The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky – I’m reading this along with the Hardcore Literature Book Club (HLBC) over a two month period.
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins – I’m following the original serialisation schedule on this one.
Bleak House by Charles Dickens – This is From The Front Porch’s Conquer a Classic for 2023 and we are reading around five to seven chapters per month.
Richard III by William Shakespeare – Continuing the HLBC Shakespeare Project, I’ve a ticket to see this play towards the end of April.
Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare – Also part of the HLBC Shakespeare Project.
Sonnets – by William Shakespeare – Ditto!
Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada by Gabriel García Márquez – In order to brush up my Spanish, I’m reading this in its original and listening alongside. I also have the English translation to help.
Normal People by Sally Rooney – I enjoyed the TV series but felt lacking in information about the characters’ motivations, which I’m hoping will be illuminated in the novel.
The Late Mattia Pascal by Luigi Pirandello – I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler – I recently took out an annual subscription with The Beautiful Book Company and this is the first novel they’ve sent.
Humankind by Rutger Bregman – I’ve decided to have a non-fiction book permanently on the go and this is my first choice, which hopefully will restore my faith in the human race!
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield – I’ve had the audio on hold from Libby and it’s just come through.
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen – Play of the Season for the HLBC.
I’m definitely a polygamous reader now and I’m finding it works extremely well to have several books on the go at once as there’s always one that I feel like picking up.
Here is my reading in the first month of the year. Those marked with an asterisk are 5-star reads. I must make a special mention of The Island by Karen Jennings, which I found absolutely compelling, and was a chance discovery when I finally got the Libby app up-and-running. I’d recommend it for fans of Life and Times of Michael K by J M Coetzee, which is one of my favourite novels.
First Love by Ivan Turgenev (I listened to this novella in which a 16-year-old boy battles for the affections of a young woman; I’d like to revisit it in paperback)
The Tempest by William Shakespeare (I both watched and read this stormy tale of exile, magic, love, usurpers, freedom and slavery)
*Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (currently my favourite Shakespeare play)
No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib (a heart-wrenching tale of an innocent married couple caught up in the ban on the citizens of certain countries entering the United States)
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood (clever retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest)
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (a woman sees figures in the wallpaper)
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare (two sets of twins cause identity confusion in this entertaining farce)
(Dis)Connected by Emma Gannon (how to reclaim our time from technology)
The Memory Box by Kathryn Hughes (a soon-to-be centenarian reflects on her life whilst planning a final trip to Italy)
Mad About Shakespeare by Jonathan Bate (a memoir exploring the impact of great literature)
Carmilla by J Sheridan Le Fanu (the first vampire novella)
Tides by Sara Freeman (Mara flees her life to live in exile in a town by the sea)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by R L Stevenson (a gothic novella exploring the duality of human nature)
*French Braid by Anne Tyler (a wife and mother ‘moves out’ of her life)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (the classic story of small-town prejudice)
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (a father refuses to let his younger daughter marry before his ‘shrewish’ older daughter has found a husband)
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew)
*An Island by Karen Jennings (a reclusive lighthouse keeper reflects on his life in South Africa)
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (disappointing (for me) tale of 19th century magicians)
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (an archeological trip takes on a sinister turn)
Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus (the protagonist is chained to a rock for stealing fire from the gods in this classic Greek tragedy)
I definitely want to read less this month and spend more time with each work, which was my intention in January but it just didn’t happen.
Here is a list of what I read in December. Those marked with an asterisk are 5-star reads.
