Nans 11 in 11 Challenge

Am definately back for 11 in 11

I Books that I moved overseas and still haven't touched
II Vacation Destinations Fiction - Past & Present
III West of the Mississippi
IV Pushing 50 - the rest of the US
V Books by European Authors set in their Country
VI Bookclub & Theme reads
VII Friend Recommendations
VIII LT'ers Recommendations
IX Next in the Series
X Getting Rid of Baggage - TBR Shelf Elimination
XI Grab Bag

I. Books that I moved overseas and still haven't touched
1. What is the What by David Eggers - February
2. The Swinging Bridge by Ramabai Espinet - May
3. Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace - May
4. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood - May
5. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Durant - June
6. Gap Creek by Robert Morgan - August
7. London: A Novel by Edward Rutherfurd - December
8. Nachtzug nach Lissabon by Pascal Mercier - currently reading
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II. Vacation Destinations Fiction - Past & Present
1. Myanmar: The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U - May
2. Myanmar: Smile as They Bow by Nu Nu Yi - July
3. New Zealand: The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran - July
4. Seattle: Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos - September
5. Seattle: Long for this World by Michael Byers - November
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III. West of the Mississippi
1. Montana: The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig - March
2. North Dakota: The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin - March
3. Nevada: Stray Dogs by John Ridley - July
4. Alaska: Tisha by Robert Specht - July
5. Idaho: Blue Heaven by CJ Box - August
6. Oregon: The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss - October
7. Texas: Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles - November
8. New Mexico: Surveyor by G. W. Hawkes - November
9. Oklahoma: The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan - December
10. Wyoming: The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson - December

IV. Pushing 50 - the rest of the US
1. Rhode Island: The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty - April
2. Connecticut: Something Missing by Matthew Dicks - May
3. Michigan: Annie's Ghosts by Steven Luxenberg - July
4. Delaware: The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani - July
5. Missouri: The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton - August
6. Iowa: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf - August
7. Maine: The Wooden Nickel by William Carpenter - September
8. Virginia: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - December
9. Arkansas: Elkhorn Tavern by C. Douglas Jones - December
10. Virginia: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron - Currently Reading

V. Books by European Authors set in their Country
1. Switzerland: Heidi by Johanna Spyri - January
2. Norway: Redbreast by Jo Nesbo - April
3. Russia: Master and the Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov - May
4. Scotland: The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith - May
5. Ukraine: Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov - July
6. Bosnia/Herzegovina: Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic - August
7. Denmark: The Fishermen by Hans Kirk - November
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VI. Bookclub & Theme reads
1. Walkabout by James Vance Marshall - February (Journey's)
2. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - April
3. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa - April
4. American Gods by Niel Gaiman - June
5. Pretty Birds by Scott Simon - August (War & Areas of Conflict)
6. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway - September (War & Areas of Conflict)
7. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - October (Ghosts)
8. 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson - November (War & Areas of Conflict)
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VII. Friend Recommendations
1. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall - January
2. Juliet by Anne Fortier - February
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - August
4. Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase - September
5. Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase -September
6. Bossypants by Tina Fey - October
7. Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan - November
8. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhonda Janzen - December
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VIII. LT'ers Recommendations
1. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin - February
2. Swamplandia by Karen Russell - March
3. Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky - July
4. Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell - August
5. Little Heathens by Mildred Kalish - September
6. The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany - December
7. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - December
8. Lick Creek by Brad Kessler - December
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IX. Next in the Series
1. House Rules by Jodi Picoult - January
2. 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs - February
3. Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs - March
4. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult - April
5. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear - June
6. A Question of Belief by Donna Leon - September
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X. Getting Rid of Baggage - TBR Shelf Elimination
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XI. Grab Bag
1. Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart - January
2. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok - March
3. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker - April
4. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas - May
5. Oprah: A Biography by Kitty Kelley - July
6. Somebody Else's Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage - August
7. The Cincinnati Red Stalkings by Troy Soos - October
8. A Free Life by Ha Jin - December
9.
10.

Have I been waiting for this! I probably started fiddling with my categories 3 months ago. And when August started, I was itching for this thread to start, even though I still have a lot of reading to finish for 1010.

My categories are not really creative. I feel like my TBR shelf is weighing me down too much to be creative (not sure if this is the case or not - we'll see in 2012!).

To try to eliminate the TBR, I have 2 categories (1 & 10) for the remaining unread books in my house. It will be pretty much finished if I can stick to this plan!

