Opening Sentence of the Day: The Mosquito Coast

"We drove past Tiny Polski's mansion house to the main road, and then the five miles into Northampton, Father talking the whole way about savages and the awfulness of America -- how it got turned into a dope-taking, door-locking, ulcerated danger zone of rabid scavengers and criminal millionaires and moral sneaks."

-- The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux.

Now that's some kind of opening sentence!

This book is on the Anthony Burgess list of Top 99 novels, and it won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

State of the Blog, Part Three: The Challenges

It's fall and time for another quarterly blog progress report. This is a three part assessment. Part One looked at my book lists. Part Two had to do with my favorite authors. This Part Three deals with my challenges.

I am hosting two "Battle of the Prizes" challenges this year and working on several others.  All are listed in the right-hand column. I've finished one challenges, added one, and am lagging behind on others. I have to bust a book move to get this task wrapped up by the deadlines.

CHALLENGES HOSTED BY ROSE CITY READER

Battle of the Prizes: American Version

National Book Award winners v. Pulitzer Prize winners, rules here. There is still time to sign up! The challenge doesn't end until January 31, 2011.

I am ashamed to say that I haven't read any of my three books yet. However, chaotic compendiums, 100 Books. 100 Journeys, J.G. at Hotchpot Cafe, and Musings are already finished.

Books read so far: zero (how shameful!)

Books I'm going to read for this challenge: 3

1. Them by Joyce Carol Oates for my National winner;
2. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler for my Pulitzer winner; and
3. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter for my double dipper choice.

Battle of the Prizes: British Version

Man Booker Prize v. James Tait Black Memorial Prize, rules here. Again, there is still time to sign up!This one doesn't end until January 31, 2011 either.

Books read so far: one (The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry for my James Tait Black winner; reviewed here) 

Books I'm going to read for this challenge: 2 more

1. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch for my Booker winner; and
2. G by John Berger for my double dipper choice. 

CHALLENGES I AM PARTICIPATING IN

Bibliophilic Books Challenge



A challenge to read books about books. The home page is here.

I signed up for the "Bibliomaniac" level, which means I have 12 to read by the end of the year. I do not have a final list yet, but I have several in mind.

Books read so far: 5

1. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (reviewed here);
2. The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White (reviewed here);
3. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (reviewed here);
4. A Year in the World by Frances Mayes (reviewed here); 
5. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby (not reviewed yet).

Books I may read for this challenge (so many to chose from):

1. Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby; 
2. Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love, edited by Anne Fadiman; 
3. 99 Novels by Anthony Burgess;
4. The Well-Educated Mind by Wise S. Bauer;
5. How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom;
6. Studies in Classic American Literature by D. H. Lawrence;
7. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald;
8. The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte; 
9. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon;
10. At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live with and Care for Their Libraries by Estelle Ellis;
11. The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World by Guillaume de Laubier;
12. Literary Essays by Mark Twain;
13. Speak Memory by Vladimir Nobokov;
14. Saul Bellow: A Biography of the Imagination by Ruth Miller;
15. Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius by Barbara Belford;
16. Capote by Gerald Clarke;
17. Greene on Capri: A Memoir by Shirley Hazzard; and
18. Walks in Hemingway's Paris: A Guide To Paris For The Literary Traveler by Noel Fitch

Birth Year Reading Challenge 

This challenge is to read one or more books published in the year you were born, hosted by Hotchpot Cafe. My main post for this challenge is here.

Books read so far: two

1. Indian Summer by John Knowles (reviewed here),
2. The Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann (reviewed here)

Book Awards Challenge

The challenge involves reading ten books that won ten different prizes by November 1, 2010. The home page is here. Many of my picks overlap with other challenges, but I better get hopping.

Books read so far: 5

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (National Book Critics Circle winner;
2. The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (Discover Award winner; reviewed here);
3. Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (Edgar winner; reviewed here);
4. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Costa winner; reviewed here); and
5. Small Island by Andrea Levy (Orange winner, reviewed here). 

Books I may read for this challenge:

1. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (Pulitzer winner);
2. Them by Joyce Carol Oates (National winner);
3. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (Booker winner);
4. G by John Berger (James Tait Black winner);
5. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (Nobel winner); and
6. Seaview by Toby Olson (PEN/Faulkner winner).

Chunkster Challenge

I signed up for the "Mor-book-ly Obese" level, meaning I will read six 450+-page books (or three 750+-pagers). Caribousmom hosts this challenge.

