Please Join us for another round of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks in 2024

 

Join us for our 16th annual Read 52 books in 52 weeks reading adventure. 

The goal is easy - Read 52 Books.  We don't have any set reading lists so how you get there is up to you. However, we do have a variety of challenges including weekly, monthly mini challenges, annual and perpetual challenges to entice your reading taste buds   If you aren't up to 52 but want to join in, you can set your own goal.  

2024 52 Books Bingo - 25 new categories which will take us on a exploration around the world. 

2024 Bookish Bookology - Our author of the month in which you can read one or more books by the author, or spell out their first or last name. 

2024 A to Z and Back Again - All the way from A to Z and back again as we play with words.  

Participate in one or more of our perpetual challenges:  

Agatha Christie  -- Read her books in chronological order as listed, group by detective or collection, or randomly if you choose. Read at least three per year.

Mind Voyages - A science fiction / fantasy challenge through the decades, exploring the Hugo and Nebula winners and nominees, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Heinlein. 

Well Educated Mind --  Continue to explore the classics in 6 categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry and Science. 

or dip into past challenges such as  Brit Tripping, Dusty and Chunky, Feed Your Muse, Inspiration, Nobel Prize Winners and Sounds of Silence.

There is a little bit of something for everyone. Follow your muse and read widely or wildly, follow rabbit trails, read outside your comfort zone or stick with the tried and true. Choose whatever path is right for you. 

The mini and perpetual challenges are all optional, Mix them up anyway you like and follow your own path in the quest to read.  

The challenge runs January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024

Our book weeks begin on Sunday,.

Participants may join at any time. 

All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc. 

Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2024

Books may overlap other challenges. 

Create an entry post linking to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks and sign up in the link below.  

If you don't have a blog or social media account, post about your reads in the comments section of each weekly post. 

The link widget is  added to the bottom of each weekly post to link to your book reviews, and closes at the end of each book week. 

BW32: Spell your name Book challenge

I have a challenge for you and the goal is to complete it by the end of the year.  The challenge is to spell your first name using the first letter of the title.  And no, you can't pick a book with your name in the title.  *grin*   We can't count books we have already read since the beginning of the year.   You can pick from your current stacks or pick out something completely new.   I decided to stick with my current stacks and surprisingly found I didn't have any hard bound books to spell  my name. So perused my ebooks.  I'm notorious for downloading stories.  However I take forever to read them and archive many so I have fewer choices pick from. Or archive because I changed my mind and can't fathom why I ever picked the book in the first place.  I had a few 'what was I thinking?' titles which are a complete mystery.  Some I had forgotten and had 'oh my gosh, I really wanted to read that one' moments.    My picks are:

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History of the Medieval World - Chapter  36 Persian Crusade pp 261 - 272 

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 Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. 

BW29: Something Completely Different - Oulipo

Have you ever heard of an Oulipo?  I was recently introduced to the form during one of my writing classes and found it quite intriguing.   Ouvroir de Litterature Potentielle or OULIPO was founded by French Mathematician Francois de Lionnais and writer Raymond Queneau in 1960.   Basically it is introducing a constraint while writing a poem, creating a short story, or a lipogram.  

 My first experiment with creating an OULIPO using Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken was a big failure. I tried the N + 7 route which is replace the major nouns with another noun which is the 7th one below it, in the dictionary. However the first line ending up being Two robbers diverged in a women. After I stopped laughing and got over my hot flash, tried a few variations but it just wasn’t working. Then I got the bright idea to take book titles and transform them into a story, but got as far as a weird poem.



Death Comes
Brightly Burning
Across the Endless River
On the Night Road.

Dark Shadows
In the Woods
Scream for Me,
On the Night Road.

Flashback
Phantom
Rainwater
Dark Harbor.

The Door Within
All Through The Night
Vanished
A World I Never Made.

Midnight
A Lethal Harvest
Watcher in the Woods
Shoot Him if He Runs.

Forgotten Garden
Born in Fire
Icebound
Thunder of Heaven.

