raidergirl3's Orange 2013

I think it is time to start making a list, and checking it twice, oops, wrong list. This list will be for Orange books to read next year, starting in January. I find the January month is for books I own, and then July tends to be from the longlist of the present year. I should try to get a few more winners read this year.

Books in my house
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel (2006 short list)
Small Island by Andrea Levy (2004 winner)
The Colour by Rose Tremain (2004 longlist)
Love Marriage by VV Ganeshananthen (2009 longlist)
The Long Song by Andrea Levy (2010 longlist)
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss (2006 shortlist)
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka (2005 shortlist)
The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville (2001 Winner)

Library/Books I'd like to read
This is How, by M.J. Hyland (2010 longlist)
Secret Son, by Laila Lalami (2010 longlist)
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (2010 shortlist)
The Observations, by Jane Harris (2007 shortlist)

2013 Longlist
Kitty Aldridge, A Trick I Learned From Dead Men
Kate Atkinson, Life After Life
Ros Barber, The Marlowe Papers
Shani Boianjiu, The People of Forever are Not Afraid
Gillian Flynn Gone Girl
Sheila Heti, How Should A Person Be?
AM Homes, May We Be Forgiven
Barbara Kingsolver, Flight Behaviour
Deborah Copaken Kogan, The Red Book
Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies
Bonnie Nadzam, Lamb
Emily Perkins, The Forrests
Michèle Roberts, Ignorance
Francesca Segal, The Innocents (req at library)
Maria Semple, Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Elif Shafak, Honour
Zadie Smith, NW
ML Stedman, The Light Between Oceans (bought)
Carrie Tiffany, Mateship with Birds
G Willow Wilson, Alif the Unseen

http://www.librarything.com/list/492/all/Favourite-books-from-the-2013-Womens-Pr...

What got Read

January
Small Island by Andrea Levy (2004 winner) 4.5

February
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss (2006 shortlist) 3.5
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka (2005 shortlist) 4

March
The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (2001 Winner) 4
The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman (2013 longlist) 4.5
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (2013 shortlist) 4.4

April
The Forrests, by Emily Perkins, (2013 longlist) 3
Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple (2013 shortlist) 4.2
N.W., by Zadie Smith (2013 shortlist) 3.7

May

June
Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, (2013 shortlist) 4.2
The Colour by Rose Tremain (2004 longlist), 4

I love your graphic raider. And out of the list of books you are wanting to read I have only read four but also have four of them on my listed reads for 2013. We must be psycho. lol!~!
Enjoy your Oranges. I will see you back here in January.

Eek! January is over half done and I haven't started a one. Well, not completely true, as I read the first two chapters of Small Island, and I can't wait to get into it.

One week library loans are playing havoc, as was Duma Key, a Stephen King doorstop. As soon as I finish my Maeve Binchy loan (her last book, sob) Small Island it will be.

Orange January seems a little quiet this year.

I have noticed that as well raider. I wonder if the 'reread' challenge has anything to do with it. IDK.
I am reading a non-Orange at the moment but when I finish it I will be on to my 8th Orange for the month. 4 of those were really good and the rest not too bad. I had Tides of War as one that I was going to read but got about 1/3 into it and just couldn't go the distance so I wasn't able to count that one.
So are you saying that your library loans books out for only one week? Ours loans for 3 weeks before needing to return or renew. Plenty of time to pick up multiple reads. I don't think I would like the one week time frame. Mine would be overdue all the time because I just don't get out that much.
I hope you enjoy Small Island. I liked it quite a lot.

It's only one week loan on super popular book. I think there are 60ish hold on A Week in Winter and although there are 10 copies of the book, it would take forever to get the book. Regular reads, even with a couple of holds are 3 week loans.
There is never any need to keep reading a blah book. Keep reading the good books.

Ohhh Small Island is one of my favourite reads! Don't you hate those so called " Rapid Reads" - at least that is what they call them at my library - a 5 or 7 day lending time and a dollar a day overdue fees . I so wish I had purchased A Week in Winter because I'm sure that my mom and lots of others would have liked to have borrowed it. However it's on my kindle.

