Decades Challenge 08

Wow. I have spent the last few days trying to decide what books to read for this challenge. You think it would be easy....but no. There are just too many books out there in the world that I want to read!!

So....here are the rules that Michelle (from 1 More Chapter), the wonderful host, has put down for the challenge:

The rules are simple:


1. Read a minimum of 8 books in 8 consecutive decades in ‘08.

2. Books published in the 2000’s do not count.
3. Titles may be cross-posted with any other challenge.
4. You may change your list at any time.
5. Peruse the eligible book lists and reviews from last year. Any book from that decade is eligible; it doesn’t have to be on the list to qualify. Another good source to find out when books were published is wikipedia. For example if you follow this link, you will see how easy it is to search books by a particular decade. Another resource is fantasticfiction.co.uk.
6. Come back and post your reviews in the appropriate Mr. Linky (I’ll have them up after January 1). You are encouraged to post all the books you’ve read for that decade if you’re participating in Decades ‘08.
7. Prizes: One credit or in-stock book each will be given away to 8 individuals through paperbackswap or bookmooch. International is okay. The grand prize winner will get 8 credits or in-stock books! If you complete 8 decades, that is one entry for the prize. For each additional decade you complete consecutively, that is an additional entry. So, if you complete 12 consecutive decades, that would be 5 entries for the prize.
8. Have fun reading!

If you want to join too, here is the link: Decades Challenge 2008

Here is my list of Challenge books:

1830's - The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

1840's - Agnes Gray by Anne Bronte

1850's - Bleak House by Charles Dickens

1860's - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

1870's - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

1880's - A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

1890's - Jude the Obsure by Thomas Hardy

1990's - Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

1910's - Something Fresh by P. D. Wodehouse

1920's - Oil by Upton Sinclair

1930's - The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

1940's - The Diary of Anne Frank

1950's - The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein

1960's - The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison

1970's - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

1980's - Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

1990's - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Yeah!! Doesn't that sound fun!!

Beautifully Written Tale That will Live On

O' Pioneers by Willa Cather (212 pgs) was a book I choose to read for the Decades challenge. One of the reasons I ended up with this title was I've heard wonderful things about Willa Cather and her writing. I'm very glad I did!

As the story opens, we meet 16-year-old Alexandra Bergson. She and her family had immigrated from Sweden years before, and are now settlers on the wind-swept Nebraska prairie. As her father was dying, he told the children that Alexandra, as the oldest, was to be in charge of the land. A land he wanted to keep in the family, no matter what the cost. He didn't trust the boys to do what was right, and he knew that Alexandra would.

Many people at that time were cutting and running, selling the land for so much less than it was really worth. And the boys wanted to do this as well. But Alexandra knew better. She knew that the land would be worth a lot some day, and talked the boys into mortgaging the land to buy more. She traveled to different counties and universities to find the newest farming techniques and crops -- much to the dismay of her brothers, who were always so worried their neighbors would be "laughing" at them. And yet, as time went on, the Bergson farm flourished and grew. Lou and Oscar, the two older boys, each found a wife and moved out on their own. But Emil, the youngest, was Alexandra's heart. He was sent to the university to become more than just a farmer. She wanted him to have a life beyond just the land.

And just as Alexandra is starting to really feel the lonliness of her life, an old family friend, Carl, reappears to visit. She has some decisions to make about her life, her family and her land.

This tale spans a space of 25-years in the life of Alexandra. She is an incredibly smart business woman and a wonderful strong character. She is not given to do things based on appearnces, which is an attribute that I love about her character. But she is lacking a lot of the social awareness that most women have. Especially since the character was written by a woman! But through all the hard times and the good times, Alexandra is there to hold this family of pioneers together. This is truly a fantastic book, well deserved of the title "Classic"! If you haven't read anything by Cather, I strongly urge you to read this one!! 4.5/5

Also reviewed by:

Chris @ Book-A-Rama

Beautiful Story about the Building of a Wonder

Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors (324 pgs) was written in 2004. It is my 2000 read for the Decades Challenge. What a wonderful book it was too!!


