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

3. V by Thomas Pynchon

Family and self

4. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
5. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

Love

6. My Antonia by Willa Cather

Sci-fi and fantasy

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

State of the nation

9. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

War and travel

10. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

TBR Challenge Jan 1 - Dec 31 2009

My 4th challenge for 2009:

TBR Challenge

Well, folks, the 2009 year is fast approaching! Sorry that I've been remiss in putting up a new post for the new year! I've not really even thought of it until today -- while realizing there's only really 2 weeks left of the year! Yikes!

So, ARE YOU READY TO SIGN UP FOR 2009??? If so, please add your name to the Mr.Linky below! Please make sure that your blog link is to the actual post where your list is...not just your main blog link. (so, for example, instead of just //tbrchallenge.blogspot.com, it would be something more like //tbrchallenge.blogspot.com/2008/12/18/my-list-here.html --only it'd be YOUR blog addy! LOL). If this is still unclear, feel free to email me and ask more! ;P

To remind you of the rules:
* the challenge is to read 12 TBR books in 12 months -- you can read those all in one month if you want, or one a month, or however you wanna do it.
* you need to have a list posted somewhere for others to see (even if it's in a comment here)
* you CANNOT change your list after January 1st, 2009!!!
* you can create an Alternates list of MAXIMUM 12 books, if you want, in order to have options to choose from (you can read these in place of books on your original list).
* audiobooks and e-books ARE allowed
* re-reads are NOT allowed, as they aren't TRUE "TBRs"
* you CAN overlap with other challenges
* OPTIONAL: you can join the Yahoo! Group created for participants of the TBR Challenge, if you want to have a place to keep your list, or just to share with others about how you're doing! :)

Okay! The countdown is on!!! Get your list(s) ready, and make sure you post the link to it in the Mr. Linky! ;)


So, here are my lists:

Primary:
1. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
2. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
3. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
4. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
5. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
6. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
7. Out by Natsuo Kirino
8. The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge
9. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
10. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
11. A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher
12. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Alternates:
1. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
2. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
3. The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
4. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson
5. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
6. The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
7. The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
8. The Sacrifice: The First Book of the Fey by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
9. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
10. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
11. Candide by Voltaire
12. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

What's in a Name 2 Jan 1-Dec 31 2009

My 3rd challenge for 2009:

What's In a Name 2

I guess it's finally time to announce the "What's in a Name 2" reading challenge, with all new categories. Very similar to this year's challenge, with a few exceptions.

*This is a challenge that anyone can join, no matter what types of books they like to read. You should be able to find books from any genre that will work.

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father's Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness

5. A book with a "building" in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category.

*Again, there will be some small prizes scattered throughout. No set schedule, so just be sure to check in once a while. There will also be a prize awarded at the conclusion to one participant who completes the challenge.

*You don't need to decide exactly which books you will be reading ahead of time, though you're certainly welcome to. Either way, I'd love to see your lists of possibilities, and I'll bet everyone else would love to read them as well. To join in, simply leave a link here. Or, if you don't have a blog, simply leave your name (and feel free to share your list in the comments if you'd like).



My initial choices are (subject to change of course):

1. The Constant Gardener by John LeCarre
2. Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson
3. Daughters of a Coral Dawn by Katherine Forrest
4. Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh
5. Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich
6. The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams

Reading Your Name Jan 1 - Dec 31 2009

My 2nd challenge for 2009:

Reading Your Name

Anyhoo, the challenge is to read your name in book title first letters, ultimately spelling out your name. That means:

1. Using your first name, or blogger name, or your pets name, or even your favorite literary character's name; whichever you like, choose books with first title letters that spell out your name. (Audio books and eBooks are also okay.) Such as my name: Victoria. the first book's title would start with the letter V, then the next book title begins with I, etc. Make sense? (I hope so!) :p
2. Bloggers and non-bloggers alike are free to join. If you do not have a blog and would like to post your reviews/titles that spelled your name somewhere, you may do so here at the group blog. Just send me an e-mail (phantombibliophile [at] gmail [dot] com), or leave a comment letting me know you'd like to use this blog.

3. If you have your own blog, come back here every month and leave a comment containing the link to your challenge page containing the books you've read or each review you've written for books that count for this challenge. (Crossovers with other challenges are okay.) I will make a new post for this on the first of every month.

4. The challenge runs from Jan. 1st 2009, to Dec. 31st 2009. You may join at any time.

5. Last but not least, be sure to sign up using Mister Linky Below! & Leave a comment with what name you're going to use, and the name itself of course! Oh, and don't forget to link back to the challenge from your blog (if you have one of course) to show you're participating!


I'll be using my real name *gasp*. :) All of these are from my TBR pile (and there might have to be changes).

C - China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh
H - His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
R - Renfield by Barbara Hambly
I - I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
S - Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters
T - To Marry Medusa by Thedore Sturgeon
I - In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman
N - Next by Michael Crichton
A - American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Whitcoulls Top 100 list Nov 15 08 - Nov 15 09

From here:

Whitcoulls challenge


Read Your Way Through The Whitcoulls Top 100 List.

Time:
* From November 15th, 2008 to November 15th, 2009.

The Rules:
* Pick one of the 4 "Top 100" lists linked below and decide how many books (at least 4) you want to read from that list.
* The initial 4 have to be 'new' reads (new to you, that is).
* Books beyond the initial 4 may be rereads.
* All books may be cross-overs for other challenges.
* Audio-books are A-OK :)
* You may change your list at any time.
* If you read enough books to actually complete one of the "Top 100" lists, I'll make a post in your honour!

The Lists:
1998, 2002, 2006, 2008


I chose the 2008 list and picked my first 4 reads plus the ones I want to read after the minimum. I already own all of these books except 3 and I have not read any before.

Initial 4:

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
3. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Extra:

1. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
2. Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
3. The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
5. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
6. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullogh
7. London by Edward Rutherford
   

R.I.P. challenge complete

I finished the R.I.P. challenge already with 4 books from my list:

Ghost Story by Peter Straub
The Turning by Jennifer Armintrout
The Haunting by Shirley Jackson
Shapeshifter by J.F. Gonzalez

2 really good books, 1 ok book and 1 really bad one. However, I will definitely do this again next year as I still have alot of books in my TBR pile that fit the Halloween genres.

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

copyright = 2008
pages = 312
source = purchase
date completed = 10/26/08

Of course I read this in 2 nights. It was a very quick read but thoroughly entertaining. I'm sure everyone knows the story by now so I don't need to go into it. But this is definitely a keeper.