One of the many reasons I studiously avoid spoilers is for situations such as my reading of this play. I had heard of the play, of course, but I had never read it nor had I seen a stage production of it. Before I read it I knew nothing about it except that it is considered a classic and it was originally written in Norwegian.
Reader, I am so glad I knew nothing going in, because I was really stunned by what I read. When I started reading, I began to expect the story to go in a certain way based on my preconceptions of a play originally written in 1879. In fact, the story turned my expectations on their head and the ending left me gobsmacked. This is such a "contemporary" play that if my copy of it hadn't been included in a book that was originally published around 1900 I would have assumed the play was written in the mid-20th century at the earliest. And this is the power of going into a book "blind" and letting it wash over you - you're free to be gobsmacked at the end of it all.
If you haven't read this play you should go over to Project Gutenberg, as I suspect they've covered it, and check it out; it's a short read and well worth the reading, if only to marvel at. I suspect it influenced a lot of other writers. The background of the play and its origins are fascinating too. Now I really must read some more Ibsen, once I clear off this crazy TBR pile once and for all. Highly recommended.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Banned Books Challenge for 2015
I must stop signing up for reading challenges - but I just keep running across more challenges that sound so fun and that I know I can meet with my current TBR pile and my other current challenges, so I justify all these sign-ups that way. To be honest, I have avoided a few challenges that look really, really, cool and fun just because they won't help me with my ongoing TBR pile reduction plan, so I feel OK caving in to others, like this great one. As an avid reader I am glad to take part in this challenge and to reflect on censorship while I read. I am so thankful every day that I am able to read just about any book I want to read, and I wish everyone had that same opportunity.
This challenge is straightforward - it's reading banned and/or frequently challenged books. The challenge is hosted by Christine at Buckling Bookshelves, and the signup post has a lot of great resources for determining books that have been banned or challenged - and you won't believe some of them, particularly the classics! I'm going to keep it simple and sign up for the Trouble-Maker level of 3 - 5 books to ensure success - I have already seen several of my planned books on various lists, so I'm sure to be successful. What are your recommendations for me for this challenge? I'd love to start a list, so please feel free to leave a comment!
As always, I will keep track of the books I read for this challenge in this post as I go along.
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (appears on the ALA Challenged or Banned books list for 2010 - 2011 for "foul language" and for 2005 - 2006 because "the book could 'pollute' young minds" - ???)
2. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie (appears on the ALA list for 2004 - 2005 because it's "sexually explicit and inappropriate")
3. Native Son - Richard Wright (appears as #27 on ALA's most frequently challenged classics list; has been challenged multiple times for being "sexually explicit and violent")
4. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood (#88 on the ALA's most frequently banned/challenged list)
5. 1984 - George Orwell (#9 on the ALA's list of most frequently challenged classics)
6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (#1 on the ALA list of frequently challenged books)
7. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (has been challenged since its original publication as being a "hoax" by Holocaust deniers; has been challenged for being "depressing" - see this link for some details)
8. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition - Anne Frank (challenged multiple times for being "pornographic" and "inappropriate" etc. - here's a link to one article about this, there are many more!)
9. Women in Love - D.H. Lawrence (#75 on the ALA list of the most frequently challenged classics)
10. Tartuffe - Molière (was banned from being produced by the King of France; was considered offensive and frequently banned/challenged in its time)
11. The Eighth Day of the Week - Marek Hłasko (all books by this author were banned for many years in Poland by the government)
12. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (#8 on the ALA list of the most frequently challenged classics)
As always, I will keep track of the books I read for this challenge in this post as I go along.
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (appears on the ALA Challenged or Banned books list for 2010 - 2011 for "foul language" and for 2005 - 2006 because "the book could 'pollute' young minds" - ???)
2. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie (appears on the ALA list for 2004 - 2005 because it's "sexually explicit and inappropriate")
3. Native Son - Richard Wright (appears as #27 on ALA's most frequently challenged classics list; has been challenged multiple times for being "sexually explicit and violent")
4. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood (#88 on the ALA's most frequently banned/challenged list)
5. 1984 - George Orwell (#9 on the ALA's list of most frequently challenged classics)
6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (#1 on the ALA list of frequently challenged books)
7. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (has been challenged since its original publication as being a "hoax" by Holocaust deniers; has been challenged for being "depressing" - see this link for some details)
8. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition - Anne Frank (challenged multiple times for being "pornographic" and "inappropriate" etc. - here's a link to one article about this, there are many more!)
9. Women in Love - D.H. Lawrence (#75 on the ALA list of the most frequently challenged classics)
10. Tartuffe - Molière (was banned from being produced by the King of France; was considered offensive and frequently banned/challenged in its time)
11. The Eighth Day of the Week - Marek Hłasko (all books by this author were banned for many years in Poland by the government)
12. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (#8 on the ALA list of the most frequently challenged classics)
2015 Books in Translation Reading Challenge
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| Image courtesy of hywards at FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
I simply can't resist this challenge, mainly because I know a lot of the books I have listed for other challenges are translations, so I'll definitely be successful. I'm going to sign up for the Linguist level of 10 - 12 books, and I'll keep track of the books I read in this post as I go along. Should be a fun challenge, thanks so much to The Introverted Reader for hosting it!
One note: I read the books listed in their English-language translations unless otherwise noted.
1. A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen (play translated from the original Norwegian)
2. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie (translated from the original French)
3. The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales - Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, translated by Maria Tatar, edited by Erika Eichenseer (collection of stories translated from the original German)
4. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (translated from the original Russian)
5. Anne Frank: A Portrait in Courage - Ernst Schnabel (translated from the original German)
6. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (translated from the original Dutch)
7. Journal - Anne Frank (French translation from the original Dutch)
8. Treasures from the Attic - Mirjam Pressler with Gerti Elias (translated from the original German)
9. A Personal Matter - Kenzaburo Oe (translated from the original Japanese)
10. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (translated from the original French)
11. Blindness - José Saramago (translated from the original Portuguese)
12. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo (translated from the original Japanese)
13. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition - Anne Frank (translated from the original Dutch)
14. Steppenwolf - Herman Hesse (translated from the original German)
15. Amberville - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
16. Les Misérables - Victor Hugo (translated from the original French)
17. Lanceheim - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
18. Torquai - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
19. Yok - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
20. Tartuffe - Molière (translated from the original French)
21. The Eighth Day of the Week - Marek Hłasko (translated from the original Polish)
22. The Bookseller of Kabul - Åsne Seierstad (translated from the original Norwegian)
23. The Cid - Pierre Corneille (translated from the original French)
24. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery (translated from the original French)
25. Chéri - Colette (translated from the original French)
26. The Arabian Nights - translated by Sir Richard F. Burton (stories originated in many different countries; this collection translated from Arabic versions)
27. The Last of Chéri - Colette (translated from the original French)
28. Fathers and Sons - Ivan Turgenev (translated from the original Russian)
One note: I read the books listed in their English-language translations unless otherwise noted.
1. A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen (play translated from the original Norwegian)
2. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie (translated from the original French)
3. The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales - Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, translated by Maria Tatar, edited by Erika Eichenseer (collection of stories translated from the original German)
4. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (translated from the original Russian)
5. Anne Frank: A Portrait in Courage - Ernst Schnabel (translated from the original German)
6. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (translated from the original Dutch)
7. Journal - Anne Frank (French translation from the original Dutch)
8. Treasures from the Attic - Mirjam Pressler with Gerti Elias (translated from the original German)
9. A Personal Matter - Kenzaburo Oe (translated from the original Japanese)
10. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (translated from the original French)
11. Blindness - José Saramago (translated from the original Portuguese)
12. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo (translated from the original Japanese)
13. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition - Anne Frank (translated from the original Dutch)
14. Steppenwolf - Herman Hesse (translated from the original German)
15. Amberville - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
16. Les Misérables - Victor Hugo (translated from the original French)
17. Lanceheim - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
18. Torquai - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
19. Yok - Tim Davys (translated from the original Swedish)
20. Tartuffe - Molière (translated from the original French)
21. The Eighth Day of the Week - Marek Hłasko (translated from the original Polish)
22. The Bookseller of Kabul - Åsne Seierstad (translated from the original Norwegian)
23. The Cid - Pierre Corneille (translated from the original French)
24. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery (translated from the original French)
25. Chéri - Colette (translated from the original French)
26. The Arabian Nights - translated by Sir Richard F. Burton (stories originated in many different countries; this collection translated from Arabic versions)
27. The Last of Chéri - Colette (translated from the original French)
28. Fathers and Sons - Ivan Turgenev (translated from the original Russian)
The Atheist's Guide to Christmas - Edited by Ariane Sherine
Ok, this is a bit late in the season and all, but I'm a procrastinator so maybe I'm just really, really early for next year, ha ha. Despite the title, this book is not so much a "how-to" type guide as a collection of funny and sometimes touching stories, anecdotes, and short essays. Some are downright absurd and puzzling, which I loved. This is well worth a read - recommended.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Across the Bridge of Ice - Ruth Fox
I really enjoyed this great sequel to the first book in the series, The City of Silver Light. We have a new narrator in this book, and while I miss the previous narrator's voice, it's fun to read the story from another perspective, and it allows this story to build on the events from the first book, bringing things together and answering some questions while raising others. The story is cleverly done and I cannot wait to find out what happens in the final part of this trilogy. Is it too selfish to wish for more books? Maybe some prequels? I'm not ready to be satisfied with just one more book about Shar just yet. Recommended.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Color Coded Reading Challenge for 2015
Just realized I had neglected to actually join this reading challenge for this year, so here is my official entry post! It's hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block, and here is a link to the challenge at her blog so you can sign up too. This year there is a new aspect: the color can be part of the title or be the dominant color for the cover of the book (for the "implies color" category the image implying color should dominate the cover). This is a fun addition to the challenge. It seems that a lot of the books I end up reading for this challenge have the actual color in the title, I guess I am sort of literal that way, but it's always fun to find books for each category. Here are the categories:
Read nine books in the following categories.
1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc) in the title/on the cover. - A Beautiful Blue Death - Charles Finch
2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc) in the title/on the cover. - The Merit Birds (Red cover with black lettering and design elements)
3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.) in the title/on the cover. - Amberville - Tim Davys
4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc) in the title/on the cover. - Berlin Noir - Philip Kerr (Green-tinted black and white photo and green type on cover)
5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc) in the title/on the cover. Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight - Will Clower, PhD
6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc) in the title/on the cover. Black Earth - Timothy Snyder
7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc) in the title/on the cover. - The Ways of White Folks - Langston Hughes
8. A book with any other color in the title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magenta, etc.). - Goodbye, Columbus - Philip Roth (Violet/Mauve cover with black and white lettering)
9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.). - The Girl in the Polka-dot Dress - Beryl Bainbridge
Read nine books in the following categories.
1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc) in the title/on the cover. - A Beautiful Blue Death - Charles Finch
2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc) in the title/on the cover. - The Merit Birds (Red cover with black lettering and design elements)
3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.) in the title/on the cover. - Amberville - Tim Davys
4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc) in the title/on the cover. - Berlin Noir - Philip Kerr (Green-tinted black and white photo and green type on cover)
5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc) in the title/on the cover. Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight - Will Clower, PhD
6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc) in the title/on the cover. Black Earth - Timothy Snyder
7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc) in the title/on the cover. - The Ways of White Folks - Langston Hughes
8. A book with any other color in the title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magenta, etc.). - Goodbye, Columbus - Philip Roth (Violet/Mauve cover with black and white lettering)
9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.). - The Girl in the Polka-dot Dress - Beryl Bainbridge
I'm looking forward to this challenge again this year - I always dig up some interesting books along the way. Leave me a comment if you have any book suggestions for the categories!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Landline - Rainbow Rowell
After I read the author's other books and found them reasonably enjoyable, I put myself on the waiting list at the library for this, her latest book. The waiting list was long enough that I figured it would be a while, which was a good thing, since I had so much reading to do in November and December. So imagine my surprise when I got the email in late December from the library telling me the book was ready for me to pick up. I had to just laugh, since I already had 23 books just for a single challenge to read in December, so this one would have to wait, and luckily that worked out perfectly. So now I have read it and on to the review!