I'm finding Sorry by Gail Jones to be a beautiful heartbreaker of LL Orange read.

Oh, getting more and more excited to read Sorry. Can't wait for the library to open on Tuesday so I can run over and pick it up.

I started Small Island and I like it so far. Sorry is sounding very good too!

Finished Small Island.

It was very good. British war books are a story I often like anyway. Add some great characters, and the frustrating view of racism and immigration, and this is a winner. Literally - it won the Orange Prize in 2004.

Also very pleased that I read one of my own books that I've had for a long time.

Good on you raider! I too, like British war stories. Glad that you liked Small Island. I found it quite good. I will be interested to see what you pick up next.
And good for you that you read one you already had. I am attempting to read & release this year. It's a difficult job for me. :-)

I finished an Orange for February: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I liked it, but I must have mixed up the characters a bit as I found the plot quite complex and confusing. I was a little shocked by one of the events in the last section (Bruno!), but I didnt' get the big a-ha at the end that I was hoping for. It was sad overall.

I may have to give that one a try raider. I loved her Great House.
Good job girl!

I've read two Oranges in February, which is better than my January.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka (2005 shortlist) must have been good because I read it all in one day. The plot raced along, and although the characters were one dimensional and you don't get much insight into their thoughts and feelings, I enjoyed them. It was a bit farcical, and not, as the cover proclaimed, hilarious. But the sad situation was played for humour, so let's call it a darkly humourous book.

Tractors is a rather odd book isn't it? I liked it too which was surprising because it had such a different flavour from my usual reading.

Two in March.

The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (winner 2001)
This was a quiet read, character study of two middle aged professionals, quite awkward folks, who both land in a small town in Australia. Each is so absorbed in their awkwardness. The second half picked up for me as they somewhat come together.

The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman (longlist 2013)
So good! First, the historical and technical details of a lighthouse worker off the southwestern coast of Australia in the 1920s, a war veteran were very good. The romance and marriage of Tom and Isabel and their life on the isolated island was touching. Then, the tragedy or bad decision by Tom when a baby washes up on shore (it made sense in the book) comes back to haunt them. I was back and forth between who I felt was in the wrong (nobody?) This is going to make a fabulous movie.

We are in such agreement with The Light Between Oceans raider. I will be picking up The Idea of Perfection in Orange July. It is one of two winners that I have not yet read. It sounds like you enjoyed it so I am hoping I will as well.

Third that I finished in March

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (longlist 2013)
First of all, this is not Groundhog Day, the movie. Ursula is not reliving the same day, but she does get to live her life over and over. Each time, at some critical point, her life takes a turn. The people in her life stay the same, but different things happen each time, after 'darkness falls'.
The two world wars in England are lived over and over, with lots of chances for death. Ursula has deja vu eventually, as she somehow knows she needs to do things to prevent the deaths of her loved ones. It was fun as the book moved on to see the same people and same events, but from different views of Ursula's life, depending on how this world was going. Sometimes she might have been killed by the bomb that landed during the blitz, sometimes she was the ARP worker saving the same house and people from the bomb, sometimes she was nearby, sometimes she was in Germany instead.

I so loved The Light Between Oceans, Elizabeth. I'm glad that you did too!Nice review of Life After Life! As I mentioned on my thread, I too really struggled with my review. As you say, " First of all this is not Groundhog Day, the movie." That was one of the big things I tried to get across in my review as that was an idea that I really struggles with too. Great that you mentioned Germany too - since that was so central to the book. It's so difficult to know just what to say and not to say.

I've got The Idea of Perfection waiting for me - it's a second hand book, I'm proud to say! Could not find it at my library!Gasp!

thanks Deborah.

My The Idea of Perfection was also a second hand book. And it had been written in! All the way through, notes, as if a teacher were marking it up. Nothing very interesting - I never really caught on to what the person was highlighting.

