The Book Vipers discussion

Please post your book lists on this thread

My reading List for 2017: (These are the ones I decided to read, but I believe I will add more books to my reading list later, depending on new books that come and suggestions). I would be glad if anyone likes to read any of the books in my list and we can share our comments on them.

1) The little Paris bookshop, by Nina George
2) Things I've been silent about, by Azar Nafisi
3) Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
4) Go set a watchman, by Harper Lee
5) A little life, by Hanya Yanagihara
6) The givenness of things, by Marilynne Robinson
7) Reading like a writer, by Francine Prose
8) Lila, by Marilynne Robinson
9) The remains of the day, by Kanzuo Ishiguro
10) The underground railroad, by Golson Whitehead
11) Days of reading, by Marcel Proust, John Sturrock
12) Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
13) Red Clover, by Florence Osmund
14) Shadow of a century, by Jean Grainger
15) The girl in between, by Laekan Zea Kemp
16) A French Girl in New York, by Anna Adams
17) How to develop a brilliant memory week by week: 50 proven ways to enhance your memoru, by Dominic O'Brien

All the best and happy new year,
Pupak

This thread is for the new challenge tomorrow Pupak. Some of those will fit though

Oh sorry, I thought it is in general for the 2017. Which ones fit tomorrow's challenge?

You can post those here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

You'll find out tomorrow! :-)

Paul wrote: "You can post those here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

You'll find out tomorrow! :-)"

Isn't it tomorrow where you are??? :o)

Almost Gidget! Almost.

it is tomorrow now

Now live Gidget!

Thanks a lot Paul.

I think I've signed up for it! I think I'm going to make mine Classics based as want to read more of those. Going to go for the whole 26.

Thanks Paul. I'm being ultra conservative and going for the amount of letters in the alphabet. Over 200 books is a tad too far for me. I can read more than 26 but not sure if I can manage all the alphabet ones. Great challenge, as usual, Paul. You are fab.

Mo's Book Buster Challenge Book List.

A - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen *READ 7 Jan 17*
B - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë *READ 26 Jan 17*
C - War with the Newts by Karel Čapek *READ 23 Jun 27*
D - Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky *READ 10 Nov 17*
E - Silas Marner by George Eliot *READ 20 Mar 17*
F - Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald *READ 14 Feb 17*
G - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman *READ 18 Apr 17*
H - The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy *READ 25 Feb 17*
I - The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan by Yasushi Inoue *READ 24 Jan 17*
J - Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson *READ 25 Apr 17*
K - A Separation by Katie Kitamura *READ 11 Apr 17*
L - French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain *READ 30 May 17*
M - Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham *READ 14 Jan 17*
N - The Kingdom by Fuminori Nakamura *READ 17 Sep 17*
O - The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura *READ 31 Jan 17*
P - Yevgeny Onegin by Alexander Pushkin *READ 7 Aug 17*
Q - Love May Fail by Matthew Quick *READ 7 Feb 17*
R - The Prague Orgy by Philip Roth *READ 29 Nov 17*
S - The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon *READ 2 Jul 17*
T - The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy *READ 21 May 17*
U - My Father's Tears: And Other Stories by John Updike *READ 19 Apr 17*
V - Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut *READ 31 Aug 17*
W - The Zoo by Christopher Wilson *READ 8 Oct 17*
X - History's Fiction: Stories from the City of Hong Kong by Xu Xi *READ 15 Jul 17*
Y - Villain by Shūichi Yoshida READ 6 Aug 17*
Z - Chess by Stefan Zweig *READ 13 Apr 17*

I'm going for 20 books, so I've decided to do the top and the bottom rows first for 14 (one row fiction and one non-fiction) and then decide which middle path to go for..

