Challenge 2012 – Wrapup

2012 was all about behaving reasonably.  How did I do? Hyperlinks are to reviews on my main blog: http://www.lizzysiddal.wordpress .com

1) European Reading Challenge (Hosted by Rose City Reader)

Objective to become a set-setting culture vulture i.e Read and review 6 prize-winning novels from 6 different countries.

So – prizewinners

Denmark: The Murder of Halland – Pia Juul Ireland: Brooklyn – Colm Toibin (not reviewed) Italy: Stabat Mater – Tiziano Scarpa Netherlands: Raptors – Toon Tellegen Spain: The Scent of Lemon Leaves – Clara Sanchez Switzerland: One Hundred  Days – Lucas Barfuss United Kingdom: Bring Up the Bodies – Hilary Mantel

Other countries visited:

Austria: The Mattress Hour – Paulus Hochgatterer Finland: The Brothers – Asko Sahlberg Germany: London for Heroes – Matthias Politycki (Even read this in German!)   Norway: Headhunters: Jo Nesbo (not reviewed)

I enjoyed this so much, I’m signing up for second helpings in 2013 and although culture vulture is no longer an official category, I’m going for it again!

2) Global Reading Challenge – Hosted by Mysteries in Paradise

Twice round the world was always going to be a challenge – which is why I picked it.  In the end, I missed it by just one book! That’s what I call a valiant attempt.

Africa

One Hundred Days – Lukas Barfuss

Asia
The Hidden Force – Louis Couperus (Indonesia)
The Garden of Evening Mists – (Malaysia)

Europe
Corrag – Suzanne Fletcher (Scotland – Europe)
Painter of Silence – Georgina Harding (Romania – Europe)

North America
Lord of Misrule – Jaimy Gordon (USA)
Silver – Andrew Motion (Somewhere in the Caribbean ….)

South America
Recipes for Sad Women – Hector Abad (Columbia)
Granta 113: The Best of Spanish Language Novelists (Argentina, Chile, Peru ….)

Oceania
Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey (Australia)
Bride Flight – Marieke van der Pol (New Zealand)

The World of Dickensian Homage
Havisham – Ronald Frame
Tom All-Alone’s – Lynn Shepherd

I may do this again in 2013 but limit myself to one circuit.  There’s a global reading group on librarything that I may follow as well.

3) Books I Started But Didn’t Finish Challenge – Hosted by A Room of One’s Own

Unbelievable but I only finished one book that I had started in 2011.

Corrag – Suzanne Fletcher

4) What’s In A Name 5 – Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Topological Feature: Murder at Mansfield Park  Something in the Sky: Island of Wings   Creepy Crawly: The Glass Bees (Read not reviewed) House: The Black House   Something in my Purse: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter (Read not reviewed)  Something on A Calendar: One Hundred Days

Love this challenge: Count me in for 2013 as well!

5) Books in Translation – Hosted by the Introverted Reader

Went for the linguist level – 12 books.  I actually read 35 books in translation last year!  That’s a ratio of 1:2.5 books.  I’ll list my top twelve.

Recipes for Sad Women – Hector Abad (Translated from Spanish)
The Detour – Gerbrand Bakker (Translated from Dutch)
Alone In Berlin – Hans Fallada (Translated from German)
The Murder of Halland – Pia Juul (Translated from Danish)
Little Indiscretions – Carmen Posadas (Translated from Spanish)
The Brothers – Asko Sahlberg (Translated from Finnish)
The Scent of Lemon Leaves – Clara Sanchez (Translated from Spanish)
Maria Stuart – Friedrich von Schiller (Translated from German)
Summer Lies – Bernhard Schlink (Translated from German)
Seven Years – Peter Stamm (Translated from German)
Bride Flight – Marieke van der Pol (Translated from Dutch)
The Method – Juli Zeh (Translated from German)

Of course, I’m doing this again in 2013.

6) The Poetry Project

This started life as Read More: Blog More Poetry before changing into the Poetry Project mid-year.  I kept my resolution though on post on poetry at least once a month throughout 2012.  I wouldn’t yet call myself a convert although a number of poetry blogs have made their way into my google reader.  Perhaps the most surprising outcome of this project  was two poetry books making my best of 2012 list!

The Magicians of Edinburgh – Ron Butlin
Reading Shakespeare’s Sonnets – Don Paterson

Challenge 2012 – Behaving reasonably

In line with all my objectives for 2012, I am going to keep this reasonable.

I originally intended taking on only one challenge for 2012, but that wouldn’t be reasonable – it would be puritan!  So, without further ado, I’m signing up to the following:

1) European Reading Challenge (Hosted by Rose City Reader)

I wish to become a jet setting culture vulture!  1st pass through my TBR yielded the following potential reads …..

Albania: The Accident – Ismail Kadare  Austria: Detective Muller – Augusta Groner Belgium: The Misfortunates – Dimitri Verhulst  Czechoslovakia: The Widow Killer – Pavel Kohout Denmark: The Murder of Halland – Pia Juul Estonia: Brecht at Night Finland: The True Deceiver – Tove Jansson France: Total Chaos – Jean-Izzo  Germany: Funeral For A Dog – Thomas Pletzinger Holland: Bride Flight – Marieke can der Pol Hungary: Journey by Midnight – Anton Szerb  Iceland: Heaven and Hell – Jon Kalman Stefansson Italy: Stabat Mater – Tiziano Scarpa  Norway: The Leopard: Jo Nesbo Spain: The Scent of Lemon Leaves – Clara Sanchez Switzerland: Seven Years – Peter Stamm Portugal: Pereira Maintains – Antonio Tabucchi United Kingdom: Pure – Andrew Miller

2) Global Reading Challenge – Hosted by Mysteries in Paradise

I enjoyed Kerrie’s European Crime Tour last summer.  But judging from the number of potential reads for challenge 1), I need something that will force me beyond my continent of origin.  The medium level of this challenge sounds ideal.  No idea what I’m reading yet but I’ve started in Oceania with Peter Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda.

Books read
Update 01.03

Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey (Oceania – Australia)
Corrag – Suzanne Fletcher (Scotland – Europe)
Lord of Misrule – Jaimy Gordon (USA)

3) Books I Started But Didn’t Finish Challenge – Hosted by A Room of One’s Own

I was surprised by the number of books that remain unfinished.  It just goes to show I’m easily distracted.  But I want to finish all of these … some of which I actually started prior to 2011!

