kac522's 2014 Challenge

My "categories" are going to be pretty dull this year. I have one goal in 2014: read books off my own shelves as much as possible. I'm not very creative and this year I don't want too many restrictions. So I have decided on 4 broad categories of 14 books each (4 x 14 = 56), and am hoping that at least half of these will be books on my shelves bought in 2013 or earlier. I am so serious about this that I've joined 2 groups to help me:

Roots: http://www.librarything.com/topic/162050 and
TBR Challenge: http://www.librarything.com/topic/162080

Let the Reading begin!

I. 14 Books purchased before 2013
(Year in parenthesis is the year I acquired the book.)

1. The Pocket Emily Dickinson, Dickinson (2012)--finished 8 Jan
2. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston (1993?)--finished 4 Mar
3. Audiobook: Jane Eyre, Bronte, read by Simon Vance
4. He Knew He Was Right, Trollope (2011)--finished 27 July
5. Seize the Day, Bellow (before 2011)--finished 3 Aug
6. Surfacing, Atwood (1990s)--finished 17 Aug
7. The Points of My Compass, White (before 2009)--finished 12 Oct
8. The Hound of the Baskervilles, Conan Doyle (before 2011)--finished 28 Oct
9. A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry (2012)--finished 30 Nov
10. Death Comes for the Archbishop, Cather (before 2011)--finished 9 Dec
11. The Yellow Wind, Grossman (2011)--finished 14 Dec
12. A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings, Dickens (2010)--finished 20 Dec
13.
14.

II. 14 Books purchased in 2013

1. Civil to Strangers, Pym--finished 15 Jan
2. Anti-Judaism: the Western Tradition, Nirenberg--finished 19 Jan
3. The Ladies' Paradise, Zola--finished 18 Mar
4. Italian Short Stories I, Trevelyan--finished 22 Mar
5. Soldiers with Picks and Shovels: the CCC Camp at Carlinville, Illinois, Emery--finished 29 Mar
6. Audiobook: Mansfield Park, Austen, read by Juliet Stevenson
7. Audiobook: Emma, Austen, read by Juliet Stevenson
8. Audiobook: The World of Robert Schumann, John Tibbetts, producer and narrator
9. In a Summer Season, Taylor--finished 1 Jul
10. Audiobook: Sense and Sensibility, Austen--finished 28 Jul
11. A Circle of Quiet, L'Engle--finished 5 Dec
12. The Golden Lion of Granpere, Trollope--finished 11 Dec
13. A Quilt of Words: Women's Diaries, Letters & Original Accounts, Niederman--finished 22 Dec
14. So Long, See You Tomorrow, Maxwell--finished 23 Dec
15. Little Women, Alcott--finished 31 Dec

III. 14 "Required Reading" books--for book clubs, class, groups, etc.

1. The Marrow of Tradition, Chesnutt--for Southern Lit class--finished 18 Feb
2. Jane Eyre: Portrait of a Life, Berg--for Book Club discussion of Jane Eyre--finished 23 Feb
3. Cane, Toomer--for Southern Lit class--finished 25 Feb
4. One of Ours, Cather--for Great War Theme Read--finished 3 Mar;
a second reading finished 24 Jun for Book Club discussion.
5. A Lesson Before Dying, Gaines--for Southern Lit class--finished 11 Mar
6. Henry V, Shakespeare--for Book Club--finished 28 Mar
7. The Zimmermann Telegram, Tuchman--for Great War Theme--finished 3 Apr
8. Company K, March--for Great War Theme Read--finished 5 May
9. The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald--for Book Club--finished 13 May
10. The Turn of the Screw and the Aspern Papers, James--for Book Club--finished 21 May
11. Testament of Youth, Brittain--for Great War Theme Read--finished 12 June
12. By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life, Paul, ed.--my first ER--finished 22 Aug
13. All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque--for Great War Theme Read--finished 26 Aug
14. One Man's Meat, White--for Book Club--finished 26 Sep
15. The Haunting of Hill House, Jackson--for Book Club--finished 16 Oct
16. Broken Tablets, Mikva--for TBI--finished 4 Nov
17. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Chabon--for One Book, One Chicago--finished 23 Nov

