Posts under ‘Completed Book Challenges’

April 1, 2008 – March 31, 2009
UPDATE April 8, 2009:
I failed badly on completing this challenge – although I have tons of cookbooks and enjoy cooking, I found myself sticking to my old favorites this year due to a busy work schedule and a new puppy. I am still determined to cook from some of [...]

July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009
UPDATE APRIL 8, 2009 – CHALLENGE COMPLETED!!!
Thanks very much to Kristi for hosting this fun challenge. I found out that I had quite a few books which met the requirements for this one. My favorite read was a tie between: The Mechanics of Falling (a collection of short stories), [...]

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 favorite book [...]

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

Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews is sponsoring a Celebrate The Author Challenge beginning

Designed to celebrate author birthdays, the challenge requires that participants choose one author a month to read. When I took a look at Becky’s links to author birthdays, I realized this challenge would be an easy one for me to accomplish. Plus, Becky is allowing participants to choose as they go and to change lists at will – I love flexibility like that!!

So here are some of my ideas for each month (subject to change):

January

February

March: John Irving, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alice Hoffman
April: Barbara Kingsolver
May: Peter Carey, Daphne Du Maurier, Sigrid Undset, Maeve Binchy, Ursela Hegi, Jodi Picoult
June: Larry McMurtry, Ken Follett, Patricia Cornwell, Ian McEwan
July: No choices YET
August: Isabel Allende, A.S. Byatt
September: Jean Plaidy, Stephen King, William Faulkner, Truman Capote, Leo Tolstoy
October: Graham Greene, Anne Rule, Anne Perry, Anne Tyler
November: Margaret Atwood
December: Elizabeth Berg, Willa Cather, Jane Austen

I know, I know – I’ve promised to stop joining challenges. But how could I pass this one up? I’ve perused my lists and found I had several books in my stacks as well as on other challenge lists that fit this one perfectly!

Dave at Siphoning Off A Few Thoughts is hosting The Africa Reading Challenge – read at least six books about Africa, set in Africa or dealing with African issues.

Here is my list:

1. In The Country of Men, by Hisahm Matar
2. There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene
3. A Bend in the River, by V.S. Naipal
4. A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, by Gil Courtemanche
5. Graceland, by Chris Abani
6. Life and Times of Michael K, by J.M. Coetzee (finished February 17, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
7. The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur, by Daoud Hari (finished February 15, 2008; rated 5/5; read my review)