tbr-reading-challenge discussion

As I approach my goal of 50 in 2009, I figure I should compile my first TBR post of the year. So, my first six... which will hopefully take me less than six months:

1. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
2. Gilligan's Wake - Tom Carson
3. Pop Apocalypse - Lee Konstantinou
4. The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd
5. Life Before Man - Margaret Atwood
6. The Innocents Abroad - Mark Twain

In my updates, I'll include any diversions from my list... because, really, if I'm getting one of my many books read, I'm happy for it.

Best of luck!

Thank you!

Just finished The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman. Started this book before the new year... on to my TBR list! Looks like Life Before Man will be first.

I'll be looking forward to your opinion of Life Before Man. I've only read a few of Atwood's books, but I really like her style. Never heard of that one, though.

Simultaneously working on Catch-22... Partly because I have the attention span of a hyperactive 10-year-old and partly because I left the Atwood book at work over the long weekend. Whoops!

Finished Life Before Man. I gave it 3 stars. Would have given 3.5 if I had the choice. If I didn't know the author, I'd say it was a good book. Held up against Atwood's other work, though, I don't think it's quite as strong. It's a pretty good character study, though a bit of a downer.

Still reading Catch-22, but also reading The Innocents Abroad. Surprised by the latter... I'm enjoying it more than other Twain I've read.

Finished The Innocents Abroad about a week ago. I enjoyed it much more than I expected! It's an interesting look into travels a century and a half ago, and it's full of the notorious, often scathing Twain wit.

Finished The Mermaid Chair. It went quickly. I didn't like it as much as I expected to. To elaborate would mean spoilers. If you don't mind said spoilers, check out my review of it.

Finished All the Queen's Men... wasn't on my TBR list, but I was reading it at the gym.

Almost done with Catch-22... posting of my success should come soon...

Catch-22 finished! Whew.

Slight detour: just finished Bored of the Rings. I needed something with a little less real-seeming action and blood. I finished Catch-22 and watched Reservoir Dogs in the same weekend, and it got to me, guh. Pop Apocolypse next.

You'll have to tell me about Pop Apocalypse, it looks insane. :D

Finished Pop Apocalypse last night. Review later, when I am not so tired. :)

8)

Finished Gilligan's Wake! This also means I've finished my first TBR challenge. :):):)

A couple of reviews, first of Gilligan's Wake. This book was amazing. I gave it 5 stars, and would have given it 6 if I could. To properly enjoy it, you must enjoy postmodernism and be amused by wordplay. If you meet those requirements, you're in for the trip of a lifetime. The story takes the main characters of Gilligan's Island - in the order from the theme song - and provides them with back stories of their own, rife with cameos from prominent 20th century figures, real and imaginary alike. Tough it out through the first, short chapter. The rest of the book is worth the confusion of the first few pages.

Finally, I need to review Pop Apocalypse, belatedly. This book was an action-packed romp through a frighteningly possible world. It takes place in a near-future, wherein the media has become omnipresent, and people themselves have become commodities. (For example, there is a Reputations Exchange, where one's value is traded like stocks.) I won't give away much of the plot, but I must add that the main character has a doppelganger. An evil doppelganger. Hey, if the book sleeve is allowed to tell you that, then I am. It's worth a read, and not just because I know the author.