Tag Archives: Event

Looking Back on German Literature Month 2013

Posted in Books, German Literature, Literature, Readalong by

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German Literature Month 2013 is over. It’s time to thank everyone for participating. Some have shown extraordinary enthusiasm. I’m not sure about the statistics of the last years but I’d say with 127 posts, this year was a success.

If you’d like to get an overview, visit our special German Litertaure Month page, which will guide you to all the contributions.

While the month ends on my blog, there is still something going to happen on Lizzy’s. A generous editor has provided a set of books for a lucky winner, who will be announced on Wednesday. Don’t miss visiting her blog then.

I was a bit afraid that there wouldn’t be as much interest this year but that was clearly not the case. Thanks again to all of you.

Announcing German Literature Month III – November 2013

Posted in Books, Event, German Literature, Readalong by

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Lizzy and I are delighted to be making this announcement and we hope you’re happy to hear it.  The tweets of others as early as January of this year looking forward to German Literature Month convinced us it just had to happen.  And so your wishes have come true. This time, however, we are issuing a challenge.

GLM I and II were resounding successes and we want GLM III to follow suit.  One thing has concerned us though.   Why were the lady writers so grossly under-represented?  Only 22% of the authors read in GLM I, reducing to 19% in GLM II, were female. We want to redress that balance.  Now we’re not going all Orange prize on you.  We don’t want to exclude the great male authors in German(-language) literature.  But we are structuring the month so that there are times to focus in on the ladies.

We would, therefore, like the structure of German Literature Month III to look like this.

Week 1:  1-7.11 Ladies Week

Week 2:  8-14.11 Gents Week

Week 3: 15-21.11 Ladies Week

Week 4: 22-28.11 Gents Week

Weekend 29-30.11 Read as you please

Read anything you want: any format, any genre. As long as the works were originally written in German and are reviewed during November, they count for GLM III.  The ideal female:male author ratio at the end of the month would be 50:50.

We will also have two readalongs:

7.11 Lizzy will lead a discussion of a title to be determined by public vote. A post will follow shortly with voting options. In the meantime if there’s a title you wish to suggest, written by a female (it will be ladies’ week after all), please leave a comment.

29.11 Caroline will lead a War and Literature discussion of Hans Keilson’s Death of the Adversary.

With just 5 weeks and 3 days to go it’s time to start planning.  Check out those TBR’s and library catalogues.  Find some female authors to read.  Most of all get excited.  This is the German Lit blogging event of the year.  What’s not to get excited about?

It’s Time For R.I.P. VIII

Posted in Books, Challenge by

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I’m always in the mood for Carl’s R.I.P., but this year even more so than ususally. I have collected tons of “rippish” reads all through summer, even started a few already.

For those not familiar with the challenge or who have forgotten the “rules” these are the genres you can choose from:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above. That is what embodies the stories, written and visual, that we celebrate with the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event.

I intend to cover pretty much all of them and therefore sign up for

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There is also a readalong of The Historian which tempts me as well

Vintage Cluj Cemetery

Details can be found here

Here is a choice of books I want to read, have already read or am about to finish

Gaslamp Fantasy

Queen Vistoria’s Book of Spells

House Next Door

Anne River Siddons The House Next Door

Devil's Sanctuary

Marie Hermanson’s The Devil’s Sanctuary

Ghost of a Chance

Simon R. Green Ghost of a Chance

Red Tree

Caitlín R. Kiernan’s The Red Tree

Dead of Winter

Chris Pristley’s The Dead of Winter

The Keeper

Sarah Langan’s The Keeper

And these are the movies I might review. I’ve watched them all in the last two weeks or so.

The Conjuring (2013)

The Crazies (2010)

Jeepers Creepers I (2001) and Jeepers Creepers II (2003)

The Thing (1982)

If you’d like to sign up here’s the link

And here’s the link to the Review Site.

Will you join as well? What will you read?

World Cinema Series 2013

Posted in Movie by

I suppose one could say that the World Cinema Series is back by popular demand. When I posted the wrap up, I realized that there really were quite a lot of contributions and just because I wasn’t highly active, that didn’t mean others were equally inactive.

There were comments and questions about whether or not it would take place again. And so the World Cinema Series is back.

The rules are really simple. The idea is to watch movies from as many different countries as possible. It’s also possible to pick a lot of subtitled movies from one country like some of you have done last year. However in order to make points and win a prize, you would have to cover as many countries a possible.

Like last year, the person who covers the most countries will win a DVD or a 25$ amazon voucher.

I will collect all the reviews on the World Cinema Series 2013 page. Please leave your links there or in this post.

I hope for as many participants as possible and to discover a lot of great movies. And I also hope I will manage to review more than last year myself.

I would also like to post at least bimonthly wrap up posts.

