Every one's Choice discussion

So - I am such a challenge person!! I am already slated to do several challenges, so I will put my info here. I think I will do both the A - Z Title Challenge and the name challenge, although since my name is so short I think I will go for the first and last: Lyn Meadows. As for the number of books read. I hope to read 75 or more this year.


Oh ya, and the AAL banned books challenge.

Yeah Lyn!!! Can't wait to see your posts!

Go Lyn Go!!!

Hurray!!! Hopefully you won't get as behind as I am right now :(

List for the AAL Banned Book Challenge

I am going to try to read the books below, and will add the link when I have actually read them.

Beloved
The Sound and The Fury
The World According to Garp
Heart of Darkness
Their Eyes are Watching God
All the Kings Men

So - should I start from the beginning of March, or the beginning of January?

Assuming the beginning of March, here is my list for the A-Z Title Challenge

A - Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
B - Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter
C - Changes by Jim Butcher
D - Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
E - Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
F -
G - Greywalker by Kat Richardson
H - Hush: A Novel by Kate White
I - In the Woods by Tana French
J -
K - Kisscut by Karin Slaughter
L - The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
M - Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño
N - Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go
O - One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
P - Plum Island by Nelson DeMille
Q -
R - Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart
S - Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
T - Twisted by Andrea Kane
U -
V -
W - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
X -
Y -
Z -The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

Here is my list for the Name Challenge:



L - The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
Y -
N - Never Let Me Go BY Kazuo Ishiguro

M - Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño
E - Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
A - Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
D - Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
O - One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
W - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
S - Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Books read during 2010 (Goal is 75)

1. A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King
2.The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
3.The Xibalba Murders: An Archeological Mystery by Lyn Hamilton
4.The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5.Nightwalker by Heather Graham
6. A Cold Day In Paradise bySteve Hamilton
7.Heat Wave by Richard Castle
8.Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor
9.The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
10.The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir
11.Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
12.Witch and Wizard by James Patterson
13.The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon
14.The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers
15. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
16. Greywalker by Kat Richardson
17. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
18. In the Woods by Tana French
19. Girl in a Blue Dress: A Novel Inspired by the Life and Marriage of Charles Dickens by Gaynor Arnold
20. The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch
21. Changes by Jim Butcher
22. Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely
23. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
24. Caligula: The Corruption of Power by Anthony A. Barrett
25. Robert Frost's Poems by Robert Frost
26. Secrets of Eden: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian
27. The Cross Gardener by Jason F. Wright
28. Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell
29. Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart
30. Twisted by Andrea Kane
31. Plum Island by Nelson DeMille
32. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
33. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
34. Hush: A Novel by Kate White
35. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
36. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
37. Rush Home Road: A Novel by Lori Lansens
38. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
39. Hold Still by Nina LaCour
40. Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey
41. To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York by Jean Plaidy
42. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
43. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
44. The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
45. Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter
46. Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco
47. The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries: New Expanded Edition by Arthur Conan Doyle

Books read during 2010 cotinued (Ran out of room on the first post)(Goal is 75)

48. The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner
49. Immoral by Brian Freeman
50. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
51. The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
52. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
53. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
54. Kisscut by Karin Slaughter
55. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
56. Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño
57. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
58. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
59. Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard
60. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
61. Truth: A Novel by Peter Temple
62. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
63. On Folly Beach by Karen White
64. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
65. A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter
66. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
67. Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan by Giles Milton
68. Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke
69. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
70. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
71. Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher
72. The Stand by Stephen King
73. Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

You are doing really well with your numbers, Lyn! I might do the name challenge too but I'll have to find two "e" books and two "l" books for that.

I've been really trying to stay away from those 1500 page massive tomes lately. Although one or two this year won't be bad. I actually was in a group where we were trying to read 144 books this year, but I just don't think I can do that!!

Good grief, you have to work your way up to that high a number. I actually want to see if I can do closer to 75 books this year but I don't want to pressure myself. My 50 book challenge I ended up rushing and stressing and read books for the number, this year it's more about the intended quality of the book so I am enjoying it more.

Lyn, I know what you mean about the giant books. That is part of the reason why I am so behind. The last three I have read are pretty large and I still have Wolf Hall to read too!! I need some fluff!
Colleen, I would really like to read 50 books this year too, but I don't know if I can handle it timewise. I love reading and I hate not being able to do it!! And I too would like to do the name challenge, but I would need to find a "Y" book!

50 books is actually easier than you think. I was freaking out that whole year but I ended up meeting my deadline and adding a big book to the list to boot. Remember, if you read the whole book school books count and audio or podio books really help the numbers. You can do it, I have faith in you! I don't know any "Y" books but I'll look for some.

I have been averaging 6 - 7 books a month, and I figure 6 books a month is 72 books a year, so I think I can do that. I would love to do 100, but we'll see how it goes. But then, I have a lot more time to read that most of you all.

A lot of the books I plan to read are big ones!! I don't know how I am ever going to do it with school!!!!??

I tried for 50 books last year and didn't quite reach it. It didn't help that I started they year with War and Peace and read 2666 near the end. I'm on a tear this year, but most everything I read has been in the 300-400 page range, so it kind of makes sense. I'm temporarily avoiding the big tomes, much like Lyn.

I count school books because I had to read a study guide cover to cover earlier this year to transfer my esthetics's license to Hawaii. I have the links to my 50 books in a year on my gr profile if anyone wants to check it out. I have a lot of goofy books on the list but I was on this read and get rid of kick (that's one of my piles, LOL). I did my 50 books list on amazon.com on listmania and had to do two since they only allow you to list 45 books.

That's great Lyn, keep it up and you will make your deadline for sure. Have you picked back up MoC or SIS yet?

