Challenges 2015

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Here is the new topic for our two 2015 challenges, Read My Own Books, and Nonfiction. My goal is to read books that fit both those categories. I think I have a few.

[Carol]

I have a few also. I do want to read Oscar and Lucinda, which has been on my shelf for a year at least. I also want to include some poetry books this year. I had started Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I hope I can find it. It may have been discarded in the move.

[Dottie]

I'm going to compile a list of possibles for these challenges and then utilize it to cut and paste as I make progress. I can retitle one of the 2015 shelves I've already created to serve for these challenge books. And Carol -- Corelli's Mandolin is one I want to read this year also -- maybe we can coordinate that and get a bit of discussion in also.

[Carol]

Okay Dottie. I let you know when I find it, otherwise I will have to buy it. Drat!

[Gina]

I read two of my four challenges for 2014. This year I increased my Read My Own Books challenge to five:
Ken Follet - World Without End
The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
Half Broke Horses - Jeannette Walls
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - Ben Fountain

Last year I had to struggle to finish all the books for our regular reading schedule. This year I have to increase my reading time.

[Donna]

My 2015 Read My Own Books Challenge: War and Peace

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finally finished The Luminaries, so I've started the first book for this challenge, The Last Life by Claire Messud. I bought this book when it came out in the late 90s. So far, having just read 10 pages, I think I'm really going to like it.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Bookbub.com had a free book that sounded like it would fit into my nonfiction challenge. More Ketchup Than Salsa - Confessions of a Tenerife Barman is a travel/memoir and it's pretty funny so far. I wouldn't allow myself to get even free books last year, but now I'm being more lax. My rule is I have to read more books than I get. I haven't quite finished The Last Life yet, but I'm getting there.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finished The Last Life and it took me longer than I thought it would. The writing is wonderful, but a bit dense. You have to think about things, and that slows you down. It explores the life of a young girl whose father is French/Algerian and her mother is American. She is caught in the middle of a family struggle over identity and history. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the Mediterranean landscape.

[Ann D]

I read The Last Life awhile back. I agree that it is really well written. For me at least, it was not such an enjoyable read.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Ann wrote: "I read The Last Life awhile back. I agree that it is really well written. For me at least, it was not such an enjoyable read."

No, you're right. Not exactly uplifting or hopeful.

[Mary Anne]

On recommendation from my sister-in-law, Gayle, I am reading A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben MacIntyre. Even though the reader knows how this will end it is still quite a spine-tingling rendition. It is astounding how long it took for the penny to drop on Kim Philby.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I'm listening to Alan Cummings read his own memoir, Not My Father's Son. This is the first time that I have catalogued an audiobook into one of my challenges. This is for the Non-Fiction Challenge. I rarely read things like this, and so far it is very well done. His father was a terrible brute, but Cummings very wisely does a bit from his boyhood past, then a bit from his adult self, so that the sad boyhood is interspersed with his successful upbeat adulthood. He is an incredibly optimistic guy, considering what he went through.

[Barbara]

If you can find Alan Cummings interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, I think you'd really like it. He was a delight.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Barbara wrote: "If you can find Alan Cummings interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, I think you'd really like it. He was a delight."

Thanks, Barb, I'll look for it.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finished More Ketchup Than Salsa - Confessions of a Tenerife Barman today. I would have given this three stars except the author, at least five times, misused the pronoun "I". "He went with Joy and I." Like that. My all time grammar pet peeve. Otherwise it was entertaining and made me realize that I made the right decision never to own a restaurant, a B&B or a bar.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finished Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming this morning. What a wonderful memoir. I rarely read celebrity books, but listening to this changed my attitude. If I could find others that are this good, this moving, this well-written, I will certainly read more. Now I want to watch everything that he's acted in.

[Ann D]

I hear the Terry Gross interview and was very impressed with Cumming. I'd like to read his memoir.

[Ruth]

Sherry wrote: "I finished Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming this morning. What a wonderful memoir. I rarely read celebrity books, but listening to this changed my attitude. If I could find other..."

Sounds good.

[Story]

Sherry wrote: "I finished Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming this morning. What a wonderful memoir. I rarely read celebrity books, but listening to this changed my attitude. If I could find other..."

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've been waiting for the audiobook to arrive; now I'll be looking forward to it even more. Several people in my other book group really enjoyed Just Kids as did my DH. Not sure if that one might interest you?

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Storyheart wrote: "Sherry wrote: "I finished Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming this morning. What a wonderful memoir. I rarely read celebrity books, but listening to this changed my attitude. If I c..."