Two Lives – William Trevor (this volume contains two novellas: ‘Reading Turgenev’, an exploration of a difficult marriage, and ‘My House in Umbria’, a story of survivors of a terrorist attack)
Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse (a spiritual journey of enlightenment)
As You Like It – William Shakespeare (one of his most famous comedies, which I read in preparation for a theatre trip next year)
Snow – Orhan Pamuk (some beautiful descriptions and profound ideas, but a little too heavy on political battles for me)
*The Winter Ghosts – Kate Mosse (my third reading of this appropriately seasonal and sensitive story of love, loss and grief)
Ulysses – James Joyce (finally completed this long-term project; a day in the life of Leopold Bloom, which I feel was probably more fun to write than to read, although it had its moments)
The Ice Palace – Tarjei Vesaas (a unique and atmospheric exploration of grief in the snow-covered, frozen Norwegian landscape)
The Hero With A Thousand Faces – Joseph Campbell (an interesting, but overly long, exploration of the hero’s journey in mythology)
The Turn of the Screw – Henry James (a ghostly, psychological exploration of a strange governess)
*The Death of Ivan Ilych – Leo Tolstoy (a dying man reflects on his life and death)
The Winter’s Tale – William Shakespeare (irrational jealousy has devastating consequences in this tragi-comedy)
Babel – R F Kuang (an interesting exploration of translation and colonialism, language and power in an imaginary 19th century Oxford, and a rare dip into fantasy for me)
Notes from the Underground – Fyodor Dostoevsky (the existential ravings of one of literature’s most unlikeable narrators)
This year, I made a concerted effort to read some of the classics and, looking at the list, I’m surprised at just how many are on it.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain (easier to listen to than read)
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen (a brilliant satire on the gothic novel)
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson (raising questions about the role of science and the duality of man)
Persuasion – Jane Austen (her final novel highlighting the dangers of allowing others to influence your actions)
The Seagull – Anton Chekhov (a dramatisation of romantic and artistic conflicts)
Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë (an atmospheric tale of love and suffering)
Three Sisters – Anton Chekhov (a family live in dissatisfaction as they dream of returning to Moscow)
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (a satirical look at English society and its relationships)
A Sicilian Romance – Ann Radcliffe (a typical example of early gothic in all its sensationalism)
Lady Susan – Jane Austen (characters revealed through correspondence)
The Odyssey – Homer, translated by Emily Wilson (surprisingly accessible epic tale)
Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare (a comedy with a dark turn)
To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf (a stream of consciousness meandering)
Dubliners – James Joyce (tales of Dublin’s characters)
Flush – Virginia Woolf (a charming ‘biography’ of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s spaniel)
Mrs Dalloway – Virginia Woolf (one day in the life of Clarissa as she prepares for her party and reflects on her life)
Where Angels Fear to Tread – E M Forster (the story of an unsuitable marriage)
The Years – Virginia Woolf (scenes from family life, focussing on a different day in each several years)
Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy (an absorbing masterpiece exploring the psychological complexity of its characters)
An Inspector Calls – J B Priestley (an exploration of actions, consequences, selfishness and redemption)
The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde (as funny as ever and an absolute joy of confusion)
The Lottery – Shirley Jackson (a shocking tale of small-town life)
Dracula – Bram Stoker (epistolary tale of good versus evil)
Olivia – Dorothy Strachey (a gem of a coming-of-age novella by a member of the Bloomsbury set)
The Lost Stradivarius – John Meade Falkner (a haunting tale of possession)
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E Frankl (a sobering and inspiring account of survival in the most horrific of circumstances)
Othello – William Shakespeare (jealousy with tragic consequences)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Charles Dickens (the unfinished and thus inconclusive final novel)
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens (a heartwarming story of reflection and redemption)
Siddhartha – Herman Hesse (a spiritual exploration of how to live)
As You Like It – William Shakespeare (a comedy of love and identity)
Ulysses – James Joyce (a challenging and awe-inspiringly clever stream of consciousness novel charting a day in the life of Leopold Bloom)
The Turn of the Screw – Henry James (a psychological and ghostly story of a strange governess)
The Death of Ivan Ilych – Leo Tolstoy (reflections of a dying man on his life and his death)
The Winter’s Tale – William Shakespeare (senseless jealously and its consequences)
Notes from the Underground – Fyodor Dostoevsky (the existential ravings of an unpleasant narrator)
Considering that prior to 2022, I tended to avoid the classics and instead focus on contemporary fiction, I’m pleased to report that I enjoyed my journey through some of these enduring works, an exploration that I’m looking forward to continuing in 2023.
Here are the books I finished in November, with those asterisked receiving a rare 5-star rating from me. It was a good month, possibly because I am choosing my reading with more care.
