2015 Reading Challenge – A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet

Strictly speaking, I think this should be “A book from an author you love that you hadn’t read yet”, since if I picked a book I haven’t read, I surely wouldn’t be able to count it as part of the challenge? Anyway, I hadn’t read it before the challenge, but I have read it now. Obviously.

Jo Nesbø’s Cockroaches is the second in the series of ten (so far) novels starring detective Harry Hole. The most famous of these is probably The Snowman, which was hugely popular a few years ago. The books fit into the category of Scandinavian noir, which I am into at the moment, and I think Nesbø is one of the best writers of this kind.

Cockroaches was translated last, although it is the second in the series. Like the first book, The Bat, it is not set in Norway: the plot revolves around an investigation into the death of the Norwegian ambassador in Bangkok. It’s a gripping read and well worth it, especially if you’ve read some of the other books in the series.

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2015 Reading Challenge – A book set during Christmas

I suppose it’s rather odd to be reading a book set during Christmas in the middle of February, but I actually bought I Saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge last summer, then put it in my bookcase and promptly forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago. It’s a quaint but moving short tale about a young girl and a series of “miracles” that happen in the seaside town where she lives with two maiden aunts. It has Goudge’s usual wry wit and the language used is old-fashioned yet beautiful.

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2015 Reading Challenge – A nonfiction book

Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica by Sara Wheeler is a wonderful book. Wheeler was the first foreigner accepted on the US Artists and Writers Program at the continent and she clearly made the most of her opportunity. She describes everyday life at base, visits the South Pole and Scott’s hut, and goes off on various expeditions, camping out and using all kinds of transport to get around the ice. Interspersed with descriptions of her adventures are fascinating historical snippets, anecdotes from fellow Antarctic residents and musings on what Antarctica means to her. Highly recommended.

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2015 Reading Challenge – A funny book

As soon as I finished this book I knew I had to count it as the “funny” book in my challenge. I doubt I’ll read a funnier all year.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh is an illustrated account of various events in the author’s life, from her adventures with her two dogs to her experience of depression. Her unique drawings are full of character: I don’t normally go for cartoons but I love these.

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The book is based on the successful and marvellous blog Hyperbole and a Half. If you haven’t checked it out, please do.

2015 Reading Challenge – A graphic novel

I hardly ever read graphic novels, but I quite fancied this manga book because of the title. Library Wars: Love & War Volume I is the first in a series about Iku Kusahara, an officer-in-training to be part of the Library Defense Force. This group fights against censorship and the banning of books in an alternative future where a government Act allows officials to remove “inappropriate” material from bookshops. Though the public can access such material via the library, tension between the two groups means that the Defense Force is a very important presence.  I quite enjoyed the story, though it was quite light, and I will probably seek out further volumes of Library Wars in the future.

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2015 Reading Challenge – A classic romance

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I’m not sure if the compilers of the 2015 Reading Challenge intended for the category “classic romance” to be interpreted in this way, but that’s what I’ve chosen to go for. After all, medieval tales of knights, damsels and dragons were the original romances.

Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur isn’t an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one. The legend of King Arthur had been around before and would continue to pervade European culture for years afterwards – Arthurian tales are still being created and adapted today – but Malory’s version is one of the most famous and influential. I have found myself wanting to reintroduce words like “smite” and “churl” into the language, however.

2015 Reading Challenge – A memoir

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As part of my 2015 Reading Challenge I have just completed my first book. The Book of Margery Kempe is something I originally came across during my first year at university – I studied History and in my first year I did a module on the medieval period: we studied several biographies and accounts of individuals, complementing them with broader studies of the period as a whole. The medieval period was never a specialism of mine, but I really enjoyed this module, and when I saw Margery mentioned on Twitter I remembered that I never did read her entire book, so I decided to rectify that.

Margery Kempe (c. 1373-c. 1440) was a wife, mother and businesswoman in Norfolk, who later in life, after experiencing madness and visions, was called to the spiritual life, experiencing visions and tears and undertaking pilgrimages to Europe and the Holy Land. Her Book, the earliest surviving autobiography in English (the manuscript was only discovered in 1934), was dictated, as she herself could not read or write.

It’s different from your usual autobiography, focusing more on the spiritual side of Kempe’s feelings and experiences. However it’s hard not to admire her determination as she faces opposition, criticism and conflict at every turn – even accounting for the fact that if I’d known her I would probably have found her quite irritating!

Not a light read, but interesting for anyone hoping for insight into the mind of someone who lived during the medieval period.

Happy New Year – and the 2015 Reading Challenge

Happy New Year folks! I am back to work today, but thought I would brighten things up by starting a reading challenge. Books took a bit of a back seat last year because I spent so much time at the theatre, so I have decided to focus on reading this year.

This challenge from PopSugar has been floating around, so this is the one I’ve decided to follow.

Reading Challenge

Will you be following any reading challenges this year?