Weekly Geeks: A Reading Journal in Pictures

Monday

Weekly Geeks this week is dedicated to photos, now I hate having my picture taken so I was wondering how I was going to get around this so I decided on a picture journal of this weeks reading.

First up is this striking image from the slums of Bombay, its hard to remember that people still live like this, that for some people the reality of their day is waking up to this scene and not being able to escape from this to the dazzling city in the distance.
This picture is part of a 'journey' taken when reading the poem 'Blessing' by Imtiaz Dharker to the pupils in my class. The blessing in the poem is a split water main, a day in which they aren't thirsty, they get the water they have been praying for.

Click on the pics to see them up close.

Other WeeklyGeeks pics:

See Chris' collection of books

And Nymeth's cute cat pics

Orbis Terravm & I Heard it Through the Grape Vine Challenges Complete!!!

I fiished reading Mister Pip today and it helped me to complete two great challenges, and what a great book to finish with.

Orbis Terravm for this challenge I had to read 9 different books from 9 different countries. I managed to span a whole load of different places and really enjoyed the journey

I read:

Peony In Love, Lisa See - China (read)

Moon Tiger, Penlope Lively - Eygpt (read)

The Devil and Miss Prym, Coelho - Brazil (Read)

The Plague, Camus -Algeria (Read)

Persian Brides, Rabinyan - Iran

Mister Pip, Jones - Australia
The Echo Maker, Richard Powers -

USAMicroserfs, Coupland - Canada (read)
The Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevara - Argentina (READ)

My favorite was definately Mister Pip closely followed by Peony in Love.

I Heard it Through the Grapevine for this challenge I had to read 3 books which had been recommended. I read:

The Echo Maker, Richard Powers

A Walk in the Woods, Bryson

Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones -

The Echo Maker was the one book that I felt didn't live up to the hype.

My Thought: Mister Pip - Lloyd Jones

I have been meaning to read this book since it came out and I had it down for a few different challenges, so I was very happy when it arrived as part of a bookring, a great book and free too!
The novel is focused on a small island in Papa New Guinea, the islands men have travelled to Australia to work in the mines leaving the women and children on the island till they can find a way to join the men. Then war strikes, daily routines are hit and dreams of seeing fathers and husbands again are put on hold.
The only white man on the island decides to start up the school again, many of the lessons are dedicated to Great Expectations, the children are gripped. Matilda the main character uses the novel as a means of escape from the war and also a way to understand the world around her.
I thought that this was one of the best reads of this year so far. The language was fantastic, the characters well rounded and the shock well placed. Definately a novel I'll be recommending to others.
Challenges:
Book 3/3 for I Heard it Through the Grapevine
Book 9/9 for Orbis Terravm
Book 4/6 for 2008 Booker Challenge
Also part of my ongoing project to read a book from each country in the world

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.
Read other peoples thoughts about Mister Pip:
Raidergirl3's thoughts
Trevor's thoughts

Lizzy's thoughts

The 20th Century Challenge: Another Long Term Project

I'm stealing this idea from Lizzy's page, the aim is to read one book from each year of the twentieth century. I'm starting as of tomorrow, I wonder how many years this will take...

2000: Daughter of Fortune, Allende

1999: Hardboiled/Hardluck, Yosimoto

1998: Stardust, Gaiman

1997: The Virgin Blue, Chevalier

1996: Rabbit Proof Fence, Pilkerton

1996: Neverwhere, Gaiman

1992: All the Pretty Horses, McCarthy

1991: The Sandman, Neil Gaiman

1989: Goodbye Tsugumi, Yosimoto

1983: The Fragrance of Guava, Mendoza

1976: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Taylor

1967: A Woman of My Age, Bawden

1963: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, Mishma

1962: A Dog So Small, Phillipa Pearce

1958: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Capote

1952: East of Eden, Steinbeck

1953: Junky, William Burroughs

1936: Gone With the Wind, Mitchell

1922: Siddartha, Hesse

The Sunday Salon and I always meant to meme

It has been a bit of a different reading week for me this week. I finally discovered audiodownloads, and found lots of free downloads on lirivox.org and at itunes so I have started going to bed listening to a chapter as I'm drifting off to the land of nod. I have also discovered Neil Gaiman's Journal and spent the week reading his short stories, of which I did a mini review here. Which has then progressed to finding different shortstory sites.
So my reading challenges have been almost abandoned this week, and new discoveries have been made. I must however get back on track with my normal reading and challenges this week. I should complete Mister Pip today which will me I will have successfully completed the Orbis Terravm challenge, which is great as I managed to sign myself up to another challenge this week! The Graphic Novel challenge, this is a year long challenge but Dewey has opened it up to new participants saying that if the join now they will only need to read 3 graphic novels by December. As I've never read a grahic novel in my life I thought this was a good way to start and I brought my first one yesterday.
That was a bit of a ramble.....

I was thinking about my reading habits the other day, and geek that I am, I managed to create a little meme for myself, would be good to see others answers.
I always meant to...
The author I always meant to read is Angela Carter, I have her books, she has been on mount tbr since a uni lecturer and some students raved about her but I've just never got there.
The autor I always meant to read more of, well this list is huge but I'll just keep it to a few: Ian McEwan, Charles Dickens, A.S Byatt - other stuff always comes up instead.
The genre I always meant to try/read has to be cult classic, I always look at those lists and I haven't even scratched the surface.
The book on my tbr pile I always mean to read next is The Poisonwood Bible or Arthur and George.
The book I always meant to try again is Sophies World by Jostein Gaarder

Some responses to the meme:

Lizzy

Reading and Ruminations

Short Story: Briar Rose by Kim Antieau

This is a hugely powerful short story about a young girl who wakes up in a hospital room, she has no recollection of who she is, how she got here and why her arms are covered in fresh wounds. Her first memory is triggered by a small tattoo of a rose.
The girls past is gradually revealed to her through the images she draws on her body, each image reveals another episode in her, another reality for her to accept.

This is really well written and the idea of being able to rub off all the wrongs that have been done is refreshing. A copy of the story can be found

My Thoughts: The Plague - Camus

This novel is based around a small Algerian city in which a plague gradually develops leaving the inhabitants of the city prisoners in the town. The book focuses primarily on small group of doctors and their friends who are working on the cure of the plague, attending the sick and dying and also who are asked to help in the regulations of the city.

I expected this novel to have more of an effect on me, to be more powerful and shocking. If I hadn't been reading it for a bookring I don't know if I would have carried on reading it. I'm not saying it was poorly written, just not as gripping as it could have been.
If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

Read for the Nobels Project
Book 8/9 for Orbis Terravm Challenge