This looks like fun: Damiella's 888 Challenge

Boy - another 'tab' on my 'Books to Read'. I'm going to try to duplicate books on existing lists as much as possible as well as include an extra 'alternate' in each category in case I decide I can't bear to finish one of my selections or I can't find one of them. My self-imposed rule for the alternates is that they have to currently be on my bookshelves.

1. Books from Harold Blooms Western Canon
2. YA Fiction
3. Other Classics
4. Fantasy / Science Fiction
5. Popular Science / History
6. Poetry / Plays
7. Reading Globally
8. Just for Fun

(now to work out what I'm going to put in each!!). Popular Science / History & Just for Fun will be completed over the year from books I pick up here & there.




Edited to add ticker - just another bit of fun

1. Books from 'The Western Canon' compiled by Harold Bloom

Ethics - Aristole
The Castle - Franz Kafka
Troilus and Criseyde - Geoffrey Chaucer (read in HS - rereading as I can't remember it)
Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens (may substitute another unread Dickens)
Castle Rackrent - Maria Edgeworth
Iphiginia at Aulus - Euripedies (touchstone not working)
The Hamlet - William Faulkner
The Faerie Queen - Edmund Spenser

alternate:
The Forsyte Saga - John Galsworthy

2. YA Fiction

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens - J.M. Barrie
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren
Eragon - Christopher Paolini
Little Brother - Cory Doctorow
Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
The Stone Mage and the Sea - Sean Williams

alternate:
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

3. Other Classics
(most of these are also from the Western Canon list as are most of the Poetry/Plays - I really want to make a dent in that list this year)

Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell
Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K Jerome
The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling
The Periodic Table - Primo Levi
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Vanity Fair - William Thackery

alternate:
The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky

4. Fantasy / Science Fiction

Ventus - Karl Schroeder
The First Men in the Moon - H.G. Wells
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
The Land that Time Forgot - Edgar Rice Burroughs
Someplace to be Flying - Charles de Lint
The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton - Robert Sheckley
The Android's Dream - John Scalzi
Demon Download - Jack Yeovil

alternate:
Lord Valentine's Castle - Robert Siverberg

5. Popular Science / History

These will be made up of what I get my hands on over the course of the year.

The Lunar Men - Jenny Uglow
Deep Survival - Laurence Gonzales
The Friar and the Cipher - Lawrence Goldstone
Bearbrass - Robn Annear
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

alternate:
TBA

6. Poetry / Plays
these are mainly from the Western Canon list (as mentioned above)

Don Juan - Lord Byron
Complete Poems - e.e. cummings
TBA
The Illiad - Homer
Paradise Lost - John Milton
Troilus and Cressida - William Shakespeare
Beowolf - any translation I manage to find
The Duchess of Malfi - John Webster - I always regretted not being able to do this in HS - timetable clashed

alternate:
The Song of Roland

7. Reading Globally (non-AUS, US, UK, CAN)

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
After Dark - Haruki Murakami
The Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu
Suite francaise - Irene Nemirovsky
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Alexander Sozenitsyn
The Samurai's Garden - Gail Tsukiyama
Kristin Lavransdatter - Sigrid Unset
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

alternate:
Sacred Games - Vikram Chandra

(computer threw a spack & then I had to go out)

8. Just for fun
I'll probably be adding to this over the year as well. Truthfully, this will probably be the most volatile category

On Fairy Stories - J.R.R. Tolkein
Yours Plum: The Letters of P.G. Wodehouse - P.G. Wodehouse
A Journey around my Room - Xavier de Maistre
The Philosopher's Stone - Peter Marshall
2 1/2 Men in a Boat - Nigel Williams
TBA
TBA
TBA

alternate:
TBA

This week I decided to try to 'catch' up to the required count - I make it to be safe I need to finish 3 books each fortnight. I got rid of a few 'shorter' ones while starting work on The Faerie Queen - at the moment I'm thinking of tackling it in small chunks so I prob won't finish it until mid-year. But... it will be finished!

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens - this touchstone refers to the short story only (but it's the one I had on my TBR list) but I actually read the 'set' of the original short story, the full book, and the play text. (now all I need is to see the actual play - I'll have to hope one of the local schools chooses it this year) Like (I think) most people, I 'know' the story from the Disney cartoon - but it turned out to be a really interesting exercise to read the 3 'versions' one after the other. In some ways it's actually not that nice a story, there are some definite 'darker' tones in it - don't take love for granted; Peter only living in the moment means that he forgets the past, including people who had previous importance. Still, I must say once again that I enjoyed this.

The Lunar Men was my 'public transport' book this week, not that I actually spend that much time actually on the tram, but the waiting time for them to show up gives me plenty of chances to read. When I read my 'popular science' books they usually focus on one issue / person only. This was interesting in that it covered a range of people and how they interacted together. It was interesting to see how multiple people interested in the same thing can take it different ways - each of them had a 'speciality' - for example Erasmus Darwin had a medical background but later he got interested in botany (Linnaeus was doing his stuff at the same time)- he also had a wee bit of 'conflict' with William Withering regarding early 'discovery' of digitalis. Then we had all the 'politics' of the time intruding on their lives, Joseph Priestley having to emigrate to America to get away from controversy. I have to say that I really enjoyed this book, I found it a nice light read (as it covered so much it didn't require much mental effort - although I could always try to decipher how the mechanical drawings of early steam pumps worked), and I think it'll be a definite keeper.

