Except, of course, I have actually read and reviewed this year, too many books to count right now (thanks to a befuddled, this-is-not-a-hangover foggy brain)!
So when I spotted Cleo's Reading Bingo post which allows us to retrospectively play the game, I felt that this was one challenge I could successfully complete!
My personal challenge is to fill our the Bingo card below with women writers only in honour of my Women Classic Literary Challenge and Australian Women Writers Challenge.
A 500+ page book:
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.
I surprised myself by how many chunksters by women writers I read this year.
A few more of them will make an appearance below!
Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido.
How on earth did I miss this when it first came out in 1982?
If you haven't already read this modern day classic, you really should prioritise it for....well, now!
Book to movie:
One of the many chunksters I got through this year was Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
Although the movie misses out on a lot of the details of the book and changes others, it is still a masterful interpretation.
Although the movie misses out on a lot of the details of the book and changes others, it is still a masterful interpretation.
Published this year:
The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader is my favourite new release for 2015.
A book with a number in the title:
One Life: My Mother's Story by Kate Grenville
A book written by someone under 30:
I read Heat and Light by Ellen Van Neervan earlier in the year.
Her stories have stayed with me and I continue to gain pleasure from their memory.
Her stories have stayed with me and I continue to gain pleasure from their memory.
A book with non-human characters:
Van Neervan's book could have applied in parts to this section, but in the end I chose a story about a toy rabbit The Incredible Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.
A funny book:
Is it it possible to make a funny informative book about menopause?
Yes, when you can when you are Australian comedian Jean Kittson with You're Still Hot to Me.
Yes, when you can when you are Australian comedian Jean Kittson with You're Still Hot to Me.
Female author:
The Fortunes of Richard Mahony by Henry Handel Richardson, who is actually the Australian author Ethel Florence Richardson. Another female author who felt she had to publish under a pseudonym. And another chunkster.
Mystery:
The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter - a sexy, mystery set in Sydney, written in verse.
A book with a one word title:
Ru by Kim Thuy
Short stories:
Only the Animals by Ceridwen Covey - short stories told from the point of view of an animal about to die!
A book set in a different continent:
Set in Brazil this incredible, unusual story is hard to categorise - The Head of the Saint by Socorro Acioli.
Non-fiction:
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain was one of my bests of 2015 and possibly even one of my best of all time.
First book by a favourite author:
Rereading J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone this year reminded me just how much I loved this series.
I really should try her Robert Galbraith books.
A book I heard about online:
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Best-seller:
I'm gradually working my way through Moriarty's best-selling backlist - The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
A book based on a true story:
Euphoria by Lily King - although I'm still upset by the cover choice for the Australian edition!
A book retrieved from the bottom of my TBR pile:
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
A book my friend loves:
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
A book that scares me:
Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything.
I'm still only a third of the way through this frightening view of climate change, big business and the global economy.
A book that is more than 10 years old:
Another successful Classics Club spin choice - A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark
Second book in a series:
A Decline in Prophets by Sulari Gentill is book two in the Rowland Sinclair series set in 1930's Sydney - my latest cosy crime go-to book.
Book with a blue cover:
Stand Up and Cheer by Loretta Re - one of my favourite children's books of the year.
Set in Mr Books home town and based on real events - fabulous historical fiction for kids.
Set in Mr Books home town and based on real events - fabulous historical fiction for kids.
Free choice:
Mademoiselle Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History by Rhonda Garelick because I can't get enough of Chanel's story!
Have you read any of these?
How did your reading year pan out?
A part of me is now tempted to fill out a bingo card with all male writers...but my head is actually a teeny-weeny hungover and it's screaming at me to get off this screen!
How did your reading year pan out?
A part of me is now tempted to fill out a bingo card with all male writers...but my head is actually a teeny-weeny hungover and it's screaming at me to get off this screen!
I read things I didn't plan to and nothing that I committed to. I need to be careful with challenges as I get caught up in the moment. Pitiful really. I read the Dorothy porter book for book club a few years ago though didn't care for the format. I read Gone With The Wind about 45 years ago! I would like to read the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tuline. Oh, I also read and enjoyed the Husband's Secret. I wouldn't dare read Only the Animals as I don't cope with animal stories at all especially if they are sad. I have A Little Life on my TBR pile and hope to get to get to it in 2016. An enjoyable post to read. 🐱
ReplyDeleteI've joined up for all sorts of challenges over the years, but this one works this best!
DeleteCommitting to readalongs as they pop up during the year also works for me. I really enjoy the chance to read the same book with others, so that's what I will focus my blogging energies on in 2016.
Oooh, this is a challenge I think I would like. (Especially retroactively, no pressure!) You've reminded me that I want to read North & South and I don't know why in the world I haven't!
ReplyDeleteI hope you can make time for N&S in 2016 - it was a wonderful read. I hope to include more Gaskell in my 2016 reading plans.
DeleteGreat selection of books, really enjoyed that - and since I've just finished reading A Little Life, I was curious to see what you thought of it. Glad that 'Ru' brought us together. I'm also pleased you mentioned Euphoria, as I did like it despite its flaws (and I too decided to study anthropology because I was so impressed by Margaret Mead). I thought it conveyed the spirit of anthropology (its joys and its uncertainties, its dark side as well as good side) very well.
ReplyDeleteI'll watch out for you review of A Little Life - it wasn't an easy book to sum up!
DeleteI really like this Reading Bingo card, much better to do it retrospectively, because as soon as list books I want to read I find myself reading other books instead. I really enjoyed doing it too!
ReplyDeleteOf your books I've read One Life by Kate Grenville this year too. I think it's a beautiful book. In earlier years I've also read Gone With the Wind (surprised me by how much I enjoyed it), Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth (an amazing book}, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (I loved it - another book that wasn't what I expected) and the Harry Potter books (books I couldn't put down until I finished them - would love to re-read them sometime). North and South is a book I've been thinking of reading for years - maybe next year I'll get round to it.
As usual this year I read books I didn't plan to read, and read some, but by no means all, the books I planned to read.