Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks: January 2021

Sunday, January 31, 2021

BW5: Fictional Librarians - Aurora Teagarden

Happy February, my lovelies. Continuing our year long celebration of librarians, this month's fictional librarian is Aurora Teagarden. Created by Charlaine Harris, the cozy mystery series stars Aurora, a small town librarian in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is involved in the Real Murders society, a group of crime buffs who love to study and discuss historical murders.

There are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails. Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited to) and have fun exploring:

Spell out the first and/or last name of the character's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover
Spell out the first and/or last name of the author - one book per letter
Read one or more books in the series.
Read any book written by the author
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the story.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title

The series was also adapted into a tv series for Hallmark with Candace Cameron Bure portraying Aurora Teagarden. Charlaine Harris is best known for her Sookie Stackhouse series and has written other series including Lily Bard Shakespeare, Harper Connelly, Midnight Texas, and her latest Gunnie Rose.

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Count of Monte Cristo readalong:

I Marseille - Arrival
II Father and Son
III The Catalans

Things to think about while reading the story and the first three chapters: The setting and context of French history and politics when the story begins. How the setting plays a role in the story. How the narrator's description of events and imagery and references to literature, history, myth, politics, art, and religion. provides foreshadowing and subtext. Have fun checking out rabbit trails along the way.

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Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, January 24, 2021

BW4: Alexandre Dumas and The Count of Monte Cristo Readalong

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment,

be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is

what you do when that storm comes.”

― Alexandre Dumas

Next week we begin our read of the adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo written by Alexandre Dumas.

Book Synopsis: "Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration."

Written in serialized format in 1844 -1845, the story is inspired by real life events which took place between 1815-1838 and real life people, among whom is Alexandre's father Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, who was the highest ranking black officer during the Napoleonic wars, and thrown in prison, along with fellow sailor and scientist Déodat de Dolomieu. The story behind the story is taken from the life of shoemaker Pierre Picaud, who was engaged to a rich woman, and falsely accused by three very jealous friends of spying for England, and is thrown in prison for a period of time, and uses his exploits during and after.

We're going to take it slowly with plenty of time built in to talk about the story. The Count of Monte Cristo is composed of 117 chapters and we'll read three chapters a week, (approximately thirty pages give or take a few) and get to know the characters, dig into the themes presented, and allow us to explore rabbit trails. The page numbers are based on the Penguin Classics paperback version, translated by Robin Buss.

Chapters	Pages

01 – 03	07 - 32
04 – 06	33 - 61
07 – 09	62 - 88
10 – 12	89 -111
13 – 15	112 – 147
16 – 18	148 – 186
19 – 21	187 - 211
22 – 24	212 – 235
25 – 27	236 - 266
28 – 30	267 - 299
31 – 33	300 – 358
34 – 36	359 – 412
37 – 39	413 – 435
40 – 42	456 -484
43 – 45	485 – 524
46 – 48	525 – 557
49 – 51	558 – 581
52 – 54	582 – 620
55 – 57	621 - 652
58 – 60	653 - 677
61 – 63	678 – 704
64 – 66	705 – 732
67 – 69	733 - 760
70 – 72	761 – 773
73 – 75	774 - 820
76 – 78	821 - 860
79 – 80	861 - 895
81 – 83	896 – 931
84 – 86	932 – 962
87 – 89	963 - 986
90 – 92	987 - 1012
93 – 95	1013 – 1039
96 – 98	1040 – 1056
99 – 101	1069 - 1090
102 – 104	1091 - 1115
105 – 107	1116 – 1150
108 – 110	1151 – 1173
111 – 113	1174 – 1206
114 - 116	1207 – 1229
117	1230 – 1243

Alexandre Dumas was a prolific writer and if you've already read The Count of Monte Cristo, and don't want to reread it, dive in to any one of his stories. If you have a hard time deciding, Molli of Discover Walks Blog suggests 5 Best Books Written by Dumas. Bill Morris of the Millions explores Seven Reasons Why Alexandre Dumas Will Never Die.

The story is available to read online through multiple resources including Gutenberg and the Literature Network as well as in audio format.

Do you have any preconceived notions about the story? Have you watched the movie with either Richard Chamberlain or Jim Caviezel?

Please join me in reading The Count of Monte Cristo.

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Sunday, January 17, 2021

BW3: Daughters of Mnemosyne - Kalliope

This week we begin our journey exploring stories and books influenced by the Nine Muses of Greek mythology, the Goddesses of the arts and sciences, who loved to sing and dance. We'll delve into mythology, fictional retellings of the myths, the science of memory, climb up to the stars, dive into history, delight in comedy, indulge in music, dip your toes in poetry, the complexity of tragedies, and the beauty of ancient love poems. Analyze, question, and explore the symbols of each muse. There are a number of ways we can go with this challenge. Learn more about the nine muses and follow your imagination. The possibilities are unlimited.

We start with Kalliope (Calliope) who is the muse of epic hero poetry and eloquence. Her name means beautifully voiced and her symbols are a wax writing tablet and stylus.

We turn from the antihero of last week to the hero who plays a huge role in epic poetry, characterized by his superhuman strength and valor. From Homer's Iliad and Odyssey to Ezra Pound's Canto's there are a wide variety of epic poems to choose from. This year also happens to be the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri and Italy is celebrating the Father of the Italian language 2021 and even Pope Francis hopes Dante's epic Divine Comedy inspires a whole new generation to engage with the poem.

The wax writing tablet was used for writing everything from lists to homework and Ancient Roman Tablets Reveal Voices of the Earliest Londoners.

