All About Books discussion
Reads & Challenges Archive
>
Tamara's Reads and Reviews in 2021
date
newest »
newest »
Goal: 80 books78/80. Crimes of Conscience: Selected Short Stories by Nadine Gordimer.
I've loved everything I've read by Nadine Gordimer, and this was no exception. I think she's amazing.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
53/50. Crimes of Conscience: Selected Short Stories by Nadine Gordimer.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
22/24. Crimes of Conscience: Selected Short Stories by Nadine Gordimer.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books79/80. At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop; translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis.
Winner of the 2021 International Booker Prize, it chronicles the descent into madness by a Senegalese soldier fighting with the French in the trenches in World War I. Scenes of graphic violence. Very compelling first-person narrative.
Goal: 25 books in translation
32/25. At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop; translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
23/24. At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop; translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books80/80. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
A compelling coming-of-age narrative about a young girl growing up in politically turbulent Nigeria and a home riddled with domestic violence.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
54/50. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
24/24. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've completed by annual challenge of reading 80 books for the year. I intend to keep chugging along to see how far I can get :)
Thank you, Steve. I'm having a blast with all the reading I'm doing. Who knew retirement could be so much fun :)
Mod
Now "free reading"!!!
Thank you, Laura."Free reading" it is!
Goal: 80 books81/80. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan.
It humanizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by describing it through the friendship of a Palestinian Arab and an Israeli Jew.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
25/24. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan.
Goal: 10 books of non-fiction
14/10. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books82/80. The White Book by Han Kang; translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith.
A compelling autobiographical meditation using fragmented images of objects in the color white to serve as the backdrop for the narrator’s grief at the death of her older sister. The format is unconventional.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
55/50. The White Book by Han Kang; translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith.
Goal: 25 books in translation
33/25. The White Book by Han Kang; translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books83/80. The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark.
The setting for this short novel is London in 1945. I've read and enjoyed Sparks novels, but this one just wasn't for me.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
56/50. The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books84/80. Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup. I loved the first section. Her writing in this section was lyrical and quite beautiful. But she became increasingly incoherent in the remaining sections. I think she overreached and rambled, which is a pity because she is obviously capable of some great writing.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
57/50. Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
84/80. Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup. I loved the first section. Her writing in this section was lyrical and quite beautiful. But she bec..."
Sounds interesting Tamara!
Greg, it starts off really strongly, but I felt it got a bit lost as it progressed. But that's just my opinion. I'm sure others have loved it. I hope you will, too.
Mod
I like how you read so broadly Tamara!
There's always something new to me on your feed along with the familiar favorites.
Goal: 80 books85/80. The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale and edited by Paulo Lemos Horta.
It took several weeks of intermittently dipping into it while reading a few other books in between, but I finally finished the 700 page The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale and edited by Paulo Lemos Horta.
This stunning tome provides a wealth of information, its pages adorned with beautiful illustrations. It is a volume to be read slowly, savored, and enjoyed.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
58/50. The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale.
Goal: 25 books in translation
34/25. The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
26/24. The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
85/80. The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale and edited by Paulo Lemos Horta.
It took..."
This sounds wonderful Tamara, tying all this history of translation and interpretation together. I've read several stories from the Nights and enjoyed several of them, including the famous one with Ali Baba. I'd be curious to read this version someday and get a fuller perspective on it.
Fantastic review!
Thanks, Greg.I've read a couple of different translations in the past, but nothing begins to compare with this. I hope you get a chance to dip into it one day.
Goal: 80 books86/80. The Last Hours by Minette Walters.
The novel is the first in a historical trilogy about the Black Death in 14th Century England. The research was impressive, but the characters were flat and the pacing dragged. A little disappointing.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
59/50. The Last Hours by Minette Walters.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books87/80. Dracula by Bram Stoker.
I read this as a group read. It's my first vampire novel. I enjoyed it and got a lot out of the discussion. But I probably won't be reading any more vampire novels. Vampire novels are just not my cup of tea.
Goal: 12 classics
14/12. Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Mod
87/80. Dracula by Bram Stoker.
I read this as a group read. It's my first vampire novel. I enjoyed it and got a lot out of the discussion. But I probably w..."
I liked it ok but didn't love it. Not really a fair comparison, but when it comes to stories about classic supernatural monsters, I feel like Frankenstein had more psychological and philosophical depth.
I agree, Greg. Shelley's Frankenstein is by far the better novel.
Tamara wrote: "Cathie, I hope you love it as much as I did. Please let me know what you think of it after you've had time to read it."I didn't get a chance to read this in 2021 - it's in my plans for 2022! See you next year!
Cathie wrote: "Tamara wrote: "Cathie, I hope you love it as much as I did. Please let me know what you think of it after you've had time to read it."I didn't get a chance to read this in 2021 - it's in my plans..."
Happy New Year! May it be filled with lots of delicious books.
All About Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Dracula (other topics)Frankenstein (other topics)
Dracula (other topics)
The Last Hours (other topics)
The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Bram Stoker (other topics)Bram Stoker (other topics)
Minette Walters (other topics)
Yasmine Seale (other topics)
Paulo Lemos Horta (other topics)
More...
77/80. Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner.
Full of interesting insights and observations of the microflora and microfauna of an urban landscape that many of us either don’t see or simply take for granted.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
52/50. Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner.
Goal: 10 books of non-fiction
13/10. Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...