LibraryLover23's 2012 Challenge

Books To Be Read:
1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (finished 11/19/12)
2. A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering America On The Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (finished 3/16/12)
3. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (finished 1/23/12)
4. Book Lust To Go: Recommended Reading For Travelers, Vagabonds, And Dreamers by Nancy Pearl (finished 4/1/12)
5. Dead And Gone by Charlaine Harris (finished 9/1/12)
6. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (finished 2/8/12)
7. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding (finished 5/23/12)
8. Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil by John Berendt (finished 9/5/12)
9. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (finished 12/22/12)
10. One Day by David Nicholls (finished 1/27/12)
11. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
12. Winter Prey by John Sandford

Alternates:
1. A Game Of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
2. An Assembly Such As This by Pamela Aiden (finished 12/10/12)
3. The Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic, And Madness At The Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson (finished 7/13/12)
4. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (finished 12/11/12)
5. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
6. The Last Town On Earth by Thomas Mullen
7. Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
8. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
9. No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (finished 2/18/12)
10. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (finished 12/28/12)
11. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
12. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (finished 7/15/12)

Time for a new challenge! I'm mixing things up this year: I was having a mental block with those main list titles so I decided to mix some of them back into the alternates. Hopefully that'll take some of the pressure off. I'll try (as I do every year) to finish them all...but we'll see what happens. Happy New Year!

Devil in the White City is one of my near misses this year, and Willa Cather. You've some nice variety here, that ought to help you get through it!

First time on Lord of the Flies and The Hobbit? I envy you. Happy New Year, good luck, and happy reading. :)

>4 Cecrow: Thanks, Cecrow! I like to throw "easier" reads in there to help me out. :) Oh, and you should definitely check out Willa Cather sometime--I read her My Antonia last year and it inspired me to put another of hers on the list for this year.

>5 artturnerjr: I know, there are books that I'm probably the last person on Earth to have read! Thanks for stopping by. :)

>6 LibraryLover23:

My pleasure. :)

No worries - you'll note that The Scarlet Letter is on my list this year - I'm pretty sure I'M the last person on Earth to have not gotten to THAT one (or Pride and Prejudice... or Jane Eyre... or One Hundred Years of Solitude... or The Odyssey... or... well, you get the idea... :) )

You have lots of great titles on your lists! Good luck and Happy New Year!

>8 billiejean: Thanks, BJ! And a belated Happy New Year to you!

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
It took me a long time to get into this book--about a third of the way through the book's 300 or so pages. But get to me it did, and I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would.

The story takes place in an unnamed South American country. Mr. Hosokawa, a wealthy Japanese businessman, is celebrating his birthday at the vice president's house. He was invited because the South Americans want him to build a factory in their country; Mr. Hosokawa has no intention of that however, he merely showed up because they booked a famous opera singer and he wanted to hear her perform. Right after her performance a band of terrorists barges in, and takes everyone hostage. The terrorists intended to kidnap the president, not realizing that he didn't show up that night, so to compromise, they settle down with those that they do have and begin to make demands. Their demands aren't met, but a Red Cross worker manages to come in and negotiate supplies, such as food and music.

What begins as a straightforward act stretches into hours, which stretches into days, and eventually into months. Over time, the hostages and terrorists begin to make connections--some form friendships, others father-son relationships, some even romantic relationships. They all begin to forget the outside world and eventually believe that they're living in a happy little bubble.

From the descriptions I had read I think I was expecting a bit more action to the story, but that's not really its style; it's more of a character study of both the terrorists and the hostages. It was after the connections started to be made between them that my appreciation of the book grew, and the fact that even though you know the bubble's gotta burst, and you're fully expecting it, it still manages to leave a lasting impact.

>9 LibraryLover23:

Congrats on knocking the first one off the list. Glad to hear it was one you enjoyed, too.

>10 artturnerjr: Thanks! So far, so good.