Blink
Shadow of Doubt
Rivers Edge
Never Go Back.
 
Brilliance of the Moon
A Walk in the Woods
The Brink of Dawn
On the Night Road.
 
Infinite Days
The Silent Gift
Everything Beautiful Began Again.
On the Night Road.



I experimented with a serial sentences short story by  picking random books and plugging together a bunch of sentences. I gave myself a constraint. I started with ten books of varying lengths. Started with book one, chapter one, line one...book two, chapter two, line two, and so on up to line 25. Then I started over again at line one at chapter 25 and so on. I kept going until I ran out of chapters, setting aside books as ran out of chapters and continue until used up all the books. I juggled the sentences a bit in order for things to make a modicum of sense and was mostly successful. All from well known mystery authors.  Below is a shortened version because the original was 99 sentences.


The engine fired with a smooth rumble. The car remained still. The long straight highway just beyond the gas station cut across an alluvial fan that spread gracefully down the mountains to the desert floor. Score watched the deputy go to the escalade and circle his finger, silently telling the Breck woman to lower her window.

“Tell Red Hill to get the hell out of my way.” He sounded excited and definitive.

“I’m not leaving Leland.” She said.

“You don’t get it, do you? He’s up that tree. I left him two messages.”
 
And so had I. Two from Dorothy, confirming that she’d been able to rent all the equipment and uniforms I asked for.

“Right.”

“Oh man,” Jensen said. My uniform was identical, except that I was wearing a dark blue trucker cap that also said HVAC of Reston on the front. Careful he told himself. He popped the last of the fritos in his mouth.

***

Score looked at his schedule, swore under his breath, and wished he knew what the Breck girl was up to. Now that St. Kilda was off the board, arranging the downfall of the Clever Ms. Breck would be a pure pleasure. He sat down at his desk and fought against the kind of burp that made his eyes water.

Hastily, he said, “I’m kinda like—I like to leave that kind of stuff to others you know?”

“Yeah Grandpa Hank,” He confirmed.

He didn’t fancy his chances of walking away from that kind of op free, much less alive. Maybe he realized that things had changed in Washington, that the new administration didn’t want to do business with him. And just when they’re sure they’ve got it figured out, it’s over and they’ve been totally fooled.

“I want to present it to him as a complete package.”

“Got it,” Zach said. “But I’ll get back to you once I do.”

We left our interview room—which was beginning to freak me out a little, all those round watching eyes; I told myself this was a good sign—and went into the observation chamber to see how Sam was getting on.

“No I’m better now.” She waved an oak accordion file and fought back a sneeze. She placed a folder within easy reach of the table.

I nodded.

“She’s had a bad f’ing day, made all the worse by the fact her own brother wasn’t there when she needed him.”


My challenge to you this week is to create an OULIPO.  It can be a N + 7, a poem created from book title, serial sentences or whatever your imagination dreams up.  Find out more about OULIPO's here, here and here.   Have fun! 

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History of the Medieval World -  Chapter 33 Two Emperors pp 237 - 245 

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 Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. 

Week 1 - Journey to your imagination

Courtesy Robert Bartow

Happy New Year and welcome to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.  Welcome back to all those who are joining me for another round and to those who are joining in for the first time. 

Are you ready to climb the stairs of your imagination and take another mind voyage.    You can dive down into the deepest ocean, climb the highest mountain,  or blast off in a rocket that will take you to the outer edges of the galaxy.   There are no limits when you read.   I think it going to be a fun, interesting, educational, entertaining, enlightening year.  

The rules are very simple. Read 52 Books. That's it. How you get there is up to you.  We have several optional challenges which are listed in the link bar above to stimulate your imagination and help you on your reading journeys.   Also throughout the year, I'll be presenting you with random mini weekly challenges such as pick a book by its cover, your birth year or one with a certain number or color.  Challenge you to read a book in a different genre or a new to you author.    

Your first mission, should you choose to accept it, involves reading across the continents.   We are starting off the year in Canada and will eventually end up Antarctica.  Every couple months we'll travel to another continent.  You can travel along or meander your way around the world.  So put on your reading shoes, get comfortable and enjoy.  I think 2013 is going to be an amazing year and I'm looking forward to hearing all about your reads.

