All About Books discussion

My challenges are, like also Laurel said, reading plans more than real challenges. I don't want to force myself to read as many books as possible and I prefer to follow the mood of the moment. Reading must be a pleasure, not a stress!

But there are these challenges that I'm carrying on sice a couple of years so I want to continue them.

dely, far and wide through India


visited 15 states (42.8%)


States:
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar: India: A Wounded Civilization
Chhattisgarh
Delhi:
The Wildings
Delhi
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Goa: Around India in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh
Gujarat:
The Algebra Of Infinite Justice
Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, 2
Haryana: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu e Kashmir: Kashmir Saivism - The Central Philosophy of Tantrism
Jharkhand
Karnataka:
India. Cinque racconti, sei reportage, tre fumetti
Waiting for the Mahatma by R.K. Narayan
Kerala: Idris : Keeper of the Light
Madhya Pradesh:
Five Past Midnight in Bhopal: The Epic Story of the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster
Un'isola di mistero : seguito delle avventure di viaggio di Dalle caverne e dalle giungle dell'Indostan
Maharashtra: Sacred Games
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa: eFiction India Vol. 1 Issue 07
Punjab: Train to Pakistan
Rajasthan: India Was One
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh:
Sea of Poppies
Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead: v. 1
Uttarakhand
West Bengal:
Freedom at Midnight
The City of Joy
The Sleeping Dictionary
Sister of My Heart

India without a real setting:
Kamasutra
71 Golden Tales of Panchatantra
A Fine Balance
L'Induismo

cats
Will try to read as many books as possible.


2013

1) The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by E.T.A. Hoffmann
2) James Herriot's Cat Stories by James Herriot
3) Racconti che fanno le fusa by Julia Deuley
4) Waiting for Gertrude: A Graveyard Gothic by Bill Richardson
5) Bébert, il gatto di Louis-Ferdinand Céline by Frédéric Vitoux
6) Una grande macchia a forma di cuore. I gatti contano con il naso by Laura Sergi
7) Il libro dei gatti tuttofare by T.S. Eliot

2014
1) Kafka sulla spiaggia by Haruki Murakami (it doesn't talk only about cats but they are an important part in this book)
2) La società dei gatti assassini by Akif Pirinçci
3) Gatti, gatti, gatti e altre storie by Giorgio Celli
4) Il condominio dei gatti by Giorgio Celli
5) The Wildings by Nilanjana Roy
6) Ketta & company. I gatti vedono attraverso i muri? by Laura Sergi

2015
1) Best Cat Stories by Lesley O'Mara
2) L'uomo che allevava i gatti e altri racconti by Mo Yan
3) Marian by Eva Polanski

Started this challenge last year. Seen that I'm reading The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You I want to try this "cure" for my diseases. I'm curious to see if the right book can really help. Of course now you will have a psychological profile of me but it's not a problem.
I start with the diseases that start with the A. I'm reading the book in Italian so if you see "low self-esteem" it's because in Italian the word starts with the A.


The Novel Cure

A
agoraphobia: The Woman in the Dunes
anxiety: The Portrait of a Lady ✔
apathy: The Postman Always Rings Twice ✔
ambition, lack of: The Crimson Petal and the White ✔
fall out of love: 1Q84 ✔
low self-esteem: The Shipping News and Rebecca ✔

bonus: Autonauts of the Cosmoroute (I don't have this disease but I liked the plot).


2014:

apathy: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
This book was recommended for who suffers of apathy. To tell the truth I'm not apathetic, I'm perhaps idle but there is nothing wrong in idleness. With this book an apathetic should receive some adrenaline to "wake up" but I don't think it helps. Reading about the adventurous and dangerous life of the two main characters I would be glad to be apathetic at least my life is save!

anxiety: The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
This book is suggested for anxious people (I am). It was really a relaxing read (sometimes boring) but it was as if I was walking in the English meadows or among Roman ruins and this was relaxing. Also James' writing style was relaxing and very very slow, there are descriptions full of details.

