Demobbed: Coming Home After the Second World War by Alan Allport

The other day, I was working at the circulation desk at the library, and a patron returned a book that I really want to read, River of Doubt by Candice Millard.  When I asked how he liked it, he seemed a little dismissive.  "Well, I have a Ph.D in history," he said, basically implying that the book wasn't particularly academic in nature.  Now, I have been reading more and more nonfiction the past few years, and I even started a book group at my branch that reads only nonfiction.  I'm finding nonfiction to be better written and more accessible than ever before.  It never occurred to me that this could be considered a bad thing.  

However, my most recent nonfiction book was all of the above -- well-written, accessible, AND academic.  Demobbed: Coming Home After the Second World War by Alan Allport is a fascinating read about the lives of British soldiers (and to a lesser extent, civilians) during the period immediately after WWII, when millions of men returned home during peacetime after the war.  

I must admit I knew next to nothing about this when I started -- everything I know about postwar Britain is from TV series like Call the Midwife.  I did realize that food and gas rationing went on for years, but I am sure to myself, and many others, my first thoughts are about the soldiers returning home to ticker tape parades, kissing nurses in the streets, like the iconic Life magazine photo.

The book isn't terribly long, about 225 pages of narrative of text, but it's packed with information.  Here are a few facts that I learned:

• Logistically, returning soldiers home was complicated. It took months, even stretching to years for some of the British military. It takes a long time to get that many people from one place to another.  (If you've ever been on a cruise, you know how long it takes people to get OFF the ship. Try multiplying that exponentially.) 

• Because of the bombings and destruction on the home front, many civilians felt that they'd had an equally bad time than the soldiers who were fighting, or even worse. Many of them resented the returning soldiers. Soldiers were also shocked at the rationing and destruction once they'd returned.

• And of course, the issues of the mental health of many of the returning soldiers. I know there are infinitely more resources for returning veterans now, but it's shocking how bad it was after World War II. 

This book was extremely interesting and well-organized. In the introduction, Allport explains that this book was originally an academic thesis (it's published by the Yale University Press). Compared to most of the nonfiction I've been reading the last few years, Demobbed is definitely written in a more formal style than some of the nonfiction that I find on the library shelves, but it's still very accessible. I really enjoyed this book, especially compared to the disappointment of the previous book I read from my TBR Pile Challenge 2015 list. I highly recommend it for anyone who's interested in the postwar period. 

I still own two more nonfiction works about post-war Britain on the TBR shelves: Millions Like Us by Virginia Nicholson and Our Hidden Lives by Simon Garfield. Bloggers, have any of you read either of these? And what other books about WWII and postwar Britain do you recommend? 

Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

"She knew very well that Mary Poppins never wasted time in being nice." 

Growing up, I missed an awful lot of the children's classics -- I read and loved the Narnia series, the Little House books, and the Boxcar children, but I never even read The Wizard of Oz series until I was in middle school (and I skipped the first book, assuming it was just like the movie.  I was quite wrong).  I am now officially adding Mary Poppins to the list of books I regret never reading while I was an actual child.

If you're not familiar with the plot, Mary Poppins is a mysterious, magical nanny that shows up and takes charge of the four Banks children after their Katie Nanna leaves on short notice.  She's not what you'd call warm and cuddly -- she's actually rather short and brusque with the children -- but when Mary is around, wonderful things happen.  The two elder children, Jane and Michael, have fantastic adventures with Mary, including a visit to the zoo at night when the animals are running the place; a tea party held whilst floating up near the ceiling; and a magical trip around the world.

Mary Poppins was never among my favorite Disney movies when I was a kid, and when my own children were born, I didn't enjoy it much more.  It was only after I saw Saving Mr. Banks that I had any read desire to read the book to see how it compares to the movie.  Well, it's far superior -- in fact, there's barely any resemblance to the movie at all, except the famous opening when she comes in with her carpet bag and slides up the bannister; and her evening out with Bert.  It's possible that other elements in the movie are taken from later books in the series, which I haven't read yet, but if you're a fan of the movie, you might be disappointed.  Mr. and Mrs. Banks are barely mentioned, and there are no chimney sweeps in sight.

I also did not realize that this book was revised by Travers back in 1981.  I'd been listening to the audio, and when I have a hard copy, I like to see my progress by comparing it to the print book.  So, I looked in my copy to check my place, and was VERY surprised to see that my current chapter, "Bad Tuesday" was QUITE different -- as in quite racist!

