John’s Comments (group member since Sep 22, 2009)

John’s comments from the personal challenges group.

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challenge: one decade- two centuries - one year (10 new)

Oct 17, 2010 04:18AM

kudos. and great idea to continue it. if you don't mind, i'll pitch in ideas along the way as they come to me. one monster i've always wanted to tackle is the tale of genji, an 1100+ page 11th century japanese epic. written by a woman, genji is considered to be the first novel in modern history, so when you get back that far, definitely check it out.

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Oct 17, 2010 03:51AM

so... during my challenge period time i read 45 books and yet failed to reach the goal of 20 different nationalities among authors. hm. failed at precisely the goal of the challenge, though i do feel that i diversified my reading list.

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Jul 28, 2010 09:15PM

you can recommend anything you like! the books/authors selected here are by no means a reflection on my familiarity with them or their origins. some of these titles i read for my book club, some had been on my shelf, some came recommended from friends, some are classics i'd never read, others i'd simply been meaning to read. though none were read purely by chance.

there are many ideas one could spin off this that would create interesting reading lists - regional reading list, city specific lit, etc. why not have a go at your own challenge and then we can talk shop?

mine, updated (yes, i've lost steam for this challenge in recent months. i didn't know it then, but ample reading time made this one a bit too easy.):

1) chile - roberto bolano / 2666
2) japan - haruki murakami / kafka on the shore
3) united states - rebecca solnit / wanderlust
4) china - ma jian / red dust
5) argentina - jorge luis borges / fictions
6) south africa - greg marinovich and joao silva / the bang bang club
7) france - andre gide / the counterfeiters
8) spain - miguel cervantes / don quixote
9) thailand - chart korbjitti / the judgment
10) russia - vladimir nabakov / pale fire
11) austria - heinrich harrer / seven years in tibet
12) uk - virginia woolf / mrs. dalloway
13) australia - tim winton / cloudstreet
14) canada - margaret atwood / oryx & crake
15) ukraine - joseph conrad / heart of darkness
16) turkey - laszlo krasznahorkai / the melancholy of resistance
17) iran - sadegh hedayat / blind owl
18) iceland - halldor laxness / independent people (currently reading)

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

May 02, 2010 11:58PM

1) chile - roberto bolano / 2666
2) japan - haruki murakami / kafka on the shore
3) united states - rebecca solnit / wanderlust
4) china - ma jian / red dust
5) argentina - jorge luis borges / fictions
6) south africa - greg marinovich and joao silva / the bang bang club
7) france - andre gide / the counterfeiters
8) spain - miguel cervantes / don quixote
9) thailand - char korbjitti / the judgment
10) russia - vladimir nabakov / pale fire
11) austria - heinrich harrer / seven years in tibet
12) uk - virginia woolf / mrs. dalloway
13) australia - tim winton / cloudstreet
14) canada - margaret atwood / oryx & crake
15) ukraine - joseph conrad / heart of darkness
16) turkey - laszlo krasznahorkai / the melancholy of resistance
17) iran - sadegh hedayat / blind owl (currently reading)

challenge: one decade- two centuries - one year (10 new)

Mar 26, 2010 10:37PM

interesting. i had no idea you were reading these online or as ebooks. do you have an e-reading machine or do you read them online/print them off?

i feel your pain re: moby dick.

challenge: one decade- two centuries - one year (10 new)

Mar 14, 2010 08:15PM

matty,

when you have time could you do a little write-up of how this is going? these are some interesting - and very diverse - titles. aside from your own personal to-read list, where are you finding your texts (based on dates)?

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Mar 08, 2010 11:52PM

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Feb 03, 2010 02:28AM

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Jan 17, 2010 01:09AM

1) chile - roberto bolano / 2666
2) japan - haruki murakami / kafka on the shore
3) united states - rebecca solnit / wanderlust
4) china - ma jian / red dust
5) argentina - jorge luis borges / fictions
6) south africa - greg marinovich and joao silva / the bang bang club
7) france - andre gide / the counterfeiters
8) spain - miguel cervantes / don quixote
9) thailand - char korbjitti / the judgment
10) russia - vladimir nabakov / pale fire
11) austria - heinrich harrer / seven years in tibet
12) uk - virginia woolf / mrs. dalloway (currently reading)
13) australia - tim winton / cloudstreet (currently reading)

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Dec 27, 2009 04:55AM

1) chile - roberto bolano / 2666
2) japan - haruki murakami / kafka on the shore
3) united states - rebecca solnit / wanderlust
4) china - ma jian / red dust
5) argentina - jorge luis borges / fictions
6) south africa - greg marinovich and joao silva / the bang bang club
7) france - andre gide / the counterfeiters
8) spain - miguel cervantes / don quixote
9) thailand - char korbjitti / the judgment
10) russia - vladimir nabakov / pale fire (currently reading)
11) austria - heinrich harrer / seven years in tibet (currently reading)

old 900 page don q. slows things down...
[edit: 01/02/10]

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Nov 11, 2009 03:32AM

1) chile - roberto bolano / 2666
2) japan - haruki murakami / kafka on the shore
3) united states - rebecca solnit / wanderlust
4) china - ma jian / red dust
5) argentina - jorge luis borges / fictions
6) south africa - greg marinovich and joao silva / the bang bang club
7) france - andre gide / the counterfeiters
8) spain - miguel cervantes /don quixote (currently reading)

hm. i'm finding myself with ample reading time, which is making this challenge look far more doable - even with other reads spliced in - than i'd originally thought. who knows, maybe don quixote will bring me to a grinding halt. or i'll endeavor to read the damn thing twice. maybe i'll slow myself down by trying to hunt up obscure titles in bangkok's ostensibly mainstream-friendly shops.

[edit: 11/21]

challenge: one decade- two centuries - one year (10 new)

Oct 21, 2009 07:42PM

are you going to go in chronological order?

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Oct 14, 2009 08:16PM

links/news about reading challenges (2 new)

Oct 12, 2009 09:56AM

a book a day. i wouldn't want to do it, but it's impressive.

what is stephen harper reading? a challenge waged on the canadian prime minister by author yann martel [life of pi:].

more?

challenge: books from 20 nations in one calendar year (11 new)

Sep 22, 2009 04:22AM

my challenge is a simple one meant to diversify the scope of my reading agenda. between 08/24/09 and 08/23/10, i endeavor to read books by authors who were born in at least 20 different countries. please feel free to make suggestions or join this challenge. updates to come.

1) chile - roberto bolano / 2666
2) japan - haruki murakami / kafka on the shore
3) united states - rebecca solnit / wanderlust (currently reading)
4) china - ma jian / red dust
5) argentina - jorge luis borges / fictions (currently reading)

[edit: 6 Oct 09]

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