2015 SCHEDULE

[Betty]

For someone who likes to craft their own Challenge yet to be connected to a group, the Rendang Stew Challenge on TWL's homepage might suit your purpose to read up on Asia and/or Oceania. Anything goes whether you're carnivore or vegan, whether you're fascinated by one culture or many.

[Betty]

Lloyd Jones's Mister Pip set on an unnamed Pacific Island is well-liked by many readers.

On the history of art, Papua New Guinea Prints could be interesting.

[Sue]

I've had Mister Pip for a long time. This should be an incentive to take it off the shelf. Euphoria and People in the Trees are also on my long, long list.

[Betty]

Papua New Guinean novelists @ Wikipedia--

Vincent Eri (Crocodile, synopsis "Late 1970...") and Beatrice Grimshaw (texts @ Internet Archive").

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "I've had Mister Pip for a long time. This should be an incentive to take it off the shelf. Euphoria and People in the Trees are also on my long, long list."

The title connects to Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. An article with a plot summary & character sketch is @ Wikipedia. My library has a longish queue for Euphoria.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Nicola wrote: "For anyone interested, Coursera (www.coursera.org) are running a course entitled A Rough Guide to Australian Literature starting March 2015. It's free to join, lasts 6 weeks and requires 2-4 hours..."
Cool thanks! Like most MOOCs I have signed up but probably won't do much of the work. It will be useful just to see the reading list!

[Betty]

Nicola wrote: "...Coursera (www.coursera.org) are running a course entitled Australian Literature: A Rough Guide starting March 2015..."

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "...It will be useful just to see the reading list!."

Excerpts from Australian literature to be discussed are said to be made available to enrollees. Lecture/lessons will draw the excerpts from Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish, from works by Christina Stead, Patrick White, David Malouf, and from several more authors. A list of the book titles is included. Auditing could prove useful. Great find.

[Betty]

I signed up for that Australian lit course you mention, Nicola and Jenny. There're so many interesting study courses on the net, the great buffet...

[Betty]

A great welcome to all new participants who joined TWL during the year of Icelandic literature or during the current year in Asia-Oceania. And, kudos to all TWL's faithful followers who have influenced the direction and content of this group over the years. Thank you!

[Maggie]

Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish is the Kindle Special Offer today - $1.99.

[Betty]

Maggie wrote: "Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish is the Kindle Special Offer today - $1.99."

I'm looking forward to reading it. I imagine with all the coast around Australia, there must be many books about its surrounding waters.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Awesome it's on the list for that Australian lit MOOC too.

[Betty]

The Australian lit (rough guide) MOOC course begins today with reading excerpts available. So this is Week1.

[Sue]

Asma wrote: "Maggie wrote: "Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish is the Kindle Special Offer today - $1.99."

I'm looking forward to reading it. I imagine with all the coast around Australi..."

just picked it up!

[Priti]

I am a bit late in joining but I'd love to follow the discussions and participate where I can, and read at least some of the books on the list.

[Betty]

Priti wrote: "...I'd love to follow the discussions and participate where I can, and read at least some of the books on the list."

Welcome, Priti, to the reading and discussion group. There's about four endeavors this year. There are some yearlong challenges (Richard Flanagan's books, Christina Stead's books, and Rendang i.e. reading from one or several regions in Asia-Oceania). There also are the featured books posted on the group's homepage. There are a few, surprising pop-up challenges during 2014. Of course, there are other surprises when members share their reading experiences from those continents. The topics this year focus on Asia and Oceania.

[Betty]

Nicola wrote: "...Coursera...are running a course entitled Australian Literature: A Rough Guide starting March 2015..."

That turned out really well, Nicola; here's hoping there will be a follow-up course with some different Australian readings, a possibility mentioned during the final week.

[Betty]

Besides the Australian literature MOOC, just about to end, there's another course at Coursera about to begin and is relative to TWL's 2014's Icelandic year, Sagas and Space - Thinking Space in Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavia.

[Sue]

Oh I wish I had the time for all these things. I did pick up 2 more books by Sjón at Bookoutlet and have them ahead of me to read.

[[deleted user]]

Asma Fedosia wrote: "Besides the Australian literature MOOC, just about to end, there's another course at Coursera about to begin and is relative to TWL's 2014's Icelandic year, Sagas and Space - Thinking Space in Viki..."

Listened to the first lecture of the Sagas and Space class last night. It seems a bit abstract so far but am hoping to warm to it. Also on Coursera, the UVA Historical Fiction class included a lecture on non-anglophone works that discussed a pan-Arab ( ), an early Mexican ( ), and an early African ( ) novel that might be of interest to world fiction readers.

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "Oh I wish I had the time for all these things. I did pick up 2 more books by Sjón at Bookoutlet and have them ahead of me to read."

I enjoyed Sjón's stories as well as getting to know about the country of Iceland through them.

[Betty]

Don wrote: "Asma Fedosia wrote: "...on Coursera, the UVA Historical Fiction class included a lecture on non-anglophone works...that might be of interest to world fiction readers. "

Don, wow, how interesting. Thanks for passing on some of the readings from its syllabus :-)

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm looking forward to the Toer. I made two Indonesian desserts today. One is really Indodutch but both have pandan.

[Betty]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I'm looking forward to the Toer. I made two Indonesian desserts today. One is really Indodutch but both have pandan."

Amazon has a description of its contents: 25 Resep Kue Paling Diminati Cake Pandan by Dapur Anissa.

Yes, for Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

[Betty]

For an eerie Halloween night, you might want to sit up late with Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo. The Edo or Tokugawa period of Japanese history is the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries.

[Sue]

Asma Fedosia wrote: "For an eerie Halloween night, you might want to sit up late with Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo. The Edo or Tokugawa period of Japanese history is the seventeenth through nineteenth..."

