Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

52 of 52 books completed on 8/21/2015
1. [X] A book with 500 pages-The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman 1/27/15
2. [X] A classic romance - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. [X] A book that became a movie-The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
4. [X] A book published this year-A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
5. [X] A book with a number in the title - 12.21 by Dustin Thomason- 1/12/15
6. [X] A book written by someone under 30 - The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
7. [X] A book with nonhuman characters - The Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn
8. [X] A funny book - The Last Word by Lisa Lutz
9. [X] A book with a female author-Taken by Kathleen George
10. [X] A mystery or thriller - Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King - 2/22/15
11. [X] A book with a one-word title - Sepulchre by Kate Mosse - 1/31/15
12. [X] A book of short stories - Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig - 2/27/15
13. [X] A book set in a different country - (Canada/England) As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley - 1/17/15
14. [X] A nonfiction book - The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Anne-Marie O'Connor - 4/20/15
15. [X] A popular author's first book - Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee - 2/9/15
16. [X] A book you have not yet read from an author you love - Stella Bain by Anita Shreve - 2/15/15
17. [X] A book a friend recommended - The Sisters Weiss by Naomi Ragan - 2/22/15
18. [X] A Pulitzer Prize winning book - The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos - 2/20/15
19. [X] A book based on a true story - The Death of Lucy Kyte by Nicola Upson - 1/23/15
20. [X] A book at the bottom of your to-read list - Emma by Jane Austen
21. [X] A book your mom loves-Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
22. [X] A book that scares you - The Quick by Lauren Owen - 1/17/15
23. [X] A book more than 100 years old - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - 4/27/15
24. [X] A book based entirely on its cover - The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman - 1/25/15
25. [X] A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't - SparkNotes The Crying of Lot 49- 4/9/15
26. [X] A memoir - Born with Teeth: A Memoir by Kate Mulgrew 5/3/15
27. [X] A book you can finish in a day -A Duty To The Dead by Charles Todd - 1/1/15
28. [X] A book with antonyms in the title - The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman - 2/01/15
29. [X] A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit - Us by David Nicholls - 3/8/15
30. [X] A book that came out the year you were born-Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym-1/6/15
31. [X] A book with bad reviews-The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood-8/8/15
32. [X] Trilogy-book 1-My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
33. [X] Trilogy-book 2-The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante
34. [X] Trilogy-book 3-Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
35. [X] A book from your childhood-A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
36. [X] A book with a love triangle - Night and Day by Virginia Woolf - 3/27
37. [X] A book set in the future-Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 8/12
38. [X] A book set in high school - Six Months Later by Natalie Richards - 3/1
39. [X] A book with a color in the title - Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates - 3/2/15
40. [X] A book that made you cry - Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger - 2/14/15
41. [X] A book with magic - The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis - 2/12/15
42. [X] A graphic novel - Black Butler, Vol. 01 by Yana Toboso - 1/4/15
43. [X] A book by an author you've never read before - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - 1/2/15
44. [X] A book you own but have never read - The Charming Quirks of Others by Alexander McCall Smith - 4/22/15
45. [X] A book that takes place in your hometown (or close to where you live)- Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell - 2/4/15
46. [X] A book originally written in a different language-White Shanghai: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties in China by Elvira Baryakina
47. [X] A book set during Christmas-A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry
48. [X] A book written by an author with your same initials - Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer - 1/4/15
49. [X] A play-The Piano Lesson by August Wilson 8/19/15
50. [X] A banned book - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
51. [X] A book based on or turned into a TV show - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - 3/19/15
52. [X] A book you started but had yet to finish until now- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I will say that this challenge is forcing me to read books and/or authors of whom I had never heard. Now I'm reading one that actually creeps me out enough that I'm reading it in between OTHER books! I am determined to finish it...

Gail wrote: "I will say that this challenge is forcing me to read books and/or authors of whom I had never heard. Now I'm reading one that actually creeps me out enough that I'm reading it in between OTHER boo..."

That's good though right? :)

I had The Quick on my tbr and took it off due to mediocre ratings. How was the writing? I'm debating putting it back! I looooove creepy books!

The second half, which I liked better, was not quite as creepy as the first half. This is the author's debut novel. The development of her main characters was strong and for me, made reading the book, even with my distaste for the topic, worth it.

"A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't -" uhm, I don't think such a book exists. Anyone have any ideas?

Gail, that has been a question that comes up in my other group. Many suggestions have come up.

One of them is this list of books for college bound kids: http://www.greatschools.org/students/...

Another I thought of was to ask a relative or friend what they had to read in school to see if there was something you hadn't read. For instance, my brothers had to read Bridge to Terabithia and I never did.

This helps, thank you!

Gail wrote: ""A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't -" uhm, I don't think such a book exists. Anyone have any ideas?"

Im in the same boat. What im going to do for this one is read a book i know another class was assigned to read but since i wasnt in that class, technically didnt read it in high school.

I'm hoping that I just finished the only book to which I will give one star. Actually, had it not been for this challenge and the fact that the book has been sitting in my "to read" pile for years now, I would not have finished it at all.

What book are you talking about, Gail? If you're looking for a Pulitzer prize-winning book, there's a list. I can try to find it for you?

Hi Kirsten. It was the Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. It was a Pulitzer winner. I think it's one of those books you either love or hate.

I love it when I find a "new" (for me) author! And now I just found that there is a series! Taken by Kathleen George

I just finished Station Eleven. I am almost overwhelmed with the beauty of this book and many of the other books that I have read this year; many of which I would not have read had it not been for this challenge. For this I thank you.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!! Completed the 2015 Ultimate Challenge on 8/21/2015.

Well done! :)

Bravo!

What interesting books you chose. I really like the variety you got with this challenge. Congrats on finishing so soon.