Yes! It started yesterday and today I named it. That is logic and planning at their finest. I’m starting a new page in the drop-down 2012 challenges section so as to keep track of what I’ve watched, read and (hopefully) learnt.
It’s called the Cultural Buffet Challenge because I’m hoping to read books from at least 20 countries, of which at least 3 are in Spanish and 17 are in French.
Finally, I’ll try to review 10 of the books…. Or maybe 15. We’ll see!
The films have to include 4 re-watches and 10 in French or Spanish.
So far, so good!
I’ve read:
1) The Spellman Files – Lisa Lutz
2) Kazakhstan: a journey across post-Soviet Central Asia – Laurence Deonna
3) The Gourmand – Muriel Barbery
4) The Character of Rain – Amélie Nothomb
5) Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum – Mark Stevens
And I’ve seen:
1) The Full Monty (U.K.) – re-watch
2) How to Train your Dragon (U.S.)
Wild Night In 
TBM
May 25, 2012 at 13:31
Cool idea!
wildnightin
May 25, 2012 at 20:27
Thanks. Coming from you that means something. 🙂
thelupinelibrarian
May 25, 2012 at 19:45
Are you accepting suggestions or do you have a list all planned out?
wildnightin
May 25, 2012 at 20:29
So far I’ve read every hapless book that’s crossed my path but I am totally open to suggestions. Fire away! 😀
thelupinelibrarian
May 26, 2012 at 17:58
Hmmm…for the United States category, have you read anything by Dave Eggers? He is one of my favorite authors (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is probably my favorite thing that he has written). I also recently enjoyed Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (it’s YA fiction, but very well written) and art by Maira Kalman. Do either of these ring a bell?
wildnightin
May 27, 2012 at 12:20
Dave Eggers! I’ve heard of him but have never thought to read his books. I will search for a copy on Monday. 🙂 I’ve not heard of ‘Why We Broke Up’ but it looks really original- the blurb’s caught my eye. I wonder if they’ll have a copy in the library… Thanks for the suggestions!
thelupinelibrarian
May 27, 2012 at 20:57
No problem, I love to suggest books. If I think of any others, I’ll let you know 🙂 Good luck with your challenge-it sounds very ambitious, but I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of it.
SynthesistChronicles
May 26, 2012 at 16:23
For your French film category I recently watched and loved “Coco”, with Audrey Tautou as Coco. In the Spanish film category I recently watched “Sex and Lucia”. Don’t let the title throw you, it was a very unique film about a writer with some very surprising plot turns.
wildnightin
May 26, 2012 at 21:34
I haven’t seen ‘Coco’ for a while, thanks for reminding me of its existence. 🙂 ‘Sex and Lucia’ looks like a really interesting Spanish film. Thanks for the suggestions. Do you often watch foreign films?
SynthesistChronicles
May 26, 2012 at 21:55
I do watch a lot of foreign films (in proportion to the amount of films that I watch, which doesn’t seem like all that many lately). I get very tired of American movies, with it’s hard sell of female objectification, narrow conceptions of machismo, and the cultural-centric view of the world that they tend to endorse. Not that all American films are so shallow, by any means, but it does seem that a lot of the mainstream films fall into that category. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re watching and getting some recommendations from your reviews!