The 2018 AW Reading Challenge. Now with added breadth and depth.

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,617
Reaction score
7,297
Location
Wash., D.C. area
Hello 2018! We’ve been waiting for you. And we’ve been waiting for the 2018 AW Reading Challenge.

As in prior years, each us chooses 12 books from a list of categories to read and discuss throughout the year. We each read our own 12, unless you have titles in common and want to discuss; that would be quite cool.

Please read the sticky in this forum regarding spoilers.

Siri had a wonderful idea to switch things up, and so you can choose from two options:

1) Breadth: Choose one book from each of 12 categories below that interest you

Or

2) Depth: Choose 3 books within each of 4 categories. Or, choose 4 groups of 3 books by the same author in the same or different categories.

Feel free to get creative and come up with your own ways to group them. Any way you want to come up with your 12 books is fine. The only way to do it wrong is to forget to have fun.


1. Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year.
2. Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for.
3. Setting sail: A book taking place mostly or all on water.
4. I remember that!: A book about a historical event that took place in your lifetime.
5. My hometown: A book by a local author.
6. Locked up: A book taking place in a prison, mental institution or treatment center.
7. Seasons in the Sun: A book with one of the four seasons, a month, or a day of the week in the title.
8. Bits and pieces: An anthology (poetry, short stories, whatever).
9. Namesakes: A book by an author who shares your first or last name (maiden name counts).
10. Out of this world: A book taking place in space or on another planet.
11. Vast critical acclaim: A book that has won a prestigious award.
12. Support the home team: A book by a fellow AWer (Click on the “AW Amazon Store” link above).
13. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel or comic book.
14. Anyward, ho!: A travel novel (any genre).
15. Still time for more chapters: A memoir/biography by/about someone who’s still alive (as of January 1).
16. Flights of fancy: A book in which airplanes figure prominently.
17. Tuesdays with Balaam’s Ass: A book with a non-human (animal or fantastic creature) main character.
18. Peekaboo I see you: A book you saw someone else reading in public.
19. What your great-grandparents read: A book written more than 75 years before you were born.
20. Upstaged: A play.
21. Loose ends: A book you started last year and haven’t yet finished.
22. No hablo: A book originally written in another language (i.e., a translation).
23. Team effort: A book by more than one author.
24. War is hell: A book about war, on the lines or the homefront, fiction or nonfiction.
25. I’ve met them!: A book by someone you have seen in person (either know, seen at a book fair, heard at a speaking engagement, in line at the ATM, whatever).
26. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools but that you never read.
27. Learn the Quadrille: A regency romance.
28. Do you read about the land down under?: A book about or taking place in Australia, New Zealand or Pacific Islands.
29. Keep up with the Joneses: A book by someone everyone else seems to have read but you have not.
30. Lol random: Go to Gutenberg.org, click “Book Search,” click “Random” and pick any of the books that show up. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?sort_order=random
31. Just the facts, Ma’am: Nonfiction on any subject.
32. Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character.
33. Where is that, again?: A book about a place you know little about.
34. Who was that, again?: A book about a person you know little about.
35. Doorstoppers: A book more than 600 pages.
36. A real scream: A horror novel.
37. Happy days are here again: A book published since 1945.
38. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture.
39. Feast your ears on this: Listen to an audiobook.
40. Out of the park on first at-bat: A debut.
41. Run for the border: A book about or taking place in Central or South America.
42. You might also like. . . : A book recommended by library or bookstore staff, online or in person.
43. That old black magic: A paranormal novel.
44. Better known for . . .: A book by someone who’s more famous for something other than writing.
45. God’s mansion has many rooms: A book based in a religion not your own.
46. Not available in stores: Beta read someone’s unpublished work.
47. I know exactly where that is!: A book taking place in a location you know well.
48. The butler might have done it: A mystery.
49. Pixies and Dryads and Elves, oh my!: A high fantasy.
50. Like a novel, only real: Creative nonfiction.

