SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

This is the official thread for the Discover Your Own Bookshelves challenge. Please post your list of 25 books and 10 alternatives (or 10 with 3 alternatives for the mini challenge), by 31 October. Once the challenge begins, you will no longer be able to edit your list; you have to read the books on the list to finish the challenge.

This challenge is inspired by Susan Hill's Howards End Is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home in which she set out to read only books from her own bookshelf. Lovely book. Applies to all of us since we have bookshelves full of books, boxes stored in cupboards and garages, piles on the floor and an ereader full of more books.

Objective Read books which you already own (either in your bookshelf or on your e-reader)

Rules
Before you start the challenge you must post a list of 25 books which you already own and plan to read for the challenge.
You can post a second list with 10 books which you also own and can use to swap out some on your original list (you may want to use a book from the second list for another challenge later, etc).
Rereads are allowed.
You must own either the physical book or it must exist on your ereader before you start the challenge.
If anybody joins the challenge after 1 November, they are subject to the same rules.
Mini challenge: Original list of 10 books plus 3 on the second list.

This challenge will begin on 1 November 2013 and end on 31 October 2014. Any book that you finish reading during that period can count for this challenge.

Read

The List
1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
2. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
3. Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood
4. Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
5. Parasite by Mira Grant
6. The Troop by Nick Cutter
7. The Flight of the Silvers by Daniel Price
8. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
9. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente
10. Snowblind by Christopher Golden
11. The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
12. Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee Moyer
13. The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi
14. The Color Master by Aimee Bender
15. Lexicon by Max Barry
16. The Humans by Matt Haig
17. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
18. The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates
19. The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron
20. Room by Emma Donoghue
21. Steel Wind Rising by Scott Meintjes
22.
23. The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman
24. She Walks in Darkness by Evangeline Walton
25. Katya's World by Jonathan L. Howard

Alternatives:
1. The White Forest by Adam McOmber
2. Something Red by Douglas Nicholas
3. American Elsewhere by Robert J. Bennet
4. The Killables by Gemma Malley
5. No Return by Zachary Jernigan
6. Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux
7. Panopticon by Jenni Fagan
8. The Best of Connie Willis
9. Worst. Person. Ever. by Douglas Coupland
10. Dark Windows by Louis Greenberg

Total: 21/25

JOIN THE REBELLION TODAY! FREEDOM TO CHOOSE!! FREEDOM TO ALL!

Progress: 17/25

1. Coyote - Allen Steele
2. Coyote Rising - Allen Steele
3. Coyote Frontier - Allen Steele
4. Spindrift
✔ 5. The Mall - SL Grey
✔ 6. Last Days - Adam Nevill
✔ 7. Apartment 16 - Adam Nevill
✔ 8. The Ritual - Adam Nevill
✔ 9. Hilldiggers - Neal Asher
✔ 10. Cowl - Neal Asher
✔ 11. The Long War - Pratchett and Baxter
✔ 12. Newton's Wake - Ken Macleod
✔ 13. Moonrise - Ben Bova
✔ 14. Moonwar - Ben Bova
15. Necropath - Eric Brown
16. Xenopath - Eric Brown
17. Cosmopath - Eric Brown
✔ 18. Books of the south Shadow Games - Glen Cook
✔ 19. Books of the south [Dreams of steel] - Glen Cook
✔ 20. Books of the south [Silver Spike] - Glen Cook
21. Songs of the Earth - Elspeth Cooper
22. January Dancer - Michael Flynn
23. Parasite - Mira Grant
24. Ancillery Justice - Ann Leckie
✔ 25. The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan

Alts:
1. Galaxy Blues
✔ 2. Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan
3. On the Steel Breeze - Reynolds
4. Hull Zero Three - Greg Bear
✔ 5. Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin
✔6. Cowboy Angels - Paul McAuley
7. The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
8. Spin - Robert Wilson
9. Axis - Robert Wilson
10. Vortex - Robert Wilson

