1. Contemporary Fiction
2. Series Continuation
3. New Series
4. Literary Giants
~~ 4A. Shakespeare
5. USA
~~ 5A. New Harmony
~~ 5B. Native American
6. History
~~ 6A. World
~~ 6B. British Isles
7. Myth, Legend, and Fairy Tales
8. Fantasy
9. Lucy Maud Montgomery
10. Children / YA
~~ 10A. Women Authors

Jan 1: I've redone my categories for the new year, and added subcategories. My plan is that for the half-challenge I will need 5 books in each of 10 categories or sub-categories; for the full challenge (which I'm hoping to do), I will need 10 books in each category (including those read in the sub-categories).

Except for the categories which by their nature exclude non-fiction, the categories include fiction and non-fiction, and all categories can include children's or YA books.

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2010, 1:35pm.

Group Reads:

The Histories by Herodotus -- Jan
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- Jan (read January)
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery -- Jan (read Dec 2009)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas -- Feb/March
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen -- March
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger -- May
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown -- June

Message edited by its author, Yesterday, 3:32pm.

1. Contemporary Fiction

Candidates:
*~~ Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Maine)
*~~ Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
*~~ The Help by Kathryn Stockett

~~ Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
~~ The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
~~ 2666 by Roberto Bolano

~~ The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
~~ The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
~~ Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
~~ The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (Alaska?)
~~ 3rd book by Stieg Larsson
~~ The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
~~ something by Doris Lessing

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2010, 2:19pm.

2. Series Continuation

Candidates:
~~ Louise Penny
~~ Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke
*~~ Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke
~~ perhaps Patricia Sprinkle
~~ Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron
~~ Jude Deveraux

Message edited by its author, Dec 30, 2009, 1:45pm.

3. New Series

Candidates:
1. Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart
2. Mail Order Murder (Mistletoe Murder) by Leslie Meier
3. Deadly Nightshade by Cynthia Riggs
4. Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

Rhys Bowen?
Sara Paretsky
Emilie Richards
Monica Ferris

Message edited by its author, Dec 30, 2009, 2:14pm.

4. Literary Giants

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (January)

Candidates:
*~~ The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
*~~ The Histories by Herodotus
*~~ Paradise Lost by John Milton

4A. Shakespeare

Candidates
~~ The First Part of King Henry VI
~~ The Second Part of King Henry VI
~~ The Third Part of King Henry VI
~~ The Tragedy of King Richard III
~~ The Famous History of the Life of King Henry VIII
~~ The Two Noble Kinsman

Message edited by its author, Yesterday, 1:01pm.

5. USA

Candidates:
~~ New York by Edward Rutherfurd
~~ Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig
~~ Montana asbestos book
~~ Chesapeake by James A. Michener
*~~ Raintree County by Ross Lockridge, Jr
*~~ The Black Arrowhead: Legends of Long Island by Caroline Dale Snedeker

5A. New Harmony

Candidates:
*~~ The New Harmony Story
*~~ The Angel and the Serpent by William E. Wilson
*~~ Angel in the Forest by Marguerite Young
~~ Fauntleroy House by Ross F. Lockridge

5B. Native American

Candidates:
~~ Mother Earth, Father Sky by Tom Lowenstein and Piers Vitebsky
~~ Sacred Places in North America by Courtney Milne
~~ Indian Legends by Margaret Bemister (1917)
~~ Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones (Wyoming)

~~ Sherman Alexie
~~ Grace Moon

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2010, 3:29pm.

6. History

6A. World

Candidates:
~~ The Girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks
~~ Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
~~ Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks
~~ The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Guiland
~~ Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

~~* Elaine Pagels
~~ more book(s) by Thomas Cahill

6B. British Isles

Candidates:
*~~ Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
*~~ The Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd
*~~ Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
*~~ Philippa Gregory

~~ Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson

~~ Daphne by Justine Picardie
~~ King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett
~~ other Dorothy Dunnett
~~ The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
~~ Margaret George
~~ Elizabeth Chadwick

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2010, 3:17pm.

7. Myth, Legend, and Fairy Tales

Candidates:
*~~ Arabian Nights
*~~ Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

~~ The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
~~ The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
~~ Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo
~~ Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist
~~ Harry Potter's Bookshelf by John Granger
~~ Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2010, 2:25pm.

8. Fantasy

1. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin (Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) (January, 3*)

Candidates:
~~ The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. LeGuin
~~ The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

~~ The Giver by Lois Lowry
~~ The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
~~ A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
~~ Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
~~ Spellbinder by Helen Stringer

Message edited by its author, Jan 2, 2010, 1:55pm.

