Another Question

I read one of my book choices and wrote my version of a review (have patience with me, I've not had much experience in reviewing), and realized that I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. So here's a question about how things should work once everyone begins reading. Do we all post here and reference reviews on our own blogs, like I see Rhinoa has done, or should the first one to read a particular book post his/her review on this site, using the title of the book as the title of the post, and all subsequent readers add their reviews/comments to the initial post for the book, or yet another option, does our kind host create an empty post (just a title) for each book, and we use the comments to discuss and link to our reviews?

Why, oh why, does this person keep asking questions??? Well, I took one of those online quizzes and found out that I can't accomplish anything without explicit, intricately detailed, step-by-step instructions. ;)

Book One Read - Thanks Athena!

I just finished reading The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby that was nominated by Athena. I absolutely loved it and have put up a review here

Thanks lots Athena, I liked your list in general having read Peter Pan and Anna Karenina previosuly and enjoyed them both. I need to see if I can find your original post saying why you picked this book. If you didn't say please let me know so I can learn why you put it on your list.

***Edited to add review***

Rating : 5/5
Reason for reading : Something About Me Challenge and he is my favourite author

This is the first of two books (I got the American versions as it has only just been published in the UK in one edition but I couldn't wait that long!) by Nick Hornby which collect his essays from an American magazine called "The Believer". He keeps track every month of the books he has bought as well as those he has read. There are mini reviews within his essays as well as some excerpts from books he has read that month along the way.

What can I say, I LOVED this book! It's perfect for me, it's a book about books by one of my all time favourite authors so what's not to love?!? I love his writing style, very funny and insightful. It was interesting to learn a little more about his life in general. I knew one of his sons was autistic (I only found out recently though through buying another book he has edited "Speaking with the Angels") and that he is part of an organisation in the UK called Treehouse related to this, but it was intersting to hear his take on the books on autism out there and little details of his son.

The other good things about this book was I got some great recommendations on books for me as well as a book I want to buy my dad's wife for her birthday on a week or two. He also gave great validation for buying so many books, he confesses to not listing all the books he buys as some months it's an obscene number! He includes a great quote from Gabriel Zaid's "So Many Books":"the truely cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more."

I can't wait to read the next one. Thanks Athena for giving me a push towards getting around to reading this!

Athena's Reading List

This is my tenative reading list for the challenge. I'm unsure if I can read all these, but a lot of the books I've wanted to read for awhile. I've also read a lot of the books mentioned so far, so I'll definitely be interested in discussions about them.

Ellen's List
The Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chris's List
The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

raidergirl3's list
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Tiny Little Library's List
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

The bookworm's List
The Poinsonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Also, I recently finished Diary of Anne Frank which this read along encouraged as it was on the original list above.

Christina's Picks

I'm surprised by how many of the books I've already read! Everyone had such great picks.

Books I've Already Read:
East of Eden (Vasilly)
Pride & Prejudice (Bookworm, Pattie)
Gone With the Wind (Bookworm)
The Poisonwood Bible (Bookworm)
The Time Traveler's Wife (Dewey)
Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons (Tiny Librarian)
Anne of Green Gables (Tiny Librarian, Trish, EnnaVic)
Bridget Jones' Diary (Tiny Librarian, Trish)
The Historian (A Book in the Life, Maryanne, Heidijane)
The Mayor of Casterbridge (A Book in the Life)
Anna Karenina (Athena)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Stephanie)
Wuthering Heights (Suey, Trish)
The Amateur Marriage (Nattie)
Lolita (Heather)
The Awakening (Pattie)
Charlotte's Web (3M)- I sort of remember reading it.
Evening Class (raidergirl)
The Eyre Affair (Heidijane, Valentina)
Heidi (Heidijane)
I, Elizabeth (Soleil)
Little Women (Lucca, Alyson)
The Canterbury Tales (Faith)
The Secret Life of Bees (EnnaVic)
Island of the Blue Dolphins (Juli)
Lovely Bones (Chasida)

My Choices:
Crime and Punishment (JMC)
Chocolat (Chasida, Margo)
Can you keep a secret (Kathrin)
Of Human Bondage (Athena)
The Thirteenth Tale (Kristin)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Janet, Stephanie) *I just finished this yesterday
The Robber Bride (Ellen)
Anne of the Island (Becky)
Anne of the Windy Poplars (raidergirl)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Lucca)

Alternates
The Red Tent (Sarah Miller)
March (Dewey)
The Writing Life (Megan)
Anne Frank (Pattie)

3M's List

My choices for the books "about me" are in this post.