Whether I finish them in 2012 remains to be seen!

Books Read Update 01.03

Corrag – Suzanne Fletcher

4) What’s In A Name 5 – Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

I was going to give this a miss this year.  But why should I?  I have books in the TBR that are an exact match for most of this categories. As I’m concentrating on reading books owned prior to 1/1/2012 this year (I want at least a 67% ratio in my end-of-year listings), I’d be foolish to pass it by.

Topological Feature: Murder at Mansfield Park / Something in the Sky: Island of Wings / Creepy Crawly: The Spider Truces / House: The Black House / Something in my Purse (Handbag): Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter / Something on A Calendar: A Fortnight in September

That’s it for this year.  I want to leave myself some flexibility to participate in events like Australian Literature Month, Venice In February and other temptations that the blogging world will undoubtedly throw my way.  And that includes the monthly Read More / Blog More Poetry event.

EDIT: 30.01.12

Just one more.  I can’t let the Introverted Reader’s Book in Translation pass me by .  I’m going for the linguist level – 12 books (and I’ll try not to make them all translated from German!)

Books Read Update 01.07

Alone In Berlin – Hans Fallada (Translated from German)
Love Virtually – Daniel Glattauer (Translated from German)
The Mattress House – Paulus Hochgatterer (Translated from German)
The Shadow-Boxing Woman – Inka Parei (Translated from German)
Seven Years – Peter Stamm (Translated from German)
Me and You – Niccolo Ammaniti (Translated from Italian)
Stabat Mater -Tiziano Scarpa (Translated from Italian)
Memory of the Abyss – Marcello Fois (Translated from Italian)
Little Indiscretions – Carmen Posadas (Translated from Spanish)
The Scent of Lemon Leaves – Clara Sanchez (Translated from Spanish)

Challenge 2011 – How did I do?

I signed-up for 8 and finished 6.

Challenge One – One, Two, Theme!

Hosted at http://onetwotheme.blogspot.com/

Theme One: Finish the trilogy – Via Delle Oche – Carlo Lucarelli

Theme Two: Medical Conditions – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot / Therapy – Sebastian Fitzek

Theme Three:  From Scottish Publishers:  Dead Sharp – Len Wanner (Two Raven’s Press / The Stillness of the Sea – Nicol Llubjic  (Vagabond Press) / Jamrach’s Menagerie – Carol Birch (Canongate)

Theme Four: Food and Drink: Chocolate Wars – Deborah Cadbury / The Tea Lords – Hella S Haase / The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine – Alina Bronsky / Unusual Uses for Olive Oil – Alexander McCall Smith (not reviewed)

Challenge Two: What’s In A Name 4?

Hosted at http://whatsinaname4.blogspot.com/

1) A book with evil in the title: Crime – Ferdinand von Schirach

2) A book with a life stage in the title: Death at Pemberley – P D James

3) A book with a jewel or gem in the title: The Rajah’s Diamond – R L Stevenson (no review)

4) A book with travel or movement in the title: The Foxes Come at Night – Cees Nooteboom

5) A book with a size in the title:  Great House – Nicole Krauss

6) A book with a number in the title: The Rule of Four – Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason (No review.)

Challenge 3 – Criminal Plots 2010

Hosted at http://networkedblogs.com/brlC6

I knew this would be tough.  I read 27 crime novels in 2011 and still didn’t complete the challenge!

1) A book by a new to you author who’s blurbed a book you enjoyed. Didn’t read one.

2) A book that has been made into a movie. Another miss.

3)A book with a protagonist opposite your own gender. So if you’re female, the protagonist should be male; if you’re male the protagonist should be female.   The Taint of Midas – Anne Zouroudi (No review – The protagonist annoyed me too much!)

4) A book set outside the country in which you live.  A Short Cut to Paradise – Teresa Solana

5)A book that’s the first in a new-to-you series.  City of Dreadful Night – Peter Guttridge

6)A book by a 2011 debut author. Snowdrops – A D Miller

Challenge 4 – Not Really A Challenge, just The TBR Dare – Hosted by Ready when you are, C B

Reading only from my TBR stacks (with the exception of book group reads) for 6 weeks starting from 1.1.2011.  I made it!

——-

5. The 2011 Challenge (Hosted at Bart’s Bookshelf)

The requirement will be a total of 20 books from 11 categories.

To YA or not YA…
Thyme Running Out- Panama Oxridge

With a Twist 
Of Italian Noir:  Carte Blanche and The Damned Season by Carlo Lucarelli

Hot off the Presses.
The London Train – Tessa Hadley / Everything and Nothing – Araminta Hall

It Wasn’t Me! (aka Bad Bloggers*)
Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel (Original review by ?) / The City and The City – China Mieville (Original Review by ?)

Show it Who is Boss! (On the TBR 1/12/10)
Carsten The Trustee and Other Stories – Theodor Storm / Steal You Away – Niccolo Ammaniti 

Bablefish.
Therapy – Sebastian Fitzek / A Short Cut to Paradise – Teresa Solano

Will-Power? What Will-Power? (Bought in 2011)

Irretrievable – Theodor Fontane / An Uncertain Place – Fred Vargas

Mind the Gap (Finish that Trilogy)
Via Delle Oche – Carlo Lucarelli

Back in the Day (Rereads)
Fighting It! – Regi Claire / Effi Briest – Theodor Fontane

Way Back When (Older than Me)
The Broken Jug – Heinrich von Kleist / The Pledge – Friedrich von Durrenmatt

Slim-Pickings (Novellas)
Lucinella – Lore Segal / Next World Novella – Matthias Politycki

Challenge Six Seconds Challenge 2011 – hosted by A Few More Pages

A Short Cut to Paradise – Teresa Solana
The Liberation of Celia Kahn – David J Simons
The Dark Vineyard – Martin Walker
On Canaan’s Side – Sebastian Barry
Blow on A Dead Man’s Embers – Mari Strachan
Law and Peace – Tim Kevan

Challenge 7: The Themed Reading Challenge is my favourite.  My theme for 2011 was Revisiting Real Life Destinations. I meant this to be an international trip but in the end I ended up staying on mainland Britain!

