Ketutar writing
Friday, April 19, 2024
Horror MAYhem 2024 is coming!
Friday, December 15, 2023
Read Europe
For this challenge, you are to read European Literature Prize winners and nominees.
Armenia - there's the Levon Ananyan Literary Prize, but I don't know much about it.
Azerbaijan - this article mentions "Azerbaijan’s first literacy prize", but nothing more about it. I don't even know what it is supposed to be. Is it a prize to advance Azerbaijani literature, or literacy?
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cyprus
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Liechtenstein
Moldova - has a literature prize with multiple categories, but it's hard to find any information about it.
Monaco - no literature prizes, not many authors either.
Montenegro
San Marino
Slovakia
Vatican City
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Time for planning 2024 reading
I want to read 124 books.
I want to read at least 10 books in Finnish, Swedish, German, and French.
I want to read fewer English books - let's say every other book needs to be not English. (at least 62 non-English books)
I want to read more European books. (Let's say, at least 40 European books.)
At the same time, I need to read more non-European books :-D (At least 40 non-European - and non-English - books)
I also need to read more non-white books. (at least 40)
I want to read more books published before the 21st century. Let's say... 1/3 20th century. 10% pre-20th.
- At least 40 books from 20th century and at least 12 books written before 20th century. Hmm... that means I'd read 72 books written in 21st century, and that's too big a portion... No, 20 books before 1900, 50 books 1900-2000, and 54 books after 2000.
I suppose I'll read a library book, as there's already stickers there.
1. Story About a Disabled AuthorNoor by Nnedi Okorafor2. Book Over 400 PagesAkata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor3. Fiction by West Asian AuthorThe Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
4. Book Translated into EnglishNaondel: The Red Abbey Chronicles Book 2 by Maria Turtschaninoff5. Sci-Fi Novel by Queer AuthorA Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers6. An Immigrant MemoirLola by Baba Lybeck, Lola Lorenzo7. Book Written About or By a Drag QueenDeath Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig8. Book Written by a Black WomanFemme nue, femme noire by Calixthe Beyala9. Poetry by a South Asian AuthorRadha Says: Last Poems by Reetika Vazirani10. Book Centering Queer Mental HealthWhere the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire11. Fantasy by a Middle Eastern AuthorAn Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir12. War Story by an Asian AuthorThe Poppy War by R.F. Kuang13. Poetry by an Indigenous AuthorVidderna inom mig by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää14. Non-Fiction by a Latine/LatinX AuthorAphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende15. Fiction Featuring Plus-Sized MCSoulless by Gail Carriger16. Book Written by an Indigenous WomanStraff by Ann-Helén Laestadius17. Marginalized Story From the 1980'sKatitzi by Katarina Taikon18. An Indigenous Children's BookLei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea19. Middle Grade Novel Featuring Queer MCWhen the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore20. Non-Fiction From an African American AuthorI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou21. Historical Fiction from South American AuthorIn the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez22. A Refugee MemoirFrom Here by Luma Mufleh23. Short Story/Anthropology by BIPOC AuthorNew Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color by Nisi Shawl24. Book by a First Nations Australian AuthorSand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta25. Non-Fiction Book From a Hawaiian AuthorHawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Lili'uokalani26. Book by Sami AuthorValkoinen kivi by Kirste Paltto27. Book About Religious or Spiritual Tradition Not Your OwnThe Henna Artist by Alka Joshi28. Mystery Novel from BIPOC AuthorVera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto29. Fiction Featuring a Trans MCSelf-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore30. Book About Food from a BIPOC AuthorSalt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat31. Non-Fiction from an Indie AuthorCooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan32. A Banned Book by a Marginalized AuthorTheir Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
THE 52 TOPICS OF THE 2024 ATY READING CHALLENGE
1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y
2. A book connected to something you read in 2023
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list
4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world
6. A book with wings on the cover
7. A book with a pronoun in the title
8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads
10. A history or historical fiction book
11. A book with an X connection
12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year
13. A book that is on a Five Books List; reader’s choice of which list
14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs"
17. A book involving intelligence
18. A book with a botanical cover
19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
20. A book with a single word title
21. A book with a title containing 6+ words
22. A book by an author from an African country
23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett
24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple)
25. A book involving a crime other than a murder
26. A book by an author known by their initials
27. A book related to land
28. A book related to sea
29. A book related to air
30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
31. A book related to “Going for the Gold”
32. A book with a number in the title
33. A book involving travel
34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs
35. A science or science fiction book
36. A book featuring a character in education
37. A book that is part of a series
38. Two books with similar covers: Book 1
39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2
40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover
41. A book with a chilling atmosphere
42. A book with a sound-related word in the title
43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author
