One of the lovely things about being an online arts centre is that Notes can Xanadu can feature writing and literature alongside other art forms. With this in mind, we have created a reading challenge for 2021. Each month there will be a theme, with several sub-categories, and the challenge is to read one or more books each month to fit the topic. Feel free to add sub-categories, the only rule is that one book each month should be a new read. The entire challenge can be downloaded in pdf format here. We also have an Excel spreadsheet, thanks to Karin Hammarstrom, one of our participants, which you can also download, and use to track your progress.
Every month, we’ll introduce the theme and sub-categories in a post like this, and also give some reading suggestions. The sub-categories are only a guide, feel free to adapt and expand as you like. Please leave a comment and tell us what you are reading, and whether you are enjoying it, or any other information that you would like to share with your fellow readers.
For , the theme is Language.
Sub-categories:
• a book in a language with which you are familiar, but don’t read in very often, if at all.
• (if you are monolingual) a beginner’s “Teach Yourself” book in a language you are interested in.
• a coding manual in a programming language you don’t know, or in which you have more to learn
• a book about the history of language or linguistic
Reading suggestions:
. Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exúpery
. Harry Potter in any language
. Teach Yourself .. in 24 hours
I’m reading:
Teach Yourself Javascript in 24 hours
Come back next month for our July suggestions, and don’t forget to leave a comment below to tell us how you got on in May or June! Happy reading!
Nice idea. I have started a Dutch book, unfortunately not translated into English but … maybe one day.
I just finished it and posted the review on my page. It’s called “Het woeden der gehele wereld” (The fury/rage/raging of the whole world) by Dutch author Maarten ’t Hart.
You can always find the link under “My Reading List”.
My July book is/was “Science & Islam: a history” by Ehsan Mahsood.
My August book was “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
And my September Book was “Traumklänge oder Das längste Märchen, das es je gab” [Dream sounds. or the longest fairy tale that ever existed] the review of which you can find on my German blog.
They all sound really good Marianne. How long is the longest fairy tale ever written? I’ve often meant to read The Communist Manifesto, and Das Kapital.
Why don’t I ever get a notification when you answer my posts? So sorry for not answering again earlier but if I don’t go back here because you haven’t posted anything new, I never see it. 🙁
Anyway, I think the title of this book is just because the story goes on for generations. Really interesting book.
This month, I have read “The Silk Roads. A New History of the World” by Peter Frankopan. Again, sorry for not posting a link because otherwise my post won’t be shown at all but you can, as always, find it on my blog under “My Reading List” or under “Labels” and then “Lists”.
Hope you are doing well.