Brighton:
City of Dreadful Night – Peter Guttridge

Glasgow:
The Credit Draper and The Liberation of Celia Kahn by David J Simons

London:
The London Train – Tessa Hadley

Preston:
A Dark Anatomy – Robin Blake

Challenge Eight: Pink Sheep Cafe‘s challenge was too much for me.  It seems I am incapable of picking up a book with an ugly cover.  But I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is the ugliest cover I came across in 2011.  Sarah Hall – The Beautiful Indifference

Challenge 2011 Part 2

No more than 6 challenges I said.  Aye, right!

I’m delighted to see that myone of my favourite challenges – The Themed Reading Challenge – has a new home.  And it wouldn’t be right not to thank Teddy Rose for her hospitality.  So without further ado, I’m joining. My theme for 2011 is Revisiting Real Life Destinations. I love to travel and I have a stack of books set in Barcelona, Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Salzburg, Vienna, Bordeaux, British Columbia, California, the Scottish Highlands, Edinburgh, London  …. The only difficulty will be determining which 5 I should read.

 

 

 

 

Secondly, we all love a book with a beautiful cover.  But what about the riches that may languish between a cover that is less than appealing, simply atrocious, in fact.  Enter Pink Sheep Cafe and a challenge that is designed to test me to the max, because passing those ugly covers by is second nature to me.  But this is wicked and I’m signing up to force 2 ugly covers into my hands …..

 

Challenge 2011

Self-imposed constraints for 2011

I must be able to fulfill challenge requirements from my TBR of 30.12.2010, otherwise it’s a no go area. (There may be the odd exception to this.) And no more than 6 challenges for the whole year.  I overdid it in 2010.

Without further ado:

Challenge One –  One, Two, Theme!

Hosted at  http://onetwotheme.blogspot.com/

Theme One:  Finish the quartet – A Darkling Plain – Philip Reeve

Theme Two: Literary Twins – The Reckoning – Charles Nicoll (NF), The Reckoning- Patricia Tyrell

Theme Three: Stefan Zweig:  Stefan and Lotte Zweig’s South American Letters plus 2 books written by Stefan Zweig

—–

Challenge Two: What’s In A Name 4?

Hosted at http://whatsinaname4.blogspot.com/

1) A book with evil in the title:  This Night’s Foul Work

2) A book with a life stage in the title: The Widow

3) A book with a jewel or gem in the title: The Raj’s Diamond / The Moonstone Legacy/ Black Diamond

4) A book with travel or movement in the title: A Short Walk In the Hindu Kush / Dancer / Let the Great World Spin

5) A book with a size in the title: Wide Sargasso Sea / The Little Stranger / Little Hands Clapping

6) A book with a number in the title:  And Then There Was No One / Lock 14 / Three Day Road

——-

Challenge 3 – Criminal Plots 2010

Hosted at http://networkedblogs.com/brlC6

1) A book by a new to you author who’s blurbed a book you enjoyed.

2) A book that has been made into a movie.

3)A book with a protagonist opposite your own gender. So if you’re female, the protagonist should be male; if you’re male the protagonist should be female.

4) A book set outside the country in which you live.

5)A book that’s the first in a new-to-you series.

6)A book by a 2011 debut author.

——

Challenge 4 – Not Really A Challenge, just The TBR Dare  – Hosted by Ready when you are, C B

Reading only from my TBR stacks (with the exception of book group reads) for 6 weeks starting from 1.1.2011

——-

5. The 2011 Challenge (Hosted at Bart’s Bookshelf)

 The requirement will be a total of  20 books from 11 categories.

Rather than read 2 books in every category, you will need to read a minimum of 1 and a max of 2 in each. (Essentially meaning you can choose one category where you only need to read one book.)

• Each book can only qualify for one category.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Books read from 01/01/2011 to 31/12/2011 are eligible.

And the categories for TwentyEleven are:

1. To YA or not YA…
   Okay, this one works like this… Tend to read more Young Adult than Adult Fiction books then read one or two adult fiction titles, vice-versa if you don’t tend to read much Young Adult.
2. …With a Twist.
   This one focuses on sub-genres, read a lot of chick-lit, then try a paranormal romance! Fantasy? Why not give some Steampunk a go, like a bit of Space-Opera in your Sci-Fi then pick up a military Sci-fi book. Like your Contemporary Literature, give a Young Adult Contemporary a chance. Well hopefully you get the idea! 
3. Hot off the Presses.
   Read a book published (in your country) in 2011? Then it counts for this category. 
4. It Wasn’t Me! (aka Bad Bloggers*)
   Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book ago).
   * Bad Bloggers: Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on. 
5. Show it Who is Boss!
   Tackle that overflowing T.B.R. pile! Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/12/10. 
6. Bablefish.
   Read books that are translated from a language that is not your own.
7. Will-Power? What Will-Power? (aka: The Henry Ward Beecher Memorial.)
   You know that quote I have in my blog-header… “Where is human nature so weak as in a bookstore?” Recognise yourself in it? Then this is the one for you! Bought a book NEW during 2011? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count for this one, but, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts or won in a giveaway also count.
8. Mind the Gap.
   Need just one more book to compete that duology/trilogy/series then read it for this one! (Obviously as this is for that final book you need to complete it, then you can’t read two books from the same series! And it clearly can’t be your first or penultimate read!)
   Because not everyone reads a series in order, this is for the last book you need to read, not necessarily the last book in the series…
9. Back in the Day.
   Re-read an old favourite or two for this category.
10. Way Back When.
    Read books that were published before you were born for this one, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior!
11. Slim-Pickings
    Got a novella you want to read? Then this one is the one for you! Any books between 90-150 pages count.

————–

6. Seconds Challenge 2011 – hosted by A Few More Pages

I’m signing up for a few more bites – 6 books by authors who impressed me so much first time around that I went out and bought another book!  These include, in no particular order:

Christoph Heim, Wolfgang Koeppen, Marilynne Robinson, Valerie Martin, Ron Brammer, Catherine O’Flynn, Barbara Pym, Penelope Fitzgerald, Martin Walker, Teresa Solano, Carmen Posadas, Gilbert Adair, etc

Books of the Century Challenge

As if I don’t have enough on my plate this year but this Books of the Century Challenge is so irresistible.  I’ll commit to Challenge 301 – although secretly I’d like to conquer Challenge 401.

