May 2014 Reads

Had a much better reading month in May, finishing 45 books.  40 out of 45 were first-time reads and the majority were read in a language other than English (although in some cases, there are English translations available).  Making progress toward meeting my 50x4 reading challenge, as I read several books in Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese.  Other challenges are progressing as well, although for one I'm currently behind pace by a half-dozen books or so (but with expectations for catching up in June).  Now for the list:

90  Danilo Kiš, Rani jadi (Serbian; short fiction collection; excellent)

91  Danilo Kiš, Early Sorrows (re-read; short fiction collection; excellent)

92  Jeff VanderMeer, Authority (already reviewed)

93  Marie NDiaye, Three Strong Women (2014 IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize finalist; very good)

94  Rose Fox and Daniel José Older, Long Hidden:  Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History (might write more about this later; anthology)

95  Rodrigo Rey Rosa, La orilla africana (Spanish; very good)

96  Gérard de Nerval, Aurélia; Les Nuits d'octobre; Pandora; Promenades et souvenirs (French; very good)

97  Daša Drndić, Sonnenschein (Croatian; very good)

98  Daša Drndić, Trieste (very good)

99  Anne Carson, Red Doc> (prose poetry; very good)

100  Hilda Hilst, With My Dog Eyes (very good)

101  David Grossman, Falling Out of Time (poetry; review forthcoming)

102  Rivka Galchen, American Innovations (short fiction collection; review forthcoming)

103  Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted (review forthcoming)

104  Max Brooks, The Harlem Hellfighters (graphic novel; non-fiction; review forthcoming)

105  Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance (already reviewed)

106  Andrzej Sapkowski, Víbora (Spanish; already reviewed)

107  Andrzej Sapkowski, Żmija (Polish; already reviewed)

108  Andrzej Sapkowski, La Tarde Dorada (Spanish; good)

109  Carlos Labbé, Nativad y Matanza (Spanish; review forthcoming)

110  Carlos Labbé, Nativad and Matanza (review forthcoming)

111  Marco Magini, Come fossi solo (Italian; 2014 Premio Strega finalist; very good)

112  Javier Negrete, La higa del Nilo (Spanish; very good)

113  Emma Donoghue, Frog Music (review forthcoming)

114  Jeff VanderMeer, Aniquilación (Spanish; already reviewed the English original)

115  Donatella di Pietrantonio, Bella Mia (Italian; 2014 Premio Strega finalist; good)

116  Jean Echenoz, Je M'en Vais (French; Prix Goncourt winner; excellent)

117  Elisa Ruotolo, Ovunque, proteggici (Italian; 2014 Premio Strega finalist; good)

118  Jean Echenoz, 14 (French; very good)

119  Atiq Rahimi, Syngué sabour:  Pierre de patience (French; Prix Goncourt winner; very good)

120  Gilles Leroy, Alabama Song (French; Prix Goncourt winner; very good)

121  Pascal Quignard, Les Ombres errantes (French; Prix Goncourt winner; excellent)

122  Luiz Bras, Sozinho no deserto extremo (re-read; Portuguese; very good)

123  Juan Gabriel Vásquez, El ruido de las cosas al caer (re-read; Spanish; Premio Alfaguara winner; review forthcoming)

124  Umberto Eco, Come si fa una tesi di laurea (Italian; non-fiction; very good)

125  Niccolò Ammaniti, Ti prendo e ti porto via (Italian; good)

126  Patrice Nganang, Tempo de chien (French; very good)

127  José Luiz Passos, O sonâmbulo amador (2013 Portugal Telecom Literary Prize winner; Portuguese; very good)

128  Erico Verissimo, Ana Terra (Portuguese; decent)

129  Alice Vieira, Viagem à roda do meu nome (re-read; Portuguese; YA; already reviewed)

130  Estelle Faye, Porcelaine (French; 2014 Gran Prix de l'imaginaire finalist; very good)

131  Valter Hugo Mãe, o filho do mil homens (Portuguese; very good)

132  Ana Luisa Amaral, Inversos:  poesía 1990-2010 (Portuguese; poetry; very good)

133  Francesco Pecoraro, La vita in tempo di pace (Italian; 2014 Premio Strega finalist; very good)

134  Valter Hugo Mãe, o remorso de baltazar serapião (re-read; Portuguese; very good)


Updated Yearly Goals: 

Spanish:  32/50 (ahead of pace by 12; 7 read this month)

Portuguese:  18/50 (behind pace by 2; 7 read this month)

French:  20/50 (roughly on pace; 8 read this month)

Italian:  22/50 (ahead of pace by 2; 6 read this month)

Women writers:  43/134 (behind pace by 3%; 14 read this month, or 31% for the month)