December 2008 archive

Okay, yes, I know I just wrote a post saying I was overwhelmed and would be eliminating some of my reading challenges. But this one isn’t really a new challenge – I had a goal in 2007 to read 100 books and missed it. I said to my bookie friends (you all remember this, right?) that I would be shooting to read 100 books in 2008. So this just makes it formal. The challenge is hosted by J.Kaye at this site. And there is a Yahoo group too (but I won’t be joining that because I truly am trying to cut down on all the groups I’m in – really!).

I’m keeping track of the books I read in this post.

Last week two readers decided to host similar challenges revolving around the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I’ve been slowly picking off books on this list, and these two challenges will give me some added incentive. UPDATE DECEMBER 26, 2008: CHALLENGE COMPLETED!! I completed this challenge on December 25, 2008. My …

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January 1, 2008 – December 31, 2008

3M Michelle has come up with a great personal challenge that was so embraced by A Novel Challenge Yahoo Group members, that she created a group blog for other obsessed readers to share THEIR 8 books in 8 categories in 2008 lists.

Here are my current categories and picks for 2008 (overlaps are in red):

8 Pulitzers

1. The Known World, by Edward P. Jones
2. The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington
3. So Big, by Edna Ferber (Completed January 17, 2008; rated 5/5; read my review)
4. Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler
5. Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
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8 Bookers

1. The True History of the Kelly Gang, by Peter Carey
2. Hotel Du Lac, by Anita Brookner
3. G, by John Berger
4. Oscar and Lucinda, by Peter Carey
5. Sacred Hunger, by Barry Unsworth
6. Life and Times of Michael K, by J.M. Coetzee (COMPLETED February 17, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
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8 Books Around the World

1. Independent People, by Halldor Laxness
2. Astrid and Veronika, by Linda Olsson
3. Atonement, by Ian McEwan
4. Acts of Faith, by Philip Caputo
5. Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
6. The Translator, by Daoud Hari (COMPLETED February 15, 2008; rated 5/5; read my review)
7. Alentejo Blue, by Monica Ali (COMPLETED February 22, 2008; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
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8 Books that have Sat on my TBR Shelf for More than a Year

1. The World Below, by Sue Miller
2. Acts of Faith, by Philip Caputo
3. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt
4. I, Elizabeth, by Rosalind Miles
5. The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk
6. The Reading Group, by Elizabeth Noble
7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
8. Before You Know Kindness, by Chris Bohjalian

8 Non Fiction Books

1. One Thousand Days in Tuscany, by Marlena De Blasi
2. Steinbeck: A Life in Letters, John Steinbeck
3. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt
4. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers
5. Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
6. Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl
7. Have You Found Her: A Memoir, by Janice Erlbaum (COMPLETED January 14, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
8. There is No Me Without You: One Woman’s Odessey to Rescue Africa’s Children, by Melissa Fay Greene

8 Banned Books

1. The Women of Rome, by Alberto Moravia
2. The Toilers of the Sea, by Victor Hugo
3. Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe
4. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison (COMPLETED February 25, 2008; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
5. The Giver, by Lois Lowry (COMPLETED January 1, 2008; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
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8 Notables From This Site

1. The Secret River, by Kate Grenville
2. There is No Me Without You: One Woman’s Odessey to Rescue Africa’s Children, by Melissa Fay Greene
3. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid (COMPLETED January 11, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
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8 Classics

    1. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens (COMPLETED January 25, 2008; rated 3/5; read my review)

    2. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
    3. House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
    4. Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maughan
    5. Emma, by Jane Austen
    6. Wuthering Heights, by Emil Bronte
    7. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
    8. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky