Signing Up for Another Challenge: 2023 Audiobook Challenge!

As an Indonesian, I’ve always daunted by audiobooks because English isn’t my first language. Reading is easy, speaking isn’t a problem once I’m used to it, but listening... now that is something else, and I was not too patient to learn the skill. However, after my mom was diagnosed with cornea guttata several years ago, which means her sights are declining with age, I’ve been more and more considering audiobooks. I would be crushed if I can’t read as much as I want due to declining eyesight, and if I want to be familiar already with audiobooks when ‘the day comes’, then I have to start soon!

A few weeks ago, I’ve had my eyes checked by the optician, and I got a prescription for new lenses. It means that I was without glasses for 24 hours while they were replacing the lenses. This was not the first time, so I knew the procedure. Still, I can’t think of not reading anything, that in the end I decided to just try on an audiobook that I’ve been putting off long enough.

I installed Scribd app on my phone, and browsing the titles, I found a lot of Agatha Christie’s books on it, narrated (partly) by none other than David Suchet and/or Hugh Fraser! So, I instantly picked the next Agatha Christie in my Agatha Christie Perpetual Reading Challenge list, that is Sad Cypress, sat comfortably on my chair, and tapped ‘Listen Now’. It was wonderful!!

A week before, I happened to discuss about audiobook with JoAnn, and she suggested that I pick a familiar book, or one that I loved. She also mentioned that I could adjust the speed, lower or faster. Now that’s a thing I wouldn’t have known! So, thanks partly to JoAnn @ Gulfside Musing, I’m now quite an adept beginner to audiobook! I promised myself that I will read more and more audiobook along the years.

And then, I found this perfect reading challenge:

2023 Audiobook Challenge

hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About.

The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2023 than you did in 2022 (I’m the first, of course!). I might be rather ambitious by aiming for Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10 level on my first year, but a challenge is supposed to challenge one, right?

I’ve decided to read Agatha Christie’s novels I’ve intended to read this year, all 5 of them, in audiobook version. I’m so in love with David Suchet right now, he’s not just the perfect Hercule Poirot, but also a wonderful narrator (performer is more appropriate)! The other audiobook I’m excited to read is Ken Follet’s historical fiction, narrated by John Lee (UPDATE: I ditched it, it's not as appealing as I've thought).

Audiobooks I’m going to read during the year:

1. Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie ✔

2. Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

3. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

4. N or M? by Agatha Christie ✔

5. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder ✔

6. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim ✔

7. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

8. The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola ✔

9. The Incredible Theft by Agatha Christie

10. An Autobiography by Agatha Christie ✔

Do you often read books in audiobook version?
Do you have any suggestion for an audiobook-newbie, for whom English is a second language? Maybe your favorite apps or narrator?

Judging Book by Its Cover: The Woodlanders (Thomas Hardy)

It's yet another new feature in Fanda Classiclit, where I'd analyze book cover, compare it with the content, as well as with covers from few other editions.

The Woodlanders

My copy is a Penguin Classics 1998's edition, which used a portrait for its cover. It is a photo of Alice Liddell, taken by Julia Margaret Cameron in 1872. It's Mrs. Sarah Coller @ Belle's Library who first pointed out that the cover art is "grown up Alice Liddell - Lewis Carroll's inspiration for Alice in Wonderland".

As I scrutinized the portrait, I saw a rebellious, headstrong, dissatisfied face of a young woman looked back at me. And I thought: that's Marty South, the center and most relatable character of The Woodlanders! - more so with her long hair and leaves around her head, which implies someone who spends a lot of time in the forest and is intimate with the nature.

When I first bought this book, I actually disliked the cover art as it looked rather mystical to me (at first sight). But after knowing the real young woman in the portrait, and especially after reading the book, I think it's the perfect cover!

But let's pick two other covers from different editions before we conclude; who knows, we might find a better version, and a new champion!

Penguin Classics - revised 1998's edition

It's a painting of a lady sitting alone in the forest. While the forest fits woodland description, the lady does not. She seems like just a lady taking a stroll to the forest, maybe while contemplating her worldly problems, and feeling tired, sits there for a while. She might be assumed as Grace Melbury from The Woodlanders, who's born on the woodland - true - but at heart not a true woodlander. So, this cover might represent one of the characters, but it's not a perfect representation of the whole book/story.