And optional, just for fun:

51. Tag, you’re it!: Choose one person who replied in this thread to pick your 13th book from any category (no need to reciprocate but fun if you do!)
 

oneblindmouse

The new me
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
15,665
Reaction score
1,458
Location
Spain
Oooh! Lots of new categories and ideas! Thanks, Chris. I'm definitely going to take part in the challenge, but it might take me a while to plan my list. I'm going to find it hard to limit it to just twelve, but if things go well I might even go for a second challenge later on in the year.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,883
Reaction score
7,171
Location
Virginia
So many intriguing categories (I have at least six titles that would fit #1)! I'm gonna peruse this and post my picks later in the week. Thanks, Chris P, for hosting the Challenge again this year!
 

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,617
Reaction score
7,297
Location
Wash., D.C. area
I'm excited too. I confess I've had some time to consider my titles, but I really tried not to stack the categories to read only what I was going to anyway.

I look forward to seeing what everyone chooses to read.
 

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,617
Reaction score
7,297
Location
Wash., D.C. area
Okay, I've got mine picked out. I'm doing the Depth option, 4 groups of 3.

A lot of them are pretty short, so I should get a lot of time for extra credit this year.


Upstaged: A play.
1. The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone
2. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
3. The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill

I’ve met them!: A book by someone you have seen in person
4. What Unites Us by Dan Rather
5. Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie
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
8. Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather
9. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

I know exactly where that is!: A book taking place in a location you know well (for me, Washington, DC).
10. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
11. Cane by Jean Toomer
12. The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
 

Cobalt Jade

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 21, 2015
Messages
3,289
Reaction score
1,441
Location
Seattle
My list for the upcoming year. Doing the Breadth Reads again, mostly new categories though I am revisiting two of the ones I did last year.

1. Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. Hermetech, by Storm Constantine

2. Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for. The One Gold Slave, by Christian Kennedy (A giveaway from the author)

3. Setting sail: A book taking place mostly or all on water. City of Fortune, by Roger Crowley (a history of Venice)

4. I remember that!: A book about a historical event that took place in your lifetime. Where Wizards Stay Up Late, by Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon (about the creation of the Internet)

5. My hometown: A book by a local author. Reamde, by Neal Stephenson

8. Bits and pieces: An anthology (poetry, short stories, whatever). Undead Worlds, A Reanimated Writers Anthology (Zombie stories)

24. War is hell: A book about war, on the lines or the homefront, fiction or nonfiction. A Delicate Truth, by John Le Carr

34. Who was that, again?: A book about a person you know little about. The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory

29. Keep up with the Joneses: A book by someone everyone else seems to have read but you have not. Twilight, by Stephanie Myers; Wicked, by Gregory Maguire (one of these, haven't decided yet)

38. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture. Albert Nobbs, by George Moore

48. The butler might have done it: A mystery. Antiques Swap, by Barbara Allen

49. Pixies and Dryads and Elves, oh my!: A high fantasy. The Worm Ouroboros, by E. R. Eddison. That's as High Fantasy as it gets.
 
Last edited:

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Messages
8,943
Reaction score
3,151
Location
In God I dwell, especially in Eugene OR
Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Okay, I'm going with a mix of breadth and depth. But mostly depth.

3 by Alice Hoffman
Happy Days Are Here Again: Faithful
Happy Days Are Here Again:
Probable Future
God's Mansions: The Dovekeepers


3 Get On With It Already!
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich or Jazz by Toni Morrison
The Distant Hours or The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton


3 of a category, either No Hablo or Like a Novel, but Real
Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri
TBD
TBD

3 Categories, 1 Each
Seasons in the Sun/Upstaged
: A Midsummer's Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
God's Mansions: Heirs to Lost Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell
Howdy, Stranger: The Caretaker by A. X. Ahmad

I'm leaving what I put with the Dante open, depending on mood, the needs of my writing, and how much time I have.

I am also adding two Scheduled Extra Credit Books -- the poetry book, because I want the option of reading it throughout the year without impacting the challenge.


Scheduled Extra Credit
Bits and Pieces: The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke
Tag, You're It: The Light Between Oceans (I didn't ask them, but both Chris and oneblindmouse recommended it last year)

That's a bunch, and I hope I get through it.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,617
Reaction score
7,297
Location
Wash., D.C. area
Cobalt Jade, let me know what you think of Twilight if you go that route. I read about the first 100 pages, then the movie came out and once I see the movie I have no desire to read the book any more. I keep picturing the actors while reading and it pulls me out of the story. It was light and fun. The Host had the potential to be a much stronger book, although I gave up on it at the halfway point when I got bored (I didn't think she was ever getting out of that cave, and the plotline that interested me--the narrator's back and forth with the host body's identity--had faded out by that point).

