Book Beginnings on Fridays
Hosted by Rose City Reader. "Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.
I joined this Friday 18 October 2013 and my book beginnings so far are (for beginnings check the posts):
The Classic Club
1. Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques
3. New Grub Street by George Gissing
4. Kristin Lavransdotter by Sigrid Undset (to be read until 31 Dec 2017)
5. Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
6. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
7. Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
8. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
9. Richard III by William Shakespeare
10. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
11. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
12. Kate Hannigan's Girl by Catherine Cookson
13. The Taming of a Screw by William Shakespeare
14. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
15. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
16. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
17. Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
18. The Divine Comedy by Dante
19. Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor
20. Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
BACK TO THE CLASSICS 2017
Back to the classics are hosted by Karen @ Books and Chocolate. I participated with six books in 2016 and almost made it. For 2017 I will be bold and go for 12 classics. Most of them already on my shelves since long, and they are also included in other challenges.
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The challenge is the same as last year, 12 classic books, but with slightly different categories. You do not have to read all 12 books to participate in this challenge!
Complete six categories, and you get one entry in the drawing
Complete nine categories, and you get two entries in the drawing
Complete all twelve categories, and you get three entries in the drawing
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Here are the books I will read for each category.
1. A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.
Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu (published 1864)
2. A 20th century classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967.
The Go-Between by J.P. Hartley
3. A classic by a woman author.
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
4. A classic in translation. Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language.
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (published in German, read in Swedish)
5. A classic published before 1800. Plays and epic poems are acceptable in this category
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (published 1597)
6. A romance classic. I'm pretty flexible here about the definition of romance.
The Odd Women by George Gissing
7. A Gothic or horror classic. For a good definition of what makes a book Gothic, and an excellent list of possible reads, please see this list on Goodreads
Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
8. A classic with a number in the title.
The World Around in 80 Days by Jules Verne
9. A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title.
10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit. It can be real or imaginary: The Wizard of Oz, Down and Out in Paris and London, Death on the Nile, etc -
Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood (Berlin)
11. An award-winning classic.
12. A Russian classic. 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, so read a classic by any Russian author -
WHERE ARE YOU READING?
Hosted by Book Dragon's Lair. This one is all about places. It counts cities, counties, and fictional locations too. Read a book set in a location for each letter of the alphabet. For detailed guidelines please go to link above.
PLACE | READ |
A | Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Unsolved Mysteries of Amsterdam by Martijn J. Adelmund) | Read April |
B | Brussels, Belgium (Charlotte Brontë's Secret Love by Jolien Janzing) | Read April |
C | Chagar Bazar, Syria (Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie Mallowan | Read March |
D |
| |
E |
| |
F | France (The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears) | Read May |
G | Ghana (The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry) | Read May |
H | Hastings, England (To be a Lady: Story of Catherine Cookson by Cliff Godwin | Read January |
I | India (Kim by Ridyard Kipling) | Read March |
J | Japan (Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami) | Read September |
K |
| |
L | London, England (The First Murder by The Medieval Murderers) | Read January |
M | Mississippi river, US (The Last Girls by Lee Smith) | Read February |
N |
| |
O |
| |
P | Perth, Scotland (Effie by Suzanne Fagance Cooper) | |
Q | Quito, Eucador (All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith) | Read January |
R | Reykjavik (Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason) | Read June |
S | Stockholm, Sweden (Lisbeth by Ragnhild Hallén) | Read January |
T |
| |
U |
| |
V | Verona, Italy (Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare | Read February |
W | Wittenburg, Germany (Dr Luther and Mr Hyde by Per Svensson) | Read January |
X | | |
Y | | |
Z | | |
Å |
| |
Ä | | |
Ö | |
KEYWORD READING CHALLENGE 2017
Claudia at My Soul Called Life is hosting the 2017 Keyword Reading Challenge. Sounds like another great challenge so I am in. How does it work? Claudia has chosen six keywords associated with each month in 2017. Our task is to read one book each month whose title includes one or more of the keywords for that month. As usual I will head for my TBR shelves first. If I don't find anything there, I will look for a suitable book elsewhere. After all, one has to read some new books as well!
Here are the 2017 Key Words
MONTH | KEY WORDS | READ |
JAN | Court, Fall, Of, Way, Deep, Thousand | To Be a Lady: Story of Catherine Cookson by Cliff Godwin |
FEB | And, Rose, Promise, Every, Deception, Blazing | Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare |
MAR | Shall, Go, By, Silence, Her, Saga | The Go-Between by J.P. Hartley |
APR | From, Trigger, Tale, His, Crown, Mist | The Rake and His Honour by Beth Elliot |
MAY | Four, Wind, All, Fury, Days, Shade | --- |
JUN | Without, Know, Good, Watch, One, Have | --- |
JUL | Before, Final, All, Freedom, Life, Dream | --- |
AUG | Sun, Infinite, Big, My, Wherever, Most | --- |
SEP | Sand, From, Between, Ever, Reasons, Clash | --- |
OCT | Darker, You, Ashes, Out, House, Sea | --- |
NOV | Place, War, Heart, Why, Give, Meet | --- |
DEC | Forget, Twilight, Only, Crystal, On, Will |
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The Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2017
The 2017 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge is hosted by Escape With Dollycas. It s the first time I participate here. The idea is to read one book for each of the letters in the Alphabet. Go to link to see the rules. Since I am Swedish and we have three more letters than the English alphabet, I added them. Just for the fun of it.
| BOOK | READ |
A | All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith | Read February |
B | Barkhes döttrar by Bodil Mårtensson | Read February |
C | Charlotte Bronntë's Secret Love by Jolien Janzing | Read April |
D | Dr Luther & Mr Hyde by Per Svensson | Read January |
E | Effie by Suzanne Fagence Cooper | Read February |
F | (The) First Murder by the Medieval Murders | Read January |
G | Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood | Read July |
H | (The) Holy Grail, History, Myth, Religion by Giles Morgan | Read February |
I |
| |
J | Jourhavande historiker by Dick Harrisson | Read October |
K | Kapare och pirater i Nordeuropa under 800 år by Lars Ericson Wolke | Read March |
L | Lisbeth by Ragnhild Hallén | Read January |
M | Mrs Jordan's Profession by Claire Tomalin | Read March |
N | Norse Mythology by Neil Gayman | Read March |
O | Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason | Read June |
P | Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr | Read August |
Q | | |
R | Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare | Read February |
S | Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams | Read March |
T | To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf | Read March |
U | Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu | Read April |
V | Vinterstaden (Arctic Chill) by Arnaldur Indridason | Read September |
W | William the Conqueror by M. Hourquet, G. Pivard, J-F Sehier | Read May |
X | | |
Y | | |
Z | | |
Å |
| |
Ä | | |
Ö | | |
Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2017
Hosted by My Reader's Block
Challenge Levels:
Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s
Books read from my TBR shelves (before 1/1/2017):
1. Dr Luther and Mr Hyde by Per Svensson
2. Lisbeth by Ragnhild Hallén
3. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
4. The Medieval Murders - The First Murder by various authors
5. All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith
6. Effie by Suzanne Fagence Cooper
7. A Circle of Sisters by Judith Flanders
8. The Last Girls by Lee Smith
9. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
10. The Holy Grail, History, Myth, Religion by Giles Morgan
11. Kapare och Pirater by Lars Ericson Wolke
12. Mrs Jordan's Profession by Claire Tomalin
13. Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams
14. The Art of Fiction by David Lodge
15. The Go-Between by J.P. Hartley
16. Charlotte Brontë's Secret Love by Jolien Janzing
17. Unsolved Mysteries of Amsterdam by Martijn J. Adelmund
18. Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
19. The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
20. The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry
21. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
22. Self Power by Deepak Chopra
23. Den som glömmer (Oblivion) by Arnaldur Indridason
24. Eden Close by Anita Shreve
25. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve
26. Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
27. Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro
28. Rupture by Ragnar Jónasson
29. Maigret Mystified by Georges Simenon
30. Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr
31. Careless People by Sarah Churchwell
32. Vinterstaden (Arctic Chill) by Arnaldur Indridason
33. Nätter i Reykjavik (Reykjavik Nights) by Arnaldur Indridason
34. Springfloden (Spring Tide) by Cilla & Björn Börjlind
35. The World Around in 80 Days by Jules Verne
36. The Poems of Catullus
37. The Brontës in Brussels by Helen MacEwan
38. Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd
39. Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
40. Byron in Love by Edna O'Brien
41. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
42. Notorious by Janet Dailey
What's in a Name 2017
The challenge runs from January to December and is hosted by The Worm Hole. During this time you choose a book to read from each of the following categories. (Examples of books you could choose are in brackets – translations and other languages most definitely count!):
A number in numbers (84, Charing Cross Road; 12 Years A Slave; 31 Dream Street).
World Around in 80 Days by Jules Verne
A building (The Old Curiosity Shop; I Capture The Castle; House Of Shadows; The Invisible Library; Jamaica Inn).
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
A title which has an ‘X’ somewhere in it (The Girl Next Door; The Running Vixen).
Kamp Knox by Arnaldur Indridason
A compass direction (North and South; Guardians Of The West; The Shadow In The North; NW).
An item/items of cutlery (The Subtle Knife; Our Spoons Came From Woolworths).
A title in which at least two words share the same first letter – alliteration! (The Great Gatsby; The Luminous Life Of Lilly Aphrodite; Gone Girl; The Cuckoo’s Calling).
Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
European Reading Challenge 2017
Hosted by Rose City Reader. This is the second time I participate, and I will go for the five star (deluxe entourage) with means to read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.
The Go-Betwen by J.P. Hartley (UK)
The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry (Ireland)
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (Germany)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (Italy)
Unsolved Mysteries of Amsterdam by Martijn H. Adelmund (the Netherlands)
Finalised!
Full House Reading Challenge 2017
Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. You should read books related to the criteria in the grid. Here are the books I will read.
FINALISED ON DECEMBER 5
Theme | Book | Read |
Non fiction | Kapare och Pirater/Privateers and Pirates by Lars Ericson Wolke | March |
On TBR for 2+ years | The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears | May |
More than 500 pages | Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann | May |
Page Turner | Effie by Suzanne Fagence Cooper | January |
Middle Grade Book | Lisbeth by Ragnhild Hallén | January |
2017 published | Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman | March |
Published pre 2000 | Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson (1995) | June |
UK/European author | The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry (Ireland) | May |
Back List book from fav. author | Eden Close by Anita Shreve | July |
Book from a list | Kim by Ridyard Kipling | March |
Award Winner | Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd | August |
Book about books | All Roads Lead to Austen - A Yearlong Journey with Jane by Amy Elizabeth Smith | January |
Book from childhood | The World Around in 80 Days by Jules Verne | October |
Diversity book | Dr Luther and Mr Hyde by Per Svensson | January |
Australian/NZ author | Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay | September |
Western | Notorious by Janet Dailey | December |
USA/Canadian author | Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon (American) | April |
Not really for you | The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure | September |
Attractive cover | The Last Girls by Lee Smith (Swedish version) | February |
Borrowed - | Alfred Bernhard Nobel by Kenne Fant | November |
READ 52 BOOKS IN 52 WEEKS
I have found another challenge to help me lower my TBR shelves. One book a week for 2017. The challenge is hosted by Robin Of My Two Blessings.
Reading starts from January 1 to December 31, 2017. Books may overlap with other challenges. Create a post linking to Robin's blog. For more info visit the website link above.
1. To Be a Lady: Story of Catherine Cookson by Cliff Godwin
2. Dr Luther & Mr Hyde by Per Svensson
3. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
4. The Medieval Murders - The First Murder by various authors
5. All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith
6. A Circle of Sisters by Judith Flanders
7. The Holy Grail, History, Myth, Religion by Giles Morgan
8. The Empress of South America by Nigel Cawthorne
9. Agneta Horn by Karin Milles
10. Norse Mythology by Neil Gayman
11. Mrs Jordan's Profession by Claire Tomalin
12. The Art of Fiction by David Lodge
13. The Go-Between by J.P. Hartley
14. Charlotte Brontë's Secret Love by Jolien Janzing
15. The Golden Sovereigns by Jocelyn Carew
16. The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century by Sarah Miller
17. Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
18. Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
19. The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
20. The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry
21. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
22. Blood and Guts by Roy Porter
23. Self Power by Deepak Chopra
24. Den som glömmer (Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason)
25. The Spy by Paulo Coelho
26. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
27. left Bank by Kate Muir
28. Eden Close by Anita Shreve
29. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve
30. Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
31. The Saga of Egil - Short Sagas of Icelanders
32. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
33. Rupture by Ragnar Jónasson
34. Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr
35. --- (Holiday!!)
36. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
37. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
38. Vinterstaden (Arctic Chill) by Arnaldur Indridason
39. Springfloden (Spring Tide) by Cilla & Rolf Börjlind
40. The World Around in 80 Days by Jules Verne
41. The Poems of Catullus
42. The Brontës in Brussels by Helen MacEwan
43. Carmilla by Stephen Le Fanu
44. Alfred Bernhard Nobel by Kenne Fant
45. Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd
46. Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
47. The Odd Women by George Gissing
48. Byron in Love by Edna O'Brien
49. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
50. The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson
51. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
52. Aktiedrottning (Share Queen) by Löwengrip and Hadenius
20 Books of Summer
Cathy at Cathy 746 Books hosts her annual challenge 20 Books of Summer. You can choose 10, 15 or 20 books from your TBR shelves to read between 1 June 2017 and 3 September 2017. I have opted for 10, but might add further as I see how I am progressing. Since I tend not to read any books on a list, I rather choose from my shelves what I feel like for the moment, I decided to a slight derogations from the rules. Here are the books that I have read this summer.
1. Chopra, Deepak - Self Power - Spiritual Solutions to Life's Greatest Challenges
2. Indridason, Arnaldur - Den som glömmer
3. The Spy by Paulo Coelho
4. Bryson, Bill - Notes from a Small Island
5. Kate Muir - left Bank
6. Anita Shreve - Eden Close
7. Anita Shreve - Sea Glass
8. Christopher Isherwood - Goodbye to Berlin
9. Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro
10. Rupture by Ragnar Jónasson
11. Maigret Mystified by Georges Simenon
12. The Last Kings of Norse America by Robert G. Johnson & Janey Westin
13. Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr
Finalised! I opted for 10 and read 13 which I am proud of. I did not make a list since I tend to not read anything on my lists, but everything else. These 13 are everything else! Thank you to Cathy for hosting. Great way to get rid of some TBR books.
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