2012 reading challenge

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Originally Posted by TheFifthElement

I'll admit, I am now struggling. I think I've achieved some sort of reading burnout that started with Cortazar's Hopscotch and hasn't really left me since. So I started The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann and have had to put it to one side and read Battle Royale instead which is actually 600+ pages long but kind of cheaty because it's 'easy' to read (I say easy to read but not an easy read because it is incredibly gruesome).

Falling behind target :(

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I know what you mean. I get like that at times. Usually after making myself complete a book that I don't really like. For some reason, I just can't let myself stop reading. I soldier my way through it and then I just don't want to read for a while! Maybe it would be better if I just stopped reading a book that doesn't interest me...

Buddenbrooks is next on my list. I haven't read anything by Thomas Mann yet. It will count towards this challenge and the 12 new authors challenge :thumbs_up

March update
1. The Tale of Genji - 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children - 647 pages
3. Battle Royale - 614 pages

I feel like I cheated though. Must try harder this month.

So for April I will be reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. If anyone would like to join me, I've set up a thread to discuss the book here: http://www.online-literature.com/for...56#post1132456

April update:

1. The Tale of Genji - 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children - 647 pages
3. Battle Royale - 614 pages
4. The Poisonwood Bible - 616 pages

Slamdunk!

So, I have inadvertently started the Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Yukio Mishima and that's going to be my May read (all four of them...it may spill over). Anyone interested is more than welcome to join me. I'm starting with Spring Snow (obviously, as it's the first book).

Proust...oh that's still a way off :D

So I'm half way through Runaway Horses which is the second book in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Mishima, and I'm flagging. This one's a tough one. Any inspiration to push me through it anyone?

Getting a little ahead of myself (75 pages to go) but here is my May update:

1. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu- 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie- 647 pages
3. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami - 614 pages
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - 616 pages
5. The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy (Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, The Decay of the Angel) by Yukio Mishima - 1376 pages.

Phew - The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy was hard work (well it still kind of is as I haven't quite finished it) but it's given me some confidence on my lengthy reading skills. And I think its time I moved away from the Japanese and read something different so next month it'll be......

Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

anyone care to join me?

By some interesting twist of fate, I just happened to stumble across a copy of Kristin Lavransdatter on my local bookstore's dollar shelf. Are you still planning to read it for the month of June? If so, I'd be happy to discuss.

At about 100 pages in, I'm really warming up to it. I really enjoy Kristin's interactions with certain spiritual elders, like Brother Edvin or the "witch"-- although she's not at the age where she can fully understand what they teach, their wisdom does return to guide her through darker times in her life. Still, I can't say the cover of my edition is doing great things for my street cred on the NYC subways.

rootinghog that's excellent news! And I love the cover, it's so funny! Mine is slightly more austere (and a bit more boring) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kristin-Lavr...9489740&sr=1-1

I'm definitely wanting to read Kristen this month; I'm just waiting until there's more room in my bag (as it's a beast!) so probably it'll be next week. I'm back in work now, and it takes about a week before I give up bringing things home and taking them back undone the next day. I'll start a separate thread for it. I'd love to hear what you think.

Just a question - do you have all three books? It's in three parts. Judging from your cover, you've got part 1.

Great! Just drop me a line once you've started up. It'll be interesting to compare translations- from what I can tell, mine is an older, more staid version, which I've grown to like but which can occasionally be indecipherable.

(And yes, I did nab all three similarly young-adult-fantasy-covered volumes from the dollar shelf, which has lessened bulkiness on the commute, if not embarrassment.)

Brilliant! I looked up the other covers and they are all equally beautiful. I hope you're a fast reader, otherwise your street cred will be suffering for a looooong time :D

I've set up the discussion thread here; once I've finished Lolita, which I don't think will take too long, I'll make a start on Kristen and will bob you a message to let you know.

Looking forward to reading.

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Originally Posted by Tallulah

Whew! I finally finished Les Miserables! Yay! :hurray:

It was really good. When I started it, I thought it was slow but once I got past the Bishop of Digne stuff it started to pick up. There were some other parts that I thought bogged down the story a little bit (did I really need that much info on the sewer system?) but overall it was a great book.

I have a few more "big" books I want to read but I need to take a break and read some easy stuff.

Oh, and someone mentioned Middlemarch. I just read that last year and thought it was great. Good luck!

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I finished Buddenbrooks a few weeks ago. It was really great. Loved the characters. Now I just have Don Quixote and Tom Jones to finish...

Read the 'Faerie Queen Vol1' as part of my 'stuff referenced in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics' reading list. Technically a poem rather than novel and not sure how long it was but it was LONG. Good too, surprising amount of violence, filth and action especially for a christian allegory.

Just finishing Scoop and Doctor Sax which are not very long but another monster on the horizon 'Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor' will be my next read, 972 pages.

Tallulah - congrats on finishing Buddenbrooks. I tried reading The Magic Mountain by Mann a couple of months ago and struggled. I'll return to it at some point.

wreade1872 I think the Faerie Queen counts as a long read. It's certainly a long poem anyway :D

So rootinghog I'm in! Finished Lolita this pm and starting on Kristen Lavransdatter in the morning. How are you getting along with it?

Glad to hear it! It should be interesting to transition from a book as male-centric and modern as Lolita to the medieval female perspective of Kristin. I'm about 1/3 of the way through-- I'll post some (non-specific) thoughts on my progress on your K.L. thread.

June update

1. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu- 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie- 647 pages
3. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami - 614 pages
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - 616 pages
5. The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy (Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, The Decay of the Angel) by Yukio Mishima - 1376 pages.
6. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset - 1125 pages

At this stage in proceedings, I think I might need to take a little break. I don't think I have the time to manage a full mammoth novel in July. I've also noticed, not that it comes as a great surprise, that there are significant differences in quality in these longer books, and this affects reading time. Battle Royale, for example, took a fairly short period of time to read whereas Kristin Lavransdatter has taken me some time to get through. It's been very enjoyable though, and I'm looking forward to picking up the challenge again in August.

So I've had a much longer break than planned, largely down to the twin distractions of writing a novel ansd starting my degree. It's been a busy year. October update...

1. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu- 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie- 647 pages
3. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami - 614 pages
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - 616 pages
5. The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy (Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, The Decay of the Angel) by Yukio Mishima - 1376 pages.
6. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset - 1125 pages
7. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - 1088 pages

I feel like I've cheated a little reading a kids' book as my latest offering, but it was excellent and very long, so perhaps only a little cheat.

Now, maybe I ought to get on and finish Middlemarch :D

1. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu- 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie- 647 pages
3. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami - 614 pages
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - 616 pages
5. The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy (Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, The Decay of the Angel) by Yukio Mishima - 1376 pages.
6. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset - 1125 pages
7. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - 1088 pages
8. Middlemarch by George Eliot - 864 pages

So I finished 3/4 of the challenge. Not a bad result, overall :D