Final one finished this week was The Duchess of Malfi - well, this was definitely an interesting one to read late at night - yes it was good, yes I'm finished it, but I really think that I may have missed a few things in it. At this stage I'd say I've enjoyed it at the level of popular entertainment, but I don't really have a handle on whether Webster was doing 'social commentary' at the time he wrote this. I think I'll have to search out a commentary or two (as I don't think I'll be fortunate enough to find a production of this one) and then re-read. I'll mark it off as read but I think I'll be returning to it.

I'm just doing a quick update as I suspect I won't have time to get back until mid next week.

Still on target so far (3 / fortnight). I've written short reviews over in my 50 book challenge thread. I'll come back to write some more but I just want to get the titles down.

Erewhon - Samuel Butler
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
How Hits Happen - Winslow Farrell

I've decided to look at these in 'semi-reverse' order. I was a bit 'on the wrong track' when I picked up How Hits Happen as based upon the full title I was really expecting some more statistical analysis. Instead, this book was more 'soft' on it's approach and focused more on examples (as well as on the useful infomation the author's company can provide you if engaged as a consultant). I think my main disappointment with this book is that it didn't really go into anything in depth - everything just seemed so 'surface'. Now, I have to admit I 'classed' this as a 'popular' book so I shouldn't really be disappointed, but it's just that when compared with Complexity, Defining the Wind, and Hacking Matter - books I've read in the last year that I also put in this category, I was frankly, disappointed and it's going into my pile of books to be 'removed from the house.'

Well, The Woman in White, one of the first 'mystery' stories. I have to admit that like many others I already knew the 'bad guy' from other books I've read but I still found it good to read. I must admit that personally I felt Laura needs to be listed in rolls of 'notable wusses' but she was likely the proper ideal of 'womanly virtues' who were only any good with a man around, a sign of the times. I did like the structure of this novel itself with the thread passing between different narrators, and even getting a chance to see the Counts POV (sort of). I don't know if I'd bother reading it again this year, but it'll definitely be staying on the shelves.

Finally (the first I finished from this trio), Erewhon. I started this about 3 times prior and then abandoned it due to more interesting books passing by. Based upon the back cover this book ' is the second great satire of the nineteenth century,..attacks the Victorian Age.' Well, maybe so, but it wasn't interesting . I may be a woman of my time, but I still want my interest kept and this was just boring. There were some good ideas in it (none all that new though), but I just didn't enjoy reading this book. I'll probably keep this - just because it's an older edition that I picked up for 20C or so, not really worth anything to get rid of - anyway, I may feel in the mood for it at a later time & give it another chance.

(edited to add book reviews)

As expected - I'm falling behind a tad from what I would have liked(I'm also trying to read a few longer ones not on my 888 list) - however I'm plugging away and I think I'll get there as I've purposefully put a few 'shorter' ones on there.

This week I finished Alice in Wonderland I really cannot believe I never actually read this: watched the Disney movie, listened to the audiobook, watched the play, and seen one really wierd movie intrepretation on late night TV, but read it..not until now. I can't say that I was surprised by anything in this one (as said I've pretty much been exposed to it over time) but it was good to read just for completeness. Alice does seem singularly stupid in some ways, but it can't be denied that it does enable her to see all that she does, and have influences the actions of others.

Still, this was written as a nonsense book & should be regarded as such. It was a nice bit of fun.

Too funny -- I just finally read Alice in Wonderland in January! Now I've picked up an annotated edition from the library. I'll skim it -- 300 pages of tiny-type margin notes to explain that little story!

you'll have to note if it's good reading - I'll keep an eye out on your thread for it

Quick update again as I only managed to finish one again this week. However I counted up & I'm still just on the right pace for target - lost the 'lead' I had though.

This week I finished Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. I wasn't really looking forward to this one due to my having 'tired' of the whole 'war based story' a while ago. Still, based on LT recommendations & the fact that it was on the 3 for 2 table I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm really glad that I did so as I quite enjoyed it. I like the appendices where you could get an idea of where this built from and a shadowing of where the future episodes may have gone. I do think that the completed '5 part book' would have been a completely different affair, and truth be told, the two published books may have appeared in a different light when taken in full context. I won't say that this made me think but I did enjoy the different character portrayals and how they each person impacted on the others.

I've also decided to change my list a little - instead of Othello I'm going to read Troilus and Cressida - I think it'd be interesting to compare with the Chaucer version (if I can get my hands on it that is - I know it's out there as I remember it my HS library - and it wasn't THAT big).

I'm also adding one to the 'Just for Fun category'. I came across A Journey around my Room at the library today & it looks like a bit of fun.

Only added 2 this week but that's still keeping me on track. (have to remind myself..reading is not my whole life...don't cancel social engagements just because the book you're reading is interesting..have to have a life...have to have a life).

Frankenstein was an easy read for me. This was one of the first ones I tried through 'daily.lit' (thanks to whoever mentioned it) and I found it a really easy way to work on that 'extra' (or 3) book each week. I must admit I was almost ashamed prior to this to admit that I'd never read this but 'now my shame is washed away.' I found the style of this book quite easy. It suited the first person narrative very well. There were some quite marked differences between my prior expectations / preconceptions based upon movies & 'common knowledge' - no torch-bearing crowds of peasants storming the castle to kill the monster, no bride of Frankenstein (yes... I know that's in one of the many sequels), and what's more I didn't once read 'it's alive'. I did enjoy this though and, seeing I've only read it electronically, I'll probably end up getting a hard-copy of this sooner or later.

I was actually hoping to get a third book finished this week as I was reading Chaucer's Troilus & Criseyde together with the Shakespeare version. I'll probably finish the Shakespeare tonight so it'll go towards next week. This was something I've been wanting to read for a long time. I first came across the characters of Troilus & Cressida in Madam, will you talk, I actually got myself confused & first tried to read the Chaucer, discovered my mistake but then could never get my hands on a copy of the Shakespeare - for some strange reason the library at my HS had the Chaucer but not Shakespeare - go figure.
I can't really remember how far I got through this back then but one thing I do remember is that I read / attempted it in the original spelling. This time I was fortunate enough to come across this site so I could read it with more ease this time. I also liked his notes, and I must confess to reading a few of the essays from here in my background reading which I found very useful. I also read Testament of Cressid - by Robert Henryson which was designed as a 'sequel' to Chaucer - !!the medieval mind - she certainly gets given it from every side as 'punishment'. I've started the corresponding Shakespeare play (more on that in next week's update as I've not fnished as yet) and it's been interesting to consider some of the differences in the overall story. Honestly, I probably won't read this again in the near future but I wouldn't be willing to take bets on my never reading it again.

On track still but 2 shorter ones this week. Had a few 'other things' happening that interfered with my reading time.

Troilus and Cressida was read to compare with the Chaucer Troilus and Criseyde that I finished last week. The Chaucer focused a lot more on the people ignoring the place (the romance could have happended anywhere, anytime) whereas the Shakespeare integrated the wider community into the story and let them express opinions about the situation. I re-read the essays I mentioned last week and I think that was the right way to do them - i.e. read before reading them both, then read again afterwards. The Illiad has also moved up my list to read as I seem to be tending that way at present (I've already started it as a dailylit subscription)- then again I could always gets distracted again.

The other book I read, A Journey around my room was a completely different thing. Although it allege's it's just the story of someone who's trapped in their room and decides to do a trip around it 'as a new way of travelling that I am introducing to the world' it is really a book to make you consider how you yourself view the world. In the first instance Xavier de Maistre was confined to his room for 42 days due to a duelling incident and while he was there he spent the time thinking around the framework of what he sees in his room. He considers the furniture, he considers the pictures on the wall, and he considers himself and all of the associations that arise from his thoughts. Both stories in this book (Journey around my Room & A Noctural Expedition Around my Room) are about paying attention to what's going on around you and not taking it for granted...'Since they can see the sky so often, and all for free, they can't be bothered with it'.. He is however a product of his time (as I've said many times before, so are we all) and there are some quite 'dated attitudes'. There is however some amusing bits such as when he walks into the wall while trying to get inspiration for his poem. This was a library book but I'm going to get a copy for my own library - a definite keeper in my mind.

Got another 2 off the list this week due to 'liberal definitions'. I read Deep Survival and have decided it fits in my Popular Science / History category (having said that, if I find something else later one it may get bumped but I'm reluctant to do that as it'd mess up my count). Laurence Gonzales doesn't just write about other's adventures, he also includes his own (and family) experiences. Thinking about it, it wasn't just his writing style that made this an easy read, it was the structure of the book as well. He explores how people can fool themselves into not realising the danger they are in.. if you're accustomed to putting yourself in danger, you disregard lesser dangers - e.g. you've climbed Everest, you're going on a one day mountain climb ?what could go wrong..PLENTY!!. He also considers how when you're in danger, your 'instincts' can get you into more trouble. Anytime people go to a new place a new mental map is created. In a panic situation one of our 'instincts' is to force landmarks to conform with our mental map. For example, you go for a hike and take a wrong turn and according to the physical map you looked at before you left you know that you need to turn left to go down the cliff, you will go left down a goat track even if there's a well travelled path to the right, because that's the way it's supposed to be, even if other evidence presents itself. (but then again he has a good sense of humour about it as well. '..defines being lost as "30 minutes of not knowing where you are." That would suggest a number of pilots I know have been lost in local taverns.'). Each of his points is re-inforced with examples (for more on which he includes a quite good bibliography) Finally he rounds off a summary of suggestions for what seems to make a difference in survival - the most important of which (I think anyway) is be aware not only after an incident has occured, but before - if you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach 'this isn't a good idea' - it may well not be.

I have to say that I didn't really enjoy Bad Monkeys. It took me about 4 tries to get through in the end, and honestly, if I hadn't listed it I probably still wouldn't have finished it. This book was recommended to me so I really wanted to like it. Come to think of it, that may be the answer, on most occasions when a book is recommended I don't really like it. I don't really want to put in many details due to the nature of the book (conspiracy thriller) but the story just seemed to be one that required momentum to get through. In hindsight, I probably should have put this aside for a 'beach day' when I had nothing else on my plate, read this right through & it would have been fine. Stopping & starting as I did, it just didn't stand up.

Just one last comment - I thought that my Fan/SF category would be the first one finished based upon previous history. So far it's the only one I haven't touched! Also, I'm not even working on anything in there at present - I think I'll have to ammend that one!

