Whither Howling Frog Books?

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 Sorry, I couldn't resist the pretentious title.  

Taking the last few months off has been really nice, but I've also missed the blog and all of you nice folks out there in book-blog land.  I've decided to slow down from my previous posting rate -- I was aiming for 2/3 a week but then I'd skip a while because I was tired.  I'm going to try for fewer posts, and will probably cover groups of books and/or the titles I really want to talk about.  

In 2023, I'm going to sign up for my usual challenges (see below), which don't really cost me any thought, and skip pretty much everything else.  My TBR shelf is far overladen, and so is my library pile, so I'm going to concentrate on those.  In 2021, I focused on WWII and aimed for one book a month.  In 2022, I was going to try for chunksters but didn't really succeed much there.  In 2023, I'm going back to the idea of a historical focus, and I'm going to work on making a dent in my large Russian/Eastern European history pile.  They're mostly pretty heavy-duty, so I don't know about one a month, but we'll see.  I especially want to read the Anne Applebaum and Timothy Snyder books I have not yet read.  (Have you seen, by the way, that Snyder just finished a lecture class on the history of Ukraine at Yale?  I've been watching the videos and am only on lecture 11.  They're fantastic.)

Some of the books I need to read...
 

Maybe next year I should do ancient history? 

Anyway, here are my sign-ups:

Bev's Mount TBR and Virtual Mount TBR Challenges: 24 books each, which is Mont Blanc and Mt. Crumpit.

Adam's 10th TBR Pile Challenge: I've got 12 books + two alternates:

  1. Map Drawn By a Spy, by Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Cuba)
  2. The Green Roads of England, by Hippisley-Cox
  3. The World of Odysseus, by M. I. Finley
  4. How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, by Drakulic
  5. Wife of the Gods, by Kwei Quartey (Ghana)
  6. Pageants of Despair, by Dennis Hamley (this is a children's book??)
  7. The Way to the Sea, by Caroline Crampton
  8. Ransom for a Knight, by Barbara Leonie Picard
  9. The High Book of the Grail (Perlesvaus), ed. Nigel Bryant
  10. How Democracies Die, by Levitsky and Ziblatt
  11. Samson's Hoard, by John Verney
  12. Hippolyte's Island, by Barbara Hodgson
  13. Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  14. Red Famine, by Anne Applebaum
     

Of course, I continue to work on my Classics Club lists and my Read Around the World Project!  Karen has not yet said whether she is going to continue her Back to the Classics challenge, but I'll join that if it continues.  And now, let us bid a sorry-not-sorry farewell to 2022 and hope for better things, or at least some good books, in 2023.  Much love to all of you from (currently blessedly rainy) California.

Comments

  1. SilviaDecember 31, 2022 at 6:23 AM

    I love the challenges you participated at. I will see if Karen still holds the Back to the Classics. I have particular in many of her editions. Cheers to a beautiful 2023, full of good books!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fanda ClassiclitDecember 31, 2022 at 11:29 PM

    Very impressive readings as usual.
    Best wishes for a joyful reading and blogging journey in 2023!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2023 at 12:51 PM

    I'm glad you're sticking around! Posting 2-3 times a week got to be too much for me as well, though I still try to post at least once a week. Sometimes more if the whim strikes me. Nobody seems to mind either way, I just like having some kind of rhythm for myself.

    Good luck with your challenges. I have given up writing lists of books to read because I find it increasingly hard to actually read them. But I still have the around the world goal and I'd like to focus more on that this year. I've had fun with the "Make me read it" challenge I devised for myself; seems I'm better at reading one or two books on command than a whole list. Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. LoryJanuary 1, 2023 at 12:52 PM

    Sorry, I didn't notice I wasn't logged in there. This is Lory (aka Anonymous).

    ReplyDelete
  5. reeseJanuary 1, 2023 at 2:53 PM

    Glad to see you're going to continue posting! Here's to a good 2023 and good reading!

    Thanks for the Snyder video link. That does look good.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cleo@Classical CarouselJanuary 2, 2023 at 11:59 PM

    Glad to see you back! I'm doing the minimal one challenge this year but the TBR looks tempting. Looking forward to that Russian history in 2023!

    ReplyDelete
  7. BronaJanuary 9, 2023 at 2:05 AM

    Glad to see you back Jean :-)

    I went through a blogging malaise last year - trying to post every 2nd/3rd day was just too much. But by the end of the year my mojo was back. It comes and goes, just do what you can, when you can - we will be here waiting!

    PS I consider myself a history buff....until I see your reading lists. You inspire me to do more/better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JeanJanuary 11, 2023 at 7:54 PM

      Well, my ambitions are bigger than my reality! :)

      Delete
  8. StephenJanuary 10, 2023 at 8:23 AM

    Gulag Archipelago! I can't tell from the shot, but is that one volume or an abridged & combined volume?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JeanJanuary 11, 2023 at 7:55 PM

      That's Anne Applebaum's "Gulag," a different history ...but my husband did give me the three-volume complete edition for Christmas!

      Delete

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