Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Guardian's 1000 Novel Challenge Feb 1 09-Feb 01 10

My 5th challenge:

Guardian 1000 Challenge

Well, here I am, hosting my very first challenge!

The British paper, The Guardian, has come up with a list of 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read Before They Die. (In case they take that link down, I've also posted the list here.)

So, the challenge is to read 10 and review read and review 10 books off the list (that's 1%) between February 1st of 2009 and February 1st of 2010.

Of these 10, you must read 1 from each category and, if possible, 1 should be a book you have never heard of until you saw it on this list.

Feel free to complain about certain books being included or not included.

Also, they have broken the list into smaller sections, with annotations, so you can see what a book is about before you check it out.

I'll have a post every month rounding up your reviews and it'll be lots of fun, so sign up below!

UPDATE There will be prizes! I'm not sure what yet, but at the end, there will be a prize drawing for everyone who finishes, and probably a drawing or two along the way...


I haven't picked any books yet. I just went through the list this afternoon to see what I had already read. I'll work on my list next week. I'm sure I already own quite a few.

*EDIT*
Here are my book choices:

Comedy

  1. Money by Martin Amis
  2. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

Crime

  1. V by Thomas Pynchon

Family and self

  1. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
  2. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

Love

  1. My Antonia by Willa Cather

Sci-fi and fantasy

  1. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami
  2. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

State of the nation

  1. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

War and travel

  1. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

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