[I changed Ark to The Long War, since I mistakenly finished Ark on the 31st of Oct]

16/25

✔1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
✔2. Joyland by Stephen King
✔3. Looking for Alaska by John Green
4. Ink by Amanda Sun
5. Speechless by Hannah Harrington
6. Sea by Heidi R. Kling
7. Far From You by Tess Sharpe
✔8. Nick & Norah's Infinite PlaylistRachel Cohn
9. Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder
10. Aberration by Lisa Regan
11. Tough Girl by Libby Heily
✔12. Inkarna by Nerine Dorman
13. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail by Succeed by Jared Diamond
14. Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz
✔15. Taylor Swift: The Unofficial Story: Platinum EditionLiv Spencer
✔16. The Returned by Jason Mott
17. Waterfell by Amalie Howard
✔18. Betrayed by P.C. Cast
✔19. The Pegasus Project by Daphne Olivier
20. Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
21. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
✔22. The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice
✔23. Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles
24. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
✔25. Elder Druid by India Drummond

Alternatives:

✔1. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
2. The F- It List by Julie Halpern
✔3. The Troop by Nick Cutter
✔4. Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison
5. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
✔6. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
7. Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
8. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
9. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters
10. Sia by Josh Grayson

14/25

THE IMPOSSIBLE LIST
✔1.Earth Star
✔2.The Austere Academy
3.Burial Rites
4.Shaman
✔5.The Miserable Mill
6.Magic Marks the Spot
✔7.Not a Drop to Drink
✔8.Vicious
✔9.The Girl of Fire and Thorns
10.Foxfire
11.The Casual Vacancy
12.The Cuckoo's Calling
13.The Traitor in the Tunnel
14.The Cadet of Tildor
15.Fade to Black
✔16.Tanith Low in the Maleficent Seven
✔17.In the After
✔18.The 100
✔19.Bones to Ashes
✔20.Allegiant
✔21.A Matter of Days
22.Curtsies & Conspiracies
23.Hild
✔24.Dust
✔25.Ancillary Justice

The Burning Sky | The Secret of Abdu El-Yezdi | The Ersatz Elevator | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Never Fade | Steelheart | UnSouled | Boneshaker | Theft of Swords | Monsters

24/25

✔1. In Shackleton's Footsteps: A Return to the Heart of the Antarctic
2. Aztec
✔3. 21 Yaks and a Speedo - How to achieve your own impossible
BUSY4. Poseidon's Arrow
✔5. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
✔6. The House of Hades
✔7. The Warlords of Nin
✔8. The Sword and the Flame
9. The Eye of the World
✔10. Under the Dome
✔11. Railsea
✔12. The Angel Experiment
✔13. Trace Memory
✔14. Charlie Bone and the Red Knight
15. The Thirteenth Tale
16. Scar Night
17. Foundation
✔18. All the Pretty Horses
✔19. Doctor Who: The Nightmare of Black Island
✔20. The Girl of Fire and Thorns
21. Sycamore Row
✔22. UnSouled
✔23. Allegiant
✔24. Looking for Alaska
✔25. Into the Wild
✔26. How to Betray a Dragon's Hero
✔27. Wasp
✔28. Uninvited
✔29. Grave Mercy
✔30. Uncharted
✔31. Flood
32. The Long War
33. Tam Lin
34. Insurrection
35. The Map of Time

1. Witches of East End

2. Riding the Storm

3. Looking for Alaska

4. Endless Knight

5. The Phantom of Pine Hill

6. Carrier of the Mark

7. Catching Jordan

8. Dark Triumph

9. Perdition

10. Love and Lists

11. Gentle Rogue

12. A Game of Thrones

13. Moab Is My Washpot

14. Red

15. Allegiant

16. Never Fade 1987

17. Bound by Night

18. Strangers on a Train

19. Joyland

20. Head Over Heels

21. Through the Ever Night

22. One Tiny Lie

23. Horde

24. Uncharted

25. The Darkest Lie



On the Jellicoe Road The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend Black Heart The Edge of Never Heart-Shaped Box Driving Mr. Dead Succubi Are Forever Eternally Yours The Sea of Tranquility

21/25

I think that's fine, as long as you've listed your 25-35 books. My understanding of the challenge rules is that you have to make a list of books acquired before you start, and then you can ONLY read books from that list. If you don't have enough unread books, you can list books for re-reading.