Well, I have mixed feelings about this one. On the plus side, there was some very funny dialogue and lines that made me laugh. I liked some of the peripheral characters a lot, and in fact would like to read a book about them. However, on the down side, I didn't love the main characters. Neither character of the main couple seemed pleasant to be around - one seemed annoyingly pushy and type A to me, and the other seemed perpetually grumpy and dissatisfied and/or emotionless and like a big barrel of NO FUN. So that made it hard to care about what happens to them. So I found the book to be a quick, easy, light read but lacking in emotional connection for me.
It did make me appreciate my wonderful Mr. K that much more though!
Diversity on the Shelf Challenge 2015
I like to think that I have a reasonable amount of diversity on my bookshelf, and my TBR pile, so I am going to join this challenge, which is hosted by My Little Pocketbooks, and make sure of that. :) I know I already have some books that will work for this challenge, and I will definitely be reading others, both by chance and by design, so I am going to sign up for the Second Shelf level of 7-12 books (you can go up if you read more, so that will be my ultimate goal). As always I will keep track of the books I read for this challenge in this post throughout the year.
You can sign up here, so please do and then come back and leave me any book recommendations you might have!
1. A Wish After Midnight - Zetta Elliott (Author of color/main character has African and Panamanian heritage)
2. The Merit Birds - Kelley Powell (Story told from multiple points of view, including that of multiple Laotian people)
3. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie (Author of color/all characters are of color)
4. The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man - James Weldon Johnson (Author of color/main character has African heritage/story is about race and class in American society)
5. The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen (Author of color/main characters of color/stories are about race and class in American society)
6. The Ways of White Folks - Langston Hughes (Author of color/main characters of color/stories are about race and class in American society)
7. Native Son - Richard Wright (Author of color/main character of color/book is about race and class in American society)
8. Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (Authors of color/book is autobiography of two women of color)
9. My Best Everything - Sarah Tomp (Main character/narrator has Hispanic/Latin heritage)
10. Nobody's Family Is Going to Change - Louise Fitzhugh (Main characters are African-American)
11. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (Author of color/main characters of color/story deals with race and class in the U.S.)
12. The Hero's Walk - Anita Rau Badami (author of color/book set in India with Indian characters)
13. This Is Where it Ends - Marieke Nijkamp (multiple narrators, some with Hispanic heritage)
14. A Personal Matter - Kenzaburo Oe (author of color; all characters are of color)
15. A Free Man of Color - Barbara Hambly (main character African American; most characters have African heritage; story has to do with race and class in American society in 1833 New Orleans)
16. Black No More - George Schuyler (author of color; characters of color; story has to do with race and class in 1930s American society)
17. My Day in Heaven with My Lil' Sister - Quest Delaney (autobiographical memoir by author of color)
18. The Souls of Black Folk - W.E.B. Du Bois (collection of essays about race and class at the beginning of the 20th Century by author of color)
19. In the Company of Wolves: Thinning the Herd - James Michael Larranaga (main character has Native American heritage; several Native American characters)
20. In the Company of Wolves: Follow the Raven - James Michael Larranaga (main character has Native American heritage; several Native American characters)
21. Infants of the Spring - Wallace Thurman (author of color; book is about race and class in American society)
22. The Bookseller of Kabul - Åsne Seierstad (book is about Afghan family)
23. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery (one of the main characters is Japanese)
24. The Arabian Nights - translated by Sir Richard F. Burton (all stories take place in the Middle East, China, India, etc.)
