2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

Can anyone suggest some books with antonyms and/or books by authors with the initials M.R.?

I haven't read all of these, but they're all on my TBR, which means either they were recommended to me or I think they look good.

(I'll keep on adding to the Antonym list as I find more)

Antonyms:
Big Little Lies
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story
Little, Big
Little House in the Big Woods
The Agony and the Ecstasy
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud (if you can find the original title - a lot of the reprints just have the title 'Charlie St. Cloud' since the movie came out)
100 Bullets, Vol. 1: First Shot, Last Call
The Living Dead
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
War and Peace (you know, if you feel like reading 1000 pages...)
North and South (or 800 pages...)
The Sisters Brothers
Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
Good Kings Bad Kings: A Novel
Living Dead Girl
Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
All Creatures Great and Small
Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference


Initials M.R.:
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls by Matt Ruff
The Collector of Dying Breaths: A Novel of Suspense by M.J. Rose (this was a little too romance for my tastes, but it wasn't bad)
Asylum by Madeleine Roux
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (and others) by Mary Roach (if you like science book, she's an awesome writer)
Persephone's Orchard by Molly Ringle
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
The Suspect by Michael Robotham

Yes, please!! The antonyms would be very appreciated!

I found this guy, M. R. James, who wrote ghost stories :D Perhaps you can read something by him?

Also, if you can suggest anything with the initials P.S.A., I'd be forever in your debt. (:

Desny - does it have to be P.S.A or can I just give you initials P.A.? (P.A. is hard enough to find as it is!) :)

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison
Invisible by Paul Auster

Those work great :D Thank you!!

I had a little list of antonym books going on the Questions & Clarifications About Topics thread. I'll copy and paste it here (there are possibly some duplicates of Kate's list).

Books with Antonym (and Antonyms-ish) Titles

There is No Light in Darkness by Claire Contreras
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
First Love, Last Rites by Ian McEwan
Hot Ice by Nora Roberts
Cold Fire by Dean Koontz
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend
Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Brightest Kind of Darkness by P. T. Michelle
The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes
Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story by John Berendt
Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim



These would count too, but they're in the middle of a series...

FrostFire (#2 in the Ruan series) by Zoe Marriott -- I read the first and really liked it. This seems to be a story set in the same world but not necessarily tied to the same characters? It could maybe be read as a standalone.
Frozen Heat (#4 in the Nikki Heat series) by Richard Castle
Living Dead in Dallas (#2 in the Sookie Stackhouse series) by Charlaine Harris
Cold Fire (#3 in The Circle Opens series) by Tamora Pierce



EDIT: The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne is being released in March (should be well before the antonym task).

Anyone else need initials? This is fun for me. :)

Just a tip to anyone looking for more antonyms: you can use the goodreads search bar to enter in random antonyms you think of and browse the results. Entries like "first last", "right wrong", "dark light", "black white", "good bad", "lost found", "up down", "give take" all got several relatively popular (at least a couple thousand reviews) results.

Also just found out the book one of my favorite movies is based on has antonyms in the title:
Catch Me If You Can: The True Story Of A Real Fake

Not initials but I'm having difficulties with the "originally written in another language" task. I prefer to read German, English and Swedish books in their original language so I have to exclude these three as "another language" already. Then I'm not a fan of classics (I try one every now and then just to notice again that I don't like classics...), and not a fan of crime/thriller either, don't read horror, and I'm not really into romance, chick lit, SF and dystopian. But I really like Fantasy, historical fiction (especially set in the Middle Ages, preferably not among kings and other "high" folk but ordinary people, and everything before that) and Young Adult.
Hmm, that sounds quite limited but I read a lot more different stuff if it sounds interesting. ;D

Any suggestions, anyone?

Anja wrote: "Not initials but I'm having difficulties with the "originally written in another language" task. I prefer to read German, English and Swedish books in their original language so I have to exclude t..."

Anja, any book written by Haruki Murakami was originally written in Japanese and most have been translated into English, and possibly German and Swedish for that matter but I cannot confirm for sure.

He has made a name for himself in the States and most of his works are acclaimed and seem popular in the reading community. I have not read any work by him yet but in researching to complete my Challenge List I found much of the synopses of his novels fascinating.

My initials are TJL. But my maiden name started with U. I have decided that I will collect titles that appeal to me from authors who share ANY of my initials. In other words, maybe I find a JT or LU or a LJT. Once I find a few authors and collect a few titles I think I'll like, I will choose my book.

It states simply, "An author with your same initials." It does not say you cannot take from your middle name or maiden name and it does not say they must be in order. So I'm being a free spirit with this one.

The idea is to get us to read a book, preferably a new book, so I believe thinking creatively, maybe even a little manipulatively, is perfectly acceptable.

Anja, I have a shelf of Czech authors (most of the books there are by Kafka which also wrote in German though), a shelf of French authors, a shelf of Portuguese authors, a shelf of Russian authors and a shelf for others (because they didn't reach +10 books) which includes Spanish authors, Italian authors, Swiss authors, Japanese authors, Chinese authors, etc. I don't know if I have any book that you might like but you can always take a peak :)

Kate - Ellery Queen if you're into detective fiction!

I have five different names and I usually go with the initials AP, but for this week I'll go AC so I can finally read Albert Camus. Though I am open to suggestions!

Hey Erika (:
You could try Emma Quincey though I think it's the pen name of Linda Sole, but I think it's still ok ^^

Kate wrote: "Anyone else need initials? This is fun for me. :)"

I have been trying to find a book with S R for initials and all I can seem to find is 'How To Do ...' books and academic works. :(

Erika wrote: "Kate wrote: "Anyone else need initials? This is fun for me. :)"

I do! My initals are E.Q. soooo that seems a little hard. I've been trying to find authors with those initials and I can't find one...."

wow, tried to help you out Erika, but I can't even find anything. You do have a difficult one

Samantha wrote:

I have been trying to find a book with S R for initials and all I can seem to find is 'How To Do ...' books and academic works. :("

Sally Rena

This is all i was able to find

Thanks everyone! I decided on Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail and Persephone's Orchard.

If anyone is still looking for a book with antonyms in the title, there's also The Wet and the Dry by Lawrence Osborne. (Not the best reviews, but it's on my TBR anyways.)

Any help with initials R. P. please?

Rhymes wrote: "Any help with initials R. P. please?"

Here's what I could find:

Robert B. Parker
Robin Paige
Robin Palmer
Ridley Pearson
Rosamunde Pilcher
Robin Pilcher
Richard Preston
Robert Priest

I have been trying to find a book with S R for initials and all I can seem to find is 'How To Do ...' books and academic works. :("

Salman Rushdie
Spider Robinson
Suzanne Robinson
S.J. Rozan

How about the initials B.W.?
Or B.S. (My maiden name initials)

Anja wrote: "Not initials but I'm having difficulties with the "originally written in another language" task. I prefer to read German, English and Swedish books in their original language so I have to exclude t..."

What about Carlos Ruiz Zafón or Cecilia Samartin? Well I'm not sure what language Samartin writes in, and maybe Zafón's books is too much in the crime/thriller genre, but you could take a look :-)

I looked at the books by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind might be an option if I dont find anything that I like better

Britteny , For B.S you could do the ever amazing Brandon Sanderson! ;D. I found a few names for BW, but I can't really link on the mobile app. I'll post them ones ones that look interesting in a sec

For BW there just a fee I found. Bernard Werber and Bernard Waber sounded the most interesting, more so the former.

Erika wrote: "Kate wrote: "Anyone else need initials? This is fun for me. :)"

I do! My initals are E.Q. soooo that seems a little hard. I've been trying to find authors with those initials and I can't find one...."

So... E.Q. is a tough one. I didn't find anything. Maybe you could use your first and middle initial?

Erika wrote: "Kate wrote: "Anyone else need initials? This is fun for me. :)"

I do! My initals are E.Q. soooo that seems a little hard. I've been trying to find authors with those initials and I can't find one...."

First off, great name! (Though I thought Goodreads was tripping when it emailed me about you commenting in one of the threads I follow here, thinking it was alerting me to my own comment)

Aaaaanyway, how about Erica Quest (a pen name but I would count it) or Ernesto Quiñonez?

TJ wrote: "My initials are TJL. But my maiden name started with U. I have decided that I will collect titles that appeal to me from authors who share ANY of my initials. In other words, maybe I find a JT or L..."

Well, using T.L. I was able to find:
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Snow: A Retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Tracy Lynn


There are more options if you decide to go with different combinations of your initials.

J.L.
Unaccustomed Earth (and others) by Jhumpa Lahiri
Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office (and others) by Jen Lancaster
The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters by John Langan
Vixen by Jillian Larkin
Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice by John Layman
Black Out by John Lawton
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
A World I Never Made by James LePore
The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood by Jane Leavy
Happy Accidents by Jane Lynch
The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore
Dead Irish by John Lescroart
Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
The Age of Ra by James Lovegrove
Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell
Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families by J. Anthony Lukas

(Running out of room. I'll do your other initial combos in a new post.)

