Sanddancer's 101010 Challenge

I've been thinking about 2010's challenge since not long after the 999 challenge began, so I may as well put my plans down now. Although everything is subject to change.

100 books will be a real test for me, but I'm going to aim for the original 10 books in 10 categories format. I'm keeping several of the categories from previous years and will have a mixture of broad and specific categories. Everything is still likely to change before the start of 2010 and the books at the moment are just my notes on things I might like to read.

1. "Introducing..." - New to Me Authors - DONE
2. "Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before - DONE
3. "Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
4. "Stranger than Fiction" - Non-Fiction books - DONE
5. "Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA - DONE
6. "Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors - DONE
7. "Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays - DONE
8. "Title Theme" - Colours - DONE
9. "The Dark Side" - the darkside of life and human nature, inspired by a bookshop display of the same name - DONE
10. "Journeys through Time" - Time travel novels - DONE

Any suggestions are always appreciated.

Introducing - New to Me Authors

1 Niagara Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken - read January
2 Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss - read January
3 The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall - read February
4 Memory of Running by Ron McLarty- read March
5 The Little Girl and the Cigarette by Benoit Duteurtre - read May
6 The Prestige by Christopher Priest - read May
7 The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan - read June
8 A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry - read in June
9 Please don't come back from the moon by Dean Bakopoulos - read in June
10 So He Takes the Dog by Jonathan Buckley - read in June

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrick
Memory of the Forest by Charles Powers

Hello Again - Books by Authors I've Read Before

1 Incendiary by Chris Cleave - read January
2 Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster - read January
3 The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - read January
4 The Returners by Gemma Malley - read February
5 Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby - read February
6 A Way Home by George Pelecanos - read March
7 Man in the Dark by Paul Auster - read March
8 The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin - read April
9 The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken - read May
10 Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde - read June

Others to choose from:

Northline by Villy Vlautin
Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster
Ask the Dust by John Fante

Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor

Working Through the List - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die

1 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - read January
2 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson - read January
3 Chocky by John Wyndham - read February
4 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys - read March
5 Carry Me Down by M J Hyland - read March
6 Under the Skin by Michel Faber - read May
7 An Artist of the Floating World Kazuo Ishiguro read May
8 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - read in July
9 The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon - read in July
10 A Pale View of the Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro - read in September

Possibilities

War of the Worlds by H G Wells
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski
The Plague by Albert Camus

The World According to Garp by John Irving

Stranger than Fiction - Non-Fiction

1 The Hacienda: How not to run a club by Peter Hook - read January
2 How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill - read January
3 Cocaine Train by Stephen Smith - read January
4 A Freewheelin Time by Suze Rotolo - read in February
5 A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - read in April
6 Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman - read in April
7 Icons of England ed Bill Bryson - read May
8 31 Songs by Nick Hornby - read June
9 Starstruck: Fame, Failure, My Family and Me by Cosmo Landesman - read June
10 Love is a mix tape by Rob Sheffield - read July

Around the World - Books Set Outside the UK/USA (to coincide with the Global Reading themed group reads as much as possible)

1 Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson - Sweden - read January
2. The Summer Book by Tove Janssen - Finland - read January
3 City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende - Brasil (for Amazon/Jungle themed read) - read February
4 Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo - Caribbean - read March
5. When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant - Israel - read in April
6 A Sweet Scent of Death by Guillermo Arriga - Mexico - read in May
7 In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar - Libya (for dictator themed read) - read in June
8 Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen - Norway - read in June
9 Flea Palace by Elif Safak - Turkey - read July
10 The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam by Lauren Liebenberg - Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - read in July

Lights, Camera, Action - Cinema, Hollywood, Actors (this will be a mixture of non-fiction, biography, fiction and possibly books made into films)

1 Me Cheeta by James Lever - read January
2 Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Burton, Harris, O'Toole and Reed by Robert Sellers - read February
3 It's only a movie: reel life adventures of a film obsessive by Mark Kermode - read March
4 Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught us to stop worrying and love the Fifties by Peter Biskind - read in March
5 San Francisco Noir by Nathaniel Rich - read in April
6 Hollywood by Charles Bukowski - read May
7 You gotta see this : more than 100 of Hollywood's best reveal and discuss their favourite films by Cindy Pearlman - read June
8 Monster 1959 by David Maine - read in July
9 Story of the Scene by Roger Clarke - read in August
10 Blockbuster by Tom Shone - read in September

Possibilities

Moving Pictures: Memories of a Hollywood Prince by Budd Schulberg
Blonde: A Novel by Joyce Carol Oates
Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris
The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Other Forms - Short Stories, Poetry, Plays

1 No one belongs here more than you by Miranda July - short stories - read January
2 Missing Kissinger by Edgar Keret - short stories -read January
3 Rock n Roll by Tom Stoppard - play - read March
4 The Thing around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche - short stories - read March
5 San Francisco Noir by Peter Maravelis - read March
6 Don't Cry by Mary Gaitskill - read May
7The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh - play - read May
8 Talking Heads - Alan Bennett - plays - read May
9 Generation Txt - poetry - read in June
10 Three Scottish Poets - poetry - read in June

Title Theme - the only connection a word in the title - probably colours

1 White Earth by Andrew McGahan - read January
2 Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates - read March
3 Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde - read March
4 Black Swan Green by David Mitchell - read May
5 Tail of the Blue Bird by Ni Ayikwei Parkes - read May
6 The Color Purple by Alice Walker - read in June
7 Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick - read in June
8 Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Nogzi Adiche - read in July
9 Gold by Dan Rhodes - read in July
10 Brown Morning by Franck Pavloff - read in July

The Darkside - inspired by a display in a bookshop. looking at the darkside of human nature (probably including crime).

1 Kneller's Happy Campers by Etgar Keret - read January
2 Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo - read January
3 In this way I was saved by Brian DeLeeuw - read January
4 Come Closer by Sara Gran - read February
5 Doors Open by Ian Rankin - read May
6 Child of God by Cormac McCarthy - read May
7. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby - read June
8 Legend of a Suicide by David Vann - read June
9 Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr - read in July
10 Monster Love by Carol Topolski - read in July

Themed Read - Time Travel
1 The invention of everything else by Samantha Hunt - read January
2 The Time Machine by H G Wells - read January
3 Time and Again by Jack Finney - read in February
4 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - read in March
5 The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - read in April
6 The Man who Folded Himself by David Gerrold - read in June
7 Seeds of Time by John Wyndham - read in June
8 The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier - read in July
9 To Say Nothing of the Dog or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis - read in July/August
10 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - read in August

Other possibilities

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis -

I love that you have a John Wyndham book on your list. I just read The Midwich Cuckoos and have The Infinite Moment on my 101010 list. I've also recently read The Day of the Triffids and The Kraken Wakes and The Chrysalids.

AuntMarge - I read The Midwich Cuckoos and The Day of the Triffids this year for the 999 challenge and was impressed with both of them. I remember being terrified but fascinated by a children's television adaptation of Chocky when I was young so I'm keen to see what it is like in book form.

Chocky seems to get rave reviews, but the title makes me think of Chucky and scary dolls. Nothing I've read indicates it's horror, though. I'm working up a list of his books and short stories I want to read. Some of them seem quite obscure, but with interlibrary loan so available these days (and ebay and Amazon), I hope to find the ones I want. I wonder how his pre-war books are....

I'll be eager to see your time travel category selections. Some of the Jack Finney books are among my all-time favorites.

AuntMarge - I don't think Chocky is horror but the tv version was rather spooky.

Lindapanzo - I've just add some titles to that category including one by Jack Finney. I've not read anything by him before so welcome any other suggestions.

Time and Again is fabulous!

If I were stranded on a desert isle etc etc and could choose only one book, it would probably be Jack Finney's Time and Again. My all-time favorite book, bar none.

It's probably the only book I've knowingly re-read. Once in awhile, I will accidentally re-read but this one is the real deal, as far as I'm concerned.

Hello Sanddancer,
i would very much like to give you some tips for the "colours" category, like i did with Giraffe in the 999 challenge animal theme.
But you already read Purple Hibiscus and The white tiger (which isn't that good), you already selected yellow so Half of a yellow sun is no option neither, Nino Filasto's Night of the black roses is apparently not translated into english, but hey White teeth by Zadie Smith is one, so here is your tip !
Read it and tell me if it's any good, i have it too so i'll know if i have to read it myself ! Yep, friends can be useful ;-)

Me Cheeta by James Lever
Category: Lights, Camera, Action - Cinema, Hollywood, Actors

My first book in the cinema category is everything you would want from a Hollywood memoir - full of scandal, gossip, name-dropping and self-delusion - it hardly matters that it isn't real. The book is written as a memoir by the chimp who co-starred with Johnny Weissmuller in the 1930s Tarzan films. As with most memoirs, the book starts with Cheeta's early life in the jungle, progressing through his arrival in America, his first taste of fame and the highs and lows of a career in Hollywood's Golden Age. It got off to a bit of a slow star and at first I wasn't sure that I would enjoy it so much, but then it won me over. The part about Cheeta's later life, his fall from favour in Hollywood and his career beyond that, were particularly good, and I actually found the ending incredibly moving, which I wasn't expecting at all from a spoof. I hope I enjoy the rest of this category as much.

