Play Book Tag discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
2016-19 Activities & Challenges
>
PBT Horizons—October Planning and Reporting
I will probably read All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo because it will also fit the monthly tag. I think I got it from Amazon's World Book Day promotion.
Nicole R wrote: "The culture theme for September is...Spain, nominated by Joanne and DianeMP!
This thread will be used for a couple of purposes:
• Announcing the culture (done!)
• Planning and discussing what bo..."
Hi Nicole...I assume you mean October?
Lol the year is racing by!
Jemima wrote: "Hi Nicole...I assume you mean October?Lol the year is racing by!."
Fixed
Nicole R wrote: "Don Quixote, anyone?!? lol"I wonder if I dare... I tried reading this in my teens and got about halfway through, then gave up. I wonder if it will be different in my 50s!
For those of you who like Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books Origin is set in Spain and it fits October's tag. I put two mystery books set in Spain on hold, Little Indiscretions and Just Desserts, both should also fit the monthly tag.
annapi wrote: "I wonder if I dare... I tried reading this in my teens and got about halfway through, then gave up. I wonder if it will be different in my 50s!..."I threw it out in jest, but then immediately looked it up on Audible.com. lol.
It would fit in nicely with my longbook challenge, but now that my work commute is substantially shorter, I don't know that I want to commit a whole month of commutes--if not a bit longer--to a single book.
We chose Spain as our Culture Tour book in another group this month where I help out as a mod. Serendipity! I linked to these lists for my group. I wonder if they might be helpful here too?Books Set in Spain/Spanish Novels
Spain Cultural Book List
Books Inspired by the Spanish Civil War
Popular Spanish Books
I love travel memoirs, so if I get to a book this month, I think it will be Follow that Arrow.However, I am now seriously considering Don Quixote, but doubt I would actually finish it this month....
WOOT! I was hoping for Spain!have By Fire, By Water up for another challenge in October!
On My Teetering Turret of TBR:
The Time in Between
Reign of Madness
Winter in Madrid
Looking forward to a month of great reading!
I will probably skip this month. I already logged in January extra horizon reads...as a hedge for months where I had nothing in my TBR that fit or no time. Already used 1 for South Korea. Using last one this month. Of course if the November pick is even less present in my TBR Towers, I can always quickky read something!
Emjoy all!
I will probably read Blood Med by Jason Webster. It's #4 in a crime-fiction series I really enoy, set in Spain and featuring Chief Inspector Max Camara. I also need to read The Snow Gypsy for another group so I'm going to see lots of Spain in October.
Thrilled! And easy. I am finishing out my works of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, so I already had two lined up. Might I also suggest to others that this is a good month to read Shadow of the Wind?
When I looked on my TBR I found The Girl from Oto and The Snow Gypsy.I might read them.
Oh and going through my TBR, I recently purchased Granada: A Pomegranate in the Hand of God, which I am quite excited about. YaY! I wanted to feel some excitement about what I was planning to read!
Also have All This I Will Give to You from Amazon World Book Day. A friend read it and assured me it was good.
The snow gypsy is Spain? I was saving that for December....I am planning to read by the light of the hidden candles by danielle levy
Amy - I was just looking at Labyrinth of the Spirits. It's just such a door stopper, and I have to concentrate on my other reading challenges (AtY and Popsugar) if I want to finish them this year. What to do, what to do. Maybe take a couple of months off work and just read ;)
I was looking at Winter in Madrid also but it has a wait list at the library. I may see what I can find in Crime Fiction that is set in Spain. Now I have to rediscover how to search both tags at the the same time.
OMG OMG OMG THIS IS PERFECT!!!!!!Hubby and I just bought tickets to Spain and Portugal, and we'll be leaving late October (next month eek!)!!
I'll be looking at specifically Madrid/Seville based books. Super excited that my vacation reading goals matched up with the horizons tag!
Will report back once I've had time to research books, but SO EXCITED FOR THIS!
Also here is the link for the tripfiction Spain page.
Joi, that sounds like an awesome trip!!!
Amy wrote: "The snow gypsy is Spain? I was saving that for December....I am planning to read by the light of the hidden candles by danielle levy"
Yes, it is.
