All About Books discussion

2019 AAB Group Challenge: Read the Name

Inspired by the 2017 challenge of one of members, Alannah, & suggested as a group challenge by Pink, we have chosen to do a "read the name" challenge in 2019. To help members protect their privacy, we will not be doing our own names but rather using literary names.

The aim of the challenge is very simple, it's just picking letters from the name of a favorite author or character and finding books that match that letter. Each person can choose whether to use the full name or just the last name of the author/character they have chosen.

To make it more challenging, members can restrict themselves to using only those book titles which start with the letter needed (ignoring initial articles like “The” or “A”), such as The African Queen for A, or can choose to use any word in the title that matches, such as A Light in August for A.

For an easier challenge, members can choose to use either titles or author’s name, such as The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster for A.

Members can use this thread to update their progress or do the challenge in their personal challenge thread.

What author or character's name will you use?

I am taking Author Name George Orwell

Sir Terry Pratchett

S = Scythe by Neal Shusterman 2 Stars
I = Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino 5 Stars
R = Red Rising by Pierce Brown 3 Stars

T = The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova 4 Stars
E = Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis 3 Stars
R = Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 1: Power and Responsibility by Brian Michael Bendis
5 Stars
R = Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 1: The Assassin's Road by Kazuo Koike 3 Stars
Y = Wonder Woman, Volume 2: Year One by Greg Rucka 3 Stars

P = The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich 3 Stars
R = Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1: Rainbow Sprinkles by W. Maxwell Prince 3 Stars
A = Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 4 Stars
T = Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown 5 Stars
C = The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway by 4 Stars
H = The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 4 Stars
E = Empire Falls by Richard Russo 4 Stars
T = Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars by Jeff Lemire 4 Stars
T = Sex Criminals: Volume One: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction 4 Stars

Character/author -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) , actual 35th PotUS (1960-1963).

Updated - 20 January 2019.

Author and/or character -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK), 35th President of the United States .

Currently reading:

1. JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy by L. Fletcher Prouty, Col. USAF, Ret. - READING is IN WORK. REVIEW to follow READING completion.. .
2. Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath by Mimi Alford. READING is IN WORK. REVIEW to follow READING.
3. H
4. N

5. john F. Kennedy and PT-109. REVIEW.
6. I
7. T
8. Z
9. G
10. E
11. R
12. A
13. L
14. D

15. K
16. E
17. N
18. N
19. E
20. D
21. Y

Glad we're doing this again! I'll track mine here.

I just have to do George Eliot for her 200th birthday.

I may regret this--lots of E's … :-) I'll try to do one for her real name too, even though there's lots of A's ...

G The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux Finished 8/11/19 ☆☆☆
E The Eye of the Story: Selected Essays and Reviews by Eudora Welty ☆☆☆☆
O O Pioneers! by Willa Cather Finished 6-10-19 ☆☆☆
R
G
E Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey Finished 8/15/19 ☆☆☆☆

E Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin Finished 3-18-19 ☆☆
L Laura by Vera Caspary Finished 8/24/19 ☆☆☆☆
I
O Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Finished 7/22/19 ☆☆☆☆
T Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda Finished 5-27-19 ☆☆☆☆

~~~~~~~~~~~~

M The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar Finished 4-15-19 ☆☆☆
A
R
Y The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg Finished 1-12-19 ☆☆☆

A
N
N

E The Eye of the Story: Selected Essays and Reviews by Eudora Welty Finished 8/26/19 ☆☆☆☆
V
A
N
S

Margaret Atwood

13/14 complete

M: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-To Book by Dan Harris (audio, 01/22/2019)
A: Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane (BOTM, 07/15/2019)
R: Recursion by Blake Crouch (BOTM, 06/16/2019)
G: Golden State by Ben H. Winters (BOTM, 02/21/2019)
A: All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson (Kindle, 08/05/2019)
R: Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson (Hardcover, 12/31/2019)
E: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Kindle, 07/21/2019)
T: Tangerine by Christine Mangan (audio, 05/26/2019)
A: A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson (Kindle, 08/18/2019)
T: The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer (BOTM, 12/23/2019)
W: Warcross by Marie Lu (Kindle, 01/14/2019)
O: One in a Billion: The Story of Nic Volker and the Dawn of Genomic Medicine by Mark Johnson & Kathleen Gallagher (hardcover, 04/21/2019)
O: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Kindle, 05/31/2019)
D: Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (BOTM, 12/30/2019)

I'm not starting a challenge now but I will in the summer. Don't think I have the time now.

My two favourite reads in 2018 were
Birthright by Fiona Lowe
And
The Greek Escape by Karen Swan

So I will be using both authors and like 2018 I will include one book written by each author.

F - Fiona Lowe Home Fires 13th March
I - In a Great Southern Land by Mary-Anne O'Connor 16th April
O - The One by Kaneana May 26th August
N - A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson 3rd July
A - Airborne by Robert Radcliffe 25th Feb

L - The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe 11th Jan
O - Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams 4th October
W - The Wrong Callahan by Karly Lane 3rd Jan
E - The Ex by Nicola Moriarty 29th June

K - Karen Swan The Christmas Lights 19th Jan
A - Allegra in Three Parts by Suzanne Daniel 2nd June
R - The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons 6th March
E - The Eyes of Tamburah by Maria V. Snyder 26th June
N

S - The Secret Son's Homecoming by Helen Lacey 30th Jan
W - The Woolly Hat Knitting Club by Poppy Dolan 6th Jan
A - Another You by Jane Cable 14th August
N

Lauri's Spot!
My favorite author is:

I - Infinity
S
A - Assassination Vacation
B - The Ballad of Tom Dooley
E - Eggnog Murder
L

A
L
L
E
N
D - The Diva Cooks a Goose 1/7/18
E

I think I will start with a character

M - Mistress of the Art of Death - Adriana Franklin
I - In Sheep's Clothing - Rett MacPherson
S - Spinning in Her Grave - Molly MacRae
S - The Spook in the Stacks - Eva Gates

M - Murder of a Needled Knitter - Denise Swanson
A - Aunt Bessie Considers - Diana Xarissa
R - The Rope - Nevada Barr
P - Pumped for Murder - Elaine Viets
L - The Lightkeepers Legacy - Kathleen Ernst
E - Evidence of Guilt - Jonnie Jacobs

M - Murder Served Simply - Isabella Alan
A - Alibi for a Cold Winter Night - Ilsa Mayr
R - The Rosie Result - Graeme Simsion
K - Kindred - Steve Robinson

T - Trail of Murder - Christine Andreae
W - The Weekend Was Murder - Joan Lowery Nixon
A - The Accidental Alchemist - Gigi Pandean
I - The Island of the Lost - Joann Druett
N - No Pity for the Dead - Nancy Herriman

P - Prologue to Murder - Lauren Elliot
R - The Red Lamp - Mary Roberts Rinehart
E - Every Body on Deck - G. A. McKevitt
C- The Colors of All the Cattle - Alexander McCall Smith
I - In the Dark - Carole Brennan
O - Ordinary Grace - William Kent Krueger
U - The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett
S - Sleeping Lady - Sue Henry

R - Respectfully Yours, Annie - Slyvia Brockway
A - Arfive - A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
