My “reading challenge” postings (12/6/10 and 12/7/10) have produced plenty of wonderful surprises. Here are some comments about the surprises and a few of my observations.

I began by suggesting (perhaps somewhat tongue-in-cheek) that I would dare to limit myself to a self-imposed “reading challenge” for 2011 that would include a mere half-dozen authors and titles; moreover, I would limit myself to “first-rate novels from the 18th through the 21st centuries featuring crimes, detection, and punishments.” Then, after posting my off-the-cuff list of novels by Hogg, Collins, Dostoevsky, Hammett, Eco, and Waters, I invited bloggers to offer their own suggestions for other authors and titles.

(Note: The Moonstone, which I have begun, is an absolute treasure! The congenial narrative style is particularly commendable.)

First, I am pleased with the eclectic suggestions, all of which will be accumulated, sorted, and republished in my revised “reading challenge” (coming soon!)—an adjustable list that will certainly keep me entertained and challenged throughout 2011.

(Note: I would remind everyone that the polls remain open, and I look forward to other bloggers’ nominations for their half-dozen lists.)

Second, I am surprised by the advice implied in many of the suggested authors and titles that I need to expand upon my definition of what constitutes a novel of “crime, detection, and punishment.” Clearly, when eagerly embraced titles like Gilgamesh, The Iliad, Njal’s Saga, and Our Mutual Friend have been suggested, my rather traditional understanding of “crime, detection, and punishment” must be reconsidered.

Now, with all of that having been said, what kinds of “crimes” and “punishments” do you find particularly well represented in books (including fiction, drama, poetry, nonfiction, etc.), especially in texts that readers may not normally think of when making their lists of crime stories?

From Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises

In Chapter XIII, the hotel owner Montoya and the journalist Jake Barnes, the narrator in the novel, discuss the understated but essential importance of being passionate about the bull-fights.
(I would note in passing that the rituals of the bull-fights and the rituals of the Catholic Church—seemingly separate, different, and unrelated to some readers—serve as profound touchstones for the fundamental values in the novel.)

I would make the following observations: Montoya is an indisputably exemplary individual, and Jake is a physically and emotionally wounded war veteran who strives to become but falls short of being an exemplary individual.

In a previous posting yesterday, I posted my review of the novel Beautiful Somewhere Else. You can read more about the novel and the author at the following link, which is my interview with the author:

In just under two weeks, nonfiction writers will take to their keyboards to begin 30 days of work on a new project. Not only will they start that project, they will finish it. Why? Because that’s the challenge posed by Write Nonfiction in November (WNFIN).

Writing is a very popular past time and hobby for so many reasons, it is something creative to do and achieve and its results are very rewarding.

Starting off is possibly the most difficult thing to do when witting a book, the first day will properly be spent writing things and then deleting them over and over.