Wendy's Preliminary List

Books completed are highlighted in red. This is my preliminary list (subject to change of course!):

Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Completed January 7, 2007. Rated 5/5)
Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky (Completed February 17, 2007. Rated 5/5)
The Translator, by Leila Aboulela (Completed March 23, 2007. Rated 4.5/5)
Only Revolutions, by Mark Z. Danielewski (DNF - horrible book)
The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai (Completed March 16, 2007. Rated 4.25/5)
Old Filth, by Jane Gardam (Completed May 29, 2007. Rated 3.75/5)
Beasts of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala (Completed March 5, 2007. Rated 3.75/5)
All Aunt Hagar's Children, by Edward P. Jones
Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury
Lisey's Story, by Stephen King
The Inhabited World, by David Long
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (Completed May 17, 2007. Rated 5/5)
The Emperor's Children, by Claire Messud (Completed December 12, 2007. Rated 4/5)
Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell (Completed March 26, 2007. Rated 5/5)
Eat the Document, by Dana Spiotta (Completed May 22, 2007. Rated 3.5/5)
Digging to America, by Anne Tyler
A Woman in Jerusalem, by A.B. Yehoshua
Alentjo Blue, by Monica Ali (Completed February 22, 2008. Rated 4.5/5)
One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson
The Echo Maker, by Richard Powers (Completed September 6, 2007. Rated 4.5/5)
Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes (Completed April 30, 2007. Rated 4/5)

Catching up

I was on the road for over a month (long story, not sensible to tell it here) and I didn't bring my notable books with me. I read junk instead. So now I am catching up, and realizing I have forgotten which books I chose to read! So I am listing here those I have read and those I am about to read or am starting already.

I committed to twelve books for this year. So far I have read:

A Strange Piece of Paradise
The Omnivore's Dilemma
The Amateur Marriage
The Most Famous Man in America

I am currently reading The Ghost Map.

I have started The Worst Hard Time. And I have obtained The Dream Life of Sukhanov.

So that's six. I don't remember if I already chose the other six. No matter. I will.

Just writing this helps me stay on track and makes me feel better!

My goal and a question

I read A Strange Piece of Paradise in January of this year. I wrote a review of it on January 13. I think that I started it in January, not December, but I can't find confirmation. So is it fair to include this book on my list of books I've read for 2007??

I am setting what seems to be a reasonable goal at this point: 12 books.

Vasilly's list

Just like Dewey I'm joining late, but I think this is such a great challenge.I'm only joining to do about three of the many books I'm picking since I've signed up for so many other challenges.

After this. By Alice McDermott
Arthur and George. By Julian Barnes
Everyman. By Philip Roth
Forgetfulness. By Ward Just
Gate of the Sun. By Elias Khoury

One Good Turn. By Kate Atkinson
The Road. By Cormac McCarthy. (Let's hope I can stomach this one.)
The Translator. By Leila Aboulela
Suite Francaise. By Irene Nemirovsky
The Afterlife. By Donald Antrim. (I know I'm going to read this one. I read such a great review about this book in Poets and Writers.)

Eat, Pray, Love. By Elizabeth Gilbert. (This is one of my favorite books ever. It made me so happy. It's also very truthful about life and very funny.)
The Lost: A search for six of six million. By Daniel Mendelsohn
The Places in Between. By Rory Stewart
Reading like a writer: A guide for people who love books and for those who want to write them.
By Francine Prose (I started reading this one. Already I feel myself paying more attention to what I am reading.)

Dewey's list

Hi Everyone!

I know I'm joining really late, but so many of these books are already in my TBR pile or on my bookmooch wishlist, so I decided my list would just be everything I'm already planning to read.

1. After This by Alice McDermott
2. Digging to America by Anne Tyler
3. Everyman by Phillip Roth
4. Lisey's Story by Stephen King
5. Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski
6. The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq
7. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
8. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
9. Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
10. Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon
11. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
12. The Road by Cormac Mccarthy

My blog is The Hidden Side of a Leaf.

Update from 3M

Update on 5/12:

I set my goal for 10 books but will most likely do 12. I didn't follow my plan as outlined below, but I am 60% (or 50% if I read 12) finished. I'm happy with that so far. I don't know if I'll be able to complete the remaining titles until after June 30, though, because of all the other challenges I'm doing. Right now I'm reading The Stone Diaries for the bookawards group and toward the end of the month I'll start on The Known World for the Pulitzer group. I'm also trying to pack and put most of my belongings (hence, books!) into storage so my house will be mostly clutter free when we put it on the market. Packing.is.not.fun.