The Lost Stradivarius – John Meade Falkner (an eerie tale of possession)
The Paper Palace – Miranda Cowley Heller (chosen for my November book club and a dual timeline narrative set over one day and 50 years)
Lean Fall Stand – Jon McGregor (an Antarctic experience leads to a difficult recovery)
*Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E Frankl (the book everyone should read)
Treacle Walker – Alan Garner (for me, a very disappointing Booker prize winner)
*Elena Knows – Claudia Piñeiro (an exploration of grief compounded by Parkinson’s Disease)
The Inseparables – Simone de Beauvoir (my first experience of this writer and I will most definitely be reading more of her work)
The Shining – Stephen King (uncanny goings-on at the Overlook Hotel; I’m new to King’s writing and am enjoying it)
*Othello – William Shakespeare (a reading in preparation for a theatre trip; true villainy in action)
Last Night in Montreal – Emily St John Mandel (the story of a woman who keeps leaving; another dual timeline narrative)
*The Road – Cormac McCarthy (savagely emotional, dystopian, father and son battle to survive novel)
Vox – Christina Dalcher (more Dystopia with an excellent premise but poor execution)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Charles Dickens (his last, unfinished novel)
Swimming Lessons – Claire Fuller (the mystery of the disappearing mother by one of my favourite authors)
*A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens (a wonderful seasonal and uplifting story, beautifully written)
I had a book buying embargo in November and managed to get my TBR shelf down from 93 to 78 through a combination of reading and unhauling those I know I do not want to read. Time is precious and needs to be spent wisely so I’m considering in an end-of-year reflection how I want to approach my reading in 2023 and what I want to get out of it.
I’ve now completed this reading challenge. I don’t plan the books I’m going to read for each prompt in advance but read the book and then match it to a prompt. Here are the categories and the books read for each one, with those marked with an asterisk being 5-star reads.
1 A second-person narrative: We Need To Talk About Kevin – Lionel Shriver
2 Featuring a library or bookstore: The Stationery Shop of Tehran – Marjan Kamali
3 Title starting with the letter ‘E’: Earthlings – Sayaka Murata
4 Title starting with the letter ‘F’: The Fell – Sarah Moss
5 Chapters have titles: Panenka – Ronan Hession
6 Household object on the cover: The Keeper of Lost Things – Ruth Hogan
7 A non-fiction bestseller: Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E Frankl *
8 Involving the art world: The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot – Marianne Cronin
9 A book that sparks joy: Piranesi – Susanna Clarke *
10 A book based on a real person: Three Sisters – Heather Morris
11 A book with less than 2022 Goodreads’ ratings: Mr Cadmus – Peter Ackroyd
12 Set on at least two continents: The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Mohsin Hamid
13 Includes a club: The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman
14 A character with superhuman ability: If Cats Disappeared From The World – Genki Kawamura
15 A five syllable title:I Am Sovereign – Nicola Barker
16 A book you’ve seen someone reading in a public place: The Stranger in the Lifeboat – Mitch Albom
17 A book picked based on its spine:The Doll – Ismail Kadare
18 Jane Austen inspired: Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
19 A book that has an alternate title: Stop Bloody Bossing Me About (How We Need To Stop Being Told What To Do) – Quentin Letts
20 Related to the word gold: The Woman In the Purple Skirt – Natsuko Imamura
21 Published by Simon and Schuster: Memories of the Future – Siri Hustvedt
22 An unlikely detective: Songbirds – Christy Lefteri
23 Author with an X, Y or Z in their name: The Insomniac Society – Gabrielle Levy
24 Addresses a specific topic: Five Minute Watercolour – Samantha Nielsen
25 A wealthy character: Peace Talks – Tim Finch
26 Has an author’s note: Mornings in Jenin – Susan Abulhawa
27 Includes a map: Warlight – Michael Ondaatje
28 Award-winning book from your country: The Shock of the Fall – Nathan Filer
29 Over 500 pages long: Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy *
30 Audiobook is narrated by the author: The Bread the Devil Knead – Lisa Allen-Agostini
31 Technology themed: No One is Talking About This – Patricia Lockwood
32 A book that intimidates you: The Festival of Insignificance – Milan Kundera
33 A bilingual character: The Island of Missing Trees – Elif Shafak
34 An author’s photo on the back cover: The Travelling Cat Chronicles – Hiro Arikawa
35 From the villain’s perspective: Bitter Orange – Claire Fuller
36 Recommended by a favourite author: The Transit of Venus – Shirley Hazzard
37 Set in a rural area:Summerwater – Sarah Moss
38 Don’t judge a book by its cover: At Night All Blood is Black – David Diop *
39 A middle-grade novel: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
40 A book with photographs inside: Klara and the Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro
41 Involves a second chance: Common Ground – Naomi Ishiguro
42 An indie read: Things We Left Unsaid – Zoya Pirzad
43 Author who’s published in more than one genre: Black Vodka – Deborah Levy
44 An anthology: Contemporary Stories – edited by Nick Jones
45 A book with illustrated people on the cover: Amnesty – Aravind Adiga
46 A job title in the title: The Clock Winder – Anne Tyler
47 Read during the month of November: Lean Fall Stand – Jon McGregor
48 Redo one of this year’s prompts but with a different genre: How Do You Live? – Genzaburo Yoshino
49 Book starts with the same letter as your first name: My Sister, The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite *
50 A person of colour as the main character: Swallows of Kabul – Yasmina Khadra
51 The word ‘game’ in the title: Life and Times of Michael K – J M Coetzee *
52 Published in 2022: Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead (paperback)
The list of prompts for the 2023 challenge has now been released and I’m looking forward to participating again next year.