Not sure yet what (or if) I'll read for Spain. I have an annual challenge where a book set in an Eastern European country is one I'm supposed to read. I'm in this group and one more that choose different countries each month and do you think any. single. Eastern European country has come up yet...!? Sigh... Maybe November....?
BnB - Buddy read for the Snow Gypsy? Anyone else in? I appear to have a number of Spain books slated for this month, but happy to move Snow Gypsy from December to now.
Joi wrote: "OMG OMG OMG THIS IS PERFECT!!!!!!Hubby and I just bought tickets to Spain and Portugal, and we'll be leaving late October (next month eek!)!!
I'll be looking at specifically Madrid/Seville based..."
That's awesome! Congratulations.
Last night I read a review in which his only complaint was that it read like a travelogue at the beginning. But that would be great for you. I'll see if I can find it.
Amy wrote: "BnB - Buddy read for the Snow Gypsy? Anyone else in? I appear to have a number of Spain books slated for this month, but happy to move Snow Gypsy from December to now."I'm in for that. It sounds interesting to me, because there is some focus on the Spanish Civil war which we became familiar with in Beautiful Exiles and Love and Ruin.
What time of the month are you planning on getting to it, so I can time things up.
I actually have the book out of the library, so I can start at any time. What were you thinking?
I have it. It was an Amazon First Reads. Did you want to start out with that at the beginning of the month or were you planning to read something else first. I'm pretty open on this.I want to get to the trim, the horizon and the tag in no particular order and then I will work on some I want to read and Fall Flurries.
I don't want to start until October but other than that, I'm open.
I'm really interested in The Man with No Borders for the Spain book. I think it was an Amazon First Reads or Prime book. I already read 2 books set in Spain this year, and I read 10 or 11 horizons books, so I might skip this one to make room for different countries in Nov and Dec.
I think I am going to try to read Gods of Shade and Shadow in the last four days of September as my third Egypt book. Because Prince of Mist is just 200 pages and I don't want to start it too early. But I think just after October begins, I am going after Prince of Mist, and then the Snow Gypsy. Might have my Trim 32 stuck in the middle between, because I am going to listen to it on audible, and then I can just finish it with the hard copy. Either way, I am still thinking Snow Gypsy could be early in October, like by the 7th or so. Does that fit with you? Because I could also wait....
Around the 7th sounds good to me. I can fit something in before.
OK - I am torn between The Club Dumas or The Prisoner of Heaven. The one that gets here first from the library system wins.
Amy wrote: "Thrilled! And easy. I am finishing out my works of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, so I already had two lined up. Might I also suggest to others that this is a good month to read Shadow of the Wind?"Loved that one, but not the second one as much. Hope number three is a charm.
Night Boat to Tangier is tagged 7 times as Spain-I am going with it, as it just came up at the Library for me and it fits another Challenge!
Joanne wrote: "Night Boat to Tangier is tagged 7 times as Spain-I am going with it, as it just came up at the Library for me and it fits another Challenge!"I just bought this...on a whim not for challenge. Not sure I have time or inclination to read it this month but will keep in mind for later.
I highly recommend The Shadow of the Wind (and the rest of this series) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (5*****)
The Time in Between by María Dueñas (4****)
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (4****)
I know that somewhere in this house I have a copy of
Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
Will probably read # 3 in the Cemetery of Lost Books series by Zafón
I really liked The Flanders Panel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. And I second Book Concierge on The Shadow of the Wind.
Set in Spain - The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - 3 stars
Crime fiction, eerie, spooky and Spain. Cross posted to general feed, PBT Horizons, and PBT Fall Flurries.
Carlos Ruiz Zafon, who is known as the spectacular author of the Shadow of the Wind Series, and Marina, is my author of the year. The Prince of Mist is one of four other titles he has penned, and it appears that like Marina, they may all in fact be Young Adult books. This one, that was just over 200 pages, happens to fit the October bill for numerous challenges all at once, not to mention my personal author of the year challenge.
It was dark, fantasy, and young adult - three genres that are each iffy for me all on their own. I don't like to be scared out of my wits, never have. This one is eerie, and haunting. Its hard to say therefore that I liked it. But I didn't not like it. Zafon has a way with words, and I was certainly drawn into his story. It was engaging. And yet so far, my least favorite of his works. Yet there was something about it.... mist swirls, leaving one chilled and spooked.