The Forrests, by Emily Perkins, 340 pages

I persevered through The Forrests, and finally finished. Ringing endorsement, eh?

A blogger friend wrote a post about how she doesn't enjoy books where the characters are not put into a situation where they are forced to make a decision, or deal with a difficulty or show some growth. That would be my problem with The Forrests, because I did have problems. Most of the interesting action happened between chapters, and the (eventual) main character just seemed to float through life. The point of view, with no ones thoughts or viewpoint (what's that actually called?), also made it difficult to connect with anyone at all.

Dorothy is one of four Forrest children, and we follow her life. The detail in the beginning chapters about all the kids as they move to New Zealand, did not lead me to realize that it was Dorothy, and it would be her entire life that we'd be following.

For an example of the missing action, at one point, Dorothy has had a number of kids, becoming quite agoraphobic, and quite obese. At the start of the next chapter, she is swimming at a local pool, and the comment is made that she had been dieting for the past two years. What?

Next up is Where'd You go, Bernadette? which looks much more engaging.

Already (100 pages) liking Bernadette. Epistolary, funny, lots of action, and there is some great secret in Bernadette's life. I'll have no trouble getting this done on its 7 day library loan.

Hi Elizabeth! How lovely to see you on my thread earlier : ). Woot, you are doing some fabulous Orange reading. Enjoyed your reviews of The Idea of Perfection, The Light Between Oceans, and Life After Life. I have The Idea of Perfection here right now from the library, but I keep getting sidetracked; I will get to it eventually. Glad you are enjoying Bernadette; I enjoyed it less so, but am glad I read it.

eta: had been looking at The Forrests but think I will pass. Chuckled at your ringing endorsement.

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

Fun book that I'm very glad I read. I'd seen it at Indigo, but it wasn't until it was on the list that I picked it up. It's marketed with very much a chick lit style. But if a chick lit book like One Dayby David Nicholls can be marketed as 'literary', then so can this. In fact I would say it was very much in the same vein as One Day - very readable, engaging characters, with a story that marches along smartly. Both also have a 'catch' - One Day revisits the characters once a year, while Bernadette uses assorted reports and emails to give us the picture. I'm a sucker for epistolary tales.

Anyway, Bernadette was great fun. Just the book I needed after The Forrests.

Next up: NW. I was ready to give up after the first section (stream of conscienceness, no quotation marks) but then it made the shortlist, and the second section is more readable for my poor little brain. Liking it.

Good to know. I stalled after the first 50 pages of NW but do want to finish now that it has made the shortlist. You and I seem to have similar reactions to Bernadette and Forrests :)

Glad you enjoyed Bernadette, Elizabeth. I enjoyed One Day, too, but did not think to compare the two. I love LT for all of the wonderful ideas! Will be curious to know how you like NW; haven't felt drawn to that one at all, but as you point it, the SL ...

danielle - I wouldn't say I ended up loving NW, but it certainly improved. I read a review that said they appreciated it intellectually rather than emotionally, and that sums it up nicely. And as frustrating as the first section is, I appreciated it in retrospect.
It's always good to find someone who mostly agrees with your book choices!

nancy - I liked One Day, but was annoyed at all the praise it got. It wasn't that spectacular, and was chick lit-y. I like chick- lit, but I didnt' see how it was so much better than, say, Sophie Kinsella. Except it was written by a man.

I was beginning to think I wouldn't get an Orange read in May. I have Flight Behaviour (and The Innocents) out from the library, and Flight Behaviour is due June 2, after 2 renewals it's now or never. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it, it really wasn' t calling to me. However I decided to give it a try before returning it, and find the reading easy, and the family conflict drawing me in. I hope it stays as engaging.

There's a chance I might get it read by its due date, and I'd count it for May:)

I enjoyed both Flight Behaviour and The Innocents, Elizabeth. Found them easy, enjoyable reading; and the family/characters/morals in conflict held my attention. Not sure what I would have thought of The Innocents had I not read Wharton's The Age of Innocence?