In other news, I bought a house this year and have yet to buy a bookshelf. I'm very excited to be picking out a real life bookshelf for my collection.

Congratulations on your new home, and have fun picking out bookshelves. Looking forward to following your reading again this year.

IX. Next in the Series
1. House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Already so behind... sigh.

I know that Picoult is not really a series author, but her novels always deal with the latest scandal, so they might as well be!

Mixed reviews about this novel. This book is about a boy with high functioning aspergers that is accused of a serious crime. What bugged me initially was that no one asked the boy if he even did the crime. Eventually his mother did ask and he denied it. His mother knew that the boy never lied, so that should have been the end of it. But a chapter later, she seemed to have forgotten this fact. In the end, this inconsistancy did this book in for me and lots of eyerolling ensued.

I could also spot how the crime was commited very early on, and got mad that it took so long to come out. As with many Picoult novels, I just don't see that the story would have ever enfolded this way in real life.

Yet, I have it 3.5 stars... why.... well... I was entertained up until the inconsistancy. And I learned a lot about a young man with aspergers. My friend's son was just diagnosed, so it hit home a bit. So 3.5 stars it is.

XI. Grab Bag
1. Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

I saw this book while Christmas shopping and requested it from the library. It was exactly what I expected... light and fluffy. It's a memoir about Marjorie and her friend Marty... the first 2 women pages at Tiffany in 1945. They worked there on their summer break from Iowa University. I loved reading about the time period in NYC, about how Tiffany was run, and about them finding their way on their own for a summer. It was a sweet story.

V. Books by European Authors set in their Country
1. Switzerland: Heidi by Johanna Spyri

When searching for a novel from Switzerland, I hit on Max Frisch, who I've read once before and didn't enjoy it. I thought about giving him another chance. But Heidi kept coming up in my searches. Finally I decided to go for the quintessential book associated with Switzerland. It was a good choice!

I knew only of Heidi, her Grandfather, and the Mountains. Didn't realized Heidi had lived in Frankfurt for a time. Didn't realize that Heidi really had short, dark hair (not blonde). So I'm happy that I read the story (actually 2 books), especially in the wintertime. It reminded me of all my hiking in the Alps and brought back nice memories.

VI. Bookclub & Theme reads
1. Walkabout by James Vance Marshall

A novella about a western boy and girl who's plane crashes in the outback. They survive and start walking, aiming for Adelaide and their uncle. Along the way, they encounter an Aboriginal boy on his walkabout who teaches them how to survive. I don't want to say anymore for fear of giving the story away.

I read this book as part of Reading Globally's Journey's category. It was both a physical journey for the traveling, as well as a mental journey for the children giving up their western ways and becoming aquainted with their surroundings.

>18 nans: That description reminds me of A Far Off Place by Laurens Van der Post.

VII. Friend Recommendations
1. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

This was an interesting book. Set in the 70's, Golden Richards lives at the corner of UT, AZ and NV with his 4 wives and a multitude of children. It's told from the perspective of the husband, some of the wives, and Rusty, one of the sons.

The husband's ineptitude quickly got annoying. And I could put myself into the place of the wives and feel their pain and joy of their lifestyle. But the perspective of the boy is what got me the most. The book is written by someone that grew up in this community, and it's a very frank telling of how it feels to grow up the child of many and to get lost in the shuffle. So to me, the book was worth reading, just for the story of Rusty Richards.

VIII. LT'ers Recommendations
1. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

A very smooth, well told crimi set in rural Mississippi. I loved this story for its sense of place. I loved learning what the title of the book meant. But the mystery part was weak and predictible. I loved this author's characterizations and would love to read more books set in this town.

@19
Thanks for the recommendation. It does sound very similar, just with a different setting. I'll put that novel on my large TBR stack.

I. Books that I moved overseas and still haven't touched
1. What is the What by David Eggers

This book is considered fiction, but is really the story of a Lost Boy from Sudan's escape to refuge camps in Ethiopia and Kenya and finally to America. It's a hard story to read, but also amazing. So many things have happened to this young man, but he always survives. By the end of the book, he's working at minimum wage jobs in Atlanta and trying to get accepted into college. He's barely getting by, but is considered wealthy by family and friends left back home. A bit of an eye opener.

III. West of the Mississippi
1. Iowa: The Quickening by Michelle Hoover

DNF. Had to give up on this one. Could not get into the stories of these women.

