WEEK FIFTY-TWO - 'TULLY'

'Tully' by Paullina Simons
December 22 - 25, 592 pages

I've had this book sitting by my bed waiting for me to read it for months. It wasn't that I didn't want to read it, but that it is so thick that I needed to wait for a week when i wasn't so busy so I'd have time. And then I sped through it in four days! I couldn't put it down. It's very good. Simons is such a talented writer (I also read 'The Bronze Horseman' this year).

The novel is pretty sad. It definitely pulls you in and makes you feel for the characters. Throughout the whole book, I didn't know how I wanted it to end, let alone how I thought it would end. Part of the fun, I guess.

I'm very glad I read this. It definitely made me think, and feel. Very good.

I know it's week fifty-two, but I'm making this a fifty-three week year, because it's not over until Friday. One more week to go!

WEEK FIFTY-ONE - 'A SHORT HISTORY OF TRACTOR IN UKRAINIAN'

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
December 17 - 18, 324 pages

A friend saw this book and asked me what it was about. I assured her that it was very funny, and then explained the storyline. She was a bit disappointed, it didn't sound very funny. But it is. It is so bizarre. But very good. It is a great read. So easy to just gobble it up in a few sittings.

It's quirky and so different. I want to read some more novels by Lewycka. They all have great covers, too.

Oh, and it's not actually a short history of tractors in Ukrainian. But it does briefly touch on their history. It's surprisingly interesting. Nothing on the novel's characters and their crazy relationships with each other, though.

WEEK FIFTY - 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL'

'A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings' by Charles Dickens
December 6 - 11, 264 pages

I love Dickens. You know I love Dickens. And you can't love Dickens and not read 'A Christmas Carol'. That I knew the storyline back to fron and seen many knock-offs is irrelevant: I need to read the real thing. It's very Christmassy. And jolly. I didn't actually enjoy it as much as his other novels. It wasn't funny and sarcastic. The characters don't have much depth. And the moral is served to you on a silver platter. No work required. But it is a nice little story. I enjoyed it for that.

The other 'Christmas writings' are quite nice, too. Nothing too special but definitely helped me get in the festive spirit! Christmas is so soon!

'... while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour.'

WEEK FORTY-NINE - 'ANGELA'S ASHES' & 'THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE'

'Angela's Ashes' by Frank McCourt

November 29 - December 3, 426 pages

This is a great book. It opened my eyes. I know very little about Ireland and its history so reading McCourt's story was like discovering a new world. His anecdotes of what he had to face in everyday life in a poverty-stricken family are eye-opening. Your heart opens to him and his struggles. It is also beautifully told. McCourt is a wonderful writer. I will definitely be reading more of hiss books. This one tells the story of his childhood, I want to know what happens next!

'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe' by Douglas Adams

December 3 - 5, ~150 pages

Just like its prequel, this novel is hilarious. I am constantly amazed by the perfect way in which Adams constructs his sentences. How is he so funny?!

WEEK FORTY-EIGHT - 'WICKED'

'Wicked' by Gregory Maguire

November 22-25, 406 pages

I feel like I'm just about the only person who hasn't seen the musical of 'Wicked' so I decided to do the next best thing: read the book.

It is far more complex than I anticipated. Some sections of the novel I really got into, and some left me confused; there is a lot going on. It was nice, though. Especially since I haven't read 'The Wizard of Oz' recently and so I rediscovered parts of that story as well. There are some quite funny one-liners, but not much humour apart from them. It's a really interesting and inspired take on a classic story. I was particularly intrigued by the debates on 'evil' - what, where, how and why? Fascinating.