Book a Week 2017 - BW1: Welcome to an adventurous prime reading new year!

[Penguin]

Below are my bingo picks so far. I don't know if I will get blackout, but I will make sure I at least get a bingo line :) My taste runs to classics, fantasy, everything Nordic, and weird/cult classics. Suggestions welcome!

 

Last year, I didn't track my books but I can only remember finishing 10. I obviously have nowhere to go but up :lol: In my defense (not that I need one, but still...) 2016 was an aberration year for me on many, many fronts. Good riddance, 2016!

 

Prime Number: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut or maybe a math book about prime numbers

Flufferton: TBD

Eastern Europe: Voices from Chernoblyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich

Bestseller in spouse year (1959): Dr. Zhivago - the Max Hayward and Manya Harari translation (this is the older translation)

Steampunk: Soulless by Gail Carriger (currently on page 300 and enjoying it)

Science Fiction: Probably Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 

Your name in the Title: Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov (going with my screen name, obviously)

Collection of Short Stories: TBD. Probably something in Danish by Karen Blixen/Isak Dinensen

Seaworthy: We the Drowned by Carsten Jensen

Middle Ages: TBD

Western: one of Ron Hansen's books (either Jesse James or Billy the Kid)

Ancient: TBD

Dystopian: Probably The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Mystery: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Translated: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Outer Space: TBD

Finance: Nickel and Dimed; On (not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

One Word Title: Snow by Orham Pamuk? Stardust by Neil Gaiman?

Debut Author: The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Over 500 pages: TBD

Local Author: Anne Tyler (either Vinegar Girl or A Spool of Blue Thread)

Female Adventure TBD

Classic: TBD

Selected By a Friend: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles or The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy

 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by Penguin

[PrairieSong]

I have joined BAW before and quickly became overwhelmed. I felt intimidated by all your lofty reading goals: the chunky, deep books, the sheer volume of reading y'all do. I knew I couldn't "keep up" so I dropped out. This year I resolve to stick around, though I don't promise to keep up with every BAW thread. It's so wonderful, and terrible, to read about everyone else's book choices. Wonderful because my to-read list became longer. Terrible because I know I cannot read all those wonderful books.

 

Anyway, I am reading Anne Leckie's Ancillary Justice. I had picked it up over a year ago and became frustrated trying to keep everything straight. I just needed to patiently plow through more of the book. This time I'm loving it and eager to know how it ends. I may read the other two in the series. I'm reading Jane Eyre, too.

 

Happy New Year everyone!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I have joined BAW before and quickly became overwhelmed. I felt intimidated by all your lofty reading goals: the chunky, deep books, the sheer volume of reading y'all do. I knew I couldn't "keep up" so I dropped out. This year I resolve to stick around, though I don't promise to keep up with every BAW thread. It's so wonderful, and terrible, to read about everyone else's book choices. Wonderful because my to-read list became longer. Terrible because I know I cannot read all those wonderful books.

 

Anyway, I am reading Anne Leckie's Ancillary Justice. I had picked it up over a year ago and became frustrated trying to keep everything straight. I just needed to patiently plow through more of the book. This time I'm loving it and eager to know how it ends. I may read the other two in the series. I'm reading Jane Eyre, too.

 

Happy New Year everyone!

 

I loved that trilogy, it's one of my favorite sci fi series of all time. Definitely persevere! It is tricky at first, figuring out what's going on, but it does get easier - the other books move around in time much less than the first one, and you've gotten used to the tricky pronoun use by then, too.  

[Lady Florida.]

I should make at least one Bingo row. This is my plan, subject to change.

 

Prime Number – The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare

Science Fiction – The Time Machine, H.G. Wells

Western – True Grit, Charles Portis

Translated – TBD but probably the next Inspector Erlendur (Icelandic crime) or Inspector Montalbano (Italian)

Over 500 pages – TBD but maybe a reread of Anna Karenina if rereads count

Flufferton – TBD but probably the next in Rhys Bowen’s Her Royal Spyness series

Your Name – Kathleen, Christopher Morley

Ancient – maybe Herodotus’ The Histories

Outer Space – no idea

Local Author – TBD

Eastern Europe – The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky

Collection of Short Stories – no idea

Finance – This Changes Everything: Captialism vs. The Climate, Naomi Klein (but I have a few other possibilities too)

Female Adventure – Eighty Days: Nelly Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History Making Race Around the World, Matthew Goodman

Bestseller in spouse or child birth year – Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (stepson’s birth year)

Seaworthy – A Burial at Sea, Charles Finch (an historical mystery series)

Dystopian – The Circle, Dave Eggers

One Word Title – TBD

Classic – TBD, I read a lot of classics so this won’t be hard

Steampunk – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne

Middle Ages – A Place Beyond Courage, Elizabeth Chadwick (my 2016 bingo prize)

Debut Author – TBD

Selected by a friend – both book and friend TBD :D

Edited January 4, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[aggieamy]

 

I'm also reading a few chapters a night of Georgette Heyer's Cotillion, and am getting such a kick out of it. It reads like a 1930s screwball-comedy movie.  Love having the kindle for reading in bed -- it is so light to hold, and I don't have to struggle with the lamp on my bedside table which never has produced the right amount of light for bedtime reading.

