American Author Challenge 2014: Part 2

Cather/ Faulkner/ Welty/ Twain

American Author Challenge 2014

Willa Cather- January http://www.librarything.com/topic/163440
William Faulkner- February http://www.librarything.com/topic/164037#
Cormac McCarthy- March http://www.librarything.com/topic/170080
Toni Morrison- April https://www.librarything.com/topic/171799#
Eudora Welty- May http://www.librarything.com/topic/173048#
Kurt Vonnegut- June http://www.librarything.com/topic/174613
Mark Twain- July http://www.librarything.com/topic/176689#4743720
Philip Roth- August http://www.librarything.com/topic/178271
James Baldwin- September http://www.librarything.com/topic/179741#
Edith Wharton- October http://www.librarything.com/topic/181038#
John Updike- November http://www.librarything.com/topic/182191#4895241
Larry Watson- December http://www.librarything.com/topic/183345#4928854

**Very simple. Pick a book by that author, hopefully something off the shelf, (that is always the mission folks!) and read it. Easy, peasy. If you want to list your picks here, go right ahead. If one of these authors revolts you, substitute a different American author. Of course, there will be "The Purists" and these people will be held in high regard. The Book Gods will smile down upon each and every one.

Mark's picks:

Willa Cather- Death Comes for the Archbishop * Completed
William Faulkner- Light in August Completed
Cormac McCarthy- Suttree * Completed
Toni Morrison- Tar Baby * Completed
Eudora Welty- The Collected Stories * Completed Read the first 2 collections
Kurt Vonnegut- Mother Night* Breakfast of Champions Completed
Mark Twain- Life on the Mississippi- Thanks to RD * The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Completed
Philip Roth- The Plot Against America * Completed
James Baldwin- Giovanni's Room- Thanks to Kerri * Completed
Edith Wharton- The Custom of the Country in progress...
John Updike- Rabbit Run *
Larry Watson- Orchard or White Crosses or both. *

* On shelf

^^If you want to include your own monthly picks, go right ahead!!

I decided to start a second AAC Main thread, due to the fact, we have over 2 months left and we are pushing #280 posts.

The other reason is, we are tossing around ideas for AACII, for 2015. It sounds like many of you, are up for a repeat. I don't mind the little work it calls for, if it brings this much joy. Awwwwww....

We've already had some good suggestions. I like the idea of a mix of past and present authors, male & female, including one or 2 younger ones, if they pass the grueling AAC Qualification Test, of course.

I can post the suggested authors right here. If everyone can suggest 1 or 2, ( I NEED female recs). I'll compile a list and choose from those. Sound good? Obviously, we will be picking different authors from AACI.

Here are some authors, we came up with. I count 26.

Henry James
Herman Melville
Sinclair Lewis
E. Hemingway
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Richard Ford
Wallace Stegner
E.L. Doctorow
Larry McMurtry
Russell Banks
Tim O'Brien
Ray Bradbury
Tennessee Williams

Carson McCullers
Flannery O'Connor
Joan Didion
Anne Tyler
Amy Tan
Zora Neale Hurston
Joyce Carol Oates
Louise Erdrich
Barbara Kingsolver
Marilynne Robinson
Pearl Buck
Jane Smiley
Alice Walker
Ursula K. Le Guin

I'd vote for Carson McCullers and/or Flannery O'Connor.

I'll give some thought to the female American authors. How about Joan Didion, Amy Tan, or Zora Neale Hurston?

Mark, thanks again for setting this up.

How about Joyce Carol Oates? I've been meaning to read more of her work, and her oeuvre is quite large...

It seems I've been remiss in reporting status:

October Status
Willa Cather- January ..............My Antonia ........................... COMPLETED
William Faulkner- February ...... Selected Short Stories ............ COMPLETED
Cormac McCarthy- March ........ All the Pretty Horses .............. COMPLETED
Toni Morrison- April ................ Home .................................. COMPLETED
Eudora Welty- May ................ The Optimist's Daughter.......... COMPLETED
Kurt Vonnegut- June .............. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian... COMPLETED
Mark Twain- July ----------------Innocents Abroad .................. COMPLETED
Philip Roth- August --------------Nemesis ............................... COMPLETED
James Baldwin- September...... Go Tell It on the Mountain ....... COMPLETED
Edith Wharton- October ...........Ethan Frome ......................... COMPLETED
John Updike- November ...........The Witches of Eastwick
Larry Watson- December ......... Montana 1948

John Updike next month. Hmmmm.

