Hello, dear readers,

We are approaching the end of the year at full speed, Christmas is at our door, and I will be spending the next days with family in the Netherlands. I will bring Eliot’s Romola (1863) & Jeffries’ Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School (2016) with me, as I am craving some hefty tomes for the holidays. I don’t think I will finish those books nor post any reviews here in the coming week – so, my loves, I am calling it a day. Let’s look back over the books we’ve read in 2018 and pick our favourites, shall we?

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BUT FIRST, SOME STATS

(If you prefer, you can skip the stats and jump to my retrospective of the reading events in 2018, my projects for 2019, my best reads of 2018, or to a small Christmas present I made for you ;))

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About my reading

This year, I’ve read 120 books, comprising a total of 31.724 pages:

	Number of books	Average of Pages	Min of Pages	Max of Pages	Sum of Pages	Percentage
Total in 2018	120	264,4	40	661	31724	100,00%
jan	10	228,6	89	352	2286	8,33%
fev	10	266,6	80	448	2666	8,33%
mar	9	341,0	112	571	3069	7,50%
abr	12	317,9	86	607	3815	10,00%
mai	14	244,4	128	336	3421	11,67%
jun	8	376,3	150	649	3010	6,67%
jul	14	207,4	67	350	2904	11,67%
ago	10	246,1	136	416	2461	8,33%
set	9	301,2	154	661	2711	7,50%
out	4	138,3	40	326	553	3,33%
nov	11	223,3	127	448	2456	9,17%
dez	9	263,6	136	432	2372	7,50%

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58% of the books were four-star, and 13% were five-star reads, which makes for a fairly good reading year. However, 25% of my reads were just ok (3 stars) and 7% rather bad (2 stars), which corresponds to my feeling that this reading year was rather underwhelming. Last year, 26% of the books I read were 5 stars, twice as much as this year. Still, my average rating in the year is above the one I got in 2016, 2015 and 2014. Perhaps, 2017 was just an unusually good reading year…

Rating	Number of books	Percentage
2	9	7,50%
3	25	20,83%
4	70	58,33%
5	16	13,33%

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About the books

As I look back on the books I read in 2018, I notice that some topics kept coming back, randomly, throughout the year: dysfunctional families, fictional writers trying to write, existential crisis & ennui, and totalitarianism. Not a rosy picture, I know.

• Dysfunctional families:
  • The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek tr. Joachim Neugroschel (1988. Die Klavierspielerin, 1983)
  • Breathing into Marble, by Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė, tr. Marija Marcinkute, 2016 (Original: Kvėpavimas į marmurą , 2006)
  • The Mussel Feast, by Birgit Vanderbeke, tr. Jamie Bulloch (2013. Original: Das Muschelessen, 1990)
  • The Blue Room, by Hanne Ørstavik, tr. Deborah Dawkin (2014. Original: Like sant som jeg er virkelig, 1999)
  • Ghost Wall, by Sarah Moss (2018)
  • Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman (2017)
  • The Autobiography of My Mother, by Jamaica Kincaid (1996)
  • Vera, by Elizabeth von Arnim (1921)
• Fictional writers
  • The Red-Haired Woman, by Orhan Pamuk, tr. Ekin Oklap (2017. Original: Kırmızı Saçlı Kadın, 2016)
  • Crudo, by Olivia Laing (2018)
  • Based on a True Story, by Delphine de Vigan, tr. George Miller (2017. Original: D’après une histoire vraie, 2015)
  • Forest Dark, by Nicole Krauss (2017)
• Existential crisis & ennui
  • My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh (2018)
  • So Much for that Winter, by Dorthe Nors, tr. Misha Hoekstra (2016. Original: Det var så den vinter,  2016/ Minna mangler et øvelokale, 2013 & Dage, 2010)
  • The Pisces, by Melissa Broder (2018)
• Totalitarianism
  • Totalitarianism, by Hannah Arendt (1968)
  • The Death of Truth, by Michiko Kakutani (2018)
  • The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943, by Inge Aicher-Scholl, tr. Arthur R. Schultz (2011. Original: Die Weiße Rose, 1952, biography)
  • The Mussel Feast, by Birgit Vanderbeke, tr. Jamie Bulloch (2013. Original: Das Muschelessen, 1990)
  • Erika und Therese: Erika Mann und Therese Giehse – Eine Liebe zwischen Kunst und Krieg, by Gunna Wendt (2018)
  • Soviet Milk, by Nora Ikstena, tr.  Margita Gailitis (2018. Original: Mātes piens, 2015)
  • A Kingdom of Souls, by Daniela Hodrová, tr. Véronique Firkusny and Elena Sokol (2015. Original: Podobojí, 1991)