low self-esteem: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
This books is suggested to people with a low self-esteem and it really helped. Compared to the main character, the second wife, I'm not a person with low self-esteem and I'm not a weak person like her. I feel much better after reading this book, I feel strong and my self-esteem increased a lot!

lack of ambition: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
This book should help for people who suffer from lack of ambition. Well, after reading the story of Sugar, a prostitute who wants to come out of her misery, I'm really glad I'm a person without amibtions or targets. I live my serene life day after day and by sure I would never behave like Sugar to have something more from my life.

people who don't believe anymore in love: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
The story of Tengo and Aomame should help people to start believing again in love. When they were 10 years old Aomame holds tight Tengo's hand. She loved him but was never able to tell him and the only thing she could do is holding his hand for a long moment. From this day their lives take different ways because Aomame must move to another town. Now they are 30 years old but they have never forgotten each other though they were never brave enough to look for the other one. But their love is very strong and they will also make some important choices in their lives because of this love; it has influenced their lives though Tengo isn't aware of this while Aomame is.
The whole story doesn't talk about their love, but it is an important part of the book.
Did it help me to start believing again in love? No. I will continue to be the usual cynical person when something has to do with love.


2015:

B
be needy: True Grit by Charles Portis (I'm not a needy person but I liked the plot)

C
resistance to change: Monkey: The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en ✔
cervical: I maestri di tuina by Bi Feiyu
claustrophobia: Little House on the Prairie: Little House on the Prairie #2 by Laura Ingalls Wilder
birthday sadness: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (I haven't this disease anymore but it's a long time I want to read this book so now I have an excuse to do it) ✔
fear of confrontation: My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok ✔


resistance to changes: Monkey: The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en
This book is recommended to people who are reluctant to change and prefer to lead a peaceful, quiet and safe life.
I'm not afraid of changes but these must occurr gradually, I need time to prepare myself. Sudden changes, however, make me nervous and I rarely do things who are not organized. In The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You the authors also refer to inner changes, but these can't be fearsome because often we are the driving force behind these changes and therefore these changes are sought and desired.
After reading this book nothing has changed in my life but I'm however glad to have read it because it's a good book!

fear of confrontations: My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
This book should be read by people who are afraid of confrontations: if we don't want to live like Asher, we mustn't be scared by confrontations. Usually I'm not afraid of confrontations but it depends with whom I'm arguing. But it's true, I don't like to argue because I'm a calm and peaceful person and often I prefer to "flee" rather than face uncomfortable situations or unpleasant people. Asher needed to be accepted as he was, me not. I don't care if people understand or accept me, I am as I am with or without the approval of other people. But I also know that Asher is a young guy and he needed this approval to live in peace his passion. So I understand why Asher did never say something to his parents: in addition to be mentally closed and to don't be able to understand, he didn't want to hurt them. Did he solve his problem behaving this way? No, so I really don't care for approval and sometimes it's better to be an egoist. By sure everyone should find its identity and this should be done with or without confrontations though without an approval it's more difficult.

birthday sadness: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
This books is recommended to people that have birthday sadness. I don't have this disease but since I wanted to read this book since a long time, I decided to read it for this challenge. Well, from my 30th to my 40th I had some problems to accept my getting older but when I turned 40 I stopped to care about my age and now I'm a lovely 44 years old woman.
I loved this book and I must admit that compared to the main character everyone should be happy to celebrate his "normal" birthday and to have a normal life. Saleem Sinai, the main character, and other children born during the Indian Independece (at midnight of the 15th August 1947) have special powers that influence their lives, and not always in a good way. Compared to them no one should have birthday sadness.

Original language challenge

This is a new challenge and I want to read as many books as possible (at least 5) in the original language.
I will count separately books in a different language than Italian though it isn't the original language in which the book has been written.
Of course I won't count the books that have Italian as original language.

Bonus: seen that I would like to read Les Misérables if I will read it in French it will count as extra bonus and I will be very proud of myself!


