Ex Libris

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Our Mutual Read - A Victorian Reading Challenge

Amanda of The Blog Jar is hosting Our Mutual Read - A Victorian Reading Challenge for 2010.  Ahhhh, the Victorians...I have so many books from this time period on my shelves - how can I resist?   I love reading books from and about this era, both fiction and non-fiction.  This challenge has a lot of options (taken from the challenge blog):

~ Level 1:  4 books, at least 2 written during 1837 - 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 2:  8 books, at least 4 written during 1837 - 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 3:  12 books, at least 6 written during 1837 - 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

Then, determine if you are up to a mini-challenge:
Period Film Mini-Challenge -- watch at least 6 films that take place between 1837 - 1901 (they don't necessarily have to be based on a book) and post a review.

Short Story Mini-Challenge -- read 12 short stories written or taking place between 1837 - 1901 and post a review.

When I first saw this challenge, I thought I would be safe and just commit to Level 1.  However, the possibilities on my shelves are almost endless, so I am going to go out on a limb and start at Level 2  what the heck - I'm going for Level 3!  I'm also tempted to try the mini-challenges. 

Now then, whom shall I read?  I've already committed to the Bronte Challenge, so there are three right off the bat that will qualify:  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte; Villette by Charlotte Bronte and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte.  I also want to read more Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, and Anthony Trollope.  Then there's East Lynne by Ellen Wood, or perhaps some Elizabeth Gaskell, Margaret Oliphant or Mary Elizabeth Braddon.  I also have some non-fiction that would be perfect for this challenge:  Victorian Women: A Documentary Account of Women's Lives in 19th Century England, France and the United States by Erna O. Hellerstein and Inside the Victorian Home by Judith Flanders.  The possibilities are endless.

For complete details and sign-up information, please visit the challenge blog.

Great Books Challenge 2010

One of my reading goals for 2010 is to read classical literature.  The Great Books Challenge  hosted by Historia will be a good way for me to work some of these into my reading schedule.  There are two options:  easy - read 6 of the authors listed on the challenge blog between January 1 and December 31, 2010; and hard - read 12 of the authors listed between January 1 and December 31, 2010.  

Following is the list of authors to choose from:

Homer (9th Century B.C.?)
Aeschylus (c.525-456 B.C.)
Sophocles (c.495-406 B.C.)
Herodotus (c.484-425 B.C.)
Euripides (c.485-406 B.C.)
Thucydides (c.460-400 B.C.)
Hippocrates (c.460-377? B.C.)
Aristophanes (c.448-380 B.C.)
Plato (c.427-347 B.C.)
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
Epicurus (c.341-270 B.C.)
Euclid (fl.c. 300 B.C.)
Archimedes (c.287-212 B.C.)
Apollonius of Perga (fl.c.240 B.C.)
Cicero (106-43 B.C.)
Lucretius (c.95-55 B.C.)
Virgil (70-19 B.C.)
Horace (65-8 B.C.)
Livy (59 B.C.--A.D. 17)
Ovid (43 B.C.--A.D. 17)
Plutarch (c.45-120)
Tacitus (c.55-117)
Epictetus (c.60-120)
Pliny the Elder (23–79)
Pliny the Younger (61-112)
Ptolemy (c.100-170; fl. 127-151)
Lucian (c.120-c.190)
Marcus Aurelius (121-180)
Galen (C. 130-200)
Plotinus (205-270)


St. Augustine (354-430)
St. Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274)
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1340-1400)
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469-1536)
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Sir Thomas More (c.1478-1535)
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Francois Rabelais (c.1495-1553)
Michel Servetus (1511 -1553)
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
William Gilbert (1540-1603)
Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
Edmund Spenser (c.1552-1599)
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

I am choosing the easy route and will commit to reading 6, at least for starters.  The Oedipus Cycle by Sophocles and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli are two I already planned to read next year, so it is simply a matter of selecting a four more.

Bibliophilic Books Challenge 2010

OK, I admit it.  I love all the challenges that are popping up all over the blogosphere for 2010.  I might not be able to participate in all of them, but the Bibliophilic Books Challenge hosted by Lesley of A Life in Books is right up my alley.  I enjoy reading *about* books just as much as I enjoy reading books themselves, so this one is a natural for me.  There are three levels of participation in this challenge:

Bookworm - read 3 books

Litlover - read 6 books

Bibliomanic - read 12 books

I'm taking the middle ground on this one and will commit to the Litlover level by reading 6 books.  I have at least 2 shelves dedicated to books about books, so I should have plenty of titles to choose from.

For complete details and sign-up information, please visit the challenge blog.

Essay Challenge 2010

Carrie of Books and Movies is once again hosting the Essay Challenge in 2010.  This is one I had hoped to fully participate in this past year, but it just did not work out for me.  I want to try it again in 2010.

I really like it that so many of the reading challenges coming out for 2010 seem to have a lot more flexibility than they have had in previous years, such as various levels of participation and not requiring pre-set book lists.  (This makes it easier for those of us who want to participate in reading challenges but have difficulty completing them because of life's real challenges.) 

The Essay Challenge has three levels of participation - read 10, 20 or 30 essays between January 1 and November 30, 2010.  I am going to read 10 essays. 

Please visit the challenge post for complete details and sign-up information.

Thanks for hosting, Carrie!

All About the Brontes Challenge 2010

All About the Brontes, hosted by Laura's Reviews, is another challenge that I would like to participate in during 2010.  This challenge is to read, watch, or listen to between three and six books (or more), movies or audio books by any of the three Bronte sisters -Charlotte, Emily and Anne - or related to the Brontes.  It begins January 1, 2010 and ends June 30, 2010.  I think this is doable without too much pressure on myself.  I've been wanting to read more by the Bronte sisters anyway, so here is my chance. 

I was already planning to re-read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte in May with the classics book group I belong to, so it will fit perfectly into this challenge.  I also plan to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte and Villette by Charlotte Bronte.

For complete details, please visit the challenge post.

Nancy Drew Challenge

I am cutting way back on challenges for 2010, but the Nancy Drew Challenge (hosted by Books, Movies and Chinese Food) is one that I really want to participate in. 

The Nancy Drew mystery series is one that is near and dear to my heart.  When I was in elementary school, this series was the rage.  All the girls read this series.  We would trade books and read them so that we did not have to buy them (I only owned three), and there was always the library, too.  I read every one I could get my hands on, and re-read the three I owned countless times.  Even though I was a reader prior to discovering these books, Nancy Drew confirmed my status as a bibliophile/holic.  I am forever grateful to Nancy, George and Bess.

The Nancy Drew Challenge begins January 1, 2010 and runs through December 31, 2010.  The goal of the challenge is to read the 56 titles that were revised from the original titles.  These are the ones with the yellow spines that were published in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's.  Please visit the challenge blog post for complete details. 

My granddaughter, Adrianna (age 10), is going to do this challenge along with me.  I will be including her thoughts in my blog posts as we read these dear friends of mine.

Recent Reading

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have continued to read in spite of everything life has thrown my way.  Upon looking back, my reading over the past two months spanned three centuries and wide range of topics - murder mysteries, the French Revolution, the Holocaust, a satire of philosophy, unrequited love, exploitation of the health industry, and self-reflection.    Here is a look at what I've been reading:

Voltaire

Although I'm not able to participate in an organized literature study of any kind (as I had hoped to this past summer), I did join a classics book club that meets at a Barnes & Noble store north of Cincinnati.  This is a small group of people who are reading classic works that have been published by B&N.  October's read was Candide by Voltaire.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it.  It is satire on philosophy, and Voltaire pokes fun at just about everyone - especially the Catholic church.  Candide's story is a journey, and every place he travels to finds him in increasingly bizarre and fantastic circumstances.  This is one where you need to just suspend belief and go with the flow.  The trip, although painful for Candide, is worth it.

Charles Dickens

The November selection for the classics book club was a personal favorite of mine - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  This makes my fourth reading of this book, and it is one that I enjoyed just as much the fourth time as the first.  I love Dickens' use of pluralities, and I can't think of a better representation of tragedy/sacrifice than Sidney Carton and his fate.  Dickens makes the French Revolution come alive by showing both sides - the cruel heartlessness of the privileged against the poor which caused the cruel ruthlessness of the poor against the privileged.

Anne Michaels

Canadian author Anne Michaels was recommended to me by Ann at Table Talk.  I read Michaels' first novel, Fugitive Pieces, a piece that follows into adulthood two children of Holocaust victims (one set of parents survive while the other set does not), their feeling of guilt and its ramifications on their lives and relationships.  The story is beautifully written, yet I found it to be one of the most disturbing books I have read.  I highly recommend it.

