Dewey's End of Readathon Survey

I've done it!! I've read for about 13.5 hours in the past 24 hours, which is pretty awesome! I'm not a very fast reader, so it amounts only to 622 pages, but hey, the font was small! :D Check out my progress notes on the bookmark to the right! And here goes the end of the event survey!

Which hour was most daunting for you?
Hour 3, I guess. I always get very sleepy after lunch, and I only had 5 hours of sleep the night before. So I indulged :)

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

The second book that I've started today - Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - is a very funny and easy read, and you also root for the main character

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?
I wish it was not on the weekend after the new Civilization release because keeping my laptop shut down was especially difficult today ;-P But readathon happens about 12 times more often than new Civ games so I guess the chances of this ever happening again are thin))

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Drinking mate tea! Much better than coffee in the long run!

How many books did you read? What were the names of the books you read?
I read the last 2/3 of The Twelve by Justing Cronin and the first half of the abovementioned Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Which book did you enjoy most? Which did you enjoy least?

I guess The Twelve was a bit too intense for a whole-day immersion. Simon is more enjoyable so far, I'll probably continue reading it even though the event has ended))

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Very likely! The event was a blast, especially the twitter discussions and the challenges! Can't thank the organizers enough for putting this together! You're the best!

Dewey's Opening Questions

I'm so excited about the start of readathon!! Hour zero is 10 mins away and here I am taking part in the opening meme: 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Czech Republic!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Kinder surprises! Chocolate - yum!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a Ph.D. student in speech recognition, travel enthusiast, and book lover!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I did participate once but life got in the way. The one thing I'll do differently today is switching off Facebook, hehe:)

Good luck to all of us!

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Sign-Up.

As nothing particularly exciting is going to happen around here this weekend, I plan to SIT AND READ with Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon! Seriously, I think this is the first time I might actually be able to fully participate in this famous and awesome readathon. I'm excited, and I plan to get prepared well: cook the food, shut down facebook and get some good sleep the night before.

Here's a picture of books I'll have to choose from this weekend:

I have the WEM monster by Cervantes, from which I hope to read some chapters, the gripping Cronin masterpiece that I'm already half-way through and hope to finish, and three rather thin books to keep things lively around here. I'm especially excited about Simon, I've read great reviews! Where to you think I should start?

I plan to update my reading progress on Goodreads, which is also shared on Twitter. And maybe I'll do some hourly challenges here if my internet connection behaves. And we'll see how many hours out of 24 I'm able to read)) I'm excited!!

Drop me a link to where you'll be updating if you're planning to participate too!

The Tolkien Tag 2016

Let's get the PARTY started!! A Tolkien Blog Party, no less! And although there's no "of special magnificence" tagline this year, it's still mighty exciting! Thanks for hosting, Hamlette!

So here's to Bilbo and Frodo, and here are my answers to the tag questions:

1. How many books by J.R.R. Tolkien have you read?

Ummm... all of them? Well, maybe except the latest Arthur translation. But I will, you'll see!

2. Have you seen any movies based on them?

And again - all of them. Although, as you can probably guess, I was not a big fan of the latest two.

3. Are there any scenes/moments that make you cry?

I'm an easy crier, so LotR gets me every time, especially with the ending and all of the deaths. Having a drink and some napkins for a LotR movie night is a must! Don't remember if I cried while reading, though, I haven't done it in a while.

4. Are there any scenes/moments that make you laugh?

Oh well all of them with Merry and Pippin. They are just so cute! Gandalf is also one for an occasional good joke.

5. Have you ever chosen a Middle Earth name for yourself? If so, what is it?

Well, it's still with me on every web page that requires a login. It's Arenel - a slightly modified version of Aredhel Ar-Feiniel, who has a breathtaking story in Silmarillion.

6. Who would you want to party with/marry/fight to the death? (pick three characters)

I want to party with the hobbits, obviously! They are the best at the business! For marrying none other than Aragorn is an option, I love him deeply! <3 I wouldn't want to fight anybody to death there, they are all so tough! I'm pretty sure it is my death we'll be fighting to, so what's the difference?)

7. When was the last time you visited Middle Earth, via books or movies?

I bought a beautiful illustrated version of LotR a couple of years ago, and I read maybe half of the first book then. 

