The 2018 AW Reading Challenge. Now with added breadth and depth.
- Thread starter Chris P
- Start date
Finished GRAVEYARD DUST, my Get on with it already selection. I don't remember why I put the book on my to-read list three years ago; I don't think I realized it was the third in a series, and without knowing the main character's backstory, I felt just a bit at sea. The fact that there were so many similar names didn't help, although author Hambly's writing has a lyrical quality that I enjoyed, and I liked Ben January enough as an MC to be interested in reading the first book.
That leaves just two books on the list. I'll probably start AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE next.
[x] 1. Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. GRAVEYARD DUST by Barbara Hambly.
[x] 2. Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for. THE RIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS by Oliver Sacks. A Christmas gift from my husband.
[x] 3. Bits and pieces: An anthology (poetry, short stories, whatever). THE SIN EATER by Wild Musette Press. Since I just sold a short to these folks, I guess I better read their previous anthology.
[x] 4. Namesakes: A book by an author who shares your first or last name (maiden name counts). PLAYING WAR: WARGAMING AND U.S. NAVY PREPARATIONS FOR WWII by John M. Lillard, who happens to be my younger brother. This was his PhD thesis, published a year ago, and has the potential to be rather dry. Knowing my brother, it won't be.
[x] 5. Support the home team: A book by a fellow AWer. THE COLD BETWEEN by Elizabeth Bonesteel (aka lizmonster).
[ ] 6. Keep up with the Joneses: A book by someone everyone else seems to have read but you have not. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE by Lucy Grealy.
[x] 7. Tuesdays with Balaam’s Ass: A book with a non-human (animal or fantastic creature) main character. THE HIDDEN LIVES OF OWLS by Leigh Calvez. It's not a novel, but...OWLS.
[x] 8. Lol random: Go to Gutenberg.org, click “Book Search,” click “Random” and pick any of the books that show up. THE ENCHANTED TYPEWRITER by John Kendrick Bangs.
[x] 9. Just the facts, Ma’am: Nonfiction on any subject. TINDERBOX: THE IROQUOIS THEATRE DISASTER 1903 by Anthony P. Hatch.
[x] 10. Where is that, again?: A book about a place you know little about. A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles. Takes place entirely in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow.
[x] 11. You might also like. . . : A book recommended by library or bookstore staff, online or in person. FIERCE KINGDOM by Gin Phillips
[ ] 12. Pixies and Dryads and Elves, oh my!: A high fantasy. PAWN OF PROPHECY by David Eddings.
That leaves just two books on the list. I'll probably start AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE next.
[x] 1. Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. GRAVEYARD DUST by Barbara Hambly.
[x] 2. Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for. THE RIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS by Oliver Sacks. A Christmas gift from my husband.
[x] 3. Bits and pieces: An anthology (poetry, short stories, whatever). THE SIN EATER by Wild Musette Press. Since I just sold a short to these folks, I guess I better read their previous anthology.
[x] 4. Namesakes: A book by an author who shares your first or last name (maiden name counts). PLAYING WAR: WARGAMING AND U.S. NAVY PREPARATIONS FOR WWII by John M. Lillard, who happens to be my younger brother. This was his PhD thesis, published a year ago, and has the potential to be rather dry. Knowing my brother, it won't be.
[x] 5. Support the home team: A book by a fellow AWer. THE COLD BETWEEN by Elizabeth Bonesteel (aka lizmonster).
[ ] 6. Keep up with the Joneses: A book by someone everyone else seems to have read but you have not. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE by Lucy Grealy.
[x] 7. Tuesdays with Balaam’s Ass: A book with a non-human (animal or fantastic creature) main character. THE HIDDEN LIVES OF OWLS by Leigh Calvez. It's not a novel, but...OWLS.
[x] 8. Lol random: Go to Gutenberg.org, click “Book Search,” click “Random” and pick any of the books that show up. THE ENCHANTED TYPEWRITER by John Kendrick Bangs.
[x] 9. Just the facts, Ma’am: Nonfiction on any subject. TINDERBOX: THE IROQUOIS THEATRE DISASTER 1903 by Anthony P. Hatch.
[x] 10. Where is that, again?: A book about a place you know little about. A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles. Takes place entirely in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow.
[x] 11. You might also like. . . : A book recommended by library or bookstore staff, online or in person. FIERCE KINGDOM by Gin Phillips
[ ] 12. Pixies and Dryads and Elves, oh my!: A high fantasy. PAWN OF PROPHECY by David Eddings.
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And finally finished another title. The Black Count, by Tom Reiss, chronicles the rise and fall of General Alexandre Dumas, father of famed French author Alexander Dumas and inspiration for many of his characters. Not having read the younger Dumas's works, I may have been at a slight disadvantage, but Reiss channels the author's borderline-hero-worship of the elder Dumas, painting a somewhat larger than life portrait of a man who lived in extraordinary times and managed extraordinary feats... only to be crushed and forgotten, much like the gains in racial equality made during the French Revolution before Napoleon co-opted the movement to create his empire. He was both lucky and unlucky to have lived when he did, though ultimately it was Napoleon's personal dislike that did the most lasting damage to him and his descendants... leaving a bitter legacy that even today taints efforts to see General Dumas remembered in the country he fought so hard for. (Efforts to get a statue dedicated to him, like the ones honoring author Alexander Dumas, somehow transmuted into a generic anti-slavery monument.) After a strong start, the book wavered in the middle, glossing over large chunks of the man's life. Overall, though, his life and his story deserve to be better remembered.
Still need to power through the rest of Writing With Power (a real mixed bag of a writing book), and I need to settle on my last Freebie title. Wavering between All Systems Red by Martha Wells or Too Like The Lightning by Ada Palmer, both freebies from Tor's eBook-of-the-month club. Will see which grabs my attention first; I might do a palate-cleanser quickie Kindle read before I choose one, to get back into the fiction frame of mind.
