2014 14-New-Authors Challenge

*Updated*

1. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg - 6/10
2. Iceland's Bell by Halldor Laxness - 6/10
3. White Teeth by Zadie Smith - 7/10
5. The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford - 6/10
6. Jack Maggs by Peter Carey - 9/10
7. Pavane by Keith Roberts - 6/10
8. Purge by Sofi Oksanen - 8/10
9. The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney 8/10
10. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming 5/10
11. The Vickar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith 6/10
12. The Way of the Wyrd by Brian Bates 9/10

*Updated*

1. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg - 6/10
2. Iceland's Bell by Halldor Laxness - 6/10
3. White Teeth by Zadie Smith - 7/10
5. The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford - 6/10
6. Jack Maggs by Peter Carey - 9/10
7. Pavane by Keith Roberts - 6/10
8. Purge by Sofi Oksanen - 8/10
9. The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney 8/10
10. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming 5/10
11. The Vickar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith 6/10
12. The Way of the Wyrd by Brian Bates 9/10
13. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome 6/10

*Updated*

1. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg - 6/10
2. Iceland's Bell by Halldor Laxness - 6/10
3. White Teeth by Zadie Smith - 7/10
5. The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford - 6/10
6. Jack Maggs by Peter Carey - 9/10
7. Pavane by Keith Roberts - 6/10
8. Purge by Sofi Oksanen - 8/10
9. The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney 8/10
10. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming 5/10
11. The Vickar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith 6/10
12. The Way of the Wyrd by Brian Bates 9/10
13. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome 6/10
14. Zroba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis 9/10

1) Saul Bellow, Humbolt's Gift -- The execution of the book didn't really live up to its ideas. Purdy does a better job taking a swipe at artistic orthodoxy IMO.
2) Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray -- The "drama" parts are good. The fantasy parts are.... not his thing
3) Mo Yan, Red Sorghum -- Very pretty and very sad.
4) Jonathan Lethem, Chronic City -- It was fun up until the big reveal, at which point I realized I had already read a better version of essentially the same story. Slogged through it, but plot driven books where I can predict every "surprise" twist in the last 100 pages are not good.
5) Mario Vargas Llosa, War of the end of the World -- Kind of a Latin Falukner. IDK yet, but maybe my favorite book ever.
6) Herta Müller, Land of Green Plums -- Starts slow and strange, kind of flounders in the middle, and ends very strong.
In progress, Tropic of Cancer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paulclem

1) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke 7/10
2) After Dark by Haruki Murakami 7/10
3) Greybeard by Brian Aldiss 8/10
4) Q by Luther Blisset 8/10
5) Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis 7/10

---

6) In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murukami 5.5/10

1. Pavane by Keith Roberts - 7/10
2. Year Zero by Rob Reid - 6/10
3. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb - 7/10
4. The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan - 6/10. I received it for Christmas and I couldn't put it down until about halfway through when it started to get a little drawn out. I probably won't read the rest of the trilogy.
5. Less Than Zero by Ellis, Brett Easton - 7.5/10
6. Plaster City by Shaw, Johnny - 7.6/10 (Sheer entertainment)
7. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter: A Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa - 6.8/10

1. Pavane by Keith Roberts - 7/10
2. Year Zero by Rob Reid - 6/10
3. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb - 7/10
4. The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan - 6/10. I received it for Christmas and I couldn't put it down until about halfway through when it started to get a little drawn out. I probably won't read the rest of the trilogy.
5. Less Than Zero by Ellis, Brett Easton - 7.5/10
6. Plaster City by Shaw, Johnny - 7.6/10 (Sheer entertainment)
7. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter: A Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa - 6.8/10
8. Koko takes a Holiday by Kieran Shea - 7.6/10
9. Annihilation: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff VanderMeer - 7/10

1. Stella GIBBONS, Cold Comfort Farm
2. Sylvia PLATH, The Bell Jar
3. Iris MURDOCH, The Bell
4. Zadie SMITH, On Beauty
5. Rebecca WEST, The Thinking Reed
6. Siri HUSTVEDT, What I Loved
7. Kate CHOPIN, The Awakening and Other Stories
8. Elizabeth BOWEN, The Last September
9. Halldor LAXNESS, Independent People
10. Isabel ALLENDE, La Maison aux Esprits
11. Patrick WHITE, Voss
12. Marivi SOLIVEN, The Mango Bride
13. Haruki MURAKAMI, Kafka on the Shore
14. Nikolaï LESKOV, Le Voyageur Enchanté

Alice Munro
Tasso
Flann O Brian
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Henry James
Italo Calvino

I think that's it unfortunately, I actually did a lot of rereading this year.

Anyone want to try this again this year?

I would be up for it.

I take it we choose our own new authors.
So far I have a short story anthology "Blow-Up and other stories" Julio Cortazar. I am not very impressed.
I am nearing the end of Iain Pears "Arcadia". He is not really a new author for me as I read "Stone's Fall" a couple of months ago but until then I had never heard of him.

1. Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson

On the whole I am not a great reader of mysteries/ crime fiction but I have come to like much of the Nordic crime novels. In part because of the snowy and often stark landscapes they often have. They also tend to be generally darker and bleaker than American crime. As well I tend to find Nordic crime books have more in depth characters and more complicated plots.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. It was a rather fast paced read and kept my interest. I did find the ending a little rushed but I know a part of it was trying to lead into the next book in the seies. In some ways I just wished this story felt more complete.

1 Arcadia by Iain Pears. I'd give this an 8/10. It has several plot lines, a vast array of characters, many playful ideas and a sense of humour. It has no distinctive language but a decent novel does not have to be Joycean or Jamesian. It has several strongly imagined characters and a few stock characters. Very entertaining and could be read and enjoyed by all ages. There is an app - apparently - which adds an extra level of appeal for younger readers. References to Tolkein, Shakespeare, le Carre, Dr Who, sci-Fi, fantasy and several others give a dimension that adds intellectual stimulation.

2 A short story by a Scottish writer called Joan Jukes. It is titled "On The Floor" I'd give it 10/10. First person narrative point of view. Interior monologue. Black humour. But these are only technical aspects of a very fine story about an invalid.

3 The Cortazar collection is ongoing but so far I'd only give it 5.

4 Just begun The Lost Sailors by Jean Claude Izzo. It appears to be... gentle?

1. Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson

On the whole I am not a great reader of mysteries/ crime fiction but I have come to like much of the Nordic crime novels. In part because of the snowy and often stark landscapes they often have. They also tend to be generally darker and bleaker than American crime. As well I tend to find Nordic crime books have more in depth characters and more complicated plots.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. It was a rather fast paced read and kept my interest. I did find the ending a little rushed but I know a part of it was trying to lead into the next book in the seies. In some ways I just wished this story felt more complete.

2. The City Always Wins by Omar Robert Hamilton

A rather intersting look at the revolution in Egpyt. I rather enjoyed the narrarive style and the way the author addresses both the political and personal/emotional complexities of revolution. It also reveals some rather bitter and poignant truths. I appreciated Hamilton’s insights into the events that took place and the thoughts and motivations of the people envolved.