Ketutar writing: 2023

Friday, December 15, 2023

Read Europe

For this challenge, you are to read European Literature Prize winners and nominees.

Armenia - there's the Levon Ananyan Literary Prize, but I don't know much about it.

Azerbaijan - this article mentions "Azerbaijan’s first literacy prize", but nothing more about it. I don't even know what it is supposed to be. Is it a prize to advance Azerbaijani literature, or literacy?

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cyprus

Kazakhstan

Kosovo

Liechtenstein

Moldova - has a literature prize with multiple categories, but it's hard to find any information about it.

Monaco - no literature prizes, not many authors either.

Montenegro

San Marino

Slovakia

Vatican City

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Time for planning 2024 reading

I want to read 124 books.

I want to read at least 10 books in Finnish, Swedish, German, and French.

I want to read fewer English books - let's say every other book needs to be not English. (at least 62 non-English books)

I want to read more European books. (Let's say, at least 40 European books.)
At the same time, I need to read more non-European books :-D (At least 40 non-European - and non-English - books)

I also need to read more non-white books. (at least 40)

I want to read more books published before the 21st century. Let's say... 1/3 20th century. 10% pre-20th.
- At least 40 books from 20th century and at least 12 books written before 20th century. Hmm... that means I'd read 72 books written in 21st century, and that's too big a portion... No, 20 books before 1900, 50 books 1900-2000, and 54 books after 2000.

I suppose I will be participating in

PopSugar reading challenge

Around the year in 52 books

The 52 Book Club

Read Harder 2024

Booklist Queen's Reading Challenge

The 52 Book Club

1. Locked-Room Mystery

The Maid by Nita Prose

2. Bibliosmia: A "Smelly" Book

Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

3. More Than 40 Chapters

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

4. Lowercase Letters On The Spine

The Penguin Clothbound Classics designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith all have lowercase letters on the spine. There are some 100+ books in the series, so plenty to choose from.

5. Magical Realism

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

6. Women In STEM

Born to be Badger by Shelly Laurenston

7. At Least Four Different POV

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

8. Features The Ocean

Seas by Colleen Oakes (and, of course, Stars, the first book in the series)

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

9. A Character-Driven Novel

* Most books on my TBR list are character-driven, because I prefer character-driven novels. So I'm going to choose when I have read it.

10. Told In Non-Chronological Order

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski;

Weyward by Emilia Hart

11. Starting With The Letter "K"

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

Kraken by China Miéville

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

12. Starting With The Letter "L"

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

The Leopard Mask by Kaoru Kurimoto

13. An Academic Thriller

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

14. A Grieving Character

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

15. Part Of A Duology

Bambi's Children by Felix Salten

Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Belles on Their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.

Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre

Silver Mirrors by A.A. Aguirre

The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

16. An Omniscient Narrator

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

17. Nominated For The Booker Prize

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

Milkman by Anna Burns

18. An Apostrophe In The Title

Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund

Attila's Treasure by Stephan Grundy

Balanced on the Blade's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

Bailey's Café by Gloria Naylor

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan

The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks

Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Darconville's Cat by Alexander Theroux

Darcy's Utopia by Fay Weldon

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

The Foundry's Edge by Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz

19. A Buddy Read

I'm not too good about buddy reads :-(

20. A Revenge Story

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

21. Written By A Ghostwriter

The Bridge Over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle could do

or The Curse of Yig by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop

Or maybe I'll just read my favorite Dumas' novels again :-D

22. A Plot Similar To Another Book

23. The Other Book With The Similar Plot

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

24. A Cover Without People On It

The List of Seven by Mark Frost

25. An Author "Everyone" Has Read Except You

100 Best Books of All Time

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

26. Hybrid Genre

Soulless by Gail Carriger

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Weyward by Emilia Hart

27. By A Neurodivergent Author

Something by T.J.Klune

Matt Haig

Octavia E. Butler

Seanan McGuire

28. A Yellow Spine

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

All Quiet on the Orient Express by Magnus Mills

Terry Pratchett Nation

29. Published In A Year Of The Dragon

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams

The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain

One by One They Disappeared by Moray Dalton

30. Picked Without Reading The Blurb

31. Includes A Personal Phobia

I think I might read Kafka for this.