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40% of the books I read this year were published in the 2010’s, and 25% of those were published in 2018. By publication date, The Scholars, by Wu Jingzi (1750) was the oldest book I finished this year.

Publishing date	Number of books	Percentage
<1800	1	0,83%
<1900	11	9,17%
1910-1919	3	2,50%
1920-1929	3	2,50%
1930-1939	4	3,33%
1940-1949	3	2,50%
1950-1959	5	4,17%
1960-1969	4	3,33%
1970-1979	5	4,17%
1980-1989	8	6,67%
1990-1999	14	11,67%
2000-2009	11	9,17%
2010-2019	48	40,00%

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Almost half of the books I read were novels. 25% were nonfiction books:

Literary form/ Genre	Number of books	Percentage
Non-fiction	31	25,83%
Novel	59	49,17%
Play	1	0,83%
Poetry	11	9,17%
Short-stories	5	4,17%
Novella	13	10,83%

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Circa 30% of the books I read were between 200-299 pages long. The longest book was Testament of Youth, by Vera Brittain (1933, 661 p.).

Number of pages	Number of books	Percentage
<100 pages	7	5,83%
100-199 pages	32	26,67%
200-299 pages	38	31,67%
300-399 pages	27	22,50%
400-499 pages	11	9,17%
500-599 pages	2	1,67%
600-699 pages	3	2,50%

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34% of the books I read were paperbacks, far less than in 2017, where almost half of my read books were in this format. The amount of ebooks stayed the same in 2017 and 2018. However, the amount of audiobooks I ‘read’ increased substantially, when compared to 2017, when only 7% of my read books were in audio format.

Format	Number of books	Percentage
Audio	28	23%
Ebook	34	28%
Hardback	17	14%
Paperback	41	34%

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More than 80% of the books I read came from my TBR, an increase in comparison to 2017, where they were about 60% – a result of my conscious effort to read the books I already own in 2018.

Source	Number of books	Percentage
Library	17	14,17%
Review copy	4	3,33%
TBR	99	82,50%

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About the Authors

I read books written by authors from 34 different countries, and 65% of them were European – an increase in comparison to 2017, which may be due to my participation in the Backpack Through Europe Summer Reading Challenge in 2018. I read far less books from Asia, Africa, and South America this year, and I would like to rectify that in 2019!

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80% of the books I read were written by women, and this percentage has remained stable for the last four years.

Gender	Number of books	Percentage
Female	98	81,67%
Male	20	16,67%
Both	2	1,67%

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About the blog

I published 218 posts in 2018, and a total of 172,029 words, according to WordPress. The most viewed post was my review of The Bell, by Iris Murdoch (1958). The countries that visited my blog the most were the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, and Brazil. Thank you, folks, whoever you are out there ❤

A curious fact: the most used search term that led to my blog was “virginia woolf vita sackville-west” ❤ ❤

Contrary to my plans, I did not manage to review every single book I read this year (which, now, I think is a crazy goal anyway), but the amount of reviewed books increased in comparison to last year:

Years	Number of Books	Percentage
2018	120	100,00%
Not reviewed	53	46,83%
Reviewed	67	53,17%
2017	111	100,00%
Not reviewed	73	65,77%
Reviewed	38	34,23%
2016	86	100,00%
Not reviewed	46	53,49%
Reviewed	40	46,51%

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It is also interesting to compare the stats about the books I read & the books I end up talking about on my blog.

