The Best 60 Books of the Last 60 Years, by the TIMES ONLINE

The Times Online has published the Top 60 Books of the Last 60 Years, and I thought that it would be neat to look through the list and see how many fo them I have read and maybe also used it as a list for future reads. I've put bolded the ones I've read. Any that I should pull to the top of the list?? If you click on the link above, the article has links to all of the reviews of all of the books. It is quite a good little resource.

1949 Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
1950 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis
1951 The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
1952 Pigs Have Wings P. G. Wodehouse
1953 Casino Royale Ian Fleming
1954 Lord of the Flies William Golding
1955 Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
1956 The Hundred and One Dalmatians Dodie Smith
1957 Doctor ZhivagoBoris Pasternak
1958 Our Man in Havana Graham Greene
1959 The Leopard Giuseppe di Lampedusa
1960 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
1961 Catch 22 Joseph Heller
1962 The Golden Notebook Doris Lessing
1963 The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
1964 Funeral in Berlin Len Deighton
1965 Dune Frank Herbert
1966 Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
1967 Towards the End of the Morning Michael Frayn
1968 2001 Arthur C. Clarke
1969 The French Lieutenant’s Woman John Fowles
1970 Play it as it Lays Joan Didion
1971 Americana Don DeLillo
1972 Watership Down Richard Adams
1973 Crash J. G. Ballard
1974 Fear of Flying Erica Jong
1975 Salem’s Lot Stephen King
1976 Even Cowgirls get the Blues Tom Robbins
1977 A Scanner Darkly Philip K. Dick
1978 The World According to Garp John Irving
1979 Smiley’s People John le Carré
1980 Earthly Powers Anthony Burgess
1981 Lanark Alasdair Gray
1982 The House of the Spirits Isabel Allende
1983 Waterland Graham Swift
1984 Money Martin Amis
1985 Love in The Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1986 Tourist Season Carl Hiaasen
1987 More Die of Heartbreak Saul Bellow
1988 Mother London Michael Moorcock
1989 Sexing the Cherry Jeannette Winterson
1990 Get Shorty Elmore Leonard
1991 The Famished Road Ben Okri
1992 The Secret History Donna Tartt
1993 Trainspotting Irvine Welsh
1994 How Late it Was, How Late James Kelman
1995 Northern Lights Philip Pullman
1996Angela's AshesFrank McCourt
1997 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone J. K. Rowling
1998 The Wind-up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami
1999 Disgrace J. M. Coetzee
2000 The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood
2001 The Corrections Jonathan Franzen
2002 Atonement Ian McEwan
2003 The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger
2004 The Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst
2005 Twilight Stephenie Meyer
2006 The Road Cormac McCarthy
2007 A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
2008 Netherland Joseph O’Neill
2009 The Little Stranger Sarah Waters

16/60, how pathetic. At least I have a list of new books to read!

Reading Material for my Trip

I am trying to figure out what to take to read on my Christmas trip to France. We are leaving on Thursday for 2 weeks and I can't wait! It will be so much fun! The challenge is the packing and the reading. Books are so heavy and I am such a reader. I am not sure what to take. On my top list are the following books:

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy - I have never read it. I loved Anna Karenina and I hear that the new translation of War and Peace is so much easier to read and enjoy. It has been translated by the husband and wife team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I worry about its weight at 1300 pages.

Chasing Harry Winston - I bought this ages ago, and just haven't got around to reading it. It is still on the shelf, but in hardcover.

One Fifth Avenue - Same as above

I also have about 30 other books on my shelf that I am desperate to get too. Not to mention about 2-3 months of O's, Vanity Fair's, InStyle's, Vogues, ect. Too much to read, not enough time..........

100 Notable Books of 2008 - NYTimes List

I am obsessed with the 100 Notable Books of the year lists from the NYTimes. Anyway, it came out this week and it always forms a good reference for my reading pile. It is also a really good source for gifts for the holidays. I love to give books. They make a great gift and they are really something that I love to give more than anything because they are so personal and thoughtful. If you know someone, you can really spend time to find the right book and it can be so meaningful. Have a look and let me know what ones will be added to your list of books to read in 2009.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/100Notable-t.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

New Book Purchases: Chasing Harry Winston and One Fifth Avenue

It's official, the awful stress of the economy has made me officially add two very potentially trashy books to my bedside table. One is chasing harry winston by Lauren Weisberger. Total chick lit, which I am not usually into at all, but come on the Christian Lous and the Winston rings on the cover, stole my heart quickly! Apparently three girls in NYC searching for husbands, same old story, and I am sure that they all end up happy with huge rocks! Does it ever end up any other way in Chick Lit????

