My friend dan on twitter gave me the eyes up on this challenge by book after book blog .Its a year long Italian reading challenge .The Challenge is to read 12 books over 2011 set in Italy or by Italian writers .I m going to do the later have a number of books lined up for January for a week of Italian reading .Want try and read 12 different writers from Italy over next year . to find out more look here
So I ve Calvino ,Eco ,Maurnsig ,Buzzati ,Sciascia and want to finally get to the collectiive writing project Luther Blisset and the novel Q which I got halfway through years ago but had to give book back to a friend .
Well the first full year of blogging is drawing to the end and now I look back on the year I ve had highs and lows but am coming out of it looking forward to new challenges and new books to read .But for this year I ve decide to go round world pick best I ve read from various areas of the world .
AFRICA –
the purple violet
books read – 14
countries -11
WELL my favourite african book this year is Purple violets of oshaantu ,thisNambian story was a wonderful insight into village life and really deserves a wider audience .other highlights have been the Ben Okri non fiction I read .
Next year I want read more francophile african lit and some african classics .
WESTERN EUROPE –
BOOKS READ – 28
COUNTRIES READ – 9
Highlights wonder Hugo Claus has won many awards and you can see why ,a gripping look at post war Beligum ,other highlights have been the three Peirene titles all have been quality novellas ,stones in landslide touch me the most with yet again its tales of village life .also Dion Quixote which is the greatest classic I ve read and the start of novel writing in europe .
next year – the next three Peirene are eagerly awaited here ,I ve a couple of Portuguese novels I want to read as well .
EASTERN EUROPE –
BOOKS READ -11
COUNTRIES READ -7
BRECHT AT NIGHT MATI UNT
Highlights Mati Unt Brecht at night was a revelation a unusal book from Estonia , circus Bulgaria as well is probably my book of the year by Deyan Enev .
Next year -plan to read a Serbian novel and some polish novels also the long haul of war and peace starting in the new year .also my Hungarian week is planned have 4 novels ready .
UK
BOOKS READ -12
Highlight Coconut unlimited loved ,loved this coming of age novel ,also vivanne and I was a great Biography .
next year book three of Powell and got Ballards autobiography to read .
MIDDLE EAST –
BOOKS READ -9
COUNTRIES READ -6
to the end of the land is the best book from the israeli point of view and Yalo a powerful book about Lebanon .
next year -More same really maybe some Saudi lit next year .
NORTH AMERICA –
BOOKS READ -13
COUNTRIES – 3
Highlight the end Salvatore Sciobona ,a huge new talent from america maybe the heir to Bellow .
Next year – got a mexican week planned have 5 novels awaiting to be read .Also the new David Vann novel Caribou island to read in January .
SOUTH AMERICA
BOOKS READ -14
COUNTRIES READ -8
Bolano saves my reading block
Highlight ,Library at night ,just read and yet to review it enliven my mind and made me want to blog on ,Nazi Literatures in Americas was a quirky book and show Bolanos love of Borges and my last highlight is Borges Labyrinths which I ve just finished .
Next year have a book from Paraguay I want to get and read also Cesar Aira is some one I want to read next year .
ASIA AND AUSTRALIA –
BOOKS READ – 8
COUNTRIES READ – 5
highlights the Korean novel the guest was a wonderful look a the divide in that country ,also the patience stone from Afghanistan was a harrowing tale of a women’s life in that country .
next year -aim to read more asian lit next year it is my real weak area of world lit and I need to get some more depth ,have a chinese novel and a books from New Zealand and Malaysia to be read .
SCANDINAVIA-
BOOKS READ -7
COUNTRIES READ FROM – 3
I ve enjoyed the Nordic crime fiction I ve read this year Jo Nesbo is some one I ll read More of ,but Tove Jansson has been my favourite female writer of the year and someone I treasure .
Next year – got danish and Icelandic novels on TBR PILE ,want read more Jo Nesbo and start on the Martin Beck books later in the year .
well that is the year shall round up December in new year .
Well a quick post ,just wondering if any one fancy joining me with a Xmas readalong of 2666 Roberto Bolano’s masterpiece I m think starting about 20th of this month and reading through the Yuletide period and through to new year .I know its a busy time of year for people but any company be great as I tackle my second 900 plus book of the year .I ll be reading the us paperback version ,think it is same page count as UK version .
After a day soul searching .I had long think before yesterday post ,but somethings people said struck me this is my own record of what I read ,maybe my challenges were to easy and doing them was good but until today and thought of not having a challenge and how that might stop me reading as much as I have been this year so I ve decided to raise the bar so ridiculously high that I ll spend many years trying to reach it .I want read books from a 100 countries now ,this is going be tough and also reach a thousand books reviewed .this should see me too well I don’t know .A clear head made me realise what fool I am ,I d be losing something I love doingwith all heart and be a fool for doing that plus sure Winston would miss being a star of the blog ! .