Starting with 5 books from 5 decades

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Challenge 2010 – Progress Report

(Hyperlinks to my reviews on Lizzy’s Literary Life)

2010 Challenge (Complete)

2 Young Adult:  Blood Red, Snow White – Marcus Sedgwick (Read, not reviewed) / Reckless – Cornelia Funke

2 Unknown to Me: Miss Thing – Nora Chassler / After The Fire, A Still Small Voice – Evie Wyld

2 Win, Win: Soldiers of Salamis – Javier Cercas / The Sweetness of Life – Paulus Hochgatterer

2 Bought from Charity Shops: The Silence of The Rain / Faustine

2 Bought In 2010: The Ninth Wave / White Ravens

2 Non-Fiction:  Family Romance – John Lanchester / The Snows of Yesteryear – Gregor von Rezzori

2 Bad Bloggers: Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig / The White Woman on the Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey

2 in TBR on 1.11.2009: Dirty Snow – Georges Simenon / May Day – F S Fitzgerald (Read, not reviewed)

2 Shiny and New: The Long Song – Andrea Levy / Midnight In A Perfect Life – Michael Collins (Read, not reviewed)

2 Older Than Me:  The Eternal Husband – Fyodor Dostoevsky / The Daughter of Time – Josephine Tey

The Tin Drum Readalong
Part One: 31.01.2010
Part Two: 28.02.2010
Part Three: Coming soon!

Really Old Classic Challenge
1. Parzival – Wolfram von Eschenbach (Missed the deadline – will read, but not in 2010.)

Themed Reading Challenge (Bloggers Recommendations) (Complete)

1. Blood Red, Snow White – Marcus Sedgwick (Recommended by Gaskella) (Read not reviewed)
2. Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig Recommended by Dovegreyreader)
3. The Snows of Yesteryear – Gregor von Rezzori (Recommended by A Common Reader)
4. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey (Recommended by Other Stories)
5. After the Fire, A Still Small Voice – Evie Wyle (Recommended by Reading Matters)

Wilkie Collins Mini Challenge (Complete)
1. Basil (Read, not reviewed)
2. The Moonstone (Read, not reviewed)

British Authors (Complete)

1. The Long Song – Andrea Levy
2. Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig
3. Daphne – Justine Picardie (Read, not reviewed)
4. A Razor Wrapped in Silk – Roger N Morris
5. The Ninth Wave – Russell Celwyn Jones
6. The Rapture – Liz Jensen

What’s In A Name 3 (Complete)
1. A book with a food in the title: The Unbearable Lightness of Scones – Alexander McCall Smith (Read, not reviewed)
2. A book with a body of water in the title: Dirty Snow – Georges Simenon
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title:  My Lady Elizabeth – Alison Weir (Read, not reviewed)
4. A book with a plant in the title: The Boys In The Trees – Mary Swann
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Homage to Barcelona – Colm Toibin
6. A book with a music term in the title: The Long Song – Andrea Levy

Read the Book, See The Movie

Doesn’t watching the 4 episodes of the TV adaptation of “Any Human Heart” count?

Chunkster Challenge 2010

1. The Snowman – Jo Nesbo
2. The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins (Read, not reviewed)
3. Gentlemen and Players – Joanne Harris (Read, not reviewed)
4. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – David Mitchell

 

Awesome Author Challenge (Complete)

1. Georges Simenon
2. Kader Abdollah
3. Alberto Manguel
4. Irene Nemirovsky
5. Josephine Tey
6. John Lanchester

The Pub Challenge 2010 (Complete)
1. Miss Thing – Nora Chassler
2. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – David Mitchell
3. A Razor Wrapped in Silk – Roger N Morris
4. The Long Song – Andrea Levy
5. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag – Alan Bradley (Read, not reviewed)
6. The Arsenic Century – James C Whorton
7. Room – Emma Donoghue
8. Midnight in a Perfect Life – Michael Collins (Read, not reviewed)
9. In A Strange Room – Damon Galgut
10. The Existential Detective – Alice Thompson

Decades Challenge 2010 (Incomplete)
1.    1868 – The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins (Read, not reviewed)
2.    1870 – The Eternal Husband – Fyodor Dostoevsky
3.    1886 –  The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson 
4.    1896 – My Life – Anton Chekhov
5.    1902 –  Heart of Darkness – Joseph  Conrad
6.    1912  – Greyfriars Bobby – Eleanor Atkinson
7.    1925 – Fear – Stefan Zweig
8.    1930 – TBD
9.    1945 – Died In The Wool – Ngaio Marsh
10. 1953 – Dirty Snow – Georges Simenon

 

Award Winners IV (Complete)
1. Chronicle of A Death Foretold – Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Nobel Prize 1982)
2. The Sound of My Voice – Ron Butlin (Best Foreign Novel – Prix MillePages (2004) and Prix Lucioles (2005) )
3. The Soldiers of Salamis – Javier Cercas (Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (2004)
4. Stone in a Landslide – Maria Barbal (Joaqim Ruyra Prize 1984)
5. The Sweetness of Life – Paulus Hochgatterer (2009 European Prize for Literature – Austria)
6. The Lantern Bearers – Ronald Frame (Saltire Award – Best Scottish Book 2000)
7. After the Fire, A Still Small Voice – Evie Wyld (2009 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize)
8. The Last Patriarch  – Najat El Hachmi (2009 Prix Ulysse First Novel)
9. A Not So Perfect Crime – Teresa Solana (2007 Brigada 21 Best Crime Novel)
10. Portrait of a Mother as a Young Woman  – Friedrich Christian Delius (2009 Lutheran Book Prize)

Colourful Reading Challenge 2010 (Incomplete)
1. Black Black Water Rising – Attica Locke
2. Blue    
3. Red     Snow White, Blood Red – Marcus Sedgwick (Read, not reviewed)
4. White The White Woman on the Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey
5. Gold   
7. Yellow 
8. Grey Shades of Grey – Jasper Fforde (Did not finish)
9. TBD

Countdown Challenge 2010 (45 Read = 83% complete)

2001 (1/1)
Carter Beats the Devil – Glen David Gold

2002 (0/2)

2003 (2/3)
Old School – Tobias Woolf
The Silence of The Rain – Luis Alfredo Garcia Roza

2004 (2/4)
Settlement – Christoph Hein (Trans. 2008)
Tearjerker – Daniel Hayes

2005 (5/5)
A Happy Man – Hansjorg Schertenleib (Trans. 2010)
The Island – Victoria Hislop (Read, not reviewed)
The House of the Mosque – Kader Abdollah (Trans. 2010)
Poor Mercy – Jonathan Falla
Gentlemen and Players – Joanne Harris

2006 (2/6)
The Sweetness of Life – Paulus Hochgatter (Trans 2008)
Suite Francaise – Irene Nemirovsky

