2025 Reading Challenge discussion

I nominate Life After Life

The main character is born and dies repeatedly throughout the book. Since she has so many birthdays, it seems fitting of our theme for May.

The cover fits, and what do you do when you blow the candle: make a wish!

I nominate Mother Night because of the title - none of us would have had any birthdays if it wasn't for our mothers.

I'm going to nominate Pygmalion which is a retelling of the Greek myth about a man who falls in love with a statue and begs the gods to bring her to life. It's her birthday, in a way.

This is the play the musical and movie My Fair Lady is based off of.

I'm going to nominate The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - I figure at 100 years old, he'd know a bit about birthdays!

I am going to nominate Half Bad by Sally Green. Basically because from the description the main characters imminent birthday appears to be a major plot point.

Also it is newly published this year, so for everyone taking part in the Goodreads choice awards 2014 challenge this book could count as one of your reads :)

I second Pygmalion. (I've never read it or watched My fair lady, but I'm pretty sure I've been exposed to approximately fiftyseven high school movies based on it.)

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Popular quote about a special "birth" day.

"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974"

Ill third Pygmalion. I didn't know it was based off of My Fair Lady. I love that movie!!

I second Middlesex

I would like to go with Pygmalion as well.

I third Middlesex.

I'm going to go with Pygmalion as well. My Fair Lady (Audrey Hepburn) is one of the best cinematic films I've ever seen! I had no idea it was based on this book! Must read it now. :)

For those of you who love My Fair Lady I should probably warn you that it's not a true adaptation from Pygmalion--Pygmalion isn't quite as...happy. (Think Wicked the book versus Wicked the musical.)

Kara wrote: "For those of you who love My Fair Lady I should probably warn you that it's not a true adaptation from Pygmalion--Pygmalion isn't quite as...happy. (Think Wicked the book versus Wicked the musical.)"

I loved Wicked the book and Wicked the musical, so hopefully this will be the same! :) I'm still willing to give it a go.

Kathryn wrote: "I'm going to nominate The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - I figure at 100 years old, he'd know a bit about bi..."

Not just that - but it's while waiting for his birthday party he climbs out the window! Very fitting. I second.

AJ wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "I'm going to nominate The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - I figure at 100 years old, he'd kno..."

How funny! That makes me want to read it even more, and I will be reading it anyway - it's in the Recommended by Reading Challengers list.

what about The Post-Birthday Worldby Lionel Shriver?

I second Life after life, it sounds really interesting and I have it my want to read list.

I'll third Life After Life:)

Kara wrote: "For those of you who love My Fair Lady I should probably warn you that it's not a true adaptation from Pygmalion--Pygmalion isn't quite as...happy. (Think Wicked the book versus Wicked the musical.)"

I read Wicked the book in high school before I even knew the musical existed (this was in 2004), then my friends told me there was a musical! So I got to see it that summer with the original cast (Idina Menzel!!! <3 and Kristin Chenoweth!!! <3) and loved that the book was fresh in my mind and absolutely loved both (even though they have like very little in common) but there were some things in the musical I might have missed out on had I not read the book.

Anyway, my nomination goes to Pygmalion because I love Greek mythology and adaptations and the movie My Fair Lady. Never seen a stage production of it, but the movie is fantastic and I fully understand they'll be different and it's exciting ;)

I'll fourth Life After Life - I really want to read that book

Life after Life.

Thread closes tomorrow! Get your nominations in.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

I'll put in my vote for Middlesex!

Life after life

I will go with The hundred year old man who climbed out of the window.

Moon Tiger. I haven't read it. I have heard nothing about it but thought I would put it out there for another option. Here is the summary below.

The elderly Claudia Hampton, a best-selling author of popular history; lies alone in a London hospital bed. Memories of her life still glow in her fading consciousness, but she imagines writing a history of the world. Instead, Moon Tiger is her own history, the life of a strong, independent woman, with its often contentious relations with family and friends. At its center — forever frozen in time, the still point of her turning world — is the cruelly truncated affair with Tom, a British tank commander whom Claudia knew as a reporter in Egypt during World War II.

I've been meaning to read Middlesex, I'm sure it would be better with a group!

This thread is now closed. Please vote here!