Weekly Geeks: Where in the world have you been?

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Anne-Laure Bondoux, books, books in translation, fiction, Jose Saramago, Nobel Prize in Literature, Savyon Liebrecht, weekly geeks, women writers, Young adult novels

This week’s Weekly Geeks asks you to tell us about your globe trotting via books. Are you a global reader? How many countries have you “visited” in your reading? What are your favorite places or cultures to read about? Can you recommend particularly good books about certain regions, countries or continents? How do you find out about books from other countries? What countries would you like to read that you haven’t yet?

It took me at least an hour to think of the many countries I’ve visited in books. Of course the United States was one of the easiest countries. To my surprise so was France, Chile, and Spain.  I  realized how little I’ve visited Asia and Africa. All together though I’ve been to 34 countries through my reading. A few of my favorite books from other countries are:

A Man, a Woman, and a Man by Savyon Liebrecht. Fiction. Israel. I found this book years ago at my local library. When I tried to find it again last year, I was dismayed to find that my library no longer has it. Hamutal and Saul meet at the nursing home that their parents reside. Soon they start an adulterous affair and both fall in love. From what I remember of this book, it was the plot and the beautiful language that kept me reading.

The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux. Fiction, young adult. France. I don’t remember how I found this book but I’m glad I did. Angel Allegria is a killer on the run from the police. When he encounters the Poloverdos’ farmhouse, he kills both parents but spare their son Paolo. This is the start of an unlikely friendship between the two. I love the first sentence, “No one ever arrived here by chance”.

Blindness by Jose Saramago. Fiction. Portugal. I read Blindness years ago and feel in love with Saramago’s writing. Blindness is Saramgo’s exploration in what would happened if people suddenly went blind with no reason behind it. Lyrical but yet haunting, Blindness is a book I still think about.

Any suggestions for Africa?

Weekly Geeks 2009-23: Reading Challenges Or Why I’m Quitting Them

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book challenges, books, Locomotion (book), reading challenges, weekly geeks, Young adult novels

Reading Challenges: a help or a hurt? Do you find that the reading challenges keep you organized and goal-oriented? Or, do you find that as you near the end of a challenge that you’ve failed because you fell short of your original goals? As a result of some reading challenges, I’ve picked up books that I would have otherwise never heard of or picked up; that, frankly, I have loved. Have you experienced the same with challenges? If so, which ones? Do you have favorite reading challenges?

Yes it’s a long title and you’ve read right, I am quitting almost all of the reading challenges I’m signed up for. Before I get to why I’m quitting my reading challenges, let me tell you why I love reading challenges so much.

Some of the reasons why I love reading challenges

If it wasn’t for reading challenges, I wouldn’t have a blog. I think that’s probably true for many of us.  When I started blogging two years ago, it was because I found Wendy’s of Caribou’s Mom, Yahoo Group. Here was a group of readers dedicated to books, reading, and reading challenges. I didn’t know what a reading challenge was before I joined the group.

Reading challenges takes you out of your comfort zone. If you’re a reader of mostly American works and want something different, you can join the challenges Orbis Terrarum or  Lost in Translation and read 10 books in translations. Don’t read young adult books very often? J.Kaye hosts a Young Adult Challenge to get more people reading books from this genre. Think you read more than your fair share of books by and about heterosexuals? Amanda over at Tea Leaf has a great GLBT challenge.

Reading challenges show even the most eccentric reader new genres, books, and authors that they weren’t aware of. If it wasn’t for the many challenges I’ve signed up for in the last two years, I probably wouldn’t be reading fantasy or young adult fiction right now. It was the passion of so many bloggers that helped me to see what I’ve been missing, authors like Neil Gaiman and Markus Zusak and new favorite like Locomotion or the Fables series.

Another great thing that reading challenges do is bring the book blogging community closer together. You sign up for a challenge, make a list, and then visit other bloggers, many of whom you may not have heard of before. I’ve made so many blogging friends this way.

