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Challenge Wrap-up: (Another) 1% Well-Read Challenge

  • Nov. 23rd, 2009 at 2:58 PM

For this challenge, I read 10 titles from the new "1001" list (with links to reviews):
  1. The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (review)
  2. Schindler's Ark, by Thomas Kenneally (review)
  3. The Siege of Krishnapur, by J.G. Farrell (review)
  4. The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton (review)
  5. Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons (review)
  6. Vernon God Little, by D.B.C. Pierre (review)
  7. The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler (review)
  8. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee (review)
  9. To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf (review)
  10. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka (review)
Favorite Book of the Challenge: The Remains of the Day. This 5-star read will make my 2009 Top 5.

Least Favorite Book: The Long Goodbye. I couldn't get into the characters or the plot.

What I Learned: I was able to learn more about Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf. The "1001 list" continued to be a good source of reading ideas, even after its revision in 2008. I'll be reading more of these titles in 2010.

Thanks to Michelle for hosting this challenge!

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Women Unbound Challenge (November 2009 - November 2010)

  • Nov. 1st, 2009 at 9:00 AM

For this challenge, participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of "women’s studies."  According to Merriam-Webster, this is defined as "the multidisciplinary study of the social status and societal contributions of women and the relationship between power and gender."  Ooh la la, this is right up my street!

Details, including challenge rules, are posted here on a beautifully-designed challenge blog.  There are three levels of participation:
  • Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.
  • Bluestocking: read at least five books, including at least two nonfiction ones.
  • Suffragist: read at least eight books, including at least three nonfiction ones.
Eligible fiction books should take "a thoughtful look at the place of women in society." Right -- I have about 100 Virago Modern Classics that I haven't read yet (and I'm still collecting!).  So this challenge is a nice overlap with my perpetual Virago challenge.  The non-fiction category includes "books on feminism, history books focused on women, biographies of women, memoirs (or travelogues) by women, essays by women and cultural books focused on women (body image, motherhood, etc.)."  I have been reading far less non-fiction lately so while this initially sounded more difficult, as I wrote this I realized I had qualifying books already sitting right on my shelves!

So, I'll join the Suffragists.  Here's my list, which is most definitely subject to change (links to reviews included as books are completed):

Fiction
  1. The Sugar House, by Antonia White (review)
  2. Crossriggs, by Jane & Mary Findlater
  3. The Judge, by Rebecca West
  4. Virago Modern Classic, TBD
  5. Virago Modern Classic, TBD

Non-Fiction:
  1. At Large and at Small, by Anne Fadiman
  2. Eleanor of Aquitaine, by Alison Weir
  3. A History of Their Own: Women in Europe from Prehistory to the Present Vol. I, by Bonnie S. Anderson & Judith P. Zinsser

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Book Awards III Challenge Wrap-up

  • Nov. 1st, 2009 at 6:26 AM

The Book Awards III Challenge ran from July 1 to December 1, 2009.  I finished on October 31.  This is one of my favorite challenges, because it complements several of my other reading goals.  In the original Book Awards Reading Challenge, I read Booker and Pulitzer winners like there was no tomorrow.  For Book Awards II, I read 10 books representing 5 different awards. 

Book Awards III was a shorter challenge than its two predecessors, requiring only 5 books.  But the catch was, they had to represent 5 different awards!  Fortunately there are lots of literary prizes to choose from.  Here's what I read for this challenge:
  1. Home, by Marilynne Robinson (Orange Prize) - review
  2. Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (Pulitzer Prize) - review
  3. The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler (Edgar Award) - review
  4. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee (Booker Prize, Commonwealth Writers' Prize) - review
  5. Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel (Booker Prize) - review
Favorite Book of this Challenge:  If I had to choose just one, it would be Home, which I rated 5 stars.  However, both Olive Kitteridge and Wolf Hall were excellent 4.5-star reads.  I highly recommend all three of these books.

Least Favorite Book of this Challenge:  The Long Goodbye.  Although I don't read mysteries often, I don't dislike the genre.  But this book did nothing for me.  I found the characters unlikeable and the women were portrayed as stupid blonde stereotypes.

What I learned from this Challenge:  Since the challenge required reading from several different awards, I had to diversify beyond my usual Pulitzer, Booker, and Orange Prize winners.  I discovered the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America.  And, thinking ahead to future Book Awards challenges, I'm looking forward to exploring prizes awarded in other countries.  Canada's Giller Prize and Australia's Miles Franklin Prize are just two possibilities.

Thanks to Michele (3M) for hosting this great challenge!