Updated list:
Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. DONE
+ Illuminated Manuscripts, Janice Anderson - STARTED 2/2, FINISHED 2/3 +
+ Scat, Carl Hiaasen - STARTED 1/16, FINISHED 1/19 +
+ Midnight for Charlie Bone, Jenna Nimmo - STARTED 1/23, FINISHED 1/27 +
Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for.
+ Writing with Power, Peter Elbow - STARTED 2/27
+ The Girl who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 2/18 +
TBA
Who was that, again?: A book about a person you know little about.
+ The Black Count, by Tom Reiss - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 4/6 +
- The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World, Andrea Wulf
+ Ryan Higa's How to Write Good, by Ryan Higa - STARTED 2/18, FINISHED 2/18 +
Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages.
+ The Shadow of What Was Lost, James Islington - STARTED 2/19, FINISHED 2/26 +
+ The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu - STARTED 1/8, FINISHED 1/15 +
- Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson
Still need to power through the rest of Writing With Power (a real mixed bag of a writing book), and I need to settle on my last Freebie title. Wavering between All Systems Red by Martha Wells or Too Like The Lightning by Ada Palmer, both freebies from Tor's eBook-of-the-month club. Will see which grabs my attention first; I might do a palate-cleanser quickie Kindle read before I choose one, to get back into the fiction frame of mind.
Updated list:
Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. DONE
+ Illuminated Manuscripts, Janice Anderson - STARTED 2/2, FINISHED 2/3 +
+ Scat, Carl Hiaasen - STARTED 1/16, FINISHED 1/19 +
+ Midnight for Charlie Bone, Jenna Nimmo - STARTED 1/23, FINISHED 1/27 +
Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for.
+ Writing with Power, Peter Elbow - STARTED 2/27
+ The Girl who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 2/18 +
TBA
Who was that, again?: A book about a person you know little about.
+ The Black Count, by Tom Reiss - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 4/6 +
- The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World, Andrea Wulf
+ Ryan Higa's How to Write Good, by Ryan Higa - STARTED 2/18, FINISHED 2/18 +
Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages.
+ The Shadow of What Was Lost, James Islington - STARTED 2/19, FINISHED 2/26 +
+ The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu - STARTED 1/8, FINISHED 1/15 +
- Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson
Hey all. Sorry for being scarce around here, but my work travel has been nuts and I'm still only halfway through it. Lots of time for reading on planes, though.
I finished Saphirra and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather. The main story is that Nancy, a young slave who I pictured in her teens though most of the book only to learn later she's in her early twenties, finds favor with master Henry, but it's never stated if the favor is sexual or not. It doesn't matter, as Henry's wife Saphirra thinks it is and goes about to sabotage Nancy's life. The perfect opportunity arises when Martin, Saphirra's and Henry's hot blooded and arrogant but recently disgraced nephew arrives. Saphirra arranges for Martin to encounter Nancy alone on several occasions where he harasses her. Rachel, Saphirra's adult and married daughter, helps arrange for Nancy to escape to Canada on the Underground Railroad.
This one took some time to get going. All that descrobed above happens in only the last 30% of the book. The first 70% was more a collection of short stories following the back stories of several characters. Sure, the main story makes more sense once you know the back and side stories, but I didn't think they needed that much detail. It would have made a much more gripping story to have spent more time on the conflict with Martin and Nancy's escape. The back stories aren't even all that exciting, and it's not until the main story gets going that we encounter the charm or memorable vignettes I so appreciate about Cather's other books. I found her description of the post-War Confederate soldiers returning home to stoic and humble farm life particularly well done, as is her description of Nancy's adult and proserous life in Canada (black American life during Reconstruction is not well represented in literature or nonfiction).
I finished Saphirra and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather. The main story is that Nancy, a young slave who I pictured in her teens though most of the book only to learn later she's in her early twenties, finds favor with master Henry, but it's never stated if the favor is sexual or not. It doesn't matter, as Henry's wife Saphirra thinks it is and goes about to sabotage Nancy's life. The perfect opportunity arises when Martin, Saphirra's and Henry's hot blooded and arrogant but recently disgraced nephew arrives. Saphirra arranges for Martin to encounter Nancy alone on several occasions where he harasses her. Rachel, Saphirra's adult and married daughter, helps arrange for Nancy to escape to Canada on the Underground Railroad.
This one took some time to get going. All that descrobed above happens in only the last 30% of the book. The first 70% was more a collection of short stories following the back stories of several characters. Sure, the main story makes more sense once you know the back and side stories, but I didn't think they needed that much detail. It would have made a much more gripping story to have spent more time on the conflict with Martin and Nancy's escape. The back stories aren't even all that exciting, and it's not until the main story gets going that we encounter the charm or memorable vignettes I so appreciate about Cather's other books. I found her description of the post-War Confederate soldiers returning home to stoic and humble farm life particularly well done, as is her description of Nancy's adult and proserous life in Canada (black American life during Reconstruction is not well represented in literature or nonfiction).
[FONT="]I decided to replace my WAR IS HELL challenge with something more related to war, as I suspect that Berniere’s The Dust that Falls from Dreams is more about the social upheaval of one family than with the war as such, though I may be wrong.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
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[FONT="]My replacement was A Foreign Country by Francine Stock. Don’t be fooled by the misleading subtitle: A mesmerising tale of love and war. It’s about war (two different ones), not love. I found the first chapter frustrating because it was all show and no tell, and I was confused as to whom we were talking about and where we were. But after that, it got very interesting, touching on a forgotten part of World War II: the plight of Italians in Britain after Italy sided with Germany. In 1940 the protagonist, Daphne, was a young civil servant working for the Home Office, whose responsibility was to interview Italians rounded up in London, and decide whether or not they had fascist sympathies and posed a threat to national security and should therefore be deported to Canada or Australia. Fifty years later, Daphne’s past comes back to haunt her when Rachel, a TV newsreader and the girlfriend of Daphne’s adored younger son Oliver – who is busy filming a documentary in a war-torn former Soviet country - uncovers sensitive material relating to the treatment meted out to wartime Italians. This coincides with Daphne receiving anonymous parcels from Australia. The story explores how past actions determine future events, and need to be explained in context, rather than judged by current modern standards. I enjoyed this book a lot, and learned about an aspect of the war about which I’d known
nothing.
