11 in 11 Step Challenge: Final Quarter

The final quarter of my 11 in 11 Step Challenge brought a few surprises, I was at home, so ended up reading completely different books to what I had expected.  Reading a lot of long-term TBR books, I found some gems, but a few were mediocre. 

The top books would be, unsurprisingly, the two 1001 books, Choke and So Long a Letter.  The former about a sex addict and mental health was amusing and I read it rather quickly, the latter was a short, but interesting book, Mariama Ba had a great writing style, with her work offering insight into Senegalese culture.  Basta de Historias, a journalist journey around the world trying to find out why some countries out do others in education, looking at politics, culture and education systems.  As a teacher, I found it very thought-provoking.  I also thoroughly enjoyed The Gunpowder Gardens, a travalogue following tea through China and India., while the book was written 20 years ago, it was still worth a read.  Reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard was great fun, especially as I'd just seen the final Harry Potter film.

The two most disappointing books were Shanghai Baby and  Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence, the former because it just dragged and didn't ring true, the latter because I wanted to know more, this book is too short and leaves you with more questions than answers.

11x 1001 Books

10. Choke

11. So Long a Letter

10x Crime


Already Completed

9x Films



Books adapted for the big screen, small screen and stage.

7. Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence
8. The Tales of Beedle the Bard
9. Into the Wild

8x Spanish


From Spanish speaking world or in Spanish

7. Walking the Lions
8. Basta de Historias

7x British
Already Completed

6x Asian Books



I usually read a lot of books set in Asia or by Asian writers, hopefully some from my huge TBR pile.
4. Shanghai Baby
5.Chang
6.The Gunpowder Gardens

 

5x Food and Drink


3. The Secret Mandarin
4.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 

5.Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto

 

4x History


3. The Resurrectionist
4. The Queen of Subtleties

3x French
Already Completed

2x Short Stories

Already Completed

1x Tome
A big, fat, scary book.


1.  The Famished Road

11 in 11 Step Challenge Completed Category: 1 x Tome

A big, fat, scary book.


1. The Famished Road
A long term TBR, and exactly 500 pages long.

11 in 11 Step Challenge Completed Category: 4x History

1. Year of Wonders
2. The Alchemist's Daughter
3. The Resurrectionist
4. The Queen of Subtleties

The top book would have to be Year of Wonders, a story of the plague. Of the others, none was awful, but I felt both The Resurrectionist and The Queen of Subtleties missed the mark.

11 in 11 Step Challenge Completed Category: 6 x Asian Books

I usually read a lot of books set in Asia or by Asian writers, hopefully some from my huge TBR pile.

1. Jamilia
2. The Swallows of Kabul
3. Lord Jim ** 1001 book
4. Shanghai Baby
5. Chang
6. The Gunpowder Gardens

One 1001 book, a true classic, Jim's tale was grand and exciting. Jamilia, a beautiful love story, and The Gunpowder Gardens were my favourites of the bunch, the latter because I drink a lot of tea and also because the author's travels mirrored some of my own in HK and China.

As for the duffer, that would be Shanghai Baby, it tried too hard to be shocking and just ended up like cheap imitation.

11 in 11 Step Challenge Category Completed: 11 x 1001 Books

11x 1001 Books


1. Agnes Grey ** Group Read
2. The Vicar of Wakefield
3. Three Lives
4. Half of a Yellow Sun
5. Invisible Cities
6. Billiards at Half-Past Nine
7. Unless
8. On the Road
9. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
10. Choke
11. So Long a Letter

Picking the best among 1001 books is rather a big ask, but I just loved Invisible Cities, gorgeous narrative, and also Unless, which I just connected with in a big way (so much so, it has inspired a category in my 12 in 12 Challenge!).

As for the worst, On the Road wins hands down, I really didn't like it, I reckon it's one of those Marmite books.

11 in 11 Step Challenge Completed Category: 8x Spanish

From Spanish speaking world or in Spanish

1. Dreaming in Cuban
2. Inkdeath (in Spanish)
3. Journey to the Alcarria **1001 Book
4. Bitter Grounds
5. The FARC ** Early Reviewer Programme
6. Still Love in Strange Places
7. Walking the Lions
8. Basta de Historias

Well, I bumped this category up to 8 books after my brother gave me a stack of books. Only one 1001 book, I must do better next year. I found the Early Reviewer copy of The FARC very interesting, a good introduction to the guerrillas. As for the best book, I really enjoyed Bitter Grounds, a good story with a well-constructed backdrop. The last book, Basta de Historias, was especially interesting as it dealt with education and how the state of one country's education system affects its economic wellbeing. I was also pleased to get a copy of Dreaming in Cuban, a long term wishlist book, and it was worth the wait.