IV. 14 "Impulse" books--from anywhere...library, friends, LT, etc.

1. High Rising, Thirkell--finished Jan 7
2. Longbourn, Baker--finished Feb 2
3. Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits, Maloof--finished Mar 11
4. The London Eye Mystery, Dowd--finished 6 Apr
5. Being Good, Blackburn--finished 1 May
6. The Perfectly Imperfect Home, Needleman--finished 7 May
7. Quiet: The Power of Introverts, Cain--finished 20 June
8. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, Bryson--finished 28 Jul
9. English Diaries and Journals, O'Brien--finished 29 Jul
10. English Pottery and China, Sempill--finished 3 Aug
11. Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman--finished 12 Aug
12. Audiobook: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain--finished 20 Aug
13. The Fault in Our Stars, Green--finished 23 Aug
14. The Forever Girl, McCall Smith--finished 7 Sep
15. Audiobook: Moonwalking with Einstein, Foer--finished 12 Sep
16. Et Cetera, et cetera, Thomas--finished 12 Sep
17. How Good Do We Have to Be?, Kushner--finished 28 Sep
18. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, Watson--finished 30 Sep
19. Jews and Words, Oz and Oz-Salzburger--finished 29 Oct
20. Six Memos for the Next Millenium, Calvino--finished 29 Nov

Nothing dull about planning to read 56 books in a year, nor in keeping your categories workable for you. Limiting to just a quarter of impulse books would be my problem!

For pictures and the like, I always refer to this thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/129158#3115191

Just remember that a picture needs to be somewhere on the web in order to add the link to it. You can add pictures to your profile (in the junk drawer) if you want to upload something.

I'm also mostly focusing on my shelves (again/still, heh), that's why I pick my categories to be reflective of things sitting on them. ;)

As for images, you just need to get the URL for the image (right-click it and choose "copy image location" or "copy image source" etc, depending on your browser's wording), and then use the HTML for it: <img src="PASTE URL HERE" />

I've forced myself not to purchase as many books in 2013. I'm making myself rely more on the library. I just simply didn't have the space for more. I download a few things on my Kindle, but I'm trying not to overdo that. I've also managed to snag quite a few new things for review from various sources, so that's all helped me keep my spending under control! I still have a huge backlog, but I'm slowly making progress on it!

Your challenge looks great. I like that you haven't insisted that all your reading come from your TBR -- that way is destined for failure!

This challenge is so flexible on purpose so that everyone can set a goal that they will be comfortable with. If inspiration strikes, you can always rename your categories. I know what you mean about the impulse reads. I work in a library and they always catch my eye!. It will be interesting to see what books you decide on reading.

This is a great idea for the challenge. Like so many of us here, I have a series of huge and ever-growing TBR shelves. I am also trying to focus on my TBR shelves as much as possible next year. Good luck and I'll be dropping by to root you on.

Thank you, all, for the encouragement!

Thornton37814, I'm going to try your method in 2014, although I don't know how successful I'll be. My downfall is library used book sales, where books go for $5 a bag.

RidgewayGirl and Mamzel, I had to have a "catch-all" category, but for me it is more "impulse", and then I feel guilty about those books staring at me on the shelves.

DeltaQueen50, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I'm in the ROOT group, but I'm still falling behind, so hopefully next year will be the year I exceed my goal.

And thank you, HelenLiz and Polymath, for the info about adding graphics--I have "starred" the thread you recommended. I will work on adding a few pictures soon. If successful, you'll see them here.

Good luck to all of you in your 2014 challenges.

Good luck with the challenge. I'm an "impulse" reader, too and just love going to the library to scan the shelves for something totally random. And there's no harm done to my pocketbook either.

Good luck with the challenge! Looks like a very manageable setup. There's some challenge but plenty of room for fun!

Looks like a good set-up to me - looking forward to following along!

Nice challenge structure and a workable number of books planned as well. Like you and a number of others here, I am also trying to read more books that I already own but made sure I still left room in my categories for those 'shiny' books from the library!

I like the flexibility of your structure.

And I noticed in your personal goals that you are working on Trollope's Palliser series -- so am I! I just finished Phineas Redux, how far along are you?

I've read the first 2 Pallisers and hope to start out 2014 with The Eustace Diamonds. I loved the Barsetshire novels, but I'm having a harder time with this series. I also want to read He Knew He Was Right this year and at some point The Way We Live Now, but that's probably a 2015 book, I think.

I agree that I liked the Barsetshire series better, although my mom prefers the Palliser series. I read The Way We Live Now this year - it was very good! I might join you in He Knew He Was Right, if that is OK...

Sure; I think I'm going to read The Eustace Diamonds at the beginning of the year, and then HKHWR in February or March.

OK, sounds good.

Good set up! I like that you know what works for you.

High Rising by Angela Thirkell. I read about Angela Thirkell on LT and everything I read was positive. She set her books in contemporary times (1930s-1950s) in Trollope's Barsetshire, and makes references to other fiction, especially Trollope. And overall, I'd say the books were fun diversions UNTIL I got to the anti-semitism references, which really bother me. Even Dickens went back and changed references to "the Jew" in Oliver Twist. So although I'd like to keep up with Thirkell, I don't think I will, unless someone else here can convince me to stick with it.

>19 kac522: I must have blocked that out because I have no memory of any anti-Semitism... Certainly that is not a recurring theme in her books, so I would say try one more.

OK, maybe I will. Thanks for thinking about this. In the beginning of High Rising, there are some negative comments about Adrian Coates being Jewish and several times in the book a comment is made about someone--"oh what a Jew" or something to that effect. Very weird to me. I've always looked past the attitudes toward women--if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to read anything written before 1975 :) But this was utterly strange to me, especially given the times.

The Pocket Emily Dickinson, edited by Brenda Hillman. I know I should love Dickinson, but I just don't get most of her poems. BUT if you are a Dickinson fan, this little pocket book is a gem--you can carry around about 100 of her best poems with you wherever you go--it really does fit in a pocket.

Civil to Strangers by Barbara Pym. This group of novellas and short stories was published after Pym's death. They are uneven...the title novel, "Civil to Strangers", was wonderful, but the spy story was silly. I am glad to have undertaken to read (some were re-reads) all of her works this year. They meant so much more to me than when I read them in order, and at this stage of my life.

Anti-Judaism: the Western Tradition by David Nirenberg. Whew! I've been working on this book since August. This is a difficult book to read. Many of the concepts were not easy to grasp, and the ones that were easy to grasp were disturbing, to say the least. Nirenberg traces Western thought/philosophy and how anti-Judaism was used to promote how we look at the world. To way over-simplify this book (sorry Prof Nirenberg), Nirenberg shows how the concepts of Judaic "law"/reason and relationship to the "real" world were used in a negative way to justify Christianity, Islam, the Enlightenment, Marxism, the Holocaust and everything in-between. The book has very little "Judaism" in it--it is about how Western thinkers perceived Judaism, whether they knew "real" Jews or not. I appreciated the beginning and ending chapters more, and muddled through the middle--17th, 18th & 19th centuries. At any rate, a very important look at how the development of thought changes and yet still stays the same over time.

Do you have a favorite Pym? Just started reading her last year and am really enjoying the ones I've read so far.

Longbourn by Jo Baker. I keep hoping that the next Jane Austen-based novel is going to have some of Austen's wit and observations on people and their daily interactions with each other. And I am always disappointed. This book is no exception--it was meticulously researched, well-written, and very detailed on the servants' hard lives--almost too serious and realistic for me. But it doesn't have any of Austen's observations on personality and character. Where are the insights that come in conversation and letters and musings? Not here...apparently servants didn't think much. Some of the plot twists were interesting (Ptolemy Bingley) and some (like Hill & Mr. Bennet) were hard to believe, and the ending was completely unbelievable.

I was wondering if you were still thinking about reading He Knew He Was Right in Feb./March? I am currently reading The Prime Minister but getting close to the end...

I really want to get to it, but I think I will have to wait until March to give it my full attention. My book club's selection this month is Jane Eyre; I've read it many times, but I wanted to supplement with Gaskell's biography of Bronte. Plus I'm taking a (U.S.) Southern Lit class where we're reading a novel a week. Please go ahead--I certainly don't want to hold up your progress.

No, actually I am relieved to put it off a bit as I have been wanting to start Middlemarch…

Now there's something I've wanted to re-read...it's been a few years...that and Daniel Deronda. But I may give in and just watch the movies.

The Marrow of Tradition by Charles W. Chesnutt. Not the most eloquent book or subtle presentation of material, but it was decades (1898) ahead of its time in identifying the problems of race. Sentimental at times but other times brutally honest. It's obvious that Chesnutt was particularly focused on the skin color and class, and the special issues facing light-skinned African-Americans. Chesnutt researched the riots of Wilmington, NC, and loosely based his novel on those events.

Jane Eyre: Portrait of a Life by Maggie Berg. An interesting analysis of Jane Eyre, using each of her residences (Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, Marsh End, Ferndean) as the points of analysis. Berg also makes a point of analyzing the book on its own merits, and not just trying to find Bronte's life in every page. Berg explores the meanings of the various paintings and sketches in the text. She of course deals with the "madwoman in the attic" ideas and romanticism vs. realism. I've read Jane Eyre many times throughout my life, but this is the first time I've ventured into its symbols and meanings--I was afraid it would ruin the story for me (I'm currently listening to the audiobook, read by Juliet Stevenson). But at this stage of my life, it has enhanced my appreciation of the work.

Cane by Jean Toomer. The most interesting part of this book was the additional information about Toomer's life. Cane itself is a sort of "miscellany": poems, short vignettes, short stories, one almost-novel. Modernist, difficult to understand. Toomer was a writer from the Harlem Renaissance era, and he floated back & forth between the white & black literary worlds, and sometimes "passed" for white. He did not consider himself "Negro", but American. He's an interesting character (many affairs, including with Georgia O'Keeffe) who late in life adopted Quakerism, but his work didn't do anything for me except leave me confused.