2007 (7/7)
Blood Red, Snow White – Marcus Sedgwick (Read, not reviewed)
The Silver Swan – Benjamin Black
Foolish Mortals – Jennifer Johnston
The Girl With The Golden Eyes – Honore De Balzac (Trans. 2007)
Family Romance – John Lanchester
The Bethlehem Murders – Matt Rees
The Outcast – Gil Adamson

2008 (7/8)
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher – Kate Summerscale
The Allure of Chanel – Paul Morand (Trans. 2007)
Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
Stone In A Landslide – Maria Babal (Trans 2010)
The Boys In The Trees – Mary Swan
Daphne – Justine Picardie (Read, not reviewed
The Last Patriarch – Najat El Hachmi (Trans 2010)

2009 (9/9)
After The Fire, A Still Small Voice – Evie Wyld
Black Water Rising – Attica Locke
Glasshopper – Isabel Ashdown
Ordinary Thunderstorms – William Boyd
Dismissed Dead – Ron Brammer
The Ninth Wave – Russell Celwyn Jones
White Ravens – Owen Sheers
Talking About Detective Fiction – P D James
Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig

2010 (See Pub Challenge) (10/10)

And finally, participation in some old favourites ….

I’m delighted that these 3M is continuing these challenges in 2010.  Needless to say I’m in – bringing total challenges for the year to 13.  I say that’s enough for any one bookworm.

The Pub 2010 – 10 books, published for the first time in the UK during 2010

Award Winners IV – 10 months, 10 awards, January – October 2010

Decades challenge 2010 – 10 books from 10 consecutive decades, January – December 2010

Reading lists for all to be compiled as I go along.

A Few More

Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge.  I’m off to the Saturday Matinees again next year. I’m feeling ever so nostalgic ….. Read 4 books, watch 4 movies.

Chunkster Challenge 2010 – 3 books of 450 pages or more. I’ll select from: Wolf Hall, The Tin Drum, My Mutual Friend, The Moonstone, East Lynne, Lady Audley’s Secret

 

 

 

 

Colourful Reading Challenge 2010

9 books with 9 colours in the title: Black, red, white, blue, gold/yellow, silver plus 3 discretionary

 

What’s In A Name 3?

January 1 – December 31, 2010

Beth at Beth Fish Reads is the new host of What’s In A Name 3 Challenge. Here’s how it works: Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title:  An Apple In The Dark- Clarice Lispector
2. A book with a body of water in the title: The Draining Lake – Arnaldur Indridason
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: The White Queen – Phillipa Gregory
4. A book with a plant in the title:  A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees – Clare Dudman
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Alone in Berlin – Hans Fallada
6. A book with a music term in the title: The Long Song – Andrea Levy

I’m delighted this challenge continues.  Great timing as I have just finished What’s In A Name 2.

Building:  Castle in the Clouds / Medical Condition: Dismissed Dead /Time of Day:  Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day / Body Part: The Blind Side of the Heart / Profession: My Cleaner /Relative:  Midnight’s Children

TwentyTen Challenge

 

This is such a creative challenge –  how can I resist?  The rules according to Bartsbookshelf:

• Read 2 books from each category, making a requirement of 20 books total.
• The categories are intended to be loose guidelines only, if you decide it fits, then it fits. (Apart from those marked **)
• Categories marked with ** have tighter rules, and these must be followed.
• Each book can only qualify for one category.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Books read from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2010 are eligible.

So, on with the categories (and my first thoughts on what I will read …)

1. Young Adult
   Any book classified as young adult or featuring a teenage protagonist counts for this category.  (Two books by Philip Reeve,  A Darkling Plain / Here Lies Arthur/The Moonstone Legacy)
2. T.B.R. **
   Intended to help reduce the old T.B.R. pile. Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/11/09. (The only difficulty here is selecting two from the 700+ TBR!)
3. Shiny & New
   Bought a book NEW during 2010 from a bookstore, online, or a supermarket? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count for this one, but, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts or won in a giveaway also count!  (To be determined) The Long Song / Even The Dogs
4. Bad Blogger’s ***
   Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book ago). 
   *** Bad Bloggers: Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on. (I already have a mountain of these.  The first two to spring to mind are:  The Flying Camel and the Golden Hump, recommended by Dovegreyreader and Colony, recommended at the Asylum.)
5. Charity
   Support your local charity shops with this category, by picking up books from one of their shops. Again, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts also count, as long as they were bought from a charity shop. (To be decided)
6. New in 2010
   This category is for those books newly published in 2010 (whether it be the first time it is has been released, or you had to wait for it to be published in your country, it counts for this one!) The Existential Detective /
7.  Older Than You
   Read two books that were published before you were born, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior! (I’ll  probably select two C19th sensational novels for this.) The Moonstone / Dirty Snow
8. Win! Win!
   Have a couple of books you need to read for another challenge? Then this is the category to use, as long that is, you don’t break the rules of the other challenge by doing so! (To be determined.) Suite Francaise / Stevenson under the Palm Trees
9. Who Are You Again?
   This one isn’t just for authors you’ve never read before, this is for those authors you have never even heard of before! (Cue 2 debut novels …..) Miss Thing / The Still Point
10. Up to You!
    The requirements for this category are up to you! Want to challenge yourself to read some graphic novels? A genre outside your comfort zone? Something completely wild and wacky? Then this is the category to you. The only requirement is that you state it in your sign-up post. (Two non-fiction titles for me.) The Snows of Yesteryear / Family Romance

More Challenges

Wilkie Collins Mini-Challenge – 2 books 01.10.2009- 30.11.2010

Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge – 40% of books read between 01.10.2009 and 30.11.2009 must have been on the shelves for 6 months or longer.

November Novella Challenge – 4 novellas in November

Potential reads: Cheerful Weather for a Wedding, Mathilda, The Lemoine Affair, The Green Dwarf, Something (anything!) by Theodor Storm, A Minute’s Silence, Confusion

Really Old Classics Challenge – One book pre-1600 by 28.02.2010.

