OK....so I signed up for this challenge a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to read. Why is it so hard to choose sometimes?? But there are SO MANY great books out there and so many lists to choose from, it's a wonder I finally broke it down! I started out with 30 must reads. 30!! Yes, I know. WAY too many. But I finally settled on 15 (with 5 alternates) And I tried to choose an assortment from a bunch of different award winners. Let's look at what I picked:
- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1921 - Pulitzer)
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (2001 Pulitzer)
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2007 Pulitzer)
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (1969 Nebula and 1970 Hugo
- Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2004 Hugo)
- Johnathon Strange & Mr. Norrell by Suzannah Clarke (2005 Hugo)
- Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt (1990 Booker)
- The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (2000 Booker)
- The March by E.L. Doctorow (2006 Pen/Faulkner)
- Boy's Life by Robert McCammon (1991 Bram Stoker)
- Lisey's Story by Stephen King (2006 Bram Stoker)
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (1995 Giller)
- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1996 Giller)
- The Chatham School Affair by Thomas Cook (1997 Edgar)
- Quicksilver by Neil Stephenson (2004 Arthur C. Clarke)
ALTERNATES:
- The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (1919 Pulitzer)
- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1981 Pulitzer)
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (1962 Hugo)
- Life of Pi by Yann (2002 Booker)
- Runaway by Alice Munroe (2004 Giller)
Oh yeah....it's going to take me forever! But at least I have something to look forward to!
Later!
11 comments:
The reason I haven't signed up for this one yet (though I'm not saying I won't!) is that there are just so many choices! But it looks like a fun challenge. BTW, I'm reading The Age of Innocence at the moment, via DailyLit, and I'm really enjoying it!
Some great reads on there, such as: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Road, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (started a bit slow, but I really enjoyed it by the end), and Life of Pi. Hope you enjoy them.
We are also sharing a couple of titles for the challenge. Look forward to your thoughts!
I finally made up my mind about what to pick today as well. We have a few in common: Kavalier and Clay, The Left Hand of Darkness, and... well, that's it actually :P
But I love some of the books on your list - Possession, for example. Also, I strongly encourage you to read A Confederacy of Dunces - it's one of the funniest books I have ever read, and it's sad and poignant at the same time.
Great list! I'm reading The Age of Innocence for a Classics Challenge so we can compare notes on that one ;)
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is such a great book! A very slow read, but when you finish it you'll have a big ole smile on your face...such a pleasure...
I haven't read Boy's Life in ages! I forgot about that book. It was great. I'd like to read that one again. Maybe I should do this challenge. And Lisey's Story was great too...very powerful story there.
You're much tougher than I am. Good choices. I enjoyed A Confederacy of Dunces, although it's sometimes a little gross. The Age of Innocence is one of my favorites .
I guess a couple of us are reading The Age of Innocence. I'm also reading The Left Hand of Darkness. My old boss gave it to me after finishing his women's lit course, and its been sitting on my shelf ever since. I don't normally read Sci-Fi, so it should be interesting.
Cool looks like we share 5 choices in common so will be interesting to see if we pick up on the same things. Should be a fun challenge :)
You've got some chunksters in there! I've read the Canadian ones (Atwood, Munro, Martel, Mistry). :)
I'm really looking forward to this challenge, should be fun!
You've got a whole year and some of your choices are really, really great books that will go quickly. I second Matt's admiration of 'Kavalier & Clay', 'The Road' 'Jonathan Strange' and 'Life of Pi'. I can't wait to find out what you thought of those. They are among my all time favorites.
Great list! I have some of the same ones on my list and some others are on my general TBR list. I'm actually reading The Magnificent Amberson's now, but taking a break from it. Not that it's ponderous or anything, I just got distracted. :)
Stephanie, I know what you mean about trying to limit the choices down. Looks like you did a good job. I'll look forward to your reviews.
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