It's a Pick-12 Adventure! The 2025 AW Reading Challenge!

[Bone2pick]

Coming to a theater near you: a book made into a major motion picture or TV series.

Finished The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (4.5 stars). Splendidly paced. Highsmith’s prose has an understated elegance that I continually caught myself admiring. I enjoyed every page.

Four books down, eight to go.

 

[Katiebee]

Ok I'll play! Only 12 books? Can I try to hit all 50?

1. Year of the Snake: Slither on over and choose a book published in any of the Chinese Years of the Snake: 2025, 2013, 2001, 1989, etc. (keep subtracting by 12 if you want to go earlier).
2. Animal house: A book about animals in any way. -
3. Behind the desk and under the table: A book taking place in a business setting (corporate intrigue, office romance, industrial espionage, whacky hijinks of a start-up). - *Assistant to the Villain* by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. She's is office "assistant" so I'd say it counts! Finished 1/17
4. Bits and pieces: An anthology (poetry, short stories, whatever).
5. Breaking ground: A book about exploration or discovery, fiction or non-fiction. Freedom's Landing by Anne McCaffrey. This is technically a reread from when I was like 11ish. I remembered it being raunchier than it really was Anyway, it's about landing on an uncolonized planet and exploring/surviving and investigating/"discovering" some alien tech. Finished
6. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series. MURDERBOT! It's not a TV series yet, but it will be soon on AppleTV. I finished the last () one System Collapse by Martha Wells on 1/29
7. Continuing on: A book from a series you have already started. Read #28 of the Stephanie Plum series, Game On by Janet Evanovich (I'm actually further along but accidentally skipped this one). Finished on 3/2
8. Crossing the (color) lines: A book about a BIPoC, any variety, written by an author of the same variety.
9. Daguerreotype vibes: A book authored in the 19th century
10. Do you read about the land down under?: A book about or taking place in Australia, New Zealand or Pacific Islands.
11. Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages. - This'll probably be Onyx Storm when I brave the 24 hr audiobook...
12. Earth, wind, & fire: A book related to the Earth sciences (geography, oceanography, climate, etc.)
13. East meets West: A book taking place in Asia (Turkey to Japan, Siberia to Vietnam).
14. Enabled: A book with a differently abled main character (blind, deaf, physically impaired, etc.).
15. Face your fears: A book that intimidates you, for any reason.
16. Family of choice: A book about adoption or blended families.
17. Folks, Farces, and Fables: A collection or analysis of folk tales, practices, and oral histories of any culture. - Ooooh Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is the perfect book for this. Loved it! Finished 2/17
18. Get Lost: A book authored by someone of the Lost Generation
19. Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year.
20. Getting started: Read the first book of a series. I started Kindred's Curse with Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole. Great start, will read on. Finished 2/26
21. Getting’ buggy with it: A book with an insect or spider on the cover.
22. Gonzo the Great: A counter-culture book from the 1960s)
23. Happy days are here again: A book published between 1945 and 1960 and about that time period.
24. Heavy is the head: A book about a king or queen
25. Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character.
26. I know kung fu: A book about martial arts
27. I remember that!: A book about a historical event that took place in your lifetime.
28. Let’s go clubbing!: A book in a celebrity’s book club. (Ooooh I'm glad my Mom Died would have been a great one for this, alas I read it last year)
29. Literary literal alliteration: A book whose title or author’s name is an alliteration.
30. Mind, body, and soul: A book where mental health or illness figures prominently.
31. Name droppings: Fiction where a real-life person is a character with their own lines. Although briefly mentioned, and never by name but only extreme implication, Elvis is in the Sookie Stackhouse series as "Bubba". His role is very limited, but exists, in the 8th Sookie Stackhouse book From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris. I'm not sure I'll continue the series at this point. If I come across a better example I'll replace this. Finished 2/3
32. New horizons: A book in a new-to-you genre. Not sure any genre is new to me at this point...
33. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
34. No hablo: A book originally written in another language (either a translation or in the original if you’d like!). Ahhh I'll do another Witcher book!
35. Old enough to know better: Any of the best books of 2007 (18 years ago) I'll do either Eclipse or The Name of the Wind, both have been on my tbr a very long time.
36. One more try: A book from a genre you have given up on.
37. Out of this world: A book taking place in space or on another planet. Probably a Red Rising series book...
38. Pulp up the jam: A pulp fiction book.
39. Revenge of the nerds: A novel with scientist main characters, or a science plot. Another Ali Hazelwood book!
40. Ripped from the headlines: A true crime book.
41. So that’s what they think of us: A book about your country by someone from another country.
42. Succinct: A book with a one-word title. - Glint by Raven Kennedy. Was much less brutal than the first in the series. Will read on.
43. Take note: A book where music features prominently, or about musicians.
44. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel, manga, or comic book. This will be hard. Do books read to my kids count? Will probably be a Dog Man book if they do.
45. Tuesdays with Balaam’s Ass: A book with a non-human (animal or fantastic creature) main character. Mermaid? A Ship of Bones and Teeth by Karina Hale. Enjoyed some of it, didn't other parts. Read it for research, would recommend for those purposes and for anyone really into mermaids and rough-ish spice.
46. Upstaged: A play. Ooof, might not meet this one. Can it have a play IN it?
47. Waxing lyrical: A book with the same title as a popular song (or well-known lyric).
48. We were here first!: A book by or about an indigenous person or people.
49. Witching time of night: A gothic novel
50. You really shouldn’t have: A book bought for you as a gift.