The countries I read the most were England (34 books), United States (28), Germany (7), Scotland (5), Ireland (5), Russia (3), Norway (3), France (3), Brazil (2), Finland (2), Sweden (2), Australia (2), New Zealand (2), and China (2).

The countries I reviewed the most were England (20), United States (14), Germany (5), Norway (3), France (3), Australia (2), Ireland (2), Russia (2), and Sweden (2). So, we can see that my reviews are even more eurocentric than my readings… Tsc, tsc…

(The first graph below corresponds to the books I read, the second to the ones I review)

As for the comparison of the literary forms I read x review:

It’s also interesting to compare the decades I read x review the most:

Finally, the authors I read the most in 2018 were Dorothy Richardson (3 books), Muriel Spark (3 books), Iris Murdoch (3 books), Katherine Mansfield (2 books) and Karl Ove Kanusgaard (2 books). The authors I reviewed the most on my blog were Dorothy Richardson (3 books), Iris Murdoch (2 books), and Karl Ove Kanusgaard (2 books).

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My Reading Spreadsheet

If you are curious about how my reading spreadsheet works, I made a video about it here (Warning: the audio quality is terrible, so try to wear a headphone while watching). You can read the corresponding blog notes here.

 

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My Book Journal

I also kept a book journal this year, and I found that it has helped me a lot to organise my reading & blogging activities. I made a video about how it works, and you can also find the corresponding blog notes here.

 

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EVENTS & PROJECTS

This year I took part in many delightful reading events! In February, Jessie hosted the Persephone Readathon (February 1st through February 11th), during which I read a lovely Victorian children’s book, The Runaway, by Elizabeth Anna Hart (1872). For Didi‘s #ReadSoulLit, also in February, I read one of my favourite novels of 2018, The Autobiography of My Mother, by Jamaica Kincaid (1996), a nice collection of essays, Feel Free, by Zadie Smith (2018), and a poetry collection, Ordinary Beast, by Nicole Sealey (2017).

In March, Cathy and Niall hosted Reading Ireland Month, and I read an intriguing, multi-layered novel, The Bell, by Iris Murdoch (1958). In April, Karen and Simon hosted The 1977 Club (16 April – 22 April), and I read a rather disturbing book, Passion of the New Eve, by Angela Carter (1977). Also in April, I read Invitation to the Waltz, by Rosamond Lehmann (1932), for the Virago Monthly Reads over at the LibraryThing group.

In May, I took part at the Bout of Books 22, from May 14th to 20th, and I had great fun! For Monica Dickens’ birthday (the 10th May) at Jane’s Birthday Book of Underappreciated Lady Authors, I read a lovely novel, The Winds of Heaven (1955). In June, Jessie hosted a Mini-Persephone Readathon (June, 1- 3), where I read The Home-Maker, by Dorothy Canfield-Fischer (1924). Also in June, Jessie and I had a lovely readalong of Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon (2015).

From June 1st to September 3rd, Cathy hosted one of my favourite reading events, 20 Books of Summer, during which I read nine of the twenty books on my original list:

1. Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon (2015)
2. The Home-Maker, Dorothy Canfield-Fischer (1924)
3. Mathilda, by Mary Shelley (written between 1819 and 1820, and published posthumously in 1959)
4. Valentine, by George Sand (1832)
5. Artemisia, by Anna Banti, tr. Shirley D’Ardia Caracciol (2003. Original: Artemisia, 1947)
6. A View of the Harbour, by Elizabeth Taylor (1947)
7. Vera, by Elizabeth von Arnim (1921)
8. The Matriarch, by G. B. Stern (1924)
9. Flights, by Olga Tokarczuk, tr. Jennifer Croft (2017. Original: Bieguni, 2007)