2. One Day by David Nicholls
A small portion of the magic of this book was lost due to the spoilers I saw from watching the movie preview, and from the fact that in big bold letters on the book's cover are words like "heartbreaking." But overall I still really enjoyed it. The story follows Dexter and Emma on the same day over a couple of decades, and shows how their lives intersect. I laughed out loud at parts and got a bit misty at the "heartbreaking" scene; a great read overall, this one's a keeper.

3. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The first in the His Dark Materials trilogy. The story takes place in a world similar to ours, but with plenty of fantastical differences. For example, everyone has something called a daemon, which is a part of their soul that's represented by an animal and which accompanies them at all times. Children's daemons change from one shape to another, it's not until you're an adult that your daemon takes on its fixed animal form.

The story follows Lyra and her daemon Pan; Lyra is a young orphan who was raised (and taught haphazardly) by scholars at Oxford. She ends up leaving Oxford, however, not long after rumors spread of a group known as the "Gobblers" who are stealing children and their daemons for experimentation. Lyra begins a journey which ends up taking her to the far North and right into the thick of the Gobblers' evil deeds. Along the way she meets a colorful cast of characters, including polar bears, witches and "gyptians."

The fantasy world of the story is intriguing, and the ending has a twist which I'm sure leads nicely into the next book. I don't know how soon it'll be before I get to it, but I'm definitely looking forward to continuing along on Lyra's journey.

I enjoyed the first book too, though I find the sequels became increasingly strange. Glad you weren't put off by the poor movie rendition.

>13 Cecrow: Yeah, I try not to let the movie versions influence my liking/disliking of a book, since they can sometimes be so wildly different!

You're doing great, LibraryLover. Keep it up. :)

>15 artturnerjr: Thank you, Art! I don't know if I can keep up this momentum all year, but I'm having fun trying! :)

4. No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
A violent but interesting read about a man who comes across some money from a drug deal gone bad, and then has to hide from the sociopath who's looking for it. McCarthy has a bare-bones style, which makes reading his books a tad confusing when he does things like not using punctuation marks, but his choice of words and the storyline will keep you intrigued regardless.

I thought that was a great book. Also terrific was All the Pretty Horses.

I've not read anything by that author yet, but I respect him by reputation. My wife thought The Road was fantastic and I sampled a page or two - incredibly sparse prose, is he always like that?

Those two books that I read were like that. And they both had a little bit of Spanish in them, too. I have also heard good things about the road.

>16 LibraryLover23:-19

The only McCarthy novel I've read is THE ROAD, but I was about as impressed with it as I think it's possible for me to be with a work of prose fiction. The last time I read a novel that affected me that powerfully was when I read 1984 for the first time, and that was when I was a senior in high school!

McCarthy's definitely gonna have to be on the TBR list next year. Currently trying to decide between NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and Blood Meridian.

>17 billiejean:-20
Thanks for stopping by everyone! I've read The Road too and I thought it was even better than No Country For Old Men. I also have All The Pretty Horses on the TBR pile. And yes, he definitely has a sparse style, but I think it works well with his subject matter and settings. He's definitely an author I would recommend!

5. A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering America On The Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
In a word: hilarious. If you've ever had any interest in the Appalachian Trail, or travel memoirs, or if you're already a fan of Bill Bryson, I highly recommend this one. Bryson and his friend Stephen Katz decided to hike the AT, which runs from Georgia to Maine (over 2,000 miles!), and document the trip. Never mind that they're a little old, a little out of shape, and only know how to cook noodles.

Bryson has an easy-going writing style and he uses lots of laugh-out-loud anecdotes. His description of Katz trying to get into a bunkbed had me laughing so hard I was crying. But, on the other hand, he can also be a little unnecessarily harsh: he's rather rude in describing anyone he comes across who is overweight, and I was particularly surprised at his comments on Southerners' intelligence. (Or lack thereof, yikes.) Also sprinkled throughout the book are interesting facts about the trail, nature in general, weather patterns, etc. So there were also times when it was really disheartening to read about "the powers that be's" ineptness and also the rate at which things like plants and animals are deteriorating or disappearing altogether.

But if you can get past all that, and those really are just minor issues, I would say it's still a great read.