8. Do you consider Gollum to be a villain? Why or why not?

It was obviously Tolkien's intention to convince the reader that he's not evil. So I trust the Professor on that one.

9. How would you sum up what Tolkien's stories mean to you in one word?

A safe place that's always there when I need it.

10. List up to ten of your favorite lines/quotes from the books or movies.

I'm the worst at remembering quotes, but I did learn some poetry from LotR by heart. Here's my favorite one:

I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
 
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
 
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
 
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door

Readathon Updates

17.43, Prague time zone

It's the fourth hour of the readathon, and I slept two hours out of these four. Well, it's Saturday, so I'm not even ashamed that much :) I've just finished Spectrum by Sergei Lukyanenko, and it totally blew my mind! I've forgotten how awesome it is, so yay for re-reading! Now I'm gonna finish off the comic books and then concentrate on Malory. That's if nobody calls me for drinks in the city :)

Hope everybody is enjoying it as much as I am!

21.34

It's Saturday evening, and I come to the office in hope of finding someone who can make me coffee there (I'm still scared of our coffee machine) and indeed meet my supervisor there (in case you are wondering, yes, it's completely normal to find people there at odd times, as our research group is awesome!) The coffee machine is broken, but we start discussing what papers we've read and some workshop plans, and then I leave after 2 hours with a couple of new papers to read... So much for reading non-stop today :) On the bright side, I've finished the 8th collection of Y: The Last Man comics, and it's so exciting! I hope to finish it in a couple of hours. See you then!

00.58

Just finished reading Y: The Last Man... The end is so sad and yet it's so cool... I'm really glad I was introduced to this comics!

Now on to some serious reading! Time to finally pick up the Malory chunkster! No more excuses!

11.55

Hi everybody! Guess what? I fell asleep after just like 10 pages of Le Morte D'Arthur, and didn't even set an alarm clock... :( Malory is just sooo sleepy! Okay, I have 2 more hours, and I'm determined to dedicate them to this chunkster!

Readathon Plans

In a couple of hours starts Dewey's readathon and I thought I would post my reading plans for the day (and night). And then we'll see if it goes according to these plans :)

1) Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory - I'm shamefully behind on this one, and I really don't want to lose it with the readalong. Because I'll never read it on my own.

2) Finish Y: The Last Man comics - only 2.5 collections left, and I can't wait to know how it'll end!

3) Spectrum by Sergei Lukyanenko - I started to re-read it while I was searching for a next month's book for my Sci-Fi book club. It's not translated into English, so it's obviously not the choice, but I couldn't resist diving into it again!

4) Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning by Christopher Bishop - I need this for my work, and it's very, very difficult. But if I hit some effective brain work time, I'll struggle through a section or two.

OK, here it is! Now I'm going to have breakfast with a friend and then I'll go straight to reading! Wish me luck!

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX

Art used for banners is the property of Abigail Larson

It's this gloomy and depressing time of the year again (although in my part of the world the weather has already been autumnal for the whole August), and Carl is hosting his annual event for reading all things scary, including mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, Gothic, horror and supernatural genres. If you are interested, HERE is a sign-up post.

I'm in a bi-i-i-ig reading slump right now, so I'll aim low and take up only Peril the Second level, which involves reading only two books. And here's what I'll (hopefully) read for the challenge:

I bought them half a year ago at a used books sale and it's high time to finally read them! I think I'll start with Gaiman, 'cause it's thinner and because I've recently regained my faith in him after several issues of Sandman.

Le Morte D'Arthur Readalong!

Today I want to draw your attention to a wonderful readalong hosted by Jean at Howling Frog Books this late autumn! Le Morte D'Arthur is a classic, and a very thick one, so it's a great idea to have company to read it. If you are interested, please head to the INTRODUCTION POST to learn more about the book and join the fun!

I can't wait to start! :)

March Madness Final Post!

March madness is over! Can you believe it?? It flew by so fast! It was a busy month but overall I'm quite satisfied with my progress. I did not always read what I had planned to, but I did read a lot :) So let's have a last look at my reading lists, shall we?

1) To finish list: zero progress since the first week of March... Paradise Lost just doesn't go together with a busy schedule. Maybe I'll finish it in summer...

