Olympic Book Tag

~ Lory

I’m back from break with a fun event from It Starts at Midnight – the Olympic Book Tag! Though personally I would be more into a Bookolympics, it’s hard to avoid getting somewhat excited about the Games, especially when they are happening in the country next door. And it was irresistible to take on the challenge of plugging some of my reading from this year into the various categories.

This year I had the particular pleasure of getting to see the Olympic Torch while I was on a visit to Chartres, France. It just happened to be passed from one bearer to another right in front of the apartment building where I was staying!

It’s quite a parade. First to approach were trucks selling Olympic merchandise, then several buses full of torch bearers — there are about 12 people listed for the Chartres stage alone, and I guess dozens of them must tag along for at least part of the whole journey.

Then, more vehicles, and police on motorcycles and a man in a white suit appeared. He spent some time practicing the “pass” with a police officer, and both posed for photos.

Finally, the woman carrying the torch jogged into view, with a crowd of people and more vehicles following behind her. The passing occurred, and the man ran onward toward the Hippodrome where an official ceremony would take place. (Sadly, I was not able to figure out who these two particular people were.)

Anyway, I’m glad I happened to be there for that particular moment, and I hope you enjoyed seeing these photos.

And now, on to the books!

Actor and director Sarah Polley’s memoir-in-essays of a life fraught with danger had me gripped from page one.

You can’t get much richer in culture than the Met. This memoir by a former museum guard reminded me to stop and look more closely at what’s around me.

I am reading Madame Bovary as part of my personal “Summer in Other Languages” challenge, aiming to finish within three months. It’s very slow going for me in the original French, but it’s also hard to motivate myself to read such a sad and painful story. Nevertheless, I shall persist…

Not exactly sobbing, but I shed a happy tear or two at the conclusion of Eva Ibbotson’s wonderfully satisfying romance set in a pre-war opera company in Austria.

I thought Patrick Stewart’s memoir of his life on stage and screen was a solid winner, and not just for fans of Star Trek.

This book won’t be out till December, but it’s worth watching for if you’re interested in exploring fascinating, vanishing customs from around the world.

I think this is the longest book I’ve read this year, but with its multi-generational saga of a family affected by a medical mystery in India, it flew by.

A book that literally delves underground to reveal the weird and secret lives of moles, as well as the people who work as mole catchers.

A lovely book about a marriage that’s been tested by tragedy, written in short mini-essays.

The future is scary, but Brian McLaren helped me to see the kind of courage and love we need to get through it and retain our humanity.

An unusual friendship is at the heart of this very sweet Japanese novel about overcoming prejudice and celebrating life.

A romantic comedy in which a professional cellist finds her life changed through one eventful summer in the country.

The finale of Joan Aiken’s Felix Brooke trilogy, each of which contains at least one doozy of a twist.

As consolation, I don’t think anybody can say for sure what really happened in Henry James’s classic ghost story.

A hero of the French Revolution would encounter a lot of fighting, but most interestingly, this book is also about the fight for racial equality.

Though the ending was a bit weak, I always enjoy revisiting the world of dance and theatre with Noel Streatfeild.

I failed to detect the charm in this Japanese novella.

The main character in this trilogy set in ancient Pompeii is a courtesan torn between maintaining security through her patron and finding happiness with the slave she truly loves. In the final volume, the situation comes to a crisis, assisted by the eruption of Vesuvius.

Following The Salt Path and The Wild Silence, Raynor Winn and her husband set out on another epic journey, walking from Scotland back to their home in Cornwall.

This fun children’s story is centered around a cat who mysteriously turns into a woman.

I loved all parts of Kiyash Monsef’s debut fantasy, but found the ending particularly poignant.

A champion figure skater whose career faltered under pressure exposes some of the unhealthy dark side behind the excitement and glamour of one of my favorite Olympic sports.

Thank you Shannon for organizing the event!

What would you choose for some of these prompts?

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8 thoughts on “Olympic Book Tag”

  1. This tag is fun but at my present stage of general commitments far too complicated for me to even think about starting to compile a list to fulfill all the categories! But I did enjoy what you chose, given that I’ve only actually read three of the titles you mention.

    We recorded the opening ceremony so as to skip the more tedious bits, and I have to say the highlight was Céline Dion singing the Edith Piaf song at the end, but I did enjoy the ghostly animatronic horse on the Seine, the parkour bits on the roofs, and absolutely insane performance involving Lady Gaga. How I’ll view the remaining Olympic events will be in the lap of the gods …

    1. I haven’t watched the Olympics at all for years but I am enjoying the gymnastics this year. Things have changed a lot in the women’s event, in a good way I think.

  3. How exciting to see the torch being passed! I’d guess not many people get to see that in person. I have The Covenant of Water on my list but haven’t committed the time to it yet. I keep waiting for the right time, but not sure when that will ever be. ha. Glad you read Life After Doom as well. It was both sad and encouraging to me at the same time.

    1. The Covenant of Water was a long book but it just flew by as I could not stop reading. It should be reserved for when you can let other things go by the wayside.

  4. Ah, I had a whole comment typed up, and my “nonce verification failed”. This seems to happen on so many WP sites, no idea why! Anyway, I will try to remember what I said hahah

    So first, thank you for sharing those amazing pictures of the torch passing! It is so cool that you were able to see them in person, I imagine very few people get that chance!

    And thank you for doing the tag, too! I had so much fun with the Olympics this year that I have already started revamping it for 2028, I am thinking of new sports and prompts, and I think I will add a Linky in 2026, too! The only book I have read from your list is Temple of Fortuna, but agreed! And the figure skater book looks really interesting, too! I will have to add that one to my list!

    1. Ugh, sorry about the comment problem. I hope they resolve it soon.

      Looking forward to joining in again in 4 years! I doubt I’ll be in place to see the torch next time, but who knows? I might get lucky again!

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