Announcing Zoladdiction 2023 #Zoladdiction2023

Zoladdiction turns TEN this year! Who would’ve thought I will host this event for ten years? For you who are not familiar with it, Zoladdiction is a reading event on April, to celebrate the birthday of Émile Zola. It is mainly because we love Zola's writings, and also to get more and more people to appreciate his works.

For you who haven't read Zola, it is the perfect time to get started! This is my personal guide to read Zola if you don't have idea where to start.

For the whole month, then, we will read, post, and talk about Émile Zola - his life, his works, and his influences.

How It Works

• Pick any of Zola's works, or Zola's biography, and read them. Any books about Zola by other writers are acceptable too.
• Post your review/thoughts on your blog/social media (you can use hashtag #Zoladdiction2023).
• But I also encourage you to go beyond reading… Yes, we will still read Zola, but during April we can also share/post/tweet/talk about just any thing related to Zola. A book you're reading reminds you of Zola? Share it! Found Zola's quote on Twitter? Retweet it! Or Zola-ish picture/caricature on Instagram? Make a story of it! Watched movie about Zola? Share it! Anything.
• Don’t have time to read one book? Worry not, a short story or an essay is equally good.
• To participate, simply leave comment on this post, or mention me on Twitter, using hashtag #Zoladdiction2023, and tell us your plans for Zoladdiction (it might inspire others).
• If you want, you may grab and put Zoladdiction 2023 banner on your blog, so that others might aware about this event.
• If you blog about your participation, leave the link in comment box.
• Linky will be provided in the Master Post (will be published on April 2nd). You can submit links to your Zola posts (either on blog or social media) there.
• To celebrate Zola’s birthday on April 2nd, there will also be an Émile Zola Tag, which we can share and have fun (I will post about this around mid March, so you can prepare your posts beforehand).

So, would you join me? What's your plan?

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS (so far)

1. Fanda - will read The Ladies' Paradise (re-read) & Doctor Pascal
2. Gypsi @ Gypsi Reads - will read Germinal
3. JaneGS @ Reading, Writing, Working, Playing - will read ?
4. Mallika @ Literary Potpourri - will read ?
5. Brona @ Brona's Book - will read L'Assommoir
6. Alok @alokranj - will read biography/critical study
7. You!  

Six Degree of Separation, from Passages to Rebecca

Six Degrees of Separation is a meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best.
On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month we start from a book I haven't read:

0. Passages by Gail Sheehy

Subtitle: Predictable Crises of Adult Life

A non fiction self-help book about how one manage each life crisis occurred during one's lifetime. Either we are entering our 20s, 30s, or even 70s or 80s, there would be changes in every phase, which might turn into crises. Quoting from Goodreads synopsis: "You'll see how to use each life crisis as an opportunity for creative change." Creative change (during a life crisis) is the key to my first chain, that leads to a book I've read two years ago:

1. Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The book is about a group of elderly residents of a retirement village who turn into sleuths. Each of the four faces her/his own life crisis, from loneliness, physical limitation, to taking care of a dementia spouse. But they don't succumb to inactivity. On the contrary, they turn their helplessness into creativity - solving murders. Who would have thought that four helpless elderly could fight against murderer(s)? They are the most unlikely group of sleuths you'd ever get! My second chain is another unlikely sleuths duo, who come from much younger generation:

2. Mistletoe and Murder (Murder Most Unladylike #5) by Robin Stevens

This is a children (teenager?) murder mystery, with two English schoolgirls in 1930s become sleuth. The book I read is the fifth of the series, and it contains beautiful perfect Christmas vibes while they are solving a murder during Christmas holiday in snowy Cambridge. Another book I've read last year with the same beautiful Christmas vibes is:

3. The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

This is a perfect Christmas book - equal to A Christmas Carol - which speak about love, family, and forgiveness. A wealthy but cantankerous and bitter widower hired poor children to enliven his mansion on Christmas. That he was alone, is entirely his own fault. He banished her daughter after her elopement, and hence the separation between father and daughter. Although of different circumstances, these father and daughter in my fourth chain are also separated, which caused their unhappiness:

4. Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M.Montgomery

Jane unhappily spent her early years with her mother in her grandmother's snobbish, cold house, always thinking her father is dead. It turns out he's alive, and now invites her to stay the summer with him in a small village of Lantern Hill. The beautiful scenery and the sense of freedom enables her to love. And with love, her personality changes. It's astonishing how nature compels one to love. At first I thought it might be a bit exaggerated, but the next book I read was surprisingly shared similar theme, and so I picked it to be my fifth chain:

5. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Four dissimilar women rent a medieval castle in Italy with beautiful scenery for a month. Each has her own reason to escape life routine, and spent a rejuvenating holiday. Nature is an important role in this story. Two of the women - Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot - arrived in the dark of the night, and on the way up to the castle, were first welcomed by profusion of flowers, which they realized the next morning to be wisterias.

"All down the stone steps on either side were periwinkle in full flower, and [Mrs Arbuthnot] could now see what it was that had caught at her the night before and brushed, wet and scented, across her face. It was wisteria."

I felt that the wisterias isn't just flowers here, it's almost like a character of its own, symbolizes warmth and love from mother nature. And that reminds me of another book, in which flowers also becomes character to the story. And this will become my last chain:

6. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Like the two women in The Enchanted April, on her first arrival at her new home, Manderley, Mrs. de Winter was also "welcomed" by the profusion of rhododendrons.

"...on either side of us was a wall of colour, blood-red, reaching far above our heads. We were amongst the rhododendrons. [...] They startled me with their crimson faces, massed one upon the other in incredible profusion..."

The rhododendrons represent the enigmatic Rebecca with her strong destructive passionate personality. How much different it is with the tenderness of the wisterias in The Enchanted April, with its capability of rehabilitation; but nonetheless, each flower has its own power on our protagonists.

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I was so satisfied by how these chain turn out beautifully. I've thought this one will be slightly difficult because we have a non fiction for the starter, but it turned out to be the easiest and best one I've worked out so far!

Leaving February Behind, Welcoming March!

credit: Vecteezy

February is always the wettest month of the year, it rains heavily almost every afternoon, just at the end of office hours! While it's rather annoying, it also means I can enjoy my reading more.

📚 Books Read in February

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (started in January)
A very entertaining audio sensation of an old classic.
Read from: audio book

Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery - for We 🖤 L.M. Montgomery Week
A jolly delightful book!
Read from: e-book

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (unreviewed yet) - 1st Impression
A blissful read of a beautiful inspiring book.
Read from: audiobook / printed book combo

Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk (The Dancer) by Ahmad Tohari (unreviewed yet) - 1st Impression
Surprisingly, I liked it. Tragic, but very beautifully written.
Read from: printed book

A Singer's Romance by Willa Cather (short story)
A sweet, straightforward story.
Read from: e-book


📚 Started but unfinished yet

* Rural Hours by Susan Fenimore Cooper (e-book) - 1st Impression
I have started on January, and my progress has been very slow because I'm savouring Susan's daily walks and observations.

* The Ladies' Paradise by Émile Zola (audiobook) - a re-read, preparing for Zoladdiction in April

📚 Reading Events attended

We ❤ L.M. Montgomery Week, hosted by Hamlette @ Hamlette’s Soliloqui
It was a fun blog party! We get to know new bloggers with lovely posts, a chance to win prizes, several games. My contribution:
- reviewing Jane of Lantern Hill
- analyzing cover art of Jane of Lantern Hill
- answering The L.M.M. Tag

I thank Hamlette for hosting this, and wish she would host another next year. But if not, this has been a cheerful one!



📚 2023 Statistics

📊 Total books read so far: 6
📊 Total short stories read so far: 2
📊 Challenges progress:
* 2023 TBR Pile Challenge: 3
* 2023 Victorian Reading Challenge: 1
* 2023 Audiobook Challenge: 3



📚 What's happening in March

🔸️Reading a non fiction: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (e-book) - I've wanted to read my newly-fore-edge-painted copy, but decided to keep it intact, and read the e-book version instead. 🤣

🔸️Continuing Rural Hours (10% more from e-book) and the audio book of The Ladies' Paradise (the latter will stretch on until April)

🔸️If I can finish above books sooner, I might begin with Stone of Chastity by Margery Sharp sooner for The 1940 Club week on April.

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Crime Fiction Authors I Love to Read/Re-read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week's prompt is... Freebie! I've always been a fan of crime/mystery novels, so this is my...