Books read so far: one (Three Loves by A. J. Cronin; reviewed here). Again, I better get those pages turning! I am behind on this challenge. I've tackled several big books this year, including the monumental Count of Monte Cristo, but I listened to the audiobooks. Those count in terms of a reading "life list" but not for this challenge, which specifically excludes audio books.

Books I may read for this challenge: 

1. Them by Joyce Carol Oates (which I am reading for my Battle of the Prizes: American Version challenge); 
2. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (which I am reading for my Battle of the Prizes: British Version challenge);
3. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (on the Radcliffe list);
4. Echoes by Maeve Binckey; and
5. one more that I haven't come up with yet because I was thinking of using Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell, but then realized it is a book of essays and that does not count.

100+ Challenge

I signed up for this because I am pretty sure I'll read more than 100 books this year. But I do not have my own post for it. The challenge home page is here.

I keep a book cover list of the books I've read this year in the right-hand column of this blog, although books don't show up over there if they are missing a cover picture on my LibraryThing library. I am up to 87 books so far this year if I didn't forget something. That happens.


Typically British Challenge (FINISHED)



I signed up at the "Cream Crackered" level to read eight "Typically British" novels. I blew through all eight pretty quickly, since probably half of the books I read qualify. The challenge home page is here.

So this is the first challenge I have completed this year. Jolly good!

Books read so far: 8

1. One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here);
2. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (finished, not reviewed);
3. The New Confessions by William Boyd (reviewed here);
4. Three Loves by A. J. Cronin (reviewed here);
5. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster (reviewed here);
6. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (reviewed here);
7. Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis by Kinglsey Amis (reviewed here); and
8. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here).

Daphne du Maurier Challenge

This Challenge is hosted by Chris at book-a-rama. I was late to this challenge and only signed up for it a few weeks ago. But it goes through April 19, 2011, so I have plenty of time.


I signing up for the "Dreaming of Manderley" category, to read three novels. Since I am still new to du Maurier, I'll am starting with the greatest hits.

Books read so far: one: Rebecca (reviewed here)

Books I plan to read:

1. The Flight of the Falcon; and
2. My Cousin Rachel.

Teaser Tuesday Trifecta

Because I seem to be reading books faster than Tuesdays come around, I have another triple teaser this week, from a diverse batch of books. They are all non-fiction, but that's about the only thing they have in common.

In this place and time, facing the world and my ignorance of it, everything has become sharper.  When I look at Maung, I see someone who has given himself over, completely, to a cause bigger than his one life.

-- Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story  is Karen Connelly (reviewed here)

Congress should change the federal tax code so that individuals and families can deduct health care [insurance] premiums from their taxes.

Companies, but not their workers, can write off the cost of coverage.

-- The Truth About Obamacare by Sally C. Pipes

On my right, the horseman eyed my breakfast. having finished his own.  Maybe he was just looking for a way to be friendly.

-- from "A Stranger in Town" in Another Way the River Has: Taut True Tales from the Northwest by Robin Cody (published by OSU Press).

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

I recently heard Kathie England from Time for Success talk about simple time-management techniques. One that I liked in particular was using a minute timer to either set a limit for unimportant but tempting tasks like reading email, or to set a required amount of time to concentrate on an important project.

So I set off for Kitchen Kaboodle to buy a minute timer for my office.  But on the way, I stopped in at my neighborhood bookstore, Broadway Books, where I dawdled for an hour and walked out with a stack of books for Mailbox Monday. 

That's great for my reading pleasure, but what does it tell me about my time management skills?

My Lives: An Autobiography by Edmund White (because I recently read and enjoyed The Flaneur, reviewed here, for the Bibliophilic Books Challenge)



A Writer's House in Wales by Jan Morris (because her books on Venice and Oxford are favorites of mine)



The Snapper by Roddy Doyle (because I always mean to read more of his books besides Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha)



Blood From a Stone by Donna Leon (because I read one of her Venice mysteries, Death at la Fenice, and I want to read the rest of the series)

State of the Blog, Part Two: The Authors

Part of being a compulsive "list" reader is keeping track of the progress I make on my many lists. I try to do a comprehensive assessment every quarter.  This fall progress review is the most important to me since I still have time to accomplish some reading goals before the end of the year.

This is a three-part assessment. This second part looks at my author lists (in the right-side column). Part One reviewed my reading lists.  Part Three, coming soon, will deal with the challenges I joined this year.

So far this year, I have read 19 books by my listed authors. I'd like to get up to 24 by the end of the year -- and average of two a month seems pretty good.

THE AUTHORS

Kingsley Amis
Books read so far: 8/48
Books read in 2010: four (or two, depending how you count compilations):

1. One Fat Englishman (reviewed here); and
2. Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis (reviewed here), which includes the complete, previously published volumes:
• On Drink;
• Every Day Drinking; and 
• How's Your Glass

Books I hope to read in 2010: probably no more
Books on my TBR shelf: 5

Kate Atkinson
Books read so far: 2/8
Books read in 2010: one (Case Histories, for the Typically British Challenge)
Books I hope to read in 2010: 2

• One Good Turn
• When Will There be Good News?

Books on my TBR shelf: 2

Cara Black
Books read so far: 2/9
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one, Murder in Belleville
Books on my TBR shelf: one

William Boyd

Books read so far: 3/16
Books read in 2010: one (The New Confessions, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (Brazzaville Beach)
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

James Lee Burke
Books read so far: 13/17 (Dave Robicheaux series only)
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: maybe none
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

Lee Child
Books read so far: 13/14
Books read in 2010: one (Gone Tomorrow)
Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (61 Hours)
Books on my TBR shelf: one

A. J. Cronin

Books read so far: 1/25
Books read in 2010: one (Three Loves, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: that may be it for this year
Books on my TBR shelf: 5

M. F. K. Fisher
Books read so far: 4/27
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: maybe one
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Books read so far: 8/13
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: probably zero, this is a future goal
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Penelope Fitzgerald
Books read so far: 2/9
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (The Bookshop, for the Bibliophilic Books Challenge)
Books on my TBR shelf: 4

Richard Ford
Books read so far: 5/10
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: undecided
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

Dick Francis
Books read so far: 4/47
Books read in 2010: two

1. Second Wind (reviewed here); and
2. Under Orders.

Books I hope to read in 2010: 2 more

1. Proof
2. Shattered

Books on my TBR shelf: 4

Jim Harrison
Books read so far: 20/20 (prose only)
Books read in 2010: one (Farmer's Daughter, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: no more
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Nick Hornby
Books read so far: 5/11
Books read in 2010: 3

1. The Polysyllabic Spree (reviewed here)
2. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt
3. Juliet, Naked (reviewed here)

Books I hope to read in 2010: one more (Shakespeare Wrote for Money)
Books on my TBR shelf: 3

John Lescroart
Books read so far: 16/17 (Dismus Hardy series and spin offs)
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (A Plague of Secrets)
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Elinor Lipman
Books read so far: 4/10
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (Then She Found Me)
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

David Lodge
Books read so far: 3/15 (fiction only)
Books read in 2010: one (Deaf Sentence,reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: maybe one more, but I don't know which one
Books on my TBR shelf: 8

Ian McEwan
Books read so far: 5/13
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: at least one, but I do not have any on my TBR shelf
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Jack Ohman
Books read so far: 5/10
Books read in 2010: one (Angler Management, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: no more

Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Anthony Powell
Books read so far: 14/32
Books read in 2010: one (Venusberg, reviewed here)
Books I hope to read in 2010: no more
Books on my TBR shelf: none

Philip Roth
Books read so far: 7/30
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: at least one, but I haven't decided which one
Books on my TBR shelf: 11

Martin Cruz Smith
Books read so far: 6/6 (Arkady Renko series only)
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: zero, unless I get my hands on Three Stations
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Julia Spencer-Fleming
Books read so far: 5/7
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (I Shall Not Want)
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

William Styron
Books read so far: 2/10
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: probably zero
Books on my TBR shelf: 2

Anne Tyler
Books read so far: 4/18
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: one (Breathing Lessons, for my Pulitzer pick for the Battle of the Prizes challenge)
Books on my TBR shelf: 5

John Updike
Books read so far: 10/26
Books read in 2010: 2

1. The Witches of Eastwick
2. The Widows of Eastwick

Books I hope to read in 2010: no more
Books on my TBR shelf: 10

Andrea U'ren
Books read so far: zero/2
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: hopefully both of them
Books on my TBR shelf: zero

Simon Winchester
Books read so far: 5/16
Books read in 2010: zero
Books I hope to read in 2010: two

1. The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
2. Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded

Books on my TBR shelf: 2