Ulyssesby James Joyce (paperback and audio). I’ve just finished the ‘Sirens‘ episode so I am approaching the halfway mark in this challenging read. So far, I have the feeling it might have been more fun writing it than reading it! This is accompanied by The New Bloomsday Book, which is a guide to Ulysses by Harry Blamires.
In Search of Lost Time: Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust (hardback). This is a long, long, long-term project!
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (library book).
Misery by Stephen King (audiobook). I’ve only ever read one Stephen King novel (Elevation) but I enjoyed this film when I saw it many years ago so thought I would explore why he is such a popular writer.
Recently Completed
I’ve finished quite a few books over the past couple of weeks. Here they are:
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (paperback). I was sad to finish my two-month, slow journey through this amazing novel. Tolstoy gives an outstanding portrayal of both men and women’s psychological complexities in this sad and moving epic. It’s an extremely thought-provoking read, and I think it is my desert island book: I’m so glad that I not only read it, but took my time in doing so as it warrants a slow, ponderous approach.
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (paperback/audiobook). This is my fourth or fifth visit to this novel and I think it gets better every time.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (paperback/audiobook). I was very much looking forward to this one and to enhance my experience, I did a bit of research into the Vietnam war and the fall of Saigon, where the novel commences. However, after the first couple of chapters, the setting switched to the US and it became more about identity than the war. Although this is a theme I’m very interested in, I wasn’t expecting it and I found the novel a bit long-winded and almost didn’t finish it.
Honorifics by Cynthia Miller (paperback). This poetry collection made for a very interesting and enjoyable reading experience (and it has a beautiful cover).
Where Angels Fear to Tread by E M Forster (audiobook). I was doing a car journey and this was just the right length to listen to. I’d now like to explore more of Forster’s work.
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin (paperback). This is another novel with an appealing cover and I was drawn to it as it was highlighted as being for fans of Convenience Store Woman. I researched the novel’s references, looking at photographs of Sokcho, learning about cosmetic surgery in South Korea (24% of the global market and frequently given as a graduation present), and Korean food, festivals and temples. I enjoyed this understated snippet of the characters’ lives.
The Years by Virginia Woolf (paperback/audiobook). This was my first visit to this novel and I will be returning. I particularly liked the structure: it’s split into sections, each of which focuses on one particular day in a specific year, through which we follow the lives of the members of a family. I will return to this one.
Tin Man by Sarah Winman (library book). I first read this three or four years ago and awarded it five stars for its beautifully executed and poignant story of a love triangle. For the first half, I wondered why I had been so generous with my rating but it has a slow and powerful build-up and the second half is incredibly moving.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (library book). This Booker Prize nominee could easily have been extended well beyond its sparse 110 pages and yet I feel a lot of its power lies in its brevity. Having said that, I’m not really sure it warrants making it to the shortlist as I don’t find it exceptional although I did enjoy it.
Contemporary Stories edited by Nick Jones (paperback). This is an interesting collection of short stories by acclaimed writers such as Alice Walker, Penelope Lively, J G Ballard and Chinua Achebe, collated to be used with teenagers in schools.
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (paperback/audiobook). This is my third visit to this work and I will return to it, as I will with all of Woolf’s work.
Reading Next
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (e-book/audiobook). This novella was originally released in serial form over a twelve week period so I am planning on following this reading schedule and will complete it in the last week of the year.
