Eliz_M's operatic effort - the encore thread

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Eliz_M's operatic effort - the encore thread

Denna diskussion är för närvarande "vilande"—det sista inlägget är mer än 90 dagar gammalt. Du kan återstarta det genom att svara på inlägget.

1ELiz_M
Redigerat: jan 3, 2015, 8:36 pm

Hello, welcome to my second thread!

Prior to starting this Category challenge, I had read about 75-80 books a year. However, by the end of June 2014 I had completed 65 books! So, I am increasing my goal to 105 books (7 books in 14 categories, plus up to 7 books that don't fit any categories). I've kept the categories broad enough so that most books I will read this year will fit in somewhere (titles will only be listed once, regardless of how many categories they fit).

As you can probably tell from the categories, I am a wee bit obsessed with the 1001-Books-to-Read-Before-You-Die list(s) and am always looking for ways to encourage me to read the various titles.

One of my other goals is to read at least 50 books that I owned prior to 2014 (indicated with an *).

Updated 31-Dec-2014:
Total books read: 119
Books owned pre-2014 read: 42
Books owned post-2014 read: 23
Number of to-read books bought: 107

2ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 17, 2014, 6:07 pm

Fourth Quarter Reading Ideas:

1001 Books Group Challenge: Small Remedies, Cataract (BPL), Typical, The Making of Americans (BPL), Under Satan's Sun (BPL), The Young Man (LO)

GR reading challenges
International Reading: Under the Yoke, Promise at Dawn, On the Edge of Reason, Professor Martens' Departure, The Forbidden Realm, Broken April, Garden, Ashes
Between-the-Wars: Good Morning, Midnight, Cause for Alarm, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Man's Fate, The Forbidden Realm, The Holy Terrors, Decline and Fall, Under Satan's Sun, The Enormous Room, Main Street

Oct.-Dec.
Reading Globally (post-war Germany): Vertigo, The Parable of the Blind, Jacob the Liar, The German Lesson, Dog Years, Death in Rome, Doctor Faustus

October
Real-life book club: Under the Banner of Heaven
1001 Books: Paradise of the Blind
GR group topic (9/8 - 10/19): Paradise of the Blind
GR group topic (9/29 - 11/9): Journey to the Center of the Earth
GeoCAT (South America): The Time of the Hero

November
Real-life book club: The Best Stories from a Quarter-Century of the Pushcart Prize
1001 Books: Testament of Youth
GR group topic (10/20-11/30): The Red Room, The Christmas Oratorio
GR group topic (11/1 - 1/23): On the Origin of Species, Darwin's Origin of the Species: A Biography, The Beak of the Finch
GR group topic (11/10 - 12/31): Main Street
GeoCAT (Australia and Oceania ): Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland

December
1001 Books:
GeoCAT (Sub-Saharan Africa): Ancestral Voices, A Dry White Season, The River Between, Down Second Avenue, The Grass Is Singing.

3ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 8, 2014, 12:43 pm



B1 - A book with more than 500 pages: The Recognitions
B2 - A book written by someone under 30: The Dark Child
B3 - A book with a one-word title: Monica
B4 - The first book by a favorite author: The Hour of the Star
B5 - A book your friend loves: Cigarettes

I1 - A forgotten classic: In Parenthesis
12 - A book with non-human characters: The Golem and the Jinni
13 - A book of short stories: The Burning Plain
14 - A book you heard about online: The City & the City
15 - A book that scares you: The Autumn of the Patriarch / The Haunting of Hill House

N1 - A book that became a movie: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
N2 - A funny book: The Great Indian Novel
N3 -- FREE SQUARE!
N4 - A best-selling book: MaddAddam
N5 - A book that is more than 10 years old: Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

G1 - A book published this year: Murder at Cape Three Points
G2 - A book by a female author: Paradise of the Blind
G3 - A book set on a different continent: God's Bits of Wood
G4 - A book based on a true story: Soldier of Salamis
G5 - The second book in a series: Phineas Finn

O1 - A book with a number in the title: The Crying of Lot 49
O2 - A book with a mystery: Southern Seas
O3 - A book of non-fiction: The Power Broker
O4 - A book at the bottom of your TBR pile: The Reveries of a Solitary Walker
O5 - A book with a blue cover: Memoirs of a Peasant Boy

4ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 28, 2014, 9:45 pm

The First Emperor composed and premiered in 2006. This category is for books published in the 21st Century.

1. The Coroner's Lunch* by Colin Cotterill, pub. 2004
2. Snow* by Orhan Pamuk, pub. 2002
3. Soldiers of Salamis* by Javier Cercas, pub. 2001
4. The City & the City by China Miéville, pub. 2009
5. MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood, pub. 2013
6. Mother's Milk* by Edward St. Aubyn, pub. 2005
7. A Vine in the Blood by Leighton Gage, pub. 2011
8. Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey, pub. 2014
9. Moonlight Downs* by Adrian Hyland, pub. 2006
10. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, pub. 2003
11. The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura, pub. 2009
12. The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes, pub. 2008
13. Nemesis by Jo Nesbø, pub. 2002

Possibilities: The Human Stain*, Carry Me Down*, The Blind Side of the Heart*, A Gate at the Stairs*, Nemesis*

5ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 27, 2014, 11:06 pm

Hansel and Gretel was originally conceived by the composer's sister, who had written songs based on the fairly tale for her children. This category is for 1001 books commonly recommended for High School students.

1. Fathers and Sons* by Ivan Turgenev (BPL assignment)
2. Wide Sargasso Sea* by Jean Rhys
3. Henry V* by William Shakespeare (BPL assignment)
4. An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
5. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (BPL assignment)
6. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (BPL assignment)
7. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (BPL assignment)

Possibilities: Return of the Native, Member of the Wedding*, Great Expectations, The Castle*, Of Human Bondage*, Uncle Tom's Cabin*, Brideshead Revisited*, Look Homeward, Angel*, The Mill on the Floss, Doctor Zhivago*, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Adam Bede, An American Tragedy, The Brothers Karamazov, The Diviners, Fifth Business, Portrait of a Lady, The Vicar of Wakefield, Silas Marner, The Heart of the Matter, Seize the Day, 2001: A Space Odyssey, At Swim - Two-Birds, Auto-da-fe, Contact, Crying of Lot 49, Daisy Miller, Democracy, Dog Years, A Dry White Season, Good Soldier Schweik, The Leopard, The Magic Mountain, Monkey: A Journey to the West, Paradise of the Blind, Platero and I, Zorba the Greek

6ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 21, 2014, 11:50 pm

Iphigénie en Tauride is a well-known ancient story that has been told in many forms by many great artists. The Gluck opera was first performed in 1779. This category is for 1001 books published prior to the 1800s.

1. Thomas of Reading by Thomas Deloney, pub. 1600
2. Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
3. Reveries of the Solitary Walker by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, pub. 1782
4. The Golden Days by Cao Xueqin, pub. ~1760
5. Monkey: Journey to the West by Wu Ch'eng-en, pub. 16th century
6. A Sentimental Journey* by Laurence Sterne, pub. 1768
7. Love in Excess by Eliza Haywood, pub. 1719

Possibilities: Gargantua and Pantagrual*, The Unfortunate Traveller*, The Female Quixote*, The Vicar of Wakefied, The 120 days of Sodom*, The Dream of Red Mansions, Caleb Williams*, Hyperion*

7ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 19, 2014, 7:55 pm

La Fille du Régiment is a delightful, comic opera about the complications that ensue when the orphan girl raised by a regiment falls in love. This category is for "comic novels" from the 1001 List.

1. The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
2. The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor
3. Rameau's Nephew* by Denis Diderot
4. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
5. Phineas Finn* by Anthony Trollope
6. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
7. The Enormous Room* by e. e. cummings

Possibilities: The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, The Adventures of Roderick Random, Babbitt, The Adventurous Simplicissimus, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas*, Giles Goat-Boy, The Good Soldier Švejk*, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Joseph Andrews, Journey to the West, The Man of Feeling, The Sot-Weed Factor, Under the Net, The Unfortunate Traveller*, What a Carve Up!*, World's End*, At Swim-Two-Birds, Portnoy's Complaint*, Infinite Jest*, Gargantua and Pantagruel*

8ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 14, 2014, 7:38 am

La Damnation de Faust is an opera that is rarely staged; it is usually performed in a concert setting. This category is for 1001 list books with very few reviews (less than 11 reviews as of Jan. 1, 2014).

1. Memoirs of a Peasant Boy by Xosé Neira Vilas
2. Monica by Saunders Lewis
3. Rituals by Cees Nooteboom
4. The Glass Bees by Ernst Jünger
5. The Shadow Lines* by Amitav Ghosh
6. Disobedience by Alberto Moravia
7. Loving by Henry Green
8. Cause for Alarm by Eric Ambler
9. The Forbidden Realm by Jan Jacob Slauerhoff
10. Under Satan's Sun by Georges Bernanos

Possibilities: Democracy*, Loving Living Party Going*, World's End*, Paradise of the Blind*, The Crime of Father Amaro*, Contempt*, Genesis*, G*, Transit*, The Third Wedding*, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter*, Fado Alexandrino*, The Busconductor Hines*, Z*, The Passion According to G.H.*, Here's to You, Jesusa!*, The Irish R. M.*, Rameau's Nephew*, Summer Will Show*, All About H. Hatterr*, Eva Trout*, The Deadbeats, Under the Yoke, As If I Am Not There, Promise at Dawn, Cigarettes, Down Second Avenue, The First Garden, Hyperion*, On the Edge of Reason, Tarka the Otter

9ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 27, 2014, 8:46 am

Thaïs is set in the Egyptian desert. This category is for 1001 books by "non-Western" authors.

1. Chaka by Thomas Mofolo, a Lesotho author, book set in an area that is part of present-day South Africa.
2. The Dark Child by Camara Laye, a memoir of his childhood in Guinea.
3. In the Heart of the Seas by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, an Israeli author, book details a journey to Israel.
4. God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène, a Senegalese writer, novel of the 1947 railroad strike on the Dakar-Niger line.
5. Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a Kenyan writer, novel about the impact of the Mau Mau rebellion.
6. Disappearance by David Dabydeen, born in Guyana, novel about a Guyanese engineer in England, and childhood events that shaped him.
7. Small Remedies by Shashi Deshpande, an Indian author, novel takes place in Bhavanipur, India.
8. Tent of Miracles by Jorge Amado, a Brazilian author, novel takes place in Bahia, Brazil.

