Sunday, December 31, 2017

January Reads


New year means new books! And this January, I have A TON of books to read! I will not be getting through all of these, but here's hoping.

The Magic of Oz by L Frank Baum - Oz Challenge
Once Upon a Summer Day by Dennis McKiernan - unaffiliated
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - Winter Reading Challenge for work
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend - unaffiliated
Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin - unaffiliated
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - Back to the Classics
Beneath by Roland Smith - Caudill Challenge
The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall - Caudill Challenge
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell - Personal Reading Challenge
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden - unaffiliated
Listen Slowly by Thanhhah Lai - Caudill Challenge (not pictured)

Whew! That's a lot. I've switched my priority list of what should be read first so many times. Right now I think I'm just going to go in order of when things need to go back to the library which puts Once Upon a Summer Day at the top of the list. I also calculated how many pages I need to read a day to get through all of these. It came out to 90 pages a day. I don't want to turn into a job though, so I'll read as I see fit, and if I get through it all, great!

1984 by George Orwell


Title: 1984
Author: George Orwell
Pages: 279
Finished: December 31, 2017

First Sentence: It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Summary: Is a summary really needed for this book? Perhaps so, considering I'd never read it and didn't really know much about it other than dystopia, Big Brother, and constant surveillance. Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party of Ingsoc, finds himself dissatisfied with the current world order. He spends his days rewriting history, thinking dangerous thoughts, and constantly trying to hide whatever he is thinking. And then he has a forbidden love affair with another member of the Party.

Thoughts: It was disconcerting to see Oranges and Lemons pop up in this book. I learned it in Musikgarten classes where the last two lines don't exist. I don't think I'll be able to ever listen to the song again without feeling a supreme depression.

I don't see how Oceania could exist. Or perhaps more specifically, how Airstrip One (the former Great Britain) could exist as part of Oceania rather than part of Eurasia. I had a hard time believing that the Americas had a similar set up simply because we were reading about something on what felt like the outer rim of the territory.

This books was not what I thought it was. I knew it was a dystopia, but it seems that modern dystopias end with hope. A revolt by the downtrodden and an epilogue talking about rebuilding. There was no hope here. I spent the entire book waiting for there to be something, and instead I got a 50 page torture sequence and a speech about power is power and the terrifying idea that your thoughts aren't your own. I honestly felt sick to my stomach as I read this.

It's also really hard to read this as 2017 comes to a close and not make parallels with the current political climate in the United States at the moment.

Read as my classic club spin. I think I'm glad I read it, but this is not an experience I need to repeat ever again. Time for me to go read another Oz book so I end the year on something a little less upsetting.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Personal Reading Challenges

I've set two personal reading challenges for myself this year. The first one is to read all of David Mitchell's books in order. According to Mitchell, even though his novels don't have to be read in order, they all are vaguely part of one giant novel. I've read two of his novels already, and will be rereading both for this challenge as well as all the others. I'm hoping to finish this challenge by the end of July. The books are listed below:


1. Ghostwritten (1999)
2. number9dream (2001)
3. Cloud Atlas (2004)
4. Black Swan Green (2006)
5. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010)
6. The Bone Clocks (2014)
7. Slade House (2015)



My second personal challenge is to finish out the year with five books from my miscellaneous To Be Read list.  I've decided to read down the list in order of what's there, otherwise, there are books that I'll never get to. If the book is the first in a series, I'm only counting the first book as part of this challenge. More books in the series will be read if and when I feel like it. The hope is to read one book a month for a total of five books by the end of December. The first five on my list are below.

1. Od Magic - Patricia A McKillip
2. Redemption in Indigo - Karen Lord
3. Shades of Milk and Honey - Mary Robinette Kowal
4. Little Big - John Crowley ILL
5. The Hourglass Factory - Lucy Ribchester

2018 Back to the Classics

Edited: This is my final wrap up. All links go to the reviews. My contact info is notrosesshadow [at] gmail [dot] com

After doing the Back to the Classics Challenge last year, I really enjoyed it, so I've decided to try again this year! I stuck to my list pretty well last year - only substituting one that I just couldn't handle. I'm hoping for the same this year. This is also a really good chance to knock another couple books off my Classics Club list. Below is my list. I'll be following all rules to the challenge and adding one more: Half of my books must be by women authors. I'll also be reading some of these books for a book club with my parents. They requested any books I suggest to them be under 400 pages, so I've added average page numbers here and marked the ones sub-400 with an asterisk for my own easy reference.


19th Century Book: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
This is, apparently, one of my dad's favorite books. I've never read it, as the first Hardy book I read was Tess of the D'urbervilles. I had massive issues with that book, so hopefully this one will go better.