The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
Category: Journeys through Time - Time travel novels

It seemed appropriate to start the category with a book about a man who believed that time travel might be possible and would have probably have had the genius to make it happen. This book is about the inventor Nikola Tesla, who invented the radio and AC electricity. He was a visionary who believed in the power of science, but unfortunately he didn't receive the credit he deserved, partly because many of his ideas were not commercially motivated. We meet him here in the last week of his life, living in the New Yorker Hotel where he meets a nosey chambermaid. His history is revealed to us as the maid reads his private documents. This is a beautifully written book about a visionary who is ahead of his time, but the other characters in the book are interesting too. Regarding time travel, there are some parts where theories about it are outlined and lots of speculation about whether characters are from the future or have travelled through time. This is a book about feelings and ideas rather than being an adventure in time travel and I imagine it will be very different from the other books I read in this category, but I absolutely loved it.

Both of the above books sound very interesting.

I thought The Invention of Everything Else was just a little bit different than anything else out there. I liked it also.

VisibleGhost - yes I agree. I think the stuff with the pigeons made it rather unusual.

Incendiary by Chris Cleave
Hello Again - Books by Authors I've Read Before

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave was one of my top reads in 2009, so I decided to read something more by him. The rather sensationalist plot involves a terrorist attack on a London football stadium in which the narrator loses her husband and son. The narrator is a working class woman who tells the story of what happens to her after this event as if she was writing to Osama Bin Laden. This device actually provides some moments of light relief but later in the book it seems unnecessary and almost as if the author has forgotten about it for a while. The description of the terrorist attack and the effect it has on the nation is well done, although obviously disturbing. I found this book compelling to read and although I wanted to know what would happen to the main character, I did find some of the later action rather unbelieveable. I also had a problem with the author's portrayal of different classes. As much as being about terrorism, the book is about different social classes, with the narrator representing "ordinary" working class Londoners. I found this depiction at times to be as patronising and overly simplistic - she is the wife of a policeman, not part of the layabout underclass, but the author seems to treat her with the same snobbery as his middle class characters do. Anyone who has less than £500 a week to live on is poor according to this - this may not be rich, but probably the majority of the country falls into this category. The middle class media characters are pretty one dimensional with their actions and dialogue being unconvincing in many places. I would have preferred this book if it had just been about one woman's response to the attack without all the class war stuff. Overall slightly disappointing, but I would still read books by this author again as he can write an interesting story and his second book had less stereotyped characters.

Dear friend, your too mild in your ratings ;-)
Are you on holidays ? A new book read in less then a day ! Or don't you sleep ?
You keep on amazing me.
Still in my first book, it's a beauty though.

Lunar - This pace won't last - it is cold, dark and I'm poor after Christmas so I tend to read most in January. I sleep lots but I do have an hour commute each way to work on train or bus so that gives plenty of reading time. Then this week we were sent home early from the office twice, first due to a power and then today because of the snow.

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
Other Forms - short stories, poetry and plays

I decided to do this category for a couple of reasons. Firstly to try to get over my objections to short stories. Secondly because I thought it would give me some quick reads. This book was a success on the second count, but unfortunately just reinforced my existing issues with short stories. I did manage to finish the book, but it was short, and made up of lots of brief stories, some that were hardly stories at all. Although about different characters and situations all of the stories had a similar downbeat tone and involved dysfunctional characters, and by the end of it, I was getting bored with it. I really loved the second story "Swim Team" which may have also been the lightest of the bunch, and I did enjoy some of the others, but in the end I wanted some variety, some sustained character development and plots.

Well, your 2 hours commute each day are well spend then. But, poor after Christmas, is rather disturbing. However, can you be poor if you read so much ? Not on cultural level nor on wisdom acquired by your reading.
If it's due to Christmas gifts then i hope that your family and friends are as generous as you are.
All the best for the next 96 books !

Speaking of The Invention of Everything Else, I just came across a review of a brand new book that, remarkably, also involves Tesla and time travel : The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming.

Lunar - No I'm not culturally poor at all. And as for money-poor, it is perhaps just an excuse to be unsociable and read instead (of course, I always have money for books!)

Kristenn - thank you for pointing out that book. I will look out for it as I'm still intrigued by Tesla.

If you also read graphic novels, there's the pretty fun Five Fists of Science.

Official publisher description :

True story: in 1899, Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla decided to end war forever. With Twain's connections and Tesla's inventions, they went into business selling world peace. So, what happened? Only now can the tale be told - in which Twain and Tesla collided with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan, an evil science cabal merging the Black Arts and the Industrial Age. Turn of the century New York City sets the stage for a titanic battle over the very fate of mankind.

It's the kind of comic that's published in a single paperback rather than in a bunch of floppy issues. The art isn't as strong as the writing.

I've not actually read any graphic novels but that one sounds good so I may make it my first one. Mark Twain also pops up in The Invention of Everything Else too.

A couple more read:

Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson
Around the World - Sweden

Linda Olsson is Swedish, but now lives in New Zealand and writes in English, but most of her first novel is set in a quiet village in Sweden. It is about the friendship that develops between a 30 year old author who has come to the countryside to write her second novel, and her reclusive neighbour the 80 year old Astrid, who locals call a witch. The friendship grows between the two women as they shared food and memories against the backdrop of the changing seasons in the Swedish countryside. The book is rich with descriptions of the landscape and flowers, with the plot moving at a slow pace, giving us room to savour these descriptions and the tender moments between the two women. Each chapter begins with a translation from Swedish poetry or songs, which adds to the beautiful prose of the novel.

Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster
Category - Hello Again - Authors I've Enjoyed Before

New York Trilogy is probably Auster's most acclaimed book, but with its post-modern cleverness, it was the one I enjoyed least of his books I've read and I have preferred books like Timbuktu and Book of Illusions which although still clever and imaginative, follow more traditional storytelling lines. Unfortunately, this short book is much closer to the New York Trilogy. The blurb claims it is a puzzle, but honestly it was blatantly obvious within a few pages what was going on. It is full of references to other works by Auster, some of which I got, but I think I may have appreciated it more if I'd read everything he has written (I still have a few to go). It is clever and an interesting concept, but I'd recommend it to people who've read most of his other books or are big fans of post-modernism.

Lots to update - I'll do it by category

Stranger than Fiction - Non-Fiction

Hacienda How Not to Run a Club by Peter Hook
Hook was the bass player in Joy Division, then New Order. Both bands were on the Factory Records label which also ran the legendary Hacienda nightclub in Manchester, which was largely financed by the profits from New Order's hits. Peter Hook has taken any possible opportunity to moan about how much of "his" money was wasted on the club, through chronic mismanagement, and this book is at times just an extended version of that rant. He looks at the history of the club year by year, giving details of the ridiculous mistakes made in business terms, but also charting its importance on the music scene, both the "Madchester" scene and acid house. Each chapter ends with details of the bands and DJs who played that year, along with extracts from the accounts. Whilst the music part was interesting, after a little while, the money part became a bit dull - one bad set of accounts is pretty much like another. Later in the book, a new set of problems arise as the club is over-run by gangsters and guns and whilst it is sad that something founded on such pure/artistic principles is ruined in this way, it does make for interesting reading. Recommended to anyone with an interest in the music eras covered.

How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill
Starbucks is often held up as a symbol of evil rabid globalisation so I thought it would be interesting to read something from a different perspective. The author lost his advertising executive position in his early 60s, but with children at college, a new baby from a foolish liaison and a tumour that needs operating, he can't afford to retire and needs the healthcare plan. By chance he is offered a job with Starbucks and what follows is mainly an account of how he struggles with new tasks in an environment completely different from the world he was used to. I didn't mind this so much, but it struck me that it was still a large corporation he was working for with its own set of rules that doesn't really sound like freedom. The other thing that stopped this book from being the life-affirming heartwarming account it was intended to be, is the constant namedropping. I understand that he wanted to give a flavour of his previous privileged life - but there was too much of it and often I didn't see the relevance. At times these stories seemed like parodies - throwing apples at Ezra Pound, an incident with the Queen and cucumber sandwiches in particular seemed ridiculous.

