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Determination Lists & Challenges
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Deb’s 2020 Determination List
I found a blank spiral notebook that I will start anew. What was really hard was giving away probably 400 books, many I had not read yet. :(
How sad, Alias. I remember the purge when you moved to that last NYC apartment. Now this. Tough.Did you manage to keep some of your books? I hope so.
Trying to get some of my unread books read is why i wanted to create this second DL this year. It's worked nicely. :-)
Yes. I didn't count. But I would guess at least 250 I saved. Deb, I like the idea of 2 Determination lists for each year.
Alias, i'm glad to learn you saved many. You had quite a collection.I'm not sure the two DL a year would work in most years. Mine is because of Covid, as well as our European travel, where there wasn't much TV we could watch in the evenings and only so many places we wanted to visit after dark.
However, it's certainly whittling away at my TBR, as well as the books i have in storage. Also, it made a dent in the books on my ebook wish list. Many birds, one "stone".*
*well, that just sounded awful, didn't it?
I think for next year I'm going to do consecutive smaller challenges rather than a single big one. Will try as best I can to stick with TBR items, unless none qualify for the component.
Interesting, John. I haven't really tried a DL for several years, so i'm pleased this year is going well. Of course, i wouldn't mind if my DL was unsuccessful this year, if it mean no Covid issues, but i'll take what i have. :-)
Today i finished Booth Tarkington's Penrod, selected as my one word title book in the DL. Years ago i purchased it because Tarkington, whose Alice Adams i found charming, wrote it. I hadn't a clue what the book was about. As it turns out, the book is akin to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but in the 1910s. At times i laughed out loud at the outcomes & antics but mostly i was just amused. BT's writing was far more sophisticated than one might expect for a book about eleven year olds.
Once i got over that (afterall, he had a healthy vocabulary) and the instances of racist language, i enjoyed the story. Times were surely quite different and i cannot say that i ever knew kids as rearing to fight as Penrod and his pals. It was interesting that two African American friends moved into the neighborhood and became part of the story at times. There were some funny stories, particularly one about tar slinging and another about being a preacher.
I'm glad i read this one.
Nice that you took a chance on an unknow book for yourself and enjoyed it. It's one reason I love libraries. I am more apt to go outside my comfort zone or simply try something new if I can borrow the book from the library. 
I've updated my DL completions in Message 21 with the following:24. A children’s book-
Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic--Emily Jenkins
This one disappointed me but i'm not a kid with a beloved toy. The stuffed animals and toys (plus washer, dryer & a towel!) all can speak and even move on their own when the humans are asleep. Something about the tone didn't appeal to me, sorry to report. As mentioned in the DL above, i was drawn to it for the stingray. :-)
EDITED: I began to feel guilty about my negative comments. So, let me add this. Usually i'm enchanted by these sort of stories but i just felt no draw at all. Honestly, it may be because they had emotions and were not always nice. While this could have taught children lessons, i just didn't see it. This seems to reflect poorly on me. Nonetheless, i was disappointed. That written, i did like that when the little girl turned seven she had a party for her toys and especially recognized the ones which she received on previous birthdays. Sweet.
33.Picture Book
Sing a Season Song--Jane Yolen with illustrations by Lisel Jane Ashlock
This is my favorite of the four books listed in this post. The artwork was outstanding. The cover drawing featured a snowy owl, which caught my eye, as my husband's grandmother was a member of the Owl family in her North Carolina band of the Cherokee. The drawings were realistic and complimented the mediocre poem about seasons. I'd pay to have the owl painting.
25. An author who uses a pseudonym
Naked in Death--J.D. Robb
This was the perfect opportunity to read a Robb book, which i'd wondered about for years. This is a police procedural mystery set in 2058 or so. Perhaps if i'd read it when published in the '90s, i would have liked it better. However, nothing stood out about it for me. I know it's a very successful series so i'm sure my thoughts won't hurt a soul. :-)
16. The name of a color in the title
Threads of Grey and Gold--Myrtle Reed
Clueless as to topic, i was surprised to see that it contained essays and poems written by Reed, who died in the early 1900s. This was compiled by her friends to highlight her work. The poetry was fairly typical for the day and was inserted between each essay or story.
