My actual challenge is to read, at least:
*12 big novels (over 400-500 pages)
*12 Romanian novels
*12 classic novels
*12 novels in Spanish
*12 novels in French

And write more reviews. :)

EDIT: It's only the first week of February and I realize I might not meet this challenge. I've started working on my blog (reviews in Romanian) and haven't read as much as I used to. It would be a miracle if I make it. :)

Wow! Now that is something else I can admire! *tips hat*

I hope you have an absolutely wonderful 2014, Ema, filled with satisfying literary adventures (of which I hope to share some), and that you will reach all of your goals and more. :))

(Let me guess: you tend to set yourself high standards, yes? ;) )

Thank you, Trav, for such a heart-warming and encouraging comment. Yup, I have high expectations from myself, but the hard part is to fulfill them! :)

I wish you a great new year ahead, Trav, with plenty of good things in your personal and literary life. And yes, I'm totally in for our next joint reads in 2014!

But, that's 60 books. LOL. Ema, it has been a pleasure to get to know you a little through your reviews. I wish you a prosperous, and joyful 2014. Happy New Year.

Ema said she wants to read at least the abovementioned 60 books included in her greater framework of 101 books.

Gotta love the oddness of the 101, LOL.

Ha, Trav, you've got my challenge right. :)
I intended to put 99, but went for 101 instead. I hope to make no adjustments to my challenge this year.

Harry wrote: "But, that's 60 books. LOL. Ema, it has been a pleasure to get to know you a little through your reviews. I wish you a prosperous, and joyful 2014. Happy New Year."

Ha, not even 60, if a novel meets multiple requirements (size-language-age). Trav is right, these are only some of the books I want to read, but the most important, because they are tackling my fears and weak spots.

Harry, thank you for your good wishes and Happy New Year to you, too! May the new year bring you health and love, happiness and fulfillment!

(big size picture here)

My 'little' tower of books to read in 2014, inspired by Declan. Couldn't resist rummaging through my library!

Grr. I'm envious of your excellent photo. I can see it in a bigger size and I can read the titles whereas in my photo you had to guess what the books might be (and you didn't even win a book token for guessing correctly). There is so much hope and potential in a stack of books like that and I am delighted to see 'The Pleasant Light of Day' in your twin towers as well as Tepeneag and Müller, each one shining out like a promise.

Ha ha, you should procure a Canon 7D then, in order for the titles to be discernible; and shoot RAW, then process the photo in Photoshop, got it? :)
But I did get the titles in your stack, really, I did. Not in the first picture, I admit - that was a bit too blurry...

It's a curious thing to have a whole year ahead of me and feel confident that I can read all the Romanian novels in the stack on the right. I feel I can do it - with a little help from our joint reads, as well. :)

Great pile Ema!
I will keep an eye out for when you read 'Satantango' as it is also on my pile :)

One author that you have in your stack that I'd definitely like to try out, is Jean Rhys.

As far as Margararet Atwood is concerned, I was thinking of reading Oryx and Crake, but The Blind Assassin has also been on my radar.

Now I'm wondering how many of those Romanian books have been translated into English.

Dawn wrote: "Great pile Ema!
I will keep an eye out for when you read 'Satantango' as it is also on my pile :)"

Thank you, Dawn! I must return to writing reviews (and I must learn to do them concisely, ha!), hopefully I'll write one for Satantango, too.

Traveller wrote: "One author that you have in your stack that I'd definitely like to try out, is Jean Rhys.

As far as Margararet Atwood is concerned, I was thinking of reading Oryx and Crake, but The B..."

Emphatic dittoing of Jean Rhys.

Traveller wrote: "One author that you have in your stack that I'd definitely like to try out, is Jean Rhys.
As far as Margararet Atwood is concerned, I was thinking of reading Oryx and Crake, but The B..."

There are several novels in that Jean Rhys big book, I'll read them one at a time and probably not all of them this year.

Ever since I've read 'Oryx and Crake' and 'The Year of the Flood', I want to go back to Margararet Atwood. I want to read more of her novels this year.

From the Romanian novels in my pile, besides Herta Müller, the following are translated into English:
Vain Art of the Fugue by Dumitru Tsepeneag
Wasted Morning: A Novel by Gabriela Adameșteanu
Nostalgia by Mircea Cărtărescu

I love your challenge Ema! Here's to you completing it easily! And Happy New Year!
And what is it about other people's book piles? I've managed to accumulate some 250 books one way or another, and there's some really good ones there but still your pile looks better than mine, even though I don't understand the Romanian titles. Sigh!!!

Marina, so nice to hear from you! And thank you so much for your wishes! I hope you'll have a great new year - may you be healthy and loved and read plenty of good books!
I'd like to see a picture of your book pile, what do you say? I'm sure I'd feel a pang of envy at some titles - if they are not in Greek, that is, because I would have a problem deciphering them!

Ema wrote: "Ha ha, you should procure a Canon 7D then, in order for the titles to be discernible; and shoot RAW, then process the photo in Photoshop, got it? :)
But I did get the titles in your stack, really, ..."

Okay Ema, I spent all the money I was going to use to buy books for the next ten years on the camera and then I shot RAW. What do I do next?