My book club for this month is Wharton's House of Mirth - I wish it was Age of Innocence!

Between book club, an ARC I need to read by June 14, and Flight Behaviour, I don't think I'll get Innocents read this month. It has to go back to the library soon too.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Flight Behavior, State of Wonder, Intuition: a trifecta of Orange nominated, well written, science based books. Something also about their readability - not character driven, not particularly plot driven, but characters grow and change, and there is a page-turning aspect to the plot - what will happen next? I didnt' loove any of the three, and yet, I quite enjoyed reading each of them, and found them very engaging.

Kingsolver (of The Poisonwood Bible fame) writes this one closer to home - the mountains of Appalacia, and her environmental concerns. The last Kingsolver I read was Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, her non-fiction account of living strictly off her own land, self-sufficiently.

Plot - Monach butterflies appear on a Tennessee hill destined for clear-cutting, which would provide some much needed money. Dellarobia, the married at 17, stay at home mother of two, has been feeling stifled, and becomes involved in the butterflies when the scientists come to study them.

Best part - a guy who comes to hand out leaflets (the mountain becomes quite a magnet for all types of protesters) for ways to lower a person's carbon footprint. As he explains all the tips to Dellarobia, the conceit of the rich and middle-class who need these tips to assail their guilt at the damage to the environment becomes laughable.
ex) take tupperware to restaurants to take home your left-overs (Dellarobia hasnt' been to a restaurant in two years)
- carry a nalgene bottle instead of buying bottled water (Dellarobia would never buy water, too poor)
- reduce intake of red meat (Dellarobia is trying to increase her family's eating of red meat instead of KD, and she doesn't have a freezer)
- try to buy reused items (Dellarobia laughed at this one - she has no new items of clothes)
- switch to socially responsible stocks and investments
- make sure computers get recycled (Dellarobia doesn't have a computer - guy looks shocked)
he ends with - fly less. Less? she says.

Thoroughly enjoyed your comments on Flight Behaviour, Elizabeth. the conceit of the rich and middle-class who need these tips to assail their guilt at the damage to the environment becomes laughable ... indeed!

My book club for this month is Wharton's House of Mirth - I wish it was Age of Innocence!

My book club read House of Mirth a few months ago. At first I didn't like it as much as The Age of Innocence, but now I think they're about evenly wonderful. Enjoy it!

Your book club seems to pick some very good books. The one I dropped out of about a year ago only wanted to read current fiction and the discussions were generally rather meh. Meeting nights required much drinking of the vino. ;-)
I would love to find a book club that read the classics & much older works. But I had to drive 45 miles to get to just this one. **shrugs** It is what it is I guess.

Your book club seems to pick some very good books. The one I dropped out of about a year ago only wanted to read current fiction and the discussions were generally rather meh.

We do okay--and we try to read one classic a year. We meet in September and vote on 8 books we'll read over the year. I don't always make a lot of suggestions, but if a book is nominated that I think is horrible, I'm vocal about it, and those books never end up getting voted in ;-)

Joyce, I can see that "You have the power!"
It is so nice to see that book clubs continue. I just may have to begin hosting one in my home.

Wondering what you are planning to read in Orange July? It's almost upon us.

I find it harder to read Orange July. I want to read a book for Paris in July (Paris to Die For), the Canadian Book Challenge starts in July as well. I also have some great looking library books out.

I keep waiting for a book written by a Canadian woman, set in Paris, that gets nominated, but it seems my criteria are too restrictive.

I do have Americanah, and Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld, both by authors who've been nominated before, so I'll focus on potential books for next year's list.

Long Song and Love Marriage are two potential reads if I get through my other stash of books I want to read.

Americanah is wonderful. Sisterland is on hold at the library so I will be reading that soon. I quite like her.

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate for the month raider, reading-wise. It's all good as long as we are enjoying what we read.
I have Americanah on my wish list. I'm looking forward to reading that one too. Long Song was good. Not great but quite good. Enjoy whatever you decide to read. Paris in July sounds like a lovely challenge.