M - Murder by the Book - Claire Harman
O - Open Season - Archer Mayor
T - Triple Jeopardy - Anne Perry
S - Something Read, Something Dead - Eva Gates
W - The Whispered Word - Ellery Adams
E - Edinburgh Twilight - Carole Lawrence

B - Broken Ice - Matt Goldman
E - Every Last Lie - Mary Kubica
S - The Stranger Diaries - Elly Griffiths
S - The Suspect - Fiona Barton

C - The Child Finder - Rene Denfeld
R - The River - Peter Heller
A - The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax - Dorothy Gilman
W - Wed, Read and Dead - V. M. Burns
F - Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding - Rhys Bowen
O - Out of Darkness, Shining Light Petina Goppah
R - The Red Road - Denise Mina
D - Darkness All Around - Doug Magee

Seeing some great ones so far, you're all definitely inspiring me for when I start.

I'll join with one of my favourite authors:

T The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
O Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
V
E

J
A
N
S
S
O
N Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig

I'm in ! My author is JOHN STEINBECK

J
O Outside the Lines: Lost photographs of punk and new wave's most iconic albums *READ* 03.02.2019
H H is for Hawk *READ* 16.01.2018
N

S Silas Marner from The Complete Novels of George Eliot *READ* 28.10.2019
T To Throw Away Unopened *READ* 30.09.2019
E
I It's So Easy: And Other Lies *READ* 09.02.2019
N
B Be My Baby *READ* 11.01.2019
E
C
K Kindness: The Little Thing that Matters Most *READ* 03.02.2019

07/13

looks good guys, thinking of what I can .... will think about it for a couple of day, Ill prob do a fav character

Here's my name!!
Finally made it!!! In Italian we say "in zona Cesarini", where Cesarini was a soccer player who used to score the last minutes of the maches!!!

L Tommaso Ariemma La filosofia spiegata con le serie TV Read 
U Christopher Isherwood Un uomo solo Read 
C Jean-Christophe Rufin,   Il collare rosso Read
Y A B Yehoshua  Il tunnel   Read 

M William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream Read 
A Truman Capote  Altre voci altre stanze Read 
U John Kennedy Toole Una banda di idioti Read 
D Jodi Picoult Diciannove minuti Read 

M Jack London (22 novembre) Martin Eden (BELLISSIMI - Librivox) Read
O Hans Fallada  Ognuno muore solo  Read
N Miss read No Holly for Miss Quinn Read
T Yaniv Iczkovits Tikkun o la vendetta di Mende Speismann per mano della sorella Fanny Read
G Mercè Rodoreda Giardino sul mare Read
O Helen Fielding Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination Read
E Artemis Cooper Elizabeth Jane Howard: Un'innocenza pericolosa da Monica.A Read
R Alice Hoffman  The Red Garden Read
Y Gavriel Kay Ysabel Read

Okay I'm going to go with Victoria Schwab:


V
I
C - The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
T - The Twelve by Justin Cronin
O
R
I
A - As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

S
C
H - Horns by Joe Hill
W - The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
A
B

I'm in and going with my favorite author:

H
A - All About I James Anthony Emmerson
R - Red Dragon Thomas Harris
U
K
I


M - The Man on the Mountaintop: An Audible Original Drama Susan Trott
U
R - Ready Player One Ernest Cline
A
K
A
M - The Man in the Black Suit: 4 Dark Tales Stephen King
I

Great way to add to the yearly challenge!

I'm going with a favorite character: Theodore Finch from All the Bright Places

All books listed I have read this year. To give myself a bit more of a challenge, I will only add to the list if my book review is at least 4 stars or higher.

T - The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
H - An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks & S.Pekkanen
E - Three things about Elsie-Jo Cannon
O - A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman
D - Dark Matter -Blake Crouch
O - One of us is Lying - Karen M McManus
R - The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
E - Educated -Tara Westover

F - Beartown - Fredrik Backman
I - We have always lived in the castle - Shirley Jackson
N - Night Road - Kristin Hannah
C - A List of Cages -Robin Roe
H - The Dry -Jane Harper

13/13 books READ

I think that I will choose Agatha Christie as my author for the 2019 Read the Name challenge:

A=
