief, One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Missing - many! But top 3 - A Suitable Boy, To the End of the Land, Atonement

Plus ... Birdsong, Doctor Zhivagoand Wolf Hall

Sonia wrote: "19 read

Enjoyed - in chronological order ... The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Thorn Birds, The Great Gatsby, The Book Thief, [book:One..."

Good choices foor the missing ones. also loved Gatsby, book thief and 100 years of solitude. We read that for our reading group but most people didnt get on well with it - I thought it stunning.

Sonia wrote: "Plus ... Birdsong, Doctor Zhivagoand Wolf Hall"

Three more great ones - Dr Zhivago better read than watching the interminable film.

I loved the film too! First watched on Boxing Day many years ago (and a number of times since!) with another avid reader when we were in our teens ... Inspired us to read it! We used to keep reading diaries from age 13 and score books ... A paper and pen version of this!

all I remember was bleak snow and not much action. OK in the book but not the film. I still keep a reading diary and star rate the books and pursue my annual challenge of a different author for each letter of the alphabet. getting tough after 10 years but sticking at it as keeps exposing me to new authors. I have just realised what a book nerd that makes me. oh well, worse things at sea.

Explain ...? So 26 new authors each year? Do you sleeo?

Ps all I remember is Omar sharif!!

I read 50+ books each year. 26 have to be new authors to me - corresponding with the alphabet. I do have to repeat q, x and one or two others but mostly find new authors.

Ian wrote: "I read 50+ books each year. 26 have to be new authors to me - corresponding with the alphabet. I do have to repeat q, x and one or two others but mostly find new authors."
That's impressive, Ian. I'd be afraid to count how many books I read in a year. Not enough! But where does the time go...?

I've read quite a few on the list, though some of them only in part, at school. Some are on my TBR list. I'm sure there are many more but, put on the spot I can't remember them. (Not a good sign). I'd add Emma though and The Go-Between, also Far from the Madding Crowd and maybe The Portrait of a Lady Afraid I must be the only person who couldn't get into Gone Girl.

Kathy wrote: "I've read quite a few on the list, though some of them only in part, at school. Some are on my TBR list. I'm sure there are many more but, put on the spot I can't remember them. (Not a good sign). ..."

those who know me, know I am not a fan of Austen but I recognise the quality of her work, Hardy I used to enjoy but havent read for years - I ought to have another look, the Go-Between ive not read but a 5 star recommendation puts it on my list

Ian wrote: "Sonia wrote: "41 read? Am I missing a list ....?"

well spotted - forgot to attach the link!
http://www.kansascitymamas.com/goodre...

Not as..."

I have read quite a few of them on that list. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is a favourite, actually the whole series is.

Ian wrote: "Sonia wrote: "41 read? Am I missing a list ....?"

well spotted - forgot to attach the link!
http://www.kansascitymamas.com/goodre...

Not as..."
On a very brief first look, I was surprised that To Kill a Mockingbird was top. Also surprised to see that Little Women was 9th. That is obviously a woman's choice, I feel. Also surprised that Pride and Prejudice was 2nd, but Jane Eyre, 12th. Most surprised of all to see that Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment was last! Interesting list. Will look again.

Ian wrote: "Sonia wrote: "Plus ... Birdsong, Doctor Zhivagoand Wolf Hall"

Three more great ones - Dr Zhivago better read than watching the interminable film."
Loved the film, not so keen on the book.

Ian wrote: "all I remember was bleak snow and not much action. OK in the book but not the film. I still keep a reading diary and star rate the books and pursue my annual challenge of a different author for eac..."
Who are you having for X?

