Wednesday, February 28, 2007

NY Times Notable Book Blog and Challenge


For a person that doesn't have a lot of time, I seem to find all the groups and challenges I can handle!! Actually more. Thanks to Pour of Tor and Caribousmom a new challenge is in the air. And with it, a new blog. Every year, in December, The New York Times picks what they consider 100 of the year's most remarkable books. This includes both fiction and non-fiction. And although I would love to read them all, it isn't humanly possible. But this challenge isn't one of quantity, but of quality. You pick any amount you want and read them throughout the year. Easy, right? The nifty part is the new blog, NY Time Notable Books. It's a group blog. Join the challenge, and join the blog! We are going to discuss the books and cross-review them!! Sounds kinda fun, doesn't it??? OK, I guess you would just have to be a book person to understand.....but I figure if you are reading this blog, you are probably a book person!
This is this list that I've "whittled" down to so far:
FICTION:
  • Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
  • Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali
  • Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
  • Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
  • Digging to America by Anne Tyler
  • The Dissident by Nell Freudenberger
  • Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta
  • Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • The Inhabited World by David Long
  • The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
  • The Keep by Jennifer Egan
  • Lisey's Story by Stephen King
  • One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky
  • Terrorist by John Updike
  • The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits

NON-FICTION:

  • Falling Through the Earth: A Memoir by Danielle Trussoni
  • Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert
  • Flaubert: A Biography by Frederick Brown
  • Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back Again by Norah Vincent
  • State of Denial by Bob Woodward
  • Sweet and Low: A Family Story by Rich Cohen

This is subject to change of course. I was trying for a good mix!

Later!

2 comments:

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Comments on three of the books you have (tentatively) chosen to read this year:
(1) Digging to America by Anne Tyler ~ Very good at showing how hard it is to understand a new culture.
(2) Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ~ excellent book! I have continued to think about it though I've read many books in the meantime.
(3) Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert ~ I want this book. I've read good things about it, looked through it at a local bookstore, and want it. But I got Al Gore's book instead, saving this one for later. I do intend to read it, though. Let me know what you think of it.

Marg said...

Darn you for bringing another really tempting challenge to my attention! LOL!!

I have read a couple of the books you mention. The Keep was quite good - atmospheric at times. As for Suite Francaise, the story of the author was almost more interesting than the story in the book but it was still readable.

I would really like to read Arthur and George as well as Half of the Yellow Sun!