Possibilities: A Dream of Red Mansions, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Water Margin, Monkey: A Journey to the West, Leaden Wings, Half of Man is Woman, Money to Burn, Facundo, Dom Casmurro, The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cuba*, The Hour of the Star, The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, 2666*, Autumn of the Patriarch, The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll, Dirty Havana Trilogy*, Small Remedies, The Shadow Lines*, Black Box*, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Matigari, The River Between, Here's to You, Jesusa!*, The Burning Plain, In Search of Klingsor, Broad and Alien is the World, A World for Julius, The Time of the Hero*, A Dry White Season*, Down Second Avenue, Snow*, Memory of Fire*, Paradise of the Blind*

10ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 21, 2014, 8:08 pm

Les Contes d'Hoffmann is based on based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann. This category is for short works -- short story collections and novellas.

1. Death Sentence by Maurice Blanchot
2. The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind
3. The Burning Plain and Other Stories by Juan Rulfo
4. Tenth of December by George Saunders
5. Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel
6. Typical by Padgett Powell
7. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy

Possibilities: Pricksongs and Descants, Exercises in Style*, The Street of Crocodiles, Some Experiences of an Irish R.M.*

11ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 29, 2014, 9:32 pm

Armida is an opera written for one soprano, six tenors, and two basses. As the titled character and the lone female voice, Armida is the center of attention. This category is for books written by women.

1. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
2. Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat
3. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
4. A Day Off by Storm Jameson
5. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
6. Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor
7. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
8. Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys
9. Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
10. Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography by Janet Browne
11. Murder in the Marais by Cara Black

Possibilities: The Twins, Summer Will Show*, Small Remedies, The Sea, the Sea*, The Quest for Christa T., Quartet in Autumn, Play It As It Lays*, Pavel's Letters, Nights At The Circus*, Love's Work, Love in Excess, Love in a Cold Climate*, Looking for the Possible Dance, The Life and Death of Harriett Frean, Indigo, Here's to You, Jesusa!*, The Grass Is Singing*, The First Garden, The Female Quixote*, Excellent Women*, Eva Trout*, Cider with Rosie, Carry Me Down*, Astradeni, As If I Am Not There, Alberta & Jacob, Some Experiences of an Irish R.M.

12ELiz_M
Redigerat: sep 4, 2014, 8:12 am

The Nose is an absurdist opera based on Gogol's short stories and employs a chaotic montage of styles. This category is for post-modern books.

1. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* by Hunter S. Thompson (postmodern literature)
2. The Autumn of the Patriarch* by Gabriel García Márquez (postmodern writers list)
3. S. by Doug Dorst
4. The Crying of Lot 49* by Thomas Pynchon (postmodern literature)
5. Nox by Anne Carson
6. Cigarettes by Harry Mathews
7. The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector (postmodern writers list)

Possibilities: 2666*, Underworld*, Infinite Jest*, What a Carve Up!*, Democracy*, Lanark: A Life in Four Books*, Life: A User's Manual*, The Magus*, Gravity's Rainbow*, Ada or Ardor*, V.*, The Sot-Weed Factor, At Swim-Two-Birds, Giles Goat-Boy, G.*

13ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 7, 2014, 5:27 pm

Le Comte Ory is another delightful comic opera, this one features jokes, misunderstandings and men dressed as nuns. This category is for LGBT books from the 1001 list.

1. The Counterfeiters by André Gide
2. There but for the by Ali Smith
3. The Wars by Timothy Findley
4. Brideshead Revisited* by Evelyn Waugh
5. Summer Will Show* by Sylvia Townsend Warner
6. Les Enfants Terribles by Jean Cocteau
7. Eva Trout* by Elizabeth Bowen

Possibilities: The Guermantes Way*, The Line of Beauty*, The Member of the Wedding*, The Memoirs of Hadrian*, Myra Breckinridge, The Swimming-Pool Library*, Young Törless, Á Rebours, Naked Lunch, Junky, Bouvard and Pécuchet, Absolute Beginners, Of Human Bondage*, Hadrian the Seventh, To the North, The Way of All Flesh, Kiss of the Spider Woman

14ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 1, 2014, 8:45 pm

Der Ring des Nibelungen is actually four operas meant to be performed in a series. It is often THE opera people think of when they think of opera. In 2013 a recording of The Ring Cycle even won a Grammy. This category is for award-winning 1001 list books.

1. Troubles* by J. G. Farrell (Man Booker Prize, retrospective)
2. Morvern Callar by Alan Warner (Somerset Maugham Award, 1996)
3. Jack Maggs* by Peter Carey (Miles Franklin Award, 1998)
4. Southern Seas by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (Martin Beck Award, 1992)
5. In Parenthesis by David Jones (Hawthornden Prize, 1938)
6. The Bridge on the Drina* by Ivo Andrić (Nobel Prize, 1961)
7. Empire of the Sun* by J. G. Ballard (James Tait Black Memorial Prize, 1984)
8. Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson (Hawthornden Prize, 1927)

Possibilities: Rituals, The Shadow Lines*

15ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 31, 2014, 9:30 pm

Manon is described as "the quintessential example of the charm and vitality of the music and culture of the Parisian Belle Époque". This category is for 1001 list books published 1870-1914.

1. Lieutenant Gustl (None But the Brave) by Arthur Schnitzler, pub. 1900.
2. Some Experiences of an Irish RM* by E. Somerville, pub. 1899
3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, pub. 1892
4. Diary of a Nobody* by George Grossmith, pub. 1892
5. Dom Casmurro* by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, pub. 1899
6. Là-Bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans, pub. 1891
7. Jude the Obscure* by Thomas Hardy, pub. 1895

Possibilities: The Crime of Father Amaro*, Drunkard*, The Red Room, The Brothers Karamazov*, Nana*, The Portrait of a Lady, The House by the Medler Tree, Epitaph of a Small Winner*, Bouvard and Pecuchet, A Woman's Life, The Quest, Pierre and Jean, Under the Yoke, The Child of Pleasure, Eline Vere*, La Bete Humaine, Thais, New Grub Street*, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, What Maisie Knew, Fruits of the Earth, Memoirs of My Nervous Illness*, The Way of All Flesh, Hardrian the Seventh, Young Torless, The Inferno

16ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 14, 2014, 7:31 am

Un ballo in maschera forced by both censors and an unfavorable political climate, this opera underwent three title changes and one major setting change before it could be performed. This category is for 1001 list books that have been banned.

1. The Guiltless by Hermann Broch (his books were banned in Nazi Germany)
2. Amok by Stefan Zweig (his books were burned in Nazi Germany)
3. The Radetzky March* by Joseph Roth (his books were banned in Nazi Germany)
4. The Hive by Camilo José Cela (Banned for many years by the Franco regime...)
5. Doctor Zhivago* by Boris Pasternak (refused publication in the USSR...)
6. Paradise of the Blind* by Dương Thu Hương (Banned in Vietnam)
7. Man's Fate* by Andre Malraux (his books were banned in Nazi Germany)

Possibilities: An American Tragedy, The First Circle, The Gulag Archipelago, Naked Lunch, The Satanic Verses*, Tropic of Cancer, Uncle Tom's Cabin*, Julie, or the New Heloise, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame*, Thérèse Raquin, L'Assommoir*, Nana*, La Bête Humaine, Germinal*, Nausea*, Gargantua and Pantagruel*, Jacques the Fatalist*, Lost Illusions*, Eugénie Grandet*, Thaïs, Fruits of the Earth, The Honorary Consul*, The Last Temptation of Christ*, Berlin Alexanderplatz, U.S.A.*, The Good Soldier Švejk*, Amerika*, The Castle*, The Magic Mountain*, Professor Unrat, Doctor Faustus*, The Guermantes Way*, Sodom and Gomorrah*, The Captive & The Fugitive*, Time Regained, None But The Brave (Lieutenant Gustl), The Case of Sergeant Grischa

17ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 14, 2014, 7:34 am

Parsifal, while not Wagner's longest opera nor the one that took the longest to compose, it is four and a half hours long and was composed over a period of 25 years. This category is for books of more than 500 pages.

1. The Power Broker* by Robert A. Caro (1162 pages without appendices)
2. The Recognitions by William Gaddis (956 pages)
3. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo (521 pages)
4. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (771 pages)
5. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee (571 pages)
6. Germinal* by Émile Zola, pub. 1885 (558 pages)
7. Night Film by Marisha Pessl, (602 pages)

Possibilities: , 2666*, Phineas Finn*, The Guermantes Way*, Sometimes a Great Notion*, Of Human Bondage*, The Golden Notebook*, Uncle Tom's Cabin*, Ada, or Ardor*, The Glass Bead Game*, The Unconsoled*, Eline Vere*, Look Homeward, Angel*, What a Carve Up!*

18ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 14, 2014, 7:33 am

Don Giovanni is an opera that mixes serious and comic action. It has an Italian libretto, was created by a Viennese composer, is set in Spain, and premiered in Prague. This is for miscellaneous books that do not fit my 14 categories.

1. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
2. The Last Detective by Peter Lovesey
3. Money* by Martin Amis
4. Waterland* by Graham Swift
5. The Invention of Curried Sausage by Uwe Timm
6. On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleža
7. Death of an Englishman by Magdalen Nabb

19MissWatson
jul 1, 2014, 4:32 am

Happy new thread! And so many interesting and tempting books, sigh.

20mamzel
jul 1, 2014, 2:08 pm

I've really enjoyed reading your comments about books I'm not familiar with. Good luck with the rest of the year.

21rabbitprincess
jul 1, 2014, 3:12 pm

Hurray for Part 2! Looking forward to following more of your reading adventures.

22ELiz_M
jul 2, 2014, 8:27 am

>19 MissWatson: It is a nice feeling, everything all tidied up with plenty of room for all the books!

>20 mamzel: Thank you!

>21 rabbitprincess: I am happy to see you've stopped by!

23lkernagh
jul 3, 2014, 9:35 am

Happy New Thread! Kudos on having read 65 books already this year and for almost being finished your Reading Bingo! My reading is down this year from previous years... there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day it seems.

24ELiz_M
jul 4, 2014, 5:48 am

Happy 4th of July!!! I am off to Canada for a week-long family vacation. Hopefully the niece and nephew will go to bed early and allow me plenty of time to read!

25rabbitprincess
jul 4, 2014, 8:39 pm

Happy Fourth to you as well! Enjoy your stay in Canada! :D

26-Eva-
jul 5, 2014, 9:33 pm

Happy new thread!!!

