kac522's Slightly Challenging 2016--The Second Half

Sheffield, UK

Welcome to the second half of my 2016 Challenge. I wanted to clean up my Challenge thread a bit, so seemed a perfect opportunity to start the Second Half with a (sort of) clean slate.

The pic above is Sheffield, UK, where my son & his family moved on June 30. They've lived in Milan, Italy, since they were married in 2005. I'm anxious to visit and get to know Sheffield. I'm a native Chicagoan, but I've got distance relatives living in England: in Colchester and the Bristol area (my grandfather was born in Bristol), but have only been in the north once.

As to my challenges, I've fallen behind (hardly a news flash), but I started the year with a relaxed attitude. My main focus will to read as many books off my shelves, unless a challenge or author really strikes my fancy. Anything that's been on my shelf since before December 31, 2015 counts as a ROOT. I hope to read at least 30 ROOTs in 2016 and am tracking them here:




The 2016 Challenge Rules:

--I don't have to read any books by any author if I don't want to.
--If I do choose an author/book, I don't have to read the books IN THE APPROPRIATE month if I don't want to. As long as I read it by the end of 2016, IT COUNTS.
--I don't have a minimum number of books to read by the end of 2016 or in any category
--Possible rule that I will probably overrule: that I read more books for the combined Challenges than in the ETC category.

and the most important Rule is to enjoy what I read!

My simple chronological thread is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/209668

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you Great Reading in the Second Half of 2016!

I'm participating off and on in:

--American Author Challenge (AAC)
--British Author Challenge (BAC)
--Canadian Author Challenge (CAC)
--DeweyCAT Challenge (DewCAT)
--RandomCAT Challenge (RanCAT)
--Nonfiction Challenge (NF)

Couple of disclaimers--Since I've read most of the authors in the AAC Challenge, I've substituted with authors I haven't read who are female and/or authors of diverse backgrounds. Substituted authors are in italics.

I felt that last year I read lots of fiction, so I'm in 2 nonfiction challenges (Dewey & Nonfiction) to up my nonfiction reading. Even if the book fits both nonfiction challenges, I won't use the same book for both. I'm committed to reading at least 24 nonfiction books this year.

So here's where I am so far, month by month:

January--All challenges DONE

AAC-Pearl S. Buck, The Good Earth--Completed May
BAC-Susan Hill, Howards End is on the Landing--Completed January
CAC-Kim Thúy: Ru--Completed January; Robertson Davies: Fifth Business--Completed July
DewCAT-000s I. F. Stone: A Portrait by Andrew Patner; DDC 070.092--Completed March
RanCAT--Embrace Your Uniqueness: 1. George Eliot: The Jewish Connection by Ruth Levitt--Completed January shared with only 1 other LT member
2. Sailor and Fiddler by Herman Wouk--Completed January--shared by 15 others on LT
NF--Biography/Autobiography/Memoir--1. Spinoza: A Life by Steven Nadler--Completed January

February

AAC-Maya Angelou, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings--Ccompleted March
BAC-Agatha Christie, Crooked House--Completed February; The Mysterious Affair at Styles--Completed March
CAC-Helen Humphreys: The Frozen Thames--Completed February; Stephen Leacock: Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town--Completed March
DewCAT-100s Famine, Affluence and Morality by Peter Singer; DDC 170--Completed February
RanCAT--It Takes Two--Much Ado About Nothing by Wm. Shakespeare--Completed November
NF--History--Graveyards of Chicago by M. Hucke & U. Bielski--Completed March

March

AAC-Jane Smiley, Ordinary Love Completed March
BAC-Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge--Completed March
CAC-Anita Rau Badami--Skipped
DewCAT-200s: Putting God Second by Rabbi Donniel Hartman; DDC 200.1
RanCAT--Celebrations--In the Dark Streets Shineth by David McCullough
NF--Travel--My Love Affair with England by Susan Allen Toth--Completed June

April

AAC-Poetry--Felicity by Mary Oliver--Completed May
BAC-George Eliot, Impressions of Theophrastus Such--Completed May
CAC-Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman--Completed November
DewCAT-300-354 Shadows of the Workhouse: Call the Midwife Vol. 2 by Jennifer Worth; DDC 305--Completed May
RanCAT--Earth Day--The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck--Completed May
NF--Spirituality--No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh--Completed May

May

AAC-Ivan Doig
BAC-Jane Gardam
CAC--SKIPPED
DewCAT-355-399 Choosing Civility by P. M. Forni; DDC 395--Completed May
RanCAT--Color Your World--Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte--Completed June
NF--Arts

June

AAC-Maxine Hong Kingston The Woman Warrior-- Completed December
BAC- Joseph Conrad, "Amy Foster" and "The Secret Sharer" (short stories)
CAC--SKIPPED
DewCAT-Jun: 400s 1. How To Speak Brit by C. J. Moore DDC 427.941;
2. In Other Words by C.J. Moore: DDC 413.21;
3. How English Became English by Simon Horobin: DDC 420.9 --all Completed June
RanCAT--I Do, I Do (marriage)--Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (Vol 1-3)--Completed June
NF--Natural History/Environment--Audiobook: The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester, read by Winchester--Completed June

July

AAC-John Steinbeck--Of Mice and Men--Completed January
BAC-Bernice Rubens--Milwaukee--Completed August
CAC- L. M. Montgomery--Anne of Green Gables, (audiobook, read by Colleen Winton); Pierre Berton--The Great Lakes-- Both Completed August
DewCAT-500s--Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli--Completed October, DDC 530
RanCAT--Good Times--As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee
NF--Current Affairs--March, book one, March, book two and March, Book Three by John Lewis--completed November

August

AAC--skipped
BAC-Ian McEwan
CAC-Mordechai Richler
DewCAT-600s--The Great Bridge by David McCullough (audiobook read by Edward Hermann), DDC 624.55
RanCAT-Camping--SKIPPED
NF--Science and Technology