9. Lucy Maud Montgomery

Candidates:
2. Anne of Avonlea
3. Anne of the Island
4. Anne of Windy Poplars
5. Anne's House of Dreams
6. Anne of Ingleside
7. Rainbow Valley
8. Rilla of Ingleside
9. The Blue Castle

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2010, 2:10pm.

10. Children / YA

10A. Women Authors

Candidates:
*~~ Whirligig House by Anna Rose Wright
*~~ Laughing Gulls by Anna Rose Wright

*~~ Josephine Scribner Gates
~~ Margaret Sidney
~~ Frances Hodgson Burnett

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2010, 3:32pm.

Reserved for changes

Reserved for changes

It's hard for me to figure this out when I haven't even finished the 999 Challenge -- and I don't know for sure what I'll be reading for the rest of 2009. However, I'm pretty happy with my 999 categories, so for now I'm mostly just repeating them for the 1010, but of course I may change them if I get off on a new track.

I'm determined not to repeat Shakespeare and Native American for the 3rd year, hoping to pretty much finish this year what I want to read for those categories. And I've pretty much finished this year what I had planned for my Caroline Dale Snedeker category; if I have some left over, they will fit nicely into USA or Women Authors of Children's Books.

New for 1010 are Myth, Legend and Fairy Tales, and Lucy Maud Montgomery. A couple of people -- who are you? I've lost the thread it was on! -- expressed interest in a group read (re-read) of L.M. Montgomery. I'm not sure yet what will be in Myth etc. Quite a few years ago I was on a King Arthur quest, but never finished reading all the books I had collected. And I'm interested in reading some of the recent adult adaptations of fairy tales (recommendations, anyone?)

I'm interested in a group read of LMM. Just let me know what you're thinking.

>16: No particular plans, Victoria. I was sort of thinking about starting with the Anne books, and then moving on to her others. I'm not even sure how many books she wrote, will need to do some research.

Anne of Green Gables was my #1 favorite book from about ages 9-12. I'm sure I read the series at least 3 times, perhaps more. But my small town library had none of her other books. When my older daughter was reading them, I re-read the first book and also read the first Emily book, but that's getting close to 20 years ago. I'm excited to revisit Anne and also read the books that I've never read.

For your myth category, I enjoyed The Thief. It was really, really good. I also am a big fan of the Percy Jackson series. And for King Arthur, if you haven't ever read the original Gawain and the Green Knight, it is worth reading. It's not easy, but I really loved it once I got going.

re: LMM. I've got The Blue Castle on my list already. I've heard good things about it.

Some interesting categories, ivyd. I don't dislike any of my first or second 999 categories this year but, for a few, I have read (or will have read) most of what I want to read in those areas.

I was really tempted to put a Law category in for next year but figured that the few books I read in that area can fit into another category.

I never really thought of myself as reading any YA books anymore but some of them do fit into that category, such as The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

It seems like several people are doing a fairy tales/myths/legends category - I'm among them too! :) Also, re #18, I totally agree that The Thief and sequels are excellent books!

I'm another one with a Legends/Fairy Tales/etc. category. I'm excited to see what everyone ends up reading for this!

Also, I'm ashamed to say that I've never read Anne of Green Gables, despite being Canadian. Maybe next year I'll finally rectify that.

>18, 21, 22 cmbohn, christina, zoe:

Thanks for the recommendation for The Thief. I've seen it on some threads and thought it looked interesting, so I'm glad to know it is really good.

I see that the first Percy Jackson book is The Lightning Thief, which also sounds good. And no wonder that I was a confused about these two "thief" books, both with similar themes!

Cindy, I read a lot of Arthurian books, old and new, fiction and non-fiction, about 10 years ago, including 2 versions of Sir Gawain (the old one and Tolkien's). I think there's a new "translation" that just came out a year or 2 ago, too, so that's a possibility for this category; it might be interesting to compare them. I agree that reading Middle English is a challenge, but I fully enjoyed it! The version of Malory that I read claimed to have kept the original except for regularizing the spelling, which helped some, and although it became easier as I went along, it still took me quite a while to get through it.

Christina & Zoe, I'm glad to know you're doing a similar category! I, too, am excited to see what books everyone will choose.

I am not doing a Legends/Fairy Tales category but I do have a Myths- Legends - Fairy Tales - Folklore tag for my library. I will look for everybody's comments on what they are reading in the category. Just what I need, more wishlist and TBRs. Right.