Patti Smith had a small part in Alan Cumming's memoir. How coincidental!

[Ann D]

Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende.

This one has been sitting on my Kindle for a long time. I must have bought it on sale.

Set partially in some Chilean islands, and the parts about Chilean and history and culture were interesting. However, the story seemed forced and I didn't always buy into it. I liked some of her earlier books. Either this is not as good as Allende's other books, or my tastes have changed.

[Mary Ellen]

I finally finished The Lay of the Land, Richard Ford's third Frank Bascombe book. I enjoyed it, and actually miss hearing Frank's "voice" every day (after months, on & off, of trying to get through it!). But I think it was in need of lots of editing and, to be honest, I didn't really like Frank all that much for a good part of the time.

Not to get too personal, but one thing that bugged me was his referring to a character's physical disability/deformity EVERY time he mentioned her. No doubt that it got under my skin particularly because I have the same condition. But he does this with so many of the people he talks about: constant references to some characteristic or label he has attached to them. How many times do we have to be reminded, for example, that his assistant is from Tibet? Or Buddhist? Or short? Or brown-skinned? (THAT really put me over the edge.)
Of course, no one is perfect, and Frank does have some redeeming qualities. And some of his ruminations are well-written and worth thinking about. So in the end I gave the book 3 stars, not being able to give it 2 1/2.

[Ruth]

I didn't like this one nearly so much as the other two, either, Mary Ellen.

[Mary Anne]

I agree about The Lay of the Land. Ford appeared hear at our lecture series in December, and I was surprised that he seemed like such an intellectual. Not an elitist, but certainly a more serious delivery that I expected of Ford after reading his works.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Yesterday I finished our Reading List book, The Children Act which I thought was very good and has a lot to discuss in it. So, today I started reading a book I've had on my Kindle a while, The Mugger by Ed McBain. He wrote this book while I was in third grade, so it's probably going to be a bit dated. But I have a soft spot for his books, which I've only started reading in the last year or two. My dear father-in-law loved him and kept trying to get me to read them. I listened to mysteries and police procedurals on audio, and they weren't available back then. Within the last couple of years four were bundled together for really cheap as ebooks, so I bought them. I think this is the second one. This one's for you, Fred, I'm finally getting to your recommendations. I'm sure you're smiling on me.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Yes, it was a bit dated, but I enjoyed The Mugger for what it was. Yesterday I started In the Kitchen by Monica Ali, which I heard about here and bought for my Kindle a while back. So far, I'm enjoying it. I'm having a lot of time to read here, since the weather has been windy most days, and rainy for some days. I had hoped to snorkel some, but rough waves and locks of rocks on shore have made me skittish.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finally finished In the Kitchen yesterday, and I have mixed feelings about it. I started off loving the descriptions of the hotel kitchen operation, but couldn't understand the main character's dislike of certain people. I didn't like him very much, which made it hard for me. I don't always have to like a character, but I want to feel the motivations, even if I don't agree with them. It was hard for me to get a handle on his choices, and his actions. Eventually, gradually, the reader understands that he has undiagnosed bipolar disorder, and it's hard to live with him. Eventually I was very invested in following him around and finding out what crazy thing he would do to ruin his life THIS time.

Some people loved the book, some people hated the book. I see that most people that gave it one star didn't get very far into it, which I see as pretty unfair. What I really did think that Ali accomplished was giving us an idea of the person by the way he/she talks. She is very good at dialogue.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I'm reading a book now that fits both my challenges for this year: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain. He's certainly made a franchise out of being a badass.

[Ruth]

I read that when it first came out. Very interesting, all that stuff that goes on behind the scenes.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finished Kitchen Confidential yesterday. I never ever wanted to start a restaurant or work in the food service business, and this book has made me realize how right I was. Boy, reality is worse that I ever anticipated. But it sure makes me appreciate good restaurants even more than I do.

[Portia]

My Spouse enjoys Bourdain's show on CNN. He likes the way Bourdain gets to know the local residents of an area and finds out the history of the dishes he is sampling.

[Ruth]

Sherry wrote: "I finished Kitchen Confidential yesterday. I never ever wanted to start a restaurant or work in the food service business, and this book has made me realize how right I was. Boy, reality is worse t..."

Ditto

[Sue]

I've finished one book toward the non-fiction my-own-book challenge, Richard Ellman's James Joyce. Coming in at around 700 pages, it feels like it could be 2 books. What an amazing biography. For anyone interested in Joyce, I very strongly recommend it.