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[FONT="]Updated challenge:[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Howdy, stranger: The Road Home by Rose Tremain DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Do you read about a land down under? The People in the trees - Hanya Yanagihara DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. Vast critical acclaim: The buried giant by Kazuo Shiguro DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]4. Freebies: Burial rites by Hannah Kent DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]5. Run for the border: Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, Madame Calderón de la Barca[/FONT]
[FONT="]6. Anyward ho! Rambles in the footprints of Don Quixote by Henry David Inglis. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]7. War is hell: A foreign country by Francine Stock. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]8. The butler might have done it: Treason by the book by Jonathan Spence DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]9. Out of the park on first bat: The tiger’s wife by Téa Obrecht DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]10. What your great grandparents read: Elizabeth: exiles of Siberia by Madame Cottin DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]11. Get on with it already: Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison[/FONT]
[FONT="]12. Loose ends: The man in the queue by Josephine Tey. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]My replacement was A Foreign Country by Francine Stock. Don’t be fooled by the misleading subtitle: A mesmerising tale of love and war. It’s about war (two different ones), not love. I found the first chapter frustrating because it was all show and no tell, and I was confused as to whom we were talking about and where we were. But after that, it got very interesting, touching on a forgotten part of World War II: the plight of Italians in Britain after Italy sided with Germany. In 1940 the protagonist, Daphne, was a young civil servant working for the Home Office, whose responsibility was to interview Italians rounded up in London, and decide whether or not they had fascist sympathies and posed a threat to national security and should therefore be deported to Canada or Australia. Fifty years later, Daphne’s past comes back to haunt her when Rachel, a TV newsreader and the girlfriend of Daphne’s adored younger son Oliver – who is busy filming a documentary in a war-torn former Soviet country - uncovers sensitive material relating to the treatment meted out to wartime Italians. This coincides with Daphne receiving anonymous parcels from Australia. The story explores how past actions determine future events, and need to be explained in context, rather than judged by current modern standards. I enjoyed this book a lot, and learned about an aspect of the war about which I’d known
nothing.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Updated challenge:[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Howdy, stranger: The Road Home by Rose Tremain DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Do you read about a land down under? The People in the trees - Hanya Yanagihara DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. Vast critical acclaim: The buried giant by Kazuo Shiguro DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]4. Freebies: Burial rites by Hannah Kent DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]5. Run for the border: Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, Madame Calderón de la Barca[/FONT]
[FONT="]6. Anyward ho! Rambles in the footprints of Don Quixote by Henry David Inglis. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]7. War is hell: A foreign country by Francine Stock. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]8. The butler might have done it: Treason by the book by Jonathan Spence DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]9. Out of the park on first bat: The tiger’s wife by Téa Obrecht DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]10. What your great grandparents read: Elizabeth: exiles of Siberia by Madame Cottin DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]11. Get on with it already: Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison[/FONT]
[FONT="]12. Loose ends: The man in the queue by Josephine Tey. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
And I finally crawled past the finish line of Peter Elbow's Writing With Power, an exploration of the writing process. It purports to be a practical guide for anybody. In truth, it's a series of articles and lectures by a university teacher who seems far more invested in writing about writing for the sake of writing about writing than the actual, down-below-the-ivory-tower-of-contradictory-intellectuallism writing part of writing. Toward the end, he was out and out contradicting himself as he floated along on a meandering stream of consciousness through the rarefied atmosphere of his higher education, seemingly unconcerned with any confusion he might generate. A few shiny nuggets here and there, but overall I consider it a misrepresentation to claim this is for any and all writers.
So far, I'm having much better luck with my last Freebie choice, Martha Wells's All Systems Red, Book 1 of the Murderbot Diaries. An artificial life form, created as soldier and security unit, has hacked its own behavioral governor, but so far is content just using its free will to stream entertainment videos off the clock... but its current assignment, security detail to a planetary survey crew, is about to turn deadly, and may force it to reveal its secret. Great voice from the first paragraph, and so far I'm lovin' it.
ETA - And I already finished All Systems Red. Great voice, compulsively readable, and interesting idea and MC... though, underneath that, there are some weaknesses I couldn't quite ignore, sketchiness about the worldbuilding and plot. I'd call it good but not great, though I still enjoyed it.
ETA II - Just started my last "Who was that again?" biography pick, The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf, about naturalist Alexander Von Humboldt. Looks like an interesting person, though it's too soon to tell if this is an interesting book about said person.
Updated list:
Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. DONE
+ Illuminated Manuscripts, Janice Anderson - STARTED 2/2, FINISHED 2/3 +
+ Scat, Carl Hiaasen - STARTED 1/16, FINISHED 1/19 +
+ Midnight for Charlie Bone, Jenna Nimmo - STARTED 1/23, FINISHED 1/27 +
Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for. DONE
+ Writing with Power, Peter Elbow - STARTED 2/27, FINISHED 4/10 +
+ The Girl who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 2/18 +
+ All Systems Red, Martha Wells - STARTED 4/11, FINISHED 4/12 +
Who was that, again?: A book about a person you know little about.
+ The Black Count, by Tom Reiss - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 4/6 +
+ The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World, Andrea Wulf - STARTED 4/13
+ Ryan Higa's How to Write Good, by Ryan Higa - STARTED 2/18, FINISHED 2/18 +
Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages.