Also during Summer, from July, 2 to September, 30, the folks at The Reader’s Room hosted Backpack Through Europe Summer Reading Challenge and, although it took me more time than expected, I managed to complete my travels:

 

• England: Mathilda, by Mary Shelley (written between 1819 and 1820, and published posthumously in 1959)
• France: Valentine, by George Sand (1832)
• Belgium: Cosmétique de l’ennemi, by Amélie Nothomb (2001. The Enemy’s Cosmetique, not translated yet)
• The Netherlands: The Laws, by Connie Palmen, tr. Richard Huijing (1993. De Wetten, 1991)
• Germany: The Rings of Saturn, by W. G. Sebald, tr. Michael Hulse (1998. Die Ringe des Saturn. Eine englische Wallfahrt, 1995)
• Switzerland: I Am The Brother of XX, by Fleur Jaeggy, tr.  Gini Alhadeff (2017. Original: Sono il fratello di XX, 2014)
• Italy: Artemisia, by Anna Banti, tr. Shirley D’Ardia Caracciol (2003. Original: Artemisia, 1947)
• Austria: The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek tr. Joachim Neugroschel (1988. Die Klavierspielerin, 1983)
• Partial wrap-up 1

 

• Czech Republic:  A Kingdom of Souls, by Daniela Hodrová, tr. Véronique Firkusny and Elena Sokol (2015. Original: Podobojí, 1991)
• Poland: Flights, by Olga Tokarczuk, tr. Jennifer Croft (2017. Original: Bieguni, 2007)
• Lithuania: Breathing into Marble, by Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė, tr. Marija Marcinkute, 2016 (Original: Kvėpavimas į marmurą , 2006)
• Latvia: Soviet Milk, by Nora Ikstena, tr.  Margita Gailitis (2018. Original: Mātes piens, 2015)
• Estonia: Shape of Time, by Doris Kareva, tr. Tiina Aleman (2010. Original: Aja kuju, 2005)
• Russia: The Boarding-School Girl, by Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya, tr. Karen Rosneck (2000. Original: Pansionerka, 1861)

• Finland: Doña Quixote and Other Citizens, by Leena Krohn, tr. Hildi Hawkins (1996. Original: Donna Quijote ja muita kaupunkilaisia: Muotokuvia, 1983)
• Sweden: Complete Poems, by Karin Boye, tr. David McDuff (1994)
• Norway: The Blue Room, by Hanne Ørstavik, tr. Deborah Dawkin (2014. Original: Like sant som jeg er virkelig, 1999)
• Denmark: So Much For That Winter, by Dorthe Nors tr. Misha Hoekstra (2016. Original: Det var så den vinter,  2016/ Minna mangler et øvelokale, 2013 & Dage, 2010)
• Germany: Mephisto, by Klaus Mann (1936)

In July, I participated in Paris in July, hosted by Thyme for Tea, during which I read two great books set in Paris: Based on a True Story, by Delphine de Vigan, tr. George Miller (2017. Original: D’après une histoire vraie, 2015); and The God of Carnage, by Yasmina Reza, tr. Christopher Hampton (2008. Original: Le dieu du carnage, 2007). On July, July 27th, we had some fun with the Reverse Readathon, hosted by the folks at Deweys Readathon.

I also took part in the Spanish and Portuguese Reading Months, hosted by Stuart and Richard, in July & August, when I read the books Sinuca embaixo d’água, by Brazilian author Carol Bensimon (2009, ‘Underwater Snooker’, not translated yet); Um teste de resistores, by Brazilian poet Marília Garcia (2014, ‘a test of resistors’, not translated yet); Nueva Correspondencia Pizarnik, ed.  Ivonne Bordelois and Cristina Pina (2014. Selected Letters by Argentinian author Alejandra Pizarnik, not translated yet); and O amor dos homens avulsos, by Brazilian author Victor Heringer (2016, ‘The Love of Singular Men’, not translated yet). During the event, I also wrote a series of posts with poems by the Brazilian writers Ana Martins Marques, Alice Sant’Anna, Angélica Freitas, Ana Guadalupe, Adélia Prado, Henriqueta Lisboa, Lívia Natália, Marília Garcia, Cecília Meireles, Laura Liuzzi, Adelaide Ivánova, Cora Coralina, Ana Cristina César, Ricardo Domeneck & Hilda Hilst.

