Tamara’s Comments (group member since Mar 26, 2019)

Tamara’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

Goal: 80 books
3/80. Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó; translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes.
A meditation on love, grief, and aging. The writing is beautiful, powerful, moving, and heart-wrenching. The character portrayals are compelling. Especially effective is the portrayal of Ettie, the mother.

Sub Goal: 50 books by women authors
2/50. Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó

Sub Goal: 25 books in translation
2/25. Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó; translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Goal: 80 books
2/80. The Weekend by Charlotte Wood.
A quick and easy read about the challenges facing three women in their 70s after the death of their friend.

Sub Goal: 50 books by women authors
1/50. The Weekend by Charlotte Wood.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks, Blagica! I'm looking forward to a great year of reading :)

Goal: 80 books.
1/80. Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto; translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw. A haunting tale about the women in an isolated village in Mozambique who are targeted by predators. Includes elements of magical realism.

Sub Goal: 25 books in translation.
1/25. Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto; translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw.

Sub Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa.
1/24. Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto; translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks, Lisa! I hope you have a wonderful 2021.

Last year I set a personal goal to read 70 books. I ended up reading 94.

I set challenges within the overall challenge to read a certain number of books in different categories: books by women authors; authors from the Middle East and Africa; books in translation; classics; non-fiction. I like to keep track of what types of books I read and to seek out books in categories where I'm weak so I can expand my reading horizon. I also plan to post reviews for each book I read.

I've increased my goal for each category in 2021.

My overall goal in 2021:

* Read at least 80 books

Sub-categories where there will be some overlapping:

* 50 Books by women authors

* 25 books in translation

* 24 books from the Middle East and Africa

* 10 books of non-fiction

* 10 classics

94/70. Impossible Owls: Essays by Brian Phillips.
An eclectic collection of engaging, well-written essays full of interesting nuggets of information.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

93/70 The Possessed: Adventures With Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman.
I was excited to read it because I thought it would explore Russian authors, Russian books, and people who read them. Instead, it was more about Elif Batuman's experiences with grad school and travel. A bit disappointing.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

92/70 Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, translated from the Japanese by Jinny Tapley Takemori.
A delightful novella with an autistic Japanese heroine.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

91/70 The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin.
Set in Nigeria. A sympathetic treatment of the desperate plight of illiterate women. A quick and easy read.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

90/70. Possessed by Memory: The Inward Light of Criticism by Harold Bloom.
A sort of literary memoir in which the famous literary critic discusses excerpts from some of his favorite poems and how they informed his life. It was his last book. He died in 2019.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

89/70. Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell.
It is a poignant portrayal of an upper middle class woman in the 1930s who has internalized patriarchal socialization and can't figure out why she is unhappy. It is subtle, sad, funny, and really well-written. I loved it.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

88/70. Burger's Daughter by Nadine Gordimer.
I found the style a bit confusing and didn't enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed her other novels.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

87/70. Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness, translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton.
I absolutely loved Laxness' Independent People and was really looking forward to this. But I found it to be a bit unwieldy and difficult to follow.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

86/70. Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela. About three Muslim women living in Scotland who make a road trip to visit the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold, a Scottish convert to Islam and the first British woman to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca.
I didn't think the novel was as good as any of her other books. Her plunge into magical realism didn't work for me.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

84/70.The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I thought it was fantastic up until the last 150 pages. But, on the whole, it was a great reading experience.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

85/70. I'jaam by Sinan Antoon. The subject matter is difficult. It is about the experiences of a young Iraqi university student held in detention during the time of Saddam Hussein. It captures the fear and brutality of living under a totalitarian government.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

83/70. Painter to the King by Amy Sackville. A portrayal of the court of King Philip IV of Spain by focusing on the artist Diego Velázquez and his portraits of Philip and his family. The writing was very clever, but I think it was a little over the top. She seemed to favor style over substance.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

82/70. The Whispering Muse by the Icelandic author, Sjón, translated by Victoria Cribb. It is a curious blend of fiction with mythic elements. I thought it was quite good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as The Blue Fox.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

81/70. Freedom Hospital: A Syrian Story by Hamid Sulaiman; translated by Francesca Barrie.
A graphic novel blending fact and fiction about the carnage and devastation during the Syrian civil war. A heartfelt attempt, but I didn't think it was entirely successful may be due to the nature of the medium.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

80/70. The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing.
A compelling novel that shows the damaging impact of South African apartheid.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...