Brand new hair style - cut & color. I love it.
NEW
I wanted a new look to go with the new me - healthier lifestyle, no smoking, yada yada yada. So I went and saw my hair Wizard and tada (after a bit of a argh moment)
Brand new hair style - cut & color. I love it.
Brand new hair style - cut & color. I love it.
Bento 57 - Chicken Stir Fry
Okay - I don't know why but chicken stir fry is apparantly my new favorite foor.
Bento 56 - Pork chops
Shake & Bake Style pork chops w/honey garlic dipping sauceCaulirice with Sesame & Soy
Blanched Bak Choy
Maki & Ginger
(Note to self - while really super tasty - this was a little to carb heavy)
Recap 4-20 to 4-26
Monday - 4/20 - Fun Fun Fun - spent the early part of the day just hanging out and relaxing with Ms Cathy. Enjoyed catching up and having the time to be with each other. Ended up going out to lunch(DH joined in), dropping off the recycling, chilling with my neffie, watching TV with my baby, airing out the house, and having a good dinner with DH.
Fit-N: Fun, Friends, Family, Household Chores, Laundry
Tuesday - 4/21 - Did abso nothing today. Vegged in front of the TV, read, napped. Perfect "sunday" before work.
Fit-N: Me
Wednesday - 4/22 - Took mom out and about today. Went to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum downtown Fayetteville to look for some remembrance material for the Good Sam Samboree this weekend. Then a shopping extravaganous at the local wallyworld for groceries. Where the nephew decided to exert his Independence. I's a big boy.
Fit-N: Family
Thursday - 4/23 - The Parents got off to a good start on their weekend. Went over to the rents & watered flowers after work, then home again to bake a cake!! Gotta love this - I'm actually turning a profit on cakes now.
Fit-N: Side Line
Friday - 4-24 - OMG, neffie survived his very first sleep over EVER!!!! I'm so pleased. Evidently he spent the night with his GeeGee and not only survived but thrived. Handled going to bed without Mommy fine - got a little fussy, but after his bedtime story he went right to sleep and slept through the night. Honey you are's a big boy now. I love you.
Anyhoo - got off work this am and headed to the Asian Market - I love all the different things is the store - even if I can't read all the packaging. I found some Shrimp Balls that I'm going to try and some Garlic Honey sauce. Sounded pretty good. Then I had to race home because I'm baking get this - not one but two cakes this weekend!!! Yippie - now it's time to start turning fun & games into a business. Other hand - I'm not sure what's going on, but DH was home from work all afternoon, his boss told him to come back on Monday, there's nothing going on right now. Hey it's all cool. I had him home to help with the cakes, and trust me - that was worth it.
Fit-N: Hubby Time
Saturday - 4-25 Talked to one of my coworkers before I left work today & it seems I will be putting together the diaper cake for the bridal shower after all. I can't wait to try my hand at something different. And then it was rush to the rents to take care of the fine feathered friends & greenery. And then home to my wonderful bed. Comfy and soft and included a hubby to snuggle. We rarely get to snuggle - so this was a treat.
Then I got up massively early so I could go to the "It's All About Cathy" Turning 30 party. Hey Honey - great party! And I'm so happy I get to talk to you again now that you are in the club. LOL. I really enjoyed spending the afternoon / evening with you and celebrating your birthday. There were quiet a few laughs/chuckles throughout the day.
I realize different people have different priorities in life - but wow. I for one am really glad that my single minded pursuit is no longer to get get falling down/passing out drunk. I'm enjoying the age & the time that I am in right now.
Sunday - 4-26 SLEEP!!! Blessed Sleep!!! Running over to the Rent's this morning to feed & water the birds & plants, then it is home to sleep.
And I slept and slept. Woke up at one point cause the AC is off - but hey what ever. Got up in plenty of time to cook a really good meal this week - yay me. And now I will have to follow Daisy of Love on VH1.
Fit-N: Sleep, cooking, Meal Planning, TV
Fit-N: Fun, Friends, Family, Household Chores, Laundry
Tuesday - 4/21 - Did abso nothing today. Vegged in front of the TV, read, napped. Perfect "sunday" before work.
Fit-N: Me
Wednesday - 4/22 - Took mom out and about today. Went to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum downtown Fayetteville to look for some remembrance material for the Good Sam Samboree this weekend. Then a shopping extravaganous at the local wallyworld for groceries. Where the nephew decided to exert his Independence. I's a big boy.
Fit-N: Family
Thursday - 4/23 - The Parents got off to a good start on their weekend. Went over to the rents & watered flowers after work, then home again to bake a cake!! Gotta love this - I'm actually turning a profit on cakes now.
Fit-N: Side Line
Friday - 4-24 - OMG, neffie survived his very first sleep over EVER!!!! I'm so pleased. Evidently he spent the night with his GeeGee and not only survived but thrived. Handled going to bed without Mommy fine - got a little fussy, but after his bedtime story he went right to sleep and slept through the night. Honey you are's a big boy now. I love you.
Anyhoo - got off work this am and headed to the Asian Market - I love all the different things is the store - even if I can't read all the packaging. I found some Shrimp Balls that I'm going to try and some Garlic Honey sauce. Sounded pretty good. Then I had to race home because I'm baking get this - not one but two cakes this weekend!!! Yippie - now it's time to start turning fun & games into a business. Other hand - I'm not sure what's going on, but DH was home from work all afternoon, his boss told him to come back on Monday, there's nothing going on right now. Hey it's all cool. I had him home to help with the cakes, and trust me - that was worth it.
Fit-N: Hubby Time
Saturday - 4-25 Talked to one of my coworkers before I left work today & it seems I will be putting together the diaper cake for the bridal shower after all. I can't wait to try my hand at something different. And then it was rush to the rents to take care of the fine feathered friends & greenery. And then home to my wonderful bed. Comfy and soft and included a hubby to snuggle. We rarely get to snuggle - so this was a treat.
Then I got up massively early so I could go to the "It's All About Cathy" Turning 30 party. Hey Honey - great party! And I'm so happy I get to talk to you again now that you are in the club. LOL. I really enjoyed spending the afternoon / evening with you and celebrating your birthday. There were quiet a few laughs/chuckles throughout the day. I realize different people have different priorities in life - but wow. I for one am really glad that my single minded pursuit is no longer to get get falling down/passing out drunk. I'm enjoying the age & the time that I am in right now.
Sunday - 4-26 SLEEP!!! Blessed Sleep!!! Running over to the Rent's this morning to feed & water the birds & plants, then it is home to sleep.
And I slept and slept. Woke up at one point cause the AC is off - but hey what ever. Got up in plenty of time to cook a really good meal this week - yay me. And now I will have to follow Daisy of Love on VH1.
Fit-N: Sleep, cooking, Meal Planning, TV
The Definitive List
Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time in a single list.
Feel we've left off a crucial book? Email to us with your nomination and an explanation in no more than 150 words at review@guardian.co.uk, or post your submission to The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, by 4 February.