Bottom Row (Non-fiction)
M The Old Ways: A Journey On Foot by Robert Macfarlane
C The Astors by Virginia Cowles
N The Politics of Italy: Governance in a Normal Country by James L. Newell
O Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell READ
Y I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong READ
D Waterlog by Roger Deakin
F The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher READ

Top Row (Fiction)
E Blast from the Past by Ben Elton
J The Summer Book by Tove Jansson READ
B The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov READ
Z The Whispers of Nemesis by Anne Zouroudi
T A Nest of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev READ
I Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
L The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson READ

I'll post my list here...Going to try and do a line using non-fiction authors.

M - Raptor: A Journey Through Birds James Macdonald Lockhart ✔️
C - Spineless Wonders: The Joys Of Formication Richard Coniff ✔️
FREE SPACE
H - Rain: Four Walks in English Weather Melissa Harrison ✔️
S - A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Collective Nouns Matt Sewell ✔️
Z - Chinese Education in Singapore: An Untold Story of Conflict and Change - Zhixiong Zhang ✔️
G - Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed With Time - Simon Garfield ✔️
I - Between the Sunset and the Sea: A View of 16 British Mountains - Simon Ingram ✔️
L - Immersion: The Science and Mystery of Freshwater Mussels - Abbie Gascho Landis ✔️

Extra letters completed

E - The Father of Forensics: The Groundbreaking Cases of Sir Bernard Spilsbury, and the Beginnings of Modern CSI - Colin Evans ✔️
D - Bears in the Streets: Three Journeys Across a Changing Russia Lisa Dickey ✔️
W - Swimming with Seals Victoria Whitworth ✔️
R - Even the Dead Are Coming Mike Robbins ✔️
P - As Kingfishers Catch Fire: Birds & Books Alex Preston ✔️
T - Unexplained Natural Phenomena by Keith Tutt ✔️

I'm excited for this challenge! Happy Reading! I'll be adding as I go...

A
B Beartown - Fredrick Backman
C Beneath Wandering Stars - Ashlee Cowles
D The House of Paper - Carlos Maria Dominquez
E A Small Indiscretion - Jan Ellison
F
G Die Again - Tess Gerritsen
H A Book of Bees: And How to Keep Them - Sue Hubbell
I
J
K Big Sur - Jack Kerouac
L Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing
M The Woman Upstairs claire messud
N Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family - Amy Ellis Nutt
O Root, Petal, Thorn - Ella Joy Olsen
P The Bees - Laline Paull
Q
R
S Beneath a Scarlet Sky Mark T. Sullivan
T The Color of Our Sky - Amita Trasi
U Landfall - Ellen Urbani
V The Tennis Partner - Abraham Verghese
W The One-in-a-Million Boy- Monica Wood
X Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet - Xinran
Y Above Us Only Sky - MIchelle Young-Stone
Z The Lobster Kings - Alexi Zentner

Paul wrote: "Now live Gidget!"

Yes!!!!

Paul wrote: "Please post your book lists on this thread"

A. Esclave des Haïdas – Doris Anderson
B. Using French – Anthony Bulger
C. L’homme révolté – Albert Camus
D. The Possessed – Fyodor Dostoyevesky
E. Just Watch Me – John English
F. Champlain’s Dream – David Fischer
G. An Illustrated History of Québec – Peter Gossage
H. The End of Growth – Richard Heinberg
I. Einstein: His Life and Universe – Walter Isaacson
J. The Religion Virus – Craig James
K. Le Procès – Franz Kafka
L. Wizard of Pigeons – Meghan Lindholm (rereading)
M. La condition humaine – André Malraux
N. Pétronille – Amélie Nothomb
O. Shooting an Elephant – George Orwell
P. The Sense of Style – Steven Pinker
Q. ???
R. La nuit aveuglante – Andre de Richaud
S. Camus – David Sherman (rereading)
T. Programming Ruby 1.9 – Dave Thomas
U. In the Beauty of the Lilies – John Updike
V. Introduction à la logique standard – Denis Vernant
W. Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
X. ???
Y. I Contain Multitudes – Ed Yong
Z. Albert Camus: Elements of a Life – Robert Zaretsky (rereading)

I could use some suggestions for Q and X!

