FINALLY -- The 2016 European Reading Challenge WINNER!

THIS IS THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT POST FOR 2016

TO FIND THE 2016 REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO FIND THE 2016 WRAP UP POSTS, GO TO THIS PAGE

THE 2017 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE IS LIVE NOW -- GO TO THIS PAGE TO SIGN UP OR READ MORE

2016 was the fifth year for this challenge, which involves reading books set in different European countries or written by authors from different European countries.

Big thanks to all the participants who joined me for the Grand Tour!

JET SETTER GRAND PRIZE WINNER

In a real celebration of European Reading, the Jet Setter Prize for 2016 goes to "Eginhard" who read and reviewed 14 books from different countries, mostly in their original languages! He even read a book in Irish and one in Serbocroatian. I usually feel all fancy pants when I read a book that was translated from another language and not just set in a foreign country.

Congratulations, Eginhard! And I am glad you signed up again for 2017!

Honorary Mention (but no prizes) go to eight other participants who posted wrap up posts on the Wrap Up page because I appreciate these posts very much for making my job of figuring out the winner so much easier!

• Maphead (13 books)
• Bev at My Reader's Block (12 books)
• Jamie at Whatever I Think Of! (11 books)
• Carol at Journey & Destination (10 books)
• Shonna at Canadian Bookworm (8 books)
• Cath at Read Warbler (5 books)
• Veronica at Libri Amori Miei (5 books)
• Darlene at Darlene's Book Nook (4 books)

My own wrap-up post is here. I read 10 books from different European countries (all in English), but I only reviewed one of them.

Congratulations to all the readers who completed the challenge! For those who finished the challenge but didn't post a wrap-up, feel free to do so now and link it on this page here.

JOIN THE 2016 CHALLENGE! SIGN UP HERE

The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

2016 Challenge: European Reading Challenge - Wrap Up

COMPLETED

This is my warp up post for the 2016 European Reading Challenge, which officially ends January 31, 2017.

To post your wrap up post for the 2016 challenge, go to this page.

To sign up for the 2017 European Reading Challenge, go to this page.

MY BOOKS

I signed up for the Jet Setter level to read books set in, or written by authors from, five different European countries. I ended up reading 10 qualifying books. As usual, I read many more books set in European countries or written by European authors, but they were the same European countries -- mostly the UK.

My book reviewing has slacked off significantly because I'm so busy in my law practice these days. I am happy if I have time to read books! If I have any extra time, I try to get a few blog posts put up.

UNITED KINGDOM: A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll (reviewed here)

DENMARK: Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

MALTA: Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess

NORWAY: Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo

RUSSIA: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

SWITZERLAND: The Complete Short Stories, Vol. I, East and West by W. Somerset Maugham

ITALY: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

HUNGARY: Paris: A Love Story by Kati Marton

GREECE: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bailey's Prize winner)

FRANCE: Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (Nobel laureate)

2016 CHALLENGE: Back to the Classics, Wrap Up Post

COMPLETED

I signed up to read six books out of the possible 12 categories, with a stretch goal of reading nine, which I reached. As I suspected, I read more than nine books that would qualify as "classics" under the definition, but they overlapped the same nine categories.

The Back to the Classics Challenge is hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. Thank for hosting, Karen!

MY BOOKS AND THEIR CATEGORIES

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson (FINISHED; woman author)

Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley (FINISHED; science fiction)

Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols (FINISHED; place name)

Orlando by Virginia Woolf (FINISHED; adventure - well, egghead adventure)

Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (FINISHED; detective)

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (FINISHED; translation)

The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (FINISHED; 19th Century)

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark (FINISHED; 20th Century)

The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy (FINISHED; short stories)

2016 CHALLENGE: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Wrap Up Post

COMPLETED

I finished nine books for this challenge. This is my wrap up post. My nine books are listed below and the nine items I found for the scavenger hunt are checked off on this card:

One of my all-time favorite challenges is the Vintage Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block. I did the Silver Version again this year, which involves reading mystery books published between 1960 - 1989.

The Scavenger Hunt involves finding as many items on the list above in the covers of the books read.

MY BOOKS FINISHED

A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell (1967; Inspector Wexford #2; Just One Person)



Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George (1989; Inspector Lynley #2; Bloodstains)



Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (1961; Inspector Felse #2; Edgar Award Winner; A Blonde)



Billingsgate Shoal by Rick Boyer ((1982; Doc Adams #1; Edgar Award Winner; a boat, although it's hard to see)



Don't Point That Thing At Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1972; Mortdecai Trilogy #1; a bottle for drinking)



After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1979; Mortdecai Trilogy #2; a hand holding a weapon)



Something Nasty in the Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1976; Mortdecai Trilogy #3; the moon)



Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (1978; Nobel Laureate; shadowy figure)



Devices & Desires by P. D. James (1989; Adam Dalgliesh #8; a knife)

2016 CHALLENGE: Foodies Read, Wrap Up Post

COMPLETED

I finished the Pastry Chef level this year, which means reading four to eight food books in 2016.

BOOKS FINISHED

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz

A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll (reviewed here)

I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron

Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk

Shaken and Stirred by William Hamilton


Heather at Based on a True Story hosted the Foodies Read Challenge for 2016. Margot from Joyfully Retired started this popular challenge, then passed the torch to Vicki from I'd Rather Be at the Beach. Thank you, Heather, for hosting this year!

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Book Beginning: Payment in Blood

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the 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.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Gowan Kilbride, aged sixteen, had never been much for early rising.

-- Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George. That's not much of a first sentence. It picks up from there.

This is the second book in her Inspector Lynley series. I'm reading it for the Vintage Mystery Challenge.

Teaser Tuesday: The Bell by Iris Murdoch

Looking a little to her left she made out what seemed to be a low causeways raised upon a series of arches which ran across the nearer reach of the lake toward the wall. Then, with a shock of alarm, she saw that there was a dark figure standing quite near on the edge of the water, very still.

The Bell by Iris Murdoch. A lay community attached to a nunnery struggles with faith, sex, good, evil, and other philosophical fundamentals. Typical -- and typically wonderful -- Murdoch.

This counts as one of my books for my TBR challenges this year. Murdoch is a favorite of mine. The Bell is one of her particularly readable early novels.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Book Beginning: Fallen into the Pit

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the 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.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

The war ended, and the young men came home, and tried indignantly to fit themselves into old clothes and old habits which proved, on examination, to be both a little threadbare, and on trial to be cripplingly small for bodies and minds mysteriously grown in absence.

Fallen into the Pit by Ellis Peters. First published in 1951, this is the first in Peters's Inspector Felse series. She is also the author of the popular Brother Cadfael series of Medieval mysteries.

Peters won the Edgar Award for the second book in the Felse series, Death and the Joyful Woman (1963), and I want to read that one for the Silver version of the 2016 Vintage Mystery Challenge. But it is hard for me to read a series out of order, so I am starting with this one.

2016 CHALLENGE: Foodies Read

Heather at Based on a True Story has taken over hosting the Foodies Read Challenge for 2016. Margot from Joyfully Retired started this popular challenge and then passed the torch to Vicki from I'd Rather Be at the Beach.

This is always one of my favorite challenges. I'm signing up  again this year for the Pastry Chef level to read four to eight food books in 2016.

BOOKS FINISHED

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz

A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll (reviewed here)

I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron

Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk

Shaken and Stirred by William Hamilton

BOOK POSSIBILITIES

There are several possibilities on my TBR shelves, including:

Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered by Tod Davies

French Country Cooking by Elizabeth David (or at least one by her)

Spotted Dick S'il Vous Plait: An English Restaurant in France by Tom Higgins

Two Towns in Provence by M.F.K. Fisher

My Kitchen Wars by Betty Fussell

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Teaser Tuesday: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

"How are you feeling?" she asked, and the Major wasn't sure how to answer. Her driving was making him slightly sick, but in the excited, pleasant manner that small boys on roller coasters felt sick.

-- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. I love this book! I waited too long to read it.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Review: A Little Dinner Before the Play

“Take two partridges and prepare in usual way. Old birds can be utilized in this recipe if necessary.”

I'd given up on Lady Jekyll’s recipes long before I got to her favorite partridge dish (Perdrix aux Choux) in her "For Men Only" chapter, but I did pause to wonder what the "usual way" of preparing partridges might be. And what sort of household has the choice between old or new partridges?

The answer is Downton Abbey. A Little Dinner Before the Play is a collection of columns about food, cooking, and entertaining that Lady Agnes Jekyll wrote for the London Times from 1921 to 1922, exactly when Mrs. Patmore and Daisy would be looking for inspiration. It provides guidance, menus, and recipes for all occasions, starting with breakfast, to winter car picnics, fancy buffets for dance parties, “tray food” for those sick in bed, and meals for public speakers. If you ever wonder what the Crawley family would actually eat, this is the perfect book for you.

The recipes are sparse and presuppose general, shared cooking knowledge. Instructions to “prepare in the usual way” are common. As are a lack of measured amounts. Instead, she says things like, “add milk to form dough.” It doesn’t matter, since the food is generally ghastly. There is a lot of boiled meat; meat, fish, and eggs run through sieves to make pastes, sometimes together; dry sounding cakes or boiled puddings; and lots and lots of complicated jellied concoctions.

For example, Lady Jekyll recommends Iced Jelly as a refreshing sweet treat at a wedding feast. For such a special occasion, you don’t cheat by using gelatin sheets (her favorite in many other recipes), you go for the real thing:

Boil two calves feet for several hours, strain off and leave to get cold. Remove all grease, and put them into a stewpan with the peel and juice of 4 lemons to each quart of liquor, ½ lb. loaf sugar, a piece of cinnamon stick and a few raisins, the whites of four eggs. Whisk all well together whilst boiling; strain through a jelly bag several times until clear. Flavour liberally with a sherry glass of maraschino, pour into an ice mould with secure lid, pack in ice and freezing salt in an ice pail, and freeze for 2 hours.

That could make a vegan out of anyone. She has many other recipes for sweet or savory jellied things. She even suggests covering a Camembert cheese in aspic!

Lady Jekyll’s advice to hostesses captures her era as much as the recipes. In the title chapter, her idea for a simple meal before leading guests to the theater is to offer individual roasted quail to each guest – served on silver trays, doused with brandy as they come from the kitchen, set alight, and served flambé.

You can have the cook pick up quail next time she’s out buying new partridges.


OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this book or any other book from the Penguin Books Great Food series listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

A Little Dinner Before the Play counts as one of my books for the 2016 European Reading (UK), Mt. TBR, and the Foodies Read Challenges.

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Book Beginning: The Fur Person

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the 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.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

When he was about two years old, and had been a Cat About Town for some time, glorious in conquests, but rather too thin for comfort, the Fur Person decided that it was time he settled down.

The Fur Person by Mary Sarton. This is as adorable as it looks, an "enchanting story and classic of cat literature . . . drawn from the true adventures of Tom Jones, May Sarton’s own cat."

Teaser Tuesday: A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll

Take two partridges and prepare in usual way. Old birds can be utilized in this recipe if necessary.

A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll.

I'd given up on Agnes's recipes long before I got to her favorite way to make partridges in pastry (Perdrix aux Choux) in her chapter, "For Men Only," but I did pause to wonder what the "usual way" of preparing partridges might be. And what would it be like to live in a household where one had the choice of older or newer partridges?

This book is a collection of Lady Jekyll's 1921 - 1922 newspaper columns on food. Don't read it for the recipes; read it for the food history.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Book Beginning: Out of Africa

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the 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.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills.

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen). Can't you just hear Meryl Streep!

Teaser Tuesday: Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

When Julia first appeared on television, as the insatiable 1960s unfolded, the marriage of fun and food were light-years apart. Most households remained devoted to Jell-O molds, frozen vegetables, and tuna-noodle casseroles.

-- Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz. I'm just wrapping up this fun and fresh biography of America's favorite queen of the kitchen. Spitz writes like people really talk, which sometimes feels overly casual (for example, he describes Julia's father as "hard-ass" instead of "authoritarian" like you would expect), but did make me feel like I really knew Julia Child.

Dearie is comprehensive, so makes a good overall biography to go along with Child's own My Life in France and the quirkier Julie & Julia (book and movie).

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Book Beginning: Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the 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.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

"Now, dearie, I will require a hot plate for my appearance on Professor Duhamel's program."

-- Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz. This comprehensive biography moves along at a fast clip. Even the "main" parts that were covered in My Life in France and Julie & Julia (book and movie) seem fresh and new. I love it.

2016 Challenge: The Vintage Mystery Challenge (Silver)

One of my all-time favorite challenges is the Vintage Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block. This year, Bev switched from her recent BINGO theme, which I enjoyed but wasn't good at, to a Scavenge Hunt theme that looks like a ton of fun.

I did the Golden version of this challenge for the first few years, reading mysteries published before 1960. That's how I first branched out from Agatha Christie and Rex Stout to Nagio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and other Golden Agers new-to-me.

Last year I really enjoyed the Silver version, reading mysteries published between 1960 and 1989. Instead of the kitschy, vintage charm of the Golden Oldies, the Silver Age mysteries really push my cultural reference buttons because those were my growing up decades. I wasn't reading Dick Francis novels or Robert Parker's Spencer series when I was in elementary school, but the current events, music, cars, clothes, and attitudes in these books was all around me as a kid.

The Scavenger Hunt involves finding as many items on the list below in the covers of the books read. You can only count one item per book cover. You complete the challenge by "finding" six items on the list, at which point you are entered in Bev's drawing for a prize (if you complete your wrap up post). If you find 12 items on the list, you get entered in a second drawing for a second prize. Bev will also award a Grand Prize for the person who finds the most items.

BOOKS FINISHED

A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell (1967; Inspector Wexford #2; Just One Person)


Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George (1989; Inspector Lynley #2; Bloodstains)


Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (1961; Inspector Felse #2; Edgar Award Winner; A Blonde)


Billingsgate Shoal by Rick Boyer ((1982; Doc Adams #1; Edgar Award Winner; a boat, although it's hard to see)


Don't Point That Thing At Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1972; Mortdecai Trilogy #1; a bottle for drinking)


After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1979; Mortdecai Trilogy #2; a hand holding a weapon)


Something Nasty in the Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1976; Mortdecai Trilogy #3; the moon)


Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (1978; Nobel Laureate; shadowy figure)


Devices & Desires by P. D. James (1989; Adam Dalgliesh #8; a knife)