September was the first month I didn't read a horizons book. I got one and everything, and life got in the way. I'm 9/9 for monthly tags.
7/9 (soon to be 8/9 when I finish Beartown and hopefully I'll get to The Calligrapher's Daughter to read them all in the year at least)/
Now 8/9 on horizons.
So close, yet so far!
Joi wrote: "September was the first month I didn't read a horizons book. I got one and everything, and life got in the way. I'm 9/9 for monthly tags.
7/9 (soon to be 8/9 when I finish [book:Beartown|33413128..."
I feel your pain Joi-I am only missing 1 book from TRIM and I feel like a failure-I just know I won't get back to it
Ok.#1 Priority this month is The Shadow of the Wind
If I can get to another,
-The Time in Between
-Court of Lions
-The Barefoot Queen
I should probably try a Hemingway, but really want to focus on "funner" reads now.
Also looking at going back to Portugal for a book or two as well.
Spain - Also fits monthly tagOrigin by Dan Brown
4 stars
This is a classic Dan Brown book. Symbols and religion play a roll, there is a lot of action and well know locations are used. This time Robert Langdon is in Spain for a speech given by his friend, Edmond Kirsch. Edmond is prevented from finishing the presentation and is not able to tell the world his important discovery. Langdon and museum director, Ambrose Vidal, are determined to get Edmond’s findings released and it takes them on a dangerous journey.
Science and religion are compared by characters. Art shows up throughout the story and artificial intelligence technology is addressed. The book does seem to lecture the reader at points, but overall it is a fun mystery. If you are a Dan Brown fan then you will like this story.
Joi wrote: "September was the first month I didn't read a horizons book. I got one and everything, and life got in the way. I'm 9/9 for monthly tags.
7/9 (soon to be 8/9 when I finish [book:Beartown|33413128..."
The good thing is you can pick up the missing points by reading extra horizon books some months. I missed Portugal, but I read 3 books from Italy, so I'm ahead. I own several books from India and Russia, so I'm hoping for one of those next month.
I don't blame you for skipping Hemingway.
NancyJ wrote: "The good thing is you can pick up the missing points by reading extra horizon books some months."I'm never really in it for the points- I much prefer the satisfaction of finishing and completing a challenge.
SpainLittle Indiscretions-Carmen Posadas 3 stars
The book begins with Nestor Chaffin trapped in a walk in freezer after hosting a house party. The next morning Nestor's body is found then the book goes back two weeks to see what led to this event. Most of the book is more about the people who stayed overnight after the house party and their secrets. There is very little investigation into the murder. According to the book jacket this is also a sparkling social satire. I didn't get any of the satire part, possibly because I've never lived in Spain.
Spain 
Although there is mass murder in the past and the air of current kidnapping, nothing about this felt to me to truly fit Crime fiction. It is however a perfect Spain and Spanish Culture read. Cross posted to Horizons, general feed, and Buddy read discussion.
I enjoyed this one, and it has stayed with me since I read it. Not because the writing was spectacular, or because the plot was so intricate. I think it was something about being swept up in the music, the gypsy culture, and watching the two women's lives intersect. One who lost her family to the holocaust, and one who was suffering the remaining prejudice of the Spanish War at the same time. At the center of it is a little girl. I found it really interesting, and I enjoyed that the plot didn't quite go as expected. It was in fact an eye into another world. I am really glad others are reading it right now, because in fact, I'm looking forward to talking about it. It was a very interesting look at Spain at a quite interesting time. I do love historical fiction, especially with a Jewish twist. I do love Dance and voice, and I loved learning about the Gypsy culture. And it was very easy to root for these three. True resilient women survivors quite before their time.
SpainThe Snow Gypsy
By Lindsay Ashford
The Snow Gypsy by Lindsay Ashford was a book I chose for an Amazon Firsts read and like many of those books, it is good but not great. It is an easy read and I found myself staying up well past bedtime to finish it. It also highlights the work of author Lindsay Ashford who has several interesting titles under her belt.
