50 Book Goal : Fourty-Nine!

Just one book away from the 50 book goal!

45) Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
46) Firmin by Sam Savage
47) The Book of Scandal by Julia London
48) The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee
49) Lady Most Likely by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway

Daily Quote : Madness

From Sam Savage's Firmin : Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife

And from them I learned a valuable lesson - that no matter how small you are, your madness can be as big as anyone's.

50 Book Goal : Fourty-Four

Have not updated in a while. Here's the latest read books.

36) The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn
37) Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn
38) The Duke & I by Julia Quinn
39) The Witch of Portabello by Paulo Coelho
40) On The Way To The Wedding by Julia Quinn
41) Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
42) An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn
43) The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett
44) How to Get Things Done by Ann Jackman

Lists : Julia Quinn Novels

I love lists, and I love working my way through a list. Here's a list of Julia Quinn novels (source http://juliaquinn.com/booklist.htm)

1)   [READ] Splendid ~ Alexander and Emma
2)   [READ] Dancing at Midnight ~ John and Arabella
3)   [READ] Minx ~ William and Henrietta
4)   [READ] Everything and the Moon ~ Robert and Victoria
5)   [READ] Brighter than the Sun ~ Charles and Eleanor  
6)   [READ] To Catch an Heiress ~ Blake and Caroline 
7)   [READ] How to Marry a Marquis ~ James and Elizabeth
8)   The Duke and I ~ Simon and Daphne
9)   [READ] The Viscount Who Loved Me ~ Anthony and Kate
10)  An Offer from a Gentleman ~ Benedict and Sophie
11)  [READ] Romancing Mr. Bridgerton ~ Colin and Penelope 
12)  [READ] To Sir Phillip, With Love ~ Phillip and Eloise
13)  [READ] When He Was Wicked ~ Michael and Francesca
14)  [READ] It's in His Kiss ~ Gareth and Hyacinth
15)  On the Way to the Wedding ~ Gregory and Lucinda 
16)  [READ] The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever ~ Turner and Miranda
17)  The Lost Duke of Wyndham ~ Jack and Grace 
18)  Mr. Cavendish, I Presume ~ Thomas and Amelia
19)  [READ] What Happens in London ~ Olivia and Harry
20)  [READ] Ten Things I Love About You ~ Sebastian and Annabel
21)  Just Like Heaven ~ Marcus and Honoria


Fifteen books read, and just six more to complete the list. I'm reading The Lost Duke of Wyndham at the moment.  

No 21, Just Like Heaven will be released soon at the end of May. Can't wait for it!

50 Book Goal : Thirty-Five

This list has no Julia Quinn in it. Fifteen more books to 50 books goal!


32) The Greatness Guide 2 by Robin Sharma
33) Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
34) Born To Run by Christopher McDougall
35) It Happened One Night by Various Authors  

Daily Quote : Skepticism and Amusement

From Christopher McDougall's Born To Run

The desert glare had scrunched his eyes into a permanent squint, leaving his face capable of only two expressions: skepticism and amusement. No matter what I said for the rest of the night, I could never tell if he thought I was hilarious or full of shit.

Daily Quote : A hundred sheep

From Terry Pratchett's Small Gods 

The shepherd had a hundred sheep, and it might have been surprising that he was prepared to spend days searching for one sheep; in fact, it was because he was the kind of man prepared to spend days looking for a lost sheep that he had a hundred sheep.

50 Book Goal : Thirty-One

Five more reads brings it up to 31 books so far. When I reach 50 books I'll revise the goal to a hundred!

27) Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn  
28) The Bronte Project by Jennifer Vandever
29) What I Talk When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
30) It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn 
31) The Viscount who Loved Me by Julia Quinn 

Daily Quote : Who You Are

From Robin Sharma's The Greatness Guide Book 2

How can you be who you are if you don't know who you are?

Daily Quote : Something Important

From Julia Quinn's It's In His Kiss

"I think something important is about to happen,' Hyacinth said with a sigh.

"Something important is always about to happen, my dear girl," Lady Danbury said. "And if not, you'd do well to act as if it were. You'll enjoy life better that way."

50 Book Goal : Twenty-Six

 I'm going to run out of Julia Quinn to read very soon. She's so addictive!

18) Some Girls : My Life in a Harem by Jillian Lauren
19) Dancing at Midnight by Julia Quinn 
20) Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn 
21) Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
22) Tales of Beedle The Bard by J K Rowling
23) How To Marry a Marquis by Julia Quinn 
24) When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn 
25) The Lover by Marguerite Duras
26) Romancing Mr Bridgerton by Julia Quinn  

Julia Quinn - Delighfully Funny Romances

Julia Quinn's regency romances are just like all romance novels - girls meets guy, some plot in between, and they end up happily ever after. But, unlike most romance novels, Julia Quinn's are bloody funny. I've laughed out loud countless times while reading her books.