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW52: Year End Wrap Up

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Happy Holidays to you and yours.  Another year has flown by, full of exciting and interesting reads. We have a few days left and I'm sure,  if you are like me, you are looking forward to some relaxing reading time, possibly some new reading material that is just waiting for you under the tree or using those wonderful gift certificates for browsing the after Christmas sales and some end of the year acquisitions.   So how did your reading year go?   I'm going to mix is up a bit this year and borrow a few questions from Jamie's (Perpetual Page Turner) end of the year book survey.


1) How many books did you read this year?

2) Did you meet or beat your own personal goal?

3) Favorite book of 2012? (You can list more than one or break it down by genre)

4) Least favorite book of 2012 and why? 

5) One book you thought you'd never read and was pleasantly surprised you like it?

6) One book you thought you'd love but didn't?

7) One book that touched you - made you laugh, cry, sing or dance. 

8) Any new to you authors discovered and you can't wait to read more of their stories?

9) Name the longest book you read?  Shortest?

10) Name the most unputdownable book you read?

11) Book that had the greatest impact on you this year?

12) What book would you recommend everybody read?

13) Share your most favorite cover(s)

14) Do you have a character you fell in love with? 

15) What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?

What are your goals for the new year?  To read more non fiction? To dip your toes into a mystery or a urban fantasy?  What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2013?   

Congratulations and thank you to everyone for joining in.  No matter how many books you finished this year, the important thing is that you read and that makes you a winner in my book.  Reading to me is as necessary as breathing. And reading is also like drinking a fine wine or enjoying a beer with your friends.  Whether you sip and savor or drink it down, the joy is in the experience.   I'm glad to have shared the experience with all of you.  I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's reading year and to more fun in the coming new year.

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Link to your last read and/or wrap up post for 2012. Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field,type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis or indicate wrap up post. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment in the comment section about your reading year.

BW49: Plans for 2013

Josephine Wall - Ripples

Happy December, dear hearts!   We have four weeks left in the year and we are coming down to the wire.  I hope everyone has had a fantastic reading year.   Are you ready for another round?  I've been looking at all the other challenges out there, what books I still have in my TBR pile and those still on my wishlist.  I think I have the my eyes are bigger than my stomach syndrome, because there are so many I want when already have a  huge teetering pile of books.  So.....    I'm personally going to institute a buying ban, probably through April and concentrate on those wonderful books that have been calling my name.   We've been discussing the new year over in the Well Trained Mind forums and have come up with some ideas.  

In our quest to read 52 books we'll be doing a Dusty Book Challenge which is just another name for read your own books.   Also a Chunkster challenge which are books that are 500 pages or more.   Start looking through your shelves and dusting off those old, huge books.   I'm going to make an effort to read more non fiction this next year so in that vein will have a C.S. Lewis Mini Challenge which takes the place of Jane Austen.   We'll continue with the Well Educated Mind and Mind Voyages Sci Fi/Fantasy challenges.  There is a Canada Books readalong in the works as well as reading books from other countries.   Plus random mini challenges along the way which I'll borrow shamelessly from on The Novel Challenges blog.

If you have any suggestions for a readalongs or  topics, authors and/or ideas you'd like to see covered next year, let me know.   I'll be posting the I'm participating in 2013 in a couple weeks, plus making changes to headers and links so don't be surprised by the construction.  

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

 

BW 52: All wrapped up and tied with a ribbon!

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you and yours.   There are a few presents under the tree that look suspiciously like books.  *grin*   Love it when my family shops off my Amazon wishlist.  Hope you get everything you want and more for Christmas.  The year seems to have passed in a flash and we are ending it with gratitude and optimism for a joyous new year.   Our quest to read 52 books is coming to an end for this year.  How did you do?  