Comedy
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Money by Martin Amis
The Information by Martin Amis
The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge
According to Queeney by Beryl Bainbridge
Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes
A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters by Julian Barnes
Augustus Carp, Esq. by Himself: Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man by Henry Howarth Bashford
Molloy by Samuel Beckett
Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Queen Lucia by EF Benson
The Ascent of Rum Doodle by WE Bowman
A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd
The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury
No Bed for Bacon by Caryl Brahms and SJ Simon
Illywhacker by Peter Carey
A Season in Sinji by JL Carr
The Harpole Report by JL Carr
The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary
The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
Just William by Richmal Crompton
The Provincial Lady by EM Delafield
Slouching Towards Kalamazoo by Peter De Vries
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
Jacques the Fatalist and his Master by Denis Diderot
A Fairy Tale of New York by JP Donleavy
The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
Ennui by Maria Edgeworth
Cheese by Willem Elsschot
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Caprice by Ronald Firbank
Bouvard et Pécuchet by Gustave Flaubert
Towards the End of the Morning by Michael Frayn
The Polygots by William Gerhardie
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Brewster's Millions by Richard Greaves (George Barr McCutcheon)
Squire Haggard's Journal by Michael Green
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene
Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovanni Guareschi
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgkins
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal
The Lecturer's Tale by James Hynes
Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
The Mighty Walzer Howard by Jacobson
Pictures from an Institution by Randall Jarrell
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
The Castle by Franz Kafka
Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor
Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester
L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (Gil Blas) Alain-René Lesage
Changing Places by David Lodge
Nice Work by David Lodge
The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
England, Their England by AG Macdonell
Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie
Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf by David Madsen
Cakes and Ale - Or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard by W Somerset Maugham
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
Puckoon by Spike Milligan
The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills
Charade by John Mortimer
Titmuss Regained by John Mortimer
Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul
The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin
La Disparition by Georges Perec
Les Revenentes by Georges Perec
La Vie Mode d'Emploi by Georges Perec
My Search for Warren Harding by Robert Plunkett
A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell
A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym
Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau
Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler
Alms for Oblivion by Simon Raven
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
The Westminster Alice by Saki
The Unbearable Bassington by Saki
Hurrah for St Trinian's by Ronald Searle
Great Apes by Will Self
Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe
Blott on the Landscape by Tom Sharpe
Office Politics by Wilfrid Sheed
Belles Lettres Papers: A Novel by Charles Simmons
Moo by Jane Smiley
Topper Takes a Trip by Thorne Smith
The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom by Tobias Smollett
The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett
The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark
Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark
A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
White Man Falling by Mike Stocks
Handley Cross by RS Surtees
A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift
Penrod by Booth Tarkington
The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray
Before Lunch by Angela Thirkell
Tropic of Ruislip by Leslie Thomas
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Venus on the Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon
Tono Bungay by HG Wells
Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle
The Wimbledon Poisoner by Nigel Williams
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes by Angus Wilson
Something Fresh by PG Wodehouse
Piccadilly Jim by PG Wodehouse
Thank You Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
Heavy Weather by PG Wodehouse
The Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse
Joy in the Morning by PG Wodehouse
Crime
The Man with the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren
Fantomas by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre
The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler
Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler
Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
Trent's Last Case by EC Bentley
The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley
The Beast Must Die by Nicholas Blake
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary E Braddon
The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke
The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
Greenmantle by John Buchan
The Asphalt Jungle by WR Burnett
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain
Double Indemnity by James M Cain
True History of the Ned Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
No Orchids for Miss Blandish by James Hadley Chase
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Poetic Justice by Amanda Cross
The Ipcress File by Len Deighton
Last Seen Wearing by Colin Dexter
The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter
Ratking by Michael Dibdin
Dead Lagoon by Michael Dibdin
Dirty Tricks by Michael Dibdin
A Rich Full Death by Michael Dibdin
Vendetta by Michael Dibdin
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Pledge by Friedrich Durrenmatt
The Crime of Father Amado by José Maria de Eça de Queiroz
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
LA Confidential by James Ellroy
The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy
A Quiet Belief in Angels by RJ Ellory
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Goldfinger by Ian Fleming
You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene
The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene
The Third Man by Graham Greene
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
The King of Torts by John Grisham
Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
Fatherland by Robert Harris
Black Sunday by Thomas Harris
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V Higgins
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill
A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles
Silence of the Grave by Arnadur Indridason
Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes
Cover Her Face by PD James
A Taste for Death by PD James
Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman
Misery by Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
The Constant Gardener by John le Carre
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
52 Pick-up by Elmore Leonard
Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Cop Hater by Ed McBain
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
Sidetracked by Henning Mankell
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
The Great Impersonation by E Phillips Oppenheim
The Strange Borders of Palace Crescent by E Phillips Oppenheim
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Toxic Shock by Sara Paretsky
Blacklist by Sara Paretsky
Nineteen Seventy Four by David Peace
Nineteen Seventy Seven by David Peace
The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos
Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos
Lush Life by Richard Price
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
V by Thomas Pynchon
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
The Hanging Gardens by Ian Rankin
Exit Music by Ian Rankin
Judgment in Stone by Ruth Rendell
Live Flesh by Ruth Rendell
Dissolution by CJ Sansom
Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Le Sayers
The Madman of Bergerac by Georges Simenon
The Blue Room by Georges Simenon
The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
The Getaway by Jim Thompson
Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
A Dark-Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
A Fatal inversion by Barbara Vine
King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine
The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Native Son by Richard Wright
Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
Family and self
The Face of Another by Kobo Abe
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Epileptic by David B
Room Temperature by Nicholson Baker
Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac
Le Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
The Crow Road by Iain Banks
The L Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Malone Dies by Samuel Beckett
A Legacy by Sybille Bedford
Herzog by Saul Bellow
Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett
G by John Berger
Extinction by Thomas Bernhard
Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles
Any Human Heart by William Boyd
The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch
Evelina by Fanny Burney
The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
The Sound of my Voice by Ron Butlin
The Outsider by Albert Camus
Wise Children by Angela Carter
The Professor's House by Willa Cather
The Wapshot Chronicle by John Cheever
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Les Enfants Terrible by Jean Cocteau
The Vagabond by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
Manservant and Maidservant by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Being Dead by Jim Crace
Quarantine by Jim Crace
The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir
Roxana by Daniel Defoe
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
My New York Diary by Julie Doucet
The Millstone by Margaret Drabble
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Silence by Shusaku Endo
The Gathering by Anne Enright
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Sportswriter by Richard Ford
Howards End by EM Forster
Spies by Michael Frayn
Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud
The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Immoralist by Andre Gide
The Vatican Cellars by Andre Gide
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
The Shrimp and the Anemone by LP Hartley
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
Narziss and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse
The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornschemeier
Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Ambassadors by Henry James
Washington Square by Henry James
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
The Unfortunates by BS Johnson
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Ulysses by James Joyce
Good Behaviour by Molly Keane
Memet my Hawk by Yasar Kemal
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi
Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
How Green was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
Martin Eden by Jack London
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
The Chateau by William Maxwell
The Rector's Daughter by FM Mayor
The Ordeal of Richard Feverek by George Meredith
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Who Do You Think You Are? by Alice Munro
The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul
At-Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien
Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness by Kezaburo Oe
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
The Good Companions by JB Priestley
The Shipping News by E Annie Proulx
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
A Married Man by Piers Paul Read
Pointed Roofs by Dorothy Richardson
The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney by Henry Handel Richardson
Call it Sleep by Henry Roth
Julie, ou la Nouvelle Heloise by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Alberta and Jacob by Cora Sandel
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Unless by Carol Shields
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The Three Sisters by May Sinclair
The Family Moskat or The Manor or The Estate by Isaac Bashevis Singer
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
Angel by Elizabeth Taylor
Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
Death in Summer by William Trevor
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Peace in War by Miguel de Unamuno
The Rabbit Omnibus by John Updike
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Jimmy Corrigan, The Smarest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
Morvern Callar by Alan Warner
The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
Frost in May by Antonia White
The Tree of Man by Patrick White
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
I'll Go to Bed at Noon by Gerard Woodward
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Love
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier
Dom Casmurro Joaquim by Maria Machado de Assis
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
The Garden of the Finzi-Cortinis by Giorgio Bassani
Love for Lydia by HE Bates
More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow
Lorna Doone by RD Blackmore
The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen
The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Vilette by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Look At Me by Anita Brookner
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Possession by AS Byatt
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
A Month in the Country by JL Carr
My Antonia by Willa Cather
A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
Claudine a l'ecole by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
Cheri by Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette
Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad
The Princess of Cleves by Madame de Lafayette
The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Lover by Marguerite Duras
Adam Bede by George Eliot
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
A Room with a View by EM Forster
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
Strait is the Gate by Andre Gide
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Living by Henry Green
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
The Go-Between by LP Hartley
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer
Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst
Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest by WH Hudson
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek
Beauty and Saddness by Yasunari Kawabata
The Far Pavillions by Mary Margaret Kaye
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
Moon over Africa by Pamela Kent
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre-Ambroise-Francois Choderlos de Laclos
Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence
The Rainbow by DH Lawrence
Women in Love by DH Lawrence
The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Zami by Audre Lorde
Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie
Samarkand by Amin Maalouf
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini
A Heart So White by Javier Marias
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham
So Long, See you Tomorrow by William Maxwell
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
The Egoist by George Meredith
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Arturo's Island by Elsa Morante
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Lolita, or the Confessions of a White Widowed Male by Vladimir Nabokov
The Painter of Signs by RK Narayan
Delta of Venus by Anais Nin
All Souls Day by Cees Nooteboom
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Maurice Guest by Henry Handel Richardson
Pamela by Samuel Richardson
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
Light Years by James Salter
A Sport and a Passtime by James Salter
The Reader by Benhardq Schlink
The Reluctant Orphan by Aara Seale
Love Story by Eric Segal
Enemies, a Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer
At Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Waterland by Graham Swift
Diary of a Mad Old Man by Junichiro Tanizaki
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Music and Silence by Rose Tremain
First Love by Ivan Turgenev
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
East Lynne by Ellen Wood
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
Science fiction and fantasy
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Non-Stop by Brian W Aldiss
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster
The Drowned World by JG Ballard
Crash by JG Ballard
Millennium People by JG Ballard
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
Darkmans by Nicola Barker
The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Vathek by William Beckford
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite
Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown
Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Coming Race by EGEL Bulwer-Lytton
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The End of the World News by Anthony Burgess
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Erewhon by Samuel Butler
The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
The Influence by Ramsey Campbell
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
The Man who was Thursday by GK Chesterton
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Hello Summer, Goodbye by Michael G Coney
Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
Pig Tales by Marie Darrieussecq
The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R Delaney
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick
Camp Concentration by Thomas M Disch
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Under the Skin by Michel Faber
The Magus by John Fowles
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Red Shift by Alan Garner
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Light by M John Harrison
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein
Dune by Frank L Herbert
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg
Atomised by Michel Houellebecq
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Children of Men by PD James
After London; or, Wild England by Richard Jefferies
Bold as Love by Gwyneth Jones
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Shining by Stephen King
The Victorian Chaise-longue by Marghanita Laski
Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
The Earthsea Series by Ursula Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing
The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
The Night Sessions by Ken Macleod
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin
The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Ascent by Jed Mercurio
The Scar by China Mieville
Ingenious Pain by Andrew Miller
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller Jr
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Mother London by Michael Moorcock
News from Nowhere by William Morris
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Ada or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Vurt by Jeff Noon
The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and CM Kornbluth
A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling
Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
Air by Geoff Ryman
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Blindness by Jose Saramago
How the Dead Live by Will Self
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Insult by Rupert Thomson
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Institute Benjamenta by Robert Walser
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Affinity by Sarah Waters
The Time Machine by HG Wells
The War of the Worlds by HG Wells
The Sword in the Stone by TH White
The Old Men at the Zoo by Angus Wilson
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
State of the nation
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
London Fields by Martin Amis
Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
La Comedie Humaine by Honore de Balzac
They Were Counted by Miklos Banffy
A Kind of Loving by Stan Barstow
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave by Aphra Behn
Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Room at the Top by John Braine
A Dry White Season by Andre Brink
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
The Virgin in the Garden by AS Byatt
Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell
The Plague by Albert Camus
The Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier
What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe
Disgrace by JM Coetzee
Waiting for the Barbarians by JM Coeztee
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
Underworld by Don DeLillo
White Noise by Don DeLillo
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
Sybil or The Two Nations by Benjamin Disraeli
Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
The Book of Daniel by EL Doctorow
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
USA by John Dos Passos
Sister Carrie by Theodor Dreiser
Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Silas Marner by George Eliot
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert
Effi Briest by Theodore Fontane
Independence Day by Richard Ford
A Passage to India by EM Forster
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
The Recognitions by William Gaddis
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide
The Odd Women by George Gissing
New Grub Street by George Gissing
July's People by Nadine Gordimer
Mother by Maxim Gorky
Lanark by Alastair Gray
Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Chronicle in Stone by Ismael Kadare
How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman
The Leopard by Giuseppi di Lampedusa
A Girl in Winter by Philip Larkin
Passing by Nella Larsen
The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Amongst Women by John McGahern
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Of Love & Hunger by Julian Maclaren-Ross
Remembering Babylon by David Malouf
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Time of Indifference by Alberto Moravia
A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul
McTeague by Frank Norris
Personality by Andrew O'Hagan
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Ragazzi Pier by Paolo Pasolini
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Moon and the Bonfire by Cesare Pavese
GB84 by David Peace
Headlong Hall by Thomas Love Peacock
Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Shame by Salman Rushdie
To Each his Own by Leonardo Sciascia
Staying On by Paul Scott
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr
The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon
God's Bit of Wood by Ousmane Sembene
The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge
Richshaw Boy by Lao She
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Novel on Yellow Paper by Stevie Smith
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Red and the Black by Stendhal
This Sporting Life by David Storey
The Red Room by August Stringberg
The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Couples by John Updike
Z by Vassilis Vassilikos
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
Germinal by Emile Zola
La Bete Humaine by Emile Zola
War and travel
Silver Stallion by Junghyo Ahn
Death of a Hero by Richard Aldington
Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge
Darkness Falls from the Air by Nigel Balchin
Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard
Regeneration by Pat Barker
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
Fair Stood the Wind for France by HE Bates
Carrie's War by Nina Bawden
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd
When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
Auto-da-Fe by Elias Canetti
One of Ours by Willa Cather
Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-en
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell
The History of Pompey the Little by Francis Coventry
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Bomber by Len Deighton
Deliverance by James Dickey
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos
South Wind by Norman Douglas
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Justine by Lawrence Durrell
The Bamboo Bed by William Eastlake
The Siege of Krishnapur by JG Farrell
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford
The African Queen by CS Forester
The Ship by CS Forester
Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
The Beach by Alex Garland
To The Ends of the Earth trilogy by William Golding
Asterix the Gaul by Rene Goscinny
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
Count Belisarius by Robert Graves
Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman
De Niro's Game by Rawi Hage
King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard
She: A History of Adventure by H Rider Haggard
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Covenant with Death by John Harris
Enigma by Robert Harris
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
Rasselas by Samuel Johnson
From Here to Eternity by James Jones
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor
Confederates by Thomas Keneally
Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
Day by AL Kennedy
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski
If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
La Condition Humaine by Andre Malraux
Fortunes of War by Olivia Manning
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat
Moby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman Melville
Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener
The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat
History by Elsa Morante
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Burmese Days by George Orwell
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
The Valley of Bones by Anthony Powell
The Soldier's Art by Anthony Powell
The Military Philosophers by Anthony Powell
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolp Erich Raspe
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
The Crab with the Golden Claws by Georges Remi Herge
Tintin in Tibet by Georges Remi Herge
The Castafiore Emerald by Georges Remi Herge
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by Joao Guimaraes Rosa
Sacaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathon Safran Foer
The Hunters by James Salter
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
The Rings of Saturn by WG Sebald
Austerlitz by WG Sebald
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Maus by Art Spiegelman
The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson
A Sentimental Journey by Lawrence Sterne
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Flag for Sunrise by Robert Stone
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
Williwaw by Gore Vidal
Candide by Voltaire
Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh
Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh
The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells
The Machine-Gunners by Robert Westall
Voss by Patrick White
The Virginian by Owen Wister
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
The Debacle by Emile Zola
Feel we've left off a crucial book? Email to us with your nomination and an explanation in no more than 150 words at review@guardian.co.uk, or post your submission to The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, by 4 February.
Comedy
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Money by Martin Amis
The Information by Martin Amis
The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge
According to Queeney by Beryl Bainbridge
Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes
A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters by Julian Barnes
Augustus Carp, Esq. by Himself: Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man by Henry Howarth Bashford
Molloy by Samuel Beckett
Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Queen Lucia by EF Benson
The Ascent of Rum Doodle by WE Bowman
A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd
The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury
No Bed for Bacon by Caryl Brahms and SJ Simon
Illywhacker by Peter Carey
A Season in Sinji by JL Carr
The Harpole Report by JL Carr
The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary
The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
Just William by Richmal Crompton
The Provincial Lady by EM Delafield
Slouching Towards Kalamazoo by Peter De Vries
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
Jacques the Fatalist and his Master by Denis Diderot
A Fairy Tale of New York by JP Donleavy
The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
Ennui by Maria Edgeworth
Cheese by Willem Elsschot
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Caprice by Ronald Firbank
Bouvard et Pécuchet by Gustave Flaubert
Towards the End of the Morning by Michael Frayn
The Polygots by William Gerhardie
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Brewster's Millions by Richard Greaves (George Barr McCutcheon)
Squire Haggard's Journal by Michael Green
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene
Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovanni Guareschi
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgkins
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal
The Lecturer's Tale by James Hynes
Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
The Mighty Walzer Howard by Jacobson
Pictures from an Institution by Randall Jarrell
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
The Castle by Franz Kafka
Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor
Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester
L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (Gil Blas) Alain-René Lesage
Changing Places by David Lodge
Nice Work by David Lodge
The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
England, Their England by AG Macdonell
Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie
Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf by David Madsen
Cakes and Ale - Or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard by W Somerset Maugham
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
Puckoon by Spike Milligan
The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills
Charade by John Mortimer
Titmuss Regained by John Mortimer
Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul
The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin
La Disparition by Georges Perec
Les Revenentes by Georges Perec
La Vie Mode d'Emploi by Georges Perec
My Search for Warren Harding by Robert Plunkett
A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell
A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym
Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau
Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler
Alms for Oblivion by Simon Raven
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
The Westminster Alice by Saki
The Unbearable Bassington by Saki
Hurrah for St Trinian's by Ronald Searle
Great Apes by Will Self
Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe
Blott on the Landscape by Tom Sharpe
Office Politics by Wilfrid Sheed
Belles Lettres Papers: A Novel by Charles Simmons
Moo by Jane Smiley
Topper Takes a Trip by Thorne Smith
The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom by Tobias Smollett
The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett
The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark
Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark
A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
White Man Falling by Mike Stocks
Handley Cross by RS Surtees
A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift
Penrod by Booth Tarkington
The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray
Before Lunch by Angela Thirkell
Tropic of Ruislip by Leslie Thomas
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Venus on the Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon
Tono Bungay by HG Wells
Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle
The Wimbledon Poisoner by Nigel Williams
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes by Angus Wilson
Something Fresh by PG Wodehouse
Piccadilly Jim by PG Wodehouse
Thank You Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
Heavy Weather by PG Wodehouse
The Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse
Joy in the Morning by PG Wodehouse
Crime
The Man with the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren
Fantomas by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre
The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler
Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler
Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
Trent's Last Case by EC Bentley
The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley
The Beast Must Die by Nicholas Blake
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary E Braddon
The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke
The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
Greenmantle by John Buchan
The Asphalt Jungle by WR Burnett
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain
Double Indemnity by James M Cain
True History of the Ned Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
No Orchids for Miss Blandish by James Hadley Chase
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Poetic Justice by Amanda Cross
The Ipcress File by Len Deighton
Last Seen Wearing by Colin Dexter
The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter
Ratking by Michael Dibdin
Dead Lagoon by Michael Dibdin
Dirty Tricks by Michael Dibdin
A Rich Full Death by Michael Dibdin
Vendetta by Michael Dibdin
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Pledge by Friedrich Durrenmatt
The Crime of Father Amado by José Maria de Eça de Queiroz
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
LA Confidential by James Ellroy
The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy
A Quiet Belief in Angels by RJ Ellory
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Goldfinger by Ian Fleming
You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene
The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene
The Third Man by Graham Greene
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
The King of Torts by John Grisham
Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
Fatherland by Robert Harris
Black Sunday by Thomas Harris
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V Higgins
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill
A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles
Silence of the Grave by Arnadur Indridason
Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes
Cover Her Face by PD James
A Taste for Death by PD James
Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman
Misery by Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
The Constant Gardener by John le Carre
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
52 Pick-up by Elmore Leonard
Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Cop Hater by Ed McBain
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
Sidetracked by Henning Mankell
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
The Great Impersonation by E Phillips Oppenheim
The Strange Borders of Palace Crescent by E Phillips Oppenheim
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Toxic Shock by Sara Paretsky
Blacklist by Sara Paretsky
Nineteen Seventy Four by David Peace
Nineteen Seventy Seven by David Peace
The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos
Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos
Lush Life by Richard Price
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
V by Thomas Pynchon
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
The Hanging Gardens by Ian Rankin
Exit Music by Ian Rankin
Judgment in Stone by Ruth Rendell
Live Flesh by Ruth Rendell
Dissolution by CJ Sansom
Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Le Sayers
The Madman of Bergerac by Georges Simenon
The Blue Room by Georges Simenon
The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
The Getaway by Jim Thompson
Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
A Dark-Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
A Fatal inversion by Barbara Vine
King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine
The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Native Son by Richard Wright
Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
Family and self
The Face of Another by Kobo Abe
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Epileptic by David B
Room Temperature by Nicholson Baker
Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac
Le Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
The Crow Road by Iain Banks
The L Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Malone Dies by Samuel Beckett
A Legacy by Sybille Bedford
Herzog by Saul Bellow
Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett
G by John Berger
Extinction by Thomas Bernhard
Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles
Any Human Heart by William Boyd
The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch
Evelina by Fanny Burney
The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
The Sound of my Voice by Ron Butlin
The Outsider by Albert Camus
Wise Children by Angela Carter
The Professor's House by Willa Cather
The Wapshot Chronicle by John Cheever
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Les Enfants Terrible by Jean Cocteau
The Vagabond by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
Manservant and Maidservant by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Being Dead by Jim Crace
Quarantine by Jim Crace
The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir
Roxana by Daniel Defoe
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
My New York Diary by Julie Doucet
The Millstone by Margaret Drabble
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Silence by Shusaku Endo
The Gathering by Anne Enright
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Sportswriter by Richard Ford
Howards End by EM Forster
Spies by Michael Frayn
Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud
The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Immoralist by Andre Gide
The Vatican Cellars by Andre Gide
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
The Shrimp and the Anemone by LP Hartley
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
Narziss and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse
The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornschemeier
Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Ambassadors by Henry James
Washington Square by Henry James
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
The Unfortunates by BS Johnson
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Ulysses by James Joyce
Good Behaviour by Molly Keane
Memet my Hawk by Yasar Kemal
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi
Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
How Green was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
Martin Eden by Jack London
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
The Chateau by William Maxwell
The Rector's Daughter by FM Mayor
The Ordeal of Richard Feverek by George Meredith
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Who Do You Think You Are? by Alice Munro
The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul
At-Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien
Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness by Kezaburo Oe
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
The Good Companions by JB Priestley
The Shipping News by E Annie Proulx
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
A Married Man by Piers Paul Read
Pointed Roofs by Dorothy Richardson
The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney by Henry Handel Richardson
Call it Sleep by Henry Roth
Julie, ou la Nouvelle Heloise by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Alberta and Jacob by Cora Sandel
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Unless by Carol Shields
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The Three Sisters by May Sinclair
The Family Moskat or The Manor or The Estate by Isaac Bashevis Singer
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
Angel by Elizabeth Taylor
Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
Death in Summer by William Trevor
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Peace in War by Miguel de Unamuno
The Rabbit Omnibus by John Updike
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Jimmy Corrigan, The Smarest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
Morvern Callar by Alan Warner
The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
Frost in May by Antonia White
The Tree of Man by Patrick White
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
I'll Go to Bed at Noon by Gerard Woodward
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Love
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier
Dom Casmurro Joaquim by Maria Machado de Assis
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
The Garden of the Finzi-Cortinis by Giorgio Bassani
Love for Lydia by HE Bates
More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow
Lorna Doone by RD Blackmore
The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen
The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Vilette by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Look At Me by Anita Brookner
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Possession by AS Byatt
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
A Month in the Country by JL Carr
My Antonia by Willa Cather
A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
Claudine a l'ecole by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
Cheri by Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette
Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad
The Princess of Cleves by Madame de Lafayette
The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Lover by Marguerite Duras
Adam Bede by George Eliot
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
A Room with a View by EM Forster
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
Strait is the Gate by Andre Gide
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Living by Henry Green
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
The Go-Between by LP Hartley
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer
Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst
Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest by WH Hudson
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek
Beauty and Saddness by Yasunari Kawabata
The Far Pavillions by Mary Margaret Kaye
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
Moon over Africa by Pamela Kent
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre-Ambroise-Francois Choderlos de Laclos
Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence
The Rainbow by DH Lawrence
Women in Love by DH Lawrence
The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Zami by Audre Lorde
Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie
Samarkand by Amin Maalouf
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini
A Heart So White by Javier Marias
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham
So Long, See you Tomorrow by William Maxwell
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
The Egoist by George Meredith
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Arturo's Island by Elsa Morante
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Lolita, or the Confessions of a White Widowed Male by Vladimir Nabokov
The Painter of Signs by RK Narayan
Delta of Venus by Anais Nin
All Souls Day by Cees Nooteboom
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Maurice Guest by Henry Handel Richardson
Pamela by Samuel Richardson
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
Light Years by James Salter
A Sport and a Passtime by James Salter
The Reader by Benhardq Schlink
The Reluctant Orphan by Aara Seale
Love Story by Eric Segal
Enemies, a Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer
At Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Waterland by Graham Swift
Diary of a Mad Old Man by Junichiro Tanizaki
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Music and Silence by Rose Tremain
First Love by Ivan Turgenev
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
East Lynne by Ellen Wood
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
Science fiction and fantasy
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Non-Stop by Brian W Aldiss
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster
The Drowned World by JG Ballard
Crash by JG Ballard
Millennium People by JG Ballard
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
Darkmans by Nicola Barker
The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Vathek by William Beckford
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite
Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown
Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Coming Race by EGEL Bulwer-Lytton
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The End of the World News by Anthony Burgess
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Erewhon by Samuel Butler
The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
The Influence by Ramsey Campbell
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
The Man who was Thursday by GK Chesterton
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Hello Summer, Goodbye by Michael G Coney
Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
Pig Tales by Marie Darrieussecq
The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R Delaney
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick
Camp Concentration by Thomas M Disch
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Under the Skin by Michel Faber
The Magus by John Fowles
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Red Shift by Alan Garner
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Light by M John Harrison
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein
Dune by Frank L Herbert
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg
Atomised by Michel Houellebecq
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Children of Men by PD James
After London; or, Wild England by Richard Jefferies
Bold as Love by Gwyneth Jones
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Shining by Stephen King
The Victorian Chaise-longue by Marghanita Laski
Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
The Earthsea Series by Ursula Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing
The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
The Night Sessions by Ken Macleod
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin
The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Ascent by Jed Mercurio
The Scar by China Mieville
Ingenious Pain by Andrew Miller
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller Jr
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Mother London by Michael Moorcock
News from Nowhere by William Morris
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Ada or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Vurt by Jeff Noon
The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and CM Kornbluth
A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling
Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