That particular chapter starts out with Michael getting out of the wrong side of bed.  Everything goes wrong all day and he's being very naughty.  They're out on a walk and spot a compass on the ground, and Mary Poppins uses it so they can travel around the world.  In the audio version, they go in all four points of the compass, and visit a polar bear, a macaw, and panda, and a dolphin, and it's quite delightful.  Apparently in the original version it's people, and the visit to Africa is particularly offensive.  But I'm glad to say that the revised version is much better.  

Though I do own a print copy of the book, I mostly listened an audio version, which I just loved.  The reader, Sophie Thompson is one of the most delightful audiobook narrators I've ever encountered.  (Yes, that's the Sophie Thompson who is the sister of Emma Thompson, who played Miss Bates in Emma and Mary Elliot in Persuasion).  She's just perfect for Mary Poppins -- Mary is very no-nonsense, the children are full of wonder, and her accents are spot-on.  I'm planning to read the entire Mary Poppins series, and when I do, I will imagine Sophie Thompson narrating all the rest of the books in my head.

I'm counting this book as my Children's Classic for the Back to the Classics Challenge.

Anthony Trollope Bicentennial

Well, I just recently discovered via some other bloggers that 2015 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Anthony Trollope, one of my all-time favorite writers!  How did I not realize this?  

So far, I've read 15 of his 47 novels, and I still have 16 unread on my shelves (not to mention three volumes of short stories, his autobiography, and an illustrated biography).  To celebrate my love of Trollope and his charming novels, I'm thinking about hosting a month-long event on my blog.  Trollope was born on April 24, 1815, so I thought April would be an appropriate month.  

I've hosted giveaways before, and I'm currently hosting the second year of the Back to the Classics Challenge, but I've never hosted a blogging event like this.  I was thinking I'd have some sort of sign-up linky, some giveaways, and maybe post weekly updates with links to participants' postings.  I'm definitely open to suggestions!

Bloggers, what do you think?  Are any of you interested in participating?  And what would you like included in a blogging event? 

The Girls From Winnetka by Marcia Chellis

Well, that was disappointing.

I was really looking forward to starting my TBR Pile Challenge reading list for 2015.  After finishing one giant doorstopper of a book (which I loved), and having about another 20 audio discs to go on a second, I naturally looked through the pile and chose the shortest book.  I have a really hard time leaping from one enormous book to another.  My choice was The Girls From Winnetka by Marcia Chellis. I received this as a prize drawing gift from another blogger back in 2010.   Unfortunately, I wasn't nearly as enamored of this book as she was.  

This is the true story of five friends, women who graduate in the same high school class in Winnetka, Illinois, an upscale Chicago suburb, in the late 1950s:  Annie, Margo, Barbie, Laura, and Brooke.  (No last names are given in this story; we don't even know the actual year they graduated).  The book covers their changing lives throughout the decades and examines them in light of the social upheaval of the 1960s and 70s, and the changing role of women.  Each chapter is split up between the five women as they live through different decades, from the 1950s through the 20th century, beginning and ending with a reunion of these lifelong friends.

I was particularly intrigued by this book because I love nonfiction (my entire TBR Pile Challenge list is nonfiction this year!) and because I lived for about ten years in Chicago and the suburbs.  I've been to Winnetka many times and actually know people who graduated from this very high school, New Trier. I also attended the same university as one of the women in the book, and I really hoped that this book would really connect with me.  

Unfortunately, it really didn't.  This book was published by a small independent publishing company, and it really showed.  I found the quality of the writing really lacking, with some serious errors in punctuation, and the style just felt amateurish.  (I should confess upfront that I am a person who becomes easily annoyed by the misuse of an apostrophe.) Maybe I'm especially nitpicky, but it really bugged me that the author (or editor) misused commas and italics repeatedly -- basic stuff that any middle school teacher would mark down.  I know my blog posts aren't always perfect, but I'm not asking anybody to pay to read my stuff. 

The story was also quite disjointed, with huge gaps in the narrative.   I think these women really did have interesting lives, and I'm quite sure I would have gotten more out of this book if it were better written.  I just couldn't get past the poor quality of the writing and editing.  It really seemed like a first draft to me.  It was only 240 pages, so it was a fast read, but I'm sure I would have liked it much better if it were longer and the women's histories were expanded.  

