Looking for suggestions again

Last year I asked for your must-read books. From your suggestions I crafted a reading challenge. A number of my friends joined me in this challenge, and I think it has been one of the more valuable challenges that I have done this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the books that I have read for it and I intend to do it again next year.

Since I have several books in progress that I want to finish by the end of the year, and because I read one of my alternates, I know that one of my choices for this year will carry over to next year.

So again, I ask you, what books have you read that--for whatever reason--you would recommend highly. They can be serious or fun. Fiction, non-fiction, acclaimed or obscure. The only requirement is that you love them.

Please comment here and not on the Book of Face, so that I can keep track of your replies. Thanks in advance.

Reading troubles

I have a book blog, mostly to keep track of the various reading challenges that I engage in each year. I post the occasional review and sometimes progress reports and updates, but, in the main, it is my way of keeping track of what I am, or should be, reading.

I say "should be" because, for me, the challenges function as a curb. They, theoretically, keep me from reading too much fluff. They steer me toward some specific books, some higher quality literature, and more variety than I would likely consume if left completely unchecked.

Some years this works better than others. This year I am in a bit of trouble with my challenges, partially because I've been lazy, partially because I've had a couple of crazy busy times, partially because of my eye trouble, and partially because I have had lots of opportunity to peruse--and check out--the new books at the library.

Another problem is that I've had a couple of books that have really bogged me down. They've been slow going. I just decided that I've had enough of one of them. After half the book, I'm calling a halt. I won't count it for any of my totals, but I will check it off of the challenges that required this particular book, because I am DONE with it.

My sons don't understand it, but I really don't like Dostoyevsky. I didn't like Crime and Punishment. And I have now abandoned The Brothers Karamazov. In fact, I don't believe that I have as yet particularly enjoyed a book by a Russian. I can appreciate certain things about the book, but I don't enjoy it. I figure that I am old enough at this point to not spend any more time on a book that I am practically skimming to get through.

I am about 1/6 of the way through Middlemarch and am enjoying that, but for tonight I think I'm going to curl up with something completely different. Tam Lin and The Book of Three--both recommended and chosen for my "Friends" challenge--arrived last week from Amazon, so I think I'll choose one of those.

I may not do as well with some of my challenges this year as I thought I would. I hate not finishing them. But I also don't want to ruin one of the greatest pleasures in my life by turning it into too much of a chore.

Resolved

As with last year, I was relieved to look back tonight and see that I had made no resolutions. What a relief!

I did, however, have a few reading challenges to complete. While I was mostly successful, I came up slightly short.

Update: For a more thoughtful look at resolutions: Wit & Whim.

Books, books, and more books

I'm planning my reading challenges for this year. I read a lot of books this year, but not as much quality as I would like. So, for 2010 I'm going to do a bit more brain-stretching. If you have suggestions, I'm talking about it here.

A good day

Today was a good day, even though I did almost nothing productive. Okay, yeah, I scrapbooked eight pages and wrote a book review for one of my reading challenges. Productive, I suppose, but not the most practical way to spend a Saturday.

After I came home from a hard day of scrappin', the boys made dinner and cleaned up the kitchen.
Ah, yes. Life is good.

2008 Reading Challenge revisited

My first reading challenge went pretty well. I didn't quite finish all of the categories, but I read more books than it required since some didn't fit.

I'm looking forward to doing this year's reading challenges, and have set up an additional blog to handle the ongoing updates to my reading lists.

Reading challenge: 100+

I love this challenge. It's simple. Read at least 100 books in 2009.

Here are the rules:

1) You can join anytime as long as you don’t start reading your books prior to 2009.

2) This challenge is for 2009 only. The last day to have all your books read is December 31, 2009.

3) You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

I'll be listing my books here. As I read books I will gray them out and put the date completed. I can hardly wait to get started!

1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
2. Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster
3. The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper (have you read this EC?)
4. Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fisher
5. A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffery Archer
6.

Reading challenge: Suspense and Thriller

When I saw that there was a Suspense and Thriller Challenge, I knew that I had to join. These are the kind of books that always show up and divert my attention from other books I plan to read. These are my favorites for a quick, can't-put-down read.

Rules of this challenge:

* Read TWELVE (12) different sub-genres of thrillers in 2009.

* You do NOT need to select your books ahead of time. Also, you may change as you go.

* Your books can crossover into other challenges.

The sub-genres are listed at the challenge site.

I'll be listing my books here.

1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

2009 Reading Challenges: World Citizen

I've decided that I want to put a little more effort into my reading challenges this year so I'm searching out some different ones that are out there. I've picked a few that I'm going to do. The first is The World Citizen Challenge.