3/6 - I think that's 9/50, not a bad start!

 

[oneblindmouse]

I finished my “Get Lost” challenge: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I knew I’d dislike this book, as I don’t like Fitzgerald’s novels, but I thought I’d give him one more chance (which is, after all, what this annual challenge is all about).

Published in 1920 when Fitzgerald was 23, this was his first novel and is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story that doesn’t have a plot but just meanders aimlessly about. Added to which, one chapter is written for no apparent reason as a play, and there are poems and letters sprinkled throughout the narrative.

The main character, Amory Blaine, is thoroughly dislikeable: handsome, egotistical, indulged, aimless, and lazy. The thinly drawn minor characters are equally obnoxious and unsympathetic. At prep school and then Princeton University, Amory spends his time chasing girls – primarily debutantes and flappers - drinking, partying, travelling in fast cars, and spouting half-baked ideas about love, life, and literature. His teenage angst supposedly reflects the disillusion of the ‘lost generation’, though in fact it only applies to a narrow group of decadent white, privileged, upper-class Americans adrift in the jazz age.

I found the novel uninteresting and frustrating, but I understand the impact it had at the time, and its literary influence on such authors as Salinger.

• New Horizons - The Story of Philosophy: A Concise Introduction to the World’s Greatest Thinkers and Their Ideas by Bryan Magee FINISHED
• You really shouldn’t have - The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett FINISHED
• Upstaged - Richard II by William Shakespeare FINISHED
• Enabled - All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• Face your Fears - To Calais in Ordinary Time by James Meek FINISHED
• Waxing Lyrical - The End of the Affair by Graham Greene FINISHED
• Get Lost - This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald FINISHED
• No Hablo - Home is the Sailor by Jorge Amado
• East meets West - The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
• Continuing on - The Labyrinth of Spirits by C. Ruiz Zafón (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #4)
• Heavy lies the Head - Eleanor of Castile: the shadow queen by Sara Cockerill
• Year of the Snake - Wife to Charles II by Hilda Lewis

 

[Chris P]

Ok I'll play! Only 12 books? Can I try to hit all 50?

1. Year of the Snake: Slither on over and choose a book published in any of the Chinese Years of the Snake: 2025, 2013, 2001, 1989, etc. (keep subtracting by 12 if you want to go earlier).
2. Animal house!

All 50?!?! Wow, my hat is off to you! Please keep us updated on your progress!

 

[Chris P]

I'll be switching out my Earth Wind and Fire selection, the Physics of Life. Lol, this book is NOT as advertised! Instead of being about the thermodynamics of biology, it's actually the author's attempt to describe how the world works through a quasi-Darwinist evolution of ideas drawing rough parallels to physics.

I'm not sure what I'll replace it with yet.

 

[Katiebee]

All 50?!?! Wow, my hat is off to you! Please keep us updated on your progress!

Thank you!!! I read 86 books last year and I’m trying to get to 100 this year. I’ll be finishing Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands within the next hour but I don’t think it checks any boxes. But it’ll be fun trying to find books to fit this list! Maybe it will work as Animal House since there’s a (shadow magic) cat and a (grim) dog heavily featured (though I’d intended to read something even more animal-centric). Hmmm!!

 

[mrsmig]

I finally finished Sigrid Unset's Kristin Lavransdatter, which was a whopper of a book and sometimes a hard slog. It's set in 14th century Norway, and follows the life of the title character from her childhood into old age. It's an interesting study of the social, sexual and religious mores of the era, and Kristin herself, while beautiful and well-born, is a less-than-perfect heroine. Parts of the book got very draggy, particularly those dealing with the complex politics of the day, and at time Kristin's complicated love life made me exasperated with her. I confess I was skimming toward the end, since I was ready to be done with it, but I'm not sorry I chose it.

