I posted my categories and lists and now, like everyone else, can’t wait to start reading! But at least I can daydream about which book I’ll read first.

It’ll be the New Year, so something optimistic will appeal. It’ll be icy cold, so something comforting and engrossing will appeal. There are easily 10 books in serious contention, but two keep rising to the top: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay and The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

What will you read first in 2009?

I think I'm going to start off at the deep end with The Divine Comedy. I have all three (Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise) in one book, so that will give me the perfect opportunity to break it up with something lighter at the end of each if I'm feeling I need to. I'd like to get it finished in January, tho, because I then have the group read for The Brothers Karamazov starting in February.

Just 5 and a half weeks to go! Is anyone counting yet?

Hmm.. Just printed out my Challenge and am looking at things.

Biographies Falling Leaves: the True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Nonfiction Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War

Epidemiology Justinian's Flea

Ghost Stories The Turn of the Screw

Mysteries by Authors I've Never Read Before The 39 Steps

Historical Fiction Master and Commander

Just Because Cranford

Redbud Bookclub Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart

It just depends in which category I want to read first.

I set up the order of my categories so that I have 5 essentially recreational categories and 4 genuine challenge categories, and I alternated them. So I am going to start easy with H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (Science Fiction Greats) and then proceed to something I will have to work at harder: Maybe one of my "My Sister Wants Me to Read" improving non-fiction selections. Maybe.

I have a terrible feeling I am going to have to find more books because I will read some of the fun ones early!

I think that I am going to start with Swann's Way. I probably won't finish it first, though. :) I just really want to get started on Proust.
--BJ

I'm planning to read Wizard of Oz on January 1 for my Kansas category, which is the one I'm most excited about. Then I will probably have a civil war nonfiction lined up to go next - maybe the same day. I'm thinking about Battle Cry of Freedom, which will be a re-read from about 10 years ago. That is another category I'm looking forward to, but expect it will require more effort. Most of my general reading will naturally fall into one or another of the rest of the categories, so these 2 will require the most planning on my part.

I think I'll probably start with some gaucho literature, which would put Martin Fierro at the top. Although I might also start with some obscure works, though I'm keeping that list empty until I actually start reading those books.

I'm going to start with The Happy Hooker and crochet myself a scarf. Then I can enjoy my creation the rest of the winter. I'm thinking of starting after Christmas.

#3 karenmarie

If you pick Turn of the Screw you can start with two books. I read it Halloween night and it took me less than 2 hours--and I'm not a terribly fast reader! I did enjoy it--even though this genre is not a favorite of mine.

39 Steps is relatively fast also--I really liked it but many people to whom I've recommended it weren't as enthusiastic as I was. It is nothing like the old B/W movie--which I also love.

I'm anxious to see how you like Cranford--I'm thinking about reading that next year. I read North and South many years ago and enjoyed it. I'd like to read another of hers.

#4 bk04011

I'm going to your 999 challenge and check it out. I have a scifi/fantasy category and I want to check out what you have on it. I loved all of H.G. Wells books when I read them I'm also dying to see what your sister wants you to read! Love that category. My Scifi/fantasy category is made up of pretty much "what my sons want me to read!"

#5 billiejean

I'm starting to feel guilty--I have always felt that I really had to read Proust "before I die" but I've never gotten around to it. I may have to add it to my "classics" category"--keep us posted how it's going! I know that for me it would be a long project--with other books sandwiched in.

#10 - MusicMom

There are some great lists in this group! Since you said you were going to check out my Sci Fi, I went hoicking over to your list. I can tell you that your SF/Fantasy list includes some of my favorites: Left Hand of Darkness, Tigana and Riddlemaster. I loved Heinlein when I was a kid but he got annoying as both he and I got older. Moon is right on the edge of him transitioning from being a great representative of the Golden Age and him just being self-indulgent and insufficiently edited, IMHO. I was also tickled so see you are a Mary Oliver fan.

#6 sjmccreay

I also have a Civil War category and plan to start that category with Battle Cry of Freedom because it's been on my TBR the longest of all our CW books. I also think it will be a good introduction to the genre.

I can't decide if I should start with one of my "chunkster" classic books (Anna Karenina?), one of my Africa books (The Shadow of the Sun), or one of the scifi/fantasy books (The Martian Chronicles might be an easy way to get into the 999 challenge and also the category that might be the most challenge for me).

bk04011

I visited your challenge thread and left a message--I forgot to mention that I will definitely read more Oliver that the two listed--but I probably won't put it on the challenge thread because I do want to explore some new things on this site. It's also why I don't have a Georgette Heyer category--I will read her anyway! ;-)

I think I'll start with Tea Bliss - sounds like a peaceful way to start the year, and January's great for hot drinks. Also something from the Italy category.

I may go with Airman because my daughter is really bugging me to read that one. But I have some in my room I want to read too. I guess it just depends on my mood.