One of Ours by Willa Cather. The book is roughly in two parts--young Claude Wheeler in pre-WWI Nebraska and Claude in WWI. I enjoyed the writing and story line much more in the first half--Cather is on home turf here, and she portrays the farm life, people and landscape of Nebraska so well you can feel it. I particularly enjoyed her description of snowstorms, just as we were in the middle of one. The war section seemed strained, less real, especially the dialogue. Claude's thoughts, too--why did he so rarely think of home, of his mother, of Enid (even bitterly)...in fact, we don't even know what happens to Enid. Cather creates a world for Claude that is unreal, it seems to me. Some have said that the book "glorifies" war, but I don't see it that way--it's almost more an apology for those who came back to the real world; that those who died in battle were the "lucky" ones, because they never lost their dreams, their purpose.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I had completely forgotten the story and characters of this book; I vaguely remembered that when I read it 20 years ago I felt so-so about it. This time I read the book in one day for my Southern Lit class. Compared to our previous books (Cane and The Marrow of Tradition), this book was flowing, complex, funny and full of meaning. It certainly had much more to offer--it is easy to see how this work has influenced Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Hurston's book was a brave novel for its time, and still resonates today, I think.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. This book is amazingly powerful; I had to put it down between chapters. Its power comes from the story being told by the narrator, who is a less-than willing participant in the life of a young black man sentenced to death. Its power also comes in that it never gets sentimental, and yet it has heart and love. This was required reading for my Southern Lit class; I would never have read this book on my own. I am so glad that I did.

Last week I picked up Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits by John Maloof at my library. I've been interested in this street photographer every since I saw a short profile about her work on our local PBS station here in Chicago.

Some stunning photographs, and just eerie how she uses shadows and reflections.

And if you're not familiar with Maier's work and John Maloof's collection, you can learn more about it here: http://www.vivianmaier.com/

The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola. Zola's descriptions of Paris, the store, the fabrics, etc. are wonderful. His understanding of retail is not that far from where we are today. But the personal relationships were less convincing. His female characters are either pure (Denise), gossipy and catty (like the women shoppers & the shopgirls) or lifeless and tragic (like Genevieve & her mother). And I am not sure what he was trying to tell us--does Mouret conquer women (with shopping) or does "Woman" (i.e., Denise) conquer him? I enjoyed the PBS series (with its changes) much more.

Italian Short Stories I: Racconti Italiani I edited by Raleigh Trevelyan. Stories were just OK; enjoyed the one by Natalia Ginzburg best. The text has Italian on one page and English on the facing page.

Henry V by William Shakespeare. I am not a big Shakespeare fan, but I did enjoy this along with Kenneth Branagh's film. I also felt this particular edition (Folger paperback) had good notes and an interesting "Modern Perspective" afterword.

The Folger paperbacks are my favourite editions of Shakespeare. The notes they have are good and not overwhelming, and I like that the notes are on the left and the text on the right. Other editions have the notes at the bottom of the page and I find that really distracting.

>41 rabbitprincess: Yes, I was amazed at how much was packed into that little paperback. Plus Henry V has a lot of French and the translations were provided, too.

Soldiers with Picks and Shovels: the CCC Camp at Carlinville, Illinois by Tom Emery. An interesting little self-published book that I picked up at the Newberry Library sale last summer about the CCC camp at Carlinville, IL. The author is from the area, and was sponsored by a local businessman. He did interviews with men who had worked at the camp, visited local archives and libraries, and he read through the local paper at the time. Some pictures, although few identified specific individuals. He gives a short overview of the CCC system, but deals mostly with the Carlinville camp. New to me was that in order to qualify for the camp, as well as male and over 18, you had to be unemployed, single and your family had to be on relief. Men were paid $30 a month, $25 of which was sent directly to the man's family. Much of the work done at the Carlinville camp involved helping local farmers with soil erosion prevention and planting trees.

The barracks and living arrangements were similar to military camps, and it's easy to see how many of the men would have smoothly transitioned into service for WWII. But utterly amazing (compared to today) was how swiftly the whole CCC organization was put into motion in the Roosevelt administration. In literally a few months thousands of men were being housed and employed in worthwhile projects. Congress moved with lightening speed in those days.

Overall, an interesting local history piece that encompasses and reflects on larger national issues of the time.

The Zimmermann Telegram by Barbara Tuchman. The story of the encoded message that ultimately led to the US entering WWI in 1917. Tuchman's writing reads like a novel. She keeps up the suspense, and breaks up the action to make it interesting. I only wish she had a "cast of characters" so I could keep them all straight. I especially got confused in the Mexico sections. She also refers to people and events in passing, as if everyone reading should be familiar with them, and I was left in the dust sometimes. But overall a good read.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. Clever YA mystery, told (and solved) by a boy with Asperger's syndrome. I liked the way the author wove in aspects of the syndrome into the story.