27ELiz_M
Redigerat: jul 12, 2014, 3:58 pm

>23 lkernagh: Thank you! I am sorry to hear your reading is down this year. But at least the books you are reading are generating lively discussions in your challenge thread!

>25 rabbitprincess: Thank you, I did :) I went with my family to Prince Edward Island, did the obligatory Anne of Green Gables tour, ate a lot of seafood, spent hours exploring the tide pools with the niece and nephew, and read a few books.

>26 -Eva-: Thanks! I am happy to see you've found the new thread!

28ELiz_M
Redigerat: jul 23, 2014, 9:07 am

(07/01/14) Category: Thaïs - books by "non-Western" authors



Disappearance by David Dabydeen, pub. 1993

This novel has an intriguing premise -- a young Guyanese engineer is drafted by his former mentor to come to England and work on a containing wall in Kent. He is advised to board with Mrs. Rutherford, as she is the one person in the village that is interested in strangers.

There are many compelling elements to the novel the narrator's memories of his Caribbean childhood, Mrs. Rutherford's stories of her difficult marriage, time spent in Africa, the hypocrisy of the British are fascinating. But the novel seems constructed badly-- over and over the narrator reflects on the question (also the first line of the novel) "Why did I become an Engineer?" and yet we learn next to nothing about his work in England or interactions with anyone besides Mrs. Rutherford. Somehow the novel sets up expectations of what it is going to be about that are completely different than what it really is about, and so the story doesn't seem to make sense

29ELiz_M
Redigerat: jul 23, 2014, 9:08 am

(07/04/14) Category: Thaïs - books by "non-Western" authors



Small Remedies by Shashi Deshpande, pub. 2000

The central story belongs to Madhu. She ostensibly has traveled to Bhavanipur to write the biography of Savitribai Indorekar, an elderly, renowned singer. But journey and the work have been given to her by friends/family as a means to lift her out of a deep grief. Madhu has faint connections to Savitribai - a neighbor for a short time in Madhu's childhood- and to the family with which she stays - the husband is a distant relation to her Aunt/foster mother Leela. And it is through the interviews of Savitribai and the conversations with her host family that Madhu unwillingly remembers events from her past that have lead to her current existence.

This is a quiet novel that needs careful reading. The reader is thrown into the middle of the story -- Madhu waking up in Bhavanipur without the context of where she is and why. As the narrative is told from Madhu's perspective, it slips fluidly from present to past and not always with an indication of "when" Madhu is. Memories are presented out of order and characters sometimes out of context and it was not always clear to me how people were inter-related. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful unfolding and rich story. I would have enjoyed it much more if I had read with more attention -- keeping a character list and investigating the offhand mentions of unfamiliar Indian customs/holidays.

30ELiz_M
Redigerat: jul 26, 2014, 6:53 am

(07/04/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century.



A Vine in the Blood by Leighton Gage, pub. 2011

The was a decent plane-book. It is set in Brazil in the weeks before the world cup. Someone has kidnapped the star soccer player's mom and is holding her for ransom. There is the usual older, grumpy policeman that is more interested in solving the case than following his superior's orders. There is the usual cast of suspects. There are the usual leads/investigations that go no where. There is the most unusual (and eye-rolling-inducing) delivery method of ransom money ever. But somehow, the plot lacked tension; there was no sense of urgency. Even more disappointing, there was no sense of place. Other than some entertaining observations of Argentine soccer fans, this book could have been set anywhere.

31ELiz_M
Redigerat: jul 23, 2014, 9:09 am

(07/08/14) Category: Un ballo in maschera -- 1001 list books that have been banned



Waterland by Graham Swift, pub. 1983

I should have loved this novel with the multi-layered story lines -- Tom Crick's predicament in the present tense with his wife's instability, the classroom battle with a precocious student, memories from Crick's childhood, and the pieces of historical essays he researches. Unfortunately, I felt put off by it, never connected to anything and couldn't really focus on it. Not a good beach-vacation read.

32ELiz_M
Redigerat: jul 23, 2014, 9:12 am

(07/10/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century



Mother's Milk by Edward St. Aubyn, pub. 2005

Although the fourth book in the five-part Melrose novels, Mother's Milk can be read as a stand-alone novel. It takes place over four successive Augusts during the family's vacation and each section is narrated by a different character -- Patrick's fiver-year-old son, Robert; Patrick; Patrick's wife, Mary; and finally a third-person narrator.

The too-precocious Robert was a delightful narrator and draws the reader in immediately; I was a bit disappointed when Patrick's narration began. I did enjoy Patrick's thoughts on the dilemma of how not to impose his upbringing and faults on his children. Mary's sardonic comments on Patrick's parenting (You've had the children for five minutes? yes, I can see how you must be exhausted and must allowed to rest without disturbance) made me laugh on occasion.

It is an enjoyable novel and some of the portrayals of various targets of satire were highly entertaining. I also assume it is a sign of good writing when I become involved enough with the story that I want to reach into the pages of the novel and give people a good hard shake.

33ELiz_M
Redigerat: aug 2, 2014, 7:35 am

(07/10/14) Category: Armida -- books written by women



Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor, pub. 1976

Amy and Nick meet Martha while traveling around the Mediterranean, as the few English speaking members of the group they become circumstantial friends. When Nick dies on-board, Martha, spur of the moment, abandons her trip to assist the bereft Amy.

Under normal circumstances Amy and Martha would never have been friends -- Martha an effusive, young, poor American novelist and Amy and older, reserved British wife. Amy doesn't like Martha, but owes her a debt of gratitude and cannot refuse Martha's overtures of friendship. Amy tries to behave as politeness and decency demand, but it's possible her reluctant efforts cause Martha more harm than good.

Taylor's portrait of Amy is brilliant, showing both her peevishness and kind-hearted intentions. It is a touching portrayal. But the novel's "moral" did not quite hit the mark.

34ELiz_M
Redigerat: aug 2, 2014, 7:36 am

(07/10/14) Category: Don Giovanni -- miscellaneous books that do not fit my 14 categories



The Invention of Curried Sausage by Uwe Timm, pub. 1993

The frame story has the narrator tracking down a woman he remembers from his childhood in Hamburg, because he believes she created Curried Sausage and was the first to sell it as street food and he is curious how the dish came about. Lena Bruckner, now an elderly woman in a nursing home, tells the narrator the long complicated story over a several visits.

In 1945 Hamburg, Germany, Lena Bruckner was a clever woman, able to concoct both opportunities and delightful dishes out of limited resources. A chance encounter leads to a month-long romance between herself and a deserting navel officer. The dissolution of the war, and their relationship, leads to a series of events and complicated negotiations that lead to, finally, the accidental creation of curried sausage.

It is a charming novella. I enjoyed the matter-of-fact presentation of post-war germany, which I know little about. But I suspect the story has more depth and meaning to someone with the cultural background only lightly touched upon here.

35ELiz_M
jul 16, 2014, 4:53 pm

And I bought some more books....

. . . .

Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse
The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
La Bête Humaine by Émile Zola
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

36lkernagh
jul 16, 2014, 9:39 pm

You bought Lonesome Dove! You bought Lonesome Dove! YAY!

.... really, I think all of your purchases are great. Not trying to single a book out or anything.... ;-)

37rabbitprincess
jul 16, 2014, 9:52 pm

>36 lkernagh: Hee hee, that was my reaction too! :)

38ELiz_M
Redigerat: jul 17, 2014, 7:22 am

>36 lkernagh:, >37 rabbitprincess: ~laugh~ I was almost as excited as you two when I found it. I rarely buy new books and have been waiting for over a year for this one to show up at the used bookstore!

39ELiz_M
Redigerat: aug 3, 2014, 8:24 am

(07/19/14) Category: Parsifal -- books of more than 500 pages



The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo, pub. 2000, narrated by Robin Sachs

The Redbreast was too complicated for me in audio. I am terrible with names, especially when the name is one I've never heard before; I need to "see" it in order to remember it. So, in the WWII storyline, where the characters were less developed, I could not connect the names to the actions. This really impeded my ability to understand the contemporary mystery.

Even so, I think it was a better than average mystery novel. Harry is more than an older grumpy alcoholic police officer and I enjoyed his interactions with his young partner, Ellen. It's nice to see a police procedural have a female character as a respected colleague. (Or maybe it's the norm these days -- I've been reading Chandler/Hammett). But I almost threw in the towel when Ellen was murdered.

The best part of the novel, of course, was learning a little bit about Norway's history and society. If I ever knew anything about Norway's occupation in WWII, it had been forgotten long long ago.

40ELiz_M
aug 2, 2014, 7:48 am

And now I'm only two reviews behind. Luckily I am reading two long books, so I might even get caught up this week!

41-Eva-
Redigerat: aug 2, 2014, 10:55 pm

>39 ELiz_M:
RE: Spoiler: That was terrible, wasn't it. It was, however, the point where I really decided that I Nesbø is one of my favorite mystery writers, because if he doesn't shy away from killing main characters, I have to be on my toes at all times and I quite enjoy that. :)

ETA: Just a heads-up that this one and the next two novels in the series is part of a trilogy-within-the-series.

42ELiz_M
Redigerat: aug 3, 2014, 10:20 am

>41 -Eva-: RE: Spoiler - that makes sense. And I think someone else on LT mentioned the trilogy-within-the-series aspect. It's why I decided to start with The Redbreast when it became obvious I wasn't going to get The Bat from the library anytime soon!

43ELiz_M
aug 3, 2014, 10:28 am

(07/23/14) Category: Un ballo in maschera -- 1001 list books that have been banned



The book is titled after the structural concept -- the novel is comprised of a series of short, interconnected episodes. There are more than 300 characters some of which appear only once, some of which reappear again and again, with the pattern of their actions and interactions creating a picture of a whole society.

At first I really loved this unusual novel. I loved seeing the same scene from so many different perspectives and seeing a major character in one episode reappearing as an extra in another. And once I realized the structure, I was tempted to go back and chart the characters - who was related to whom. But it quickly became overwhelming and, after a couple hundred pages, tedious. Although some characters show up repeatedly, the entire story seems to take place in a short period of time, so there was no character development, no plot.

I would love to see this as a film, however. I think good actors could convey character and provide an emotional connection in a two minute scene. And a good director could tie all these moments together visually into a coherent whole in a way that even the best author cannot do with words alone.

44ELiz_M
Redigerat: aug 3, 2014, 12:15 pm

(07/30/14) Category: Les Contes d'Hoffmann -- short story collections and novellas



Tenth of December by George Saunders, pub. 2013, narrated by George Saunders

Listening to an audiobook of short stories is a different experience than an audiobook of a novel. When i get a rhythm right, it may be an even better way to experience them. However, I wish the audio format would build in a 30 second pause between the stories. Just a brief moment to clear the mental palette. Or I should not plan on listening to more than a few in a row.

Table of Contents:
"Victory Lap"
"Sticks"
"Puppy"
"Escape from Spiderhead"
"Exhortation"
"Al Roosten"
"The Semplica Girl Diaries"
"Home"
"My Chivalric Fiasco"
"Tenth of December"

Many of the stories take place in a vaguely dystopian place -- close to current world, but not quite -- "Escape from Spiderhead", "The Semplica Girl Diaries", and "My Chivalric Fiasco". The first was mostly fascinating but I wish it had not had the coda-like ending. The second was interesting, but hard to follow via audio. The narrator is writing in a diary in a shorthand that sounds as if English was not his first language: "Oops. Missed a day. Things hectic. Will summarize yesterday. Yesterday a bit rough." Also, the concept of Semplica Girls was introduced as a part of life that the reader should know about and in audio, I was much slower to catch on to it.

Many stories involve fantastical inner landscapes, such as "Victory Lap", "Al Roosten", and "Tenth of December". I loved the first one. It was highly entertaining to be inside young Alison's head as she imagined being princess entering a ball interspersed with balletic terms. And the switch to Kyle's what-if scenarios and his strict parents was equally fascinating. And then to have this rich inner life embedded in a frightening real-life episode was astounding. I think the final story is much better than i remember it being -- I was getting short-story fatigued by the time I listened to it.

I have little memory of "Sticks", "Exhortation", or "Home". They were fine. But the story I loved the most, the story that bumps the rating for the collection by an entire star, was "Puppy". It is told from the perspective of two different Mothers -- Marie, a middle-income mom with a couple of young kids and a household full of pets, is on hey way to purchase a puppy from Callie, a lower-income mom whose son has some sort of mental disability. Both women are doing their best to be good parents and raise happy, healthy children. But their very different thoughts and reactions to Callie's son, Bo, was a heart-breaking demonstration of how difficult it can be to understand each other.

45ELiz_M
aug 3, 2014, 12:29 pm

And once again, we have come to the monthly (semi-monthly?) book-buying post:

. . .

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys
Wit by Margaret Edson

46lkernagh
aug 3, 2014, 3:03 pm

Good to know about your reading listening experience of short stories. I am hoping to dip into an audiobook of short stories and I think your recommendation to maybe take a break between stories is a good idea.

Love the book purchases! I went out shopping for some kitchen supplies this morning - I was looking for a non stick mat that I can roll dough on - and managed to come home with 5 books in the process, along with the non stick mat. ;-)

47aliciamay
aug 5, 2014, 2:14 pm

>39 ELiz_M: I found the WWII section tough going too, and it didn't help that I think Nesbo kept the characters intentionally vague to keep you guessing who was who in the contemporary section.

And nice overview of your reading experience of Tenth of December. I thought the whole collection was pretty strong, but you are right about Puppy.

48ELiz_M
aug 16, 2014, 8:50 am

>46 lkernagh: Nothing wrong with that! It would have a problem if the books were bought INSTEAD of the mat (as books are not an ideal surface for dough).

>47 aliciamay: Ah, good to know I wasn't the only lost person! Eventually I'll give the next book a go.

49ELiz_M
Redigerat: aug 24, 2014, 7:56 am

(08/09/14) Category: Parsifal -- books of more than 500 pages



The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, pub. 2013

I can't add much to the many, many Goldfinch reviews. I didn't love it. The beginning is fantastic; Tartt deftly manipulated me into the narrator's corner quickly and completely. I didn't find the Las Vegas section to be boring but the return to NYC was tedious and more of the same. The Amsterdam section was as engrossing and action oriented as the beginning. And then post-Amsterdam "epilogue' was so boring that I had to force myself to skim the last twenty pages.

The fundamental problem I had with the book is I kept wondering "what is wrong with this kid, can't he figure out how to anonymously mail a package?" Other than the fact that he needed to keep the object for the next 2/3 of the novel to exist.... Well, I just didn't think his actions were believable.

50ELiz_M
Redigerat: aug 16, 2014, 9:15 am

(08/10/14) Category: Armida -- books written by women



A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, pub. 2013, narrated by Mia Barron

It is at first is lovely and interesting. The narrator, Tassie, seems like a real, fully realized character and I was amused by her roommate Murph. The family she babysits for, Sara and whats-his-name, are slightly less-realistically offbeat. But I was expecting some of the more obvious themes to be more developed -- the race issues surrounding Mary Emma, for example. And then that section ends and during Tassie's summer break her brother dies in Irag(?) and she, unobserved, CLIMBS INTO HIS COFFIN AFTER THE FUNERAL. Wait, what? In what world is a casket A) unlocked when the body of the deceased is in pieces and B) left completely unattended between the church service and the drive to the cemetery. All the world building shattered for me with that episode and I couldn't bring myself to like the book as a whole.

51ELiz_M
Redigerat: sep 7, 2014, 8:47 am

(08/14/2014) Category: Parsifal -- books of more than 500 pages



Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, pub. 1957

The edition I read proclaimed this novel to be "the greatest love story ever told!". It is not. And the expectation of such was a disservice to the novel.

For me, the novel was a fascinating glimpse of a period in Russian history I know very little about. I enjoyed the depiction of the monotonous efforts to go on living in the midst of historically significant times and the journey to the Urals was beautifully described. In contrast, the love-story was underplayed. In fact, even 2/3 of the way into the novel, I wasn't sure if the great love interest was Tonya or Lara, as Zhivago clearly, compellingly loved both. Someone smarter than I said the true love story is Zhivago's love for Russia.

52ELiz_M
Redigerat: sep 7, 2014, 8:46 am

(08/22/14) Category: Don Giovanni -- miscellaneous books that do not fit my 14 categories



On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleža, pub. 1938

The premise of this novel is a good one. One day at a dinner party, an unremarkable middle-class lawyer accidentally lets slip an honest opinion during a pause in conversation. The host, a powerful business magnet, is (understandably) insulted by the remark and demands an apology. Resulting from the narrator's refusal to bow to society's conventions of politeness and falseness is an increasingly harsh cascade of punishments and retributions.

However, this is an intellectual novel, a philosophical novel, and is told with little emotion or empathy. Perhaps the dissonance between the narrator's logic and his actions was supposed to be instructive, but it mostly left me perplexed. The ideas are engaging, but I don't think I fully understood them.

53ELiz_M
sep 7, 2014, 8:46 am

(08/29/14) Category: Thaïs - books by "non-Western" authors



Tent of Miracles by Jorge Amado, pub. 1969

The novel moves between two time frames -- present day (late-1960s) and the lifetime of the main character, Pedro Archanjo 1868-1940ish. The present day story (and the delve into the past) is initiated by the arrival in Brazil of a Nobel Laureate who praises the writings of Pedro Archanjo. The media, taken by surprise, scrambles to unearth the story behind this unknown Brazilian writer. What they quickly discover is a complex individual. Pedro was a poor, self-taught anthropologist. He was also a poet, Carnival King, black rights activist, Candomblé worshiper, and womanizer. The satire derives from the contrast of the portrayal of Pedro by the media in his centennial year with the story of his life.

It is an interesting work and I enjoyed being immersed in a culture I know nothing about, but I never really felt invested in the story. There didn't seem to be a cohesive arc, just a meander through the life of an unusual character.

54ELiz_M
sep 7, 2014, 8:51 am

(09/01/14) Category: The Nose - post-modern books



The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector, pub. 1964

Clarice Lispector is a genius. And she thinks very differently than I do. This novella may be one of the most difficult books I have read. It is deeply philosophical - as it describes an existential/almost religious crisis. And it is repulsive as so much of the crisis revolves around a crushed cockroach. Then there is the usual syntax as the narrator tries to reconstruct herself with language, changing tenses mid-sentence and placing words not quite in the expected order. And then, every once in a while she says something I would have thought was inexpressible perfectly.

It is simply brilliant.

55ELiz_M
sep 7, 2014, 8:57 am

(09/05/14) Category: Les Contes d'Hoffmann -- short story collections and novellas



Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel, pub. 1985

I made the mistake of reading this collection in a hurry (library book was due) and after reading some of Flannery O'Connor's work. I think under different circumstances, I might have found the work more enjoyable/thoughtful. But I found them rather flat. The main event on which the stories focus (mostly tragedies) is generally not mentioned, only hinted at obliquely. Instead of finding this intriguing, I was irritated. For example, in "Nashville Gone to Ashes" I couldn't figure out if the husband's disappearance was due to being jilted or death and if the narrator was acting out of spite or grief. Maybe that was the point. But since I didn't understand the situation, I couldn't focus on the minutia described.

However, the collection I read also included her later work and I read a couple of stories. She improved greatly, in my opinion, finding a better balance of how much story could be left out without baffling the reader.

56ELiz_M
sep 7, 2014, 9:02 am

Only 22 books to go to complete my challenge, which is doable. But 21 of them should be books I owned prior to 2014 and I need to stop going to book sales to achieve my other goals. That is a lot less likely to happen :/

57christina_reads
sep 7, 2014, 2:07 pm

Ah, book sales, always ruining my best-laid plans! But I'm really looking forward to my library's big sale next month!

58paruline
sep 9, 2014, 6:22 pm

Tought of you today, since me and my husband had tickets to go see La Tosca at the National Arts Centre. We had a great time!

59ELiz_M
sep 9, 2014, 7:49 pm

>57 christina_reads: If I were more realistic I would never have pretended I was going to read more books than I buy.... I can't resist my favorite used book store's monthly sales. And the library is also going to have a sale in October.

60ELiz_M
sep 9, 2014, 7:51 pm

>58 paruline: Tosca is a fantastic opera! One of the very few, strong, admirable female roles (even if she does come to an unfortunate end -- at least she chose it after killing the bad guy.

61ELiz_M
Redigerat: sep 13, 2014, 8:09 am

(09/07/14) Category: Manon -- 1001 list books published 1870-1914



Down There by Joris-Karl Huysmans, pub. 1891

I was hoping this would be a creepy get-ready-for-Autumn read, but it wasn't. The story is about an author that is writing a biography of Gilles de Rais, a notorious satanist. And while horrible events are described, they are told at a distance as the narrator discusses them with a friend and with very little suspense - its more of a factual retelling. So there's a much bigger "eeew" factor than "eeep" factor.