Oxford Classics 2009's edition

It's a painting of two women taking a walk in the forest - a lady with her hatless friend? They are far from woodlanders; walking on a woodland doesn't make one a woodlander! So, the cover doesn't represent the book at all.


In the end, I'm satisfied with the cover of my copy, it is the winner!

What about you? Which cover do you like better?

1st Impression on Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

My third read this year is Dandelion Wine, a novel which was developed from a short story of the same title. It appeared in the June 1953 issue of Gourmet magazine, and based upon Bradbury's childhood home of Waukegan, Illinois.

I seldom read the Introduction at the beginning, but I made an exception this time, because Bradbury wrote it so beautifully poetic, and with an interesting title too! Here's a glimpse:

Just This Side of Byzantium: An Introduction (what a title, eh?)

"No one said anything.

We all just looked up at the sky and we breathed out and in and we all thought the same things, but nobody said.

Someone finally had to say, though, didn’t they? And that one is me.

The wine still waits in the cellars below.

My beloved family still sits on the porch in the dark.

The fire balloon still drifts and burns in the night sky of an as yet unburied summer.

Why and how?

Because I say it is so."

And with that, I knew I'd love this story, which is a reminiscent of his childhood happy memories. Of summer, of being alive - "I'm really alive!" - and, of course, of Dandelion wines he's helped his grandfather in the making. What a lively imagination the twelve years old Douglas Spaulding (or Ray Bradbury) had! - Douglas is Ray Bradbury's middle name, while Spaulding is his father's.

Some excerpts from the book:

On Dandelion:

"A common flower, a weed that is one sees, yes. But for us, a noble thing, the Dandelion."


On Dandelion wine:

[source of the picture]

"The words were summer on the tongue. Hold summer in your hand, pour summer in a glass, a tiny glass of course, the smallest tingling sip for children; change the season in your veins by raising glass to lip and tilting summer in."


What is Dandelion Wine, anyway?

Dandelion wine is a medicinal drink that also helps you feel buzzed. Dandelions are excellent for digestive health since they help detoxify the lungs and heart because the dandelion petals are rich in potassium, vitamins A, B, C, and D. Perhaps this was the very first wine that was genuinely beneficial to your liver. The taste of dandelion wine is slightly bitter with a dash of honey-like sweetness. [source]


It'd surely be a refreshing change after a gloomy Hardy, and so far I've been slowly savouring Bradbury's poetic narration in a bliss!

 

Classic Character: Marty South from The Woodlanders (Thomas Hardy)

Marty South might not generally be considered the main character in this book, but for me, she is the center of The Woodlanders. She is the epitome of a true woodlander. She works with tree and woods, and has an amazing skill in making wooden spars, though she must work very hard only to be paid very poorly.

Marty is pictured as no more than nineteen or twenty years old, but poverty and hard working "had forced the provisional curves of her childhood's face to a premature finality." In every aspect of feminine appearance, "she had but little pretension to beauty, save in one prominent particular - her hair. Its abundance made it almost unmanageable."

In short, Marty South is an unattractive woman in the eyes of men. Men tend to treat her as just a worker (one of themselves, perhaps), though no doubt, she is much more talented than most of them. One man she loves, Giles Winterborne (another woodlander), never sets eyes on her, much less saying anything other than business. Her last resort of ever attracting and winning Winterborne's heart is her beautiful hair, but, alas, that too she must sacrifice for money, as her father is ill and can't work. Thus, her final hope is crushed.

To be honest, I admire Marty South. She, who lives in solitude and obscurity, is one of the most courageous female characters I've ever read. Her unrequited love doesn't crush her. She keeps working hard, and she never hates Grace, the woman whom Winterborne loves. When instructed by Grammer Oliver to help in Winterborne's "scheme" to win Grace's heart, Marty silently relents and do what she's expected to.