Air by Geoff Ryman
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Blindness by Jose Saramago
How the Dead Live by Will Self
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Insult by Rupert Thomson
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Institute Benjamenta by Robert Walser
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Affinity by Sarah Waters
The Time Machine by HG Wells
The War of the Worlds by HG Wells
The Sword in the Stone by TH White
The Old Men at the Zoo by Angus Wilson
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
State of the nation
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
London Fields by Martin Amis
Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
La Comedie Humaine by Honore de Balzac
They Were Counted by Miklos Banffy
A Kind of Loving by Stan Barstow
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave by Aphra Behn
Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Room at the Top by John Braine
A Dry White Season by Andre Brink
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
The Virgin in the Garden by AS Byatt
Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell
The Plague by Albert Camus
The Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier
What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe
Disgrace by JM Coetzee
Waiting for the Barbarians by JM Coeztee
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
Underworld by Don DeLillo
White Noise by Don DeLillo
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
Sybil or The Two Nations by Benjamin Disraeli
Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
The Book of Daniel by EL Doctorow
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
USA by John Dos Passos
Sister Carrie by Theodor Dreiser
Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Silas Marner by George Eliot
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert
Effi Briest by Theodore Fontane
Independence Day by Richard Ford
A Passage to India by EM Forster
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
The Recognitions by William Gaddis
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide
The Odd Women by George Gissing
New Grub Street by George Gissing
July's People by Nadine Gordimer
Mother by Maxim Gorky
Lanark by Alastair Gray
Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Chronicle in Stone by Ismael Kadare
How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman
The Leopard by Giuseppi di Lampedusa
A Girl in Winter by Philip Larkin
Passing by Nella Larsen
The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Amongst Women by John McGahern
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Of Love & Hunger by Julian Maclaren-Ross
Remembering Babylon by David Malouf
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Time of Indifference by Alberto Moravia
A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul
McTeague by Frank Norris
Personality by Andrew O'Hagan
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Ragazzi Pier by Paolo Pasolini
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Moon and the Bonfire by Cesare Pavese
GB84 by David Peace
Headlong Hall by Thomas Love Peacock
Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Shame by Salman Rushdie
To Each his Own by Leonardo Sciascia
Staying On by Paul Scott
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr
The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon
God's Bit of Wood by Ousmane Sembene
The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge
Richshaw Boy by Lao She
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Novel on Yellow Paper by Stevie Smith
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Red and the Black by Stendhal
This Sporting Life by David Storey
The Red Room by August Stringberg
The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Couples by John Updike
Z by Vassilis Vassilikos
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
Germinal by Emile Zola
La Bete Humaine by Emile Zola
War and travel
Silver Stallion by Junghyo Ahn
Death of a Hero by Richard Aldington
Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge
Darkness Falls from the Air by Nigel Balchin
Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard
Regeneration by Pat Barker
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
Fair Stood the Wind for France by HE Bates
Carrie's War by Nina Bawden
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd
When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
Auto-da-Fe by Elias Canetti
One of Ours by Willa Cather
Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-en
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell
The History of Pompey the Little by Francis Coventry
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Bomber by Len Deighton
Deliverance by James Dickey
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos
South Wind by Norman Douglas
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Justine by Lawrence Durrell
The Bamboo Bed by William Eastlake
The Siege of Krishnapur by JG Farrell
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford
The African Queen by CS Forester
The Ship by CS Forester
Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
The Beach by Alex Garland
To The Ends of the Earth trilogy by William Golding
Asterix the Gaul by Rene Goscinny
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
Count Belisarius by Robert Graves
Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman
De Niro's Game by Rawi Hage
King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard
She: A History of Adventure by H Rider Haggard
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Covenant with Death by John Harris
Enigma by Robert Harris
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
Rasselas by Samuel Johnson
From Here to Eternity by James Jones
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor
Confederates by Thomas Keneally
Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
Day by AL Kennedy
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski
If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
La Condition Humaine by Andre Malraux
Fortunes of War by Olivia Manning
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat
Moby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman Melville
Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener
The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat
History by Elsa Morante
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Burmese Days by George Orwell
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
The Valley of Bones by Anthony Powell
The Soldier's Art by Anthony Powell
The Military Philosophers by Anthony Powell
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolp Erich Raspe
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
The Crab with the Golden Claws by Georges Remi Herge
Tintin in Tibet by Georges Remi Herge
The Castafiore Emerald by Georges Remi Herge
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by Joao Guimaraes Rosa
Sacaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathon Safran Foer
The Hunters by James Salter
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
The Rings of Saturn by WG Sebald
Austerlitz by WG Sebald
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Maus by Art Spiegelman
The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson
A Sentimental Journey by Lawrence Sterne
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Flag for Sunrise by Robert Stone
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
Williwaw by Gore Vidal
Candide by Voltaire
Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh
Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh
The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells
The Machine-Gunners by Robert Westall
Voss by Patrick White
The Virginian by Owen Wister
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
The Debacle by Emile Zola
Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen
(Publisher)In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it.…
The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.
A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants—from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys—except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.
When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down—along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy—if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom—or with each other.
Enchanting and heartfelt, this captivating novel is sure to cast a spell with a style all its own…
(My Turn)
I picked this book up on a whim - it was a staff recommended read at a local book store and I almost NEVER like their picks, but this book looked different. I am so 100% glad that I gave it a shot. This has to be one of the most haunting and strange books I've read and it quickly became my new favorite book and I've already read it 3 times in 2 months.
From the very start of the book "Every smiley moon, without fail, Claire dreamed of her childhood. She always tried to stay awake those nights when the stars winked and the moon was just a cresting sliver smiling provocatively down at the world, the way pretty women on vintage billboards used to smile as they sold cigarettes and limeade." That is the very first two sentences of this book, and it truly grabs you with the glossy imagery she paints, but sometimes the rest of a book will pale in comparison to a good opening, but thankfully this is not the case with Garden Spells.
Ms Allen's writing is magical, and draws the reader into the character's lives while dealing primarily with finding peace and acceptance within and without, something every one searches for. The characters both living & non living are the driving force behind my love for this book, (there is very little action and yet, once you start reading, it is almost impossible to put down) compelling & drawing you into their lives. All of the characters are real people who have been hurt and who are afraid of being hurt again. You want to keep reading. You want to know that they can learn to trust. You want them to be worthy of trust. You start rooting for them. And yet what makes this a more than the normal drama, is that there is a magical element to the book. Almost all the characters have small, subtle magical gifts. From Evanelle who feels urged to give people small, random things to Claire, who's gourmet meals affect your mind and emotions to the magical apple tree, that likes to throw apples at people.
This is the kind of book I love to cuddle up in bed & read on days when the world seems dark and depressing. It is a light, enjoyable read and yet still thought provoking. Magic permeates the story. It's full of delightful quirky characters that make me smile.
And Happy Birthday
from a very Snarky Rabbit. I don't know why the board bled - it's very disturbing.
Bento 55 - Trying Something New
Shrimp Balls (that's the new - they're pretty good but make the box smell)Maki w/Ginger
& Chicken Stir Fry - it was toooooo yummy!!
Bento 54 - Stir Fry w/chicken
Really quick & easy stir fry tonight1T olive oil in a wok pan over medium high heat
Add 1t minced garlic & 1t minced ginger
Saute
Throw in cubed boneless skinless chicken
Cook for 5minutes
Toss in 1 onion sliced
Cook until chicken is almost done
Add 1C stir fry veggies (I use a store bought bag mix - it has everything in it)
Cover & steam cook until chicken is done & veggies are still crisp.
Bento 53 - Fajitas
Gotta love a go fast meal that is abso yummy and beef fajitas is IT for me. I love the steak, onions & peppers cook up and mix together. Add lettuce tomato & sour cream, and you've made my day (or rather night).In case you can't tell that is a sour cream & tomato heart. It's just on it's side.
Sex and the Psychic Witch - Annette Blair
(Publisher)
Introducing the Cartwright sisters-Harmony, Destiny and Storm-triplets and unstoppable seductresses. Harmony, the buyer for her sisters' vintage curio shop, can read objects and learn of their former owners. Now, a Celtic ring leads her to a castle on the coast of Massachusetts. King Paxton's money-pit is cursed, and he hopes that this leggy blonde can help him find peace with an angry ghost, a disgruntled renovation crew-and his own heart.
(My Turn)
The appeal in this story is the feisty heroine and her two sisters, their some what amusing banter and definitely quirky natures. However, this minute appeal paled quickly, and I was left plowing through a story with minimal plot, base characterization and little interest. There is something altogether unsatisfying about this story. I'm used to the instant lust that alot of writers create, but this seemed to consist more of a series of loosely-connected scenes between Harmony and King - with them alternately kissing/groping each other or ignoring/snarking each other. There's a ghost, Gussie, who doesn't like King and takes revenge in a rather strange way by tearing up various bits of the castle. For no apparent reason two members of King's family appear. Harmony's sisters show up to masquerade as her but fail miserably. There's a bundle of psychic cats thrust into the story for absolutely no good reason. And there are various other side characters who are pretty nebulous and one dimensional.
Introducing the Cartwright sisters-Harmony, Destiny and Storm-triplets and unstoppable seductresses. Harmony, the buyer for her sisters' vintage curio shop, can read objects and learn of their former owners. Now, a Celtic ring leads her to a castle on the coast of Massachusetts. King Paxton's money-pit is cursed, and he hopes that this leggy blonde can help him find peace with an angry ghost, a disgruntled renovation crew-and his own heart.
(My Turn)
The appeal in this story is the feisty heroine and her two sisters, their some what amusing banter and definitely quirky natures. However, this minute appeal paled quickly, and I was left plowing through a story with minimal plot, base characterization and little interest. There is something altogether unsatisfying about this story. I'm used to the instant lust that alot of writers create, but this seemed to consist more of a series of loosely-connected scenes between Harmony and King - with them alternately kissing/groping each other or ignoring/snarking each other. There's a ghost, Gussie, who doesn't like King and takes revenge in a rather strange way by tearing up various bits of the castle. For no apparent reason two members of King's family appear. Harmony's sisters show up to masquerade as her but fail miserably. There's a bundle of psychic cats thrust into the story for absolutely no good reason. And there are various other side characters who are pretty nebulous and one dimensional.
Positive Thoughts
On a positive note I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. · · I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. · · I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. · · I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." · · I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. · · I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can,happiness will find you. · · I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. · · I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. · · I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch - holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. · · I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. · · I've learned that you should pass this on to someone you care about. · · I just did. Sometimes they just need a little something to make them smile. Note: People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but People will never forget how you made them feel... "
Bento 52 - Garlic Chicken
Brocolli,
& Garlic Chicken
- Yummy
Had a request for the "recipe" that I use for the Garlic Chicken. It's really super simple, 1T olive oil & 1t minced garlic in the pan, medium low heat until the garlic starts popping around, pull out the garlic, add the chicken. Cook until almost done, add the garlic back in.