I will probably only read 5-6 books for this challenge. Titles in red are the leading candidates at the moment. The others are alternates. Nominated books that I am thinking about reading, subject to change are:

Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker
The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint Exupery
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
The Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson
PostSecret by Frank Warren
Blindness by Jose Saramago
Nothing But the Truth by Avi
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak


Eligible books I've already read:

The Thirteenth Tale
Nicholas & Alexandra
Evening Class
Pride & Prejudice
Jane Eyre
East of Eden
The Screwtape Letters
Persuasion
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Awakening
Wuthering Heights
Twelfth Night
Little Women
To Kill a Mockingbird (Review)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Review)
Where the Red Fern Grows
Booked to Die
The Eyre Affair (Review)
Grapes of Wrath
Shadow of the Wind
Charlotte's Web
The Echo Maker (Review)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Review)
March (Review)
Mere Christianity
My Sister's Keeper (Review)
Fahrenheit 451 (Review)
Anna Karenina
The Time Traveler's Wife (Review)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Giver (Review)
Number the Stars (Review)
Island of the Blue Dolphin
A Wrinkle in Time (Review)
Flowers in the Attic

Breaking Down the List... Including My Official Reading Plans for the Challenge

I’ve dissected the list (and wow, what a list it is!) and split things up into four categories:

Pre-challenge books: (Books I recently read or am planning to read before the challenge officially begins)

I Am the Messenger (it was first going on the official list, but just available from my library hold yesterday, so I’ll have to read it now!)
I Am Legend
Sixpence House
Operating Instructions
So Many Books, So Little Time
A Cook’s Tour
Biblioholism
The Quilter’s Apprentice
Papa Married a Mormon
The Amulet of Smarkand

Official Challenge Books: (someone stop me before I add more!)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Juli)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishigiro (Lucca)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Diane)
Sea Glass by Anita Shreeve (Beachreader and Library Lady)
The Petit Prince by Antoine De Saint Exupery (Soleil)
The March by E.L. Doctorow (Jill)
The Stand by Stephen King (A Book in the Life)
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Maryanne)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin (Stephanie)
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard (Megan)
Ida Mae Tutweiler and the Traveling Tea Party by Ginnie Siena Bivona (Lynne)
Evening Class by Maeve Binchy (Raidergirl)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (3M)
Tracon by Paul McElroy (Lisa)


Post-challenge Books: (Books from the list that I want to read in the near future)

The Talisman
My Sister’s Keeper
Baden-Powell
The Never Ending Story
A Tiger in the Well
The Canterbury Tales
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Dairy Quenn
The Bell Jar
Beach Music
Chocolat
Traveling Mercies
March
The Robber Bride
Seven Blessings
SAHM I Am
Cheaper By The Dozen
Fall On Your Knees
The Seven Daughters of Eve
The Namesake
A Walk in the Woods
In the Shadow of Man

Books from the list that I’ve already read:

Island of the Blue Dolphins
A Wrinkle in Time
Wuthering Heights
Anne of Green Gables
Mrs. Dalloway
The Secret Life of Bees
The Eyre Affair
Little Women
Uglies
To Kill a Mockingbird
Where the Red Fern Grows
Inkheart
A Northern Light
The Winthrop Woman
The Red Tent
The Giver
The View from Saturday
Number the Stars
The Tale of Despereaux
The Screwtape Letters
Crime and Punishment
Good Grief
These Happy Golden Years
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Ender’s Game
Anne of the Island
Persuasion
Flowers in the Attic
The Other Boleyn Girl
On Writing
Stargirl
Just Ella
The Lord of the Rings
The Princess Diaries
Jane Eyre
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Blindness
East of Eden
Pride and Prejudice
The Poisonwood Bible
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons
The Historian
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Educating Esme
Peter Pan
Anna Karenina
The Thirteenth Tale
Twilight
A Girl Named Zippy
This Side of Paradise
My Name is Asher Lev
Anne Frank
The Awakening
Anne of Windy Poplars
Charlotte’s Web
Rebecca
In the Shadow of the Wind
Grapes of Wrath
Heidi

raidergirl3's reading picks

I've been making lists, and checking them twice, aaaand reading great books. I've read a few already because I couldn't wait

• A Man Without a Country (kookiejar)
• So Many Books, So Little Time (sally,vasilly, abookinthelife)
• The Echo Maker (3M)
• Uglies (faith)

Now, my list of books I plan to read, trying to stick to 5 books, one per month.

1. Jane Eyre (kathrin)
2. Inkheart (becky shereads)
3. I Am the Messenger (jill mrstreme)
4. We Need to Talk About Kevin (dewey)
5. Lolita (heather)

some alternates or hope to reads, as well

• The Eyre Affair (valentina, heidijane)
• The Thirteenth Tale (kristin)
• Ender's Game (becky)
• Number the Stars (booklogged)
• This could go on for a while actually. At my blog, I listed all the books I would love to have the time to read: here

I was going to list the books I've already read, but I've read a lot of them; they are also listed at my blog. My, what an interesting group of people we are with such great taste in books. You all have given me a TBR list to last me several many years