25. The Pearl - John Steinbeck (story takes place in Mexico and most characters are native Mexicans)
1. A Wish After Midnight - Zetta Elliott (Author of color/main character has African and Panamanian heritage)
2. The Merit Birds - Kelley Powell (Story told from multiple points of view, including that of multiple Laotian people)
3. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie (Author of color/all characters are of color)
4. The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man - James Weldon Johnson (Author of color/main character has African heritage/story is about race and class in American society)
5. The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen (Author of color/main characters of color/stories are about race and class in American society)
6. The Ways of White Folks - Langston Hughes (Author of color/main characters of color/stories are about race and class in American society)
7. Native Son - Richard Wright (Author of color/main character of color/book is about race and class in American society)
8. Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (Authors of color/book is autobiography of two women of color)
9. My Best Everything - Sarah Tomp (Main character/narrator has Hispanic/Latin heritage)
10. Nobody's Family Is Going to Change - Louise Fitzhugh (Main characters are African-American)
11. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (Author of color/main characters of color/story deals with race and class in the U.S.)
12. The Hero's Walk - Anita Rau Badami (author of color/book set in India with Indian characters)
13. This Is Where it Ends - Marieke Nijkamp (multiple narrators, some with Hispanic heritage)
14. A Personal Matter - Kenzaburo Oe (author of color; all characters are of color)
15. A Free Man of Color - Barbara Hambly (main character African American; most characters have African heritage; story has to do with race and class in American society in 1833 New Orleans)
16. Black No More - George Schuyler (author of color; characters of color; story has to do with race and class in 1930s American society)
17. My Day in Heaven with My Lil' Sister - Quest Delaney (autobiographical memoir by author of color)
18. The Souls of Black Folk - W.E.B. Du Bois (collection of essays about race and class at the beginning of the 20th Century by author of color)
19. In the Company of Wolves: Thinning the Herd - James Michael Larranaga (main character has Native American heritage; several Native American characters)
20. In the Company of Wolves: Follow the Raven - James Michael Larranaga (main character has Native American heritage; several Native American characters)
21. Infants of the Spring - Wallace Thurman (author of color; book is about race and class in American society)
22. The Bookseller of Kabul - Åsne Seierstad (book is about Afghan family)
23. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery (one of the main characters is Japanese)
24. The Arabian Nights - translated by Sir Richard F. Burton (all stories take place in the Middle East, China, India, etc.)
25. The Pearl - John Steinbeck (story takes place in Mexico and most characters are native Mexicans)
TBR Pile Challenge 2015
This will be the 5th year in a row that I have participated in this great challenge, hosted by Adam at Roof Beam Reader. It's really made me conscious of my book buying habits, and I've toned it down considerably since 2011, plus no large national bookstore chains have gone out of business in the meantime, necessitating a trip to the closing store on one of the last days when all books are like $1 each and as such COMPLETELY irresistible. So that definitely helped!
But back to the challenge. This year, I decided to choose some books that have been gathering dust on my pile because they are the later books in a series, and I refuse to read a series out of order. I tried in the past but I always felt like I was missing something big and it's just easier for me to do things in order - it's how my mind works. So in many cases I will be at the library reading previous books so that I can finally clear TBR pile books.
Without any further rambling or ado, here is my 2015 list!
1. A Case of Two Cities - Qiu Xiaolong (2006). Another of my Borders Last Days Sales books that I have been putting off - because it's the 4th book in a series. I loved Qiu's Years of Red Dust, so I am really looking forward to this series.
2. Berlin Noir - Philip Kerr (1989 - 1991) - read Sept. 2015
3. The City & The City - China Miéville (2009) - read Sept. 2015
4. Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman (2012) - read Jan. 2015
5. Auschwitz - Laurence Rees (2005) - read Jun. 2015
6. A Personal Matter - Kenzaburo Oe (1969) - read Sept. 2015
7. The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet - Arturo Pérez-Reverte (2003). Yet another Borders Last Days grab, this is part of a series, so I will have to read some books to be able to get to this one. I did read the first book in this series, so I just have to hunt down a few more to make this one happen.