Myths- Legends - Fairy Tales - Folklore

I wish there were some word that expressed all this more succinctly!

Agreed. It's quite the tag. Thank goodness LT has a drop down for recently used tags so I don't have to type it everytime. I'da thought of something else, for sure, if not.

Can I suggest Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist for consideration in your Myths- Legends - Fairy Tales - Folklore category. He's not an author that would spring readily to mind for something like this but I read this as part of my 999 challenge and think it's the best thing he's written.

>24-26: Wouldn't "folklore" technically emcompass all of it? But in form (and in my mind) all 4 are distinct, even though related. I hadn't given any thought as to what tag to use...

I can see that exploring this category is going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait to poke through your library, NST!

>27: Thanks, Wolfy. I hadn't heard about Faerie Tale, but as well as your recommendation, I see others have also rated it highly. Apparently it deals with Celtic gods, which interests me a lot. My hesitation mostly comes from the comments about it being a horror thriller, a genre that I rarely enjoy. I think this is probably a book I will need to physically look at before deciding whether to read it, but even if I don't, I know someone who will be delighted to hear about this book.

> Warning, warning, warning: Not many of my M-L-FT-F books are entered yet. They are still in random access mode. I am getting through about 10 - 20 books a week, snuck in during telecommute refreshment breaks. Thanks for the interest and try again around the turn of 2010. As I said, I expect to suffer increase in wishlist and TBR disease as you guys read through your categories.

It sounds like you are way more knowledgeable about Arthur than me. I'll be interested to see what books you read next year!

>29: That's ok, NST -- I'll just keep checking back. I have 4+ months to decide what to read in this category, and already have 2 books filled in!

My library isn't a very good reflection of either my physical library or what I have read in the past. It's mostly just the books I have read in the last 2 years since joining LT, though from time to time, I add a few from the shelves. I hadn't figured out what to do about the ones I've read but don't have; I guess with the Collections option I could enter them, too.

Message edited by its author, Aug 12, 2009, 4:41pm.

>30: Probably not all that knowledgable, Cindy -- it's just that I was practically obsessed by it for a while. No one really has the answers to the puzzle(s), and I was fascinated by how the story has changed and evolved over 1500 years (or maybe more), the Christian overlay on what may well have been Celtic mythology, the addition of the Grail legend, and the speculation on the "real" facts. What would probably be more helpful to anyone who's interested (and for myself, too) is for me to enter all my books -- including the partially read and unread ones -- into my library, with an appropriate tag.

Right in the middle of my Arthurian phase, I was fortunate enough to visit Glastonbury, the most magical place I have ever been. I'm still not at all sure how the atmosphere of that place fits into the legends, but I'm certainly not the only person who feels it.

24 -27>>
The dictionary says:

1. Legend, fable, myth, folklore refer to fictitious stories, usually handed down by tradition (although some fables are modern).
Legend, originally denoting a story concerning the life of a saint, is applied to any fictitious story, sometimes involving the supernatural, and usually concerned with a real person, place, or other subject: the legend of the Holy Grail.
A fable is specifically a fictitious story (often with animals or inanimate things as speakers or actors) designed to teach a moral: a fable about industrious bees.
A myth is one of a class of stories, usually concerning gods, semidivine heroes, etc., current since primitive times, the purpose of which is to attempt to explain some belief or natural phenomenon: the Greek myth about Demeter.
Folklore is the traditional beliefs, myths, tales, stories and practices of a people, transmitted orally.

If you look at all the definitions, STORY seems to stand out in all of them. And since most would seem to be old, Why not Ancient stories for your tags?

Just trying to help out.

Message edited by its author, Aug 12, 2009, 5:08pm.

>19, Victoria: There are apparently 8 Anne of Green Gables books, as well as several Emily books, more than one Pat book, short stories. There's a lot of praise for The Blue Castle, and it seems to be more of an adult book. There are also volumes of Lucy's Maud's diaries, an autobiography, and at least one biography. There's a lot to sort out, but it's beginning to look as though this could easily be a "+20" category (which I'm not even contemplating at this point), or more than a 1 yr project.

>22 Zoe: Absolutely no "shame" involved! Because I loved it so much, it makes me sad that every girl hasn't shared the wonder of it -- but, even of those who read it, not every girl feels that way about it. Perhaps you'll join us in January? It would be really interesting to have the perspective of someone who first reads it as an adult.