The Snow Gypsy is loosely based on herbal veterinarian, Juliette de Bairacli Levy. Her character Rosa, also a herbal veterinarian is searching for her brother Nathan, who disappeared during the Spanish Civil War.
The other character Lola is the Gypsy of the book title. Lola rescued an infant, who she named Nieve, Spanish for snow.
I think that the book was a good tool for learning some about the Spanish Culture and the mountain area around Andalucia. The book was great for piquing my interest on a number of subjects.
It is time for my Horizon's Children's reviews (one doubles as fall flurries). I don't count these as books read for my adult year, but I do like to get the point for them. One is a high holidays and Spain combo. Amazingly, the two Spain books were quite moving, and had really tough (but true) topics for a Children's Book. The Spain ones, teach about the 1942 Inquisition where it wasn't safe to be Jewish, and WW2, where Spanish Jews had to flee for their lives, and many lost their lives and families forever. Here are the two Spain children's readsThe Secret Shofar of Barcelona
This is a true story, about Don Fernando Aguilar, one of the hidden Jews, Conversos who tried to keep their faith during the Inquisition. In many versions of the story, he was head of the Royal Orchestra. In this one, he conducted an orchestral festival, meant to use native instruuments as well, made from gourds, logs, or what have you. The story proposes, that during the concert, held on Rosh Hashannah, that his son plays the holy notes of the Shofar, (sacred Ram’s horn) during the concert, letting all the secret Jews of Barcelona know that they were celebrating the holiday, and that they were still here.
The Key from Spain
This one was equally dark, also a true story, tracing the Alteras family from Spain, to Bosnia, to Croatia, from 1934 to 1946, and eventually to America. Flory Alteras had to leave her beloved family, eventually lost them to prejudice and war. But what she brought with her was the Ladino language, the Jewish language of Spain, where music and stories were told. She also brought the music, the stories, the memories, and always the legacy of love. The story was powerful, and true, and there are pictures of Flory both as a girl and a grandmother in the back. My kid said to me. Lets not throw these books away. I want to make sure I read them with my kids.
PBT Horizons: Culture = SPAIN
Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey520 Pages, Does not fit the TAG
3.5 Stars
This well researched, historical biography is really interesting and well written, but drove me nuts to follow at times because the author has not written it in chronological order but chosen to bounce around anywhere during the period from before Isabella's birth in 1451 to after her death in 1504, depending on what subject she is discussing, so I keep getting the people involved mixed up.
Some interesting points I learned: the Borgias were Spanish not Italian. Isabella's daughter Juana (Joanna) was probably not mad but a victim of male psychological and physical abuse by her Father and Husband and was publicly portrayed as such for their wish to control her politically and personally. Nearly everyone in Spain during this period is called Juan, Juana or Isabella or Alfonso which makes it very difficult to work out who is who. Christopher Columbus was not a nice man, did some really nasty stuff and sulked A LOT. Never trust a Pope, especially if he is a Borgia and has a slew of healthy children he is proud of and is trying to further the careers of. Burning someone at the stake is one of the nicer ways you can kill someone. EEEk so much violence in this era!
I feel like a whole lot of loose jigsaw pieces have been fitted in for me with this book. I had heard bits about the Spanish Inquisition, the Moorish history of Spain, the Borgias, the stories of King Henry 7th and his children and Katherine of Aragon, but I had never put it all together with the life of this compelling, intelligent and fierce Queen Her extensive influence was written upon world events of the 15th and 16th centuries and effected the Renaissance, the religious reformations, the role of women in power, world explorations, military tactics and the colonisations of the New World and it’s outcomes when exposed to Spanish rule, culture and politics.
October Culture: SpainThe Snow Gypsy
A few people did tag this as Crime Fiction, but I personally wouldn't call it a crime novel.
Like a few others, this was on my Kindle TBR as a result of an Amazon Firsts read. I was happy to have a book ready to go for this month's culture tag.
The story takes place shortly after the Spanish Civil War and WWII. And in Spain there are still deep divisions from the civil war.
The story follows a young English woman searching for her brother in the mountains of southern Spain. The brother had fought with the freedom/partisans during the civil war - the losing side.