G=
A=
T= Triple Jeopardy (1/26)
H=
A=

C= The Chalk Circle Man (1/15)
H=
R=
I=
S= The Scarlet Pimpernel (1/4)
T=
I=
E=

I am in. I choose Virginia Woolf
V= Verity read
I=If I Were You read
R=
G=
I=
N=
I=
A=

W=
O=
O=
L=
F= Faking It Read

Lurker steps forward! Nice to meet you all and here goes, with J.R.R. Tolkien. I've been reading and re-reading The Lord of the Rings Trilogy since I was 9 years old and will never get tired of it.
Full surname, with initials just because it gives me a nice, round number of ten books for this challenge.

Books Read 4/10
Updated 7/21/19

J--Jack of Kinrowan read 7/21
R-- Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing
R
T-- A Thousand Acres read 6/25
O
L
K
I -- I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban read 3/12
E
N

Hey Everyone

I have completed this task. Mine is TASK 20
I really enjoyed this one :)

One of my favorite authors is Charles Dickens. :)
Spell-out: CHARLES DICKENS
Start Date: April 1, 2019
Books Read: 10/14

C - Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber (7/30/19) ☆☆☆☆☆
H - How It Happened by Michael Koryta (8/8/19) ☆☆☆☆
A - Austenland by Shannon Hale (9/6/19) ☆☆☆
R - The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil (6/11/19) ☆☆☆☆
L
E
S - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelis (6/26/19) ☆☆☆☆☆

D - A Delicate Touch by Stuart Woods (9/8/19) 3.5 ☆☆☆
I - I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella (8/19/19) 3.5 ☆☆☆
C - The Cactus by Sarah Haywood (8/10/19) ☆☆☆☆
K - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (7/14/19) ☆☆☆☆
E
N
S - Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs (7/16/19) 3.5 ☆☆☆

Bookshelf:

Paulette wrote: "Hey Everyone

I have completed this task. Mine is TASK 20
I really enjoyed this one :)"

Congratulations Paulette. You've done well to complete it in a few months.

LauraT wrote: "Here's my name!!
Still some more titles to go; I'm havong problems with the letter Y. Suggestions?



by Ian Fleming

"LauraT wrote: "Here's my name!!
Still some more titles to go; I'm havong problems with the letter Y. Suggestions?

How about Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar?
I read it over a year ago and gave it a 5 star review.

Tamara wrote: ""LauraT wrote: "Here's my name!!
Still some more titles to go; I'm havong problems with the letter Y. Suggestions?

How about Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar?
..."
I've read that! Very beautiful. I had started it probably too early - I was only 14! - and couldn't finish it then. I've picked it up later on in life and appreciated it much more.
Still I don't think I'm going to re-read it...

Nancy wrote: "LauraT wrote: "Here's my name!!
Still some more titles to go; I'm havong problems with the letter Y. Suggestions?



by Ian Fleming"

This could ber a good idea: I've never read anything by Fleming!

How about You Don't Own Me by Mary Higgins Clark

Rhonda wrote: "How about You Don't Own Me by Mary Higgins Clark"

Also a good suggestion!

Finally getting to this ...

E - Chris Drury & Kay Syrad Exchange READ
L - Tim Dee Landfill READ
I - Paul Hetherington It Feels Like Disbelief READ
N - Tobias Hill Nocturne in Chrome & Sunset Yellow READ
O - Patrick McGuinness Other People's Countries: A Journey into Memory READ
R - Jane Clarke The River READ

D - Olga Tokarczuk Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones READ
A- Edgardo Franzosini The Animal Gazer, translated from the Italian by Michael F. Moore READ
S - Elizabeth Tova Bailey The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating READ
H - Autumn Richardson Heart of Winter READ
W - Kate Fletcher Wild Dress: Clothing and the Natural World READ
O - Benjamin Myers The Offing K READ
O - Ben Myers/‘Romy Landau’ The Offing: Poems READ
D - Anne Truitt Daybook: The Journal of an Artist READ

I have organised the group challenge for next year. It's quite similar to this one, but I'm hoping it will get our members to be a bit more creative with their choices.

Alannah wrote: "I have organised the group challenge for next year. It's quite similar to this one, but I'm hoping it will get our members to be a bit more creative with their choices."

Looking forward to it Alannah.

Can you tell us more about it now? Can't wait!

