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Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 Read-along

Steph and Claire are hosting a read-along for the highly acclaimed book, 2666, by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. The novel is 900 pages long, and divided into 5 parts, which Bolaño intended to be released in separate volumes. Unfortunately, Bolaño died, and the publishers decided to release all the books together. This means that it’s length is quite daunting to people like me!

The read-along aims to address this issue by reading one part a month, for the next five months:

  • May ~ Part 1: The Part About the Critics, pp. 1-160
  • June ~ Part 2: The Part About Amalfitano, pp. 161-228
  • July ~ Part 3: The Part About Fate, pp. 229-350
  • August ~ Part 4: The Part About the Crimes, pp. 351-634
  • September ~ Part 5: The Part About Archimboldi, pp. 635-894

    • .

    This seems very achievable, and as there are quite a few people taking part in this read-along I am really looking forward to it.

    The read-along might not be the end of the book though, as it has recently been reported that the sixth part of the book has been discovered amongst his papers.

    I’m really looking forward to reading it, especially after seeing this quote:

    Readers who have snacked on a writer such as Haruki Murakami will feast on Roberto Bolaño
    …vital, thrilling and life-enhancing.
    ~ Christopher Goodwin, The Sunday Times Culture

    Are you interested in reading this book?
    Do you plan to join us for the read-along?

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    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the Internet

    My Half of a Yellow Sun read-along started yesterday, so I thought I’d have a quick look for some information on the Internet, in the hope it will increase my reading pleasure!

    Here’s what I found:

    The Official Half of a Yellow Sun website contains everything you’d want to know about the book. There are excerpts, reviews, and an interview with Chimamanda about the story behind the book which is particularly interesting.

    The Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Website contains a biography, an interview with her, and links to lots more facts about her on the Internet.

    If you feel you are missing out by not being able to read The Thing around Your Neck yet then there are links to almost all the short stories contained in it here. After reading that lot, you probably don’t need to spend the money on the book!

    There are also links to lots of essays that she has written, and I think I’ll make an effort to read them. I don’t normally read essays, but as I love her writing so much they are probably a great place for me to start.

    This little exercise has taught me to google authors more often! There are so many interesting facts out there, and I am especially pleased to have found all the links to the short stories and essays.

    How often do you google authors?

    Have you found any sites which are particularly good for author facts?

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    April summary and plans for May

    April has been an amazing reading month for me. I don’t think I’ve ever read so many great books in one month before!

    Three  books!!!

     

     

    In total I managed to read 9 books, and completed one audio book. This is slightly down on previous months, but you’ll have to let me off as one of the books was the 1000+ page Gone with the Wind.

    Offshore – Penelope Fitzgerald   stars1

    The Giver – Lois Lowry  

    Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell  

    Little Face – Sophie Hannah  

    The Secret River – Kate Grenville  

    The Road Home – Rose Tremain  

    Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout  

    Scottsboro – Ellen Feldman  

    The Thing Around Your Neck– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  

     

     Audio Book

    Delicate Edible Birds – Lauren Groff  

     

    Plans for May

    May is going to be a very Orange month for me, as I continue to read all the books shortlisted for the Orange Prize this year.

    I’m also joining Simon in reading Midnight’s Children and Sea of Poppies.

    Remember my Half of a Yellow Sun Read-along starts tomorrow.

    I’m not sure I’ll be able to squeeze much more into May, but I’ll try!

    Are you planning to read any of the same books as me?

    Did you enjoy all the books you read in April?

    Thank you for reading my blog – I look forward to sharing more book related thoughts with you in the coming months!

     

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    Booking Through Thursday: Which is Worse?

    Booking Through ThursdayCheck Spelling

    Which is worse?

    Finding a book you love and then hating everything else you try by that author, or Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?

    Both situations are annoying, but luckily they haven’t happened very frequently to me. In fact, I can only think of one example for each.

    Product Details

    One great book…..

    The Other Boleyn Girl was the first Phillipa Gregory book that I read. I loved it! Straight away I went out to buy the rest of the series, and every single one was a disappointment.  None of them managed to capture the magic of that first book. It wasn’t that they were terrible books, they were OK, but the disappointment of not having found the consistent talent I had hoped for was a big let down.

     

    One disappointing book….

    Amy Tan is one of the few authors for which I have read every single book she has written. I loved all of them, until her latest one, Saving Fish From Drowning appeared. Amy Tan writes lovely books, packed with rich detail, showing how the lives of Chinese people has changed through the generations. Her latest book is a departure from her normal writing, and I think this is why I was disappointed. I love the insight that Amy Tan gives into the Chinese culture, and so although her writing is consistently good Saving Fish from Drowning lacked the special spark found in her previous books. The book deviated from her rich story telling, to concentrate on political satire, which regular readers of my blog know that I do not like. This was a big disappointment for me, but I know that she has the consistent writing talent within her, and so will continue to buy each new book she produces.

    So, which is worse? I think the first, as you are continually hoping to recapture the brilliance of that first book. Reading lots of books by an author who managed to capture your heart once, but failing to find the magic again, is very disappointing.

    Which do you think is worse?

    Which authors have disappointed you with a single book?

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    Should we continue to pass blogging awards on?

    I have been fortunate enough to have received lots of lovely blogging awards recently, but after writing the summary below I had the dilemma of who to pass them on to.  I have noticed that an increasing number of people are no longer blogging about the awards they have received, and so wonder if people don’t appreciate receiving them. I’d hate to annoy someone by giving them something which is intended to please them, and honour the hard work they put into their blog.

    I love recieving awards. It is a lovely feeling to have been singled out by another blogger, but I sometimes wonder if displaying the awards you have received is a bit like showing off, the equivalent of showing your blog stats to the world.

    Suey  recently asked a similar question – she had seen someone describe awards as being the blog equivalent of chain mail. I often feel that the number of people nominated for each award is too high. The chain letter effect begins to take place when 10+ people are awarded each time.  The specialness of the award is reduced if everyone gets one eventually.

    So my question is: Should we continue to pass these blogging awards on? Do you think that most people who you give an award to already know that you appreciate their blog, as you visit and comment on their blog regularly, or are blogging awards that extra special treat which they deserve from time to time? 

    Do you feel jealous when other people get lots of awards? Do you think it is impolite to wave them around in front of people who may not have as many?

    I’d love to know what you think on this subject, as the more I think about it, the more confused I get!

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    Lots of Awards!

    I have received lots of lovely awards recently, and I’d like to thank each of the kind bloggers below for thinking of me!

     

    Suey from It’s All About Books and Jane from Fleur Fisher Reads both honoured me with the Zombie Chicken Award.

     

     Sandy from You’ve Gotta Read This! awarded me this Super Comments Award.

     

      

      Dorte H from  DJs Krimiblog gave me this Friendly Blogger Award

     Kathrin from The Secret Dream World of a Bookaholic gave me this One Lovely Blog Award 

     

    and finally Carrie from Books and Movies passed on this Spash! Award to me, although she has since moved to a lovely new blogging home here. 

     

    I am so happy to have received so many awards, but now I have the difficult task of deciding who, if anyone, I should pass them on to. This is such a difficult question for me to answer, so I have created a whole post in which to do so! Please read my Should we continue to pass blogging awards on? post, and let me know what you think.