Top Ten Crime Fiction Authors I Love to Read/Reread

Agatha Christie

Most of my childhood reads were dominated by Agatha Christie. And ever since, I've read almost all of her crime novels. So far, no one has ever surpassed her style in the crime novel universe, and perhaps no one ever will.

Now I am on my way to re-reading all her novels, and starting next year will also read and review all her short stories as stand alone works (not in collections or omnibuses). In short, I might keep reading Christie perpetually during the rest of my life!

Dorothy L. Sayers

Christie's contemporary in the golden-age-of-detective-fiction lore, and are often praised as her equal. But she wasn't! I've only read Whose Body? so far, and although I rather like Lord Peter Wimsey, but I found it rather soulless. But I'm ready to read more of Sayers", who knows, I might like her more some day, though she'll never equal the queen!

Laurie R. King

Confession: I don't really like Sherlock Holmes. He's too dull for my liking. But when Laurie R. King wrote about Holmes from the point of view of Mary Russell - Holmes' apprentice then wife - I actually kinda like him! Maybe Doyle's Holmes is just to masculine. He needs a feminine touch!

I have read about five or six from King's Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, and intend to read more.

Richard Osman

Amateur sleuth and cozy mystery are one perfect combination. Osman's sleuths are extraordinary, four elderly who live in the same retirement community. Unexpected, funny, and sometimes touching. I've read the first of the series: The Thursday Murder Club, and can't wait to read the next book!

Robin Stevens

Another unlikely amateur sleuths in a cozy mystery series from Robin Stevens. It's actually a children (teenager) murder mystery. The sleuths are two schoolgirls in 1930s England. Very refreshing! I've read only the Christmas edition: Mistletoe Murder, but intend to start over from the first book.

Stephanie Barron

OK, one more cozy mystery won't hurt. Barron has impressed me last year with an unusual combo of murder mystery and a famous author. Jane Austen turns sleuth! My first introduction to the Being Jane Austen Mystery series was also the Christmas edition: Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas, and loved it. Can't wait to return to that charming universe!

G.K. Chesterton

The only book from Chesterton I've ever read is The Innocence of Father Brown in 2018. Another of unlikely amateur sleuth, a Catholic pastor! I rather missed him, though I've wished Chesterton had written at least one novel of Father Brown, instead of 53 short stories. But well...


The next three authors are those whose books I've never read, but curious enough to try some day.

Ngaio Marsh

Another confession: until very recently, I've always thought Ngaio Marsh is a male! 😋 Dame Ngaio Marsh was Agatha Christie's contemporary. I've only read one book when I was at high school (don't even remember the title). I wasn't very impressed at that time, but I'm curious to have another try. Have you read her? Any title recommendation?

P.D. James

Another female author from the golden age detective stories era I haven't read, though I've heard a lot of praises for her book. What's your favorite from James?

Jessica Fellowes

The last one is a contemporary cozy mystery author, who is the niece of Julian Fellowes- the creator of Downton Abbey TV series & movie. Since I, for some reasons, will most probably never watch Downton Abbey again, it's a real pleasant to have found a murder mystery with very similar style and period as Downton Abbey. I can't wait to start reading Fellowes's Mitford Mystery series!


Found a favorite authors of yours? Any other crime authors you like that you'd recommend?

A Singer's Romance by Willa Cather: A Short Story #WCSSP2023

💗 Our second Willa Cather's short story for #WCSSP2023 project has a very different tone from last month's. It is very short, light, and straightforward; and very appropriate too for a February read - a romance!

💗 Frau Selma Schumann is an opera singer. She had zealously worked hard her entire life to achieve the present level. Not that she minds it, as hard working is a spirit she inherited from her father. But at forty two years old, she begins to have a little regret for never having tasted the sweet taste of romance.

💗 The story begins on a rainy night when she is about to leave Metropolitan Opera House after finishing her performance. Struggling to replace her wind-swept mantilla, she dropped her jewels bag. A handsome Latin man with black hair, mustache, and a red carnation in his buttonhole, sprightly lept to snatch it, and returned it to the owner with a bow.