For some reason, I had it stuck in my head that this was a Faustian story and I kept waiting for a particular turn of events to happen (they never did). So in a way I wasn't reading this book at all. Finally, I could only find this work online in a free translation, which I think was too stiff and impeded the story.

62ELiz_M
sep 13, 2014, 8:33 am

(09/09/14) Category: Der Ring des Nibelungen -- award-winning 1001 list books



Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard, pub. 1984

It is a fascinating, horrifying story of Jim's incarceration in a Japanese concentration camp in Shanghai during WWII. In the chaos of the fall of Shanghai, Jim is separated from him parents and, at first, manages to fend for himself but eventually is reduced to a state of desperation that leads him to force the Japanese soldiers to capture him. He spends the rest of the war in various concentration camps in/near Shanghai.

Jim is obviously a very intelligent young boy with a restless, untameable energy and curiosity. His efforts to survive, to get enough eat, slowly warp any social morals he might have once had leaving a curious blend of purely selfish acts and seemingly altruistic acts that stem from knowing that many of the adults around him had to survive if he was to survive.

Not only is the plot compelling, but there is also a wonderful double-lens -- seeing the world from Jim's perspective, but also occasionally seeing how the world, the adults around him, see Jim.

63ELiz_M
sep 13, 2014, 5:10 pm

And now that i am caught up, it's time for another books-acquired post.

. . . . .

. . . . . .

Spring Torrents by Ivan Turgenev
Pierre and Jean by Guy de Maupassant
A Woman's Life by Guy de Maupassant
I'm Not Stiller by Max Frisch
Back by Henry Green
A World for Julius by Alfredo Bryce Echenique
The Path to the Spiders' Nests by Italo Calvino
A Meaningful Life by L. J. Davis
Jennifer Government by Max Barry
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
The Enchantment of Lily Dahl by Siri Hustvedt

64ELiz_M
Redigerat: sep 13, 2014, 5:18 pm

And, my best find is a gorgeous edition of Macbeth by William Shakespeare:

.

.

http://literaryinklings.com/2012/08/art-meets-literature-in-sterling-epicures-si...

65-Eva-
Redigerat: sep 13, 2014, 5:21 pm

>62 ELiz_M:
I remember seeing that film (some 20+ years ago...) and it was very powerful, so the book has been on my "potentials" lists since then. Nudging it upwards in the queue. :)

66-Eva-
sep 13, 2014, 5:22 pm

>64 ELiz_M:
That's beautiful!!

67rabbitprincess
sep 13, 2014, 6:32 pm

Gasp! Love that edition of Macbeth!

68MissWatson
sep 14, 2014, 7:35 am

I agree, that Macbeth edition is gorgeous.

69ELiz_M
sep 14, 2014, 8:13 am

>65 -Eva-: I should track down a copy. I thought I had seen the movie but after reading the book I am not so sure. I might be confusing it with The Last Emperor....

>66 -Eva-:, >67 rabbitprincess:, >68 MissWatson: Isn't it, though! I don't understand how someone can bear to part with it and sell it as a used book! Sadly, the publisher only issued four plays in the first run and they did not sell well enough to justify making the other plays :(

70ELiz_M
sep 14, 2014, 8:37 am

I tweaked my statistics in the top post. I decided to only "count" books purchased if they were TBR-books. I have purchased several books that were nicer editions of books I already owned and a several books/plays that I had read in the past & enjoyed and wanted to own.

Since so many of my books fit two or more categories I am sorely tempted to rearrange my challenge into a step challenge of 105 books.... It's sort of an analytical puzzle that is nagging me to solve it. This may happen in December when I realize I really don't want to read 3-4 books published prior to 1800.

71-Eva-
sep 14, 2014, 5:19 pm

>69 ELiz_M:
Those two films are very different, so a look at a preview of both should tell you which one you've seen. I've now put both of those on my To Rewatch list. :)

72ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 2, 2014, 7:53 am

(09/13/14) Category: Manon -- 1001 list books published 1870-1914



Germinal by Émile Zola, pub. 1885

Germinal is one of the best, most griping novels I have read this year. It is brilliantly constructed -- the protagonist, a poor unemployed young man with a bit of a temper shows up at a mining down, desperate for food and a little money. As an outsider, Zola uses his reaction to the conditions of the mine and the town to demonstrate both the awful reality and the horrifying acceptance of the reality by the third and fourth generation miners. And Etienne's slow transformation into communism and strike leader is the perfect arc to involve the naive reader, without requiring excessive back-story or long diatribes. The different attitudes and philosophies are demonstrated quite naturally by different characters in pub debates and private conversations. Finally, the long struggle is masterfully paced, with many little climaxes for each phase of the struggle, each building to the finale. It is so perfectly suited for a television series that I am shocked it has not been done more recently than 1970.

73ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 4, 2014, 8:18 am

(09/17/14) Category: Der Ring des Nibelungen -- award-winning 1001 list books



Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson, pub. 1927

Tarka the Otter is a difficult book to classify. It is the story of two years or so of life in England as seen through the eyes of an otter. So, it could be fiction. Yet, the author made a conscious effort to not anthropomorphize Tarka, to not endow him with human thoughts and qualities. It is not until more than half-way through the book, as Tarka matures, that any other creatures are named. Rather than focusing on creatures and the humans that disrupt their world, the book is mainly descriptive of his actions and the world around him. So, it could be non-fiction. Whatever its genre, it is a charming and possibly heart-breaking, quick read with beautiful descriptions of a disappearing English countryside.

74ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 2, 2014, 7:55 am

(09/22/14) Category: Hansel and Gretel -- 1001 books commonly recommended for High School students



Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, pub. 1895

I should not have read this book so close on the heels of Germinal. I just could not appreciate what Hardy may have been attempting, as his characters and plotting paled in comparison. The portrayal of Arabella was maddening. It completely lacked nuance and was such a chauvinistic male portrayal of a conniving witch. And then there was poor confused Sue, seen only through Jude's eyes for the first several hundred pages, she was never more than a will-o'-the-wisp. Her personality flickered on and off, her thoughts flitting from one idea and than to its opposite, always in the distance, never quite real. The tragic event was shocking and unexpected, like they are in life, but the overall tragedy wasn't tragic. There was no hope for averting a bad outcome because the characters didn't have enough character to act any other way.

75ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 4, 2014, 8:28 am

(09/24/14) Category: Parsifal -- books of more than 500 pages



The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, pub. 2010, 571 pages, narrated by Stephen Hoye

I tried to listen to this as an audiobook, which may not have been a good choice. I think I listened to the whole thing, but I didn't retain much. Subtitled "A Biography of Cancer", I was hoping to be more interested than I was. While the personal stories of the various doctors/scientists/philanthropists were well-told, there was too much technical information and not enough of a story arc for this to work for me as an audiobook. On the other hand, since I rarely read any non-fiction, I should add a star just because it was good enough that I finished reading it.

76ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 5, 2014, 7:20 am

(09/25/14) Category: Un ballo in maschera -- 1001 list books that have been banned



Paradise of the Blind by Dương Thu Hương

Since most of what I know of Vietnam is derived form movies and novels focused on the war, it was a pleasant surprise that this little novel didn't touch upon it at all. Rather, it focused on personal, familial conflict exacerbated by the shifts in power and society constructs as Communism solidifies its grip on the country. Given the events in the story, I should have been much more emotionally involved. But the story is framed by the narrator's train journey to see her uncle and the bulk of the story is told as drowsy, incomplete memories. The narrator, Hang, did not seem emotionally involved in her own story, telling it at a distance that made empathy difficult. The most compelling parts of the book were the descriptions of the various feasts and meals.

77ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 21, 2014, 10:05 pm

(09/28/14) Category: Hansel and Gretel -- books commonly recommended for High School students



An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen

I love Ibsen for his dense dramatic works with dialogue that has both a surface meaning and a subtext. And the subtlety with which "scandalous" material is handled. This play is much more overt. Written as a reaction to the negative reception of his brilliant Ghosts, An Enemy of the People depicts how a respectable man can be ruined by the powers-that-be. Even though the characters seem to be closer to caricatures, the first few acts are quite well done. I loved how the antagonist, Peter, manipulates the very people that swore to support the protagonist; it felt very real. And, at first, I admired how Thomas refused to back down. But in an effort underscore the "moral", Ibsen gives Thomas actions and speeches that are beyond reason and the play loses the previous tight focus. (And it is at this point in the play where recent productions have gotten creative and eschewed the script). So, unfortunately, I have to conclude that this is not one of Ibsen's best plays.


78ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 4, 2014, 9:32 am

(09/29/14) Category: Iphigénie en Tauride -- 1001 books published prior to the 1800s



Monkey: Journey to the West by Wu Ch'eng-en

First i should thank puckers for the advice on which version to read. I had been eying the Waley abridgement for a while and then found it on sale a few months back.

The abridgement is good fun. I can only describe it as China's 16th century looney-tunes. All the stories have the same pattern as they center around a mischievous, ill-mannered creature that outsmarts everyone. And, of course, there is some silly violence. I was fascinated by how irreverent the novel can be--as an allegory for spiritual enlightenment it does not seem to take religion very seriously. Monkey's actions and desire for enlightenment seem selfish, more of a desire to be superior to others than a desire to be better person. So, while I can see how more episodes of the same could be rather tedious, I am not sure this abridgement does the full story justice. I seems to convey more of the satire and absurdity than the spiritual journey.

79ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 2, 2014, 11:05 pm

Gah! I'm so behind in reviews. But I want to post 3rd quarter statistics, so placeholders it is!

Third Quarter Summary:

Books read: 27
Books bought: 29
Pages read this quarter: 8761
Average pages per book: 324.5

Category Challenge:
92 of 105 (98 category books, up to 7 miscellaneous) read - 87.6% done
7 of 14 categories completed - 50% done

Category Totals to Date:
The First Emperor - books published in the 21st Century: 7/7
Hansel and Gretel - books commonly recommended for High School students: 5/7
Iphigénie en Tauride - 1001 books published prior to the 1800s: 4/7
La Fille du Régiment - "comic novels" from the 1001 List: 4/7
La Damnation de Faust - 1001 list books with very few reviews: 7/7
Thaïs - books by "non-Western" authors: 8/7
Les Contes d'Hoffmann - short story collections and novellas: 6/7
Armida - books written by women: 7/7
The Nose - post-modern books: 7/7
Le Comte Ory - LGBT books: 5/7
Der Ring des Nibelungen - award-winning 1001 list books: 8/7
Manon - books published 1870-1914: 6/7
Un ballo in maschera - banned books: 6/7
Parsifal - books of more than 500 pages: 7/7

Don Giovanni - miscellaneous books: 5

14 books to go! If I buckle down, I could be done by the end of November.