I was also going to suggest Amy Tan and Zora Neal Hurston!

Also, how about John Steinbeck...

I will try to think of other women.

Thanks for the suggestions, especially the females. I have added authors to #4. I particularly like the inclusion of Carson McCullers. I have not read Joyce Carol Oates. Can someone suggest a couple "Must Reads" by her?

>8 LoisB: Ooooooh, a "Purist". Yes, I am beaming.

>10 banjo123: Steinbeck is my favorite American author but we recently had a year-long Steinbeckathon, (one of the inspirations for the AAC) and covered many of his books, so I was looking for someone, we haven't read much of.

Do we read authors who are still living? Or is this a dead authors challenge? I probably should know this but at 4:35 am I know very very little.

Thanks Mark, for redirecting my attention back to the AAC Challenge. I am red faced and ashamed. After a splendid start I fell apart. Hopefully, will do much better next year. Although I'm limiting myself to just a few challenges, yours will be one on my to do list. American female authors, you say? Julia Alvarez, Louis Erdrich might be two to consider along with Tan and Hurston. Wouldn't want to be in your shoes, tough decisions.

ETA: Males - Andre Dubus III, Russell Banks, Tim O'Brien, Colson Whitehead. OMG!! Stop me, my fingers can't stop!

I have had a lot of fun doing this challenge this year, even though I missed August & September.

Female author ideas:
Maya Angelou
Louisa May Alcott
Harriet Beecher Stowe

>12 maggie1944: There was no restriction as to the dead-or-alive status of the authors. Several of this year's choices are still alive.

My suggestions for female authors for next year:

Barbara Kingsolver

Annie Proulx

Annie Dillard (If you haven't read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek what are you waiting for?)

Louise Erdrich

Marilynne Robinson

Carson McCullers

Flannery O'Connor

Edwidge Danticat I know she was born in Haiti, but she's an American now, and the immigrant experience being such a common American theme, I think she would make a good addition.

Alice Walker

Martha Gellhorn

And a couple of male suggestions:

Wallace Stegner

Reynolds Price

Jeffrey Lent

Jon Clinch

Howard Norman Again, stretching the "American" label to include Canada. He's a border crosser.

Shelby Foote

While the previous two were posting, I came up with Louisa May Alcott and Barbara Kingsolver, so I will just second them.

Willa Cather- January - Death Comes for the Archbishop DONE
William Faulkner- February - Knight's Gambit DONE
Cormac McCarthy- March - All the Pretty Horses DONE
Toni Morrison- April - The Bluest Eye) DONE
Eudora Welty- May - Why I Live at the P.O. (short story) DONE
Kurt Vonnegut- June - Cat's Cradle DONE
Mark Twain- July - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County DONE
Philip Roth- August - The Plot Against America DONE
James Baldwin- September - Go Tell It on the Mountain (have from library)
Edith Wharton- October - Ethan Fromme (working on via DailyLit)
John Updike- November - The Witches of Eastwick (loved the movie)
Larry Watson- December - Montana 1948

I've been reading to theme recently. I've read Americanah by Adichie. I'm reading The Color of Water by James McBride. And I'll soon read Go Tell It on the Mountain.

Other Recommendations/Ideas:

Ursula K. Le Guin
Octavia Butler

Pearl Buck
Shirley Jackson
Donna Tartt
Jane Smiley
Sylvia Plath

Women suggestions (that I don't think have been mentioned yet):
Dorothy Allison
Ann Petry
Marge Piercy
Pearl S. Buck
Sandra Cisneros
Joan Chase
Susan Sontag
Nella Larsen
Tillie Olsen
Katherine Anne Porter
Leslie Marmon Silko

More genre-fictionish:
Patricia Highsmith
Ursula K. LeGuin

Whilst I haven't posted on this thread, Mark has corrupted me! I've loved AAC this year and whole-heartedly think we should roll it!

Baring Roth month... Roth month is still continuing for me. I will NOT be beaten!