Georgette Heyer

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you will know that I am a big Georgette Heyer fan.  Heyer is best known for her Regency romances and historical fiction, but she also wrote mysteries. I was in need of a book that would be fun to read without requiring too much thought.  I decided on Heyer's Why Shoot a Butler?. This was the first mystery by Heyer I've read, and based on this book,  I prefer her historical pieces.  I felt that none of the characters were worth my sympathy and some of the language was very dated (read politically incorrect).  

Agatha Christie

Even more disappointing than the Heyer mystery was Halloween Party by Agatha Christie.  In this story, Hercule Poirot becomes involved in solving the murder of a 13 year old girl at a children's Halloween party.  Not only did I find the plot disturbing, it seemed poorly written.  I haven't read a lot of Agatha Christie, but what I have read I enjoyed much more than this one.  This was the October selection for my library's book club, and for once everyone was in agreement in their opinions.

William Trevor

I read two books by Irish author William Trevor in November.  First was the 2009 Booker longlisted Love and Summer, the beautifully subtle yet powerful story of two lonely individuals who discover love one summer.  I had not read anything by Trevor before, and this book prompted me to read the equally haunting and beautiful 2002 Booker shortlisted The Story of Lucy Gault.  The plot surrounds the the chain of misunderstandings and miscommunications that are sparked when, on the eve of her family's departure to England to escape becoming victims of the Irish civil war, 8 year old Lucy Gault hides because she does not want to leave her home.  Trevor is an author whom I want to read more of.

Nicholson Baker

Nicholson Baker is an author whom I heard about in three different books about literature, which made me think I really should read something by him.  I chose A Box of Matches, which is a novel of self-reflection.  The protagonist, a 44 year old medical textbook editor, begins each day in a dark room, striking a match to light a fire, and making a cup of coffee.  He then proceeds to reflect on his understanding of life.  Although the framework of the story is extremely restricted, Baker managed to make quite an interesting tale out of the reflections.

T. C. Boyle

Last but not least, I read The Road to Wellville by T. C. Boyle, loosely based on the story of  John Harvey Kellogg's (yes, corn flakes) health sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan at the turn of the 20th century.  Boyle's characters are quirky and there is a dark humor that pervades the plot.   At the same time, though, Boyle exposes the side show elements that give the Sanitarium a carnival atmosphere and makes Kellogg to be more of a purveyor of snake oil than health. At 455 pages, it is a lot to wade through, but it is well worth the trip.

What's Ahead?

I'm currently reading Don Quixote by Cervantes for the classics book club, A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch, both of which I am enjoying very much.

Even though I have been happy not to be restricted by reading challenges, there are a few that I am interested in for 2010.  I will post about those in the coming days. 

Until next time, happy reading!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Whether or not you celebrate this holiday, I hope you have a wonderful day filled with food and family (and maybe a little reading, too!).

Coming Back Slowly

Hello my dear friends, it is nice to see you again. 

After a two month hiatus, I am going to make a slow return to the lit blogging world.  I have missed this community so much, but it was necessary for my well-being to be gone for awhile.  I am now at a point where I can blog a little, and hope to be back to blogging on a more consistent basis by the new year.

Where have I been?  I moved to a larger townhouse (within the same complex) so that my daughter and granddaughter could move in with me.  I made the move (including almost 2,500 books) while I was sick.  I realized quickly that I would need to drastically reduce my library in order to have room for them, so I pared it down to about half of what it had been.  The move itself, although close, took its toll on me physically and emotionally.  When my daughter moved in, it was with two granddaughters - Adrianna (age 10), whom you've heard me mention several times, and Marie (age 20 months), with whom I am just now becoming acquainted.  They also brought their cat with them.  So I went from living with myself, a dog, and four cats to living with myself, my daughter, two grandchildren, a dog, and six cats (I adopted a kitten just before I moved).  The adjustment has been difficult at best, and I am trying to work through it.  (I will say it is fun having Adrianna with me, as she and I get along very well together.  She loves reading, too!)

Reading has been my salvation during this time.  I don't read as much as I did earlier this year, but I am still managing to work it in.  It has been nice not to worry about reading lists, challenges, reviews - and being able to select what I want to read because I feel like it.  That said, I do want to return - albeit slowly - to blogging.  I have missed this community.  I don't know yet if/when I will be doing actual reviews, but I do want to talk about books and reading. 

Until the next time, happy reading!