Mount TBR 2013 Reading Challenge discussion

Hi everybody! I'm beginning small : my aim is to read 12 books I already own. I'll increase the number of books if everything goes well, but since I'm a chronical underachiever, I won't hold my breath.

That being said, I'm happy to say i've already read one book that count for this challenge : The Limits of Enchantment by Graham Joyce. It was a Christmas present.
I'm also currently reading The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke, that I bought last year. The book is excellent, and I'm sure I'll finish it pretty soon.

Just finished The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke. I loved it, especially the first tale :)

I have just begun The Third Man by Graham Greene, wich will make it #3 for this challenge.

The Third Man is finished : that's the third book readen from my TBR pile. 9 more to go...

I have begun #4 : Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

At this rate, you'll be done by summer! :)

Sweeping along, she is.

Loved the Third Man (I read the screenplay), but Vonegut didn't do much for me.

Jeannette wrote: "At this rate, you'll be done by summer! :)"

I read by spurts ;) I'm in a period where I read a lot, but I sometimes go 2 or 3 months without reading much... I'm trying to reduce my TBR pile while I'm motivated!

Hayes wrote: "Sweeping along, she is.

Loved the Third Man (I read the screenplay), but Vonegut didn't do much for me."
The Third Man was really good (I've been recommended it to people!) and I'd like to see the film. I understand that Vonnegut is hit or miss, but I like his sense of humour.

I read my first Graham Greene late last year, The Power and the Glory and loved it! It's one I'm not putting in the donate pile as I know a re-read is definitely in the future!

I just read my first Vonnegut, Deadeye Dick last week-end. It was a surprisingly lightweight novel and a fast read. I was expecting something more literary or symbolic. I think Vonnegut makes fun of people like me in the introduction when he defines four major things in the book as having symbolic meaning... :-D

I say Deadeye Dick was my first Vonnegut though I may have read Slaughterhoue Five many years ago. The thing is, I read it so long ago, I can't really remember anything from it! And too, there are so many cultural references to it, sometimes it's hard to tell!

Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "I read my first Graham Greene late last year, The Power and the Glory and loved it! It's one I'm not putting in the donate pile as I know a re-read is definitely in the future!

I just read my firs..."

I really liked The Third Man by Graham Greene but The Quiet American was a bit of a let-down : i thought Greene used the same theme (betrayed friendhip) and the story dragged in the middle.

And Vonnegut is not very well-known in my country, I picked up one of his books by chance at the library, and researched the author after reading it :) I've never heard of Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut but it sounds interesting. I'm not surprised it was light-hearted : Slaughterhouse-Five is about WWII and the tone is very light and humourous too.

Just finished #4 : Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut. I liked it, even if the main character left me a bit dubious.

I've begun #5, Claudine at School by Colette.

I don't like Claudine that much, so I begun a book I bought in 2009 : Quartett and three other plays by Heiner Müller. I find excellent so far.

I finished Quartett, which was excellent, and I'm 3/4 done with Claudine at School.

HALF-WAY POINT!

I just finished "Claudine at school" by Colette : I didn't like it at first but I decided to keep reading because it's a classics and it's quite short (my edition is 280 pages in a big font). I got used to the main character's voice and this novel ended up being an easy and entertaining read.

La_mariane wrote: "HALF-WAY POINT!"

Congratulations! You'll make it to the top in no time.

Jeannette wrote: "La_mariane wrote: "HALF-WAY POINT!"

Congratulations! You'll make it to the top in no time."

I hope so :) I just might rest a bit though...

I'm just beginning book #7 : L'Illusion Comique by Pierre Corneille. I should have read this book years ago, but better late than never.

Just finished book #7, after a quite long no-reading period.

I'm currently reading by Daniel Keyes, which the 8th book on my quest to reach Pike's Peak.

I've begun Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

OK, I've also begun Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, because I wasn't in the mood for my other "currently reading" books. I need to buckle down and finish one of them...

You can't see me, but I'm doing a victory dance around my computer : I finished Northanger Abbey! Woohoo! That makes it my 8th book in my effort to reach Pike's Peak. Only 4 more books to go!

I picked up a new book : Personne ne m'aurait cru, alors je me suis tu by Sam Braun. The title translates to "Nobody would have believed me, so I kept quiet". It's a long interview about a young man who survived Auschwitz. I'm pretty sure I'll finish this one before Flowers for ALgernon or The Cancer Ward : this book is both easy to read and incredibly moving.