44. A book with a touch of magic
45. A book that is not a novel
46. A book related to night
47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE
48. A second book that fits your favorite prompt
49. A book with a senior citizen character
50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024
51. A book published in 2024
52. A cozy mystery
A book with the word "leap" in the titleThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka TsutsuiThe Leap by Jonathan StroudA bildungsroman bookThe Magic Mountain, by Thomas MannPersepolis by Marjane SatrapiA book about a 24-year-oldDark Water SisterA book about a writerPale Horse by Agatha ChristieA book about K-popnoA book about piratesA book about women's sports and/or by a woman athleteA book by a blind or visually impaired authorA book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing authorA book by a self-published authorA book from a genre you typically avoidA book from an animal's POVA book originally published under a pen nameA book recommended by a booksellerA book recommended by a librarianA book set 24 years before you were bornMistress Masham's Repose by T.H.WhiteA book set in a travel destination on your bucket listA book set in spaceA book set in the futureA book set in the snowThe Snow Child by Eowyn IveyA book that came out in a year that ends with "24"A book that centers on video gamesA book that features dragonsA book that takes place over the course of 24 hoursThree Daughters of Eve by Elif ShafakA book that was published 24 years ago (2000)A book that was turned into a musicalA book where someone dies in the first chapterA book with a main character who's 42 years oldA book with a neurodivergent main characterA book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionaryA book with a title that is a complete sentenceA book with an enemies to lovers plotA book with an unreliable narratorA book with at least 3 POVsA book with magical realismA book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated personA book written during NaNoWriMoA cosy fantasy bookA fiction book by a trans or nonbinary authorA horror book by a BIPOC authorA memoir that explores queernessA nonfiction book about Indigenous peopleA second-chance romanceAn autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' rollAn LGBTQ+ romance novelAdvancedA book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hoursThe Magicians by Lev GrossmanEnchantment by Orson Scott CardThe Final Empire by Brandon SandersonA book with 24 letters in the titleA Natural History of Dragons by Marie BrennanSo You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma OluoA collection of at least 24 poemsThe 24th book of an authorA book that starts with the letter "X"X Marks The Spot by Theo Hendrie
1) Read a cozy fantasy book
2) Read a YA book by a trans author.
3) Read a middle grade horror novel.
4) Read a history book by a BIPOC author.
5) Read a sci-fi novella.
6) Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character.
7) Read an indie published collection of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author.
8) Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited.
9) Read a book recommended by a librarian.
10) Read a historical fiction book by an Indigenous author.
11)Read a picture book published in the last five years.
12) Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author.
13) Read a comic that has been banned.
14) Read a book by an author with an upcoming event (virtual or in person) and then attend the event.
15) Read a YA nonfiction book.
16) Read a book based solely on the title.
17) Read a book about media literacy.
18) Read a book about drag or queer artistry.
19) Read a romance with neurodivergent characters.
20) Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction).
21) Read a book that went under the radar in 2023.
22) Read a manga or manhwa.
23) Read a “howdunit” or “whydunit” mystery.
24) Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat!
Oh... I don't like this. My first reaction was "too much diversity. The only challenge about that is to find these authors I haven't already read." And I am deliberately going to read "decolonize your bookshelf" which is all about diversity! Why is it that finding books to read for that was challenging and fun, but for this just "nah, not going to do this this year"?
So, I'll replace this with Read Your Bookshelves.
The thing is that no-one stops you from reading children's books or books written by whomever.
Montgomery
January
Jane of Lantern Hill
read a book with a cat on the cover
February
Puffed Sleeves
read a book with 400+ pages
March
Kindred Spirits
read a book with 2 POVs
April
Carrots
read a book where the main character has red hair
May
The Road to Yesterday
read a book by a favorite author
June
The Watchman
read a book of poetry
July
Chronicles of Avonlea
read a short story collection
August
Along the Shore
read a book with water on the cover
September
Kilmeny of the Orchard
read a book where music is a major part of the story
or a historical fiction
October
The Journals of L.M. Montgomery
read a non-fiction book
November
Jane of Lantern Hill
read a second chance book
December
Anne
read a book that has 5-10 books in the series
or
Emily
read a book that is part of a trilogy
Doyle
January
Hounds of Baskerville
read a book with a dog on the cover
February
Elementary, my dear Watson
read a book with 250- pages
March
Bakers Street Irregulars
read a book with more than 2 POVs
April
Red-Headed League
read a book where the main character has red hair
May
A Study in Scarlet
read a book by a new-to-you author
June
The Lost World
read a science fiction or fantasy book
July
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
read a short story collection
August
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
read a book with a house on the cover
September
The Adventure of the Dancing Men
read a book that invlves puzzles, codes or ciphers
or a mystery
October
Memories and Adventures
read a non-fiction book
November
Moriarty
read a book that intimidates you
December
Sherlock
read a book that has more than 10 books in the series
or
Watson
read a standalone book
I thought I was... I haven't read 900+ of those books. It was like "no, no, nope, not that either, no, no, er... nah, I thought it was something else" :-D
Surprisingly many books from Sweden and Finland though.
Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge
1. You Meant to Read Last Year
2. Goodreads Winner in 2023
3. About Mental Health
4. Five-Star Read
5. An Audiobook
6. Set in the 1950s
7. Unreliable Narrator
8. Book Becoming Movie in 2024
9. With an Epilogue
10. About Starting Over
11. Author You Love
12. Flowers on the Cover
13. Title Starts with “B”
14. Published in 2014
15. Purple Cover
16. Historical Mystery
17. With Multiple Points of View
18. A Book You Couldn’t Put Down
19. One Word Title
20. Debut Author
21. 2023 Bestseller
22. Intriguing Premise
23. A Friend’s Favorite Book
24. Author from the Southern Hemisphere
25. About Secrets
26. Bottom of Your To-Read List
27. Your Favorite Genre
28. Character Who is an Actor
29. Recommended on a Podcast
30. Set in Paris
31. Ugly Cover
32. Set in a Small Town
33. Three Books by the Same Author (1)
34. Three Books by the Same Author (2)
35. Three Books by the Same Author (3)
36. A Quick Read
37. Set During Autumn
38. Classic by a Female Author
39. Memoir by a Person You Admire
40. About a Historical Event
41. Written Under a Pseudonym
42. Legal Thriller
43. Fantasy Book
44. Popular Book You’ve Never Read
45. Inspiring Nonfiction
46. 2024 New Release
47. Genre You Don’t Usually Read
48. You Own But Haven’t Read
49. Book About Books
50. Book Everyone Is Talking About
51. With a Place in the Title
52. Reread a Favorite
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Some thoughts about the story structure
My husband and I were discussing Star Trek Enterprise. I don't like it, because of how they treat Vulcans and because the Patriarchy is strong in that one. :-(
Anyway, he said that when you have material to write 24 episodes, but the network only gives you 15, you have to cut some essential things and get "lazy" to get it written. Some things like dialogue and character development automatically suffer.
I was thinking that if you know you only have 15 episodes, you write the outline to know what you want and need to tell, and then divide that into the 15 episodes and write the story to support the skeleton of the story, the individual character arcs, and how the adventures support that, instead of writing individual episodes.
I suppose that is what all these people have been trying to say with story structure and plot and all that :-D I just needed that comment to understand what they meant.
I think I'll be able to write my story when I treat it as a tv series, and not as a Book. :-D
Sunday, March 26, 2023
April TBR
April brings in the Orilium Spring Equinox reading challenge.
Alchemy - Metal in the name
Rhinegold by Stephan Grundy
* Animal Studies - flip a coin: heads - non fiction, tails - fiction
I got heads. I'm going to read a biography
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
[That's also the choice of the "Everyone has read this but me" group for April. :-)]
Art of Illusion - match clothing colour to cover colour
* Astronomy - 2 Es in the title
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
* Conjuration - recommended by a friend (or celebrity, author, book media, site...)
Assholes: A Theory by Aaron James
Demonology - book compared to your favorite (if you liked this, read this...)
"Favorite" Starless Sea - read: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
* Elemental studies - flowers on the cover
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
spells and incantations - read a book that is 389-415 pages
Dandy by Jan Guillou (396 pages)
artificery - start your read with a snack
inscription - a book from your highest shelf
lore - book with a map
psionics and divination - clouds on the cover or in the title
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
* restoration - close your eyes, shuffle the books, and point
The Summer Birds by Penelope Farmer
* shapeshifting - wolf on the cover, title, author's name
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
There are the "book a week" challenges, which means that I would need to read 12 books, but as I'm doubling, I am going to get away with less than that :-D
Read a cookbook cover to cover.
The Little Library Cookbook by Kate Young
I could also choose something to make to eat before eating a book for artificery class in Orilium :-D
Either spice cookies to eat while reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
or posset to eat with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Read a book with under 500 Goodreads ratings.
Mistress of Mistresses by E.R. Eddison
Read an author local to you.
Dandy by Jan Guillou
Then there are some 10 books I need to read for the genre challenge.
Hopepunk, magical realism, matron lit, women's fiction, and biographies.
Some of them are going to fulfill some of the prompts :-)
Then I need to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky for the "Everyone has read this but me" book club.
Then there's the Battle of the Bands. I'm in the AC/DC group :-) I'm glad about that because that's the five books that look most interesting to me right now :-D (Oh, I want to read all of them, of course, and if everything goes as planned, I will.)Friday, March 10, 2023
March TBR
So... this year I'm going to reread more books.
“It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”
- C.S.Lewis
Now, I don't know if that is a good rule or not, but... it's kind of interesting to reread old favorites. And kind of horrible. I just read the Starlight Barking and I hated it. :-D
So, March.
March of the Mammoths is on, and I planned to read War and Peace, which I have never read, and which is a serious mammoth (some 1400 pages).
(I also planned on reading David Copperfield (974 pages) and Demon Copperhead... heh.)
"Everyone has read this but me" club's March reads are: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
I planned on rereading the challenge books I've already read, but... I hate Wuthering Heights.
Then, as I plan on finishing three 52 prompt challenges, I'd need to read 3 books every week :-D (No, it's not as scary as it seems, as many of the prompts are the same, and many books fit many different prompts. I usually read one book for each prompt, but this year I'm doubling and tripling :-D
PopSugar 2023 reading challenge
Around the Year in 52 Books
52 Books Club
Then there's the Read Harder challenge.
I'm also doing the "100 Book Genre Challenge" - it would be nice to read genres I don't usually read.
I chose Hopepunk, which is a new acquaintance to me. I read some suggested book lists, and I have loved every one I have read, so it looks like a safe choice :-D
I chose Magical Realism, but that is what I read all the time. Well... not quite so, but I usually read a couple of those every year.
Then I chose Matron Lit, which is chick lit for gals over 40 :-D I am middle-aged, and people 30 and younger feel like children to me. I don't quite identify myself with a teenaged marysue heroine, and find it hard to like those books. I suppose Matron Lit might suit me better. I don't usually read much chick lit, though I have nothing against it.
Then I have Women's Fiction, because I stumbled over Britta Böhler's 1001 Books Before I Die challenge. I do consider myself a feminist, even though I am kind of stuck in the 80s and 90s with my feminism. I think it's good to further educate myself about feminism and read some feminist literature written by women younger than me. :-D
And last I have biographies.
I was considering plays/drama and fairy tales, too. Maybe next year ;-)
I need to read 2 books every week for the genre challenge, and it's week 10, so I should need to have read a whole "genre" - 20 books. I'm not going to do that. So I have to take the rest of the year - 42 weeks - and divide the 100 books with that, and that gives me about 2 months for each 20 books. 10 books a month. More achievable :-)
Next, I need to finish my own fantasy challenge :-D
I also plan on reading "The 51 Best Fantasy Series Ever Written", Time's God Awful list of The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, and other such lists.
I have to say that Oprah's These 25 Fantasy Books Will Transport Your Imagination to Other Worlds is better :-D Readers' Digest's list is pretty bad.
I have compiled a couple of lists on List Challenges; The Ultimate Fantasy Reading Challenge and The Ultimate Fantasy Reading Challenge Part II
And then I want to read all the award winners, especially Hugo and Nebula. And some others :-D (Locus, BFA, WFA, Mythopoeic, Tähtifantasia...)
(I have over 1300 books on my TBR list right now, and that's just those I have added to it...
there are at least a couple hundred more that are not on it :-D)
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
So, I need to read 9 hopepunk books in March
The Obelisk Gate by N.K.Jemisin
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
Home by Nnedi Okorafor
The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
and 2 more... well... if I have time :-D
There's 24 prompts in Read Harder, that's 2 books a month. It's the third month, so I would need to read 6 books for that.
I have read The Tea Dragon Society, but I need to read
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
Muumipapan urotyöt by Tove Jansson
Lobizona by Romina Garber
The Poppy War by R.F.Kuang
Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
The Cult of Venus by David S. Brody
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Lammas Night by Katherine Kurtz
Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff
Stöld by Ann-Helén Laestadius
That's 28 books. I am pretty sure I am not going to read that :-D
But, but... I'll read what I can :-) Anyway, this is my TBR list for March.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Book recommendations online
The book I put in was Starless Sea, and the five top recommendations I've not read are:
The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
The Binding by Bridget Collins
GoodReads have "books similar to the ---" "Goodreads members who liked this book also liked:"
and they give:
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Babel by R.F.Kuang
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
recommends
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Little, Big by John Crowley
BookRiot's quiz: what book should I read next?
recommends
The Tea Dragon Society by K. O'Neill
Then I took the Bookfinity's test, but they are kind of wishy-washy and I don't see anything interesting in their book recommendations. So I decided to add some of my favorite books, and now it doesn't give me any recommendations. :-( So... I don't recommend that.
Ok. I tried again, and now we are getting somewhere:
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
In the Lives of Puppets by Tj Klune
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd