1. Cold Night of Childhood by Tezer Özlü
2. Letter from a Seducer by Hild Hilst
3. Set my heart on fire by Izumi Suzuki 
4. Sofia Petrovna by Lydia Chukovskaya 
5. Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun
6. Women without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur
7. On Earth as it is beneath by Ana Paula Maia
8. Dark heart of the night by Leonora Milano 
9. The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz-Bart
10. The collection Nina Leger 
11. Yellow Street by Veza Canetti

I think I had a really good Women in Translation month this year. I managed to read 11 books. I wanted a couple more, but with work and family time, etc., 11 is a good month for me. I also reviewed books from eleven countries this month, managing to obtain books from Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, so it was a truly global experience. Also, a mix of old and new writers, this is, for me, my best month of reading this year.

Book of the Month

It actually is a month where most of the. Books I could pick as the book of the month, this just gets the nod, as I feel it is an essential book. When it was written it was one of the few books written in Russia that dealt with the Purges Stalin did, and a lot of the book is based on what actually happened to the writer in her own life.

Non book things this Month

I spent a bit at the recent Tallbird sale at my local record shop, as there haven’t been many new albums to grab me last month.

So I brought the Ratso Album Larry Sloman has been around for years, a musician who had worked with both Dylan and John Cale, I had seen this and I got it mainly as Nick Cave is on one of the songs with Him! Then the Levellers lockdown sessions have a few of their albums, like a few of their songs, and most of them are on this album.  The Idles’ Brutalism is something I hadn’t encountered in any form, and I have most of their other albums on vinyl. As one of my favourite bands of recent years, their lyrics are more critical now than ever. Finally, Jsson Isbell is one of the best singer-songwriters around at the moment. TV-wise, a couple of new series have started, including Alien Earth, which nods to the original film and other moments in the film series, and is very good. I also began watching the series about the Amanda Knox case. I am in two minds about it at the moment, so I’m not sure if I will finish it., I’m going to watch the next episode, then weigh it up. I also caught the Thursday Murder Club film, a fun piece of cosy crime with a good cast, including four main stars, and a stunning setting for the nursing home. Let’s hope they keep that cast as it is and do his other books. I can’t wait for Slow Horse next month I think that it is by far my favourite tv series of recent times.

Next Month

Off to a bang with a Book by a writer who was up for the Nobel till he died a month before it was awarded, an early novella that has been made into a film several times and is coming out this week. I will be reviewing it this week. Other than that, I have no real plans or a TBR of books ready to read for a change. I know that over the next couple of months, there are things I do every year, so this will be a nice month for reading by whim, as Simon Savidge always says. How has your month been have you any plans for next month? Oh and the blog will also pass 1500 reviews this month !!!!!!

1. A nail and a rose by Madeleine Bourdouxhe
2. Doppelganger by Dasa Drndric
3. And the wind sees by Guðmundur Andri Thorsson 
4. Scar by Sara Mesa
5. The last days of el Comandante by Alberto Barrera Tyszka
6. Transfer window by Maria Gerhardt
7. Shadows on the tundra by Dalia Grinkevičiūtė
8. One hundred years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Mrquez

Book of the month

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any ont that has read the blog the last few years won’t be surprised that I have chosen this collection of two short stories by the late great Dasa Drndic. A writer I was lucky to meet and admire more after meeting her and seeing her view of the world which was similar to mine. I still have her last novel, for now, to hope we see more of her earlier books in English.

