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Book a Week in 2013 - Week Thirty-Four


Robin M
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I'm still working on Houses of Leaves.  The writing is amazing, the book book is a slow read, very dense.  I'm at the point where it's starting to get weird, but I'm still liking it. I have a long way to go.  

 

How was Dragonfly in Amber?   I've looked at that book a few times.  I keep passing it over, but I can't remember why.

 

It isn't one of my favorites.  It is quite slow, but necessary, for building the story line.

 

 

I'm in-between. Definitely didn't love it. Made fun of it while I was reading it because it was predictable in many ways (okay, let's predict how many times she'll be saved from rape! okay, let's predict how often she'll nurse him back to health! okay, what's the pattern between intimate moments followed by moments of action and violence!) but I didn't hate it. I wouldn't have finished it if I did. It wasn't badly written, the intimacy wasn't crazily unrealistic and I appreciated that. It was just full of historical and romantic cliches. 

 

Yes, I can see how it is predictable.  This was her first novel, and she didn't plan on showing it to anyone.  She just wanted to see if she could write a novel.   :)   I think the storytelling gets better and better as you progress through the books.  Although, she does have a tendency to use big words.  I've heard a lot of grumbling about that, but I like it.  It helps me build my vocabulary.   :D

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 Although, she does have a tendency to use big words.  I've heard a lot of grumbling about that, but I like it.  It helps me build my vocabulary.   :D

 

Aw, that makes me think of one of my favorite quotes...!

 

 

"Zoology, eh? That's a big word, isn't it."

 

"No, actually it isn't," said Tiffany. "Patronizing is a big word. Zoology is really quite short."

 

-- Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

 

:laugh:

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http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/classics/the-expendable-man/

 

Robin gave a link to this list a few weeks ago. I was immediately intrigued by the cover and description for this book. Dorothy B. Hughes was apparently quite a prolific and talented author who wrote several books with far reaching topics.

 

"The Expendable Man" was great! :) I read it in one sitting. It grabbed me from the first couple of pages and kept building. I hate to be too descriptive because the main theme came as rather a surprise a couple of chapters in. If I had read a review about that element I had forgotten about it completely which was great. Really made me think a bit. This book is classified as being American Noir and it is a great snapshot of life in the 60's for a segment of American society.

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I have also finished a few others while on a long car trip.

 

"Grendel" by John Gardner is done. Not a favorite by any means. I found some interesting study material which would make it more enjoyable in terms of having dd read it. We have awhile to decide fortunately. I sort of liked the first bit but by chapter eight or so it was a total get this thing over with. ;)

 

"No Longer at Ease" is the second book in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" trilogy. Not as good as Things...but good and very interesting. Quite a sad story. I have the third waiting.

 

"Death at Wentwater Court" by Carola Dunn. The first Daisy Dalrymple Mystery. A fun cozy. Sort of a slightly older version of Nancy Drew from the adult section of the library. I can imagine becoming as obsessive about getting these read in order as I was about Nancy Drew. ;) Dd read and enjoyed it also. An easy read.

 

"Scone Cold Dead" by Kaitlyn Dunner. Anoth cozy. Our second in this series. We plan to keep reading them which says it all.

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It's gone a bit quiet the past couple of days so how's about we update our reading challenges progress? Is anyone still even keeping track?

 

Here's mine:

 

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Completed (currently on 63 of 52, so I'm well over)

Mount TBR / Dusty Books: 12 of 36 (ouch!)

Book to Movie: Completed (currently 13 of 12 with the Hollow Crown series still to come)

5/5/5 Challenge: Continents (3 of 5), Chunkster (Complete), Foodie (2 of 5), Drama (Complete), Vintage Mystery (3 of 5)

 

Dewey Decimal: Abandoned

Back to the Classics: Abandoned

 

How's everyone else doing? :bigear:

38 out of 52 books

 

Dewey Decimal- all but the 400s (languages) and 700s (arts)

 

Continents- still need Asia and then I guess a book about Antarctica since there are no authors from there?

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I have read 39 books so far this year so I am on track to read at least 52.  Travel distractions have slowed me down lately.

 

This is where I stand with my 5/5/5:  Old Friends 3/5; Dusty Books 5/5; Sustainability 3/5; Dorothy Dunnett 2/5 (although I am reading Dunnett #3 at the moment); Chunksters 5/5.

 

I am also currently rereading Henry IV Part One, a play that I have not read since college.