2) Read-a-long list: I've started The Warden, but it's not exciting at all and I am in no place to keep concentrated on it now. It's the best at helping me go to sleep though, so it has its uses too.

3) Fantasy and HF list: I'm halfway through A Dance with Dragons and maaaan is it great!

4) Arthurian list: two books is not too shabby, right? I also bought a nice used copy of Le Morte d'Arthur, so I hope I'll start it soon!

5) Unexpected reads list: because life is dull without impulse reads!

So it is 10 books finished in total, which is great! I really enjoyed the event, and I certainly hope it becomes a yearly tradition (hint!). Thank you, Cedar Station, for hosting this! It was a great month!

Once Upon a Time VIII Sign-Up

Once Upon a Time VIII is here! And look at the gorgeous painting! Isn't it awesome? The choice of the buttons is another reason why I love-love-love Carl's events! As if there were not enough reasons to love them without this one, heh :)

This year I'm joining for...

which means I'm going to read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories: fantasy, folklore, fairy tales or mythology. And as I'm getting addicted to the picture lists, here's some books I plan to choose from! The upper row is fantasy, and the lower is Arthurian books.

I'll track my progress here, and we'll see how many I'll actually read :) And HERE is the link to all my posts for the event.

This spring is the spring of writing my thesis, passing the last exams (hopefully!), preparing for the conferences and undergoing some unpleasant medical treatment... So some fantasy is what I'll need in the evenings after all this unless I'm completely devastated :) Perfect timing!

Vintage Sci-Fi Month and Sci-Fi Experience Wrap-Up

Those two events go hand-in hand, but as Vintage Sci-Fi Month concentrates on a narrower slice of sci-fi, namely books published before 1979, let's start the wrap-up with it!

For such a wonderful event one month is not nearly enough! With all the holidays and exams I've managed to read only two vintage sci-fi books:

• Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
• Foundation by Isaac Asimov

The Sci-Fi Experience has a wider scope, as it allows any kind of sci-fi media from any time period. So besides the two already mentioned novels, I read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and watched quite a lot of Star Trek stuff, of which I speak HERE.

Overall, I think those two events went well for me, although I wish I read much more! But I blame my always busy winter schedule :)

Let's Read Plays Wrap Up

A year long Let's Read Plays challenge is at an end, and although I can't say I've read everything I had planned to, it was a success for me anyway :)

Here is what my year-long plan looked like:

• Nov '12 - Shakespeare's Tragedy: Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Dec '12 - Shakespeare's Comedy: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
• Jan '13 - freebie: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
• Feb '13 - Shakespeare's History: Henry V by William Shakespeare
• Mar '13 - Greek: Oedipus the King by Sophocles
• Apr '13 - Shakespeare's Comedy: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
• May '13 - Shakespeare's Tragedy: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• Jun '13 - Oscar Wilde: An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
• Jul '13 - Other author: The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
• Aug '13 - Shakespeare's Comedy: As You Like It by William Shakespeare
• Sep '13 - freebie: The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
• Oct '13 - Shakespeare's Tragedy: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

So, as you see, I've managed to read 10 out of 12 plays. I've missed May and June because of ridiculously huge work and study load, and I knew that if I make myself catch up, the pressure will make me drop it altogether. Besides, those two plays were re-reads anyway.

My favourite was Macbeth. Witches, prophesies, ghosts, menacing atmosphere and AMAZING strong characters (Lady Macbeth, I'm looking at you!) - what else do you need in a play? :) The close second place is shared by A Streetcar Named Desire, The Seagull and Julius Caesar. I didn't really enjoy Shakespeare's comedies a lot, and the only one I can recommend is A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is rather nice in comparison with the others. Sophocles also didn't impress me at all. Chekhov is an all-time favourite of mine, and I will definitely be rereading all his plays someday.

It was a very well-organized event, which worked very well for me, as I read some amazing books, which otherwise I might have put off for a looooong time. Thanks a lot for organizing it, Fanda! I'll be looking forward to any of your future events, as you are a great host! :)

R.I.P. VIII Wrap-Up

This year's R.I.P. event is at an end, and although I was not as successful in it as I hoped back in August, I've done the minimum program. I was planning to read the following books:

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
2. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
3. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe
4. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
5. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

As you see, I have read four of them, and really enjoyed three (you guess yourself which one is left out :) ). As for The Mysteries of Udolpho, it has turned out to be a very long and tedious book, so I'm not even half-way through yet... If the right mood strikes me, I may finish it by the end of the year, but that's already two months past the event finish line :)

There was also one book I didn't really expect to turn out creepy, as I didn't know what to expect of it at all, but as it's Gaiman, surely enough it turned out to be the creepiest of all :)

    6.  The Ocean At The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

So I've done Peril the First level, as it requires only 4 books, and I've read five. It was my first time participating, and I really enjoyed it, as it made me pick up books I've put aside for too long, and some of them I really loved!

Looking forward to the next year! :)

It's R.I.P. VIII Time!

This will be my first R.I.P. event, and I have been looking forward to it and collecting books I want to read :) So from September 1st to October 31st I'm planning to read some of the following:

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
2. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
3. The Ocean At The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
4. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe
5. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
6. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

I am thus going for Peril the First level, which means I'm pledging to read at least four creepy books. Quite doable, I think! :)

Once Upon a Time VII Wrap-Up

Once Upon a Time challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings was a very nice event - no stress, but motivated me to pick up some great books. Now it is finished, and I want to recap what I have read for the challenge.

My goal was to complete Quest the First, that is simply to read 5 books falling somewhere into the categories, but I ended up completing Quest the Third, which means I not only read 5 books for the challenge (more in fact!), but I also read at least one book for each of the categories (fantasy, folklore, fairy tale, mythology) and topped it off with A Midsummer Night's Dream.

So here is what I read with the category I count it for in brackets:

1. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin (fantasy)
2. Oedipus the King by Sophocles (mythology)
3. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (fantasy)
4. Mabinogion (folklore)
5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman (fairy tale)
6. Harry Potter y la cámara secreta by J. K. Rowling (fairy tale)
7. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (fantasy)
8. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (fairy tale)

The event was fun, and I will definitely participate in it in the years to come! Thanks for hosting it, Carl!

March 2013 Bloggiesta Sign-Up and Updates

This is a sticky post. Please scroll down for newer content!

Bloggiesta is here again, and now I'm going to officially participate! Why? Because I'm very lazy, and this is additional motivation to do something nice with my blog :) I'll post my updates here through the weekend not to clutter my blog with posts.

So my goals for this Bloggiesta are:

1. DONE! Post at least 2 reviews - I had to write the one about The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes two weeks ago, but I was too involved in reading A Storm of Swords instead. Now both are reviewed!
2. (Maybe) write the "About" page or create an index? Not sure if I really want it yet, but everybody seem to have these :)
3. DONE! Think of a shorter name for my blog? This long one is very inconvenient... - How do you like my new title and title image? =) I like them a lot!
4. DONE! Google Reader Replacement Options Mini-Challenge - I've completely transfered to Feedly Plus, and I really enjoy it so far. I had some problems with Chrome extension, but they are solved now after I deinstalled Feedly and left only Feedly Plus. Moral: don't install them together!
5. DONE! Becoming a Book Depository Affiliate Mini-Challenge - I'm waiting for their confirmation now!
6. Through a Visitor’s Eye Mini-Challenge
7. (Maybe) Getting to Know You Mini-Challenge
8. (Maybe) Reviewing in Many Places Mini-Challenge
9. DONE! Create a Google+ page for my blog - now you can follow me HERE!
10. DONE! Create a separate Twitter account for the blog - now I know where to write about all the bloggish stuff, and where - everything else. See my blog's twitter address below and feel free to follow!

I have Twitter now, so you can follow me at @InMyBookBlog through this event!

Once Upon a Time VII Master Post

Once Upon a Time challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings suits my spring yearning for escapism very well! So here I am, putting aside all the classics I can't focus on now, and indulging in fantasy, Sci-Fi, and whatever takes me far from our world :)

The challenge runs from March 21st through June 21st and has several levels of participation. I'm up to...

which means reading at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or a combination from the four genres.

I will use this post as a master post for the challenge and keep a list of all the books read for the challenge.

Books read:

1. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin (fantasy)
2. Oedipus the King by Sophocles (mythology)
3. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (fantasy)
4. Mabinogion (folklore, mythology)
5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman (fairy tale, fantasy)
6. Harry Potter y la cámara secreta by J. K. Rowling (fantasy)
7. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (fantasy)
8. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (fairy tale)

February and March plans and events

As I'm in the "planning mood", I'm going to write down what I'm going to do in February and later.

February plans:

1) Fanda is hosting a Celebrating Dickens event this February, for which I'm planning to finish The Old Curiosity Shop, that I began to read in December an never finished. But if I don't have enough patience, I'll just give it one more try and give up the book :) Then I'm going to start Great Expectations, which, they say, must be much better.

2) I haven't decided what to read for Rachel's Social Justice Theme Read. I guess Dickens will do and just whatever else comes my way, which suits the theme =)

3) I will be participating in a group read of Les Liasons Dangereuses by Pierre Ambroise Choderloc de Laclos for Delaisse's French February.

4) Let's Read Plays has Shakespeare History month, and this is the type of Shakespeare plays I've never read, so I'm looking forward to reading Henry V.

March plans:

1) Allie is hosting A Modern March event, which I'm really looking forward to. I hope to tackle some of the modernist titles on my Classics Club list, probably beginning with Virginia Woolf.

2) Becca is hosting a wonderful Women's Lit Event, which is another motivation to pick up my first Virginia Woolf. And I'll choose something more later, as reading about amazing women is always amazing!

So there's a lot to do and a lot to read, let's just hope there'll be enough time for all this!

Turn Of The Century Salon - Intruduction

Katherine at November's Autumn is hosting a wonderful Turn Of The Century Salon, and in January she asks the participants to introduce themselves. So here goes the introduction!

What draws you to read the Classics?

I think there are two main reasons for this. First is the quality of writing. If the book has survived for such a long time and is still published, there must be something in it! Now there are a lot of crap books, and I don't pretend to be knowing enough not to make mistakes in choosing and not to be left with some nothing-in-it and who-writes-like-this book =) I don't have much time and I want to be sure I'm not going to lose it. Second reason is the uncomfortableness I feel when everybody has read a book and I don't. It's even worse is there are allusions to one book from another. I immediately feel the urge to put the book down and read the one mentioned first. So the more classics I read, the more comfortable I feel.

What era have you mainly read? Georgian? Victorian? Which authors?

I'm not sure about the eras (my knowledge of the British history ends in the Cromwell times :)), but as I now look in the 1001 list, the most ticked books are from the 19th century, especially the middle of it.

What Classics have you read from the 1880s-1930s? What did you think of them?

My childhood loves from this period are, of course, Twain and Stevenson. I also quite enjoy early fantasy and science fiction - Wells and Stoker fit here. And the detective stories, with Doyle and Christie, are worth mentioning too, I love them!

Name some books you're looking forward to read for the salon. 

I think I'm most looking forward to three titles in my Classic Club list:

• Maugham, W. Somerset: Of Human Bondage 
• Woolf, Virginia: Mrs. Dalloway 
• Fitzgerald, F. Scott: The Great Gatsby 

Which authors do you hope to learn more about?

The above mentioned :)

Is your preference prose? poetry? both?

I mainly don't like poetry, so I always read prose. Novels is more my thing =)

Russian Classic (pre-1960) Children's Literature

Classic Children’s Literature Challenge is already here, and I've decided to participate also by committing a list of less known Russian Classic Children's literature. I've chosen the books I personally like, which are also translated into English (the corresponding titles are taken from Wikipedia). The books are organized chronologically. I hope this list will encourage someone to explore these wonderful books!


XIX Century

Krylov, Ivan Andreyevich: fables
He takes a lot from Esop and Lafonten, of course, but his fables are somewhat different and more funny than theirs. So it's a lighter read and perfect fore children!

Pogorelsky, Antony: Black Hen, or Living Underground (1829)
An early fantasy story which it not like anything I've ever read. I remember how long it troubled my imagination after I read it as a child, so I plan to re-read it sometime.