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Book Awards III Challenge (July 1 -December 1, 2009)

  • May. 16th, 2009 at 6:18 AM

It seems I can't resist challenges sponsored by 3M at 1MoreChapter. The Book Awards III Challenge runs from July 1 to December 1, 2009.  The book awards challenges are a favorite of mine, and 3M is just devious enough to "raise the bar" each time, encouraging us all to rise to new heights in reading prizewinners.  And I keep taking the bait ... In the original Book Awards Reading Challenge , any 12 award-winners would do, and I read Booker and Pulitzer winners like there was no tomorrow.  For Book Awards II , 3M expected us to read 10 books representing 5 different awards.  Well, OK, still plenty of options there , and plenty of room for overlap with long-term challenges. 

Book Awards III is a shorter challenge than the first two, but this time we must read 5 books from 5 different awards.  This required a bit of thinking, but I found some books in my reading plan and on my shelves that fit the bill:
  1. Home, by Marilynne Robinson (Orange Prize) - review
  2. Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (Pulitzer Prize) - review
  3. The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler (Edgar Award) - review
  4. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee (Booker Prize, Commonwealth Writers' Prize) - review
  5. Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel (Booker Prize) - review

Book Awards III is just a warmup to 2010, when Book Awards IV will come along and require 10 books from 10 awards.  Bring it on ... !


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Book Awards II Challenge Wrap-up

  • Apr. 1st, 2009 at 3:31 PM
The  Book Awards II Challenge, hosted by 3M at 1 More Chapter, began August 1, 2008 and will end June 1, 2009.  This challenge was right up my street, since I've already undertaken several long-term projects to read Booker, Orange, and Pulitzer winners.  The challenge consisted of reading 10 books representing 5 different awards.

Here's what I read for this challenge:
  1. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (Pulitzer Prize) - review
  2. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon (Pulitzer Prize) - review
  3. The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville (Orange Prize) - review
  4. Kaddish for a Child not Born, by Imre Kertesz (Nobel Prize) (review
  5. The Conservationist, by Nadine Gordimer (Booker Prize, Nobel Prize) - review
  6. The Road Home, by Rose Tremain (Orange Prize) - review
  7. Property, by Valerie Martin (Orange Prize) - review
  8. A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (Giller Prize, Commonwealth Writers' Prize) - review
  9. Schindler's Ark, by Thomas Kenneally (Booker Prize) - review
  10. The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga (Booker Prize) - review

Favorite Book:  The Idea of Perfection, which made my "Top 5 Reads of 2008"

Least Favorite Book:  This is a tough one.  All of these were rated 3 stars or higher, and 3 stars is still a good read.  But on that basis, these would be my least favorite books:  Kaddish for a Child Not Born, The Conservationist, Property, Schindler's Ark, The White Tiger.

I wonder if there will be a Book Awards III?  Thanks 3M, for hosting this fun challenge!

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(Another) 1% Well-Read Challenge: March - December, 2009

  • Feb. 28th, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Michelle at 1morechapter.com is back with another 1% Well-Read Challenge.  Yea!  A new edition of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die was published last year, so Michelle has given us three options for this challenge:
  1. Read 10 titles from the original list from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
  2. Read 10 titles from the new list from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
  3. Read 13 titles from the combined list (of almost 1300 titles) from March 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010.  In other words, “What were they thinking dropping titles from Dostoevsky and Jane Austen?”
I've been tracking my progress on the old & new lists for a while now (here's my handy-dandy spreadsheet), and I've gotten over my outrage over the removal of Persuasion in the new edition.  So I'm going with option 2 and will overlap considerably with The Complete Booker.  Here's my list (with links to reviews):
  1. The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (review)
  2. Schindler's Ark, by Thomas Kenneally (review)
  3. The Siege of Krishnapur, by J.G. Farrell (review)
  4. The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton (review)
  5. Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons (review)
  6. Vernon God Little, by D.B.C. Pierre (review)
  7. The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler (review)
  8. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee (review)
  9. To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf (review)
  10. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka (review)

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Challenge Wrap-up: 1% Well-Read Challenge

  • Feb. 10th, 2009 at 12:52 PM


The idea of this challenge was to read 10 books in 10 months from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list (i.e.; 1% of the list). These are my ten books:
  1. Oscar and Lucinda, by Peter Carey (completed 5/6/2008 - review)
  2. Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie (completed 5/8/2008 - review)
  3. The Return of the Soldier, by Rebecca West (completed 6/24/2008 - review)
  4. Possession, by A.S. Byatt (completed 7/6/2008 - review)
  5. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (completed 8/9/2008 - review)
  6. Embers, by Sandor Marai (completed 9/13/2008 - review)
  7. Persuasion, by Jane Austen (completed 12/6/2008 - review)
  8. A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (completed 1/19/2009 - review)
  9. Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford (completed 2/6/2009 - review)
  10. A Severed Head, by Iris Murdoch (completed 2/10/2009 - review)
I enjoyed many of the books on this list; Persuasion and A Fine Balance were particular favorites.  Thanks to 3M/Michelle's for hosting this challenge! 

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The Pulitzer Project: 2009 Goals & Progress

  • Dec. 26th, 2008 at 9:01 PM
I started this perpetual challenge in 2007, and in 2008, my goal was to read 8-10 Pulitzer winners.  I read 8 and have now read 20 of the more than 80 winners.  I'm less committed to completing this challenge than to just enjoying good literature.  My 2009 goal is to read at least 6, including the 2009 winner. 
 
 
Pulitzer Prize Winners Read in 2009
1925 - So Big (Ferber)
1930 - Laughing Boy (LaFarge)
2009 - Olive Kitteridge (Strout)
1923 - One of Ours (Cather)
2002 - Empire Falls (Russo)
1972 - Angle of Repose (Stegner)

 
Complete List of Pulitzer Prize Winners Read (with links to reviews where available):
2009 - Olive Kitteridge (Strout)
2008 - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Díaz)
2007 - The Road (MacCarthy) 
2006 - March (Brooks)
2004 - The Known World (Jones)
2003 - Middlesex (Eugenides)
2002 - Empire Falls (Russo)
2001 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Chabon)
2000 - Interpreter of Maladies (Lahiri)
1995 - The Stone Diaries (Shields)
1994 - The Shipping News (Proulx)
1992 - A Thousand Acres (Smiley)
1988 - Beloved (Morrison)
1973 - The Optimist’s Daughter (Welty)
1972 - Angle of Repose (Stegner)
1961 - To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
1958 - A Death in the Family (Agee) 
1953 - The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
1940 - The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)
1939 - The Yearling (Rawlings)
1937 - Gone with the Wind (Mitchell)
1932 - The Good Earth (Buck)
1930 - Laughing Boy (LaFarge)
1925 - So Big (Ferber)
1923 - One of Ours (Cather)
1921 - The Age of Innocence (Wharton)
 

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The Orange Prize Project: 2009 Goals & Progress

  • Dec. 26th, 2008 at 8:56 PM
The Orange Prize is my favorite award after the Booker Prize.  In 2008, my Orange Prize Project goal was to read 4 winners or shortlisted works, and I read 5.  In 2009 my goal is 8.  I plan to complete the winners list, including the 2009 winner.  Jill at The Magic Lasso will continue her tradition of sponsoring "Orange January" and "Orange July," two months devoted to reading from the Orange Prize list.  I'll be doing most, if not all, of my Orange reading during those two months.
 



Orange Prize Winners Read in 2009 (Books will be listed as completed)
2008 - The Road Home (Tremain) 
2003 - Property (Martin)
2000 - When I lived in Modern Times (Grant)
1999 - A Crime in the Neighborhood (Berne)
1998 - Larry's Party (Shields)
2009 - Home (Robinson)
1997 - Fugitive Pieces (Michaels)
1996 - A Spell of Winter (Dunmore)

Orange Prize Shortlist Books Read in 2009 (Books will be listed as completed)
1998 - The Ventriloquist's Tale (Melville)
2005 - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Lewycka)

Complete List of Orange Prize Fiction Winners & Shortlists Read (with links to reviews where available):

2009 - Home (Robinson)

2008 - The Road Home (Tremain)

2007 - Half of a Yellow Sun (Adichie)
Shortlist:
2006 - On Beauty (Smith)
Shortlist:
  • The History of Love (Krauss) 
2005 - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Shriver)
Shortlist:

2004 - Small Island (Levy) 
Shortlist:
2003 - Property (Martin)
Shortlist:
  • Unless (Shields)
2002 - Bel Canto (Patchett)
Shortlist:
2001 - The Idea of Perfection (Grenville)
Shortlist:
  • The Blind Assassin (Atwood)
Shortlist:
  • White Teeth (Smith)
Shortlist:
  • The Poisonwood Bible (Kingsolver)
  • Paradise (Morrison)
1998 - Larry's Party (Shields)
Shortlist:
1997 - Fugitive Pieces (Michaels)

1996 - A Spell of Winter (Dunmore)
Shortlist:
  • The Hundred Secret Senses (Tan)
  • Ladder of Years (Tyler)

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The Complete Booker: 2009 Goals & Progress

  • Dec. 26th, 2008 at 8:54 PM
I’ve followed the Booker Prize for a long time, and always enjoy reading winners and shortlisted works.  In 2007, I began hosting The Complete Booker to encourage others to join me in reading works by these great authors. In 2008, my goal was to read at least 6 Booker winners, and I read 11 !  I've now read 22 of the 41 winners.  My 2009 goal is to read 12, including the 2009 winner.  At that rate, I expect to complete the winners list in 2010!
 
