calm's counting in 2013

Well I am back for the challenge for another year:) It is very unlikely that I will read 169 books so I am going to call this challenge complete if I read at least 10 books in each category but that won't stop me aiming for a full 13 in 13.

The Categories are more or less the same as last year but with a few changes to take into account of where I struggled and where I filled a category really early in the year.

Crime and Punishment - murder and mysteries (8 of 13)
Around the world - contemporary fiction (say from 1950's onward from anywhere in the world as long as it was written in English) (9 of 13)
Long ago and far away - historical fiction (pre 1600) (8 of 13)
More from the past - historical fiction (1600 - 1950) (6 of 13)
Short and Sweet - short stories or books under 200 pages (8 of 13)
Chills down my spine - ghost stories, gothics and horror (5 of 13)
On and On - series and sequels (9 of 13)
Unlikely things - fantasy (9 of 13)
New friends/Old friends - recommendations, early reviewers, new to me authors, continuing series/authors and re-reads that don't fit anywhere else - basically a pot pourri category. (7 of 13)
To space and beyond - science fiction (9 of 13)
It's Greek to me - books in translation (5 of 13)
Need to know - non-fiction (4 of 13)
Great books I should have read - classics and prizewinners/nominees (7 of 13)

Books read List!

January

Award Cats
Women's Prize for Fiction (previously known as the Orange Prize)
Spur Award (westerns)
Random Cat
RING IN THE NEW YEAR - Read a Book by a NEW-TO-YOU Author
Alpha Cat - A + M

1) New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani (Alpha Cat/ Random Cat)
2) Under the Dome by Stephen King
3) Where Time Winds Blow by Robert Holdstock
4) The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes (Random Cat)
5) All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville -West (Alpha Cat/ Random Cat))
6) The Woman Who Loved an Octopus and other Saints' Tales by Imogen Rhia Herrad (Random Cat)
7) Low Town by Daniel Polansky (Random Cat)
8) Sunrise in the West by Edith Pargeter
9) Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood (Alpha Cat)
10) Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Cat Trick!)
11) Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
12) The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney
13) Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (Alpha Cat/ Random Cat)

February

Award Cats
American Book Award
RITA Award (romance)
Random Cat
FROSTY FEBRUARY-Read a Book related to a COLD WEATHER EVENT
Alpha Cat - B + N

14) Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson (Alpha Cat)
15) Into the Green by Charles de Lint
16) Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (Alpha Cat/ Group Read)
17) The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland (Random Cat)
18) Railsea by China Miéville (Alpha Cat)
19) The Granta Book of the African Short Story edited by Helon Habila
20) The Magus by John Fowles
21) Death Comes For the Archbishop by Willa Cather
22) The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot
23) Art of the Byzantine Era by David Talbot Rice (Alpha Cat)

March

Award Cats
The Morning News Tournament of Books
The Agatha award (mystery)
Random Cat
Judging a Book by its Cover - Read the book off your TBR with the most attractive/intriguing cover.
Alpha Cat - C + O

24) Wolfking by Bridget Wood
25) The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman
26) Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue
27) The Miracle Man by James Skivington
28) The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
29) The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
30) Walking the Lions by Stephen Burgen
31) Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson
32) My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (Alpha Cat)
33) The Country Ahead of Us, The Country Behind by David Guterson (Alpha Cat)

April

Award Cats
IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
local award of the reader's choosing
Random Cat
Be Kind to Your Mother - Mother Nature, that is. Read a book with a title or author's name that invokes forces of nature
Alpha Cat - D + P

34) The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
35) Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier (Random Cat)
36) The Radleys by Matt Haig
37) The Searcher by Ray Dacolias (Alpha Cat)
38) The Gift of a Daughter by Emyr Humphreys (Alpha Cat/Award Cat)
39) The City in the Lake by Rachel Neumeier (Random Cat)
40) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
41) Dark Fire by C J Sansom (Alpha Cat)
42) The Last of the Vostyachs by Diego Marani (Alpha Cat)
43) Passage by Connie Willis (Alpha Cat)
44) Dancing Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood (Alpha Cat)

May

Award Cats
The Pulitzer Prize
The Kitschies (speculative fiction)
Random Cat
Keeping up with the Joneses: Read a book listed in the Group Zeitgeist
Alpha Cat - E + R

