Soffitta1's 1st 5x5

Great! Here I was wondering how to fill the time before the 11 in 11 Challenge, thanks for letting me in on this!

Group 1: Film

1.The Canterville Ghost Bilingual Spanish - English edition
2. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Little Britain
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
4. The Girl Who Played with Fire
5. The Girl Who kicked the hornets nest

Top Read would have to be The Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest, probably because I just HAD to know how it would all wrap up!

Group 2: Not in English

1. El guardabarrera y Juicio por asesinato bilingual edition (esp/ing)
2. The Policeman and the Cook, Mr Medhurst and the Princess bilingual edition (esp/ing)
3. The 1000000 Bank Note and A Dying Man's Confession bilingual Edition (esp/ing)
4. The Isle of Voices and The Plague Cellar
5. Cuentos de Comisarios y Detectivos

Top read would be the crime short stories, a great introduction into Argentine fiction.

Group 3: Latin America (1)

1. A Far Country
2. Travels in a Thin Country
3. Drink the Sky
4. Asi es la vida
5. Killing Pablo

Top read was A Far Country, very well written, but, unfortunately, paints all too realistic of life in the shanty towns.

Group 4: North America
TBR
1. The Sunday List of Dreams
2. The Lost Symbol
3. The Bridge of San Luis Rey
4. The Love of a Good Woman
5. The Glass Castle

The top read was The Bridge of San Luis Rey, a very thought-provoking book about why certain people died in the collapse of the bridge, why them and not others?

Group 5: Exchanged
As I am travelling, this is my main source of books.

1. Burning Bright
2. Marching Powder
3. The Billionaire's Vinegar
4. The Children's Book
5. Leyendas de Guatemala

Top book has to be the Children's Book, once again A.S. Byatt does not disappoint with the history of a fairy tale writer and her children.

There is a chance that this will be extended to more than 5 per category, but it really depends on how many books I pick up on my travels before 11 November.

1. A Far Country
I picked this up in the Academia Uruguay, where I was doing a Spanish course. I was really curious to see if it would stand up to the standard set in The Piano Tuner, which I read a few years ago. This is a really good book, I found that I couldn't read too much of it at once as it was very vividly written. I am counting it as a Latin America book because, even though the country is never mentioned, the references to informal settlements and Catholic saints really made you imagine Brazil or Mexico.

2. Burning Bright
I have read all of Tracy Chevalier's books, and so was happy to accept this from a fellow student at the above school. (Yes, I know I should be reading in Spanish, but after 4 hours of Spanish classes a day, my brain can't cope with that!)
This time, we are in London, Jem and his family move to London, where this shy Dorset boy meets Maggie. His neighbour is one William Blake, who befriends the young pair and his father works for the larger than life Philip Astley, who owns the circus. This is a fairly quick book to read, showing a snapshot of 18th Century London. Chevalier fans won't be disappointed.

3. The Sunday List of Dreams

Not my usual fare, but beggars can't be choosers when it comes to books in English at book exchanges. I read this on a 6ish hour journey to the south of Paraguay, entertaining enough, but nothing great.
A nurse, mother of 3 and grandmother finally gets round to ticking things of her to-do list.

4. Travels in a Thin Country
A good travel book about Chile, where I will be heading on this trip. Informative and entertaining, she writes about the people, the countryside, the history, the culture ...

It sounds like you are having a wonderful time! Enjoy your time there.

I am indeed, thanks! It is lovely to have so much time to read and I have managed to find such different books.

5. The Canterville Ghost
A previous student had left this in a bilingual edition in the flat, so I read it in Spanish. Very funny.

6. Drink the Sky
Mixed feelings, some interesting topics, based in Rio, but ultimately not that well written.

7. Asi es la Vida
I picked this up at a hostel where the writer had stayed, he left it there. To be honest if I hadn´t just visited quite a few places mentioned in the book, I wouldn't have bothered.

8. The Signalman and the Trial for Murder
Another of the bilingual books in the flat. Glimpses of the fantastic in Dickens.

I am on the road, so not able to update book by book, but have lots of reading time on the truck.

9. The Billionaire's Vinegar - about the most expensive bottle of wine bought at auction
10. The Love of a Good Woman - good short stories
11. The Glass Castle - a very strange memoir of a very strange childhood

I have read a few bilingual editions and 2 in Spanish:

12. The Policeman and the Cook, Mr Medhurst and the Princess bilingual edition (esp/ing)
13. The 1000000 Bank Note and A Dying Man's Confession bilingual Edition (esp/ing)
14. The Isle of Voices and The Plague Cellar
15, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Little Britain
All short, but good practice.
16. Leyendas de Guatamala
17. Cuentos de Comisarios y Detectivos

I have also read the 3 Stieg Larson books, the first 2 over a weekend, and then a fellow traveller had the last one on the truck. Bonus!

18 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
19. The Girl Who Played with Fire
20. The Girl Who kicked the hornets nest

Also on the truck were
21. The Children's book - just excellent
and 22. Killing Pablo - finished reading this, as I had to give back my brother's copy a while back.

23. Marching Powder
24. The Bridge of San Luis Rey

I will be rejigging my categories soon, just need to decide how best to do it.

25, The Lost Symbol

Travelling plus lack of internet makes challenges hard to keep track of, so am going to stop here. I hope to comment, etc when I get home next month.

I have been playing around with my categories, to make the 25 books I read fit in neatly. I am also trying to go back and review as many as possible.

I am sure I will be back for take 2, when I finish the 11 in 11 Challenge.