I am going to start with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, then I'll either continue on with another of her novels or I might join the group read for The Brother's Karamazov in February. I think then I will be ready for some sci-fi or fantasy!

I'm probably going to start the year with two books: War and Peace for sure, and I'll probably go with one of my YA reads to give me something a little lighter as well.

#11 I think reading Proust will be a longterm event. I am just going to take it one volume at a time and slowly. I think that I will also get some sort of study guide to go with it. Of course, I say that a lot and then forget to get one. :) Wish me luck.
--BJ

I'm itching to get on with this challenge!

I think I'll probably start with one of the crime books that I've had on my shelves for a while, probably The Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks as I've read other Christopher Brookmyre books so know his style which seems an easy way to start the year.

I'll also make a start on 1968:the year that rocked the world as I think it will take me a while to get through this but may be something I can dip into chapter at a time.

I plan to wait until the morning of January first, peruse my lists and then choose. I should have all the books on them by then.

I have to have some spontaneity in this!

Based on what my book club decides to read for January, I will probably start with that and then probably a James Patterson novel. It's too hard to decide this far out. I may want to read it early if I think too hard.

I think I'm going to reread Little Women first - it's a cozy, winter story and I really want to read March soon... so I thought it would be good to reacquaint myself with the March sisters' story first.

I'm thinking about making myself read one book from each category (in any order) before letting myself read a second book from a category etc. I just don't want to be left with an imbalance of books at the end. If I don't finish reading all the books in 2009 I at least want to have read a well balanced selection which is what this challenge is about for me. I don't want to have all the non-fiction or 500+ page books left unread.

I have had a hankering to read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass so I may start off with those... I will be on holiday until the 5th January so who knows? I may read many books or not even touch one!

Message edited by its author, Nov 24, 2008, 2:24pm.

I can't wait to get started. My thinking this week is that I want to start with Rebecca but that may change. As of now I think I will have the week of Dec 29th off, so I will probably start on the 31st.

Since I have two horror categories, I already have a pretty good idea of what I'm reading for October. I'm a little less sure about January.

I shall try to read one from each category each month. Therefore I will start with A Crime in the Neighbourhood by Suzanne Berne.

Decide NOW what I'll read in January?

Of course I'm the one who hated book reports back in grade school. First say what book you want to report on, then the teacher approves it, then you are supposed to read the book and write about it - except that by the time the teacher had approved it, I was already two or three books further on, and had trouble going back to write on a book I was finished with.

Message edited by its author, Nov 25, 2008, 2:14am.

MarthaJeanne, I'm with you! My lists looked really great when I made them, but I'm almost ready delete all the books and then just start reading, filling in the categories as I go.

So I'm planning to go thru the categories, not reading two in the same category back to back. I know there are several who said they wanted to do a group read of Dante's Inferno and we'll probably do that in Feb or March, but I think I'm going to start with a short volume of poetry, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly a beautiful little book I was recently given.

I also know that my family will load up under the tree with books on my wishlist, so I'll be sorely tempted to pick one of those. And finally, I want to do the re-read of Pillars of the Earth which I read (and Loved) years ago, but want to refresh my memory on before I read World without End. Getting some of those 'big boys' out of the way early is a good way to spend snowy winters in Maine.

I've been trying to finish the 'Classic Lit' category in my 888 Challenge so I think I'm going to start January with something a little bit light and restful!

#9 musicmom41. That may not be a bad idea - get a couple under my belt quickly. I just read Narrative of Frederick Douglass for the 888 Challenge and it only took me part of an afternoon. It was very good, I'd been meaning to read it forever, and it advanced me on my 888. How could anything be better?

OOhhh - this is really hard, to pick the first book!

I think it will be The Yellow Wallpaper - a short one under my belt right off the bat from my Older Than Me category.

I like the idea of moving from category to category, but not sure I will be able to maintain that when I get to my series books, but we'll see.

So, next on the list will be Watchmen, and then I think I will grab an anthology Nanotech.

After that, I don't know...
Gee - to put all 81 books in the order that I will read them, and then stick to that order. I am a little bit obsessive-compulsive that way...hmm, I'll try to resist the urge... or not!

I know I'm getting volumes 1 and 2 of Vassalord for Christmas from my mom and dad. It will be horribly hard to wait until after the first of the year to read them!

#33 Jenson_AKA_DL - I personally don't know of a rule that you have to START a book on or after the first of the year. Maybe you could time it to FINISH the first of the series on the first. Depending on how quickly you read, you might have to start it on the 31st, but still.....

I think I'll start with The Book of Chameleons and The Bus We Loved. But who knows? Hard to decide in advance...

I already started with The 99th Monkey, a book by LT Author Eliezer Sobel.