L.J.
Summer of Fire by Linda Jacobs
You Look Like That Girl by Lisa Jakub
The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
The Other Side: A Memoir by Lacy M. Johnson

T.J.
Descent by Tim Johnston
Addition by Toni Jordan

L.T.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Anna Karenina (and others) by Leo Tolstoy

J.T.
Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth by James M. Tabor
Nothing by Janne Teller
The 13 Clocks by James Thurber
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
and of course
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Samantha wrote: "Kate wrote: "Anyone else need initials? This is fun for me. :)"

I have been trying to find a book with S R for initials and all I can seem to find is 'How To Do ...' books and academic works. :("

S.R.
The Whispering: A haunted house mystery by Sarah Rayne
The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
A Necessary Spectacle: Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs, and the Tennis Match That Leveled the Game by Selena Roberts
100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater by Sarah Ruhl
Midnight's Children (and others) by Salman Rushdie

Rhymes wrote: "Any help with initials R. P. please?"

Some of these were already mentioned, but here is what I came up with for R.P.

The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus (and others) by Richard Preston
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Sixkill (and others) by Robert B. Parker
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The Child Eater by Rachel Pollack
Pryor Convictions: and Other Life Sentences by Richard Pryor

What about J.J.? Yall are having a lot of fun with this. :P

Britteny wrote: "How about the initials B.W.?
Or B.S. (My maiden name initials)"

For B.W. I found:
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
In Velvet: A Novel by Burt Weissbourd
The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace


For B.S.
Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox by Bill Simmons
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Take This Man: A Memoir by Brando Skyhorse
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (I loved this book!)
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Way of Kings (and others) by Brandon Sanderson

Jessica wrote: "What about J.J.? Yall are having a lot of fun with this. :P"

J.J.

North and South by John Jakes
Ulysses (and others) by James Joyce

(okay, I'm going to try and find you someone less daunting now...)

Hour of the Hunter (and others) by J.A. Jance
Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs
Sleep Tight by Jeff Jacobson
Life at These Speeds by Jeremy Jackson
The Sultan's Wife by Jane Johnson
From Here to Eternity by James Jones
A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones

Wow Kate. You have been very busy. Thanks for the list.

I'd appreciate some help. What about T.B.?

Tammy wrote: "I'd appreciate some help. What about T.B.?"

Happy to help!

T.B.

(a harder letter combination than I thought it would be, but I found a few)

Hawke by Ted Bell
Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman
San Miguel by T.C. Boyle
The Fifth Element by Terry Bisson
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Mysterious Ways by Terry W. Burns

I would definitely recommend any of the books by Terry Brooks. Especially if you like fantasy type books. The only thing is all of his books are part of a series.

Kate, this is fantastic! Thanks for helping so many members with suggestions!

Adriana wrote: "Anja, I have a shelf of Czech authors (most of the books there are by Kafka which also wrote in German though), a shelf of French authors, a shelf of Portuguese authors, a shelf of Russian authors ..."

Adriana -

If you don't feel in an Albert Camus mood when the time comes, there is always:

Agatha Christie
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Matched by Ally Condie
Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival by Anderson Cooper
Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming

or, if you decide to use A.P.

The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer (I can personally recommend this one - I used it for my week 4 book)
Bel Canto (and others) by Ann Patchett
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Lay It on My Heart by Angela Pneuman

Michelle wrote: "Kate, this is fantastic! Thanks for helping so many members with suggestions!"

No problem, Michelle. It's my pleasure. :)

Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors, I don't how I didn't remember her! Thank you so much Kate!

I found one for my initials (MM) but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good Pulitzer Prize winning book that isn't To Kill a Mockingbird or The Road? I've already read both of them but noticed that they're the two a lot of people are picking.

I just ended up googling for Pulitzer Prize winning books. Found a site that has lists by genre. I think mine is more of a memoir but it sounded good. It's called The Midwife's Tale. Can't remember author and can't tag it on my Kindle. I know the title has more to it (like days and such in it) but that's the main part.

I'm planning to read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri for the Pulitzer prize book - that one sounded at least interesting to me

here is the website for the Pulitzer prize lists.

Here's a few that either I've read or that have been recommended to me:

The Goldfinch
The Orphan Master's Son
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Tinkers
Olive Kitteridge
Gilead
Middlesex (great book!)
Empire Falls
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Beloved
The Color Purple

That's just for fiction. The link also includes nonfiction, history, and others.

Hope you find something you like!

Edit: I'd also recommend Angela's Ashes - it won in the Biography category.

Thank-you for the suggestions!
@Kate I actually already have Angela's Ashes on my list, my mum has been raving about it for years!

A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 is what I"m reading for Pulitzer Prize winner. (Finally able to get on my laptop to post it!)

Kate wrote: "Tammy wrote: "I'd appreciate some help. What about T.B.?"

Happy to help!

T.B.

(a harder letter combination than I thought it would be, but I found a few)

Hawke by [author:Ted Bell..."

Thank you so much for your help! It looks like it's between San Miguel and Mysterious Ways. I love historical fiction.