Next up is John Scalzi's The Ghost Brigades. Looking forward to something a bit less ponderous.


7. Continuing on: The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi.

10. Do you read about the land down under?:The Road from Coorain, by Jill Ker Conway FINISHED

12. Earth, wind, & fire: Ghosts of the Tsunami: Life and Death in Japan's Disaster Zone, by Richard Lloyd Parry.

19. Get on with it already: The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins. FINISHED

20. Getting started: To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis. FINISHED

21. Getting’ buggy with it: In A Patch of Fireweed, by Bernd Heinrich. FINISHED

27. I remember that!: Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, by Adam Higgenbotham.

28. Let’s go clubbing!: The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore.

34. No hablo: Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset. FINISHED

42. Succinct: Dearly, by Margaret Atwood.

48. We were here first!: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

50. You really shouldn’t have: The Lost Bookshop, by Evie Woods. FINISHED

 

[Clovitide]

Finished Revenge of the nerds: A novel with scientist main characters, or a science plot - The Beast of Nightfall Lodge by S.A Sidor (400 pg)

It's the second of the series and I wonder if there will be a third. Probably not of this character, but who knows. I figured out what I didnt like and it's the emotional development (or lack thereof) between the characters. Their dynamics aren't explored. Not to say they don't have awesome characterization and some good interactions, but, imo, not enough depth.

---

Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year - Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman/Eldest by Christopher Paolini (704 pg)

Continuing on: A book from a series you have already started - That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming Finished

Getting’ buggy with it: A book with an insect or spider on the cover - Swarm by Jennifer Lyle

You really shouldn’t have: A book bought for you as a gift - Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker - Finished

Out of this world: A book taking place in space or on another planet. - Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster

Upstaged: A play. - The unexpected Guest by Agatha Christi (novel adaption because I don't like reading plays... so it's an iffy count, imo)

Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series – The Martian by Andy Weir - Finished

Revenge of the nerds: A novel with scientist main characters, or a science plot - The Beast of Nightfall Lodge by S.A Sidor (400 pg) - Finished

Succinct: A book with a one-word title - Heartless by Gail Carriger (401 pg)

Getting started: Read the first book of a series - Poppy War by R. F Kaung (544 pg)

Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages – The Host by Stephenie Myers (654 pg)

Face your fears: A book that intimidates you, for any reason – Eldest by Christopher Paolini (704 pg)/Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (736 pages)

 

[Chris P]

I got Buggy with Graham Greene's The Comedians. An unlikely cast of characters meets on a boat to Papa Doc's Haiti and the Tonton Macoute. Mr. Brown, the main character, is a hotelier of uncertain parentage who comes at his dying mother's request to run a tourist hotel, although there are no tourists anymore. Then, the Minister of Social Welfare turns up with his throat cut in the hotel's pool, and all must be kept from the eyes of a do-gooder former minor party candidate for United States president. Less murder mystery and more political thriller with an unwilling MC caught in the middle, the book has all the atmosphere Greene is known (and famous) for.


6. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series. The World According to Garp - John Irving
8. Crossing the (color) lines: A book about a BIPoC, any variety, written by an author of the same variety. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
12. Earth, wind, & fire: A book related to the Earth sciences (geography, oceanography, climate, etc.) [Awaiting a swap out]
13. East meets West: A book taking place in Asia (Turkey to Japan, Siberia to Vietnam). The Kite Runner - Khald Housseni
14. Enabled: A book with a differently abled main character (blind, deaf, physically impaired, etc.). Stones from a River - Ursula Hegi DONE
20. Getting started: Read the first book of a series. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
21. Getting’ buggy with it: A book with an insect or spider on the cover. The Comedians - Grahame Greene DONE
25. Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
33. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
35. Old enough to know better: Any of the best books of 2007 (18 years ago) Best Books of 2007 (1100 books) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Stieg Larsson
44. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel, manga, or comic book. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton
46. Upstaged: A play. The Odd Couple - Neil Simon DONE

 

[oneblindmouse]

I got Buggy with Graham Greene's The Comedians. An unlikely cast of characters meets on a boat to Papa Doc's Haiti and the Tonton Macoute. Mr. Brown, the main character, is a hotelier of uncertain parentage who comes at his dying mother's request to run a tourist hotel, although there are no tourists anymore. Then, the Minister of Social Welfare turns up with his throat cut in the hotel's pool, and all must be kept from the eyes of a do-gooder former minor party candidate for United States president. Less murder mystery and more political thriller with an unwilling MC caught in the middle, the book has all the atmosphere Greene is known (and famous) for.

