2011 11-Authors Challenge

[stlukesguild]

Have you read any Kelly Link?

No. Recommendations?

[Dark Muse]

1.China Miéville: The City & The City - 9/10

At first I was a bit reluctant to read this book because the main focus of the plot revolved around a detective solving a murder, and in general I do not read crime fiction and detective novels, but I love surrealism and alternative realities so I was really intrigued by the concept of these two different cities coexisisting within the same location.

Over all I really enjoyed this book, though I do have some mixed feelings about certain aspects of it. On the one hand I found the realistic approach the author took to the concept was an interesting one, and the way in which it was an examination of urban life, society, politics, and so forth. On the other hand I have to admit a part of me was hoping for a bit more "fantastic" moments and perhaps hoping that it would bend the bonds of reality even further than it did.

2. H.G. Wells: The Time Machine - 9/10

Generally I am not really into sci-fi but I figured Wells is a classic, so I should give him a try and all in all I ended up quite enjoying this book. I did find that it was a bit slow at the start, but once he actually began to travel back into time and was telling of his adventures it really picked up. I have always liked those kind of adventure stories which involve traveling to strange new places and encounters with strange and new creatures/people.


3. Theodore Dreiser: Sister Carrie -10/10

I was a bit daunted by the size of this book but once I started reading it, it actually went by rather quickly. I found it to be quite an interesting story and I really enjoyed reading it. I really liked Dreiser's style of writing and the complexity of his characters. This really makes me want to read an American Tragedy now.

4. Nevil Shute: A Town Like Alice -9/10

Since I have posted an official review for this one I will try not to repeat myself too much again here. Only say that this book took me by surprise. I liked it a good deal more than I thought I would. I loved the narrative style and I found the story engaging to read and I loved the characters.

5. David Mitchell: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet -8/10

It starts out really slowly, though I did enjoy the history of the book as it is about the Dutch Trading company in Japan, which was quite interesting, because of the isolation laws of Japan there was this man made island built called Dejima which is where the traders were housed because they were not allowed to enter the country. But the first half of the book was a bit tedious to read, but it did begin to really pick up once you got into and the story took off and overall I quite enjoyed it.

6. Marguerite Duras: The Ravishing of Lol Stein-9/10

This is a beautifully lyrical, haunting and somewhat bizarre little book which really does provide the reader with a very unique reading experince. I was spellbound by the story as it started to unweave itself.

7. Hillary Mantel: Wolf Hall-8/10

I love historical fiction, and only recently started really getting into Tudor history and this book was all the rave and very hyped up. I have to say I have rather mixed feelings about it. I was not quite as blown away by it as I would have expected from everything I heard, yet I cannot say that I found it to be a disappointment either. It did have its interesting points and I liked the perspective for the story, telling it from Cromwell's point of view which I thought was quite a unique way to approach the story. But I did not altogether agree with the way in which she went about trying to portray Cromwell as a sympathetic character, as I think there was a heavy author bias in the story. Also I did not care that much for the narration style of the book which at times was difficult to follow, confusing, and for me failed to truly explore the depths of the characters so that I never really got completely drawn into the story.

8. Michel Faber: The Crimson Petal and the White -8/10

An exploration behind the veneer of the Victorian age, and most particularly focuses upon the issue of prostitution of that time, and with the freedom of the modern age explores into the subject of the sexual oppression which bred hypocrisies and depravity and addresses the way in which in many ways both men and women were victims of the age.

9. Michelle Moran: Madame Tussuad: A Novel of the French Revolution-9/10

I have always been interested in the French Revolution but never had the chance to read anything about it within the realm of historical fiction so I was very interested in this novel. I really enjoyed it I thought it was a well crafted story that moved along quickly and was engaging from the start.

[Drkshadow03]

Have you read any Kelly Link?

No. Recommendations?

Start with her first short story collection, Stranger Things Happen. Then her second collection, Magic for Beginners.

[stlukesguild]

1. Pierre Corneille- Theatre of Illusion (tr. Richard Wilbur)- A baroque play of the usual "he loves her, but she loves him, and he loves somebody else..." variety complete with costumes, mistaken identities, comments of class, etc... ala Beaumarchais, Moliere, Shakespeare, Mozart, etc... But this is given a unique twist with an intriguing frame story and an unexpected ending and a great comic blowhard which altogether undermines the the rule of French classical theater which Corneille and Racine essentially established.

For the time being I've decided to stick with the French and so I'm now reading Marguerite Yourcenar's Oriental Tales.

