The Book Challenge discussion

Today is my birthday, so I think it is a good day to start a book challenge. I would like to read at least 80 books this year. I had considered 100, but I want to leave space for things that take a little more time -- like Middlemarch, which I am reading right now and has taken several weeks to plow through. I will include some re-reads on my list, but only of things that I haven't read since high school, like 1984, which I am dying to check out again.

1. Middlemarch by George Elliot. Which I LOVED.

1. Middlemarch by George Elliot.
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.

Uh-oh! My reading has been really slow this week. I am, however, almost finished with another book as well! Hopefully I can get in a little more time over the holiday weekend!!

1. Middlemarch by George Elliot.
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.
3. Lessons by Kim Pritekel.

1. Middlemarch by George Elliot.
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.
3. Lessons by Kim Pritekel.
4. A Woman of Means by Peter Taylor -- completely exquisite. The book is literally the definition of why the novella is a wonderful literary form.

Am now re-reading 1984. I haven't read it since the end of my 8th grade year and am LOVING it.

Ann Patchett,author of Bel Canto, just came out with a new book called Run and itis supposed to be really good.

14. Harmless- Dana Reinhardt
15. 24 Girls in 7 Days by Alex Bradley
16. What Happened to Cass McBride? By Gail Giles
These YA novels were sooo good, lots of drama and suspense!

Ooh thank you!! I have several of Patchett's books on my to-read list and am interested in seeing what else she writes.

1. Middlemarch by George Elliot.
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.
3. Lessons by Kim Pritekel.
4. A Woman of Means by Peter Taylor.
5. 1984 by George Orwell.
6. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.

1. Middlemarch by George Elliot.
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.
3. Lessons by Kim Pritekel.
4. A Woman of Means by Peter Taylor.
5. 1984 by George Orwell.
6. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.
7. Atonement by Ian McEwan.

1. Middlemarch by George Elliot.
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.
3. Lessons by Kim Pritekel.
4. A Woman of Means by Peter Taylor.
5. 1984 by George Orwell.
6. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.
7. Atonement by Ian McEwan.
8. Wedding Season by Darcy Cosper.

Hmmm. . . hopefully getting a little more on track. Got LOADS of books for Christmas and am dying to add them to my list!!!

9. Supercapitalism by Richard Reich.

10. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool.

11. Venus Envy by Rita Mae Brown.

12. Queen of Scots by John Guy.

I listened to this on audio cd in the car. The author is a WONDERFUL narrator and, as long as you are not too concerned with memorizing everyone's name and title, it is a great car book!

13. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

14. A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.

15. Orlando by Virginia Woolf.

16. Bingo by Rita Mae Brown.

17. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

18. Scenes of Clerical Life by George Eliot.

19. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

It was a re-read for me, but one full of reawakening and incredible experiences. I now think, perhaps, I need to re-read everything I read in high school!

20. The Ambassadors by Henry James.

21. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

22. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Another audio book re-read, but one I enjoyed immensely. Jane Austen is PERFECT for the car!

24. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo.

25. Jennifer Government by Max Barry.

26. Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster.

27. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith.

28. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

29. The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde.

30. Different Daughters by Marcia Gallo.

31. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

32. Howards End by E.M. Forster.

33. Surfacing by Margaret Atwood.

34. The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn.

35. Best Lesbian Love Stories of 2003 by various writers.

36. The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker.

37. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.

38. When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age by Justin Kaplan.

39. Fried Green Tomatoes at Whistle-Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.

40. Moll Cutpurse by Ellen Galford.

41. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn.

42. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie.

43. The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton.

Sigh! So delightful I am STILL mildly depressed its over.

44. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe.

45. The Girls by John Bowen.

46. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. -- A wonderful summer action and adventure book

47. Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman

Queer Astrology for Women by Jill Dearman.

49. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio.

50. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman.

51. Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards.

52. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: An Easy Household Guide The Little Green Guides.

53. At Your Fingertips: The Care and Maintenance of a Vagina by Hysteria Magazine.

54. Chick Lit: The New Woman's Fiction by Suzanne Ferris.