Reading in Semana Santa

Ah, Easter break, 10 days off from the school.  I did a bit of travelling, lots of sleeping and managed to squeeze in some reading ;)  I tried to tackle some of those books that had been hanging around for a while.   A mixed bag, but good on the whole, I have managed to slot them all into my 11 in 11 Category Challenge.

First up was Under the Net, which I had had on my shelf for a while.  An intricate, incestuous web, on which the narrator fumbles his way, cadging lodging and money off friends. A frustrated writer and translator of French novels, Jake Donaghue hopes he will one day make it big, though his only literary attempt sank without a trace and cost him a friendship. My first Iris Murdoch, and it certainly won't be my last.  At the moment it is sitting on my read shelf (still woefully emptier than my TBR shelf), and I'll see if a friend wants it.  If not, I'll donate it to the 1001 Library.

I took the impetous of a Librarything readalong for my next two, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequel, The Restaurant at the End of the World.  I enjoyed both,  I'm not entirely sure why I hadn't read them before, although I reckon it was the sci-fi aspect that put me off.  I found the black, British humour very funny, and was surprised to see how far Adam's creation had entered popular culture.

In Valencia, I picked up An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England just for the title! A mystery, a 28-year-old New Englander gets out of prison after serving 10 years for burning down Emily Dickinson's house, but the arrival of man looking for revenge makes him realise that he will never quite escape his dark past.  I left this at the OBCZ in Cafe Rialto, Valencia, where I enjoyed a great Menu of the Day in gorgeous surroundings.

As I was going to go on a train journey up to Zaragoza, The Great Railway Bazaar was an obvious tie-in choice.  Theroux's journey from London to Japan and back by train, biting at times, amusing. 

In Valencia I picked up El Emperador in a double book.  It is a collection of short stories, most with a twist. I recognised a couple, which makes me think I have read before in English or German.  I tried getting into El Negociador, but found it too dated.  I left this in the hostel in Zaragoza.

I have been having a bit of a Jane Austen fest this year, reading lots of related books.  Jane Austen - A Life is a well researched look at the author's life, from her family roots, through her books to her legacy. Thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I am currently enjoying BBC 4 Extra's replaying of Sense and Sensibility.  I left it in the hostel in Zaragoza.

I picked up Lost Innocence at the hostel in Zaragoza, trashy, but interesting enough to hold my attention.  I am now over halfway through Vanity Fair, I got stuck into it last night, really enjoying it. I just needed time away from thinner books to get stuck into it.  The Pillars of the Earth was a great find in the hostel in Valencia, I can't wait to get stuck into it.  I also got a Bookcrossing book in Zaragoza at the hostel, Dinner for Two. (flame), which I have seen about, but never read.

A time for reading

A book bonanza over the last few days. I have had books winging in via the Bookcrossing 1001-Library. The first to arrive were The Monkey and the Monk and Felicia's Journey, the latter I had been keen to read since I read The Story of Lucy Gault. Next up was Arabian Nights, and then a box of books from the States - Effi Briest (a book my brother has been talking about ever since he studied it at uni), Platero and I and The Pigeon. I couldn't resist and started The Monkey and the Monk straight away, I am about half way through, but this is a book to read in chunks, to give you time to let it sink in. This afternoon, with the sunlight streaming through my window, I read The Pigeon, a short, but thought-provoking book. This should help with my 1001 book slump, I just didn't fancy starting Invisible Man, so had been reading anything else I came into contact with.

I also returned my 3 books to the library, and picked up three new ones in Spanish. The first is El Capitan Alatriste, the graphic novel version of the first book in the series, I am curious to see how the illustrators have the characters, how they differ from my own thoughts. Second El Reino del Dragon de Oro, the second installment in Isabel Allende's series about Alexander Cold and his adventures with his rather unusual granny, Kate. Last up is Stardust, I loved the film, have the audiobook in English, but really look forward to reading it for myself.

11 in 11 Challenge - 2nd Quarter

62 books now read for the 11 in 11 Category Challenge . I am doing better than I expected, as I have recently moved house and had to leave most of my books in the U.K.  On Friday, I joined the local library in Avila, opposite the cathedral.  They have a small selection of English books (some of which are on my TBR shelf at home), an even smaller one in German, but a good selection of fiction in Spanish.  This will help me actually read more in Spanish, which is easy to put off at home when you have lots of books in English!

 

I have tinkered a bit with my categories.  As I am trying to read as many books as possible from my almost out of control TBR pile, I have decided to ditch the Olympic Challenge Category as I had nothing at home for it.  I have changed it to Books in a Series, this was partially because I got The Somme Stations from the  Early Reviewer Programme from LibraryThing, and I already had the first 4 books on my shelves.  I managed to get 5 and 6 from Amazon and Greenmetropolis.  This means that I have juggled a couple of the books, something I might do again later.  Below are the second set of 31 books, and, in italics, the books I have moved into new categories.

