75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2015 Challenge)
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Jacob's 75 in 2015
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...And with that in mind, I decided to start the new year by polishing off some short books (while reading Don Quixote) :1-5
1. The Duel by Giacomo Casanova, 1780 (70 pages, translated from Italian) REVIEW
A short autobiographical work (also included in the famous author's Memoirs), and one of several stories sharing the same title in the Art of the Novella series from Melville House Books. Quite good, although now I'm really keen on reading his full autobiography...
2. The Duel by Heinrich von Kleist, 1810 (51 pages, translated from German) REVIEW
Another title in the above-mentioned Art of the Novella series. A bit sparse, but entertaining nonetheless.
3. Martha Quest (Children of Violence #1) by Doris Lessing, 1952 (327 pages)
Semi-autobiographical novel, and first in a five-book series from the author of The Golden Notebook. I tend to have some trouble with Lessing's prose (it feels too cold and detached), but this book was interesting enough that I'm committed to reading the rest. Part of an ongoing group read in 2015: The Year of Reading Women
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, 1963 (228 pages)
Another group read. Liked the first half (very Salinger-esque), didn't care much for the second part.
5. The Duel by Anton Chekhov, 1891 (161 pages, translated from Russian) REVIEW
Another Melville House novella. Decent, but didn't grab me.
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Jacob, thank you for the link to the Year of Reading Women group. I've decided to join, although I probably won't be organized enough to participate in any group reads until after February. Looking forward to it, though!
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Andrea wrote: "That sounds interesting? Is it a Goodreads group?"Yep! https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Karol wrote: "I've decided to join, although I probably won't be organized enough to participate in any group reads until after February..."
No worries, it's pretty casual. Lurk for a bit, join whatever suits your fancy. I participated in two group reads this month, although I really just read the books and didn't bother joining the discussions. But it's really up to you.
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Continuing, going kinda slow--got stuck reading Thomas Mann, so fell behind a bit, but I'm catching up again:6-10
6. Pilgrimage, Volume 1 by Dorothy Richardson, 1915-1917 (3 novels, 490 pages)
The first volume (of four) of Richardson's Pilgrimage sequence, containing Pointed Roofs, Backwater, and Honeycomb, the first three novels/chapters of the thirteen-novel piece. A semi-autobiographical modernist story following the life of a young British woman at the turn of the 20th century, utilizing stream-of-consciousness narration several years before Virginia Woolf. Interesting stuff so far, and I intend to read the other three volumes. A friend who also read this set up a group with more information.
7. The Assignment, or On the Observing of the Observers of the Observers by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, 1986 (129 pages, translated from German)
Unusual paranoid psychological thriller about a murder investigation (or is it?) in a strange foreign country. Each chapter is made up of a single sentence, some of which run for several pages.
8. The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, 1924 (706 pages, translated from German)
Man visits Swiss sanatorium for three weeks, ends up staying seven years. Which is certainly what it felt like, reading it. I'll be honest and admit that I didn't quite finish it--started skimming about halfway through, skipped a few chapters here and there--but it got to be so excruciatingly dull at times that I finally gave up. Beautiful prose, fascinating story, but probably not the right book for me at the moment, especially with Dorothy Richardson on my mind.
9. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, 1966 (152 pages)
A prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and another group discussion for the Year of Reading Women group.
10. The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wiberley, 1955 (152 pages)
Lighthearted little Cold War comedy about a tiny Alpine country that declares war on the United States, and accidentally wins. I was in the mood for something fun, and this hit the spot.
WOW! You are on a tear! Wide Sargasso Sea has been on my radar for awhile, what did you think?
Jacob, I remember watching the movie "The Mouse That Roared" many years ago. Just to show you how ignorant I am, I didn't even realize it was based on a book! Peter Sellers starred in the movie, but based on a little research that I just did they changed the female royal from a beautiful younger woman (in the book) to a more aging queen - because Sellers played THAT role in addition to the role of the military leader (Bascomb) and Count Rupert Mountjoy.I only vaguely remember the movie - would be interesting to see it again and read the book, too.
Meghanly wrote: "WOW! You are on a tear! Wide Sargasso Sea has been on my radar for awhile, what did you think?"Don't miss that one as its excellent. I hope to read some of her other books. Jean Rhys
With that in mind, here's a tentative reading list...and if I manage to read all of them this year, I shall be a very happy reader indeed...
To Read in 2015:
Cervantes - Don Quixote (982 pages)
Sterne - The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (588 pages)
Rebecca West - Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1181 pages)
Dorothy M. Richardson - Pilgrimage (4 vols, 2100+ total)
Henry Handel Richardson - The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (841 pages)
Vikram Seth - A Suitable Boy (1474 pages)
Madison Cooper, Jr. - Sironia, Texas (2 vols, 1731 pages)
Anthony Powell - A Dance to the Music of Time (4 vols, ~3000 pages)
Thomas Mann - The Magic Mountain (706 pages)--Finished...and more, which I'll add as I think of them. Of course, if I don't manage to read them all this year (the most likely outcome), I'll still be a happy reader, since I'll have plenty of books left to read next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and so on...