Long time, no post...

I've made a good start on my goal of reading 50 books this year. In January, I read five: Atonement, Kite Runner, Wide Sargasso Sea, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and a Torchwood novel, Border Princes.

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die: Yes, I actually read it all. In fact, I've based part of my 2008 reading list on the recommendations! About 100 experts and critics give detailed descriptions on the books they chose and why they are "must reads". It is a little bit British-centric, though there are plenty of American and foreign language novels to chose from. Some choices had me scratching my head, such as American Psycho, but no novels by Cormac McCarthy, Amy Tan, or Anne Tyler were included. Other choices were totally expected, like all six of Jane Austen's finished novels, and nearly everything Charles Dickens wrote.

I loved Atonement and Kite Runner. Both had the similar theme of lies destroying lives, and the hope for redemption through later acts. Kite Runner gave a vivid picture of pre-Soviet/Taliban Afghanistan, and what the people went through.

I didn't like Wide Sargasso Sea as much as I hoped. I loved the idea- the whole back story of Mr. Rochester's first wife and how she went mad. I didn't have enough background about post-colonial Jamaica to understand some of the plot.

Just for fun, I've started reading novels based on the Torchwood television series. I read Border Princes first- it was entertaining, but not brilliant. Most movie/TV tie-ins are just forgettable time killers, and this one qualifies. Next in the series, if I can find it, will be Another Life. There's one more out now, and three new ones arriving in March.