45) Witch Child by Celia Rees (Alpha Cat)
46) A Time of Myths by Chris Blamires
47) The Folly of the World by Jesse Bullington (Award Cat)
48) Sorceress by Celia Rees (Alpha Cat)
49) Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
50) Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

June

Award Cats
The Costa Book Awards
National Outdoor Book Award
Random Cat
JUNE BRIDES - Read a book that has something traditionally related to marriage in the title
Alpha Cat - F + S

51) Martyr by Rory Clements
52) In Xanadu by William Dalrymple
53) A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Alpha Cat)
54) Wide Open by Nicola Barker
55) Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths (Alpha Cat)
56) Sunshine by Robin McKinley (Alpha Cat)
57) Walk in a Lost Landscape by Sheila Barrett (Alpha Cat)
58) The King's Witch by Cecelia Holland
59) The Watchers A Secret History of the Reign Elizabeth I by Stephen Alford (Alpha Cat)
60) The Last Magician by Janette Turner Hospital
61) The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald (Alpha Cat)

July

Award Cats
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
The Edgar Award (mystery)
Random Cat
The World is a Book - read a travel related book
Alpha Cat - G + T

62) Sworn Sword by James Aitchenson
63) The Missing by Tim Gautreaux (Cat Trick)
64) To the End of the Land by David Grossman (Cat Trick)
65) Free Live Free by Gene Wolfe (Alpha Cat)
66) The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
67) The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye : five fairy stories by A. S. Byatt
68) Lyonesse by Jack Vance

August

Award Cats
Scotiabank Giller Prize
The Thriller Award
Random Cat
Family Matters - read a book about a family or related to the feelings you have when you hear the word family.
Alpha Cat - H + U

69) Red Dragon White Dragon by Gary Dolman
70) The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai by Barbara Lazar
71) The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch (Alpha Cat/ Random Cat)
72) East of the Mountains by David Guterson
73) Bard The Odyssey of the Irish by Morgan Llywelyn
74) Among Others by Jo Walton (Random Cat)
75) To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
76) India: A History by John Keay (Alpha Cat)
77) The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien

September

Award Cats
The Man Booker Prize
The Hans Christian Andersen Award (children's/YA)
Random Cat
Lab Lit
Alpha Cat - I + V

78) Wool by Hugh Howey
79) Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
80) Hard Winter The Novel by Neil Davies
81) Silk Road by Colin Falconer
82) City of Dragons by Robin Hobb
83) Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie (Alpha Cat)
84) Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver (Random Cat)
85) Transition by Iain Banks (Alpha Cat)
86) The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
87) The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
88) Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny
89) The River King by Alice Hoffman
90) MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
91) The Owl Service by Alan Garner

October

Award Cats
The Nobel Prize in Literature
The Bram Stoker Award (horror)
Random Cat
?
Alpha Cat - J + W

92) Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb
93) Shift by Hugh Howey
94) White Ravens by Owen Sheers (Alpha Cat)

November

Award Cats
National Book Award
The Hugo Award (science fiction/fantasy)
Random Cat
?
Alpha Cat - K + Y

December

Award Cats
The Miles Franklin Award
The Thurber Award (humor)
Random Cat
?
Alpha Cat - L + Z

Category 1 Crime and Punishment - murder and mysteries
1) The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes (9 - 12 January)
2) The Invisible ones by Stef Penney (29 - 30 January)
3) The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard (12 - 14 March)
4) Walking the Lions by Stephen Burgen (18 - 20 March)
5) Martyr by Rory Clements
6) Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
7) The Missing by Tim Gautreaux
8) The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Category 2 Around the world - contemporary fiction (say from 1950's onward from anywhere in the world as long as it was written in English)
1) Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood (19 - 20 January)
2) Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (30 - 31 January)
3) Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson (20 - 22 March)
4) The Gift of a Daughter by Emyr Humphreys (14 - 16 April)
5) Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
6) Wide Open by Nicola Barker
7) The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
8) East of the Mountains by David Guterson
9) Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver (Random Cat)

Category 3 Long ago and far away - historical fiction (pre-1600)

