I love reading challenges. Not that I need any, but I like how they tend to shuffle my reading pile. Still, after feeling overwhelmed in 2010 I decided to be very careful with challenges in 2011. So I accepted only five! #goodgrrl :)
- Tanabata’s Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge
- Bellezza’s Japanese Literature Challenge #5
- Chinoiseries’ Chinese Literature Challenge
- Beth Fish’s What’s in a name #4
- Margot’s first Foodie’s Reading Challenge
What’s the status now that December is around the corner? Am I getting stressed like last year? Do I feel accomplished? Need to get my act together and READ?
Completed 2011 reading challenges
Before I go any further I humbly bow my head and confess that even though I’ve read all the books I commited to for the following three challenges, I reviewed hardly any. 2011 has not been a great year of blogging for me. But as we’re talking reading challenges, I’ll consider my missions accomplished!
HARUKI MURAKAMI READING CHALLENGE
For the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge I chose level TORU (named after our dear friend from The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, the first Murakami novel I ever laid my hands on). That means reading 5 books by the master (here’s my admission post). So far I’ve read 6 (!) and I plan to read one more before the year has ended — ask Elsje if you don’t believe me. ;) If I live up to my promiss that collection of short stories will lift me to the level of Nakata (from Kafka on the Shore).
Books read:
Hear the Wind Sing
Pinball, 1973
Underground
1q84 Boek 1
1q84 Boek 2
1q84 Boek 3
And yes, the Dutch translation of 1Q84 was published in three seperate volumes, coming out in June 2010 and April 2011. Also, the title is deliberately written with a lower case ‘Q’ because it much resembles a ‘9’. I like that and have no idea why it should be different in the Japanese original and English version. Us Dutchies are pedantic. ;)
Last week Elsje and I went to a lecture about Haruki Murakami by translator Luc Van Haute in Leiden’s Sieboldhuis. He explained to us how the often stated opinion that Murakami’s novels are not typically Japanese is just plain wrong. It was fun — I have a huge reading list of Japanese authors to follow up ;) — and we also got to see the Hello Kitty exhibition and meet ennazussuzanne and Seraphine, who surprised us with the gift of an origami bookmark! Aw, that’ll come to good use when reading… JLit!
JAPANESE LITERATURE CHALLENGE #5
The fifth Japanese Literature Challenge only started in June and runs to February, but on October 1st I had already finished the 6 books I commited to. That day I turned over the last page of 1Q84 Book 3. As I still plan to read Sōseki’s Kokoro for the Japanese Literature Book Group (I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!), and Murakami’s The Elephant Vanishes together with Elsje, I’ll probably up my level by the end of January 2012.
Books read:
The Woman in the Dunes ~ Kobo Abe
Underground ~ Haruki Murakami
Thousand Cranes ~ Yasunari Kawabata
1q84 Boek 1 ~ Haruki Murakami
1q84 Boek 2 ~ Haruki Murakami
1q84 Boek 3 ~ Haruki Murakami
FOODIES READING CHALLENGE
In the Foodies reading Challenge I cowardly safely labeled myself a NIBBLER, going for 1 to 3 books (admission post). So far I’ve read 5, and –YAY– even reviewed two!
Books read:
World Food Café
La Dolce Vegan!
Bento Box in the Heartland
Verraad, verleiding en verzoening
Vegan Family Meals
I hope I can find the time and energy to write some more reviews!
Unfinished business
But I’m not there yet. With only five weeks to go I need to finish two more challenges… Will I be able to do it???
CHINESE LITERATURE CHALLENGE
I was half a year late in joining the Chinese Literature Challenge and I full-heartedly use that as an excuse for why I haven’t reached my goal of 1 book yet. ;) Here’s what I plan to read. Cheer me on and maybe I’ll be able to cross of this challenge before the year has passed!
WHAT’S IN A NAME CHALLENGE #4
The What’s in a name challenge is always one of my favourites. It’s a thrill to pick your next book just based on a random word in the title. Call me crazy. ;) Alas, this year I’m having trouble finishing: even though I read several more than one fitting titles for four of the six categories, two are still open!
Books read:
Categorie NUMBERS
Pinball, 1973 ~ Haruki Murakami
2666 ~ Roberto Bolaño
1q84 ~ Haruki Murakami
Categorie TRAVEL/MOVEMENT
Travels in the Scriptorium ~ Paul Auster
I’ll Steal You Away ~ Niccolò Ammaniti
Model Flying ~ Marcel Möring
Categorie EVIL
Poelie the Terrible ~ Frans Pointl
Crime School ~ Carol O’Connell
Categorie LIFE STAGE
Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America ~ Linda Furiya
Still hoping to get around to:
Categorie JEWEL/GEM
The Moonstone ~ Wilkie Collins
Categorie SIZE
Vernon God Little ~ DBC Pierre
BTW you can always follow my progress on the special Challenge page on Graasland!
What’s new for 2012?
2012 is more than a month away but I have already lined up some reading plans. Wanna know what they are?
Of course I can’t resist participating in the new What’s in a name challenge. I must say that I never buy or borrow books specifically for this challenge — picking titles that are already on Mt TBR, or have been on my wishlist for quite some time, is part of the fun. So what are the categories for 2012 and which books fit the bill?