+ The Shadow of What Was Lost, James Islington - STARTED 2/19, FINISHED 2/26 +
+ The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu - STARTED 1/8, FINISHED 1/15 +
- Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson
So far, I'm having much better luck with my last Freebie choice, Martha Wells's All Systems Red, Book 1 of the Murderbot Diaries. An artificial life form, created as soldier and security unit, has hacked its own behavioral governor, but so far is content just using its free will to stream entertainment videos off the clock... but its current assignment, security detail to a planetary survey crew, is about to turn deadly, and may force it to reveal its secret. Great voice from the first paragraph, and so far I'm lovin' it.
ETA - And I already finished All Systems Red. Great voice, compulsively readable, and interesting idea and MC... though, underneath that, there are some weaknesses I couldn't quite ignore, sketchiness about the worldbuilding and plot. I'd call it good but not great, though I still enjoyed it.
ETA II - Just started my last "Who was that again?" biography pick, The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf, about naturalist Alexander Von Humboldt. Looks like an interesting person, though it's too soon to tell if this is an interesting book about said person.
Updated list:
Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. DONE
+ Illuminated Manuscripts, Janice Anderson - STARTED 2/2, FINISHED 2/3 +
+ Scat, Carl Hiaasen - STARTED 1/16, FINISHED 1/19 +
+ Midnight for Charlie Bone, Jenna Nimmo - STARTED 1/23, FINISHED 1/27 +
Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for. DONE
+ Writing with Power, Peter Elbow - STARTED 2/27, FINISHED 4/10 +
+ The Girl who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 2/18 +
+ All Systems Red, Martha Wells - STARTED 4/11, FINISHED 4/12 +
Who was that, again?: A book about a person you know little about.
+ The Black Count, by Tom Reiss - STARTED 2/15, FINISHED 4/6 +
+ The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World, Andrea Wulf - STARTED 4/13
+ Ryan Higa's How to Write Good, by Ryan Higa - STARTED 2/18, FINISHED 2/18 +
Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages.
+ The Shadow of What Was Lost, James Islington - STARTED 2/19, FINISHED 2/26 +
+ The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu - STARTED 1/8, FINISHED 1/15 +
- Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson
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My next read will be Twilight, but before that, I'm reading some YA books so I will have something to compare it to.
Onelbindmouse: Fiction that teaches me something is amazing. I felt the same way about The 40 Days of Musa Dagh by Franz Werfel, about the Armenian genocide in Turkey in WWI. Until then, I had only heard mention that it happened. After reading the book I did more research, and although fiction the book follows this history as well as any.
Brightdreamer: I know just the type of writing book you're talking about! The author might have had good intentions of enlightening the reader about insights into the process, but was unaware of how condescending this comes across because all writers (and all people) have similar thought processes. It almost sounds like a collection of blog posts. In my view, we as a culture are still figuring out how to best use blogs (we're better than we were 10 years ago) but in the meantime they're bringing the average down.
Cobalt Jade: I'm really interested in hearing your take on Twilight. I read about the first 100 pages before the movie came out, and once I see a movie I lose all desire to read the book (I keep picturing the actors, not the characters, and comparing the movie instead of getting into the story). I thought it was a fairly fun read, with just enough tongue in cheek to be funny (I mean, the woman's name is Bella, after the most famous vampire actor in history), and although isn't my kind of story it got millions of people reading. Twilight was the first book my daughters ever read outside of school.
Brightdreamer: I know just the type of writing book you're talking about! The author might have had good intentions of enlightening the reader about insights into the process, but was unaware of how condescending this comes across because all writers (and all people) have similar thought processes. It almost sounds like a collection of blog posts. In my view, we as a culture are still figuring out how to best use blogs (we're better than we were 10 years ago) but in the meantime they're bringing the average down.
Cobalt Jade: I'm really interested in hearing your take on Twilight. I read about the first 100 pages before the movie came out, and once I see a movie I lose all desire to read the book (I keep picturing the actors, not the characters, and comparing the movie instead of getting into the story). I thought it was a fairly fun read, with just enough tongue in cheek to be funny (I mean, the woman's name is Bella, after the most famous vampire actor in history), and although isn't my kind of story it got millions of people reading. Twilight was the first book my daughters ever read outside of school.
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I've been so obsessed with Arthur Conan Doyle and Richard Dawkins lately I've had to set the reading challenge aside for a while. I did just finish my Latin American choice: Playing for Their Lives: The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change Through Music by Eric Booth and Tricia Tunstall. It documents the origins of El Sistema in Venezuela in 1975 and charts its expansion into a modern-day global phenomenon of intensive musical education for the poorest children in the world. The most interesting aspect was the idea that El Sistema successfully inverts Maslow's hierarchy of needs, cultivating art to lift children above the brutal poverty that otherwise defines their lives. Good read. Now it's back to Dawkins's Unweaving the Rainbow. Science and poetry! *sigh*
1. Get on with it already: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
2. Freebies: The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle DONE
8. Bits and pieces: Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories edited by Audrey Niffenegger DONE
11. Vast critical acclaim: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
12. Support the home team: Force of Habit by Alice Loweecey DONE
19. What your great-grandparents read: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells DONE
21. Loose ends: On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin DONE
22. No hablo: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
26. No Cliff Notes this time: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
31. Just the facts, Ma’am: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert DONE
32. Howdy, stranger: My Ántonia by Willa Cather
41. Run for the border: Playing for Their Lives by Eric Booth and Tricia Tunstall DONE
51. Tag, you’re it!: bdwilson picked The Three-body Problem by Cixin Liu
1. Get on with it already: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
2. Freebies: The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle DONE
8. Bits and pieces: Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories edited by Audrey Niffenegger DONE
11. Vast critical acclaim: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
12. Support the home team: Force of Habit by Alice Loweecey DONE
19. What your great-grandparents read: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells DONE
21. Loose ends: On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin DONE
22. No hablo: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
26. No Cliff Notes this time: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
31. Just the facts, Ma’am: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert DONE
32. Howdy, stranger: My Ántonia by Willa Cather
41. Run for the border: Playing for Their Lives by Eric Booth and Tricia Tunstall DONE
51. Tag, you’re it!: bdwilson picked The Three-body Problem by Cixin Liu
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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
Been awhile since I posted here, but I've been reading and enjoying everyone else's posts.