Here's an excerpt  from Ten Things I Love About You

Annabel had heard the hearts-dropping-to-the-stomach expression before, and she'd said it, too, but this was the first time she actually understood it. Her entire body felt wrong, as if her heart was in her stomach and her lungs were in her ears, and her brain was somewhere east of France.

And here's a funny one-liner.

Any sane person would flee in such a situation, and probably half of the mad ones, as well.

I heart Julia Quinn!

50 Book Goal : Seventeen

I am going absolutely crazy over Julia Quinn. Her regency romances are so good (and funny).
I've never read her before this year, and now I've just finished a seventh book.

12) Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord
13) Life Coach by Pam Richardson
14) Minx by Julia Quinn
15) To Catch a Heiress by Julia Quinn
16) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
17) To Sir Philip, With Love by Julia Quinn

And.. I've got more of her books this weekend, so it's gonna be a Julia Quinn marathon for the next few months!

50 Book Goal : Eleven

Four more reads brings the number up to eleven book so far.
And I'm very obviously going through a Julia Quinn phase.

8) Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
9) Splendid by Julia Quinn
10) What Happens In London by Julia Quinn
11) Faust Eric by Terry Pratchett

Eviscerate

Excerpt from Julia Quinn's Brighter Than The Sun

That Ellie had gotten caught in the proverbial line of fire made him want to eviscerate someone.

e·vis·cer·ate

1. To remove the entrails of; disembowel.

2. To take away a vital or essential part of: a compromise that eviscerated the proposed bill.

3. Medicine

      a. To remove the contents of (an organ).

      b. To remove an organ, such as an eye, from (a patient) 

50 Book Goal : Seven

Finished 4 books during the holidays, bringing my 2011 read book count to 7.

4) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5) Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
6) Brighter Than The Sun by Julia Quinn
7) The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn

Unfortunately during that time I also bought about triple that number of books.

Buys : 1st Feb 2011

Today's buy @ Bookalicious

1) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman : RM 35.90
2) Brighter Than The Sun by Julia Quinn : RM 32.90
3) Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk : Buy2free1 promo (np:RM32.90)
4) Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
Great Buy RM 29.90 (np:RM39.90), box set with journal
5) Quick & Clever Handmade Cards by Julie Hickey
Great Buy RM 19.90 (np:RM79.90)

Hurrah!

January Reads

January has flown by and so far I've notched up 3 reads.

1. Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
2. The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams


1. Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter

Rating: 4/5
What's it about: This girl who's very into books (and runs a bookstore, too) thinks Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as the ultimate dream guy. She goes on a Jane Austen tour and meets the man Darcy. Swoon.
What I think of it: Love the style of writing, so witty and fast-paced. Lovely feel-good story. Even though the plot is obvious it doesn't make reading a bore as the story is beautifully written.
What next: Go read Pride and Prejudice. I have not (gasp!) read any Jane Austen book before. Also more books from Alexandra Potter, love her wit.
Should you read this: Its a girly book. If you're into romance and Jane Austen, pick this up!



2. The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad
Rating: 3/5
What's it about: Norwegian journalist Åsne lives with bookseller Khan's family in Kabul, Afghanistan for a bit, and writes about them. She writes about Khan's efforts for his beloved books (Taliban not being book-friendly and all that) and his family life, from points of view of various members. 
What I think of it: Interesting... Ok, actually I think it's all right but nothing great. Personally I don't like reading non-fiction about oppressed women of certain nations because it's annoys me that they can just take all that shit, have daughters and then dump the same kind of shit onto their daughters instead of doing something about it. Would have liked the book if it focused more on Khan and his book struggle, instead of the personal stuff. Interesting, yes, but I don't like books that sap your energy and leaves you angry. On the plus side its very informative about Afghanistan history.
What next: If I can get a copy of Shah Muhammad Rais (the real Khan)'s Once Upon a Time There Was a Bookseller in Kabul, which he wrote in response to this book. He was not pleased, of course. Dirty laundry and all that.
Should you read this: Yes, so you can form your own opinions about it. Its a good read.



3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Rating: 4.42/5
What's it about: Earth gets blasted to make way for some intergalactic highway, and Arthur Dent survives by (unwittingly) hitchhiking with this alien friend of his.
What I think of it: Awesome! It is categorized as comic science fiction, and it IS fantastically funny. Bit hard to read because you have to constantly keep flexing your mind to bend it around the awesome things the books throws at you, but it. is. awesome.
What next: The next four books in the series. Not all at one go, though.
Should you read this: If you're into fantasy books, then I'll be amazed if you haven't read this. Otherwise, give it a try, with a very, VERY open mind.

50 Book Challenge

I challenge myself to a 50 book read this year.
Wish me luck!