Howling Frog Books

I had a lot of fun putting all my books on a map this year.  I'm about to take it down from the sidebar, so here is the final map for 2012, with just about 200 books on it.  It's been a good year of reading, and let's hope 2013 is a great year for all of us.

I can't believe our event starts tomorrow!  December got away from me a bit, as I'm sure it did for many of you.  I'm looking forward to kicking off 2013 with some great children's literature.  Amanda at Simpler Pastimes has put up a great post of book recommendations , which I am reprinting here with her permission.  The comments are Amanda's, but I have put my own in on some titles in green italics .    She asks for further recommendations to be added to her comments, so head over and put your two cents in. Amanda will be hosting a readalong of George MacDonald's wonderful story The Princess and the Goblin.  She also wants you to simply read whatever children's classics you choose, post about them, and link up at a page she will provide at the first of the month (tomorrow!).   Meanwhile, I'll be writing posts about lesser-known children's authors and their works--or just special favorites of mine that I can't resist!  Tale...

Nightingale Wood , by Stella Gibbons I love Cold Comfort Farm , so I was happy to get my hands on another Gibbons novel.  This story is set in the late 1930s and is a more typical novel than CCF was; I quite enjoyed it. Viola Withers is the protagonist--she's a very young and penniless widow, and she has to go live with her in-laws in their stultifying home.  No one is happy, and the only thing to look forward to is the charity ball.  Meanwhile, her sisters-in-law have troubles too, and so does the wealthy family down the lane.   In true Gibbons style, everyone is a real and flawed character, and they all have some adventures.  It's a lot of fun. I'm not describing it very well, but it's a clever and enjoyable read.

All right, fellow Greeklings, it's the end of 2012 and time to wrap up the Greek Classics Challenge.  Did you meet your goal?  Write up a post, put the link in the comments, or just tell us all about it here.  I read a bunch of things--I did manage to get to the final level--and though I wanted to read more, I am pretty happy.  I got quite a few plays read, and some philosophy.  I am not pleased that I didn't manage to finish Herodotus, and I have this beautiful Thucydides on my shelf--I'm sad I didn't get to that.  I still plan to read those things, though.  Thucydides is very intimidating to me; I read it in college and didn't understand a word.  I never do well with battles, really, especially in ancient wars.  (I tried to read Caesar's Gallic Wars last year and gave up in despair; it was incomprehensible and boring too.  And it's supposed to be easy!) Here are the titles I read: The Oresteia, by Aeschylus Th...

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror , by Chris Priestly This is a children's book of sinister, creepy stories.  I think there is definitely some Jamesian influence here!  (Heck, the uncle is named after James, don't you think?)  The kid goes to visit his Uncle Montague every so often, and hears his stories about various artifacts around the house.  He thinks they're fiction....but are they? It's illustrated in a very Gorey-like style, and I should think it is in many ways an imitation of Bellairs' stories for children, and other things of that sort.   I expected to like this book, but I think it crosses a line.  It would be better as a teen book or something, and I did not give it to my kids.   I did not enjoy it as I thought I would.

Electra and Orestes Orestes , by Euripides I haven't managed to finish Herodotus, but I thought I'd round out the year with another Euripides play.  Somewhere, recently, I saw someone comment that Orestes is a very misogynistic play, and I thought I'd see for myself. The play opens as Orestes is being tormented by the Furies for killing his mother, Clytemnestra.  His sister Electra is caring for him, Helen is present (and very selfish and shallow she is), and all of Argos has turned against their royal family--what's left of it.  Euripides has changed the whole tenor of the play by setting the story in his own day; instead of mythic standards of morality that pave the way for the law of man, Orestes lives in a society with an established system of law.  He could have accused his mother in court, but instead he killed her himself, and now his city is going to put him to death for murder. Orestes is not going to put up with that, though.  As the play con...

Lost Magic , by Berthe Amoss I saw this recommended as a wonderful read on a blog a while back and put it on my wishlist.  It was a decent story, but to me it wasn't great--it's probably one of those books that makes a big impact if you are 10 or 11 and read it at just the right time. Waif is a girl on her own.  She can do small tricks, which she has to hide so as not to be taken for a witch, and she is directionless until she gives shelter to a woman who has the knowledge of herbs.  This woman teaches Waif her knowledge, and before long Waif has a real name and a real job in the castle.  That comes with a lot of peril, though, and soon she has to flee, taking her young charge with her. It's all set in the medieval era, though one where magic and changelings are real.  One great element in this book is that the setting is quite realistic--Waif is essentially homeless, and she is cold and hungry and dirty most of the time, and so are lots of other people....