Jeremy, I started my year with The Memoirs of Cleopatra and I was freaking out that it put me behind. Thanks to podiobooks I have caught back up :) I am trying to read at least 5 books a month; I am going to work my way up to 100 books in a year. It's daunting but I think I can do it eventually.

:) The pressures of reading!

We are counting School Books???? Geez, all this time!

Colleen - I have not picked up either MoC or Sis yet, but am 400 pages into the Penguin Unabridged translation of The Count of Monte Cristo, which has 1243 pages in it, plus another 25 pages of historical notes. This book is fantastic, and I might even finish this one, LOL. I think what is helping me is that we are reading 200 pages per week and discussing to that point.

Jeremy, Reading is supposed to be fun?? :D

It is!!! Well, I don't know if fun is the right word. Satisfying? Pleasurable? Rewarding?

As for Dumas, I want to read that book. I just don't know when!

It is the first Dumas that I have read, but it is well worth it.

I have TCoMC downloaded on my itunes, I am thinking of loading that one and at least one more for my month long trip to Cambodia.

Donna, I have been! I think any book you read cover to cover should count including school books.

Jeremy, my pressures of reading are a.) trying to keep up with group reads in three groups and b.) deciding which book to read next in between group reads! LOL

Just updated for my latest book read. Now to finish number 18.

Nice Lyn, you are ahead of me!

Colleen, I have a hard time keeping up with group reads too. I read fast, but I got sooo bogged down MoC and SIS. I needed a break from group reads for a bit! I do really wanna read that Cromwell book though!

It is so good Aly, did you see all the exerpts I just posted in the Cromwell TL thread?

Colleen - it is next on my list, but by the time I get it finished, you will probably be gone. Hope we can discuss when you get back.

Aly - I just finished the January read for one of my groups. I am hopelessly behind, although I tell myself that in some cases it is because they pick books that have HUGE wait lists at the library, LOL. Ya, right.

Just finished another couple. I am back in a bit of a groove.

I am up to 22 for the year - Now on to Caligula: The Corruption of Power by Anthony A. Barrett, which looks like it will be rather dry.

Okay - The Caligula book was horrible. The book of Robert Frost's poems, though, was good, and I learned a lot about the poet from Louis Untermeyer's commentary.

Oh how I hate to waste my time reading crap!

I know, but it was the group read for the group that Colleen and I are the mods of, so I sort of felt obligated. Actually, I was looking forward to it since I don't know much about that time in history, but it was just what you said. Crap.

oh that'sa too bad!

I finished Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell and I am giving it 4 stars. The book was a telling of the relationship between the Impressionist painter Claude Monet and his wife, Camille Denacroix. I picked up this book because my youngest son, Joe, is a painter, loves Impressionism, and his famous painter is Monet. Due to this I have come to love Impressionism, also, and Monet in specific. That said, even though this book was about his relationship with Camille, I learned a lot about Monet and the other Impressionist, and the tribulations they went through trying to get their paintings recognized as art. In addition, I learned a lot about the life of Monet. It was also a pretty easy read. I would definitely recommend this to people who are interested in the Impressionist movement in France.

I have had to shelve the Caligula book. I need to catch up on my reading I feel so swamped now. Ack. Did you read the Cromwell book yet? pushpushpush I promise it is waaaaaaaaay better than Caligula. I am sorry I nominated that book but I am learning things about him I didn't know in a textbook yawn sort of way.

I told Jennifer not to even bother with the Caligula book. That was a stinker, and I will never forgive you, lol! I wasn't able to get to the Cromwell one, but I am almost through my HUGE backlog of library books and have been studious about not putting a bunch of new ones on hold, so I am hoping to get to it soon. I certainly picked the wrong book of the two, huh? You should read my review of Caligula. It was not the best book I've read, and the Romans make the Tudors look like amaatures!

*Sniff* pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease forgive me Lyn!!! I promise Cromwell is way better!!!

Just from the first 25 pages of Cromwell that I did read, I can tell it is way better!

I still have to get the Cromwell book. I really wanna read it!!!

WooHoo, I am up to 31!

I just finished Plum Island by Nelson DeMille and I have to say, I was really disappointed in the book. I had heard such great things about it and have a lot of friends who gave it 5 stars, but not me. I thought the main character was obnoxious to the point of overkill. In addition, he did not seem to have any reason to be so invested in solving this murder. Add to that a story line that took up half the book only to be dropped. I did like the last half of the book, when the second story line really got going, and thought that Nelson DeMille came up with some really good phrases that I will keep, but all in all I'm giving this book 2.5 stars

Last night I finished Pride and Prejudice and I really enjoyed it. If you strip everything away, this is the typical romance book. Girl meets boy, they hate each other, learn to love each other, have a crisis that each thinks is going to tear them apart, and finally end up together. Where this book differs for me is the picture of Victorian society that it gives, the unusual way that Jane Austen puts words together, and the sarcastic humor included in the story. I would give this a definite 4.5 stars.

Sorry Colleen.

I'm starting Pride and Prejudice this weekend. Somehow, I've never read it. I'm glad to hear that you liked it. That makes me feel a little bit better about it!

Be forewarned, Colleen didn't like it, and the style is sort of strange as she uses a lot of archaic words and phrases, but I did really like it.

Thanks for the heads up!! And congrats on moving along in your reading!!!

Thanks, your doing a pretty good job yourself.

Thank you! I told myself I couldn't buy a new book until I finished Marie Antoinette and Wolf Hall, so I'm plodding through both of those :(

Marie is not the easiest read on the planet, but I am really learning a lot about that era.

Me too! I'm really glad I picked it up. Did the first couple of chapters go really slow for you too?