Best Books: The Passion According to G.H., Germinal, The Recognitions, Money, Empire of the Sun, The Golem and the Jinni, Tenth of December

80japaul22
okt 2, 2014, 9:09 am

I also LOVED Germinal when I read it last year. What a memorable book!

81lkernagh
okt 2, 2014, 3:44 pm

Great review of Germinal! you have convinced me to add that one to the future reading list.

82electrice
okt 2, 2014, 4:46 pm

>72 ELiz_M: There's a TV series of Germinal ? The only adaptation that I've seen is a 20 years old movie with Gérard Depardieu. I was in junior high school and was so traumatized by one scene that I've sworn off this book and Zola, well for 20 years now ...

83ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 5, 2014, 7:19 am

>80 japaul22: Quite!

>81 lkernagh: Oh do! But I cannot stress enough the necessity of a modren (post-1950s) translation. The penguin edition (translated by Roger Pearson) was fantastic.

>82 electrice: BBC apparently did a TV miniseries in 1970 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358830/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4). I have no idea if it's any good. I can see how this story could be traumatizing. Perhaps the book would be less so as there is less emotional manipulation than seeing people in the flesh and soundtracks and whatnot....?

84ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 11, 2014, 6:52 pm

(10/1/14) Category: Armida -- books written by women



Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys, pub. 1939

I enjoyed this novel much more than her Wide Sargasso Sea. Set in Paris many years after WWI, the novel describes the unhappy existence of a no-longer-young woman that is struggling to find meaning in her life and her place in the world. I enjoy her writing and the occasional turn of phrase that so exactly captures an experience that I've had. But, the non-linearity is harder to follow than it should be. The narrator remembers a painful event, but shies away from from it, which leaves the reader unsure of what happened.

85ELiz_M
okt 11, 2014, 7:13 pm

(10/3/14) Category: La Damnation de Faust -- 1001 list books with less than 11 reviews as of Jan. 1, 2014



Cause for Alarm by Eric Ambler, pub. 1938

Eric Ambler apparently set out to reinvent the British thriller. His first novel was a parody of present day political thrillers, as most were full of unconvincing villains defeated by extremely stupid heroes. Cause for Alarm is perhaps the best known of his thrillers. Nicky Marlowe, an out-of-work engineer, reluctantly accepts a job as a representative in Italy for a manufacturer that produces machines that make artillery shells. Unbeknownst to Marlowe, his predecessor met an untimely death as a result of his, shall we say, political activities. It is not long before Marlowe, who in his role as an engineer and representative has access to many of Italy's factories, unwittingly is caught in a web of spies and counterspies.

After a slow start in getting all the pieces in place, the final half of the book is rather gripping, with the final third devoted to a chase sequence across Northern Italy. It kept me up well past bedtime to get to the. It was also an interesting glimpse at pre-war Italy. While a fun read, I think I prefer my political thrillers as movies.

86ELiz_M
Redigerat: okt 11, 2014, 7:20 pm

(10/04/14) Category: Les Contes d'Hoffmann -- short story collections and novellas



They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy, pub. 1935

For some reason I have been attracted to this novella's title, reading it in a plaintive voice, as that of a young girl. So the story itself was unexpected. It is set in Depression-era L.A. Two wannabe actors meet by chance and the woman convinces the man to be her partner in a dance marathon. It is a (to me) preposterous situation, but all the same quite fascinating. The world is narrowed to this one room and interactions are influenced by the bizarre contest rules. The depiction of the stress of the contest and the abnormality that results from attempting to stay in motion continuously for 50 minutes of every hour with only brief breaks for meals, and sleep only gotten in 5-10 minute snatches, is utterly fascinating. The "events" that happen at the fringes, outside the marathon participants seemed a little forced and odd. There is one moment of beautiful writing -- the male narrator blissfully turning his face into the sun, that he only sees for a brief time every afternoon -- that will stay with me. By the end, I realized that the title should not sound plaintive at all, but rather matter-of-fact, with a hint of challenge.

87ELiz_M
okt 11, 2014, 7:24 pm

(10/05/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century.



Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey, pub. 2014, narrated by Dominic Hoffman

~review placeholder~

88ELiz_M
okt 11, 2014, 7:27 pm

(10/05/14) Category: Les Contes d'Hoffmann -- short story collections and novellas



Typical by Padgett Powell, pub. 1952

Powell's writing in these stories is unique - I have not read anything quite like it. They are so surreal, yet too realistic to be surreal and to absurd to be realistic. For some reason, I did not care for these stories. Perhaps one needs a particular appreciation of irony or the right sort of offbeat humor. Maybe one has to have spent time in the South to appreciate the language. Whatever it is, I don't have it. I found it a struggle to read more than a few pages at a time. It felt like the stories had been written over a period of years and that the writing style matured. And there is one short story, only three or four pages long, that I found absolutely brilliant: "Wait". I'm not even going to summarize it as I think it is best to read when wholly unprepared for it. The collection is worth dipping in and out of, if only for the unique style.

89ELiz_M
nov 1, 2014, 4:47 pm

(10/09/14) Category: Hansel and Gretel -- books commonly recommended for High School students



Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, pub. 1866

This was quite a fun, quick read. I wish I had an annotated edition that discussed the the theories of Verne's day and explained which, if any, geological bits he got right. Like most of Verne's work, the characterization is not well-done as the characters primarily were created to put forward scientific theories. In this novel, the narrator is a young man, who at first is a "voice of reason", explaining to his absent-minded professor uncle why the journey is impossible. The pair, when finally reaching Iceland and the beginning of the real journey are offset by their guide, a taciturn, miraculous man that is incapable of defeat or exhaustion. The first section of the book, the ones that seem most plausible today, were the most enjoyable. The initial descent and early exploration of the Earth's bowels reminded me faintly of Germinal>. But the last, completely outlandish section was harder to enjoy.

I have forgotten where and who mentioned this on LT, but it did take a while to track down a "correct" translation. Apparently, the most popular English version is abridged, with some sections re-written. It can be distinguished by the narrator's names -- if the story is told by Henry or Harry, run away; only Axel knows the true Journey.

90ELiz_M
nov 1, 2014, 5:02 pm

Once again, I am very far behind in posts. I love reading, but am not good with writing and reviewing.

I attended my library's book sale a few weeks ago and was sadly disappointed. First, it was raining and held indoors. Second, I just wasn't finding much I wanted to buy. I may have finally reached some invisible saturation point where I have reached a mental limitation (I found myself putting down several books thinking "why buy a popular unread novel that I can borrow from the library") as well as a material limitation, in that I have already purchased the easier-to-find books on my 1001-books wishlist and what is left are the more obscure and harder to find works.

So, these are the random three books that I did purchase:

. .

Marcel Proust by Edmund White
The Arabian Nights, an illustrated children's edition
Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz

91-Eva-
nov 1, 2014, 7:55 pm

>90 ELiz_M:
I do a library search before buying any physical books nowadays. I do have limited shelf-space, after all.

92rabbitprincess
nov 1, 2014, 11:24 pm

>89 ELiz_M: I didn't know there were rogue abridged versions of Journey to the Centre of the Earth narrated by Henry or Harry! Pretty sure my abridged version was narrated by Axel. It's a Puffin Classics edition and is the only version I've read.

>90 ELiz_M: Must be something in the air for book sales. I was at my hometown library yesterday and they have a little book sale in the main lobby -- but nothing really jumped out at me. I was kind of disappointed with myself! Well there were a few things that I could have bought, but I could also have borrowed them from the library where I live now.

93lkernagh
nov 2, 2014, 9:51 am

Like RP, I had no idea that there were abridged versions of the Verne classic out there! Good to know. ;-)

94ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 2, 2014, 8:52 pm

>92 rabbitprincess:, >93 lkernagh: Without LT, I would not have known it either! Now I must thank StevenTX for detailing which edition to read.

95christina_reads
nov 3, 2014, 2:21 pm

>94 ELiz_M: Ooh, thanks for that link to the Club Read thread about translations! It's always so hard for me to choose when I have to read a book in a foreign (to me) language!

96ELiz_M
nov 7, 2014, 11:34 am

(10/12/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century.



Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, read by Scott Brick

This book has two main story-lines -- a history of Mormonism and the "sensational" news story about the murder of a woman and her baby daughter by two of her brothers-in-law. The book opens with the murder case and then alternates between the history and the present-day story. It was a difficult structure to follow in audio, made even worse by the fact that when writing about Mormonism there is the inherent problem of so many characters having the same surname.... Since most of my conceptions about Mormonism are from Angels in America by Tony Kushner, I was interested in learning more about it. However, this may not be the best source. I think it focused far too much on the sensational stories and the extreme fringes. towards the end there seemed to be a fair number of digressions that as far as I could tell were only included because they were also examples of bad things Mormons have done.

97ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 8, 2014, 8:04 am

(10/13/14) Category: Don Giovanni -- miscellaneous books that do not fit my 14 categories



Death of an Englishman by Magdalen Nabb, pub. 1981

I read this the week I was taking a mind-numbing "professional development" class and needed a little brain-candy as a break from my classic door-stopper. It is a better than average mystery set in Florence. What I found to be the most interesting, and somewhat exceptional, is that the main character, the one that is the focus of the series, is barely present in the story. Marshal Guarnaccia shows up late at the crime scene, obviously suffering from the flu, and then more or less disappears from the narrative until the final pages when he recovers from his illness and with a few well-placed observations is able to wrap up the case.

98ELiz_M
nov 8, 2014, 8:12 am

(10/18/14) Category: La Fille du Régiment -- "comic novels" from the 1001 List



Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope, pub. 1869

While this novel is a wonderful example of Trollope's abilities and Phineas may be the epitome of Trollope's characters -- an agreeable, well-mannered man that dilly-dallies -- 700 pages is too long to spend with a single character. Certainly there are other individuals portrayed and a couple of other minor sub-plots, but even when we see the world through the eyes of other characters we are primarily seeing their reaction to, or thoughts about, Phineas. By the end I just couldn't bear to read about yet another woman he was "in love" with because, as far as I could tell, she happened to be the woman standing in front of him. On the other hand, the portrayal of England and the parliamentary politics was utterly fascinating. I still have no idea how it works, but I certainly enjoyed watching Phineas learn the system and become adept at maneuvering in it.

99ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 8, 2014, 8:17 am

And that, ladies and gentlemen, finishes my bingo card! (post 3)

I am now only 8 reviews behind and have just five books left to read to finish my challenge.

100rabbitprincess
nov 8, 2014, 8:22 am

Hurray completed bingo card! Enjoy the last few books of your challenge, too! :)

101ELiz_M
nov 8, 2014, 8:29 am

A week after the disappointing library book sale, I was walking past a little neighborhood garden and the organization that maintains it was holding an event to welcome nearby residents into the garden. The event? Free books!!! I was lucky enough to acquire:

. .

HHhH by Laurent Binet
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

I also picked up at the bookstore:

.

The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz
The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz-Bart

102lkernagh
nov 8, 2014, 11:35 am

Congratulations on completing your Bingo card!

103ELiz_M
Redigerat: nov 9, 2014, 7:56 am

>100 rabbitprincess:, >102 lkernagh: Thanks!

I actually thought I wasn't going to complete it -- I rarely read newly published books or contemporary series. However, the global mystery cat prompted me to wishlist a bunch of Soho Crime and Melville House International crime books and the audio book that first became available was published in 2014. And I didn't even know Phineas Finn was the second in a series until I posted it for another challenge!

104ELiz_M
dec 7, 2014, 8:34 am

(10/20/14) Category: Un ballo in maschera -- 1001 list books that have been banned



Man's Fate by Andre Malraux, pub. 1933

Set in 1927 Shanghai, this story of a failed communist revolution intertwines the stories of several different characters, each embodying a different approach to life and revolution. The opening scene is quite powerful and somewhat Poe-like. But, unfortunately, it set up expectations that the rest of the piece could not live up to.

105ELiz_M
dec 7, 2014, 8:47 am

(10/24/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century.



Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland, pub 2006

Another book from my "colorful crime" set (I really like Soho Crime's books!). Emily Tempest, a young woman of mixed ancestry, has returned to the remote Northern territory of Australia where she grew up after years of traveling the world, never finding a place in which she belonged. Shortly after her arrival, the tribe's leader and her friend is murdered. As a half-caste, Emily is uniquely situated for solving the murder -- she understands the aboriginal customs and superstitions about death, but also is not afraid of of breaking them.

A better than average mystery, I enjoyed Emily's efforts to both solve the murder and the struggle to make a life that maintains a foot in both worlds of her parentage. Also, the armchair trip to a part of the world I have never been was fascinating!

106-Eva-
dec 7, 2014, 9:05 pm

Soho Crime is such a great series - I don't think I've come across a dud from them. I thought I had Moonlight Downs already, but either I've somehow wiped it off my NOOK or it dropped off the wishlist by itself. Putting it on the wishlist again.

107ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 21, 2014, 2:54 pm

(10/25/14) Category: La Damnation de Faust -- 1001 list books with less than 11 reviews as of Jan. 1, 2014



The Forbidden Kingdom by by Jan Jacob Slauerhoff, pub. 1932

This was an odd, hallucinatory book. A disaffected man leaves Europe and his life behind, engaged as a wireless radio operator for a shipping company. On one of his voyages, he is shipwrecked off the coast of Macau. His life strangely parallels the life of the 15th Century Portuguese poet, Luís Vaz de Camões. The two story lines fade in and out of each other, often blurring the distinction between them.

108ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 23, 2014, 10:53 am

(10/26/14) Category: Armida -- books written by women



Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, pub. 1862, narrated by Juliette Stevenson

A fun, short audio book that is so full of twists and turns, I am not sure I can summarize it. There is Lady Audley, the beautiful young bride of the much-older Lord Audley. There is Lord Audley's nephew, Robert, a gentleman-barrister, Robert's school-fellow, George, lately returned from Australia seeking the wife and child he abandoned, and George's sweet sister, Clara. There is Lady Audley's maid, Phoebe, who mistakenly marries her beloved, ne'er-do-well cousin, Luke. Many of these characters have secrets or schemes and both knowingly and unknowingly work at cross-purposes of others. And yet, somehow, almost all is set right at the end.

109ELiz_M
dec 21, 2014, 3:37 pm

(10/27/14) Category: Hansel and Gretel -- books commonly recommended for High School students

.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, pub. 1959, narrated by Bernadette Dunne

I really enjoyed Bernadette Dunne's narration of the MaddAddam trilogy, so I sought out her other audiobooks. This one I saved for October/Halloween listening.

Shirley Jackson is a master of odd-ball characters, uncomfortable situations, and shorter works. This novella is no exception. Dr. Montague, seeking proof and personal experience to bolster his research on occult occurrences has found a genuine haunted house and recruited a handful of individuals that have a history with paranormal phenomena to assist him. The lovely Theodora, apparently with an above average ability to identify a card hidden from her view, the lonely, inept Eleanor, whose childhood home was visited by poltergeists, and the young, dastardly heir to the house, Luke. It doesn't take long after their arrival at Hill House for uneasiness to set in. Generally, the daytime is safe, but the escalating mysterious night-time episodes prey upon everyone's nerves and slowly paranoia takes hold....

I found the audiobook to be so well done and perfectly paced, that when done with Sunday chores I could not stop listening and was so creeped out by the story that I could not go to sleep and had to ferret out my paper copy and read until I got to a calm moment in the story.


110-Eva-
dec 21, 2014, 10:00 pm

I have one Shirley Jackson sitting on Mt. TBR, but I've been eyeing this one for a while so it's good to know that the audio is good.

111ELiz_M
dec 22, 2014, 10:48 am

>110 -Eva-: It is! Bernadette Dunne is quickly becoming a favorite narrator.

112ELiz_M
dec 22, 2014, 11:12 am

(10/29/14) Category: Le Comte Ory -- LGBT books from the 1001 list



Les Enfants Terribles by Jean Cocteau, pub. 1929

This novel centers on Elisabeth and Paul, siblings that by circumstances and design have isolated themselves from the world. Elisabeth, the older sibling, cares for their bediridden mother. One day, a classmate, with whom Paul is infatuated, hits the delicate Paul with a stone-embedded snowball. The injury sends Paul to his sickbed to also be cared for by Elisabeth. Gerard, another of Paul's former schoolmates, is fascinated by the siblings and while visiting Paul is soon drawn into their orbit. Lastly, there is the damaged, orphaned Agatha, befriended by Elisabeth and brought into the sibling's world due to her resemblance to the school-boy Paul adores. These four increasingly isolated and solely dependent on each other, spiral ever-deeper into their "game" with disastrous results.

It was not a pleasant read and very little in the character's circumstances or inner world was relatable to me. It may have been well-written, but I was too uninterested to notice.



113ELiz_M
dec 22, 2014, 12:20 pm

I'm now only 12 reviews behind. :(

And, chronologically I have come to November's book buys:

. . .

The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (to replace the disintegrating 1980s mass-market paperbooks)
These Dark Things by Jan Weiss (to add to the colorful crime collection)
The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan (in an effort to read more women-authored classics)
At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien (another for the 1001 to-read shelves)

114ELiz_M
dec 23, 2014, 10:49 am

(11/1/14) Category: La Fille du Régiment -- "comic novels" from the 1001 List



Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh, pub. 1928

Poor Paul Pennyfeather a student at Oxford is "sent down" when as a hapless victim of a prank, he inadvertently violates university rules. Forced to make his own way in the world, he lands a job at an obscure school in Wales. He soon becomes infatuated with the wealthy mother of one of the pupils and the precocious child attempts to arrange matters to his liking, but fate has a few more surprises in store....

All in all, it is a fun light-hearted lampooning of 1920s British society.

115ELiz_M
dec 23, 2014, 10:59 am

(11/6/14) Category: Armida -- books written by women



Darwin's Origin of the Species: A Biography by Janet Browne, pub. 2006

A fascinating, easily digested overview of Victorian culture and beliefs, Darwin's history, the discoveries and changes in knowledge that led to the formation of the theory of evolution, the coincidental formulation by Russell Wallace, publication, and it's impact on the generations that followed.

116ELiz_M
dec 23, 2014, 11:18 am

(11/10/14) Category: Parsifal -- books of more than 500 pages



Night Film by Marisha Pessl, pub. 2013, narrated by Jake Weber

Scott McGrath, a journalist that overstepped his bounds in a public medium and now disgraced barely earns a living, has a haunting encounter late one night. The next day, the mysterious woman, found dead in an abandoned warehouse, is revealed to be the daughter of Cordova, a reclusive horror-film director that was the cause of McGrath's downfall. Driven by past demons and present curiosity, McGrath, with the aid of to unlikely assistants pursues the story of her life, untimely death, and the truth of her father's career and character.

This was another spooky Halloween audiobook. At first it was quite a promising read. The mystery was engaging, characters interesting, and the audiobook seemed well-paced. I enjoyed the conceit, the cat-and-mouse game, and the descriptions left some beautiful mental images behind. But after a point, a few of the characters lost interest in the story and after more than 20 hours, so did I.

117lkernagh
dec 24, 2014, 6:53 pm

I have enjoyed reading your posted reviews over the year. Stopping by to wish you a Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2015!

118rabbitprincess
dec 24, 2014, 10:48 pm

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

119ELiz_M
dec 25, 2014, 8:41 am



Happy Holidays!

Hoping all your loved ones are happy and healthy and that they know what books to leave under the tree!

120ELiz_M
dec 27, 2014, 8:57 am

(11/16/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century.



The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura, pub. 2009, narrated by Charlie Thurston

The unnamed narrator has returned to Tokyo after a long absence. The skill of a pickpocket so deeply ingrained that sometimes he does not even remember stealing the wallets he finds in his coat pocket. He leads a mostly quiet life until one day he attempts to steal from the wrong person -- the person responsible for his fleeing Tokyo all those years ago....

This is a quick (only 4 hours!), suspenseful audiobook. Information about the past is slowly revealed as the narrator grapples with the present dilemma. However, the ending is rather ambiguous, so don't read it it if you like tidy endings!

121ELiz_M
dec 27, 2014, 9:07 am

(11/17/14) Category: La Fille du Régiment -- "comic novels" from the 1001 List



The Enormous Room by e. e. cummings, pub. 1922

An autobiographical novel, it details the author's time spent in a French prison during WWI. Using some of his trademark unusual syntax it could be lyrical at times. But overall, I was not amused by the sketches of daily life and the other prisoners.