Working Through the List - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Shamefully, the first Steinbeck I've read and I'm glad it was a short one, because although the writing is good, it is more than a little depressing. As I'm sure everyone in the world who reads already knows, it is about two labourers, George and his slow-witted friend Lennie, who dream of owning their own plot of land where Lennie can raise rabbits. Lennie is a big man, strong but without understanding his own strength and this gets them into trouble. There is an ominous atmosphere hanging over the whole (short) book, where you know something awful is going to happen, it is just a case of how soon it will be. Very bleak and although I was expecting it, it did make me cry.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
Utterly delightful. Written in the 1930s, this book had some success at the time but was forgotten about for decades. It is about a spinster governess who is sent to the wrong house by the employment agency and finds herself inducted into the glamorous and sinful world of a nightclub singer, Miss LaFosse. With a combination of naiviety and common sense, Miss Pettigrew saves Miss LaFosse from a tricky romantic situation and then spends a day with her and her friends, who leads lives in constrast to what Miss Pettigrew has been brought up to think of as proper. It is a gentle comedy, but with real charm. My book also had some lovely little illustrations which added to its charm.

Title Theme - Colours
White Earth by Andrew McGahan
This book is compared to Great Expectation but set in Queensland, Australia. When his father dies, a young boy and his mother go to live with his strange great uncle, with the hope from the mother that he will be made heir. The book has elements of gothic - the uncle lives in a house that s falling apart and there are secrets in the attic, but it is also very much about Australia and its history. As my category is colours, for each book I think I should attempt to explain the title. Here it is an ambiguous title - White is the surname of the original English settlers on the land, but also I think it is meant ironically as the land does not belong to the white men, which is a major theme of the book. The novel has a good pace that kept me interested, but towards the end it seemed like too much was explained to the reader just through one character telling the young boy about thnigs which didn't seem plausible for a conversation with a child.

I've never read Steinbeck either! Plan to redeem myself by reading East of Eden later this year.

I actually have Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day from the library. I may read it next. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it.

Steinbeck is not cheerful, but his books stay with me. The Pastures of Heaven is one of my favorites and is less bleak than most. The Moon is Down is also excellent.

I've read a smattering of Steinbeck's fiction, but what I really love is Travels with Charley, his nonfiction account of just driving around the country in 1960 and observing what the culture was doing.

Thanks for the recommendations of other Steinbecks to read. I like the sound of the non-fiction work in particular so will look out for it.

More to report (lots of short books so not as impressive as it appears).

"Introducing..." - New to Me Authors

Niagara Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken
I actually finished this before the previous update, but I wasn't sure where to put it. It is about a double-act of music hall stars, whose career takes in theatre, radio and film, so I did consider putting it in the film-related section, but I've decided to put it under New Authors (for now). I really enjoyed this - it is just the sort of book that I like, but struggle to explain what type of thing it is exactly. It is about the relationship between two comedians over the course of their careers. I particularly enjoyed the earlier parts about the characters in music hall, but also found the ending very poignant. The true test of this category is whether I've discovered an author I want to read again, and I have already acquired The Giant's House so definitely a good new discovery for me.

Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss
This one didn't fair so well. Yes, it was funny, the author is clever and good with words, and I'm not opposed to silliness, but I still like characters that feel real and these were all too cartoon-like. The main character, Lucifer Box is an artist, cad and secret agent and he is like an amoral Oscar Wilde character, which was amusing at first but wore thin as the book progressed. My book is an omnibus edition with The Devil in Amber attached - I may read that one in the future, but for the moment I'm not in rush.

Hello Again - Books by Authors I've Read Before
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
I'm always tempted to preface any comments about this sort of book with the disclaimer that I don't normally like science fiction, but now having read three of John Wyndham's books, it is safe to say I like his style of sci-fi. This is about a bleak version of the world where any differences are seen as being an affront to God. This is a pretty scary vision of the world but as usual with his books, thought-provoking. David's father is one of the strictest enforcers of these rules, but unknown to him, David has an abnormality in that he can communicate by telepathy. Ii really enjoyed this and it won't be the last of Wyndham this year.

Stranger than Fiction - Non-Fiction

Cocaine Train by Stephen Smith
The author uncovers the past life of his grandfather in Columbia, where he fathered a secret son while working on the country's railway system. There was a good balance between history, politics and the author's personal journey through this confusing country. Despite the title, the drug doesn't really feature too much in the book.

Around the World
The Summer Book by Tove Janssen - Finland
A lovely book made up of little stories about a girl and her grandmother over the summer months in the Gulf of Finland. There isn't a plot as such, but it is still a beautiful book full of humour and poignancy (one of my favourite emotions in literature!). It portrays childhood and old age with equal skills and made me long for languid summer days.


The Darkside

I wasn't sure if this category was going to work as it was based on a loosely connected display I saw in a bookshop, that seemed to consist of books about psychological problems, drugs and crimes. However, I have now read three books which will fit, so the category stays.

Kneller's Happy Campers by Etgar Keret
This novella is about the afterlife in the place reserved for people who have committed suicide. From this pretty dark premise comes an oddly light story. The other world is similar to this world in that people still work in dull jobs and have love-life problems, but strange things do happen. There were good cameos by two famous too.

Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Gritty realistic police procedural from 1960s Sweden. The plot involves the murder of a young woman but the crime points to the wider social decay in western society. Dark without being particularlly gory.

In This Way I was Saved by Brian DeLeeuw
This book was in the display I saw. It is described as being about a friendship between two boys Luke and Daniel that becomes obsessive. After the first chapter I was disappointed because it was blatantly obvious what was going on and I wondered if it was supposed to be a twist, but it then became clear that this was intentional. As it is revealed so early, I don't think it counts as a spoiler to say that Daniel is actually Luke's imaginary friend, but as the book progresses he becomes more real. What is interesting about this story is that it is told from the point of view of the person who doesn't really exist! I was gripped by this story, although it was never quite as creepy as I thought it should be.

Time Travel
The Time Machine by H G Wells
The Daddy of Time Travel novels. I felt I couldn't read more of this category without reading this first. I did enjoy it but it was more of a dystopian novel than I was expecting, with a warning on the future fate of the earth, rather than being about the implications of time travel which is what I was expecting. The descriptions however of the process of time travelling were great.

I will have to check out Kneller's Happy Campers.

Progress at the end of January

1. "Introducing..." - New to Me Authors: 2 books read
2. "Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before: 3 books read
3. "Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die: 2 books read
4. "Stranger than Fiction" - Non-Fiction books: 3 books read
5. "Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA: 2 books read
6. "Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors: 1 book read
7. "Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays: 1 book read
8. "Title Theme" - Colours: 1 book read
9. "The Dark Side" - the darkside of life and human nature, inspired by a bookshop display of the same name: 3 books read
10. "Journeys through Time" - Time travel novels: 2 books read

Total Books Read = 20.

I'm pleased with my progress so far. I've something in each category and enjoyed most of them.

You're really amazing, 20 books in one month ! Congratulations.
A good tip too for my Europe category is your book on the girl and the grandmother in Finland. I'll look if it is translated into dutch. The link in your article points to a different book i guess.

I have fixed the link to go to the right book now. I should hope it has been translated into other languages as it is lovely.

I've never read Wyndham, but have seen so much good buzz about him lately - not least from you! Will need to check him out, I think!

Tove Jansson is one of my favourite authors, but I've only ever read her amazing children's books about the Moomin trolls (several times each, and I discover new things each time. Moominpappa at sea is in my re-read category for this year!). Will eventually make it to her adult books too, and am always glad so see someone else who enjoys her writing as much as I do.

I second kristenn in thinking Kneller's happy campers sounds very intriguing indeed!

GingerbreadMan - I plan on reading more Wyndham throughout the year. I haven't read any Moomin books but I will seek them out.

They are truly worth it. And as the series progress, they become more and more complex, subtle and "adult". So the later books I thought were kind of boring as a kid are now my favourites - even though I love the early adventurous ones as well!

Held The crysalids in my hand today, but ended up buying something else. This time :)

A small suggestion for your "new to me Authors" category : Juli Zeh. Her novel Shilf is great and i just saw on Amazon that it will be translated into english wiht as title Dark Matter.
It's a nice book and you're a lucky guy living in London, on the 11th of march the author will launch her book in London in the Goethe institute (check it out on visitlondon.com).
I hope you will like it as much as my previous suggestion, Giraffe.

I absolutely loved Juli Zeh's Spieltreib! But that doesn't seem to have been translated into english. Yet?

Thanks for your recommendation Lunar. I looked into it and it sounds very interesting and very much my sort of thing. It isn't released here until March though.

Just a small point, I'm not a guy!

oops, my apologies. The exclamation mark tells me that you must be a lady, or am i wrong again ? ....