FINISHED 9/26/18 I have a lot of feelings about this one. It's a very interesting feminist piece of literature. A bit clumsy but I think that's primarily due to the time it was written.

*20th Century Book: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
One of my later books is Jane Eyre, so it feels fitting to add this to my list this year! I've never read it, but I remember my college roommate raving about the novel.

FINISHED 4/15/2018 Plausible and thought provoking, but ultimately an unenjoyable read.


Book by a Woman Author: The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
I enjoyed My Antonia when I read it in high school. I look forward to this one!

FINISHED 2/13/18 Really wanted to like this one, but felt generally apathetic about it. Was a chore to get through


Book in Translation: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (457)
I started this once in high school and it didn't work out. Time to try again over a decade later. Might work a bit better.

Changed to The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery.

FINISHED 3/1/18 Incredibly surreal experience. Haunting. I most definitely was left with a hole in my heart when I finished it.


*A children's classic: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (331)
I love this story. I've only read the book twice I think, but it's so sweet and charming. Definitely looking forward to a reread.

FINISHED  8/2/18 Very charming little book, though a bit slower than I remembered.


*A classic crime story, fiction or non-fiction: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
I've never read this! I've never read ANY Agatha Christie books! I'm 30. How is that possible?! With the new movie out, this seems like a given for me. I'm sure I won't be the only one reading it, but I don't care. I'm excited!

FINISHED 1/14/18 Not what I expected.


*A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
Travel backwards and forwards in time counts right? If it doesn't, I'll figure something else out.

FINISHED 11/7/18 A much deeper look into science than I expected. Wishbone (and every other screen adaptation of this) deceived me re: the Eloi and Morlocks.

*A classic with a single-word title: Moonstone by Wilkie Collins 
Other than the fact that this is on my Classics Club list, I know little to nothing about it. Looking forward to reading it though!


Changed to Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell I didn't realize Moonstone was actually The Moonstone.

FINISHED 7/25/18 Very pleasant and funny. This really makes me want to read more of Gaskell's works.

A classic with a color in the title: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Like the one above, I don't know much about this author or his books, but ever since I put these on my Classics club list, I've wanted to read them so badly.

FINISHED 12/21/18 Interesting read. Not as good as The Moonstone but definitely suspenseful.


*A classic by an author that's new to you: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
She's the only Bronte Sister I've never read. Looking forward to this.

FINISHED 8/15/18 Wonderful book. Incredibly strong women characters that made the book enjoyable even though the subject matter was one I tend to avoid when possible

A classic that scares you: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
This book is over 1,000 pages and a translation. My general experience with translations is they can be good, or awful! I'm using the Modern Library Classics translation that my mom gave to me after she read it. She liked it, so here's hoping it works. I plan on breaking this down over the course of most of the year to make it manageable. Maybe ten minutes a day?

FINISHED 11/17/18 Very long and drawn out story of revenge. Few likable characters. Tiny details mentioned in passing that become important later. Just not my cup of tea.

Re-read a favorite classic: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
This may be the first adult classic I ever read. I read it in 7th grade and understood only the basic plot. I've read it about four times since, but it's been a while since my last foray.

FINISHED 3/16/18 I really enjoyed this the fifth time around! Such lovely language, and Jane is so strong.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar


Title: Fuzzy Mud
Author: Louis Sachar
Pages: 192
Finished: December 27, 2017

First Sentence: Woodridge Academy, a private school in Heath Cliff, Pennsylvania, had once been the home of William Heath, after whom the town had been named.

Summary: To avoid a fight with the school bully, Marshall and Tamaya cut through the woods by the school. Sadly, it doesn't work and Chad finds them. Tamaya throws some "fuzzy mud" in his face in order to escape. The next day, she discovers a rash upon her arm from where the mud touched her. Turns out, the mud isn't quite mud and a full blown epidemic is about to descend on the town of Heath Cliff.

Thoughts: Interesting read. Or listen really. Most of the story took place over the course of about 24 hours, which I thought was really interesting. The main story was interspersed with transcripts of hearings re: the happenings. It really made the experience all the more horrifying. In general, the bits about the school happenings were the most boring, but that's because I'm a 30 year old adult who's been out of school for quite a while now. This book read for Bluestem and Caudill Challenges.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Parenting Beyond Belief by Dale McGowan


Title: Parenting Beyond Belief
Author: Edited by Dale McGowan
Pages: 304
Finished: December 21, 2017


Summary: A collection of essays by many freethinkers regarding their thoughts about raising secular humans. Covers many topics including religious literacy, death, wonder and science, thinking critically, and finding community.