Edited to change "Lucy's" to "Maud's" since I just learned from Wikipedia that she was always known as Maud to friends and family.

Message edited by its author, Sep 12, 2009, 5:20pm.

>33: Thanks, Cheli! "Ancient stories" it will be!

>20 Linda, I've enjoyed my previous and current categories, too -- would probably change them if I weren't. But a couple of them I sort of feel "done" with, at least for now, and want to go in new directions (or back to old ones).

I infrequently choose to read books about law, even the legal mysteries and thrillers. I have enjoyed Margaret Maron's Judge Knott series (which is only tangentially about law); and I read Philip Margolin, but mostly for his settings in Portland, and Ann Rule because she often mentions people I know or cases I know about.

As for YA books, I find it a peculiar designation. Because I'm always buying books for my neice & nephew, my granddaughter, and the children of friends, I like to keep up with the "hot" books. Some, like Twilight and John Green's books, I don't find to my taste, although I can understand why teenagers would enjoy them. Others, like The Book Thief, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy seem to transcend an age group, but have been called YA because the primary characters are not adult.

I do love children's books, though. The good ones capture the wonder and innocence of childhood, and the belief that no matter what happens, it will all turn out well. I find I can always use of dose of "What a wonderful world!"

Thanks for those definitions! I may end up calling my category "Folklore and Fairy Tales", since that seems most like what I'm thinking of. I also have an Ancient World category, so some mythology and legends might be able to fit in there, and I can always expand my Folklore and Fairy Tales category if necessary.

Okay, I will aim to join you for an Anne of Green Gables read in January! I'm not very good at scheduling my reading for a particular month, but we'll see how it goes :)

I like your organised style.
I'm having a peak at how others have done their threads and I think I'll set some posts near the top for changes to. Also, Great ideas on the categories.

>37: I'm so glad, Zoe! At the age of 9, Anne of Green Gables was a big undertaking for me, but children's books read fairly quickly for an adult, so I hope you'll be able to fit it in.

>38: Thanks, Kim! This will be my 3rd year of doing a category challenge, and I've learned that 1) putting too many touchstones in a message makes them difficult to control, and 2) I like having my lists at the top of my thread for easy reference, and I keep running out of space after I change things around. Good luck with the challenge!

>39 I'm not worried about the time so much as the psychology of it--somehow, knowing that I'm supposed to read a book, for whatever reason, makes me want to read it less. I think I may "cheat" by reading it in December this year when I'm not supposed to, because of course knowing that I should be waiting will make me want to read it right away! (I admit, I'm tempted to pick it up right now.)

I know, I'm crazy.

#40 I do that, too, Zoe.

If you don't find suggestions annoying, Ivy, I heartily recommend Troll. A love story by finnish author Johanna Sinisalo for your Myth, legend and fairy tales category. A really really fascinating book, about a sadly underexplored creature from nordic folklore. One of those books that kind of makes you look twice when going into the woods :)

L.M. Montgomery is a neat category. I am liking too many people's categories. I think I read nearly all her books when I was young. I remember like Kilmeny and A Tangled Web, for two of her stand alones. I think she also has books of short stories.

>40 & 41:

I totally understand, because I'm the same.

As for Anne of Green Gables, anytime is fine with me, Zoe. (But now that I've said that, do you still want to read it now?)

>42: Thanks, Gingerbreadman! Suggestions are always welcome! Troll: A Love Story sounds very interesting; I don't know much about Norse mythology and will probably add it to my list after I have a chance to check on it.

>43: I've only read the Anne series as a child, and I'm looking forward to reading the others. My quick attempt to get a list of her books revealed far more than 10, so I'm not sure which ones I'll read.

Her wikipedia page has a fairly complete list, I think. There are quite a few more than 10.

As for Anne of Green Gables, anytime is fine with me, Zoe. (But now that I've said that, do you still want to read it now?)

I realized that I first need to find my copy! It's always sad to go to the library to get a book that I already own. Everything is made even harder by the fact that I'm in the process of moving, so I have more books in boxes than is usual even for me.

But it's true... if you're willing to read it now, then I'd be happy to wait until January. I wouldn't mind reading it sooner, though.

Speaking as someone who has moved a lot, I find it very comforting to reread old favorites while in process of another relocation. For me, it has tended to Georgette Heyer. They are still in a crate, but they are all in one crate for EZ retrieval at need, even though I have officially stopped moving.