I am picking this one for several reasons. First, it is non-fiction, which I have only really started reading for pleasure during the past couple of years, but enjoy immensely. Second, it encompasses things like history, economics, culture, and politics from an international perspective. Those are things that I would be reading about, but it will help give me some focus. Third, it's only seven books and can fit in nicely with the others that I am doing.

I'll be listing my books here and will link to it in my sidebar.

1. The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper (need to figure out category)
2.

Reading challenge

Glad this list isn't set in stone, because I'm already making changes! (I'll just keep making changes in a new color.)

I realize that the year is almost one-fourth over, but I came across this reading challenge today and I have to do it.

1. Challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2008. (So I will use a couple of books that I've read already this year.)
2. Choose 8 categories of your own that you would like to read 8 books EACH in.
3. You will be allowed 8 overlaps, for a total of 56 unique book titles.
4. You may overlap these 56 titles with any other challenge.
5. You may change your list or your categories at any time.

1. Biography/Autobiography/Memoir
Boone : A Biography by Robert Morgan (finished 5/2008)
The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir by Ellie Matthews (finished 4/9/2008)
Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography by William F. Buckley (finished 12/22/2008)
My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas (finished 11/2008)
A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Life of William Dampier: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer by Diana Preston
Katherine Swynford by Alison Weir (finished 4/7/08)
Time to Be in Earnest by P.D. James
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster (finished 6/3/08)

2. Historical Fiction
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (finished 2/2008)
World Without End by Ken Follett(finished 10/17/2008)
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller (finished 8/10/2008)
Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry (finished 5/7/08)
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Galbreth (finished 1/2008)
The Jumping-Off Place by (finished 11/18/2008)
A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller (finished 8/2008)

3. Quick & Easy
Pandora's Daughter by Iris Johansen (finished 2/2008)
7th Heaven by James Patterson (finished 3/12/2008)
Tombstone Courage by J.A. Jance (finshed 4/17/2008)
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (finished 7/6/2008)
He Said Beer, She Said Wine by Sam Calagione & Marnie Old (finished 4/6/08)
The Darcys Give a Ball by Elizabeth Newark (finished 4/19/2008)
Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell (finished 5/5/08)
Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Elizabeth Newark (finished 5/9/08)

4. Non-Fiction
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl (finished 1/2008)
Made in America by Bill Bryson (finished 1/2008)
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (finished 3/21/2008)
An Inconvenient Book by Glenn Beck (finished 5/25/2008)
Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich (finished 7/15/2008)
The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt (finished 6/7/2008)
Better Than Beauty: A Guide to Charm by Helen Valentine (finished 7/2008)
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (finished 6/12/2008)

5. Classics
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis (finished 2/2008)
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (finished 1/2008)
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (finished 4/1/2008)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Galbreth (finished 1/2008)
Three Men in A Boat (To Say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (finished 12/20)
My Antonia by Willa Cather

6. Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Blasphemy by Douglas Preston (finished 2/29/2008)
California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker (finished 2/25/2008)
Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline (finished 3/2008)
The Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell (finished 3/17/08)
Stone Cold by David Baldacci (finished 5/11/08)
Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman finished (finished 4/27/2008)
Quicksand by Iris Johansen (finished 7/26/2008)
Careless in Red by Elizabeth George (finished 6/30/2008)

7. Current Fiction
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (finished 6/6/2008)
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (finished 6/7/2008)
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (finished 6/9/2008)
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (finished 6/19/2008)
Phantom Prey by John Sandford (finished 6/17/2008)
Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (finished 10/1/2008)
The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva (finished 7/5/2008)
Nothing to Lose by Lee Child (finished 9/2008)

8. On the Shelf (books that are waiting for me)
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston
Plainsong by Kent Haruf (finished 4/19/2008)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (finished 7/30/08)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (finished 8/2008)
Uniforms: Why We Are What We Wear by Paul Fussell (finished 5/20/08)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (finished 9/2008)
Made in America by Bill Bryson (finished 1/2008)
Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography by William F. Buckley

9. Books that I read, or want to read, that don't fit
The Front by Patricia Cornwell (finished 8/3/2008)
The Whole Truth by David Baldacci (finished 8/5/2008)
The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner (finished 8/6/2008)
Schooled by Anisha Lakhani (finished 9/2008)
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain (finished 10/5/2008)
The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn (finished 9/2008)
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer (finished 9/2008)
Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs (finished 12/1 2008)
The Last Patriot by Brad Thor (finished 12/3/2008)
The Winds of Marble Arch by Connie Willis (finished 12/18/2008)
The Host by Stephenie Meyer (finished 11/2008)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


It will be fun to see how many things I change. Right now this is a pretty lazy, off-the-top-of-my-head list. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!