Susan Hated Literature

The Top 20 Revisited Reads:
1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling
   - yup. I’ve read and reread. Not all of them, but they are books I think I’ll continue to read.
2. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
   - Of course. I read this every year for a whoile
3. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
   - I’ve read it. And will reread it at some stage.
4. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
   - See LOTR. Although I’d be less likely to reread this as it is more kiddy than LOTR
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
   - studied at college. And one I actually did read there. And I think I even reread it then. Not my fav. but well worth a read
6. 1984 by George Orwell
   - I’ve only read this the once.
7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
   - Never read. I did start it but couldn’t get very far. Probably good for a train journey or the like though
8. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
   - Read this, and the other Narnia books, as a child, and have reread them in the past. Didn’t like them as much on my last reading so probably won’t be rereading any time soon, although I wouldn’t be totally averse to them.
9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
   - studied this for my Leaving and reread it then. And I would again, and again.
10. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
    - I’ve only read this one the once. But it was v good and I would have no problems with rereading it
11. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
    Read it. And enjoyed it. Don’t know if I’d give it another go though
12. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
    - studied this for the Jnr. Cert, and reread it then. Must do so again at at some stage.
13. Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews
    - read this as a teenager, and a few of the sequels, but I have no desire to reread it.
14. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
    - awww. The first book I ever bought. Aged 8. And I reread and reread and reread it as a child. And I’ve just bought a copy recently, so this is definitely on the reread pile
15. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
    - Another that easily makes my personal rereading pile. I love this book
16. The Bible
    - Does going to mass and listening to bits count as having read it?
17. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
    - read it once and didn’t really get all the fuss. I do keep meaning to give it another go though, so we’ll have to wait and see.
18. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
    - I have this one in Sligo but haven’t opened it up yet.
19. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
    - I’ve never owned it, but I have borrowed it from the library and reread it at least twice.
20. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    - this is one I’ve only read once. And I wasn’t blown away by it. Don’t think I’ll be rereading it any time soon

So, which have you reread? And are there any other books you love to reread?

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It is January, so that means the Six Nations is just around the corner, and I’ve just gotten my ever-so-secret instructions from the Irish Rugby Supporters club that’ll enable me to purchase my ticket for the match against France tomorrow. Nice one. Just the one, but that won’t stop me. I’m so heading to Croker for the rugby.

We will also get a chance to buy two other tickets, either for France or for England. I’m aiming to get to for the England match, have half promised B#5 that if I get them he can come along. But we’ll see what happens.

Anyways, a before Christmas Donagh of Dublin Opinion got in contact regarding books of the year, but of course it has taken me this long to get around to it. And because I rarely buy hardback books, and pay no real attention as to whether a book is new or old, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to regard this as a “Books of 2006″ type post, more a “books I enjoyed in 2006″ list.

In no particular order, my top reads of 2006:
• The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
  This is a children’s fantasy sequence, arthurian in places, the first in the series of 5 was published back in 1965, but they really aren’t that dated at all. An example of some great writing, with no effort made to talk-down to a child’s level or anything so nasty.
• On Another Man’s Wound by Ernie O’Mally
  Ernie O’Malley’s account of his life fighting the Irish War of Independence. Entertaining and gripping account of how people from all sorts of backgrounds ended up on the same side.
• Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas trans. David Bellos
  I loved this book, which I picked up because of the cover
  
  but I loved for the writing, characters and the plot. Mainly for the character of Adamsberg though, he is great, and I’m waiting for more of Vargas’ work to be translated from French so I can enjoy them.
• The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
  Anther old children’s fantasy, though this is very, very different to The Dark is Rising. It is simple, and childlike and totally adorable. A little dated, but who cares.
• Thud! by Terry Pratchett
  Terry Pratchett is nothing less than a genius. Everyone should at least try to read some of his Discworld novels. But just because you don’t like one is no reason not to try another. I enjoy most of his books, but I LOVE his watch ones. Vimes has to be among the greatest of all fictional characters ever thought up.

And of course honourable mentions must go to the following:

Check out the other lists and reviews from this technorati page

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Stolen from Projectile Reviews:

1. Name five of your favorite books:
   • The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. Despite not having reread it in a while I’d still count this as one of my favourites. It was my first fantasy read, unless you count fairy tales and myths, and it is responsible for my some of my favourite films too.
   • I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan. I’ve only read this once, but loved it. I’ve put off rereading as I’m not sure if it was actually as good as I remember.
   • Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. A childhood fav., this was the first book I ever bought, back when I was 6. And I have reread it so many times. I keep meaning to pick up a copy, but for some reason I haven’t.
   • The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams. Other people may prefer his Watership Down, but this is my fav.
   • The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. Yes, I know, it is a trilogy. And if I was being honest I’d say that all nine of the books set int he general Six Duchies ‘verse have equal rank.
2. What was the last book you bought?
   In The Ruins, book 6 in Kate Elliot’s Crown of Stars series. And I also got Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel at the same time.
3. What was the last book you read:
   I just finished The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
4. Last five books that have been really meaningful to you (no particular order).
   • The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
   • Iron Council by China Mieville
   • Shooting History by Jon Snow
   • Until The Final Hour by Traudl Junge
   • The Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan , if only because I’ve been waiting so very long
5. Name three books you’ve been dying to read but just haven’t gotten around to it?
   • After hearing Andi and Heather talk about Fables, the graphic novels I think they sound really interesting.
   • Collapse by Jared Diamond^[1]
   • The final Wheel of Time book. Okay, so it isn’t published yet, but still.
6. Tag five people and have them fill this quiz out on their own
   Whoever wants to can play along.

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Yesterday^[1] I did my top films of 2005, today I guess it is time for my top reads of the year.

In no special order, my top reads of this year:
• Iron Council by China Mieville - This is just a great read. I’ve enjoyed his other books, but they normally take a while to get through. I flew through this one. Loved the golems, and while I didn’t have any characters to love, I was interested in them all. I’m still undecided about the ending.
• We3 a graphic novel by Grant Morrison & Frank Quietly - You’ll have to read this for yourself to get it because telling you that it is a sort of Homeward Bound meets Robocop would probably put you off. Not too sure about the proposed film adaption though.
• Going Postal by Terry Pratchett - Another great addition to the Discworld ‘verse, this book introduces the character of Moist Von Lipwig. Hi-larious reading.

Only three books because I’m often harder on books than films, but also because I haven’t really been doing a lot of reading this year.

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