IX. Next in the Series
2. 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

Another great novel in Kathy Reichs' series. Of course, sometimes you just want to slap the main character for being so dense and not realizing she was in danger or being targeted. Still, I enjoy reading her novels and love the mix between the US and Canada.

III. West of the Mississippi
1. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

Loved this book set in Montana in 1910. A family with 3 boys recently lost their mother. Their father answers an add for a housekeeper who cannot cook.

Not wanting to give anything away, I sort of picked up on the direction the story was going in very early. So that took away from the book, but I loved the characters and the link to Hailey's Comet, so I can't fault it too much.

IX. Next in the Series
3. Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

I finally feel caught up in this series. This one dealt with a good subject matter, POW/MIA. Brennan is sent to Hawaii to deal with a case that conviently has ties to both NC and Quebec... funny how that happens pretty often to her!

There are a lot of twist and turns in id'ing the bones. And of course her life is in danger at one point. But all in all, a good read, and enjoyed learning how MIA's are id'ed in the US military.

VIII. LT'ers Recommendations
2. Swamplandia by Karen Russell

Ominous book. Had a different location on a touristy, gator park run by a family on an island in FL. The mother, and main tourist draw passes away and the family goes into a downward spiral.

Was a very descriptive book to set the scene of the swamps of FL, but the book didn't live up to the extremely high expectations of reviews that I've read in publications.

I've been reading and doing my challenge, but haven't been posting much. And truthfully, I haven't read as much this year as last year. Buying a house, and reading some books that I just can't get through have really done me in.

But I've read some great books so far in April:
VI. Bookclub & Theme reads
2. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
An interesting story about twin orphan boys in Africa who grow up at a missionary hospital.

3. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
A sweet short book set in Japan with a Professor who's memory only lasts 80 minutes and his housekeeper and her son.

V. Books by European Authors set in their Country
2. Norway: The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
A great crime novel set in the 90's and the 40's in Norway and on the WW2 front. My friends have been urging me to read his novels for a year, and I'm glad to finally have read one.

IV. Pushing 50 - the rest of the US
2. Connecticut
Something Missing
Matthew Dicks

This book had a wonderful idea, but I feel it fell short in the execution. It's about a man that supplements his income by breaking into homes. What he steals are small items that one would never notice, like paper towels. He's very meticulous, taking photos of pantries and observing what is not used by his clients so that his crime will not be registered.

Gradually he begins taking jewelry, handbags, china, etc. But only items that are hardly used. These he sells on Ebay under a fake persona. One week our thief starts to try to 'fix' his client's lives, and the story really starts to get interesting.

If I had two words to describe this book, I would say wordy and meticulous. Maybe these words work against each other. But I would say it's wordy, because he goes into great detail describing every move, thought, etc that this thief makes. After too many of these passages, I found my eyes rolling and yelling at the book to get a move on! And in his wordiness, the author, like the thief is meticulous. Described down to the last hair on a head.

But I loved the idea of the book. Of wondering if I would notice that a bottle of ketchup I bought 6 months ago was missing. So I'd recommend this novel, but with reservations. Oh, and it's set in suburbia, so I never really got a feel of place. Maybe I'll find a better CT book for this category.

I. Books that I moved overseas and still haven't touched
2. The Swinging Bridge by Ramabai Espinet

I hope to get a lot of books read in this category this month while I'm on vacation. My MO is to take books from my shelf with me on vacation, read them, and leave them for others. I'm visiting friends this year, so I've picked out some books I think they would enjoy so that I know the books will get some love.

I enjoyed this novel set in Canada and Trinidad. Mona's brother is dying in Canada and she's sent back to Trinidad to help her cousin purchase some family land that their father has sold years ago. The novel weaves back and forth between their life in Trinidad then, and the arc of the present day story.

The most fascinating story, and one that hardly got any space, was a great great grandmother from India. She was married in India at the age of 13 after her father died and was widowed soon after. In the past, the tradition was that the widows would be killed, but that practice was abolished and India was struggling to find a way to accomodate their widows.

Trinidad had a lot of Indian men living on their island, and searched for a way to bring Indian women to the island. So a lot of these young widows traveled to Trinidad as indentured servants.

I wish the story would have concentrated more on this story, than the present day family. Still, I always love to learn about another culture and place, so I enjoyed the story and can pass this book along.

I. Books that I moved overseas and still haven't touched
3. Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace
4. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

Grabbed these two books for my vacation. Broom of the System was very interesting, but it was a bad choice for a plane. It's a book that I think you be better appreciated if it's savored read over a course of days rather than only 2 days. But a very creative story.

