Marcovaldo, or The Seasons in the City

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Marcovaldo, or The Seasons in the City, by Italo Calvino, is a book that was recommended to me by my Argentine “sister” (my dear friend that I lived with as an exchange student to Argentina many years ago).  It’s one of her favorite books and so I put it on my list for The Classics Club. It’s a fun book to read, 20 short stories that are so very human. It is full of humor and pathos as one recognizes the character, Marcovaldo, as one of us…a bumbling, misguided, well-intentioned, basic human being. He was a country person living in the city, always out of his element and not quite understanding everything going on around him.

from the publisher:

Marcovaldo is an unskilled worker in a drab industrial city in northern Italy. He is an irrepressible dreamer and an inveterate schemer. Much to the puzzlement of his wife, his children, his boss, and his neighbors, he chases his dreams-but the results are never the ones he had expected.

Italo Calvino touches something deep inside us with these stories. With this thin volume and with just the right amount of words, he focuses a light on the human experience.

I read this book as one of my 50-books-in-5-years for The Classics Club. It was the book that was chosen from my list for The Classics Club SPIN #22!

 

 

I also chose this book to read for my personal challenge, “Wanderlust,” an effort to read books that are from or take place in each country of the world. This was a book that takes place in Italy.

The Moonspinners

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Catching up on some of my reviews at the end of the year here. A few months ago, I read The Moonspinners, by Mary Stewart. I should say I re-read it, because I remember reading it in high school and loving it. I also remember seeing the movie with Hayley Mills in it!

The story takes place on the island of Crete, and Mary Stewart tells a terrific story of intrigue and suspense, with a dash of romance.

from the publisher:

While on a walking holiday through the beautiful, deserted hills of Crete, Nicola Ferris stumbles across a critically injured Englishman, guarded by a fierce Greek. Nicola cannot abandon them and so sets off on a perilous search for their lost companion – all the while being pursued by someone who wants to make sure none of them leave the island . . .

I was caught by the suspense and read through the book very quickly, but not too fast to savor the way that Mary Stewart writes. Here’s an example of the kind of description she includes in her books. I feel like I’m there, in the heat and the dust and the beauty of the area.

But, when the big white bird flew suddenly up among the glossy leaves and the lemon flowers, and wheeled into the mountain, I followed it. What else is there to do when such a thing happens on a brilliant April noonday at the foot of the White Mountains of Crete; when the road is hot and dusty, but the gorge is green, and full of the sound of water, and the white wings, flying ahead, flicker in and out of deep shadow, and the air is full of the scent of lemon blossom?

I’m going to see if I can find the old movie and watch it again. I’ve always liked Hayley Mills, and it would be fun to revisit the film version of this story, too.

 

I chose this book to read for my personal challenge, “Wanderlust,” an effort to read books that are from or take place in each country of the world. This was a book from Greece.

Holiday Reading

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This is such a nice week for reading! I love the days following the busy-ness of Christmas! And I love having some quiet time to read book presents and finish up books started before the holiday rush. I am currently reading a number of books. I’m almost finished with a book on my Kindle about Iceland and Icelanders. I’m halfway through another audiobook mystery by Deborah Crombie. And my daughter gave me this book for Christmas, so I’m reading it now, too!

What are you reading this week?

 

Looking Forward to 2020

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With the year 2020 almost here, it’s time to share some of my plans for my reading year. I do love the planning part of a new year! On January 1st, I’ll be ready to launch right into my new year of reading!

For 2020, I’m going to continue reading books by my favorite authors and track them on my Reading Journeys page. Reading about gardens and gardening is something I love to do, so I’m making My Garden Reading a focus for the year.  I will also continue with my international reading by continuing with my Wanderlust self-challenge.

When Autumn arrives, I will welcome the Readers Imbibing Peril challenge once again. And I look forward to Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-thons (no link). I know I will enjoy my continuing participation in The Classics Club. I have finished over 1/2 of the books on my list of 50 Books in 5 Years — my goal for 2020 is to read at least 10-12 more of the books on that list. And I mustn’t forget about my GOODREADS reading challenge. I keep track of all my books on Goodreads, and this year have read 143 books. It’s been a long time since I read that many books in one year. We’ll see what happens in 2020.

I’m excited about this upcoming reading year. I hope you are enjoying your planning, too!

Happy 2020 reading, my friends!

 

 

Looking Back at 2019

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Looking back at 2019, I am happy with my reading year. In addition to my usual reading,  I took on a number of challenges and enjoyed the books I read for each one. I love the journey of each challenge and the exposure to new authors, genres, and ideas that really expand my world.

Turning seventy years old felt like a big milestone and I wanted to celebrate it in some special way. So I put together a self-challenge called “EMBRACING SEVENTY.”  I created a 1949 list of books and movies– anything to do with 70. It turned out to be a fun research project. Here are the books I read, and the one movie from 1949 that my husband and I watched:

”WANDERLUST” was another self-challenge I put together this year in an effort to read more international literature. I read both children and adult books and liked the glimpses into other cultures. I will continue this challenge in 2020 and beyond.

For a second year in a row, I signed up for Adam’s 2019 OFFICIAL TBR challenge. Last year I read 4 books for his challenge, and this year I did the same. That’s 8 books that have been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long, so I’m happy to have been motivated to finally read them. Thank you, Adam, for hosting this challenge. I’ll miss it! Here’s my list of books read in 2019:

Dolce Bellezza’s JAPANESE LITERATURE Challenge always calls to me, and in 2019 I read one book and watched three Japanese films. Meredith always puts together a really classy challenge! My 2019 books and movies:

Films:

I had good intentions when I signed up for Rachel’s (@hibernatorslibrary) A YEAR of SHAKESPEARE Challenge this year. I was going to read three Shakespeare plays, but I ended up only reading one (which I enjoyed very much!). But I also read a lot of different books about that play, so it really was an immersive experience, and a lot of fun. Here’s what I read for this challenge:

A Shakespeare Comedy : The Winter’s Tale

READERS IMBIBING PERIL- XIV was a great challenge this fall! It’s one of my favorite challenges each year, and I enjoy it more and more each year!  I love mysteries and suspense novels, good book series and good TV mystery series, so I had lots of fun reading and watching movies!

PERIL the FIRST:

  1. The Lost One, by Mary Stewart
  2. The Little Sister, by Raymond Chandler
  3. Christmas in Absaroka County, by Craig Johnson
  4. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
  5. The Religious Body, by Catherine Aird
  6. An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, by Helene Tursten
  7. The Case of the Famished Parson, by George Bellairs
  8. Rose Cottage, by Mary Stewart
  9. The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier
  10. Trouble in Nuala, by Harriet Steel
  11. Whiteout, by Ken Follett

PERIL on the SCREEN:

  1. 4:50 From Paddington
  2. Murder at the Gallop
  3. The Mirror Crack’d
  4. Murder Most Foul 

I joined THE CLASSICS CLUB in March of 2017 and agreed to read 50 Books in 5 Years. This is a great challenge, so well organized and with fun activities. I’ve always loved reading classics so it’s a perfect fit for me. As of right now, I’ve read 28 of my 50 books list. This year I read these classics:

Having time to read is such a precious luxury for me and this year has been full of reading joy. And now I’m looking forward to my 2020 reading.

For all my reading friends, may 2020 be a year of joyful reading for you, too!

Classics Club Spin #22

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It’s time for another Classics Club “Spin!”  Here’s how it works:

At your blog, before next Sunday 22nd December 2019, create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list.

This is your Spin List.

You have to read one of these twenty books by the end of the spin period.

Try to challenge yourself. For example, you could list five Classics Club books you have been putting off, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice (favourite author, re-reads, ancients, non-fiction, books in translation — whatever you choose.)

On Sunday 22nd December, we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by 31st January, 2020.

My record for finishing my Spin books for the Classics Club isn’t great, but I always like to give the book a try! So here I go again with a list of  books from my 50 books to read before March, 2022. (I’m weighting a couple of them a little heavier this time!)

My List for Spin #22:

  1. Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke
  2. The Gaucho Martin Fierro, by Jose Fernandez
  3. The Sussex Downs Murder, by John Bude
  4. Kokoro, by Natsume Soseki
  5. Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym
  6. The Story of an African Farm, by Olive Schreiner
  7. The Solitary Summer, by Elizabeth von Arnim
  8. Rose in Bloom, by Louisa May Alcott
  9. Sons, by Pearl S. Buck
  10. A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf
  11. Night, by Elie Wiesel
  12. The Solitary Summer, by Elizabeth von Arnim

  13. Marcovaldo, or The Seasons of the City, by Italo Calvino

  14. A Room With a View, by E.M. Forster
  15. The Ramayana, by Bulbul Sharma
  16. The Lost Prince, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  17. The Measure of My Days, by Florida Scott-Maxwell
  18. Sons, by Pearl S. Buck
  19. The Solitary Summer, by Elizabeth von Arnim
  20. A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf

My November Focus

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November and  December have blown by in flash! It’s been a nice Autumn this year, full of new activities, family and friends…and some fun reading. I’ve gone missing again on my blog, so it’s time to check-in and let you know what I’ve been up to and what I am reading.

My first City Council presentation on the new Oregon ERPO law.

My focus and time commitments changed recently. This retired person has taken on some new volunteer responsibilities which require training, meetings, and events. Right after the Parkland shooting almost two years ago, I volunteered to work with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I desperately needed to DO something about the gun violence epidemic in our country. So I went to monthly meetings, occasionally helped with events.  This Fall, however, I agreed to take on more responsibility and a leadership role in my local chapter. I am now the Community Education lead for our chapter, and I have trained to talk with local community groups about the new Red Flag Law in the state of Oregon. I have also just finished training so that I can present and introduce community groups to the Be SMART For Kids program which focuses on education and awareness about child gun deaths and responsible gun storage. I’m very proud of my work with this national organization, and am happy to be able to give some of my time each month to educating the public about these important issues.

My reading has continued, despite my new obligations. It’s my blogging that got hit the hardest while my focus has been on new learnings and new experiences. But I am finding a new balance of home and volunteerism, so I am planning on returning to more consistent posting as we start the new year.

My November and December reading…I have been captured by Deborah Crombie’s mystery series with lead characters Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. I’m now on book #7 in the series, and I just don’t seem to be slowing down on reading one right after the other. What a pleasure to get caught up in a new-to-me series.

Books read in November and December (so far…still more December reading to come!):

  • A Share in Death, by Deborah Crombie
  • Fight Like a Mother, by Shannon Watts
  • The Burglar’s Christmas, by Willa Cather
  • All Shall Be Well, by Deborah Crombie
  • Leave the Grave Green, by Deborah Crombie
  • The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, by Agatha Christie
  • Dreaming of the Bones, by Deborah Crombie
  • Kissed a Sad Goodbye, by Deborah Crombie
  • King of the Wind, by Maguerite Henry
  • The Spirit of Christmas, by Nancy Tillman
  • Christmas with Anne, and Other Holiday Stories, by L.M. Montgomery
  • The Crowded Street, by Winifred Holtby

I do hope you have had an enjoyable Fall, too. Busy and full of books!