MissWatson reads BFBs in 2023

Talk2023 BIG FAT BOOK CHALLENGE

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MissWatson reads BFBs in 2023

1MissWatson
Jan 5, 2023, 5:05 am

I didn't read as many as I would have liked last year, but I hope to do better in 2023!

2connie53
Jan 5, 2023, 11:02 am

Hi Birgit!

3Cecilturtle
Jan 5, 2023, 7:16 pm

Happy New Year and good luck!

4MissWatson
Jan 6, 2023, 7:14 am

>2 connie53: Hello Connie, great to see you here!
>3 Cecilturtle: Thank you, Cécile! And the same to you!

5johnsimpson
Jan 7, 2023, 4:26 pm

Hi Birgit, nice to see you here again my dear.

6MissWatson
Jan 8, 2023, 8:14 am

I'm glad to be back and I hope to contribute a few more books than last year, John.

7MissWatson
May 29, 2023, 5:06 am

I can't believe it's taken me all these months to finally read a BFB, but here it is:

Robert der Schiffsjunge clocks in at 525 pages. It's an adventure yarn for boys written in the late 19th century and has all the faults you would expect, but a ripping yarn nonetheless. The fact that the author is female was a closely kept secret during her lifetime.

8MissWatson
Jul 17, 2023, 2:23 am

And my second BFB this year is Barnaby Rudge which was as good as promised. The descriptions of the mob run wild are amazing and uncomfortably close to our times. Back in 1780, they went for the liquor, today they loot electronics. But otherwise, the same wanton destruction.

9MissWatson
Aug 24, 2023, 4:36 am

The third BFB is Rot ist mein Name which clocks in at 925 pages, as it is a small format. A marvellous book that will stay with me for a long time.

10MissWatson
Oct 20, 2023, 2:57 am

The fourth BFB is Belinda which clocks in at 537 pages, including notes and introduction, all of which I read. The notes on the text were particularly informative, as she lists the many changes made for the 1810 edition. My copy had the 1802 text, with its interracial marriage and positive of the colonials that were struck out later.
This was a fun read, and Lady Delacour is my favourite character.

11MissWatson
Nov 26, 2023, 3:56 am

The fifth BFB is All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr. The 531 pages fairly flew by.

12MissWatson
Dec 6, 2023, 10:08 am

The sixth BFB is Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. It's billed as historical fiction, but the plight of the textile mill workers is barely touched on. Instead we get reams and reams of two tedious young women and their uneventful lives. I was rather disappointed.

13MissWatson
Dec 12, 2023, 2:37 am

The seventh BFB is Der Mann, der nicht mitspielt. A historical mystery set in Hollywood in 1921, and as such it is a bit too long. 630 pages for a private eye tale is too much.

14MissWatson
Dec 23, 2023, 11:33 am

And the last BFB this year is Eragon, a re-read.