Lots of interesting themes in the book. The continuing tensions in Spain, the persecution of the Jewish and Gypsy people, and the deep scars that resonate through multiple generations. The whole story is overlaid with the beauty of Spain, flamenco dance, and the culture of the Gypsies.
While I enjoyed the story, I think the writing was a little flat. There were moments that should have evoked great tension or fear, but I really didn't find my emotions engaged at all. Physical struggles were written with the same lack of intensity as when the characters ate a meal; deep betrayals were written with the same low intensity as a description of a room.
The descriptions of the flamenco dance and the beautiful country side were the only exceptions. Those sections were beautifully written. I wonder if the author would have been better served to tell a story about Spanish and Gypsy culture without the Civil War/Holocaust overtones.
Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh3.5 stars
Culture - Kenya
Leopard at the Door is set in Kenya in the early 1950s at the time of the Mau Mau revolt. The story is told from Rachel's viewpoint, who at the age of 12 witnessed a murder and lost her mother on the same day. She was sent to England to go to boarding school and has now returned to her father's farm in Kenya at the age of 18. Much has changed, the relationships between the Kenya natives and the colonial British have become strained. The Mau Mau are coming to the farms and "oathing" the workers. Brutal attacks soon follow. It is not a pretty time in Kenya/British history.
Overall, this was a good story highlighting the relationships and way of life on a colonial farmstead in Kenya. And I enjoyed the history lesson. It amazes me that this was occurring just 70 years ago, seems like so long ago, but at the same time like it was yesterday.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Flanders Panel (other topics)Dawn: Stories (other topics)
Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident (other topics)
The Shadow of the Wind (other topics)
The Angel's Game (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Selahattin Demirtaş (other topics)Donnie Eichar (other topics)
Toni Hill (other topics)
Dolores Redondo (other topics)
Arturo Pérez-Reverte (other topics)
More...
Spain, nominated by Joanne and DianeMP!
This thread will be used for a couple of purposes:
• Announcing the culture (done!)
• Planning and discussing what books you would like to read (let the planning commence!)
• Reviewing your books starting October 1 . Books read and reviewed before that will not count.
Finally, if you want to read a book for the culture challenge in October, but it does NOT fit Spain, that is totally fine too! You can still review it here for one participation point. Books that DO fit the Spain culture will receive two participation points.
Will everyone please put at the top of their review the culture they are reading for, whether it is Spain or another culture just to help me with scoring and to serve as a guide for others who are reading your review. Thanks!
Previous months culture themes
January - Iraq
February - Portugal
March - South Korea
April - Italy
May - Brazil
June - Greece
July - Syria
August - Australia
September - Egypt
October - Spain
Clarification of Reporting Guidelines
The goal of the Expanding Your PBT Horizons Challenge is to read 12 books from other cultures throughout the year, which means you can read one a month or all 12 in January or any conceivable combination between the two. However, there are monthly culture themes added to the mix which makes for some unique reporting conflicts that the admins did not think of when posting the challenge. Thank you to Nancy for pointing it out!
The admins spoke and we tried to make this as fair and as simple as possible, so here are the three easy points to follow:
1) Each month there is a culture theme. If you choose to read for the theme—which is not mandatory—then you must read your book that fits that theme and post the review within the assigned month. You will receive 2 participation points per review and you can read more than 1 book, but each book counts toward your ultimate cap of 12 books for the year. *you can read more than 12 books if you like, but you only get points for this challenge for up to 12*
2) For books you read for the Culture Challenge that do not fit the monthly culture theme, you can do one of two things:
2a) You can post the books each month as you read them and simply label them as not fitting the monthly culture theme and stating what culture they fit. However, there are no "take backs" and once you report a book this way for 1 participation point, it counts to your total of 12 books.
2b) Alternatively, if you want to try to maximize your reads for the monthly culture theme, you can read other cultures throughout the year and wait to report them until late in December for 1 participation point each. An important point to this though is that even if you read a book in April and have been holding off on reporting it until the end of the year and then it happens to fit the December culture, you still only get 1 participation point for it because you did not read it in December.
Also, this only applies for the Culture Challenge. You should still write a review and post it in the monthly tag or nonmonthly tag folder in the month that you read it for regular PBT participation points.