122ELiz_M
dec 27, 2014, 9:22 am

(11/27/14) Category: Hansel and Gretel -- books commonly recommended for High School students



Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, pub. 1920

Carol, a recent college graduate is a dreamer. She wants to make the world a better, more beautiful place. Will, an older, small-town doctor, wins her over with his love of his small town, the people, and how Carol with her charm and culture would improve the town. Once married, Carol is confronted with the small town's conventionality and struggle to fit in and remain herself.

An extraordinarily written novel, it is like vanilla ice-cream -- it may be the most amazing vanilla ice cream I've ever had, but I prefer mocha-almond-fudge.

123ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 27, 2014, 9:33 am

My favorite bookstore had a Black Friday sale and happy hour. It is the only Thanksgiving weekend shopping I do. If I ever fnish the 1001-list, I am thinking of working my way through NYRB books (I like checking things off lists):

. . . .

And this one I found for free on a stoop:



(Only six reviews behind!)

124ELiz_M
dec 28, 2014, 1:26 pm

(12/05/14) Category: Le Comte Ory -- LGBT books from the 1001 list



Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen, pub. 1968

This is the fascinating, frustrating last novel published by Elizabeth Bowen. Eva is a woman that has had an unorthodox upbringing -- her father, a financial genius, carted her around the world on his business ventures leaving her to various nannies/hotel staff. Now an adult on the brink of inheriting a vast fortune, she is staying with a former teacher, one of the few people in her childhood that took an interest in her. But Eva, ignorant of social conventions, is a disruptive force -- everywhere setting unintended events in motion. Bowen masterfully uses language to create Eva and depict her world as unconventionally as the character herself. Nothing is said in a straightforward manner -- both the syntax and even the context remain elusive.

125ELiz_M
dec 28, 2014, 9:34 pm

(12/9/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century.



The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes, pub. 2008, narrated by Gildart Jackson

While I am not good at auditory comprehension, especially without a strong story arc and compelling plot, I found this audiobook fascinating. Holmes did a wonderful job bringing so many different scientific figures to life and connecting the different stories into a narrative of scientific advancement covering anthropology/biology (Joseph Banks), astronomy (William Herschel and his sister, Caroline), aeronautics (various balloonists), exploration (Mungo Park), chemistry (Humphry Davy), and with cameo appearances by several writers -- Mary Shelley, Byron, Keats, Coleridge, and so on. Fascinating!


126ELiz_M
dec 28, 2014, 9:58 pm

(12/14/14) Category: The First Emperor -- books published in the 21st Century.



Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, pub. 2002, narrated by Thor Knai

My second Harry Hole mystery (I do wonder if his Norwegian name is as....suggestive as the English version). Harry is in trouble again. While his girlfriend is in Russia fighting a custody battle, Harry responds to the siren call of an ex-girlfriend and wakes up the next day with a hangover and no memory of what happened. The Ex doesn't wake up at all -- an apparent suicide and Harry was possibly the last one to see her alive (except her murderer...?). Professionally, the police are coping with a series of expert bank robberies. Harry is brought onto the task force when one of the robberies includes a murder, but he soon convinces his superiors to allow him to run a "parallel investigation".

I found this one to be less confusing and less shocking than The Redbreast. The multi-layered stories were especially compelling and wonderfully clear in the audio format. The ex-girlfriend plot was deliciously complex. In comparison, the bank robberies plot was more convoluted and less convincing. Overall, a wonderful companion to a marathon Christmas cookie-baking weekend (one can only listen to Christmas carols for so long...).

127-Eva-
dec 29, 2014, 9:03 pm

>126 ELiz_M:
Haha, no his name isn't suggestive at all in Norwegian - it's the name of a town in Norway. :)

128PawsforThought
dec 29, 2014, 9:08 pm

>126 ELiz_M: & >127 -Eva-: Speaking of suggestive Norwegian town names, there's also the infamous town (or maybe it's more of a large village) called Hell. Which has nothing to Lucifer's dwellings (that'd be helvete).

129ELiz_M
dec 29, 2014, 9:29 pm

I, uh, accidentally picked up some books for myself while gift shopping....

. .

An Ermine in Czernopol by Gregor von Rezzori
Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang
Pitch Dark by Renata Adler

130-Eva-
dec 29, 2014, 9:40 pm

>129 ELiz_M:
Oops! :) Funny how that happens...quite frequently.

131ELiz_M
dec 29, 2014, 9:47 pm

(12/19/14) Category: Armida -- books written by women



Murder in the Marais by Cara Black, pub. 1999

Aimee Leduc is a private investigator that specializes in financial/technical crimes until she is guilt-tripped into an investigation by a friend of her deceased father. What appeared to be a simple photograph search becomes a murder case with deep roots in France's Nazi-occupation past and far-reaching repercussions in the present.

It was a better than expected mystery that was perfect for a plane ride. Admittedly, I had low expectations -- some of the summaries I read mentioned dwarfs and ghosts. Luckily there was no paranormal phenomena and the dwarf is not circusy (he just happens to be a small person that is very good with computers).

132ELiz_M
dec 29, 2014, 9:49 pm

>130 -Eva-: I really, really must spend more time reading the unread books I already own and less time in bookstores next year. And/or buy more bookcases.

133-Eva-
dec 29, 2014, 9:58 pm

>132 ELiz_M:
You and me both!!

134ELiz_M
dec 31, 2014, 8:51 am

(12/20/14) Category: Iphigénie en Tauride -- 1001 books published prior to the 1800s



A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne, pub. 1768

While a very slim volume, this is not that quick of a read. The protagonist loses the high ground in a heated discussion, because he couldn't back his claims on personal authority. So, spur of the moment, he decides to travel the continent in order to gain personal insight to the other countries. The book is composed of a series of episodes relayed with comic exaggeration with some digressions to other anecdotes, as the narrator is a single, traveler in foreign countries and he does get into a few scrapes. This was the last novel written by Sterne and although it was published in his lifetime, it ends abruptly, in the middle of a joke. An odd little book, it is probably funnier than I found it to be.


135ELiz_M
dec 31, 2014, 9:24 am

(12/22/14) Category: Iphigénie en Tauride -- 1001 books published prior to the 1800s



Love In Excess by Eliza Haywood, pub. 1719

What a delightful, unique novel! The novel is comprised of three sections, which are almost complete stories. In the first part, the protagonist Alovisa falls in love with the charming D'Elmont. As a woman in 18th century Paris, social etiquette forbids her from indicating her interest (until after he proposes!). So Alovisa sends him an anonymous flirtatious note. At the next ball D'Elmont, meets and begins to court Amena. With the help of devious servants and unfortunate circumstances, eventually D'Elmont is convinced to marry. I the second part, D'Elmont, now married, falls hopelessly in love with a young women of whom he is a legal guardian. The marriage quickly become an unhappy one with a jealous wife manuovering to discover her rival and the husband plotting his seduction. Hijinks ensue, resulting in tragedy for all concerned. In the final section, D'Elmont is in Italy, where once again several woman fall madly in love with him and even more hijinks ensue.

While the plots are operatic in scope and almost laugh-out-loud ridiculous, many of the female characters were developed into something more than stereotyped temptresses and convent girls (some were caricatures designed to move the convoluted plots forward). For some reason, I expected the novel to be Alovisa's story and so it felt quite disjointed in the reading. The other major drawback is the complete lack of chapters or line-breaks, making it hard to read in short sessions as it is hard to pick up the story line again. Other than those minor complaints, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.



136ELiz_M
Redigerat: dec 31, 2014, 9:35 am



And that is my challenge completed!

137AHS-Wolfy
dec 31, 2014, 9:55 am

Congrats on completing your challenge! Just in time too.

138paruline
dec 31, 2014, 11:21 am

Congratulations! I've enjoyed your reviews and look forward to many more in 2015!

139christina_reads
dec 31, 2014, 12:32 pm

Congratulations, and Happy New Year!

140ELiz_M
dec 31, 2014, 12:55 pm

Thanks, everyone! Now that I've had breakfast and enough coffee, it's time for the year-end stats!

141ELiz_M
dec 31, 2014, 1:03 pm

Books read/listened: 119 (goal was 105)
paper/ebook: 102
total pages read: 28,076
ave. # pages: 275 (I read a lot of novellas!)
audio: 17

1001-list-books: 88 (73.9% -- lower than I thought :/ )
Female Authors: 25 (22.7% -- the 2008 1001-books-list has only 20.6% female authors :/ )
In Translation: 46 (38.7%)
Non-fiction: 10 (8.4%)

Pre-1800: 9 (8%)
1800s: 13 (11%)
1900-1949: 26 (22%)
1950-1999: 45 (37%)
2000s: 26 (22%)

Libe books: 55 (46.2%)
Owned-pre-2014: 42 (35.3%) (goal was 50 books)
Bought & read: 22 (18.5%)

Next year, I need to make more of an effort to read from the owned tbr (approx. 310 books!) and choose female authors for my non-1001 reading.

142ELiz_M
dec 31, 2014, 1:14 pm

Category Totals:

The First Emperor - books published in the 21st Century: 13/7
Hansel and Gretel - books commonly recommended for High School students: 7/7
Iphigénie en Tauride - 1001 books published prior to the 1800s: 7/7
La Fille du Régiment - "comic novels" from the 1001 List: 7/7
La Damnation de Faust - 1001 list books with very few reviews: 10/7
Thaïs - books by "non-Western" authors: 8/7
Les Contes d'Hoffmann - short story collections and novellas: 7/7
Armida - books written by women: 11/7
The Nose - post-modern books: 7/7
Le Comte Ory - LGBT books: 7/7
Der Ring des Nibelungen - award-winning 1001 list books: 8/7
Manon - books published 1870-1914: 7/7
Un ballo in maschera - banned books: 7/7
Parsifal - books of more than 500 pages: 7/7

Don Giovanni - miscellaneous books: 7

Best books:
The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector, brilliant and repugnant it earned five-stars for being unlike anythings else I have ever read.

Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen, an unusual structure and an intriguing read.

Germinal by Émile Zola, naturalism at its best, this was the most gripping & enjoyable novel I read this year.

The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić, a chronological series of vignettes that created a portrait of a place I knew nothing about but now want to visit.

143hailelib
dec 31, 2014, 2:01 pm

Congratulations on the finish and have a great 2015.

144rabbitprincess
dec 31, 2014, 5:09 pm

Congratulations on finishing! See you in the new group :) Happy new year!

145lkernagh
jan 1, 2015, 1:02 pm

You have caught my eye with your review of Love in Excess!

Congratulations on completeing your challenge!

146-Eva-
jan 1, 2015, 11:15 pm

Excellent totals for the year!