Thursday, April 15, 2010

Challenge Update: Battle of the Prizes



Although I have not made any progress, so far, on my own challenge, others have. I want to thank everyone who has been participating. We have six reviews in so far. Click the links to get to the reviews.

REVIEWS

Morte d'Urban by J. F. Powers on Musings 

World's Fair by E. L. Doctorow on chaotic compendiums

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner on 100 Books. 100 Journeys 

The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow on 100 Books. 100 Journeys 

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry on chaotic compendiums 

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler on Book Psmith 

There is still time to sign up and participate. The challenge requires reading only three book by the end of next January (1/31/11). Details are on the main challenge post or you can click on the logo button above.

There is also time to join the British Version if that is more your cup of tea. Details are here or you can click on the logo button.

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Wall in My Head



"In the mid-to-late 1990s, while living mostly in Moscow, I managed to travel through a good part of the former Soviet Bloc."

-- Introduction by Keith Gessen to The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain, published by Words Without Borders Anthologies.

This is one of my LibraryThing Early Reviewer books. I asked for it specifically because I think it sounds fascinating.

But now that I am getting into it, I realize that it is going to take me a while -- it is dense and, because the pieces are written by behind-the-Iron-Curtain authors, there are insider references and imagery that take me a while to figure out. Also, I can't tell which pieces are fiction and which are not, because it doesn't label the pieces.

I think it may be a book I am glad I read, even if I am not glad to be reading it. Do you read those kind of books?

NOTE
Book Beginnings on Fridays is a Friday "opening sentence" event hosted by Becky at Page Turners.