Why not simply do both?
Then, if its a book not on this list, add it to the 25 books for the Rebellion? Or add to both?...

I'll grant you I'll spend a while staring at my shelves trying to decide which ones to "short-list" for this challenge, as, like Crusader, I'm very much an "Ooh! this looks good"/ "Hey! I forgot I bought this!" kind of reader...

Plus, it's an excellent way to get through all the 'pretties' we bought at the exclusive books sale! :)

I Think this is it...

25/25

✔1.Ship Breaker
✔2.The Drowned Cities
✔3.Fall of Night
✔4.Daylighters
✔5.The Hunger Games
✔6.Catching Fire
✔7.Mockingjay
✔8.Magic to the Bone
✔9.The Wolf Gift
✔10.Deadly Sting
✔11.Heart of Venom
✔12.The Darkest Night
✔13.Unleashed
✔14.Hot Blooded
✔15.The Killing Moon
✔16.The Shadowed Sun
✔17.Blood and Feathers
✔18. The Last Werewolf
✔19.Mystic City
✔20.God Save the Queen
✔21.White Night
✔22.I Am Number Four
✔23.The Power of Six
✔24.The Rise of Nine
✔25.Graveminder

Alternates: (2/10)
Jim Butcher -Dresden Files| Proven Guilty |What the Night Knows| Flash and Bones |Lost Souls|Voodoo Eyes|The Hidden Oasis|Rising Sun|The Killing Way|Fade to Black

I love lists, so I am joining but I might not do so well . . . my reading tastes vary a lot these days . . . one day it' horror . . . then YA . . . then fantasy . . . lol

5/25

1. Carrie by Stephen King
2. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
3. Cinder by Melissa Meyer
4. Scarlet by Melissa Meyer
5. Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz
6. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
7. The Uninvited by Liz Jensen - 05/11/2013
8. Countdown by Michelle Rowen
9. After the Ending by Lindsey Fairleigh
10. Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig
11. Breakers by Edward W. Robertson
12. The New Girl by SL Grey
13. Erebos by Ursula Poznanski, Judith Pattinson
14. The Sum of My Parts: A Survivor's Story of Dissociative Identity Disorder by Olga Trujillo - 02/11/2013
15. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collings
16. The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King
17. Uglies by Scott Westerfield
18. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
19. Before I fall by Lauren Oliver
20. Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston
21. Freak of Nature by Julia Crane
22. The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice
23. Insomnia by Stephen King
24. The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray
25. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin



Alternatives
Killing Floor by Lee Child - 06/11/2013
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Bossypants by Tina Fey - 22/11/2013
The Sweetness at the bottom of the pie by Alan Bradley
Black River by Dean Koontz - 25/11/2013
The Girl who love Tom Gordon by Stephen King
Demon by Kristina Douglas
Dream Doctor by J.J. DiBenedetto

My spot

Those books linked have been read

19/25

List books:
1. The Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights
2. Lost Empire / Clive Cussler
3. Creative correction
4. Illusion
5. Sons and Lovers
6. Boundaries : when to say no / H Cloud
7. Understanding ADHS
8. The Land of Painted Caves
9. A vow to keep / Lana Williams - Replace with Rain Song
10. Oryx and Crake
11. Maid in the USA
12. The Tycoon's Revenge
13. Devil's Gate
14. Betrayed / J Windle
15. Reckless Nights in Rome
16. Shameless
17. The Daddy Pact
18. Angel private eye : the prequel replaced with Crescent Dawn
19. Bridesmaid Lotto
20. Wolf Hall / Hilary Mantel
21. Commando: A Boer Journal Of The Boer War
22. The Other Boleyn Girl
23. Nemesis / Jo Nesbo
24. Betrayed: Days of the Rogue
25. Instructing Adam / S Blake - Replace with Drive Me Crazy as it was a short story

Alternates:
1. Drive Me Crazy - used as replacement for #25
2. HC Bosman
3. Crescent Dawn - used as replacement for #18
4. Parched / Zl Arkadie
5. Rain Song - used as a replacement for #9
6. Second chance romance
7. The executive's decision
8. The white tree
9. Tales before Tolkien
10. The children of Hurin

I signed up for Crusader's shorter easier one... but will be doing this one too. It's a whole year... Shouldn't be too hard right? *grimaces*
1. Cinder
2. Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight
3. City of Bones
4. City of Glass
5. City of Ashes
6. City of Fallen Angels
7. City of Lost Souls
8. Bloodlines
9. The Golden Lily
10. The Indigo Spell
11. Reflected in You
12. Entwined with You
13. The Last Honest Woman
14. Scarlet
15. Inheritance
16. Gypsy
17. Divergent
18. Insurgent
19. Pride and Prejudice
20. Covert Assignment
21. Everything Between Us
22. The Devil's Tattoo
23. Love and Relativity
24. Attempting Elizabeth
25. The Geek Job

Alternate:
1. Snow White and the Vampire
2. Destined
3. Dragon's Oath
4. Divine By Blood
5.Elphame's Choice
6. Mockingjay
7. Catching Fire
8. Sense and Sensibility
9. Fable
10. Summertime

10/25

You can do it!

My list
21/25

1. Crossed
2. Reached
3. Insurgent
4. Allegiant
5. The Night Circus
6. Before I Fall
7. Red Riding Hood
8. Eve
9. The Color of Magic
10.Then
11. The Midnight Zoo
12. Pride and Prejudice
13.Sense and Sensibility
14. Coraline
15.Huntress
16. Oryx and Crake
17.The Joy Luck Club
18. Human.4
19. The White Queen
20.Legend
21.Cinder
22.Bumped
23. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
24. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
25.The Plantation

Alternates:

1.The Hobbit
2.Heartless
3.Rippler
4. UnEnchanted
5. Thoughtless
6.The Procedure
7.The Princess Problem
8.Dark Promise
9. In The After
10. Notes to Self

This challenge is for me, I might actually now read some of those wonderful books on the shelve (cupboards, boxes, piles all over my house and let me not forget the Kindle).

Progress: 4/25

After careful consideration here is my list (balanced to suit all moods):
1. Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett
2. Thud - Terry Pratchett
3. Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
4. Leadership and self deception
5. Boundaries
6. Grave secrets - Kathy
7. Eat, pray, love
8. Too big to fail
9. The shadow of the wind
10. The confession - John Grisham
11. 11.22.63 - Stephen King
# They do it with mirrors - Agatha Christie
# The Importance of being seven -Alexander M Smith
14. A feast for crows
15. The blind assassin - Margaret Atwood
16. The aurora tea garden mysteries omnibus #1
17. The Harlequin
18. Flora's lot
19. Radio romance
20. A man to call her own
21. The devil and miss Prym
22. River's edge (ebook)
23. Free falling (ebook)
24. The season of the witch - Natasha Mostert
25. Moerbeibos

Alternates:
# Bitten - Kelly Armstrong
2. Queen Camilla
3. The picture of Dorian Grey (ebook)
4. Blood noir
# Darkness unbound
6. Sense and Sensibility
7. The dog who came in from the cold
8. Kinders van die Sabbatsee
9. The rise and fall of the Third Reich (ebook)
10. Maanskijnbaai 2

Marlese wrote: "This challenge is for me, I might actually now read some of those wonderful books on the shelve (cupboards, boxes, piles all over my house and let me not forget the Kindle).

After careful conside..."