Last month

I managed to review eight books on the blog from eight countries from seven publishers a mix for Women in translation month and Spanish lit month. I also did thirty covers from women in translation from all around the world past and present. My reading took me from Belgian housewife in the inter-war years, two stories with mirroring themes one a doomer love affair between an older couple. Then two stories one capturing a second in Iceland as a woman in dotty dress cycles by and then a warped internet love affair. Then death from the last years of the late Venezuelan l,eader Hugo Chavez after that I had a story from a woman in the futuristic hospice than the last two books a lost tale of a woman’s Gulag years and a family saga set in Macondo in the Jungle in Columbia.  An interesting month

Non-book events well I have been listening to the debut album by the punk band Black midi another new band for this year my end of year record review for this year will be interesting as caught many new bands this year

 

Well we’re three months in to 2011 and like last month I ve been very stop start with blog and reading but managed to get these read –

1. A rift in time by Raja shehadeh (Palenstine)
2. Cheating at canasta by William Trevor (Ireland)
3. The tree and other stories by Abdallah al-Nasseur (Saudi Arabia)
4. Monsieur pain bu Roberto Bolano (chile)
5. Blood sister by Alessandro Perissnotto(Italy)
6. Pinball 1973 by Haruki Murkami (Japan)
7. While the women are sleeping by Javier Marias (Spain)
8. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred doblin (Germany)
9. Monsieur Linh and his child by Philipe Claudel (France)
10. The particular sadness of lemon cakes by Amiee Bender(U.S)
11. The possessed by Elif Batumann (turkish/US)

In middle of

1. tigers wife by tea Obert
2. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
3. Ten stories about smoking by Stuart Evers
4. Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras

hope finish these this week then got most of Independent foreignfiction prize longlist to read ,also one from the 12 to watch list a chilean novel and a novel set in cyprus .so with longer nights be reading more hopefully

Year to date –

31 books bit behind my plan for 140 this year but 2 more than this time last year so doing well .

Favourite –

A book I waited to get my hands on and was happy I did !

 

I ve let foot of the pedal so to speak this month not blogged a lot or read a lot ,also a family bereavement  this last weekend knocked me for six .I hope to get back to full steam this month .so last month –

1. the gospel of anarchy by Justin Taylor (us)
2. Death and the penguin by Andrey Kurkov (Ukraine)
3. The falafel king is dead by Sara Shilo (Israeli)
4. The children of rain by Amelie Nothomb (Belgian)
5. Saplings by Noel Streatfield (UK)
6. Next world novella by Mathias Politycki (German )
7. Flypaper by Robert Musil (German)
8. The queens necklace by Italio Calvino (Italy)

Well that’s 8 books not a lot but I’ve not had time last month with work and family time .

That brings total to 20 this year .

March plans

I ve two projects to get off the ground the village reading challenge and men’s book reading list ,so be working on them .I m doing a week near end of month for the penguin mini classics as I ve now seven to read from round the world .

Well that flew by doesn’t seem five minutes since new years day and here I am at the last day of the month well ,I ve read a lot of Italian novels this month as planned .so here is what I read this month

1. 2666 by Roberto Bolano (Chile)
2. Hare with amber eyes by Edmund du Waal (uk)
3. Norwegian wood by Haruki Murakami (Japan)
4. Khirbet Khizeh by s. Yihzar (Israeli)
5. If on a winter’s night a traveller by Italo Calvino (Italy)
6. The Luneberg variation by Paulo Mauersig (italy)
7. The leopard by Giuseppe Di Thomas (Italy)
8. Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco (Italy)
9. The tartar steppe by Dino Buzzati (Italy)
10. The fugitive by Massimo Carlotto (Italy)
11. A song for carrying water ,collected Somalia tales (Somalia)
12. My dead dad was in ZZ  top by Jon Claser(us)

Twelve books was three better than Last January and enough to keep me on track ,need to catch up on reviews but time has got best of me this weekend .

Favourites –

2666 & if on a winter night a traveller – two modern great that I d been scared of reading but enjoyed both for different reasons both still have me thinking 2666 in particular as I struggle to capture what I felt for the book .

February plans –

The country of focus this month is South africa ,I plan to tackle some more african books this month as well and another Bolano and Murakami ,Plus planning for a special announcement that will come tomorrow and be planned over next month ready for March .

What did you read last Month ?