1. Did you reach the goal of 52 books or did you manage to beat your own personal best? 
2. What book are you ending the year with? 
3. Did you discover a new author or genre?  Did you love them or hate them?
4. Did you challenge yourself to read more non fiction if prefer fiction or more fiction if you prefer non fiction?
5. Did you read from a list or wing it?
6. How many classics did you read?  What did you think of the writing style or author? 
7. Name one book that you thought you'd never read and was pleasantly surprised you like it.
8. What are your top ten favorite books?
9. What are your ten least favorite books?
10. Did you start any books that you just simply couldn't finish?
11. What did you think of the mini challenges and did you join in or complete any? 
12. Did your family join in on the fun?   
13. How many books have you added to your wishlist since the beginning of the year? 
14. What was your favorite thing about the challenge?

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who joined in.  I hope you enjoyed your reading year and discovered some new and interesting authors and genres.  Thank you to all who followed our progress. Are you ready to join in yet?  *grin*  I had a lot of fun and look forward to another year of exploring different topics, books and authors.  Best wishes for a happy reading new year!

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Link to your last read and/or wrap up post for 2011. Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field,type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis or indicate wrap up post.   In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post.

If you don't have a blog, leave a comment in the comment section about your reading year. 

BW50: X is for Qui Xiaolong

 Qiu Xiaolong

I just finished reading "Death of the Red Heroine" by novelist and poet Qiu Xiaolong, book one in his inspector Chen series and found it to be extremely interesting.  Set in the mid 1990's in China, it was a police procedural blending fact and fiction delving into the politics and culture of the country.  Publisher's Weekly says:

"Set a decade ago in Shanghai, this political mystery offers a peek into the tightly sealed, often crooked world of post-Tiananmen Square China. Chen Cao, a poet and T.S. Eliot translator bureaucratically assigned to be chief inspector, has to investigate the murder of Guan Hongying, a young woman celebrated as a National Model Worker, but who kept her personal life strictly and mysteriously confidential. Chen and his comrade, Detective Yu, take turns interviewing Guan's neighbors and co-workers, but it seems most of them either know nothing or are afraid to talk openly about a deceased, highly regarded public figure. Maybe they shouldn't be so uneasy, some characters reason; after all, these are "modern times" and socialist China is taking great leaps toward free speech. Chen and Yu make headway when they stumble on Wu Xiaoming, senior editor of Red Star magazine, who apparently was involved with Guan before her death. Tiptoeing around touchy politics and using investigative tactics bordering on blackmail, Chen slowly pieces together the motives behind the crime. The author, himself a poet and critic, peppers the story with allusions to classical Chinese literature, juxtaposing poignant poetry with a gruesome murder so that the novel reads like the translation of an ancient text imposed over a modern tale of intrigue. This is an impressive and welcome respite from the typical crime novel."

I discovered Qui Xiaolong while searching for an author whose name begins with X for my a to z by title challenge.  Glad I discovered him and look forward to reading more of his Detective Chen novels. The books in the series are:

Death of a Red Heroine

A Loyal Character Dancer 

When Red is Black

A Case of Two Cities

Red Mandarin Dress 

The Mao Case

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW49: 2012 Readalongs and Events

Hello my darlings!  I am in the midst of working on the site for 2012, revamping the mini challenges so if you see some of the pages disappearing or changing, you'll know why.  If you have any suggestions for a mini challenge or challenge within the challenge, let me know.  

I've come across a few 2012 read-a-longs and events that look interesting.   I just finished reading J.R. Ward's first novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series - Dark Lover. If you are into vampires, you'd probably enjoy this one.  I love series and enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series.  Unlike Christine Feehan's Dark series which was just a bit too emotional and ridiculous for me and had me quitting the series after the first couple books.  And it just so happens Literary Escapism is hosting a Black Dagger Brotherhood Read-a-long which will run through the end of March.  

For those who like George R.R. Martin, Adventures of 2.0 will be hosting a Read-a-long of A Game of Thrones, and The Lit Bitch will be hosting A Game of Thrones challenge to read the whole series. 

For those wanting something a bit more seriousness to it,  A Literary Odyssey is hosting Shakespeare Reading Month in January or Breadcrumb Reads group read of  Reading Shakespeare: A Play a Month.