 

And now to share a photo from our ramble through Ashdown Forest, home of Winnie the Pooh:

 

9540746559_ae4e4d0661_z.jpg

 

No, we did not find any heffalumps.

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The compulsive search for more books is so me. I picked up seven librariy holds yesterday even though I have, like, 25 books on the shelves in my bedroom waiting for my attention :blush: And I check the Amazon and B&N Daily Deal every. single. day.

 

I told dh over the weekend that my gift card balance at Nook was running low, and I needed a new transfusion of book money. He asked, "Which books are you wanting?" My reply: "All of them." I mean, come on, isn't it obvious? :toetap05:

LOL. I do that all the time w/ library books. My request list is always maxed out & I'm constantly putting the things on my hold list on 'suspension' (to try to space out the dates I receive the books). I have piles of books everywhere. The librarians probably think I'm crazy, but at least they're still nice to me. And to top it off, this has been a completely crazy week for us & I've gotten no reading done except for a few pages in Poe's book.

 

As for your second statement, men are clueless sometimes, eh? ;)

http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/classics/the-expendable-man/

 

Robin gave a link to this list a few weeks ago. I was immediately intrigued by the cover and description for this book. Dorothy B. Hughes was apparently quite a prolific and talented author who wrote several books with far reaching topics.

 

"The Expendable Man" was great! :) I read it in one sitting. It grabbed me from the first couple of pages and kept building. I hate to be too descriptive because the main theme came as rather a surprise a couple of chapters in. If I had read a review about that element I had forgotten about it completely which was great. Really made me think a bit. This book is classified as being American Noir and it is a great snapshot of life in the 60's for a segment of American society.

Yay. Glad to hear that review. I think my library has that one so I'll be adding it to my holds list very soon!

It's gone a bit quiet the past couple of days so how's about we update our reading challenges progress? Is anyone still even keeping track?

 

Here's mine:

 

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Completed (currently on 63 of 52, so I'm well over)

Mount TBR / Dusty Books: 12 of 36 (ouch!)

Book to Movie: Completed (currently 13 of 12 with the Hollow Crown series still to come)

5/5/5 Challenge: Continents (3 of 5), Chunkster (Complete), Foodie (2 of 5), Drama (Complete), Vintage Mystery (3 of 5)

 

Dewey Decimal: Abandoned

Back to the Classics: Abandoned

 

How's everyone else doing?

I was originally doing the continental challenge, the dusty &/or chunky book challenge, and the Dewey Decimal one.

 

At this point, I'm ditching the Dewey Decimal one. Life is hectic right now, non-fiction is not my favorite, & when I have spare minutes to read, I want to spend them immersed in fiction.

 

For the dusty &/or chunky, 1Q84 met my requirements for both. LOL. I've read a couple of others off my shelf. I'll get to the rest, I know I will... someday.

 

Continental is easy for me because that's the type of stuff I like to read anyway.

 

So, my stats are something like:

 

Dewey Decimal: Died a slow, sad death & is now gone. :p

Dusty &/or Chunky: Did a couple & that's plenty good enough for me. Case closed.

Continental: 28 so far; still need to read books from Australia & Antarctica. (Rosie, any Australian suggestions for me? I'm thinking of Walkabout for one...???)

Pick a Book by its Cover: Did this one for sure w/ one, but cover art often drives my choices quite a bit anyway.

Finished 'Merchant of Venice,' *finally.*

:seeya: Hey, are you finally feeling better??? :grouphug:

 

Huzzah to the libraries that keep old books!

:hurray:

 

How's the trip going, Jane??? Have you done the reading assignments that Violent Crown gave you?

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Oh, and I know I had asked at some point for suggestions for October reading. I now know one of them: The Witches of Eastwick.

 

Not super-thrilled about reading it (it's the book club pick). Most everyone wanted to read it because they loved the movie so much. I don't remember liking the movie (but it has been decades since I've seen it), but I'm hoping this is a case where the book is better & different from the movie.

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I finished a light, quirky book, Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. It was a perfect follow up to Calvino's If on a Winter's Night. I didn't have to think about the sentences at all...just read, read, read! The story is primarily told through a series of e-mails. I enjoyed reading her descriptions of Seattle and Seattlites since I've lived in Washington all my life. The characters are over the top which had me smiling through much of the book. But it's definitely a quirky book and not for everyone.
 
I also finished listening to Who Do You Think You Are by Mark Driscoll, an in-depth look at the book of Ephesians.

 

J. Maarten Troost showed up one of my e-mail lists. Looks like he writes primarily non-fiction but that still counts right? :)

 

j_maarten_troost.jpg

 

 

 

7209.jpg

Yowza!!!!

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I'm stalling, stalling whilst reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.  I am starting to get stubborn about it, though. I've read 30, which is really very good for me by this point in the year.  Plus, I've got some read alouds going that will "count"  ... Man of the Family by Moody (so good) and Peril and Peace which is church history.  And we have a vacation coming up!  Woo-hoo!

 

My only challenge was "no re-reads." I've done really well other than two of the Sally Wright books I read in January and half of The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer (maybe I should finish that LOL).  I don't really count those because I didn't remember *anything* about them after reading them 10 years or so ago.  Actually, I've done better than I expected on the no re-reads challenge ... I love re-reading old friends!

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My branch has one bookcase where the librarians put most patron holds, and they have another, completely seperate shelf where they put my holds.  I don't know whether to be flattered or embarassed.  :lol: :lol:

The dc's and I have had a good chuckle. Now reality has set in and we feel underappreciated (pretty sure not a word) by our librarian!

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How's the trip going, Jane??? Have you done the reading assignments that Violent Crown gave you?

That's the nickname for a different city. Probably Oakland.

 

I don't even remember what challenges I signed up for. It's all sort of deteriorated into the "What Looks Interesting Now In My To-Read Stack" challenge. I'm past my goal of book-every-other-week, though. It helps that Wee Girl is doing more independent reading this year.

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I told dh over the weekend that my gift card balance at Nook was running low, and I needed a new transfusion of book money.  He asked, "Which books are you wanting?"  My reply:  "All of them."   I mean, come on, isn't it obvious?  :toetap05:

 

 

 

Silly question. ^_^

 

 

 

Here's my contribution to "Hot Writers" week....Sam Harris. :001_wub:

 

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I just finished Eternal Life: A New Vision by John Shelby Spong. As far as I know it's the last book he wrote and the first book of his I've read. In it he chronicles his own spiritual life and finds parallels in the history of religion. He speaks of his vision of the future of religion and thoughts about death and religion as his life comes to an end.

 

I recieved Borges' book Labyrinths from Violet Crown's generous daughter and have read a couple of the stories randomly, without reading the preface. Half way through the first story I realized it was an analogy when I laughed at something that reminded me of my own thoughts about a particular subject. The second story was clearly analogous. Are they all like this, ciphers to be decoded?

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Hey, that's one I've had on my shelves forever! I have never been able to get past the first twenty pages despite many tries. Did you know there is a sequel titled The Widows of Eastwick that Updike wrote almost three decades later? Both books are in my dusty stacks, so I think I will pull them out for October. Thanks for the reminder!

You not being able to get past the first twenty pages of The Witches of Eastwick doesn't bode too well for me, I think (esp. since I don't have a big desire to read it in the first place).... Blah. I'm already NOT feeling the love for this book.

"Superstar" sounds much better than "crazy lady." ;)

Well, we weren't going to say anything, but now that you mention it.... ;)

I finished a light, quirky book, Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. It was a perfect follow up to Calvino's If on a Winter's Night. I didn't have to think about the sentences at all...just read, read, read! The story is primarily told through a series of e-mails. I enjoyed reading her descriptions of Seattle and Seattlites since I've lived in Washington all my life. The characters are over the top which had me smiling through much of the book. But it's definitely a quirky book and not for everyone.

 

I also finished listening to Who Do You Think You Are by Mark Driscoll, an in-depth look at the book of Ephesians.

 

J. Maarten Troost showed up one of my e-mail lists. Looks like he writes primarily non-fiction but that still counts right? :)

Definitely! (In re: to your last question! :D )

 

The Bernadette book stressed me out when I read it. I think it was the wrong kind of quirky for me. :tongue_smilie:

I'm stalling, stalling whilst reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I am starting to get stubborn about it, though. I've read 30, which is really very good for me by this point in the year.

(I'm impressed with your tenacity on Pilgrim at Tinker Creek!)

 

The dc's and I have had a good chuckle. Now reality has set in and we feel underappreciated (pretty sure not a word) by our librarian!

Me too. :glare: I certainly haven't graduated to my own bookshelf at the library!

That's the nickname for a different city. Probably Oakland.

 

I don't even remember what challenges I signed up for. It's all sort of deteriorated into the "What Looks Interesting Now In My To-Read Stack" challenge. I'm past my goal of book-every-other-week, though. It helps that Wee Girl is doing more independent reading this year.

