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I missed last year's challenge due to full-time working/grad school, but I think I have a handle on things now! I'll be reading at least 60 , and I'll look to Stravinsky's challenge for inspiration. Please feel free to friend my on Goodreads.
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Jan 6, 2015 22:41
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 01:41 |
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Roydrowsy posted:
I actually just finished the second book and it's basically HBO's Rome goes to space. I don't mean that in a bad way-- lots of backstabbing (both literal and figurative) and political intrigue, along with some really brutal battle scenes. My heart was pounding during the last scene and books rarely give me such visceral reactions. I would recommend it if that sort of thing interests you.
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Jan 13, 2015 23:16
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I'm going to call it quits for January with this list: 1 Harem: The World Behind the Veil by Alev Lytle Croutier (History) 2 Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema by Anne Helen Petersen (Female author) 3 Golden Son by Pierce Brown (Something dealing with space) 4 As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann (Something on either hate or love) 5 The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue 6 Allah Is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma (Non-white author) General goal: 6/60 Booklord challenge: 5/22 I've already recommended Golden Son in this thread, but both As Meat Loves Salt and Allah Is Not Obliged are books that will always stick in my mind, even if I didn't always enjoy them. The former has some of the most unlikeable characters I've come across in modern literature, but I was impressed by the density of historical research in this novel. The latter is the catalog of the unrelenting misery in the life of a child soldier in West Africa, told in the wry voice of a protagonist acting more as an observer of his own story rather than a participant. I wouldn't steer anyone away from these books, but it's good to know what you're getting into. I just started The Last King of Scotland , but I'd love if someone threw me a wildcard!
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Jan 31, 2015 17:51
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February is never a great reading month for me, unfortunately. This is what I got through: 7) The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden 8) Fives and Twenty-Fives by Michael Pitre 9) As You Wish: Inconcievable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden 10) King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild 11) Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher I got mental whiplash from jumping to King Leopold's Ghost from As You Wish, then on to Dear Committee Members. Basically leaping from pleasant nostalgia to deep misery to sensible chuckles. I'm currently reading Winter Siege, which is light as hell. I'd love to be able to line up my Wildcard read for the Booklord's challenge. Give me what you got!
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Mar 2, 2015 22:12
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Didn't get to read as many books as I had wanted this month, but here it goes: March 12) Winter Siege by Ariana Franklin 13) The Isle of Youth by Laura van den Berg (Short stories) 14) The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (Something published this year or the past three months) 15) John the Pupil by David Flusfeder Personal challenge: 15/60 Booklord challenge: 7/22 I'm still on the fence about The Buried Giant. I really wanted to love it, but I found myself spacing out during the narrative. Ultimately, that might have been part of Ishiguro's plan for readers all along, as it's a book about memory and how memory can be easily erased. Slow plot, but some beautiful language. I'm currently reading The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams, which is a re-read from many years back. I'll be moving on to Jon Ronson's new book after that.
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Apr 2, 2015 21:08
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 01:41 |
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Missed posting in April, so you're getting double this month. 16) The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams (An essay) 17) So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson 18) Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth by Timothy Dwyer (Biography) 19) The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (Wildcard) 20) Dead Wake by Erik Larson 21) Jews versus Aliens by Lavie Tidhar 22) A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Something dealing with the unreal) Got a couple there for the Booklord, but I spent most of last month moving several hundred miles, so there aren't as many as I would like. As usual, Jon Ronson writes a book that is equal part neurotic and curious, my favorite way of conveying information. If you're looking for a non-fiction book with a distinct voice, you should pick that one up.
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Jun 1, 2015 00:15
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