For Elizabeth Von Arnim’s birthday (the 31st August) at Jane’s Birthday Book of Underappreciated Lady Authors, I read the gripping novel Vera (1921). In August, I also participated in the Women in Translation Month, hosted by Meytal over at the Biblibio blog. Here are the books I read for the event:

• Artemisia, by Anna Banti, tr. Shirley D’Ardia Caracciol (2003. Original: Artemisia, 1947)
• The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek tr. Joachim Neugroschel (1988. Die Klavierspielerin, 1983)
• Nueva Correspondencia Pizarnik, ed.  Ivonne Bordelois and Cristina Pina (2014. Selected Letters by Alejandra Pizarnik, not translated yet)
• A Kingdom of Souls, by Daniela Hodrová, tr. Véronique Firkusny and Elena Sokol (2015. Original: Podobojí, 1991)
• Flights, by Olga Tokarczuk, tr. Jennifer Croft (2017. Original: Bieguni, 2007)
• Invisible Links, by Selma Lagerlöf, tr. Pauline Bancroft Flach (1899. Original: Osynliga länkar,1894)

For All Virago/All August, hosted by the Librarything Virago Readers Group, I read:

• A View of the Harbour, by Elizabeth Taylor (1947)
• Vera, by Elizabeth von Arnim (1921)
• The Matriarch, by G. B. Stern (1924)

From August 20th to 26th, I had some fun takinf part in the Bout of Books 23, hosted by Amanda & Kelly. For The Classics Spin #18, hosted by the Classics Club, I read the intriguing short-story collection Invisible Links, by Selma Lagerlöf, tr. Pauline Bancroft Flach (1899. Original: Osynliga länkar,1894). For Mary Stewart’s birthday (the 17th September) at Jane’s Birthday Book of Underappreciated Lady Authors, I read The Ivy Tree (1961). Here you can find my Summer Reading recap & my Most anticipated releases for the second-half of 2018.

Then, Summer was over, and it was time for R.I.P. – R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril. Created by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, RIP has moved to a new home, hosted by Heather from My Capricious Life. I’ve been taking part in it ever since I started book blogging, and this year I read Breathing into Marble, by Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė, tr. Marija Marcinkute, 2016 (Original: Kvėpavimas į marmurą , 2006); Lois the Witch, by Elizabeth Gaskell (1859); and A Wicked Voice, a short-story by Vernon Lee (from the book Hauntings. Fantastic Stories, 1890).

October was time for Victober, a month-long readathon hosted by Kate, Katie, Ange, and Lucy, during which I read Jill, by Amy Dillwyn  (1884); Zoe, by Geraldine Jewsbury (1845);  Lois the Witch, by Elizabeth Gaskell (1859); A Wicked Voice, a short-story by Vernon Lee (from the book Hauntings. Fantastic Stories, 1890); and The Night is Darkening Round Me, by Emily Brontë (2015. The poems were first published in 1846 – 1850). Also in October, Karen and Simon hosted The #1944Club, for which I read Absent in the Spring, by Agatha Christie (published under the nom de plume Mary Westmacott, 1944).

Then, we had Nonfiction November, a month-long celebration hosted by Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness, Julie at JulzReads, Sarah at Sarah’s Book Shelves, Katie at Doing Dewey, and Rennie at What’s Nonfiction. During the event, I read Erika und Therese: Erika Mann und Therese Giehse – Eine Liebe zwischen Kunst und Krieg, by Gunna Wendt (2018); The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943, by Inge Aicher-Scholl, tr. Arthur R. Schultz (2011. Original: Die Weiße Rose, 1952); The Poets’ Daughters: Dora Wordsworth and Sara Coleridge, by Katie Waldegrave (2013); I Am I Am I Am, by Maggie O’Farrell (2017); The Death of Truth, by Michiko Kakutani (2018); and Totalitarianism, by Hannah Arendt (1968, third part of The Origins of Totalitarianism). I also wrote three retrospective posts on my year in nonfiction: 18th-century women writers, biographies, and essay collection & memoirs.