Booker Winners Read in 2009
1987 - Moon Tiger (Lively)
1989 - The Remains of the Day(Ishiguro)
1982 - Schindler's Ark (Keneally)
2008 - The White Tiger (Adiga)
1973 - The Siege of Krishnapur (Farrell)
2003 - Vernon God Little (Pierre)
1993 - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (Doyle)
1999 - Disgrace (Coetzee)
1980 - Rites of Passage (Golding)
2009 - Wolf Hall (Mantel)
1979 - Offshore (Fitzgerald)
1976 - Saville (Storey)
 
Complete List of Booker Winners Read (with links to reviews where available):
2009 - Wolf Hall (Mantel)
2008 - The White Tiger (Adiga)
2007 - The Gathering (Enright) 
2005 - The Sea (Banville)
2004 - The Line of Beauty (Hollinghurst)
2003 - Vernon God Little (Pierre)
2002 - Life of Pi (Martel)
2000 - The Blind Assassin (Atwood)
1999 - Disgrace (Coetzee)
1998 - Amsterdam: A Novel (McEwan)
1997 - The God of Small Things (Roy)
1996 - Last Orders (Swift)
1993 - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (Doyle)
1992 - The English Patient (Ondaatje)
1992 - Sacred Hunger (Unsworth)  
1990 - Possession: A Romance (Byatt)
1989 -The Remains of the Day(Ishiguro)
1988 - Oscar and Lucinda (Carey)
1987 - Moon Tiger (Lively)
1985 - The Bone People (Hulme)
1984 - Hotel du Lac (Brookner) 
1982 - Schindler's Ark (Keneally)
1981 - Midnight's Children (Rushdie)
1980 - Rites of Passage (Golding)
1979 - Offshore (Fitzgerald)
1978 - The Sea, the Sea (Murdoch)
1977 - Staying on (Scott)
1976 - Saville (Storey)
1975 - Heat and Dust (Jhabvala)
1974 - The Conservationist (Gordimer)
1973 - The Siege of Krishnapur (Farrell)
1971 - In a Free State (Naipaul)

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Reading Across Borders: 2009 Progress

  • Dec. 22nd, 2008 at 11:40 AM

Reading Across Borders – Progress as of June 30, 2009 (58 countries visited)
create your own visited country map

Books Read in 2009
  1. Czech Republic - The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera (review)
  2. Guyana - The Ventriloquist's Tale - Pauline  Melville (review)
  3. Venezuela - Iphigenia - Teresa de la Parra (review)
  4. Uruguay - The Shipyard - Juan Carlos Onetti (review)
  5. Tanzania - Desertion - Abulrazak Gurnah (review)
  6. St Lucia - Omeros - Derek Walcott (review)

Complete List of Countries Read (with links to reviews where available)
All "visits" are based on author's nationality, unless marked with an asterisk, which indicates "sense of place." 

North America
USA – The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck (review)
Canada - Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald (review)
Mexico - The Book of Lamentations - Rosario Castellanos (review)

Central America and the Caribbean
Haiti - Breath, Eyes, Memory - Edwidge Danticat (review)
St Lucia - Omeros - Derek Walcott (review)

South America
Argentina - My Name is Light - Elsa Osorio (review)
Brazil* - A Death in Brazil - Peter Robb (review)
Chile - Daughter of Fortune - Isabel Allende (review)
Colombia - One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (review)
Guyana - The Ventriloquist's Tale - Pauline  Melville (review)
Peru - Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter - Mario Vargas Llosa (review)
Uruguay - The Shipyard - Juan Carlos Onetti (review)
Venezuela - Iphigenia - Teresa de la Parra (review)

Africa
Algeria - Women of Algiers in Their Apartment - Assia Djebar (review)
Congo/Brazzaville* - The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
Egypt - The Yacoubian Building - Alaa Al Aswany (review)
Kenya - Unbowed - Wangari Maathai (review)
Morocco - Stolen Lives - Malika Oufkir (review)
Nigeria - Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (review)
Sierra Leone - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah (review)
Somalia - Links - Nuruddin Farah (review)
South Africa - A Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela (review)
Sudan - The Translator - Leila Aboulela (review)
Tanzania - Desertion - Abulrazak Gurnah (review)
Zimbabwe - Don't Let's go to the Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller

Europe
Albania - Broken April - Ismail Kadare (review)
Austria - The Piano Teacher - Elfriede Jelinek (review)
Czech Republic - The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera (review)
Denmark - Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg (review)
France - Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovksy (review)
Germany - Night - Elie Wiesel
Hungary - Embers - Sandor Marai (review)
Iceland - Independent People - Halldor Laxness (review)
Ireland – At Swim, Two Boys – Jamie O’Neill
Italy - The Leopard - Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (review)
Netherlands* - Girl with a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
Norway - The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad (review)
Poland – The Pianist – Wladislaw Szpilman
Portugal - Baltasar and Blimunda - Jose Saramago (review)
Russia - The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov (review)
Spain - The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (review)
Sweden - Astrid and Veronika - Linda Olsson (review)
United Kingdom - Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

Middle East
Afghanistan – The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Lebanon - Gate of the Sun - Elias Khoury (review)
Iran - Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
Israel - A Woman in Jerusalem - Abraham Yehoshua (review)
Saudia Arabia - Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea (review)
Turkey - My Name is Red - Orhan Pamuk (review)

Asia
Bangladesh - Alentejo Blue - Monica Ali (review)
China - Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Daj Sijie
India - The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (review)
Japan* - Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Myanmar* - The Lizard Cage - Karen Connelly (review)
Pakistan - The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid (review)
Sri Lanka - Mosquito - Roma Tearne (review)

Australia and Pacific
Australia - The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (review)
New Zealand - The Bone People - Keri Hulme (review)

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Support your Local Library Challenge: 2009

  • Dec. 10th, 2008 at 1:00 PM
January 1 - December 31, 2009

J. Kaye from J. Kaye's Book Blog is hosting the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge where participants are encouraged to read from their libraries. There are three levels of participation you may choose from:
** The first is to read 12 books from your local library in 2009.
** The second is to read 25 books from your local library in 2009.
** The third is to read 50 books from your local library in 2009.
 
I am going for 50.  This is a real stretch goal since I am just as addicted to used books as I am to my library, and only about 25 of my 2008 reads came from the library.  But I just love my library.  And what's the point of a challenge if the goal is achievable from the start?

I will list my library reads here, updating this list about once a month (links take you to reviews):
  1. Property, by Valerie Martin
  2. When I lived in Modern Times , by Linda Grant
  3. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera
  4. The Professor's House, by Willa Cather
  5. A Mercy, by Toni Morrison
  6. The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga
  7. So Big, by Edna Ferber
  8. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery
  9. The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
  10. Laughing Boy, by Oliver LaFarge
  11. The Garden Party and Other Stories, by Katherine Mansfield
  12. Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell
  13. Desertion, by Abdulrazak Gurnah
  14. Omeros, by Derek Walcott
  15. A Crime in the Neighborhood, by Suzanne Berne
  16. Larry's Party, by Carol Shields
  17. Home, by Marilynne Robinson
  18. A Spell of Winter, by Helen Dunmore
  19. Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels
  20. Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons
  21. Vernon God Little, by DBC Pierre
  22. Jamaica Inn, by Daphne Du Maurier
  23. My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne Du Maurier
  24. Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha, by Roddy Doyle
  25. One of Ours, by Willa Cather
  26. The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico
  27. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee
  28. Rites of Passage, by William Golding
  29. Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
  30. Offshore, by Penelope Fitzgerald
  31. Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
  32. Saville, by David Storey
     

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Lost in Translation Challenge: 2009

  • Dec. 10th, 2008 at 12:48 PM

 

January 1 - December 31, 2009

I've had a personal, perpetual Reading Across Borders challenge going for a couple of years now, and I plan to continue in 2009.  So it was really a no-brainer to sign up for the Lost in Translation challenge hosted by Frances from Nonsuch Book.  The challenge is to read six (6) books in translation. Frances has created a dedicated page for this challenge here.  My goal is to read ten (10) books in translation in 2009, and I'm hoping they are all by authors from countries I haven't "visited" yet (look here for a map and list of all countries visited).  I'm going to build my reading list as I go, rather than committing to titles now.  But here's a start (links go to reviews):

  1. Czech - The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera
  2. Guyana - The Ventriloquist's Tale, by Pauline Melville
  3. Venezuela - Iphegenia, by Teresa de la Parra
  4. Uruguay - The Shipyard, by Juan Carlos Onetti
  5.  

