arrianarose's 50 Book Challenge: 2019

A new year, a new reading thread! I was happily surprised at getting to 69 books in 2018, and hope to continue that good fortune into 2019. Tracking where my reading took me was a new item last year, and one I'm going to keep, for this year at least. It's not part of a challenge, but I like that it makes me aware of where my reading is focused, and where I can expand to in the future. I've been thinking a lot about works in translation, and hope to include some in my reading this year, which may help with that.

2014: 49 Books
2015: 55 Books
2016: 46 Books
2017: 39 Books
2018: 69 Books

Where will my reading take me this year?



AFRICA
Nigeria: Purple Hibiscus
South Africa: The Great Penguin Rescue
Misc. An Affair with Africa

ASIA
Japan: Convenience Store Woman
Iran/Afghanistan: The Road to Oxiana
Israel (sort of): Book of Numbers, Deuteronomy
Korea/Japan: Pachinko
Saudi Arabia: Arabian Sands
Singapore: Crazy Rich Asians

EUROPE
Bulgaria: The Shadow Land
England: Shakespeare: The World as Stage
Three Men in a Boat
The Professor and the Madman
I Capture the Castle
The Convenient Marriage
The Outcasts of Time
France: The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food
Ireland: Faithful Place
Italy: Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
Othello
Germany: Rose Under Fire
Greece: Circe
Sweden: Astrid & Veronika

NORTH AMERICA
USA
Alaska: Travels in Alaska
Turn Again
California: China Dolls
Coming to my Senses
Lucifer's Hammer
Of Mice and Men
Maddadam
Cannery Row
There There
Georgia: I'm Not Dying with You Tonight
Idaho: Educated
Illinois: The Devil in the White City
Dandelion Wine
Maine: The Country of the Pointed Firs
Massachusetts: The Trial of Lizzie Borden
Michigan: The Poisoned City
Missouri: Gone Girl
Prairie Fires
New York: Still Me
My Man Jeeves
Oklahoma:
The Outsiders
Pennsylvania: Lilli de Jong
Washington: The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
Washington, D.C.: No Ordinary Time
Becoming
Misc. The Glass Castle
Sleeping Giants
Blue Highways
The Journals of Lewis & Clark

OCEANIA
Polynesia: Sea People

ELSEWHERE
The Moon: Artemis
The ocean: After the Flood: A Novel

Fictional Elsewheres
Fantastica: The Neverending Story
Westeros, etc.: A Dance with Dragons
Darkover: The World Wreckers

Happy reading in 2019! The new year's clean slate to be filled up with books!

Exactly! Happy reading to us all!

1. The Great Penguin Rescue by Dyan Denapoli Jan 9: Jan 12

First book of the year completed! Considering the subject matter (thousands of penguins being oileled and rehabilitated in an oil spill), the tone of the book is determined and hopeful, rather than depressing. The author worked at the New England Aquarium at the time of the shipwreck and oil spill, and now travels around as The Penguin Lady, teaching about penguins, conservation, etc. to children and adults, and donating a portion of her proceeds to the organizations that do so much good work for penguins and other wildlife. I met her at a New England Author's Expo a few years back.

2. Travels in Alaska by John Muir Jan 7: Jan 15 (audiobook)
3. La lepre e la tartaruga (The Tortoise and the Hare) by Aesop Jan 18 (in Italian)
4. Turn Again by Kris Farmen Jan 13: Jan 21

I feel all virtuous with my tbr pile, as The Great Penguin Rescue and Turn Again were both from my tbr pile, as is No Ordinary Time, which I just started today. :) It's always nice to start off well at the beginning of the year, and hope that the trend sticks. I'm also determined to make actual use of my Italian, which I took back in college, and have been rekindling via Duolingo and Memrise. There's another app I just recently found, Beelinguapp, which has short stories in a dual language format, which I'm using to bring up my reading comprehension/vocabulary.

I had a mini Alaskan theme going, following the non-fiction travel narrative of John Muir with the historical fiction Turn Again, both of which take place during the same time period, around 1870s-1890s. It was helpful to have had Muir's descriptive and scientific details of the area to bolster the fictional story. Turn Again reminded me of The Bear and the Nightingale, with its blending of historical fiction with the supernatural, and the clash of native ways with successive Russian and American incursions and exploitation. In this case, the supernatural element wasn't external, but more personal, with a few individuals who had the ability to change into an animal.

