DAVE’S 2024 CHALLENGE BUFFET

[Dave]

Books not among challenges

Hemingway, a Biography by Mary Dearborn
The King of Torts by John Grisham

Hemingway A Biography is the first full length biography of Hemingway since Carlos Baker’s biography published in 1969. I read Carlos Baker’s shortly after it was published. At that point I had only read The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feist. I subsequently read almost all his novels and short stories while young. In my opinion, with few exceptions, his works, have not aged well. While still important for the writing style that influenced so many writers, social values have evolved changed. The autobiographical aspects of his writing makes unappealing. I have always maintained that Hemingway‘s life was much more interesting to read about than his works. Mary Dearborn’s life is much more of a psychological study than Carlos Baker was. She had access to a lot more letters and material than Carlos Baker did in his time. she captured the influences on Hemingway that shaped his personality and values; his fathers suicide, his alienation from his mother and siblings as a young man, His keen sense of competition of other writers, his pugnacity, drinking, and in my opinion, his abuse toward his four wives and the alienation of his four sons in his later years. Dearborn catalogues his multiple concussions that led over the years to his increasing mental illness and the deterioration of his writing and his frustration with that issue. Of the various macho things that he engaged in his life, I personally do not like his abuse of women, bullfighting, cockfighting, boxing, alcoholism, big game fishing, and hunting. But having experience serious mental illness myself, I read Ms Dearborn‘s biography with interest, and I believe she catalogues his life fairly and accurately.


The King of Torts I am a big John Grisham fan and read his novels just for fun. This particular novel was interesting because the protagonist gets his comeuppance in the end.

[Wobbley]

Wow, I can't believe the pace of your reading! I've actually only read one of the books you read this month. You've got me feeling intrigued about Pudd’nhead Wilson.

[Dave]

Wobbley wrote: "Wow, I can't believe the pace of your reading! I've actually only read one of the books you read this month. You've got me feeling intrigued about Pudd’nhead Wilson."

Good choice Wobbly. As much as I read it is rare for me to come across a novel I thought I “knew” and found out I was clueless.

Which of the books I read had you read?

[Terris]

Good ones, Dave! I really enjoyed The Shipping News, and The Poisonwood Bible is one I think about often (as traumatic as it was!).

Hope you read some more good ones in May :)

[Dave]

Terris wrote: "Good ones, Dave! I really enjoyed The Shipping News, and The Poisonwood Bible is one I think about often (as traumatic as it was!).

Hope you read some more good ones in May :)"

Thanks Terris. I love uses Bob’s challenges each year to make me find books I probably read otherwise.

[Terris]

Dave wrote: "Terris wrote: "Good ones, Dave! I really enjoyed The Shipping News, and The Poisonwood Bible is one I think about often (as traumatic as it was!).

Hope you read some more good ones in May :)"

Tha..."

I know! That's what I do, too! The challenges, group reads, and buddy reads keep me on my toes, and I read many more books (that are on my TBR list!) than I would on my own. And I love to talk to others about the books we've all read -- love it or hate it! It's fun to hear what others think :)

Happy Reading, Dave!

[Wobbley]

So true! I feel I would read way less without these challenges.

Dave, the one I've read before was Turn of the Screw. I read it many years ago. And you're right, even naming the genre is a spoiler.

Good luck with your May reading!

[Kathleen]

I loved reading your updates Dave. Particularly about The Turn of the Screw, because I'm going to read it later this year for the first time! And also about The Secret History. I tried to read that and didn't get very far. Absolutely hated it! So I could relate to your comments. I also enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible and am looking forward to The Shipping News.

Congrats on your reading, and thanks for sharing!

[Dave]

You’re welcome Kathleen. Thank you for weighing in on The Secret History, I thought I might be out to lunch. I would like to read your thoughts on The Turn of the Screw when you finish.

[Dave]

Wobbley wrote: "So true! I feel I would read way less without these challenges.

