Absurda's 50 book challenge

Okay, I'm a little late to the party but figured I'd throw my hat into the challenge and go for 50 for the year. I've been tracking my reading this year (starting January 1) just to track what (and how much) I was reading. Sort of a way to encourage myself to branch out and try a few different things. So, here's what I have so far (by category):

GENERAL FICTION
1. Deep Storm by Lincoln Child
2. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
3. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
4. China Boy by Gus Lee (okay, this one is autobiography packaged as fiction)

MYSTERY
5. Southhampton Row by Anne Perry
6. Seven Dials by Anne Perry

ROMANCE
7. Jude's Law by Lori Foster

FANTASY
8. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
9. Fantasy Gone Wrong by various authors
10. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
11. Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
12. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
13. Magic Kingdom for Sale...SOLD! by Terry Brooks
14. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip

NON-FICTION
15. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
16. We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro
17. Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of the American Revolution by Richard Shenkman
18. The Secret Lives of Men and Women by Frank Warran
19. When Did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth by David Feldman

OTHER
20. Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills by David Milch

Wow, nice varied list. I do have to admit I prefer memoirs when they are packaged as fiction. I stand with the idea, we embellish on our own without the help of the pen. Once the pen is added true reality is nearly impossible to attain.

Thanks Finalbroadcast, I've been really trying to consciously get out of my reading rut and read a bunch of different types of books. I agree that memior as fiction works better than pure memoir. It's too hard to balance truth with the dramatic requirements of the story. That's why we keep getting scandals ala David Sedaris and James Frey.

NON-FICTION
21. Your Movie Sucks by Roger Ebert

The title When did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth caught my eye. What's it about, and what did you think of it?

When did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth is a collection of what the author calls "Imponderables", according to the book jacket this is the "sixth collection of answers to life's most puzzling conundrums." It includes answers to a bunch of questions like: "Why do painters wear white uniforms?" or "Why are all calico cats female?" or "Why does heat make us sleepy in the afternoon when we're trying to work but restless when we're trying to sleep at night?" or "What do coffee companies do with the caffeine left over from making decaffeinated coffee?"

It's a fairly interesting book if you wonder about that sort of thing. I liked it because each answer is only a few pages long so it's good for a really busy week when I don't have a whole lot of time or energy to read a long involved plot or dramatic cliff hangers. I could just pick it up and put it down whenever I had a few minutes to kill. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Absurda. This sounds exactly like the kind of book I like for the bedside table.

Romance:

22. The Marriage Bargain by Diane Perkins
23. The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie

Fiction:

24. Gonzalez & Daughter Trucking Co. by Maria Amparo Escandon

Romance:
An Arranged Marriage by Jo Beverley

Romance:
26. An Unwilling Bride by Jo Beverley

SciFi/Fantasy
27. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Romance
28. The Least Likely Bride by Jane Feather (reread)
29. The Charm School by Susan Wiggs

SciFi/Fantasy
30. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (reread)

SciFi/Fantasy

31. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Romance

32. Thief of Hearts by Teresa Medeiros

Humor

33. The Dilbert Future: Thriving on Business Stupidity in the 21st Century by Scott Adams

Sci Fi/Fantasy

34. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

How was Stardust? I bought it off one of those 3-for-the-price-of-2 shelves at Barnes and Noble the other day. It's not like the type of books I usually read, but it looked promising.

I read Stardust because the movie version is out now. It was entertaining enough, I never thought, "god, is it over yet?" It was a pretty quick, easy read. My only quibble is at one point the author makes reference to adventures the characters had, but he didn't show us those adventures. He could have developed the world and the story a bit more. And, it all seemed a bit too easy for the main characters.

It's a good vacation/beach read, but don't expect a grand epic like LOTR or anything like that.

Non-Fiction

35. Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War by Michael Isikoff and David Corn

Romance

36. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn

Romance

37. Christmas Angel by Jo Beverly

Classics

38. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Fiction

39. Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Fiction

40. The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield

Non Fiction

41. CatWatching by Desmond Morris
42. Scottish Ghosts by Lily Seafield

Romance

43. And Then He Kissed Her by Laura Lee Guhrke

Romance

44. The Perfect Wife by Lynsay Sands

Romance

45. Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas

SciFi/Fantasy

46. Time of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

47. War of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

48. Test of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Whew! I thought that with going back to grad school this fall I wouldn't complete the challenge, but looks like I just might make it (knock wood! knock wood!).

SciFi/Fantasy

49.

Dragons of Time edited by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

One more and have completed my challange!

Woo Hoo!!!!

NonFiction/Humor

50. Stick to Drawing Comics Monkey Brain! by Scott Adams

Wasn't sure I'd make it but I did! With a week and a half to spare!

Congratulations!

Thanks Sussabmax!

Time off over the holidays and the quiet week between Christmas and New Years allowed me to sneak in a few more.

Mystery
51. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
52. A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

Fiction

53. The Hindi-Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan

Now to plan for next year. I'll aim for 50 again and see how it goes.