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1% Well-Read Challenge (May 2008 - February 2009)

  • Dec. 6th, 2008 at 7:30 PM

1percentwellread.PNG

I just can't resist 3M/Michelle's challenges! The goal of this challenge is to read 10 books in 10 months from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list (i.e.; 1% of the list). The challenge will run from May 1, 2008 through February 28, 2009.

This is perfect for me, since my 2008 Reading Plan already includes a number of books from the list. And, the challenge gives me an excuse (like I need one!) to read a few items I've picked up at used book sales. Of course I reserve the right to change the list at any time!

  1. Oscar and Lucinda, by Peter Carey (completed 5/6/2008 - review)
  2. Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie (completed 5/8/2008 - review)
  3. The Return of the Soldier, by Rebecca West (completed 6/24/2008 - review)
  4. Possession, by A.S. Byatt (completed 7/6/2008 - review)
  5. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (completed 8/9/2008 - review)
  6. Embers, by Sandor Marai (completed 9/13/2008 - review)
  7. Persuasion, by Jane Austen (completed 12/6/2008 - review)
  8. A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (completed 1/19/2009 - review)
  9. Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford (completed 2/6/2009 - review)
  10. A Severed Head, by Iris Murdoch (completed 2/10/2009 - review)

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Celebrate the Author Challenge (January-December, 2008)

  • Dec. 6th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Becky at Becky's Book Reviews is sponsoring a Celebrate The Author Challenge throughout 2008.   Participants will celebrate the birth of their favorite authors by choosing one author per month (based, of course, on the month the author was born).   I began with the books on my TBR pile, and used the Author Birthday/Web Directory to fill in the empty months. 

January: Philippa Gregory - The Boleyn Inheritance (completed 1/5/2008 - review)
February:  Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (completed 2/12/2008 - review)
March: Dave Eggers - What is the What (completed 3/18/2008 - review)
April: Barbara Kingsolver - Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (completed 4/13/2008 - review)
May: Peter Carey - Oscar and Lucinda (completed 5/8/2008 - review)
June: Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children (completed 6/8/2008 - review)
July: Per Petterson - Out Stealing Horses (completed 7/13/2008 - review)
August: Isabel Allende - Paula (completed 8/7/2008 - review)
September: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Purple Hibiscus (completed 9/10/2008 - review)
October:  Kate Grenville - The Art of Perfection (completed 10/8/2008 - review)
November: Nadine Gordimer - The Conservationist (completed 11/25/2008 - review)
December: Jane Austen - Persuasion  (completed 12/6/2008 - review)

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Reading Across Borders – 2008 Goals & Progress

  • Nov. 28th, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Reading Across Borders – Progress as of December 31, 2008 (52 countries visited)
create your own visited country map 

I “visited” 20 new countries in 2007, mostly through the New York Times Notable Books challenge. In 2008, I will use my Read the Nobels project to kick-start my journey. Overall I’d really like to visit 20 more new countries this year. These include:
  1. Italy - The Leopard, by Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (completed 1/27/2008 - review)
  2. Sweden - Astrid and Veronika, by Linda Olsson (completed 1/28/2008 - review)
  3. Turkey - My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk (DNF 2/23/2008 - review)
  4. Haiti - Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat (completed 3/1/2008 - review)
  5. Morocco - Stolen Lives, by Malika Oufkir (completed 3/7/2008 - review)
  6. New Zealand - The Bone People, by Keri Hulme (completed 3/30/2008 - review)
  7. Somalia - Links, by Nuruddin Farah (completed 5/16/2008 - review)
  8. Algeria - Women of Algiers in their apartment, by Assia Djebar (completed 6/16/2008 - review)
  9. Austria - The Piano Teacher, Elfriede Jelinek (DNF 8/16/2008 - review)
  10. Portugal - Baltasar and Blimunda, by Jose Saramago (DNF 8/2/2008 - review)
  11. Sri Lanka - Mosquito, by Roma Tearne (completed 8/20/2008 - review)
  12. Iceland - Independent People, by Halldor Laxness (completed 8/29/2008 - review)
  13. Hungary - Embers, by Sandor Marai (completed 9/13/2008 - review)
  14. Brazil* - A Death in Brazil, by Peter Robb (completed 10/30/2008 - review)
  15. Denmark - Smilla's Sense of Snow, by Peter Hoeg (completed 11/14/2008 - review)
  16. Spain - The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (completed 11/20/2008 - review)
  17. Argentina - My Name Is Light, by Elsa Osorio (completed 11/28/2008 - review)
  18. Saudia Arabia - Girls of Riyadh, by Rajaa Alsanea (completed 12/2/2008 - review)
  19. Kenya - Unbowed, by Wangari Maathai (completed 12/20/2008 - review)
  20. Albania - Broken April, by Ismail Kadare (completed 12/9/2008 - review)
Complete List of Countries Read (with links to reviews where available)
All "visits" are based on author's nationality, unless marked with an asterisk, which indicates "sense of place." 
 