 

 

My DD just started listening to Cotillion and it warmed my heart last night when she was drawing and giggling while listening.  I want so much for my kids to love books and it's just a double bonus if they love the same books I do. 

 

Are you listening to your audiobooks on audible?  I can send you an audiobook through there if I haven't already ... I have almost all the GH ones ...

 

 

 

You are my new favorite person. What are chocolate cups? I think I need them in my life.

 

 

It was super easy. 

 

 

 

It looked fancy too.  It was part of a NYE dinner a friend and I made for four couples and we based it on the McCormick and Schmitt chocolate bags. 

 

:smilielol5:

 

Okay, Okay. :toetap05: You know I can't resist. It's the book I LOVE to HATE. <bwa-ha-ha>

 

 

 

And I don't even always follow-through on reading what I think I will read. It depends on my mood, the week, the time, the unexplained, The Twilight Zone, zombie invasions, etc.... ;) :D

 

Is it awkward if I declare my love for you online?  In a total non-creepy non-internet stalker type way that is. These two things just totally cracked me up so much this morning! 

 

We've been struggling for years to coax an opinion out of Stacia, but she remains stubbornly reticent in her reviews.

 

I personally think Monty Python produced the definitive Wuthering Heights:

 

 

 

LOL!

 

I sometimes judge the people who write the books.

 

Looking at you, Truman Capote.

Looking at you, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Looking at you, Virginia Woolf.

Your comedies are not funny, Shakespeare.

 

Looking at you, Hemingway! 

 

*ducks rotten fruit hurled my way*

[aggieamy]

Jotting those names down too. Thank you Jane in NC !  (So happy to be gifted with more new, to me, author discoveries  :drool5:  )

I've started out with the Miss Buncle books ♥   Nearly finished Miss Buncle Married

And you?

 

I have read Miss Buncle (loved it), Charlotte Fairlie (liked it), and Celia's House (double loved it!).

 

I plan to read all her books but I've been spacing them out so they can last me for awhile. 

[TravelingChris]

I finished my first book of the new year-  

 

1. Talking God-  Tony HIllerman  an interesting change from his usual mysteries since this one has most of the action in Washington DC.  Both Leaphorn and Chee are in this one though having separate investigations until nearly the end. 4 stars

[aggieamy]

Ladies!  I'm so excited.  One of my real life friends will be joining us on this thread.  She just signed up as HeatherinKC.  She reads a ton and has eclectic taste in books so she'll fit right in with our motley crew. 

[TravelingChris]

Okay I have read one Truman Capote- In Cold Blood, and I liked it.  I have read one F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby and I liked it and the recent movie.  I believe I read Virginia Woolf around the time I was in college but I can't remember what I thought of it.   I do find Shakespeare Comedies funny but have only viewed them, not read them.

[aggieamy]

Kareni is off visiting family, right?  I found a NPR Happily-Ever-After romance list that she would love:

 

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/29/426731847/happy-ever-after-100-swoon-worthy-romances

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I have joined BAW before and quickly became overwhelmed. I felt intimidated by all your lofty reading goals: the chunky, deep books, the sheer volume of reading y'all do. I knew I couldn't "keep up" so I dropped out. This year I resolve to stick around, though I don't promise to keep up with every BAW thread. <snip>

 

Happy New Year everyone!

PrairieSong ~ we can do this together. I think I may have attempted the BAW a few years back. I can't remember joining. I have some vague recollection of thinking about joining. That's how proactive and successful I was! :D

 

I'm trying to start off strong since I know I will get bogged down with work once the new semester begins.

---

 

I just finished my second read: The Night Bird by Brian Freeman.

 

This was one of the free Kindle First selections of the month. It is interesting that one of the main characters suffered from a phobia of bridges as that is my phobia as well. The book centers on memories and whether or not we can (and should) alter them. The book was entertaining but I was able to put it down and go to sleep at a decent time last night. I was able to finish it this morning since everyone else slept in and I have nowhere to be.  A reader can guess the main plot within the first two chapters and can determine who-did-it halfway through. The reasons why, however, are not disclosed until the end.

