The 50 Book Challenge 2009

mirra · Post by **mirra** » 30 Apr 2009 04:44

1. Septuagenarian Stew by Charles Bukowski
2. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
3. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski
4. South Of No North by Charles Bukowski
5. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski
6. Notes Of A Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
7. Book Of Dreams by Jack Kerouac
8. Selected Poems by Malcolm Lowry
9. Love Is A Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski
10. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
11. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
12. June 30, June 30 by Richard Brautigan
13. The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. Collection Of Poems by Richard Brautigan
15. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan
16. Siddharta by Herman Hesse
17. Peter Camenzind by Herman Hesse
18. Vanity Of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac

Rishell · Post by **Rishell** » 30 Apr 2009 17:40

1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 498 pages
2. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer 563 pages
3. Go Ask Alice Anonymous 228 pages
4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 328 pages
5. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk 293 pages
6. Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik 218 pages
7. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey 430 pages
8. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews 411 pages
9. Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews 439 pages
10. If There be Thorns by V.C. Andrews 374 pages
11. Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews 376 pages
12. Seeds of Yesterday by V.C. Andrews 408 pages
13. My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews 403 pages

daLai · Post by **daLai** » 01 May 2009 04:25

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le CarrÃ© - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
13. George Orwell - 1984 254p.
14. George Orwell - Animal Farm 128p.

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 01 May 2009 20:15

B_Man wrote:Next by Michael Crichton (415 pages)
Knights of Dark Renown by David Gemmell (310 pages)
Wolf in Shadow by David Gemmell (326 pages)

Averaging about 1 a month, though last year I must have read atleast 20.

Watchers by Dean Koontz (483)
Dreamcatchers by Stephen King (879)
Phantoms by Dean Koontz (425)

Currently reading It by Stephen King. I'm only 1/3 the way through, but it's really good.

Cod · Post by **Cod** » 03 May 2009 17:45

Byrin, could you write something about this three books you have read lately? I especially want to know if the King's one was good.

I've just finished another book (it's 3:39 am here, hehe).

1. Duma Key, Stephen King, 638pgs
2. The Death List, Paul Johnston, 416pgs
3. L'empire Des Loups, Jean-Christophe Grange, 464pgs
4. La Sombra del Viento, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 516pgs
5. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 222pgs
6. Dearly Devoted Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 207pgs
7. Thinner, Richard Bachman (Stephen King), 405pgs
8. Diary, Chuck Palahniuk, 281pgs
9. BÅ‚Ä™dy (Mistakes), Jakub MaÅ‚ecki, 295pgs
10. Zakazane po legalu, Dorota SzczepaÅ„ska, 270pgs
11. The Vision, Dean R. Koontz, 232pgs

I'm still not a big fan of this author. It was the third book I read from him. It wasn't excellent but it wasn't bad neither. The ending was a little bit surprising so I'm not dissapointed that I read it

.

mtoolan · Post by **mtoolan** » 04 May 2009 11:56

1. Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krupp
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
5. Rebel Giants by David R. Contosta
6. Oracle Night by Paul Auster
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster
9. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
10. A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
11. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead is my new favorite book of all time; I'm about to embark on Atlas Shrugged.

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 05 May 2009 20:04

Cod wrote:Byrin, could you write something about this three books you have read lately? I especially want to know if the King's one was good.

Watchers is all about an incredibly intelligent dog and a ruthless genetically altered killing machine interconnected by some mysterious "sixth sense". It's a suspenseful book, and Dean Koontz begins by jumping right into it. Very good.

Phantoms is a horror / suspense book all about a shapeshifting entity that kills an entire town, and traps a handful of cops and civilians together within the haunted community. Much like Watchers, Dean Koontz starts the story (and suspence) immediately. If I had to choose between Phantoms or Watchers, I'd recommend Phantoms.

Dreamcatchers was an incredibly good story regarding alien life coming to Earth. Four best friends, who've been chosen unknowingly in their childhood, are unique and they alone have the ability to find the secrets of this alien race, and keep them from conquering. Stephen King has an incredible talent of making his characters come to life - you would swear that by the time you've read this book you'd have personally known them. His sense of humour is uplifting and refreshing (I got the phrase "one cheek sneek" from this book

), while his ability to carry the plot through-out 800 pages is outstanding. Sometimes it seems like he overkills in his detail, but that is only minor.

Michal, if I'd recommend one of the three, I'd go with Dreamcatchers but I'd also urge you to check out Dean Koontz as well. Both authers are incredibly talented. I'd also recommend reading David Gemmell if you like heroic fantasy (more heroism than fantasy in most of his books), as he is, for me atleast, by far the best auther I've divulged in. His Troy trilogy is incredible.

mirra · Post by **mirra** » 06 May 2009 03:20

1. Septuagenarian Stew by Charles Bukowski
2. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
3. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski
4. South Of No North by Charles Bukowski
5. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski
6. Notes Of A Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
7. Book Of Dreams by Jack Kerouac
8. Selected Poems by Malcolm Lowry
9. Love Is A Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski
10. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
11. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
12. June 30, June 30 by Richard Brautigan
13. The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. Collection Of Poems by Richard Brautigan
15. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan
16. Siddharta by Herman Hesse
17. Peter Camenzind by Herman Hesse
18. Vanity Of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac
19. Poems from the classic Persia by Various Poets