 
Mexico - The Book of Lamentations (review) - Rosario Castellanos 

Central American and the Caribbean
Haiti - Breath, Eyes, Memory (review) - Edwidge Danticat

South America
Argentina - My Name is Light (review) - Elsa Osorio
Brazil* - A Death in Brazil (review) - Peter Robb
Chile - Daughter of Fortune (review) - Isabel Allende
Colombia - One Hundred Years of Solitude (review) - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Peru - Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (review) - Mario Vargas Llosa

Africa 
Algeria - Women of Algiers in Their Apartment (review) - Assia Djebar
Congo/Brazzaville* - The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
Egypt - The Yacoubian Building (review) - Alaa Al Aswany 
Kenya - Unbowed (review) - Wangari Maathai
Morocco - Stolen Lives (review) - Malika Oufkir
Nigeria - Half of a Yellow Sun (review) - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Sierra Leone - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (review) - Ishmael Beah 
Somalia - Links (review) - Nuruddin Farah
South Africa - A Long Walk to Freedom (review) - Nelson Mandela
Sudan - The Translator (review) - Leila Aboulela
Zimbabwe - Don't Let's go to the Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller

Europe 
Albania - Broken April (review) - Ismail Kadare
Austria - The Piano Teacher (review) - Elfriede Jelinek
Denmark - Smilla's Sense of Snow (review) - Peter Hoeg
France - Suite Francaise (review) - Irene Nemirovksy
Germany - Night - Elie Wiesel
Hungary - Embers (review) - Sandor Marai
Iceland - Independent People (review) - Halldor Laxness
Ireland – At Swim, Two Boys – Jamie O’Neill 
Italy - The Leopard (review) - Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Netherlands* - Girl with a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
Norway - The Bookseller of Kabul (review) - Asne Seierstad
Poland – The Pianist – Wladislaw Szpilman
Portugal - Baltasar and Blimunda  (review) - Jose Saramago
Russia - The Master and Margarita (review) - Mikhail Bulgakov 
Spain - The Shadow of the Wind (review) -  Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Sweden - Astrid and Veronika (review) - Linda Olsson 
United Kingdom - Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

Middle East
Afghanistan – The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Israel - A Woman in Jerusalem (review) - Abraham Yehoshua 
Saudia Arabia - Girls of Riyadh (review) - Rajaa Alsanea
Turkey - My Name is Red (review) - Orhan Pamuk

Asia
Bangladesh - Alentejo Blue (review) - Monica Ali
China - Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Daj Sijie
India - The Inheritance of Loss (review) - Kiran Desai
Japan* - Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Myanmar* - The Lizard Cage (review) - Karen Connelly
Pakistan - The Reluctant Fundamentalist (review) - Mohsin Hamid 
Sri Lanka - Mosquito (review) - Roma Tearne

Australia and Pacific
Australia - The Book Thief (review) - Markus Zusak
New Zealand - The Bone People (review) - Keri Hulme

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Complete Booker – 2008 Goals & Progress

  • Nov. 9th, 2008 at 1:30 PM
I’ve followed the Booker Prize for several years now, and started The Complete Booker to encourage others to join me in reading works by these great authors. I read 4 Booker winners in 2007, so I’ll begin 2008 having read 11 of the 41 winners. Not that I need any motivation, but I’m also going to participate in Dewey’s Man Booker Challenge!
 

Before the year is out, I’d like to read at least 6 Booker winners, including:
Complete List of Booker Winners Read (with links to reviews where available):
2007 - The Gathering (Enright) 
2006 - The Inheritance of Loss (Desai)
2005 - The Sea (Banville)
2004 - The Line of Beauty (Hollinghurst)
2002 - Life of Pi (Martel)
2001 - True History of the Kelly Gang (Carey)
2000 - The Blind Assassin (Atwood)
1998 - Amsterdam: A Novel (McEwan)
1997 - The God of Small Things (Roy)
1996 - Last Orders (Swift)
1992 - The English Patient (Ondaatje)
1992 - Sacred Hunger (Unsworth)  
1990 - Possession: A Romance (Byatt)
1988 - Oscar and Lucinda (Carey)
1985 - The Bone People (Hulme)
1984 - Hotel du Lac (Brookner) 
1981 - Midnight's Children (Rushdie)
1978 - The Sea, the Sea (Murdoch)
1977 - Staying on (Scott)
1975 - Heat and Dust (Jhabvala)
1974 - The Conservationist (Gordimer)
1971 - In a Free State (Naipaul)