I did that too - tried to get something of everything so I could find something to fit my mood. I still have to get my alternatives together :)

The list:
20/25

1 Angel with Two Faces
2 Afterglow and Nightfall
3 The Matarese Circle
4 Beasts of No Nation
5 With This Ring
6 A Case of Two Cities
7 Room
8 The Whisperer
9 The Skull Beneath the Skin
10 The English Assassin
11 Code Name Verity
12 Where She Went
13 The Man with the Lead Stomach
14 Nemesis
15 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
16 The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai
17 Fibber in the Heat
18 House of Many Ways
19 The Postmistress
20 The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss
21 Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika
22 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
23 The Long Earth
24 These Old Shades
25 Sworn to Silence



Alternates:
1 The Lost Luggage Porter
2 Underground Overground: A Passenger's History of the Tube
3 Zoo Station
4 Cabal
5 Borkmann's Point
6 Mallory's Oracle
7 Storm Front
8 Other People's Money
9 A Discovery of Witches
10 The Shadow of the Wind

1)Kill Mandela
2) Daniel Deronda
3) Cold Comfort Farm
4) The Thirteenth Tale
5) Mrs. Dalloway
6) Lolita
7) Franny and Zooey
8) Leaves of Grass
9) Long Walk to Freedom
10) cloud atlas
11) Ender's Game
12) world war Z
13) The Pleasures of the Damned
14) Kringe in n bos
15) The Outsider
16) Gone with the Wind
17) Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
18) Catch 22
19) Possession
20) If I Stay
21) Dead Souls
22) Frankenstein
23)Great Expectations
24) Oliver Twist
25) Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Alternatives
1) The Metamorphosis
2) Divergent
3) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
4) And the Mountains Echoed
5) The Wrath of Angels
6) The Ocean at the End of the Lane
7) Shirley
8) Cannery Row
9) Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children
10) Of Mice and Men

25/25 +6

Although I have completed Of Mice and Men, I did not count the points here as it is less than 150 pages

Finished

Well done! Which ones did you enjoy the most?

Carolien wrote: "Well done! Which ones did you enjoy the most?"

Thanks. Tess of the D'urbervilles was incredible! So was Of Mice and Men. I'm going to read the others too though.

I'm busy with Tess at the moment. The language is beautiful.

Carolien wrote: "I'm busy with Tess at the moment. The language is beautiful."

Isn't it? That book stayed with me for 2 weeks at least. I'm now trying to read as much Hardy as possible.

I'm still getting into it, but it looks like it will be worth it. It's my first Hardy as well.

Carolien wrote: "I'm still getting into it, but it looks like it will be worth it. It's my first Hardy as well."

I followed with The Mayor of Casterbridge- sad book. Next month: Jude the Obscure!
Really hope you enjoy Tess

I have read the Mayor of Casterbridge. Couldn't believe how it started.

How did you find Possession? It's on my bookshelf to read.

Carolien wrote: "How did you find Possession? It's on my bookshelf to read."

It's pretty slow and longwise winded

Barbara wrote: "I have read the Mayor of Casterbridge. Couldn't believe how it started."

Awful right?

I was amazed that a guy would be so casual about his wife and child. So yeah awful!

Barbara wrote: "I was amazed that a guy would be so casual about his wife and child. So yeah awful!"

He was drunk. And he does regret it later. It's a sad book

Yeah but they say that when someone is drunk they show their true nature. But I agree it is a sad book.

I've recently fallen in love with Thomas Hardy, but he insists on breaking my heart

Some men are like that.

Barbara wrote: "Some men are like that."

Just finished Jude the Obscure. It's brilliant!

Done! :)

Congrats!

Finished the Mini Challenge (10 + 3)

completed the last book so I have now finished!

Well done, this one turned out to be a serious challenge for most of us!

Well done

well done to everyone who finished!

Zuleka wrote: "well done to everyone who finished!"

So close, Zuleka! You can claim the mini challenge for this one. I've also managed the mini-challenge - at least most of us made a dent in our TBR list!