Reading Challenge #2

I've decided to take up on another challenge - the A to Z challenge. Basically I compiled a list of 26 books according to the author surname (there were some exceptions) and I plan on reading them during this year. I only own 8 of them, so I'll be doing some book buying as the year progresses. Here's my list (I still haven't found a book for "X"):

A- Asher, Jay - Thirteen Reasons Why
B- Bray, Libba - A Great and Terrible Beauty
C- Clare, Cassandra - City of Bones
D- Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers
E- Ellroy, James - LA Confidential
F- Flaubert, Gustave - Madame Bovary
G- Grant, Michael - Gone
H- Haddon, Mark - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
I- Ishiguro, Kazuo - Never Let Me Go
J- John Green - Looking for Alaska
K- Keplinger, Kody - The DUFF
L- Larsson, Stieg - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
M- Murakami, Haruki - 1Q84 vol. III
N- Ness, Patrick - Knife of Never Letting Go
O- Orwell, George - 1984
P- Perkins, Stephanie - Anna and the French Kiss
Q- Queiroz, Eça - O Primo Basílio
R- Revis, Beth - Across the Universe
S- Stookett, Kathryn - The Help
T- Tolkien, J R R - The Hobbit
U- Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
V- Veronica Roth - Insurgent
W- Westerfeld, Scott - Uglies
X-
Y- Young, Moira - Blood Red Road
Z- Zuzak, Markus - The Book Thief

I'll try to review as many of these books as possible.

Reading Challange # 1

I've never done a reading challenge before but I thought that 2013 would be a great year to start doing something different and to set some goals.

I've realized that I have a lot of books sitting on my bookshelves waiting for me to pick them up and so I've decided (to try) to read most of them this year. The purpose of this challenge is to knock down the pile of books that I've been accumulating over the years and that I haven't read until now; I won't be considering the books that I buy during 2013 because I know that I'll read them as soon as a get them.
So far I have 31 books that I haven't read and what I'll be trying to do is read, at least, two of them per month (24 by the end of the year).

This is the list of books that are currently on my bookshelves that I haven't read:

• 1984, George Orwell
• 1Q84 (third volume), Haruki Murakami
• The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
• El Palacio de la Medianoche, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• The Hobbit, J R R Tolkien
• O Primo Basílio, Eça de Queiroz
• A Capital, Eça de Queiroz
• Contos, Eça de Queiroz
• O Mistério da Estrada de Sintra, Eça de Queiroz
• A Ilustre Casa de Ramires, Eça de Queiroz
• O Crime do Padre Amaro, Eça de Queiroz
• Alvez & Cia, O Mandarim, O Conde de Abranhos, Eça de Queiroz
• A Tragédia da Rua das Flores, Eça de Queiroz
• A Relíquia, Eça de Queiroz
• A Woman of Thirty, Honoré Balzac
• The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
• The Bonfire of Vanities, Tom Wolfe
• LA Confidential, James Ellroy
• The Godfather, Mario Puzo
• The Constant Gardener, John Le Carré
• The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
• Uma Família Inglesa, Julio Dinis
• Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
• Antes Morrer que Matar, James Hadley Chase
• Tropic of Capricorn, Henry Miller
• Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
• Giant's Bread, Mary Westmacott
• Sons and Lovers, D H Lawrence
• Charlie Wilson's War, George Crile
• La Méchanique du Coeur,  Mathias Malzieu
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

I apologize for the portuguese names but so far I haven't found a translation.

Each month I'll post my progress and I'll try to review as many of this books as possible.

I got the idea for this challenge at The Deliberate reader: http://deliberatereader.com/

Read in December

This book had two novels by Agatha Christie: Sad Cypress and Poirot's Early Cases

Death Note - Vol. 1 - 3

I’ve only read the first three volumes of this series and so far I’m really enjoying it!

At first this might come across as a simple story, that’s just there to entertain us but I think it’s more than that. Light (the main character) is intriguing, complex, incredibly smart and has a very particular sense of justice; his idea of creating his own utopia is something that I had never seen on another story.  Even L – just as smart and intriguing as Light – is a really captivating character, especially given his quirks and how he analyses facts.

Of course this series raises some moral questions – what’s right or wrong, the implications of having the power to decide who gets to live or not, among others – but I believe that’s what makes the story a lot more rich and captivating.

It’s incredibly addictive – as soon as I finished one, I would start the next one right away! I strongly recommend this series.

5 out of 5 stars

The Time Machine

This was the second time I tried to read this book and, fortunately, this time around I managed to finished it – actually I read it rather quickly. I’m not the biggest fan of sci-fi books but I thought I ought to read this one since it’s considered a classic within this genre.

I liked the first 20 pages of the book because the story seemed more dynamic at this point; there was more interaction between the characters and I liked how we were introduced to the concept of time travelling. However, I can’t say the same about the rest of the book; I didn’t enjoy the writing style – too descriptive -, it became a bit boring and difficult, at times, to keep a certain level of interest on the book.

Reading this book ended up feeling more like a duty; I didn’t enjoy it that much but I kept reading because it had been sitting on my bookshelf for years and I just wanted to read it so I could finally take it out of my to be read pile.

3 out of 5 stars

El Tiempo Mientras Tanto

I had never read anything from this author - actually, I had never heard of Carmen Amoraga - but when I was at the bookstore I decided to pick this up; it seemed like a light read.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book because I didn't expect t get so caught up on its story! The writing style is really simple, we are always dealing with the same small group of characters and it didn't dwell over details that didn't mater to the story.
What I also liked was the fact that it was focused on a character that actually didn't interact (at least directly) with the others throughout the story - she was on a vegetative state and at the verge of dying; what was really interesting about her story (Maria José) was how she had made such a great impact on other people's lives, even though she didn't seem like the type of person who would have such an ability.

4 out of 5 stars

Quote of the Week #7

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

 

 C.S. Lewis