Thoughts: I am an atheist. I was born an atheist, I was brought up by two atheist parents. I never attended a Christian church, though when I was in about third grade, my parents started taking us to a Unitarian Universalist church so we could gain some religious literacy that we didn't get from home. My husband was born an atheist (everyone is) but was brought up Methodist. When we got married, he was in a bit of a religious crisis - not really knowing what he believed. Lately, he's started calling himself an atheist.

We live in a world filled with a lot of hate for those who are different. People hate those who are different from them, whether those people happen to have a different faith, love different kinds of people, or come from different cultures. We live in a world where basic scientific fact is considered a matter of opinion and matters of opinion are considered basic facts.

We want more for our daughter. We want to raise her to understand how to think critically. We want to raise her to understand that people are people not matter where they're from, who they love, what they believe. We want her to understand that we have a lot more in common with each other than we have different. We want her to understand how the world works, how the various religious work etc. We basically want her to be able to think critically so that when she makes a choice about what she believes, we know she did it after thinking carefully about it and not because someone told her to.

This book was so helpful. It's not a parenting guide in the sense that they tell you "When your child is at this age, you do this." It's more of a "Every kid will ask you questions about death. As a secular parent who doesn't believe in an afterlife, this can be scary. Here are some things we found helpful in our household." That sort of thing. It's also FULL of resources. I borrowed this book from the library, but I'll likely purchase it so I have regular access to it. I will be adding his other book, Raising Freethinkers to my list as well.

And as an easter egg, the minister of the first UU church I ever attended was one of the contributors. This woman was only the minister for a short time while we were there before she moved on to another church, but in that time she had a profound impact on me. It was nice to see her name again. 

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens


Title: The Old Curiosity Shop
Author: Charles Dickens
Pages: 555
Finished: December 20, 2017

First Sentence: Although I am an old man, night is generally my time for walking.

Summary: Nell and her grandfather run away from the evil Quilp after the grandfather squanders away a significant amount of money gambling. Many people help them. Many others try to find them. Quilp is evil for no discernible reason. People die. Others have happy endings. Standard Dickens.

Thoughts: I fear the tone of my "summary" may give away what I think. Back in college I decided I was going to read all of Dickens. The first few I read were fun. This one... I almost put it down. Up to the point where Nell and her grandfather leave town, it was incredibly slow. I can't tell why Quilp is as evil as he is, but perhaps that's just the beauty of Dickens. People are people in all sorts of ways without explanation. Normally I'm happy to figure out the satire and social commentary Dickens is making, but this book was such a slog that I pretty much ended up paying attention to major plot points and skimming the descriptions solely meant to raise word count. I also felt bad for Nell being saddled with an addict at a time when women really couldn't do a whole lot. Her life was absolutely lost.

This is my final book for the Back to the Classics Challenge.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen


Title: Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 241
Finished: December 10, 2017

First Sentence: No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be an heroine. 

Summary: Catherine Morland, an unabashed novel enthusiast, travels to Bath with her neighbors. She meets all manner of people including the Tilneys and the Thorpes. Naive Catherine fumbles her way through her time in Bath believing everyone in earnest, little understanding that some people will say anything to appear better than they are. As she gets to know the Tilneys better, they invite her to stay with them a while at Northanger Abbey. There, she lets her imagination get the better of her as she longs to discover what sordid secrets the Abbey may hold.

Thoughts: Last time I read through all of Austen, I ranked this book as #3. I haven't read through them all again, so I don't know how it stands in relation to her others, but I do enjoy it ever so much. It's so light and fun. Catherine herself is so artless and unsuspecting. Henry and Eleanor are such excellent friends for her. And the supporting cast is, of course, ridiculous. Somehow, I've yet to read The Mysteries of Udolpho, though I really should get on that!

I did go ahead and watch the 2007 adaptation directly after finishing the novel. I do remember really enjoying this adaptation when it came out. I have a feeling J.J. Field had something to do with that, along with the fact that I was in college. I still enjoy it, but the characters are certainly different than they were in the book. Moreover, the entire Northanger Abbey sequence has been condensed and moved around to really change the tone of the novel.

I did enjoy the book very much though. A welcome break from the Dickens I'm reading.

Read for Back to the Classics Challenge: Romance.

Friday, December 1, 2017

December Reads


1984 by George Orwell - Classics Club Spin
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - Winter Reading Challenge for work
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend - unaffiliated
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - Back to the Classics
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - Back to the Classics
Once Upon a Summer's Day by Dennis McKiernan - unaffiliated
Parenting Beyond Belief ed. by Dale McGowan - unaffiliated (not pictured)
The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum - Wizard of Oz Challenge

To be completely honest, this is way more than I planned to read for December. Current plan is to finish the Classics first as they have the deadline of this month. I may split them up with finishing the McKiernan as well. From there, I'll deadhead through Tin Woodman, then finish the other two library books. I'm shelving the Caudill and Bluestems until January.