This sounds good. I love the cover art too---saw it in a Hokusai exhibit this past summer along with some other of his more ghostly prints. The exhibit itself was wonderful

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "...I love the cover art too---saw it in a Hokusai exhibit this past summer along with some other of his more ghostly prints..."

Thanks for adding the information about the cover and the artist Hokusai.
Yes, he made that frothy, high blue sea wave hovering over the boaters. Recognized it here.

[Sue]

Asma Fedosia wrote: "Sue wrote: "...I love the cover art too---saw it in a Hokusai exhibit this past summer along with some other of his more ghostly prints..."

Thanks for adding the information about the cover and th..."

Thanks for that link, Asma. I took lots of photos at the exhibit but an online catalogue is definitely clearer. Now to see about the book. Have you read it? My library system doesn't have it and I'm trying to buy less but if it gets raves I may go for it.

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "...I took lots of photos at the exhibit but an online catalogue is definitely clearer. Now to see about the book..."

I began Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo last night, and noted the origin of the cover art. The title of Hokusai's print is "The Plate Mansion", or "The Mansion of the Plates", from "the legend of Okiku and the Nine Plates". His illustration approximates the Ningyō Jōruri version, portraying Okiku's floating ghost with its body of blue delft plates which arises from the well.

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "...saw it in a Hokusai exhibit this past summer along with some other of his more ghostly prints. The exhibit itself was wonderful."

An illustrated book about Hokusai is Views of Mt. Fuji

[Sue]

Asma Fedosia wrote: "Sue wrote: "...saw it in a Hokusai exhibit this past summer along with some other of his more ghostly prints. The exhibit itself was wonderful."

An illustrated book about Hokusai is [book:Views of..."

I just found another book on Hokusai by Matthi Forrer (sorry the linking isn't working at the moment) and my library has it.

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "I just found another book on Hokusai by Matthi Forrer...and my library has it."

Maybe your book has the Great Wave on the cover. I hope that you will enjoy your reading and browsing through it.

[Sue]

Asma Fedosia wrote: "Sue wrote: "I just found another book on Hokusai by Matthi Forrer...and my library has it."

Maybe your book has the Great Wave on the cover. I hope that you will enjoy your reading and browsing th..."

Now to find the time, always the issue.

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "...Now to find the time, always the issue."

And the responsibilities and interruptions!

[Iris]

I'm so excited to see the next book on the 19th will be The Garden of Evening Mists. It's on my shelf and I've heard wonderful things! I've been meaning to read this for some time and it will be great to discuss :) I hope I will have finished reading The God of Small Things (reading for a Man Booker group) by then so I can read at the same time as others.

[Betty]

Iris wrote: "I'm so excited to see the next book on the 19th will be The Garden of Evening Mists. It's on my shelf and I've heard wonderful things!..."

The story is set in Kuala Lumpur. Your thoughts about the story will be most welcome, Iris. Maggie is introducing The Garden of Evening Mists and attending to the posts.

[Sue]

I plan to read this one too. Looking forward to it.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Iris wrote: "I'm so excited to see the next book on the 19th will be The Garden of Evening Mists. It's on my shelf and I've heard wonderful things! I've been meaning to read this for some time and it will be gr..."

It was one of my 5-star reads in 2012, and I actually thought it might win the Booker that year!

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "I plan to read this one too. Looking forward to it."

Sue, the kindle version (About the Book) notes books related to The Garden of Evening Mists, viz. titles noted in the novel. One I might like best is about gardens.

[Betty]

Jenny, thanks for pointing out your review of The Garden of Evening Mists as well as noting in it "The philosophy behind Japanese gardening and the Tao Te Ching both weave their way throughout the novel, and the author seems to embrace the aesthetics of both in his writing as well." Both enticing and profound.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Asma Fedosia wrote: "Jenny, thanks for pointing out your review of The Garden of Evening Mists as well as noting in it "The philosophy behind Japanese gardening and the Tao Te Ching both weave their way th..."
It's just so beautiful. I recommended it again to another reading friend just Friday!

[Betty]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "...so beautiful. I recommended it again to another reading friend..."

I'm beginning now and am looking forward to the story itself and to the posted comments about it. Am hoping that you might add your insights about and responses to the story on Maggie's thread. Am going there now!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

In case anyone wants to peruse, I posted about my year of Oceania:

Reading Oceania 2015

Baking Oceania 2015

I indicate favorites for food but not for books, will do by the goals episode of my podcast, posting January 5. This group always makes an appearance in my goals!

[Betty]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "...I posted about my year of Oceania:
Reading Oceania 2015
Baking Oceania 2015..."

I perused both, Jenny. Listened to the last podcast (Elvis, the metaphor) and looked over the Wintermint Cake recipe. New Zealand is a beautiful country, and I noted that you read many books from there as well. I'm so glad you like this group. Thanks for your participation and comments and photographs. Plan to listen to more of your podcasts, too. Hope your new year is as inspired and inspiring as this one.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Asma Fedosia wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "...I posted about my year of Oceania:
Reading Oceania 2015
Baking Oceania 2015..."

I perused both, Jenny. Listened to the last podcast (Elvis, the metaphor) and looked..."

Thanks Asma, and thank you for driving one of the groups that has most expanded my reading life.

[Sue]

I would definitely agree with Jenny re how this group has expanded my reading horizons, Asma. It really has introduced entire new cultures that I'm now following. Thank you.

[Betty]

Sue wrote: "...this group has expanded my reading horizons, Asma. It really has introduced entire new cultures..."

Sue, I know what you mean. It's almost not too early for youngsters to learn about geography, cultures, languages, etc. Presenting them with, say, the National Geographic is a good way to introduce them to new things. Likewise, it also amazes me, i.e., the word on the page to the imagination.