Like last year, Richard from Caravana de recuerdos is hosting a similar event, the Foreign Film Festival. You are free to submit your reviews to both events.

To put you in the mood I attached a trailer of a movie I’d like to watch one of these days.

Dickens in December – Wrap up

Posted in Books, Literature, Readalong by

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It’s a sure sign that the year is ending when we publish more wrap up posts than original posts. The end of 2012 also marks the end of Dickens’s bicentenary and of Delia and my Dickens in December event. It’s time to thank all of those who have participated and have joined in the readalong or reviewed books and movies. The links below show that the event was quite a success. I enjoyed it a lot and am glad that I have finally read one of Dickens novels. It will not be my last. A special thank you to my co-host Delia.

Thank you once more and I hope you enjoyed  it as well.

Intro Delia

Intro Caroline

Intro Post (Resistance is Futile)

Intro Post (Leeswamme’s Blog)

Intro Post (50 Year Project)

Intro Post (Rikki’s Teleidoscope)

Intro Post (Page 247)

Intro (Books Speak Volumes)

Dickens in December Begins Today (Beauyt is A Sleeping Cat)

Intro (Too Fond)

Dickens in December Start (Postcards for Asia)

Some Dickens for December (Kaggy’s Bookish Ramblings)

Giveaways Delia – Caroline

Classics Club December Meme – A Christmas Carol (Too Fond)

Great Expectations (Fanda Classiclit)

Bleak House (The Argumentative Old Git)

My Favorite Dickens Quote (On the Homefront)

Great Expectations (My Reading Journal)

A Tale of Two Cities (Babbling Books)

Dickens in December – A mixed bag (Lizzy’s Literary Life)

The Muppet Christmas Carol (Rikki’s Teleidoscope)

Dickens Project (Reader Woman)

A Christmas Carol – Jim Carrey Version (Beauty is a Sleeping Cat)

Great Expectations mini series (Fanda Classiclit)

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby (2001) — (Postcards from Asia)

Oliver Twist- The Movie (Leeswamme’s Blog)

The Chimes (The Argumentative Old Git)

Dickens on Screen: David Copperfield, The old Curiosity Shop, Great Expectations (Postcards from Asia)

The Old Curiosity Shop (Tabula Rasa)

Great Expectations (Beauty is a Sleeping Cat)

A Tale of Two Cities (50 Year Project)

Three Detective Anecdotes (Cceativeshadows)

Havisham and Bleak Expectations (Lizzy’s Literary Life)

Blackadder’s A Christmas Carol (Rikki’s Teleidoscope)

Great Expectations (Lynn’s Book Blog)

A Christmas Carol BBC Version (Rikkis’ Teleidoscope)

The Pickwick Papers (Tony’s Reading List)

A Christmas Carol (Surgabukuku)

Great Expectations (50 Year Project)

A very short review A Tale of Two Cities (Leeswamme’s Blog)

Three Short Stories (Postcards from Asia)

A Tale of Two Cities (Tabula Rasa)

Dodger by Terry Pratchett and Dickens by Peter Ackroyd (Tabula Rasa)

Hard Times (Vishy’s Blog)

The Old Curiosity Shop (Kiss a Cloud)

Readalong participants

50 Year Project (TBM)

Dolce Bellezza (Bellezza)

Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings

Polychrome Interest (Novia)

Postcards from Asia (Delia)

The Argumentative Old Git (Himadri)

The Things You Can Read  (Cynthia)Questions and Answers

The Things You Can Read Student Comments

The View From the Palace (Shimona)

Lost in the Covers (Elisa)

Leeswamme’s Blog (Judith)

Lynn’s Book Blog

Love. Laughter and a Touch of Insanity (Trish)

A Work in Progress (Danielle)

Sandra – please see comments section

Tabula Rasa (Pryia)

Slightly Cultural, Most Thoughtful and Inevitably Irrelevant (Arenel)

My Reading Journal (Ann)

Vishy’s Blog (Vishy)

Resistance is Futile (Rachel)

Too Fond

Beauty is a Sleeping Cat (Caroline)

World Cinema Series – Wrap up and Winner Announcement

Posted in Movie by

I’m not sure what happened to my wish to watch a lot of foreign movies. I did for a while but didn’t review them and then I stopped. This means that my own participation in the  World Cinema Series and Richard’s (Caravana de recuerdos) Foreign Film Festivval  never really took off. While Richard and I were not that active, others were. Especially four people have contributed quite a lot of reviews. At the beginning of the year I had said that

At the end of the year  I will give away a DVD to the person who has managed to cover the most countries.

The winner can choose between a DVD for up to 25$ or an amazon voucher.

And the winner is Guy (Phoenix Cinema/His Futile Preoccupations) who has contributed reviews from 12 different countries.

Congratulations, Guy.