Had planned to do this yesterday ,but a visit to dentist and Tooth being taken out I thought it was just check up but the tooth needed taking out so had a few injections as I hate the dentist with a passion ,all due to my sweet tooth I do like my cakes and biscuits !!! Well this weekend Simon at stuck in books had a novella reading weekend well I ve managed to get through 4 novellas this weekend which was great ,may do this on my next weekend of in the new year still have a lot on the shelves to read .
THE FOUR NOVELLAS READ –
So I spent summer in Finland ,a small village in Argentina as it falls in to chaos ,a fisherman’s dilemma over a large pearl and its fall out and a young women’s romance in 1930’s china .Not a bad weekend review to follow in next few weeks .
Simon over at stuck in books ,ask people to join in Novella reading weekend well I started last night with a funny dirty little war by the Argentina writer Osvaldo Soriano .a book that follows a village splitting and fighting as peronist and non peronist’s .a fast paced book so far and a new argentina writer to me .
next on pile after this is The Pearl John Steinbeck
simon over at stuck in books is planning to read novellas over the weekend of 4 and 5th of december .Well I ve decide to join in I ve a number of novellas waiting to be read .
here are some –
Well thats them from top left –
The lover by Margurite Duras ,she was part of the noveau roman movement considered a french classic and was made into a film .
Incidents at the shrine by Ben Okri ,not strictly a novella a coillection of stories but love Okri !
A funny dirty little war by Osvaldo Soriano ,Argentina book set during the Peron era a violent book with a dark humour it says .
Danglin Man by Saul Bellow ,a reread need to put some Bellow on the blog and his debut be a great place to start .
The doctors dilema by George Bernard Shaw a story /play bit lkike bellow need to get Shaw on the blog he is such a important writer and one I think is dwindling in power at moment .
Glory Vladimir Nabokov ,a early book by Nabokov he wrote in Russian originally set just after the Russian revolution ,set in england .
Abba Abba by Anthony Burgess ,a reread belli and Keats meet in rome Burgess imagines the influence Belli may have had if the two meet also includes some of Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli poems translated by Burgess .
Summer book ny Tove Jansson ,I read the winter book this summer so the summert book in winter seems a great idea ,loved the winter book and have simon of inside books to thank as we swapped our seasons .
The Pearl by John Steinbeck a fishermans tale about a man that finds a great pearl but it ends in sorrow .
Words by John Paul Sartre ,set in provincial france Sartre reflects on his childhood .and his fathers death .
Good morning ,midnight by Jean Rhys ,set in the 30’s in Paris ,follows a young women as she seeks independence .
The blind owl by Sadeq Hedayat ,Iranian classic full of symbolism and dreams and a little disjointed .
The Ninth wave by Russell Celyn Jones ,this may be left not sure it is the second part of the Mabinogion series modern retelling of the welsh myth this may be left as want use either this or the new books 3 and 4 for the reading the myth challenge .
Notes from the underground by Fydor Dostoyevesky ,russian classic a book about descending into madness .
Hotel du lac by Antia Brookner ,picked this up on a whim it seemed a unlikely booker winner set in a hotel follows a writer visit to hotel near lake Geneva .
Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood ,a present from Simon at inside books I love isherwood this follows a man working on a film .
thats it I will hope to read atleast four other the weekend .Any one else joining in ?
well I ve spent last few days away from blogging looking at my books and planning next year and I really wat to crack on with some series I ve had sat on winston’s shelves to long !
A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME BY ANTHONY POWELL .
I ve read the first in this cycle of twelve novels ,and am currently reading the second part .It covers england from post world war one to the sixties the main character is Nick Jenkins we follow him from his school days to the roaring twenties through tha war and into the sixties .
A remembrance of things past by Marcel Proust
I ve read the first volume of this but want to restart it I ve manage to buy a 80’s penguin vol in three parts ,the six books in this series were Proust life told in fiction and is considered on of the great must read books ,
Alexandria quartet by Lawrence Durrell
Now this is one of the rob from fiction desks books and I ve two versions ,the complete modern edition and the original sixties Faber paperbacks that I picked up in a charity shop ,now the books are an event retold four times by different narrators considered a modern classic .
Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope
Now I won these my Gran is a fan of his books this is a collection of six novels .the books are semi political look at Victorian england .
Well I think you’ll see these intersped over the next few months or years as I want to try to read these four series before I move onto any others I may want too .
A busy month here manage to clear some of my back reviews still got some to write ,I ve struggle to blog sometimes this month due to work as there has been a shortage of staff thus my workload has increased ,well here is what I managed to read .