Dave, the one I've read before was Turn of the Screw. I read it many years ago. And you're right, even naming the genre is a spoiler..."

Wobbley, at 73 I have consistently found that books I reread at different points in my life relate to uniquely each read because of my own accumulated life experiences and ever expanding number of stories read.

[Wobbley]

Dave wrote: "Wobbley, at 73 I have consistently found that books I reread at different points in my life relate to uniquely each read because of my own accumulated life experiences and ever expanding number of stories read."

Yes, I think that makes perfect sense. But it's a bit sad in a way, because a favourite book may not be as loved on a reread.

[Dave]

Wobbley wrote: "Dave wrote: "Wobbley, at 73 I have consistently found that books I reread at different points in my life relate to uniquely each read because of my own accumulated life experiences and ever expandi..."

I would not categorize it as sad Wobbley. While there are books I have grown out of, as the Hemingway I mention. But the more you read, the more you catch allusions to other books, art, music etc. An author often adds such allusions to connect to readers who appreciate other works of art, knows music mentioned have travelled to places books are set in etc.

I believe it was Mark Twain who said or wrote, “A classic is something everybody wants to have read by nobody wants to reads.” Well we are a hearty band that do read classics.

I am amazed at how many books I read the somewhere make passing mention of Proust. The number of people who have read all seven volumes of Proust’s book are infinitesimally small. But I guess mentioning Proust gives the context in which he is mentioned a certain je ne sais quoi.

I cannot tell you how many books I read his Classics illustrated comic books, or saw movies and thought I knew “the story“. In every case I go back and reread what I thought I knew only defined a gold mine so much better than what I was first exposed to.

And to put in a continuing plug for audiobooks; until I realized that through audiobooks I could access and enjoy very complex novels that I would’ve never been able to get through before, I didn’t realize what I was missing.

[Wobbley]

I think you are looking at it right way, but to me there is something sad about no longer loving something you once loved. It's a kind of loss. But you're right that there are gains that go along with it. In any case, it can't be helped: you can't un-have experiences, and of course any past experience will colour any future experience. That's just living.

[Dave]

Here are the books I finished in May along with my star ratings. (I don’t know how to make actual stars). Rather than discuss my thoughts on various books, I leave it to those who read this post to make comments or ask questions. The John Grisham books are just my “popcorn”reading and not challenge books.

Books read:

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughs (3)
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon (1)
The Rooster Bar by John Grisham (5)
The Wreck of the Mary Deare by Hammond Innes (5)
Possession by A S Bryatt (2)
The Whistler John Grisham (5)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré (4)
The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (3)
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (5)
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (5)
The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan (4)
The God of Small Things by Roy Arundhati (4)
The Judge’s List by John Grisham (5)
My Struggle Book 2 A Man in Love by Karl Ove (5)
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (5)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling (5)
Half a Yellow Sun by Adichei, C N (4)
Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson (4)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (5)
Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A Heinlein (5)
The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abby (5)
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (5)

[Dave]

Here are the books I will read in June to complete my first challenge set. Authors and links can be found in my challenge post at the beginning of the thread.

Strangers on a Train
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
High-Rise
Light Years
Somewhere In Time
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Eat, Pray, Love
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and Other Stories
White Fang
The Naked and the Dead
Speak, Memory
The English Patient
The Museum of Innocence
The Alice Network
The Witches of Eastwick
Cat’s Cradle
The Persian Expedition
The Four Winds
Jane Eyre
X: Kinsey Millhone, Book 24
Zorba the Greek

[Wobbley]

Wow, you're so productive, Dave, and so many 4-star and 5-star reads! I haven't read a lot of your May books, but I've really loved Tinker Tailor, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, and Antarctica. For me, Stranger in a Strange Land was an odd one: although I never found it hard to read, I thought the martian and his entourage were not that interesting. On the other hand, everything that came out of Jubal Harshaw's mouth was magnificent -- I wrote down so many quotes from him!

