Tag: book lists

Time for Another Classics Club Spin (#46)

~ whatmeread ~ 9 Comments

How does it work? Classics Club members post a numbered list of 20 books from their Classics Club list. The club picks a number, and that determines which book you read next. If you want to join us, post a numbered list of your books by Sunday, November 15, when a number will be chosen. Then the challenge is to read that book by the deadline, January 3, 2027.

Since I have almost finished my list, my post is going to be the same three books over and over again (and actually, I have already read one but just not reviewed it yet, so if it is picked, it means I am set for January 3!).

  1. The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
  2. Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney
  3. The Tavern Knight by Rafael Sabatini
  4. The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
  5. Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney
  6. The Tavern Knight by Rafael Sabatini
  7. The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
  8. Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney
  9. The Tavern Knight by Rafael Sabatini
  10. The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
  11. Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney
  12. The Tavern Knight by Rafael Sabatini
  13. The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
  14. Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney
  15. The Tavern Knight by Rafael Sabatini
  16. The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
  17. Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney
  18. The Tavern Knight by Rafael Sabatini
  19. The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
  20. Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney

Just as a side note, I have been slowly forced by WordPress to convert all my pages to their stupid block format. I don’t know what they gain by it, but I can tell you several things I have lost by it, one being the ability to add an image anywhere I want to on a page. This is why, for some of my prize pages, you can see images of book covers a certain way down the page and then they stop.

Just now, after I had listed the first three items, instead of being able to copy them once and just keep pasting them in until I got to 20, I had to instead go back and forth between my edit page and my Classics Club page on my website and copy them in one at a time, over and over. Whoever thought up this block concept is an idiot.

Nonfiction in November Week 2: Nonfiction Journeys

~ whatmeread ~ 16 Comments

Here is the description for this week:

This week choose a book that reflects a journey for its author/protagonist or for the reader or both. This can be a physical journey, an emotional, psychological or spiritual journey or a combination of these.  Any nonfiction title that leaves its author/protagonist and/or reader in a different place at the end from the start point is good for this challenge. Hosted by Frances at volatilerune.blog.

I guess of the nonfiction books I read this year, three fit this description. I’m not going to count the biographies, which could be viewed as a journey through life. Here is the one I chose:

The most like a journey for me was in A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter. She was the first European woman to live in Svalbard for a year. At the time, the area was inhabited pretty much only by the Inuit and hunters, mostly from Norway. Her husband had already been there for a year when he asked her to come. She was at first appalled at the bleakness and emptiness of the area and the primitive living conditions, but by the end of the year, she had been captured by its beauty and solitude. I am always interested in the empty regions of the world. I found this book really fascinating and the descriptions were wonderful.

WWW Wednesday

~ whatmeread ~ 3 Comments

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, so it’s time for WWW Wednesday, an idea I borrowed from David Chazan, The Chocolate Lady, who borrowed it from someone else. For this feature, I report

  • What I am reading now
  • What I just finished reading
  • What I intend to read next

This is something you can participate in, too, if you want, by leaving comments about what you’ve been reading or plan to read.

What I am reading now

Right now, I am almost finished with Unto a Good Land by Vilhelm Moberg, the second book in his The Emigrants series about the first immigrants from a county in Sweden that ended up sending lots of its people to America. In the first book, Moberg got them to New York. In this book, they make the difficult journey to the wilds of Minnesota and begin making homes for themselves.

What I just finished reading

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver’s most recent book, Partita. It is about an Appalachian girl who is a gifted pianist, her struggles to get a musical education (her mother thinks she is getting above herself), and what happens to have her end up back in the community where she started. It seems to be somewhat autobiographical, at least in the music education portions.

What I will read next

I am about a month ahead on my reviews now (I was two months ahead, too far, before we lost our internet service for three weeks), so I’m preparing for December. I always try to read at least one Christmas-related book, although sometimes I read it and forget to post my review, but this time I’ve selected Who Killed the Curate? by Joan Coggin.

What are you reading now, or what did you just finish reading?

Nonfiction November Strikes Again! My Year in Nonfiction

~ whatmeread ~ 41 Comments

Here it is time for Nonfiction November again, hosted by different bloggers each week. Last year, I was determined to read more nonfiction books, especially because I read about such good ones during the month. Alas, I went from 14 last year to 8 this year! Oh dear! To be fair to myself, I have several in my pile. I just haven’t gotten to them yet. I see that I started out fairly well but things fell off in the summer and fall.

Here’s the prompt for Week 1:

Week 1 (November 2-8) – My Year in Nonfiction – Heather. What nonfiction books did you read this year?  What were your favorites?  Did you find yourself reading a particular category of nonfiction most often? Hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story.

So, let’s see what I did read. With only eight, I can certainly give each a run-down:

The Little Dinner by Christine Terhune: In 1892, apparently, Christine Terhune was equivalent to Martha Stewart. Her book assumes that people can no longer afford to host big, elaborate dinners, so she is helping with the details of a little one. The most fascinating thing about this book to me was what Terhune considered a little dinner. Apparently, you only need one or two maids and four or five courses. The book contains recipes and also tips about how to decorate for the event and so on.