There is a but. . .

As great and addictive as reading challenges are, I rarely ever complete one. Usually I sign up for a challenge, spend hours coming up with a great list of books to read, and then forget about it. Suddenly the last day of the challenge is here and it’s too late for me to read whatever books I was going to read. I’ve tried to be flexible and keep my lists open to whatever I feel like reading so it doesn’t feel like required reading but I still don’t finish. So I end up feeling guilty about one more challenge that’s not completed.

Another thing that bothers me is the volume of posts I put up about the many challenges I’ve signed up for. I’m starting to feel like I’m clogging up my blog and my readers’  (all six of you) feedreaders by posting so many posts.

So instead, here’s a new plan. . .

I’m giving up almost every challenge I’ve signed up for this year. Though there’s nothing like the thrill of a new challenge, I’m going to pass. I want my reading to be free to go in any direction. I could do that with challenges but I’m not going to.

The only challenge that I plan on keeping is Project Fill-in-the-Gaps. I’m staying with this challenge because it’s a five-year plan and I really want to read more classics. One of the books I’m currently reading is The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer. I’m going to have a personal challenge to read the books that Bauer’s listed in The Well-Educated Mind and have no deadline.

So let me thank every blogger who’s hosted ever hosted a reading challenges. You guys have made our community a great place to be a part of.

What’s your take on reading challenges? Do you participate? If not, why?

Weekly Geeks: Reviews

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books, weekly geeks

This week’s Weekly Geeks assignment is on reviews and is hosted by Care.

1. Explain your review format-if you have one. Or maybe your rating system?

My review format always includes:

• a picture of the cover of the book I read
• the title, author’s name, number of pages, and the year the book was published
• a summary of the book
• my thoughts
• a few of my favorite passages

I used to have a rating system but I dropped it. Having a rating system can be a tricky thing. I want readers to know what I liked about a book, what I didn’t like, and why. Sometimes a reviewer gushes about a book but only give the book three stars without saying why or giving enough detail. When a reviewer gives the reason for the rating, I can better tell whether or not I would like the book myself.

2. Highlight another book-blogger’s review format by linking to a favorite example- don’t forget to tell us why they’re a fave.

There are so many bloggers I look up to as blogging role models. These are bloggers who have been blogging longer than me and usually add new reads to my bookshelves. Their reviews make you want to go out and buy every book they loved or don’t give another glance to a book they didn’t care for. Their reviews are detailed, their tone is light, and I always end up wishing  I could write like them.

1. Nymeth’s review of The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee.
2. Nymeth’s review of Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. When Nymeth loves a book you can tell in her reviews. She makes you want to go out and buy the book while you’re still reading the review. Both Tender Morsels and The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop are on my shelves now because of her.
3. Carl’s review of Exlibris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. I love Carl’s reviews. Carl has a passion for the sci-fi and fantasy books that have made me explore both genres. He’s also the host of two of my favorite reading challenges: Once Upon a Time and R.I.P.
4. Dewey’s review of East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This is one of my favorite reviews because a) I pressured asked Dewey to read it. It’s one of my favorite books. b) It’s a great book. c) Dewey had bloggers ask her questions about the book and she answered them. It wasn’t until Dewey that I had thought to have bloggers to ask questions about the books I read. Go to Dewey’s blog and check out any random review. You’ll leave her site with a long list of new books to read.
5. Emily’s review of Locomotion and Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. Emily writes her reviews in haiku format. She uses just a few words to make you want to read a book. My hero.

3. Do a review in another book-blogger’s format of your latest read.

Will do later.

4. Highlight a past review that you’re particularly fond of and why the format and structure may have something to do with it.

The latest review that I’m really fond of is the one I wrote for The Hunger Games. I had a hard time writing this review because so many bloggers have read this book and reviewed it. I was trying to figure out if I had anything to add to the conversation. It turned out I did have something to add. I ended up really loving the way the review came out.