If anyone has the skills a poll could be good on deciding the final 2015 12?

Wow! Love all the responses. I'll come back and comment more tonight.

If you have a long list, try to winnow it down to 2 of your absolute favorites. It will make it easier...Remember, we only have 12. Lol.

For this year's edition, I decided to replace John Updike, which I didn't have on the tbr with Sinclair Lewis, since I have several works of his. Similar scenario in December, no Larry Watson in my giant tbr, but I've been meaning to read Nora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God for years now, so that'll probably be my December AAC contribution.

For next year's edition, I'm sure I'll end up doing the same, that is, trying to stick to the list, but substituting with other authors also.

I definitely second the following suggestions:
Henry James
Herman Melville
Carson McCullers
Flannery O'Connor
Joan Didion
Amy Tan
Joyce Carol Oates
Wallace Stegner
Patricia Highsmith
Barbara Kingsolver

A few suggestions of my own:
Ray Bradbury
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Charles Bukowski
Jeffrey Eugenides
Jonathan Safran Foer
Jim Harrison
Ernest Hemingway
Jonathan Lethem
Larry McMurtry
Vladimir Nabokov
Ann Patchett
Richard Russo

Nothing for it, looks like you'll have to run this challenge for a few years to cover them all! :-)

I see Melville and it makes me want to add a couple of more old school like Poe or Hawthorne.

I second Larry McMurtry.

Very nice suggestions! I would add Tennessee Williams, whom I think has not yet been mentioned. Love the idea of Flannery O'Connor and/or Carson McCullers!

Second:

Amy Tan
Zora Neale Hurston
John Steinbeck
Barbara Kingsolver
Louise Erdrich
Louisa May Alcott
Jeffrey Eugenides
Jonathan Safran Foer
Tennessee Williams

My picks:
Ursula K. Le Guin
Octavia Butler

Wallace Stegner, Annie Dillard, Henry James...absolutely. I'll second those.

I second Linda's entire list in >15 laytonwoman3rd: :)

I think it would be helpful to focus on authors with several works to choose from, rather than just two or three. More likely to find something appealing to everyone.

As for JCO, I haven't read a ton of her so I don't know about Must Reads, but she covers the gambit from novellas to memoir, so there is a lot to choose from.

Trying to think of other female writers...

Edna Ferber
Mary Gordon
Anne Tyler
Marilynne Robinson

>27 katiekrug: Anne Tyler!! I don't think I've ever read her but would like to do so. Long list of books to choose from.

I need to read more Hemingway, and more Annie Dillard.

Okay, I have been adding authors up there (not every suggested author but most) in #4. I think there are 26, so enough, for the next 2 years. LOL. I am going to take my time, making the selections. I would like a nice balance of old & new, male & female. Of course, chime in at anytime.

Like I did last January, I might pick a slimmer volume, due to the fact, I MIGHT be tacking War & Peace, to kick-off 2015. Any other takers? I like starting the year, with scratching off a hefty classic.

>13 Carmenere: " After a splendid start I fell apart." Well, it is never to late, to jump back in and knock out a couple. I am glad you are considering joining us again.

>14 jayde1599: "I missed August & September." What?? Better get crackin', Jess!

>15 laytonwoman3rd: There is my American Author Specialist! Nice list. I have many of those authors in the stacks. I finally read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, in 2013. I loved it. I am not familiar with Martha Gellhorn or Reynolds Price.

>17 Morphidae: Actually, you did pretty good, Morphy! Congrats. And thanks for the suggestions.

>19 DorsVenabili: Impressive list of female authors. I have not heard of several of them. You'll have to educate me.

>20 BekkaJo: "Whilst I haven't posted on this thread, Mark has corrupted me!" And why haven't you posted?? Hmmmmmmmmm?

>22 Smiler69: This is why we love you, Ilana. No half measures. LOL. Many interesting suggestions. I like Sinclair Lewis and I am considering adding him. I also considered Ray Bradbury, who would fit in perfectly.

>23 luvamystery65: I also thought of Poe & Hawthorne. Good choices.

>24 Crazymamie: Mamie made it! I have added Tennessee Williams. I honestly can't remember if I have read any of his plays.