Yes, I'm a lady - well, female anyway.

My mistake must come from the fact that in dutch the word "dancer" is different for male and female dancers (male = danser, female = danseres).
If the statement "tell me what you read i will tell you who you are" is true, it doesn't tells which sex you are, not too me anyhow, or it's just my emotional intelligence letting me down ;-)

We only have one word in English and in this case, the whole thing is a nickname for people from my home town - I'm not a big dancer myself!

You are right about my reading - I don't think it does suggest a woman particularly. On another site I visit, where most of the posters are women, it seems that most of them read books by women. I'm not sure what my reading does say about me actually!

Well, i can only speak for myself, but up till now i thought that you were a very broad-minded, sensitive literate g... lady ! ;-)
Glad to have you around here as my LT friend !

Lunar - thank you! My reviewer of one of this week's books would have given away my gender.

This week's round up - again several short books.

"Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before
The Returners by Gemma Malley
I enjoyed The Declaration last year in my dystopia category so grabbed this when I saw in the library. It is probably intended for a Young Adult audience, but it is deep and dark enough for adults too. A troubled teenager is convinced that strange people are following him about. These people, he finds out, are Returners, people who have lived many times throughout history. It is an interesting premise, about destiny and human character, as well as some contemporary allusions to the recession and immigration.

Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby
I read Fever Pitch and High Fidelity years ago, but never felt the impulse to read anything more by Nich Hornby. However, this was the book on a television book show this week, and because I spotted it in the library, I thought I would give it a go. I really really enjoyed this. It was very light compared to my usual choices, but sometimes that is a welcome relief. Like High Fidelity one of the characters is a music-obsessive, which is something I recognise (many of the men I have known have fallen into this category). I could also identify alot with the female character in the book (perhaps not such a good thing if you read the book).

This category could well be finished by the end of next month at this rate. My plans to keep the categories even-ish has already fallen by the wayside.

The Darkside
Come Closer by Sara Gran
A successful woman is possessed by an evil spirit. The short and sparsely written book charts her decline as the thing gradually takes her over. I enjoyed this - I thought the tension built nicely and the style suited the story. Not exactly a fun storyline though, but then this category isn't about that!

Around the World - Books Set Outside the UK/USA
City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende
This is another Young Adult book, which to be honest I wouldn't have picked if I had realised this in advance. It is an adventure story about a teenage boy who is take on an expedition to the Amazon with his unconventional grandmother. Here he encounters the mythical Beasts and the tribe "the People of the Mist". It is a traditional adventure with some magical realism thrown in, and although it isn't a bad book, everything was explained a bit too much for me, leaving nothing to be figured out myself.

Other Forms - Short Stories, Poetry and Play
Missing Kissinger by Etgar Keret
A collection of very very short stories, that made the Miranda July stories look almost epic in comparison. I enjoyed this collection more than the Miranda July one, but not as much as the novella I read by this author. The tone is very similar to his novella - black comedy for the most part. I particulary enjoyed the first story "Breaking the Pig", one about a hitman called "Good Intentions" and the several stories that featured magicians.

So glad to find your 1010 thread and in awe of how much you've read. I thought it was interesting that you included the short story category specifically because you don't usually like them. I feel exactly the same way, so I'll be curious to see how that pans out for you.

My husband read a biography of Tesla called (aptly) Tesla, which you might enjoy. He thought it was fascinating. I wasn't all that interested then, but after reading your thread, I may go and pick it up...

Jhedlund - welcome to my thread. I did read one fantastic collection of short stories last year The Fat Man in History by Peter Carey which made me think I might be missing out by avoiding short stories. But I am wondering about the wisdom of the "Other Forms" category. The other reason for including it was that I thought that reading poetry and plays would be short reads, however I'm not sure it is going to work out that way. I tried to start Under Milk Wood but found it very difficult to read because it was written to be spoken out loud and I fear I may have the same problem with other plays and poetry. So at the moment I'm favouring the short stories.

I did a search on here for Tesla and Tesla came up (unsurprisingly!) I may see if I can get hold of it. Just after I finished reading The Invention of Everything Else Tesla popped up in an episode of the detective show The Murdoch Mysteries (crime shows being a weakness of mine).

My reading has slowed down a bit om January's early burst, so just a few to update.

Working Through the List - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Chocky by John Wyndham
Matthew's parents are concerned when they hear him talking to himself and then he starts asking strange questions about the world, science and life that don't sound like the questions children normally ask. He claims he is repeating questions asked by Chocky, a being only he can see and hear. I had vague recollections of the television adaptation of this, which terrified me as a child, but the book wasn't at all scary. Like Wyndham's other books it was based around an interesting idea, which made you asked yourself questions. However, although I enjoyed it, I found this to be the slightest of Wyndham's books that I've read and I'm not sure why this was included in the list over The Chrysalids which I thought was better.

Stranger than Fiction - Non-Fiction
A Freewheelin Time by Suze Rotolo
A memoir of Greenwich Village in the 1960s, written by a woman best known for being Bob Dylan's girlfriend, a claim to fame she has spent the rest of her life trying to live down and overcome. Dylan does feature in this book,as her young secretive lover, but it isn't a Dylan biography and he seems as unknowable here as his public persona. The book is about being a young women, trying to find her way in interesting times, but where despite the liberalism and talk of equality, women were still considered second-class, merely support for their men. Rotolo has a more difficult time than most overcoming this, given who her first boyfriend was, but she is an interesting person in her own right and her stories of this time were interesting even without Dylan.

Journeys through Time - Time Travel
Time and Again by Jack Finney
A man takes part in a secret Government project to travel back in time, using mainly a technique of self-hypnosis. From the 1970s, he goes back to New York of the 1880s, where he finds himself compelled to interfere with events, despite his better judgement. Much of this book is like a historical novel rather than science fiction, with lots of period detail of the 1880s, with comparisions between New York and its ciitizens of that period and the 70s which was interesting in itself, but as a reader 40 years on, another dimension was added as I compared his present with ours. The book addressed many of the classic topics relating to time travel - how much of history is destiny, how much effect can one person have, how would people from another time see our time, although most of these were covered in the last part of the book, which much of the rest given over to a historical intrigue.

>61 sanddancer:

I've read quite a bit of Wyndham in the last year and agree with you: Chocky does seem to be an odd choice. Of those I've read, these are the ratings I gave them:

****
The Chrysalids
The Day of the Triffids
The Infinite Moment
THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS
The Outward Urge
The Seeds of Time

***½
Consider Her Ways and Others
Chocky

***
The Secret People
Plan for Chaos
The Kraken Wakes
Stowaway to Mars
Trouble with Lichen
Web

AuntMarge - I didn't realise he had written quite so many. And here I was thinking I'd read most of his books! I want to read The Seeds of Time this year as I think time travel may come into it. My library has Trouble with Lichen which I see you don't rate that highly but I may borrow just because it is there.

>63 sanddancer: Take a look at http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/john-wyndham/, which is probably pretty close to being complete.

Do read any you can get your hands on if you like him. I've been getting most of them through ILL, although I don't know how they handle that in the UK. Three stars of Wyndham is still more fun than 4 stars of many other authors.

Overdue an update:

"Introducing..." - New to Me Authors
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
This is the type of book I always enjoy and yet I struggle to describe what type of book it is. I suppose it is the type of book with quirky interesting characters on a journey through life with a tragi-comic tone. This particular example of the genre is about a half-Apache boy who is run over by a mailman, leading him to live variously in a hospital, boys home and with a Mormon family.

"Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before
A Way Home by George Pelecanos
About the relationship between a father and son as the son tries to get his life back on track after his out of control teenage years. The book raises questions about how young people are handled in the criminal justice system and what leads to crime. Not his best work in my opinion, but as ever a decent enough read.


"Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Rhys's response to Jane Eyre, told mainly from the point of view of the mad wife in the attic, before she was mad, as she descends into madness and when she is in the attic. A very interesting idea, but I found the writing style alienated me rather than drawing me in.

"Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA
Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo
The tragic life of Mala is retold by the male nurse who looks after her in old age, pieced together from her ramblings and rumours. It is set in a village somewhere in the Caribbean and although a specific island isn't mentioned it still beautifully conjured up that area, particularly in the descriptions of wildlife. It was also a great story.

"Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors
Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole and Oliver Reed
Looking at the careers and lives of the celebrated actors decade by decade, the book was really just a series of anacdotes about drunken antics. Entertaining reading but never really got to the depth of the characters that I would have liked. I am now watching some films by each of the people to put the book into a better context.