Ulysses by James Joyce (novel and audiobook). Having completed chapter 9, I’ve got a bit ahead of the Hardcore Literature Book Club lectures (currently up to chapter 5) so I’m putting this on hold until we’re back in sync. To accompany the novel and as an aid to understanding, I’m also reading The New Bloomsday Book by Harry Blamires.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (novel). I’m doing a slow and deep dive into this novel. This week I finished part 5. I’m enjoying it so much that I will be sad when I finish.
How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster (book). I dip in and out of this one and have read the first four chapters.
A Man by Keiichiro Hirano (audiobook). This is my current contemporary audiobook.
Flush by Virginia Woolf (audiobook). I thought it would be fun to listen to this biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s spaniel as I walk my dogs.
Honorifics by Cynthia Miller (poetry).
Recently Completed
Dubliners by James Joyce. I first read this short story collection at university and decided to revisit it as an accompaniment to my reading of Ulysses. I particularly enjoyed ‘Eveline’, ‘Araby’, ‘A Painful Case’ and ‘The Dead’.
Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett (novel). This is a unique novel with its own distinctive narrative style, exploring the influence of words and literature on a writer’s life. I found some chapters more engaging than others and am not sure it can be classified as a novel in the conventional sense, but it is certainly an interesting and challenging read. The opening two chapters made me laugh aloud!
Reading Next
I’ve only ever read one novel by Stephen King so I’m toying with the idea of reading Misery.
A two week summary update today as I was on holiday for part of this time.
Currently Reading
Ulysses by James Joyce (novel and audiobook). Having completed chapter 9, I’ve got a bit ahead of the Hardcore Literature Book Club lectures (currently up to chapter 5) so I’m putting this on hold until we’re back in sync. To accompany the novel and as an aid to understanding, I’m also reading The New Bloomsday Book by Harry Blamires.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (novel). I’m doing a slow and deep dive into this and am just over halfway through and currently reading part 5.
How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster (book). I dip in and out of this one and have read the first three chapters.
Dubliners by James Joyce (ebook and audiobook). I’ve just got the final story, ‘The Dead’, to read in this collection.
Honorifics by Cynthia Miller (poetry collection).
Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett (novel).
Recently Completed
Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden (audiobook). This was the only audiobook I could access on the plane so I paid another visit to it. It is beautifully narrated by the author and is very poetical. I do possess a signed copy of the novel and want to read it at some point.
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson (audiobook). On holiday, I tended to read in the morning and listen to an audiobook after lunch. This was a good choice. Again, it is narrated by the author, and is a story of the love between two Black British artists. I would also like to read this one in book form as there is a lot in it, which is easier to ponder over with the hard copy in front of you
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (novel). I read this as it was short-listed for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction and I’m working my way through the list. I didn’t think I’d like this almost-700 page novel (making it a risky choice for my travel bag) but it was highly captivating and I enjoyed spending an extended period of time with the protagonist, a female pilot called Marian. It has a dual timeline, which also includes the story of a disgraced Hollywood actress who agrees to play Marian in a film of her life.
My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood (audiobook). This is a short story of one hour’s narration, free on KindleUnlimited, by one of my favourite authors. It’s entertaining, with both moments of darkness and of humour, and the mother in question might be a witch.
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki (novel). This was the winner of the Women’s Prize this year and is another long novel (so another risky pick for my holiday), which tells the story of Benny who, after his father’s death, begins to hear voices, and his grieving, clutter-accumulating mother. It has a magical realism quality, executed in a way that reminded me of Haruki Murakami. I enjoyed it a lot, although possibly a fraction less than Great Circle, which really surprises me as it seemed more to my taste
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (novel/audiobook). I’ve come to the conclusion that Woolf is one of my favourite authors and so I decided to revisit this novel, which I hadn’t read for 30+ years.
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (play). I read this in preparation for a visit to Shakespeare’s Globe in London to see their latest production of this comedy (confession: it’s the second time I’ve been to see it there this year but I stood last time and my view was obstructed by the crowd of giants standing in front of me). I have a problem with the resolution of the play and feel it would benefit from an extra scene – I don’t want to say anymore because of spoilers. However, it’s still enjoyable and the production is excellent, as it always is at the Globe.
Reading Next
I have absolutely no idea at the moment although I want to start a very slow read of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (guided by the Hardcore Literature Book Club). When I say slow, I mean slow – I anticipate it taking a few years!
MARgINAlia 