The goal of the challenge was: Read and review Scottish books -- any genre, any form -- written by a Scottish author (by birth or immigration) or about or set in Scotland.
My personal goal was the lowest level: Just A Keek (a little look): 1-4 books read.
Here is what I read:
- The White Sea by Paul Johnston
- The Sea Detective by Mark Douglas-Home
- After the Armistice Ball by Catriona McPherson
- Garnethill by Denise Mina
Peggy is continuing the Read Scotland challenge for 2015. The rules are similar; check them out HERE and sign up.
The basics are:
- Challenge runs January 1 to December 31, 2015.
- You don't have to have a blog to participate.
- There is a Goodreads group for the challenge.
I am again signing up for the Just A Keek level: 1-4 books read.
These are the books I said I might read in 2014, and you will note that I read none of them in 2014:
Ann Cleeves
Red BonesBlue Lightning
A. D. Scott (profiled by Peggy here)
A Small Death in the Great Glen
A Double Death On the Black IsleBeneath the Abbey Wall
Brian Ruckley
The Edinburgh Dead
Ed James
Ghost in the MachineDevil in the Detail
From comments in last year's sign up post, here are some other authors I am considering:
Ian Rankin, William McIlvanney, Gordon Ferris, Arthur Conan Doyle, Kate Atkinson. More Denise Mina and Catriona McPherson.
Another author I have read already in 2015: John Buchan. The first book I read this year was The 39 Steps.
20 comments:
TracyK: Well, I can recommend going to the Shetlands with Ann Cleeves or to the Outer Hebrides with Peter May.
Having read The Lewis Man I guess I could register and qualify for the lowest level in the Challenge. I did wonder if you can call it a challenge if you need only read one book.
Tracy, this challenge does sound very appealing and it'd be nice to read books set in that beautiful part of the world. Good luck to you!
Beautiful post, Tracy! Thanks. I'm with Bill, if you haven't read Peter May you have to give him a try!
You did well. I thought it was a very enjoyable challenge last year. Good luck with it this year!
I'll add another voice to recommending Peter May's Hebrides series. So, so good!
What an interesting challenge, Tracy! And you read some fine books, too. I'll be interested in how you get on with this challenge this year.
Well done, I will try Mark Douglas-Hone and Denise Mina at some point, maybe Paul Johnston also if I find him in the tubs.
I bailed on this one having set my sights way too high. I have extended my own version of it for another 2 years!
Bill, I am looking forward to more Ann Cleeves in the Shetlands and reading The Blackhouse by Peter May. I cannot believe I forgot to add Peter May to the list.
Good point about reading only one book not being much of a challenge. I would like to read way more than one book for this challenge (because I have books to read by most of those authors) but sometimes things don't work out and I like to aim for the lowest level so I don't stress. Which is why the Canadian Challenge is a real challenge for me, aiming for 13 books.
On the other hand, one challenge I take is the Japanese Literature challenge. The challenge has no levels, just read at least one book (I am sure most participants read more). But both years I took that challenge, it was hard for me to read even one Japanese book. But I did and was proud of it.
Thanks, Prashant. It is nice discovering which authors are from Scotland, even when they set their books in other locations.
Peggy, I do enjoy this challenge. Just discovering all these authors that I had not been aware of before is a plus. And you follow up and encourage challengers and find new authors, which is also a bonus.
Funny, I have read Peter May before, but I read the first of a series set in China, with a forensic pathologist from the US and a Chinese police detective. And I have two more of those. He also has a series called the Enzo Files that I would like to find.
Well, Cath, I cannot compete with the 13 books you read for the challenge. And looking at your list reminds me that Josephine Tey is a Scottish author. I would like to reread some of her books.
I hope I do get to it this year, Kay. I have heard many good things about it.
It is a good challenge, Margot. In an ideal world, I would read at least 8 books for the challenge this year, but we will see how my reading goes.
I would like to read more Paul Johnston also, Col. But right now I don't have any more of his books. Maybe I will find some more at the book sale later in the year.
I like your honest list of all the books you didn't read! Well, plenty to choose from next year then. I think my Scottish compartment has been mostly filled by the Jane Duncan series I've been going through, but AD Scott is just hitting my radar, and I might investigate, especially as I am getting to the end of Duncan....
The long list of books I did not get to last year is my motivation for joining the challenge again, plus the fact that there are some really good Scottish authors. Of that list, except for Ann Cleeves, all the books are Glen's. He really liked the first A.D. Scott book.
I read several books set in Scotland in recent years, including all of Mina's series, The Sea Detective, Pilgrim Soul and miscellaneous others. I have a Rebus book partly read which I'll finish, by Ian Rankin.
I will read Peter May's Entry Island this year and I'm sure some more books by Scottish authors.
But I'm not doing any more challenges, just reading what grabs me and digging into my own stacks. I don't want pressure on myself, but I do want to read good books this year, not books just to meet a challenge. So I'm winging it.
I totally understand on the no challenge idea, Kathy. I just can't resist doing some myself. And since there are so many Scottish authors and books I want to read (some of which you mentioned), it fits in with my reading. I just wish I had a few more hours in the day.
Tracy, I'm curious what you found hard about the Japanese books you read? If you like traditional mysteries I'd suggest Miyuki Miyabe (police procedurals) or Shizuko Natsuki (in the vein of Agatha Christie). Also Kanae Minato - her thriller "Confessions" reminded me of Minette Walters or Barbara Vine.
Miranda, That is a good question. I did not mean to imply that I do not enjoy Japanese mysteries but for some reason I put off reading them. My husband is the fan of Asian mysteries in our family and I borrow them from him. Except that I bought Villain by Yoshida for myself and read it this month. I do plan to read a Miyuki Miyabe book, and I will look into the other two authors you mentioned.
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