Awesome Author Challenge – Moderate level – 6 new-to-me authors 01.01.2010 – 31.12.2010.  To be chosen from the following:  Anton Szerb, Willa Cather, John D MacDonald, Joyce Carol Oates, Colette, Anthony Trollope, Alice Munro, Virginia Woolf, Hilary Mantel

Countdown Challenge Wrapup

 With two weeks to go, I still had 3 titles to read and a major distraction in the form of the Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF).  Short stories to the rescue then.  But I couldn’t find a single short story published in 2003 on my shelves!  As I was trawling through the TBR, however,  I came across The Atlantic Ocean, a compilation of essays on Britain and America, which contained a variety of short pieces originally published in the years I needed to complete this challenge.  I was so relieved.  I was too close not to make it to the finishing line on this particular challenge.  Now that I have crossed that line, here’s a list of what I read, with hyperlinks to my reviews, where these exist.

9 from 2009

1. Land of Marvels – Barry Unsworth 2. The Crossroads – Niccolo Ammaniti 3. Grace – Alex Pheby 4. The Hidden – Tobias Hill 5. The Outlander – Gil Adamson 6. The Letters – Fiona Robyn 7. The Earth Hums In B-Flat – Mari Strachan 8. The Sweetness at The Bottom of The Pie – Alan Bradley 9. Burnt Shadows – Kamila Shamsie 10. The Wilderness – Samantha Harvey 11. A Cool Head – Ian Rankin 12. The Salati Case – Tobias Jones 13. Adam Gould – Julia O’Faolain 14. My Driver – Maggie Gee 15. Berlin Tales – Edited by Helen Constantine  16. The Blind Side of the Heart – Julia Franck (Trans. 2009) 17. Ice Cold – Andrea Maria Schenkel

8 from 2008

 1. A Case of Exploding Mangoes – Mohammed Hanif 2. Country of the Grand – Gerard Donovan 3. Late Nights on Air – Elizabeth Hay 4. This is Not About Me – Janice Galloway 5. Burning Secret – Stefan Zweig 6. The Bachelors – Adalbert Stifter 7. Glenfarron – Jonathan Falla 8. The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga 9. Typhoon – Charles Cumming 10. The Secret Scripture – Sebastian Barry 11. The Behaviour of Moths – Poppy Adams 12. Castle In The Clouds – Monica Janssens 13. Sorbonne Confidential – 14. Don’t Get Fooled Again – Richard Wilson 15. Fleck – Alasdair Gray 16. Shakespeare on Toast – Ben Crystal 17. Dear Everybody – Michael Kimball 18. Molly Fox’s Birthday – Deirdre Madden 19. Mystic Pig – Richard Katrovas 20. Home – Marilynne Robinson 21. The Invention of Everything Else – Samantha Hunt 22. Scottsboro – Ellen Feldman

 7 from 2007

1. The Road of Bones – Anne Fine 2. Helpless – Barbara Gowdy 3. Binu and The Great Wall- Su Tong 4. Amok and Other Stories – Stefan Zweig 5. The Road Home – Rose Tremain 6. No Word From Gurb – Eduardo Mendoza (Spanish 1999 – Trans 2007) 7. The Murder Farm – Andrea Maria Schenkel (German 2007 – Trans 2008)

6 from 2006

1. The Book of Chameleons – Jose Agualusa 2. Mothers and Sons – Colm Toibin 3. Beyond Sleep – W F Hermans (Translated 2008) 4. Child’s Play – Carmen Posadas (Translated 2008) 5. Fists – Pietro Grossi (Translated 2009) 6) Beware of Pity – Stefan Zweig (Translated 2006)

5 from 2005

1) The Big Over Easy– Jasper Fforde 2) My Cleaner – Maggie Gee 3) Three Bags Full (Trans 2006) 4) One City 5) After Hurricane Katrina – Essay from The Atlantic Ocean – Andrew O’Hagan 

4 from 2004 1. Author! Author! – David Lodge 2. The Blue Fox – Sjon (Translated 2008) 3. 98 Reasons for Being – Clare Dudman 4. Inkheart – Cornelia Funke

 3 from 2003

1. Me and Kaminski – Daniel Kehlmann (German 2003 Translated 2008) 2. All My Friends are Superheroes – Andrew Kaufmann 3. Celebrity Memoirs – Essay from The Atlantic Ocean – Andrew O’Hagan

2 from 2002 1. One Step Behind – Henning Mankell 2. Pharos – Alice Thompson

1 from 2001

1. The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde

Numbers Challenge 2009 Wrapup

Objective: 5 titles containing numbers.

January 2009 – August 2009

For the second year running, I had to resort to a short story to finish this challenge.  I’m simply rubbish at Challenges that don’t run from January to December.  However, I have completed it and that is the main thing.

I read:

1) The Two Faces of January – Patricia Highsmith

2) Three Bags Full – Leonie Swann

3) 98 Reasons for Being – Clare Dudman

4) One City – Alexander McCall-Smith, Ian Ranking and Irwine Welsh.  (Review will appear tomorrow.)

5) Bed 29 – Guy de Maupassant  (Review to follow in due course.)

All were enjoyable reads.  And, I’ll sign up, if there’s a Numbers Challenge III.

 

All with the exception of the Fforde were great reads.  I enjoyed the challenge and look forward to joining in again next year.

Book Awards III

Rules: from Read 5 books from 5 different awards during July 1, 2009 through December 1, 2009. Overlaps with other challenges are permitted. Lists may be changed at any time.

I’m in again.  I love this challenge.  No idea what I’ll read at this juncture.  I’m still working on Book Awards II which I finished months ago but I continue to read on.  (Current count is 17.)

Prizewinners in the TBR:

Olive Kitteridge / The Solitude of Prime Numbers / Pharos / De Niro’s Game / Through Black Spruce / Moonshine in the Morning / An Equal Stillness / Fists / The Stillness of Life / Europe Central / The Silence of The Rain / How the Soldier Played the Gramophone /

What I read: Fists – Pietro Grossi / BBC National Short Story Award 2008 / The Suspicions of Mr Whicher – Kate Summerscale/ The Bethlehem Murders – Matt Rees / The White Castle – Orhan Pamuk / The Passport – Herta Mueller

A Colourful Reading Challenge

January – December 2009

The point of the challenge is to read 9 books with 9 different colors in the title.
Six colors are required, while the last 3 can be your choice.
Books may be overlapped with other challenges.