"Journeys through Time" - Time travel novels
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
For last year's challenge I read Cat's Cradle by my Dystopia category and it was like nothing else in that category. Again the Vonnegut novel does involve my theme of Time Travel but in a completely different way from the books I've already read on this topic. Here the main idea of the book is war, and time travel (or becoming "unstuck in time" as it is described) is a devise used. I'm not sure I fully understood it, but I did enjoy it and phrases from it will stay with me.

Hello, your description of The miracle life of Edgar Mint is attractive. I looked it up and the book is translated in Dutch. I'll look out for it.
I also like books that do some storytelling, for the moment i'm reading The plague of doves by Louise Erdrich. Nice stories on traditionally generations transferred history.
For the more tragi-comic, social excessive, family stories it is Niccolo Ammaniti that stays the top author for me.

The Plague of Doves sounds good and I love the title. I'll try to get a copy of that.

Lots to update again

"Introducing..." - New to Me Authors
Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
A middle-age overweight man is in rut, unable to make much of his life as he is haunted by the disappearance of his sister who suffered from mental illness. When his parents die, he finds a letter confirming his sister is dead, and so he sets off on a journey across the USA. The story of his sister is very sad but ultimately this is a story of redemption. In a more cynical mood, I might have found it mawkish, but I actually enjoyed this and would read more by this author again.

"Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
Another post-modern novella about the nature of being an author, but amongst the post-modern cleverness, this book contained some real emotion and I felt genuine affection for the characters.

"Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Carry Me Down by M J Hyland
I read another book by this author through the Early Reviewers programme and thought her writing was great, so when I saw this was on that list, I got a copy. It is about a boy who has a talent for lie detection, but it leads to trouble with his parents. Again this was well-written and absorbing, but very bleak.

"Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood wand actors
It's Only a Movie by Mark Kermode
An autobiography of the BBC film critic, but only relating to his obsession with films and his career as a film critic, rather than anything about his family or personal life. Written very much in the style that he does his film reviews, which I think divides opinion, but I love him, so thought this was brilliant. Some interesting stuff about censorship in here too.

"Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays
Rock n Roll by Tom Stoppard
On stage this was one of my all time favourite plays and whilst I still enjoyed reading it, it seemed a lot denser in print. The staging involves a lot of great music which obviously is missing from text.

This Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
A good collection made up of stories that were long enough to have a purpose and create fully formed characters. Not a particularly happy bunch though, all being about living in difficult times in Nigeria or the difficulties of being a Nigerian living abroad.

San Francisco Noir ed Peter Maravelis
A rather patchy collection (my usual gripe with short stories). Interesting idea with each one relating to an area of the city. Probably about four really good stories with my favourites being the most traditional noir style.

Title Theme - Colours

Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
It is testament to her ability that I still wanted to read to the end of this book despite the fact that the two main characters were deeply irritating. The white girl of the title is the narrator, looking back on the death of her college roommate. She is from a rich, but liberal background and is eager to make friends with a real black person. The black girl however is not really interested, she is very much self-contained, only interested in her family and her religion, and aloof with the other students. I didn't really care that much what happened to either of them, but I kept reading and found the ending, which was more about the narrator's relationship with her father, to be worth the journey.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
My high expectations were not met with this book. I've enjoyed the two Thursday Next books I've read and I usually like a dystopian setting, but this just seemed to be trying too hard. I liked the idea of a world where your social standing was decided upon by what colours you could see (greys being the lowest) but there were loads of other rules and quirks to this society, that just seemed too much. The world never seemed scary enough to make it exciting nor thought-provoking in the way many dystopian books are, but I didn't find it quite funny enough either to work just as a comic novel.

Progress at the end of March

1. "Introducing..." - New to Me Authors - 4 read
2. "Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before - 7 read
3. "Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die - 5 read
4. "Stranger than Fiction" - Non-Fiction books - 4 read
5. "Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA - 4 read
6. "Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors - 4 read
7. "Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays - 5 read
8. "Title Theme" - Colours - 3 read
9. "The Dark Side" - the darkside of life and human nature, inspired by a bookshop display of the same name - 4 read
10. "Journeys through Time" - Time travel novels - 4 read

Total read = 44

I'm pleased with my progress. A quarter of the way through the year and I'm doing well with the numbers. I had hoped to have finished at least 4 books in each category by the end of March, but I didn't have another colour-titled book to read in time.

The colour category is looking like being the hardest to complete as I'm not finding as many books that fit this that I actually want to read as I thought I would. I could easily find lots with black or white in the title, but for now I'm sticking with doing different colours.

Still no poetry read for my "Other Forms" category which is being dominated by short stories.

Long overdue an update

"Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before
The Motel Life by Willie Vlautin
Similar in style and subject matter to the other book of his that I've read Lean On Pete, it is written in a spare style and is about people living in poverty in America. This one is about two brothers in Reno, who have been living in motels since their mother died. The book is narrated by one brother, with each chapter headed with a little drawing that is supposed to have been done by the other brother. It is a rather sad story, made all the more poignant by occassional glimmers of hope.

"Stranger than Fiction" - Non-Fiction books
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A book about our world in terms of science. I felt like I'd really achieved something by completing this but I've retained very little of the information from most of the chapters. The parts about dinosaurs and extinction were the bits I found most interesting - probably because I found them easiest to understand!

Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman
I really like Chuck Klosterman’s pop culture writing but had put off reading this one as I’m not a fan of the heavy metal genre, but I decided to read it when I saw it listed as one of the best non-fiction books of the last decade. Each chapter of the book is headed with a date which has significance in heavy metal or more accurately in Klosterman’s life as a fan of this type of music. Whilst fans of this type of music would undoubtedly enjoy this book and be able to appreciate all of the references, I was still able to get a lot out of it as even if I didn’t know the exact songs or bands, I’m aware of the images surrounding this music and understood his comparisons with other types of music. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I agree with everything he says and sometimes wonder if he really means some of opinions, but I still find him a very enjoyable writer.

"Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA
When I lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant - Israel
This is about a young Jewish woman leaving London to live in what is about to become Israel. I don’t know much at all about this but I did see a play not too long ago which was about the politics in Britain at the time leading to the formation of Israel, so it was interesting to have this other perspective. The motivations and behaviour of the main character did seem a little alien to me at times but I still found it an interesting read.

"Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors
San Francisco Noir by Nathaniel Rich
A short book looking at the use of locations in San Francisco in film noir from the 1940s onwards. Each chapter consisted of a film still along with a description of how the location featured in the film and some information about the real life place. Even though I hadn’t seen many of the films, I had visited several of the places and was about to go to SF again when I was reading this, so I liked the titbits of information on the places.

"Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays
Don’t Cry by Mary Gaitskill
An even split here between stories that I found dull and ones that I thought were brilliant. I liked the imagination of Folk Tale and Mirror Ball and thought The Arms and Legs of the Lake and the title story had genuine emotional depth to them. Unlike some of the other short stories I’ve read recently, everything in this collection was at least long enough to build up believable characters and situations

"Title Theme" - Colours
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
The title of the book refers to the village in Worcestershire where the narrator, 13 year-old Jason Taylor lives. Several references are made in the book to the fact that the village’s name is a joke because there are no swans in Black Swan Green. The story itself is a coming-of-age story about a boy who is stammers and is bullied. It is set in 1982 so Thatcherism and the Falklands war provide a backdrop. The plot itself is pretty conventional and I’ve read some disappointed reviews from readers who expect more experimental things from David Mitchell, but I didn’t find this a problem as the writing style and odd bits here and there, raised this above the standard coming-of-age story.

"The Dark Side" - the darkside of life and human nature
Doors Open by Ian Rankin
Rankin’s first post-Rebus book, it inevitably suffers in comparison with his most famous character. The firs t couple of chapters I didn’t like at all, but then it improved. It is about an audacious art heist and is mainly told from the perspective of one of the would-be thieves. As ever, Rankin paints an intriguing picture of Edinburgh and I found the parts about the art world interesting too. Overall, nothing amazing, but a very readable book.

"Journeys through Time" - Time travel novels
Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Despite the hype I was never that interested in this, but thought a time travel category would be incomplete without it. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I really liked the descriptions of how Henry time-travelled and his meeting up with younger/older selves. I found the couple’s relationship touching when I was reading it, although I’m not entirely sure that it holds up to close scrutiny when I try to think about how they met (I’m not sure I understand when they really first met). My attention waned a bit in the section about her trying to conceive but I loved the ending.

Hello, great to see you back here ! As i can see your longer stay in the States didn't keep you away from reading ;-)
And oh, congratulations ... !

"Introducing..." - New to Me Authors
The Little Girl and the Cigarette by Benoit Duteurtre
A short, semi-absurd satire type story about a man on death row who demands the right to his last cigarette and a civil servant's whose secret smoking results in him being accused of "crimes against children". As well as anti-smoking laws, the book took issue with
society's pandering to children and the power of reality television. I was most amused by this one and would probably read more by this author, although I'm not sure
if any of his other books are available in English.