As the tale begins, a woman has gathered her two granddaughters together to tell them a story. It is the story of their family history, the truth of which has been hidden from them since the day they were born. For their grandmother was not just the daughter of a simple fisherman. No. She was actually born into the Royal family. Her real name is Princess Jahanara, and her father was the Emperor Shah Jahan. And this is her story.



Princess Jahanara was the eldest daughter of the Emperor. And she was very close to him and his wife. In fact, she was just like her mother -- beautiful, intelligent and compassionate. She wanted nothing more than to know love like her parents shared. But she knew her duty was to the empire and did as she was told. When her mother died during childbirth, the Emperor was inconsolable. The grief he felt for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, led the Emperor to dream of the afterlife with her at his side. He wanted to create a monument dedicated to his wife. And so began the construction of the Taj Mahal.


But this story is not only about the Taj Mahal, but it is about the love that inspired it. And it is also about the rivalry between brothers and a sister. A rivalry that would tear this empire apart. Dara, the eldest brother and heir to the throne, was a man of compassion. He studied many religions and hoped to unite the Muslims and the Hindus together. He was smart and studious and philosophical. The younger brother, Aurangzeb, was a soldier. He was a cold, zealous killer and he was hungry to gain control of the throne for himself.


This book is a wild ride. Shors does a phenomenal job of not only bringing out the most beautiful of love stories, but also the bloodiest of wars, pitting brother against brother. He certainly has a knack for storytelling! Although this account is fictional, there is enough historical fact for the reader to gain some insight into 17th Century politics and the intricacies of Muslin/Hindu relations. The language is lilting and beautiful and it is a story that I highly recommend to both fans of history AND historical fiction. Wonderful!! 4.5/5

Challenges

What is it with me and the word "Challenge"?? As a new blogger, especially one that deals mostly with books and the written word, I have been AMAZED at the amount of challenges that seem to float through the blog nation. And every time I see a new one, I just can't seem to help but put my name next to it!! Since I failed miserably at the Winter Classics Challenge, one would think that I would be a little more selective at the challenges that I get myself involved in. But no...that doesn't seem to be the case!! Of course, now that I have conceded that there has to be some cross-challenge books, it's a little easier to justify it to myself!! So I guess I should just get to posting the new challenges that seemed to have jumped onto my radar:

Well, Michelle at 3M said she started this as a personal challenge, and there was so much interest, she opened it up to all. It was originally 15 books for 15 decades, but she said you can do as many (or as little) as you want, as long as they are in consecutive decades. Well...it looks like it will be 18 books/18 decades for me. Mostly this is just because I wanted to add Wuthering Heights, but if I stayed in the 1840's, that was only 17. And 17 just sounded so uneven!! Anyway, here is my list:

• 1830's - Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickley by Charles Dickens


• 1840's - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *also used for the TBR challenge


• 1850's - The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas


• 1860's - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott *also used for the TBR Challenge


• 1870's - Far From the Maddening Crowd by Thomas Hardy


• 1880's - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain


• 1890's - Dracula by Bram Stoker


• 1900's - House of Mirth by Edith Wharton


• 1910's - O'Pioneers by Willa Cather


• 1920's - The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald


• 1930's - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley *also for the Banned Books Challenge


• 1940's - Methuselah's Children by Robert Heinlein


• 1950's - My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier *completed 2/19 for Winter Classics Challenge


• 1960's - Caravans by James Michener *Essencia Island Read


• 1970's - Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow


• 1980's - Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood *also used for the TBR Challenge


• 1990's - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon *also used for the TBR Challenge


• 2000's - Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

Finally, I saw this challenge and decided to add myself to the list. Figured 5 books would do. It is hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. March 21 - June 21st. Read books! Isn't that easy? I'm thinking, I can handle this!! Here are my 6 books:

• Little Children by Tom Perotta
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
• Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
• Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult *just added because I just bought it!

Do you think this is enough to keep my mind occupied? I also have the TBR Challenge, The Banned Book Challenge, The Non-Fiction Five Challenge and the Chunkster challege. Rumor has it, there is also a Fantasy challenge coming up that I might like to get in on.......I think I need to have my head examined!!

Later !