What Are Your Favourite Books?

I have been a little lax in reading books from my list over the past thirteen or twelve months.  When I tried to get back in the swing of things, I remembered why that was the case.  I simply can't find some of these titles.  Whilst I expected some difficulty finding a few, I had no idea so many of them would hard for me to get.  I have tried interlibrary loan, several times, skimmed stacks of garage sale books, and called everyone I know who owns a book on the off chance someone had a copy down the back of the sofa.
Buying books is not an option for me right now, so I have decided I must replace some of the titles from my original list.  I am going to start with ten, but that number may go as high as thirty.  So I am asking you all for your recommendations, any genre welcome.

Help me Obi-Wan, you are my only hope.

Darlene's Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Hi, everyone!

I am on the board! I just completed the 1st book on my list. I know, I know...not much to cheer about but I'm happy to stroke just one off the list :)

Here is the link to my review of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.com/2012/03/audiobook-review-outlander-by-diana.html.

Palladian by Elizabeth Taylor

Cassandra Dashwood, at the age of eighteen is quiet, bookish and, dare I say, a little dull. And, after her father’s recent death, she is alone in the world.

Fortunately Mrs. Turner, her former headmistress, takes an interest in Cassandra, and finds her a post: Marion Vanbrugh is a widower with a young daughter, Sophy, and he needs a governess.

It was so, so easy for Cassandra to cast herself and Jane Eyre and Marion as Mr Rochester.But reality would prove to be a little different.

Marion was as quiet, bookish and dull as Cassandra. And he was weighed down by his family; an elderly aunt, who kept house quite ineffectually; a cousin, pregnant by her lover, not her husband; another cousin, who was charming but quite directionless; and Violet, his wife who had died but still had a presence.

And they all lived together, their lives stagnating in a crumbling mansion.

It was fortunate that Sophy was charming, and that her father took a great interest in his daughter and her governess …

This is a story with echoes of other authors: Jane Austen in the heroine’s name, and in more besides; Charlotte Bronte in the heroine’s position; Ivy Compton-Burnett in some of the dialogue and relationships; Daphne Du Maurier in the presence, and untold story, of Marion’s wife; Molly Keane in the crumbling mansion; Thomas Hardy in some of the darker moments; and maybe even more that have passed me by when I was caught up …

Not a satire, not a pastiche, but something rather different, and rather more interesting. Something I can’t quite explain.

A dark tale, but the darkness is offset by wry humor and dry wit.

Events unfold slowly, but every sentence brings a new insight, or a new development. There are small, subtle changes, and there is one sudden, tragic, utterly real event that will change everything.

Everything is driven by the characters; characters I found difficult to like, but they were pinpointed so accurately that I was always fascinated. Because I understood their situations, their inner lives, their motivations, and what made each of them unique.

And there is a nicely drawn love song threaded through. Though there will not be happy endings for all …

Palladian is a strangely intriguing novel – just as good as I had hoped but not at all what I had expected.

The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola

The Ladies’ Paradise was one of those books I meant to read, expected to love, but never quite got to for a long, long time. But now I have, and the verdict is flawed but fabulous.

Let me explain.

The story begins with twenty year-old Denise Baudu and her two young brothers arriving in Paris from the country. Denise has done her best for her brothers since their parents died, but she was struggling, and so she came to Paris to take up the offer of help and support that her uncle had offered.

I was immediately pulled in by the storytelling, and I worried that maybe that offer was the kind you make but expect never to be taken up. And indeed it was. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help but he was struggling, his small shop losing business to the expanding department store across the street: The Ladies’ Paradise.

And that presented Denise with a problem: she had to work, but the only work available was at The Ladies’ Paradise. The establishment hated and resented by her uncle and his neighbours.

She understood their feelings, but she had to work, and she was drawn to dazzling emporium. Denise secured a job. And she stepped into The Ladies’ Paradise.

There is so much to say about The Ladies’ Paradise.

It is an almost magical emporium, a huge department store that grew from a small draper’s shop, packed full of seductive colours, fabrics, clothes, furnishing, and so much more. The descriptions are rich, detailed, and utterly captivating.

It draws in the ladies of Paris very cleverly, with carefully planned layouts, seasonal sales, attentive service, such well thought out, modern marketing. So much modernity, but behind the scenes it was rather different. For the staff it was not so very different from life in service in a big house. They lived in dormitories, ate in a canteen, had little time of their own, and had to work, work, work to secure the commission they so desperately needed and to hold on to their jobs.

Denise struggled at first, and she was easy prey for ambitious, ruthless salesgirls. But she knew she had to support her family, she held on to her principles, and, though there were many setbacks, in time she would rise through the ranks.

And Denise caught the eye of Octave Mouret: the creator, the owner of The Ladies’ Paradise. A man who knows how to seduce women, in his private life and in his wonderous emporium. But Denise is the woman who will not be seduced. And of course, that makes her all the more fascinating …

The Ladies’ Paradise held me from start to finish. With wonderful, readable storytelling. With rich descriptions, and so, so many details. And with some quite extraordinary set-pieces.

I’m afraid that the characters didn’t quite live up to all of that. The leads were a little too predictable, a little too straightforward, and the supporting cast a little too one-dimensional. And the view of human nature was a little bleak. So many thoughtless, selfish people.

But I loved watching the social changes that the department store was bringing, and I was captivated by the nicely predictable love story.

And now I am wondering which of Zola’s works to read next.

Any suggestions?

Shelly's Updates

I liked seeing the updates of other readers here recently. I'm about a third of the way into the 54th title from my list. I seem to go in spurts, but I'm moving ahead nonetheless.

The last three books I finished were Crime and Punishment, The Truth About Jesus, and Crimes of the Heart. The one I'm working on now (#54 of 100) is Tarzan of the Apes. I just posted an entry at my main blog with some ramblings on (not reviews of) those titles.

J.C.'s Update

I was inspired by Moonrat's post to take a moment and post about what's been going on with this challenge. (Thanks Moonrat!)

So far I've only read 13 books. Kinda pathetic, but I'm hoping to catch up a bit this year.

I've read 4 since the last update and they are:

010. Capote, Truman -- Breakfast at Tiffany’s
011. Atwood, Margaret -- The Handmaid’s Tale
012. Gaiman, Neil -- The Graveyard Book
013. Hemingway, Ernest -- The Old Man and the Sea

My favorite of the lot was The Graveyard Book. The surprise was Breakfast at Tiffany's. Classic case of seeing the movie first and then reading the book, which was very different. Still a great read.

This year, my goal is to read at least 10 from my list. The ones I'm looking forward to most are:

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Hope all is going well with everyone else. Happy Reading!

Moonrat's update

Hi, folks! I haven't posted an update in a long time, but I'm still working pretty hard on my list.

I realize I have read the following since I last posted:

East of Eden, John Steinbeck
The Farming of Bones, Edwidge Danticat
The Known World, Michael Chabon
Werewolves in Their Youth, Michael Chabon

I've also read significant portions of David Copperfield and Moby Dick, but these are both titles I am working through slowly when I'm in the right mood.

I've also started trying to read a lot of classic crime fiction. It's a second (and less well-structured) reading project. Anyway--if you're a crime fiction reader, let me know some of your favorites. I'm very curious.