The Reading Challenge Group discussion
Personal Challenges - 2015
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Kiwi’s 2015 reading chronicles
ohhh great idea Deborah, to combine Du maurier and Hitchcock, read/watch binge!
A book with a number in its title: 14, 2 stars. Bingo on the diagonalCurrently reading A Land More Kind Than Home, very good so far.
A Land More Kind Than Home, 4 stars, my thoughts:I really enjoyed this novel, it has wonderful writing. I liked all three POVs, the curious young boy whose mute brother is killed in a botched-up healing session, the local sheriff scarred by its own loss who is investigating the death and the old midwife who is memory repository of the little town. Through the eyes of these characters, the author carefully and vividly describes the past and current life in the tight-knit Madison County community. I loved how the tension builds up as the story progresses to its painful conclusion. It is a story of tragedy, loss and redemption. I’m looking forward to reading more of Wiley Cash’s books. Highly recommended.
Next are The Doll's House, a thriller and V for Vendetta, a graphic novel well out of my comfort zone
Finished Gentlemen and Players, 4 stars, my thoughts:A brilliant psychological thriller where the criminal is playing a game of chess with the staff at St Oswald's, a posh all boys’ school, with the aim of bringing down the school by tarnishing its reputation. The main target is an old-fashioned teacher named Quaz (AKA Quasimodo since he resides in the school tower), I loved this character!
The novel alternates chapters from the perpetrator and the old teacher perspective. Harris does a wonderful job in creating a credible psychopath with a grudge. Although I sensed the identity of the perpetrator, it was a very nice twist. The ending felt a little drawn-out, but a very enjoyable read. I loved Chocolat and Five Quarters of the Orange but stopped reading Harris' novels when Blackberry Wine, Holy Fools and Coastliners left me unimpressed. I’m glad I tried Gentlemen and Players, after seeing it mentioned in one GR groups, I’m sure there are other gems of hers for me to discover. A recommended read.
Currently reading Paris
Finished a couple of YA books: Le avventure di Pinocchio, 4 stars, mainly for sentimental reasons, and Gregor the Overlander, only 2 stars for this first novel by Suzanne Collins (the author of The Hunger Games).
A book with a place name in its title: Paris, 3 1/2 stars, my thoughts:A great read if you are curious about the history of Paris. Rutherfurd, as usual, narrates through the generations of only a few families (often interrelated). The scope of the work (the history of the city from its beginning as a little roman settlement until WWII liberation) is vast and an ambitious task for the author who, to keep the book in one volume, necessarily has limited the story to well-known events and few characters.
Although I wasn’t too happy with the author’s history lesson tone at the beginning of the book, I found the second part of the novel the most engrossing and hard to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed this book even if some parts felt like a lecture and I would have liked less sentimentality and more information on less known periods and facts about this great city. On the other hand, I can see why this book is loved by many and has the potential to become an all-time favourite. 3 ½ stars rounded up
Currently reading The Last Kingdom, in preparation for the coming new TV series :)
I can't read him at all; he just annoys me with his simplification and tone. And I get even more annoyed when other people tell me he's wonderful....grrrr! He's like an artist who's learned a technique and produces loads of recognisable pictures involving that technique but never actually develops beyond it.I'd love to read Paris - if anyone else had written it! :P
Of course, I am most sane and eminently reasonable! :D
I tend to agree with you Deborah, oversimplifications annoyed me too. I must admit that he is good at what he does; writing books for people who want to know more about history without reading history books, which may be too dry. He has a talent for creating likable characters and also some suspense in the story. It's not easy to write 800+ novels and I appreciate that. I'm not ready to say Au Revoir to Paris, so I've requested Forever Paris: 25 Walks in the Footsteps of the City's Most Illustrious Figures from the library (doubles up as this month group theme: Travel).
I'm thinking of reading another book about the history of Paris, I have shortlisted Paris Noir: The Secret History of a City, The Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection, Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris and Seven Ages of Paris, maybe one of these may be of interest to you?
any of those sound worth a look! thanks :)
For this month's theme, travel and adventure, i read a couple of novels The Accidental Tourist and Seta, rated both 2 stars.I used the latter as "A non-English book" and so I have another bingo, only 5 squares remaining for my fourth Bingo Card.I think I can make it before year's end.
Currently reading a couple of NF travel books: Forever Paris: 25 Walks in the Footsteps of the City's Most Illustrious Figures and Rick Steves' Walk: Historic Paris and a time travel book: Time and Again.
Mod
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Renee wrote: "Haha! You're completely correct. Knowing a bit about the architecture in NYC made this book absolute fascinating to me. I read it in my 20s and was ridiculously surprised to imagine a New York with..."If you're interested in the history of early NY, have you read Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Mike Wallace? It's a little dry, even for a history book. (And drier than it has any right to be for a 1400+ page book.) But the pictures are amazing- there's a picture of the Dakota building with a shack in a nearby lot, chickens pecking, etc.
Thanks for the reac and the warning Bella, I don't know much about USA cities and their architecture but 1424 pages is a big commitment, especially if it's dry writing. I love architecture and history books though, European art and history in particular, I'm on a Paris book binge at present :P
Kiwi wrote: "Thanks for the reac and the warning Bella, I don't know much about USA cities and their architecture but 1424 pages is a big commitment, especially if it's dry writing. I love architecture and hist..."Have you read Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama? I have it on my shelf, but it's just too big to deal with. I think I bought it for $1 at the library, but I'm thinking of seeing if the ebook is reasonably priced.
Bella, I eyed the book before as it looked interesting but a friend of mine didn't have a good opinion of it and discouraged me a bit. Let me know what you think of the book if you decide to read it.
Gilead, sadly only 2 1/2 stars.A book with a colour in its title: Paris Noir: The Secret History of a City a pleasant surprise, 3 1/2 stars. My thoughts:
It is hard to fit this book into a single category; it could be either the author memoir of the years of Nazi occupation and post liberation, a collection of gothic tales or a study of Paris dark underbelly. Jacques Yonnet was born in 1915, an artist (painter and sculptor as well as writer) he was also a WWII French partisan, actively participating in the Resistance in Paris. This book was published in 1954, under the title “Enchantements sur Paris” (Paris Spellbound) and later on with the author favourite name ”Rue des Maléfices” (Witchcraft Street), both, I think, are a better suited titles.
The book is a portrait of a long-gone and colourful cast of characters who populated the city secret corners and used to congregate in the rundown and ill-reputed bars and cafes on the banks of the Seine: beggars, rag-pickers, legionnaires, dangerous crooks, ruffians, madmen, poets, gypsies, drunkards, whores, vagabonds, spies, healers etc. There are wonderful and extraordinary tales, often with dark undertones, there are stories of love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge, murder stories others are tall tales of the occult, belonging to an unreal world.
There’s the mystery of “the old man who appear after midnight”, the humour of “the sorry tale of Théophile Trigou”, the creepy tale of “Mina the cat” (this one reminded me of Poe’s tales), the tragic ending of friendship and love triangle in “the ill-fated knees”, the magic in Cyril “the watchmaker of backward-running time”, the regret of “the man who repented of betraying a secret” and the list goes on.
I found the language fascinating, I wish I could read the original but the English translation must suffice for me. Perhaps, it is best to let some lines speak for themselves; here are some examples:
The Seine is sulking. Showing the same moodiness as before‚ when I came to pay my respects after a rather longer trip than I would have liked. This river is no easy mistress.
One-armed‚ one-eyed‚ lame and crippled‚ nearly all of them. They get through life on the crutches of their dreams.
Tramps laden with their bags emerged like moles out of dark warrens. The dancing light played over their etched faces‚ transformed the bearded men into prophets.
It was the kind of light that rests on your shoulders the way a cat lies on your lap. So familiar.
Géga‚ purveyor of all things. A wholesale ragman these days. A crooked smile‚ brimmed hat‚ pipe and patter. Sheer Balzac. Heart of gold. But he ought to shut up. There’s Monsieur Moniaud‚ presently history teacher in a private school‚ ousted from the senior position he held in the Aliens Bureau at the Tour Pointue on account of his insufficiently pro-Nazi sentiments.
And here is my favourite:
There’s Pepe the Pansy. Beyond belief. A poof like you wouldn’t have thought possible. He has the audacity to solicit at the entrance to the hotel opposite. On crutches‚ toothless‚ outrageously made up‚ he sometimes wears a filthy wig and a skirt‚ with his single trouser leg and his wooden leg with the naked end of his stump showing‚ extending below it. This human detritus claims to be an hermaphrodite. Before‚ he lived in a brothel in Le Havre‚ where he was called Miss Mexico. Now he fleeces the Jerries‚ especially the young SS who turn up one by one‚ not very proud of themselves.
I never heard of Yonnet and I am glad to have found his book among GR recommendations. I was enchanted by the author’s writing, and saddened by the fact that this masterful storyteller is virtually unknown. The stories of the supernatural (view spoiler) are quite unbelievable and sceptic as I am I read these as creative make-believes. Was Yonnet a forerunner of today’s popular magic realism genre?
The book is not perfect; I found it a bit disjointed, i.e. when the memoirs mingled with the fantastic tales and the second half of the book was not up to the brilliance of the first part, nonetheless it is well worth a read. 3 ½ stars
Kiwi wrote: "Bella, I eyed the book before as it looked interesting but a friend of mine didn't have a good opinion of it and discouraged me a bit. Let me know what you think of the book if you decide to read it."
