The Book Challenge discussion

Hi, all. I'm a new member to the group. My goal is to read 45 books over the next year. Like many of you, I am notorius for buying more books than I can read. I bought 10 books this week alone! I keep telling my husband, it's not my fault, I keep finding books of interest and I don't want to lose sight of them. What I read next is really dependent upon my mood at the time. I am currently reading a wonderful book entitled "The Meaning of Night: A Confession". It's beautifully written and has a gripping story with many twists and turns. I'm really savoring this one. I'll let you know when I have finished it and what I intend to read next. Happy reading!

1. The Meaning of Night: A Confession, Michael Cox

2. The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

3. Lost and Found, Carolyn Parkhurst

4. The Color of Water, Andrew McBride

5. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

How did you like The Alchemist and The Color of Water? I've been wanting to read both of these.

Hi, Amanda. I loved The Alchemist. It's a quick read, yet very inspiring. The Color of Water is good, but not as amazing as I had hoped. However, I like stories that offer a unique perspective or experience so this one gave me both. TCOW is also a fairly quick read. If you have time, I recommend both books.

6. Clapton, Eric Clapton

7. The Road, Cormac McCarthy

8. Christmas Books, Charles Dickens

20. Mentor The Kid and the CEO – Tom Pace
21. Endgame – Nancy Garden
22. Rucker Park Setup – Paul Volponi

BJ - are these books recommendations for me? They look interesting.

9. One for the Money, Janet Evanovich

10. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Barack Obama

11. Snow Flower & The Secret Fan, Lisa See

12. 90 Minutes in Heaven, Dan Piper

13. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

14. The World Without Us, Alan Weisman

15. A Tree Grows in Brookyn, Betty Smith

I am new here and I have a question. I suspect I know the answer, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.

When you post the title and author of a book -- as so many do in this group -- does that, by any chance, mean that you read that book in the time since you last posted the title and author of a book?

Please say no. Just say, "Oh no, that just means that someday I would like to maybe start taking a look at that book. I could never read so many books so fast."

That will make me feel a lot better.

I think there are two ways people conduct their lists. Either

1) They list the book when they start it

or

2) They list the book when they finish it.

Of course, it's a big crowd, and to each his (or her) own, but when I see someone's list, I'm assuming they are following either method 1 or method 2.

Personally, I follow method 2 (I like closure). I also start a lot of books that I end up hating and don't finish.

My eyes are bigger than my literary stomach, so I keep my reading wishes in my "to-read" shelf, which is absolutely enormous -- more books than I'll ever get to. I figure if I ever break my leg and am laid up for weeks, I'll have a nice long book list from which I can choose.

Good luck -- have fun reading!

I also follow method 2, as Jennie described. I add the book to my book challenge list after I've read it.

I keep my "currently reading" and "to read" lists on my bookshelf. This way, my friends can see what my reading, intend to read and vice versa.

Happy reading!

16. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

17. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde

18. Rose of York: Love and War, Sandra Worth

19. The Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys

20. A Separate Peace, John Knowles

21. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy

22. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

23. Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw

24. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

25. Catherine the Great: Love, Sex and Power, Virginia Rounding

26. Then We Came To An End, Joshua Ferris

27. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn

28. Faherenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

29. Heartsick, Chelsea Cain

30. Purchasing, Michael Hardy

31. The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar, Robert Alexander

I was going to email you about Beah's book! I knew you liked memoirs and so I think you would really appreciate his story. He writes amazingly well. You really get a sense of what he went through, and yet, he shields you from the true horror of it. I think because he knows you would simply not be able to imagine it, it being so foreign.

What struck me was how he said he rarely slept. He was that hopped up on drugs and adrenelyn. How he made it out alive is beyond me. Let me know what you think after you read it.

Oh, Meghan, you know me so well. I do love my memoirs. I'll probably read it later this summer, and I'm glad to hear that it isn't too graphic. To be honest with you, that's why I have been putting it off, even though I am very interested in the story.

Did you see the movie Blood Diamond? There is an element of boy soldiering in that one as well - at least, I think that it was Blood Diamond. Regardless, I find the concept completely horrifying!

32. The Reading Group, Elizabeth Noble

33. The Quickie, James Patterson

34. A Three Dog Life, Abigail Thomas

35. Veronika Decides To Die, Paul Coelho

36. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

37. The Giver, Lois Lowry

38. I Love You Beth Cooper, Larry Doyle

39. The Messenger, Daniel Silva

40. The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, Vicki Iovine