BINGO: The Wrap Up
09/03/2015
Now that summer is wrapping up (although not really; we're having a late surge of hot-and-steamy here this week), it's time to wrap up SUMMER BOOK BINGO.
Well.
Would you look at that.
A Bingo Blackout!
If you're a Book Bingo purist, well, you might just take issue with a few of my squares. But I'm here to stand tall and proud in the Taking Poetic License category.* (And I feel totally justified because I read The Corrections. And Lolita. And that absolutely abysmal Beneath the Marble Sky. Those have to count for something!!!)
You can check out my previous book selections here and here. The rest of my squares:
By An Author Born the Same Year as You: That, my friends, is where The Corrections comes in. Because me and Jonathan Franzen, baby. 1959. (I hated this book.) (Bonus points . . . because I also read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, who was also born in 1959 -- on CHECK THIS OUT -- the SAME DAY as Jonathan Franzen!)
That You Think You Will Dislike: Now, to be fair . . . I don't read books I think I'm going to DISlike, so this is a stretch from the get-go. (Although sometimes I DO read books I think I'm going to LIKE . . . but end up DISliking.) Anyway, this square was fulfilled by The Bees by Laline Paul -- a book I felt quite lukewarm about going in, and ended up LOVING coming out.
At Least 800 Pages: Nicholas Nickleby. (But you already know all about my relationship with this one.) I really did enjoy old Nick, although it's not my favorite Dickens. (That would be Great Expectations.)
About a Subject that Challenges You: Applying some of that poetic license again here . . . I'm counting Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny. Because murder of a child challenges me. Also guns.
About a Religion With Which You are Unfamiliar: Because I read so much, I've become familiar with almost all religions. BUT. I had never read a book set inside a monestary for nuns. Enter . . . In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden. I can honestly say -- I never expected to be so captivated by nuns! I plowed through all 672 pages in 3 days.
Manga Poetry: When my Bingo card came up, I wasn't freaked out by the "over 800 pages" square . . . I was freaked out by the Manga square. Because I read a Manga once. Long ago. (When Erin was kind of into them. . . in, like, 7th grade.) And, really. That was enough for me. So . . . I substituted the Manga square for my own, made-up Poetry sqaure. And then I read Poems New and Collected by Wislawa Szymborska. (And my life is much the better for it.) Excellent. Just excellent. (I am not passing judgement on Manga as a genre. It is just not MY genre. I tried it once. Life is just too short for any more.) (And, besides . . . I read The freakin' Corrections!!!)
That You Saw Someone Else Reading: I saw Margene reading Mink River by Brian Doyle. And I am SO GLAD I did! (A terrific book.)
By An Author of a Different Culture: For this square, I read Kartography by Kamila Shamsie, a Pakistani author. This book . . . was breathtakingly beautiful; one of those books that just made me gasp - over and over.
And, there you have it!
BINGO!
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*And sure, I may have stretched things a bit on some of the squares. But keep in mind . . . I read lots of books with lots of pages this summer! Not only Nick, coming in at 817 pages, but also The (freakin) Corrections at 635, In this House of Brede at 672, She's Come Undone at 465, and The Art of Fielding at 512. That's gotta count for something!
In my book, you had a stellar summer of reading. Not ONE of your books should be questioned, although I would comment, of course, you HAD to get Poetry in there! This is YOUR Bingo! Way to take charge and GET IT DONE! You are a reading Goddess...just sayin'.
Posted by: margene | 09/03/2015 at 08:26 AM
That nun book sounds surprisingly interesting. I have managed to read almost nothing this summer. However I did pick up an audiobook that I'm enjoying, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.
Posted by: claudia | 09/03/2015 at 08:36 AM
I might have three Bingo squares filled in... including the FREE SPACE! Bravo, Kym!!
Posted by: Vicki | 09/03/2015 at 09:52 AM
That's a lot of pages! Congratulations, Kyn and know that I'm with you on the Manga!
Posted by: Jo | 09/03/2015 at 10:38 AM
Just like you're the boss of your knitting, I think you're the boss of your reading and Book Bingo. IMHO, you should add a Bonus Bingo to your total for Corrections. I've been tempted lately by Purity, but I'm fairly sure it's just Jonathan teasing me, only to let me down (and piss me off!) I wonder if Manga Poetry is a genre? :-) Well done!
Posted by: Bonny | 09/03/2015 at 11:09 AM
Excellent! I'm coming into the home stretch with 3 books to finish and it shouldn't be a problem. I won't have a cover all but I will have several bingos, at least. I wish there was a way to count the books I read that don't fit into any squares, I have a few of those, too. Mink River is just the best. Dale is reading it now and I keep asking, do you love it? what's happening? isn't the language beautiful?
Posted by: Carole | 09/03/2015 at 11:36 AM
You, Margene and Carole have been amazing in the reading department! Great job!
Posted by: Kim | 09/03/2015 at 01:54 PM
Nicely done! Will have to check out Mink River.
Posted by: Manise | 09/03/2015 at 02:02 PM
I congratulate you! That is a lot of pages (and fun)!
Posted by: kmkat | 09/03/2015 at 03:38 PM
Woo HOO! and that's 12 bingo's. I think Bonny's got some competition for the prize this year ;-) It seems like Memorial Day was a long time ago... and for both of us, it was a lot of books and a boatload of pages. A summer full of reading, for sure!
Posted by: Mary | 09/03/2015 at 07:13 PM
What a wonderful summer of reading. Thank you for the recommendations and the books to avoid. I'm always looking for a good book (or 6).
Posted by: Melissa | 09/04/2015 at 12:54 AM