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This is really getting to be a challenge!
If anyone feels like giving it a go...
Let's read the works of 13 new authors this year!
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This is really getting to be a challenge!
If anyone feels like giving it a go...
Let's read the works of 13 new authors this year!
~
I'm in! Maybe I can up the quality of my reading. I always feel time nipping at my heels. I don't know why, as I have a whole year, lol!
1. Marina Lewycka ~ A Short History of Tracktors in Ukranian 7/10 About Ukranian immigrants in the UK (first and second generation) with a humourous take on it all. Promising first book!
I am in aswell.
1. Mikhail Bulgakov: Master and Margarita
2. Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Grey
No way I'm going to achieve 13, but here's my first -
1. Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett 8/10
Why do you think you won't or can't achieve 13, Mona? Did you like "Waiting for Godot?"
I'm in
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
Waiting for Godot was great! I was expecting something boring and painfully slow, since it's the play where "nothing happens, twice", but it was so sad and endearing and funny I just fell in love with it. Wish I could see it performed, by good comic actors.Quote:
Originally Posted by qimissung
As for 13, it seems like too many new authors for me. These days I prefer to reread old favourites, or new books by authors I've already tried. I don't want to become an old fossil so I'll try a few new ones, but not thirteen. :)
Hmmm, I am familiar with it, of course. Maybe one of these days I'll get up the nerve to actually read it.
1. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. 8.5/10 I loved this book so much more than I thought I would. Egan is a perceptive writer, and I loved her insights which were piercing, yet leavened with genuine humor and hope.
The BBC adapted film versions of all 19 of Beckett's stage plays. Barry McGovern and Johnny Murphy played Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting For Godot. It screened at TIFF in 2000 a long with 9 others, and was quite good. Endgame with Michael Gambon and David Thewlis was also a great adaptation to film.Quote:
Originally Posted by mona amon
Yet, nothing can match seeing Beckett's work on stage. It's an experience, a brilliant one.
Is this a pre/sequel to A Visit from the Goon Squad?Quote:
Originally Posted by qimissung
No, it's the same book. Thanks, Scher. *sarcasm* :D (:))
Actually, I think my title is better.
I am in. One month behind and will have to revamp all my bookplans but it seems a fine challenge that I can't resist. Finishing Sophie's Choice tomorrow then it's all noobs.
I'm also in:
1. Tove Jansson: The Moomins and the Great Flood
2. Yevgeny Zamyatin: We
One down. Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster
So far this year I've read
1. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (which I started last year, but whatever.)
2. and Lady Chatterley's Lover, by DH Lawrence.
Both of them were quite interesting, but neither of them really struck as what you might call "Great" literature. Some of the characters and much of the dialogue in TGN seemed petty and implausible, and Lady Chatterley's Lover felt a little one-sided and polemical, as though it were banging you over the head with the thought that, "Sensuality is better than being intellectual!" which doesn't to me feel like a really interesting idea anyways.
That said, both books had some rather lovely passages, and particularly in TGN it was very interesting to get the woman's perspective on life.
Started Of Human Bondage today. I'm not very far in, but it seems promising.
1. Aspects of the Novel E. M. Forster
2. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers. 2 out of 4. Good enough to finish but found it lacking. To borrow from book number one above, the characters were all flat. I found Mick the best of them and think CM should have stuck more to her story. I assume Mick is somewhat autobiographical which is why CM wrote her better than the rest.
On to some newer new authors now. Looking to read some recent prize winners.
1. Marina Lewycka ~ A Short History of Tracktors in Ukranian 7/10 About Ukranian immigrants in the UK (first and second generation) with a humourous take on it all. Promising first book!
2. Amy Tan ~ The Joy Luck Club 6/10 Quite disappointed as I had heard of this book a lot.
3. Ken Follett ~ Eye of the Needle 7/10 Easy going spy-thriller, which turns somewhat predictable towards the end.
4. Somerset Maugham ~ The Razor's Edge ~ 5/10 Felt so very bored reading this. Not sure what the point of the story was even. Yes, it must be lost on me.
5. David Lodge ~ Changing Places ~ 6/10
6. Carl Hiaasen ~ Nature Girl ~ 8/10 Ideal summer read!
7. Steven Millhauser ~ Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer ~ 7/10
8. Roddy Doyle ~ Paddy Clark, Ha Ha Ha! ~ 8/10
9. Robert Olen Butler ~ A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain ~ 9/10
10. Yann Martel ~ Life of Pi ~ 8/10
11. Paul Harding ~ Tinkers (N11) ~ 9/10
12. Horace McCoy ~ They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (N12) ~ 8/10
13. Junot Diaz ~ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (P/N13) ~ 7/10
14. Stephen Kelman ~ Pigeon English (N14) ~ 5/10
15. Thornton Wilder ~ The Bridge of San Luis Rey 5/10
Oh! Great Challenge...! Very much interested into it... This year i started a new author Michael Crichton with his path breaking book 'Jurassic Park.' And many more books of so many others lined up...! Looks like I'm already into the challenging race. Thank You for the contest :)
1. Aspects of the Novel E. M. Forster
2. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers
3. Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai. 3/4. Enjoyed this one quite a bit. Very quick read. The characters' stories weave in and around each other. There is a line in the book in which one of the characters is lamenting the way modern authors are all over the place unlike the linear narratives of the Victorian English novels. Desai is a modern author. On the last full page of the book Desai wrote this sentence: "She turned to look." It was printed as "She turned to cook." The last bit of a good book for me builds to a crescendo then crashes at the last sentence. Suspenseful, reading quickly, enthralled. Then I stumble over this terrible, ill-placed typo. Thrown off track at the very end. There were seven or eight typos in about the last 100 pages of the book. I don't think I caught any in the first 250. Was the proofreader too engrossed to notice or too bored to finish? Typos frustrate me, discombobulate me. Is this universal or idiosyncratic?