32. Time Frame Spans A Week Or Less

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

33. An Abrupt Ending

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani

34. Set In A Landlocked Country

The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan

35. Title Matches Lyrics From A Song

Uh. Again. *sigh* I'm pretty sure I can find lyrics to match almost any book title.

OK, Katherine Neville's The Fire.

36. Has Futuristic Technology

Any sci-fi will do

37. Palindrome On The Cover

Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov

I could read Susanna Clarke or Anna-Marie McLemore

or Johanna Sinisalo

or Ada Lai's La straordinaria storia di Francesca Sanna Sulis, Donna di Sardegna

38. Published By Hachette

Jade City by Fonda Lee

39. Non-Fiction Recommended By A Friend

What You Say Is What You Get by Don Gossett

The Light Between Us: Stories From Heaven, Lessons for the Living by Laura Lynne Jackson

WTF recommended these to me and why?

40. Set During A Holiday You Don't Celebrate

I suppose The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare will do, there's at least a mention of Thanksgiving.

41. A Sticker On The Cover

This is practically a freebie, as I just need to put a sticker on any book I read, and it counts :-D
I suppose I'll read a library book, as there's already stickers there.

42. Author Debut In Second Half Of 2024

Now would be a good time to choose a Finnish or Swedish book for this.

43. About Finding Identity

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

44. Includes A Wedding

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

45. Chapter Headings Have Dates

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay

Witch King by Martha Wells

46. Featuring Indigenous Culture

I have quite a few Rebecca Roanhorse's books on my TBR list, but I think I want to read some Australian indigenous people's books. Also, there are the indigenous people of my own home country.

47. Self-Insert By An Author

Any Ariadne Oliver book by Agatha Christie

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

48. The Word "Secret" In The Title

The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani DasGupta

The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji

The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell

The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

The Garden of Lost Secrets by A.M. Howell

Archie Greene and the Magician’s Secret by D.D. Everest

Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll

49. Set In A City Starting With The Letter "M"

I think I'll reread The Master and Margarita. The Satan Arrives in Moscow in Finnish.

50. A Musical Instrument On The Cover

51. Related To The Word "Wild"

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

Wildwood by Colin Meloy

The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

WildSpark by Vashti Hardy

Walk the Wild With Me by Rachel Atwood

52. Published In 2024

Of course, there are tons of other challenges I want to participate in :-D

I can't resist a challenge.

I'm participating in Decolonize Your Bookshelf.

1. Story About a Disabled Author

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

2. Book Over 400 Pages

Akata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor

3. Fiction by West Asian Author

The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner

Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak

4. Book Translated into English

Naondel: The Red Abbey Chronicles Book 2 by Maria Turtschaninoff

5. Sci-Fi Novel by Queer Author

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

6. An Immigrant Memoir

Lola by Baba Lybeck, Lola Lorenzo

7. Book Written About or By a Drag Queen

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig

8. Book Written by a Black Woman

Femme nue, femme noire by Calixthe Beyala

9. Poetry by a South Asian Author

Radha Says: Last Poems by Reetika Vazirani

10. Book Centering Queer Mental Health

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

11. Fantasy by a Middle Eastern Author

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

12. War Story by an Asian Author

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

13. Poetry by an Indigenous Author

Vidderna inom mig by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää

14. Non-Fiction by a Latine/LatinX Author

Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende

15. Fiction Featuring Plus-Sized MC

Soulless by Gail Carriger

16. Book Written by an Indigenous Woman

Straff by Ann-Helén Laestadius

17. Marginalized Story From the 1980's

Katitzi by Katarina Taikon

18. An Indigenous Children's Book

Lei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea

19. Middle Grade Novel Featuring Queer MC

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

20. Non-Fiction From an African American Author

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

21. Historical Fiction from South American Author

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

22. A Refugee Memoir

From Here by Luma Mufleh

23. Short Story/Anthropology by BIPOC Author

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color by Nisi Shawl

24. Book by a First Nations Australian Author

Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta

25. Non-Fiction Book From a Hawaiian Author

Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Lili'uokalani

26. Book by Sami Author

Valkoinen kivi by Kirste Paltto

27. Book About Religious or Spiritual Tradition Not Your Own

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

28. Mystery Novel from BIPOC Author

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

29. Fiction Featuring a Trans MC

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore

30. Book About Food from a BIPOC Author

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat

31. Non-Fiction from an Indie Author

Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan

32. A Banned Book by a Marginalized Author

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

THE 52 TOPICS OF THE 2024 ATY READING CHALLENGE

my list

1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y
2. A book connected to something you read in 2023
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list
4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world
6. A book with wings on the cover
7. A book with a pronoun in the title
8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads
10. A history or historical fiction book
11. A book with an X connection
12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year
13. A book that is on a Five Books List; reader’s choice of which list
14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs"
17. A book involving intelligence
18. A book with a botanical cover
19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
20. A book with a single word title
21. A book with a title containing 6+ words
22. A book by an author from an African country
23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett
24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple)
25. A book involving a crime other than a murder
26. A book by an author known by their initials
27. A book related to land
28. A book related to sea
29. A book related to air
30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
31. A book related to “Going for the Gold”
32. A book with a number in the title
33. A book involving travel
34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs
35. A science or science fiction book
36. A book featuring a character in education
37. A book that is part of a series
38. Two books with similar covers: Book 1
39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2
40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover
41. A book with a chilling atmosphere
42. A book with a sound-related word in the title
43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author
44. A book with a touch of magic
45. A book that is not a novel
46. A book related to night
47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE
48. A second book that fits your favorite prompt
49. A book with a senior citizen character
50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024
51. A book published in 2024
52. A cozy mystery

POPSugar 2024 reading challenge

A book with the word "leap" in the title

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui
The Leap by Jonathan Stroud

A bildungsroman book

The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

A book about a 24-year-old

Dark Water Sister

A book about a writer

Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

A book about K-pop

no

A book about pirates

A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete

A book by a blind or visually impaired author

A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author

A book by a self-published author

A book from a genre you typically avoid

A book from an animal's POV

A book originally published under a pen name

A book recommended by a bookseller

A book recommended by a librarian

A book set 24 years before you were born
Mistress Masham's Repose by T.H.White

A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list
A book set in space
A book set in the future

A book set in the snow
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

A book that came out in a year that ends with "24"
A book that centers on video games
A book that features dragons

A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak

A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)
A book that was turned into a musical
A book where someone dies in the first chapter
A book with a main character who's 42 years old
A book with a neurodivergent main character
A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary
A book with a title that is a complete sentence
A book with an enemies to lovers plot
A book with an unreliable narrator
A book with at least 3 POVs
A book with magical realism
A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person
A book written during NaNoWriMo
A cosy fantasy book
A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author
A horror book by a BIPOC author
A memoir that explores queerness
A nonfiction book about Indigenous people
A second-chance romance
An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
An LGBTQ+ romance novel

Advanced

A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

A book with 24 letters in the title

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

A collection of at least 24 poems

The 24th book of an author

A book that starts with the letter "X"

X Marks The Spot by Theo Hendrie

Read Harder 2024

1) Read a cozy fantasy book
2) Read a YA book by a trans author.
3) Read a middle grade horror novel.
4) Read a history book by a BIPOC author.
5) Read a sci-fi novella.
6) Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character.
7) Read an indie published collection of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author.
8) Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited.
9) Read a book recommended by a librarian.
10) Read a historical fiction book by an Indigenous author.
11)Read a picture book published in the last five years.
12) Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author.
13) Read a comic that has been banned.
14) Read a book by an author with an upcoming event (virtual or in person) and then attend the event.
15) Read a YA nonfiction book.
16) Read a book based solely on the title.
17) Read a book about media literacy.
18) Read a book about drag or queer artistry.
19) Read a romance with neurodivergent characters.
20) Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction).
21) Read a book that went under the radar in 2023.
22) Read a manga or manhwa.
23) Read a “howdunit” or “whydunit” mystery.
24) Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat!

Oh... I don't like this. My first reaction was "too much diversity. The only challenge about that is to find these authors I haven't already read." And I am deliberately going to read "decolonize your bookshelf" which is all about diversity! Why is it that finding books to read for that was challenging and fun, but for this just "nah, not going to do this this year"?

So, I'll replace this with Read Your Bookshelves.
The thing is that no-one stops you from reading children's books or books written by whomever.

Montgomery

January

Jane of Lantern Hill
read a book with a cat on the cover

February

Puffed Sleeves
read a book with 400+ pages

March

Kindred Spirits
read a book with 2 POVs

April

Carrots
read a book where the main character has red hair

May

The Road to Yesterday
read a book by a favorite author

June

The Watchman
read a book of poetry

July

Chronicles of Avonlea
read a short story collection

August

Along the Shore
read a book with water on the cover

September

Kilmeny of the Orchard
read a book where music is a major part of the story

or a historical fiction

October

The Journals of L.M. Montgomery
read a non-fiction book

November

Jane of Lantern Hill
read a second chance book

December

Anne
read a book that has 5-10 books in the series

or

Emily
read a book that is part of a trilogy

Doyle

January

Hounds of Baskerville
read a book with a dog on the cover

February

Elementary, my dear Watson
read a book with 250- pages

March

Bakers Street Irregulars
read a book with more than 2 POVs

April

Red-Headed League
read a book where the main character has red hair

May

A Study in Scarlet
read a book by a new-to-you author

June

The Lost World
read a science fiction or fantasy book

July

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
read a short story collection

August

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
read a book with a house on the cover

September

The Adventure of the Dancing Men
read a book that invlves puzzles, codes or ciphers

or a mystery

October

Memories and Adventures
read a non-fiction book

November

Moriarty
read a book that intimidates you

December

Sherlock
read a book that has more than 10 books in the series

or

Watson
read a standalone book

Then I found this... 1000 books, Are You Well-read in World Literature

I thought I was... I haven't read 900+ of those books. It was like "no, no, nope, not that either, no, no, er... nah, I thought it was something else" :-D
Surprisingly many books from Sweden and Finland though.

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

1. You Meant to Read Last Year
2. Goodreads Winner in 2023
3. About Mental Health
4. Five-Star Read
5. An Audiobook
6. Set in the 1950s
7. Unreliable Narrator
8. Book Becoming Movie in 2024
9. With an Epilogue
10. About Starting Over
11. Author You Love
12. Flowers on the Cover
13. Title Starts with “B”
14. Published in 2014
15. Purple Cover
16. Historical Mystery
17. With Multiple Points of View
18. A Book You Couldn’t Put Down
19. One Word Title
20. Debut Author
21. 2023 Bestseller
22. Intriguing Premise
23. A Friend’s Favorite Book
24. Author from the Southern Hemisphere
25. About Secrets
26. Bottom of Your To-Read List
27. Your Favorite Genre
28. Character Who is an Actor
29. Recommended on a Podcast
30. Set in Paris
31. Ugly Cover
32. Set in a Small Town
33. Three Books by the Same Author (1)
34. Three Books by the Same Author (2)
35. Three Books by the Same Author (3)
36. A Quick Read
37. Set During Autumn
38. Classic by a Female Author
39. Memoir by a Person You Admire
40. About a Historical Event
41. Written Under a Pseudonym
42. Legal Thriller
43. Fantasy Book
44. Popular Book You’ve Never Read
45. Inspiring Nonfiction
46. 2024 New Release
47. Genre You Don’t Usually Read
48. You Own But Haven’t Read
49. Book About Books
50. Book Everyone Is Talking About
51. With a Place in the Title
52. Reread a Favorite

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Some thoughts about the story structure

My husband and I were discussing Star Trek Enterprise. I don't like it, because of how they treat Vulcans and because the Patriarchy is strong in that one. :-(

Anyway, he said that when you have material to write 24 episodes, but the network only gives you 15, you have to cut some essential things and get "lazy" to get it written. Some things like dialogue and character development automatically suffer.

I was thinking that if you know you only have 15 episodes, you write the outline to know what you want and need to tell, and then divide that into the 15 episodes and write the story to support the skeleton of the story, the individual character arcs, and how the adventures support that, instead of writing individual episodes.

I suppose that is what all these people have been trying to say with story structure and plot and all that :-D I just needed that comment to understand what they meant.

I think I'll be able to write my story when I treat it as a tv series, and not as a Book. :-D

Sunday, March 26, 2023

April TBR

April brings in the Orilium Spring Equinox reading challenge.