Carol wrote: "Ian wrote: "all I remember was bleak snow and not much action. OK in the book but not the film. I still keep a reading diary and star rate the books and pursue my annual challenge of a different au..."

you trying to catch me out? surprising when you dig deep - this year was John Xero- This is the New Plan (not a good choice); last year Xialong QiuA Loyal Character Dancer - he's chinese so not strictly sure whether it is an X or a Q - great series of detective stories (which I am not usually a fan of) but a bit like Inspector Morse, and lots about change in Chinese society; and how about Sulayman X, a disturbing book called Bilal's Bread: A Novel(that one made me cry - the child protection social worker in me coming out).

might be a little license in my choice of X but, after 10 years of doing this its getting tough to find new authors for X and Q

anyone else with a quirky reading habit?

Great to see these titles on the list:The Grapes of Wrath, The Kite Runner,One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Time Traveler's Wife.My favourite Jane Austen novel isPersuasion. Would also like to see Vikram Seth Damon Galgut and Haruki Murakami given a mention.

Angela wrote: "Great to see these titles on the list:The Grapes of Wrath, The Kite Runner,One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Time Traveler's Wife.My favo..."

Damon Galgut's In a Strange Roomis a great book. Forgot I'd read that until you added it. good choice

Ian wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ian wrote: "all I remember was bleak snow and not much action. OK in the book but not the film. I still keep a reading diary and star rate the books and pursue my annual challenge of ..."
Husband suggested Malcolm X.

Ian wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ian wrote: "all I remember was bleak snow and not much action. OK in the book but not the film. I still keep a reading diary and star rate the books and pursue my annual challenge of ..."
Even after all these years I remember Little Women made me cry. It was so sad.

Carol wrote: "Ian wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ian wrote: "all I remember was bleak snow and not much action. OK in the book but not the film. I still keep a reading diary and star rate the books and pursue my annual c..."

there's an idea for a new thread - "books that made me cry" - I'm on it

It's that time when lists of top books of the year are published. I really like this one though. One of my favourite books was the first in Elena Ferrantes Neapolitan series. Have you read any? What have your top reads been?

http://www.nytimes.com/…/boo…/review/...

In the paper (I) today there was a list of the 50 best coming of age books. Can you find a link Ian? Thought you might be interested!

Sue wrote: "In the paper (I) today there was a list of the 50 best coming of age books. Can you find a link Ian? Thought you might be interested!"

I would be but cant find a link, sue - is that the Independent?

Independent lite (and cheap). Its to do with the Bath literary festival (which is excellent btw). I can type them out if you can't find a link.

Sue wrote: "Independent lite (and cheap). Its to do with the Bath literary festival (which is excellent btw). I can type them out if you can't find a link."

Sorry - cant find it. Up to you if you want to go to the trouble of typing up but always interesting to see these lists

Ok. It looks like there is going to be a debete at the Bath literary festival on the best coming of age novel. The "loose criteria" was that the books have to address the experience of going from childhood to adulthood and ideally be something discovered by readers at a similar stage of life.

The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee
How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. Julia Alvarez
Great Expectations. Charles Dickens
Little Women. Louisa May Alcott
Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë
David Copperfield. Charles Dickens
The Bell Jar. Sylvia Plath
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain
Atonement Ian McEwan
Vernon God Little. D.B.C. Pierre
The Secret History. Donna Tartt
Cider With Rosie Laurie Lee
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Jeanette Winterson
Ham on Rye. Charles Bukowski
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Michael Chabon
The Liars' Club. Mary Karr
Norwegian Wood Haruki Murakami
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Junot Díaz
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Mark Haddon
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. James Joyce
All the Pretty Horses. Cormac McCarthy Jeffrey Eugenides
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya Angelou
Never Let Me Go. Kazuo Ishiguro
The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton
Lord of the Flies. William Golding
The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins
Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone. J K Rowling
The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini
The Magic Toyshop. Angela Carter
The Mill on the Floss. George Eliot
Decline and Fall. Evelyn Waugh
The Pursuit of Love. Nancy Mitford
Brother of the More Famous Jack. Barbara Trapido
How Should a Person Be?. Sheila Heti
Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang. Joyce Carol Oates
A Gate at the Stairs. Lorrie Moore
We Need New Names. NoViolet Bulawayo
Prep. Curtis Sittenfeld
The Night Circus. Erin Morgenstern
Swamplandia!. Karen Russell
Animals Emma Jane Unsworth
The Gracekeepers. Kirsty Logan
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Judy Blume
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Betty Smith
The Member of the Wedding. Carson McCullers
Black Swan Green. David Mitchell
What Katy Did. Susan Coolidge as Sarah Chauncey Woolsey

