Current Challenges
This is my list of books for each ongoing challenge; a strike means I’ve read it. You can either just scroll and browse (the challenges are arranged first chronologically by end date, then alphabetically) or jump to a specific one: 9 for ‘09 Challenge, 100 Shots of Short Challenge, The Art History Challenge, The Caribbean Challenge, The Challenge That Dare Not Speak Its Name (GLBT), The Chunkster Challenge, The Classics Challenge, The Dewey’s Books Challenge, The Dewey Decimal Challenge, The Dream King Challenge, The Getting to Know You Challenge, The Graphic Novels Challenge, The Lost in Translation Challenge, My Year of Reading Dangerously, The Orbis Terrarum Challenge, The Science Book Challenge ‘09, The Southern Challenge ‘09, The Summer Lovin’ Challenge, The Themed Reading Challenge, What’s in a Name? 2, World Citizen Challenge
July
The Themed Reading Challenge (at least 4)
Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart by John Guy
- Joan of Arc by Régine Pernoud and Marie-Véronique Clin, trans. by Jeremy duQuesnay Adams
- The Middle Ages by Morris Bishop
- Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley
- Crossed by Nicole Galland
- The Conqueror by Georgette Heyer
A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde
August
The Southern Challenge (at least 3)
The Challenge Hub Page
Voodoo Season by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Before Women Had Wings by Connie May Fowler
- A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
- A Death in the Family by James Agee
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
- The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
- Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
- City of Refuge by Tom Piazza
- Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician by Daniel Wallace
- The Collected Stories by Eudora Welty
September
October
The Dewey Decimal Challenge (one from each category)
The Rules
- Rereadings, ed. Anne Fadiman (028.9 R428 )
- The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel (020. M277L)
- The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton (101 D287C)
Pathways to Bliss by Joseph Campbell (201.3019 C188P)
Liquid Jade by Beatrice Hohenegger (394.12 H717L)
Spoken Here by Mark Abley (417.7 A152S )
Wesley the Owl by Stacey O’Brien (598.97 O13W)
Sewing Lingerie That Fits by Karen Morris (646.4204 M876S)
- Hidden in the Shadow of the Master by Ruth Butler (759.4 B986H)
- Frida Kahlo: Her Life and Works by Helga Prignitz-Poda (759.972 K12P)
- The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames (823.912 E12E)
- Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman (951.058 S186I)
- Black Elk Speaks (970.2 B6272B)
- Jihad by Ahmed Rashid (958.0429 R224J)
November
Chunkster Challenge (at least six over 450 pages or three over 750 pages)The Challenge Blog
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, trans. Robin Buss (1,312)
- No Name by Wilkie Collins (784)
- The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (739)
- Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, trans. Tiina Nunnally (1,144)
- The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough (688 )
- A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (1,488)
December
9 for ‘09 Challenge
The Challenge Blog
- A History of Russia by Nicholas V. Riasanovsky and Mark Steinberg (long)
The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Delby (free)
- Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins (dusty)
- Metro Stop Dostoevsky by Ingrid Bengis (letter)
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (strange)
- Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz (distance)
- Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos (alive or not)
- Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope (used)
- The Painted Drum by Louise Erdich (cover)
100 Shots of Short Stories (at least 100 stories)
The Rules
see my pool here
Individual Story Count: 37
Collections/Anthologies:
- My Mistress’s Sparrow is Dead, ed. Jeffrey Eugenides (27 stories)
American Girls About Town (17 stories)
The Art History Challenge
The Challenge Blog
- Chagall: A Biography by Jackie Wullschlager
- The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich
- The Needle in the Blood by Sarah Bower
- Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World by Sharon Wexman
My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King
Antoine’s Alphabet by Jed Perl
The Caribbean Challenge (at least six)
The Challenge Hub Page
- Miguel Street by V.S. Naipul
- The Dragon Can’t Dance by Earl Lovelace
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
- The Farming of the Bones and/or The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat
The Pirate’s Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson
- The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
- Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo
- The New Moons Arms or Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson
The Dewey’s Books Challenge (at least five)
The Challenge Blog
- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
- We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin
- Freddie & Me by Mike Dawson
- Body Drama by Nancy Amanda Redd
Freak Show by James St. James
Gifted by Nikita Lalwani
- What I Was by Meg Rosoff
- The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- Acolytes by Nikki Giovanni
- Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
- The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
- Red, White, and Drunk All Over by Natalie Maclean
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Graphic Novels Challenge (at least six)
The Challenge Blog
- Alice in Sunderland by Brian Talbott
- Legends in Exile (Fables Vol. 1) by Bill Willingham
The United States Constitution: a Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell
- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Aya by Marguerite Abouet
Kampung Boy by Lat
Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 by Bryan Lee O’Malley
- Castle Waiting by Linda Medley
- Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
The Lost in Translation Challenge (at least six)
The Challenge Hub Page
Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto (Mozambique), trans. from the Portugese by David Brookshaw
- The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski
- The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa
- Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong (Vietnam), trans. from the Vietnamese by Nina McPherson
- Trap for Cinderella by Sebastian Japrisot (France), trans. from the French by Helen Weaver
- Mistress Oriku by Matsutaro Kawaguchi (Japan), trans. from the Japanese by Royall Tyler
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge
The Challenge Blog
- How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch
- The Discovery of Poetry by Francis Mayes
A Grain of Poetry by Herbert Kohl
Go Your Own Way ed. by Faith Collin, Ingrid Emerick, and Christina Henry de Tessan
- The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fischer
- The London Scene by Virginia Woolf
- I Thought My Father Was God, ed. Paul Auster
- The Art of the Personal Essay, ed. Phillip Lopate
- All Art is Propaganda by George Orwell
- I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
- The Complete Essays by Michel de Montaigne, trans. M.A. Screech
- On Photography by Susan Sontag
The Orbis Terrarum Challenge
The Challenge Blog
The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian
This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
- The White Earth by Andrew McGahan
- A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
- Secret Son by Laila Lalami
- Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury
- I’m Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti
- The Maias by Jose Maria Eca de Quieros
- Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
The Science Book Challenge ‘09 (at least three)
The Challenge Hub Page
I have a huge pool for this one (42 books), so rather than type it all out again, I’ll just link to it.
- Napoleon’s Buttons by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson
- Proust Was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer
- The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
Dark Banquet by Bill Schutt
The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mladinow
Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson
What’s in a Name? 2
The Challenge Blog
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishamel Beah (profession)
- Song for Night: a Novella by Chris Abani(time of day)
- Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter by J. Nozipo Maraire (relative)
- Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog (body part)
- The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany (building)
Your Madness Not Mine by Makuchi (medical condition)
World Citizen Challenge (at least seven)
The Challenge Blog
I have a big pool (about 25), so I’ll just link to it.
- City of Oranges by Adam LeBor (history)
- China: Fragile Superpower by Susan Shirk (politics)
- Belfast Diary: War as a Way of Life by John Conroy (an-so)
- Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang (economics)
- Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (world issues: health)
- River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler (memoir)
Javatrekker by Dean Cycon (an-so)
Human Cargo by Carolien Moorehead (world issues: refugees)
Dreams and Shadows by Robin Wright (politics)
Life along the Silk Road by Susan Whitfield (history)
My Invented Country by Isabel Allende (memoir)
April 13, 2008 at 7:25 am
My goodness. You are an inspiration!