CarrieK at Books and Movies has been hosting an essay challenge for several years.  I've never run into it before, and now I think I'll give it a try.  Carrie says: Welcome to the fifth annual Essay Reading Challenge! If you’re an avid essay reader, or just want to expand your reading horizons a bit, this is the challenge for you. If you’re thinking, “What would I read?” – check out this post: Recommended Reading for the Essay Challenge – and “Why read essays?” ~ This challenge runs from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013. ~ If you read a book of essays, that book can also apply to any other challenges you are working on. ~ To sign up, choose a goal of reading 10, 20, or 30 essays, and then write a challenge post. ~ Copy your challenge post’s link into the Mr. Linky on this main challenge page. ~ You don’t have to list your essays ahead of time – just have fun reading throughout the year. ~ This main challenge page will stay in my header...

Lemon Tree (aka Listra) at Half-Filled Attic says: I have always loved narrative poems. I do, I like them. But somehow reading narrative poems is more challenging than reading normal poems or normal narratives. Looking at my TBR list, there are many narrative poems that I promise to read, both from the Classic Club's Project, and also from my own curiosity. So, to share the joy of reading narrative poems, I'd like to propose a challenge: What about reading narrative poems in 2013? I know that some of you must have joined several reading challenges by now. It can be hectic, reading all those book in a year. To make sure that everybody has fun instead of burden, instead of giving a number of poems you have to finish, I'd just give the levels of reading. Feel free to read just as much as you can. The point of all this is having fun, anyway. Levels of reading: Homer (< 4 narrative poems) Orpheus (5 – 8 narrative poems) Muses (9 – 12 narrative p...

I still have some more challenges that I want to join, so don't think I'm done.  I've just been too busy sewing stuffed chickens to write up posts.  (The chicken, by the way, was a great hit.  Also the stuffed owls.  Certain readers may enjoy knowing that one owl is now named Mintchoc!) Even though Sarah is now very busy with library school, she's still going to run her challenge.   She says: You asked for it....   so here you go!  I am now formally announcing the Back to the Classics Challenge 2013 !!  This is the third year in a row for this challenge, and I hope that you are ready!   I am making a few small changes this year, including requiring less categories to complete.  Wait, did I say *requiring* ?  Yes, I did.  This year will feature 6 required  categories that all participants must complete.  Then, I will have additional categories that those super-motivated participants can choose t...

Time for another wrap-up post!  Robin wants to know : 1) How many books did you read this year? I'll be at 200 or so by year's end. 2) Did you meet or beat your own personal goal? I joined the 150+ Challenge just for fun, but I was pretty sure I would hit it with no problem.  Number goals are not really my thing.   3) Favorite book of 2012? (You can list more than one or break it down by genre) There were lots, and I'm not even sure how to pick.  For sure: And There Was Light Doctor Zhivago  The Book of the City of Ladies Madame Bovary Periodic Tale s Behind the Beautiful Forever s 4) Least favorite book of 2012 and why?   I probably didn't finish it, whatever it was.  I know there were some like that but no longer have them in my brainspace.  Of the books I finished and blogged about, I'll go with The Romance of the Rose .   The first third was fine, but Jean de Meun --I would like to have a few wor ds with you...

Merry Christmas everyone!  I have lots of booky things to tell you, but it can wait.  I finished all my sewing, but not all my wrapping.  I made a stuffed chicken!  I made a toadstool house!  And three fuzzy owls--but not two woolly hedgehogs, though I was very tempted.  Now it's time to enjoy my family and the day.  Hope you do too.

Bev at My Reader's Block has asked for a final check-in. 1. Tell us how many miles you made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you've planted your flag on the peak, then tell us and celebrate (and wave!).  Even if you were especially athletic and have been sitting atop your mountain for months, please check back in and remind us quickly you sprinted up that trail. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you've had along the way. I read 25 books and got to the Mt. Vancouver level, which is twice as high as I had originally planned.   I really enjoyed most of the books (OK, not The Communist Manifesto ) too. 2. Using the titles of the books you read this year, please fill in "My Life in Books 2012": One time at band/summer camp, I:  found a Haunted Dolls' House Weekends at my house are: Nightmare Abbey My neighbor is: Doctor Thorne My (ex) boss is: The New Road to Serfdom My ex was:  The Man in the High Castle  ...