Finished my Kate Morton pick The Distant Hours, at 560 pages the longest book in my challenge. I purchased it with two other of her books in 2012 and read the first of those books that year. That first book, while beautifully written, had much more description than necessary and a guilt-ridden sorrowful tone that I found ultimately depressing. So...it took awhile to want to read another of the books.
The Distant Hours is much better. The description is better integrated into the story and much livelier. The tone is livelier too, even humorous at times, and that's despite the story itself being a bit darker.
The first book was a historical; The Distant Hours is a gothic with a historical backstory. A youngish woman with connections to the place visits a castle inhabited by 3 elderly sisters and ends up delving into their – very dark – past. The front story is similar to The Thirteenth Tale, but better done; the backstory is quite different.
I enjoyed it a lot. But it isn't perfect. The first section of backstory – while containing clues to what really happened – seemed apropos of nothing much until I got closer to the end and could have been whittled down. Once I got through that, though, the story made complete sense and I did enjoy it.
Here's the Current List:
3 by Alice Hoffman
Faithful
The Probable Future Done
The Dovekeepers
3 Get on with it Already!
Lila by Marilynne Robinson Done
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich or Jazz by Toni Morrison
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton Done
3 Like a Novel, Only Real
Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri Done
Balancing Heaven and Earth by Robert A. Johnson with Jerry M. Ruhl
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
3 Categories, 1 Each
God's Mansion Has Many Rooms
Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell Ongoing
Upstaged/ /Seasons in the Sun
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Done
Howdy, Stranger
The Caretaker by A.X.Ahmad
Scheduled Extra Credit:
Bits & Pieces: The Collect Poems of Theodore Roethke Ongoing
Tag, You're It: The Light Between Oceans (I didn't ask Chris or oneblindmouse, but both recommended it.)
Unscheduled Extra Credit:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Done
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Been awhile since I posted here, but I've been reading and enjoying everyone else's posts.
Finished my Kate Morton pick The Distant Hours, at 560 pages the longest book in my challenge. I purchased it with two other of her books in 2012 and read the first of those books that year. That first book, while beautifully written, had much more description than necessary and a guilt-ridden sorrowful tone that I found ultimately depressing. So...it took awhile to want to read another of the books.
The Distant Hours is much better. The description is better integrated into the story and much livelier. The tone is livelier too, even humorous at times, and that's despite the story itself being a bit darker.
The first book was a historical; The Distant Hours is a gothic with a historical backstory. A youngish woman with connections to the place visits a castle inhabited by 3 elderly sisters and ends up delving into their – very dark – past. The front story is similar to The Thirteenth Tale, but better done; the backstory is quite different.
I enjoyed it a lot. But it isn't perfect. The first section of backstory – while containing clues to what really happened – seemed apropos of nothing much until I got closer to the end and could have been whittled down. Once I got through that, though, the story made complete sense and I did enjoy it.
Here's the Current List:
3 by Alice Hoffman
Faithful
The Probable Future Done
The Dovekeepers
3 Get on with it Already!
Lila by Marilynne Robinson Done
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich or Jazz by Toni Morrison
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton Done
3 Like a Novel, Only Real
Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri Done
Balancing Heaven and Earth by Robert A. Johnson with Jerry M. Ruhl
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
3 Categories, 1 Each
God's Mansion Has Many Rooms
Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell Ongoing
Upstaged/ /Seasons in the Sun
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Done
Howdy, Stranger
The Caretaker by A.X.Ahmad
Scheduled Extra Credit:
Bits & Pieces: The Collect Poems of Theodore Roethke Ongoing
Tag, You're It: The Light Between Oceans (I didn't ask Chris or oneblindmouse, but both recommended it.)
Unscheduled Extra Credit:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Done
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Last edited:
Chris P: I’m intrigued by your recommendation about the Armenian genocide. I have several Armenian friends, but feel very ignorant about the history of that genocide, so I shall probably follow up on your advice.