Being Good by Simon Blackburn. Supposedly a little book on ethics, but the author seems to wander all over ethical ideas, never giving a clear concept of what he wants to say. Perhaps other philosophers will enjoy his meanderings, but as a non-philosophical type, I had a hard time following and grasping what Blackburn wanted me to learn.

It's been almost a month since I've finished a book--I'm in the middle of 4 or 5, and spent a couple of weeks in Italy with my son & grandchildren. Now it's back to reading...

Company K by William March. It's hard to say that one "enjoys" a book about war, but this was very moving in its own way. March organizes the work as small pieces (usually a page or so) by over 100 different men in Company K. Each talks in his own voice, and each carries the "story" along. Sometimes the same event is told by 2 different men; sometimes you know that this vignette is the dying man's last thoughts. I think it would work well as a play.

The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman. An easy-going decorating book (that I impulsively grabbed off the library shelf), with lots of practical advice. I liked her style and her decorating "objectives", although I don't think we can all spend as the author does. I was only disappointed in the small amount of information on carpeting, something I'm thinking about right now.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Read this in high school some 35+ years ago--didn't mean much to me then, and read it now for my book club. For some reason, this book just doesn't speak to me, old sport. Tom & Daisy ruin other people's lives and Gatsby is a mystery to me. Its greatness eludes me.

The Aspern Papers and the Turn of the Screw by Henry James. These 2 novellas are intense psychological studies that kept me turning pages, even as I became more & more frustrated by James' writing. He can find 100 words to say something that can be said in 10. The reader is very much in the "head" of the narrator in both stories, and one fluctuates between being disgusted to sympathetic for the narrator in both. These were both between 100 and 150 pages--about all I can take of Henry James at any one time.

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. This was a wonderful book. It opened my eyes to girlhood at the turn of the 20th c. (my grandmothers' girlhoods). It told the story of WWI from a young woman's point of view: observant and yet highly personal. It speaks proudly of feminism in the 1920s and 1930s. And it assesses the aftermath of the war on the participants and a lost generation, and what it means for the future, from the vantage point of 1933. Amazing.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. An overview of introverts. Interesting, but it didn't grab me. She cites some studies with surprising outcomes, but one wonders if she's only bringing up results that favor her point of view.

Much better was the audiobook, or really radio program, that I just finished listening to: "The World of Robert Schumann." This was a radio series by John Tibbetts and broadcast on the WFMT Radio Network back in 2006. I picked up the CDs (13 of them) at a local library book sale. It's a fantastic look at Robert Schumann, his life, his music, and the age of Romanticism. Tibbetts narrates the history, has actors reading from Robert & Clara's diaries and letters, interviews historians, and performers about Schumann and his contemporaries. I think what I enjoyed most about this series was how it put Schumann in the midst of his age, and the Romantic Era. I was sorry when it ended.

Speaking of audiobooks, I've decided to count my audiobooks that I listened to this year, but acquired in prior years, in my lists above. I had hoped to keep it just to physical books or ebooks, but I do want to get these audiobooks "read", too, especially the Complete Works of Jane Austen (my gift to myself for Christmas 2013).

>52 kac522: "The World of Robert Schumann" seems like a wonderful way to experience the Romantic Era. I like how radio programs make that possible :)

>54 electrice: The weird thing is that I just happened to pick it up at a library book sale last year. It was produced in 2006 by WFMT (which is the classical radio station here in Chicago that I listen to), but I don't remember ever hearing this program at that time.

Today I was so sad when I was nearing the end and Robert died--I wanted it to go on and on....they did have one last program on Clara Schumann & Brahms after Robert's death. Apparently the producer John Tibbetts spent almost 20 years putting the whole thing together. Really well done, if you can ever find it at a library near you.

>55 kac522: Lucky pick :) Being sad means it was that good. 20 years take a lot of dedication so it's great that it's up to par.

Sadly, I'll not find it at the library as I'm in Grenoble, in the French Alps. The English library that we have here, is part of the international middle school and high school; and it's rather small.

That being said, I'm keeping it in mind, thanks for the review.

Well, my son lives outside of Milan, so maybe one year that I visit him we can meet half-way!

>57 kac522: It would be wonderful :)

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor. Good, but I wouldn't call it outstanding. In the style of Barbara Pym, but not quite as funny, with more pathos, I guess. I was not satisfied with the ending--it seemed an easy way out of unpleasant characters. But some interesting observations and descriptions. I thought Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont a much better book.

He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope. This was an enjoyable summer read and something I could absorb during a stressful time. I found the marriage disagreement of Louis & Emily Trevelyan so typical of many couples, eventually carried to the extreme. In a way you could see how both were right, and both were wrong, and that is the brilliance of Trollope. Trevelyan's slow descent into madness was well done; even though I didn't like him, I had sympathy for him. I also enjoyed Aunt Stanbury; she changed over the course of the novel, and that was nicely done, too. At 900+ pages, it could have been shorter--and less about the French sisters and Mr. Gibson, although they added a certain comic relief. The love stories of Brooke & Dorothy, and Nora & Hugh kept me turning pages. I don't know what took me so long to read this, but I'm so glad I did right now.