Cod · Post by **Cod** » 06 May 2009 06:27

Thanks, Byrin!

daLai · Post by **daLai** » 07 May 2009 10:23

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le CarrÃ© - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
13. George Orwell - 1984 254p.
14. George Orwell - Animal Farm 128p.
15. Charles Hucker - China's Imperial Past 560p.
16. Thornton Wilder - The Bridge of San Luis Rey 124p.

mtoolan · Post by **mtoolan** » 08 May 2009 10:47

1. Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krupp
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
5. Rebel Giants by David R. Contosta
6. Oracle Night by Paul Auster
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster
9. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
10. A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
11. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
12. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 10 May 2009 20:47

Great book

. I'm just posting because I want to be involved

My current book is taking sooooo long. I smashed nearly 200 pages last night, and you can barely tell that I read anything. I passed the 800 page mark though, which is good since I'm nearly two thirds of the way through now

Interesting comments re; Fountainhead. I may read that soon, although I'm not sure I'm up for another tome yet. I feel like I should read at least one Ayn Rand book at some point in my life, although she has a terrible reputation amongst some circles and I copped a hammering from some of my friends when I bought the book. I've only ever read about Rand though (and played Bioshock

), never any of her work, so I remain somewhat open minded.

daLai · Post by **daLai** » 11 May 2009 09:31

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le CarrÃ© - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
13. George Orwell - 1984 254p.
14. George Orwell - Animal Farm 128p.
15. Charles Hucker - China's Imperial Past 560p.
16. Thornton Wilder - The Bridge of San Luis Rey 124p.
17. Thomas Pynchon - The Crying Of Lot 49 127p.

dp · Post by dp » 11 May 2009 09:35

1. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells 140pg
2. Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut 318pg
3. Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons by Kurt Vonnegut 288pg
4. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut 298pg

I'm rereading a large portion of my Kurt Vonnegut collection. Currently reading Timequake by Vonnegut.

I haven't been doing very good this year. I need to read more.

bigdirtyfoot · Post by **bigdirtyfoot** » 12 May 2009 18:39

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.
19. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 326 pg.
20. True Hallucinations, Terence McKenna, 237 pg.
21. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings, 290 pg.

Wasn't really captivated by this one. Anyone got any fantasy genre suggestions? Or anything else by Eddings? I enjoyed his writing, just wasn't blown away by the plot. You can find my full review here.

chris- · Post by **chris-** » 15 May 2009 11:20

wohoo finally I can post here.

1. mr nice, howard marks, 464 pg.

great book about a great guy, only the many names in the book are a lil bit confusing. But yeah he is the nicest dopesmuggler of all time.

daLai · Post by **daLai** » 17 May 2009 09:17

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le CarrÃ© - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
13. George Orwell - 1984 254p.
14. George Orwell - Animal Farm 128p.
15. Charles Hucker - China's Imperial Past 560p.
16. Thornton Wilder - The Bridge of San Luis Rey 124p.
17. Thomas Pynchon - The Crying Of Lot 49 127p.
18. Kingsley Amis - Lucky Jim 251p.

h0ag3yb3atZ · Post by **h0ag3yb3atZ** » 17 May 2009 17:50

Been meaning to post this for awhile even though I've definitely slowed down on my reading since the years start.

1. Arthur Miller-The Crucible
2.Khaled Hosseini-The Kite Runner
3. Carlos Castaneda-The Teachings Of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way Of Life
4. Johnathon Pinchbeck-2012: The Return Of Quetzalcoatl
5. John Steinbeck-Of Mice And Men
6. Carlos Castaneda-A Separate Reality
6. Arthur Miller-Death Of A Salesman

I'm most likely going to finish "Watchmen" tonight and I'm working on a 500 page gangster book "Public Enemies".

mirra · Post by **mirra** » 18 May 2009 02:21

1. Septuagenarian Stew by Charles Bukowski
2. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
3. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski
4. South Of No North by Charles Bukowski
5. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski
6. Notes Of A Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
7. Book Of Dreams by Jack Kerouac
8. Selected Poems by Malcolm Lowry
9. Love Is A Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski
10. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
11. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
12. June 30, June 30 by Richard Brautigan
13. The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. Collection Of Poems by Richard Brautigan
15. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan
16. Siddharta by Herman Hesse
17. Peter Camenzind by Herman Hesse
18. Vanity Of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac
19. Poems from the classic Persia by Various Poets
20. A Seperate Reality by Carlos Castaneda

Mindbreaking stuff. Carlos Castanedas second attempt to understand and feel the philosophy of Don Juan, a peyote indian from Mexico. Puuuh..

bigdirtyfoot · Post by **bigdirtyfoot** » 18 May 2009 21:17

mirra: You *must* read Journey to Ixtlan if you've gotten this far in Castaneda's series. In my opinion Ixtlan is the best of all of his books. Glad you enjoyed A Separate Reality - for some reason I wasn't that into it but I'm sure I'll be giving the series another read sometime in the future, so who knows?