Bento 51 - Leftovers Reborn
I'm making this note for a reason - this salad cost me $0. Can you believe it?? Everything came from my mother's house as left overs from Easter Grazing Dinner.
Fairyville - Emma Holly
Before I even get the recap let me first say - WOWSER!!!! Be forewarned: there are a lot of sex scenes, described in blunt language, featuring a variety of acts and permutations. You've got M/F, M/M and M/F/M. And man, it is hot!!! While established fans of this author are most likely already aware that Emma Holly's stories often contain such content, new fans that will pick up the book in their local bookstore will have no way of knowing by looking at the book. If they don't care for this kind of material, then the surprise may turn them off of Holly's work for good, even those titles that are strictly M/F. Okay now for the recap.
(Publisher)
Zoe Clare, a medium, has been in love with Magnus Monroe, her landlord and manager, for two years. He seems to like her very much, yet every full moon he spends the night with another woman, although that's a one-off and he doesn't see the woman again.
Alex Goodbody is visiting Fairyville because he was hired to look into whether a young boy, Oscar, is was swapped with a Changeling at birth. Alex had left Fairyville under a cloud after being discovered having sex with his football coach, but Zoe still loves him and his arrival in town rekindles some of her old feelings. To add to the complication, Alex came with his fellow private investigator, Bryan McCallum, with whom he's just started a sexual relationship. Bryan and Alex have worked together for ten years, and Bryan is deeply in love.
As soon as Alex and Bryan arrive in Fairyville, strange things begin to happen - rocks shower on them in a hotel room, angels are summoned by Zoe to rescue them, and a relative of Alex's speaks to him from beyond the grave. As soon as Zoe meets Alex again, some of their feelings come back, which leads to jealousy on Magnus's part and insecurity for Bryan.
(My Turn)
This was my first read by Emma Holly, but I will definitely read more (my husband wants to go out and buy every book ever written right NOW). She certainly proved able to juggle the demands of a satisfying erotic romance (providing the reader with good romance and great sex) and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any paranormal erotic romance fan. I found her style of writing to be quirky and well developed without being overly wordy. I keep going back to the word WOW.
(Publisher)
Zoe Clare, a medium, has been in love with Magnus Monroe, her landlord and manager, for two years. He seems to like her very much, yet every full moon he spends the night with another woman, although that's a one-off and he doesn't see the woman again.
Alex Goodbody is visiting Fairyville because he was hired to look into whether a young boy, Oscar, is was swapped with a Changeling at birth. Alex had left Fairyville under a cloud after being discovered having sex with his football coach, but Zoe still loves him and his arrival in town rekindles some of her old feelings. To add to the complication, Alex came with his fellow private investigator, Bryan McCallum, with whom he's just started a sexual relationship. Bryan and Alex have worked together for ten years, and Bryan is deeply in love.
As soon as Alex and Bryan arrive in Fairyville, strange things begin to happen - rocks shower on them in a hotel room, angels are summoned by Zoe to rescue them, and a relative of Alex's speaks to him from beyond the grave. As soon as Zoe meets Alex again, some of their feelings come back, which leads to jealousy on Magnus's part and insecurity for Bryan.
(My Turn)
This was my first read by Emma Holly, but I will definitely read more (my husband wants to go out and buy every book ever written right NOW). She certainly proved able to juggle the demands of a satisfying erotic romance (providing the reader with good romance and great sex) and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any paranormal erotic romance fan. I found her style of writing to be quirky and well developed without being overly wordy. I keep going back to the word WOW.
100+ Reading Challenge
The 100+ Reading Challenge hosted at J.Kaye's. Here are the guidelines:
1) You can join anytime as long as you don’t start reading your books prior to 2009.
2) This challenge is for 2009 only. The last day to have all your books read is December 31, 2009.
3) You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.
4) If you don’t have a blog, please join our Yahoo Groups.
5) When you sign up under Mr. Linky, list the direct link to your post where your 100+ books will be listed. If you list just your blog’s URL, it will be removed.
6) All books count: children’s, YA, adults, fiction, non-fiction, how-tos, etc.
7) Feel free to post in the comment section or on Yahoo Groups your monthly progress as well as your favorite books that month.
1 Blue Girl Charles De Lint 3-25 Review
2 Blue Bloods Melissa De La Cruz 3-27
3 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ann Brashares 3-28
4 Circle of Three: So Mote it Be Isobell Bird 3-29
5 Promises in Death JD Robb (Nora Roberts) 3-29 Review
6 Guilty Pleasures Laurell K Hamiltom 3-30
7 Children of the Night Mercedes Lackey 3-30
8 Wicked Lovely Melissa Marr 3-30 Review
9 Charmed Nora Roberts 3-31
10 So You Want To Be A Wizard Diane Duane 4-2
11 Bras & Broomsticks Sarah Mlynowski 4-4
12 DragonSong Anne McCaffrey 4-5 Review
13 Hedgewitch Silver Ravenwolf 4-6
14 Charmed: Power of Three Constance Burge 4-7
15 The Snow Queen Mercedes Lackey 4-8
16 The Mediator: Shadowlands Meg Cabot 4-8
17 Necklace of Kisses Francesca Lia Block 4-9
18 Trouble with Magic Madelyn Alt 4-9 1st Review
19 When Lighning Strikes Meg Cabot 4-9
20 Fairyville Emma Holly 4-12 Review
21 Real Vampires Don't Diet - Gerry Bartlett 4-14
22 The Goddess Pages - Laurie Sue Brockway 4-15
23 Witch Blood - Anya Bast 4-16
24 Sex and the Psychic Witch - Annette Blair 4-20 Review
25 The Demon's Daughter - Emma Holly 4-21
26 Rejar - Dara Joy 4-22
27 Harm None - M R Sellars 4-23
28 The Very Virile Viking - Sandra Hill 4-23
29 Child of a Rainless Year - Jane Lindskold 4-24
30 Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen 4-25 Review
31 Witchling - Yasmine Galenorn 5-12 Review
32 In Between Men - Mary Castillo 5-20
33 Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun - Victoria Laurie 5-22 Review
34 Red Headed Stepchild - Jaye Wells 5-24 Review
35 A Charmed Death - Madelyn Alt 5-26
36 The Girl Who Stopped Swimming - Joshilyn Jackson 5-27 Review
37 Living with the Dead - Kelley Armstrong 5-29
38 Dark Summer - Iris Johansen 5-30
39 Vanished Man - Jeffrey Deaver 6-2
40 Dark Nights, Dark Dreams - Savannah Russe 6-3 Review
41 Skin Trade - Laurell K Hamilton 6-6 Review
42 Ghost of a Chance - Yasmine Galenorn 6-8
43 Witch Way to Murder - Shirley Damsgaard 6-9
44 The Faerie Path - Frewin Jones 6-9 Review
45 Changling - Yasmine Galenorn 6-10 Review
46 Office Spa - Darrin Zeer 6-10
47 Um, Like Om:Girl's Guide to Yoga - Evan Cooper 6-10
48 Moreta:Dragonlady of Pern - Anne McCaffrety 6-11
49 Darkling - Yasmine Galenorn 6-13 Review
50 Accidental Demon Slayer - Angie Fox 6-15
51 Ink Exchange - Melissa Marr 6-18 Review
52 Dragon Wytch - Yasmine Galenorn 6-19 Review
53 Riptide - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child 6-20
54 Goddess of the Night - Lynn Ewing 6-21 Review
55 Night Huntress - Yasmine Galenorn 6-25 Review
56 Demon Mistress - Yasmine Galenorn 6-30 Review
57 The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown 7-1 Review
58 Deja Demon - Julie Kenner 7-3 Review
59 The Goddess is in the Details - Deborah Blake 7-5 Review
60 Magic's Pawn - Mercedes Lackey 7-7 Review
61 Magic's Promise - Mercedes Lackey 7-9 Review
62 Magic's Price - Mercedes Lackey 7-11 Review
63 Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers - Angie Fox 7-14
64 The Iron Hunt - Marjorie M Liu 7-16 Review
65 Confessions of a Shopaholhic - Sophia Kinsella 7-19 Review
66 Dates from Hell - Anthology 7-21
67 Benny & Shrimp - Katarina Mazetti 7-23 Review
68 The Lie - Fredrica Wagman 7-25 Review
69 Secondhand Spirits - Juliet Blackwell 7-26
70 Now What? - Laura Berman Fortgang 7-28 Review
71 Kiss Of Shadow - Laurell K Hamilton 7-30 Review
72 Profiles in Murder - Russell Vorpagel 7-31 Review
73 Demon in My Vein - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes 8-1 Review
74 Wolf Moon - Charles DeLint 8-2 Review
75 A Caress of Twilight - Laurell K Hamilton 8-3 Review
76 The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong 8-4 Review
77 Gone With the Witch - Annette Blair 8-6 Review
78 Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews 8-8 Review
79 Kiss of a Demon King - Kresley Cole 8-10 Review
80 Scent of Darkness - Christina Dodd 8-11 Review
81 Midnight's Daughter - Karen Chance 8-17
82 Gifts from the Inner Child - Barbara Sinor 8-15 Review
83 Magic Burns - Ilona Andrews 8-18 Review
84 Addiction - Barbara Sinor 8-19
85 Touch of Darkness - Christina Dodd 8-16
86 You Are So Cursed - Naomi Nash 8-19
87 My Favorite Witch - Annette Blair 8-20 Review
87 Prey - Melinda Morel 8-21 Review
89 Seduced By Moon Light - Laurell K Hamilton 8-22
90 The Scott, The Witch, & The Wardrobe - Annette Blair 8-25
91 The Kitchen Witch - Annette Blair 8-26
92 Fangs 4 Freaks - Robar 8-27
93 Silent Thunder - Iris Johansen 8-27
94 Cindy Ella - Robin Palmer 8-28
95 Breath of Magic - Theresa Mediros 8-29
96 Into the Shadow - Christina Dodd 8-31
97 Claimed by Shadow - Karen Chance 9-1
98 Goddess of Light - PC Cast 9-3 Review
99 Halfway to the Grave - Frost 9-4
100 For a Few Demons More - Kim Harrison 9-4
101 Kitty & The Midnight Hour - Vaughn 9-6
102 Furies of Calderon - Jim Butcher 9-8
103 Blood Fever - Karen Moning 9-10
104 Beyond Seduction - Emma Holly 9-10
105 Over My Dead Body - Michele Bardsley 9-11
106 One For The Money - Janet Evanovish 9-12 Review
Review
Recap 4-13 to 4-19
4-13 Monday Got off work this morning, went home saw DH for a bit, played my new Sonic game (thanks Mom) for 30mins and then I went to bed. Sleep glorious sleep - I think I got too much today. But I feel better, oh so better.
Fit-N Sleep
4-14 Tuesday Today marks the 46th anniversary of my Parents nuptials. Had a money making op today & took it. Had a friend laughing over the power of thinking positive(even if it was a little mean spirited). Finally got to the mall to exchange the broken bento box & go cup.
Fit-N A short visit with Dad, Will&Grace computer style
4-15 Wednesday My day off - HA. Ended up running all day long. It was over to mom's to go grocery shopping - Nope.
Ended up at the mall because Theresa joined the party. Lane Bryant & Gymbaree were her main goals. I ended up with a new outfit + a shirt. I thought the cargo shorts w/color cord tank were just too cute & a must have item. Next up Mom & I went to Catherine's so mom could pick up some new clothes, while Theresa & Lucas sat this one out. Chilling in the van.
Then we went to Joe's - so we could take our tops off - OMG this was a super yummy abso fabu meal. It was the perfect amount of crab legs, shrimp & sausage. I really enjoyed sitting out on the sun deck talking with my mother & my sister while Lucas played. This was for me the most enjoyable part of the day.
Then we went all the way out to Hope Mills to run an errand for Theresa, then we had to go home so she could get ready for her night class. About 4p Mom & I finally made it to the grocery store with Lucas. Picked up what we started the day for and then I went home.
Fit-N Family Time, Grocery Shopping
4-16 Thursday OC today - so I didn't want to do anything that would interfer with that. I ended up completely rearrange then living room (pictures later) - sorted out all the movies and got them put up, pulled articles out of the magazines, and put a plastic bin in the Honda to hold recyclables - now I just have to get by the recycle zone when they are open. *sigh*
Fit-N Household chores
4-17 Friday - Didnt do anything today but hang out and relax.
Fit-N Me time
4-18 Saturday
Fit-N
4-19 Sunday - This was possibly the best Sunday I've had in a long time, even if I did have to work late. After I got off work, I went home - picked up the hubby & headed to the rents. My mom, dad, sister, brother in law, nephew, husband & self spent the entire day together. We cleaned out mom's fish pond & got the babies uniform put in & cooked a wonderful family style meal of ribs, baked potatoe, & salad. It was so relaxing and fun.
Fit-N Family Time
Fit-N Sleep
4-14 Tuesday Today marks the 46th anniversary of my Parents nuptials. Had a money making op today & took it. Had a friend laughing over the power of thinking positive(even if it was a little mean spirited). Finally got to the mall to exchange the broken bento box & go cup. Fit-N A short visit with Dad, Will&Grace computer style
4-15 Wednesday My day off - HA. Ended up running all day long. It was over to mom's to go grocery shopping - Nope.
Ended up at the mall because Theresa joined the party. Lane Bryant & Gymbaree were her main goals. I ended up with a new outfit + a shirt. I thought the cargo shorts w/color cord tank were just too cute & a must have item. Next up Mom & I went to Catherine's so mom could pick up some new clothes, while Theresa & Lucas sat this one out. Chilling in the van. 
Then we went to Joe's - so we could take our tops off - OMG this was a super yummy abso fabu meal. It was the perfect amount of crab legs, shrimp & sausage. I really enjoyed sitting out on the sun deck talking with my mother & my sister while Lucas played. This was for me the most enjoyable part of the day. Then we went all the way out to Hope Mills to run an errand for Theresa, then we had to go home so she could get ready for her night class. About 4p Mom & I finally made it to the grocery store with Lucas. Picked up what we started the day for and then I went home.
Fit-N Family Time, Grocery Shopping
4-16 Thursday OC today - so I didn't want to do anything that would interfer with that. I ended up completely rearrange then living room (pictures later) - sorted out all the movies and got them put up, pulled articles out of the magazines, and put a plastic bin in the Honda to hold recyclables - now I just have to get by the recycle zone when they are open. *sigh*
Fit-N Household chores
4-17 Friday - Didnt do anything today but hang out and relax.
Fit-N Me time
4-18 Saturday
Fit-N
4-19 Sunday - This was possibly the best Sunday I've had in a long time, even if I did have to work late. After I got off work, I went home - picked up the hubby & headed to the rents. My mom, dad, sister, brother in law, nephew, husband & self spent the entire day together. We cleaned out mom's fish pond & got the babies uniform put in & cooked a wonderful family style meal of ribs, baked potatoe, & salad. It was so relaxing and fun.
Fit-N Family Time
Recap 4-6 to 4-12
Monday - 4-6 Got up this afternoon (gotta love days off and how they twist you up with times), Decided to start the Hedge Witch Challenge, Opened all the windows, and aired out the house. Then started cleaning. Made it through almost the whole house in one afternoon, I'm so proud. If I go with the Fling Thing Boogie - I racked up 200 points today. LOL.
Fit-N Household Chore Spring Cleaning!!! Witchery, Long bath soak, Laundry, Goddess time, Yoga
Tuesday - 4-7 Lucas Birthday - Called Mom & Dad 1st thing this morning and had them meet me at McDonald's with Lucas. After breakfast (dad went back to work) Lucas & I went and played in the play land. Wow - that's a workout, climbing through those tunnels & tubes & slides. It was a lot of fun. Especially when I "tricked" Lucas into going down the slide first and I stayed up in the tubes calling for him. He seemed to have fun which was the whole point of it. I couldn't let his actual birthday not have something fun to do. He also got the rest of his present today, Tigger stuffed animal & a Queen bento box. He was all smiles & giggles. Then we went to walmart & he got in trouble, he decided he doesn't like wearing clothes & took his pants off in the middle of the store. After all that - I went home, got my Bedtime Tea & hot bath, and then went to sleep VERY peacefully.
Fit-N Play Time, Family Time & Household Chores
Wednesday - 4-8 Sleep o glorious sleep - How I craved you today, to bad I didn't get as much as I had wanted to get. But I just had to try a new habit, finished The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey and innocently walked it back to the library. OMG - I was so embarrassed by the way my library looked. Books all over - the floor, the tops of shelves, falling down. So naturally before I could sleep I HAD to fix it. I dusted, vacuumed, reorganized, rearranged, combined - in short I cleaned up the whole room before I went to bed.
Fit-N Me time, sleep & library clean up
Thursday - 4-9 CentraComm 8year anniversary. Meeting with my boss this morning. I'm still not sure what's going on, oh well that's life. Ended up over at the Rents building 19 Easter baskets.
That took from 930a until 1230ish, ran out for a Will&Grace (and to drop off the clothes I cleaned out of my closet). A friend wanted first dibbs on them, then she'll pass on what ever she didn't want plus some of her clothes. Wow I really need to set aside a day to sleep, I hear it's healthy.
Got up early tonight to do a Full Moon Rite with the hubby & got an invite to hang out with another potential pagan group. Thank you Goddess for bringing all these wonderful people into my life. Oh year - and made some extra cash today - but I'll never tell how.
Fit-N Family Time, Work, Will&Grace, Play time, Ritual, Money Maker
Friday - 4-10 ARGH!!! I need to learn to say no more! Today was supposed to be a short day cause I was up so late yesterday. I was going straight home and hop right into bed, right? Wrong!
I ended up thinking that the bookstore would be a lovely place to visit - after all I needed to pick up a book for my MissBimbo bookclub selection - but the bookstore didn't have it in (after telling me they had it). Anyhoo - I picked up a couple of the discount books cause I needed some Chick Lit for the newest 2009 Challenge and a tall Breve for the road and headed in the direction of home & bed.
Then my spirits plunged - I don't don't even know why. I started feeling majorly down & out, questioning several of my newest life style choice, so instead of loosing control completely - I drove toward Lori's. Just popped in for all of 20mins, but Evil Auntie said she hates me now (only cause she was jealous). So I picked her up a bribe (one that always works - see this note Uncle D) & headed to the rents to play with my nephew to lift my spirits - hey hey hey play in the sand box or follow me or Dino or whatever game that wonderful 3 year old mind can come up with and see if you don't get happier. And it worked as normal - but then another Aunt called and asked my Mom if she was going out to the Old Bluff today to put flowers on Papa & Grandma's graves. Mom asked me to go, so I said yes, and we loaded everyone up in the car - picked up the baker and headed off to the Old Bluff. (Now that is an interesting drive - My mom & my aunt kept arguing about which way to go)
Got to the church with no big delays, took of the old flowers, put on the new, chased Lucas around the tombstones, got a wisteria plant for everyone who wanted one, stopped by a old time store (local food/good prices), mom got some yucky stuff & bread, ran into 4 different places trying to find an i ceam cone aunt wee, and then finally drove back to the rents. Then helped my sister move 600 lbs of sand - 300 going to the dump pile 300 into the sand box, OUCH.
Fit-N Family time, Play Time, Books, Yoga
Saturday - 4-11 Got off work this morning and went over to the Rents & ended up running Mom to Food Lion so we could get some eggs (they forgot them yesterday). Got back to the house - put the eggs on to cook & tied up the seat cushions for Mom. Then it was time to run to Mickey D's for a fast breakfast with Mom(Dad stayed home to work), Uncle D (Evil Auntie slept late), Theresa(John was at school) & Lucas(who just looked entirely too cute this morning in his jeans & Tom Train Tshirt). Got the food, every camped out in the play area(every where else was full) & ate. After maybe 5 bites, Lucas decided it was time to play - come on Aunt Wee follow me. Well he had to eat a couple more bites and then away we went, through tunnels and tubes and slides oh my. Up and down and back up - cries of follow me and weeeee. All in all a fun morning - at least I remembered to let my inner child play.
Then it was back to the house to dye Easter Eggs.
Fit-N Family time, play
Sunday - 4-12 Easter - See seperate post
Fit-N Family time, Jim Time
Weekly Stats -
Fit-N Household Chore Spring Cleaning!!! Witchery, Long bath soak, Laundry, Goddess time, Yoga
Tuesday - 4-7 Lucas Birthday - Called Mom & Dad 1st thing this morning and had them meet me at McDonald's with Lucas. After breakfast (dad went back to work) Lucas & I went and played in the play land. Wow - that's a workout, climbing through those tunnels & tubes & slides. It was a lot of fun. Especially when I "tricked" Lucas into going down the slide first and I stayed up in the tubes calling for him. He seemed to have fun which was the whole point of it. I couldn't let his actual birthday not have something fun to do. He also got the rest of his present today, Tigger stuffed animal & a Queen bento box. He was all smiles & giggles. Then we went to walmart & he got in trouble, he decided he doesn't like wearing clothes & took his pants off in the middle of the store. After all that - I went home, got my Bedtime Tea & hot bath, and then went to sleep VERY peacefully.
Fit-N Play Time, Family Time & Household Chores
Wednesday - 4-8 Sleep o glorious sleep - How I craved you today, to bad I didn't get as much as I had wanted to get. But I just had to try a new habit, finished The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey and innocently walked it back to the library. OMG - I was so embarrassed by the way my library looked. Books all over - the floor, the tops of shelves, falling down. So naturally before I could sleep I HAD to fix it. I dusted, vacuumed, reorganized, rearranged, combined - in short I cleaned up the whole room before I went to bed.
Fit-N Me time, sleep & library clean up
Thursday - 4-9 CentraComm 8year anniversary. Meeting with my boss this morning. I'm still not sure what's going on, oh well that's life. Ended up over at the Rents building 19 Easter baskets.
That took from 930a until 1230ish, ran out for a Will&Grace (and to drop off the clothes I cleaned out of my closet). A friend wanted first dibbs on them, then she'll pass on what ever she didn't want plus some of her clothes. Wow I really need to set aside a day to sleep, I hear it's healthy.
Got up early tonight to do a Full Moon Rite with the hubby & got an invite to hang out with another potential pagan group. Thank you Goddess for bringing all these wonderful people into my life. Oh year - and made some extra cash today - but I'll never tell how.
Fit-N Family Time, Work, Will&Grace, Play time, Ritual, Money Maker
Friday - 4-10 ARGH!!! I need to learn to say no more! Today was supposed to be a short day cause I was up so late yesterday. I was going straight home and hop right into bed, right? Wrong!
I ended up thinking that the bookstore would be a lovely place to visit - after all I needed to pick up a book for my MissBimbo bookclub selection - but the bookstore didn't have it in (after telling me they had it). Anyhoo - I picked up a couple of the discount books cause I needed some Chick Lit for the newest 2009 Challenge and a tall Breve for the road and headed in the direction of home & bed.
Then my spirits plunged - I don't don't even know why. I started feeling majorly down & out, questioning several of my newest life style choice, so instead of loosing control completely - I drove toward Lori's. Just popped in for all of 20mins, but Evil Auntie said she hates me now (only cause she was jealous). So I picked her up a bribe (one that always works - see this note Uncle D) & headed to the rents to play with my nephew to lift my spirits - hey hey hey play in the sand box or follow me or Dino or whatever game that wonderful 3 year old mind can come up with and see if you don't get happier. And it worked as normal - but then another Aunt called and asked my Mom if she was going out to the Old Bluff today to put flowers on Papa & Grandma's graves. Mom asked me to go, so I said yes, and we loaded everyone up in the car - picked up the baker and headed off to the Old Bluff. (Now that is an interesting drive - My mom & my aunt kept arguing about which way to go)
Got to the church with no big delays, took of the old flowers, put on the new, chased Lucas around the tombstones, got a wisteria plant for everyone who wanted one, stopped by a old time store (local food/good prices), mom got some yucky stuff & bread, ran into 4 different places trying to find an i ceam cone aunt wee, and then finally drove back to the rents. Then helped my sister move 600 lbs of sand - 300 going to the dump pile 300 into the sand box, OUCH.
Fit-N Family time, Play Time, Books, Yoga
Saturday - 4-11 Got off work this morning and went over to the Rents & ended up running Mom to Food Lion so we could get some eggs (they forgot them yesterday). Got back to the house - put the eggs on to cook & tied up the seat cushions for Mom. Then it was time to run to Mickey D's for a fast breakfast with Mom(Dad stayed home to work), Uncle D (Evil Auntie slept late), Theresa(John was at school) & Lucas(who just looked entirely too cute this morning in his jeans & Tom Train Tshirt). Got the food, every camped out in the play area(every where else was full) & ate. After maybe 5 bites, Lucas decided it was time to play - come on Aunt Wee follow me. Well he had to eat a couple more bites and then away we went, through tunnels and tubes and slides oh my. Up and down and back up - cries of follow me and weeeee. All in all a fun morning - at least I remembered to let my inner child play.
Then it was back to the house to dye Easter Eggs.
Fit-N Family time, play
Sunday - 4-12 Easter - See seperate post
Fit-N Family time, Jim Time
Weekly Stats -
| Start | Current | Total | |
| Weight | 252 | 241 | 11 |
My Extended Family Easter Sunday
My mom worked really hard with the baby's help on setting up some beautiful Easter decorations and I would say they succeeded. I just love the egg tree with the wisteria. And the bunny is a cute touch.
Lucas was SOOOOO happy about the day. He wanted to eat all his nummy-nums and hunt Easta Egg - while we waited for all the kids to get there, we played on the swing set and in the sand box.
Lucas & His GeeGee. What else shows love and laughter like this?
Most of the extended family was able to make it - Yippie!!!! I haven't seen some of these guys for over a year. And then there were the suprises - saw Shonn, Kaylee & Noah 2 weekends in a row. Amazing!!! One whole family section did not show up & we were missing another cousin & his family. I was very happy to see every one who came down. Thank you!
Buffet Lunch - Mom didn't want a traditional sit down & eat meal, so everyone brought a dish or 2 and it was graze as needed. The kids loved it!!!My contribution - Jim made deviled eggs. LOL. I helped with a bunch of stuff mom did, but I didn't actually cook anything.
Bento 50 - Easter Treats
Leftovers from a "grazing lunch" at mom's and I forgot to snap a picture
Ham, Turkey, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatoe, Deviled Egg.
Ham, Turkey, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatoe, Deviled Egg.
Dyeing Easter Eggs
After we ate breakfast it was back to the house to dye Easter Eggs. And let me tell you - that was a lesson in patience. He wanted to do what he wanted to do and nothing else, but his mommy did eventually get some good pictures. I let him do it all (just like cake baking) - put the tablet in the cup, now add the vinegar (I poured into the tablespoon and he dumped it in the cup & counted down from 3), let the dye melt, now add the water, and duh-duh-duuuuh, add the egg (gently ha - there are so many that were broken).
And then we wait - and wait - and wait some more (some of us more patiently then others) while the eggs get dyed. And then finally we get to take them out(the other stage where we lost some) ooohing & ahhing over the pretty colors. Then we got to repeat the whole egg cycle again. Way cool!!!
And that was my Saturday morning. Pretty cool huh?
Bento 49 - Taco Salad
Still doing the healthy thing, Taco salad with lean ground beef and lowfat cheese & sour cream. (Side note - no beans or chips) Added a Hoppy Easter Bunny!!
And Jim slipped in a surprise - 2 Deviled Eggs. They are soooo yummy - he makes them from a secret recipe.
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