Posts on ‘May 24th, 2008’

I know, I know – I said I wasn’t going to join anymore challenges. BUT, I couldn’t pass this one up. Michelle’s Book Awards Reading Challenge runs from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008 and challenges participants to read 12 award winning books over 12 months. I’m picking mostly books I either already have on my shelf, am reading for other challenges, or plan on reading for book groups.

We are allowed to pick any book by a Nobel Prize winning author, but at least six of the twelve books read must have WON A PRIZE.

Here’s my FINAL list (Books whose author won Noble Prize only are highlighted in pink):

1.   The Bone People, by Keri Hulme – Booker 1985 – COMPLETED July 12, 2007; read a review here.
2.   The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood – Governor Generals Award (Canada) 1985 – COMPLETED November 5, 2007; read a review here.
3.   The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood – Booker 2000 – COMPLETED August 1, 2007; read a review here.
4.   The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy – Booker 1997 – COMPLETED September 29, 2007; read a review here.
5.   The Echo Maker, by Richard Powers – National Book Award 2006 – COMPLETED September 6, 2007; read a review here.
6.   Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides – Pulitzer 2003 – COMPLETED November 1, 2007; read a review here.
7.   The True History of the Kelly Gang, by Peter Carey – Booker 2001 AND Commonwealth Writers Prize 2001
8.   Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee – Booker 1999 AND Commonwealth Writers Prize 2000 AND Nobel Prize awarded to author in 2003 – COMPLETED December 14, 2007; read review here.
9.   Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler – Pulitzer 1989
10. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya – Premio Quinto Sol (National Chicano Award 1972)
11. Atonement, by Ian McEwan – National Book Critics Circle Award 2002
12. East Of Eden, by John Steinbeck – Author won Nobel Prize in 1962 – COMPLETED October 12, 2007; read a review here.

Alternates (or extras):

13. Crime in the Neighborhood, by Berne – Orange Prize 1999
14. The Tenderness of Wolves, by Stef Penney – Costa/Whitbread 2006
15. A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth – Commonwealth Writers Prize 1994
16. The Secret River, by Kate Grenville – Commonwealth Writers Prize 2006
17. We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver – Orange Prize 2005
18. Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner – Pulitzer 1972
19. A Bend In The River, by V.S. Naipal – Author won Nobel Prize in 2001
20. Cairo Trilogy, by Naguib Mahfouz – Author won Nobel Prize in 1988
21. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway – Author won Nobel Prize in 1954
22. One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Author won Nobel Prize in 1982
23. A compilation of The O’Henry Awards 2001 Prize Stories (published by Anchor Books – edited by Larry Dark)
24. Scared Hunger, by Barry Unsworth – Booker 1992
25. The Known World, by Edward P. Jones – Pulitzer 2004, National Book Critics Circle 2003, IMPAC Dublin 2005
26. The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazzard – National Book Award 2003, Miles Franklin 2004 – COMPLETED August 8, 2007; read a review here.
27. The Borrowers, by Mary Norton – Carnegie Medal 1952 – COMPLETED December 30, 2007; read a review here.
28. Behind the Scenes at the Museum – Whitbread Book of The Year (First Novel Award) 1995
29.  Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett - Pen/Faulkner 2002
30.  The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson – Edgar Award (Best Fact Crime) 2004 – COMPLETED September 12, 2007; read a review here.
31.  The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck – Pulitzer 1932; Nobel 1938 – COMPLETED November 28, 2007; read a review here.
32.  The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder – Pulitzer Prize 1928 – COMPLETED December 23, 2007; read a review here.
32.  The Giver, by Lois Lowry – Newbury Medal 1994 – COMPLETED January 1, 2008; read a review here.
33.  So Big, by Edna Ferber – Pulitzer Prize 1925 – COMPLETED January 17, 2008; read a review here.
34.  Life and Times of Michael K, by J.M. Coetzee – Booker Prize 1983, Nobel Laureate 2003 - COMPLETED February 17, 2008; read a review here.