"The New Yorker" by Constantin Alajalov, 1937

💗 The incident is only one of several occasions where this signorino always appeares wherever Madam goes with her valuable maid/companion Antoinette. Antoinette is an orphan, daughter of a former opera singer, whom Frau Schumann took into her service.

💗 Naturally Madame believes the signorino is attracted to her. But why does he never say anything, nor attempt to communicate with her? She has even manoeuvred some incidents to let him take the first move. But nothing happens. Meanwhile, Madame decided to look after her appearance more carefully, and stop drinking champagne. Still, nothing happens. When she finally hears signorino's voice, things turned out very unexpectedly, and so she turns back to champagne again.

💗 Overall, it is a sweet, but melancholy story; a little humorous but ironic. It reminds me of Song of the Lark - the same hardworking women, sacrificing their private lives to be successful opera singers. And what then? They might or might not be successful, but in the end, is it all worth it?

💗 I quite love this story, although it's not the usual Cather's quality writing I always expect of her, it's sweet, simple, and entertaining.

Rating: 4 / 5

 

My Gorgeous Fore-Edge Painted Book!

Have you ever been longing to own a book with gorgeous fore-edge painting? "A fore-edge painting is a scene painted on the edges of book pages." (Wikipedia)

I have! I've seen some on Etsy, but they are so expensive, and one cannot choose the book, nor the scene, to be painted. I am very fortunate though, that one of my best bookish friends: Melisa (twitter: @melmarian) is not only an avid reader like myself, but also a wonderfully talented artist! One of her best works is fore-edge book paintings, and she has been opening commissions for some time.

Since February is my birthday month, I've treated myself with Melisa's gorgeous fore-edge painting on my copy of All Creatures Great and Small (James Herriot). I love the cover art, with the English rural village vibes. And so, I ordered more 'English-villagey' scenes to be painted on. Here's the result:

the cover

the fore-edge painting, gorgeous isn't it??

I specifically asked Melisa to paint the wooden fence and... a cute Robin!

...also the flower bushes to add more cheerfulness to the scene..

if you wonder about the top and bottom
edges, they are painted plain green

Do you own fore-edge painted books? Did you actually read it? Or do you keep it save, and just read an e-book version instead for fearing you might spoil the paint?? 

The LMM Tag

This week we are celebrating L.M. Montgomery in a blog party, hosted by Hamlette. Here's a tag about LMM, with my answers:

1. Who introduced you to L. M. Montgomery's writing?  Tell us the story!
No one, really. My first introduction to L.M. Montgomery was Anne of Green Gables. I read and reviewed it (in Bahasa Indonesia) in 2009, and it was among the first books which influenced me to love classics. 

2. What LMM books have you read?
As far as I can remember, only Anne of Green Gables (shame on me!) I owned a book rental then an online second-hand bookstore back in 2015-2018, and during that time I’ve purchased translations of the Anne series, which my clients love, but I didn’t remember ever read them.

3. What movies or shows based on her books have you watched?
Anne with an E on Netflix – loved it! And it brought back memories of reading LMM. I’ve been wanting to read more of Anne's since that!

4. Which LMM character is your kindred spirit, the one you'd like to hang out with in real life?
I would love to hang out with Jane Victoria Stuart from Jane of Lantern Hill. She’s amiable and relates much with nature. It would be awesome to take a stroll and maybe a little picnic with her!

5. Which LMM character do you relate to the most?  And why?
I’m not sure, but maybe Diana from Anne of Green Gables? I didn’t remember her much, but from Anne with an E TV series, she seems calm and mature, always wants to please others. Yet, courageous enough to stand on her own (well... thanks to her friendship with Anne, of course)

6. Have you ever been to Prince Edward Island?
Nope, though I would love to if I had chance to go abroad some day!

7. Who is your favorite LMM heroine?
Since I’ve read only two LMM’s so far, I don’t have much to choose from, so I’ll go with Jane Victoria Stuart.

8. Who is your favorite LMM hero?
Jane’s father: Andrew Stuart

9. Do you have any fun merch related to her books?  If so, please share some photos!
No. I seldom collect bookish merch anyway. 😊

10. What are some of your favorite LMM quotations?

"There is no pleasure in life like the joy of achievement." ~ Jane of Lantern Hill

“I can talk a blue streak when the spirit moves me. When it doesn't I like people to let me be.” ~ Jane of Lantern Hill