Well, I finished one & decided to remove one from the list. I finally finished Measuring the World and I have to say I consider it time wasted that could have been spent reading other things. I do generally like 'popular science' books like this, but this just didn't catch my interest at all. There wasn't enough 'details' of what they did (e.g. copies of maps / calculations) and the way it was written the characters didn't come alive for me at all. That makes 2 disappointments in a row. I think I'll read some 'lighter' books from my list to compensate myself. (3 men in a boat looks like the thing) I still haven't touched the fantasy catagory yet - looking for 2 particular ones that I just can't locate at present

This week I got hold of the scripts of all the Gilbert & Sullivan musicals, read through 2 (Iolanthe & The Mikado)in an hour & decided to remove this from my challenge list - I don't consider them long enough to be included - too easy a read. I'll have to decide what to move to instead.

Well I had a bit of a brek from recording stuff here. Good in some ways, not so in other. I've caught up with a few friends, squashed down some of the stuff in my in-tray, and done a few other necessary things. I THINK I'm just on track for this challenge. I've decided to implement what I was musing over late Feb - namely, that if I don't enjoy a book, it doesn't get included in my 888 count. So.. my 888 challenge is to consist of books that I enjoy (or at least think of as a worthwhile read) - I didn't enjoy The Faerie Queen but I'm glad I read it. Consequently, Measuring the World , Erewhon, How Hits Happen and Bad Monkeys are being removed from my challenge list. This pulls me back but I feel more satisfied.

Now for new additions since last update.

I mentioned The Faerie Queen in my blurb above; so obviously I finished it. This was one of the 'larger' books in my list and I'm glad to have finished before April. I found the language tiring - I was lucky to be able to read 30-50 pages a night (this was my occasional bedtime book - I rotated it in & out). I've come across a fair few references to characters / events contained in her (e.g. 'Britomart') and it's good to be able to put them into context. Looking at the appendix, it appears that Spencer originally planned to complete another 6 cantos. It would have been interesting to see what other 'virtues' he considered worthy of inclusion. Although, I don't really think that the characters really portrayed fully the virtues they were linked to - then again, they did have to 'fall' and make their way back up, although in most cases the salvation happened rather rapidly and easily. The view of women was definitely one-dimensional (virtuous under a man's protection - knowing that obedience was the highest virtue they could aspire to / by themselves as evil people leading good men astray or going completely out of control / being punished for sins they commited while not under a man's due guidance- yuck!!). Still, that was a product of the time, it would have been interesting to see how Spencer ended up justifying how 'Gloriana' (his ideal of QEI) managed to head the Faerie Court by herself without being corrupted.

I really enjoyed Three Men in a Boat as I was looking for something to lift my spirits after previous dissapointments and drudgery. This kind of humour always appeals to me, probably as I exposed to it young enough to appreciate it. Personal opinion, but I think if you're used to broader humour, you just don't get this stuff. I could just picture the main characters, there's so many lines that I didn't even realise came from here (e.g. 'I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit back and look at it for hours.') In a way I don't want to see a stage/screen production of this as it'd probably ruin the picture I've got of it in my head - especially when they get onto the canal. This was another e-book but I'll definitely try to find a nice collection that includes it.

I also finished Viriconium but it's going off my list as I just didn't enoy it in the slightest. I'm aware that's it's supposed to be sharp social commentary but I don't think it was a story well told. I'd be more inclined to agree with this review if I didn't think he was being generous. Call me shallow, but I didn't enjoy this book and if it hadn't been on several of my 'to read' lists I wouldn't have finished it.

so, after reading 2 this past couple of weeks and taking 4 off the list I've slipped backwards in my count. I can still make it I think. I'll just have to be careful to make sure that I attempt a couple from this list each week.

I'm also thinking I might need to remove Demon Download and Sea Kings of Mars as I've been looking around for them and can't find them anywhere. I'll leave them where they are for the moment. They're not doing any hard there and I've got enough other slots to fill.

Thinking about slots to fill: (trying to go for similar 'flavours')

I'm replacing Erewhon with The Castle
I'm replacing Viriconium with The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton
I'll replace Measuring the World with a TBA (in accordance with the category)
I'll replace How Hits Happen and Bad Monkeys also with TBAs in accordance with the category they fall into

Update time again - it seems to come around quicker every week. Got 2 finished this week so I'm on track with my 'new' schedule - 15 read out of 72 - 38 weeks left in the year - 2 books finished a week - 76 - so even with my revised rules (can only be included on the list if it was a classic that I was glad I read - that I got something out of it even it it wasn't enjoyable or that I enjoyed the read) I should be able to meet my challenge as I've got 19 spare 'spots' - then again I may go into a run of books that I just enjoy outright & don't need to swap anything out. Spreaking of swapping things out... I haven't managed to come across a copy of The Onion Girl but when I went to the library last Sunday I found Someplace to be Flying so I'm substituting that one in (if another deLint doesn't have the same feel I don't know how I could get closer - now to hope that I enjoy it - I think I will). Also, I've tried to start Darwin's Radio 3 times - I'm still wanting to finish it this year, but it's a fairly safe bet to say that I'm not finding it an enjoyable read so I've replaced it with a TBA for now - I'm considering what to put in there - ? Infected looks good but I'm holding off at present. I'll see if anything else catches my eye.