The Ghost Writer has an interesting premise and has some good moments. A man in Australia grew up with a mom who was very mysterious about her upbringing in England. After she dies, Gerard goes back to England to find out what the story was.

Am traveling around and that allows me to catch up greatly on my reading.

While in Scotland I received and read The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith. I definately am missing at least one book in this series, but still enjoyed the book and reading about places I was traveling.

am currently finishing up The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. It's set in Australia which is so confusing while traveling in Edinburgh. Am sort of enjoying the book though I despise nearly all the characters.

VI. Bookclub & Theme reads
4. American Gods by Niel Gaiman

This is my top read so far for 2011. I love the concept of gods brought to America by immigrants that are at a loss after they are no longer worshiped. Wish I knew more about mythology. There were so many references that I couldn't pick up on.

IX. Next in the Series
5. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

Another great installation in the Maisie Dobbs series set in the UK after WWI. Sad to wait another year for the next one.

III.West of the Mississippi
3. Nevada
Stray Dogs
John Ridley

What a bad book. Not in how it's written, or the story, but I often had to put the book down just because the people are so evil! Basically a guy gets into financial problems in Vegas. His car breaks down in the small, desert town of Sierra and he has one amazingly horrible 24 hours.

This type of book reminds me that it's great being a good person! And it also makes me want to go to Vegas even less than I already do.

IV. Pushing 50 - the rest of the US
3. Michigan
Annie's Ghosts
Steven Luxenberg

I did not care for this book unfortunately. The premise sounded like something I would really enjoy... family secrets and discovering what happened to the Author's Aunt who's existence had been kept a secret. But I couldn't get into it. Not a lot of information was uncovered. And the author was so detached from the story, that I couldn't have any sympathy for those involved. Especially for his mother who kept the existence of a sister secret from possibly her husband and her children. Not recommended.

>37 nans: Sorry that you hated Annie's Ghosts. I absolutely loved it! In fact, almost every genealogist I know who has read it loves it.

You win some, you lose some! I think for me the way the author's mother treated her sister was unimaginable. If Annie had done something horrible and unforgiveable to her sister, then there would have been a reason for it. But it seems that Beth was selfish and didn't want the fact that she had a handicapped sister to hurt her potential for marriage. But she never redeemed herself after she was married. It just left a bitter taste in my mouth.

II. Vacation Destinations Fiction - Past & Present
2. Myanmar: Smile as They Bow by Nu Nu Yi

A great short novel about a Nat festival and the characters that make it up. It centers around Daisy Bond, a charlatan that gives fortunes and promises to people seeking him out for his connection to the Nat world.

III. West of the Mississippi
4. Alaska: Tisha by Robert Specht

What a fabulous book! And I love that this woman really existed. Anne is a young teacher in Oregon that applies in the 20's for a teaching position in Alaska. The book starts with her journey to the village of Chicken and goes through her first year of teaching. The book has a nice balance. It could dip too far in many directions (rough winters, indians, stubborn townspeople). But it doesn't at all and was a joy to read. Highly recommended.

IV. Pushing 50 - the rest of the US
4. Delaware: The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani

I'm close to the final 10 books of this challenge. As a planner, I love to go through books and plan out my reading. Delaware has been blank with not a single suggestion all of this time. Once I started searching for a book set in Delaware, I found there was not much to chose from. And when I started reading this book, I thought it could have been set in Anywhere, USA. The main character, Maddalena even complains of the sameness of her new town of Wilmington and compares it to Italy saying that every village in Italy has a distinctive feature to set it apart from other villages such as the church or the square. Besides Wilmington, the book mentions Philadelphia and Wildwood, NJ. Once I looked at the map to see the location of Wilmington, then I could picture the characters better and it took on it's own location.

Anyway, about the book... it was actually the second novel by this author. His first novel A Kiss from Maddalena seems to take place more in Italy. This novel picks up the life of Maddalena as a new wife in Wilmington working and having problems conceiving. I don't want to say too much in case you decide to read the first book. The book can stand alone, but I still wish I had known and read them in order.

It's a nice, light summer read and reminded me a lot of the Italian American novels by Adriana Trigiani.

XI. Grab Bag
5. Oprah: A Biography by Kitty Kelley

My first Kitty Kelley. Know that things are surely exaggerated, but even if you take out half the criticism, it doesn't paint a good picture for Oprah's evolution as an entertainer. Am curious to see what Oprah does with her life now that her show is over.