Sue wrote: "Ok. It looks like there is going to be a debete at the Bath literary festival on the best coming of age novel. The "loose criteria" was that the books have to address the experience of going from c..."

Wow - thank you for taking all that trouble Sue - must have taken you ages to put all those links in. I'll have a proper look tomorrow

I am a sucker for lists - here is one that I saw on Twitter earlier http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/...

Interested in your views

Ulysses at No1 - may be controversial but, NO! - not for me - gave up at page 330 (and I don't often do that)

Ian wrote: "I am a sucker for lists - here is one that I saw on Twitter earlier http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/...

Interested in your views

Ulysses at No1 - may be controversial but, NO! -..."

Interesting choices, yet again proving that our preferences are highly subjective! (Though I haven't read Ulysses so I can't comment on that.) Personally, I have to dispute the presence of Sons and Lovers : I studied it at school and I'm afraid have never understood its appeal.

Hi Ian, The alternative list is very odd - 4 titles by Ayn Rand in the top 10, I think?! I was curious and checked a bit more: turns out that these 'readers' are participants on a 6 week Publishing Course that used to be at Radcliffe, and is now at Columbia Uni (tho' Oxford now also hosts a UK option of the course). Maybe they only consider the books from the p.o.v. of what will sell well?

Hi Kathy, I quite like Sons & Lovers, but 'yes' would not put it in front of Women in Love or The Rainbow. The list is also very American author based, and also rather extreme, maybe ... ?? But then I have not read that many of the 'Great' American Authors ... well, not male authors.

Hi Carole. Yes, the lists are biased towards American writers but I suppose it is an American site! I have read some of them and particularly enjoyed The Great Gatsby and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Brideshead Revisited would be high on my list too. But it was the omissions which intrigued me. They have included The Golden Bowl for example but not The Portrait of a Lady which I much prefer. No Thomas Hardy as far as I could see and, dare I say it Ian, no Jane Austen... ;)

Kathy wrote: "Hi Carole. Yes, the lists are biased towards American writers but I suppose it is an American site! I have read some of them and particularly enjoyed The Great Gatsby and [book:The Hear..."
Hi Kathy, I'd agree with your other US titles, but I was surprised to see at least two Theodore Dreisers. But, when I read the info about the Group, I realised it was US-based, so I suppose that's reasonable (must go back and look again: are there any Cormac McCarthy's there? - I love his work).
NB With regard to Hardy and Austen, and possibly James (though my dates are not good on him .. ) I think I remember seeing - somewhere - that the list was only books since 1900.
I think I've only just seen this list, I've got lots that I've collected - no idea why - I must post, next time I come across one.
How is your writing going? I still have not got back into the habit of checking in here, so I don't know if you are working on something currently. If so, I hope all is smooth and productive.

Ah, silly me - must pay more attention. I saw Henry James and assumed the nineteenth century was included. I see the Golden Bowl was published in 1904! The portrait of a Lady was 1881.

Thank you for asking about the writing. Yes, I'm doing the final editing of the next novel which I'm hoping to release in the summer. It's both exciting and nerve-racking. 'Smooth and productive' doesn't sound like a phrase I'd use to describe my process though. :) What about you? You had a project in hand the last time we discussed it.

Kathy wrote: "Ah, silly me - must pay more attention. I saw Henry James and assumed the nineteenth century was included. I see the Golden Bowl was published in 1904! The portrait of a Lady was 1881.