I spent a good part of today slotting books into my categories. At this point, it's essentially a wishlist, since I don't own any of these books except for Herodotus and the 8 volumes of Anne of Green Gables (which I just bought a couple of weeks ago).

What I end up actually reading will probably change quite a lot, depending on what great books I hear about that I can't wait to read, and after I add the leftovers from 2009. It's really clear that I will have no trouble whatsoever finding 100 books that I really want to read -- whether I can do it or not is another question.

I found your thread, Ivy. In my "not my usual" category, I plan to read some YA. I think The Book Thief and also Here Lies the Librarian.

Thanks for bringing my thread up, Linda! I'm really eager to get started, but need to think about my categories a bit more to make sure what I want them to be.

So... I've spent a while trying to update my candidates, and I'm feeling rather discouraged and I'm not done yet. I'm pretty sure that there are more than 10 books that I want to read in each and every category, there are many books that could go in several categories, and I have quite a few leftover from 2009 -- that I still want to read but are from categories that I don't want to repeat (that is, read 10 more books).

At the same time, I'm really looking forward to the wide open field of starting anew. I think I may adopt a version of Zoe's half-categories, by having subsets of a broader category. And I may revise my categories as I see what I actually read. But, for now, since I really don't want to feel constricted before I even start, I'm just going to list my planned January books, as others have done, and maybe once I get started, the categories will fall into place.

January:
The Picture of Dorian Gray
begin Herodotus' Histories
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anne of Avonlea and other Anne books
Earthsea series
The Chronicles of Narnia
Louise Penny

This seems sufficiently eclectic to get me started, and then maybe I'll know which direction I want to go next.

I ended up listing more than 10 books for a lot of categories. I don't think I'll mind having three of the same half-category if it comes down to it (though I coiuld probably manage to find some grouping that allowed for a different name for one of them).

More importantly, I decided that explicitly planning out all my reads isn't the top priority. Instead, I'm thinking of my lists as mainly a reminder of all the good books that I already own that fit in the various categories--inspiration rather than a strict program to follow.

I like your idea of doing subsets of broader categories, too.

>52 I never follow my lists, anyway, Zoe. Or even my categories. And since I have so many books listed that I don't own, it's partially just a wishlist. And I'm sure that my "candidates" will continue to expand through the year.

I've redone my categories and added sub-categories. The idea is that if I read 5 books in 10 categories OR sub-categories I will complete the half-challenge of 50 books. Then I can go for the full challenge, including the sub-categories as part of the 10 for the main category. Complicated, maybe, but I think I like it, and there's only 1 book that doesn't seem to fit anywhere, but I may not get to it this year anyway.

I see a lot of very thick books sitting on my tbr stacks. But I also have included a lot of categories for series books and children's and YA books, which usually don't take too long, so I'm optimistically starting the new year!

Ivy, you read such "good" books.

I note that you have the Rutherfurd book, New York, on your list, possibly. I would like to read that within a month or two.

1. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin (Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) (Newbery Honor Book 1972), 3*
Category: Fantasy

I don't dislike this fantasy series; in fact, I like it well enough that I want to read the whole series. At the same time, I can't rave about it, as others have, and I'm a bit surprised that it was named a Newbery Honor Book. I think my problem is that I don't feel drawn into this fastasy world, as I have with other fantasy / sci fi that I really like (e.g., Tolkien, Harry Potter, Dune). It's more as if I'm watching an animated movie: entertaining, but with no particular investment in -- or liking of -- the characters or the world.

This 2nd book in the series is about a girl who is taken, at the age of 5, to be Priestess at the Tombs. Although there are some references to Book 1, this could be a stand-alone book; all pertinent information from A Wizard of Earthsea is pretty well explained. A full understanding of the world of Earthsea would be missing without having read the first book, but I think I liked this book better.

54> I'm puzzled, Linda, about what you mean by "good" books...? I just read through my lists trying to figure it out, and they do in fact look good to me -- which is, of course, why I want to read them! I also noticed that at least 80% of them come from recommendations by LTers (including you), and that there are very few non-fiction books.

I don't have New York yet, but it's at the top of my list for when B&N next gives me a discount coupon. Have you read any other Rutherfurd books? I'm a big fan, and have read all but the 2nd book about Ireland, which I also hope to get to this year.

Oh Ivy, I meant books that are commonly thought to be "good for you" like classics and contemporary fiction. I rarely, if ever, read either of these. Good for you, as opposed to, say, mysteries and baseball books, for instance.

I have New York on hand but have never read anything by Rutherford before.

