read 150 books in 2006

I only made it to 118 in 2006. Oh well! There’s always 2008!

I didn’t quite succeeded, but I enjoy having a goal and I’m trying again this year!

I only made it to 99 books in 2006 and stopped keeping track here in the 70s. I do have the complete list on my BC Profile. My less lofty goal for 2007 is 125 books. Congrats to all who pulled this one off!

and only 135 last year. No more trying for 150 a year for me.

Made it to 146 this year!

I finished this book today. Like the Thursday Next series, Jasper Fforde has again interwoven fiction with everyday life – in this case, nursery rhymes with police procedures – plus a dig at mystery fiction in general. I especially liked the newspaper reports at the beginnings of each chapter as well as the solemn way the familiar nursery stories were treated by the Nursery Crime Division.

My rating: 3/5 = good

finished 12-28-06

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4172115/

http://krin511.bookcrossing.com/journal/4693283

Description:

“On a windy spring day in the Chilterns, the calm, organized life of science writer Joe Rose is shattered when he witnesses a tragic accident: a hot-air balloon with a boy trapped in its basket is being tossed by the wind, and in the attempt to save the child, a man is killed. A stranger named Jed Parry joins Rose in helping to bring the balloon to safety. But unknown to Rose, something passes between Parry and himself on that day—something that gives birth to an obsession in Parry so powerful that it will test the limits of Rose’s beloved rationalism, threaten the love of his wife, Clarissa, and drive him to the brink of murder and madness. Brilliant and compassionate, this is a novel of love, faith, and suspense, and of how life can change in an instant.”

My thoughts:

It started a little slow, but as Parry’s obsession with Rose grew, the pace picked up nicely. I also found the psychological analysis of Parry’s condition interesting at the end. I’ll probably see the movie some day next year.

Date finished: 12/27/2006
My rating: 3* = good

ISBN-10: 0385494149
ISBN-13: 978-0385494144
Publisher: Anchor
No. of Pages: 272
Binding: Paperback

http://krin511.bookcrossing.com/journal/3363314

Description:

“From the inimitable Anne Tyler, a rich and compelling novel about a mismatched marriage—and its consequences, spanning three generations.

They seemed like the perfect couple—young, good-looking, made for each other. The moment Pauline, a stranger to the Polish Eastern Avenue neighborhood of Baltimore (though she lived only twenty minutes away), walked into his mother’s grocery store, Michael was smitten. And in the heat of World War II fervor, they are propelled into a hasty wedding. But they never should have married.

Pauline, impulsive, impractical, tumbles hit-or-miss through life; Michael, plodding, cautious, judgmental, proceeds deliberately. While other young marrieds, equally ignorant at the start, seemed to grow more seasoned, Pauline and Michael remain amateurs. In time their foolish quarrels take their toll. Even when they find themselves, almost thirty years later, loving, instant parents to a little grandson named Pagan, whom they rescue from Haight-Ashbury, they still cannot bridge their deep-rooted differences. Flighty Pauline clings to the notion that the rifts can always be patched. To the unyielding Michael, they become unbearable.

From the sound of the cash register in the old grocery to the counterculture jargon of the sixties, from the miniskirts to the multilayered apparel of later years, Anne Tyler captures the evocative nuances of everyday life during these decades with such telling precision that every page brings smiles of recognition. Throughout, as each of the competing voices bears witness, we are drawn ever more fully into the complex entanglements of family life in this wise, embracing, and deeply perceptive novel.”

My thoughts:

I found this to be a very moving book about family, behavior, emotions. No one was entirely right or wrong – just different from each other. I also liked the way Tyler referred to the various decades in subtle ways – bringing up the changes in fashion, music, the houses, phones, etc.

My rating: 3* = good

Date finished: 12/27/2006

ISBN-10: 0345472454
ISBN-13: 978-0345470614
Publisher: Ballantine Books (Reprint edition)
No. of pages: 352
Binding: Paperback

http://krin511.bookcrossing.com/journal/3579830

Description:

“His mother was a sorceress, and his master is a powerful magician. His home is a dark, wild island of enchantment, spells…and evil. He is Caliban. Is he human, spirit or demon? Who can say? All he knows is that he burns with a lust for revenge and his growing powers may soon make it possible. But even he cannot predict the nightmarish shape his vengeance will take…or the tempest of terror it will unleash. Includes five never-before-collected stories!”

A interesting collection of stories – a mix of horror, humor, and eroticism. It’s been a while since I read The Tempest, but Caliban’s view was intriguing. I also liked the stories “Bucky Goes to Church,” “Ridi Bobo,” and “Clap If You Believe.”

My rating: 3* = good