miércoles, 28 de enero de 2015

French Bingo 2015

Wasn't planning on joining any reading challenges this year but have decided to make a lone, enthusiastic exception for the French Bingo 2015 Reading Challenge after host Emma of words and peace kindly extended me a personal invitation to play along.  What can I say?  I'm a sucker for the personal touch.  Although Emma's bingo rules allow quite a bit of wiggle room for non-French authors to be read as part of the entertainment, I'm taking her up on her offer to make things "more difficult" for myself by only reading French authors (no interlopers!) to fill in the squares.  Please note that while I won't be listing any proposed reads for French Bingo, I remain amenable to suggestions as always.  On that note, merci beaucoup to Emma for hosting the event and thanks as well to anybody who's willing to recommend a French book to me at some point.


French Bingo 2015 Books and Related Reading
Le Vice-consul by Marguerite Duras (A5)
Double blanc by Yasmina Khadra
Le sermon sur la chute de Rome by Jérôme Ferrari (E5)
La petite communiste qui ne souriait jamais by Lola Lafon (B4)
Le docker noir by Sembène Ousmane
La Croisade des enfants by Marcel Schwob (D3)
Le village de l'Allemand ou Le journal des frères Schiller by Boualem Sansal
L'étranger by Albert Camus (D4)
Le planétarium by Nathalie Sarraute (C1)
Total Khéops by Jean-Claude Izzo (C3)
L'homme à l'envers by Fred Vargas (E1)
Meursault, contre-enquête by Kamel Daoud 
L'automne des chimères (Yasmina Khadra)
The Guermantes Way (Marcel Proust) (D2) 

19 comentarios:

  1. This is a really neat and fun idea.

    I really have not read enough French literature. This is even a greater travesty as my wife's family is French.

    For me E2 would cover everything that I read that was actually originally written in French.

    ResponderBorrar
    Respuestas
    1. French lit is one of my two or three all-time favorites going by countries, Brian, but I've gone years here and there without reading much of it at all. Too many distractions! Anyway, hope you get a chance to read some more French lit yourself one of these days and I'm envious of your family connections to say the least (when I was younger, ahem, there was many a time when I used to dream about landing a French wife as the be all and end all of my romantic aspirations!).

      Borrar
  2. Too bad there isn't a category for "word derived from French" in the title; you know, to broaden the field a bit...

    ResponderBorrar
    Respuestas
    1. Jill, you aren't trying to set me up for a "freedom frites" crack now, are you? Bon week-end in advance anyway!

      Borrar
    2. that would definitely open it too much, as there are TONS of English words derived from the French

      Borrar
  3. It's those "title" boxes that would stump me. As for the Eiffel Tower on the cover, I could just use glue and take care of that. Come to think of it, I could create new titles with glue.

    ResponderBorrar
    Respuestas
    1. actually the column 5 has no Title square. as for the Eiffel Tower on the cover, go to your library if you have a bestseller shelf, I bet you you can find there a new book per week that fits! I was amazed when I discovered this in my own library (In the US- Illinois), that's what partially led me actually to create my virtual book tour company exclusively for books set in France http://francebooktours.com

      Borrar
    2. Unless, or better yet, until my competitive juices start flowing, Tom, my plan is to pretty much read what I would have anyway and then see if any of the books qualify for the bingo squares. If not, c'est la vie. However, you've already recommended at least two title options to me in the past: Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris and that OUP French Decadent Tales anthology you wrote about last year. Those are likely choices, but getting creative with glue isn't a bad back-up option either!

      Borrar
    3. I suspect C5, "With a Plot Involving French Wine," will be more challenging than the Eiffel Tower one for me, Emma, but then again I believe I've only read two Eiffel Tower cover novels during the life of my blog: the first Fantômas book and an Argentinean historical fiction novel that wouldn't qualify under my "more difficult" application of the rules. P.S. I'll let Tom speak for himself, but I think he might only like bestsellers from the 19th century and earlier!

      Borrar
    4. I know of at least two different series of bandes dessinées with plots involving French wine, but if I tell you what they are you'll call "Bingo!" before me.

      Borrar
    5. Scott, I hadn't even considered bandes dessinées. Thanks for the idea! However, one quick search later, I see that there are indeed--curiously--several titles devoted to the wine "genre." How very, ahem, curious, like I said. P.S. No need to worry about me using your bande dessinée idea to stomp you at Bingo! This is more like an endurance version of Bingo in that the "winner" is likely to be determined by the total number of squares filled after the actual Bingo is achieved. We slow pokes can read at our own pace.

      Borrar
  4. Hola Richard ¿qué tal? veo que tu portada tiene como tema a México, ¿a qué se debe? ¿Solo comentarás libros de ese país? saludos!

    ResponderBorrar
    Respuestas
    1. Hola Pollo, ¿cómo te va? Lo de la portada tiene que ver con el hecho de que, al principio del año, estaba pensando en leer una novela mexicana en cada mes en este año. Sin obstante, a este ritmo pienso que tendré a limitarme a seis o siete libros (¡qué vergüenza!). Gracias por la pregunta y por seguirme en Twitter. ¡Nos vemos!

      Borrar
  5. looks like you are aiming at the 4 corners, so for A1 I highly recommend this nonfiction explaining where France's current sociopoliticoeconomic situation is coming from - roots of the current situation in the last 50 years of its history. Be sure to read the new 2014 edition: http://francebooktours.com/2014/05/05/jonathan-fenby-on-tour-france-on-the-brink/ - really excellent.
    And I feel honored you do this challenge exception for the French Bingo! Gracias

    ResponderBorrar
    Respuestas
    1. De nada, Emma, y gracias a ti. You're very kind.

      As far as the French Bingo strategy goes, the four corners idea, while accidental in terms of the two books I just read, does seem like the most likely path to a quick Bingo. However, I've already started thinking it might be fun to try to fill out the whole grid! Thanks for coming up with a book idea for me. I'll keep that title in mind based on your strong recommendation of it, but I think I'll try to find a French author to fill that square first (Fenby is "French" only by marriage, right?) under my "more difficult" application of the rules. Cheers!

      Borrar
  6. Would it be cheating if I find, say, a 19th century romance novel, by a female French author, the cover of which features an image of the Eiffel tower and the title says something about Robespierre eating Tarte Tatin in Paris, Île-de-France, France? That's 10 squares right there - 11 if it's been made into a movie. Bingo?

    ResponderBorrar
    Respuestas
    1. While I love your idea of a book about Robespierre eating tarte tatin in Paris, Île-de-France, France & etc. (actually, quite an unfortunate image given how his days on earth ended!), I'm afraid that all your creativity has gone for nought since I believe all French Bingo books read can only be applied to one square each. Still, I see you working!

      Borrar
  7. Hey, Richard - I've got a suggestion for B3: Never Any End to Paris by Vila-Matas, right up your street.

    ResponderBorrar
    Respuestas
    1. Jacqui, that's indeed an excellent suggestion for all other French Bingo contestants. However, I've decided to limit my choices to French authors only for my version of the bingo. I do hope to get to that Vila-Matas title this year anyway although I guess, poor pitiful me, I'll only get to read the book for fun. Thanks for the idea, though!

      Borrar