reading challenges for 2009
I'm getting back to my reading now that daughter is a bit older and actually lets us sleep through the nights. Diving blindly into the imaginary world of fiction also makes me momentarily forget how gloomy I feel, all the time. LibraryThing is hosting a challenge in which you read 9 books from 9 different categories. Both the categories and the books are chosen by you. Below are my choices.
Titles in bold have been read.
Titles in italics I have on my shelves.
Titles in blue are extras.
#1 - FANTASY & SCIFI
01. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
02. The Weaveworld by Clive Barker
03. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
04. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
05. Magician Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist
06. The Color of Magic by Terry Prachett
07. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
08. The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
09. The Wizard of EarthSea by Ursula LeGuin
#2 - CLASSICS
01. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoi
02. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
03. 1984 by George Orwell
04. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
05. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
06.
07.
08.
09.
MURDERS AND MYSTERIES
01. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
02. The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson
03. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest - Stieg Larsson
04. In Their Footsteps by Tess Gerritsen
05. Trace by Patricia Cornwell
06. Predator by Patricia Cornwell
07. Black Coffee by Agatha Christie
08. One Two Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie
09. You Belong to Me by Mary Higgins Clark
#3 - BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES
01. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominic Bauby
02. Blindness by Jose Saramago
03. Q & A by Vikas Swarup
04. Atonement by Ian McEwan
05. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
06. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
07. The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
08. His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
09. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
#4 - FROM MY OWN SHELVES
01. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
02. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
03. Body Surfing by Anita Shreve
04. Book Thief by Markus Zusak
05. God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
06. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
07. The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon
08. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
09.
#5 - HISTORICAL FICTION
01. Tai-Pan by James Clavell
02. Gai-Jin by James Clavell
03. The English Patient by Michael Ondaantje
04. Ex Libris by Ross King
05. The Secret by Julie Garwood
06. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
07.
08.
09.
#6 - BOOKS THAT SPARK MY CURIOSITY
01. The Timetraveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
02. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
03. Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman
04. The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
05. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
06. A Child Called 'It' by Dave Pelzer
07. Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer
08. Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach
09. Saving Faith by David Baldacci
#7 - BOOKS ABOUT WOMEN
01. Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
02. Blessings by Belva Plain
03. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
04. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
#8 - BOOKS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
01. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (India)
02. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
#9 - BOOKS WITH A NAME IN THE TITLE
01. The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite
02. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
03. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
04. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
05. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
06.
07.
08.
09.
And just for fun without any deadlines I shall also attempt the What's In The Name Challenge 1 and 2. Below (and under the cut) my book choices for that challenge. Some may overlap with the 999 challenge :)
BOOKS WITH "PROFESSION" IN THE TITLE
01. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
02. The Assasin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
03. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
04. The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte
BOOKS WITH TIME OF DAY IN THE TITLE
01. Midnight'a Children by Salman Rushdie
02. 4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie
03. Night Train by Martin Amis
BOOKS WITH A "RELATIVE" IN THE TITLE
01. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
02. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
03. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
BOOKS WITH A BODY PART IN THE TITLE
01. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
02. Philippa's Hands by Nancy Kress
03. Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
BOOKS WITH A BUILDING IN THE TITLE
01. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
02.
03.
BOOKS WITH A MEDICAL CONDITION IN THE TITLE
01. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
02.
03.
BOOKS WITH A COLOR IN THE TITLE
01. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
02. Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
03. The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble
04. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
BOOKS WITH AN ANIMAL IN THE TITLE
01. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
02. Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
03. Cobra Event by Richard Preston
BOOKS WITH A FIRST NAME IN THE TITLE
01. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
02. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
03. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
BOOKS WITH A PLACE IN THE TITLE
01. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
02. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
03. Love and Longing in Bombay by Vikram Chandra
04 The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III
BOOKS WITH A "WEATHER EVENT" IN THE TITLE
01. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twang Eng
02. Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
03.
BOOKS WITH A PLANT IN THE TITLE
01. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
02.
03.
Titles in bold have been read.
Titles in italics I have on my shelves.
Titles in blue are extras.
#1 - FANTASY & SCIFI
01. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
02. The Weaveworld by Clive Barker
03. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
04. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
05. Magician Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist
06. The Color of Magic by Terry Prachett
07. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
08. The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
09. The Wizard of EarthSea by Ursula LeGuin
#2 - CLASSICS
01. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoi
02. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
03. 1984 by George Orwell
04. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
05. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
06.
07.
08.
09.
MURDERS AND MYSTERIES
01. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
02. The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson
03. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest - Stieg Larsson
04. In Their Footsteps by Tess Gerritsen
05. Trace by Patricia Cornwell
06. Predator by Patricia Cornwell
07. Black Coffee by Agatha Christie
08. One Two Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie
09. You Belong to Me by Mary Higgins Clark
#3 - BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES
01. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominic Bauby
02. Blindness by Jose Saramago
03. Q & A by Vikas Swarup
04. Atonement by Ian McEwan
05. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
06. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
07. The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
08. His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
09. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
#4 - FROM MY OWN SHELVES
01. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
02. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
03. Body Surfing by Anita Shreve
04. Book Thief by Markus Zusak
05. God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
06. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
07. The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon
08. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
09.
#5 - HISTORICAL FICTION
01. Tai-Pan by James Clavell
02. Gai-Jin by James Clavell
03. The English Patient by Michael Ondaantje
04. Ex Libris by Ross King
05. The Secret by Julie Garwood
06. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
07.
08.
09.
#6 - BOOKS THAT SPARK MY CURIOSITY
01. The Timetraveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
02. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
03. Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman
04. The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
05. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
06. A Child Called 'It' by Dave Pelzer
07. Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer
08. Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach
09. Saving Faith by David Baldacci
#7 - BOOKS ABOUT WOMEN
01. Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
02. Blessings by Belva Plain
03. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
04. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
#8 - BOOKS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
01. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (India)
02. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
#9 - BOOKS WITH A NAME IN THE TITLE
01. The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite
02. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
03. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
04. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
05. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
06.
07.
08.
09.
And just for fun without any deadlines I shall also attempt the What's In The Name Challenge 1 and 2. Below (and under the cut) my book choices for that challenge. Some may overlap with the 999 challenge :)
BOOKS WITH "PROFESSION" IN THE TITLE
01. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
02. The Assasin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
03. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
04. The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte
BOOKS WITH TIME OF DAY IN THE TITLE
01. Midnight'a Children by Salman Rushdie
02. 4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie
03. Night Train by Martin Amis
BOOKS WITH A "RELATIVE" IN THE TITLE
01. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
02. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
03. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
BOOKS WITH A BODY PART IN THE TITLE
01. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
02. Philippa's Hands by Nancy Kress
03. Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
BOOKS WITH A BUILDING IN THE TITLE
01. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
02.
03.
BOOKS WITH A MEDICAL CONDITION IN THE TITLE
01. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
02.
03.
BOOKS WITH A COLOR IN THE TITLE
01. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
02. Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
03. The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble
04. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
BOOKS WITH AN ANIMAL IN THE TITLE
01. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
02. Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
03. Cobra Event by Richard Preston
BOOKS WITH A FIRST NAME IN THE TITLE
01. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
02. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
03. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
BOOKS WITH A PLACE IN THE TITLE
01. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
02. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
03. Love and Longing in Bombay by Vikram Chandra
04 The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III
BOOKS WITH A "WEATHER EVENT" IN THE TITLE
01. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twang Eng
02. Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
03.
BOOKS WITH A PLANT IN THE TITLE
01. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
02.
03.