Collectively we have managed to cover over 30 countries. Not a bad result at all. Thanks to everyone who has participated. I hope you will join again next year.

Here are all of the reviews

Argentina

Bar “El Chino”  (2004) – Richard (Caravana de recuerdos)

Australia

Animal Kingdom (2010) – TBM (50 Year Project)

Austria

Klimt (2006) – Obooki (Obooki’s Obloquy)

Brazil 

At Midnight I Will Take Your Soul  (1963) – Obooki (Obooki’s Obloquy)

Besouro aka The Assailant (2009) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Canada

Familia (2005) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

China

Sleepwalker 3D (2011 Hong Kong) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

House of Flying Daggers -rtm (Flixchatter)

The Road Home (2000) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

In the Mood for Love (2000) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Happy Together (1997) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Colombia

Bolivar is me – Bolívar es yo (2002) Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Czech Republic/ Fromer Czechoslovakia

Protektor (2009) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Larks on a String (1969) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

Capricious Summer (1968) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

Denmark

In Your Hands (2004) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

The Inheritance (2003) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Open Hearts (2002) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Pusher (1996) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Melancholia (2011) – Caroline (Beauty is a Sleeping Cat)

Aftermath (2004) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Dancers -Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Murk (2005) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

France

C’est La Vie (1990) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Love is my Profession – En cas he malheur (1958) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

La Ronde (1950) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

Amélie – TBM (50 Year Project)

Persepolis (2007) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

When Pigs Have Wings (2011) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Germany

Soul Kitchen (2009) – Sarah (what we have here is a failure to communicate)

100 Years of Adolf Hitler (1989) – Obboki (Obooki’s Obloquy)

Little Dieter Wants to Fly (1998) – Séamus (Vapour Trails)

Der blaue Engel – The Blue Angel (1930) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) Richard (Caravana de recuerdos)

NaPola (2004) – Novia (Polychrime Interest)

Hungary

Szinbád (1971) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

Iceland

Heima (2007) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

India

Shaapit:The Cursed (2010) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Indonesia

The Raid: Redemption  (2011) – Novroz (Polychrome Interest)

Pintu Terlarang aka The Forbidden Door (2009 ) – Novroz (Polychrome Interest)

The Raid:Redemption (2012) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Ireland

His and Hers – Ronan (Filmplicity)

The Guard (2011) – Sarah (what we have here is a failure to communicate)

Ireland (then and now) through Cillian Murphy’s movies The Wind that Shakes the Barley and Perrier’s Bounty – Novroz (Polychrome Interest)

Israel

Lemon Tree (2008) – Caroline Beauty is a Sleeping Cat)

Kalevet – Rabies (2010) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Italy

Cinema Paradiso (1988) – rtm (Flixchatter)

Bicycle Thieves – Ladri di biciclette (1948) – Seamus (Vapour Trails)

Life is beautiful (1998) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Rome Open City – Roma città aperta (1945) Richard (Caravana de recuerdos)

The Conformist (1970) – Séamus (Vapour Trails)

Japan

Whisper of the Heart – Ronan (Filmplicity)

A Story of Floating Weeds (1934) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

13 Assassins (2010) – Novroz (Polychrome Interest)

Kuroneko (1968) – Richard (Caravana de recuerdos)

Woman in the Dunes (1964) Rise (in lieu of a field guide)

Way of Blue Sky – Slice of Life Teen Movie – Dhitzunako (Across Dhitz Universe)

Arrietty (2010) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Korea

The Fox Familiy – Gumiho gajok   – Obooki (obooki’s obloquy)

War of the Arrows (2011) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Lebanon

Caramel – Sukkar banat – Caroline (Beauty is a Sleeping Cat)

Malaysia

Alamak…. Toyol (2011) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Mexico

Miss Bala (2011) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

La Zona (2007) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Norway

Happy Happy (2010) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Peru

La ciudad y los perros – The City and the Dogs (1985) – Guy (His Futile Preoccupations)

Philippines

Aswang (2011) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Poland

The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (1973) -Dwight (A Common Reader)

The Doll (1968) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

 Faithful River (1987) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

Ashes and Diamonds (1958) – Dwight (A Common Reader)

Katyn (2007) Fiona (The Book Coop aka Popcorn Pictures)

Russia

Torpedo Bomber  (1983) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Shine, Shine, My Star – Gori, Gori, Moya zvezda (1969) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Tsar – Ronan (Filmplicity)

Father & Son (2003) -TBM (50 Year Project)

Senegal

Moolaadé (2004) – Caroline (Beauty is a Sleeping Cat)

South Africa

District 9 (2009) – rtm (Flixchatter)

Spain

Cell 211 – Celda 211 (2009) – TBM (50Year Project)

Julia’s Eyes – Ronan (Filmplicity)