I finished book #9, Personne ne m'aurait cru, alors je me suis tu by Sam Braun. I hope this book is translated into English soon, as it is an amazing story of hope and forgiveness.

I began Cinna by Pierre Corneille : I've had it in my TBR mountain for years, and I felt like picking up a quick read.

I finished Cinna by Corneille : I'm done with book #10! It helps reading plays, as they are not usually as long as novels...

I've begun #11, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. I'm really motivated to finish it, let's hope I don't lose my motivation half-way through the book, like it seems to happen every time I've picked up a book for the last two months.

I just finished Cyrano, which is an excellent play. I loved the characters and their "panache".

I've chosen book #12 : The Infernal Machine and Other Plays by Jean Cocteau. I'm reading a play again!

I just finished The Infernal Machine by Cocteau : I'm done with book #12, which means I on the top of Pike's Peak! VICTORY!

Félicitations Mariane!

Congrats!

C. wrote: "Félicitations Mariane!" Thanks to both of you :)

I won't try to climb up Mont Blanc, but I don't want to srop reading my TBR pile, so here I am, beginning book #13, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. This one will take me a while to read.

I'm glad. We're all rising higher! Merci pour lire une Canadienne. :) I have lots of hers but haven't begun yet. Maybe for the Canadian theme later.

C. wrote: "I'm glad. We're all rising higher! Merci pour lire une Canadienne. :) I have lots of hers but haven't begun yet. Maybe for the Canadian theme later."

Margaret Atwood is an awesome author! I read several of her novels and I enjoyed them very much : The Handmaid's Tale was excellent and I loved Oryx and Crake. The only one I didn't like was The Penelopiad.

Do you have recommendations for other Canadian authors?

Dawn wrote: "I know Carolynn won't mind if I jump in here but I have to recommend Robertson Davies as another Canadian author to try. My favorite so far is [book:Murther and Walking Spirits|76899..."

Thanks for the rec! Davies seems to be a very well-know author in North America : how sad is it that I've never heard of him, and I completed a degree in literature in a non-English speaking country in Europe? Well, reading is never done :)

Not at all! I might have a look at Mr. Davies. Excellent guess on my name - only one 'N' and perfect! :) All I care is no one goes for the 'ine' combo. Hahahahaha. I came up with lingo to help: "Carolyn rhymes with gin, not wine". Too funny.

Mariane, aimes-tu la mystère? I can't say enough about Charlotte MacLeod (1980s) and Lyn Hamilton (early 2000s). If you prefer literary masterpieces, il faut lire Gabrielle Roy from my very own home city. A short series labelled 'YA' but which doesn't sound like it at all, Robert Sutherland's adventures in Scotland are very good. One took place in the Ontario forest.

http://www.amazon.ca/review/R1AVW9X6R...
Lyn
http://www.amazon.ca/review/R3P8DID6V...
Charlotte
http://www.amazon.ca/review/RMIIU35B1...
Robert
http://www.amazon.ca/review/R3EQWB8IN...
Gabrielle, disponible en Français originel.

C. wrote: "Not at all! I might have a look at Mr. Davies. Excellent guess on my name - only one 'N' and perfect! :) All I care is no one goes for the 'ine' combo. Hahahahaha. I came up with lingo to hel..."

Thanks for the recs. I'm not a fan of mysteries but the other stories sound interesting.

Well Dawn, I have the honour of you both on my list of friends. :) Ah and you recommend another author from my province, Manitoba. I don't recall "The Stone Angel" from school, except a bit harsh and vulgar. As an adult I'm sure I'd admire other things. I did look around the Neepawa cemetary to photograph the actual stone angel. I believe I got the wrong one. Haha.

If one did read mysteries, the language of Lyn Hamilton & Charlotte MacLeod is extremely well done and the subject matter, well-researched. Lyn wrote about archaeology (Canada's Elizabeth Peters) and Charlotte had an academic series.

What I additionally love, unlike mainstream mysteries, is they both feature a heroine who is at least 40. I just turned that age (Nov 18/2012) and can't bear any more highschool fluff, or 20 year-old governesses, or heiresses. I've realized that 40 is still vibrant, gorgeous, fit, and YOUNG.

C. wrote: "Well Dawn, I have the honour of you both on my list of friends. :) Ah and you recommend another author from my province, Manitoba. I don't recall "The Stone Angel" from school, except a bit hars..."

I find that the books I like have very different main characters : in The Blind Assassin, the narrator is a woman in her 80s. I absolutely love her voice, and the way she describes her body and her limitations is poignant.