Read about The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired

Read a book which includes Calliope , other Greek Mythological Names, nine muses, or muse in the title or a character in the story.

Read about a character with a beautiful voice or is a musician.

And just for fun Write A Romance Novel And We'll Tell You Which Greek Muse You Are and share the results.

Have fun following rabbit trails!

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Sunday, January 10, 2021

BW2: 52 Books Bingo - Antihero

I have anti-heroes on my mind today and have been thinking about the differences between the antihero and the villain, or between the hero and the anti-hero. My son and I have been watching you-tube videos by Harry Potter Theory about the Harry Potter series and they've posted several videos discussing Severus Snape, which has given me quite a bit of insight about the man. You never quite know whether to trust the man. What are his motives? Is he good or bad, working for or against Harry?

Joe Bunting from the Write Practice says: "Snape, like all Anti-Heroes, represents what society detests: cruelty, cowardice, self-interest, and dishonesty. He is the opposite of the hero, a villain, and yet somehow he’s a villain on the good guys’ side."

We love to hate them, but then again we have to trust that the good side will outweigh the bad side and they'll redeem themselves in the end.

Since one of our 52 Books Bingo categories is the Antihero, your mission is to read a book with an antihero.

Anti-heroes: The good bad boys of literature

Blurring the Lines: What Are Anti-Heroes and Anti-Villains?

Modern Literature's Greatest Anti Heroes And Unreliable Narrators

10 Literary Anti-Heroines That Make Their Male Counterparts Look Conventional

Best Anti-Hero Fantasy Books

The 20 Best Anti-Hero Books Ever Written

The Top 10 Fictional Antiheroes

Who is your favorite anti hero?

Thanks to the theory videos, I'll be looking at Snape in a whole new light while rereading Harry Potter.

Happy Reading!

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Friday, January 1, 2021

WELCOME to the 2021

READ 52 BOOKS IN 52 WEEKS

Also home to

Well Educated Mind, Agatha Christie, Mind Voyages,

Sounds of Silence, Brit Trip perpetual challenges

as well as our annual challenges

52 Books Bingo, Fictional Librarians Bookology, and Daughters of Mnemosyne

The rules are very simple
The challenge will run from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021
Our book weeks begin on Sunday
Week one begins on Friday, January 1st and run through January 9th
Participants may join at any time.
All books are acceptable except children books.**
All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc.
Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2021
Books may overlap other challenges.
If you have an blog, create an entry post linking to this blog.
Sign up with Mr. Linky in the "I'm participating post" in the sidebar
If you don't have a blog or any social media account, post your weekly book in the comments section of each weekly post.
Mr. Linky will be added to the bottom of the each weekly post for you to link to reviews of your reads. The link widget closes at the end of each book week

The goal is to read 52 books. How you get there is up to you. All the challenges are optional. Mix it up anyway you like.

**in reference to children books. If a child is reading the book and involved in the challenge, then that's okay. If an adult is doing read aloud with kids, the book should be geared for the 9 - 12 age group and over 100 pages. If you are an adult reading for your own enjoyment, a good rule of thumb to use: "is there some complexity to the story or is it too simple?" If it's too simple, then it doesn't count.

BW1: Welcome to our Infinite Sky Reading Adventure

Courtesy of Jamis27

“Smell the sea and feel the sky, Let your soul and spirit fly.” – Van Morrison

Happy New Year, my lovelies! I'm excited this year since our armchair travels are taking us around, over, and across the world again as we fly above the seven seas, through clear blue skies on the good ship Pumdeg Dau o Lyfrau airship, for another round of read 52 books in 52 weeks. We'll be taking advantage of Hermione Granger's Time Turner, Well's Time machine as well as Doctor Who's Tardis, all without upsetting the space time continuum of course, in our travels to go hither, thither, and yon.

The goal is simple. Read 52 books and how you get there is entirely up to you. You can even set your own goal if you like. Read what you want, explore and dive into those longer books, engage your mind and soul and don't worry. Do your best, challenge yourself and you may be surprised to discover how many books you end up reading.

Our Fictional Librarians as well as the Daughters of Mnemosyne will be our guides this year, mixing fact and fiction, the old with the new, the magical with the technological, and the arts with the sciences. If you are joining us for the first time, we have a number of challenges to entice you, including 52 Books Bingo with 20 bonus squares and side trips roaming the old Roman roads of England, exploring the Nobel prize winners of Literature, diving into the greats with Susan Wise Bauer's Well Educated Mind, or take a Mind Voyage through fantasy and science Fiction. Plus the Dame Agatha Christie would like your assistance in solving a murder or two.

All our annual and perpetual challenges as well as weekly or seasonal mini challenges are optional and meant to tickle your reading taste buds. Which generally results in having fun, getting lost (in a good way) following rabbit trails and an ever expanding list of books to read.

We're going to dive right in and begin our adventure with Librarian Madam Irma Pince who will help you jump into the magical world of Harry Potter, created by J.K. Rowling.

There are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails. Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited to) and have fun exploring:

Spell out the first and/or last name of the character's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover
Spell out the first and/or last name of the author - one book per letter
Read one or more books in the series.
Read any book written by the author
Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the story.
Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title

Our first book week will run through Saturday, January 9th.

Grab your backpacks, scarves and goggles, a good pair of walking shoes and climb aboard and settle in for the ride. Please share your reading plans for 2021 and/or your reading wrap up for 2020 or tell us the books you are currently reading. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing our reading journey!

~Cheers to a wonderful new reading year!

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In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.