Challenge Insanity, Part the Third

Are you truly surprised that I’m joining more challenges? At least this week there’s only four new ones to add (ETA: apparently I can’t count. I’m joining five new challenges in this post!). :) (Although, as always, I refuse to rule out the possibility of joining more later!)

I thought, since I’m sure there are those of you who think I’m certifiably insane, that I would share my reading challenge philosophy. I look at challenges as the perfect excuse/impetus to put together reading lists. That’s why I usually end up with more books than I need to read; I’m making reading lists as a resource for my future self! And I actually go back and look at my previous lists on a regular basis. :) That being said, I don’t really feel obligated when I join challenges. If I don’t feel like reading a book I chose for one, I won’t. If I end up not finishing a challenge in time, I don’t freak out about it (that didn’t happen this year, but I expect in the future when I’m healthy enough to work again and can’t read absurd numbers of books, it will). And I don’t really worry a ton about making sure the books get reviewed/reviews get posted on challenge blog (when applicable). I know; perhaps I’m not the best challenge participant ever. But for me, reading challenges are all about possibilities; far from boxing my reading in, they expand it. I always come across wonderful books that I wouldn’t have otherwise known existed, and then when I’m feeling whimsical I can flit from list to list until something catches my fancy. And if I come across a book that I want to read right away that doesn’t fit any of my challenges at all, guess what? I read the book! So now you know why I love joining challenges; they allow me to envision my future reading self, to spend an hour or so salivating about all of my choices, and to keep a concrete record of all those books in an easily accessible place. So keep posting, challenge hosts! Keep coming up with wonderful themes for reading, or encouraging readers to focus on less-spotlighted genres and periods. I’ll be there, ready to expand my horizons at every opportunity.

Erm, can you tell I’m typing this sleep-deprived?! Let’s get to those vaulted lists, shall we? As always, I’ve provided internal links so you can jump to what interests you:
2010 Bibliophilic Books Challenge
Africa Diaspora Reading Challenge
Black Classics Challenge 2010
Graphic Novels Challenge 2010
Our Mutual Read

Oh, and there are astericks next to some of the titles because I don’t own them and they’re not in my library’s catalogue, so that’s just a personal note so I know which ones to ILL. :)

2010 Bibliophilic Books Challenge
When I saw Lesley’s new challenge, the Bibliophilic Books Challenge, I thought that I could go ahead and skip it. That lasted about ten seconds, before I thought about all of the wonderful nonfiction books about books I’ve already read (check out my convenient About Books review tag) and all the ones I still wanted to read! The challenge runs all year (although participants must sign up by the end of January) and offers three levels. I’m going for the Bookworm level, with a three book commitment, simply I *am* joining a bunch of challenges. But my list has a bit more than three! ;)

• Every Book Its Reader by Nicholas Basbanes: I wasn’t a huge fan of his A Gentle Madness Book, simply because I don’t identify with book collectors. This one, which looks at books owned by authors throughout history, and how those authors behaved as readers (i.e.: marginalia habits) sounds more my style! :)
• The Things That Matter by Edward Mendelson: I came across this book in my library catalogue when researching books for the Our Mutual Read Challenge (see below). It didn’t fit in there, but it was too wonderful sounding to pass up! Mendelson looks at seven classic novels (Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Between the Acts; I’ve read all but that last one, which is less than 300 pages long and by a favourite author of mine, so that’s easily remedied!) and looks at their ‘life lessons.’ I love that all the books are by women, I love that Mendelson is a comparative lit professor (oh, in another life, that’s what I thought about being), and I hope this is like de Botton’s work.
• Books by Larry McMurty: I won this memoir during one of Dewey’s Read-a-Thons. I’m excited to see McMurty representin’ (we’re both Texans), and I’m hoping that if I bond with him over his love of books and reading, I’ll be able to read and enjoy Lonesome Dove later.
• Used and Rare by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone: this was on the list I developed of suggested reads for the second read-a-thon. It’s a memoir written by a married couple about their experiences as rare book collectors. I know I said earlier that I don’t understand that kind of bibliophile, and in a way I don’t, but this couple sounds so charming. :) And it’s a travelogue too!
• How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton: speaking of de Botton, I’ve read three of his books this year and at this point I’d say I’m a confirmed fan. So this is his nonfiction book-related offering! Also, I’m apparently circling Proust; I’ve read two books with him in the title this year (Proust was a Neuroscientist and Proust and the Squid). Perhaps eventually I’ll work up the courage to read the man himself.
• Library: an Unquiet History by Matthew Battles: I worked in my college library as a freshman and really enjoyed it (I left to work for the admissions office, because I felt it would give me more experience), but I’ve always felt an affection for libraries. Shocking, I know! This is a survey of libraries from the ancient to digital ages, so it should be a good introduction to a topic I’m unfamiliar with. :)
• Booknotes: America’s Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas ed. by Brian Lamb: last year, I read the Booknotes volume on US history (Stories From American History) and really loved it. Lamb is an interviewer for a long-running C-SPAN program that interviews authors of new books, and the Booknotes collections are based on these interviews. This is the book one, but I’m also eyeing the biography volume. :)
• Great Books by David Denby: as most of you know, I’ve spent the past few months consciously making my reading much more ethnically diverse. At the same time, since I began blogging I’ve been reading more and more female authors. So this book, in which Denby as a journalist goes back to his alma mater Colombia and enrolls in the Great Books class in order to examine the ‘dead white men’ canon issues just sounds fascinating. From the reviews I’ve read, Denby strikes a moderate position in the debate, which I appreciate.

African Diaspora Reading Challenge 2010
Browngirl Speaks is hosting this brilliant challenge, in which participants have all year to read books by authors of the African diaspora. Geographical diversity is encouraged (so I’ve noted the author’s region in my notes on the book), and you can pick from several levels. Since I read 50% POC authors anyway, I’m going to the Scholar level and committing to twelve books. She has a wonderful list of suggested titles that I relied heavily on in making up my own list, since I’ve loved all the books on her list that I’ve already read. I also simply grabbed by favourite African-descent authors from the past year that I want to read more of, and added them to the list as well. :)

• Butterfly Burning by Yvonne Vera*: a historical novel set in a black township in apartheid Rhodesia, it focuses on a love story. Zimbabwe has fascinated me for some time. Discovered thanks to Browngirl. (Southern Africa)
• Ancestor Stones by Aminatta Forna: a novel that follows the return of a young Sierra Leonean woman after she’s spent years in the UK. It focuses on the lives of five women, which sounds marvelous. And Someone Knows My Name really peaked my interest in Sierra Leone. Discovered thanks to Browngirl. (West Africa)
• Let the Lion Eat Straw by Ellease Southerland: a generational saga, it originates in the South, and is about relationships between women. What’s not to love?! Discovered thanks to Browngirl. (US)
• A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid: I read my first Kincaid this year (Annie John) and now I definitely want to read more! I’m reading her novels in published order, and this is her second one. (Caribbean)
• Autobiography of a Family Photo by Jacqueline Woodson: I read three of Woodson’s books this year and loved them all! I’m sure I’ll get through her incredibly extensive backlist eventually, so I pretty much just selected this one at random. :) (US)
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler: I read Kindred several years ago, but when I read Fledgling this year, I fell in love with Butler. So I definitely want to read more of her speculative fiction! (US)
• If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin: I was blown away by Go Tell It on the Mountain, which I read a couple months ago. This book about love in ‘modern-day’ Harlem sounds fascinating. (US)
• Jazz by Toni Morrison: I love, love, love Beloved, so it’s about time I explore more of Morisson’s works! The 1920s have an irresistable draw over me, so that’s why I chose to read this one next. (US)
• The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat: I read Farming of the Bones this month, and now I want to read everything Danticat has written! I think this is her best known work. (Caribbean)
• >On Beauty by Zadie Smith: I just read Smith’s latest essay collection, and that combined with Ana mentioning that this is a retelling of Howards End (which I read and loved in January) makes me want to get to this one sooner rather than later! (Europe)
• White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi: my library has all three of Oyeyemi’s books, and they all sound gothically delicious. But this one features twins, so it has a bit of an edge! (Europe)
• The Dragon Can’t Dance by Earl Lovelace*: a carry-over from my Caribbean Challenge list; I didn’t get to it this year, but I’d love to get to it next! (Caribbean)
• Small Island by Andrea Levy: a look at a Jamaican immigrant in England, which already makes it appeal to me, it also features four narrators! So it sounds like my style. :) Discovered thanks to Browngirl. (Europe)
• Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer: a short story collection (note to self: add more of those to my challenge lists!), it might be a bit too literary for me, but I’m hoping to love it. I don’t know when Packer first appeared on my radar, but she’s been there for awhile. (Europe)
• Unburnable by Marie-Elena John: set on Dominica and featuring family secrets and historical flashbacks to a different generation, this sounds like my style novel! Discovered thanks to Browngirl. (Caribbean)
• The Drifting of Spirits by Gisele Pineau*: a book set in Guadeloupe that has supernatural spirits…my curiousity is definitely peaked. (Caribbean)
• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Adichie is one of my very, very favourite authors! I’ve read all three of her books now (one a year), so it must be time to reread them! :) (Western Africa)
• Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan: I was interested in this short story collection before it got the Oprah treatment…I read one of Akpan’s stories that was available for free at The New Yorker earlier this year and Akpan’s style appealed to me. (Akpan himself is Nigerian, but these stories are set all over Africa.)
• Let the Dead Lie by Malla Nunn: this is the second in a historical mystery series set in apartheid South Africa. I read Nunn’s debut (A Beautiful Place to Die) this year and can’t wait to see what she does with the second one. It doesn’t release until April, though. (Southern Africa)
• Devil on the Cross by Ngugi Wa Thingo: I’ve had Thingo on my radar for awhile, and this is a good impetus to actually read him. This is one of his shorter novels; I confess he intimidates me a little, so I’d rather get my toes wet than jump straight into the deep end. (Eastern Africa)
• Changes: a Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo*: this is a look at the experience of contemporary working women in Ghana How interesting does that sound?! And it has a cute cover. ;) (Western Africa)
• When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head*: village life in Botswana and the clash between traditional ways of life and colonialism…sounds like a classic, and you know how I love those. ;) (Southern Africa)
• The Poor Christ of Bomba by Mongo Beti*: another look at the clash between colonialists and the colonised; this one focuses on missionaries. It’s also set in Cameroon, one of the sub-Saharan African nations I’m most interested in. (Western Africa)
• Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda: this novel is about a professional mourner-isn’t that enough of a hook on its own?! But it also apparently made a huge stir when it was published, and controversial novels always seem to beg me to read them. (Southern Africa)
• The Known World by Edward Jones: I’ve wanted to read this one forever; I can’t really explain why I haven’t gotten around to it yet! (US)
• Bloodline by Ernest Gaines*: I’ve read two Gaines now-I really liked The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and didn’t like A Lesson Before Dying all that much. But Gaines’ style is wonderful, and I have high hopes for this short story collection!