September

AAC--skipped
BAC-Laurie Lee--Cider with Rosie--completed October
CAC-SKIPPED
DewCAT-700s--The Carols of Christmas by Andrew Gant; DDC 782.28
RanCAT-Books in Translation--The Stranger by Albert Camus; transl. from the French by Matthew Ward; A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler, transl. from the German by Charlotte Collins
NF--Philosophy/History of Ideas--Albert Schweitzer: Essential Writings, ed. J. Brabazon; DDC 230--Completed April

October

AAC--skipped
BAC-Kate Atkinson
CAC-Lawrence Hill
DewCAT-800s--Women and Marriage in Victorian Fiction by Jenni Calder, DDC 823.03
RanCAT--Scary books--I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
NF--Politics/Economics/Business How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellensburg

November

AAC--skipped
BAC-Rebecca West--The Return of the Soldier--completed November
CAC-SKIPPED
DewCAT-900-939--As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee--DDC 921
RanCAT--NaNoWriMo--Debut Novel--The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
NF--Essays--A Story Larger Than My Own, Janet Burroway, editor

December

AAC--Don Delillo--Pafko at the Wall-- Completed December
BAC-West Yorkshire writers--Charlotte Bronte--The Professor--Completed December
CAC-Alice Munro, Rawi Hage
DewCAT-940-999--The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston--DDC 979.4
RanCAT--Gifts
NF--Quirky/Who Knew--The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs by Andrew Gant

I'm excited to do the WomanBingoPUP card, as I read a lot of books by women. I will be updating this message as I read a book that fits on my bingo card:



Here are my WomanBingoPUP books:

WomanBingoPUP

1. New-to-you female author--Marriage by Susan Ferrier
2. Female author over 60 when book was published--Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill (age 67 when published) finished 22 Jan
3. Female African author
4. Female author using a male pseudonym--The Lifted Veil and Brother Jacob by George Eliot (aka Marian Evans) finished Jan 2
5. Female author from the Middle East--George Eliot: The Jewish Connection by Ruth Levitt (from Israel) finished Jan 17
6. By or about women set in Latin America or Asia--Ru by Kim Thuy finished Jan 14 (partially set in VietNam and Malaysia)
7. Female author made into a movie--To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee finished Feb 4
8. About a female critter
9. Female author published before 2000--Ordinary Love by Jane Smiley finished Mar 19 (published in 1989)
10. By or about women set in Europe, Australia, or New Zealand--The Professor by Charlotte Bronte finished Dec 26 (Set primarily in Brussels)
11. Different genre than you normally read--Impressions of Theophrastus Such by George Eliot finished May 10 (essays--most of her other work that I have read is fiction)
12. Award winner by a woman writer--The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley finished May 4--Newberry Honor
13. Any book written by or about a woman--The Jewish Odyssey of George Eliot by Gertrude Himmelfarb finished Mar 11
14. Mystery by a female author from the 1920's & 1930's--The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie finished Mar 30
15. Poetry or plays written by a woman--Felicity by Mary Oliver finished May 21 (poetry)
16. About woman/women in non-traditional roles--Maisie Dobbs by J. Winspear finished Apr 7
17. Female author published less than 10 years ago--The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys finished Feb (published in 2007)
18. By or about a woman/women from TBR--The Crooked House by Agatha Christie finished Feb
19. An autobiography, memoir, or correspondence--How to Understand Israel in 60 days or Less by Sarah Glidden finished Jan 6
20. About a female spy
21. A short story collection by a woman
22. About women in science
23. About women in combat--The Provincial Lady in Wartime by E. M. Delafield finished Oct 2016
24. About a female ruler
25. By a female African American author--Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings finished March

And, last but not least, my "Etc." list--books that don't fit any of the challenges, including books I've read for my RL Book Club:

ETC.:

1. The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato (Feb)
2. Jane Austen Cover to Cover by Margaret Sullivan (April)
3. Plotted: A Literary Atlas by Andrew DeGraff (April)
4. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (April)
5. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (April)
6. Outwitting History: the Amazing Adventures of Man who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books by Aaron Lansky (May)
7. Moby Dick by Herman Melville (May)
8. The Provincial Lady in London by E. M. Delafield (May)
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes (May)
10. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (June)
11. English Country Houses by Vita Sackville-West (June)
12. The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope (July)
13. Plainsong by Kent Haruf (August)
14. Blue Willow by Doris Gates (August)
15. The Provincial Lady in Russia by E. M. Delafield (Sept)
16. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson (Sept)
17. Chance Developments by Alexander McCall Smith (Sept)
18. Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope (Dec)

Reflections on reading in the first half of 2016:

Good stuff:

--I've read 51 books--if this keeps up, I'm on track to read 100 books this year, something I've never done before!

--I've completed the Dewey Challenge each month, and the Nonfiction challenge in 5 out of 6 months

--I've completed all 6 challenges in January, and 5 out of 6 challenges in February & April

--I've enjoyed all the Canadian authors I've tried for the CAC challenge.

--I've read some remarkable books, like Moby Dick, Marriage by Susan Ferrier, am 1/3 through Clarissa, and encountered some very thought-provoking reads, like The Noise of Time, Spinoza: a Life, and The Jewish Odyssey of George Eliot.

--I re-read The Mayor of Casterbridge, To Kill a Mockingbird and Death of a Salesman--all classics I read many years ago, and brought new insight on re-visiting.

--I discovered E. M. Delafield's entertaining Provincial Lady series, and started reading Agatha Christie from her first published mystery. I plan to continue in order.

Need to improve:

--Completing a few more challenges/months as possible.

--Read more of what I want. And to that end, I've decided July is going to be Challenge-Free, with one exception. I'm in the midst of Robertson Davies' Fifth Business (the second Canadian author for January), and will finish that. After that, who knows? I'm picking books I've been wanting to read that don't fit any challenges, like:

--Plainsong--all that warbling from Joe & Mark has got this book on the top of my TBR pile
--The Prime Minister--my next book in Trollope's Palliser series (what with Brexit and Cameron resigning, this seemed timely)
--another Volume of Clarissa

After that--maybe back to a challenge or two. I'm off to read...