Solanderdog wrote: I could use some suggestions for Q and X!

How about Anna Quindlen or Matthew Quick?

And Malcom X or Xenophon?

So excited about this challenge! Going for 20/26

8/20


A: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie COMPLETED
B: Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
C: On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads by Tim Cope
D: Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard COMPLETED
E: The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens COMPLETED
F: Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler
G: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman COMPLETED
H: Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah COMPLETED
I: The Cider House Rules by John Irving COMPLETED
J: Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings
K: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King COMPLETED
L: The Shepherdess of Siena by Linda Lafferty
M: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel COMPLETED
N: A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
O:
P: The Werewolf of Bamberg by Oliver Potzsch
Q:
R: To the Grave by Steve Robinson
S: I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith
T: The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
U:
V: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
W: Orlando by Virginia Woolf
X:
Y: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Z: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

I'm going to read a Anna Quindlen novel for Q. I have never read her before but have wanted to give her a try.

Thanks, I'll have a look.

Christine wrote: "I'm going to read a Anna Quindlen novel for Q. I have never read her before but have wanted to give her a try.

For X, I only had 1 author on my to read list with x. It's a non fiction by Zhu Xiao-..."

I really like the Malcolm X suggestion, so I'm going to read his autobiography. For Q, I'm going to try Quindlen's "Black and Blue" but with some hesitation as I suspect that it's going to anger me from time to time.

As I am a closet librarian, my books are in alphabetical order on my bookshelf by author anyway so I should be able to start with Atwood and end with Zafon. This challenge pleases my sense of order and hopefully 26 should be achievable, as I missed my own personal challenge of 75 this year due to gardening and knitting more in my spare time

Got my list sorted, stuck for a non fiction author starting with I

Any help?

I will be doing non fiction for my 26:

A - Land of the Midnight Sun: My Arctic Adventures by Alexander Armstrong
B - The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia by Michael Booth
C - Billy Connolly's Tracks Across America by Billy Connolly
D - Cuckoo: Cheating by Nature by Nicholas B. Davies
E - Few and Far Between: On The Trail of Britain's Rarest Animals by Charlie Elder
F - An Astronomer's Tale: A Life Under the Stars by Gary Fildes
G - Elephant Complex: Travels in Sri Lanka by John Gimlette
H - Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives by Tim Harford
I - Beyond: Our Future in Space by Chris Impey
J - Looking for the Goshawk by Conor Mark Jameson
K - The Swordfish and the Star: Life on Cornwall's most treacherous stretch of coast by Gavin Knight
L - Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee
M - A Sky Full of Birds by Matt Merritt
N - Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves by James Nestor
O - Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions by Mick O'Hare
P - Dip: Wild Swims from the Borderlands by Andrew Fusek Peters
Q - Britain's Best Historic Sites: From Prehistory to the Industrial Revolution by Tom Quinn
R - The Celts by Alice Roberts
S - NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently by Steve Silberman
T - Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux
U - Nature's Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick by Jenny Uglow
V - A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea by David Vann
W - Adventures in Stationery: A Journey Through Your Pencil Case by James Ward
X - The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
Y - In Search Of Conrad by Gavin Young
Z - Black Dragon River: A Journey Down the Amur River at the Borderlands of Empires by Dominic Ziegler

Looks good Paul. Jason. Which letter?

Pat wrote: "Looks good Paul. Jason. Which letter?"

i

See above Jason

I did Paul, will wait til you've read that one, at the moment it doesn't catch my attention.

The other I'd suggest is Between the Sunset and the Sea: A View of 16 British Mountains by Simon Ingram

Nice one Paul, that looks like it will do the job nicely.

Jason wrote: "Got my list sorted, stuck for a non fiction author starting with I

Any help?"

Or how about A Natural History of Seeing: The Art and Science of Vision or Stalin and the Scientists: A History of Triumph and Tragedy 1905–1953, both by Simon Ings?