Um, it's going to be a while. I can't believe they don't have this available as an ebook, at least in the US. You shouldn't be allowed to release a book over 500 pages without a reasonably priced ebook. Or they should just give you the ebook for free.
Bella wrote: "You shouldn't be allowed to release a book over 500 pages without a reasonably priced ebook. Or they should just give you the ebook for free. ...":)
In the Bleak Midwinter, 3 starsMacbeth, 4 stars!
Tasting Italy: A Culinary Journey, 2 1/2 stars
The Colour, 3 1/2 stars
Time for an overdue update:finished a good psychological thriller I Let You Go, 3 1/2 stars
finished my fourth Bingo card, the last for this year, with:
The Dragonbone Chair, 4 stars
Schindler's List, 3 1/2 stars
progressed non-fiction genre:
Ladies, A Plate: Traditional Home Baking, 4 stars
An Infinity of Little Hours: The Trial of Faith of Five Young Men in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order, 3 stars
and the fiction genre:
The Night Before Christmas hardcover: The Classic Edition, 4 stars
Just started A Redbird Christmas and A Brief History of the Celts.
currently planning my December reads (lots of Chrissy reads to get in the right mood) and next year challenges.
Monthly fiction (Mythology/Folktales/Legends/Fables/Fairytales) and non fiction (Religion/Spirituality/Philosophy) reads:The Sleeper and the Spindle, 2 1/2 stars
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, 1 1/2 stars
Advent season reads:
A Redbird Christmas, 4 stars
The Christmas Box, 3 stars
A Christmas Memory, 3 stars
The Immortal Nicholas, abandoned
Christmas Cookies: Dozens of Classic Yuletide Treats for the Whole Family, 3 1/2 stars
The Story of the Other Wise Man, 3 stars
Other reads:
The Enchanted, 4 stars
A Brief History of the Celts, 2 1/2 stars
The Bottoms, 4 1/2 stars (maybe will be revised to 5)
I've been impress by The bottoms, one of this year's best reads.
My challenges are all completed, *happy dance*
Great Kiwi!! All finished for this year. :)
Congratulations, Kiwi! I'm not going to complete many of my challenges this year, but I had fun anyway :-)
Thank you very much guys!@Marina: even if you end up not completing them all, I hope you had fun selecting books for them, perhaps going outside your reading comfort zone and maybe finding a new favourite author (or two)? That is what I like about challenges, good luck, there's still time! :)
Kiwi wrote: "Thank you very much guys!@Marina: even if you end up not completing them all, I hope you had fun selecting books for them, perhaps going outside your reading comfort zone and maybe finding a new ..."
Sure, I certainly had fun! My goal for 2016 is to sign up to fewer challenges, so as to be able to complete at least some of them ;-)
hahaha! yes, it's very easy to overcommit - I just keep going my own sweet way with what I read and then think - dammit! I was meant to be reading x this month; foiled again!Perhaps a little more care in selecting? I have 49 requests in with the library system and I just checked my account - a deluge of books is headed my way all at once....aaaarrrrggghhh! why do I do this to myself??? I am allowed 35 books at a time and I almost never have a spare slot, I have to rob Peter to....take Paul's books out, so to speak.....
I hear you Marina, I have decided to have a smaller number of personal challenges in 2016 too, at least to stat with haha
Deborah wrote: "hahaha! yes, it's very easy to overcommit - I just keep going my own sweet way with what I read and then think - dammit! I was meant to be reading x this month; foiled again!Perhaps a little more..."
LOL Deborah, but you do read a lot! you CAN do it!
The Bottoms sounds like a modern and more brutal (in every way) take on To Kill a Mockingbird. Now on my TBR list.....See....this is how it happens......I grab at books like a magpie, little sparkly things that gladden my mind's eye and whisper 'read me.....'
LOL. That is a good one Deborah, but I know what you mean, I see a book on one of my friends updates and I can't resist and ... oops I hit the "want to read" button ... again
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, 2 1/2 starsKindred, 3 stars
Celtic Myths, Celtic Legends, 2 stars (monthly theme)
Oh no, I have The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry on my physical bookshelf to read.
I wouldn't worry Chase, many of my GR friends loved the book. For me it was so-so, but perhaps I'm the odd one out, give it a go, I hope you'll like it :)
Kiwi wrote: "I wouldn't worry Chase, many of my GR friends loved the book. For me it was so-so, but perhaps I'm the odd one out, give it a go, I hope you'll like it :)"A.J Fickry was a DNF for me. I didn't think it was badly written, I just didn't care about the MC or what happened. I tried to read it twice. Just couldn't go on. I think I could have forced myself and I think the book would have ended about 2 1/2 stars.