I've started early with A Christmas Carol

I'm going to start with the book we're doing in the group read for the Highly Rated book group The Coffee Trader. I'm also doing a group read for the Literary Map of Maine but won't know what book the group decides on for a few more weeks.

Message edited by its author, Dec 17, 2008, 11:38pm.

I'll start with Cathedral of the Sea - Ildefonso Falcones. Probably within a few days....

I just brought 4 volumes of Jane Austen (Thanks to the people on this challenge who got me thinging about her works) and Obama's Dreams from my Father home from the school library. They will be read starting on New Year's Day.

Message edited by its author, Dec 18, 2008, 2:44am.

I'll be starting with one of my next-in-series books - The Naked God by Peter F Hamilton, it's the last book in a scifi trilogy so I'm ready to get back into the story. I'll start on Jan 01.

I kind of started already with The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Joan Aiken Hodge from my Georgette Heyer category but I am not going to count it in the 81. I will report out on it, though, because I think there are a lot of GH fans out there. I will start my actual 81 with The Time Machine by HG Wells from my SF Greats category.

I've got that one waiting for my biography category. I am really looking forward to it. That has to come after the stack of library books, though.

I'll be starting with whatever's in my bag as I board the plane to come home on January 1. It will be paperback or softcover, light in weight, and there may even be two started the same day. Which ones? Haven't got a clue.

#42 - I am a big fan of Heyer's, so I'd love to hear what you think.

Besides The Coffee Trader #38, I'm getting a first cut pile ready for the starting gate:

Plain Truth - fiction #1
Pillars of the Earth - re reads #4
Free for all: - books about books #2
Harp and the Shadow-historical fiction #3

I'm leaving my choice for #5 and #6 (history and award winners) wide open until Santa comes next week...my daughter and husband have been conferring a lot on my wish list, so I know something wonderful and begging to be read immediately will appear under the tree.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khyyam - poetry #8
Amazing Grace -#10 theology
Omnivore's Dilemma - #11 food

Yes I know...I'm still hanging on to 11 categories - just can't let go of any of them. So if I get 81 books read i'll just have to rename categories to make them all fit!

While I suspect the Christmas gifts will rise to the top (my ADD showing up?) I won't make an actual choice of what to start until I actually pick up the book and start reading. In the meantime, what a wonderful dilemma we have!

Message edited by its author, Dec 19, 2008, 10:51am.

I broke down and read The Private World of Georgette heyer first, and really liked it. (But I didn't always agree with Hodge's ratings of the books.) Of course, I just love ALL Heyer's regnency romances. Now I have a better understanding of why I love hers, and can't stand reading others. I'll just have to keep rereading my pile of Heyer, won't I?

I'm reading How I Live Now by Meg Rossoff.

It's for Orange January as well as my "books that have been hanging around for too long" 999 category.

I am looking forward to read Booker prize winner Arvind Adiga's "the white tiger".

I decided to start with Confessions of a Thug. I had started it before a couple of years ago, and dropped it after the first few chapters. I hope to have more luck this time.

@47

MarthaJeanne, I read The Private World of Georgette Heyer over Thanksgiving and was thinking of starting a GH thread because I keep tripping over fans in the 999 Challenge threads. I am doing a GH category this year and because of all the fans, I thought even people who aren't including her in their Challenge could weigh on their favorites. I am hoping to post by the end of this weekend.

Message edited by its author, Jan 2, 2009, 1:38pm.

I'm starting with Bowling Across America: 50 States in Rented Shoes by Mike Walsh for my Memoirs/Autobiographies list. So far it's very funny and my dad would love the descriptions of the bowling alleys and the various people in them.

That sounds interesting. I may adopt it for my Travelogue category.

My first book of the year didn't fit into my 999, but the next will: The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel (for "books about books").

>51 bk04011: I'll talk about Georgette Heyer if you start a thread! She's not in any of my groups (unless I throw a couple into my Grab Bag category), but I love her Regencies and enjoyed The Private World of Georgette Heyer when I read it a few years ago.

>51, 55 I don't have a Heyer category, but I'm expecting several of her books to show up in my Historical and Romance categories. The Private World is on my wishlist, and I'm hoping to get to it this year.

I'm reading The Indian Bride by Karin Fossum, but in German (Stumme Schreie)and I am slow, slow, slow at reading in German. The book is excellent and I would almost call it a page turner, were it not for the amazing slowness at which each page is avidly read!

What I find is that for reading books in translation, it is best to read them in my best language, and for reading in other languages it is better to read books originally written in those languages. My German is good, but I not only read faster in English; translations just don't read as smoothly as things in the language they were written in.

Maybe because so much is written in English, I find that if I want to read the kind of books that I will actually read (I have a well-written book on German history that I've been reading for years...) then a compromise is to read books not originally written in English in German. This works as 1. It's a translation anyway and 2. The German translation is often better than the English one, when it comes to Scandinavian authors.