5. Still Me by Jojo Moyes Jan 15: Jan 23 (audiobook)

I'm not sure what's going on with my world map up above. The original map I used seemed to have an issue, all of a sudden, so I found a new one, but it's still not showing up properly... Hmm. I'm new to using photos, so maybe I'm doing something wrong? It worked originally, though, so it's rather perplexing.

6. China Dolls by Lisa See Jan 25: Feb 7 (audiobook)

This is a story of three women's tumultuous friendship through the Depression, WWII, and beyond. As the three woman work as "Oriental" dancers in a Chinatown nightclub in San Francisco, it gives a different perspective to American life during that time period, which is nice. I liked the fact that, although the Depression and WWII are part of the story, they're secondary to the women's lives, rather the central part of the narrative. The point of view shifts between all three women, but I wish more time had been given to Helen's point of view. I feel that she was the one whose thoughts, emotions and motivations were less clear to me. At the end of the story, I still didn't feel that I understood her perspective.

7. Coming to My Senses by Alice Waters Feb 7: Feb 16 (audiobook)

A memoir of Alice's early life and the lead up to, and beginnings of, Chez Panisse.

8. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson Feb 20: Feb 25 (audiobook)
9. Educated by Tara Westover Feb 22: Feb 25

I decided to give my BC alumni book club a try, and Educated is the first book they set for this year. It was on my radar, but until I tried to get a copy of it, I had no idea how insanely popular it is right at this moment. I tried to get it my local library, and my hold position right now is 165 for the hardcover and 15 for the CD (it was 40 when I added myself). I though woah, maybe I'll be better off with Overdrive, but my hold position there is even worse! 152 for the ebook and 297 for the audio!! I am not a buyer of brand new hardcover books (Harry Potter pre-orders being the exception), but I realized that if I really did want to participate in the book club, I was all out of time and options. It's a sad fact that bookstores are few and far between near me, but there is one down the road from my work, so I made my way there, only to find that they, also were sold out. Thankfully, they take orders, so $30 and two days later, I finally had this elusive book in my physical proximity. Is this something that happens often, I wonder? Clearly, I've never been on the ball enough to be searching out a book at the peak of it's popularity before. It's a bit exhausting.

10. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee Feb 16: Mar 3

An excellent family saga set in Korea and Japan. Before reading this novel, I had basically no knowledge of the history and lives of Korean Japanese families. Through the various family members and friends, she shows how complicated and confusing it can be to be both an outsider and a local, a foreigner and a native, all at the same time.

11. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson Feb 26: Mar 8 (audiobook)
12. No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin Jan 22: Mar 17

I was so blown away by No Ordinary Time! Another great biography by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The amount of detail and information provided makes this much more than a biography or a war history. I felt as though I were a fly buzzing around Eleanor and Franklin, living these years alongside them both. I'm so glad I finally took this off my shelf and read it.

13. Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle Jan 27: Mar 31
14. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende Mar 11: Apr 2 (audiobook)

I'm a bit of an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic/dystopia novel junkie, so was happy to get another one under my belt. Lucifer's Hammer has been sitting in my tbr stack for a bit, so it's about time I read it. I think what's so fascinating is the different things authors choose to focus on, and also how the time in which they are written has so much impact on how the story plays out. This was written in the 70s, not that long ago, right? So, I didn't expect the social interactions to feel as jarring as they sometimes did. Gender and race relations/attitudes caught me off guard several times, which I was not expecting.

I was rather disappointed by The Neverending Story, though. I absolutely love the movie, but had never read the book as a child. Maybe that's the problem? It's possible I would have been happier with it if I'd ready it back then, but it's unclear. I found the second half of the book (the post-movie portion) long and boring. Nothing much happens, the main character is tiresomely annoying, and I also felt at several points as though ideas were being taken from other fantasy stories (Narnia, Oz, etc.) and plunked into the story. Meh. I don't usually say this, but I'll take the movie and leave the book.