The Cricket on the Hearth , by Charles Dickens For the Christmas challenge I chose one of Dickens' short Christmas novels.  We meet a cozy family: John and Dot have been married for just a year, and they have a brand-new baby.  They have several friends, and a neighbor is preparing to marry Dot's best friend May. Then a Three's-Company-esque misunderstanding occurs, throwing everything into confusion, and it gets straightened out at the end.  I wasn't really all that impressed with the story, but it was OK. I don't quite understand why everyone seems to have a cricket living by the fireplace.  Did crickets just come in and spend the winters in warm spots?

The Prisoner of Heaven , by Carlos Ruiz Zafon I have a large pile of posts to write up, but I've been busy getting ready for Christmas.  How is everyone finding the time to write blog posts this week?? I finished this trilogy about the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.  The three books are not chronologically ordered and they jump around, so you don't have to read them in any particular order.  This last one, though, does link the different storylines together. Once again, Barcelona is not a place where anyone is happy.  Once again, women are beautiful objects but not much more.  Daniel Sempere, who was a teenage boy in Shadow of the Wind , is now a grown man, married with a little boy, and he narrates part of the story.  The real protagonist is Fermin, who has been a constant through all three books.  Here we find out his story--some of it, anyway. It was better than The Angel's Game , and pretty interesting, but overall I'm not thrilled with the t...

I was hoping to find something like this!  Uniflame at Uniflame Creates is hosting a wishlist challenge: Read 12 books (one for every month of the year) that you would like to read, but don’t already have on your shelves.  Rules: 1. The challenge runs from January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2013. 2. You are to read 12 books from your current wishlist. If you don’t have a list anywhere, write down books that you are eager to read, that you don’t own yet, and choose 12 books off that list. 3. If you can’t find a book that’s on your wishlist (your library doesn’t have it, or you don’t want/can’t buy it) then you can use another book. But: you are not allowed to include any NEWLY added books for this challenge. So, whatever your list is now, that’s it. I.e. you can’t read amazing things about a book on someone else’s blog, decide you want to read it, then read it for the Wishlist Challenge. The opposite is true: you want to read something for the Wishlist Cha...

I've got two TBR challenges to join this year.  I'm joining up with Bev at My Reader's Block for the second year, and I'm also joining Adam at Roofbeam Reader .  They're very nearly the same thing, but the more the merrier, and anyway there are differences! Bev says: I don't have a TBR shelf. Oh, no. I have "Mount TBR"...actually a whole mountain range.   And it doesn't matter that I've just spent the last year working on my mountain range with the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.  They just keep on sprouting up.   So, once again, I plan to concentrate on reading primarily from my own books this year. And you're invited to join me in knocking out some of those books that have been waiting in the wings for weeks....months...even years. Challenge Levels (I've adjusted the levels just slightly this year): Pike's Peak : Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s Mount Blanc : Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s Mt. Vancouver : ...

It is high time that I start officially joining up to the challenges I've picked out.  The lovely Robin is hosting her 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge for the 5th year!  This challenge is actually the one that got me to start blogging in the first place (so that I could join it), and this will be my 4th year .  Robin says: 2013 52 Books in 52 Weeks Are you ready for another round of Reading 52 books in 52 Weeks? Whether you are just joining in or continuing on for another round, the rules are very simple. The goal is to read one book (at least) a week for 52 weeks. Make the year easy and casual or kick it up by exploring new to you authors and genres. Challenge yourself to read at least some classics or delve into that chunkster (more than 500 pages) you always wanted to tackle. The goal is to read 52 books. How you get there is up to you.  Since this is our 5th year, I challenge you to a 5/5/5 challenge . Read 5 books in 5 Categories and/or ...

Ellie at Musings of a Bookshop Girl is wrapping up her Mixing It Up Challenge .  I went for the highest level and read 16 books: ALL THE TRIMMINGS AND A CHERRY ON TOP: Going for gold with the full 16! 1. Classics  The Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles Dickens 2. Biography And There Was Light, by Jacques Lusseyran 3. Cookery or food A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg 4. History A Distant Mirror: the Calamitous 14th Century, by Barbara Tuchman 5. Modern Fiction: Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 6. Graphic Novel/Manga Feynman, by Ottaviani and Myrick 7. Crime/Mystery Hopjoy Was Here, by Colin Watson 8. Horror The Haunted Dolls' House and Other Stories, by M. R. James 9. Romance  Midnight in Austenland, by Shannon Hale 10. SF/Fantasy  The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick 11. Travel  Lovely is the Lee, by Robert Gibbings 12. Poetry/Drama The Merchant of Venice, by Shakespeare 13. Journalism/Humor Henrietta Sees It Through...