Thanks Annie, that Vision one looks good.

I'm going to have to fill up as I go along too. I couldn't possibly know what books I'm going to read in 2017 yet. Glad to see what other are choosing for the 'hard' letters.

A The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
B Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To by Dean Burnett
C Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
D
E
F
G The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
H Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
I
J Hellfire by Jean Johnson
K
L Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
M All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
N Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
O Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler
P The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
Q
R You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson
S Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
T The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes
U
V
W Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson
X
Y I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong
Z

Hi all - here is my Bookbuster list - eeek fingers crossed I'll get through them

Title / Author

A Red country / Joe Abercrombie
B North American Lake Monsters: Stories/ Nathan Ballingrud
C The Sea / Rachel Carson
D The Woman who Walked into Doors / Roddy Doyle
E Blue Hope / Sylvia Earle
F Witch Light/ Susan Fletcher
G The Cuckoo's Calling / Robert Galbraith
H The Nightingale / Kristin Hannah
I The Remains of The Day / Kazuo Ishiguro
J The Piano Teacher / Elfriede Jelinek
K The Poisonwood Bible / Barbara Kingsolver
L The Outrun / Amy Liptrot
M The Moth Snowstorm / Michael McCarthy
N Everything I never Told you / Celeste Ng
O The Complete Novels / Flann O'Brien
P Guards! Guards! / Terry Pratchett
Q The Silver Linings Playbook / Matthew Quick
R Shatter / Michael Robotham
S The Secret Lives of Colour / Cassia St Clair
T The Secret History / Donna Tartt
U Rabbitt, Run / John Updike
V The Other Side of you / Sally Vickers
W The Day of the Triffids / John Wyndham
X One Night in Bangkok: The Short Stories /Sulayman X
Y I Contain Multitudes / Ed Young
Z The Storied Life of A/J Fikry / Gabrielle Zevin

Hi all,

I just joined the group and have decided to give this challenge a try. Here is my list:

A - Timbuktu by Paul Auster
B - The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
C - Parasites of Heaven by Leonard Cohen
D - Elle S'appelait Sarah by Tatiana de Rosnay
E - Living with a Wild God by Barbara Ehrenriech
F - L'Étranger by Jacques Ferrandez
G - Friendship by A.C. Grayling
H - The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris
I - A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine
J - Petit Philosophie à l'usage des Non Philosophes by Albert Jacquard
K - A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss
L- Giants by J.M.G Le Clezio
M - The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie
N- Sixty Million Frenchmen can't be Wrong by Jean Benôit-Nadeau
O - Appetites for Thought: Philosophers and Food by Michel Onfray
P - The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker
Q - Sea and Prisons: Commentary on the Life and Thought of Albert Camus by Roger Quilliot
R - The Poet's Guide to Life: The Wisdom of Rilke by Rainer Maria Rilke
S - Lust for Life by Irvine Stone
T - The Ptarmigan's Dilemma by John Theberge
U - In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike
V - Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
W - Monet or the Triumph of Impressionism by Daniel Wildenstein
X - The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
Y - What the Robin Knows by Jon Young
Z - We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Paul wrote: "See above Jason"
Sorry. The I didn't show up on my ipad this morning.

Joanne, your list looks fabulous

Going to have to fill up as I go along!

A Slow Burn: Infected (#2) - Bobby Adair
B
C
D The Coffin Dancer - Jeffery Deaver
E
F
G
H Change Management: The People Side of Change - Jeffrey Hiatt 4Star
I
J
K
L
M
N
O The Lonely Hearts Hotel - Heather O'Neill 4Stars
P
Q
R Covered in Pet Fur -Stacy Ritz 5Stars
S
T
U
V
W The Beauty Myth - Naomi Wolf
X
Y
Z

Joanne wrote: "Hi all - here is my Bookbuster list - eeek fingers crossed I'll get through them..."