Category 1:  Latin America

4. The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman

Category 2: 1001 Books

5. The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay 

Category 3: History  (Fiction and Non-Fiction)

4. Shakespeare: The World as a Stage
5. Bound Feet and Western Dress
6. The White Queen
7. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly
8. Guernica 
9. The Poe Shadow 

Category 4: Books in a Series
A change of category, from Olympic Challenge to Books in a Series.


1. Wicked (moved from Films)
2. Son of a Witch part of Wicked series (moved from Links)
3. A Lion among Men part of Wicked series (moved from Links)
4. The Necropolis Railway
5. The Blackpool Highflyer - part of the Jim Stringer Series starting with The Necropolis Railway

Category 5: Asia

4. The North China Lover
5. Driveby Saviours
6. Love and longing in Bombay 
7. The House of the Mosque 

Category 6: Not in English

1. Golem: An Old Prague Tale in German
2. La Ciudad de las Bestias in Spanish

Category 7: German Speaking World
 3. Kleiner Werwolf (in Spanish)

Category 8: Film and Adaptations

8. The Day of the Triffids **1001 Book
9. The Big Sleep ** 1001 Book
10. The Graduate ** 1001 Book
 

Category 9: Links

 

1. An Unequal Marriage - Jane Austen Link
2. Sunday at Tiffany's - linked with Breakfast at Tiffany's
3. Jigs and Reels - also read Five quarters of the orange by the same author, Joanne Harris.
4. The Jane Austen Guide to Dating - Jane Austen link to I was Jane Austen's Best Friend
5. The Mysteries of Udolpho - mentioned in I was Jane Austen's Best Friend 

 

Category 10: Travel

2. Ghosts of Spain

Category 11: British Authors

5.  The Story of Lucy Gault **1001 Book
6. Five Quarters of the Orange
7. The Understudy
8. Pandora 
9. Raffles 

One thing I really like about this challenge is the variety of books you read, it forces you out of your comfort zone and it is such fun finding books to slot in.  I am enjoying the Links Category immensely because this fits my personality.  When I find a subject or author I like, I tend to go on a reading binge.  

Top books for the second quarter:

Well, The North China Lover, was a great read.  Dumas' The Lover blew me away when I read it a few years ago, so I had to see how this differed.  It certainly measured up to the first book, but very different.  

I also enjoyed Day of the Triffids, I am no sci-fi fan normally, but in a world of GM products and experimentation, it was a scarily realistic possible vision of the future.

Another good Bill Bryson in Shakespeare: The World as a Stage, more a biography of what we don't know that what we know!

The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay was unputdownable, I just caught up in the very different cousins and their lives.

I would say, however, the book that affected me most was The Story of Lucy Gault, I was very moved by Lucy's tragic story, so sympathetically written.

Also tragic, but actually uplifting book was The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, this is a book that will stay with me.

Ghosts of Spain was also excellent, for a guide to modern Spain, this is a good start.  It talks about the ghosts and events that have shaped Spain, but what makes it good is that it is written by a foreigner who obviously loves Spain.

Disappointments:

The Understudy  What a pity, I loved Starter for 10!   Not a dreadful book, but not up to his usual standard.

Sundays at Tiffany's.  Oh Mr. Patterson, please stick to your mysteries!

As for the next quarter, I am sat on the sofa with a stack of books.  Shall I head to Nepal with Samrat Umadhay's short stories, or to Flanders with the swashbuckling Captain Altriste, or mourn the loss of Aunt Guadalupe in Mexico?  Better put the coffee pot on and choose ;)

1010 Challenge Completed Category SPAIN

Group 2: Spain and the Spanish speaking world

1. Paradise Travel ** Olympic : Colombia
2. The Scarlet Cloak
3. Captain Alatriste
4. Purity of Blood
5. The Queen's Sorrow
6. The Return
7. The Book of Murder ** Olympic : Argentina
8. Our house in the Last World
9. The Old Man and the Sea ** 1001 Book
10. The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao ** 1001 Book

I really wanted to broaden my Spanish-speaking world reading, and this has really been a great way of doing that.  Top books would have to be the last two.  Hemingway's Cuban classic really drew me in, very tense and Oscar touched me greatly.  I am pleased to have been able to include books for 2 of the other challenges I am doing, Olympic and 1001 Books.  I am hoping to keep up this category next year, but may make it Iberian Books (this would include Portuguese speaking authors).