The hound of the baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
well eleven this month not bad as have been busy at work ,the challenges for the year .Book of the month well two the Schlink and Grossman
100 books in a year -110/100
52 books 19/52
well passed a hundred and add one to my around world in 52 books ,got few more countries down on blog this month taking total up to 56 .
NOVEMBER PLANS
Well November plans ,well I’ve got lot library books need reading ,a Henrich boll ,three Ghanian books ,purge sofi Oskana among them so want clear them near start then end of month want to read some more Bolano have Amulet ,getting Skating rink and maybe another as I plan to read 2666 over christmas .
Now two great bloggers jov of biblojunkie and Bina of if you can read this have come up with a wonderfull challenge for 2011 to read books based round and about myths now I love books based on myths so jumped at the chance to join in .Now I d love some suggestions for some books on myths got few ideas but recommendations more than welcome along usual books of my choice in translation especially African be welcome .You can sign up here ,hope so sounds great fun
Half way through short novel ,loved the bad girl ,have had to do some work last couple of hours .
19th
pages read 570
books finished 2
time reading 490 minutes
well second book finished traveller to east thomas molofo it is only 88 pages long ,had to do some bits at work then walk home ,walk winston so have lost a far bit of reading time
currently reading -along came dylan a guilty pleasure I love books about dogs being a dog owner myself
20 th hour ,I m bowing out ,I m reall ytired and back at work tonight ,MANY THANKS FOR CHEERS HAVE MADE MY NIGHT
1current read the bad girl by mario vargas llosa
2book finished none start with 400page book
3 looking forward to the weekend Bernard schlink his new masterpiece about red army faction and its aftermath .
4 no was on a night shift as it runs through night wrong suited readathon perfectly .
5 interruptions eating ,walking Winston ,work and time with Amanda my darling wife.
6 maybe a slow start to much fluster maybe .
7 perfect as is the readathon .
8 I d choose shorter books maybe and a be more organized .
9 not yet used to staying up all night for work may flag near end of readathon .
10 pace yourself be my tip
Sorry post got no image posting via mobile phone as at work ,hope every one doing well !
well been busy all morning its just gon half one in chesterfield where I live this is first of a few posts –
3 facts about me –
I m tall 6 foot 4 inches
I lived in germany in my early twenties ,near the dutch border ,worked in a factory there
I love pasta ,having it later mmmmmmmmm .
location
chesterfield derbyshire famous for its crooked spire
aims to finish a book and start a couple be happy
books start – the bad girl by Maro Vargas LLosa
pages read – 15
time reading 15 mins
A slow start back later
TWO HOURS IN –
PAGES READ SO FAR 60
BOOKS FINISHED – NONE
time reading 70 mins
I ve entered the mini challenges ,put some comments up on opther blogs .
5 hours in
pages read 130
time reading – 125 mins
well I vbe picked my wife up from work and walk winston so not read as much as I want this last couple of hours .but well into bad girl find paris and london in the 60’s and a passionate affair very compelling .
8 hours in
pages read 150
I ve made amanda and mines evening meal of pasta ,had a bath ,and taken winston out again ,ready for work at 11 here under two hours away ,will update via my wordpress app for the night ,hope to get some more don haven’t got a lot done so far .
9 hours in
pages read 220
book finish 0
time reading 220 mins
well read for nearly hour before work in last this of the bad girl which is longest of books I ve chosen so it is onwards and up wards
11 hours in
I am at work on night shift –
Pages read so far. 270
Have nearly finished first book yeah yeah !
I m taking part in my first readatontomorrow ,I m starting on saturday morning and reading through the day and night luckily .I m on one of my night shifts so have to stay awake all night here are my choices ,for tomorrow .
THE BOOKS –
current read -the bad girl by Mario Vargas Llosa ,the new Nobel laureates latest novel ,a retelling of sorts of madame Bovary story ,I m 50 pages in and am enjoying him ,I had already intend to read this a some point before end of year ,it has been over ten years since I read him ,I remember how I liked his style in other books I ve read .
OTHER BOOKS –
I ve two short African Novellas ,travellers to the east by Thomas Mofolo ,considered the first African novel by the writer from Lesotho follows a mans pilgrimage ,So long the letter by Mariama ba follows women as she writes a letter on how she dealt with her husband taking a second wife .
Tobias wolff ‘s old school is first of two novels follows schoolchildren in 1960 at a private school as a Hemingway is due to visit the school competion and turmoil crop up .
The weekend Bernhard Schlink a novel that follows a group meeting after 20years one of them has been in prison for there involvement in the red army faction in germany ,secrets are revealed and memories stirred .
I hope to visit some blogs tomorrow and get as much as I can read and do some short post through the day .