Howling Frog Books (don't you just love that title) will be hosting a Greek Classics Challenge which should fit in nicely with our Well Educated Mind Mini challenge (which unfortunately I totally failed at this year.)

I'll be posting the Mr. Linky Sign up for 2012 in a couple weeks.  Happy Reading!

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW47: Big U, little U, what begins with U

In my quest to complete the A to Z challenge by author and title, I am up to U. I managed to squeak past Q with a two-fer when I read Quicksilver by Amanda Quick. How lucky was that! So, U. Big U, Little u, what begins with U.

I came across this interesting little book the other day about mathematical obsession and thought I'd give it a go: Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession by Apostolos Doxiadis. In the process get to read an new author as well.  Plus there is always my fall back gal when it comes to the alphabet, Sue Grafton and her Alphabet Series with p.i. Kinsey Milhone set in the 1980's pre cell phones and computers.  

So now the search is one for an author whose first name or last name ends with U.  AND, their books sound interesting and hopefully aren't chunksters that will take forever to read. I have Leon Uris's QB VII on the shelves and read it several years ago. It's on standby in case can't find anything else. Not ready to delve into any of his other stories. Will save him for next year.  So did a bit of searching and found a few people I've never heard of before. 

Thrity Umrigar

Lisa Unger

Errol Lincoln Uys

Luis Alberto Urrea

Then you have the known - Upton Sinclair and  John Updike.  Plus a list of freebies on Project Gutenberg that you can check out at your own risk.

After a bit of Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble browsing,  decided I'll go with Lisa Unger's Beautiful Lies.  Sounds quite interesting and thankfully so easy to download on my nook. 

Synopsis:  What if your family was a lie?  What if your name was a lie? What if your whole life was just a pack of Beautiful Lies?

If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the lie she used to call her perfect life. Instead, she's in the wrong place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that begins with a mysterious package on her doorstep. A package that informs her that her entire world is just an illusion. Forced to question everything she knows about herself, Ridley wanders into dark territory, where everyone is hiding something.

Anyone else doing the A to Z quest?  If you are, which letter are you on?  

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW40: Spooktacular October

I've seem to have gotten into a vampire, werewolf, ghosts, angels and demons reading kick lately.   Last year for the month of October I read Frankenstein and was surprised because the story wasn't even close to what the movie had been like.  Maybe I had watched Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein one too many times *grin*    Then I read Dracula: The Undead by Dacre Stoker, Bram's great grandnephew, inventive sequel to Dracula. 

Barnes and Noble: At last—the sequel to Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, written by his direct descendant and a Dracula historian  Bram Stoker's Dracula is the prototypical horror novel, an inspiration for the world's seemingly limitless fascination with vampires. Though many have tried to replicate Stoker's horror classic- in books, television shows, and movies-only the 1931 Bela Lugosi film bore the Stoker family's support. Until now.

Dracula The Un-Dead is a bone-chilling sequel based on Bram Stoker's own handwritten notes for characters and plot threads excised from the original edition. Dracula The Un-Dead begins in 1912, twenty-five years after Dracula "crumbled into dust." Van Helsing's protégé, Dr. Jack Seward, is now a disgraced morphine addict obsessed with stamping out evil across Europe. Meanwhile, an unknowing Quincey Harker, the grown son of Jonathan and Mina, leaves law school for the London stage, only to stumble upon the troubled production of "Dracula," directed and produced by Bram Stoker himself.

The play plunges Quincey into the world of his parents' terrible secrets, but before he can confront them he experiences evil in a way he had never imagined. One by one, the band of heroes that defeated Dracula a quarter-century ago is being hunted down. Could it be that Dracula somehow survived their attack and is seeking revenge? Or is their another force at work whose relentless purpose is to destroy anything and anyone associated with Dracula?

