11 in 11 Category Challenge - 3/4 done

The next 30 books read.  I am steaming ahead nicely with the 11 in 11 Challenge.  This year, I have more of my books with me, so it has been easier.

Category 1:  Latin America

5. La Ciudad de las Bestias
6. El Reino del Dragon de Oro  
7. Relato de un Naufrago 
8. El Bosque de los Pigmeos Spanish 

Category 2: 1001 Books

6. Platero and I

7. Invisible Man
8. The Reluctant Fundamentalist
9. A Fine Balance

Category 3: History  (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
8. The Clan of the Cave Bear in Spanish
9. Salt and Saffron

Category 4: Books in a Series

6. The Sun over Breda - No. 3 in the Captain Alatriste series
7. The Lost Luggage Porter - part of the Jim Stringer Series starting with The Necropolis Railway

Category 5: Asia

7. The Royal Ghosts
8. The Interpreter of Maladies
9. Brixton Beach
10. Difficult Daughters
11. Queen of Dreams 

Category 6: Mystery

Mysteries, Crime, Detective Fiction.
1. The Poe Shadow
2. The Big Sleep ** 1001 Book
3. Raffles
4. In the Forest **1001 Book 

Category 7: German Speaking World
 

4. Golem: An Old Prague Tale in German
5. The Pigeon ** 1001 Book

6. Effi Briest **1001 Book
7. West of the Wall

Category 8: Film and Adaptations

10. Stardust in Spanish
11. The Arabian Nights ** 1001 Book

 

Category 9: Links

6.  El Capitan Alatriste - the first installment of the Captain Alatriste series, of which I have just read no. 3, but this is the graphic novel.
7. Austenland Jane Austen link to I was Jane Austen's Best Friend
8. Persuading Annie Jane Austen link to I was Jane Austen's Best Friend 

 

Category 10: Travel
I had a bit of tinker with this category as I have ended up with more 1001 books than expected.

2. Driveby Saviours
4. The Monkey and the Monk
5. Felicia's Journey **1001 Book
6. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ** 1001 Book
7. Through the Looking Glass **1001 Book

Category 11: British Authors

10. Under the Net ** 1001 Book

Top reads:

Well, I think the challenge has been going really well, and, as I have been mainly reading books from my TBR pile, not from book exchanges, I have been satisfied

I am powering on with my 1001 Book Challenge of reading one a week.  These books make up the best the third quarter.  I loved Platero and I, I recently moved to Spain and found it utterly picturesque.  I took part in World Book Night, and while I didn't give out The Reluctant Fundamentalist, I already had it on my shelf and bumped it my TBR pile.  I read it voraciously over a day, it is well-written, thought-provoking and one I will reread in the future.  I was horrified to see that I had had A Fine Balance on my shelf for 3 years.  Oops!  Worth the wait though, interconnected stories skillfully brought together against the backdrop of '70s India.

I also read some lighter fiction, and these were the best 3:

Salt and Saffron was a great example of storytelling, I  just couldn't put down the account of an Indian/Pakistani family.  Persuading Annie was great fun, reading a modern update of a book I really like, Persuasion. Brixton Beach , a gift from my Mum, gripped me from page 1, though it did taper out a wee bit at the end.  

And least favourite:

West of the Wall

 - winning a prize for the stupidest plot twist of the challenge.  Ugh.