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I'm in again this year, read loads more than I thought I would but didn't quite beat the challenge. Name: Robot Mil Number: 40 Booklord: yep
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Jan 1, 2017 13:36
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January update 1. Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell: This is a book by a journalist who upped sticks with her husband and moved from the UK to Denmark. A pretty fortunate position to be in, a) that he could get a job good enough for them both to live on (in the Lego factory no less!) and b) that she worked in a profession where she could work remotely/freelance etc. Still, I really liked the good and bad of living in Denmark and as someone pretty fed up of the conservative/fascist way of things right now, it gave me hope that some countries still value providing good social care to their citizens. I quite liked her frequent references and statistics to back up her comments, although perhaps some would find this annoying. Mostly it made me hungry for Danish pastries and want to visit Copenhagen. 2. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick Ah I have such a ladycrush on this woman. I've read quite a lot of autobiographies by female actors and comics, and this was a pretty good one, she doesn't try to hard to be funny but has such a lovely attitude. 3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I had this on audiobook which I think was a slight mistake as it's frickin' long and took all month to listen to where I would have read it much quicker. OK so it's mainly historical romance/sex trash but I still liked it - I found the historical setting absorbing, the characters complex and believable and really enjoyed the humourous touches (possibly enhanced by the lovely sarcy tone of the narrator). The main character adjusted a little too quickly and effectively into being shunted a couple of hundred years into the past though and the ending did drag. Booklord challenges completed: 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 3/40 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% (8) of them are written by women . 3/40 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel - A Year of Living Danishly 12) Read something historical - Outlander 13) Read something biographical - Scrappy Little Nobody
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Feb 3, 2017 19:01
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Ras Het posted:Hasn't Denmark been going through a massive right wing swing in the last few years. Also their conservative party is called Left Isn't everywhere? I'm firmly in the Denmark in my head (a la the book I read) which is wall to wall lego, pastries and amazing unemployment benefits. And ok, terrible domestic violence and alcoholism problems.
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Feb 3, 2017 22:28
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Forgot to do last month so here's two month's worth of update! Not doing too badly on the Booklord challenge, although I need to up my quota of non-white authors. Previously read: 1. Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell 2. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick 3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon February & March update 4. The Mabinogion by Sioned Davies: A recent translation of a series of old Welsh myths and legends. A very interesting read of very early prose style, nothing like contemporary novels or stories with such things as character development and uh plot. But beautiful all the same. 5. The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo: A childhood classic and a very quick read - on a Welsh kick apparently as there were a lot of links between the names and setting in this book and the tales of the Mabinogion. 6. According to Yes - Dawn French: This was kind of awful. I liked the main character and the writing style in a lot of ways but some truly bizarre choices and plot decisions, such as her having sex with all three generations of man in one family, at least one of which being fairly rapey and another being a married man, getting pregnant by one of them (who knows which) and then everyone apparently being ok with that by the end. Shame, as I have a massive ladycrush on Dawn French. 7. Wish You Were Here by Rita May Brown: A mystery novel with the second main amateur 'detective' being a cat. The animal sidekick thing was a cute gimmick and it was fun to see the characterisations of the animals but honestly the mystery bit was just boring, as was the setting of a weird old american town where everyone is awful. 8. Transmetropolitan Vol 1 & 2 by Warren Ellis: I am loving this series! Very apt mix of sci fi graphic novel and political satire for the current political situation but still truly entertaining and weird. 9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: I mean, it's a classic. I've read this probably four or five times before but I always enjoy a re-read, mainly for the sarcasm and mental images of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy... 10. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett: What a strange play, but oddly enjoyable to read about two grumpy old men doing absolutely nothing and arguing about it. 11. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler : Oof this was tough in places but an excellent read - a combination of science fiction and historical fiction. I was drawn in and absorbed enough to get through the horrific experiences. Booklord challenges completed: 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 11/40 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% (8) of them are written by women . 8/8 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% (8) of them are written by someone non-white. 1/8 8) Read something which was published before you were born - Pride and Prejudice 9) Read something in translation - The Mabinogion 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel - A Year of Living Danishly 12) Read something historical - Outlander 13) Read something biographical - Scrappy Little Nobody 15) Read a play - Waiting for Godot 19) Read a satire. - Transmetropolitan 24) Read something from a non-human perspective - Wish You Were Here
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Apr 1, 2017 09:00
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