However, I won't be discouraged with the rest of my TBR Pile list; I've just started the next book on my list, and the first twelve pages of the prologue were infinitely better written than The Girls From Winnetka.  I've heard excellent things about nearly all of the other 11 books on the list, and the two alternates, so if nothing else I knocked the worst one off the list first.  

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

As usual, I am years behind everyone else and am only now reading the Next Big Literary Thing.  (I suppose now it's just a Literary Big Thing.) Ten years!  That's how long it took me to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,  though I've only owned this book for about three years (which I got at the bargain price of $1 at the library's Friends sale), and is yet another Big Fat Book that has been taking up space on the TBR shelves.  This book is almost 800 pages, and I've already started the audio of The Pickwick Papers.  I really and truly had no business starting this doorstopper, but it looked dark and mysterious, and that's exactly what I was in the mood for on New Year's Day when I picked it up.  

Quite frankly, it's just BRILLIANT. It's taken me almost two weeks to finish (due to interruptions), but honestly, I didn't want to rush through it. This is one of those books that I was glad to savor and read in bits in pieces. I didn't want to stay up all night to find out how it would end. I wanted it to last forever, because I knew I'd be sad when it was over. 

For those who don't know the setup, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell begins in 1806, in Yorkshire.  There is a society of magicians, who really don't know much about magic, but they've heard that there's a Mr. Norrell with an amazing library of magical books and who claims to be the last practicing magician in all of England.  A couple of them go to meet him, but either he's a snob or he doesn't like competition.  He makes them an offer: Mr. Norrell will do something amazing to prove he's a magician, but all the others must sign an agreement that they'll never try to do magic again.  All but one of them accept. 

Well, he does do something amazing -- he goes to a cathedral and brings all the statues to life.  Everyone's abuzz with the possibility of actual magic back in England. Mr. Norrell moves to London and meets a lot of fashionable people, and then he performs another unbelievable feat of magic. Soon all of London is crazy for magic. Mr. Norrell offers his services to help with the war against Napoleon. He also takes on a single pupil, Jonathan Strange, a wealthy young man who's a bit of a dilettante, but he seems to have found his calling as a magician. The rest of the book consists of the the development of the relationship between Strange and Norrell, and the changes that magic brings to England.

One of Portia Rosenberg's  illustrations from the novel

This 800-page book is set up very much like a Victorian serial.  There are 69 short chapters, all about ten pages long, which was really nice for reading in bits and pieces. This isn't a book I wanted to rush through.  It took me more than two weeks to finish this book, and I was glad to stretch it out.   I can definitely imagine this published weekly, like the novels of Dickens and Trollope.  It has a very Dickensian feel about it, though it's set in the Regency period which was the time of Jane Austen.   I normally hate comparing books to other books, but I couldn't help thinking that if Jane Austen and Charles Dickens could have met and written their version of Harry Potter, it would have been very much like this. Susanna Clarke nails the Victorian writing style more than any other historical writer I've read.  

It's also written as though it were an actual history of how magic came back to England, complete with footnotes to explain all the references they make, mostly about ancient magicians and stories of magical events in the past.  I also found it very funny in parts -- there are a lot of snarky little asides.

Some people have complained about the pacing of this book, but I thought it was just right.  I just loved the world of Strange and Norrell and I'm really sad now that I've finished the book.  It took Susannah Clarke about ten years to write it. I've heard that she's writing a sequel and I really hope that's true, and that it won't take too much longer for it to be finished.  

In the meantime, apparently the BBC is adapting it into a TV miniseries!  That's actually one of the reasons I decided to tackle this book -- I really wanted to read it before I watched it on TV. It's going to air here in the States on BBC America, though there's no word yet when it will actually be shown.  I'm glad it's a miniseries and not a TV movie or feature film, because the format is just right. Eddie Marsan is playing Mr. Norrell and though he's young for the role, I'm sure he'll do a wonderful job.

Bertie Carvel (left) as Jonathan Strange and Eddie Marsan as Mr. Norrell

There are some other production stills floating around the internet. I don't recognize any of the other actors but I'm really hoping it will live up to the novel.  Susanna Clarke also published a book of short stories called The Ladies of Grace Adieu, and I've already requested it from the library. 

Has anyone else read this? And how is your reading going for 2015?  

The Chunkster Challenge

Currently, I'm in the midst of two Big Fat Books -- how do I manage to get myself into these situations?  It started a couple of weeks ago, when I pulled Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell off my TBR shelf on a whim.  It was a dark and dreary day, and I wanted something that seemed like it would match my mood.  I got sucked into the story right away, but it's not what I'd call a quick read.

I also started listening to The Pickwick Papers on audiobook -- it's 25 discs, more than 32 hours of reading!!  The print copy from the library is about 800 pages of teeny tiny print.  My commute to work is pretty short so I've barely getting started. I'm keeping track of my progress with a print volume, but I've only completed about 120 pages worth so far.

That being said, I thought that was a pretty good excuse to sign up for the Chunkster Challenge.  The rules are extremely flexible -- there is no minimum amount of books required, plus audio is okay.  I think the only requirement is that the book be at least 450 pages.  You don't even have to have a blog!

Just for fun, though, I decided to make a list of some of the Big Fat Books from my TBR shelves I'd like to complete this year.  I've narrowed the list to an even dozen, since I think that's pretty manageable.  Besides my two current reads, I'm also including books that are still on my Classics Club list.

1.  Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (782 pp) .  It's slow, but it's just wonderful.  I'll be sad when it's over.

2.  The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.  (801 pp).  One of the last works by Dickens on my to-read list.  However, I'm kind of underwhelmed by it so far.  I haven't given up though.

3.  No Name by Wilkie Collins. (748 pp).  I can count this as the 19th Century Classic in the Back to the Classics Challenge.

4.  Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell (528 pp).  This can count as the Classic by a Woman Author.

5.  New Grub Street by George Gissing (576 pp).  I read The Odd Women by Gissing a few years ago and really liked it.   I'm trying to expand my knowledge of Victorian writers beyond Dickens and Trollope.

6.  A Dance to the Music of Time (First Movement) by Anthony Powell (718 pp). This one is actually an omnibus of three shorter novels.  Also, the margins are really wide, so I don't think this one will take that long.  Can count it as my 20th Century Classic.

7.  Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson. (556 pp). Another omnibus.  This was one on my TBR Pile Challenge list back in 2013, and I never did get to it.

8.  The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope.  (794 pp).  Volume 3 in the Pallisers series.  Of course, before I read it, I'll have to read:

9.  Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope (752 pp).  Volume 2 of the Pallisers!  I loved Can You Forgive Her? so I'm really looking forward to this one.  Could also count this one for the Name in the Title category.

And to make it an even dozen from the TBR shelves:

10.  All Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard (592 pp).  The final volume in the Cazalet series.  I read the first four in 2014 so I'm looking forward to this one, though I'll be so sad when I've finished it.

11.  Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.  I've read so many books set during WWII, I feel like I should read more books set during WWI.  And it's a little shorter, a mere 483 pages.

12.  The Quincunx by Charles Palliser (787 pp).  This one is almost 800 pages of tiny print, and it's another big fat historical novel -- this one's set during Victorian times, so it might be just the thing after I finish Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell --  unless I decide to read a bunch of short books first.

 So tell me, bloggers -- has anyone else signed up for the Chunkster Challenge?  Which big fat books do you want to finish in 2015?  And am I completely insane to read two 800 page books at the same time?

Frozen Assets by P. G. Wodehouse

My first book for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2015!!  I wanted to start out the year with a fun, quick read, and I have several unread books by P. G. Wodehouse on the TBR shelves -- just the thing.

Many people are familiar with the works of Wodehouse because of his most famous characters, Jeeves and Wooster, and the brilliant BBC adaptation starring Stephen Fry as Jeeves and Hugh Laurie as the hapless Bertie Wooster.  No Jeeves and Wooster in this book, but it's classic Wodehouse -- basically, a screwball comedy.  It starts out with a very funny scene in which Jerry Shoesmith, a young English journalist, is trying to report a lost wallet at a Paris police station.  The French policeman, who loves bureacracy, decides to make things difficult for poor Jerry, whose keys were also in the wallet, so he can't get back to his uncle's apartment for the night.  However, all is not lost, because Jerry runs into the beautiful Kay Christopher, an American whom he met on a ship a couple of years ago.  She's at the police station reporting the absence of her brother Edmund, also known as Biff.