1) The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland (6 - 9 February)
2) The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman (3 - 7 March)
3) The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie (14 - 18 March)
4) The King's Witch by Cecelia Holland
5) Sworn Sword by James Aitchenson
6) The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai by Barbara Lazar
7) Bard The Odyssey of the Irish by Morgan Llywelyn
8) Silk Road by Colin Falconer

Category 4 More from the past - historical fiction (1600 - 1950)

1) Death Comes For the Archbishop by Willa Cather (23 - 26 February)
2) Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier (5 - 10 April)
3) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (18 - 20 April)
4) Witch Child by Celia Rees (1 - 2 May)
5) Sorceress by Celia Rees (11 - 12 May)
6) The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien

Category 5 Short and Sweet - short stories or books under 200 pages

1) The Woman Who Loved an Octopus and other Saints' Tales by Imogen Rhia Herrad (9 - 14 January)
2) The Granta Book of the African Short Story edited by Helon Habila (15 January - 22 February)
3) Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue (6 - 10 March)
4) The Country Ahead of Us The Country Behind by David Guterson (19 - 31 March)
5) Dancing Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood (3 - 30 April)
6) The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye : five fairy stories by A. S. Byatt
7) Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie (Alpha Cat)
8) White Ravens by Owen Sheers (Alpha Cat)

Category 6 Chills down my spine - ghost stories, gothics and horror

1) Under the Dome by Stephen King (3 - 7 January)
2) The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (1 - 5 April)
3) The Radleys by Matt Haig (11 April)
4) The River King by Alice Hoffman
5) The Owl Service by Alan Garner

Category 7 On and On - series and sequels

1) Sunrise in the West by Edith Pargeter (16 - 19 January)
2) Dark Fire by C. J Sansom (20 - 23 April)
3) A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
4) Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
5) City of Dragons by Robin Hobb
6) The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
7) Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny
8) MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
9) Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb

Category 8 Unlikely things - fantasy

1) Low Town by Daniel Polansky (13 - 15 January)
2) Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson (1 - 3 February)
3) Into the Green by Charles de Lint (4 February 13)
4) Railsea by China Miéville (9 - 12 February)
5) Wolfking by Bridget Wood (27 February - 3 March)
6) The City in the Lake by Rachel Neumeier (16 - 19 April)
7) Sunshine by Robin McKinley
8) Lyonesse by Jack Vance
9) Among Others by Jo Walton

Category 9 New friends/Old friends - recommendations, early reviewers, new to me authors, group reads, favourite authors and re-reads that don't fit anywhere else - basically a pot pourri category.

1) Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson (25 - 28 January) Favourite Author
2) Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (5 - 6 February) New to me Author/Group Read
3) The Miracle Man by James Skivington (7 - 12 March) Member Giveaway/New to me Author
4) The Searcher by Ray Dacolias (12 - 14 April) Member Giveaway/New to me Author
5) A Time of Myths by Chris Blamires (2 - 6 May) Member Giveaway/New to me Author
6) Red Dragon White Dragon by Gary Dolman LT Early Reviewer
7) Hard Winter The Novel by Neil Davies Member Giveaway/New to me Author

Category 10 To space and beyond - science fiction

1) Where Time Winds Blow by Robert Holdstock (7 - 9 January)
2) Passage by Connie Willis (25 - 29 April)
3) Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
4) Walk in a Lost Landscape by Sheila Barrett
5) Free Live Free by Gene Wolfe
6) To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
7) Wool by Hugh Howey
8) Transition by Iain Banks (Alpha Cat)
9) Shift by Hugh Howey

Category 11 It's Greek to me - books in translation

1) New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani (1 - 3 January)
2) The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot (16 January - February 28)
3) My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (23 - 31 March)
4) The Last of the Vostyachs by Diego Marani (24 - 25 April)
5) To the End of the Land by David Grossman (Triple Cat)

Category 12 Need to know - non-fiction

1) Art of the Byzantine Era by David Talbot Rice (22 - 28 February) Alpha Cat
2) In Xanadu by William Dalrymple
3) The Watchers A Secret History of the Reign Elizabeth I by Stephen Alford
4) India: A History by John Keay (Alpha Cat)

Category 13 Great books I should have read - classics and prizewinners/nominees

1) All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (12 - 13 January)
2) Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimands Ngozi Adichie (21 - 24 January)
3) The Magus by John Fowles (13 - 22 February)
4) The Folly of the World by Jesse Bullington (6 - 10 May)
5) The Last Magician by Janette Turner Hospital
6) The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald
7) The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

I think that will do. Back later to edit the category posts:)

I'm looking forward to being part of this group again this year.