The book began with descriptions of how New Year's Day is spent around the world and ended with celebrations of Christmas Day around the world. The next several chapters were interesting because they shared stories about romances of some of our early presidents, including Washington, Jefferson, Buchanan and Lincoln. They included some history i'd not heard of previously, as well as excerpts from their romantic letters.
Then the book moved on to essays on The Ideal Man, Woman and, such. Next came tips, of a sort, about how women who dress (i learned a new term, "dressing-sack", which seems to be a sort of kimono women wore between a robe and actually getting dressed! She also addressed her own success with handling servants. And on.
Definitely a book of its time. She appears to have been a popular writer of her era and, frankly, fairly typical. As always i like visiting other times via such books, so didn't consider it a waste but also cannot say it was good.
Well, i should post after i type out my notes. I'd forgotten quite a bit about Reed's essays. Yes, she covered the Ideal Man and Ideal Woman but i forgot to mention that she seemed to approach both in the light of the women's rights movement of the era. So, she comments on women working outside the home, as well as becoming educated. Sure, she frets about those "dressing-sacks" but she also admonishes male writers to reconsider what they give their female characters to wear. She suggested they think about colors clashing and ability to move. LOL! I had some laughs with some of these, i have to admit.Still, there is a reason she is relatively unknown. Even her Wiki page is scant, almost begging for more info. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtle_...
Once our library allows visitors to enter the research area, i'm going to look her up in older author's bio books!
Thank you Alias & John. Think i'll ever get succinct? Ha!
madrano wrote: "Thank you Alias & John. Think i'll ever get succinct? Ha!"I sure hope not ! I love to hear all the details.
Playing catch up here. First, my first category, "Author you’ve never heard of". I wanted to read book i already owned, to help ease my conscience about the purchases. So, this one called to me. Ready or not--Mary Stolz. The cover, which Goodreads doesn't show, looked old-fashioned. Published in 1952, i thought i'd give it a try.Turns out it is a YA from those years and a very good one, at that. Indeed, i think it's one of the best i've ever read. Perhaps it's a sign of my age, but one reason i liked it was because Stolz also allowed readers to know the thoughts of a few adults, as well as a couple of children, in addition to Morgan and Tom, the teenagers.
Set on Manhattan, between WWII and the Korean War, with hints of the latter looming large, the downwardly mobile family has made the adjustment to being motherless in the three years since the woman's death. Morgan has basically taken over the role as mother while continuing high school. There are two younger siblings, Julie and Ned, and all three think in different directions, which makes the way they bond appealing to me.
Their father, Dan, almost seems to be going through the motions of bringing a paycheck while working for the NY Transit Authority. He is not getting promotions or doing much else, other than working & reading books. It seems he's still in mourning, as some of his unspoken thoughts have him wondering how he ended up alone with his three children. Still, they love him and turn to him when they have life questions, which i liked learning.
For instance, in a fortunate turn of life, their latest downward move has them finding a local playground supervising teen, who attaches his family to theirs. This leads to the two youngsters spending the summer at a lakeside cabin. While there, Julie writes her dad a letter about poetry & the meaning of life. After reading it, he muses, “When do you begin to fail your children, if you love them? If you do not, of course, the failure begins at conception. But no children had been more loved than his and Sarah’s Where then did his failure begin to lay out the path of uncertainty which led to this letter? Or how, he thought painfully, at what time did I give her the security which would lead her to send it to me? Tribute and remonstrance both, and both would have to be answered.”
I liked that. Indeed, i liked the story and the families very much. However, the author also explores Morgan's high school friendships, with her honest evaluations of her friends & their morals. Maybe it was a tad too much but i welcomed it all as a view into another era.
Reading more by Stolz is on my agenda.
