LuvKisselle's 50 Book Challenge

Hello Bookworms!

I've fallen victim to buying more books than I can read. I just go straight to the Salvation Army and I'll pick up like 6 at a time. I spent $1.35 for Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, which will mark the first book for my challenge. I've going to try to read 25 pages a day and see where it leads me. I'm an English major, and today I just started training to teach adults how to read. I'd like to catch up to all the books I own but haven't read(perhaps about 65 in DC, lots more back at home) within the next few years. I kind of don't know if this challenge will work as smoothly as I'd like it to, but something about posting it makes it more official than any other challenge I create for myself.

And I just realized that the half hour I spend browsing these boards could be time spent reading...oh boy! LOL! Here goes...

Good luck! This site, and this group, is incredibly addictive. I've found all kinds of books that I wouldn't have found otherwise though :) Enjoy the Lahiri and let us know how it comes out too---I love her first collection, but Unaccustomed Earth is one of those patient books on my shelf as of yet....

And I just realized that the half hour I spend browsing these boards could be time spent reading

We all do that. And then you find more books to add to your to-read list, and then you talk to people about the books you read, and...yep, it's like that :)

Good luck!

I know for a fact I spend more time here on LT than actually reading, but I figure it's all part of the same hobby so I don't sweat it. I know what you mean about making it official, I feel the same way, and it's nice to keep a record somewhere and even get a chance to interact. Hope you have fun with it!

It took a few weeks for me to finish Unaccustomed Earth but I really enjoyed Lahiri's intricate descriptions of human emotion. Some of the stories were just plain sad...but such is life. And Lahiri describes it all so beautifully. I've gotta get better at writing reviews, but for now I'm going to continue the challenge. I'm reading Having What Matters which is just like all the other self-help books, blah-blah-blah, I'm so great...do this, not that! I can appreciate some things in there though. I'm about to start reading Absolute Friends tonight. I will be back when I finish the two. In the meantime, can anyone recommend a post that offers guidelines for navigating the boards? I'm kind of confused! So much stuff!

Yesterday I finished The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. I remember watching a documentary about him, and the key thing that stood out was that he read every book in the library as a kid. Even as I finished these two brilliant essays, offering such a fresh perspective (considering the time or my limited knowledge) on race relations and religion in America. Particularly refreshing was his critique of Christianity in black America. I find no intellectual use for it...and I don't know how I should feel about this. Within this challenge, I hope to read more books that will satisfy my craving curiosity about race, religion, history, etc.

I have yet to finish Having What Matters or Absolute Friends because my semester started off pretty heavy. So I guess that leaves me with just 2/50 completed books. Yikes! I have read plenty articles, just have to discipline myself to stick with a work until the very end.

If you liked The Fire Next Time, you might try Playing in the Dark by Toni Morrison as well. It crosses over some of the same territory in an interesting fashion, subject-wise, but has unique arguments itself. Morrison's essays are also just as easy to read as Baldwin's, which is a nice change from what I at least usually find myself reading nonfiction-wise!

Thank you for the recommendation. I picked it up at a used bookstore last month, I thought I struck gold because it was on the $7 shelf. Well actually, it was misplaced. I ended up paying $25 because it was hardcover first edition. I like to support small bookstores, so I couldn't turn around...but yikes! Who goes in the used bookstore to spend 20+ on one book? I hope to read and treasure it someday soon.

eek :( I explored a "used" bookstore recently that only ended up being about 20% used books, If that. Normally, I wouldn't mind that, and just appreciate a store selling used books as well as new; in this case, though, all of the books were mixed together, so you couldn't just browse the used books. Of course, I ended up buying three new books and two used. My husband wasn't too impressed with my results or the store...

Just completed The Autobiography of Malcolm X and it was really emotional towards the end. He was truly a dynamic individual and I feel overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility to share his legacy with my others/my future students. This read was long overdue, and I'm so glad to have finally read it.

Just finished Crumbs from the Table of Joy and Intimate Apparel both by Lynn Nottage. This is killing me that I don't really have too much to say about them...fairly good plays about race, love, rebellion, diversity. That's all so bland! I need to say much more...especially being an English major. I need to learn how to speak my mind and develop stronger opinions...

Just finished reading I am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett and found it to be very witty and hilarious. It's a satire on race, class, and identity (amongst other things) through a parody of Sidney Poitier's roles in films. It is very sexist at times, which didn't disturb me as much as it did some of my classmates. I had never heard of Percival Everett until a few weeks ago, and am eager to read more of his works.

This book makes 6/50. That's pretty low, but I won't beat myself up about it. I've read plenty of articles, essays, and plays to make up for lost time in my challenge. The Absolute Friends is just not working out for me...but I am trying to stick with it.

I just completed Rendezvous Eighteenth by Jake Lamar. I found the storyline to be pretty predictable, or desperately yearning to be something other than what it was. At times it was kind of corny. The protagonist doesn't really grow, or have any depth to him. I hate that the narrator tends to overdo it when describing the hair of any female characters...as if thats the only thing he notices about women. I got tired of hearing about the black luscious mane/curls of the protagonist's girlfriend. I can't say that I'd recommend this book to anyone...but if one is looking to learn a little bit about the black experience in Paris through fiction, then I'd offer it. Despite not really enjoying this book (though so many of my classmates did), I'd have to say that this brand of fiction isn't my cup of tea...and that I'll give Jake Lamar another try.

It also helps that I read this book while in Paris, so I had the advantage of knowing the locations.

Murambi, The Book of Bones by Boubacar Boris Diop...words can't even describe the impact this novel has had on my life. It's an astonishing account of the Rwandan genocide through multiple lenses of various actors in the 1994 crisis. Diop's prose is immaculately beautiful...but piercing at the same time. In so many ways, the text invites you to relive this moment and to think about how YOU participated in this genocide, no matter where you are or who you are in the world. This text is one that I will reread and recommend over and over again.

Just read Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie for a class. It was really fun to point out the imperialist attitudes that were "innocently" indoctrinated into children's stories of the period.