Tamara’s
Comments
(group member since Mar 26, 2019)
Tamara’s
comments
from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.
Showing 321-340 of 542
Goal: 80 books42/80. History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History by Samuel Noah Kramer.
A fascinating look at 39 firsts in ancient Sumer, including the first recorded court case, the first instance of tax reform, the first library catalogue, etc. etc. One of my favorite firsts was a father pleading with his son to focus on his schoolwork instead of gadding about in the streets. It was written 4,000 years ago!
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
10/24. History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History by Samuel Noah Kramer.
Goal: 10 books of non-fiction
6/10. History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History by Samuel Noah Kramer.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books41/80. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri.
Told in a series of short vignettes in the first-person point of view of a 40-something professor living in Italy. The female narrator is isolated and self-absorbed. Jhumpa Lahiri wrote it in Italian and then translated it to English. I thought it was an ok novel. I didn't think it was as good as other novels I've read by Lahiri.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
27/50. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri.
Goal: 25 books in translation
19/25. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri. Written in Italian and then translated into English by the author.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books40/80. Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat, translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth, won the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. The novel gives voice to individuals on the periphery of society--a former torturer/criminal, an illegal immigrant, a sex worker, etc. through their letters which are never sent.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
26/50. Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat, translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth.
Goal: 25 books in translation
18/25. Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat, translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
9/24. Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat, translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books39/80. Second Place by Rachel Cusk. I've loved everything I've read by Cusk, and this is no exception. In the form of an extended monologue, it is brimming with piercing insights about life, love, relationships, and art.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
25/50. Second Place by Rachel Cusk.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books38/80. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad by Ibn al-Sai, translated from the Arabic by Shawkat M. Toorawa.
Fascinating short biographical sketches of 39 consorts over a 500 year period, beginning in the 8th century. Over 1,000 years ago, a Baghdad scholar researched and compiled a collection of anecdotes about these women and included their poems and charitable works. The sketches shatter stereotypes about the nature and role of these women.
Goal: 25 books in translation
17/25. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad by Ibn al-Sai, translated from the Arabic by Shawkat M. Toorawa.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
8/24. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad by Ibn al-Sai
Goal: 10 books of non fiction
5/10. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad by Ibn al-Sai
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books36/80. Shadow by Karin Alvtegen, translated from the Swedish by McKinley Burnett.
It's a riveting, page-turning crime novel. I don't read a lot of mystery or crime novels, but I couldn't put this one down.
37/80. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
This is a re-read for a group read. It's been over a decade since I last read it. I got a lot more out of it this time around.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
23/50. Shadow by Karin Alvtegen
24/50. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Goal: 10 classics
8/10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Goal: 25 books in translation
16/25. Shadow by Karin Alvtegen
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books35/80. Swimming Home by Deborah Levy.
Set in a tourist villa in Nice, France, the novel is populated with characters suffering from depression. It's an unusual book that packs a powerful punch.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
22/50. Swimming Home by Deborah Levy.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books34/80. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney. A delightful portrait of a delightful octogenarian.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
21/50. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books33/80. The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan.
A character-driven, compelling Lebanese/Syrian family saga. If you enjoyed Alyan's Salt Houses, you'll like this.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
20/50. The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books32/80. The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes.
I loved her A Thousand Ships, so I was looking forward to this. But Haynes deviates too much from the original myth so it is barely recognizable as the story of Oedipus and Antigone. Disappointing in many ways.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
19/50. The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books31/80. The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán; translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes.
Haunted by their parents’ activism during the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, the protagonists are the remainders, burdened with the corpses of the past and seeking a way to bury them. A compelling narrative.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
18/50. The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán; translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes.
Goal: 25 books in translation
15/25. The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán; translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books30/80. Jane Austen: Her Life by Park Honan.
Prof. Honan includes a wealth of information about Jane Austen's life and her times. But sometimes he goes into a lot of details that have little or no relevance to Jane Austen or her work. In spite of extensive digressions about various sea battles with France or genealogies of minor characters, this is a well-researched and informative biography.
Sub Goal: 10 books of non fiction
4/10. Jane Austen: Her Life by Park Honan.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
No worries, Dorothy. I'll keep checking Netflix for it.Thanks, and all best.
Dorothy, I looked for "Trapped" on Netflix but couldn't find it. It may not be on in the U.S.If you like books about Iceland, I strongly recommend Independent People by Halldór Laxness. It's a chunky book, but it's amazing.
Goal: 80 books29/80. The Fox Was Ever the Hunter by Herta Müller; translated from the German by Philip Boehm.
Through a series of staccato images propelled by an intermittent narrative, Müller creates the unmitigated terror of life in Rumania just before the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu. A challenging read but well worth the effort.
Sub Goal: 50 books by women authors
17/50. The Fox Was Ever the Hunter by Herta Müller
Sub Goal: 25 books in translation
14/25. The Fox Was Ever the Hunter by Herta Müller; translated from the German by Philip Boehm.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books28/80. The One That Got Away by Zoë Wicomb. A collection of 12 short stories about characters straddling between two cultures--South Africa and Scotland. Some of the stories were better than others. But a good read, on the whole
Sub Goal: 50 books by women authors
16/50. The One That Got Away by Zoë Wicomb.
Sub Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
6/24. The One That Got Away by Zoë Wicomb (South Africa).
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books27/80. Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. I've loved everything of hers I've read. My favorite is still Hotel Silence, but this is also very good. There is a quiet, subdued quality about her novels that I really love.
Sub Goal: 50 books by women authors
15/50. Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir.
Sub Goal: 25 books in translation
13/25. Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbon.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books26/80. The Lost Soul, a short story/parable by Olga Tokarczuk. The text is minimal but inspiring. The illustrations are beautiful.
Sub Goal: 50 books by women authors
14/50. The Lost Soul by Olga Tokarczuk.
Sub Goal: 25 books in translation
12/25. The Lost Soul by Olga Tokarczuk translated from the Polish by by Antonia Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Joanna Concejo
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books25/80. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar.
A compelling first person narrative of a nine-year-old boy growing up in Gaddafi's Libya.
Sub Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
5/24. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books24/80. The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott. It builds a world with mythic qualities that conveys an ecological message about the importance of reciprocity in human interaction with nature.
I enjoyed it.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