I ended October by completing a book begun in September, A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing--Lawrence M. Krauss, my Non-fiction Science DL book. Periodically (once every 18 months or so), i read a book on physics, hoping i'll remember more & more. This one, about whether the creation of our universe "needed" a creator or not, was full of new-to-me facts & research.Krauss is a non-believer but also addresses the questions and replies religious people he's debated often have when considering this topic. This helped with the balance of the presentation, but it seemed to me that regardless of one's faith, there was plenty of learn and much to marvel.
In the process he also gives mini-biographies of some of the scientists. For instance, “Such measurements [of the rotation rate of our galaxy] took off with the pioneering work of the American astronomer Vera Rubin and her colleagues in the early 1970s. Rubin had graduated with her doctorate from Georgetown after taking night classes while her husband waited in the car because she didn’t know how to drive. She had applied to Princeton, but that university didn’t accept women into their graduate astronomy program until 1975. Rubin rose to become only the second woman ever to be awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society."
What an image of that husband, eh?
The Large Hadron Collider, outside of Geneva, Switzerland, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, millions of galaxies; Cosmic microwave background radiation; Dark matter; dark energy and more! If these interest you, the book might appeal to you, too.
madrano wrote: Turns out it is a YA from those years and a very good one, at that. Indeed, i think it's one of the best i've ever read. ."High praise, indeed !
madrano wrote: "Periodically (once every 18 months or so), i read a book on physics, hoping i'll remember more & more..."I really admire your determination, deb. Maybe when you settle down again from your travels you can take a course in a local college.
I'd really like to do that. We have been taking that into account when looking at cities. I do so enjoy learning.
When I was at Queens College in NYC years ago, we had many seniors auditing classes - especially history. I've taken some community night classes that were worthwhile also.
History classes are what i wanted to explore once we settle. We've tried languages but it didn't "take" for us. I haven't even looked for community night classes in years. When i did, most seemed aimed at folks who wanted to attain skills for work--keyboarding, accounting, etc. I'll have to check that out after our epidemic has ended.
Quite a few colleges also don't charge seniors over 60 + to audit classes. Though now with covid and financial crunches, I don't know what they will do once things get back to normal.
I wonder the same thing, Alias. I have heard of colleges doing that and really like the idea. Who knows what covid will bring in education?
Last week i completed #28 on my list, "Book Set In China", with Pavillion of Women--Pearl S. Buck. I've written fully about it at this link, message 178 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...Ultimately, i liked the book and the growth in understanding experienced by Madame Wu, the main character. The details Buck shared about life in this wealthy household was full and delightful. The curiosity of Wu was tickled by an educator she hired to teach her son more about the world. Once her son left home, she continued to meet with Wu to better learn about the world outside her province.
While there were a couple of slow spots in the book, overall, i liked the story. The premise was unusual and, for me, the outcome rather unexpected.
I read two more titles in hopes of completing my DL for 2020 by the end of the year. "Book With a Plant on the Cover"--Dandelion Wine--Ray Bradbury. It's been years since i added this to my TBR, so i was glad to finally read it. This is one of the glories of DL's, one can tackle books they've been postponing.
Frankly, it took me several chapters before i really got hooked. The exuberance was one thing which is immediately evident but the writing was such that i just wasn't catching the tune. Ultimately i did and was glad for it. While i've read other Bradbury works, this one was about kids, his autobiography of sorts, and written as a kid might have expressed events.
There were moving chapters when "Douglas", our young lead character, begins to understand loss on many levels, as well as the glories of the moment. A couple of chapters almost seemed a misfit, including one about unmarried women in the town who were being murdered! What? I wasn't quite sure where to put those in my mind, to be honest, but they were well written.
But mostly the chapters were full of life and enjoyment of one summer when the town trolley runs its last run before buses took over; when collecting dandelions for grandparent's wine and stories of machines in the town, both real & imagined/remembered.
The other book was for a book that "Featured Music"--The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier--Thad Carhart. I wasn't sure what i was getting but i liked the idea of writing about pianos & Paris. As it turns out it was a sort of Memory Land for Carhart, about his learning the instrument as a child & continuing lessons later in life.