I'm tracking my fiction in this category too and have read 4 so far. My goal for this is 15. My goal for the non-fiction is 5 books.

[Ruth]

Sherry wrote: "I finished Kitchen Confidential yesterday. I never ever wanted to start a restaurant or work in the food service business, and this book has made me realize how right I was. Boy, reality is worse t..."

And NEVER order fish on a Tuesday.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Ruth wrote: "Sherry wrote: "I finished Kitchen Confidential yesterday. I never ever wanted to start a restaurant or work in the food service business, and this book has made me realize how right I was. Boy, rea..."

I thought it was Sunday to never order fish. Maybe that was to buy fish.

[Ruth]

Egad, have I had that wrong all these years?

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Ruth wrote: "Egad, have I had that wrong all these years?"

He actually said never eat fish at a restaurant on Monday. Here's a link to some info:

http://lifehacker.com/5239687/should-...

[Ruth]

Ha. So we were both wrong. Okay, from now on, Monday it is.

[Mary Ellen]

There's nothing like a little bout of Under The Weather to help me along with my reading challenges... So in the last 2 days I have read:
In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. An impulse purchase about 10 years ago when I was visiting Toronto, this quintessential Toronto novel did not do much for me. Perhaps my fuzzy head could not deal with the lack of coherent internal chronology (phrase partly borrowed from a GR review!). I could not even figure out what the real "ending" was. Gorgeous descriptions of hideous manual labor, paper-thin characterizations...the poetic prose was not enough for me.
Hunting Badger Much better for my current mood (I admit, I was getting nowhere with the Ondaatje even when I felt fine), true comfort food for the brain. This was a reread of one of my favorite authors, my beloved Tony Hillerman, may he rest in peace. It was great to take a trip to the gorgeous Four Corners Country, if only in my mind.

[Sue]

Mary Ellen, I'm feeling a yen to reach into my Hillerman shelf for a re-read or two.

[Mary Ellen]

I have 2 more sitting on my shelf & I am forcing myself to read SOMETHING ELSE so I can space out the Hillerman pleasure! Have you read either of the books by his daughter?

[Sue]

Mary Ellen wrote: "I have 2 more sitting on my shelf & I am forcing myself to read SOMETHING ELSE so I can space out the Hillerman pleasure! Have you read either of the books by his daughter?"

I have one on my kindle that I bought a while ago and haven't fit in my schedule yet. The review was good as I recall...Spider Woman's Daughter. I'm glad you reminded me of this. I'm adding a reminder to my schedule.

I have a number of Tony Hillerman's books. I kept my favorites when it came time to purge and make room. Now I have to decide what to do about my collection of Nevada Barr!

[Mary Ellen]

Ha! I managed to read all of Hillerman through the library, but picked up a few at a used book sale...

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I'm reading a book that qualifies for both my challenges, nonfiction and all-ready-owned. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Reading Lolita in Tehran. So far, the best part of the book is that it's making me really appreciate being a woman in this part of the world. I'm also glad that I've read Lolita, even though my memory of it is fragmented.

[Dottie]

Sherry wrote: "I'm reading a book that qualifies for both my challenges, nonfiction and all-ready-owned. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Reading Lolita in Tehran. So far, the best part of the book is..."

That book indeed makes one appreciate being where one is. In retrospect I'm not sure I fully appreciated the basic underlying concept of Lolita read in Tehran -- though I read the two books closer together than you have -- maybe I've just lost the overall experience in the fog of time and all the books which have come since. I remember feeling the oppression though.

[Barbara]

Reading Lolita in Tehran comes back to me so often. One thing that stays with me is how supportive she was of getting rid if the Shah and then how unexpectedly radical the changes in the society were.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Barbara wrote: "Reading Lolita in Tehran comes back to me so often. One thing that stays with me is how supportive she was of getting rid if the Shah and then how unexpectedly radical the changes in the society w..."

I just read that part. It reminds me a little bit of how Hitler came to power. Nobody thought the incremental changes would escalate and create the dictatorships that they did in Germany and in Iran. There were lots of bags on lots of heads.

One criticism I have with her writing is that she jumps around in time a lot and the markers of where she is (in time and space) are not always clear. Also she is inconsistent with her use of quotation marks. But overall, the information she imparts is so very important.

[Ann D]

I loved Reading Lolita in Tehran. Lolita was just one of the classics that the students read. I was really glad that I had read a lot of classics with the group in Classics Corner before I read this.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finished Reading Lolita in Tehran today. The situation for women in Iran is so maddening that I had to read this in spurts. I'm so glad I read it and so glad that I'm finished.