>60 kac522: Nice review. This encourages me to tackle it next year for the Trollope bicentenary.

Thanks for reminding me! I have 4 books left in the Pallisers and The Way We Live Now, so I think that is something I can do between now and the end of 2015, too.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson. Bryson's remembrances of 1950's Des Moines is very funny, especially the younger years. Much of it translates to anywhere, USA. About half-way through the book, though, it lost its edge for me, and I didn't enjoy it as much. But overall it made me laugh out loud sometimes and smile quite a lot.

English Diaries and Journals by Kate O'Brien. This is a lovely little book that I purchased at the Newberry sale this year. O'Brien walks us through some famous historical diaries. As she says, diaries are written by bores, but that's what makes a diary so interesting! All the minute details and gossip of everyday life that's insufferable in person, but fascinating years later. Only a few of these diarist are famous. My only quibble is that it was hard to tell when she moved on to the next writer; it could have had a little more organization or headers or something. The prints are lovely, and worth the price of the book. I'm going to investigate more of this "Britain in Pictures" series. And another Kate O'Brien.

English Pottery and China by Cecilia Sempill. Another book from the "Britain in Pictures" series; this one I borrowed from the library. Rather boring and confusing; pictures mediocre. Certainly not as well done as the Diaries and Journals book.

Seize the Day by Saul Bellow. Amazing descriptions of characters. I understood the ending, but I was confused about Tamkin and his "philosophies"--just wasn't sure what Bellow was trying to say.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This book made me think, more slow than fast. I have to admit that most of the time I didn't understand the psychological or economic jargon ("prospect theory", "Econs and Humans", "utility", etc.) but I mostly understood the practical applications, experiments and results. I could only read a couple of chapters at a time to absorb what I'd read, so it took a couple of months to finish. Fortunately the chapters weren't too long, although he progressively builds on what's been presented before, so you have to pay attention. I'm not sure I'm a lot wiser, but perhaps a bit more cautious when reading results of surveys and predictions.

>66 kac522:
That's one I've been meaning to read for quite a while - thanks for the reminder!

It took some effort to read, but overall I think it was worth it. Makes you re-evaluate how you come to decisions.

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood. When I first read this book in the early 1980's, I'd never read anything like it before. I remember feeling completely at home with Atwood's point of view, and identifying with the emotions of the main character. Nearly 40 years later, the writing seems less awe-inspiring to me, but the ideas are still fascinating. I'm less enthralled with the emotions and more with the insights into human nature. I enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book more; toward the end of the book, as the narrator seems to disintegrate, I enjoyed the novel less. Still a great reading experience.

I've not gotten to Surfacing yet, but it will likely be the next Atwood book that I read. Glad to hear you liked it upon rereading!

I've read mostly her "middle" novels--Cat's Eye, The Robber Bride, Blind Assasin, Alias Grace, Handmaid's Tale etc. In the 1990s I purchased Dell paperbacks of her early books, so I'm trying to FINALLY knock 'em out this year--Edible Woman, Lady Oracle, Life Before Man, Bodily Harm and Surfacing. Right now The Robber Bride still remains my favorite.

I've read mostly her "middle" novels--Cat's Eye, The Robber Bride, Blind Assasin, Alias Grace, Handmaid's Tale etc.

Those are exactly the novels I've read except to add The Penelopiad. I loved The Robber Bride, but I think I'd pick Blind Assassin as my favorite if I was forced to choose.

Blind Assasin was a good one; I've also read The Penelopiad, Payback, and several short story collection: Wilderness Tips, Bluebeard's Egg, Good Bones and Simple Murders, Moral Disorder. I'd have to say, now that I'm thinking about it, that the short stories were more enjoyable for me than the novels.

By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life, edited by Pamela Paul. This my first Early Reviewer book and my review is up.

The Robber Bride remains my favorite, but I have yet to read much of her earlier works. I do like her short stories. I read one when I was fourteen or fifteen and still think about it -- in which a woman has a cyst removed which is made of hair and teeth. I should probably hunt that story down and see what I think of it now.

When I first read The Robber Bride, it was so amazing that I immediately read it again! I don't think I've ever done that with any other book.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. A book you need to read again to catch all of the significant lines and concepts. I thought that Hazel was sometimes not realistic--initially, she seemed more like a boy to me than a girl, and later in the book seemed almost too smart. And Hazel's favorite author, Van Houten, popping up at the end was not very realistic either, but maybe that was for effect or meaning more than for realism. Made me cry big time. And a realistic look at parents of sick children--maybe that was the most revealing part.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. There's little that I can add to the praise for this novel--it is a wonder, a must-read. I think what adds to its power is the use of first person, present tense, making it immediate and riveting. And the "senses" of war--colors, sounds, smells. If you read one book about WWI, read this one.