The Outrun is really good

I've chosen two convoluted routes across the 'board' - I'd never have won a game of Blockbusters - that give me a total of 21 letters of the alphabet with 2 letters repeated, so 23 books in all.

Edited. One of my goals for this year was to read more of what's already on my bookshelves rather than add to my library, so in my first draft of what's below almost every title fell into the 'owned' category. But then it struck me that if too many folks decided not to buy any books this year - and many of my bookish friends here and on Instagram seem to be doing just that - then small publishers and booksellers could suffer a significant drop in sales. So I book shopping is back on my to-do list and the titles below may be subject to change.

E Field Notes from the Edge: Journeys through Britain's Secret Wilderness, by Paul Evans
J Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble, by Marilyn Johnson
(Edited. Was The Factory of Light: Tales from My Andalucian Village, by Michael Jacobs)
B The Big Elsewhere: Views from a mountainside, by Robert Brady
S East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, by Philippe Sands
A The Moor: Lives Landscape Literature, by William Atkins
H Map of a Nation: A Biography of the Ordnance Survey, by Rachel Hewitt
P The Hills of Wales, by Jim Perrin
(Edited. Was Istanbul: Memories and the City, by Orhan Pamuk.)
R The Last Englishman: The Life of J. L. Carr, by Byron Rogers
G Long Live Great Bardfield, by Tirzah Garwood
T In Pursuit of Spring, by Edward Thomas
I The Life and Adventures of William Cobbett, by Richard Ingrams
L The Wild Life: A Year of Living on Wild Food, by John Lewis-Stempel

U The Devil's Highway, by Luis Alberto Urrea
K Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
F True North: Travels in Arctic Europe, by Gavin Francis
D Distance and Memory, by Peter Davidson
W Six Facets Of Light, by Ann Wroe
R The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District, by James Rebanks
P The Man who Made Things out of Trees, by Robert Penn
O Upstream: Selected Essays, by Mary Oliver
N The Fish Ladder: A Journey Upstream, by Katharine Norbury
C At the Source: A Writer's Year, by Gillian Clarke
M The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land In Between, by Hisham Matar

I think almost every one of those is either on my TBR or read list Annie!

I'm going to have to fill up as I go along too. I've just added the books I'm currently reading.

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
K
L
M The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
N
O
P The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Q
R
S Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake, #1) by CJ Sansom
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Paul wrote: "I think almost every one of those is either on my TBR or read list Annie!"

We certainly seem to have very similar tastes in books Paul, I think we've commented on that previously. Before I remembered I had the Richard Ingrams 'Cobbett' biog tucked away somewhere I actually looked at your book lists for 'I' inspiration.

I had to keep my challenges small this year as I'm starting back at school in a few weeks to finish off my bachelor's degree. I've been out of school for 10 years so I'm not sure how much free time I'll have! I selected a row coming out with 7 total:

M - Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
C - Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
N ----- to be determined
P - Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch byTerry Pratchett
R - Fiercombe Manor by Kate Riordan
W - The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig
F - The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher

thanks Pat there's a bit of a mixture in there including a couple I wouldn't normally pick up to try and expand my horizons! :)

How wise Bethany

I am going to fill up as I go along too! Don't know which letters yet either, but will definitely be giving it a go - aiming for ten, hopefully will do more.

Now I just need to be able to find my list again when I need it....

A - Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott
B - The Muse by Jessie Burton
C
D - What We Didn't Say by Rory Dunlop
E
F - My Beautiful Friend by Elena Ferrante
G - A Dying Fall by Ruth Galloway
H - The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge
I
J
K - Himself by Jess Kidd
L - The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
M - Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
N - Holding by Graham Norton
O
P - Thin Air by Michelle Paver
Q
R - Three Martini Lunch by Suzanne Rindell
S - Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens
T - The Ice Twins by SK Tremayne
U
V
W - Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
X
Y
Z

I've spent the whole Christmas vacation away from home, but as soon as I get back, I'll post my list. I've decided to do as much of the alphabet as I can from books I already have. Then I'll fill in with new books!