Cold Mountain

A book that I took off my Grandma's shelf - very impressed at my Grandma's choice. This is Charles Frazier's first novel and I was gripped from page one. I wouldn't normally go for a war novel, but this is the beauty of going through the 1000 novels, it forces you out of your comfort zone. I have seen the film before and in some ways this may have helped me to enjoy this book more (although I had forgotten the ending). I couldn't put this one down - really, really enjoyed it.

The Graduate

A film that I have watched, again years and years ago! I couldn't really remember the story, so I can't really remember if the film was a good adaptation of the book. This is the story of a recent graduate who comes back to live with his parents in their humdrum life of suburban comfort. He is trying to work out what to do next, which direction he should take in life since leaving university. He looks for excitement anywhere he can - including in the bed of Mrs Robinson...

Empire of the Sun

Another J G Ballard novel - this one is semi-autobiographical. I saw the film years and years ago, and remembered a fair amount of this, but really enjoyed reading this novel. The novel follows a young boy who grew up in China as the son of British expats. At the outbreak of the second world war, he is separated from his family and has to survive using his own wits and any resources that he can find.

Drowned World

I really enjoyed this book. A sci-fi look into a world where the world is covered by water due to melting ice caps. The protagonist is a scientist who is asked to leave an area due to the rising water levels. He refuses to leave and has to survive in the boiling temperatures. All is fine, until a number of strangers arrive into this drowned world and the adventure begins. In some ways this is when I stopped enjoying the book so much, I found the scientific premise of the drowned world fascinating and I felt that the book lost something when it became more 'exciting'.