Happy new thread and happy reading!

Happy New Thread!!

Enjoy your challenge free month! Sometimes, it so nice to just read whatever you want without worrying that it won't fill some category.

Happy new thread! Enjoy the rest of your reading year. Looks like it's been great so far!

>6 MissWatson: and >7 VictoriaPL: Thanks for the encouragement & stopping by!

>8 LittleTaiko: Yep, I'm looking forward to challenge-free! I just can't wait to start that Trollope--doesn't fit in any challenge anywhere :)

>9 rabbitprincess: Yep, it's been pretty good--I'm totally amazed at my pace, and I'm keeping up with my ROOTS, too, which is like a first for me.

52. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

Type: fiction
Completed: July 2016
Challenge(s): Canadian Author Challenge: January
Format: Paperback from Chicago Public Library

I know I should love this book. But I didn't. I'm not going to repeat the story here--it's too complicated, and it never pulled me in. It was too realistic to be a fable, and too unbelievable to take seriously. I did not feel for any of the characters; I didn't like any of them, either. The narrator feels distant and condescending. And the psychological archetypes and saints and devils; magicians and politicians; illusions, delusions, allusions: all weaving in and out, were more than my poor head could figure out. I felt like a "fool-reader": putting in lots of rigorous psychological and literary effort, but it all comes to nothing.

The only positive thing I can say is that Davies is an intelligent writer, and he assumes an intelligent audience. But it was a slog--I forced myself to finish. Sorry, Davies fans. I wanted so much to like it, which is why I didn't Pearl-Rule it (which I desperately wanted to do). Done now, and onto better things.

Happy new thread! I like how you ended the last thread, though! :)

>12 -Eva-: 😃 Thanks, Eva! I just couldn't wait to start the second half!

Have just started The Prime Minister by Trollope. So good to be back with old friends (Lady Glencora, Madame Max--now Mrs Finn, Plantagenet) and meeting new ones. I'm 150 pages in & loving it.

Just wanted to make a comment about the English Country House book on your last thread. It's too bad it required such a familiarity with them. When I spotted it, I thought it might be interesting, but I suppose if my only knowledge of the dwelling comes from fiction, it's probably "over my head" too.

>15 thornton37814: Yeah, it sort of felt like I walked into a room with lots of strangers having conversations about people and places I know nothing about, and everyone is nodding and smiling and agreeing, and I'm totally lost. But if you're familiar with all (or most) of what Sackville-West is talking about, she probably makes insightful, witty comments. Guess I'm not in with the 1940s In Crowd.

Yes, well, it's been awhile, hasn't it? July & August were busy with work and events; not much reading got done. I've all but abandoned any hope of finishing any challenge, except that I've done relatively OK with the WomanBingoPup.

Here's hoping September will bring more reading time, and below are the few books I managed to read the last 2 months.

53. The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

Type: fiction
Completed: July 2016
Challenge(s): ROOTs
Format: Paperback from my library

I had been putting this off so that I could read along with lyzard's tutored read, but I just couldn't wait! What with Brexit & the new Prime Minister this summer, I was very much in the mood for this political novel, my next book up in Trollope's Palliser series.

There are 2 main threads, encompassing two very different marriages: Plantagenet (the politician of the title) & his wife Glencora; and Ferdinand Lopez & his wife Emily Wharton. Trollope shows us how two very different marriages work, or don't work, as the case may be.

This is the first Trollope where I actually followed & understood the political threads of the novel, and I think I may have enjoyed that part almost as much as Plantagent & Lady Glencora. I was uncomfortable with the underlying anti-Semitism that surrounds Lopez. If you read closely, the blatant anti-Semitism only comes out of a character's mouth, not from the narrator directly, although the narrator has very little good to relate about Lopez (until his end).

All in all, it was wonderful to re-visit Trollope's world. Before I move onto the last novel, I want to listen to The Prime Minister, so will need to work on finding the audio.

54. Milwaukee by Bernice Rubens

Type: fiction
Completed: Aug 2016
Challenge(s): BAC
Format: Hardcover via Interlibrary loan (SIU-Carbondale)

I was hoping for more from this book. The mother/daughter relationships are all negative, with unlikely tokens of "love" at dying. I found the entire story pretty unbelievable, and most of the characters unlikable. I did not enjoy this book, although the writing itself was better than average.

55. The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Type: fiction
Completed: August 2016
Challenge(s): None
Format: ebook from Chicago Public Library

Another book that just didn't cut it for me. Let's start with the fact that the book was probably 200 pages too long. The themes and ideas were important (mostly tolerance, individualism, small-town narrowness, etc.), but I feel like Simonson tackled too many & I don't feel like any one of them was well-rounded. The first 2/3 of the book just dragged for me--the last parts of the book (at war) moved much faster. I had little or no sympathy for any of the characters, and the dialogue felt wrong--or maybe forced/not natural. There's a whole thread of a Henry James-like character which to me was insufferable. I enjoyed Simonson's first book Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but this book was for me mostly a chore to read.

56. The Great Lakes by Pierre Berton; photographs by Andre Gallant

Type: nonfiction, history of the Great Lakes
Completed: August 2016
Challenge(s): CAC
Format: Hardcover from Chicago Public Library

This is a large-format coffee table book, and it was stunning, with wonderful text by Berton. Living in Chicago on Lake Michigan, I have always thought of the Great Lakes as simply American. It just never occurred to me that there's a Canadian story, too. Berton takes us through the history, commerce, great disasters, recreation, environment and future of the lakes from both sides of the border, using archival photographs and contemporary photographs taken by Gallant. Written in the 1990's, it could use some updating from the last 20 years, but overall still a lovely look at one of greatest resources shared by Canada and the U.S.A.

57. Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Type: fiction
Completed: August 2016
Challenge(s): my Book Club, ROOTs
Format: paperback from my library

If you follow the 75-ers threads around here, you've probably heard the praises from Joe (jnwelch) & Mark (of the AAC) about Plainsong. I convinced my book club that this would be a great summer read for us, and I think most people did enjoy the book. I loved Haruf's spare style--I think he gets across so much in just a small space. In particular his dialogue felt real, and his details of the simplest daily events, like shadows, wind, sounds, and even the swinging of a purse--make you feel like you are right there. At the beginning I was less impressed with the storyline, but all the threads seemed to converge at the end, in a positive way. And perhaps that's the best thing about this book--except for a few curmdugeions, people in this small town of Colorado mostly do the right thing, without feeling self-righteous about it. I'm not sure I'll read the next books in the trilogy, but I would like to try some of Haruf's short stories. But I'm very glad I read Plainsong.

58. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery; Audiobook read by Colleen Winton

Type: fiction
Completed: August 2016
Challenge(s): CAC
Format: audiobook from Chicago Public Library

I read this classic almost 30 years ago and loved the TV series. Listening to the audiobook was such a pleasure--I really didn't want it to end! Yes, Anne is over-the-top, but in many ways it reminded me of how I take so many things for granted. Anne was thrilled by the smallest pleasure--just a stretch of lovely green space let her imagination run wild. I feel like I have no "imagination" or appreciation for the small things in my life & Anne put a tiny bit back for me. And of course as a fellow redhead, I could sympathize with her troubles, and her "Waterloo": geometry! I only wish Montgomery didn't have Anne win EVERY prize in Avonlea, or ALWAYS get that encore, but besides that, it was a fun book to listen to.

59. Blue Willow by Doris Gates

Type: fiction (YA/middle school)
Completed: August 2016
Challenge(s): none
Format: paperback from Chicago Public Library

Saw this book on Linda's (Whisper1) thread and wanted to read abou the Blue Willow plate. Written in the 1940's the story is set in a migrant worker's camp in California. In some ways, it was much ahead of its time: it portrays the life of a poor migrant family (father, daughter, stepmother), with Mexican neighbors. In other ways I was less pleased with the book: the narrator tells us too much rather than letting the story or the characters tell us; there is a short patriotic section about the American flag; women are decidedly second-class citizens here. The plate is a family heirloom from her deceased mother's family that the heroine (Janey) treasures more than any other possession (of which there are few). I own a set of very old Blue Willow dishes that were my grandmother's, so the premise of the story intrigued me. Not sure how kids today would react or respond to this book, but it is a look at a way of life in the Depression era.

I like the look of the Great Lakes book! My parents collect Pierre Berton books so I will have to hunt up a copy for their collection.

>25 rabbitprincess: It's a gorgeous book. A bit dated (especially about the current state of the lakes & environment), but the history is fascinating & the photographs are wonderful.

It's September, so might as well re-cap July and August:

Best Fiction: The Prime Minister and Plainsong. .
Best Non-Fiction: The Great Lakes --actually the ONLY non-fiction :) but it was still a good book.
Most Disappointing: The Summer Before the War

A surprising great re-read: Anne of Green Gables

Currently reading:

Mozart's Women by Jane Glover for Dewey 700s and WomanBingoPup
The Provincial Lady in Russia by E. M. Delafield

Some other possibilities for the month:

The Stranger by Camus, for Book Club
Joseph Banks: A Life by Patrick O'Brian for Dewey 500s
The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood for Dewey 600s
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
--something in translation for the RandomCat (maybe Herta Muller?)
--and another volume in Clarissa; note that this reading has come to a virtual stand-still, so need to get back to it

--and I may follow along with lyzard's tutored read of Emma. It is my least favorite Austen novel to read, but I've enjoyed the screen adaptations.

>20 kac522: Now I'm second-guessing whether or not I want to read that one. It's on my list. It's also available in audio from the library. I think I've got both the audio and e-book versions bookmarked to check for availability.

>28 thornton37814: You know, lots of people loved the book. I think I was in a "it's not Trollope" run, and so everything seemed to fall short of expectations. It was long (in fact, a lot of books are feeling too long to me lately--I've had enough after 150 pages, unless it's OUTSTANDING.) Many people liked the slowness of the first half of the book, and I'm not averse to slow, but it just didn't "delight" me enough to enjoy each slow page. The last quarter of the book flies by, and if you liked her first book, it may be worth it to pursue this book to the end.

Audio may work better than reading, too. There's a lot of dialogue in the book, so audio might be a good choice.

Well now that October is half-way done, time to catch up on September reads:

60. The Provincial Lady in Russia by E. M. Delafield

Type: memoir
Completed: Sep 2016
Challenge(s): none
Format: paperback from Chicago Public Library

This did not have the same light funny tone as the previous "Provincial Lady" books. There is dark humor and it's a bit scary and we want our Lady to come home as soon as she can. And like the author, we wonder what on earth her editor could be thinking that Stalin's Russia could provide entertainment to our Lady's readers, and we all come away thinking there is nothing funny about it at all. It does offer an eye-opening look at the Russia of the late 1930's, warts and all.

61. The Great Bridge: the Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough

Type: nonfiction, history
Completed: Sep 2016
Challenge(s): DeweyCAT Challenge--624.55097471
Format: Audiobook

The story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. As an audiobook, it was more difficult to visualize--pictures and diagrams would have helped, especially concerning the great caissons where the men labored many weeks. But the story of Washington Roebling, the genius behind the building of the bridge, takes center stage in the book, and comes across clearly in the audiobook. An early McCullough history that is always entertaining.

62. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Type: nonfiction, travel memoir
Completed: Sep 2016
Challenge(s): None
Format: Paperback from the Chicago Public Library

After living in the UK for over 10 years, Bryson takes one last trip through Great Britain before he is to return to America to live. This book had some great parts, but it was 150 pages too long. Bryson could have told us about the highlights, the unusual places, and even some of the dismal ones in a lot fewer words. The dismal ones especially got boring--how many times can you hear about a boring little village? And a boring English town is at least slightly more interesting than some dinky towns in Illinois (or his native Iowa) that are just an intersection. When he loved a place, he conveyed it well, and I appreciated those. Written for Americans, especially those of us from the Midwest.