Ema wrote: "Marina, so nice to hear from you! And thank you so much for your wishes! I hope you'll have a great new year - may you be healthy and loved and read plenty of good books!
I'd like to see a picture ..."

I might have a go next week Ema, if I have time to gather them together, but I don't have a good camera so I doubt the result will be as good. No fear for Greek titles, most of them are in English.

Declan wrote: "Okay Ema, I spent all the money I was going to use to buy books for the next ten years on the camera and then I shot RAW. What do I do next?"

Ha ha! Was that a book page you scribbled upon? I hope not! You may want to sell that after I explain what you have to do with that RAW.

Ok, now that you have the RAW, try to insert it in your computer (I don't know what model you have, see if you can find a space where it fits) and check Desktop to see if it appears somewhere on the screen. If not, try to insert the RAW in another place. If it does appear (really?), then you must sell some books and scrape additional money to buy Photoshop, in order to process the RAW. Got it?

Hmm, looks like GR swallowed a comment again. In any case, as I said in it, thanks for your trouble in linking to the Romanian novels, Ema, I'll definitely be wanting to read at least the first two. :)

Sjheesh, a Canon 7D just for shooting a pic of a pile of books? :o ;)

Traveller wrote: "Hmm, looks like GR swallowed a comment again. In any case, as I said in it, thanks for your trouble in linking to the Romanian novels, Ema, I'll definitely be wanting to read at least the first tw..."

I already have a system for fighting against the disappearance of comments (it usually happens if the page stood open for too long): just before posting, I press Ctrl+A (select), then Ctrl+C (copy) and, if needed, Ctrl+V (paste) - thus I don't loose my comment anymore. I'm already doing it by default, I trained myself like the Pavlov dog. :)

Oh, I'm working as a photographer and Canon 7D is my work tool, so I always have it at the ready. :)

Marina wrote: "I might have a go next week Ema, if I have time to gather them together, but I don't have a good camera so I doubt the result will be as good. No fear for Greek titles, most of them are in English. "

Oh, then do it, please! I really want to see your stack, plus it's a wonderful feeling to rummage through your library. Almost therapeutic! :)
Have you noticed I have a Greek author in my pile? Little Infamies: Stories by Panos Karnezis. I don't know any writer from Cyprus, hmm.

Ema wrote: "Marina wrote: "I might have a go next week Ema, if I have time to gather them together, but I don't have a good camera so I doubt the result will be as good. No fear for Greek titles, most of them ..."

I have indeed, and one that I shall have to try myself soon! Cypriot writers tend to be swallowed by the Greek publishing industry and I find it hard to recognise them as such. Also I tend to choose my reading to mentally escape from my island country which can become a little claustrophobic sometimes. Recently I was befriended by a Cypriot publishing company, Armida Publications, and if only for curiosity's sake I intend to try something from their lists. If I come across something good I'll let you know.

Interesting insight, Marina. I can relate to your avoidance, because I've steered away from Romanian literature until last year, but look at my pile now! :)
Please let me know if you find something of interest among Cypriot literature. I'm really curious to see how your testing will turn out - also, the experience behind it.

Ema wrote: "My actual challenge is to read, at least:
*12 big novels (over 400-500 pages)
*12 Romanian novels
*12 classic novels
*12 novels in Spanish
*12 novels in French

And write more reviews. :)"

Niiiice. Great goal!
I'm also trying to read more German books this year, hopefully I won't slack off half-way through.

Vera wrote: "Niiiice. Great goal!
I'm also trying to read more German books this year, hopefully I won't slack off half-way through. "

Thank you, Vera! I should focus more, otherwise I won't be able to complete it. :)
Good luck with your challenge! Are you reading the novels in German as well?

Ema wrote: "Good luck with your challenge! Are you reading the novels in German as well?"

Thanks. Yes, I'm reading them in German as well, and I figured it would be a shame to read translated works.

all paper books ? you do not read ebooks?

Marie-paule wrote: "all paper books ? you do not read ebooks?"

Yes, I read e-books as well, but only the physical books can be photographed. :)

Well done Ema, that's a superb total.

Chapeau, Ema!

Declan wrote: "Well done Ema, that's a superb total."

Thank you, Declan, although you know my frustrations. :)
I'm looking at the actual challenge (12 big novels, 12 classic novels etc.) from which I've only achieved the one regarding Romanian literature (I've read more than 12 books, yes!). I've totally abandoned the French and Spanish ones, and there are only 6 or 7 novels over 400 pages, which seems quite little now. Eh, I'll set more reasonable goals next year. :)

Linda wrote: "Chapeau, Ema!"

Thank you, Linda (and sorry for my delay in replying)! There were several things this year that prevented me from reading constantly, so I didn't achieve my 101 books challenge (well, I got over it eventually, ha). It's a mystery how other people manage to read 200 or 300 books per year, it's beyond my understanding and way beyond my capabilities! :)

Yes, astounding....but Kris doesn't have a tv, and I know that even living alone, I don't get as much time to read as I'd like! So it's gotta be the tv/commuting on the train thing! I still think 80+ is quite admirable. I'll be lucky if I make my basic 55, and that's including a few that are children's books!