True, she's a little mean when she reveals about the "hair chronicle" to Fitzpiers, in the last attempt to ever win Winterborne. But that's the only moment of her spur competitiveness, and it's quite understandable. Other than that, Marty proves to be loyal and persistent in her life. And in the end, those qualities give her peaceful mind and life improvement - in short, happiness.

Oh Marty, you rightly deserve to be happy, and I'm so glad of Hardy's ending to this story. It's always about a woodlander who is true to her heart and land, from the beginning to the end.

1st Impression on Rural Hours by Susan Fenimore Cooper

Painting: Woman Walking on a Forest Trail by Vasily Polenov

Susan Fenimore Cooper was the daughter of the great American novelist: James Fenimore Cooper, who wrote The Last of the Mohicans, and "whom she served as devoted companion and amanuensis until his death in 1851." [source: Britannica]

Encouraged by her father, Susan wrote her first novel: Elinor Wyllys; or, The Young Folk of Longbridge, under the pseudonym Amabel Penfeather. It was published in 1845.

Besides a writer, Susan was also, what one might call, an amateur naturalist. She loved to observe nature and rural country life of her village: Cooperstown, New York, during her walks and excursions. It was from her journals on these subject, that Rural Hours was published in 1850, with quite a big success.

Despite of not putting her name as the writer (it's written only as "by a Lady"), her book was by no means unnoticed by her contemporaries. Even Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist at that time, had mention Susan's book in his letter to a friend:

“Talking of books, I am in middle of one which pleases me…’Miss Cooper’s Journal of a Naturalist.’ Who is she? She seems a very clever woman & gives a capital account of the battle between our & your weeds”. - [source: Wikipedia]

(Rural Hours was also published as "Journal of a Naturalist").

Rural Hours was even believed to be the inspiration of Thoreau's Walden:
"Rural Hours in particular has been called the first major work of environmental literary nonfiction by an American woman writer, both a source and a rival of Thoreau's Walden" - [source: Wikipedia]

From her very first journal entry (Saturday, March 4th), I was instantly hooked; but it was her entry about birds which completely won my heart. I love birds, though living in a big city don't give me much opportunity to get to know them intimately. I'm contented enough to watch them flying and feeding on the trees outside my apartment window. Fortunately, I have a neighbor who's also a bird lover. Every morning she puts a plate of grains to feed birds around here outside her balcony. The visitors are mostly Old World Sparrows and two or three Black Pigeons. While the smaller one: Estrildid Finches are usually flying around and feeding on the trees. It's hard to see them, but I know where they are from their twittering. Also regular visitors to this area are Zebra Doves with their cute head movements when walking on the ground, and Sooty-headed bulbul with their beautiful singing voices.

Two of my favorite passages so far, are all about birds. I found them interesting mostly because I've never seen nor heard them. I've even checked YouTube videos because I was so curious. It actually added charm to my reading!

"Three large waterfowl also passed along in the same direction; we believed them to be loons; they were in sight only for a moment, owing to the trees above us, but we heard a loud howling cry as they flew past like that of those birds."

 

"The Dipper must indeed be a very singular bird; instead of swimming on the surface of the water like ducks and geese, or beneath like the loons, or wading along the shores like many of the long-legged coast tribes, it actually runs or flies about at will over gravelly beds of mountain streams."

This would be a very slow read for me. So exciting to explore the birds and flowers together with Cooper, all through the four seasons! Will report back my final thoughts in the next few weeks - or more!

1st Impression on.... A New Blog Feature

Lately I have a bursting energy to blog, so you’ll see several new excited things to come on Fanda Classiclit within this month!

I have a certain reading habit, especially when reading from an author new to me or an intriguing book. I usually form my impression based on the first 50-ish pages of the book. If they fail to impress me, then I will, either dump it altogether, or seek further reasons why continuing would be worth it. That's how this new blog feature: 1st Impression on... came to mind.

How it works

When encountering an intriguing or interesting book (or any book when I feel like it), I will write my first impression of the book, as well as (if any) some related background or facts - or even excerpts - which will further influence my reading.