Oooh! Thanks, Chris. As a Graham Greene fan, I'm grateful for your review and look forward to reading The Comedians.

 

[oneblindmouse]

I finished Home is the Sailor by Jorge Amado for my ‘No Hablo’ challenge, translated from the Portuguese into Spanish, and highly recommended by a friend.
Unlike his earlier ideological works, this novel by the highly-acclaimed Brazilian writer tells the story of a retired sea captain, Vasco Moscoso de Aragao, who settles in a coastal retirement community in Brazil, where he regales his neighbours with his thrilling stories of adventure on the high seas, daring exploits in far-flung corners of the globe, and romantic successes with a girl in every port, in which he is always the master mariner and hero. For some he is a seasoned sailor worthy of respect, for others he’s nothing but a fraud.
This fun read is, however, marred by being constructed as an amateur historian’s attempt to uncover the truth about events that occurred thirty years earlier, resulting in annoying interruptions by a rambling narrator. Overall, the story is amusing, with an endearing if somewhat mysterious protagonist, and is told as a chatty folk tale, with a lot of local colour. I loved the hilarious ending, so in keeping with the Commandant.

• New Horizons - The Story of Philosophy: A Concise Introduction to the World’s Greatest Thinkers and Their Ideas by Bryan Magee FINISHED
• You really shouldn’t have - The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett FINISHED
• Upstaged - Richard II by William Shakespeare FINISHED
• Enabled - All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• Face your Fears - To Calais in Ordinary Time by James Meek FINISHED
• Waxing Lyrical - The End of the Affair by Graham Greene FINISHED
• Get Lost - This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald FINISHED
• No Hablo - Home is the Sailor by Jorge Amado FINISHED
• East meets West - The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
• Continuing on - The Labyrinth of Spirits by C. Ruiz Zafón (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #4)
• Heavy lies the Head - Eleanor of Castile: the shadow queen by Sara Cockerill
• Year of the Snake - Wife to Charles II by Hilda Lewis

I’m getting through my reading challenge faster than usual this year because I had a hip replacement last month, so my life is currently very much on hold, and I’ve got much more spare time than I’d bargained for.

 

[Comradedima1]

I finished A Memory Called Empire, my selection for Out of this world.

From the blurb, I expected this to be primarily a murder mystery novel, not diplomatic intrigue. The previous ambassador to the empire is dead, so I expected this to be a slow paced murder mystery. As the story progresses the replacement ambassador, Mahit, has to figure out what deal her predecessor brokered, and what he did to get killed. Politics are everything in the city, especially when you're an ambassador from a far off space station I loved the slow unveiling of the deeply entrenched backstabbing and court drama that makes up life in the city. Partway through it then transformed again into a breakneck-pace spy novel, my reading comfort genre. Everyone is out to get Mahit, or are they? If you need a science fiction pager turner, This would be a good choice.

5. Breaking ground: Twenty Thousands Leagues Under the Sea By Jules Verne - Finished
6. Coming to a theater near you: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
11. Doorstoppers: East of Eden By John Steinbeck
12. Earth, wind, & fire: Annals of the Former World By John McPhee
13. East meets West: America and Iran by John Ghazvinian
19. Get on with it already: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy By John LeCarre
27. I remember that!: Our Enemies will Vanish By Yaroslav Trofimov
33. No Cliff Notes this time: Brave New World By Adlous Huxley
35. Old enough to know better: The Name of the Wind By Patrick Rothfuss - Finished
37. Out of this world: A Memory Called Empire By Arkady Martine - Finished
42. Succinct: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson - In Progress
50. You really shouldn’t have: A Peace to End All Peace By David Fromkin

Next on my List is Cryptonomicon, another spy novel, this time set solidly in our world. Hopefully I can get through it before spring break ends.

 

[Chris P]

Oops, wrong button.

I indulged myself in another quick read, a graphic novel Ducks: Two Years on the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton. Newly graduated from her Nova Scotia university, Kate is deperate for work and heads west to Alberta for the quick money on the oil sands extraction boom. As a young woman in the male-dominated, insular camp world that interacts little with the local communities, Kate deals with the sexism, propositioning, and all that can be expected for the two years she's there.