:lol:

I thought you all would appreciate this!

 

17 problems only book lovers will understand

Awesome. I totally relate to every one of those (except maybe the ones referencing series books since I don't tend to read those). #15 is why I very carefully pick what books I'll take w/ me when I'm going somewhere.

Are they all like this, ciphers to be decoded?

I think that's probably a great way to describe a lot of Borges' writing....

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I recieved Borges' book Labyrinths from Violet Crown's generous daughter and have read a couple of the stories randomly, without reading the preface. Half way through the first story I realized it was an analogy when I laughed at something that reminded me of my own thoughts about a particular subject. The second story was clearly analogous. Are they all like this, ciphers to be decoded?

I'm not sure I'd say they're exactly ciphers, with a certain correct answer. Insofar as they are cipher-like, though, the most famous story in the collection, "The Library of Babel," may be the closest thing to a key. Many (all?) of the stories are inter-referential, also. Happy reading!
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Let's see - spooky books for October.  Dean Koontz Odd Thomas or Frankenstein series.  Most of Ted Dekker's books are spooky and chilling.  Joe Hill's NOS4A2 was nail biting good but has kids as demons and bad guys so just be aware of that.  Kelley Armstrong's Bitten was good (werewolf) but I didn't think it was horror, just scary.  Alexandra Sokoloff's books are more pyschological thrillers than horror but can be equally scary. 

 

What I have on the shelves and haven't read so October will be perfect:  Deborah Harness A Discovery of Witches and Relic by Douglas Preston. Also Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and the sequel to it by Jules Verne An Antarctic Mystery.

 

Stacia - If you've read Pym, then Verne's book will be a good one for you to read in October.

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Moby Dick fans might appreciate this post from Bookriot.

 

10 Pieces of MOBY-DICK Swag

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Of course every toddler needs the Moby Dick ocean primer board book. 

 

book_moby_250.jpg

 

tumblr_inline_mp2illqRJ01qz4rgp.jpg

 

After buying this for a grand-nephew I discovered online that there are other classics  in the Baby Lit series including Sense and Sensibility (a book of opposites) and the Dracula counting book.  Artist Alison Oliver has designed a darling series.

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Update on my challenges for the year...

 

52 books is completed

 

Continental just needs Antarctica -- I say "just" but keep looking at lists and can't seem to pick anything! Hopefully soon.....

 

Dusty I have read 5.

 

Bronte-- the plan was to read five before Hedgehog(yep a boardie) take the kids to Haworth in September. I have them all ready on the kindle -- Does that count?

 

CS Lewis -- not done but dd has Screwtape Letters up next. Prelandra trilogy is in stack. I might manage this one.

 

British and Church history. 5 each. Not likely to happen unless my current interests change substantially and I return most of the stack to the library! :)

 

Dewey decimal abandoned.

 

I haven't done great with those goals but to be honest my main goal by joining this group was to read some more interesting books. Last year at this time I was reading free kindle books (whatever I had downloaded recently that looked acceptable) with the occasional best seller or book for the kids thrown in. I don't remember much of what I read because no list. ;) I think my main goal has been met. My stack is great, just needs to be read! Thank you for helping me with the "main" goal.

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Then this morning I checked the library site and my one outstanding hold  --  the new release Night Film by Marisha Pessl, author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics  --  is already in transit to my branch!  Night Film got a lot of pre-publication hype and I just assumed that I would spend a while on the wait list.  Apparently not :)  Yea, new books!!

 

Can't wait to hear what you think of Night Film. I read Special Topics a few years ago & both liked & didn't like it. It was pretty clever overall, but a few things were also grating. I'd be curious to read her new book too. Need to see if our library is getting it.... (Or maybe I've already looked -- I add stuff to my holds lists all the time, then forget I requested books. Sometimes the wait is so long I can't remember why I requested the book in the first place. :lol: )

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I think that's probably a great way to describe a lot of Borges' writing....

Speaking of Borges: Dh and I have been watching Inspector Lewis on Amazon Instant Video. A recent episode involved the murder of a fantasy writer. At one point, Borges came up, and Inspector Lewis' boss asked, "Does anyone even read Borges anymore?" I hit the pause button and told dh the women on my WTM book thread do!  :lol:

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At BertramĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Hotel by Agatha Christie Ă¢â‚¬â€œ This was one of my least favorite Miss Marple books.  The time period from the beginning of the books shifted from the 1930Ă¢â‚¬â„¢s to the early 1960Ă¢â‚¬â„¢s and Miss Marple doesnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t fit into that time period.  She felt out of place.  There were multiple references to how she felt out of place also and that made the book feel sad and cumbersome to read.  It was difficult to get lost because you constantly felt a longing for days gone by when Miss Marple could just be a silly old lady with an eye for crime. 