Lo and behold, Biff has absconded back to London to avoid the French police.  It seems Biff has a tendency to get drunk and assault policemen.  However, back in London, he discovers that he's become a millionaire overnight, since his eccentric godfather has passed away and left him a fortune -- with strings attached.  It seems Biff has to stay out of trouble until his 30th birthday, which luckily is only a week away.  Unluckily, the fortune would then pass to his godfather's brother, Lord Tilbury, who just happens to be Jerry's former employer.  Tilbury will stop at nothing to get Biff in trouble and get his hands on the money.  Jerry wants to help Biff because he's in love with Kay, who unfortunately is already engaged to a stuffy British diplomat.

The book is short, but delightful, full of witty repartee and downright silliness.  There are love triangles and quadrangles, amazing coincidences, and a great recurring bit about missing trousers.  Being Wodehouse, it all comes right in the end.

Wodehouse wrote more than 70 books, over a period of about as many years.  Frozen Assets is fairly late, published in 1964 (so it just qualifies for the Back to the Classics Challenge), but the humor is timeless.  This was a perfect choice for my Humorous Classic category for the Back to the Classics Challenge.  Originally, I was planning on reading The Pickwick Papers, but it's nearly 800 pages so I'm saving that for my Very Long Classic.

Anyone else a Wodehouse fan?  Which are your favorites?  And has anyone else started on the Back to the Classics Challenge yet?

Challenge Link-Up Post: Final Wrap-Up

 

Have you finished the Back to the Classics Challenge?  Congratulations!  This is where you'll link up to your Challenge Wrap-Up Post, after you've completed a minimum of six different categories from the original challenge post.  This post is only for Challenge-Wrap Up Posts.  If you do not have a blog, or anywhere you post publicly, please write up your post-challenge thoughts/suggestions/etc in the comments section.  Please read the directions carefully. 

By linking or commenting here, you are declaring that you have completed the challenge; that each book (or play) reviewed fits the correct definition of the category, and was published before 1965 (except for posthumous publications); and that your reviews for each category are linked to the correct post. If I cannot find links to your reviews, I cannot give you credit and thus enter you into the drawing.  THIS is where I will look at the end of the year and randomly choose the winner for the bookish prize. 

Please remember to indicate within THIS post how many entries you have earned for the prize drawing and include links to your reviews. If you do NOT include links to your original reviews IN THIS POST, I CANNOT ENTER YOU INTO THE DRAWING.

If you've completed six categories and you get one entry.

Complete nine categories, and you get two entries.

Complete all twelve categories, and your name is entered into the drawing three times!

Thank you again for participating, and congratulations again for completing the challenge!

Challenge Link-Up Post: Classic Play

Please link your reviews for your Classic Play here.  This is only for the Classic Play category.  (Plays are only eligible in this category). If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Othello)." 

Challenge Link-Up Post: Children's Classic

Please link your reviews for your Children's Classic here.  This is only for the Children's Classic category.  If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (The Wizard of Oz)." 

Challenge Link-Up Post: Non-fiction Classic

Please link your reviews for your Non-fiction Classic here.  This is only for the Non-Fiction Classic category.  A memoir, biography, essays, travel, this can be any nonfiction work that's considered a classic, or a nonfiction work by a classic author.

If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Travels With Charley)."  

Classic Link-Up Post: Forgotten Classic

Please link your reviews for your Forgotten Classic here.  This is only for the Forgotten Classic category.  This could be a lesser-known work by a famous author, or a classic that nobody reads any more.  If you look on Goodreads, this book will most likely have less than 1000 ratings.  This is your chance to read one of those obscure books from the Modern Library 100 Best Novels or 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.  Books published by Virago Modern Classics, Persephone, and NYRB Classics often fall into this category.  

If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (The Blue Castle)."

Classic Link-Up Post: Humorous or Satirical Classic

Please link your reviews for your Humorous or Satirical Classic here.  This only for the Humorous or Satirical Classic category.  Humor is very subjective, so this one is open to interpretation.  Just tell us in the review why you think it's funny or satirical.   For example, if you think that Crime and Punishment and funny, go ahead and use it, but please justify your choice in your post. 

If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Three Men in a Boat)." 

Challenge Link-Up Post: Name in the Title

Please link your reviews for your Classic with a Person's Name in the Title here.  This is only for the Classic with a Person's Name in the Title category.  First name, last name, or both, it doesn't matter, but it must include the name of a character. 

If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Ethan Frome). "

Challenge Link-Up Post: Classic Novella

Please link your reviews for your Classic Novella here.  This is only for the Classic Novella category.  This should be a classic less than 250 pages long.  

If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Breakfast at Tiffany's)."

Classic Link-Up Post: Very Long Classic Novel

Please link your reviews here for your  Very Long Classic Novel.  This is only for the Very Long Classic Category.  All books posted in this category must be a single work of 500 pages or longer, in regular-sized print.  This does not include omnibus editions combined into one book, or short story collections.  It also does not include endnotes or appendices; the actual text of the novel must be at least 500 pages.  (If you're not sure, check a different edition; an average page count should be at least 500 pages long).

If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section. If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Gone With the Wind)."

Challenge Link-Up Post: Classic in Translation

Please link your reviews for your Classic in Translation here.  This is only for the Classic in Translation category.  These should all be classics that were originally written in a language other than your primary language; that is, if you are a native English speaker, it should be a classic written in another language other than English.  If you are not a native English speaker, it could be in English (or any other language, other than your primary language). If you want to read the book in its original language, that's fine too!

If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Germinal)."

Challenge Link-Up Post: Classic by a Woman

Please link your reviews for your Classic by a Woman here.  This is only for the Classic by a Woman category.  If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section. If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Their Eyes Were Watching God)."  

Challenge Link-Up Post: 20th Century Classic

Please link your reviews for your 20th Century Classic here.  This is only for the 20th Century Classic category.  All books in this category must have been published between 1900 and 1965 to qualify as classics (except for posthumous publications.  If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Of Human Bondage)."  

Challenge Link-Up Post: 19th Century Classic

Please link your reviews for your 19th Century Classic here.  This is only for the 19th Century Classic category.  All books in this category must have been published from 1800 to 1899.   If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section.  If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Bleak House)." 

Back to the Classics Challenge 2014: The Winner!

And the winner of the Back to the Classics Challenge 2014 prize drawing is . . . .

Cleo @ Classical Carousel !!!!

Cleo, you've won a gift card worth $30 (US) from Amazon.com or The Book Depository!!  Congratulations!!!   Please contact me at karen librarian 13 [at] yahoo [dot] com so I can send you your prize.  

And many thanks to all the bloggers who participated in this event!  It was so much fun, and just think, we're all winners, because we've all crossed some classics books off of our to-read lists!!  I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and that you've signed up for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2015!  I'm really looking forward to it.  

Mount TBR Pile Challenge: Final Mountaineering Checkpoint

This year, I'm really proud of myself for completing SIXTY TWO books from my own shelves!!  Yes!  Since I finished 103 books, that brings me to 60% books read from my own shelves, not including rereads.  I've exceeded last year's goal of 50% books from my own shelves.  That brought me to my goal on the Mount TBR Pile Challenge, the Mt. Kilimanjaro level.

And now, here's my Year in Review According to Mount TBR.  I've made up my own statements to fit the books I blogged about this year.


Working at the library is better than being The Post-Office Girl.

Though sometimes I feel like I'm being Singled Out.

I'm pretty sure my husband always tells himself He Knew He Was Right

I wish my house were The Blue Castle

I looked in my refrigerator today and found Few Eggs and No Oranges

My back yard sometimes looks like: The Jungle

When I was younger, my favorite Beatles song was:  Norwegian Wood

Someday I'll look back and think these were: The Light Years

I think my college years were A Sentimental Education

If the were a real place, I'd love to visit: Mansfield Park

Or I'd fly to China and have a Peking Picnic

If I were on a road trip through India, I'd definitely invite Kim

If Kim asked me a question on a hot day, he might get a Dusty Answer

I'd love to take an ocean voyage, just not like the one in:Moby-Dick

And if it were a calm night, not too cloudy, I might catch a few of The Glimpses of the Moon

I'm glad I don't have to dress like The Edwardians

Also glad that my family is not as wacky as The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family

Or as famous as Marie Antoinette.

If I could pick a literary friend from a book this year, I'd choose Miss Majoribanks; or maybe Rachel Ray;

I'd also love to meet Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief;

But definitely not Nana or Sapphira and the Slave Girl (well, actually, just not Sapphira; the slave girl sounded like a nice person!).

I'd be afraid to visit ancient Rome and meet I, Claudius -- but only if I were escorted by The Return of the Soldier!

This was a really fun blog post -- like literary Mad Libs, but in reverse!  I've already signed up for next year's challenge and I'm hoping to achieve the same goal of 60 or more books read from my own shelves -- I still have about 170 unread left!

Has anyone else signed up for this challenge?  Good luck!