A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
For the Decades ‘08 reading challenge (first published 1843) and part of the BBC Big Read.
English
77 pages
Dover Publications
ISBN: 978-0-486-26865-1
First line: Marley was dead: to begin with.
Back cover blurb:
In October 1843, Charles Dickens—heavily in debt and obligated to his publisher—began work on a book to help supplement his family’s meager income. [...]
Posted on June 6th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: C, Classics, Decades '08, English | No Comments »
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
For the Decades ‘08 reading challenge (first published 1902).
English
111 pages
a Project Gutenberg e-book
First line: The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.
Back cover blurb:
In this tale of colonial exploitation, the narrator, Marlowe, journeys deep into the heart of [...]
Posted on May 25th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: C, Classics, Decades '08, English, Historical | No Comments »
Daddy-Long-Legs
by Jean Webster
For the Decades ‘08 reading challenge (first published 1912).
English
160 pages
J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd/E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc.
ISBN: n/a
First line: The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day—a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.
Back cover blurb: n/a
Thoughts: I’ve read Daddy-Long-Legs before, but [...]
Posted on May 20th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: B, Classics, Decades '08, English, Young Adult | No Comments »
Farlig midsommar
by Tove Jansson
Title in English: Moominsummer Madness
For the Decades ‘08 reading challenge (first published 1954).
Swedish
146 pages
Alfabeta
ISBN: 91-501-0478-0
First line: Mumintrollets mamma satt på trappan i solskenet och riggade en barkbåt.
Back cover blurb:
Där kommer en teater på drift och med den driver muminfamiljen in i en midsommarnatt som är full av trolldom och överraskning, av [...]
Posted on May 18th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A, Adventure, Children's lit, Decades '08, Fantasy, Swedish | No Comments »
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
by Tom Stoppard
For the Decades ‘08 (first performed in 1967) and the A-Z reading challenges.
English
77 pages
e-book
First line: “Heads.”
Back cover blurb: n/a
Thoughts: A couple of years ago I saw bits and pieces of the 1991 film adaption of this play. I don’t remember a lot of it, just that it seemed [...]
Posted on February 24th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A-Z Reading Challenge, B, Decades '08, English, Humour, Plays | 1 Comment »
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
by Elizabeth Smart
For the Decades ‘08 reading challenge (first published 1945).
English
112 pages
Flamingo
ISBN: 0-586-09039-8
First line: I am standing on a corner in Monterey, waiting for the bus to come in, and all of the muscles of my will are holding my terror to face the moment I [...]
Posted on February 17th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: D, Decades '08, English, Fiction, Poetry | No Comments »
Murder Must Advertise
by Dorothy L Sayers
For the Decades ‘08 reading challenge (first published 1933).
English
356 pages
Harper Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-06-104355-0
First line: “And by the way,” said Mr. Hankin, arresting Miss Rossiter as she rose to go, “there is a new copy-writer coming in today.”
Back cover blurb:
When ad man Victor Dean falls down the stairs in the offices [...]
Posted on February 15th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A, Decades '08, English, Historical, Mystery | 5 Comments »
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
For the First in a Series, Decades ‘08 (first published in 1993) and A-Z reading challenges.
English
179 pages
Dell Laurel-Leaf
ISBN: 0-440-23768-8
First line: It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.
Back cover blurb:
Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no [...]
Posted on January 29th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A-Z Reading Challenge, B, Decades '08, English, Fiction, First in a Series, Young Adult | No Comments »
Whose Body?
by Dorothy L Sayers
For the Decades ‘08 (first published 1923), First in a Series and A-Z reading challenges.
English
212 pages
Harper Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-06-104357-4
First line: “Oh damn!” said Lord Peter Wimsey at Piccadilly Circus.
Back cover blurb:
The stark naked body was lying in the tub. Not unusual for a proper bath, but highly irregular for murder [...]
Posted on January 26th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A, A-Z Reading Challenge, Decades '08, English, First in a Series, Historical, Mystery | 3 Comments »
Duktig pojke
by Inger Edelfeldt
For the Decades ‘08 (first published 1977) and A-Z reading challenges.
Swedish
208 pages
Rabén & Sjögren
ISBN: 91-29-64869-6
First line: Han var ett väldigt snällt barn, annars var det väl ingenting som skilde honom från andra barn; jag menar, ingenting som märktes.
Back cover blurb:
“Är det här nåt slags modenyck, Jim?” grälade min far. “Nåt sånt [...]
Posted on January 22nd, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A, A-Z Reading Challenge, Decades '08, GLBT interest, Swedish, Young Adult | No Comments »