Siri, wow, that's quite some list! I really need a reading buddy for anything Shakespeare, and Dante's Inferno was fascinating but made all the more so by the footnotes in the edition I read that explained who the people were. Outside of The Divine Comedy, I know nothing about his other works.

Thanks for participating and I look forward to hearing what you think of your books!
 

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Messages
8,943
Reaction score
3,151
Location
In God I dwell, especially in Eugene OR
Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Thanks. I'm looking forward to it. Last year, I cleaned out some cupboards. (And glad I did.) This year I'm going for the gold.

Vita Nuova is Dante's account of how Beatrice became his poetry muse. Much of what we know about his relationship with her comes from this short work. It predates the Divine Comedy. I had trouble with the Divine Comedy, largely because my own sense of what constitutes righteousness ain't medieval. But this one I think will be up my literary alley.

I can handle Shakespeare with footnotes, especially since I've seen a great many of the plays, including this one (twice--once staged and once filmed). I refuse to read him in translation.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

oneblindmouse

The new me
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
15,665
Reaction score
1,458
Location
Spain
I’m going for breadth rather than depth, and have chosen eight completely new categories and four repeats, though several books could fall under various categories. Numbers #5, #6, and #10 are long and/or written over a century ago, which makes them doubly challenging, but I found them among my father’s books and am very intrigued by them. I think the authors of #5 and #6 were brother and sister, and #5’s husband was an ancestor of mine (I think).


  1. Howdy, stranger: a book about immigrants or immigration. The Road Home by Rose Tremain.
  2. Do you read about a land down under? A book about or set in Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific Islands. The people in the trees by Hanya Yanagihara.
  3. Vast critical acclaim: a book that has won a prestigious award. The buried giant by Kazuo Shiguro, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature.
  4. Freebies: A book obtained legally without paying for. Burial rites by Hannah Kent. (Given to me by my sister).
  5. Run for the border: A book set in Central or Latin America. Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, Madame Calderón de la Barca.
  6. Anyward ho! A tavel book. Rambles in the footsteps of Don Quixote by Henry Davis Inglis.
  7. War is hell: a book about war, in the lines or the home front, fiction or non-fiction. The dust that falls from dreams by Louis de Bernières
  8. The butler might have done it: a mystery. Treason by the book by Jonathan Spence.
  9. Out of the park on first bat: a debut novel. The tiger’s wife by Téa Obreht.
  10. What your great grandparents read: A book written more than 75 years before I was born: I will repay by Baroness Orczy.
  11. Get on with it already: A book that’s been on my TBR shelf over a year. Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison.
  12. Loose ends: A book started last year and not yet finished. The man in the queue by Josephine Tey.
 

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,617
Reaction score
7,297
Location
Wash., D.C. area
Interesting selections, oneblindmouse! I feel unschooled because I've not even heard of any of your books. I look forward to your input.

I've finished one of my selections already: The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. I'd seen posters for it when it played in DC, and people said it was funny. However, I didn't connect that it was by the South Park folks until after I'd selected it for the challenge. Knowing this, it's basically a South Park episode: amusing enough set up, then an overblown assortment of over-the-top characters who are so stereotypically cardboard cut outs as to border on (or even cross into) the offensive, which I think makes the point that all over-the-top cardboard-cutout stereotypes are by nature offensive, followed by a trite monologue by the hero to say that all of us were right all along and really do agree with each other if we'd only admit it to ourselves. I'm okay with irreverence particularly when it makes a point, but South Park really isn't my thing. It taking place in Uganda, where I lived for two years, didn't improve it. 2 Stars.
 

bdwilson

Dedicated Lurker
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
724
Reaction score
105
Location
Alberta, Canada
Website
www.bdwilson.ca
Last year I picked books, but didn't post and didn't finished. On the off chance those two things are related, I'm going to post this time :)