Oscar Wilde by Sheridan Morley: This biography is not an exhaustive one but one that tells just enough about Wilde’s life to be interesting and includes some quips and quotes from Wilde himself. It also is easier on Lord Alfred Douglas than other biographies I have read.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan: I heard about this book over a year ago on public radio, in an interview with Amy Tan. She explained that she had a physical condition that didn’t allow her to drive anymore, so she started watching birds in her backyard. She had lots of questions about them, so she decided to draw them, figuring that might answer some of them. Her drawings are delightful, and she certainly has an inquiring mind. This book is a year of her observations.

Pure Wit: The Revolutionary Life of Margaret Cavendish by Francesca Peacock

Margaret Cavendish is such a fascinating person, one of the first women to be paid for her writings. I was so fascinated by her that I read two biographies, one last year and one this year, as well as the novella Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton. Peacock’s biography is the more scholarly of the two I read, the other being Mad Madge by Katie Whitaker. Peacock also deplores the “Mad Madge” appellation, which was actually applied to her after the Victorian period (she is 17th century), and regrets that Whitaker used it for her book title.

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell is talking here sometimes about brushes with actual death and sometimes about more metaphorical issues. I found this one rivetting and deeply touching.

A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter

This is a fascinating memoir by the first European woman to spend a year in Spitsbergen (Svalbard), joining her husband there. Her outlook changes from thinking the landscape is cold and forbidding to beautiful. The descriptions are wonderful. The book is translated from German by Jane Degras.

The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri

This book is really an essay about how Lahiri regards the covers for her books. At once she says they aren’t hers anymore when they get to that stage, yet it’s clear that some of the covers chosen for her books really bother her. She would actually like her books to just have the title and her name on them. The details about publication were interesting.

Queens and Kings: An Unusually Personal History by Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley is always entertaining, and this history/memoir is not meant to be comprehensive. It presents information about most of the English reigns beginning with Henry VIII and ending with Elizabeth II and refutes some myths. The information is presented in terms of the palaces most associated with the particular reign, for example, Hampton Court for Henry VIII. It also tells some stories of Worsley’s own experiences working in the different palaces as Chief Curator and encountering royalty.

Which were my favorites? I would say I Am, I Am, I Am and A Woman in the Polar Night.

So, that’s all I have done, sad to say. Most of these books were read in the spring, and then I picked back up when I realized November was approaching, but I also got caught up in reading novellas for the same month!

What I Added to To Read in October

~ whatmeread ~ 8 Comments

I’m beginning to think I have to keep track of these books better, if I can figure out a way to do it easily. I already looked into putting some kind of tag to indicate sources on the books in The StoryGraph, but I can’t figure out how to do it. I found myself not even readily able to remember where I heard about the latest addition to my list.

Anyway, here it is, the third installment of this feature, which I stole from Liz at Adventures in reading, running, and working from home. These are the books I added to my list in October, with sources if I can remember them:

May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry

I found out lately that I have to read this one for my Booker Shortlist Prize project anyway, but I think it was already on my list from a New York Times post. And lately, I saw a review of it by Bookish Beck and before that another by Cathy of 746 Books. A curator and king—interesting.

The Country Schoolmaster by Kate Grenville

I’m usually going to read Grenville, but I am indebted to Helen of She Reads Novels for the knowledge that this book was available. I’m not always up on Australian publications. It’s interesting to see that a main character of May We Feed the King is a curator and of The Country Schoolmaster is an archivist. I think I see a trend here.

Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali

I checked most of the usual suspects, but I was unable to spot anyone’s review of this book that rang a bell. I probably paid attention to it because it is written by a Turkish writer and I keep trying to read more books from different countries. I see that a couple of Classics Club members have reviewed it, but I’m pretty sure that’s not where I read about it. Hmmm. It’s about a young Turk who goes to Berlin in the 1920s.

With Our Blessing by Jo Spain

I’m fairly sure it isn’t the review of With Our Blessing that made me put this book on my list, but FictionFan‘s enthusiastic review of the second in the series, Beneath the Surface. When it’s a series, I usually try to go back to the first book. I believe that she said that the second book was even better than the first, which she regarded highly, so something to look forward to. It’s a crime novel set in 1970s Ireland.

The Far Cry by Emma Smith

I at least know where I read about The Far Cry, from Simon at StuckinaBook for the 1949 Club. It’s about a girl whose father takes her away to India to get her away from her mother. Anyway, it’s Persephone Press, so I would eventually have read it.

Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li

I am fairly sure I read about this novel in a review by the New York Times. It’s about two music students in 18th century Dublin. I am noticing that most of these books seem to be historical fiction. Not surprising, I guess.

Luna, Phoenix, Queen by Julie Orringer

Although I don’t use Amazon’s book recommendations because they are always pretty far off for me, I think this book popped up when I was buying something else. It’s by Julie Orringer, and I have loved everything I’ve read of hers so far. I didn’t even look to see what it was about.