We also had Novellas in November, hosted by Rick over at Another Book Blog and Laura over at Reading in Bed, and I read some good novellas: The Mussel Feast, by Birgit Vanderbeke, tr. Jamie Bulloch (2013. Original: Das Muschelessen, 1990); The Blue Room, by Hanne Ørstavik, tr. Deborah Dawkin (2014. Original: Like sant som jeg er virkelig, 1999); Nihilist Girl, by Sofia Kovalevskaya, tr. Natasha Kolchevska and Mary Zirin (2001. Original: Нигилистка, 1884); and So Much For That Winter, by Dorthe Nors tr. Misha Hoekstra (2016. Original: Det var så den vinter,  2016/ Minna mangler et øvelokale, 2013 & Dage, 2010).

Finally, it was time for German Lit Month, hosted by Lizzy and Caroline in November. For the event, I read

• Erika und Therese: Erika Mann und Therese Giehse – Eine Liebe zwischen Kunst und Krieg, by Gunna Wendt (2018)
• The Mussel Feast, by Birgit Vanderbeke, tr. Jamie Bulloch (2013. Original: Das Muschelessen, 1990)
• The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943, by Inge Aicher-Scholl, tr. Arthur R. Schultz (2011. Original: Die Weiße Rose, 1952)
• Mephisto, by Klaus Mann (1936)
• The Wild Muse: The Poetry of Annette Von Droste-Hulshoff, edited and translated by Marion Tymms (2013)

During the year, I took part in many delightful readalongs.

Liz is hosting the Iris Murdoch Readalong (from November 2017 to December 2019), for which I read  The Bell (1958), in February, and The Unicorn (1963), in May. Ali hosted the Muriel Spark Readalong (#ReadingMuriel2018, a year long reading event for Muriel Spark’s centenary), and I read The Comforters (1957), in February; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), in April; and The Driver’s Seat (1970), in June. I also participated in the Tales & Co. Goodreads Group, hosted by A Skeptical Reader, and read  Almost Famous Women, by  Megan Mayhew Bergman (2015), in January; The Last Quarter of the Moon, by Chi Zijian, tr. Bruce Humes (2014. Original: Erguna he you an, 2005), in February; Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon (2015), in June; and Butterflies in November, by  Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, tr. Brian FitzGibbon (2014. Original: Rigning í nóvember, 2004), in December.

As for my personal reading projects, I managed to read one poetry collection a month:

 

• January: Calling a Wolf a Wolf, by Kaveh Akbar
• February: Ordinary Beast, by Nicole Sealey
• March: Good Bones, by Maggie Smith
• April: Bright Dead Things, by Ada Limón
• May: Nature: Poems Old and New, by May Swenson
• June: Midnight Salvage, by Adrienne Rich

 

• July: Circadian, by Joanna Klink
• August: Shape of Time, by Doris Kareva, tr. Tiina Aleman
• September: Complete Poems, by Karin Boye, tr. David McDuff (1994)
• October: The Night is Darkening Round Me, by Emily Brontë (2015. The poems were first published in 1846 – 1850)
• November: The Wild Muse: The Poetry of Annette Von Droste-Hulshoff, by Marion Tymms (2013)
• December: The Black Unicorn, by Audre Lorde (1978)

I also managed to read one book by each of the new-to-me authors I wanted to get to know in 2018:

 