[FONT="]I completed my Run for the Border book (set in Latin America): Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, aka Madame Calderón de la Barca, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would, though it was very long. It could also have fallen under the category Anyward Ho! as it is a compilation of letters by Frances Inglis (1804-1882) - a Scotswoman who grew up in France and then moved to the United States of America where she married the widowed Spanish nobleman and politician, Angel Calderón de la Barca - giving a detailed account of their two-year stay (1840-2) in Mexico when Calderón was appointed envoy to Mexico, the first Spanish representative after Mexico’s independence from Spain. The book is a fascinating description of life in that fledgeling republic, with close attention to detail of the dress, food, houses, customs, beliefs and lives of rich and poor, town and country dwellers, Spaniards, creoles and Indians. The fashionable opera, the frequent parties (where the ladies are dripping in diamonds and pearls but not coloured stones, as these are considered in bad taste!), the colourful market, the ornate churches lavishly adorned in gold, silver and jewels, the beautiful convents (one of the book’s most moving scenes is of a young novice taking the veil despite her mother’s uncontrollable tears), the vast isolated haciendas (often run by lone women), and above all nature in all its myriad variations in such a huge country, are all described with a keen eye and delightful humour by Madame Calderón (“Fanny”), who is intelligent, well-read and curious, and a keen horsewoman. Not all the Calderón’s time is spent at official galas and social visits with the occasional escape to the countryside, as on two occasions they are caught up in violent political coups or pronunciamientos and endure days of bombardment, fearing for their lives while taking in refugees amidst food shortages and turbulent rumors. Enough historical and political explanations are given to make these events understandable and interesting, without their being tedious. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This book had particular meaning for me as not only is Angel Calderón a distant relative (my great grandmother was a Calderón de la Barca), but my sister lives in Mexico and it was she who found this dilapidated old book and gave it to my father, who had it bound handsomely. I myself visited Mexico City in 2007, but after reading this book I would love to go back and visit some of the outlying places and the churches that Fanny so lovingly describes, though I imagine it has all changed beyond recognition. [/FONT]
[FONT="]
Updated challenge:[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Howdy, stranger: The Road Home by Rose Tremain DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Do you read about a land down under? The People in the trees - Hanya Yanagihara DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. Vast critical acclaim: The buried giant by Kazuo Shiguro DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]4. Freebies: Burial rites by Hannah Kent DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]5. Run for the border: Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, Mme Calderón de la Barca DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]6. Anyward ho! Rambles in the footprints of Don Quixote by Henry David Inglis. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]7. War is hell: A foreign country by Francine Stock. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]8. The butler might have done it: Treason by the book by Jonathan Spence DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]9. Out of the park on first bat: The tiger’s wife by Téa Obreht DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]10. What your great grandparents read: Elizabeth: exiles of Siberia by Madame Cottin DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]11. Get on with it already: Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison[/FONT]
[FONT="]12. Loose ends: The man in the queue by Josephine Tey. [/FONT]
[FONT="]I completed my Run for the Border book (set in Latin America): Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, aka Madame Calderón de la Barca, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would, though it was very long. It could also have fallen under the category Anyward Ho! as it is a compilation of letters by Frances Inglis (1804-1882) - a Scotswoman who grew up in France and then moved to the United States of America where she married the widowed Spanish nobleman and politician, Angel Calderón de la Barca - giving a detailed account of their two-year stay (1840-2) in Mexico when Calderón was appointed envoy to Mexico, the first Spanish representative after Mexico’s independence from Spain. The book is a fascinating description of life in that fledgeling republic, with close attention to detail of the dress, food, houses, customs, beliefs and lives of rich and poor, town and country dwellers, Spaniards, creoles and Indians. The fashionable opera, the frequent parties (where the ladies are dripping in diamonds and pearls but not coloured stones, as these are considered in bad taste!), the colourful market, the ornate churches lavishly adorned in gold, silver and jewels, the beautiful convents (one of the book’s most moving scenes is of a young novice taking the veil despite her mother’s uncontrollable tears), the vast isolated haciendas (often run by lone women), and above all nature in all its myriad variations in such a huge country, are all described with a keen eye and delightful humour by Madame Calderón (“Fanny”), who is intelligent, well-read and curious, and a keen horsewoman. Not all the Calderón’s time is spent at official galas and social visits with the occasional escape to the countryside, as on two occasions they are caught up in violent political coups or pronunciamientos and endure days of bombardment, fearing for their lives while taking in refugees amidst food shortages and turbulent rumors. Enough historical and political explanations are given to make these events understandable and interesting, without their being tedious. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This book had particular meaning for me as not only is Angel Calderón a distant relative (my great grandmother was a Calderón de la Barca), but my sister lives in Mexico and it was she who found this dilapidated old book and gave it to my father, who had it bound handsomely. I myself visited Mexico City in 2007, but after reading this book I would love to go back and visit some of the outlying places and the churches that Fanny so lovingly describes, though I imagine it has all changed beyond recognition. [/FONT]
[FONT="]
Updated challenge:[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Howdy, stranger: The Road Home by Rose Tremain DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Do you read about a land down under? The People in the trees - Hanya Yanagihara DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. Vast critical acclaim: The buried giant by Kazuo Shiguro DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]4. Freebies: Burial rites by Hannah Kent DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]5. Run for the border: Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, Mme Calderón de la Barca DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]6. Anyward ho! Rambles in the footprints of Don Quixote by Henry David Inglis. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]7. War is hell: A foreign country by Francine Stock. DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]8. The butler might have done it: Treason by the book by Jonathan Spence DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]9. Out of the park on first bat: The tiger’s wife by Téa Obreht DONE [/FONT]
[FONT="]10. What your great grandparents read: Elizabeth: exiles of Siberia by Madame Cottin DONE[/FONT]
[FONT="]11. Get on with it already: Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison[/FONT]
[FONT="]12. Loose ends: The man in the queue by Josephine Tey. [/FONT]
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2011
- Messages
- 8,943
- Reaction score
- 3,152
Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
Life in Mexico sounds fascinating. Mr. Siri's aunt once loaned us a book called My Heart Lies South, a memoir of a woman from California who marries a Mexican and documents what life was like in Mexico from the time between the World Wars to just post WWII. She gave a particularly vivid account of the courtship of her brother in law.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Life in Mexico sounds fascinating. Mr. Siri's aunt once loaned us a book called My Heart Lies South, a memoir of a woman from California who marries a Mexican and documents what life was like in Mexico from the time between the World Wars to just post WWII. She gave a particularly vivid account of the courtship of her brother in law.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2011
- Messages
- 8,943
- Reaction score
- 3,152
Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell is the sort of book I'm glad I read, the sort of book I may dip into again for reference purposes, but not the sort of book I enjoyed as much as I hoped.
The book discusses seven little-known religions: Mandaeans, Yazidis, Zoroastrians, Druze, Samaritans, Copts, and Kalasha. Several of these religions are mystery religions, which means that their adherents don't always know much about them...and if they do, they can't speak much about them. Which also means that I didn't get to learn as much about them as I'd hoped. The author talks about each religion in comparison with certain other related religions, which is fine when it's Samaritans and Jews, and really confusing when it's Yazidis and the followers of Mithras.
The presentation ought to work. I'm a big fan of information being shared in an informal narrative format. (That's what I used in my Sikhism book.) But in this case, some of the information gets side-railed by the author's extensive narratives about his trips in the regions. He'd be talking about going to one place and suddenly we're in another. However, the format helped me get a really good idea that these religions still exist only because of the difficult terrain most of them are in.