[aggieamy]

I hope our new ladies don't mind a tip (I'm probably repeating advice and for that I apologize)  ... I'm not a power reader like many here but I do average about 100 books a year with a toddler and working full time.  Keep a book everywhere you have a few free moments and pick it up instead of your phone.  A book in the loo.  A book beside your bed.  A book in the car.  A book in the kitchen.  You'll be surprised at how much reading you can get done that way. 

 

Also, don't try to start the year with Bleak House or Don Quixote.  They are worthwhile reads but get a few wins under your belt first. 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by aggieamy

[Matryoshka]

I felt intimidated by all your lofty reading goals: the chunky, deep books, the sheer volume of reading y'all do. I knew I couldn't "keep up" so I dropped out. This year I resolve to stick around, though I don't promise to keep up with every BAW thread. It's so wonderful, and terrible, to read about everyone else's book choices. Wonderful because my to-read list became longer. Terrible because I know I cannot read all those wonderful books.

 

All of this.  :tongue_smilie:

 

Anyway, I am reading Anne Leckie's Ancillary Justice. I had picked it up over a year ago and became frustrated trying to keep everything straight. I just needed to patiently plow through more of the book. This time I'm loving it and eager to know how it ends. I may read the other two in the series. I'm reading Jane Eyre, too.

 

 

 

We'll be parallel reading. :)  Jane Eyre is on CD in the car (listening with dd, so it's slow going - but I do love that book :) )   Ancillary Justice will hopefully be showing up at the library today or tomorrow.  It's the first pick from an IRL scifi book club I'm hoping to join if I can make the meeting time they decide on...

[Narrow Gate Academy]

My 2017 reading has gotten off to a strange start -- literally! My first two books are Murakami's The Strange Library and Arnaldur Indridason's Strange Shores. The Murakami was short and delightfully bizarre, and a beautiful book to hold and look at -- true book art with the illustrations and cover that opens vertically

 

I didn't realize Murakami had written a short book, so I downloaded it from Overdrive to try. Thanks!

 

No worries for the newbies.

 

I haven't finished a book yet either. I'm now on page 451 (out of 731), so I still have quite a way to go.

 

And I don't have reading or Bingo lists planned.

 

And I don't even always follow-through on reading what I think I will read. It depends on my mood, the week, the time, the unexplained, The Twilight Zone, zombie invasions, etc.... ;) :D

 

Same here. No finished books, very limited plans. I like leaving myself time for random rabbit trails.

[aggieamy]

Read:

 

Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell - A lovely start to the year. 

[Corraleno]

To all the newbies feeling overwhelmed/intimidated:

 

I think most of us felt that way when we first joined, with the possible exception of those who were here when Robin first started these threads. I can guarantee the following.

 

-No one will judge you for your choice of books.

 

-No one will judge you for how few or how many books you read.

 

-No one will judge you for your reading speed.

 

-You will definitely expand your reading horizons. You'll find authors, titles, and genres that you never thought you'd read. You'll find books in genres you already like.

 

Thank you for posting this — it pushed me to join this thread, even though I don't think there's a chance that I will get through 52 books this year or make any bingo rows.

 

The "dusty" challenge is one I can totally work with, though. I have a huge backlog of books on my shelves and I would like to get through a good chunk of them this year. I'd also like to reread some old favorites that I haven't read in a long time. And I plan to read Norwegian Wood and The Strange Library this month, since I loved Kafka on the Shore.

 

One theme I want to read around this year, which is also part of my "dusty" challenge, is metafiction. I read Nabokov's Pale Fire last year and loved it, but I need to reread it now that I know the identity of the narrator! Other books on that list include Flaubert's Parrot, City of Glass, Labyrinth, Haroun & the Sea of Stories, and Ibid. I started If on a Winter's Night a Traveler last year but couldn't really get into it, so I may give that another try, too.

 

Another theme is retellings of ancient myths with a twist; books on that list include Orpheus: 50 New Myths, The Penelopiad, Lavinia, and The Minotaur takes a Cigarette Break.  The Iliad is one of my favorite books of all time, and I love the character of Achilles, so my first book of the year is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. She is a classical scholar as well as a brilliant writer and I absolutely loved this book. The writing is so beautiful, and the story is told in the first person, present tense, by Patroclus. I borrowed this from the library, but I love it so much I plan to buy a copy so I can revisit it many times.  

Edited January 4, 2017 by Corraleno

[PrairieSong]

I hope our new ladies don't mind a tip (I'm probably repeating advice and for that I apologize) ... I'm not a power reader like many here but I do average about 100 books a year with a toddler and working full time. Keep a book everywhere you have a few free moments and pick it up instead of your phone. A book in the loo. A book beside your bed. A book in the car. A book in the kitchen. You'll be surprised at how much reading you can get done that way.

 

Also, don't try to start the year with Bleak House or Don Quixote. They are worthwhile reads but get a few wins under your belt first.

Thanks for the tip! I do bring a book along when I leave the house but here at home I could definitely spread some reading throughout the day between other tasks instead of only when I have a bigger chunk of time. I would say you ARE a power reader if you average 100 books a year and have a toddler! :::hat tip:::

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

[PrairieSong]

All of this. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

We'll be parallel reading. :) Jane Eyre is on CD in the car (listening with dd, so it's slow going - but I do love that book :) ) Ancillary Justice will hopefully be showing up at the library today or tomorrow. It's the first pick from an IRL scifi book club I'm hoping to join if I can make the meeting time they decide on...

Reading twins! [emoji4]

 

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[Tress]

Another theme is retellings of ancient myths; books on that list include Orpheus: 50 New Myths, The Penelopiad, Lavinia, and The Minotaur takes a Cigarette Break. The Iliad is one of my favorite books of all time, and I love the character of Achilles, so my first book of the year is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. She is a classical scholar as well as a brilliant writer and I absolutely loved this book. The writing is so beautiful, and the story is told in the first person, present tense, by Patroclus. I borrowed this from the library, but I love it so much I plan to buy a copy so I can revisit it many times.

Thank you for mentioning Song of Achilles! I hadn't heard of it, but I loooooove retellings of ancient myths and anything Homeric. This looks great!

[Matryoshka]

Good book morning so far.  Finished first book of year last night - lightweight YA Hollow City.  Got kind of tired of the repeated descriptions tied to the upcoming pictures - that trope is starting to wear thin.  But the story was fun and it picked up at the end, took a twist and ended on a cliffhanger, so may read the third installment at some point, especially as it's already on a shelf here....

 

Started La Peste, planning on just reading a small bit slowly alongside other stuff.  Apparently I can still parse French, so far so good.  I've got two books coming in to the library, but nothing else I wanted to start, and dd18 insisted I read The Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, which she loved.  Short and in verse, I'm almost done.  I thought I might be able to add it to the Ancient square, as it's somehow based on an ancient myth telling by Stesichoros, but it's set in modern times.  

 

Stopped by the library to have them explain Overdrive to me.  I think I need to get intentionally multi-threaded with my reading.  Yesterday I went with dd16 to the DMV for her learner's permit, almost two hours of waiting and I forgot my book. :(   I was thinking how nice it would be if I had an extra book on my phone.  And one on audio on my phone for when dd's not driving with me.  So, apparently can get both audio and ebooks on Overdrive from the library, so yay!

[idnib]

Apparently Lin-Manuel Miranda read it while on vacation and immediately thought, "This would make a great musical". I don't see it, but that's why he's famous and I'm not.  :lol:

 

I think the missing piece is that he thought it would make a great hip hop musical. I watched or read an interview in which he explained that Hamilton was an orphan who was very scrappy and had unfortunate circumstances, but he was a driven autodidact. In the same way Miranda saw a hip hop story of using your mind to lift yourself from bad circumstances beyond your control, when I read about Hamilton I saw a self-driven unschooler.  :laugh:

Edited January 4, 2017 by idnib

[Runningmom80]

I just finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I am not a science fiction kind of girl but, wow, I love this book!! For the most part I understood what was going on so I'm kind of proud of myself. 😜

I am now reading Lab Girl, Salt to the Sea and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

 

I keep hearing about Dark Matter, I think I'll request it from the library now so I can read it soon.

[Runningmom80]

I think the missing piece is that he thought it would make a great hip hop musical. I watched or read an interview in which he explained that Hamilton was an orphan who was very scrappy and had unfortunate circumstances, but he was a driven autodidact. In the same way Miranda saw a hip hop story of using your mind to lift yourself from bad circumstances beyond your control, when I read about Hamilton I saw a self-driven homeschooler or unschooler.  :laugh:

 

I follow Questlove (of The Roots, who produced Hamilton) and he said that Lin-Manuel actually came up with the idea for the Mixtape first, and thought "maybe there's an option for a musical after that."  In Questlove's words, "Ya think?" :lol:

[Granny_Weatherwax]

<snip> Keep a book everywhere you have a few free moments and pick it up instead of your phone.  A book in the loo.  A book beside your bed.  A book in the car.  A book in the kitchen.  You'll be surprised at how much reading you can get done that way. 

<snip>

Replace book with notecards and this is exactly what I tell my students. It's astounding how much study time can be found throughout the day; especially because we live in a railroad town and getting stopped by a train once a day is inevitable.

[Matryoshka]

One theme I want to read around this year, which is also part of my "dusty" challenge, is metafiction. I read Nabokov's Pale Fire last year and loved it, but I need to reread it now that I know the identity of the narrator! Other books on that list include Flaubert's Parrot, City of Glass, Labyrinth, Haroun & the Sea of Stories, and Ibid. I started If on a Winter's Night a Traveler last year but couldn't really get into it, so I may give that another try, too.

 

I haven't read any of those except Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which was okay but not great, and If on a Winter Night's a Traveler.  Calvino is one of my favorite authors, and that's one of my favorites of his, along with Cosmicomics, The Baron in the Trees and Difficult Loves (short stories).  So, hope you stick with it and like it. :)  I'll have to look into some of those others.

 

Another theme is retellings of ancient myths; books on that list include Orpheus: 50 New Myths, The Penelopiad, Lavinia, and The Minotaur takes a Cigarette Break.  The Iliad is one of my favorite books of all time, and I love the character of Achilles, so my first book of the year is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. She is a classical scholar as well as a brilliant writer and I absolutely loved this book. The writing is so beautiful, and the story is told in the first person, present tense, by Patroclus. I borrowed this from the library, but I love it so much I plan to buy a copy so I can revisit it many times.  

 

 

Love retellings of myths and fairy tales.  Have you already read the Mary Renault books The King must Die and The Bull from the Sea (both about Theseus)?  I read those waaay back in high school and loved them.  I've often thought it might be time for a reread.  I'd seen The Penelopiad but forgotten about it.  Just put it on my to-read list   I've yet to read any Atwood.  Been meaning to read The Handmaid's Tale for years, I think that will be my Dystopian pick.

 

ETA: you might also like The Autobiography of Red, which the back of the book describes as "an unconventional re-creation of an ancient Greek myth and a wholly original coming-of-age story set in the present."

Edited January 4, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Robin M]

Morning, ladies.  I don't know how I could have forgotten about it since we've been talking about science fiction, fantasy and dystopian reads.  Years ago I started Mind Voyages Science Fiction and Fantasy reading challenge to explore the hugo and nebula winners, take side trips through the different decades reading the nominees, and Philip K. Dick and Robert Heinlein mini quests. I was reminded, very graciously, by one of our 52 books followers this morning, so I updated and linked it to 52 Books again.  There are many resources on the Mind Voyages blog.  Please check it out when you have the time. Lots of rabbit trails to follow. 

Edited January 4, 2017 by Robin M

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Robin M]

Ah, I was reading "Debut Author" as meaning the author's first book, whenever it was published, rather than a current-year debut.  Robin, we need a judgment!

 

I interpreted it that way too. Robin, can you clarify?

 

Let's go with author's first book which debuted in 2016 and 2017 

 

YA debuts 2016 

 

Summer Fall 2016 Anticipated Debut Writers

 

Spring 2016

 

Debut Books

[Lady Florida.]

Let's go with author's first book which debuted in 2016 and 2017 

 

YA debuts 2016 

 

Summer Fall 2016 Anticipated Debut Writers

 

Spring 2016

 

Debut Books

 

Ways to Disappear is on one of those lists and on my TR list. Yay!

[Butter]

My hold on Endurance finally came available from Overdrive.  That's a relief.  It's 8 days until book group and I've had the book on hold 33 days now!  I was getting worried I wouldn't get it in enough time to read it.

[PeachyDoodle]

Headed to the library to stock up!!!

 

:party:

[Just Robyn]

I don't think I'm ever going to catch up with this thread.

 

My last book of 2016 was Angel of Oblivion, sent to me by Jane. (Thank you again!) It's a poetic, semi-autobiographical novel about the Slovenian-speaking minority in southern Austria who fought as partisans in WWII. There's not much in the way of plot and character arc, which makes it a slow book, but the prose style is soft and comes in puffs, little clouds of scene or musing, and the content is interesting and unique, showing a corner of WWII that is looked over, even shrouded and intentionally left out of history books. It shows people demanding that their existence and their history be acknowledged but also fighting against the erroneous idea that they must be communists if they fought as partisans. 

 

Right now I am reading The Inquisitive Cook, mentioned by Rose, I believe, as a book she had her daughter read about the whys of cooking. Also Norwegian Wood, which I'm loving. (And Rose, if The Strange Library is the only Murakami fiction you've ever read, I strongly urge you to try something else. To me, that book stands out as oddly poorly written, for Murakami, or simply incomplete. Of the books I've read, I'd vote for Kafka on the Shore as the most engaging.)

 

And I've been reading some chapbooks and literary magazines for poetry. I am currently reading the chapbook Turn Left Before Morning by April Salzano, which is touching memoir-poetry about raising a child with autism, but not my style. (If anyone would like me to send this to you when I'm finished with it, let me know. Also available: 3arabi Song.) And I started the year by reading Kill the Dogs by Heather Bell, which is more my style, though at times it was unclear. I'll put my favorite poem from Kill the Dogs at the end of the post.

 

My main goals for the year are

 

1.) Complete the Into the Forest reading challenge. (Whoever here is Jayne on Goodreads, I think you would like this one.)

 

        1. One sci-fi retelling of folklore, fairy tale, myth, or legend.

        2. One original tale, short story collection or novel with or inspired by the Djinn.

       3. One original tale, short story collection or novel with or inspired by a creature from fairy tales/folklore/mythology/legends; e.g., dragons, unicorns, trolls, mermaids, etc.

        4. One graphic novel with fairy tale/folklore/mythological references.

        5. One poetry or short story collection inspired by fairy tales, folklore, and/or mythology or one collection of original tales or myths. 

        6. One book from any of the Endicott Studio lists:
          http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/jom...

        7. An original tale, short story collection or novel based on the folklore/mythology of a holiday of your choice.

        8. One original tale, short story collection or novel with or inspired by indigenous American ( Native American or First Nations) folklore or mythology.

        9. One collection of original tales, short stories or novel based on the folklore or mythology of a non-European country or culture of your choice

        10. One non-fiction book about folk or fairy tales or mythology 

        11. 12. Two additional original tales, short story collections or novels that fit into one of the other categories.

 

2.) Every other book I read to myself (so - not counting audiobooks or read-alouds) has to be a book I already own.

 

3.) BaW BINGO, but maybe not a blackout. I'll have to wait and see how I'm doing later on.

 

4.) Maaaay-be the Dewey Decimal challenge that we did here a couple years ago. I really felt like that one pushed me to expand my reading and my knowledge, and I'm sure I could fill some slots with BINGO picks. 

 

A Love Poem During Marriage

 - from Kill the Dogs by Heather Bell

 

And then she took a series of photographs of her face

and hung each one upside down in the bathroom. Because that

is where it started. And she has not showered for days,

months. So as she steps into the wetness, her hair becomes soft

like a small possum and the tile around her is forest and

 

she is walking. And she comes to a well, moon looking down

sadly like a human. As if to say she would not have been able

to love a disabled baby. So she touches the edge of the well

 

and inside she sees her hands wrapped up in butcher paper.

Because she could not drive to the hospital fast enough,

the moon looks down and removes that which she no longer needs.

 

She feels ready to leave the house so perhaps if you peeked in

you would see a normal woman not crying in the shower.

You would see her ready her hands to touch other hands.

You would see her soap her body at the neck, and see

 

no wound there. But her husband standing silent while

she is not crying at a deep well and he holds the towel as if

 

it were a rope and bucket to drag her out.

 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by crstarlette

[Rosie_0801]

Okay I have read one Truman Capote- In Cold Blood, and I liked it.  I have read one F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby and I liked it and the recent movie.  I believe I read Virginia Woolf around the time I was in college but I can't remember what I thought of it.   I do find Shakespeare Comedies funny but have only viewed them, not read them.

 

:huh:  :confused1: :svengo:

[Corraleno]

Oooh, someone else who loves metafiction! :seeya: Of the ones you listed, I've read Haroun (meh) & If on a Winter's NIght (enjoyed). 

 

You might want to try:

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs

The Manual of Detection by Jedidiah Berry

Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi

Zeroville by Steve Erickson

The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball

Sleeping in Flame by Jonathan Carroll (or any of his books really)

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli

 

I have The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break sitting here (from the library), but I'm not sure how soon I'll get to it. Apparently, Sherrill has done another minotaur book that came out in 2016: The Minotaur Takes His Own Sweet Time.

 

Thanks, I will check those out! And I will definitely put Zeroville on my list — I loved Erickson's Days Between Stations. 

Edited January 4, 2017 by Corraleno

[AppleGreen]

I also finished Wool which would be a good dystopia for anyone interested in the genre.  Long though, it's 500+ pages. It was originally self-published in pieces, and I know that I read the first two parts at least back when they first came out. But it's got all 5 parts together now, and there are two more books in the trilogy which I'm going to read too.  It is about a future world where the atmosphere has been rendered toxic by . . . and the people live in a silo underground.  The characterization is really good, and it's a solid story. It does drag in parts - Part 4 was a little slow - but overall an intelligent and readable dystopia.

 

My dh enjoyed that book a few years ago, so the 16 year old got it for Christmas. He has already read it twice.  :laugh: He rereads and rereads books (over and over and over...). I was looking at the BINGO board and thinking that would be the one I read for dystopian, since both my dh and son have read it, and I know my son wants to discuss. 

[AppleGreen]

Kareni is off visiting family, right?  I found a NPR Happily-Ever-After romance list that she would love:

 

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/29/426731847/happy-ever-after-100-swoon-worthy-romances

Yay! Yay! I will love this list. I like to counter real life with some happily-ever-after romance. Thanks!

[Corraleno]

I haven't read any of those except Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which was okay but not great, and If on a Winter Night's a Traveler.  Calvino is one of my favorite authors, and that's one of my favorites of his, along with Cosmicomics, The Baron in the Trees and Difficult Loves (short stories).  So, hope you stick with it and like it. :)  I'll have to look into some of those others.

 

I like Calvino too, I was disappointed that Winter's Night didn't pull me in. But I just looked at the book again, and I think part of it is probably due to the fact that the paperback I have is just physically difficult to read — a small serif font printed on rough paper, which makes the type blurry, combined with really tight line spacing and no white space. I think I'll check the library for a hardback, or maybe even try Audible.

 

 

 

ETA: you might also like The Autobiography of Red, which the back of the book describes as "an unconventional re-creation of an ancient Greek myth and a wholly original coming-of-age story set in the present."

 

That looks great! Plus it's a first novel and I'm a sucker for first novels. :001_wub:  Thanks! 

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by Corraleno

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Corraleno]

Ways to Disappear is on one of those lists and on my TR list. Yay!

 

That looks really interesting! It's doubly interesting to me because Novey has translated the Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector, whose work I love (although I haven't read Novey's translation), and the novel is about a translator working with an enigmatic Brazilian novelist. 

 

I'm beginning to suspect that, rather than get through the backlog of books I already own, I will end the year with a bigger backlog than I started with.  :tongue_smilie:

[Rosie_0801]

I'm beginning to suspect that, rather than get through the backlog of books I already own, I will end the year with a bigger backlog than I started with.  :tongue_smilie:

 

This happens to me every year.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Ok you guys, I'll give Kafka on the Shore a try. No promises I'll actually complete it, but I'll give it a chance. 

[aggieamy]

I'm heading to the library.  I have 30 books to pickup and that's just for me!  Eieieie.  Mistakes were made ...

 

If anyone wants Pomfret Towers by Angela Thinkell let me know and I'll send it your way.  Bonus ... the cover is kinda wacky.

 

 

In fact I think I recognize the cover designer.

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by aggieamy

[Raifta]

Let's go with author's first book which debuted in 2016 and 2017 

 

YA debuts 2016 

 

Summer Fall 2016 Anticipated Debut Writers

 

Spring 2016

 

Debut Books

 

Thanks for these links.  I saw Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi on there and it's on my TBR list so I think that's what I'm going to read for that square.

 

I'm heading to the library.  I have 30 books to pickup and that's just for me!  Eieieie.  Mistakes were made ...

 

If anyone wants Pomfret Towers by Angela Thinkell let me know and I'll send it your way.  Bonus ... the cover is kinda wacky.

 

 

In fact I think I recognize the cover designer.

 

 

Yup, that is me every January - wait! What?  Did I really put that many books on hold?

 

Also, despite the terrible cover art, The Blue Castle is totally my comfort read.  Once a year without fail I must read it.  To be fair, my copy has different less terrible cover art.

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[aggieamy]

Also, despite the terrible cover art, The Blue Castle is totally my comfort read.  Once a year without fail I must read it.  To be fair, my copy has different less terrible cover art.

 

One of mine too.  It's one of those books that I discovered as an adult and wish I could go back in time to hand it to my 13 yo self. 

[Jane in NC]

I'm heading to the library.  I have 30 books to pickup and that's just for me!  Eieieie.  Mistakes were made ...

 

If anyone wants Pomfret Towers by Angela Thinkell let me know and I'll send it your way.  Bonus ... the cover is kinda wacky.

 

 

In fact I think I recognize the cover designer.

 

 

Whoa.  Most of my Thirkells are hard covers with sedate "wallpaper" prints.  That cover is completely wackadoo.