 

In Progress:
 

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (read aloud)

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The 8 Minute Organizer by Regina Leeds

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnus Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse (audiobook)

 

2013 finished books:
 

59. At BertramĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Hotel by Agatha Christie (**)

58. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (****)

57. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley  (****)

56. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (****)

55. Decorating is Fun by Dorothy Draper (****)

54. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (****)

53. The MidwifeĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Apprentice by Karen Cushman (****)

52. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (** **)

51. Entertaining is Fun: How to be a Popular Hostess by Dorothy Draper  (*****)

50. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (audiobook) (***)

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Let's see I didn't really set up too many challenges this year. 

 

52 for the year of course....I'm at 31 completed. I abandoned a few.

 

Dusty books....I've read 7 so I surpassed my goal of 5. Cool. Hadn't realized that.

 

Inspiration books....2 (goal 5)

 

Education/parenting....5 read

 

Classics (1 per month goal)....only 5 so far.

 

 

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Let's see - spooky books for October.  Dean Koontz Odd Thomas or Frankenstein series.  Most of Ted Dekker's books are spooky and chilling.  Joe Hill's NOS4A2 was nail biting good but has kids as demons and bad guys so just be aware of that.  Kelley Armstrong's Bitten was good (werewolf) but I didn't think it was horror, just scary.  Alexandra Sokoloff's books are more pyschological thrillers than horror but can be equally scary. 

 

What I have on the shelves and haven't read so October will be perfect:  Deborah Harness A Discovery of Witches and Relic by Douglas Preston. Also Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and the sequel to it by Jules Verne An Antarctic Mystery.

 

Stacia - If you've read Pym, then Verne's book will be a good one for you to read in October.

 

Thanks, Robin! I had seen mention of the NOS4A2 book different times, but it sounds like it's probably not one for me. I think I want to try The Passage, though.

 

I belong to two different library systems & it looks as if they carry bunches of Verne's books EXCEPT for An Antarctic Mystery. Hmph! I may have to scrounge up a copy somewhere, just to see where it goes, especially because I also want to read Pym too.

 

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I have never read Moby Dick and honestly didn't want to. All that fun "swag" makes me think I should. So many love it. I won't hide when dd gets to that one now.

 

Well, I've never read it either. I've never felt much of an inclination too either....

 

Continental just needs Antarctica -- I say "just" but keep looking at lists and can't seem to pick anything! Hopefully soon.....

 

...

 

I haven't done great with those goals but to be honest my main goal by joining this group was to read some more interesting books.

 

I need to start looking for some Antarctica books too. Maybe if I find the Jules Verne one that could be one for it....

 

I think this thread is great for getting ideas of interesting books! I've found so many great books through you gals!

 

here's Soman Chainani.

 

He has an infectious smile... something about seeing his smile makes me smile too.

 

"Does anyone even read Borges anymore?" I hit the pause button and told dh the women on my WTM book thread do!  :lol:

 

LOL.

 

made the book feel sad and cumbersome to read. 

 

:sad:

 

52 for the year of course....I'm at 31 completed. I abandoned a few.

 

I've abandoned quite a few myself.

 

And I've completely given up on challenges.  I'm just gonna read.  :)

 

:thumbup1:

 

Me, too.

 

Me three (as far as being too cheap to purchase most book swag), plus I'm trying to clean out our stuff, not add to it. I love looking at it, though. I passed on the info about the baby lit series to a pal of mine from book club who has a new grandbaby. For myself, I really do love some of the quote scarves I've seen. May have to put one of those on my Christmas list.... Too bad there's not traditional Halloween gift-giving because my fave scarves were Dracula & The Raven ones. LOL. Maybe I'll have to treat myself. ;)

 

On a different topic... when I've looked at everyone's list of where they stand w/ reading & challenges, I started thinking about my reading this year. It seems like I've had more 'connections'/common threads between books (sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally) this year than in the past few years.

 

So, for example...