Sounds great, I enjoyed this challenge but finished it super early in the new year.

I will be setting it up this weekend. I'm hoping it won't be too tough a challenge that you need ages to plan your reading. It's just my way of getting you all to take maybe a different approach to what you pick up to read.

Paulette wrote: "Sounds great, I enjoyed this challenge but finished it super early in the new year."

You were always more than welcome to make a new one. When the moderators started this, they wanted to create challenges to be as flexible as possible to suit everyone's reading speed and free time. Hopefully this new challenge will allow members to do the same.

Alannah wrote: "I will be setting it up this weekend. I'm hoping it won't be too tough a challenge that you need ages to plan your reading. It's just my way of getting you all to take maybe a different approach to..."

Looking forward to what it'll be! I didn't do so well with any of my reading challenges this year. BUT I still have a few months left! :) So I'm shooting for a successful 2020! :)

Looks unlikely I will finish my challenge this year. Who'd've thunk that I wouldn't read novels with words starting with T? (Sir Terry Pratchett is my pick...)

Tom wrote: "Looks unlikely I will finish my challenge this year. Who'd've thunk that I wouldn't read novels with words starting with T? (Sir Terry Pratchett is my pick...)"

That was a hard one for me too, I ended up cheating a little and used a novel beginning with The for my ABC challenge.

Alannah wrote: "Tom wrote: "Looks unlikely I will finish my challenge this year. Who'd've thunk that I wouldn't read novels with words starting with T? (Sir Terry Pratchett is my pick...)"

That was a hard one for..."

Well till now, I've not been including graphic novels/collected trades, but I might reconsider as we get closer to New Year's.

Alannah wrote: "Tom wrote: "Looks unlikely I will finish my challenge this year. Who'd've thunk that I wouldn't read novels with words starting with T? (Sir Terry Pratchett is my pick...)"

That was a hard one for..."

I am also trying to avoid using 'The' for a T title, but so many books start with 'The.' I've got one T left, so I might decide to use a 'The' title at the last minute if I don't read anything else.

Tom wrote: "Alannah wrote: "Tom wrote: "Looks unlikely I will finish my challenge this year. Who'd've thunk that I wouldn't read novels with words starting with T? (Sir Terry Pratchett is my pick...)"

That wa..."

I definitely would consider, I never want these types of challenges be a chore for anyone. Make it as easy as you like, especially now we're heading into the last month of 2019.

I thought about it, and decided to include graphic novels and collected editions since they did form such a large part of my reading this year. Doing that completed the challenge for me.

I did have two shortish books ready for two of the T's...
Tea with the Black Dragon and Twisting the Rope both by R.A. MacAvoy - the latter is the sequel to the former.

I still have two 'N' books to read and there are none on my immediate TBR so I don't think I will finish this year. I will just carry over the challenge to next years reading.

I don't think I ever shared my challenge on here. I chose Charles Dickens

C The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory (finished 12 July)
H Hitler: History in an Hour Unabridged by Rupert Colley (finished 28 June)
A Allegiant by Veronica Roth (finished 15 June)
R Rift by Andreas Christensen (finished 14 September)
L The Lying Room by Nicci French (finished 14 September)
E Ever Alice by H.J. Ramsay (finished 15 June)
S: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (finished 15 June)

D D-Day: History in an Hour by Rupert Colley (finished 2 July)
I I Wish You Happy by Kerry Anne King (finished 15 September)
C The Cold War: History in an Hour by Rupert Colley (finished 27 July)
K The King of Bones and Ashes by J.D. Horn (finished 28 July)
E Educated by Tara Westover (finished 3 July)
N Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (finished 30 June)
S The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (finished 27 July)

Great job Alannah. And it only took you a few months to complete!

Thank you :)