I'm going with breadth, and trying to pick books that have all come from my TBR pile. (Some of these are by friends, too. It'll be nice to get rid of the guilt of not having read them yet :tongue)

1. Get on with it already: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (on the list since 2012)
2. Freebies: Fire & Ice by Patty Jansen
5. My hometown: The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust
8. Bits and pieces: You Haven't Changed a Bit, and Other Stories by Astrid Blodgett
15. Still time for more chapters: A Twisted Fate - My Life with Dystonia by Brenda Currey Lewis
21. Loose ends: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
25. I’ve met them!: Few and Far by Alison Kydd
31. Just the facts, Ma’am: The Insanity Machine by Kenna McKinnon
35. Doorstoppers: A Perfect Heritage by Penny Vincenzi
36. A real scream: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
43. That old black magic: Dying on Second by E.C. Bell
48. The butler might have done it: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
 
Last edited:

oneblindmouse

The new me
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
15,665
Reaction score
1,458
Location
Spain
Cobalt Jane - I've read The Other Boleyn Girl as I read a lot of history and historical fiction. I found it interesting as I knew nothing about her, though I prefer the confusing Plantagenets to the done-to-death Tudors (no pun intended). Have you read anything by Gregory before? I find her first-person present narrative annoying, and I'm not sure she always gets her facts right, but she's a good introduction to historical characters and she certainly brings them to life.

Siri - I really hope you enjoy Light between Oceans. It poses interesting moral dilemmas. I'm also interested in your views on the books by Louise Erdrich and Toni Morrison, as I've read stuff by them, but not those two books.

Chris - I laughed at your comment about feeling 'unschooled'! I could say the same about your choices or everyone elses's. Our reading tastes cover different spheres, reflecting our different ages, backgrounds, interests, etc., which is what makes this challenge fun. I've read a lot by Rushdie, but not the book you've chosen, so I look forward to your review. I only recognise about five of your other authors.

BD - Welcome! I hope your posting here inspires you to achieve your reading goals. Good luck!
 

Cobalt Jade

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 21, 2015
Messages
3,289
Reaction score
1,441
Location
Seattle
Cobalt Jane - I've read The Other Boleyn Girl as I read a lot of history and historical fiction. I found it interesting as I knew nothing about her, though I prefer the confusing Plantagenets to the done-to-death Tudors (no pun intended). Have you read anything by Gregory before? I find her first-person present narrative annoying, and I'm not sure she always gets her facts right, but she's a good introduction to historical characters and she certainly brings them to life.

This is my first Gregory book, and the first historical I've read about the Tudors. I'm a documentary fiend about them though.
 

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Messages
8,943
Reaction score
3,151
Location
In God I dwell, especially in Eugene OR
Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Welcome, bdwilson! Happy reading!

I too am amazed by all the books I've never heard of in other people's lists.

Oneblindmouse, it's wonderful you have a family connection with some of your authors. Hope you enjoy them. I definitely plan on reviewing The Light Between Oceans, when I finish...which won't be for awhile. About Toni Morrison: I read her Song of Solomon in high school (but not as an assigned book) and loved it. Received 4 books (I think) from my MIL's estate, tried The Bluest Eye and couldn't get into it (although I certainly understood the concept in the blurb), tried Sula and hated the protagonist so didn't finish. So I'm a little concerned about my next pick by her. Hence giving myself a choice. Haven't read anything more than snippets by Erdrich.

Cobalt Jade, you mentioned rereading The Wrinkle in Time with pleasure last year. I read it years (maybe decades ago), but as an adult. I've been slogging through the Dante (and it's slow going), and decided to liven it up by rereading The Wrinkle in Time concurrently with it. Does help. So thanks!

Chris, I read The Iceman Cometh some forty years ago. I remember I enjoyed it, but that's about it. I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about it.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,617
Reaction score
7,297
Location
Wash., D.C. area
Welcome bdwilson! I loved American Gods, as well as Anansi Boys. Neverwhere was good, and I just can't get into his childrens/middle grade books.

The only Toni Morrison I've read is Beloved, which I finished, enjoyed parts of, but I found very random and hard to follow.

I saw the film for The Other Bolelyn Girl. It made me more interested in the history, which I know just the smallest smidgin about.
 