 

I have been checking in on this fast moving thread throughout the day but when not doing things like making a pumpkin pie or going for a beach walk with The Boy, I have had my nose in To Lie with Lions.  As usual, Dorothy Dunnett is finishing in high drama, motivation to pick up the next volume in the series.

 

I did want to mention that my lovely Secret Santa supplied me with a Murakami novel (Sputnik Sweetheart) so that I can join in the January fun. 

 

The library has let me know that they have the 2016 National Book Award winner, The Underground Railroad, on hold for me.  Has anyone here read this?

Edited January 4, 2017 by Jane in NC

[Robin M]

Oooh, someone else who loves metafiction! :seeya: Of the ones you listed, I've read Haroun (meh) & If on a Winter's NIght (enjoyed). 

 

You might want to try:

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs

The Manual of Detection by Jedidiah Berry

Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi

Zeroville by Steve Erickson

The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball

Sleeping in Flame by Jonathan Carroll (or any of his books really)

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli

 

I have The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break sitting here (from the library), but I'm not sure how soon I'll get to it. Apparently, Sherrill has done another minotaur book that came out in 2016: The Minotaur Takes His Own Sweet Time.

Totally recommend The Raw Shark Texts!  

 

 

Rose, I have both Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore in my stacks for this year, so you won't be alone in reading if you choose.

 

  

 

 

Finished my first book of the year.  A very light clean christian romance set in the early 1900's which I needed to reset my brain for more intense reading.  The Icecutter's Daughter in Tracie Peterson's Land of Shining Water series.   A bit too preachy and sweet, but an overall good read.  

[shukriyya]

I don't think I'm ever going to catch up with this thread.

 

 

 

My main goals for the year are

 

1.) Complete the Into the Forest reading challenge. (Whoever here is Jayne on Goodreads, I think you would like this one.)

 

        1. One sci-fi retelling of folklore, fairy tale, myth, or legend.

 

        2. One original tale, short story collection or novel with or inspired by the Djinn.

 

       3. One original tale, short story collection or novel with or inspired by a creature from fairy tales/folklore/mythology/legends; e.g., dragons, unicorns, trolls, mermaids, etc.

 

        4. One graphic novel with fairy tale/folklore/mythological references.

 

        5. One poetry or short story collection inspired by fairy tales, folklore, and/or mythology or one collection of original tales or myths. 

 

        6. One book from any of the Endicott Studio lists:

          http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/jom...

 

        7. An original tale, short story collection or novel based on the folklore/mythology of a holiday of your choice.

 

        8. One original tale, short story collection or novel with or inspired by indigenous American ( Native American or First Nations) folklore or mythology.

 

        9. One collection of original tales, short stories or novel based on the folklore or mythology of a non-European country or culture of your choice

 

        10. One non-fiction book about folk or fairy tales or mythology 

 

        11. 12. Two additional original tales, short story collections or novels that fit into one of the other categories.

 

 

 

Thank you for this! It looks like just my kind of group. Joined and planning to take on their challenge offerings. Btw if you're looking for options for #2 look no farther than The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by the fab A.S. Byatt. I read it for the magical realism challenge I set for myself here a couple of years ago. It's wonderful, writing and tale both.

[Robin M]

Anyway, I am reading Anne Leckie's Ancillary Justice. I had picked it up over a year ago and became frustrated trying to keep everything straight. I just needed to patiently plow through more of the book. This time I'm loving it and eager to know how it ends. I may read the other two in the series. I'm reading Jane Eyre, too.

 

Happy New Year everyone!

I loved that trilogy, it's one of my favorite sci fi series of all time. Definitely persevere! It is tricky at first, figuring out what's going on, but it does get easier - the other books move around in time much less than the first one, and you've gotten used to the tricky pronoun use by then, too.  

Funny as I had been perusing amazon and came across Ancillary Justice, was intrigued but forgot to put on my wishlist. Thanks for the reminder. Have now added it.  

 

 

Kareni is off visiting family, right?  I found a NPR Happily-Ever-After romance list that she would love:

 

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/29/426731847/happy-ever-after-100-swoon-worthy-romances

Great list - Quite a few authors I've read and still reading now. Classic Mary Stewart with Nine Coaches Waiting. Read several times during my early 20's.

Highly recommend J.D. Robb's In Death unless your squeamish with murder and sexual crimes. Not for the faint at heart.   Karen Moning's Fever series - read it twice.  Contemporaries --- Robin Carr's Virgin River series is great to read and easy to fall in love with the whole cast of characters.  Hard to listen to with too many she said, he said's.   Nora Roberts is the diva of romance so can't go wrong with her.  Julia Ann Walker, Suzanne Brockmann and Kristen Ashley are fan favorites.