63. The Stranger by Albert Camus; translated from the French by Matthew Ward

Type: fiction
Completed: Sep 2016
Challenge(s): RandomCAT September: Books in Translation; Read for my Book Club
Format: Paperback from my library

This very short existential/absurdist novel (actually closer to novella) felt very much of its time--the 1940s. I don't think it could have been written today. A man estranged from society commits a murder, seemingly by accident, and comes to terms with his life as he faces death. It generated a good amount of discussion at book club, and at the time made me stop and think, at least for a few days...

64. Chance Developments by Alexander McCall Smith

Type: fiction: short stories
Completed: Sep 2016
Challenge(s): None
Format: Hardcover from the Evanston Public Library

Several short stories inspired by old photographs. Clever premise that doesn't always work successfully, but was a welcome break after The Stranger.

65. A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler; translated from the German by Charlotte Collins

Type: fiction
Completed: Sep 2016
Challenge(s): RandomCAT September: Books in Translation
Format: Hardcover from the Chicago Public Library

An unassuming but exquisitely written book about the simple life of man living in the Alps. Short and very satisfying, with an open, positive, quiet-as-snow feel.

RL has wormed its way into my life and slowed down my reading, so I've taken to just finishing up all the library books stacked up, rather than keep up with challenges.

Currently working on:

--The Provincial Lady in Wartime by E. M. Delafield, the last in the series

--Women and Marriage in Victorian Fiction by Jenni Calder

--Mozart's Women by Jane Glover

--Austen's Emma in an audiorecording read by Juliet Stevenson

and someday I'll get back to Clarissa.

Also from the library I have stacked up beside me, but not yet started:

--I, Robot by Asimov for Book Club

--Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, the One Book, One Chicago selection this year

--Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli and

--The Illustrated Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee for the BAC

>30 kac522: Haha yeah Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent was all about describing the boring towns in his native Iowa or whichever state. I was bored in the first few pages and have never tried reading it since then but I kept it on my shelves.

>31 kac522: I really liked Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I have heard great things about Carlo Rovelli's book.

My family's favourite part of Notes from a Small Island is the part where he talks about everyone going up to the train to Barnstaple (or wherever), pointing at it, and asking the conductor, "Is THIS the train to Barnstaple?" On trips to the UK subsequent to our reading the book, every time we got on a train we'd point at it and say "Is THIS the train?"

Based on your experience with Notes from a Small Island, I would probably not recommend its sequel, The Road to Little Dribbling, because it is even longer and he is more of a grumpy old man. I liked both but can see where others might not so much, especially the sequel.

Looks like you have a good selection of reading from the library! Good luck with those stacks!

>32 Tara1Reads: Yeah, and there was a lot of being wet in Bryson's book, too, which got pretty old pretty fast. But the good parts were enjoyable. I love Kingsolver's essays, more than her novels, so I'm looking forward to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and I know absolutely nothing about physics, so I hope this guy can explain it to me.

>33 rabbitprincess: Bryson had a lot of funny lines, like the ones about Cagney & Lacey re-runs. But you are right, his grumpiness got to me by the end.

I'm almost done with Calder's Women and Marriage in Victorian Fiction, which has very interesting observations, but tends to jump all over the place. My other project is to copy from cassette tapes to mp3 files Timothy West reading The Prime Minister, as lyzard is going to do a group read in November. I read it over the summer, but look forward to listening to it again. That evil Ferdinand Lopez....

66. Women and Marriage in Victorian Fiction by Jenni Calder

Type: nonfiction: literary criticism
Completed: Oct 2016
Challenge(s): DeweyCAT 800s (823.03); ROOT (see note!)
Format: Hardcover from the Chicago Public Library

Although it's obvious that Calder is a brilliant scholar, I found it very difficult to come away with much from this book. It seemed like a series of essays or analyses of works, that were only loosely tied together. For me she failed to bring everything into a coherent thesis. If you are looking for analysis of women and marriage in specific works or authors, it's best to go to the index, and read parts from her book. But as a collective whole, I had trouble following her train of thought. She spent a considerable amount of time on George Gissing and George Meredith, two authors completely new to me, so the analyses of their works were not as meaningful as those I've read, like Mrs Gaskell, Dickens, Thackeray and George Eliot. Hardy is mentioned a little and Trollope only in passing. I needed an overview of general trends in the Victorian era, in order to appreciate her specific points in the novels. Could be useful to someone who is looking for more detail in one of the books she highlights, but overall it was disappointing.

Note: I'm calling this a ROOT (even though it's a library book) because I originally took this book out of the library in December of 2016 and have renewed it the maximum 15 (yes, 15) times. So it's finally off my "library book" shelf after 10 months and I'll return it tomorrow on its final due date. :-)

Flyin' the W flag...So glad they won at least one game at home. Beating the Indians in Cleveland is going to be tough, but at least I feel like the Cubs showed up to play with 2 wins.

What! October is over! Yikes...let's catch up on reviews:

67. The Provincial Lady in Wartime by E. M. Delafield

Type: fictional memoir, humor
Completed: Oct 2016
Challenge(s): WomanBingoPUP--Women in Combat (see note!)
Format: Paperback from the Chicago Public Library

The usual witty banter of the Provincial Lady is restored in this last of the series. Delafield finds humor in even the most serious of war-time threats, so that we can laugh at even the darkest times.

Note: This is the closest I'm going to get to reading a "women in combat" book...although she never actually *sees* combat, she tries very hard to work for the "war effort." I'm sure she felt like she was in combat, working in the cafeteria she describes.

68. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

Type: nonfiction, physics
Completed: Oct 2016
Challenge(s): DeweyCAT 530
Format: Hardcover from the Chicago Public Library

These are articles Rovelli wrote for the Sunday paper publication in Italy, gathered together in one book. Definitely beyond my scope, but at least now I have a clue about what a black hole is. Rovelli's wonder and awe at our universe permeates this book, and in the reader, too.

69. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Type: fiction, science fiction
Completed: Oct 2016
Challenge(s): Oct RandomCAT--Scary books; read for book club
Format: Paperback from the Chicago Public Library

Sci-fi just isn't my genre, but this did get more interesting as the stories moved forward. The book club discussion helped me appreciate the concepts more than my initial reading, but I probably won't be reading any more Asimov.

70. The Illustrated Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee

Type: memoir
Completed: Oct 2016
Challenge(s): BAC September
Format: Hardcover from the Chicago Public Library

Lee word-paints his childhood in a small country village in Gloucester. Absolutely beautiful language takes us right there. Gorgeous illustrations in this edition fit perfectly with the prose. It's especially meaningful for me because my grandfather, who was born about 10 years before Lee, was born in Bristol. As a city boy, my grandfather's experiences would have been different, but some things, I'm sure, like the language, were the same. I know they visited the seaside town of Weston-Super-Mare, and I have also walked along the Promenade. I plan to read the rest of the books in the series.

71. Audiobook: Emma by Jane Austen; read by Juliet Stevenson

Type: fiction
Completed: Oct 2016
Challenge(s): ROOT
Format: Audiobook CDs

Listened to this (again) for lyzard's tutored read of Emma; I'm calling it a ROOT, as I've had the audiobook for a couple of years. Can't beat Stevenson for an impeccable reading, especially portrayals of Mr. Woodhouse and Mrs. Elton. Absolutely brilliant!

October recap:

Best of the lot: The Illustrated Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
Best out-of-my-comfort-zone read: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

Most disappointing: Women and Marriage in Victorian Fiction by Jenni Calder

Comforting re-read: Audiobook of Emma by Jane Austen, read by Juliet Stevenson

Currently reading:

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
How Not to be Wrong: the Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg
Putting God Second: How to Save Religion from Itself by Donniel Hartman

and still plugging away at:

Mozart's Women by Jane Glover
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

Other possible books for November include:

NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Stories by Katherine Mansfield
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
Meridian by Alice Walker
Audiobook: The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope, read by Timothy West

ONE MORE TO GO! Can't believe it's happening!

An interesting article: we readers already know this, and this article puts science behind the emotional and psychological benefits of reading:

http://time.com/4547332/reading-benefits/

72. Audiobook: Lady Susan by Jane Austen; various readers

Type: fiction
Completed: Nov 2016
Challenge(s): ROOT
Format: Audiobook CDs

I read Lady Susan earlier this year, but hadn't listened to the audio version. Several years ago I treated myself to the complete Naxos set of Jane Austen. This short novel is entirely in letters, and several actors took the various parts reading the letters. It worked very well, and I had forgotten how funny this novel is. Great fun during a Saturday afternoon drive.

73. The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

Type: fiction
Completed: Nov 2016
Challenge(s): ROOT, Canadian Author challenge for April, RandomCAT Nov: debut novel
Format: paperback from my library

This is Atwood's first published novel (1969); she had previously only published poetry. And it seems very much out of the late 1960s, weaving consumerism, fashion and food with the changing roles of women. Two young twenty-something working women are rooming together in a large city, where they are confronted with boyfriends, married friends, the latest make-up and clothing. Marian and Ainsley, our heroines, desperately want to find some other choices besides the working girl and the harried stay-at-home mom, but there seems to be no other paths for them. I'm sure I would have loved this book if I had read it back then, as I was only a few years behind. The book is funny and slightly bizarre; it may even predict eating disorders which were largely undiagnosed at that time. Reading it today it is a window to a time before feminism; it's hard to imagine young women today understanding the angst of a girdle.

74. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Type: drama
Completed: Nov 2016
Challenge(s): RandomCAT Feb: It Takes Two; for my Book Club
Format: paperback from my library

Great fun! I had not read or seen this play before. After reading, I watched the Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson film, which made it so accessible.

75. A Story Larger than My Own: Women Writers Look Back on Their Lives and Careers edited by Janet Burroway

Type: nonfiction, essays
Completed: Nov 2016
Challenge(s): Nonfiction Challenge November: Essay collections; ROOT
Format: paperback from my library, signed by the editor

A wonderful collection of essays by women writers over age 60, recalling their struggles in their early writing careers, their triumphs, and the challenges they face as they get older. Twenty writers reflect on their careers, including Julia Alvarez, Rosellen Brown, Margaret Atwood, Gail Godwin, Erica Jong, Maxine Kumin, Edith Pearlman, Jane Smiley, and a talk given by Margaret Atwood.

In her talk about dealing with age as a writer, Atwood tells this story: she & her husband were giving a large party for other writers in their home, when one of their guests became ill. It appeared the guest was having a heart attack, so Atwood called 911. Here's how she describes it:

"And very shortly two huge strapping muscly young paramedics came galumphing up the steps. And they went in with their machines and shooed everybody out, and the following conversation took place:

FIRST PARAMEDIC: Do you know whose house this is?
SECOND PARAMEDIC: No, whose house is it?
FIRST PARAMEDIC: This is Margaret Atwood's house.
SECOND PARAMEDIC: Margaret Atwood? Is she still alive?

"Well, (Atwood goes on) some days I wonder."

And with this book, I've reached 75!

76. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

Type: fiction
Completed: Nov 2016
Challenge(s): BAC November
Format: Paperback from Evanston Public Library

Short (about 80 pages) but intense novel about a soldier's amnesia in WWI. West explores class, love and war in a prose that is similar to Henry James--each sentence is packed with emotional power. This was my first time reading West; I plan to read more. I'm especially interested in her nonfiction.

77. Putting God Second: How to Save Religion from Itself by Rabbi Donniel Hartman

Type: nonfiction, theology, Judaism
Completed: Nov 2016
Challenge(s): DeweyCAT: Dewey Decimal 200s: 200.1
Format: Hardcover from Chicago Public Library

While I see where Rabbi Hartman was trying to go with this (humans come first, and by treating others right we best serve God), I found the theology confusing and a bit convoluted. But that may be my lack of understanding of religious thought rather than a fault of the book. This book is going to be discussed in the winter at the congregation I attend, and I thought I'd get a head start on it. I'll definitely need the discussion to completely absorb this book.