The Prestige by Christopher Priest
I had seen the film version and recalled that Tesla was involved in the plot somehow, so I hoped this might fit by time travel category,
but it was another of his inventions that featured here, so it will go in this category instead. It is the story of the rivalry between two magacians in Victorian England. Much of it is written in diary form, with both magacians giving their side of the story.
Enjoyable escapism.

"Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before
The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken
I actually enjoyed this more than Niagara Falls All Over Again, which impressed me earlier in the year. It is about the relationship (largely unrequited love)
between a librarian and a boy who becomes the tallest man in the world.

"Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Under the Skin by Michel Faber
It looks like it is going to be a thriller about a woman who picks up hitchhikers, but then it goes off into a sort of literary
sci-fi direction. Hugely imaginative and unlike anything I've ever read before, so I can definitely see why its on the list.

An Artist of the Floating World Kazuo Ishiguro
Post World War 2, a once-celebrated artist is uncertain of his place in the world as a new generation in Japan regret what they did
doing the war. So subtle, so well-written, I read this is one evening. Quite a few of Ishiguro's books are on the list, but so far
I'd have to agree with their inclusion.

"Stranger than Fiction" - Non-Fiction books
Icons of England ed Bill Bryson - read May
A collection of short essays written by various people (journalists, actors, authors, television personalities etc) about their personal
icon of England, mainly parts of the countryside, although a few urban landmarks were in there too. Perhaps a little sentimental and nostalgic in places
and the England described is probably a far cry from many people's experiences here.

"Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA
A Sweet Scent of Death by Guillermo Arriga - Mexico - read in May
The body of a murdered teenager is found in a Mexican village. Villagers mistakenly believe that a young man was her boyfriend
and he finds himself called upon to revenge her death. The book portrays a place where gossip and dubious codes of honour rule and ruin
people's lives.

"Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors
Hollywood by Charles Bukowski
A light-hearted read about Bukowski's experience writing the screenplay for the film Barfly. The famous directors and actors are
barely disguised and the introudction helpfully explained who was who in case you couldn't work it out yourself. Apparently it was
all pretty much true

"Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh
Another play that I loved on stage, this actually worked quite well in written form too as the staging is very simple, making it easy to follow.
In a nameless totalitarian state, a man is imprisoned when someone is acting out the crimes he has invented in his stories. It is very dark, but also very funny.

Talking Heads - Alan Bennett
A collection of six monologues, about a pretty depressing bunch of people probably all from Yorkshire. The characters include an alcoholic vicar's wife, a mummy's boy,
a busybody and a bit part actress. They are all well-observed and work well in this form, but I think reading them all together like this was probably too much as all of the voices
did sound rather the same.

"Title Theme" - Colours
Tail of the Blue Bird by Ni Ayikwei Parkes - read May
Set in Ghana, this is sort of a crime story but mainly about the continuing of old traditions which exist beyond science's explainations.
There was also some humour in the parts about the forensics expert who returns from working in Enland and is faced with corruption in his homeland.

"The Dark Side" - the darkside of life and human nature, inspired by a bookshop display of the same name
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
Definitely very dark and bleak. This is about a loner living on the fringes of society who begins to committ awful crimes.
It is written in McCarthy's trademark sparse yet lyrical style, but with no insight or motivation for the main character, I never felt
fully engaged by this story.

Progress at the end of May

1. "Introducing..." - New to Me Authors - 6 read
2. "Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before - 8 read
3. "Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die - 7 read
4. "Stranger than Fiction" - Non-Fiction books - 7 read
5. "Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA - 6 read
6. "Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors - 6 read
7. "Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays - 8 read
8. "Title Theme" - Colours - 5 read
9. "The Dark Side" - the darkside of life and human nature, inspired by a bookshop display of the same name - 6 read
10. "Journeys through Time" - Time travel novels - 5 read

Total read - 64

Back in the UK means back to work which means lots of reading again. I think I should easily finish the challenge with plenty of time to spare so long as I can get hold of another books for the colour and time travel categories. Still no poetry read. I'm actually thinking about setting another mini challenge already for the rest of the year.

You have peeked my interest with The Little Girl and the Cigarette by Benoit Duteurtre!

Edited to add: And my public library has the book! Many thanks for the nudge!

Wow, at 64 so far, you will finish in no time.

Wow, at 64 so far, you will finish in no time.

edited to add - I have no idea why that double posted.

Hello sanddancer, 64 wow !
Some tips :
- The Purple Cow, a nice book on marketing, good for the color theme read or for Stranger then fiction - non fiction.
- The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder
- Baggy Brown by Mick Inkpen, now you're married ;-)
mind you, apart from the marketing stuff, i didn't read them myself so ... just for fun.
Lunar18

Thanks for the colour tips. That category really hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be.

Or The Crimson Petal and the White, The Colour, Purple Hibiscus, The Blue Notebook or Baltimore Blues, as a completely random selection. Of course, of the colors you still need, only Purple Hibiscus fits.

RidgewayGirl - thanks for the recommendations. Unforatunately I've already read Purple Hibiscus - I did like it though. I was thinking that The Crimson Petal and the White might fit with Crimson being a shade of pink and I did enjoy the other book by Michel Faber that I read last month. I may yet change my mind though and loosen up the criteria so I can repeat colours. There are loads with black or white in the title.

First category completed!

"Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before

Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
I didn't intend to complete this category with this book and I still have a pile of others that fit this category leftover. I thought this might fit the Time Travel category as it is tagged with Time Travel and in the earlier books in the series, featured Thursday Next's father who travels through time. But he wasn't in this one and no one time travelled - there was quite a bit of travelling through fiction, but that is something different. Anyway, I enjoyed this, not so much for the plot or the action, but for the creativity. I particularly liked the explanation of why Macbeth's witches made prophecies.

With the Ffordes I've read, the plot, while fast-paced and twisty, is quite besides the point and I find myself fantasizing about a world where differing artistic schools engage in running street battles and weapons are drawn at book sales.

Second category completed!

Other Forms - Short Stories, Poetry, Plays

I finally read some poetry to complete this set. Some thoughts that apply to both:
It is hard to read poem after poem
Poetry probably needs to be read a few times to truly appreciate it
It is hard to switch straight back to read prose after reading poetry

Generation Txt
It is a collection by six young poets in response to a comment by a reviewer about nobody writing anything of value before they were 28. Given the title I was half expecting lots of text speak and "youth" culture references, but the six writers here aren't some kids hanging around street corners - they all have had amazing educations and lots of creative writing experience, so are hardly representative of the average person of their generation. The second poet, Inua Ellams in particular could almost have been writing in the 19th century with his long almost inpenetrable poetry. My favourites in this collection were Emma McGordon's "The Scary Thing About Those Who Jump" and James Wilkes "Score for a Nocturne"

Three Scottish Poets Norman MacCaig, Edwin Morgan and Liz Lockhead
I fell in love with Edwin Morgan's poem "When You Go" when I heard it on the BBC's Culture Show a few years ago and I've been meaning to read more of his work since. My library had this anthology which sandwiches Morgan between two other Scottish poets. My knowledge of contemporary poetry is pretty much nil, so I didn't know anything by either of the other two, but I enjoyed the collection. MacCraig's work is the most obviously Scottish with many of his poems being set in the Highlands. I particularly liked the sly wit of the poems Aunt Julia, My Last Word Frogs and Still Life. I was already familiar with some of Edwin Morgan's poems, but none quite matched "When You Go", but completely different I enjoyed The Mummy and Construction for I K Brunel. The last set by Liz Lockhead appealed to me the least being a bit long for my tastes, but The Other Woman has stuck in my mind. Although the three poets were very different, each of them had a poem about missing someone that I liked, "No Choice", "Absense" and "The Empty Song"

Third category completed.

"Introducing" - New to Me Authors

I have read four books for this category this month, finishing the final one today:

The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan
This was mentioned on the Read It Swap It forums recently as being a lot of people's book of the month, which encouraged me to read it. I loved it too, although it will have some competition to be my favourite book this month. It is set in a village in Wales in the 1950s and is about depression, family secrets and being different from other people. A man goes missing so a bright, but slightly odd girl decides to play detective to find him, but instead unearths some secrets. It was written in a beautiful way so that you could almost hear the lilting Welsh accents.

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
I struggled with this one although I'm not entirely sure why - possibly that I'm not that keen on reading about war (it was a gift, so I felt I should try to read it). It is about the First World War and the Irish men who signed up to fight for the British King, but tehn found themselves in a difficult position as Ireland wanted independence. I was fairly interested in this conflict and about the main character's home life, but the details of life in the trenches was not my sort of thing. Having said that, I did think it had a brilliant ending and I wouldn't completely rule out reading anything by Sebastian Barry again if the subject matter was more to my taste.

Please don't come back from the moon by Dean Bakopoulos
A random pick from the library and probably my favourite book this month. This is the author's first and so far only novel, so I'm hoping something else will be published by him soon. It is about a working class neighbourhood near Detroit where the men become disaffected with their lives and disappear, leaving behind notes saying they have gone to the moon. The book is narrated by Michael, who is 16 when his father leaves . Much of the book is just him going about his life, work, education and relationships and in the background are references to changes in President and this idea that men may have gone to live in the moon. It is a simple story but there was something in the wistful tone of it that really appealled to me.

So He Takes the Dog by Jonathan Buckley
Another great impulse selection from the library. The body of a homeless man is found on the beach in winter by a dog. The man was Henry, who was a known figure locally although nobody really knew that much about him. The book is about the police, in particularly a detective called John, trying to piece together bits of Henry's life in order to discover who killed him. But, this is not a conventional crime novel as the author is not interested in neatly resolved narratives, so what we are presented with instead is glimpses into the lives of Henry, the police and everyone who crosses their path - everyone who even enters the story briefly is a fully formed, real character with a back story. The recommendation on the front cover is from Jon McGregor whose first two books I've enjoyed and Jonathan Buckley's style of writing here is very similar to McGregor's. Everything is very subtle - the title being the perfect example of this - the one line about a man's decision to take his dog with him a walk, is the catalyst for what follows, but it is so subtle. The author (in the interview at the back of the book) says that nothing in the book shouts. Like Jon MacGregor's books, I think this will divide opinion, but I was engrossed in it and will try something more from this author.

Congratulations on finishing another category! The Earth Hums in B Flat was one of my favorite reads last summer. Gwenni is an unforgettable character.

Cbl - it was a lovely book that I think lots of people would enjoy.

Rather delayed update for the end of June.

Stranger than Fiction - Non-Fiction

31 Songs by Nick Hornby
Great collection of essays about Hornby's feelings about music. I didn't know all of the songs mentioned but that didn't matter much. The chapters about his son (who has autism) were very moving.

Starstruck: Fame, Failure, My Family and Me by Cosmo Landesman
The author looks at society's obsession with celebrity as well as his own parents' constant search for success. His parents have led very interesting lives that most people would consider a success but it was never enough for them. I enjoyed it although the parents self-obsession was weird and I wonder how they felt about him writing a book that was such an unflattering portrait of them.

Around the World
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar - Libya
Narrated by an adult but looking back on his childhood in Libya in 1971 under Gaddaffi. Some truly chilling scenes about living under a miltary dictatorship and an interesting perspective from a child who doesn't always behaviour in a good way.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson - Norway
Very disappointed with this. It just didn't engage me even though it sounds like the sort of thing I normally love. An old man meets someone he once knew in childhood which stirs up memories of the past.

Lights, Camera, Action - Cinema, Hollywood, Actors

You Gotta See This by Cindy Perlman
Mini essays by actors, writers and directors picking their favourite films. The format became a bit boring after a while, but some interesting choices and I've got a few good recommendations from it.

Title Theme - Colours in the title
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Despite this being a classic, it surprised me as it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Despite the misery it wasn't too hard going to read, although I wasn't that keen on the bits written as letters from Africa.

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
A man recovering from a breakdown hopes to be reunited with his wife. Perhaps a rather predictable story, but I liked its tone and quirkiness.

The Darkside

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
Four people meet when they all attempt suicide. Not Hornby's best but an enjoyable read despite the dark subject matter and again some genuinely moving parts about the mother of a disabled son.

Legend of a Suicide by David Vann
Strangly constructed story about the narrator's father's sucide which midway through switches to the third person and goes off in a weird direction. Apparently the author's own father killed himself so this was viewed as him working through those feelings but in a rather literary way. Interesting but it didn't really effect me emotionally at all

Time Travel
The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
A rather odd take on the idea of time travel. At 19, Dan is given a belt by his uncle that allows him to travel through time. He moves around his own lifetime a lot, meeting younger and older versions of himself and at the same time explores his sexuality. He uses time travel to make a fortune, but this wasn't an appealling idea of time travel at all - it was a lonely existence and rather disturbing at times - but a good read.

Seeds of Time by John Wyndham
A collection of short stories about time travel, Mars and robots , but since more were about time travel than anything else, I'm counting it here. There was one story about a man who is in love with a woman from the future, an amusing story about tourists from the future visiting the present day and a rather sweet story about different versions of people existings based on the choices made at different points in life. Like Wyndham's full length novels, these were very much the human angle of science fiction and all thought-provoking.

State of play at the end of June

1. "Introducing..." - New to Me Authors - DONE
2. "Hello again" - Books by Authors I've Read Before - DONE
3. "Working Through the List" - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die - 7 read
4. "Stranger than Fiction" - Non-Fiction books - 9 read
5. "Around the World" - Books set outside of the UK/USA - 8 read
6. "Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors - 7 read
7. "Other Forms" - short stories, poetry and plays - DONE
8. "Title Theme" - Colours - 7 read
9. "The Dark Side" - the darkside of life and human nature, inspired by a bookshop display of the same name - 8 read
10. "Journeys through Time" - Time travel novels - 7 read

Total read - 83

I read lots in June, completing a couple of categories and catching up in the ones that were languishing behind. I think I should finish it completely in August, so long as I can actually get hold of a couple of time travel books.

Fourth category completed

Stranger than Fiction - Non-Fiction

Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
A poignant memoir about the author's love for his wife and his love for music. Each chapter begins with the tracklist for a mix tape that the author compiled at that point in his life. The early chapters start with the tape he put together for his high school dance, a tape he and his father created and his first girlfriend, but then it moves into his relationship with Renee who becomes his wife. They are brought together by a shared love of Big Star, who are definitely in my top 3 favourite bands of all time, so they easily won me over. Tragically, Renee dies suddenly aged just 31 (I'm not spoiling anything here as this is revealed by the end of the first chapter, as well as on the back of the book) and the later part of the book is about the author attempting to come to terms with this. A great book for anyone who loves music and a beautiful tribute to his wife.

I've noticed the books in this category that I enjoyed most were the music-related one and I'm wondering why I havem't done a music category yet? Definitely a contender for the inevitable 1111 challenge.

Well, Sanddancer, you keep amazing me. 83 books in 6 months ... fabulous. In order too keep some tension in these "challenges" we should invent something like a 199 challenge ... especially for you.
Keep up the reading ;-)

I think there are faster readers than me here, but it does look as if I will finish this year's challenge quicker than I did last year's which is odd.

Fifth category completed. I was struggling with this category but suddenly found several books that fitted.

Title Theme - Colours

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
I knew nothing much about the Biafran War - it was before I was born, but that hardly seems like a valid excuse as I know plenty about other things that were happening in the 1960s. Britain's part in the whole thing made me very uncomfortable. The title of the book referes to Biafra's flag which was a symbol of their fight for indepence. I found the story engrossing and I liked the multiple viewpoints. Another thing I like about this author's writing in general as that many of her characters are the Nigerian middle classes, which is a perspective that we don't often think about here. I wasn't sure about the English man character as he seemed like a bit of a stereotype, but on reflection, he could also have stepped out of a Graham Greene novel.

Gold by Dan Rhodes
A deceptively simple story about a half-Welsh half Japanese girl who takes her holiday every year in the same Welsh village. She reads, goes on walks and drinks in the pub, where she encounters the same locals she meets every year. While on one of her coastal walks, she decides to spray paint a roc gold (her reasons are explained in the book), which acts as a trigger for breaking up the routine of village life. The quirky characters and mixture of gentle humour and darker moments is exactly my sort of thing. I loved this book. I did laugh out loud several times and will defiintely read it again in the future, but in the meantime it has sent me off to read his other books.

Brown Morning by Franck Pavloff
More of a pamplet than a book, I'm not even sure it is long enough to be considered a novella, but it is published on its own, so I'm counting it here despite its brevity. It is a parable written in response to the growing support in France in the 1990s for extreme right-wing groups. In this fictional society, the Brown party rule and have introduced a law banning the ownership of cats who aren't brown. Then the law expands to include dogs that aren't brown. I won't say any more because at only 20 pages long, there won't be much else to read if I do. It is short and simple, but a very powerful tale. My editionhad great graphics of brown cats and dogs and the original French text as well as the English.

Brown cats are really pretty unusual so that sounds very interesting!

Haven't updated in a while and I've finished a few more categories.