Hosted by Lost In Books

1. BLUE: The Blue Fox – Sjon

2. RED: The Red House Mystery – A A Milne

3. WHITE: The White Castle – Orhan Pamuk

4. BLACK: Black Gold of the Sun – Ekow Eshun

5. SILVER: The Silver Swan – Benjamin Black

6. GOLD: The Camel and The Golden Hump – Aahron Megged

MY THREE OPTIONS:

7. YELLOW: Crome Yellow – Aldous Huxley

8. OLIVE: Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Trout

9. VIOLET: March Violets – Philip Kerr

EDIT: 11.10.2009

I haven’t made much progress.  So I’m changing the reading list to reflect my growing preoccupation with short stories.  These I will read before the year is out!

1. BLUE: The Blue Fox – Sjon

2. RED: Red – Somerset Maugham

3. WHITE: Snow White and the Prince – Regi Claire

4. BLACK: The Black Monk – Anton Chekov

5. SILVER: The Silver Swan – Benjamin Black

6. GOLD: The Girl with the Golden Eyes – Honore de Balzac

MY THREE OPTIONS:

7. YELLOW: Yellowknife – Steve Zipp

8. OLIVE: Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Trout

9. VIOLET: March Violets – Philip Kerr

Challenge Startup 2009

OK – Here we go –  I’m over-committed but let’s see how it all pans out.  These are my initial intentions.  I reserve the right to change my reading lists according to any whim which may come my way!

Titles in bold = I’ve read it!  Hyperlinks to my reviews on Lizzy’s Literary Life.

Countdown Challenge (View status on separate post).

Books Awards Challenge II Objective: 10 prizewinners in 10 months August 2008 – June 2009
1.  Lorraine Connection – Dominque Manotti (Duncan Laurie International Dagger)
2. The Book of Chameleons (Independent Foreign Fiction Prize)
3. Late Nights on Air (Giller Prize)

4. The Remains of the Day (Booker Prize)
5. Catholics (W H Smith Novel of the Year)
6. Helpless (Trillium English Novel Book Award)
7. The White Tiger (Booker Prize)
8. The Chocolate War (New York Times Notable Book of the Year)
9. I’m Not Scared (Viareggio Award)

10. The Crossroads (Premio Strega)
11. What A Carve Up! (John Rhys Llewellyn Prize)
12. Royal Highness (Nobel Laureate)
13. The Road Home (Orange Prize)

14. The Outlander (Hammett Prize for Crime Writing)

15. Midnight’s Children (Booker Prize, Booker of Bookers)

16. The Sweetness at The Bottom of the Pie (Debut Dagger)

17. Home (Los Angeles Times Fiction Award 2008, Orange Prize 2009)

18. The Secret Scripture (Costa Book of the Year 2009)

Objective: 10 titles from 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
May 2008 – Feb 2009

1. The Lost Honour of Katherina Blum 2. The Remains of the Day 3. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest 4. The Radetzky March 5. Amok 6. The Turn of the Screw

Out of time – 0.06% well-read is better than nothing I suppose.

7. The Third Policeman 8-10 Written by Edith Wharton

13 Canadian books
July 2008 – June 2009
1. Late Nights on Air 2. Helpless 3. The Emperor of Ice Cream 4.  The Outlander 5. Catholics 6. The Sweetness at the Bottom of The Pie 7. All My Friends are Superheroes

The Well-Seasoned Challenge
3 books Jan-March 2009

1) The Big Over Easy 2) Shakespeare on Toast 3) The Emperor of Ice-Cream

The Latin American Challenge
4 books Jan-April 2009

1) Child’s Play (Uruguay)

Out of time but I’m going to finish the challenge anyway!

2) Chronicle of A Death Foretold (Colombia) 3) A Quiet Flame (Argentina) 4) The Comedians (Haiti)

German Literature Challenge
6 books Jan-Dec 2009

1) The Jew’s Beech 2) A Village Romeo and Juliet 3) The Murder Farm 4) Me and Kamiski 5) The Blind Side of the Heart 6) Royal Highness

Lost In Translation
6 books in translation (in addition to the Latin-American and German challenges listed above!) Jan-Dec 2009
1) Beyond Sleep (Dutch) 2) The Blue Fox (Icelandic) 3) No Word From Gurb (Spanish) 4) Berlin Tales (German) 5) Fists (Italian)  6) Soldiers of Salamis 7) The Camel and the Golden Hump 8) Steal You Away

The Art History Challenge

6 books Jan- Dec 2009

1) The Vaughan Bequest 2) Summer in February 3) Me and Kaminski 4)Lizzie Siddal – Tragedy of a PreRaphaelite Supermodel 5) Friedrich 6) Stealing the Scream 7) The Lost Painting 8) I Was Vermeer

What’s In A Name
Jan-Dec 2008
Time of the Day:  Midnight’s Children
Body Parts: The Blind Side of the Heart
Medical Condition: Fever Crumb
Relative: My Cousin Rachel
Building: Castle In The Clouds
Profession: Royal Highness

Decades 09 9 books 9 Consecutive Decades

1909 Royal Highness
1910
1922 The Enchanted April
1930
1940
1952 The Tiger In The Smoke
1964 Two Faces of January
1979 The Mangan Inheritance
1981 Midnight’s Children
1994 What A Carve Up!

5 books Jan-August 2009

1) The Two Faces of January 2) 98 Reasons for Being 3) Number9Dream 4) Three Bags Full 5) One City

Orbis Terrarum
9 books 9 countries March-Dec 2009

1) The Blind Side of the Heart (Germany)

2) The Blue Fox (Iceland)

3) No Word from Gurb (Spain)

4) Fists (Italy)

5) Midnight’s Children (India)

6) Burnt Shadows (Pakistan)

7) Home (USA)

8) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Canada)

9) The Earth Hums in B-Flat (Wales)

Challenge Wrapup 2008

Total completed challenge count – 17!

Total challenge books/stories read – 80+.