1. Golden Notebook 7/10
2. Lady Chatterley's Lover 6/10
3. Of Human Bondage 7/10 Strangely moving. I couldn't make out the end, though, as it said shortly before their engagement that Philip did not love Sally. Huh? But I suppose really that that makes it more poignant. He accepts sort of a beautiful compromise. I've heard The Razor's Edge is another good Maugham book, so maybe in the future I will read that.
Currently on A Passage to India. Very interesting way of telling a story, somehow abstracted and indirect.
Update:
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
Update:
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
8. The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Greg Matthews
Wait sorry to clarify but you mean 13 authors I haven't read before or 13 'new' authors?
In the event it is haven't read before. Read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins at last been meaning to since it came out.
13 authors you haven't read yet
Update:
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
8. The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Greg Matthews
9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark 6/10 I'm glad I read it, but it's kind of a downer.Quote:
Originally Posted by qimissung
Teacher Man Frank McCourt 8/10 I really loved this. It's the only book I've ever read that really describes what it's like to be a teacher. I have read most of the great 'teacher' books, and they follow the narrative arc and always have a teacher/hero at the helm. McCourt, who taught for thirty years, many of them at an elite high school in New York City, never forgot his early struggling days as a teacher, and his empathy for his students shines through.
Update:
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
8. The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Greg Matthews
9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
10. World's End by T.C. Boyle
Update:
1. The Golden Notebook.
2. Lady Chatterley's Lover.
3. Of Human Bondage.
4. A Passage to India. Very well written, I thought. I want to read Howard's End now as well. Can anybody offer some comparison between the two?
and 5. I'm currently reading Ivanhoe. Unfortunately, I'm unimpressed and even bored. Fortunately, Shakespeare is next on the program for me! Wheeee
Update:
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
8. The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Greg Matthews
9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
10. World's End by T.C. Boyle
11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I'm a bit late to this challenge, but in looking through the 12 books I've managed to read this year so far (it would have been more had I not been inclined to tackle Gravity's Rainbow again during the entire month of January), I've managed to read some new authors:
1. Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
2. Love Wins by Rob Bell
3. George Washington by Paul Johnson
4. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
5. Self-Help by Lorrie Moore
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn-forgot to list this previously. It's fairly good. I'd give it a 7/10
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spartk
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina 10/10
The Red Bow by George Saunders (short story) 7/10 It's actually quite good, just not to my taste; although I wouldn't rule out reading more of him.
Qimi, I'm an Anna Karenina fanatic, so it always makes me happy to see someone else enjoying it! Have you read any other Tolstoy? If so, what did you think of it?
I haven't read anything else by Tolstoy-maybe a short story. I doubt I would this year-still have six more new authors to go. What about "War and Peace"? Did you like it? I think reading about the battle scenes might not be interesting to me.
I loved, loved, loved "Anna;" I loved how he balanced the two stories of Anna and Vronsky against that of Kitty and Levin. I loved reading about Kitty's sister and her husband Stiva, and about Anna's husband. The language was beautiful, the insight into human nature as breathtaking as any sunset. I loved all the characters, but my favorite was Levin. Honestly, it felt like I was reading about myself-except I've never thought of suicide, nor am I a farmer or particularly enamored of physical labor.
That scene with Vronsky and his horse! That was it in a nutshell, to me. Of course it was a little more complicated than that, but what a metaphor!
Yes, the way he contrasts the two love affairs is beautiful - it's as mysterious and enchanting as any Bach counterpoint.
I did enjoy War and Peace, very much. You're right about the battle scenes not being the most interesting parts of the narrative, but I still felt that his power of description (which is more prominent in W&P than the characterizations of AK) keeps it from ever being boring. You can really feel the light on your skin sometimes.
1. The Bone People by Keri Hulme 9/10
Nice to see you, Night! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightshade
13 authors you have not read before.
Update:
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
8. The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Greg Matthews
9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
10. World's End by T.C. Boyle
11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
12. John Adams by David McCullough
Done!
1. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
2. Beautiful Creatures by Garcia/Stohl
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
8. The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Greg Matthews
9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
10. World's End by T.C. Boyle
11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
12. John Adams by David McCullough
13. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
2. Attila by William Napier 8/10Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Muse