Cuadecuc, vampir (1971) – Obooki (obooki’s obloquy)

El abuelo- The Grandfather (1988) – Dwight ( A Common Reader)

La ciudad de los prodigos – City of Marvels (1999) – Diwght (A Common Reader)

Why Do They Call it Love When They Mean Sex? (1993) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Sweden

Let the Right one In – Låt den rätte komma in (2008) – Novroz (Polychrome Interest)

Everlasting Moments – Eviga Ögonblick (2008) – Caroline (Beauty is a Sleeping Cat)

Thailand 

The Unborn Child (2011) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

Shutter (2004) – Fiona (Popcorn Pictures)

Turkey

Cehennem (2010) – Nekoneko (Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox)

UK

Route Irish – Ronan (Filmplicity)

An Education (2009) – rtm (Flixchatter)

Nowhere Boy (2009) – rtm (Flixchatter)

Amazing Grace (2006) – Novroz (Polychrome Interest)

US

Prometheus (2012) – Novroz (Polychrome Interest)

Venezuela

Manuela Saénz (2001) – Guy (His Futile Preoccupations)

Yugoslavia

When Father Was Away on Business (1985) – Guy (Phoenix Cinema)

Dickens in December – A Christmas Carol – Readalong

Posted in Books, Novella, Readalong by

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It didn’t take Delia and me very long to decide which book to choose for our Dickens in December readalong. There really couldn’t be a more fitting book to read just before Christmas than Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Last week we sent out a few questions. Some of you have chosen to answer them for the readalong, others wrote a review. Both is fine and all the links to the different contributions can be found at the end of my post and will help you to find the participants and visit their blogs. It’s updated regularly, so come back and check who else has contributed.

Is this the first time you are reading the story?

I have read A Christmas Carol before, I guess some 5 or 6 years ago and already knew then that I would read it again some day.

Did you like it?

I liked it very much 5 years ago that’s why I knew I would read it again. I still liked it this time around but for very different reasons. I was much more attentive this time to the moral of the story. The first time I was paying more attention to the descriptions.

Which was your favorite scene?

I have two favourite scenes or parts. One is the scene when Marley’s ghost appears. It’s quite spooky and Scrooge’s shock is shown so well. It’s also a very dark passage as there is clearly no redemption for Marley. It’s too late for him to change anything. While the whole story is about the power of change, this first part is a cautionary tale showing us that while Dickens did believe in change that didn’t mean he was an optimist who didn’t see that there were lost souls too.

The second part I liked a lot was when Scrooge first follows the second spirit. The descriptions are among the most evocative. They show Dickens’s style amazingly well.

Which was your least favorite scene?

I couldn’t think of a scene I didn’t like.
Which spirit and his stories did you find the most interesting?

I found the third spirit and how he was described, his appearance, the most interesting. He was the most ghostly but I liked the stories and what the second spirit showed Scrooge the most. These were the stories, I think, which reached Scrooge’s heart and let it melt.
Was there a character you wish you knew more about?

I would have liked to know more about Marley. Why did he become such an embittered old man?
How did you like the end?

It’s a perfect ending, Scrooge’s joy can be felt in every line and is very contagious. It’s the illustration of the belief that people can always change as long as they are still alive. And it also shows that there are good people in the world. While Scrooge has to make an effort and change, if the others were not ready to forgive him, we wouldn’t have this happy ending.
Did you think it was believable?

I think that someone can change profoundly but maybe not in such a short time.
Do you know anyone like Scrooge?

I know people with Scrooge-like traits but nobody who is as bad as he is.
Did he deserve to be saved?

Scrooge had a heart of stone but he wasn’t treating himself any better than others which I think makes a huge difference. If he had been spending a lot, living in luxury, feasting but depriving others, I would not so easily say yes to this question but given that he didn’t harm others for his own sake or actively inflict pain, I’d say, yes, the change of attitude and sentiment is reason enough for him to be saved.

Other contributions

50 Year Project (TBM)

Dolce Bellezza (Bellezza)

Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings

Polychrome Interest (Novia)

Postcards from Asia (Delia)

The Argumentative Old Git (Himadri)

The Things You Can Read  (Cynthia)Questions and Answers

The Things You Can Read Student Comments

The View From the Palace (Shimona)

Lost in the Covers (Elisa)

Leeswamme’s Blog (Judith)

Lynn’s Book Blog

Love. Laughter and a Touch of Insanity (Trish)

A Work in Progress (Danielle)

Sandra – please see comments section

Tabula Rasa (Pryia)

Slightly Cultural, Most Thoughtful and Inevitably Irrelevant (Arenel)

My Reading Journal (Ann)

Vishy’s Blog (Vishy)

Resistance is Futile (Rachel)

Too Fond of Books

Beauty is a Sleeping Cat (Caroline)