Hi calm, found and starred you! 13 books in each category? Good luck, I am very curious how you are going to fill them ;)

Hi Bianca - not very likely to get to 169 but I'll probably get there in a few categories:)

I must admit to be better at keeping up with my 75 book thread and tend to just copy and past the comments for the books over here so don't feel like you need to keep up with both threads:)

Hehe, that's what I just have done *grin* I have written and posted in the 75er first and then copy and pasted it over here. Nothing wrong with that :)

OK I'll just follow you in the 75ers then:)

Starred*******

Thanks Laura:)

Looking good so far calm. Going to enjoy seeing how your categories get filled up again.

Thanks Dave - I'll be lurking on your thread again this year - love your anime theme:)

I'll be reading your comments with interest for another year!

Love your picture for your 13th category!

Thank you Mamzel:)

Alison - I snagged them all from Google Images - I quite liked that one myself. Those books don't deserve to be neglected:)

Welcome back! Looking forward to following along this year too!

Great to see you back, I am looking forward to discovering new books through your reading and posting.

Welcome back, calm!

Thanks Eva, Judy and Lori:)

First book coming up:)

It's Greek to me - books in translation (1 of 13)

(fits Alpha Cat and January Random Cat)



1) New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani (1 - 3 January)

During the Second World War an unconscious man is found in Trieste, the only clues to his identity a name label in his jacket and a monogrammed handkerchief. A doctor takes this to mean that the man is a Finnish sailor and arranges for him to be sent to Helsinki. After the war Doctor Friari goes to Helsinki himself to find the man but all that is left is the jacket, the handkerchief, three letters, a volume of the Kalevala, an empty bottle and a tattered notebook. The doctor then proceeds to attempt to put the man's story into a coherent tale and to understand what has happened.

From the first we know that the Doctor was mistaken about the identity of the man and as the story unfolds we gradually learn of his fate. Adrift in a foreign place that he believes to be his homeland the man struggles to make connections, find his past and hope for a future. This is a novel about memory, nationality, language and identity. I loved the way that the story was told and the snippets of Finnish mythology; song and the war torn background of Helsinki. A thought provoking novel that I really enjoyed.

That sounds really interesting and could fit my translation category, adding it to the WL

That does sound interesting. Although when I first saw it, I thought it was actually a book about, well, grammar... :)

Hi Pete - hope you like it.

Hi Eva - yes the title does seem to imply that:)

32. I've heard about that book but forgot about it until now. it seems really good; I need to put it on my TBR list.

Hi Paws - it was good:) Hope you can find a copy.

It's available at one of the nearby libraries so I'll get a hold of it if/when my challenge reading allows.

Category 6 Chills down my spine - ghost stories, gothics and horror (1 of 13)



2) Under the Dome by Stephen King (3 - 7 January)

Shocking and terrifying - King certainly knows how to tell a story. When Dale Barbara decides it is time to leave Chester Mills after a run in with some of the local boys he doesn't know that things are about to get a lot worse. As he nears the town limits an invisible Dome suddenly cuts the town off from the rest of the world. The Dome is inexplicable and nearly impermeable and the trouble is only just beginning but it is the human element that strikes the deepest horror in this story.

This is a real page turner. King gives us the depths of human actions - rape, murder and other violent behaviour - while a few people try to understand and bring the Dome down. It is horrifying how quickly things break down in the town and there are numerous scenes of graphic violence but King is such a master that, even as I was horrified, I had to keep reading. Definitely not one for those who don't want to read such things but I loved the way King tells this story.

Category 10 To space and beyond - science fiction (1 of 13)



3) Where Time Winds Blow by Robert Holdstock (7 - 9 January)

An interesting SF story from Robert Holdstock. Where Time Winds Blow is set on the planet VanderZande and tells of a team of relic hunters - those who seek the debris from other times which is left when the wind blows. The addition of young Kris to the team is unsettling to old-timers Leo and Lena, both changed by their time on the planet and the character shifting electrical storms.