• Fleur Jaeggy: I Am The Brother of XX, tr.  Gini Alhadeff (2017. Original: Sono il fratello di XX, 2014)
• Muriel Spark: The Comforters (1957), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), The Driver’s Seat (1970)
• Maggie O’Farrel: I Am I Am I Am (2017)
• Dorothy Richardson: Pilgrimage I (1915-1917)
• Delphine de Vigan: Based on a True Story, tr. George Miller (2017. Original: D’après une histoire vraie, 2015)
• Carole Maso: Ava (1993)

Finally, for the local book club I take part in, I read 08 of the 12 books we discussed:

1. Sleepwalking Land, by Mia Couto ✓
2. The Laws, by Connie Palmen ✓
3. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid
4. The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek  ✓
5. Beloved, by Toni Morrison ✓
6. The Circle, by David Eggers
7. Monsignor Quixote, by Graham Greene ✓
8. Baltasar and Blimunda, by Jose Saramago ✓
9. Inez, by Carlos Fuentes
10. The death of the heart, by Elizabeth Bowen ✓
11. Imperium, by Christian Kracht
12. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark

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I WILL FAIL BETTER

I didn’t do well at all on my Classics Club list in 2018, and have only read 7 books for it – far less than in the previous years. Next year, I will rectify that!

 

 

Years	Number of Books Read
2016	23
2017	15
2018	7
Total Read/ Total List	45 / 156

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For my Century of Books list, I also read 7 books, far less than I was planning. In order to catch up, I plan to read manily 19th-century books in 2019!

Years	Number of Books
2017	5
2018	7
Total Read / Total in the List	12 / 100

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A GLIMPSE INTO 2019

Inspired by Liz, Sarah and Jane, I will persevere with Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage: this year I intend to finish, at least, the volume 2 in the series (The Tunnel & Interim). As I need to catch up with my Classics Club list, I already signed up for the Back to the Classics, hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate, as well as for the Victorian Reading Challenge, hosted by Becky at Becky`s Book Reviews, and the European Reading Challenge, hosted by Gilion.

As usual, I will also take part in the Virago Month, Africa Reading Challenge, Reading Ireland Month, Women in Translation, 20 Books of Summer, Victober, RIP Challenge, and German Lit Month. In January, Ali will be hosting a readalong of Some Tame Gazelle, by Barbara Pym (1950), over at her group Barbara Pym Virtual Tea Party, and I plan to participate.

Also in January, I will be reading Cassandra at the Wedding, by Dorothy Dodds Baker (1962), for the Classics Spin #19. Karen and Simon will be hosting The #1965Club, from April, 22nd to 28th, and I am already making a reading list for it! I will also take part in the Women of the World Goodreads Group, hosted by Kirsty and Katie, and in the readalong of Henrik Pontoppidan’s Lucky Per, which will behosted by Dorian in May.

As for personal reading projects, I will continue with Read More Poetry, with the goal of reading one poetry collection a month. I would also like to read, at least, 40 books on my Classics Club list; 5 books on my Virago Modern Classics list; 3 books on my Persephone Books list; 3 books on my Fitzcarraldo Editions list; 3 books from my Speak its name challenge; 3 books by authors from countries I never read before; 5 books by new-to-me authors for my 19th-century Women Writers Project; 5 books from my list of most anticipated releases for the second-half of 2018; and 10 books for my Century of Books challenge. Yes, I know, it sounds challenging, but, needless to say, these projects will inevitably overlap with each other!

I would also like to do something similar to the Backpack Through Europe Reading Challenge, but for Latin America this time. I will continue to read the books listed for the Literary Criticism Readalong, hosted by Tom, and I would like to read the books shortlisted in 2019 for the Man Booker Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.

Finally, I made a list of twelve new-to-me authors to read in 2019: Radclyffe Hall, Fanny Burney, Sarah Orne Jewett, Ouida/ Maria Louise Ramé, Ann Quin, Renata Adler, Violette LeDuc, Elena Garro, Carmen Laforet, Christina Stead, Annie Ernaux, and Brigid Brophy. Have you read anything by any of them? Which books would you recommend?

In case you are curious, this is the way I organised all the 2019 projects on my book journal:

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THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

Best novels (in no particular order)