13) Read all the BBC Top 100 Reads

Well, it has taken me a while to do this (this was one of the original tasks I started over three years ago!) but finally today I have read the last page of A Suitable Boy and therefore completed reading all of the BBC Top 100 reads. It hasn't been an easy task. There have been some books that were personal favourites that took little to no time to complete, there were others that within the first chapters I found them tedious and incredibly difficult to complete and then there were others that complete took me by surprise, that I wouldn't have thought that I would have enjoyed but I did.

It has been a long task, one that I thought would never complete but it has taught me a lesson that I can't love all books, even though my premise of completing the task was to push myself into reading books I wouldn't otherwise have chosen, sometimes that didn't work when I felt like throwing some out of the window.

Below is my list of the books that stood out for me:-

The Ones That Surprised Me
1. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
2. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
3. The Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett
4. A Prayer For Owen Meany - John Irving
5. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
6. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
7. The Stand - Stephen King
8. The Clan Of The Cave Bear - Jean M Auel
9. Kane & Abel - Jeffrey Archer
10. Holes - Louis Sachar

The Ones That I Nearly Threw Out Of The Window
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
3. Middlemarch - George Eliot
4. One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
6. Dune - Frank Herbert
7. The Count Of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
8. Crime & Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
9. The Magus - John Fowles
10. The Woman In White - Wilkie Collins

And now, quite happily I can attack my to be read shelf and as for my tasks, I'm on to the learning a new language next.

One Down, One To Go...

Just under 1500 pages - I'm thinking I should finish this in a week?

Reading and Take That

So I'm on track with my reading target so far with just two weeks to go and three books left to read before I can finally cross the BBC Top 100 reads task off my list. It has been an incredibly challenging task at times, one which I've struggled with on a number of occasions. There have been times when I've felt like throwing some books at the wall, I've been so frustrated with them, but I've persevered and much as I love books this task has at least taught me that I can't love all books.

And whilst I am here...Take That went slowly down in my estimation when I heard Robbie was rejoining them, to the extent where I seriously thought of changing my task to something else. Then I watched the documentary last night and I'm kind of back on their side again, so you never know I may just manage to fulfill my task, but then of course I now have 5 to snog...

The Godfather - BBC Top 100 Reads 96/100

I must be the only person in England not to have seen any of The Godfather films - for some reason the sense of violence that I imagine them to portray has never appealed to me and perhaps made me more than a little apprehensive about sitting down to read the book. The essence of this novel is about families, how they react with one another, how their loyalties lie within their extended families and how they observe the outsiders that threaten to penetrate their domains. The violence is there but is kept in short, sharp amounts and doesn't over exaggerate the actions. I completely enjoyed this saga of the 1940's criminal under world and it would be interesting now to see how the film relates to what I've just read. Another one completed off my list - just 4 more to go.

A Prayer For Owen Meany - BBC Top 100 Reads

If I'd started to write this review half way through reading this, it would have been one of those posts where I bemoaned the fact that I struggled to comprehend the meaning of this novel. However, every now and again a book comes along that completely surprises me and turns out to be nothing like what I expected to be - A Prayer For Owen Meany is a definite slow burner, which I am so glad I stuck with.

The main narrative of the book is undertaken by John, a childhood friend of the very strange Owen Meany. In fact, Owen is declared so strange that the author types his conversation in capitals. Although there is a very loose story that never seems to go anyway, the author cleverly weaves us through key incidents in Owen's/John's life, dealing with death and prejudice along the way. A repetitive tale that follows them from childhood into adulthood all becomes apparent near the end of the novel and makes the conclusion complete. A wonderful book.

The Last Six...

This week I've been mostly Christmas present wrapping, colour chart perusing (we are getting decorated) and eating Halloween sweets that were meant for the trick or treaters. I seriously think I've eaten so much sugar I don't know what day it is! Therefore reading has gone by the by, as my concentration levels resemble that of a goldfish at present.

I now only have six books to go before I complete this task and yes you guessed it, they are all tombs of books, with the lightest one weighing in at around 600 pages approx. But now that they are sat on my desk staring at me, with Mr Bump keeping a close eye on them, here lies a mini challenge in itself - how quickly can I read all of these? I want to read them properly, to give myself some sort of satisfaction at completing such a huge task and I want to be realistic about it. So I figured, end of November should do it? My to be read pile of 'ordinary' books is calling to me, so that will spur me on, hopefully... I'll keep you updated!

This Week...

I've been mostly finishing Gormenghast and Love In time of Cholera - now starting A Prayer For Owen Meany, which I'm hoping to finish by the end of the weekend and then 5 more books before I've finished this task!

Another Week

Yet another week has past and I've been steadily reading through Gormenghast and doing nothing else related to this blog, I'm afraid. I went on a writing course on Saturday, from which I pinched the idea to have a dedicated reading time, so from 8pm onwards (if not sooner) every night I'm intending to read through the rest of the Top 100 list. I'm sure my husband will be well chuffed, as from now he can watch his beloved Sci-fi in peace - I'll see how long that lasts!

Monday, Monday

Well, my radio appearance came and went faster than an English summer. I was on with Mark Dennison, whom I've never met before, but was very down to earth and quite funny. We were trying to decide what the twist was going to be on the X Factor. I decided that Sharon Osbourne was going to come back and then her and Danni would have a huge fight in the studio, but perhaps that should be on a pay per view channel?! We also managed to have a chat about the blog and I'm booked back in for November 5th.

I'm a little frustrated that I've not completed any more tasks at the moment. I've got a pile of books to read for the BBC Top 100 reads, but all of those are 600 pages +, so no quick wins there. I can't really see any more being completed at the moment, as I'm having to be a little careful with the old pennies - the job situation has not improved any. I'm praying for a miracle, I do hope you will join in...

Has It really been so long...

since I updated this blog? It only seems like yesterday when I was deciding what books to read first. Since then I've read two more books off my list - Crime and Punishment - which was very strange and I never really got into it and Kane and Abel - which I loved and couldn't put down. Personal wise, it's been a real mixed bag of emotions in the last week. I didn't get the job I was interviewed for and I tried to attend a job fair in the centre of Nottingham and failed miserably as the queues were so long to get in (I later found out 4,000 people turned up to this and seeing such long queues of people looking for work was really soul destroying). I've even signed up to do temporary work but still getting no joy in my search for work. I've no idea where life is taking me at the moment, but I wished it would make a decision pretty soon! In the meantime, I'm clinging on to dear life to anything that remains stable in my life; my hubbie, this list, this blog, so please do excuse me if I unburden my soul in the upcoming weeks.

This Week...

I will be mostly reading!

Weird Week

Well it's been a funny old week. After completing another task by going surfing, I was on a natural high until the next day when I could hardly walk and wondered to myself just why exactly I chose to do a very active sport with my very inactive body.

On Tuesday, I very nearly thought I'd completed another task when I received a phone call from a TV company saying I was short listed to appear on their show but unfortunately I didn't get a call back so back to square one on that particular task.

Oh and I read, quite a bit actually. I've now completed Brave New World, a weird mix of 1984/Clockwork Orange. I didn't really get it, if I'm honest with you, it kind of lost me in the middle and the ending was weird (I hate it when that happens) but I think it's one that would benefit from another read at some point in the future.

Not sure what I will be doing next, I think I will just concentrate on getting the Top reads task completed, but if the funds allow it, I may just go to the next England match at Wembley next month.

Keep smiling :0)

Katherine by Anya Seton - BBC Top 100 Reads 89/100

Katherine is a historical novel based on the life of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt. I don't do historical novels as a rule. I find that they are usually too full of references to the past that it some how detracts from the story in hand. I did find elements of this novel interesting and it did compel me to continue reading it, but half way through I became too over loaded with the historical references and notes to the past, that it made the text harder to digest. It is a stereotypical story in the sense that woman is betrothed to someone she doesn't love but falls for someone who is unobtainable. They eventually get the chance to ignite their love when circumstances allow them to be together and the rest of the story is their struggle to remain lovers whilst remaining within the boundaries set by their society.

I don't feel that this has changed my opinion of historical novels at all and unless you enjoy historical novels, then I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

On The Road by Jack Kerouac - BBC Top 100 Reads 88/100

Billed as the ultimate road trip book, 'On The Road' is a semi autobiographical tale of two friends searching for fulfilment by travelling back and forth across the United States. While the book regales us with their exploits and vivid descriptions of the characters they meet, what it failed to ignite me with, was any sort of empathy for the characters involved. We learn very little about Sal Paradise, the main character, other than he tends to go from one exploit to another. There is no reason given for his travels, other than he can do this and therefore he does. His travelling companion, Dean's ill regard of women, does not make him any more likeable, impregnating several women in the space of a few months. What I also failed to understand was what either one of them attempted to achieve from their travels. Was it some sort of hedonistic interpretation of chasing the American dream?

I'm also not sure whether the author was trying to mirror 'The Catcher In The Rye' in some form, but whilst Salinger succeeded in gaining the readers sympathy of his main character, Holden Caulfield, I ended up despising Sal Paradise and his travelling companions with a passion. Definitely one that I won't return to and definitely not one of the great American reads.

This Week...

Well last week was a funny old week, I seemed to run from one thing to another and not having the capability to concentrate on one thing for more than a couple of minutes, which made doing tasks for my list incredibly difficult. I've managed to book the surf school for Saturday 4th September, so that will be another task off my list. Unfortunately I wanted to book it on the Sunday and try to squeeze the England match in on the Friday, but there is no surf school booked for then, so Saturday it has to be and I'll move the England match to October. The Vikram Seth book I gave up on and have now started 'On The Road' by Jack Kerouac, a paltry 290 pages compared to the VS book of 1500! I will go back to the VS book, but I'll get a few easy reads out of the way first!

As for this week, I've not got a lot planned:-

1) Finish On The Road

2) Read 700 pages of the VS book

3) Contact the local council re cooking with a celebrity chef (we have a food show in Nottingham in September so worth a shot to see if I can cook with one of them)

I desperately want to finish the BBC Top 100 reads list so a) I can start reading books of my own choice and b) so I can start on the learning a foreign language task, so I'm going to concentrate on completing that one for the feasible future.

The Lord Of The Rings - BBC Top 100 Reads 87/100

I first started reading The Lord Of The Rings when I was 10. Fuelled by my recent love of The Hobbit that my teacher had lovingly read aloud to us, I thought this would be an easy follow on. Suffice to say, I think I managed to read the first chapter and then gave up. Years later, it came up again on the BBC Top 100 list - I had already watched and surprisingly loved the films as part of an earlier challenge, but still my mind went back to being 10 and wondering if I would struggle to read it.

I read each book separately, which I think helped. Faced with a mammoth tomb of a book always puts me off - at least with a smaller book, you get a sense of achievement when finished. I found the books hit me in waves. There were parts that I totally struggled to understand or even follow and then there were huge parts that I loved and it become a struggle to put the book down. It is a wonderful story, but my mind doesn't handle fantasy all that well and I have trouble trying to create the scenes in my head that Tolkien is describing. I'm really glad I finished it, but would I read it again? Probably not. I think I preferred the Phillip Pullman books more.

What I Did on Tuesday

• Read The Two Towers - number 2 book of The Lord Of The Rings
• Tried to find someone to come to the next England match with me at Wembley
• Tried to download the software to play and edit my film, gave up and then husband took over!
• Sent a proposal to the local paper for a possible monthly column
• Posted a request for a seat in an Executive box at Nottingham Forest on Gumtree (if anyone knows of anyone who has a spare seat, then I am willing to pay a reasonable price to do this)
• Started reading 'The Return Of The King' - number 3 book of The Lord Of The Rings

A Very Quick Update...

I'm on BBC Radio Nottingham tomorrow around 8:30am, which means another update on my blog and another paper review. I did (sort of) make a list of things I wanted to achieve by this date, so just to update you...

1) I've read three out of the five books I wanted to read - pesky Count of Monte Cristo threw that one out.

2) I made a short film - just got to edit it and load it onto You Tube
3) I haven't booked the surfing yet, just need to organise a date with hubbie and then it's done (may do that today!)

4) Haven't written to the tv show yet re the celebrity chef, but may also do that today.

5) Haven't looked into baseball yet (must do that soon before the season ends).

6) Have located a spot for the (ho, hum!) skinny dipping, just need to check it out.

7) Haven't started to learn French as yet.

So pretty dismal month but then again, I have been busy doing the old job search and sometimes I found it quite hard to concentrate fully on more than one thing, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much! Here's to the next month and hopefully August will bring a few more task completions!

BBC Top 100 Reads - Brideshead Revisited 86/100

I was a little too young to watch the epic TV show show in the eighties and I only managed to watch the remake film last year, which kind of went over my head some what. I'd heard so much about the story, so this book had a lot to live up to. It didn't disappoint. The tale of Charles Ryder who comes to Oxford to study and is immediately captivated by the outrageous and decadent Sebastian Flyte is completely intriguing. Charles then visits Sebastian's family home of Brideshead and willingly at first, becomes involved within their eccentric family life, until he becomes to recognise the spiritual and social distance from them.

Don't let the paltry 326 pages fool you. This is an epic of a novel, one that I feel you don't gain the full impact of such from the first read and one which I hope to read time and time again. The recent film certainly didn't do this book any justice and perhaps one day I'll watch the TV show to see if that bares a fairer reflection. Until then, another book crossed off and now onto The Lord Of The Rings!

The One That Nearly Defeated Me...

The Count Of Monte Cristo looked so promising when I first started it. The tale of a man wrongly imprisioned on the eve of his wedding, left to languish in a prison cell for numerous years until one day he escapes and seeks to avenge the men who betrayed him. In practice the tale sounds mesmorizing but 1400 pages is why too long for this story. It has taken me over 3 weeks to finish and I've lost count of how many times I put the book down, after desperately trying to get to grips with the tale. At one point I even considered giving up altogether, but it's on my task list and therefore I have to complete it - that's what I kept telling myself anyway - and complete it I did, this morning, thank goodness! Now on to Brideshead Revisited which I hope is a little less tedious.