[WyattGwyon]

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[stlukesguild]

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[G L Wilson]

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[Rores28]

Fiction
1) Frankenstein - Mary Shelley 3.7/5
2) Night - Elie Wiesel 3.9/5
3) The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison - 4.2/5
4) Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut - 3.8/5
5) Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett - 4.2/5
6) The Vagina Monologues - Eve Ensler - 2.0/5

Non-fiction
1) Yes! - 4.5/5
2) Nudge - Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler - 3.8/5
3) Borges in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern - 2.5/5
4) Six Pixels of Separation - Mitch Joel - 3/5
5) Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman 3/5
6) The Truth about the Drugs Comapnies - Marcia Angell 4/5
7) Neuroscience and Philosophy - Maxwell Bennet 2.5/5
8) What Would Google Do? - Jeff Jarvis 3.8/5
9) Practical Ethics - Peter Singer 4.8/5 (The best book I've read this year)

10) The Problems of Philosophy - Bertrand Russel 3.8/5

**Currently Reading The Aeneid, The Selfish Gene, The Wisdom of Crowds, The inferno, Hegemony or Survival**

[Kundan]

My list starts with 'A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry

[Fyodor]

Actually read Borges. While his collected non-fiction is a daunting task it is ultimately valuable.

You could also try Eduardo Galeano for shorter works. I enjoyed "Upside Down - A primer for the looking glass world."

[Rores28]

Fiction
1) Frankenstein - Mary Shelley 3.7/5
2) Night - Elie Wiesel 3.9/5
3) The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison - 4.2/5
4) Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut - 3.8/5
5) Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett - 4.2/5
6) The Vagina Monologues - Eve Ensler - 2.0/5

7) Iphigenia in Aulis - Eurpidies - 4.8/5 - just saw this performed in Chicago at an incredibly small venue.. I'm talking the size of like 2-3 living rooms and was really blown away

Non-fiction
1) Yes! - 4.5/5
2) Nudge - Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler - 3.8/5
3) Borges in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern - 2.5/5
4) Six Pixels of Separation - Mitch Joel - 3/5
5) Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman 3/5
6) The Truth about the Drugs Companies - Marcia Angell 4/5
7) Neuroscience and Philosophy - Maxwell Bennet 2.5/5
8) What Would Google Do? - Jeff Jarvis 3.8/5
9) Practical Ethics - Peter Singer 4.8/5 (The best book I've read this year)
10) The Problems of Philosophy - Bertrand Russel 3.8/5

11) The Wisdom of Crowds - 4.8/5 - really liked this one. Recommended for anyone interested in sociology, business, or political science/philosophy

Got 11 Non-fictions, just need 4 more new fiction authors.

**Currently Reading The Aeneid, The Selfish Gene, The inferno, Hegemony or Survival**

[Residentvampire]

Update
6. The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies by Robert Kirk and Andrew Lang (1893) - This book is a very interesting collection of fairy lore that dabbles in insane twists when Kirk describes his time in "Fairyland" Worth reading.

7. The Temptation of St. Antony by Gustave Flaubert - A novel that although is grand in scope, falls apart at several places where it is unclear where the character is. Worth reading if your into Christian philosophy, otherwise stay away

8. The Town by Chuck Hogan - A very interesting, action packed read that keeps the reader interested from beginning to end. Some of the chapters read long but it never ends up dry.

[Mr. Bungle]

Can't edit my original post, so here's an update:

1. Richard Yates: Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness (6/10)
2. Richard P. Feynman: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (6/10)
3. Sam Harris: Letter To A Christian Nation (7/10)
4. Fred Hoyle: The Black Cloud (7/10)
5. Robert Trumbull: The Raft (8/10)
6. Douwe Draaisma: Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older (6/10)
7. David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas (9/10)
8. Naomi Wolf: The Beauty Myth (4,5/10)
9. Chuck Palahniuk: Diary (6,5/10)
10. Mari Jose Olaziregi: An Anthology Of Basque Short Stories (5/10)
11. Ernest Becker: The Birth And Death Of Meaning (6/10)

Almost done. (edit: Done!)

After the challenge: David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas" was a real treat and I am definitely going to pick up some of his other books. I think Trumbull never wrote anything else but I'll probably give Becker, Yates, Palahniuk and Harris another go.

[Rores28]

Can't edit my original post, so here's an update:

1. Richard Yates: Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness (6/10)
2. Richard P. Feynman: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (6/10)
3. Sam Harris: Letter To A Christian Nation (7/10)
4. Fred Hoyle: The Black Cloud (7/10)
5. Robert Trumbull: The Raft (8/10)
6. Douwe Draaisma: Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older (6/10)
7. David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas (9/10)
8. Naomi Wolf: The Beauty Myth (4,5/10)
9. Chuck Palahniuk: Diary (6,5/10)
10. Mari Jose Olaziregi: An Anthology Of Basque Short Stories (5/10)
11. Ernest Becker: The Birth And Death Of Meaning (reading atm...)

Almost done.

After the challenge: David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas" was a real treat and I am definitely going to pick up some of his other books. I think Trumbull never wrote anything else but I'll probably give Becker, Yates, Palahniuk and Harris another go.

Check out Harris's "The Moral Landscape" it's excellent. This is, however, coming from a pretty hardcore utilitarian .

[Mr. Bungle]

Check out Harris's "The Moral Landscape" it's excellent. This is, however, coming from a pretty hardcore utilitarian .

Thank you for the tip, Rores! I will look out for this one.

(Just for the record: 'Letter To A Christian Nation' probably deserves a higher rating. It is the first book of Harris that I had the pleasure of reading but I've heard him lecture many times before and there wasn't a lot of new ground broken in the book - hence the slightly lower rating.)