The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith. A sweet book, but certainly not one of McCall Smith's best. I almost wished it hadn't ended "happily", and that Clover (goodness, what a name) had learned to live with her unrequired love and moved on. But, as always, his descriptions of Edinburgh make we want to go there NOW. I could read his descriptions of the place all day.

Well, in my usual way, I've completed my "impulse" category WAY before the "off the shelf" categories :(. I just can't resist those library books. I'm going to really try to work on my shelves this month, although I've got 2 library books on my nightstand...arrrrgh.

Et Cetera, et cetera by Lewis Thomas. Thomas cleverly weaves word history with word usage, but I found the most interesting parts where he meandered off into essays on language and peoples. Not as entertaining as "Lives of a Cell", but still interesting.

One Man's Meat by E. B. White. Thoughtful essays by White from The New Yorker, 1938-1943. Most focus on White's farm in Maine and contrasted with the coming war. My particular favorite essay was "The Wave of the Future" (1940), a critical essay about Anne Lindbergh's book defending Hitler and fascism.

How Good Do We Have To Be? by Harold S. Kushner. Rather rambling, and not always related to the title of the book. But the chapter about the relationships between parents and children ("Fathers and Sons, Mothers and Daughters") was moving and insightful. That chapter was worth reading the entire book.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson. Miss Pettigrew is a 40-ish frumpy spinster, who walks into the life of the exciting night-club singer, Miss LaFosse. Author Winifred Watson creates a 1930s movie-like world with crisp, witty dialogue. One of those novels Graham Greene would call "an entertainment."

>87 kac522: Aww, loved that book! It's a wonderful comfort read. :) There's a fun movie too, with Amy Adams, although it takes several liberties with the plot of the book.

>87 kac522: I discovered that book this year - a real gem of a story.

>88 christina_reads: and >89 Helenliz: The film is waiting for me at the library...a treat for the weekend!

The Points of My Compass: Letters from the East, the West, the North and the South by E. B. White. Essays from the New Yorker, circa 1954-1960, with "P.S. updates" in 1962. To me this collection overall wasn't as good as One Man's Meat. A handful of essays are memorable: one on Hurricane Edna in 1954; about Will Strunk (of Strunk & White fame); on the decline of the railroads and the rise of the motorcar; on television; and the last essay, using his journal from age 24, re-telling an Alaskan adventure. White's prose is so clean, so straight-forward and yet not without emotion and passion.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Broken Tablets: Restoring the Ten Commandments and Ourselves, edited by Rachel S. Mikva and dedicated to the late Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf. Rabbi Rachel Mikva is the daughter of Judge Abner Mikva of Illinois. This book includes observations on each of the Ten Commandments by 10 different rabbis and Jewish thinkers, as well as a small section on each by Rabbi Mikva herself. OK discussions on each of the commandments, some more interesting than others. I wasn't overwhelmed by any, but as Wolf points out in the afterword, it's much easier to extrapolate on obscure passages than to find "new" things to say about sections like the Ten Commandments.

Jews and Words by Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzburger. I was expecting more from this little book; I'm not sure why. But it seemed to center around the words of the Torah and Talmud, despite the fact that the authors declare themselves secular. They make a valid point that even as secular Jews, their biblical heritage is as important to them as to religious Jews. And then they meander and wander from there. I would have liked more structure to their thoughts, although many of their musings were interesting and funny.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. I feel like I've been reading this book FOREVER, although it's only been a little over a month. At any rate, I am glad I am DONE. This book did not draw me in, but I felt like I "should" read it, so I kept pushing on. I didn't like the writing, the characters, the plot, and everything was so damned complicated. The only section of the book I liked was when Joe Kavalier returns to New York and encounters 12 year old Tommy (Joe's son who he's never met--I told you it's COMPLICATED) and they develop a friendship (Tommy doesn't know that this is his father--see COMPLICATED, above). And the Golem thing was so confusing and convoluted and wrapped in and out of the story, that in its web of many meanings it became meaningless to me. Sorry Chabon lovers out there.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. I haven't read much Sherlock Holmes, but this was a delightful read for the week of Halloween. I need to read more.