I had only read his fantasy previously and I am pleased to say that Holdstock reveals the details of his SF planet at a good pace and I liked the characters and world he created. Great ending too.

Nice reviews! I'm trying to resist these BB's.....

Good luck dodging the BB's Laura:)

Category 1 Crime and Punishment - murder and mysteries (1 of 13)



4) The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes (9 - 12 January)

I'm not entirely sure what to say about this book - it is very strange, with lots of freakish characters (as in the kind who might inhabit a circus -giants, bearded ladies, human flies, etc.); an out there story and some rather unpleasant goings-on. But I better try to say something. For a start this is a debut novel and shows signs of it, there are a lot of unexplained pieces to the story and the pace is uneven but I was drawn into the strange and fantastical world of Edward Moon and, just, post-Victorian London.

Edward Moon is a detective who has seen better days and he is also the owner of a theatre where he performs acts of mind reading. Bored he starts to investigate a mysterious death but a secret government agency wants him to work for them and his troubles are just starting. What follows is confusing, perplexing, very bizarre but in a strange way enjoyable. I will probably be reading the second in the series when I find a copy.

Category 13 Great books I should have read - classics and prizewinners/nominees (1 of 13)



5) All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville -West (12 - 13 January)

This is a quiet and thoughtful book. At the age of 88 Lady Slane is widowed, after a life in the public eye as wife of a statesman. Unexpectedly it turns out that she has ideas of her own, as she decides to rent a small house in Hampstead, not give into her children's expectations of her being passed around amongst them. Unexpected friendships blossom even at this stage of her life - her landlord; the man who renovates the house and an eccentric art collecting millionaire. Only these are fully welcome into her life as she remembers her past and the giving up of her own life to marriage and children.

I enjoyed this quiet story with its picture of a changing life and times and the touch of hope for the future at the end.

You got me with two very interesting... and very different.... books with this visit, calm! the Somnambulist I think I have been hit before by this one (I love Victorian steampunk!) but All Passion Spent is definitely new to me and looks like it is worth a look. My library has both the book and the DVD of All Passion Spent - a Masterpiece Theatre production - so the movie has made the hold list, because I am feeling rather lazy this month about my reading. ;-)

Hi Lori - The Somnambulist isn't steampunk, just very bizarre and freakish. Not too bad a debut novel though.

I haven't seen the movie of All Passion Spent but hope you enjoy it, it is a very quiet story and, to be honest, not a lot happens but I did like it.

I read The Somnambulist as an early reviewer several years ago and remember being frustrated by the one unreliable narrator and not liking the other. I agree with your descriptions of confusing, perplexing and very bizarre, but not with strangely enjoyable. I'm glad you had better luck with it.

Ah well Sandra - not everyone likes the same things - there was just the right amount of quirkiness in the mix for me to overlook some of its faults.

This conversation, along with the review, is making me really want to read The Somnambulist.

The Somnambulist isn't steampunk, just very bizarre and freakish.

Good to know. I really wish the tags on the book page were more reliable.... a number of people seem to have tagged that one as steampunk.

Ah, thanks for reminding me why All Passion Spent is on my WL. Nice little review.

Hi Alison - well as I said it is a first novel with some of the usual flaws - too many ideas and some strands that are unexplained but I did like it so hope you find something worthwhile if you read it.

Lori - yes the tagging is strange. I think some people see a tag and copy it before reading. For me steampunk means a certain kind of technology but that isn't so in The Somnambulist. It isn't even Victorian but post Victorian, very early Twentieth century shortly after Victoria's death.

Katie -Thanks. I have had a couple of people on my 75 thread saying it is on their TBR stacks or wishlists. I hope you get around to reading it. I did fancy something gentle and undemanding after some of my other recent reads:)

I've tagged The Somnambul as steampunk, but I'm not 100% sure why now. I think it was because I'd just started hearing about steampunk and, to me, this had the feel of steampunk as I was starting to define it for myself. I seem to remember it having a Victorian feel to it, but I don't remember if there were any steampunk-like gadgets. Maybe I felt the tech was more advanced than it should be for the time?