2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge

There's no way I can pass this one up. I'll even go for the 50 library book option! This challenge runs from Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009. If you'd like to see the rules and sign on up, click here.

Completed: 50/50 as of Aug. 5, 2009
**FINISHED**

1. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
3. The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears
4. Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman
5. Indignation by Philip Roth
6. Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
7. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. Native Son by Richard Wright
9. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
10. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
11. To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
12. The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins
13. Skeletons At The Feast by Chris Bohjalian
14. The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester
15. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
16. Catherine Carmier by Ernest J. Gaines
17. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
18. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
19. Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield
20. Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
21. The Forgery of Venus by Michael Gruber
22. Revelation by C.J. Sansom
23. Writing To Learn by William Zinsser
24. American Pastoral by Philip Roth
25. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
26. Divine Justice by David Baldacci
27. Everyman by Philip Roth
28. The Bridge Over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle
29. A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
30. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
31. Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
32. The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick
33. When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
34. An Iliad by Alessandro Baricco
35. Dave Barry's Money Secrets by Dave Barry
36. Perpetual War For Perpetual Peace by Gore Vidal
37. Wicked Prey by John Sandford
38. Bones of Betrayal by Jefferson Bass
39. The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips
40. Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
41. Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
42. The Borgias and Their Enemies by Christopher Hibbert
43. The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
44. The Great Stink by Clare Clark
45. The Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone
46. The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer
47. All Other Nights by Dara Horn
48. This Land is Their Land by Barbara Ehrenreich
49. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
50. Idiot America by Charles P. Pierce

2009 100+ Book Challenge

I'm in for the next round! Since I'm too chicken to actually commit to 150 books, I've decided to set various levels of success to shoot for:

Bronze Level: Read 100 Books -- Completed September 13, 2009

Silver Level: Read 125 Books

Gold Level: Read 150 Books


There. Now I can feel successful no matter what the outcome.
:-) The same as 2008, my list of books read during 2009 will be found at the bottom of my blog.

If you'd like to join in, click here to sign up!

CARDS ON THE TABLE

by Agatha Christie



Mr. Shaitana invites Hercule Poirot, Ariadne Oliver, Superintendent Battle and Colonel race to a party at which the other four guests all have committed murders in the past and have gotten away with it. When Mr. Shaitana is killed during the party, the four sleuths band together to figure out who of the other four is guilty of the newest crime.

I'm certain no one needs me to tell them Agatha Christie is the master of her genre. Cards on the Table is a great example of her ability to twist an ending so many times it leaves the reader dizzy. I've read probably a couple dozen of Christie's mysteries, and this is one I would recommend for newbies to her work.

Short Story: BARN BURNING

by William Faulkner

It is stories like these that truly showcase my non-Literature major credentials. I read Barn Burning. I didn't get it. I fell asleep while reading it. Quality analysis not forthcoming. Sorry.

I read this during the Read-A-Thon, and I had a few commenters tell me not to feel bad. It was Faulkner after all. :-) I'm glad it wasn't just me, but I'm not going to blame Faulkner in general. After all, I did read A Rose For Emily last year, and I thought that was a fantastic, creepy little story. I will not be giving up on Faulkner, but this story did nothing for me at all. Perhaps I'll give it another shot later using a study guide.

100 Books Done!!

I finished my 100th book for the year last night!! That means the 100+ Book Challenge is finished. Yahoo! The rest are all gravy! I'll have my review up for Agatha Christie's Cards On The Table later today, but I just had to do the victory post right away. :-)

Next year I'm considering setting the bar at 150 books, but I still have some time to think about that. The other Challenge I've got my eye on, which would help greatly with a 150 book goal, is the New Author Challenge. The idea is to read 50 new-to-you authors in 2009, but you may set the goal at whatever number you wish. Again, I have plenty of time to think about it. But with the election over and winter setting in, I feel my resolve to limit my reading challenges crumbling to dust. Bring 'em on!! :-)

Countdown Challenge

I'm feeling optimistic about reading a ridiculous number of books next year. I'm signing up for The Countdown Challenge! I'm not making a list now, but I will fill this chart in as I go along. If you'd like to see the rules and join the challenge, click on over to the Official Countdown Challenge Site.

Completed: 45/45 as of September 6, 2009 (This challenge begins Aug. 2008 and ends Sept. 9, 2009)
**FINISHED -- Yahoo! I did it!!**

Published in 2009
(This section will most likely be the same books as I read for the Pub Challenge.)

1. Revelation by C.J. Sansom
2. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
3. Wicked Prey by John Sandford
4. Bones of Betrayal by Jefferson Bass
5. The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips
6. Renegade by Richard Wolffe
7. The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
8. Killer Summer by Ridley Pearson
9. All Other Nights by Dara Horn

Published in 2008

1. Me of Little Faith by Lewis Black
2. Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn
3. The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver
4. The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth
5. Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman
6. Indignation by Philip Roth
7. Skeletons At The Feast by Chris Bohjalian
8. Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield

Published in 2007

1. The Intellectual Devotional: American History by David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim
2. Poems From Guantanamo edited by Marc Falkoff
3. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
4. Call My By Your Name by Andre Aciman
5. Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
6. Finn by Jon Clinch
7. The Paris Review Interviews, Vol. II by The Paris Review

Published in 2006

1. The Book of Samson by David Maine
2. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
3. What Is The What by Dave Eggers
4. Everyman by Philip Roth
5. Dave Barry's Money Secrets by Dave Barry
6. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright

Published in 2005

1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
2. Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman
3. The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis
4. The Great Stink by Clare Clark
5. Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

Published in 2004

1. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
2. An Iliad by Alessandro Baricco
3. Bedlam by Greg Hollingshead
4. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

Published in 2003

1. The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester
2. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
3. Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee

Published in 2002

1. When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
2. The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster

Published in 2001

1. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

Question To The World

Now that the citizens of the U.S. have elected Barack Obama, I have a question for all my other readers around the world: What is the reaction in your country? I'd rather hear it directly from you than cable news stations. Is the rest of the world as giddy as some of us are? Concerned? Happy? Scared? Apathetic? What do you think of America's decision?

The Return of the U.S. Presidents Reading Project

I brought up the idea of a U.S. Presidents Reading Project months ago when I first began this blog. Then I pretty much forgot about it.

In honor of the historic 2008 presidential election and our first African American president, I have gone ahead with the launch of the U.S. Presidents Reading Project Blog. Stop on over, take a look, and join me in my history lessons if you like. I hope to see you there!