Six Memos for the Next Millenium by Italo Calvino. These five essays (Calvino died before completing the sixth) were intended as lectures, but were never given. They are entitled: Lightness, Quickness, Exactitude, Visibility and Multiplicity. These were the challenges that Calvino saw for the writer in the 21st century, from the viewpoint of 1985. Much went over my head (especially references to myths). Interestingly, some of what Calvino says (staying light but not losing seriousness, being exact but not losing vision, encompassing multiple "worlds" without making a mess) made me think of the Michael Chabon book I just completed. He was too heavy, too weighed down with facts and lost the vision of where he was going. Calvino refers to television and movies as interfering with our ability to see images from words; what would he think of today's internet and technology! A wonderful little book, although sometimes obscure and difficult to understand; but when I understood, it was brilliant.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Every line in this play has meaning, and to me as much meaning (or maybe even more) than it must have had in 1959. It is still relevant today. I have seen the Ruby Dee/Sidney Poitier film, but some important scenes were cut from the movie. The full script of the play is very powerful. I read it in an evening; an American classic.

A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle. This book, woven together from L'Engle's journals (the first of 4 books) drifts effortlessly from one topic to the next, as if you were having a conversation with a very good friend; a friend where you can slide from one story to the next, one thought to the next. It's philosophical, spiritual, and maybe not to everyone's liking. And this book was written circa 1969-70, so the topics of communes, LSD, sexual liberation, civil rights, and even "Jesus Freaks" pass through these pages. For me it was like a time-warp--going back and re-examining the emotions from those times, which will probably seem very dated to young people today. I may or may not read the rest, but this first book was an interesting journey.

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. This is a beautifully written book. Some call it an epic or mythic, but I would say more like a legend or folk tale because of its slowness, quietness and humility. I think all of these qualities come through the book and express the personalities of the 2 priests, the Mexican native peoples and the Indian native peoples (Cather uses Indian). And in the background is always the evocative descriptions of New Mexico, always using lots of color. My sense from the book is that Cather treated all peoples and religions with respect in this book; certainly there is more Roman Catholicism because of the 2 main characters. But other traditions are given justice, certainly for her time (the book was written in 1927). A wonderful, slow-paced read.

The Golden Lion of Granpere by Anthony Trollope. Although certainly not Trollope's best, I enjoyed this little book about love and misunderstandings. It's set in the mountains of Alsace Lorraine with simple, gentle people, so it's a bit different from the Pallisers. He seemed to used simpler language, and almost a fairy-tale quality in the writing, and apparently had tried to publish the novel anonymously (although ultimately it did appear under his name). A nice diversion, and a lovely feel for the setting.

The Yellow Wind by David Grossman. A honest but painful look at Israel and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Written as a series of articles in 1987, Grossman captures the frustration, anger and fury on both sides. I wonder what Grossman would find has changed in the past 27 years, should he revisit these people and places.

A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens. Nicely done edition. But I have to say that besides "A Christmas Carol", I wasn't overwhelmed with the other pieces.

A Quilt of Words: Women's Diaries, Letters & Original Accounts of Life in the Southwest, edited by Sharon Niederman. This is a collection of personal accounts by women who were some of the first settlers in the Southwest, especially New Mexico. Interestingly, one of the accounts was from a woman who was personally acquainted with Archbishop Lamy. This is the priest that Willa Cather based her Archbishop on, in Death Comes for the Archbishop, so it was interesting to get a real first-person account of the Archbishop after reading the novel. Most of the pieces were good, although a few did not catch my interest. Niederman provides some background for each woman, which I found quite helpful. These were brave women, for sure.

So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell. There is something about William Maxwell's prose that forces you to read it slowly, to take in every word on the page. I enjoyed this simple, but deliberate style of writing. I was sometimes confused by the structure--I wasn't always sure whose point of view was being expressed, but the insights and story were compelling. Much is semi-autobiographical, and I can say he described the small bits about Chicago accurately. I've only seen the outside of Senn High School (where he attended), but the description in the book matches the school.

Stopping by to be riddled with BBs and to wish you a Happy New Year!

One of these years I will actually read A Christmas Carol, ideally at Christmas.

Happy new year!

>106 paruline: & >107 rabbitprincess: Thank you for the New Year's wishes. Another edition I picked up at the library A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books (Everyman's Library) has a wonderful Introduction by Margaret Atwood, where she discusses the significance of Scrooge in our culture. People know the character Scrooge, even if they've no idea where he originated.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I picked up this edition of Little Women because I think it's very close to the edition my mom had with illustrations by Jessie Wilcox Smith, which I read as a child, and I don't know what happened to that book. I remember the first half of the book, but the second seemed entirely new to me, although I'm sure I read it as a child. Some of the "morals" in the book are a bit over the top, but in general Alcott portrays people with faults who work hard to over come them. Nearly all of the characters in the book change and grow, and that is so refreshing. I'm glad I read it, and now on to 2015 reading!

Well, looking back at my 2014 reading, I almost met my goals for TBRs, so I'm not disappointed. I think I did some good reading this year, with the exception of a hitch here or there (specifically, Michael Chabon).

Onward to my 2015 challenges!: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185254