It was a good audiobook to have in the background while working. Editing could have shortened this book by removing the repetitivness.

V. Books by European Authors set in their Country
5. Ukraine: Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

A fabulous short novel set in Kiev. A man starts writting obituaries for a newspaper including preparing some for future deaths of notable people. Suddenly these people start to die. But the best thing about this novel is the Penguin. A year before the zoo in Kiev asked people to take in some of the animals that they could no longer care for and Viktor took home a penguin, Misha. Misha has this silent presence in the story which is such a thrill to read. Well worth picking up!

I've recently read The Good Angel of Death by Kurkov and am definitely interested in picking up his two penguin books at some point. Glad you enjoyed that one.

@45
I'm also going to pick up his other penguin books Wolfy. Hope the penguin presence is as memorable as in this novel.

VI. Bookclub and Theme Reads
War and Areas of Conflict
6. Pretty Birds by Scott Simon

Novel set in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. I didn't know much about the Bosnian War, and this novel was a good starting point to learn more. It centers around a high school basketball star, Irena and her parents. They escape from their neighborhood to her Grandmother's appartment and live for more than a year in war torn Sarajevo. It deals a bit with how they're able to scrape by, and eventually Irena works as a sniper.

Though this novel was written by an American, he author worked for NPR and was in Sarajevo during the war. I don't know how true to life this novel was, but it didn't seem to gloss over the war, nor to make it too over the top. Highly recommended.

IV. Pushing 50 - the rest of the US
5. Missouri: The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton

Started slow, but then got pretty good. It's a story of a farming/teacher family in Missouri in the first part of the century. Each of the 6 sections are told from a different family member's perspective. Loved seeing how different people perceived occurances in the family.

There was a bit of god talk in the novel, but not preachy. And the parts that got too religious, I just skimmed over.

A nice novel to read, especially in the summer.

III. West of the Mississippi
5. Idaho: Blue Heaven by CJ Box

Another cops gone bad novel. Well written with some great characters. A beautifully written setting in Northern Idaho. Enjoyed the angle of the retired LA cops moving in droves to the area which is how the novel got its title. But would love to see less novels about corrupt cops. Seems to be too easy angle to start a novel.

IV. Pushing 50 - the rest of the US
6. Iowa: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Ugh. I have to get away from novels doing bad things to children! Two little girls go missing one morning. I loved the writting but did not care for the story. The cops were inept. They never really went out searching for the kids and told the parents they were planning that for the next day. The families were not contained and created their own chaos. Would something like that really happen? And it wasn't until the last chapters of the book that one investigator actually asked the question "Can you tell me what happened?" Um, where was this question at the start.

Too many ineptitudes just ruined this book for me.

VII. Friend Recommendations
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Great book that I read in one day. I'm going to put a little distance between this book and the next so that I can try to savor the story a bit. I love it when books that people love actually live up to the hype!

V. Books by European Authors set in their Country
6. Bosnia/Herzegovina: Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic

And rounding out my trend this August of reading books that do bad things to children, I have the real life diary of Zlata. Right before her 11th birthday, Zlata started this diary and a few months later, the war between Bosnia/Herzegovina and Serbia broke out. It's 2 years of war as seen through a young girl's eyes and a very good companion piece to Pretty Birds.

I. Books that I moved overseas and still haven't touched
6. Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

This was a nice novel with the subtitle of A Story About a Marriage. That's exactly how I like to think of this novel. Julie is married at 17 and moves down from her mountain in North Carolina to Gap Creek in South Carolina. It's a fascinating story of how a young Appalacian family survives their first couple years of marriage in a sometimes harsh environment.

XI. Grab Bag
6. Somebody Else's Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage

A bizarre novel with a lot of shady, undesirable characters doing a wide range of oddball things. It's set in a town near a private high school. It reminded me a bit of the novel 'Prep' in this way. What attracted me to the book was that one of the teenage girls was given up for adoption, and I thought the novel would follow that story line. It did a bit, but it was just one of many stories in the novel, so that was a disappointment.

The novel was very well written, so I didn't give it too bad of a mark. But the author seemed to have crammed all of her ideas for interesting characters and circumstances into this one novel. She could have developed 5 books with all of these ideas and maybe they would have been more enjoyable. But since none of these characters would be anyone I'd want to have in my life, I doubt I'll ever read another novel from this author.