2015

English:
The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari
Around India in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh
Butterfly Season by Natasha Ahmed
Eve's Diary, Complete with Original Cover Design and Over 50 Illustrations by Mark Twain

German:
Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler
Hotel Savoy by Joseph Roth
Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts by Joseph von Eichendorff

Your Novel Cure challenge makes me laugh. Enjoyed your comments. Love the cat theme. I just added a birds list to mine.

Love the novel challenge! I can see The Shipping News fitting in quite well there. Have you seen the movie? The landscape is beautiful in spite of it's starkness. Of course the book is better : )

Evelyn wrote: "Love the novel challenge! I can see The Shipping News fitting in quite well there. Have you seen the movie? The landscape is beautiful in spite of it's starkness. Of course the book is better : )"

No, I didn't know there was a movie about it. I think I will first read the book if I can manage to find it, it isn't that easy (at least an Italian translation). But the author is American, I could read it in English and add it also to the "original language challenge".

@Laurel, thanks! Yes, that challenge is more for fun and also to discover books and authors I otherwise wouldn't read.

Yes, Annie Proulx. The majority of the story is set in Newfoundland, Canada. I have a goal to visit every province and territory in Canada and I only have Newfoundland and Yukon Territory left. But as they are at opposite ends of the country, I won't be visiting them both in one trip!

Evelyn wrote: "Yes, Annie Proulx. The majority of the story is set in Newfoundland, Canada. I have a goal to visit every province and territory in Canada and I only have Newfoundland and Yukon Territory left. ..."

Wow! Where do you live to be able to go so often to Canada?

I live in Saskatchewan, Canada, which is the reason for the goal. I find so many of my "well- traveled" friends have been all over the world, but are unaware of the beauty in our own country. I take 2 vacations a year, one in summer somewhere in Canada (The Thousand Islands this year) and one in winter somewhere tropical (this is Saskatchwan after all, can't take the winter without the promise of warmer weather!)

Evelyn wrote: "I live in Saskatchewan, Canada, which is the reason for the goal. I find so many of my "well- traveled" friends have been all over the world, but are unaware of the beauty in our own country. I t..."

I don't know why, but I thought you were British!
I have your same opinion about Italy: there are a lot of wonderful places but sometimes people prefer to go abroad instead of visiting their own country.

Italy is on my bucket list!

Really interesting challenges, I wish you the best of luck.

love your challenge dely! I will follow with interest :)

Thanks Alannah and Jenny ;-)

Great chalenge dely! As usual ..

LauraT wrote: "Great chalenge dely! As usual .."

Thanks!

Some great and very cleverly organized challenges dely!

I love your challenge ideas so much Dely! I too have The Novel Cure book and think it's fantastic, in fact you've reminded me to pull it off my shelf and have a flick through again.

That interactive map is great, I've been on the site playing around with countries myself :)

You are yet to visit my region......

Thanks Greg ;-)


Pink wrote: "I love your challenge ideas so much Dely! I too have The Novel Cure book and think it's fantastic, in fact you've reminded me to pull it off my shelf and have a flick through again.

That interact..."

Thanks ;-)
There is also this site http://bighugelabs.com/map.php#top
I used it some years ago for a challenge "around-the-world".


Dhanaraj wrote: "You are yet to visit my region......"

I think I was there but with books I've read before starting the challenge. Also, if a book is set in two or more regions I choose only one to add.
You gave me a good idea: seen that I wasn't able to travel around India in one year I will add also the books set in India I've read in the previous years so I have a complete view of where I've been.

dely wrote: "My challenges are, like also Laurel said, reading plans more than real challenges. I don't want to force myself to read as many books as possible and I prefer to follow the mood of the moment. Read..."

Good attitude! For myself, the challenges should be fun not stress and, as you say, more of a plan than a real challenge. Of course, the nice thing is each person can make it as challenging or as nonchallenging as he or she chooses...

I am in awe of your idea of reading Les Misérables in French! Good luck with that (and all your other challenges as well)!

Leslie wrote: "dely wrote: "My challenges are, like also Laurel said, reading plans more than real challenges. I don't want to force myself to read as many books as possible and I prefer to follow the mood of the..."

Thanks! Well, Les Miserables in French is just an idea. I think before starting it I should refresh my French with some easier reads.

The Novel Cure book idea is intriguing, does it work in your experience?

Good luck with your challenges, dely, they are quite original

Kiwi wrote: "The Novel Cure book idea is intriguing, does it work in your experience?

Good luck with your challenges, dely, they are quite original"

No, it doesn't work but it is fun. Perhaps some book gives a relief while reading like Rebecca: this should be for people with a law self-esteem and reading the book I realized that mine isn't law self-esteem compared to the main character of the book. I felt really better but of course only while reading, it can't be compared to a real therapy.

India challenge:

1) Waiting for the Mahatma by R.K. Narayan (Malgudi doesn't exist but from the descriptions it seems it could be in Karnataka)

cat-challenge:

1) Best Cat Stories by Lesley O'Mara

dely wrote: "cat-challenge:

1) Best Cat Stories by Lesley O'Mara"

Have you read James Herriot's Cat Stories? I liked them quite a bit -- similar in style to his memoirs (All Creatures Great and Small etc)

Leslie wrote: "dely wrote: "cat-challenge:

1) Best Cat Stories by Lesley O'Mara"

Have you read James Herriot's Cat Stories? I liked them quite a bit -- similar in st..."

Yes, I've read it two years ago and liked it.

original-language-challenge:

1) The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari

India challenge:

2) Delhi by Khushwant Singh (Delhi)

India challenge:

3) Un'isola di mistero : seguito delle avventure di viaggio di Dalle caverne e dalle giungle dell'Indostan by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

It has more than one setting, I choose Madhya Pradesh because it is set above all there.

Original language challenge (German):

2) Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler

In Deutche? Wunderbar!

:D

Original language challenge (German):

3) Hotel Savoy by Joseph Roth

Novel Cure Challenge:

1) Monkey: The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en

This book is recommended to people who are reluctant to change and prefer to lead a peaceful, quiet and safe life.
I'm not afraid of changes but these must occurr gradually, I need time to prepare myself. Sudden changes, however, make me nervous and I rarely do things who are not organized. In The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You the authors also refer to inner changes, but these can't be fearsome because often we are the driving force behind these changes and therefore these changes are sought and desired.
After reading this book nothing has changed in my life but I'm however glad to have read it because it's a good book!

Far and wide through India + Original language (English)


4) Around India in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh

With this book I was roughly everywhere in India but I will choose only one state for my challenge: Goa

Dely, that book sounds brilliant. I really enjoy travel books and I really enjoy travelling by train!

Heather wrote: "Dely, that book sounds brilliant. I really enjoy travel books and I really enjoy travelling by train!"

You can give it a try but make sure to watch also the photos on the author's blog. It's a pity there isn't a paperback edition with the photos, this would have helped a lot.
In my opinion it isn't a good travelogue because there aren't deep descriptions of anything, nor places nor people she meets nor history. The descpritions also end in an abrupt way. It's more a book with her opinions and she seemed to me very egocentric and full of herself. I had also the feeling she felt superior to Indians living in India because she was an Indian born and raised in England.

Original language, English

5) Butterfly Season by Natasha Ahmed

Far and wide through India

5) The Sleeping Dictionary by Sujata Massey

West Bengal

Far and wide through India-challenge

6) Idris : Keeper of the Light by Anita Nair

Kerala

Far and wide through India:

7) L'Induismo by Mahatma Gandhi

(there is no real setting)

Far and wide through India:

8) Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead: v. 1 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Vrindavana-Uttar Pradesh

Far and wide through India:

9) Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

West Bengala

Far and wide through India:

10) Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, 2

Dwarka (Gujarat)

which one did you like best, Krishna vol1 or vol2?

Giorgia wrote: "which one did you like best, Krishna vol1 or vol2?"

The first volume because at least there is the narration of the birth and the childhood of Krishna. I was sure in the second volume we would read about his life till his death but this didn't happen.

I've written two short reviews for each volume:
vol 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
vol 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...