Around the World - Books Set Outside the UK/USA

Flea Palace by Elif Safak - Turkey
The book centres on a building in Istanbul. We are given the history of the building, before it moves onto the main part of the novel in modern times, where the building is now divided into 10 apartments. People dump their rubbish into the building's garden and there is awful smell inside the building which annoys its residents. We are introduced to the apartments' inhabitants, one apartment at a time, with each chapter being set in one apartment, but as the book progresses, their stories and lives intertwine so they appear in each others apartments. The residents are a colourful bunch, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of Istanbul. Inevitably with this kind of structure, I found some characters more interesting than others. I particularly liked Cemal and Celal, a pair of twin hairdressers who had been separated as children and recently reunited - I thought their story could have made a good book on its own. Whilst I enjoyed some parts of the book, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would (I loved her book The Bastard of Istanbul) - perhaps there were too many characters in it and I wasn't sure about the segments that topped and tailed the book.

The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam by Lauren Liebenberg - Rhodesia/Zimbabwe
The book is set in Rhodesia during the Bush Wars following its independence from Britain, before it became Zimbabwe. I don't know that much about this period and thought it would make an interesting setting. The story is about two young girls and their family and again I usually enjoy these childhood perspectives on troubled times. However, something about this book failed to really capture my interest, depsite it having the ingredients I normally like. One factor may have been that the text is littered with Afrikaans words and slang with a glossary at the back, which rather interrupted the flow of reading. I normally quite like the use of other other languages or dialects, but here it wasn't always possible to assume their meaning so explanations in footnotes, rather than at the back, would have been better. The main plot is about how the family life is disrupted by the arrival of an evil boy cousin. The cousin character never seemed particularly real and this family melodrama never seemed to tie in with the bigger political picture of what was happening in the outside world so the two strands to the book never came together for me. Overall, it isn't a bad book and it has some memorable incidents and the grandfather is a fantastic character, but it just didn't work as well as a whole as I hoped it would.

The Darkside

Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr
What say about this book? Its not pleasant at all, but it is still brilliant. I enjoyed the equally bleak but brilliant film version a few years ago and have eventually managed to read the book. The book follows four characters in New York: Sara, a lonely Jewish widow, her son Harry, a drug addict turned dealer, his girlfriend Marion, a rich girl with problems and his black friend Tyrone. Harry has big plans, but to make money he gets involved in drug dealing and before too long, with the horrible inevitability that these drug tales always have, he is using more than he is selling. His mother is an addict in her way, addicted to daytime television and when she is offered the chance to go on television, her obsession leds her into further problems. The book is written in a steam of consciousness style with minimal amounts of punctation - hardly any commas, no quotation marks and / instead of apostrophes as it was faster for the author to type. For the first few pages, which were also heavy on the 1970s street slang, I didn't think I'd ( or I/d as the author would type) be able to read it, but once I got into the flow, I was caught up in the character's lives.

Monster Love by Carol Topolski
The subject matter here was very challenging - it is about a couple with an obsessive relationship with each other, who neglect and abuse their daughter. The book is written from various perspectives, starting with a nosey neighbour who eventually reports her suspicions when she doesn't see the child for months, and progressing to include a colleague, family members and people involved in the legal process. There are also chilling chapters from the point of view of the couple. The book is very well written and compulsive reading, although I had to stop on occasions as it did make me very uncomfortable.

Time Travel

The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier
Richard's life is in a rut - he is between jobs and his marriage to an American woman with two sons from a previous marriage is in trouble. His old college friend, a scientist, offers him his old family home in Cornwall for the summer on the condition that Richard takes part in his science experiment. It involves drinking a chemical which has the affect of "transporting" him back to the 1300s. Unlike in other time travel stories, he isn't fully present in this past world, but sees things through a guide, Roger, a servant to one of the local noble familes. He becomes enchanted with a woman from this time period and concerned about the various plots and goings on in this time, and soon becomes obsessed with going back in time at the expense of his real life in the present. Like many other reviews I've read of this, I wasn't particularly interested in the plot in the 1300s, but more so in how Richard's behaviour in the present changes and how he behaves like a drug addict.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
I was daunted at first by how awful this book looked - small print that went right to the edge of the page, to cram as many words in as possible. But thankfully, the contents of the book itself were so enjoyable that I soon forgot that I didn't like the look of the book. It is a light-hearted time travel saga. Sometime not too far in the future, time travel has become possible and is used by historians for research. However, their work has been hijacked by a millionairess, Mrs Schrapnell who wants to rebuild Coventry Cathedral as it once was, but in Oxford. One item they have been unable to recreate is something called the Bishop's Bird Stump, so she has sent a team of historian looking around the past for it. However, meddling in the past soon interfers with the course of history and two of these historians, Ned and Verity find themselves in Victorian England where they must ensure that things follow a certain course for Mrs Schrapnel's ancestor, Tossie. What follows is a mixture of science fiction, comedy of manners, romance and detective story, with lots of literary references thrown in (Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, the novels of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayer, bits of Shakespare and the poetry of Tennyson). If I was to be very critical it was perhaps a bit long for what was essentially such a silly lightweight plot, but it was such a delight to read that I didn't mind. I particularly loved the portrayal of the dog, a bulldog called Cyril and a cat, Princess Arjumand (who actually plays a more significant role despite the book's title).

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The final book in my 1010 challenge time travel category, this one is a young adult book, which I thought might provide a contrast with the other books I've read on this theme. Meg is a disruptive teenager, who worries about being different and not as brilliant as her scientist parents. Her father has disappeared and then she goes on a journey through time and space to bring him back. This is apparently a classic and I suppose it was an action packed little story that I would have enjoyed if I was younger, but compared to the books I've read on a similar topic, this didn't really give any food for thought about the implications of time travel - it was just part of an adventure.

As always as I near the end of the challenge, things slow down, not because I'm reading less, but because it is harder to fill those last few slots. I have actually started a second smaller challenge http://www.librarything.com/topic/95876 which I've been reading for (although not posting much about yet).

But I have finally finished another category here and now just have one more book to read to complete the whole challenge.

Lights, Camera, Action" - Books about cinema. Hollywood and actors

Story of the Scene by Roger Clarke
There are often myths and rumours surrounding films, how they were made and what went on behind the scenes. This book attempts to find the truth behind some popular myths and reveal what how certain famous shots were achieved. About 80 films are looked here, with a two page spread given to each, which includes an image from the film. There are some interesting tit-bits of information in here, but it is restricted by the rigid format - some films are obviously more interesting than others and it would be good to have more detail, whilst others don't really have enough to fill the two pages.

Blockbuster by Tom Shone
A fantastic read for anyone interested in the film industry, even if, like me, you don't think of yourself as a fan of big blockbuster films. The author is a film critic, but first and foremost he is film fan, which shows in the enthusiastic way he writes about the classic films of the genre. Starting with Jaws then Star Wars, he traces the path of the big summer blockbuster, making some interesting points about box office records and production costs, along with some interesting stories about how the films were made.

In part the book is a counter-argument to Peter Biskind's 'Easy Riders, Raging Bulls' which blames Spielberg and Lucas for the demise of 'quality' filmmaking and the dumb-downing of cinema. Shone takes an even-handed view of their impact, appreciating these films for their own value and how the best of the genre made cinema exciting for audiences, but being criticial of the blockbusters that were poor films. He doesn't, thanfully, try to over-intellectualise any of these films and is just as sceptical of the acedemics who do, as he is of the film snobs who dismiss all of these films.

Like Biskind's book, there are lots of anecdotes about how these films were made. Whilst Spielberg is so normal and decent that he doesn't provide much in the way of drama, James Cameron more than makes up for it.

I've finally finished the challenge!

1001 Books to Read Before You Die

A Pale View of the Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
I have enjoyed all of the Ishiguro books that I've read and did enjoy this one too. A woman now living in England looks back on Japan in the post-war period. Pieces of the lives of her daughters', her former neighbour and father-in-law are glimpsed through her memories, which may not be entirely reliable and we are never given any definite conclusions. It is beautifully written, but I would have liked a little more resolution - not necessarily everything tied up neatly, just a little bit more. It felt very similar in tone and theme to An Artist of the Floating World but I preferred that novel and would include that in the 1001 list over this one, although especially for debut, the writing here is sublime.

Congrats on finishing! It looks like your last book for the challenge was a good one and one I will look for.

Congratulations!!

Congratulations from Belgium ! ;-)
Amazing, 100 books in less then 9 months, knowing you read a lot of other books outside the challenge !
next year 121 books ?

Congratulations!

Thank you all for your congratulations. I'm working on a smaller challenge which I may not complete before the end of the year but I am already working out my categories for next year.

Congrats! Doesn't it feel great?