Graphic Novels Challenge 2010
With Chris and Nymeth hosting this one, and Dewey the original creator, y’all KNOW that I’m in! :) Read the post to find out the changes for this year. I just really got into graphic books this year, so to make my list first I picked out the authors I already know I enjoy. Then I just popped by Chris and Nymeth’s blogs and checked out their reviews. I feel pretty comfortable going for the Expert level (ten books or more), considering how many graphic books I read this year without trying!

• Trotsky: a Graphic Biography by Rick Geary: I discovered Geary via Citizen Reader, and when I was checking out his books in my library’s catalogue, this one jumped out at me. I can’t resist a Russian! I’m also fascinated by graphic nonfiction books. :)
• The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman: I *think* I put this on my TBR list after seeing a review of it at Book Chatter. It’s a sketchbook style, random story that just sounds wonderful and quirky!
• Fables, Vol. 6: Homelands by Bill Willingham: the next in my favourite graphic novels series, and the only comic-book-style one that I really enjoy. :)
• Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham: a standalone from the same marvelous series!
• The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang: I really loved American Born Chinese and Chris enjoyed this one!
• The Red Tree by Shaun Tan: I lurve Tan to bits and pieces!
• Shenzhen by Guy Delisle: I found Delisle’s earlier travelogue, Pyongyang, fascinating, so I can’t wait to go to China with him!
• Jar of Fools by Jason Lutes: this has a magician, which makes me automatically interested!
• Emma, Vol. Two by Kaoru Mori: I wasn’t super-grabbed by the first volume of this manga series, but one of my readers left a comment suggesting I read at least two volumes of a series before making up my mind (I’m a newbie to manga). So I’m going to follow that advice!
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. One by Alan Moore: this is a more traditional comic book style approach, but with literary and English stuff thrown in. I figure I ought to read some Moore at some point!
• The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel: her memoir Fun Home was awesome!
• Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: a Graphic Adaptation by Michael Keller: I love pop science books, I love graphic nonfiction, and Ana gave this a glowing review. Enough said!
• Cirque du Freak: Vol. One by Darren Shan: the preview for the movie earlier this year intrigued me, so I’ve been on the waiting list for the book ever since.
• Scheherazade ed. by Megan Kelso: Ana reviewed this, and I’m intrigued by the idea of a graphic short story anthology. Plus, I just read Arabian Nights this year! :)
• Salamander Dream by Hope Larson: I really loved Gray Horses, a book of hers I read a couple months ago.
• Making Comics by Scott McCloud: I read his earlier book Understanding Comics this year and adored it!
• Flight, Vol. One ed. by Kazu Kibuishi: I saw this, an anthology of graphic short stories of all types, with the theme of ‘flight,’ in Barnes & Noble and fell in love. I’ve been wanting to read it ever since!
• Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Vol. Three by Serena Valentino: I’m annoyed by library doesn’t have volumes one or two, but this one is set in New Orleans, so I love that! Ana did a great review of volume one of this series.
• Latino USA: A Cartoon History by Ilan Stavans: another graphic nonfiction book, and as a Texan, I’m extra curious about Latin@ culture in the US.
• Mr. Spic Goes to Washington by Ilan Stavans: I came across this graphic novel earlier this year when putting together by Hispanic Heritage list.
• The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman: just because I’m not a fan of Sandman doesn’t mean I’m writing off all of Gaiman’s graphic novels, and Chris gave this one a great review!

Black Classics Challenge 2010
I know nothing about African American classic lit (which is defined on the challenge blog as pre-Harlem Renaissance), so I’m committing to the ‘curious’ level to read at least three such books during 2010. I relied for my list entirely on the blog’s suggested titles and Browngirl’s list.

• The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings by Olaudah Equiano: he was mentioned in the (fictional) Someone Knows My Name, so when I saw his name I knew I wanted him on my list!
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacob*: I’veh had this on my radar since high school; I don’t know why I never actually read it! Recently, Andi mentioned it, which brought it back into my consciousness.
• The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson: I recently saw this on Rebecca’s post about the Harlem Renaissance, and it just sounds fascinating.
• Our Nig by Harriet Wilson*: I love me a novel, and this one about a mixed-race girl in antebellum America sounds good.
• Clotel by William Wells Brown*: this a novel inspired by rumours of Jefferson’s affair with his slave within a generation of Jefferson’s life. How intriguing is that?!
• Iola Leroy by Frances Harper*: Iola is raised believing she’s white, and then she’s sold into slavery. What a powerful premise.
• The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt*: this is a short story collection with a framework of a former slave telling stories from his past. I love that approach to short stories.
• Blake or The Huts of Africa by Martin R. Delany*: rebellion in Cuba! Political intrigue! Sounds like fun. :)
• The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois: I’ve been meaning to mean du Bois for some time now! Might as well start with his best-known work. :)

Our Mutual Read
Didn’t Amanda come up with the perfect name for her Victorian reading challenge? I really enjoy her blog, so I can’t wait to join in the Victorian fun! I’m committing to the middle level of eight books (at least four written by Victorian authors; the others can be neo-Victorian fiction or non-fiction about the period) to be read over 2010. But when you see my list, you’ll see why it wouldn’t suprise me if I ‘upgrade’ to the twelve book level. Basically, I went to wikipedia and looked at their list of Victorian authors (since I’m fuzzy on the distinctions), happily chose the authors who I’ve already read and enjoyed, and then picked the book that sounded most appealing to me at the time. :) I tossed in a few neo-Victorian options too, and then checked out all the delicious nonfiction titles in my library’s catalogue! I always think of Victorians as British, for obvious reasons, but I guess America can count (it came up a few times in my searches), so there are a few American authors on this list too. :) Oh, and I tossed in several short story anthologies, so I might as well sign up for the attached short story mini-challenge (read at least 12 Victorian short stories during the year!) now. ;)

• Joseph Conrad: Smile of Fortune or The Secret Agent: I read Heart of Darkness last year and was taken aback by how much I connected with it, how fast I flew through it, and how powerful it was. So I definitely want to read more Conrad; I just can’t decide between seafaring or espionage adventures! ;)
• Wilkie Collins: Armadale*: I love Collins, and this is the last of his most famous chunksters that I have to read. :)
• Charles Dickens: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby: I’ve thought of myself as disliking Dickens for years. But actually, I’ve only read three of his long novels: Tale of Two Cities, which I really enjoyed, Pickwick Papers, which I’ve tried valiantly to finish but never gotten more than halfway through, and Great Expectations, which I was forced to read twice in school (I moved between ninth and tenth grades and the schools had different curriculums) and which is 90% of why I wrote Dickens off. Oh wait-I did read Hard Times in middle school and really liked it; I’d forgotten about that. Anyway, I think it’s about time I give Dickens another chance…and I picked one of his lesser known novels so I’d go in blind.
• George Eliot: Adam Bede: Eliot’s another of my favourite authors! I’ve read half of her novels now, and Adam Bede sounds marvelous. :)
• Elizabeth Gaskell: Wives & Daughters: I just started reading Gaskell in July, but I’ve read three of her novels already! I think I much prefer her ‘village life’ writing to ‘social issues’ writing, so even though Wives and Daughters was left unfinished due to Gaskell’s death, I think I’ll really like it.
• William Thackeray: The History of Henry Esmond: I really enjoyed Vanity Fair, so I’m curious to find out more by this lesser-known Victorian.
• Anthony Trollope: Doctor Thorne* (3rd in Barsetshire Chronicles): I love Trollope so much! And I’ve adored the first two Barset books, so I can’t wait to catch up with the town. :)
• Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights: Anne is easily my favourite Bronte sister, and I’ve reread Jane Eyre three or four times now with less enjoyment each round. But I haven’t reread Wuthering Heights since high school, so I’m curious to see how I”ll react to it now. I never disliked it, but I never fell in love with it either…perhaps as an adult, I’ll connect with it more!
• Mary Elizabeth Braddon: Aurora Floyd*: I adored Lady Audley’s Secret, and I’ve been wanting to read more Braddon ever since!
• Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Blithedale Romance: I actually really liked The Scarlet Letter when I read it in school (twice, again), and The House of Seven Gables blew me away last year. So it’s on to more of his writing!
• Henry James: The Bostonians or Washington Square: I really love James, especially his big novels. Both of these are set in America, which will be a new experience for me with him. :) They both sound wonderful too.
• Victorian Ghost Stories: an Oxford Anthology ed. by Michael Coz: pretty straightforward why I’d go for this anthology!
• The Victorian Fairy Tale Book ed. by Michael Patrick Hearn: and this one; y’all know I love fairy tales. :D
• Forbidden Journeys ed. by Nina Auerbach: this just sounds so awesome; listen to the subtitle: Fairy Tales and Fantasies by Victorian Women Writers. It’s a look at subversive fairy tales that challenged gender roles. :D
• Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand: Ana and Raych both really enjoyed this one!
• Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: I LOVE Waters, and I’m reading her books in published order (as slowly as possible, so I can draw them out). This one’s up next!
• The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff: I wasn’t a huge fan of The Way We Live Now, but I like to give authors second chances, and Ana’s review of this one is great.
• Angelica by Arthur Phillips: I think Phillips is so much fun! He’s a precocious, po-mo kind of author, and I loved The Egyptologist when I read it earlier this year. So I’m betting I enjoy this gothic-style Victorian novel too.
• Grange House by Sarah Blake: a carry-over from my R.I.P. IV list; I’m all about the Gothic suspense. :) This one is set in America too!
• Reader, I Married Him by Patricia Beer: a look at female characters in several Victorian female authors’ novels (and Jane Austen, who’s a bit early). I may not like Jane Eyre, but I think the title is delicious anyway! :)
• Nightingales: the Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale by Gillian Gill: I don’t know anything about Florence Nightingale, but I think it’d be interesting to learn more, and as usual if Russia’s involved, I’m there!
• Three Empires on the Nile by Dominic Green: I love reading about history around the world, and Victorian England’s behaviour along the Nile is fascinating.
• Victorian London by Liza Picard: a look at the city that so many of the novels I read take place in! There’s quite a bit of focus on city planning too, which I find intriguing.
• Inside the Victorian Home by Judith Flanders: the Women Unbound Challenge has me more interested than ever in ‘domestic’ history, and this will probably enrich my fiction reading.
• Fasting Girl: a True Victorian Medical Mystery by Michelle Stacey: this just caught my eye; no real reason for it!
• The Far Islands and Other Cold Places by Elizabeth Taylor: intrepid Victorian spinster writes travelogue? I’m there!