>22 LibraryLover23:

Sounds good, LibraryLover. Laughing and learning is a very desirable combination. :)

>23 artturnerjr: I agree; it was a very fun book!

6. Book Lust To Go: Recommended Reading For Travelers, Vagabonds, And Dreamers by Nancy Pearl
I'm not sure why I love this series so much...but I do. This is Pearl's list of armchair travel books. Admittedly it's skewed toward an American audience, but she also includes examples of literature written by people native to whatever city or country she's talking about, so it's not all exclusively American. I'm endlessly amazed at how many books this woman reads; if only I could read as much as she does!

Sounds like a dangerous book to read when you're trying to put a hole in your TBR pile. It's sorta like tripping a land mine!

I've been following the 501 Must-Read Books list for a while, and it includes a "Travel" section. I'll bet there's some overlap with Nancy Pearl's list.

>25 Cecrow: Lol! You know that never even occurred to me, although now that you say it it seems rather obvious. :)

There very well could be, she certainly covers a lot of topics! I like armchair traveling--if I don't have the money to go places, visiting them through books is the next best thing.

Like, say, a desert island...

7. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding
Getting the negatives out of the way first: there was something about Golding's writing style that bothered me. I found myself having to reread sentences to make sure I understood it all, which was rather annoying.

But on the plus side, what a story! I went into it blind, which I would recommend to anyone else reading it for the first time. I also saved the introduction for last which, good thing I did, because it gave away everything, including the ending. And speaking of the ending...I always flip to the last page of a book just to see how many pages there are (I don't peek, I promise) and in this book's case what I didn't realize is that the last 20 or so pages were notes and criticism. So when I flipped the last page of the story thinking I still had 20 or so pages to go I was shocked. I was really looking forward to that last little bit more and wasn't ready for it to end, always the mark of a great story.

>26 LibraryLover23:

A great story, indeed - one of the best of the 20th century (as I am aware I am hardly the first to say). I've been wanting to re-read that one for a while now, primarily to see if it would now strike me as misanthropic as I remember it being.

Lord of the Flies I picked up and read in highschool, really enjoyed it. I've another classic book on my TBR pile, A High Wind in Jamaica, that supposedly chases similar themes, looking forward to it. Maybe in .... sigh .... 2014? 2015? lol

I also thought Lord of the Flies was a great book.

>27 artturnerjr:, 28, 29
Thanks everyone for the comments. I agree, it was a great book!

8. The Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic, And Madness At The Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
A non-fiction book about the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 with chapters interspersed telling the story of a serial killer named H.H. Holmes. The beginning chapters on architecture were rather dry while, not surprisingly, Holmes' storyline held my attention the whole way through. What I liked best about the book were the interesting tidbits I learned; for example, the Ferris Wheel, the Pledge of Allegiance and Columbus Day were all results of the fair. A little slow to get started, but I enjoyed this one overall.

>30 LibraryLover23:

I've had my eye on that one for a while, which means I should get around to reading it around 2015 or so. :)

>30 LibraryLover23:, it is absolutely on my 2013 list. The kick in the pants for me is wanting to read his new one about Nazi Germany and I haven't even read White City yet.

>31 artturnerjr:, 32 It was my first by him and I'd definitely be interested in checking out some of his others!

9. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Samuel Westing brings together a motley group of people for the reading of his will, pairs them up, and gives them each a set of clues to a game where the winner will inherit his vast estate.

I was pleasantly surprised with this children's book, it was much more bizarre than I was expecting which appealed to my sense of the absurd. It was also laugh-out-loud funny at parts and, although I admit to being a tad bit confused by the ending, I greatly enjoyed it overall.

I also have The Devil in the White City on my shelf.

>34 billiejean: I hope you like it too, BJ!

10. Dead And Gone by Charlaine Harris
The ninth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I made the mistake of waiting too long (and watching all of the TrueBlood episodes) in between entries, which means I didn't have the foggiest recollection of what was going on in this series. Some of the characters have different storylines than their TV counterparts of course, and since the show was fresh in my mind I had to just wing it and expect some of it to come trickling back, which it did to some extent.

This one begins with the death of a supernatural character and ends with an all-out war between the fairies. It sounds a little crazy, but in Sookie's world you just have to go with the flow. Although I think I like the earliest books best, and of course the show has taken the gist of the story and run with it in a whole new direction, this was still another solid entry to the series.

11. Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil by John Berendt
Narrative nonfiction, primarily about a young man's murder, but also about the eccentric residents of Savannah, Georgia. Jim Williams, a wealthy antiques dealer who lived in one of the most impressive houses in Savannah, was accused of murdering his caretaker/assistant/lover Danny Hansford. Williams claimed he killed Hansford in self-defense, while the prosecution argued it was first-degree murder. So while the trial does make up the main plotline of the story, and to me was the strongest, most interesting part of the book, the author also throws in a lot of anecdotes about the people he meets while splitting his time between Savannah and his home back in NYC.

I'm a bit suspicious of nonfiction like this--obviously the author would not be able recount whole conversations verbatim unless he carried a tape recorder around with him at all times, which seems unlikely as he was in Savannah before the murder even took place. He does mention in the afterward that he took some liberties with the timeline and events, etc., so if you can overlook that, which is actually pretty easy to do as the rest of the story is so interesting, it's really a very good book.

>36 LibraryLover23:

Two books finished in a week - that's pretty impressive! :)

>37 artturnerjr: It tends to be either feast or famine around these parts! :)

>38 LibraryLover23:

Yeah, same here.

Only four left on your primary list - nice!

12. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A riches-to-rags story about a young girl who has everything she could possibly want, but ends up penniless, living in the attic of her boarding school and working as a maid when life takes a turn for the worse. This was a great book with a sweet message; I think I preferred it to Burnett's The Secret Garden, the only other book of hers I've read.

Well I did manage to make it to twelve, although not all of them are from my primary list, but ideally I'll be able to knock off one or two more before the end of the year. We'll see how it goes. I am, however, already looking forward to planning out next year's list...

Congrats on reaching 12!

>43 billiejean: Thanks, BJ!

13. An Assembly Such As This by Pamela Aidan
First in a trilogy, this is Pride And Prejudice told from Darcy's perspective and very well done. Better than some of the other Austen spin-offs I've read recently.

14. The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien
I can see how people can get wrapped up into this world and want to learn as much as they can about everything related to Middle-Earth. I don't think I'm necessarily one of those people, but let me read LOTR first and then I can say for sure. I did very much enjoy this one though, and I'm under the impression that this is geared more to children and LOTR is more adult in tone. I also really want to see the movie now.

15. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Cather is now firmly on the favorite authors list after this one. She writes beautifully about life on the prairie and her character descriptions are rich and vivid.

After her father dies, Alexandra is in charge of the family farm and through shrewd decision-making she manages to make the farm profitable and comfortable for her and her brothers. Not all turns out perfectly for Alexandra, however, and it was this turn of events that made the story that much more poignant. This is only the second book of Cather's that I've read, but I'm committed to reading more.

I have been wanting to read O Pioneers! for a while. Sounds like it was great!

>46 billiejean: I loved it and I love her writing. I have a particular soft spot for life-on-the-prairie stories and since that's what she's known for I have it in my head that I should read all of her stuff eventually. :)

16. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Historical fiction about Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, who was rumored to be Henry's mistress before Anne and who bore him two children. I don't know nearly enough about this time period to say what's true and what isn't in this story and yet, although there was a bit of overkill at times in regards to behaviors and some of the language that was used and things, I still found myself wanting to read just one more page so I could find out what happened next. A page-turner for sure, but just be willing to suspend disbelief as needed.

And that is most likely my final book for this year's challenge. I'll be posting next year's list shortly!

I have My Antonia on the TBR pile somewhere. Cather is one of those authors I'd probably never have crossed paths with at all if it weren't for LT. There's so many good things said about her here and so often, I have to sample.

You didn't miss anything but not making it to Outlander imho, but Game of Thrones ... you gotta!