Thank you f..."
Yes, I checked the James after I'd posted to you, and although I didn't go back to check my vague 1900 memory, the GP was 20th and P of a L was 19th.
Excellent news about the new novel: keep on enjoying and working - it is the best, especially when it's going well!
I do identify with the simultaneous 'exciting and nerve-racking' although not with my current work. In fact, I seem to have been seriously off-course all year: I got back into design and sewing in a big way (my teenage passion). I do keep writing little pieces, but I'm only just fighting my way back into the research I was doing for a biography: I'm still not convinced I want to do it, but it's growing on me.

DrMama wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Ah, silly me - must pay more attention. I saw Henry James and assumed the nineteenth century was included. I see the Golden Bowl was published in 1904! The portrait of a Lady was 1881..."

I recollect you talking about writing something in the crime genre, Carole. Have you abandoned that for now?
What kind of design and sewing do you do? I used to do a lot of applique and quilting and loved it. Sadly haven't found the time in recent years.

Gosh, yes! I had almost forgotten the 'Crime Novel'. See ... this just shows what flibbertigibbet I am. The novel is progressing, but slowly. It's just over a year since I had the idea: the 1st chapter began as a story I read to my writing group, and they thought it could be extended. I saw an advert for the Crime Writers' 'Debut Dagger' competition, where they wanted 1st chapter and a synopsis, and with that as the spur I did write much of the synopsis. However, I soon realised I had to learn far more about police procedure and forensics, so I've been doing that, on and off, since.
My 'craft skills' resurfaced because a friend is so keen on knitting crochet and weaving, that I picked up k & c again, but also - somehow - reawakened my general 'fashion-textile-colour' obsession. My New Year's resolution was 'I will not buy any new clothes', but I am allowed to make them - so that's what I've been doing.
So, this is partly the explanation for no crime novel, as yet, but as I was really supposed to be writing/researching a WWI based biog, I'm now back to that, and have no idea when any more fiction will be written: especially as the craft work (and walking, etc) is such lovely relaxation after the research.

I wouldn't call you a flibbertigibbert, Carole, though it is a great word. You just seem incredibly - and rewardingly - busy! It sounds like you are enjoying both the writing and the craft which is the main thing. Look forward to hearing more of the WW1 biog as and when.

Veronika Decides to Die
The Alchemist
Egipcjanin Sinuhe, tom 1
Egipcjanin Sinuhe, tom 2
A Stranger In The Mirror
Tuesdays with Morrie

Delband wrote: "Veronika Decides to Die
The Alchemist
Egipcjanin Sinuhe, tom 1
Egipcjanin Sinuhe, tom 2
A Stranger In The Mirror
[book:Tuesdays wi..."

Thank you Delband - I assume they are some of your favourite books?

I've only read 12 of them but have another 5 of those listed on my bookshelf. I really need to get hold of Mockingjay too so I can complete the Hunger Games series!

Jo wrote: "I've only read 12 of them but have another 5 of those listed on my bookshelf. I really need to get hold of Mockingjay too so I can complete the Hunger Games series!"

Love it when someone reignites a thread that has gone quiet. Thanks Jo. So, the obvious question is - do you have a standout favourite form the 12 you have read?

The Book Thief would have to be my favourite, I have a massive interest in anything WW2 related and this book converted me to the world of historical fiction (I only read non fiction previously). That move led me to reading other fiction as well and now I'll read pretty much anything! So not only was the content of the book amazing, but it's completely expanded my reading horizons.

Also pleased to say I picked up Mockingjay for 50p at a book store in Uxbridge the other day so i can finally complete the series. Someone looking down on me must have read my post!

Jo wrote: "The Book Thief would have to be my favourite, I have a massive interest in anything WW2 related and this book converted me to the world of historical fiction (I only read non fiction previously). T..."

Great post - not just because the book is fantastic (which I agree it is) but because I love to hear about how people change their reading habits and give us insight into their book lives - thank you