Linda, I think your non-fiction selections and your presidential biographies are highly edifying and should be considered very "good". I think that label depends on the person, and maybe our own reading can never be good enough.

#58, porbably true RidgewayGirl. I think of my nonfiction as "interesting" but not "good." I admire people who read a lot of classics and literary fiction. I don't.

If I were to look, and I think I will, I bet I didn't have more than 5 ot 6 books read last year that were not something besides (1) mysteries or (2) nonfiction.

>57 & 58

I totally agree with RidgewayGirl! I'm always extremely impressed with all your non-fiction, Linda, and tend to feel vaguely guilty that I read so many "stories" rather than learning the facts. I just can't believe that, for instance, reading Shakespeare's take on Henry IV is any "better" for me than you reading, for instance, a biography of James Monroe, which I'm sure I'd get bogged down in rather quickly and am not even attempting.

As for classics and contemporary fiction, some I love -- and some I hate, despite how "good" others find them. You won't see any Dickens or Hawthorne, or any (more) McEwan or Atwood on my lists...

I think it's a matter of taste, personality, interests, and frequently situation or experience. I firmly believe that, unless it's something one needs to read for school or work, people should read what they enjoy reading. And I do love mysteries, too.

Getting back to Rutherfurd... I think you may like him, Linda. It will be interesting to see if you do...

Ivy, there was a time when I read a lot of those sweeping sagas from John Jakes. I think I'll like New York.

With the few group reading challenges I signed up for, I will certainly be reading more non-mystery fiction this year.

Last year, I recall reading and liking Admission and also that YA title by Richard Peck. Now I am curious and, after today's football games, will pull out my book list and see how many others there were.

NOTE: Being a curious sort, I had to check. Of my 155 books last year, eight were non-mystery fiction. Admission, two romances by Debbie Macomber, that YA title by Richard Peck, two Philip Donlay disaster novels, the new Dan Brown book, The Lost Symbol, and for the Missouri Readers group, Daniel Woodrell's The Death of Sweet Mister.

So, in 2009, no classics and one that might be considered to be literary fiction.

Message edited by its author, Jan 3, 2010, 1:31pm.

Linda, I got tired of counting and probably messed up a bit, but my reading for 2009 was approximatety:

of 135 books:
36 children & ya books
20 non-fiction (probably a record for me)
40 mystery series books (including Ariana Franklin & Stieg Larsson)
7 Shakespeare plays
which leaves only 32 general fiction, some of which tended quite a bit toward "mystery" and I would classify only 2 (or perhaps 3) of them as classics

It seems to me that the biggest difference in our reading last year (besides you reading 20 more books) was that you were reading non-fiction while I read children's books!

I read Admission on your recommendation, and very much enjoyed it. I like sagas, but haven't read John Jakes. I'm not sure why except I think I'm under the impression that there's too much war in them -- I get funny ideas that I won't like something, which quite frequently turns out to be wrong. It's one of the reasons I like LT -- when I see a book praised by people who like other books that I like, I'm often persuaded to give it a try and end up being pleasantly surprised.

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Category: Literary Giants

I'm not sure how to rate this; I'm not even sure whether or not I liked it. I thought many of the observations were astute (and quotable); found many of the characterizations and conversations (particularly at dinner parties) clever and funny; found interesting the characters' beliefs that seeking beauty and experience were the highest aspirations in life; and am puzzled about what Wilde actually thought about the philosophies that he presented, what he meant for the reader to take away from it, and whether or not he meant for there to be any "moral lesson."

I had read this book before, many years ago when I was 20 or so. I remembered little about it, except that I liked it, which is why I decided to join the group read. I think I got something very different from it back then than I have on this reading. I'll be posting some further thoughts about the book in the Group Read, and be very interested in other people's comments and impressions.

Message edited by its author, Yesterday, 2:33pm.

I'm glad to hear that you got through this, at least, Ivy. I read PODG for about 20 minutes last night and was thinking about giving up on it. Today, I am thinking I might continue for another half hour tonight.

Well, Linda, I can't say that I found it gripping. In fact, I considered, for a while last night, stopping and reading something else. The Group Read is for all month, so there's no pressure to finish, but I generally like reading novels all at once so that I don't miss or forget threads from the beginning, so I persevered. It does pick up a bit after the first couple of chapters, but then there's a slow spot in the middle again, and the end moves faster. It is a very thought-provoking book, both in itself and in the context of Wilde's life and times, so I think I'm glad I read it.