15. My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse Apr 3: Apr 10 (audiobook)
16. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome Apr 12: May 15 (audiobook) Re-Read

17. The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson May 3: May 14 (audiobook)

I have a major complaint, and it's the narrator. Her voice is so robotic that I honestly thought it was computer-generated when the narration first began. I tried different speeds, to see if that helped any, but apparently that's just the way she speaks. Not enjoyable. The book itself was better - factual and thoroughly researched, though lacking in personality. I'm certainly not saying that I wanted the story to be sensationalized or tawdry, it's just that it wasn't as compelling as other non-fiction books I've read. Some authors can be both a captivating narrator and a thorough and intelligent researcher. I feel that this book only managed the second. I've acquired knowledge, but I don't feel the need to seek out other books by her.

18. A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin Apr 4: May 20
19. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck May 23: May 25
20. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn May 15: May 29 (audiobook)
21. Convenience Store woman by Sayaka Murata

So, I've finally finished Martin's series (to date). If only he could finish it for real. I've owned it for years, but at his glacial paced writing, I never actually bothered to read Dance with Dragons, figuring by the time the next book came out, I'd have to read them all again to remember the story line anyway. Then the HBO series came out, and I stopped short of finishing it so I could read this last book and have all the knowledge and alternate info before finishing the HBO series. I haven't done that yet, and I'm not sure what ending I'm hoping for. Hollywood endings are generally less satisfying, especially to a story on this scale, so we'll see how they did. I'm vigorously avoiding spoilers in the meantime, though I've heard it was a bit disappointing.

22. The World Wreckers by Marion Zimmer Bradley Jun 7: Jun 9
23. Artemis by Andy Weir Jun 9

A good adventure tale for a beautiful summer day! Plus, one more of the Darkover books taken in. I don't believe there are many left for me to read in that world.

24. The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes Jun 4: Jun 19 (audiobook)

25. Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson Jun 10: Jun 22
26. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester Jun 20: Jun 27 (audiobook)
27. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan Jun 23: Jun 27

I believe I just saw that a movie was made of The Professor and the Madman. I'm going to have to check it out. The scope of work involved in making the dictionary is just amazing. I hadn't realized just how much work, people and decades! went into the making of the OED. It's fascinating.

28. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Jul 6: Jul 7
29. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel Jul 7: Jul 13
30. An Affair With Africa by Alzada Kistner Jun 27: Jul 15 (audiobook)

31. Faithful Place by Tana French Jul 15: Jul 19 (audiobook)
32. Becoming by Michelle Obama Jul 13: Jul 20

I wasn't terribly interested in reading Becoming (it was for a book club), but am glad I did. It was interesting and extremely relatable. It's hard to get a sense of who someone really is, when all you see are formal, rehearsed moments and media soundbites. I now feel that I have a better measure of the real person behind all of that, and I really like what I see.

33. Maddadam by Margaret Atwood Jul 27: Jul 31
34. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein Aug 1: Aug 11

I always love Margaret Atwood. I'm happy and sad (why must books and series always end?!) to have finished this trilogy. She's so clever about the details of her worlds. It's not just any dystopian future, it's how precise she is in world building, that makes it seem so real. I especially love the saints days in the God's Gardeners pantheon and the practice of talking to the bees.

Another moving WWII aviation themed novel from Elizabeth Wein. It's a good pair to Code Name Verity, which I had already read.

35. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger Jul 22: Aug 15 (audiobook)
36. Book of Numbers/The Bible Jul 23: Aug 29
37. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano Aug 13: Aug 29

38. Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon May 25: Aug 31

This was my "only to be read while sitting in the backyard" book of the summer, so it's fitting that it took literally the summer to read it. :) It worked well as a slow, leisurely read, just as the author took a slow, winding trip through and around the country.

39. The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron Aug 16: Sep 6 (audiobook)

40. Circe by Madeline Miller Sep 6: Sep 12 (audiobook)
41. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Sep 4: Sep 15
42. Lilli de Jong by Janet Benton Sep 12: Sep 25 (audiobook)

Two excellent new (to me) books, Circe and I Capture the Castle. Both were rather quiet, focused on the characters own thoughts and internal growth and their family relationships. The writing in both was so well done, and the narrator for Circe was excellent also - such a melodious voice!