Hawthorn by Elaine Thomson

I have no idea where I read about this one, but the words “Victorian Ghost Story” got me right away, I’m sure. If you think I read about it on your blog, let me know.

Shadows of the Burning Moor by Kenny Boyle

This book is so new, it doesn’t even have a proper cover yet. I have been following Kenny Boyle on Instagram. He’s a delightful Scot from the Isle of Lewis who talks about Scottish mythology and pronunciation and other Scottish subjects, but mostly folklore. He is also a playwright who won the 2021 New Playwright’s Award. I’m not sure this is going to prove to be my genre, but I am planning to buy this book when it comes out.

Opal Country by Chris Hammer

I again have FictionFan to thank for cluttering up my To Read list with a bunch of books, including this one. Crime novel, set in an Australian mining town. What’s not to like?

Another lame attempt at Book Serendipity

~ whatmeread ~ 9 Comments

I really admire the eye for detail shown by Bookish Beck in her feature Book Serendipity. She notices everything! I am not so observant, it turns out. Rather than notice that I had two characters named Rachel, I would only notice if they were named “Amadeus,” or “Auryandry.” (This is a name I made up in my twenties, which I used when drunk men would try to pick me up in a bar. I would say my name was “Eurythice Auryandry Guggelheimer,” which ended up with me having a repeat myself a lot, as you can imagine. Somehow none of them could remember my name.)

Anyway, here are my pitiful three serendipities, collected over three months. This time I have one true book serendipity and two cross-media serendipities:

Here’s my one true case of book serendipity:

Encountering for the first time the name Aylwin in No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym and a few books later in Harvest Home by Dorothy Lambert.

My two cross-media serendipities are

Reading a novel set in Svalbard, A Woman in the Polar Night by Christianne Ritter, and three days later having a trip there be a prize on Wheel of Fortune.

Publishing a post on the Classics Club blog about 19th/20th century Yankton Dakota writer and activist Zitkala-Šá (Red Bird) a week before encountering her as a character (named Miss Redbird) in the novel To Save the Man by John Sayles.

What I Added to To Read in September

~ whatmeread ~ 12 Comments

Frankly, this month has been so fraught with stuff to worry about that I forgot this new feature until I saw Liz’s at Adventures in reading, running, and working from home, where I copied it from originally.

This is the second issue of my new feature, which I hope to post at the beginning of each month. I am listing all the books I added to my To Read list during the previous month, starting with the most recent. The trick is to remember what made me add them to the list.

I am doing worse this month when I know I should remember than I did last month, when I wrote the first feature off the cuff! So, if you think your review might be responsible for me putting a book on my list, please let me know.

Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

I have to admit, this one has me puzzled, especially because I added it in the last few days. I could have sworn it was mentioned by Cathy of 246 Books, but it’s not mentioned in her September news about Irish literature. I also see the Literary Hub wrote about the author, but I can actually picture what the page looked like in my mind, and it’s not the page from Literary Hub. So, if you wrote about this book recently, perhaps in terms of an award nomination or lack thereof, let me know. Anyway, it sounded interesting. It’s a sort of memoir by the Irish poet.

Grand Horizontales: The Lives and Legends of Nineteenth-Century Courtesans by Virginia Rounding

I am fairly sure I read about this book in the New York Times book section. Look! Two nonfiction books in a row! I think the title of this book indicates why it might be interesting.

My Husband by Maud Ventura

I actually tried to figure out a way I could tag books with where I heard of them in The Storygraph, but there was no way. I might have to start writing this stuff down, because I have no idea where I heard of this book. I would think this might have come from the New York Times feature, “Books We Liked this Week” except it was published in 2021. It was originally written in French about a woman’s excessive love for her husband.

Farewell to Eden by Sebastian Faulks

I remember where I read about Farewell to Eden, because I had a discussion with FictonFan about not particularly liking Faulks. Her enthusiastic review made me add it to my list.

Blockers by Michael Lewis

Although Michael Lewis’s The Big Short was not about subject matter that usually interests me, it was actually excellent. Blockers, about people’s encounters with Trump’s “government efficiency” folks, sounds a little more down my alley. That being said, aside from yet another nonfiction book, I have no idea where I read about this one. Might be the New York Times.

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Here we go again. I have no idea where I heard about Peck & Peck, but I so enjoyed Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry that I put it down on my list without even reading what it was about.

The Little I Knew by Chiara Valerio

It’s official. Starting today, I will write these down, because the farther out I get, the less I remember. In any case, it’s about the secrets of a woman who died unexpectedly, so it sounds right up my alley.

Prague Nights by Benjamin Black

I am confident that I put Prague Nights on my list after reading the review by Helen of She Reads Novels. I have read six of Black’s novels on my own (so I’m kind of surprised, Helen, that you said you’ve never heard of him, since I know you read my blog), so just the mention of this one intrigued, especially as I am fascinated by Eastern Europe.

So, here it is for this last month. I hope I do better at remembering in October!