Pushkin, Alexander Sergeyevich: The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda (1830), The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1831), The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish (1833), The Tale of the Dead Princess (1833), The Tale of the Golden Cockerel (1834)
Who doesn't know these? =) If you are interested in children's or Russian literature (or both), it's a must!

Yershov, Pyotr Pavlovich: The Little Humpbacked Horse (1834)
A traditional fairy-tale in literary adaptation. A good introduction to the rich Russian fairy-tales heritage.

Tolstoy, Lev Nikolayevich: Childhood (1852)

It's not a light read at all, as the childhood he describes is full of sorrows and difficulties. But it's amazing how Tolstoy allows you to see the world with child's eyes. And you can always boast you know something else by him, apart from War and Peace =)

Aksakov, Sergey Timofeyevich: The Scarlet Flower (1858)

Another literary adaptation of a fairy-tale. One of my favourite!

XX Century

Olesha, Yury Karlovich: Three Fat Men (1924)
A somewhat political and revolutionist fairy-tale, but well written and full of adventures. When I read it I was of course aware of the propaganda in it, but it didn't spoil the book at all.

Kassil, Lev Abramovich: The Black Book and Schwambrania (1933)
That's my personal favourite! Set in the pre-revolutionary Russia, the book tells about normal schoolboys and the country they created for themselves in their imagination. But as world around them changes, the dreams make way for reality, which is not so perfect. But their fantasy land will stay with them and help them survive.

Kataev, Valentin Petrovich: A White Sail Gleams (1936)
Again a story about the life of schoolboys in the whirl of revolution. You immediately connect with the main characters, and you can't put the book down! 

Gaidar, Arkady: The Blue Cup (1936), Chuk and Gek (1939), Timur and his Gang (1940), stories
Gaidar wrote short stories which to someone may seem to have too much moral in them. Well, maybe. But they are still very nice and have quite fascinating adventures in them. And Timur from Timur and his Gang was my first literary love ever =)

Lagin, Lazar Yosifovych: The Old Genie Hottabych (1937)
What would a normal schoolboy do if he finds a jinn, who has spent millions of years in a bottle and is now willing to serve his savior? You'll see =) A VERY funny book!

Bazhov, Pavel: The Malachite Casket (1939), The Mistress of the Copper Mountain, tales
The magic of the old legends of Ural, where malachite is the main trade and business. The mood of the stories is really unique, and they are just fascinating.

Volkov, Alexander Melentyevich: The Wizard of the Emerald City (1939) (plus the rest of the Magic Land series: Urfin Jus and his Wooden Soldiers (1963), The Seven Underground Kings (1964), The Fiery God of the Marrans (1968), The Yellow Fog (1970), The Secret of the Abandoned Castle (1982))
This is an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, and to my mind it's much better than the original. You may have fun finding the differences between two books, but sometimes they are so much different, that you can just think of them as of two absolutely different literary works. I've read it hundreds of times, and the series is my absolute favourite!

Rybakov, Anatoly: The Dirk (1948), The Bronze Bird (1956)
It's very like Harry Potter, only without magic =) But the realism of the situation makes it even better! There is a mystery which a group of children tries to solve, and it gets more and more dangerous! Rybakov is more famous for his "adult" writings, Children of Arbat being the most famous, but these books are in some aspects even better.

Gubarev, Vitali Georgievich: Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1951)
This is again a fantasy book about a girl getting in the country behind the mirror. Sound familiar?) But this one is far more sane and full of adventures. Oh, have I mentioned that her reflection travels with her and has all her nasty traits of character which she can observe and enjoy? Well, that's what mirror is for)

Nosov, Nikolay Nikolaevich: The Adventures of Dunno and his Friends (1954) (plus the rest of the series: Dunno in Sun City (1958), Dunno on the Moon (1966))

First two are books for small children with a lot of funny and harmless adventures. But the last one (well, it doesn't really fits into pre-1960 rule, but still) is a real children's sci-fi and dystopian novel! Boring to read as a child, but as an adult I quite enjoyed it.

A lot of attention was put to children's education in Russia and especially in Soviet Union, so many famous authors wrote for children and there are a lot of unforgettible books to be found in the field. So I'll be happy if this small guide helps you find some good books if you feel interested, and I'll be very happy to read your thoughts on these books if you've read them or if you will read them!