Meanwhile, he discussed some individual musical pieces to help readers understand the development of the piano itself. I found those instructive, as my knowledge of music is limited. The piano shop of the title is a fascinating place and we learned much about makers of the instruments, as well as some details about the construction.
Not a sterling book but one which shared a pleasure in music & pianos i hadn't previously held. I was never reluctant to pick up the reading but it was also easy to set down. I must also add that he heightened my appreciation of all a Parisian arrondissement can hold.
Solid choices for your challenge I'd say - thanks for the updates! First one I recall as being big back in my student days, Bradbury a name I don't recall having heard in a while. Glad the other was worth your while.
Congrats on doing so well with your DL, Deb. I also like the fun challenge you set up for yourself.
Thank you both for the comments. Just this week i am getting to the books i'm less eager to embrace but that, too, is part of the challenge, i believe. I am certain i wouldn't have read a book about music, as i'd just rather listen! LOL! There had been interesting books on music reviewed here but, unfortunately, my library didn't have any of them. This is how i tumbled onto the piano book. Almost simultaneously i saw an e-bio on folk singer Odetta: A Life in Music and Protest, which i checked out. I may end up reading it, too, as folk music is my favorite but i know little about this artist. Writer Ian Zack is less than inspiring but it's been fascinating to learn about the growth of the genre during the '40s & 50s. I had no idea sea shanties were under the same umbrella at the time. I've always enjoyed them, too. :-)
John, I know what you mean about Bradbury. While i've read a few of his short stories, a scan of my Books Read list informs me that i read only one novel by him, Farenheit 451, a classic, which i read in the '70s. Point made. :-)
madrano wrote: "Thank you both for the comments. Just this week i am getting to the books i'm less eager to embrace but that, too, is part of the challenge, i believe. I am certain i wouldn't have read a book abou..."I haven't read this one but it's a #1 bestseller.
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver SacksRevised and Expanded
With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music. Illuminating, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable, Musicophilia is Oliver Sacks' latest masterpiece.
What stories about real humans Sacks shared. I enjoy music but am not musically inclined. By that i mean i don't hear clattering kitchen tools at a symphony but i don't think i really get the flow and connection, either. My husband, on the other hand, can't seem to hear a musical sound without offering a whistling "echo" of the sound. And my nephew hums and beats his fingers while listening to people talk but remembers the discussion. It's all strange to me.But...ask me the lyrics and i am fully present. ANYway, thanks for the title. My daughter recently read his Hallucinations and was mesmerized. She's planning on reading more, so i'm passing this title on to her.
I highly recommend this one by Sacks' widower: Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me. Overall, it's a tribute to Oliver, but as much about Bill himself and NYC as a character in its own right.
I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Sacks but have not read any of his others but did enjoy that one. Hallucinations and Insomniac City both sound interesting!
Julie, i wasn't a fan of The Man Who, either. I thought i was alone on that.John, i recall reading about that book but haven't read it. I like that the City is as much a character as the others.
Seeing the end of 2020 on my calendar led me to realize i will not be completing my second DL of the year. I'm okay with that, as it was ambitious. I may fudge a bit & throw in some books i have read since beginning the second list but didn't feel they quite fit the category. We'll see. Today my library finally shelved the book i'd been awaiting for my "Book set in Germany" category, Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany. Dem reviewed this James Wyllie nonfiction & the topic appealed to me. So, i will definitely read this one. I had to abandon the planned book for one set in South America because the print was too small & i couldn't locate an e-version. So, i've begun another, but it's slow going, due to other problems.
ANYway, i thought i'd just add this note as an update.
I will keep that in mind, John. I'm trying to read Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, partly set in SA. However, given her 17th century style, it's not as engaging as i'd hoped. I have long hoped to read one of her books, so grasped onto this one, particularly since it is short. The title you shared may be where i turn. Thanks, John.
John wrote: "For South America, The Penguin Lessons is a quick, fun read if you really want to go completionist."That was a good book!
John, i must thank you for your recommendation of TPL. It led me to tackle the Behn novel one more time and the reading was easy. Likely, it helped that readers were taken away from the confusing court of the tribal king and the story actually moved along. Nonetheless, about halfway through the book readers were on plantations in South America, Suriname. It was informative to read what this 17th century author wrote about the land, people and slavery there. After completing the book i learned this is Behn's best known book, which i didn't realize. Also, hers is the first mention of what she called "numb eels", which was later called the "electric eel". She described the title hero as doubting such a fish could be harmful when he was caught by one & dragged down the river, being "shocked", almost to death.
I finished my book set in South America today, Oroonoko--Aphra Behn. I've wanted to read something by Behn, a 17th century writer, generally recognized as the first female writer to earn a living with her work. As it turns out, this is apparently her best known book.Originally i intended to read a different book, one about the Incas, but the type was too small for my eyes and i couldn't find an ebook version. Fortunately i located this one, thanks to Goodreads "Books about South America" thread. (Who knew?)
ANYway, the title character is the grandson of a tribal king who no longer has any other heirs. Oroonoko is handsome, heroic, and worthy of adoration by his warriors and tribe. After one battle, in which the general dies, he insists on going to the general's daughter, Imoinda, to give her the father's share of the captives. He falls in love with her & vice versa. Sadly, so does his grandfather & so the conflict begins.
Thinking his grandfather killed Imoinda, O ends up kidnapped by slave traders. Wonder of wonders! they land at the same place, plantation site in Surinam. I'll save the rest as a surprise for those who want to read the story without further spoilers.
The bits about South America were interesting. The story covers why people lived there, the flora around the area and the tribes nearby. However, the book is primarily about O & I and slavery. While parts were incredible, i still liked the story.
On a technical note, Behn did something i'd not seen in early lit previously. Rather than use the word "them", she spelled it "'em". While easy to understand, i'm not clear about the history of that. Btw, there are those who consider this the first novel in literature. Of course, there are also those who do not consider it a novel, nor the "first". Just thought i'd share that. :-)
Somewhere on our Book Nook Cafe John asked if we'd given thought to our 2021 Determination List. (I couldn't find the post, so am replying here.) I hadn't really but today gave me an idea--not that i'll actually do it.Reading Petra's review of Samuel Beckett's trilogy and PattyMac's review of Ian McGuire's The North Water, i recalled that how intrigued i am by books reviewed here. Some seem too long or quite daunting, so i usually just add them to my DL. Therefore, i may well cull my next DL from books reviewed on our boards during 2020.
Just a thought...
Why not? Worst that can happen is that the book turns out to be one where you're not the target audience, even though the reviewer really liked it!
Indeed. It's not as though i'll be punished if i don't complete the book. I appreciate the encouragement, John.
madrano wrote: "Indeed. It's not as though i'll be punished if i don't complete the book. I appreciate the encouragement, John."
I can see the end of the year in sight. Today i finished one book from my DL, "Sequel". This one was the second in the Louis L'Amour Sacket series. This one is set partly in England and Ireland but mostly at sea and the non-governmental colony Barnabas Sackett, family & friends establish, To the Far Blue Mountains. It is easy reading and the story moves along. It is neat to read L'Amour include US history which wasn't in the books when i was growing up, such as Europeans arriving long before Columbus and settling far inland. These are presented as stories others Barnabas meets tell him about things further west. I cannot say whether i will or will not continue the series but i will say the books thus far are easy to climb into.
On another front, i'm kinda backtracking a bit to cover more territory. One of my DL categories is a book "set during a holiday". Well, i read the entire series of mysteries from Ellen Byron, several of which use holidays as settings. My favorite, and the one from which i learned so very much about traditions in northernish Louisiana, was Mardi Gras Murder. Therefore, i've added it to my list.
I will probably be able to finish both my book from Germany (Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany--James Wyllie and "title starting with J", Jungle Child--Norah Burke.
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I am actually again recording bits i learn (& relearn!) from the Krauss book. Sometimes it's a term whose meaning i've forgotten and sometimes it's the definition and explanation he offers, which open my eyes. I keep those, for certain.