I thoroughly enjoyed it, however, I've never actually read Dracula by Bram Stoker.   Decided this year I'm finally going to read Dracula, especially since I'm on the fore mentioned vampire kick.  Plus I happened to stumble across his very first book The Snake's Pass which looked really interesting so picked it up:

Amazon:   Arthur Severn, a young Englishman on holiday in the west of Ireland, is forced by a storm to stop for the night in a mysterious village, where he hears the legend of "The Snake's Pass." Long ago, it is said, St. Patrick battled the King of the Snakes, who hid his crown of gold and jewels in the hills near the village. But it is not only legend that haunts the town. The figure of the demonic money-lender Black Murdock looms over the village, as he searches for the lost treasure while manipulating the townsfolk to his own evil ends. Even more threatening than Murdock is the shifting bog, personified as a baneful "carpet of death," which will swallow up anything -- and anyone -- in its path. Art and his friend Dick will brave the dangers of the bog to seek out the treasure, but the sinister machinations of Murdock will lead to a deadly conclusion! Featuring a slow accumulation of terror worthy of Le Fanu, The Snake's Pass was Bram Stoker's first novel. A clear precursor to Dracula, The Snake's Pass was the only of Stoker's novels set in his native Ireland. This edition follows the text of the first edition published at New York in 1890.

Come along and join me in a spooktacular read of  Dracula by Bram Stoker.  And along the way, you may as well check out his other stories.

What spooktacular books are you reading this month?

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW24: W is for what shall we read next?

Despite all the books we have on our shelves, sometimes nothing sounds good.  And you sit there and stare at the pile, wondering what am I in the mood for? What should I read next? Well, I discovered through Jenners of Life With Books, (she's a hoot by the way, be sure to check her blog out) some widgets that will help you decide or pick something new to read.  Great when doing a theme based book challenge. 

Whichbook.net is an interesting search engine with 12 choices and their opposites from such as happy  or sad, beautiful or disgusting, easy or demanding, etc.  You get to make up to four choices, then press go and see what books come up.   I recently discovered through this process a really interesting book called Salamander by Thomas Wharton.  It's on my shelves waiting to be read.  You can also come up with some rather interesting finds and unusual names.   

Picking 'happy', 'larger than life', 'optimistic', and 'short', the first thing that came up was "The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam" by Lauren Liendenberg.   Stop. I know what you're thinking but nope.  There isn't anything hinky about it. I looked it up and sounds rather interesting.   You can get lost for a while, plugging in various choices and seeing what the engine comes up with.   A fun diversion and who knows, you may just discover a new author or interesting book.

Other interesting book search engines:

The Book Seer

What Should I Read Next

Library Things Zeitgeist

Or pick a book randomly using Random.org and New York Times Best Seller Listing.  Plug in 1950 to 2011 into the Random generator, then go to the New York Times list, pick the year, then your birth month and see what comes up. 

Have fun! 

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW 21: T is for Trevor

William Trevor
May 24, 1928

Today I'd like to introduce you to Irish author, William Trevor.   On May 24, he will be celebrating his 83rd birthday.   He was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland.  Coincidentally my great grandmother was from County Cork as well.   Hmm...  I wonder!   He graduated from Trinity College in Dublin with a degree in History, worked as a teacher and sculptor until becoming a full time writer in 1968.  He emigrated to England in 1954 and today resides in Devon, England. 

His first book, written in 1958 "A Standard of Behavior" met with little success, however after writing short stories, his next book "The Old Boys" won the 1964 Hawthornden Prize for Literature.  He has won a number of prizes over the years for his works including the Irish Times Irish Literature Prize for Fiction, Whitbread Book of the Year, and Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 for "The Story of Lucy Gault."

Story of Lucy Gault

According to Maureen Corrigan of NPR in her article about "William Trevor: A Short Story Master's Life Work and his most recent volume of short stories called "Selected Stories, Trevor is

"a master of capturing those small shifts in consciousness that shatter someone's world. Because he's an Irishman living in exile (Trevor has lived most of his long life in England) and because so many of those aforementioned epiphanies take place oh-so-discreetly, the comparisons to James Joyce have been inevitable. But as the 48 recent stories in this volume attest, Trevor has a more developed taste for the macabre than Joyce ever did. It creeps up on a reader slowly: the awareness that so many of these tales are about being trapped, buried alive, thwarted at every turn of life's labyrinth. And, yet, the signature response of Trevor's characters to their bricked-in situation is a fatalistic shrug garnished with Black Irish humor."