Finished titles:
The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (to be reviewed after I re-read print version)
Everyman by Philip Roth
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
The Translator by Leila Aboulela
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

To be read:
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
Lisey's Story by Stephen King
Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky


Previous update on 3/15:
I have finished The Road on audio CD from the library. Although somewhat depressing, I liked it very much. Before I write a review, though, I want to read the actual print copy. Luckily, it's a short book. I've bought a copy and will "re-read" it soon. Sometimes I feel like I miss a lot when I just listen to the CD.

I have gotten quite a few NY Notable titles from the library lately. Black Swan Green, Intuition, and Half of a Yellow Sun to name a few. Hopefully I'll complete them by the end of April. I plan on finishing Suite Française and Inheritance of Loss by the end of March.

Other books I'm reading include Big Stone Gap for my f2f book group, and The Myth of Me and You for one of my online book groups.

Previous update on 3/3:

I am halfway finished with Inheritance of Loss. For anyone interested in reading that title with others this month, you may join our Yahoo group here. Our group includes several people from the NYT Notable Challenge.

After I finish Inheritance of Loss, I plan on reading Suite Française. I'm also reading The Book Thief for the Chunkster Challenge. Those two titles should go along nicely with each other.

Happy reading!
(yet another) Michelle

Iran Awakening

For my challenge I will read 5 non-fiction and 5 fiction titles. Are most of the readers challenged by fiction or non-fiction? So here are my 5 non-fiction titles.

Iran Awakening. Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni

Reading Like A Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. Francine Prose.

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Lawrence Wright.

The Places in Between. Rory Stewart.

Yet to read: The Omnivore's Dilemma. Michael Pollan.

I just finished Iran Awakening last night. It is an amazing book about an amazing woman. Before I read this I had no idea she had won the Nobel Peace prize for her work in law and human rights. Probably the main thing that I learned through reading this book was the fact of Iran's democratic roots. I would put Ebadi on my list of people in the world I would most like to meet. Along with Jimmy Carter...and others who work for justice issues around the world.

So I recommend this for a challenge to those who might want to read a non-fiction book that reads well and goes beyond western culture.

Joining in - and my books!!

I'm happy to be joining this challenge!! I looked at it longingly for some time, but Wendy finally "talked" me into joining by a comment she made on my blog today! My book blog is Breaking the Fourth Wall. I also have a "regular" blog about my life - I have two little ones, work part time as a marriage therapist, and love love love yoga!

Looking at the list, I see that I've already read three of the books on the list (links are my reviews):

Black Swan Green
Half of a Yellow Sun
The Inheritance of Loss

I'm adding the following books, all of which are already on my reading list. In other words, I'm joining a challenge that just gets me in gear reading books I already want to read anyway!! Here's what I'll read from this list in the remaining months of this year:

Beasts of No Nation
The Echo Maker
Forgetfulness
The Road
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Suite Francaise

Looking forward to chatting and reading with all of you!

Literary Feline's Progress - Step One: Obtaining the Books

I recently came into possession of several of the NYT 2006 Notable Books. Let the challenge begin! Okay, so maybe not quite yet. I had every intention of beginning Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn (which I already had on hand) once I finished with my current reading selection, however, that is not meant to be. I do hope to get to it or one of my more recent acquisitions before the end of the month. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but let's think positive.

The most recent additions to my personal library in relation to this challenge include:

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala (not on my original list)
The Inhabited World by David Long
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta

I already have copies of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn. They are staring at me from my desk shelf. My cat is not too pleased with their location as that's one of his favorite spots to peer out at the world. Hopefully they will find themselves on my read shelves before he misses his spot too much.

Let me close with a quick shout out to the participants in this great challenge. I am very much enjoying your reviews and reading your thoughts on the books you have chosen to read. I look forward to joining in on the discussions!

Alisia's NYT Notable List

I've joined another challenge! Aaahhh. But I couldn't resist. There are some books on the list I have wanted to read this year, and some that are new to me. I am really looking forward to some good discussions. :)

So that I don't have challenge burn-out, I am not setting myself to any number of books, but here is my list of those that interest me. Well, actually most books on the list interest me, but I have culled it just a bit. Those in bold are books that I definitely plan to read this year (depending largely on library availability).

ABSURDISTAN. By Gary Shteyngart
ALENTEJO BLUE. By Monica Ali
BEASTS OF NO NATION. By Uzodinma Iweala
DIGGING TO AMERICA. By Anne Tyler (finished 4/9/07)
EVERYMAN. By Philip Roth
GATE OF THE SUN. By Elias Khoury
HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Finished 2/27/07)
THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS. By Kiran Desai (Finished 4/5/07)
SUITE FRANÇAISE. By Irène Némirovsky
A WOMAN IN JERUSALEM. By A. B. Yehoshua

Non-fiction:
THE COURTIER AND THE HERETIC: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World. By Matthew Stewart
EAT, PRAY, LOVE: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. By Elizabeth Gilbert
IRAN AWAKENING: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope. By Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni
MAYFLOWER: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. By Nathaniel Philbrick
READING LIKE A WRITER: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. By Francine Prose

I apologize for all the CAPS,. I was cutting and pasting from the NYT website, and that's how they've got it there.

Stephanie's GRAND List of Books!

Hey! Thanks for having me along for this challenge!! I actually joined up last week, but have been busy caring for my 4-year with Strep....Yuk! Anyway, one day at work last year when they announced the 2006 list, I was bored (but don't tell my boss!! I was trying to look busy!). So I printed off the last 10 years lists, with the book summaries. Now, I have so many check-marked, I don't know what to do! So I picked out about 17 fiction and 6 non-fiction. Not sure I will be able to read them ALL, but I figure I might as well try!! Here goes nothing:


FICTION:

• Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
• Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali
• Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
• Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
• Digging to America by Anne Tyler (I'm not sure about this one...I wasn't impressed with the other Anne Tyler book I read)
• The Dissident by Nell Freudenberger
• Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta
• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Inhabited World by David Long
• The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
• The Keep by Jennifer Egan
• Lisey's Story by Stephen King
• One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
• Terrorist by John Updike
• The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits

NON-FICTION:

• Falling Through the Earth: A Memoir by Danielle Trussoni
• Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert
• Flaubert: A Biography by Frederick Brown
• Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back Again by Norah Vincent
• State of Denial by Bob Woodward
• Sweet and Low: A Family Story by Rich Cohen

Seems like a pretty good mix. I love looking at all the lists to see what books all have in common....and what books are unique!!

Later!

Loose Baggy Monster's list o'books

Today I give you my updated list o'books for the NYT Notable Books of 2006 challenge. I have both fiction and non-fiction selections, but because I really want to use this challenge to read books I normally would pass by (or read only the reviews of) I'm trying to stick with more fiction than non. I have 20 fiction books on my list and 5 or 6 non-fiction--the idea is that if I feel the need, I can substitute a non-fiction book at any time. Also, I'm going to be easy on myself--I recognize that I am the world's greatest procrastinator, so I'm not saying I have to read ALL of the books--this is just what I have culled from the list based on what appealed to me most at the time. So....drum roll please.....Here they are!

FICTION:

• Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart (he's coming to speak at my U so I get to go to the reading!)
• Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon
• Apex Hides the Hurt by Colson Whitehead
• Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
• Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
• Brookland by Emily Barton
• The Dream Life of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin
• The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
• Forgetfulness by Ward Just
• Golden Country by Jennifer Gilmore
• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Keep by Jennifer Egan
• The Inhabited World by David Long
• The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
• Old Filth by Jane Gardam
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• Skinner's Drift by Lisa Fugard
• Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
• Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
• A Woman in Jerusalem by A.B. Yehoshua

NON-FICTION:

• The Courtier and the Heretic: Liebniz, Spinoza, and the Fat of God in the Modern World by Matthew Stewart
• Flaubert: A Biography by Frederick Brown
• The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson
  
• Lee Miller: A Life by Carolyn Burke
• The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn
• Sweet and Low: A Family Story by Rich Cohen

Overly ambitious, and perhaps more than a little delusional, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say about their books!

Sally906's Initial list

G'day All

Thank-you for letting me join in :)

I am keeping my list small to start (5) with as I am in a few challenges - hoping to combine most of them :)

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

If, as we talk about them, I think I will be interested in some of the others then I will add to my list :)

Hoo Roo

3M's List

I am totally nuts--insane, bonkers, crazy, etc. Why am I doing another challenge? Because I'm really enjoying the literary blogosphere. Because I'm "meeting" fellow bookaholics. Because I love to read. (And because a lot of the books were on my list, anyway!)

I am only reading 10. That's wimpy compared to others, but that's all I can do!!

*Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
*Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski
*The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
*Lisey's Story by Stephen King
*The Road by Cormac McCarthy
*Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
*The Echo Maker by Richard Powers

Edit: I am adding some more possibilities. The ones with the asterix above are definites. I can still commit to only 10, but after doing some more research, the following titles are interesting as well:

The Translator, by Leila Aboulela
The Dead Fish Museum, by Charles D'Ambrosio
Twilight of the Superheroes, by Deborah Eisenberg
Old Filth, by Jane Gardam
Golden Country, by Jennifer Gilmore
Intuition, by Allegra Goodman
The Stories of Mary Gordon, by Mary Gordon
The Dream Life of Sukhanov, by Olga Grushin
All Aunt Hagar's Children, by Edward P. Jones
Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury
The Inhabited World, by David Long
Gallatin Canyon: Stories, by Thomas McGuane
Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell
Everyman, by Phillip Roth
A Woman in Jerusalem, by A.B. Yehoshua
Eat, Pray, Love By Elizabeth Gilbert
The Omnivore's Dilemma By Michael Pollan
Reading Like a Writer By Francine Prose

Literary Feline's List of Potentials

Wendy (Caribousmom) twisted my arm, and here I am. At least, she is just my excuse for letting myself be swept into another irresistable challenge. For the long version of the story, stop by my personal blog, Musings of a Bookish Kitty.

In order to make the NYT Challenge work for me, I am going to allow myself a lot of freedom. I will not be setting a specific number of books to read from the list (although I would like to read them all!). I have jotted down a few titles that appeal to me, and my choices will come from that list (subject to change based on other books that catch my fancy or recommedations by others).

Without further ado . . .

Fiction:
Forgetfulness by Ward Just (read 12/2006)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
The Inhabited World by David Long (read 06/2007)
Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Absurditan by Gary Shteyngart
Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta
Digging to America by Anne Tyler

Nonfiction:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

SleepyReader's List

Hi Everyone! Despite thinking I am crazy for joining another challenge, I am really excited to participate. So far the challenges have really motivated me to accomplish my reading goals and this one in particular has motivated me to stretch my reading choices.

Here are my choices:

1. The Inhabited World - Long
2. Golden Country - Gilmore
3. Lisey's Story - King
4. One Good Turn - Atkinson
5. The Road - McCarthy
6. The Keep - Egan
7. The Inheritance of Loss - Desai
8. The Echo Maker - Powers
9. Eat the Document - Spiotta
10. The Uses of Enchantment - Julavits
11. Falling Through the Earth - Trussoni
12. The Ghost Map - Johnson
13. The Great Deluge - Brinkley
14. The Omnivore's Dilemma - Pollan
15. The Worst Hard Time - Egan

***Edited to Add: I missed the original discussion about choosing a minimum of 10 fiction. I got excited and stopped reading too soon! I will choose 5 more fiction to follow the challenge guidelines.

Good luck everyone and Happy Reading!

Joy's Challenge Choices

1. Half of a Yellow Sun (Adichie)

2. One Good Turn (Atkinson)

*3. Eat, Pray, Love (Gilbert)
Finished on 1-15-07

*4. The Inhabited World (Long)

Finished 3-25-07

*5.The Road (McCarthy)
Finished 4-03-07

6. Black Swan Green (Mitchell)
Shelved for another day.

7. Suite Francaise (Nemirovsky)
Shelved for another day.

*8.Beasts of No Nation (Iweala)
Finished 3-29-07

9. The Echo Maker (Powers)

*10. Reading Like a Writer (Prose)
Finished on 11-5-06

*11.Everyman (Roth)
Finished on 5-22-07

*12. Digging to America (Tyler)

Finished on 09-7-06

*Click on a title will link you to "Thoughts of Joy..."

Kim's List....

Hello there! I am excited to join the challenge with you all :0) I just thought I would pop in and post my list of what I am going to read for the challenge...there are definitely some great books to choose from, but the following books were the ones that caught my eye! I am looking forward to discussing these book with everyone!

The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
High Lonesome by Joyce Carol Oates
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits
Golden Country by Jennifer Gilmore
Skinner's Drift by Lisa Fugard
The Dissident by Nell Freudenberger
The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford
The Keep by Jennifer Egan
The Dead Fish Museum by Charles D'Ambrosio
Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali
The Translator by Leila Aboulela
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
The Inhabited World by David Long
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiren Desai
Lisey's Story by Steven King
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

I have already started to read "The Emperor's Children"...happy reading everyone!

Pour of Tor's Provisional To Do List

There are a couple of ways to approach this challenge (at least). The first involves setting a number of "Notable Books" you would like to make your way through before the end of 2007, and then allowing yourself the freedom to choose which books will make up that number as you progress through the list. The second (and the one, obsessive planner that I am, that I chose) involves outlining a list of specific works that you would like to cover over a twelve month period. Here is my list:


Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg
Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones
Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
**Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky** - finished!
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Digging to America by Anne Tyler


Will this list change over the course of the year, as some books don't take and others seduce me away from my plans? Probably. If I finish all twelve (ha!), will I move on to others on the list? Perhaps. Will the reviews posted by other participants influence what I want to read? Definitely.

At any rate, I am currently at work on two works for the challenge, both of them none too jolly: Beasts of No Nation and The Road. Iweala's book was so massively, shatteringly grim that I had to take a break in the middle (it is not long, but it is densely, evocatively written). Why, despite all warnings about the unrelenting darkness of the McCarthy, I chose it to leaven my depression, is a mystery to me.

[Update from Saturday, Feb. 24: I wanted to add a few books from the NYT Non-fiction list to my goal, bringing the provisional goal to 15 books in 2007. The additions are:

THE WORST HARD TIME: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. By Timothy Egan

ORACLE BONES: A Journey Between China's Past and Present. By Peter Hessler

THE LOOMING TOWER: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. By Lawrence Wright]