Anyway, what I finished this week. The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton was sort of a cheat for me to list last week as it was on the top of my physical TBR pile (not my virtual one which is a different matter which doesn't really have a top come to think of it) so I knew I'd be able to at least attempt it this week and even if I decided I didn't like it, it was a relatively short one (only 191 pages). I did end up liking this actually. The latter part of it had a feel of something by Ron Goulart (who appeals to my sense of humour) so it finished on a high note for me. I think the reason I picked up this one wasn't just it's availability (there wasn't much left on the SF/Fan Sale table by the time I got there - last day of a 4 day sale - still it was planned as everything was a further 50% off) but also that the concept sounded interesting. Alistair Crompton has a boring life, he arrives at work at exactly the same time every day, greets the guard with exactly the same phrase and generally lives a 'grey' life. He doesn't get excited about anything, and doesn't really have anything to get excited about truth be told. This is a result of Crompton being infected with virus schizophrenia at the age of 10 - although this wasn't recognised until he was 12 after a playground incident. The treatment for this was to fission off the personality parts into separate 'temporay (45 yr) bodies' and then try to recombine them at the age of 30. Unfortunately due to the late diagnosis the doctor's didn't recommend this re-integration (personalities were too distinct) so they ensured that they were raised on different planets. Crompton decides that he wants this re-integration, and decides to ensure it happens so it goes searching for his 'fun' and his 'anger'. Naturally not all goes to plan, the other personalities see themselves as people in their own right and don't really want to combine & lose themselves. I found this a very quick read, I don't know if I'd read it again in a hurry but if I was looking for something to grab on the way out the door to read on the train and this was sitting ont he shelf I wouldn't pass over it. This also reminded me of a short story I read YEARS ago, nothing of the same concept but just dealing with multiple personalities in a different way. From memory, female protagonist - in a night-club specifically catering for 'multiple personalities' (they were called something else but I can't think what) - dance floor is set up such that it encourages them to 'flip' to different personalities and interact with one another. Turns out she's faking it, she want's to be a multiple - some sort of surgical process to induce more personalities - works but only temporary ?implication that she's gone through it before - can't remember how it ends. I'd look it out but I'm fairly sure the magazine it was in was lost in a move. I might try to do so anyway as I think I can remember about when I read it - prior to '88 I think - maybe even before '85. It's better than nothing.

The other one I finished this week was The Samurai's Garden. I picked this up after recommendations on LT and I enjoyed it. The story is based around a young Chinese boy who goes to his family beach house in Japan just as WWII is starting. He's recovering from an illness and over the course of a year he is focused on what's going on around him but also being aware of (but removed from) what's happening in the wider world. The 'supplementary' characters all have their back stories as well as their tragedies. This was another quick read for me but I'm more likely to read it again soon as there's some bits I want to think about a bit more.

Once again I've swapped something out of my list. However this time it wasn't because I didn't enjoy it. I got my hands on a collection of Wilfred Owen's poetry. I knew (intellectually) that he didn't write much but I forgot how little it was. It ended up being less than 30 pages of actual poetry. I don't feel right in including it in my count so I've put in Paradise Lost which I'm reading through DailyLit anyway.

I finished Someplace to be flying within 24 hours of adding it to the list last week. I'm not really surprised as I really do find his work consistently worth reading. I've actually re-read some of his earlier stuff in the last few months and it really is quite different. He had dark elements in his work before but they didn't seem as fully fleshed as in this one. This particular book very much revolves around the corbae (the first bird spirts) as well as the animal spirits in general. This story is a lot less linear than the earlier ones I read, and that's a very good thing - makes it more interesting to have a character say 'everyone knows what happened to Nettie' whets the appetite, so that when you finally read what actually did happen both then and afterwards... There's a nice group of strong characters as well, not just a few that dominate. I think I need to do some catch-up reading as I've been ignoring his later work in preference for what's already on the shelf & discovering new writers as well.

I decided to class The Philosopher's Stone as 'Just for Fun' as it doesn't really fit into the 'Popular Science / History' category I was trying to get an entry for. This was despite it being in the 540 - Chemistry (no I'm not doing the Dewey Decimal challenge this year but yes, I'm thinking about making an 'official' start for next year - I've just not been in the habit of recording my call numbers in the past so I'm making sure I note them this year). Peter Marshall states that he was inspired to start this search by reading of the finding of the Lady Dai mummy but seeng his book was published 2001 & the main title of that book, I'm cynical enough to wonder if there was another factor involved. Hey, I'm not criticising him, as a professional, he writes what sells. I just say this because (not that I've read him - I'm going on Amazon & reviews) his other books don't exactly fit into the same vein.

This book was a travelogue tracing the history of alchemy & specifically the search for the philosopher's stone over time in different parts of the world. It was specifically divided into different parts of the globe and similarities were drawn between the different traditions. He does tend to hit you over the head with drawing these comparisons, first time would be quite enough thank you, I don't really need you to repeat it another couple of times just to make sure I get the point. This really is an introductory type book though. Me, I've been reading around alchemy, history of chemistry, mythology for a while so a great deal of it was very familiar to me. That may be why I was a bit impatient with him at some points. What really got to me though is that the man doesn't seem to know how to construct a good bibiography.

I know that in this litiginous society you need to make sure that you mention all of your sources, but he includes 28 pages of 'Notes' - these are really end-notes citing the references for the book rather than expansion on points. This is good, however a few expansions / explainations would be good. e.g. - also gives a good explanation of 'x'. He also has a very expansive (25 pages) bibilography. This would have been better if AT THE LEAST he split it up into 'Recommended' and 'Other Reading' for each chapter. Please, show some favouritism, guide people instead of overwhelming them. I'm not demanding explanatory notes (that would obviously be too much)

Overall, a good light read but really, only for beginners to the subject or as a light 'use up some time'. It was good to pull stuff together into one place though.

Only one this week as I'm updating early for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately this means that I won't finish Love in the Time of Cholera until tomorrow night (taking the empty slot in the Reading Globally category although it could most likely have gone in a few others).

I was exposed to the story behind Eragon soon after it was professionally published. The whole idea of a teenager self-publishing his book and then through self-publicising and word of mouth, he got picked up to be published by a wider publisher. Before I started this I was trying to decide how much lee-way I'd give the book for this and for being a first book. I'll sometimes extend liberties to fiction (never to non-fiction) for being (for example) published by an Australian author (I believe in supporting the local product, so sue me!). I didn't think I'd made up my mind about this prior but based upon my general feel for the book after completion, I don't think I gave any slack. This was an enjoyable light fantasy, but, that's all it was. It didn't even downgrade to the level of 'fantasy candy'. There were some good ideas in it, even some original ones, but there was also too many things I've seen before. I felt like pulling out The Tough Guide to Fantasyland and ticking things off one by one. I didn't purchase this one, and I'm not tempted to do so, or to do any of the sequels. I'll most likely read them if I spot them in the library, but I'm not going to seriously consider his books until a few more years at the least. It's like I mentioned last week, when you compare Charles de Lint's early and later works, you can really notice the difference, this may happen with Christopher Paolini, but I'll have to see. As I've said before, I'm past being too forgiving of some things these days - too much else to read.

Hello again. Adding 3 this time due to my early updating last week.

Finished Love in the Time of Cholera last weekend as predicted. It took me a few months work to do so as I kept getting distracted by other things. This was my first Marquez but I think I'll wait a while before tackling One Hundred Years of Solitude. Maybe it was the style - don't think I've read anything similar since Eva Luna / The Stories of Eva Luna (and that was a while ago - maybe I should try to find it to remind myself) but at the time I actually quite liked it from memory. Maybe it's just my lack of patience, all this about an obsessional devotion to what he couldn't have (although his other amatory affairs 'didn't count') Florentino should have gone out, got a good drunk, then found someone worthwhile (he never seemed to have too much trouble geting someone) and had something approaching a normal life.

I've finally joined the ranks of The Book Thief readers here on LT. I don't consider it a spoiler that the narrator is Death (hey I've read it many times in reviews I consider it almost common knowledge). I like the way he introduces the book - he tells of three scenes each with colours associated witht hem - White, Red & Black. Each of these scenes have Liesel (the young protagonist) in common but they are widely separated in time. We then get to hear how Liesel's life goes from the first scene to the last. Being set in Nazi Germany it doesn't exactly have a light background but it didn't pull me down. It felt like an easy book to read. I must admit that it didn't provoke any 'tough thoughts' but it's nice sometimes to not worry about that.

Finally I finished Don Juan by Lord Byron today. This was an e-book I've been working on for a while now - well a few weeks anyway. The first cantos started out promisingly, events happening at a good pace. Then it seemed he was just 'writing for the money' as some of the rhymes seemed forced to say the least. Let's see if I can find an example by scanning...ok.. rhyming 'mutton' with 'hut on'...really!! The other thing is that this really felt unfinished. Somewhere I got the idea that it went up until Juan's death - this stopped when he hadn't even reached middle age. Maybe I'm thinking of another version - I'm certain I read a reference to him being asked for the name of just one of his lovers & he couldn't answer so he got dragged down to hell for his trouble. Just seems a more complete end. Looks like I'm about to do another hunt for different versions of this story so I can compare them. Wish me luck!

It's been a while since I last updated - other things got in the way - then I've got interstate visitors this weekend so I don't see myself being able to get back to update for a while unless I MAKE time to do so..so here I go.

I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns about two weeks ago now. I was warned that this was an intense book and they weren't wrong. I actually had to stop reading it on the way to work as I kept embarassing myself by bursting into tears, so much for my self-control. This starts off with the story of Mariam who is married at the age of 15 to an man in his forties. The marriage is not a happy one, and every time you think things might get better for her, they just get worse. A long time later, her husband takes a second wife, once again, things don't get better. It seemed to me that this was a good way of telling the story in that wider events where being shown as how they impacted on a small group of people. I strongly suspect that the author chose to highlight more of the sorrow than the joy, surely no-one would have so few joys in their life, even just the little everyday ones. I think that's what made it so upsetting for me. He did get his point across very nicely though.

I also finished Stardust from my list in the last few weeks. This was a nice quick read. I haven't seen the movie but I'm assuming that most people have at least heard a little about it enough so that I won't be spoiling to say it concerns a boy who undertakes to fetch a fallen star for a girl. To do this he has to go into fairy land and deal with the people he meets there. There's a bit of the usual 'rules' (e.g. be polite to strangers - they will often help you; if someone gives you advice - don't linger - it's a good idea to listen & follow it- otherwise you don't know what you'll get into - actually, an adventure probably). I'm still trying to decide what age I'd give this to someone - I admit that I like to gift books that people will grow into, I think this is the sort of book that my 6 year niece would like as a bed-time story (although there are some bits that she'd find upsetting so I'd skim over them) but that she wouldn't appreciate it. I'm thinking a 12 year old would probbaly be a better age as they would have had more exposure to some of the background and would be able to start considering what was gong on.