I don't read more than one or two graphic novels in a year, and I am always in awe of the abilty of a good cartoonist to convey emotion, motion, and personality in such simple drawings. This one does not disappoint in those respects. It's a good memoir of an important part of recent history.


6. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series. The World According to Garp - John Irving
8. Crossing the (color) lines: A book about a BIPoC, any variety, written by an author of the same variety. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
12. Earth, wind, & fire: A book related to the Earth sciences (geography, oceanography, climate, etc.) [Awaiting a swap out]
13. East meets West: A book taking place in Asia (Turkey to Japan, Siberia to Vietnam). The Kite Runner - Khald Housseni
14. Enabled: A book with a differently abled main character (blind, deaf, physically impaired, etc.). Stones from a River - Ursula Hegi DONE
20. Getting started: Read the first book of a series. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
21. Getting’ buggy with it: A book with an insect or spider on the cover. The Comedians - Grahame Greene DONE
25. Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
33. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
35. Old enough to know better: Any of the best books of 2007 (18 years ago) Best Books of 2007 (1100 books) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Stieg Larsson
44. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel, manga, or comic book. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton DONE
46. Upstaged: A play. The Odd Couple - Neil Simon DONE

 

[mrsmig]

I finished John Scalzi's The Ghost Brigades last night. It's my Continuing on selection and I think a little too much time had passed between my reading Old Man's War, its predecessor, and this second book in the series. I was really floundering at first, trying to remember who was who and exactly what the SF angle was, but eventually it came back to me and I enjoyed the book. Scalzi has a muscular but humorous style I enjoy.

I may take a little break to read a short story anthology. But I'm more than halfway through the Challenge!

7. Continuing on: The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi. FINISHED

10. Do you read about the land down under?:The Road from Coorain, by Jill Ker Conway FINISHED

12. Earth, wind, & fire: Ghosts of the Tsunami: Life and Death in Japan's Disaster Zone, by Richard Lloyd Parry.

19. Get on with it already: The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins. FINISHED

20. Getting started: To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis. FINISHED

21. Getting’ buggy with it: In A Patch of Fireweed, by Bernd Heinrich. FINISHED

27. I remember that!: Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, by Adam Higgenbotham.

28. Let’s go clubbing!: The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore.

34. No hablo: Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset. FINISHED

42. Succinct: Dearly, by Margaret Atwood.

48. We were here first!: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

50. You really shouldn’t have: The Lost Bookshop, by Evie Woods. FINISHED

 

[Verboten]

1. Earth Wind and Fire- No Bad Parts- by Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.d - DONE
2. Let’s go clubbing-Reese’s book club-The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
3. Old Enough To Know Better-Bad Monkey by Matt Ruff - DONE
4. Continuing on-House of Silver and Flame by Sarah J. Maas
5. Getting started-The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
6. Mind body and soul-The Center Cannot Hold-My Journey Through Madness by Elon Saks
7. Ripped through the headlines-The Ice Pick Surgeon by Sam Kean
8. Three Color Mythology-The Sandman by Neil Gaiman - DONE
9. Upstaged-Le Miserables by Victor Hugo
10. Revenge of the nerds-Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku
11. Succinct-Marker by Robin Cook - DONE
12. We were here first-Fire Keepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley

I finished No Bad Parts and Marker. No Bad Parts goes through what is called IFS therapy. It stands for Internal Family Systems. The idea is to go through your mind and talk to the protectors as well as the exiles. If you've had any trauma in your life, the protectors are the ones that you put in place to help protect yourself. The exiles are a bit more complicated. I liked this book and the idea, however, it was written as if someone goes to therapy and is automatically about to pull out these protectors and let them know that they don't need to protect anymore. Being in therapy myself, I know that it takes a long time to work through things.

Marker was a good medical thriller. I appreciate most things written by Robin Cook. There's normally an element of thrill, mystery and always has a medical setting. Jack and Laurie are medical examiners who are also dating. Laurie does a multitude of autopsies which are all of very healthy people who have died. After a few, she starts to think that there's a serial killer in the hospital. The story is all about her looking into things, Jack looking into things, people dying because they are looking into things, then people discovering that Laurie is right and that they should probably listen to her. I really enjoyed it as it kept me on my toes.

 

[Chris P]

Actually, I think Cliff Notes would have helped going though William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. In deep rural Mississippi around 1930, the family matriarch Addie lies bedridden for nine days before passing on. Her final wish was to be buried in Jefferson, the nearby town of her childhood. After she's laid in her homemade coffin and loaded onto the family's mule-drawn cart, high waters, a washed-out bridge, and a barn fire forces them to divert their route into a nine-day trek through the countryside, where one tragedy follows another.