- A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title
Choosing from: Last Night in Twisted River, Sunset Park, Lunar Park, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms - A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title
Choosing from: The Moonstone, Sunset Park, Lunar Park, A Ride in the Neon Sun, Noorderzon (sun), Dead Air, Star of the Sea - A book with a creepy crawly in the title
Choosing from: Little Bee, Een tafel vol vlinders (‘A table loaded with butterflies‘) - A book with a type of house in the title
Choosing from: The Graveyard Book, Black Box, Het huis op de plantage (‘House on the plantation‘) - A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title
Choosing from: Dreaming Water, Water for Elephants, Met bonzend hart : brieven aan Hella S. Haasse (‘With a throbbing heart: letters to Hella S. Haasse‘) [open to suggestions] - A book with a something you’d find on a calendar in the title
Choosing from: The Eigth Day, Silence in October, Nocturnes
Don’t you think I have a whole lot of books available just to pick from? :))
THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES GROUP READ
Let me state first that I haven’t commited to the following task yet. I’m only considering it! Caravana de Recuerdos hosts a Roberto Bolaño The Savage Detectives readalong in January. I have the book on my shelf — it was a recommendation by the great author Kazuo Ishiguro — and I guess now is as good as ever. Especially since I didn’t much appreciate Bolaño’s 2666, which I read together with Leeswammes & Co. earlier this year. I’d better say it’s now.. or never!
Are you making plans for 2012 yet?
Looking back on your accomplishments for 2011?
I’d love to know!
The Sunday Salon is a virtual gathering of booklovers on the web, blogging about bookish things of the past week, visiting each others weblogs, and oh — reading books of course ;)
Graasland 
8 reacties
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zondag 27 november 2011 bij 23:29
Leeswammes
You did do pretty well on your challenges this year! I do think you should read at least one Chinese author, to show your good will, even if you won’t manage to finish the Chinese Lit. Challenge.
I can safely say that it will be a few years before I read anything by Bolaño again. I wasn’t too impressed with 2666. There’s no harm in trying, if you really want to. But I think you don’t really want to….
How about One for the Money (Evanovich) for something in your pocket/backpack? Can’t guarantee you’ll like it though (not even sure why I’m suggesting it – but money might be an angle, or tissue, compass, book, mobile phone).
Good luck with the new challenges!
zondag 27 november 2011 bij 23:32
Chinoiseries (@Chinoiseries)
I’m just so relieved to see blogger after blogger post about their unfinished challenges for this year… I’ve still got a few books to go as well :S
Consider yourself cheered on for the Chinese Literature Challenge, and don’t forget I will still be giving out a prize at the end! :)
Ack, the readalong in January sounds very tempting indeed, but since I’ve got a lot of other books waiting on the shelf, I’ll skip on this one :s
zondag 27 november 2011 bij 23:57
Judy
I really over committed to some book challenges like the foodie one, but I read a lot and I don’t finish much in general. It’s just my nature. When a book is good though, I savor it – wish it never end – want more. I guess that’s the book club I should join. What have you read that was so good you had to slow down?
maandag 28 november 2011 bij 00:05
Laura Cline
Great job on your challenges. I think I’ve only finished about half of what I’ve signed up for so far, so that doesn’t bode well for me finishing. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll still sign up for more next year.
maandag 28 november 2011 bij 01:30
laurelrainsnow
I am determined to limit my challenges for the upcoming year, focusing on those I can find on my current stacks.
But we’ll see how it goes! You’ve done pretty well, I’d say.
Here’s MY SUNDAY SALON POST and
MY WEBSITE
maandag 28 november 2011 bij 15:33
Gnoe
Thanks for visiting! It’s fun to try and pick only books from your shelves :)
maandag 28 november 2011 bij 03:18
Marg
I cut back significantly on my challenges this year as well, and it was a relief! I will be doing some challenges again next year, but it will once again only be selected challenges!
I posted about this same subject for this week’s Sunday Salon post!
maandag 28 november 2011 bij 13:40
Gnoe
@Leeswammes: Thanks for the suggestions Judith! I don’t think I’ll pick up the Janet Evanovich book though, because Seven, which I read for my personal Numbers Challenge, didn’t leave much of an impression. I’ve got 13 months, so something will probably come up in time!
As for the Bolaño group read: I’m just very worried I will not like The Savage Detectives and it’s many pages, making a huge dent in my reading time. Postponing doesn’t change anything though. So I could just take this chance to have a go at it and decide whether I want to continue at my usual page 100 limit. If I don’t like it indeed, it will be a relief to let it go! :)
@Chinoiseries: Thanks for the cheering on! Prrrrrrizes… that helps! LOL. As I don’t spend a lot of time at the computer these days I hadn’t noticed I’m not the first to give a statu update of my challenges. Ofcourse I could have known. ;)
@Judy: I haven’t began looking at my complete reading list, nor thinking about best and worse reads. But from the books I mentioned in this post 1q84 and Underground (both by Murakami) stand out. But I wanted to read on-on-ON, not slow down like you. ;) The Woman in the Dunes (Kobo Abe) was quite special too. A slow story in itself, just like Underground.
@Laura: I’m a bit of a perfectionist so not finishing challenges is a bit of a thing for me.. Although I’ve learnt in the past years not to mind if it’s just one or two — as long as I do well on the rest. ;)
@Marg: I must hop over to your blog immediately! Five challenges was about as much as I could handle this year, so I’ll stick to that number in 2012. JLit and What’s in a Name are musts, so there’s room for three more… I will pick them carefully!