I've fallen a bit behind where I was planning to be, but I've worked out that if I can just finish 2 from my list each week I'll get up to halfway through by end of June - gets me back on track. However I'm also getting near the stage where I'm going to have to make some decisions re swapping some of my choices out that I just haven't been able to find. I'll have to see. I've still got enough 'TBA' slots that I shouldnt need to worry about it for a little while at least.

Another 2 finished although I seem to be doing more towards my designated 'TBA' slots than the named books. I'm thinking that next year I should stick to just categories, but then, I'd probably find I'd never finish some of the books I want to but find hard going. Still, more than 6 months until I have to decide plenty of time.

2 1/2 (Three) Men in a Boat is based upon Nigel Williams deciding to attempt to recreate the famous trip down the Thames. However the great majority of this book is concerned with background and very little with the trip itself. I suppose that could be considered in the spirit of the original. There were also a lot of footnotes / asides. It was impossible to take them at all seriously, especially that for Chapter 18. The Chapter itself consisted of 'We ate the picnic. It took one hour and fifty minutes.' This was then followed by a 3 page footnote concerning the action of unpacking the picnic (from the sounds of it a definitely gourmet picnic). This was a good way to spend the afternoon but as a library book I didn't need to fork out any money for it and for that I'm glad, it wasn't that good that I'd feel shattered if I didn't get the chance to re-read it.

The other book I finished for this challenge the past week was The Friar and the Cipher and I found it a lot more interesting. This book explored the history around the 'Voynich manuscript' which it is proposed was written by Roger Bacon, the thing is though, no-one's ever been able to translate it so what it's about is in a way pure speculation. The authors instead did more exploration of the atmosphere of the times, both in the secular and religious world. This was an interesting look into church politics (not a terribly deep one though) of the thirteenth century and how single 'chances' can cause a fixed course to be set for a long period of time. I did enjoy this one.

Hey there, me again!!

During the last fortnight I started off by finishing Paradise Lost I've been chipping away at it for a while now but, finally completed. In hindsight I have no idea how I missed reading this one before. I did every English course I could lay my hands on & went to a church high-school. Then again, I probably could understand why they didn't include this one on the curiculum - they were very much 'young ladies can do anything' there, and if there's one thing I can say about this poem, is that Milton definitely did not put across a favourable picture of women. It's not just that Eve succumbed to temptation first (that's all part of the story) but that Adam was the one discussing things with the angels, that after 'the fall' Eve was put to sleep while Adam had some things explained to him and it was up to him to decide what she was to hear after the fact. There were some good bits in it though which reminded me of some other books that I think I'll look out - one is obviously That Hideous Strength been MANY years since I read that one, don't even know where my copy is - may have been lost in a move - about 5 moves ago 1-3 boxes went missing, the main problem is I was in hurry to pack so one of them wasn't organised as well as I would have liked and had a whole range of books rather than a particular set - this meant that I don't really know what I lost and I only realise when I look for it and can't find it anywhere. Anyway, some of the others I want to look out are a short story I read recently (one of the Neil Gaiman's I mentioned in my 50 book challenge thread) and a couple of other 'related' books. Strangely enough, the one I most want to revisit is The Tenth Circle which has nothing to do with this - more to do with Dante's Inferno which I've never read (it's on the list for next year....although...down girl!!!) I still find his characterisation of the devil the most interesting, just because he seems to have more levels than the others - also because there's more 'background' material that I can look into - it was that time when just about everyone wrote something about the horrors of hell in their writings (or so it seems)

I also finished Beowulf recently. I tried to read it in the Old English but I just found it too hard. It probably didn't help that I was reading it in e-book form so I had the format to battle as well as the content (i.e. spacing not the best, no footnotes). I think I'll probably revisit this at a later time in hardcopy with a print-out of the english translation (from Project Gutenberg) next to it so I can scribble notes all I want & cross-reference. This was always going to be a definite read on my list as far as I was concerned as one of the first 'hero saga's just had to be read in my opinion. I've read a fair few 'inspired by' Beowulf stories but having now read the original I feel a bit more capable of slotting these into their correct places.

I decided to slot Ventus into the SF slot I took Blood Music out of a few months ago. They're not really the same but I think they've got the 'feel' right. I hadn't read a good hard SF for a while, this hit the spot just right. Ventus is an unusual planet in that technology is kept to a certain level by 'the winds'. Many, many years ago the planet was seeded with nanos to terraform it for human inhabitation - the winds are part of the 'eco-system' of nano life that resulted. When the colonists arrived, the winds basically destroyed all technology and continue to do so whenever humans go beyond their bounds - however there appears to be no set boundary, what one person can do with impunity, another will be killed for. You've got the 'galactics' who've arrived hunting for another one who escaped (from a previous book which I'm actually now fairly interested to get may hands on - even if I do know some of the main plot points now) taking advantage of some of the locals. Even though I definitely enjoyed this I felt there were some holes, there were some inconsistencies in the plot and I think the characterisation was a bit incomplete in some instances. However, I'm going to be getting a personal copy of this one as well as I definitely want to re-read it.