>45 kac522: Ha! Love the Atwood anecdote!

>48 rabbitprincess: Isn't that story a hoot? Atwood also laments that since her work is taught in high school, she MUST be a dead author, since that's all they teach in high school.

These signs have been popping up on lawns in my neighborhood:



It was started by a group in my North Park neighborhood in Chicago, and you can find out more here:
https://www.gofundme.com/hate-has-no-home-here

>50 kac522:
Love it!

>51 -Eva-: It's so great to walk past houses with this sign in front. Makes you feel like you live in a friendly neighborhood.

Quick November re-cap and plans for December:

I am behind in reviewing books, but will get to it eventually. In the meantime, November was a great month for reading. Nearly everything I read was good, except In the Dark Streets Shineth by David McCullough, which was a sentimental speech, really.

Most everything was on the shorter side this month, with The Return of the Soldier and A Story Larger Than My Own being the most memorable.

For December, I have a lot on my plate to read, but will do my best:
March: Book Two, John Lewis
The Professor, Charlotte Bronte (BAC)
My Life in Middlemarch, Rebecca Mead (Nonfiction challenge)
Mozart's Women, Glover (Dewey 700s and need to finish this book)
As I Walked Out one Midsummer Morning, Lee
White Noise, Don Delillo (AAC)
Old Filth, Jane Gardam (BAC)
How Not to be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg (Nonfiction challenge)
Pictures from Italy, Charles Dickens (Dewey 900s and December Dickens challenge)

and every night I'm reading a handful of entertaining essays from:
Wind Sprints: Shorter Essays, Joseph Epstein

Epstein is from my home town (actually not too far from where I live) and he gets me laughing just before bed. It's hard not to read just one more essay before turning out the lights.

Off to hit the books....

Quick November re-cap and plans for December:

I am behind in reviewing books, but will get to it eventually. In the meantime, November was a great month for reading. Nearly everything I read was good, except In the Dark Streets Shineth by David McCullough, which was a sentimental speech, really.

Most everything was on the shorter side this month, with The Return of the Soldier and A Story Larger Than My Own being the most memorable.

For December, I have a lot on my plate to read, but will do my best:
March: Book Two, John Lewis
The Professor, Charlotte Bronte (BAC)
My Life in Middlemarch, Rebecca Mead (Nonfiction challenge)
Mozart's Women, Glover (Dewey 700s and need to finish this book)
As I Walked Out one Midsummer Morning, Lee
White Noise, Don Delillo (AAC)
Old Filth, Jane Gardam (BAC)
How Not to be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg (Nonfiction challenge)
Pictures from Italy, Charles Dickens (Dewey 900s and December Dickens challenge)

and every night I'm reading a handful of entertaining essays from:
Wind Sprints: Shorter Essays, Joseph Epstein

Epstein is from my home town (actually not too far from where I live) and he gets me laughing just before bed. It's hard not to read just one more essay before turning out the lights.

Off to hit the books....

>45 kac522: That's a great Atwood story. I'm a big fan of her writing. She is very much still alive. :)

>55 mathgirl40: That story made me laugh out loud. She also said that since her work is taught in high school now, people figure she must be dead!

Taking the morning to play catch-up on all the threads in the group. Sorry to see that Fifth Business didn't resonate with you as much as it did with me, but some of these intelligent writers do make it hard for a reader to just settle in and enjoy the story.

Your review is enticing my to re-read Lady Susan! Love that story!

>50 kac522: - Great sign!

>57 lkernagh: Thanks for stopping by, Lori! I was sorry it didn't work for me because it's clear Davies is a great writer--I just had a hard time following where he was going.

Yep, listening to Lady Susan was a great treat. And glad you like the sign--makes me feel good as I walk the blocks in my neighborhood and see them scattered about.

Time to catch up on some summaries of books read so far in December:

78. & 81. I'll do a review of the 3 March books by John Lewis when I'm done with Book Three. Moving along:



79. In the Dark Streets Shineth: a 1941 Christmas Eve Story by David McCullough

Type: fiction: Narration/speech with background Christmas music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Completed: Nov 2016
Challenge(s): RandomCat March: Celebrations; Oakton Book Club
Format: Hardcover from the Evanston Public Library with DVD

Disappointing. The photographs were the only interesting part of this book, although it's so short you can't really call it a book: it's a spoken word accompaniment to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas program. It sort of meanders about, and is quite sentimental. However, it generated a lot of discussion and memories and stories from several members of the book club who were small children in 1941.

80. The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

Type: fiction/memoir
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): DeweyCAT 940-999; my "substitute" AAC author for June, ROOT
Format: paperback from my TBR shelves

Hong Kingston retells her story almost as a Chinese fable. Nearly half of the book is about her grandmother and mother, who are her "ghosts." I was sometimes confused, but always drawn into the tales, which emphasize the clash between Chinese culture and Californian culture. This memoir is not always pleasant, but it feels important, and it feels authentically Chinese and hard-edged.

82. How Not to be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg

Type: Nonfiction: math, statistics, economics, politics
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): Nonfiction Challenge: October: Politics/Economics/Business
Format: paperback from the Chicago Public Library

Read this over several months. I was lost through much of the math after the first third of the book. That being said, I still could grasp the larger concepts that Ellensburg makes about mathematics, predictions and probabilities. Most are illustrated with practical applications for today (elections, medical statistics, lotteries, etc.). If you made it through trig and a little calculus, you'll be able to follow along. Written in 2014, his explanations on predictions and probabilities make a whole lot of sense after this election cycle.

83. The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs by Andrew Gant

Type: Nonfiction: music, history, Christmas
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): Nonfiction Challenge: December: Quirky, who knew?; DeweyCAT 700s: 782.28; ROOT
Format: Hardcover from my TBR, which was a gift from my book club friend Rose

Gant gives us a history of 21 Christmas carols (mostly from England, a few from America) in a lively and intelligent style. He provides the background of both the tunes and the text, the composers and the lyricists, with wit and style. Some of these take very interesting paths, from medieval times up until today. Many can be traced back to native tunes of old. A very fun read, especially if you have a little musical background.

84. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee

Type: Memoir
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): RandomCAT July: Good Times; DeweyCAT 900-939: 921; BAC September
Format: Hardcover from Evanston Public Library

This is the young adult Laurie Lee as he walks his way through Spain in 1935-6. I loved Cider with Rosie; I didn't enjoy this book as much. It was hot and dirty and dusty and uncomfortable. And it just seemed like he visited the same old decrepit Spanish town after the next--I failed to see what attracted Lee about the place. About 50 pages before the end, however, the book picks up as the Spanish Civil War is imminent.

What's left for December?

Am working my way through these 2 ROOTs and should have them done soon:

Mozart's Women by Jane Glover
Christmas at Thompson Hall and other Stories by Anthony Trollope

From the Library I need to finish:

March, Book Three by John Lewis
Wind Sprints: Shorter Essays by Joseph Epstein

and to finish up some challenges:

The Professor by Charlotte Bronte (BAC December)
Pictures from Italy by Charles Dickens (Dickens in December and RandomCAT December: Gifts)

and if there's still time, these ROOTs for the AAC and BAC:

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
Old Filth by Jane Gardam

The first six should be no problem; whether I get to the Doig & Gardam is another thing.

I decided against White Noise by DeLillo based on a lot of feedback on LT. Instead I ordered a different novella of his (Pafko at the wall??) which seemed a little more accessible.
I'm putting off My Life in Middlemarch until next year, hopefully January.

Glad to see the review for How Not to be Wrong, as it is on my to-read list.

>65 rabbitprincess: Took me a while to get through it, but he's very enthusiastic about his subject and throws in a few funny comments every so often, which kept me going.

85. Christmas at Thompson Hall and Other Christmas Stories by Anthony Trollope

Type: fiction, short stories
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): ROOTs
Format: Hardcover from my library

Five delightful short stories centering around Christmas time. No politics, just the usual Trollope relationship/romance/misunderstood issues. One story was quite different: "The Two Generals", which was written in 1863 and is set in Civil War Kentucky. Two brothers end up becoming generals on opposing sides of the war. Not only is the material very different for Trollope, the language seemed different too. Not sure how to describe it, except it seemed more formal, in a way. Would love for someone else to read this story and maybe put a finger on it for me.

Currently reading:

86. Pafko At the Wall by Don DeLillo

Type: fiction, novella
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): AAC December
Format: Hardcover from Chicago Public Library

This is enough DeLillo for me (90 pages). The baseball passages were wonderful, but for me the extra stuff with Gleason, Sinatra and Hoover was distracting, if not out and out annoying. Also, I'm not used to the coarseness of writers like DeLillo--not my style and I skipped parts when I could sense it coming. I still can't get over how much stuff fans threw out on the field back then!

87. The Professor by Charlotte Bronte

Type: fiction
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): BAC December, WomanBingoPUP (set in Europe), ROOT
Format: Paperback from my library

This was Bronte's first complete novel, but it was not published until after her death. Many of the ideas (an English professor teaching in a girl's school in Belgium) were developed more fully in Villette. This was quite well done and very realistic, told from the first person perspective of a young male English professor. Bronte's great disdain for Belgians and Catholics is quite open here, even more so than in Villette. But there is a quiet feminism in the heroine Mlle. Henri, as she continues to pursue her career of teaching even while married. My only quibble was with my older Oxford edition, which did not provide translations of all the French.

Now reading:

78. March, Book One
81. March, Book Two
88. March, Book Three

All by John Lewis with Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell

Type: nonfiction, American history, graphic book
Completed: Dec 2016
Challenge(s): Nonfiction Challenge July: Current Affairs
Format: Trilogy; Paperback from Chicago Public Library

This set of three books cover Congressman John Lewis' work in the Civil Rights Movement, from his late high school years in the 1950's to the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The book uses a flashback technique, starting at the inauguration of President Obama in January 2009, as Lewis slowly tells the story of Civil Rights.

The first two books were good, but sometimes a bit choppy; in fact, the jumping between the historical narrative and 2009 is sometimes not clear. This is my only quibble with the presentation--I would have liked some sort of graphic way to know the change of scene, besides the tiny date in the corner. The early years are interesting, and probably less well-known, and these provide insight into the forming of the various groups (SNCC, CORE, SCLC, etc.) and their non-violent approaches.

The best of the March trilogy, the last book offers a dramatic narrative and a sweeping replay of history from 1963 to 1965. The events themselves and Lewis' place in it make the story come alive. From the first few dramatic pages to the end, the graphics in this last book are outstanding and match the tale being told.

As a whole, the trilogy is easily one of the best reading experiences for me this year; the last book is particularly rewarding and will remain with me for some time.

OK, folks, time for a summary of 2016 Challenges--how did I do?

I'd say fair, although I only finished one (Dewey), but made a dent in others:

4 AAC authors read:
Jane Smiley
Mary Oliver (April Poetry month)
John Steinbeck
Don DeLillo

For the AAC I substituted 3 women for those authors I had already read. I read these American authors in 2016:

Pearl S. Buck
Maya Angelou
Maxine Hong Kingston

9 BAC authors read
Susan Hill
Agatha Christie (2 books)
Thomas Hardy
George Eliot
Joseph Conrad (2 stories)
Bernice Rubens
Laurie Lee (2 books)
Rebecca West
Charlotte Bronte

6 CAC authors read
Kim Thuy
Robertson Davies
Helen Humphreys
Margaret Atwood
L. M. Montgomery
Pierre Berton

12 Dewey categories read woo-hoo!

10 out of 12 RandomCAT categories read

10 out of 12 Nonfiction Challenge categories read

...and 19 out of 25 WomenBingoPUP squares completed.

I'm really sorry I didn't get to these authors, and have put aside books from them for 2017:

Doig (AAC)
Gardam, Atkinson, McEwan (BAC)
Richler, Hill, Munro (CAC)

Come on over to 2017 and visit my Random Acts of Reading....http://www.librarything.com/topic/243968