This is one of those books people either rave about or absolutely hate. Each chapter is in first person from a different character's POV, and the narrative is disjointed where it's not always clear which "he" or "she" the narrator is referring to, who they are talking to, and people seem to pop in and out of scenes. It's like those dreams where you're trying to do something or go somewhere, and people who shouldn't be there are, you don't know who certain people are or why they are there, and others show up out of nowhere and seem to be having their own conversations. Definitely a difficult book that would require a good sit-down and slow-go with someone who knows more about it than I do. But now I know what all the fuss is about.


6. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series. The World According to Garp - John Irving
8. Crossing the (color) lines: A book about a BIPoC, any variety, written by an author of the same variety. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
12. Earth, wind, & fire: A book related to the Earth sciences (geography, oceanography, climate, etc.) [Awaiting a swap out]
13. East meets West: A book taking place in Asia (Turkey to Japan, Siberia to Vietnam). The Kite Runner - Khald Housseni
14. Enabled: A book with a differently abled main character (blind, deaf, physically impaired, etc.). Stones from a River - Ursula Hegi DONE
20. Getting started: Read the first book of a series. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
21. Getting’ buggy with it: A book with an insect or spider on the cover. The Comedians - Grahame Greene DONE
25. Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
33. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner DONE
35. Old enough to know better: Any of the best books of 2007 (18 years ago) Best Books of 2007 (1100 books) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Stieg Larsson
44. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel, manga, or comic book. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton DONE
46. Upstaged: A play. The Odd Couple - Neil Simon DONE

 

[oneblindmouse]

I finished All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, for my “Enabled” selection.

As usual, Doerr uses evocative language and very short chapters with different POVs. Though the opening chapter takes place in 1944, most of the narrative consists of flashbacks to 1934 and the two protagonists’ childhoods and the years leading up to the end of the war. I know this flashback technique is almost de rigueur in novels nowadays, but I find it annoying as it’s often a huge spoiler, and I’m not convinced that it adds to the suspense.
The book is essentially about survival during the terrible upheavals caused by World War II, told through the experiences of Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, and Werner, an orphaned German boy, whose paths cross in occupied France. Involving war as it does, the story inevitably encompasses such universal themes as loss, grief, greed, adversity, resilience, loyalty, bravery, and sacrifice. Also interwoven into the story are the Sea of Flames, a valuable blue diamond that is rumoured to be cursed and to bring bad luck to its owner, and Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which Marie-Laure reads in braille and which fires her imagination and inspires her to great feats. Having never read anything by Verne, I’m now keen to include one of his books in a future challenge.

• New Horizons - The Story of Philosophy: A Concise Introduction to the World’s Greatest Thinkers and Their Ideas by Bryan Magee DONE
• You really shouldn’t have - The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett DONE
• Upstaged - Richard II by William Shakespeare DONE
• Enabled - All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr DONE
• Face your Fears - To Calais in Ordinary Time by James Meek DONE
• Waxing Lyrical - The End of the Affair by Graham Greene DONE
• Get Lost - This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald DONE
• No Hablo - Home is the Sailor by Jorge Amado DONE
• East meets West - The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
• Continuing on - The Labyrinth of Spirits by C. Ruiz Zafón (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #4)
• Heavy lies the Head - Eleanor of Castile: the shadow queen by Sara Cockerill
• Year of the Snake - Wife to Charles II by Hilda Lewis

 

[Bone2pick]

Witching time of night: a gothic novel.

Finished Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (3.5 stars). I really enjoyed the front sixty percent or so of this classic novel, which somewhat surprised me as this book isn’t from one of my preferred genres. After that it did get a little shaky. Dialogue was always sharp, though. My favorite scene was Jane’s interaction with the sibyl.

Five books down, seven to go.

 

[Verboten]

1. Earth Wind and Fire- No Bad Parts- by Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.d - DONE
2. Let’s go clubbing-Reese’s book club-The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
3. Old Enough To Know Better-Bad Monkey by Matt Ruff - DONE
4. Continuing on-House of Silver and Flame by Sarah J. Maas
5. Getting started-The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
6. Mind body and soul-The Center Cannot Hold-My Journey Through Madness by Elyn Saks - DONE
7. Ripped through the headlines-The Ice Pick Surgeon by Sam Kean
8. Three Color Mythology-The Sandman by Neil Gaiman - DONE
9. Upstaged-Le Miserables by Victor Hugo
10. Revenge of the nerds-Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku
11. Succinct-Marker by Robin Cook - DONE
12. We were here first-Fire Keepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley

I finished The Center Cannot Hold-My Journey Through Madness. This book was about the author, Elyn Saks journey through being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and trying to beat the odds. For a long time, she did not know what was wrong with her. When she finally got diagnosed, she fought medication, but finally ended up on it. However, she'd constantly go off of it because she did not want to have to be on medication to help her function. She went through a lot of turmoil with trying to go to college and get degrees and having to be admitted to the mental hospital for weeks at a time. I had some things happening in my life and read two books about mental health in a row. That was not on purpose. It was a lot. I admire Elyn's fight and understand her reasoning for ultimately deciding to give into the medication and take it so she could stay stable. I'm glad I read this, but it's time for a bit more light reading.

 

[Bone2pick]

I know kung fu: a book about martial arts.

Finished The Way of Salt: Sumo and the Culture of Japan by Ash Warren (4 stars). Besides introducing the reader to the storied sport of sumo, this slim book — 170 pages — serves as an elementary study of some of the more interesting parts of Japanese culture: Shinto, Buddhism, and bushido. Just as importantly, it compares certain aspects of the East and West, specifically values and social norms, and connects it all back to sumo. I had a good time with the book. It was as accessible as a well-written sports article, and it delivered all of the information I had hoped it would.

"Three things matter in life... sumo, business, and war. Understand one, you know them all. But why should a geisha care? You spend your time plucking strings and dancing." ~ Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha​

Six books down, six to go.

 

[Clovitide]

Finished Swarm by Jennifer Lyle - good, quick read.

Also, I think I'm going to swap out Upstaged with Year of the Snake: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, which I also finished this weekend. It took me a bit to finish because I already knew how it ended because of how the other books described it

I tried a few books: The Host and Practical Magic. I'm not sure I enjoy Practical Magic's style... but I could probably get into The Host

Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year - Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman/Eldest by Christopher Paolini (704 pg)

Continuing on: A book from a series you have already started - That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming Finished

Getting’ buggy with it: A book with an insect or spider on the cover - Swarm by Jennifer Lyle - Finished

You really shouldn’t have: A book bought for you as a gift - Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker - Finished

Out of this world: A book taking place in space or on another planet. - Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster

Year of the Snake: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - Finished

Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series – The Martian by Andy Weir - Finished

Revenge of the nerds: A novel with scientist main characters, or a science plot - The Beast of Nightfall Lodge by S.A Sidor (400 pg) - Finished

Succinct: A book with a one-word title - Heartless by Gail Carriger (401 pg)

Getting started: Read the first book of a series - Poppy War by R. F Kaung (544 pg)

Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages – The Host by Stephenie Myers (654 pg)

Face your fears: A book that intimidates you, for any reason – Eldest by Christopher Paolini (704 pg)/Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (736 pages)

 

[Mfraser]

I FINALLY finished my "Out of this world" book, Saturn Run, by John Sandford and Ctein. It's a bit of a doorstopper but it took me forever to read mostly because I wasn't all that into it. The science is interesting, and the story was good, but there is SO MUCH science, in so much detail, that it gets in the way of the characters. There is a huge cast of characters, which was fine, but since so much of the time was taken describing the tech they're developing to go to Saturn, character development takes a hit (or the book would be twice as long). That said, there were some good moments for the characters - they were an interesting enough bunch on the surface that I would have liked to get to know them better. And I liked what they found when they got to Saturn, and some of the action that followed. I haven't read Sandford before (that I recall), but I'd probably check out another one of his books.

• 3. Behind the desk and under the table: Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris
• 7. Continuing on: A book from a series you have already started. Wheel of Time Book 6, Robert Jordan
• 8. Crossing the (color) lines: On Beauty, Zadie Smith - FINISHED
• 19. Get on with it already: Winners take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World
• 20. Getting started: Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler
• 22. Gonzo the Great: SCUM Manifesto, Valerie Solanas
• 29. Literary literal alliteration: Daisy Darker, Alice Feeney - FINISHED
• 34. No hablo: Il sentiero del nidi di ragno (The Path to the Nest of the Spiders), Italo Calvino
• 36. One more try: Ghost Story, Peter Straub
• 37. Out of this world: Saturn Run, John Sandford and Ctein - FINISHED
• 39. Revenge of the nerds: Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood
• 42. Succinct: A book with a one-word title. Absolution, Jeff Vandermeer

 

[9Ford7]

Brace yourself. That is one of the top three darkest books I've ever read.