From your June set, I highly recommend Cat's Cradle. I hope you have a great reading month!

[Dave]

Wobbley wrote: "Wow, you're so productive, Dave, and so many 4-star and 5-star reads! I haven't read a lot of your May books, but I've really loved Tinker Tailor, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, and Antarctica..."

Thanks Wobbley. I did read a lot of good books in May. So many that I decided it would take too much time to write about them. So I left the star ratings to anyone who wants to check out any they are interested in.

[Dave]

In June I completed 15 books, thirteen of which were challenge books.

Speak Memory Nabokov 2 stars
The Unconsoled Ishiguro Kazuo 4 stars
Light Years James Salter 4 stars
Somewhere in Time Richard Mathewson 3 stars
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Jean Dominique Bauby 5 stars
High-Rise J G Ballard 3 stars
The Naked and the Dead Norman Mailer 4 stars
The Four Winds Hannah Kristen 4 stars
The Museum of Innocence Orhan Pamuk 4 stars
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Erika Sanchez 4 stars
White Fang Jack London 4 stars
Zorba the Greek Nikos Kazantzakis 5 stars
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Lori Gottlieb 5 stars (not a challenge)
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo Steig Larson 5 stars (reread, not a challenge)

I have ten books I am reading to complete my 2024 Challenges

[Kathleen]

A great haul, Dave. I'm happy to see the five stars for Zorba the Greek--a favorite of mine.

[Dave]

Kathleen wrote: "A great haul, Dave. I'm happy to see the five stars for Zorba the Greek--a favorite of mine."

Yes Kathleen, I loved it. A beautiful story.

[Wobbley]

Fantastic progress! I've never read Zorba the Greek. Sounds like I should add it to my pile.

[Dave]

Wobbley wrote: "Fantastic progress! I've never read Zorba the Greek. Sounds like I should add it to my pile."

Thanks Wobbly.

[Terris]

Lots of good ones there, Dave! I'm adding Zorba the Greek to my list, too. I've thought about reading it before, but your 5-star rating just pushed it over the edge for me! :)

[Dave]

Terris wrote: "Lots of good ones there, Dave! I'm adding Zorba the Greek to my list, too. I've thought about reading it before, but your 5-star rating just pushed it over the edge for me! :)"

Thanks Terris, enjoy!

[Dave]

I finally finished my 2024 challenges with Nowhere in Africa: An Autobiographical Novel, a book I had overlooked in my reading schedule.

[Wobbley]

Wow, amazing job!

[Terris]

You finished ALL your 2024 challenges??!! Dave, that is amazing!! And you still have half a year left! Now, you can read just for fun! Congratulations! :)

[Dave]

Thanks Woolley and Terris, reading for fun is what I call free range grazing in the bibliographic pastures!

[Terris]

Dave wrote: "Thanks Woolley and Terris, reading for fun is what I call free range grazing in the bibliographic pastures!"

I think you could be a poet, Dave ;)

[Dave]

Terris wrote: "Dave wrote: "Thanks Woolley and Terris, reading for fun is what I call free range grazing in the bibliographic pastures!"

I think you could be a poet, Dave ;)"

Ha!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

WOW, Dave. I am amazed! You had some great books in there and some very hefty ones. Congrats...enjoy the next half of the year.

[Dave]

Sara wrote: "WOW, Dave. I am amazed! You had some great books in there and some very hefty ones. Congrats...enjoy the next half of the year."

Thanks Sara.

[Kathleen]

I'm impressed too, Dave! Now you can free range graze AND have time to write poetry. :-)

[Dave]

Kathleen wrote: "I'm impressed too, Dave! Now you can free range graze AND have time to write poetry. :-)"

Busy, busy, busy, reading, and ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic.

I am venturing back into Kindle to read books not available in audio format. Systematically reading “complete collections” of short stories by various authors, and indulging in reading whole series of detective novels.