  • Women (mostly strong, independent) > Women of the Klondike; The Dud Avocado; Daughters of Copper Woman; The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye; The Fan-Maker's Inquisition; 1Q84

     

  • Noir > The Maltese Falcon; Hammett Unwritten; The Manual of Detection

     

  • Fanmaking > The Stockholm Octavo; The Fan-Maker's Inquisition

     

  • Argentina > Hopscotch; The Tenth Circle; A Funny Dirty Little War; Winter Quarters; All Men are Liars; Borges and the Eternal Orangutangs

     

  • Paris/Artists > The Dud Avocado; Hopscotch; Sacre Blue; Phoebe and the Ghost of Chagall

     

  • Polygamous marriage in Africa > Xala; So Long a Letter

     

  • Variations/Spin-offs/Inspirations from one book to another >

    The Maltese Falcon -- Hammett Unwritten

    The Kreutzer Sonata -- Second Person Singular

    The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket -- An Antarctic Mystery (if/when I read it) -- Pym (if/when I read it)

Has anyone else noticed connections in their reading this year?

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I haven't completely given up on challenges, but I don't think about them much right now. I think I need a 400 (science) and a 700 (art in all its forms) for the Dewey Decimal Challenge. I've read parts of things in both those areas so I just need to make myself finish something. Plenty of time. The Fiction Genre Challenge is done...except for Western.  :glare:

 

What I really need is to return a bunch of these library books and read down my bedside pile. I have no more room there and I can't make myself decide what to read to make room! Maybe I just need to re-shelve everything and start over. I'm reading The Hustler by Walter Tevis to dh and we're loving it. The prose is so nice and stripped down with little perfect moments of characterization. Great pacing. I really enjoyed The Queen's Gambit by Tevis earlier this year, so I'm looking forward to his description of the pool games. He made chess really immediate and dramatic. Maybe we'll go on a Tevis streak after this. 

 

 

Top Ten *
Best of the Year **

63. Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford~fiction, English lords and ladies, love affairs. (Finally Finished challenge)

62. The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford~fiction, English lords and ladies, '30s, hidden autobiography. (Finally Finished challenge)

61. The Postal Confessions by Max Garland~poetry, small towns 

60. Archipelago: a Novel by Monique Roffey~fiction, sailing, the Carribean, grief (Fiction Genre challenge: New books shelf)

59. Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene~fiction, '60s, travel, eccentric people

55. Pastwatch: the Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card~time travel, history correction, New World. 

54. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling~youth fiction, fantasy, wizards. 

53. The Adderall Diaries: a Memoir by Stephen Elliot~memoir, murder, dysfunction. 

50. The House by the Sea by May Sarton~journal, old age.  (Dewey Decimal challenge: 800s)

47. Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriquez~memoir, Afganistan, women. 

39. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King (Fiction Genre challenge: Mystery)

38  The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn~non-fiction, cooking, teaching, how people eat.

37. The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan~fiction, France, ballet, Degas.*

35. The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig~non-fiction, WWII, Siberia. * 

34. Old Man's War by John Scalzi~science fiction, war, future. 

32. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger~youth fiction, steampunk, school for female assassins.

28. Benediction by Kent Haruf~small town, characterization, cancer. *

21. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz~supernatural thriller, ghosts *
20. The Story of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang~science fiction, short stories (Fiction genre challenge: short stories) **
19. Down the Garden Path by Beverley Nichols~memoir, gardening, humor (Dewey Decimal Challenge, 600s)
17. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout~fiction, short stories, aging. 
14. The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis~fiction, coming of age, chess **
11. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish~autobiography, Depression, family (Dewey Decimal Challenge, 900s) *
9. The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman~fiction, family drama, Australia, miscarriage. (Continental Challenge: Australia) *
7. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson~satire, American dream, drug trip. (Dewey Decimal Challenge, 000s)
6. Soulless by Gail Carriger~steampunk, vampires, werewolves, Victoriana. (Fiction genre challenge: Fantasy)
5. Away by Jane Urquhart~Ireland, Canada, emigration, magical realism, family saga. (Continental Challenge: North America/Canada) 
4. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim~autobiography, Germany pre-WWI, gardening, women's roles

 

Working on: 

a Nero Wolfe

The French Lieutenant's Woman (Fowles)

The Hustler (Tevis)

Saving Daylight (Harrison)

 

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Has anyone else noticed connections in their reading this year?

 

I noticed that a lot of what I have read this year has been adapted to film.  I didn't plan that at all.  I don't know of any other connections.  I'll have to look at my list and think about it awhile.

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