Selected Stories

In an interview with Mira Stout of The Paris Review, Trevor says of his writing:

 "I think all writing is experimental. The very obvious sort of experimental writing is not really more experimental than that of a conventional writer like myself. I experiment all the time but the experiments are hidden. Rather like abstract art: You look at an abstract picture, and then you look at a close-up of a Renaissance painting and find the same abstractions."

In response to her question why he's never created a hero in any of his stories:

Because I find them dull. Heroes don’t really belong in short stories. As Frank O’Connor said, “Short stories are about little people,” and I agree. I find the unheroic side of people much richer and more entertaining than black-and-white success.

Read the whole interview here for more insight into William Trevor, his writing, Irish writers and heroes, politics and more. It's rather insightful.

For more information on William Trevor, his book list and a critical perspective, go here.

Happy Birthday, William Trevor


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BW10 - I is for Ireland!

Kylemore Abbey

I just finished reading In the Woods by Irish author Tana French and it was quite good. I'll be reviewing soon.  Since St. Patrick's day is coming up next week, there are some events occurring around the blogosphere you might want to consider joining in on.   Carrie of Books and Movies is hosting a month long readalong of Faithful Place, French's 3rd book in the series.  I've also picked up "The Likeness" as well which continues the character Cassie's story.   The schedule is as follows:

Reading Schedule:

Week One (3/1-3/7): Chapters 1-6
Week Two (3/8-3/14): Chapters 7-12
Week Three (3/15-3/21): Chapters 13-18
Week Four (3/22-3/28): Chapters 19-23

Weekly Post Schedule:

Week One’s reading: March 10th
Week Two’s reading: March 17th
Week Three’s reading: March 24th
Week Four’s reading and wrap-up post or review: March 31st

Carrie will  be posting her thoughts every Thursday along with Mr. Linky for whoever wants to join in and post their thoughts as well.    You still have time to join in if you want.  I'm a bit behind in reading, but will be catching up soon.  

Mel of The Reading Life is hosting a week long event "The Irish Short Story" during the week of March 14 to March 20th.  She'll be posting daily about short stories written by Irish authors:  James Joyce, Elizabeth Bowen, Frank O'Conner, Oliver Goldsmith, Sean O'Faolain,  Oscar Wilde, and Liam O'Flaherty.   Join in the fun and read a few short stories by Irish authors. 

I have a few books on the shelves by Irish authors I will be reading this year including:

Bram Stoker's "The Snake's Pass."  He wrote it back in 1890 and is the only one of his novels set in Ireland. It is his first novel and was published about seven years before  Dracula.  He is an Irish writer and has a few other stories and short stories that he's written besides Dracula.  

Patrick Taylor's "An Irish Country Christmas"

J.D. Robb's "Treachery in Death." One of her characters, Roark, is full blooded Irish so it counts.  :)

Irish mystery author Declan Hughes' "The Wrong Kind of Blood."

Another event I just discovered is the Irish Blog Awards which will be held on March 19th in Belfast. Not that any of us have time to take a trip to Belfast at the moment.  However, the website is interesting and has many links to irish blogs broken down by science/education, humor, personal, youth and newcomer.   I haven't had time to check out all the links yet, so can't vouch for any of them. But will have fun exploring when I have more time.

And since Lent is coming up on Wednesday, and I'm Irish and Catholic, I'll leave you with a bit of Irish humor: 

An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry , walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone.

An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more. This happens yet again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the Man Who Orders Three Beers.

Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. "I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"

"Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies. "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America , and the other to Australia . We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond."

The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers became a local celebrity and source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.

Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening. He orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.

The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know-the two beers and all"

The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, meself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."

 What books on your shelves by Irish authors or with Irish characters will you be reading?

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