Despite these problems, I did learn a great deal and found some interesting personal resonances. Notably, the information on the Druze, a group of Pythagoreans in Lebanon, really struck me. I am half-Lebanese and have been told I'm an "old soul" practically since day one, which means I've taken a belief in reincarnation as a basic fact of life for as long as I can remember. Well, the Druze are adherents of a mystery religion, but one of the things we do know about them is that they believe in reincarnation. They have survived in Lebanese hill towns. That's where my paternal grandparents are from. Makes me wonder what's in my DNA.
I absorbed the information in this book better by taking a break in between chapters.
Here's the Current List:
3 by Alice Hoffman
Faithful
The Probable Future Done
The Dovekeepers
3 Get on with it Already!
Lila by Marilynne Robinson Done
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich or Jazz by Toni Morrison
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton Done
3 Like a Novel, Only Real
Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri Done
Balancing Heaven and Earth by Robert A. Johnson with Jerry M. Ruhl
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
3 Categories, 1 Each
God's Mansion Has Many Rooms
Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell Done
Upstaged/ /Seasons in the Sun
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Done
Howdy, Stranger
The Caretaker by A.X.Ahmad
Scheduled Extra Credit:
Bits & Pieces [to be read throughout the year]: The Collect Poems of Theodore Roethke Ongoing
Tag, You're It: The Light Between Oceans (I didn't ask Chris or oneblindmouse, but both recommended it.)
Unscheduled Extra Credit:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Done
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell is the sort of book I'm glad I read, the sort of book I may dip into again for reference purposes, but not the sort of book I enjoyed as much as I hoped.
The book discusses seven little-known religions: Mandaeans, Yazidis, Zoroastrians, Druze, Samaritans, Copts, and Kalasha. Several of these religions are mystery religions, which means that their adherents don't always know much about them...and if they do, they can't speak much about them. Which also means that I didn't get to learn as much about them as I'd hoped. The author talks about each religion in comparison with certain other related religions, which is fine when it's Samaritans and Jews, and really confusing when it's Yazidis and the followers of Mithras.
The presentation ought to work. I'm a big fan of information being shared in an informal narrative format. (That's what I used in my Sikhism book.) But in this case, some of the information gets side-railed by the author's extensive narratives about his trips in the regions. He'd be talking about going to one place and suddenly we're in another. However, the format helped me get a really good idea that these religions still exist only because of the difficult terrain most of them are in.
Despite these problems, I did learn a great deal and found some interesting personal resonances. Notably, the information on the Druze, a group of Pythagoreans in Lebanon, really struck me. I am half-Lebanese and have been told I'm an "old soul" practically since day one, which means I've taken a belief in reincarnation as a basic fact of life for as long as I can remember. Well, the Druze are adherents of a mystery religion, but one of the things we do know about them is that they believe in reincarnation. They have survived in Lebanese hill towns. That's where my paternal grandparents are from. Makes me wonder what's in my DNA.
I absorbed the information in this book better by taking a break in between chapters.
Here's the Current List:
3 by Alice Hoffman
Faithful
The Probable Future Done
The Dovekeepers
3 Get on with it Already!
Lila by Marilynne Robinson Done
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich or Jazz by Toni Morrison
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton Done
3 Like a Novel, Only Real
Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri Done
Balancing Heaven and Earth by Robert A. Johnson with Jerry M. Ruhl
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
3 Categories, 1 Each
God's Mansion Has Many Rooms
Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell Done
Upstaged/ /Seasons in the Sun
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Done
Howdy, Stranger
The Caretaker by A.X.Ahmad
Scheduled Extra Credit:
Bits & Pieces [to be read throughout the year]: The Collect Poems of Theodore Roethke Ongoing
Tag, You're It: The Light Between Oceans (I didn't ask Chris or oneblindmouse, but both recommended it.)
Unscheduled Extra Credit:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Done
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
I finished the last of the three plays on my list: A Raisin in the Sun but Lorraine Hansberry. 5 of 5 stars! This very short and fast-moving play follows a family of African Americans in Chicago, the eldest of which, the matriarch, gets a financial windfall from life insurance money following the death of her husband. Walter, her son, sees it as a way to invest in his dream of opening a liquor store while his sister Beneatha could fund her medical schooling. Ruth, the more or less main character, wants some domestic peace in her troubled marriage to Walter and for her son Travis to simply do right and be a good kid. Oh, and to get a house. They all have dreams deferred, and, as Langston Hughes asks in his poem that serves as the frontpiece, what happens to a dream deferred? In that way, it's sort of like Iceman Cometh.
Examining issues of race, race identity, racism, and the cycle of black urban poverty, this play is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago when it first came out. Unfortunately so, as although most people recognize progress many of the social issues remain to this day. I was surprised Hansberry didn't explore the abortion angle more fully (Ruth's pregnancy is revealed somewhat early but never explored), but maybe this was too hot of a topic in 1958 and could only be briefly touched upon. I expected victim blaming of Walter regarding his choices, but on the other hand people make bad choices and how do you say so without sounding like you're blaming them for their poverty?
For anyone interested in African America fiction taking place from about the Great Depression to today, I highly recommend The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It's non-fic about the Great Migration of African Americans to the north beginning in the 1920s by telling the stories of several people who took part. It really helped me understand the character of Mama (Lena) in A Raisin in the Sun, as well as other characters in others stories taking place at the same time.
Upstaged: A play.
1. The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone Done
2. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Done
3. The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill Done
I’ve met them!: A book by someone you have seen in person
4. What Unites Us by Dan Rather Done
5. Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie Done
6. The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott
You might also like. . . : A book recommended by library or bookstore staff, online or in person.
7. The Collector by John Fowles Done
8. Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather Done
9. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
I know exactly where that is!: A book taking place in a location you know well (Washington, DC).
10. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Done
11. Cane by Jean Toomer
12. The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu Done
Examining issues of race, race identity, racism, and the cycle of black urban poverty, this play is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago when it first came out. Unfortunately so, as although most people recognize progress many of the social issues remain to this day. I was surprised Hansberry didn't explore the abortion angle more fully (Ruth's pregnancy is revealed somewhat early but never explored), but maybe this was too hot of a topic in 1958 and could only be briefly touched upon. I expected victim blaming of Walter regarding his choices, but on the other hand people make bad choices and how do you say so without sounding like you're blaming them for their poverty?
For anyone interested in African America fiction taking place from about the Great Depression to today, I highly recommend The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It's non-fic about the Great Migration of African Americans to the north beginning in the 1920s by telling the stories of several people who took part. It really helped me understand the character of Mama (Lena) in A Raisin in the Sun, as well as other characters in others stories taking place at the same time.
Upstaged: A play.
1. The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone Done
2. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Done
3. The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill Done
I’ve met them!: A book by someone you have seen in person
4. What Unites Us by Dan Rather Done
5. Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie Done
6. The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott
You might also like. . . : A book recommended by library or bookstore staff, online or in person.
7. The Collector by John Fowles Done
8. Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather Done
9. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
I know exactly where that is!: A book taking place in a location you know well (Washington, DC).
10. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Done
11. Cane by Jean Toomer
12. The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu Done
Atalanta, that is an interesting take on inverting Maslow's hierarchy. Use it for inspiration.
Oneblindmouse: let me know what you think of Musa Dagh. I know some people thought the fictionalization trivialized what happened, but I thought it was well done and more people learned about the genocide than would have if Werfel had written a straight-up non-fic.
Siri, it sounds like your book should have been interesting. I had only heard of three of those religions, and for all three, the Copts, Samaritans and Zoroasterans, I had only heard of them in relation to (and often conflict with) the Judea-Christians. A personal ancestral connection to one of the religions is pretty cool!
Oneblindmouse: let me know what you think of Musa Dagh. I know some people thought the fictionalization trivialized what happened, but I thought it was well done and more people learned about the genocide than would have if Werfel had written a straight-up non-fic.
Siri, it sounds like your book should have been interesting. I had only heard of three of those religions, and for all three, the Copts, Samaritans and Zoroasterans, I had only heard of them in relation to (and often conflict with) the Judea-Christians. A personal ancestral connection to one of the religions is pretty cool!
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2011
- Messages
- 8,943
- Reaction score
- 3,152
Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
Yeah, abortion wasn't talked about in 1958. But I know it was done. My husband's grandmother, a livelong Republican, had something like five of them in the 1920s, maybe into the 1930s.
And yeah, reading about the religions was interesting, even if it was disappointing that I didn't learn as much as I would have liked, and even if it was sometimes confusing. And oh yeah! it was cool reading that bit about the Druze and having a deja vu moment.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Yeah, abortion wasn't talked about in 1958. But I know it was done. My husband's grandmother, a livelong Republican, had something like five of them in the 1920s, maybe into the 1930s.
And yeah, reading about the religions was interesting, even if it was disappointing that I didn't learn as much as I would have liked, and even if it was sometimes confusing. And oh yeah! it was cool reading that bit about the Druze and having a deja vu moment.
(I think I'd seen mention of the Mandaeans before, maybe in books talking about early, early Christians. But otherwise, the three you mentioned were the only ones I'd heard of too.)
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
I'm new to the site, but this looks like fun! Is it to late to join up for the first time? Looks like a lot of you are already on your second set of choices! That's impressive.
Plenty of year left. Post your picks and climb aboard! (I'm still finishing my list, myself...)
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2011
- Messages
- 8,943
- Reaction score
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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
Welcome! Join the fun on this thread anytime.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Welcome! Join the fun on this thread anytime.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Welcome Verboten! As the others said there's plenty of time yet. Don't feel you have to choose 12 books, either. There's no requirement and no penalty if you don't finish.
I'm surprised how fast mine are going. I got lucky this year and had a lot of short ones. In fact, I think omly a couple of them are over 300 pages. Maybe only one. The first year I didn't finish the original 12 until November.
I'm excited to see what books you pick.
I'm surprised how fast mine are going. I got lucky this year and had a lot of short ones. In fact, I think omly a couple of them are over 300 pages. Maybe only one. The first year I didn't finish the original 12 until November.
I'm excited to see what books you pick.
Okay, so I have my list of 12!
1. Get on with it already: Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
2. My hometown: Creature of the Bardoons by Jeremy Lee Riley
3. Bits and pieces: Poems by Emily Dickinson
4. Out of this world: Leviathan Wakes by James E. Corey
5. Still time for more chapters: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
6. War is hell: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
7. No Cliff Notes this time: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
8. Keep up with the Joneses: Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
9. Lol random: The Solidary Man by Fergus Hume
10.Just the facts, Ma'am: The Most Human Humanby Brian Christian
11. Doorstoppers: The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
12. Happy days are here again: Fallen Land by Taylor Brown
1. Get on with it already: Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
2. My hometown: Creature of the Bardoons by Jeremy Lee Riley
3. Bits and pieces: Poems by Emily Dickinson
4. Out of this world: Leviathan Wakes by James E. Corey
5. Still time for more chapters: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
6. War is hell: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
7. No Cliff Notes this time: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
8. Keep up with the Joneses: Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
9. Lol random: The Solidary Man by Fergus Hume
10.Just the facts, Ma'am: The Most Human Humanby Brian Christian
11. Doorstoppers: The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
12. Happy days are here again: Fallen Land by Taylor Brown
Last edited:
Looks like a nice list - read a few off these myself, and generally enjoyed. (Have you seen the Syfy series based on Leviathan Wakes/the Expanse series? Definitely worth it if you haven't... Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Amazon Prime, or on DVD through your local library system, with 3 airing now.)
Ready, set, read!