The final book I finished this fortnight was Bearbrass. I got this at a book sale back in January (they're holidng it again this weekend but I couldn't justify going again - I'm still working my way through what I got last time - sigh!!!) out of curiousity. Bit of background: I was originally born in Brisbane but mainly raised in Sydney - however 2 years ago I moved down to Melbourne (where I've been wanting to come for a while). I found that at school although it was supposed to be a 'balanced' history - I didn't learn anything about the early years of Melbourne at all. I don't know if it was because of the traditional interstate rivalry; only so much time to cover so much material and no really major events happened here; a lot easier to go on a school excursion to see Picton and it's easier to teach what's been seen. Anyway, doesn't really matter, basically, I didn't really know anything about the early years of where I was living and I decided I needed to rectify that lack. This was a very easy book to read, very much a 'popular' work. In this case it was probably a good thing as I admit I've tended to read more scientific / mathematical works than historical so if there'd been too much more demanded of me it would have been that bit more work - I've been doing that I bit lately so this one would have been put aside and another 'light' read substituted.

I've fallen a bit behind where planned but I'm still chugging away. This fortnight I finally turned the last page of The Idiot and heaved a sigh of relief. Now I'm not saying that I'm not glad I read this book - I did - it just seemed to me like watching a great big boulder rolling down a mountain to a bridge over the marsh, you can see it's going to break it & then just stop and you can't see anyway around it. I've heard Prince Myshkin described as a 'holy innocent' type character, he may have been that way originally but it seemed to me that his whole obsession with Natasya Filippovna didn't really align with that. He said on a fairly regular basis that she was mad, with his background what did he really think he could do about it to help her? Still, I can't see any other way things could have turned out with the characters involved. That was another thing, neither for Natasya Filippovna nor for Rogozhin could I empathise with them enough to understand why they did what they did. I'm a great believer in that everyone who does something has some reason for it (even if just the desire for chaos/ relieve boredome) I couldn't see any reason why they behaved as they did.

I haven't been able to lay my hands on a copy of Sea Kings of Mars by Leigh Brackett despite being certain I saw it at the local library, so I've swapped it out with The First Men in the Moon which was there. This was another one that for some reason I'd just never got around to reading. I have to admit that this wasn't my favourite Wells but as I plan on reading the rest of his output this year I may change my mind as I become more accustomed to his style. Many years ago I read The Invisible Man and really enjoyed it - I suspect it actually had a similar style to this one as I've come across them published together so I'll probably re-read it sooner or later.

I'm also about to start swapping books in & out a bit more due not being able to locate copies originally listed.

Rather than House of Stairs I'll be reading Little Brother
rather than After the Quake I'll be reading After Dark

Removed previous post as it was a duplicate.

This fortnight I've been making my way through some longer books but not yet finishing them. However I did finish a few shorter ones from my list.

I've read other Kipling before but I'd never read The Jungle Books, just seen the Disney movie & listened to the soundtrack. I'm glad I did decide to make this part of my challenge this year as it really is a lot more interesting in it's unsanitised form. All of the characters are a less one-dimensional and there's more evidence of actions having consequences. Baloo isn't a 'layabout' he's actually Mowgli's main teacher, making sure he gets to know what he needs to survive. Kaa is a reluctant ally and strangely enough Mowgli was immune to his hynotism while Baloo & Baghera were not (and when this happens is indeed an interesting time). I wouldn't recommend this for young, young readers (less than ?10 - I think it would give them nightmares) but definitely it's worth reading this as an adult as well.

I found Fahrenheit 451 was another book really worth reading. I think most people are familiar with the story in some way or another, but I suspect that a lot haven't actually read it themselves - something I myself was guilty of. The copy I read was the 50th anniversary edition so it had a bit of an author's afterward in it. Just wanted to note something, then I'll get back to discussing the book itself. Bradbury mentions that he's been asked about publishing some of his other fiction but that the requestors want to make a few changes / deletions due to personal beliefs / changed times / cutting word count (example given was to fit 400 short stories in a book). Bradbury's response: 'There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches'. Anyway, one thing that I didn't pick up so much from the movie was that this book is very much a comment on people wanting to observe life rather than live it as it's easier that way. They don't have many children, suicide is high - deep inside they know that life isn't worth living but they put on a fact, take something to hide their knowledge & go on pretending. Also, at the end of the book, the people themselves aren't that important, it's the knowledge they carry, and even that is to be shared & passed on so that someday humanity can rebuild itself. There's mention of a phoenix which reminded me of one of the earliest 'good' short stories I remember reading 'Letter from a Phoenix' (collections in a box but I'm fairly sure that's what it was called) comparing humanity to a Phoenix & saying that only something that periodically destroyed itself & rose from the ashes again had any hope of long-term survival. Based on when I bought this collection I'd suspect that it came after Fahrenheit 451 and I wonder if it was inspired by it in any way.

Finally, I also finished The Land that Time Forgot this week. This was a really quick read and I think I'll be staying in this vein for a while as once I click in, I find I want to read a little bit more of it. This is unashamedly pulp fiction and it is good for what it is. I still remember the Classic Comic version of this one so I knew what was coming but I really enjoyed it (and plan on enjoying my re-read of Journey to the Centre of the Earth that I'm planning to start as my 'bedtime book' today.