This feature will serve two purposes:
1. To enhance my own reading experience, and a good reminder of its significance, in case I would find some parts of the book tedious.
2. To simplify my final review, so that I need only to jot down my own thoughts/feelings of the book. Any other important background or related facts, I need only to provide a link to the (earlier) feature post.

I might not use this feature for every book, only when I need or like (read: have time😋) to.

My first post will be of a book I'm reading right now. It's very interesting. Wait for it in a few days!

In the meantime, you might have noticed (or remember?) another blog feature I have started a long while ago: Classic Character (you can see the banner on the sidebar). It's analysis of interesting character(s) from books I've been reading. Tell me if you find some characters you've liked (or disliked)! 😉

Other new features in this Fanda Classiclit:
* Blogger-Inspired Wishlist
* Judging Book by Its Cover (coming soon)

Blogger-Inspired Wishlist, Ep. 1: Christmas Edition

 

Blogger-Inspired Wishlist is a new feature in Fanda Classiclit, where I post recent additions to my wish list, which have been inspired by reviews from my fellow bloggers. It includes some synopsis, as well as some excerpts of the review which have intrigued me, complete with a link to the blogger's original post.

The first episode is Christmas edition; I've added three Christmas books to my wish list, ready for next Christmas reading!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

Inspired by: Joel @ I Would Rather Be Reading 

 
Synopsis:

It follows the outrageous shenanigans of the Herdman siblings, or “the worst kids in the history of the world.”

Ralph, Imogene, Leroy, Claude, Ollie, and Gladys Herdman are an awful bunch. They set fire to Fred Shoemaker’s toolshed, blackmailed Wanda Pierce to get her charm bracelet, and smacked Alice Wendelken across the head. And that’s just the start! When the Herdmans show up at church for the free snacks and suddenly take over the Christmas pageant, the other kids are shocked.

It’s obvious that they’re up to no good. But Christmas magic is all around and the Herdmans, who have never heard the Christmas story before, start to reimagine it in their own way.

From Joel's review:

"... I read this book in less than an hour. While it’s quite funny, I found the book to also be a touching reminder of the true meaning of Christmas."

This would be a delightful and inspiring read!

 

A Country Christmas & Other Christmas Stories  by Louisa May Alcott
Inspired by: Joseph @ The Once Lost Wanderer 

 A short story collection with eleven Christmas stories.

 Table of content:

 • Merry Christmas • A Christmas Dream and How It Came True • Becky's Christmas Dream • Kitty's Class Day • Rosa's Tale • Tilly's Christmas • The Abbot's Ghost, or Maurice Treherne's Temptation • What the Bell Saw and Said • A Christmas Turkey, and How It Came • The Little Red Purse • A Country Christmas

Actually Joseph only read one short story: A Country Christmas, but I found this collection in Google Play Book, and thought, why not? It seems a perfect Christmas read!

From Joseph's review:

"She creates interest and empathy for her characters and paints picturesque visions of the quaint countryside with mere words:

It was very lovely on the hill, for far as the eye could reach lay the wintry landscape sparkling with the brief beauty of sunshine on virgin snow. Pines sighed overhead, hardy birds flitted to and fro, and in all the trodden spots rose the little spires of evergreen ready for its Christmas duty. Deeper in the wood sounded the measured ring of axes, the crash of falling trees, while the red shirts of the men added color to the scene, and a fresh wind brought the aromatic breath of newly cloven hemlock and pine.

It was very sweet, very poignant, very enjoyable."

Well, how can one not love it already?

 

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
Inspired by: Robin @ A Fondness of Reading

 Synopsis:

Originally emerging from a piece written for radio, the poem was recorded by Thomas in 1952. The story is an anecdotal retelling of a Christmas from the view of a young child and is a romanticised version of Christmases past, portraying a nostalgic and simpler time. It is one of Thomas' most popular works.

From Robin's review:

"I felt like I was sitting by the fire, being read to, and it made his childhood Christmas memories even more poignant."

Sounds delightful! The e-book copy I've added to my wish list comes with beautiful colorful illustrations too!


So, what do you think of this new feature?


Other blog features that might also interest you:
* Classic Character
* 1st Impression on... (coming soon)