Alchemy - Metal in the name
Rhinegold by Stephan Grundy

* Animal Studies - flip a coin: heads - non fiction, tails - fiction
I got heads. I'm going to read a biography
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

[That's also the choice of the "Everyone has read this but me" group for April. :-)]

Art of Illusion - match clothing colour to cover colour

* Astronomy - 2 Es in the title
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

* Conjuration - recommended by a friend (or celebrity, author, book media, site...)
Assholes: A Theory by Aaron James

Demonology - book compared to your favorite (if you liked this, read this...)
"Favorite" Starless Sea - read: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

* Elemental studies - flowers on the cover
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

spells and incantations - read a book that is 389-415 pages
Dandy by Jan Guillou (396 pages)

artificery - start your read with a snack

inscription - a book from your highest shelf

lore - book with a map

psionics and divination - clouds on the cover or in the title
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

* restoration - close your eyes, shuffle the books, and point
The Summer Birds by Penelope Farmer

* shapeshifting - wolf on the cover, title, author's name
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

There are the "book a week" challenges, which means that I would need to read 12 books, but as I'm doubling, I am going to get away with less than that :-D

Read a cookbook cover to cover.
The Little Library Cookbook by Kate Young
I could also choose something to make to eat before eating a book for artificery class in Orilium :-D
Either spice cookies to eat while reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
or posset to eat with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

Read a book with under 500 Goodreads ratings.
Mistress of Mistresses by E.R. Eddison

Read an author local to you.
Dandy by Jan Guillou

Then there are some 10 books I need to read for the genre challenge.
Hopepunk, magical realism, matron lit, women's fiction, and biographies.

Some of them are going to fulfill some of the prompts :-)

Then I need to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky for the "Everyone has read this but me" book club.

Then there's the Battle of the Bands. I'm in the AC/DC group :-) I'm glad about that because that's the five books that look most interesting to me right now :-D (Oh, I want to read all of them, of course, and if everything goes as planned, I will.)

Friday, March 10, 2023

March TBR

So... this year I'm going to reread more books.

“It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”
- C.S.Lewis

Now, I don't know if that is a good rule or not, but... it's kind of interesting to reread old favorites. And kind of horrible. I just read the Starlight Barking and I hated it. :-D

So, March.

March of the Mammoths is on, and I planned to read War and Peace, which I have never read, and which is a serious mammoth (some 1400 pages).

(I also planned on reading David Copperfield (974 pages) and Demon Copperhead... heh.)

"Everyone has read this but me" club's March reads are: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

I planned on rereading the challenge books I've already read, but... I hate Wuthering Heights.

Then, as I plan on finishing three 52 prompt challenges, I'd need to read 3 books every week :-D (No, it's not as scary as it seems, as many of the prompts are the same, and many books fit many different prompts. I usually read one book for each prompt, but this year I'm doubling and tripling :-D

PopSugar 2023 reading challenge
Around the Year in 52 Books
52 Books Club

Then there's the Read Harder challenge.

I'm also doing the "100 Book Genre Challenge" - it would be nice to read genres I don't usually read.

I chose Hopepunk, which is a new acquaintance to me. I read some suggested book lists, and I have loved every one I have read, so it looks like a safe choice :-D
I chose Magical Realism, but that is what I read all the time. Well... not quite so, but I usually read a couple of those every year.
Then I chose Matron Lit, which is chick lit for gals over 40 :-D I am middle-aged, and people 30 and younger feel like children to me. I don't quite identify myself with a teenaged marysue heroine, and find it hard to like those books. I suppose Matron Lit might suit me better. I don't usually read much chick lit, though I have nothing against it.
Then I have Women's Fiction, because I stumbled over Britta Böhler's 1001 Books Before I Die challenge. I do consider myself a feminist, even though I am kind of stuck in the 80s and 90s with my feminism. I think it's good to further educate myself about feminism and read some feminist literature written by women younger than me. :-D
And last I have biographies.

I was considering plays/drama and fairy tales, too. Maybe next year ;-)

I need to read 2 books every week for the genre challenge, and it's week 10, so I should need to have read a whole "genre" - 20 books. I'm not going to do that. So I have to take the rest of the year - 42 weeks - and divide the 100 books with that, and that gives me about 2 months for each 20 books. 10 books a month. More achievable :-)

Next, I need to finish my own fantasy challenge :-D

I also plan on reading "The 51 Best Fantasy Series Ever Written", Time's God Awful list of The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, and other such lists.

I have to say that Oprah's These 25 Fantasy Books Will Transport Your Imagination to Other Worlds is better :-D Readers' Digest's list is pretty bad.