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Pulitzer Project - 2008 Goals & Progress

  • Oct. 12th, 2008 at 6:30 AM
I joined The Pulitzer Project because I love reading prize-winning books. I read 5 Pulitzer winners in 2007, which was a lot less than I hoped. I’ll start 2008 having read 12 of the 81 winners. Before the year is out, I’d like to read another 8-10, including:
Complete List of Pulitzers Read (with links to reviews where available)
2008 - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Díaz) (DNF)
2007 - The Road (MacCarthy) 
2006 - March (Brooks)
2004 - The Known World (Jones)
2003 - Middlesex (Eugenides)
2001 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Chabon)
2000 - Interpreter of Maladies (Lahiri)
1995 - The Stone Diaries (Shields)
1994 - The Shipping News (Proulx)
1992 - A Thousand Acres (Smiley)
1988 - Beloved (Morrison)
1973 - The Optimist’s Daughter (Welty)
1961 - To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
1958 - A Death in the Family (Agee) 
1953 - The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
1940 - The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)
1939 - The Yearling (Rawlings)
1937 - Gone with the Wind (Mitchell)
1932 - The Good Earth (Buck)
1921 - The Age of Innocence (Wharton)

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Book Awards II Challenge (August 1, 2008 - June 1, 2009)

  • Oct. 9th, 2008 at 11:00 AM
 
Photobucket

3M from 1 More Chapter has announced the Book Awards II Challenge which will run from August 1, 2008 to June 1, 2009.  I loved the first Book Awards Challenge and I have a few long-term projects I'm reading for, so yeah, I'm in.  The challenge rules require that my 10 books represent 5 different awards. 

My reading list includes:
  1. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (Pulitzer Prize) - completed 8/9/2008 (review)
  2. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon (Pulitzer Prize) - completed 9/20/2008 (review)
  3. The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville (Orange Prize) - completed 10/8/2008 (review)
  4. Kaddish for a Child not Born, by Imre Kertesz (Nobel Prize) - completed 10/24/2008 (review)
  5. The Conservationist, by Nadine Gordimer (Booker Prize, Nobel Prize) - completed 11/25/2008 (review
  6. The Road Home, by Rose Tremain (Orange Prize) (completed 1/3/09 - review)
  7. Property, by Valerie Martin (Orange Prize) (completed 1/7/09 - review)
  8. A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (Giller Prize, Commonwealth Writers' Prize) (completed 1/19/09 - review)
  9. Schindler's Ark, by Thomas Kenneally (Booker Prize) (completed 3/16/09 - review)
  10. The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga (Booker Prize) (completed 4/1/09 - review)

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Orange Prize Project - 2008 Goals and Progress

  • Oct. 9th, 2008 at 11:00 AM





I love reading prize winners, so when Wendy (aka Caribousmom) announced The Orange Prize Project, there was no question about my participation. I have an aggressive reading plan for 2008 already, so my goal before the year is out is to read at least 4 Orange Prize winners or shortlisted works, including: 

  • 2007 - A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, by Xiaolu Guo (completed 8/10/08 - review)
  • 2004 - Small Island, by Andrea Levy - WINNER (completed 5/24/08 - review)
  • 2004 - Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (completed 9/10/08 - review)
  • 2002 - Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters (completed 12/26/2008 - review)
  • 2001 - The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville - WINNER (completed 10/8/08 - review)

Complete List of Orange Prize Fiction Winners & Shortlists Read (with links to reviews where available):

2007
Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - WINNER (review)
The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai (review)
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, by Xiaolu Guo (review)

2006
On Beauty, by Zadie Smith - WINNER
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss

2005 
We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver - WINNER (review)
Old Filth, by Jane Gardam (review)

2004
Small Island, by Andrea Levy - WINNER (review)
Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (review)

2003
Unless, by Carol Shields

2002
Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett- WINNER
Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters (review)

2001
The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville - WINNER (review)
The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

2000
White Teeth, by Zadie Smith

1999
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Paradise, by Toni Morrison

1998
The Weight of Water, by Anita Shreve

1996
The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan
Ladder of Years, by Anne Tyler
 

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