Sounds like you've made the right choice Bella, no point in forcing oneself to finish a book as long as you've had given the book a fair chance and you've tried twice! Too many good books out there waiting to be discovered
never mind giving a book a fair chance - some are just turkeys!Guess it depends on a definition of 'a fair chance'......I thought I was generous in giving Fifty Shades of Grey 4 pages-worth of my time, for instance.....
Mind you, E.L. James is a natural comic judging by her comments about how she has personally really raised the bar in literature...... *breathless with admiration*
Deborah wrote: "never mind giving a book a fair chance - some are just turkeys!Guess it depends on a definition of 'a fair chance'......I thought I was generous in giving Fifty Shades of Grey 4 p..."
LOL Deborah. You're braver than me, I have stayed well clear of the book :D
Erotica is one of the few literary genres that doesn't interest me, so I don't even try.
I am interested when it is so.....talked about. Especially when the author is so....arrogant. I want to form my own opinion in such a case. It was quickly formed! lol
An Old-Fashioned Christmas: Sweet Traditions for Hearth and Home, 2 1/2 starsRite of Passage, 2 1/2 stars
and Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig, 5 shining stars! my thoughts:
This is a coming of age novel and the story of a journey, in more ways than one. It’s 1951 in a ranch in Montana, an orphan young boy gets sent to his grand aunt and uncle in Wisconsin while his beloved grandmother is having an operation.
During the bus trip across Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota on his way to Manitowoc (on lake Michigan) Donny, who has a wild imagination, decides to ask his fellow passengers to sign his memory book in the hope of making the world records for the largest collection of autographs and ditties. Along the way, the reader meets a Reader's Digest lady, soldiers heading for Korea, a voluptuous waitress, a puny sheriff and his brawny jailbreaker brother and a sly ex-convict.
"They all filled in the dizzying span of my thoughts like a private version of Believe It or Not! And wherever life took them from here on, most of them had left a bit of their existence in my memory book. A condensed chapter of themselves, maybe, to put it in Pleasantville terms. I had much to digest, in more ways than one, as I lay back in the seat."
That’s just the start of Donny’s adventures, once arrived at his destination he has to deal with tight fisted and bossy grand-aunt Kate. He finds an unlikely ally in placid grand-uncle Herman, who has a fascination with the Wild West and Native American culture. The two become travel companions (or “pardners” as Herman puts it) and embark on the best summer vacation ever.
The novel is simply beautiful; Doig has a talent in creating believable and lovable characters and pulling the reader into the story. I had the pleasure of reading my first Ivan Doing this year and it was love at first chapter (The Whistling Season, which remains my favourite of his). It is so sad that the author passed away earlier this year and Last Bus to Wisdom is his last novel.
I urge you to try Doig, I’m planning to read all of his novels, savouring each one. 4 ½ stars rounded up
My favourite quotes:
At first Aunt Kate went perfectly still, except for blinking a mile a minute. Then her face turned stonier than any of those on Mount Rushmore. For some seconds, she looked like she couldn’t find what to say. But when she did, it blew my hair back.
Life with Herman was a size larger than I was used to, like clothing I was supposed to grow into.
Vicious, 2 1/2 starsBastard Out of Carolina, disturbing but well written, 3 stars
currently reading:
A Noble Radiance, a mystery
The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History, non-fiction
Recently finished:A Noble Radiance, 2 stars
The Cricket on the Hearth, 3 stars
Mudbound, 3 1/2 stars
Bootlegger's Daughter, 2 stars
Almost finished The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History and currently reading The Gospel of Loki, I'm loving the audio version.
I think these two will be the last books of 2015, I'm itching to get started on my 2016 lists, so excited!
Last post on this thread, so I've updated post 21 with my year in review.Bye bye 2015 and welcome 2016!
The Reading Challenge Group
Books mentioned in this topic
The Goldfinch (other topics)Bootlegger's Daughter (other topics)
The Grownup (other topics)
The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History (other topics)
The Gospel of Loki (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Simon Schama (other topics)Mike Wallace (other topics)
John Green (other topics)
Christian Cameron (other topics)
Barry S. Strauss (other topics)
I read all of du Maurier's novels many years ago so would be due a re-read myself - maybe I'll join you on a binge next year. While Rebecca and My Cousin Rachael are probably the best I was fascinated by The Scapegoat. I re-read Jamaica Inn this year, having forgotten how much the ending upset me - so I got it again, ha! I also recall really enjoying Frenchman's Creek. I have read The House on the Strand but I may have been younger than 12 at the time and don't retain (unusually) a clear memory of it's impression on me. I did like The King's General very much. The Birds, of course, we know through the Hitchcock film: I didn't read the book because the film was sooooooo unbearably creepy and I do NOT do Horror at the best of times - who wants to be terrified out of her mind for FUN? That is seriously dysfunctional in my book! haha