I have compiled a couple of lists on List Challenges; The Ultimate Fantasy Reading Challenge and The Ultimate Fantasy Reading Challenge Part II

And then I want to read all the award winners, especially Hugo and Nebula. And some others :-D (Locus, BFA, WFA, Mythopoeic, Tähtifantasia...)

(I have over 1300 books on my TBR list right now, and that's just those I have added to it...
there are at least a couple hundred more that are not on it :-D)

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

So, I need to read 9 hopepunk books in March

The Obelisk Gate by N.K.Jemisin

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison

Home by Nnedi Okorafor

The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

and 2 more... well... if I have time :-D

There's 24 prompts in Read Harder, that's 2 books a month. It's the third month, so I would need to read 6 books for that.

I have read The Tea Dragon Society, but I need to read

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

Muumipapan urotyöt by Tove Jansson

Lobizona by Romina Garber

The Poppy War by R.F.Kuang

Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

The Cult of Venus by David S. Brody

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Lammas Night by Katherine Kurtz

Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff

Stöld by Ann-Helén Laestadius

That's 28 books. I am pretty sure I am not going to read that :-D

But, but... I'll read what I can :-) Anyway, this is my TBR list for March.

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Book recommendations online

What Should I Read Next

The book I put in was Starless Sea, and the five top recommendations I've not read are:

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

The Binding by Bridget Collins

GoodReads have "books similar to the ---" "Goodreads members who liked this book also liked:"

and they give:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Babel by R.F.Kuang

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Meet New Books

recommends

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Little, Big by John Crowley

BookRiot's quiz: what book should I read next?

recommends

The Tea Dragon Society by K. O'Neill

Then I took the Bookfinity's test, but they are kind of wishy-washy and I don't see anything interesting in their book recommendations. So I decided to add some of my favorite books, and now it doesn't give me any recommendations. :-( So... I don't recommend that.

Ok. I tried again, and now we are getting somewhere:

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

In the Lives of Puppets by Tj Klune

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Monday, February 13, 2023

BOOKS CONTROL WHAT I EAT FOR 24 HOURS!

Ok, when you plan on doing this kind of challenges, you need to add two caveats.

1) If you usually drink caffeine in the morning, drink caffeine and keep it outside your challenge.

2) keep your diet.
If you are allergic to some foods, you don't eat that food, even when a book tells you to eat it. You find an alternative.
If you are vegan or vegetarian, you won't eat meat, even when a book tells you to eat it.
If you are on LCHF diet, you'll find the LCHF version of what ever they are eating in the book.
This should be self-evident.
I, for example, don't eat onions. Not onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, spring onions, chives, or anything else like that. (Except in very strictly limited circumstances. A booktube challenge is not one of them.)

I also have some other thoughts about this.

1) don't do it when you are really tired or on deadline or something else. It's just a booktube challenge. It's not important. It can wait a day or two, or even a week. You can make another video first. Use these as fillers for days when you don't have any other content, make them ahead of time, when you are relaxed, and can throw yourself wholeheartedly in the challenge.

2) don't try to manipulate the outcome. Don't try to find a book where they are most likely to eat something you want to eat.

I am going to use the books I'm reading right now.

Breakfast: "Neiti Kymene söi aamiaiseksi yön yli leivinuunissa haudutettua kaurapuuroa, yhden leivän ja kaksi mukillista vahvaa kaakaota."
- Neiti Kymenen ihmeellinen talo by Magdalena Hai
("Miss Kymene ate for breakfast oatmeal porridge that had been baked overnight in the masonry oven, one bread (sandwich?) and two mugs of strong hot chocolate.")

Lunch: "But the tables in the Great Hall were a trove of broken pastries and dishes of meat. There were bowls of apples as well, slabs of cheese; in short, all a boy could wish for plundering."
- Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Dinner: "Master Gill took them to a corner table in the common room and had one of the serving maids bring them food. Rand shook his head when he saw the plates, with a few thin slices of gravy-covered beef, a spoonful of mustard greens, and two potatoes on each. It was a rueful, resigned headshake, though, not angry. Not enough of anything, the innkeeper had said."
- The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Dessert: "No doors were ever closed to them, and even the birdcages were open for the birds to come and go as they pleased, and wondrous fruits grew everywhere, ripe for the plucking, and cakes were left out on window ledges, free for the taking."
- Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor