I am new to this list. I decided at the beginning of the year to challenge myself to reading a greater variety of books this year than I have in a LONG time, and the poster of one particular reading challenge that caught my fancy was on Good Reads, which led me here, as well.
I am already planning for my reading challenge for next year, and toward that end found this list of Fifty Books very interesting, because about half of them are books that I have not only NOT ever read, but many I have not even ever heard of before!
Here is what I've accomplished thus far this year, it won't match up well with this list - yet - but I'll list at the end all the books from this list that I've already read.
1) A book published this year: (Going to read The Nest - already bought it)
2) A book you can finish in a day: The Master of the Prado, Javier Sierra (really enjoy most of his works for the magic/science they contain) - mystery
3) A book you've been meaning to read: A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter Miller (and now reading its sequel: Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman) - science fiction
4) A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller: don't have that one yet....
5) A book you should have read in school: Ahab's Wife (alternate title: The Stargazer) - what a great, feminine perspective on the whole Moby Dick era in New England - also enjoyed the Kentucky connection....
6) A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF: going to revisit Moby Dick, at the suggestion of my older son, and to go with Ahab's Wife (LOVE to do paired readings)....
7) A book published before you were born - selections from Arthur C. Clarke that included The Nine Billion Names of God - science fiction
8) A book that was banned at some point: In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park - autobiographical (banned in North Korea)
9) A book you previously abandoned: not sure yet what that will be, as Moby Dick fits, but I don't want to use the same book for more than one category - maybe Watership Down if I can stand it, or The Great Gatsby....
10) A book you own but have never read: The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand - haven't started it yet....
11) A book that intimidates you: One Hundred Years of Solitude - WOW, what a ride that was - I think I have a love/hate relationship with the book - perhaps more magical realism than most can handle....
12) A book you've already read at least once: not sure yet what that will be, as there are many choices on my shelves....
And these are additions I made, from Good Reads:
13) A page-turner: The Girl on the Train - loved it!
14) Non-fiction on Current Events of Interest: Lights Out, Ted Koppel - nothing new here and quite rambling - not a fan....
15) Innovative Science: still looking....
16) A Book About War: Kite Runner - have meant to read it for years - Wow, in light of what is going on there, probably more powerful now than ever....
17) A Book Containing Bizarre or Insane Characters: A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy O'Toole - picaresque - I'm sorry there was no sequel....
18) A Book that is a take-off on a Classic: not sure yet what that will be as I don't want to use Ahab's Wife for two categories....
19) Horror: perhaps Slade House, by David Mitchell, if I can find it....
20) Science: perhaps Unnatural Selection, Emily Monosson, if I can find it.... 21) A Collection of Essays: suggestions?
22) A Book under 100 Pages: suggestions?
23) A Book about Religion: have read several this year, related to the Catholic Church: Mercy; John Paul; Hail, Holy Queen; etc.
24) A Food Memoir: suggestions? I loved all the books written by Mayle about Provence. Also loved Eat, Pray, Love....
25) A Book in Which the Main Character has a Mental Illness: perhaps Challenger Deep, Neil Shusterman, if I can find it....
26) Non-Fiction Book about Africa: perhaps The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, Joshua Hammer - and I may buy this one if I can't find it locally....
27) Historical Novel: already read All the Light We Cannot See, but may also try to find War Story: The Last Goodnight, Howard Blum
28) Romance: The Fault in Our Stars, John Green; The Time Traveller's Wife
29) A Play: The Seagull, Anton Chekhov
30) A Short Story Collection: suggestions?
And I just read a mystery, which is my typical fare: A Thin Dark Line, Tami Hoag - my mother feeds me mysteries (which end up mostly being romances, which I detest, in general, which I why I was trying to find romances for myself this year with a more interesting twist....)
Books I've read from the Fifty Books List:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy - plus the Silmarillion, yeah, I'm a real geek....
1984 (LOVE)
Pride and Prejudice
To Kill a Mockingbird - plus Go Set a Watchman
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights - a perennial favorite!
The Lord of the Flies
Hamlet - need to read again, particularly after reading The Seagull....
The Great Gatsby - may be my re-read this year as I DETEST this book and don't know that I actually ever managed to finish it....
The Catcher in the Rye
Brave New World (LOVE)
The Diary of Anne Frank
Don Quixote - LOVE this book, but have never managed to actually finish it in its entirety - need to try again....
The Bible - have read many times
Harry Potter series - LOVE - OH! The sequel is coming out! I have to get that!
The Wind in the Willows (LOVE)
His Dark Materials trilogy - interesting; can't say that I really love the outlook, as a Christian....
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Heart of Darkness - what a disturbing, dark book, huh?
Life of Pi (LOVE)
Frankenstein (LOVE)
The War of the Worlds (LOVE)
Gulliver's Travels - probably need to revisit this one....
A Christmas Carol
Huckleberry Finn - perhaps time for a revisit....
Robinson Crusoe - probably need to reread this one, too....
Hello,
I am new to this list. I decided at the beginning of the year to challenge myself to reading a greater variety of books this year than I have in a LONG time, and the poster of one particular reading challenge that caught my fancy was on Good Reads, which led me here, as well.
I am already planning for my reading challenge for next year, and toward that end found this list of Fifty Books very interesting, because about half of them are books that I have not only NOT ever read, but many I have not even ever heard of before!
Here is what I've accomplished thus far this year, it won't match up well with this list - yet - but I'll list at the end all the books from this list that I've already read.
1) A book published this year: (Going to read The Nest - already bought it)
2) A book you can finish in a day: The Master of the Prado, Javier Sierra (really enjoy most of his works for the magic/science they contain) - mystery
3) A book you've been meaning to read: A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter Miller (and now reading its sequel: Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman) - science fiction
4) A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller: don't have that one yet....
5) A book you should have read in school: Ahab's Wife (alternate title: The Stargazer) - what a great, feminine perspective on the whole Moby Dick era in New England - also enjoyed the Kentucky connection....
6) A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF: going to revisit Moby Dick, at the suggestion of my older son, and to go with Ahab's Wife (LOVE to do paired readings)....
7) A book published before you were born - selections from Arthur C. Clarke that included The Nine Billion Names of God - science fiction
8) A book that was banned at some point: In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park - autobiographical (banned in North Korea)
9) A book you previously abandoned: not sure yet what that will be, as Moby Dick fits, but I don't want to use the same book for more than one category - maybe Watership Down if I can stand it, or The Great Gatsby....
10) A book you own but have never read: The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand - haven't started it yet....
11) A book that intimidates you: One Hundred Years of Solitude - WOW, what a ride that was - I think I have a love/hate relationship with the book - perhaps more magical realism than most can handle....
12) A book you've already read at least once: not sure yet what that will be, as there are many choices on my shelves....
And these are additions I made, from Good Reads:
13) A page-turner: The Girl on the Train - loved it!
14) Non-fiction on Current Events of Interest: Lights Out, Ted Koppel - nothing new here and quite rambling - not a fan....
15) Innovative Science: still looking....
16) A Book About War: Kite Runner - have meant to read it for years - Wow, in light of what is going on there, probably more powerful now than ever....
17) A Book Containing Bizarre or Insane Characters: A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy O'Toole - picaresque - I'm sorry there was no sequel....
18) A Book that is a take-off on a Classic: not sure yet what that will be as I don't want to use Ahab's Wife for two categories....
19) Horror: perhaps Slade House, by David Mitchell, if I can find it....
20) Science: perhaps Unnatural Selection, Emily Monosson, if I can find it....
21) A Collection of Essays: suggestions?
22) A Book under 100 Pages: suggestions?
23) A Book about Religion: have read several this year, related to the Catholic Church: Mercy; John Paul; Hail, Holy Queen; etc.
24) A Food Memoir: suggestions? I loved all the books written by Mayle about Provence. Also loved Eat, Pray, Love....
25) A Book in Which the Main Character has a Mental Illness: perhaps Challenger Deep, Neil Shusterman, if I can find it....
26) Non-Fiction Book about Africa: perhaps The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, Joshua Hammer - and I may buy this one if I can't find it locally....
27) Historical Novel: already read All the Light We Cannot See, but may also try to find War Story: The Last Goodnight, Howard Blum
28) Romance: The Fault in Our Stars, John Green; The Time Traveller's Wife
29) A Play: The Seagull, Anton Chekhov
30) A Short Story Collection: suggestions?
And I just read a mystery, which is my typical fare: A Thin Dark Line, Tami Hoag - my mother feeds me mysteries (which end up mostly being romances, which I detest, in general, which I why I was trying to find romances for myself this year with a more interesting twist....)
Books I've read from the Fifty Books List:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy - plus the Silmarillion, yeah, I'm a real geek....
1984 (LOVE)
Pride and Prejudice
To Kill a Mockingbird - plus Go Set a Watchman
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights - a perennial favorite!
The Lord of the Flies
Hamlet - need to read again, particularly after reading The Seagull....
The Great Gatsby - may be my re-read this year as I DETEST this book and don't know that I actually ever managed to finish it....
The Catcher in the Rye
Brave New World (LOVE)
The Diary of Anne Frank
Don Quixote - LOVE this book, but have never managed to actually finish it in its entirety - need to try again....
The Bible - have read many times
Harry Potter series - LOVE - OH! The sequel is coming out! I have to get that!
The Wind in the Willows (LOVE)
His Dark Materials trilogy - interesting; can't say that I really love the outlook, as a Christian....
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Heart of Darkness - what a disturbing, dark book, huh?
Life of Pi (LOVE)
Frankenstein (LOVE)
The War of the Worlds (LOVE)
Gulliver's Travels - probably need to revisit this one....
A Christmas Carol
Huckleberry Finn - perhaps time for a revisit....
Robinson Crusoe - probably need to reread this one, too....
The Count of Monte Cristo - need to revisit....
Memoirs of a Geisha (LOVE)