8. The Hero's Walk - Anita Rau Badami (2001) - read Sept. 2015
9. Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, A Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy - Elizabeth R. Varon (2003) - read May 2015
10. Blindness - José Saramago (1995/first published in English in 1997) - read Oct. 2015
11. A Wish After Midnight - Zetta Elliott (2010) - read Jan. 2015
12. Mary Ann in Autumn - Armistead Maupin (2010) - read Jan. 2015
Alternates:
1. Don't Look Now - Daphne Du Maurier - read Oct. 2015
2. A Free Man of Color - Barbara Hambly - read Sep. 2015
But back to the challenge. This year, I decided to choose some books that have been gathering dust on my pile because they are the later books in a series, and I refuse to read a series out of order. I tried in the past but I always felt like I was missing something big and it's just easier for me to do things in order - it's how my mind works. So in many cases I will be at the library reading previous books so that I can finally clear TBR pile books.
Without any further rambling or ado, here is my 2015 list!
1. A Case of Two Cities - Qiu Xiaolong (2006). Another of my Borders Last Days Sales books that I have been putting off - because it's the 4th book in a series. I loved Qiu's Years of Red Dust, so I am really looking forward to this series.
2. Berlin Noir - Philip Kerr (1989 - 1991) - read Sept. 2015
3. The City & The City - China Miéville (2009) - read Sept. 2015
4. Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman (2012) - read Jan. 2015
5. Auschwitz - Laurence Rees (2005) - read Jun. 2015
6. A Personal Matter - Kenzaburo Oe (1969) - read Sept. 2015
7. The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet - Arturo Pérez-Reverte (2003). Yet another Borders Last Days grab, this is part of a series, so I will have to read some books to be able to get to this one. I did read the first book in this series, so I just have to hunt down a few more to make this one happen.
8. The Hero's Walk - Anita Rau Badami (2001) - read Sept. 2015
9. Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, A Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy - Elizabeth R. Varon (2003) - read May 2015
10. Blindness - José Saramago (1995/first published in English in 1997) - read Oct. 2015
11. A Wish After Midnight - Zetta Elliott (2010) - read Jan. 2015
12. Mary Ann in Autumn - Armistead Maupin (2010) - read Jan. 2015
Alternates:
1. Don't Look Now - Daphne Du Maurier - read Oct. 2015
2. A Free Man of Color - Barbara Hambly - read Sep. 2015
New Blog Name - The Dilettante Bookworm
I'm happy to announce my new blog name - The Dilettante Bookworm! Dictionary.com provides the following definition of dilettante: "a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement" and that applies to me - I love to read books and study random subjects just for pleasure, not to make a living or something.
I'm conveniently overlooking the rest of the definition: "...especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler" but sadly that sometimes applies too; if I had unlimited time and money things might be different, but for now I'm content to dabble in whatever I find interesting. And there are so many interesting things in this world! I guess I'm a dilettante because there are so many things that interest me in life. Yes, that's much more positive :)
So now in my fifth (!) year of book blogging, I have a blog name I won't look askance at every year, thinking, "I should really update or change that name - but to what?" I am not going to change the URL so it will still be reading2011.blogspot.com - so there shouldn't be a need to update bookmarks or anything.
If anyone knows an easy way to center the blog name, please let me know in the comments, as I couldn't figure it out!
I'm conveniently overlooking the rest of the definition: "...especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler" but sadly that sometimes applies too; if I had unlimited time and money things might be different, but for now I'm content to dabble in whatever I find interesting. And there are so many interesting things in this world! I guess I'm a dilettante because there are so many things that interest me in life. Yes, that's much more positive :)
So now in my fifth (!) year of book blogging, I have a blog name I won't look askance at every year, thinking, "I should really update or change that name - but to what?" I am not going to change the URL so it will still be reading2011.blogspot.com - so there shouldn't be a need to update bookmarks or anything.
If anyone knows an easy way to center the blog name, please let me know in the comments, as I couldn't figure it out!
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