Tuesday 1 November 2011

October 2011 Wrap-Up

October was a mixed bag compared to previous months.  I had a few review books to get through, a couple of slim Japanese works waiting to be read, and (of course) I wanted to get a start on reading for November's German Literature Month.  In addition to this, I had one review to write for both the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop and the Classics Circuit's Gothic Literature Stop.  Enough excitement for one month, you'd think, but wait - there's more...

You see, October marked a significant milestone in the history of Tony's Reading List.  For the first time in its three-year existence, I have managed to crack the magic century - 100 books (not out)!  E.T.A. Hoffmann's gothic thriller Die Elixiere des Teufels had the honour of being the 100th book, for those who want to know :)

Anyway, on with the show...

*****
Total Books Read: 10
Year-to-date: 106

New: 10
Rereads: 0

From the Shelves: 7
From the Library: 1
On the Kindle: 2

Novels: 5
Novellas: 3
Short Stories: 2

Non-English Language: 8 (6 German, 2 Japanese)
Aussie Author Challenge: 2 (19/12)
Victorian Literature Challenge: 1 (28/15)
Japanese Literature Challenge 5: 2 (6/1)

Tony's Recommendations for October are: Alois Hotschnig's Die Kinder beruhigte das nicht and Kenzaburo Oe's A Personal Matter

October was a good reading month with plenty of interesting books consumed.  I loved my first taste of E.T.A. Hoffmann's work, Herr Böll once again produced a wonderful slice of post-war life, and Matthias Politycki's tale from beyond the grave was also a highlight.  However, Die Kinder beruhigte das nicht and A Personal Matter were the two that jumped out at me when I was thinking about this month's recommendation, and (once again!) I was unable to split my top two :)

So, onto November, and the next thirty days will be dominated by my Teutonic tastes.  For the second time this year, I will be participating in a month of German-language reading - this time accompanied by other people!  Hopefully, you'll all stick around to find out about the joys of Central-European literature - bis bald ;)