The second book that I bought for my self and my best friend, and I have been dieing to read is One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell. Yes the writer of SATC has written a new book and I have read so many reviews about it that I have to read it. It is going to be total Chick Lit again but I think some more substance. The premise is 5 (I think) women who live in One Fifth Avenue in NYC, one of the most illustrious addresses in NYC, and their lives in the building. It looks fabulous.

I avoid Chick Lit like the plague because I usually find it so taxing and slightly annoying, but I can't wait to read these. I think, given how busy I am, it will be a while before I get through them. We shall see. I'll write about how it goes as I read through them.

Recently added to my bedside table: The One Hundred - A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia

A dear friend of mine just gave me Nina Garcia's new book The One Hundred - A guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own. I have yet to crack the spine as I have about 10 books on the go right now, including The Beautiful Fall (which I am loving). I also saw Nina Garcia being interviewed on Good Morning America and wanted to see if I can put together my list of 100 items I think that every stylish woman should own before I read her book. I would then like to compare and contrast and see where the differences are. I am thoroughly intrigued by the process. When I flipped through the book I did notice that it looks like there are lots of graphics and it will be a fun read. I have started assembling my list of 100 and hope that I will post it soon. It think that I might do something similar to what the omnivore's 100 list did and ask other blogger's to comment and post to their blogs, not sure. Anyway, I will share it in a couple of days, if not sooner. In the mean time the book is cheap and makes a cute gift for a girlfriend.

Food Industry Roundup - The Cookbook Chronicles

This is such a good list. I absolutely love it and what a great list of cookbooks. I copied the list that got 4 or more nominations:

The Most-Stained Cookbooks: these books were selected four or more times by the below food professionals. To save repetition, here they are — the most popular:

-Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee — “The book I refer to most often is probably my own. I wrote it partly so I wouldn’t have to remember all the stuff I’ve learned over the years!” (Harold McGee)
-The Joy of Cooking (1964 or older) by Irma S. Rombauer — “There’s been a copy in the family country home for as long as I can remember, stained with every summer fruit available in the northeast.” (Zakary Pelaccio)
-The Cake Bible By Rose Levy Beranbaum — “The bibles of Beranbaum, of course.” (Pichet Ong)
-The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan
-Simple French Food by Richard Olney
-The Escoffier Cookbook and Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery by Auguste Escoffier
-Anything by Paula Wolfert — “She has some amazing things scattered throughout every book, and I always learn something.” (Daniel Patterson)

The only books on the list that I don't have are the Auguste Escoffier book and anything by Paula Wolfert. I love the rest of the books on the list. If you want to see the whole list you can find it here. It is amazing. I think that I might have a bunch of cookbooks on "to buy list". Damn.

Book Review - Hungry Girl - Recipies and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Freee Eating for the Real World

I was quite excited about buying this book this summer. I had read some really cute things about it and thought that it would be great. My mother gave it too my for my birthday (saved me from wasting the $20!). I am appalled by it. I am trying to reduce the amount of processed foods that I am eating, not increase them. Every recipe calls for processed something, whether it is Pillsbury Reduced Calorie Cake mix or Crystal Light. I am so disappointed. I was hoping for good quick ideas that were low in fat and healthy, but also fun and not all processed. I will likely not make anything from the book. Quite upsetting. She does have a cute website that has some cute ideas, but even there they are all really processed foods. It is an interesting to see all of the low fat processed stuff, but I would much rather hit my farmers market rather than my freezer aisle, wouldn't you????

My newest read: The Beautiful Fall - Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris

I am so excited to read this book. I cannot wait. It is in my carry on for my trip to South America. It looks amazing. I just read the review in Vogue, I think, and it looks so good. Right up my alley. Any fashionista should read it. It looks awesome. Basically as I understand it, it is all about the rivalry between my two faves M. Saint Laurent and Mr. Lagerfeld all in Paris. Could anything be more perfect??? Oh, if I didn't have to pack tonight, I would be reading through the night tonight.

I will do a whole book report a la grade six on my return. Can't wait.

Buy of the Day - Cook Book

Oh happy happy day. One of my favorite authors has a new cookbook. I am too excited. i can't wait. I will buy it tomorrow. yummy. I have her other books and I love them. Can't wait.

What I am reading

http://www.amazon.ca/Eat-Pray-Love-Elizabeth-Gilbert/dp/0143038419/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/701-1027406-1033910?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194274178&sr=8-1
I am currently reading the same book that everyone else is reading Eat Pray Love. The story of a 30ish year old woman actively trying to find herself through her travels to Italy, Indonesia and India. So far she is in Italy and I am feeling like she is a bit of a spoiled brat, quite frankly. As everyone has said how much they love it, I am determined to go past my usual 100 page minimum to figure out if I like the book and finish it. I can see that there are some elements that I will just love and relate to. Who can't love Italy when your only goal is too learn Italian, eat and absorb the culture.......