Do you mind if I ask what were the other two darkest books you read. And when you say "dark" did it stay with you a bit? Sorry I see this was posted in January..

 

[oneblindmouse]

I finished Eleonor of Castille: The Shadow Queen by Sara Cockerill, for my Heavy Lies the Head selection.

After a decade of meticulous research, Cockerill has produced an in-depth biography of one of England’s lesser-known queens: Eleonor of Castile (1241-1290). The daughter of Ferdinand III ‘the Saint’ of Castile – a military hero of the Spanish Reconquest - and the stepsister of Alfonso XII ‘the Learned’, Eleanor was married at 13 to the 15-year-old Edward I ‘Longshanks’ of England.

Unusually well-educated for a Medieval woman, Eleanor was a patron of the arts, with the only royal scriptorium in northern Europe at the time, from whose scribes she commissioned many works. She also introduced indoor bathrooms, forks, carpets, culinary variety, interior décor, and horticultural design into the rather spartan English Court. At Edward’s suggestion, and to be financially independent of Parliament, she established and managed a hugely demanding property business for the English Crown, whilst fulfilling her role as queen and mother of sixteen children, most of whom died young.

Unusually for royal marriages, Edward and Eleanor were devoted to one another, and he is not known to have ever been unfaithful to her. They were seldom apart, and she accompanied him on state visits in Europe, on military maneuvers, and even on a Crusade to the Holy Land. The historical record shows evidence of Eleanor also advising Edward in the shadows and subtly directing his political and even military policies (presumably learnt from her father).

To some modern historians Eleanor was a meddling and acquisitive woman who milked the Anglo-Jewish community in her relentless quest for property and financial security, but Cockerill takes a more lenient view, believing that despite her flaws Eleanor should be celebrated for her remarkable intellectual ability and her shrewd business and political sense. A dynamic and forceful woman, she well deserved the series of stone crosses that Edward I erected in her honour after her death.

I wonder if part of her bad press is due to her only surviving son having been England’s worst king: Edward II.

• New Horizons - The Story of Philosophy: A Concise Introduction to the World’s Greatest Thinkers and Their Ideas by Bryan Magee FINISHED
• You really shouldn’t have - The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett FINISHED
• Upstaged - Richard II by William Shakespeare FINISHED
• Enabled - All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr FINISHED
• Face your Fears - To Calais in Ordinary Time by James Meek FINISHED
• Waxing Lyrical - The End of the Affair by Graham Greene FINISHED
• Get Lost - This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald FINISHED
• No Hablo - Home is the Sailor by Jorge Amado FINISHED
• East meets West - The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
• Continuing on - The Labyrinth of Spirits by C. Ruiz Zafón (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #4)
• Heavy lies the Head - Eleanor of Castile: the shadow queen by Sara Cockerill FINISHED
• Year of the Snake - Wife to Charles II by Hilda Lewis

 

[Chris P]

I seem to have picked some books on a theme this year; I read The Comedians, which takes place in Haiti, earlier this year, and I just now finished up The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, a good bit of which takes place in the Dominican Republic. Oscar de Leon is the quintessential nerd gamer of the late 1980s--overly formal in his speech, socially awkward, with few friends and absolutely no romantic prospects (not for lack of imagination or hormones) in Paterson, New Jersey. He attains the nickname Oscar Wao, a mangled pun on Oscar Wilde, as Oscar is anything but wild. He struggles with depression and rejection, fails out of college, and after a suicide attempt goes to the DR where his family hopes he'll make a new start. But, poor Oscar brings himself with him, falling for the very, very much wrong woman.

6. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series. The World According to Garp - John Irving
8. Crossing the (color) lines: A book about a BIPoC, any variety, written by an author of the same variety. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
12. Earth, wind, & fire: A book related to the Earth sciences (geography, oceanography, climate, etc.) [Awaiting a swap out]
13. East meets West: A book taking place in Asia (Turkey to Japan, Siberia to Vietnam). The Kite Runner - Khald Housseni
14. Enabled: A book with a differently abled main character (blind, deaf, physically impaired, etc.). Stones from a River - Ursula Hegi DONE
20. Getting started: Read the first book of a series. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
21. Getting’ buggy with it: A book with an insect or spider on the cover. The Comedians - Grahame Greene DONE
25. Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz DONE
33. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner DONE
35. Old enough to know better: Any of the best books of 2007 (18 years ago) Best Books of 2007 (1100 books) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Stieg Larsson
44. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel, manga, or comic book. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton DONE
46. Upstaged: A play. The Odd Couple - Neil Simon DONE