43. The Shallows by Nicholas Carr Sep 5: Oct 6
44. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury Sep 25: Oct 7 (audiobook)

The Shallows I read for a book club, and I can't say I was entirely enthralled. The history of communications/media and the information on neuroplasticity were extremely interesting, and the realization that the way in which we learn, think and communicate can literally change the way our brains work is fascinating. However, instead of focusing on the facts, he then proceeded to push his own subjective experience onto the world at large. While I don't think any thinking person would disagree that the world, and the way we experience and interact with it, is changing, he generalizes too much. And, on a side note, he drove me mad by constantly referencing "the Net," with a capital N. While that's not how I've ever referred to the internet, he's welcome to do so, but for goodness sake, please leave off the unnecessary capitalization! It's not a proper name!

45. The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Hayer Oct 8: Oct 10 (audiobook)
46. After the Flood by Kassandra Montag Oct 10: Oct 16
47. The Shadow Land by Elisabeth Kostova Oct 8: Oct 25

48. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett Sep 16: Oct 19
49. The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones Oct 27: Oct 30
50. The Outcasts of Time by Ian Mortimer Oct 11: Oct 31 (audiobook)
51. I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones Nov 8: Nov 11
52. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser Nov 1: Nov 14
53. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Nov 4: Nov 14 (audiobook)

Love, love, loved the quiet serene sense of place and characters in The Country of the Pointed Firs. When I read My Antonia last year, there was a note by Willa Cather saying how much she loved and admired Sarah Orne Jewett's writing. So, when I was on vacation last year, I picked up Pointed Firs at a local bookstore, and I'm so glad I did.

I love food and people who love food, so its inevitable that I'll keep accumulating more food memoirs, like this one by Judith Jones, most well known for editing Julia Childs' Mastering the Art of French Cooking. There's a butternut squash recipe in here that I'll need to try this winter, as it sounds delicious.

After finishing Prairie Fires, I feel the need to read the Little House series over again, with an adult, editorial perspective on what is and is not included and why. Mine are all boxed up in the attic, though (save Little House on the Prairie, which oddly is the only one I've don't believe I've ever owned), and I don't feel the need to root around for them, so I'll probably read them through Overdrive to simplify matters. Not as satisfying, but it will suffice for a curious re-read. I'm also curious to look at the original vs. the re-done drawings. Hopefully that's something I can look up online, I haven't checked yet. It would be interesting to know how much the drawings influenced my perception of the characters and stories.

54. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton Nov 18: Nov 21 (audiobook)
55. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck Nov 16: Nov 24
56. Othello by William Shakespeare Nov 25: Nov 27 (audiobook)

I had a vague knowledge of the synopsis of Othello, but wow, was I underprepared for how horrifying an experience it would be. I knew there was jealousy, racism and murder, but holy cow. It was scene after scene of deliberate and willful evil and hatred. I'm still rather unclear on how this play was intended to be seen. Was this supposed to be entertaining? Clearly it's a tragedy, but even so, I had a hard time finishing it out, almost. The horrendous manipulations for no clear purpose that I could ascertain, wanton disregard for other people's lives, near-blind acceptance of false accusations, etc. made it actually uncomfortable to listen to. And that doesn't even mention the drawn out, horrifying onstage murder of Desdemona. Was I supposed to leave feeling shell-shocked? Because that's about all I can come away with.

57. Deuteronomy: The Bible Sep 2: Dec 4
58. The Poisoned City by Anna Clark Nov 16: Dec 5

59. Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson Dec 6: Dec 23 (audiobook)

Very interesting! It makes me curious to read more about Tupaia (spelling? that's the challenge of audiobooks!), the Tahitian who voyaged with Captain Cook, and steered him to New Zealand, and about ancient sea-faring societies.

60. The Journals of Lewis & Clark edited by John Bakeless Apr 15: Dec 30

I started this while sitting under a tree in Zion National Park this past April, then it got buried on my bedside table for most of the year, unfinished. I made sure to pull it out this month and finish it before the year ended, so I just made it in time!

61. There There by Tommy Orange Dec 23: Jan 6 (audiobook)

Final book of the year! Now, I'm off and running again to begin a new year's reading adventures!