Further details with links to my reviews below:

Jan-Dec 2008
Colour:
The White Tiger
Animal:
The Bower Bird
First Name:
The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
Place:
Death in Rome
Weather:
Violets and Strawberries in The Snow
Plant:
The Blue Flower

3 books September – December 2008

1) The Remains of the Day (No review) 2) Catholics  3) The Turn of the Screw

Objective: 9 books, 9 authors, 9 countries April – December 2008
1) Death in Rome – Germany  2) Pandora in the Congo – Spain 3) The Fifth Woman – Sweden 4) The Story of A Marriage – USA 5) Lorraine Connection – France  6) Romanno Bridge – Scotland  7) A Case of Exploding Mangoes – Pakistan  8. Country of the Grand – Ireland 9) Late Nights on Air – Canada

Objective: 6 novellas April – September 2008
1) The Falconer  2) Michael Kohlhaas  3) The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum  4) Doctor Glas (No Review) 5) The Lesson of the Master 6) The Bachelors

Objective: 6 Booker nominees Jan – Dec 2008
1) Lies of Silence  2) The Colour of Blood  3) Fasting, Feasting
4) The Stone Diaries  5) The Secret River (No Review)  6) A Case of Exploding Mangoes

THEMED READING CHALLENGE

Objective 4 Books Jan – June 2008
Theme: Our Feathered Friends

1) The Bower Bird  2) The Cry of the Owl 3) The Falconer 4) The Midwich Cuckoos

Objective: 4 titles describing characters within March – May 2008
1) A Partisan’s Daughter  2) Tess of the D’Urbervilles  3) The Man In The Window  4) The Artificial Silk Girl

2 New to U
Objective: Discover 2 new authors Feb-May 2008
1) Penelope Fitzgerald  2) Wolfgang Koeppen

Objective: 5 books with numbers in the title Jan – August 2008
1) The One From The Other  2) First Among Sequels  3) The Fifth Woman  4) Where Three Roads Meet  5) The Other Two

Objective 3 books recommended by others
May – November 2008
1) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets 2) Engleby (No review)  3) The Remains of the Day (No review)

July 2007 – June 2008 Objective 12 award-winning titles
1) Gone With The Wind 2) Sacred Hunger 3) The Lizard Cage 4) The Boy and The Sea 5) Consolation 6) Mister Pip 7) The Tenderness of Wolves 8. Joseph Knight 9) The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 10) Foreign Parts 11)A Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam 12) The Shoe Tester of Frankfurt 13) Restless 14) The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne 15) Set In Stone 16) The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox 17) What Was Lost 18. The Bower Bird 19) The Stone Diaries 20) Fall On Your Knees 21) The Road 22) The Great Victorian Collection 23) The Secret River (No review) 24) Death In Rome 25) Fault Lines 26) Pack of Lies (No review) 27) The Oxford Murders 28. The Blue Flower 29. The Lost Honour of Katherina Blum

   

Objective: 4 books by Russian authors or set in Russia
Jan – Dec 2008

1) The Grasshopper  2) A Vengeful Longing  3) The Overcoat 4) The Road of Bones (No review)

Objective 1: 8 published 2008
1) A Vengeful Longing  2) The Long Delirious Burning Blue
3) A Partisan’s Daughter 4) Trauma  5) The Man in the Window  6) Pandora in the Congo  7) The Falconer  8) Being Emily  9) The Ice Princess  10) Glister  11) Lorraine Connection 12) A Case of Exploding Mangoes  13) Country of the Grand  14) Late Nights on Air
15) This is Not About Me  16) Burning Secret  17) The Bachelors  18) Glenfarron
19) Typhoon 20) The White Tiger  21) The Secret Scripture  22) The Behaviour of Moths

Additional Personal Objective 2: 7 published 2007

1) The Bower Bird  2) The Book of Words  3) The One from the Other  4) Fault Lines  5) Where Three Roads Meet  6) Helpless  7) Binu and The Great Wall (No review)

Objective 12 historical reads from differing genres jan – Dec 2008
Faction
1) Author! Author!
Memoir
2) This is Not About Me
Adult Fiction
3 ) The Radetzky March (No review) 4 ) Innocent Traitor  5 ) The Secret River (No review) 6 ) The Blue Flower  7) North and South  8) Beware of Pity  9) Land of Marvels (Review pending)

Historical Crime
10) A Gentle Axe  11) A Vengeful Longing  12) The One From The Other

What An Animal!
6 books with animals in the title or animals as the main character
July – December 2008
1) The Book of Chameleons (No review)
2)The White Tiger  3) The Raven  4) The Behaviour of Moths
5) The Grasshopper  6) One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (No review)

UNREAD AUTHORS CHALLENGE
6 Books August 2008 – January 2009
1) David Lodge
2) Henry James
3) Colm Toibin
4) Charlotte Perkins Gilman
5) Anton Chekhov
6) Nikolai Gogol

Objective: 8 Books 8 Consecutive Decades Jan – Dec 2008
1888 The Lesson of the Master

1891 Tess of the D’Urbervilles
1900 The Touchstone
1913 Burning Secret
1922 Amok and Other Stories
1932 The Artificial Silk Girl
1940 The Power and the Glory
1954 Death in Rome
1962 The Cry of the Owl
1974 The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
1987 The Colour of Blood
1997 Fall On Your Knees

 

 

The Art History Challenge

Here’s one that preraphaelite supermodel Lizzy just cannot resist!

6 books in 12 months with art as a central theme.  Could be fiction or non-fiction.  Perfect – this will get me to those neglected, bought on a whim, TBR books, starting with:

1) Lizzie Siddal – Tragedy of A Preraphaelite Supermodel – Lucinda Hawksley (about time I got round to this!)

2) Stealing the Scream – Edward Dolnick

3) The Lost Painting – Jonathan Harr

4) Stone Virgin – Barry Unsworth

5) I was Vermeer – Frank Wynne

6) The Yellow House – Martin Gayford

Themed Read Challenge 2009

I had such fun with My Feathered Friends last year, that I’ve must rejoin the challenge in 2009.

Not sure what my theme will be – with a physical TBR of 600+ books, I have plenty of scope.

Current contenders are

a) A tribute to H2O – water in its various guises (Ice, Rain, Sleet, Hail, Snow, Lakes, Rivers, Seas etc)

or

b) Dutch Masters (Dutch novels in translation)

or

c) Celestial bodies be they suns, moons, stars or planets.

Either way I’m signing up for the first option – 4 titles.

EDIT:  Changed my mind about all of the above.  My theme is 2009: A Year In Books and I’m creating option D.  12 books – one theme, which becomes obvious when you see the following list.

Two Faces of January – Patricia Highsmith / Summertime in February – Jonathan Smith / March Violets – Phillip Kerr or The March – E L Doctorow or March – Geraldine Brooks / Broken April – Ismail Kadare / May contain Nuts – John O’Farrell / May Week was in June – Clive James / Winter in July – Doris Lessing / LIght in August – William Faulkner / The Last September – Elizabeth Bowen / October – Richard B Wright / November – Gustave Flaubert / A Wedding In December – Anita Shreve

Should manage four of those in the challenge timeframe with no problem.  The rest will keep me occupied right into 2010.