Last edited:

bdwilson

Dedicated Lurker
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
724
Reaction score
105
Location
Alberta, Canada
Website
www.bdwilson.ca
Welcome bdwilson! I loved American Gods, as well as Anansi Boys.

Anansi Boys also on my TBR list :D I liked Neverwhere, Stardust, and the short story collection of his that I've read. I also really enjoyed the first season of the American Gods show so I'm looking forward to the book :)
 

oneblindmouse

The new me
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
15,665
Reaction score
1,458
Location
Spain
I’ve finished The Road Home by Rose Tremain. It’s the first book I’ve read by her, and I think she’s better known for her historical fiction, but I enjoyed it. The story of an Eastern European immigrant in 21st-century Britain (you never actually find out from which former Communist country he's from), it brought to life the plight of all immigrants and the difficulties they have to endure, from language incomprehension, cultural shock, slave wages and racism, to the pressure from relatives back home. It had both tender and hilarious moments and some unforgettable characters but was, overall, very thought provoking, as it takes an outsider’s view of our taken-for-granted lives and values. Thanks, Chris, for including a category about immigration!

In the category What your great grandparents read, I’ve had to replace I will repay by Baroness Orczy (only published in 1906), with Elizabeth: Exiles of Siberia by Madame Cottin (published in 1815), as I got my dates wrong and was born LONG before 1981!

So my updated challenge is as follows:


  1. Howdy, stranger: The Road Home by Rose Tremain DONE
  2. Do you read about a land down under? People in the trees by Hanya Yanagihara
  3. Vast critical acclaim: The buried giant by Kazuo Shiguro
  4. Freebies: Burial rites by Hannah Kent
  5. Run for the border: Life in Mexico by Frances Erskine Inglis, Madame Calderón de la Barca
  6. Anyward ho! Rambles in the footprints of Don Quixote by Henry David Inglis
  7. War is hell: The Dust that Falls from Dreams by Louis de Bernières
  8. The butler might have done it: Treason by the book by Jonathan Spence
  9. Out of the park on first bat: The tiger’s wife by Téa Obreht
  10. What your great grandparents read: Elizabeth: exiles of Siberia by Madame Cottin
  11. Get on with it already: Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison
  12. Loose ends: The man in the queue by Josephine Tey
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,883
Reaction score
7,171
Location
Virginia
Okay, I've decided to go with "breadth" this time, and have made my picks:

[ ] 1. Get on with it already: A book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for over a year. TIGANA by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's been in my TBR pile since 2012.
[ ] 2. Freebies: A book you (legally) obtained without paying for. THE RIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS by Oliver Sacks. A Christmas gift from my husband.
[ ] 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.
[ ] 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.
[ ] 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.
[ ] 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.
[ ] 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.
[ ] 9. Just the facts, Ma’am: Nonfiction on any subject. TINDERBOX: THE IROQUOIS THEATRE DISASTER 1903 by Anthony P. Hatch.
[ ] 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.
[ ] 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.

I doubt I'll be reading at the same frenetic pace as last year - I won't be sitting backstage bored out of my mind, for one thing. And I can't start on this list until I finish my current book: David Grann's KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, which is interesting yet slow going.
 
Last edited:

oneblindmouse

The new me
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
15,665
Reaction score
1,458
Location
Spain
Very interesting selection, Mrsmig! And congrats to your brother for his thesis. I've read a lot by Oliver Sacks, but not River of Consciousness so I'm very interested in your review. I agree, the book about owls has me intrigued.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,883
Reaction score
7,171
Location
Virginia
oneblindmouse, I've read a lot of Sacks, too, and always enjoyed his work (his Hallucinations was invaluable when I was working on the third and fourth books in my fantasy series). The River of Consciousness was only released last October.
 

oneblindmouse

The new me
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
15,665
Reaction score
1,458
Location
Spain
oneblindmouse, I've read a lot of Sacks, too, and always enjoyed his work (his Hallucinations was invaluable when I was working on the third and fourth books in my fantasy series). The River of Consciousness was only released last October.

I didn't know of its publication, but shall definitely read it at some point. In his book The mind's eye he brilliantly described what living with a scotoma is like, something I suffer from: partial sightedness, having an area in the visual field in which one sees absolutely nothing.