I'm also thinking about War and Peace for early next year, though I suspect that it was Bleak House in January that threw me off my reading stride this year.

I like the idea of at least two more years.

>31 msf59: Martha Gellhorn was once married to Ernest Hemingway. As you might imagine, she was one hell of a dame. And a damned fine war correspondent; as a journalist she covered the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nuremberg trials, the McCarthy hearings. She also wrote a few novels, which I hold in slightly less esteem. Still, worth reading.

Reynolds Price was a North Carolina boy; professor of English and the Gospels (not necessarily together!) at Duke for his entire career. He created quite a body of work: fiction, drama, poetry and criticism.

I should also have added William Maxwell and Walker Percyto that list in >15 laytonwoman3rd:.

It's Louise Erdrich.

This looks like it is shaping up well! Mark, I like the list in post # 4. There are some writers I know I'll hate, but if there weren't, it wouldn't be a challenge! Some more suggestions--(forgive me if these have been already mentioned.)

If we are looking at non-US born writers,: Julia Alvarez and Isaac Bachevis Singer.

Other women writers Harriet Beecher Stowe (I know, kind of a one-hit wonder), Cynthia Ozick, Jessmyn Ward, Elizabeth Strout.

Other male writers: Raymond Carver, Jess Walter, Jonathan Franzen.

Wow a lot of great suggestions made already and I would be duplicating so many - a few that I like and want to suggest:

William Styron
Bernard Malamud
earliest Nobel winner:
Sinclair Lewis
Gore Vidal
John Dos Passos
A.M. Homes
Alan Furst
Richard Yates
Richard Wright
Sharon Penman
Lydia Davis
William Kennedy
for a little light relief:
Anita Shreve (Hani's own favourite american novelist)
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Edgar Allan Poe
James Fenimore Cooper
Paul Auster
Paul Theroux
Joseph Heller
Ken Kesey
Robert Penn Warren
Erskine Caldwell
Ivan Doig
for the incomprehensible:
Thomas Pynchon

I also like the idea of Joyce Carol Oates and Annie Proulx and Barbara Kingsolver and Anne Tyler for the ladies mentioned elsewhere and EL Doctorow and Wallace Stegner and Ernest Hemingway and Larry McMurtry mentioned for the gentlemen elsewhere.

Whatever it is, I will support and fall in with whatever is chosen and will be with you all again, God willing, in 2015.

>36 PaulCranswick: Also, no half measures, for you, my friend! LOL. That is a terrific list and it should keep us busy for the next few years.

OMG, how did I leave out Robert Penn Warren? Author of one of my top candidates for the GAN!!!

>36 PaulCranswick: Paul, thanks for including John Dos Passos. I'd like to read more by him.

When I was in school, one year, my "author focus" I chose was Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy is huge but most of the others are of a more manageable size. I'd probably be up to re-read at least one of those.

With the addition of Paul's list, I think we're now up to doing this for at least the next 3 years, if not 4 years!!

Lurking pop-up:

Harriet Beecher Stowe
Margaret Mitchell
Arthur C. Clarke
Eugene O'Neill

I intend to read/reread Willa Cather's works next year for my Category Challenge. See if I can get to all of them.

(Arthur C. Clarke was not American.)

For women: Kate Chopin, Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary Wilkins Freeman.

If you're doing poets: Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Mary Oliver

>38 laytonwoman3rd: Sadly, I have not read All the King's Men. Please do not throw anything...I loved the original movie.

>39 lindapanzo: I have not read An American Tragedy, but I loved the movie.

>40 mamzel: Congrats on reading all of Cather! What a treat that will be.

** Arthur C. Clarke was born in England. Sorry, Charlie.

>42 BLBera: Going deep, huh, Beth? I have not heard of those top 3. Should I be aware?

>43 msf59: All I'm going to throw is the book...at you! It's a crime not to have read All the King's Men. It really is. And you ought to get acquainted with Jewett. I'm not familiar with Mary Wilkins Freeman myself...must remedy.

Wow! I had never heard of Mary Wilkins Freeman and she sounds really interesting.

>42 BLBera: Oh My Beth! Don't get me started on poets for heaven's sake!
John Ashberry, Wendell Berry, John Berryman, Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks, Billy Collins, Hart Crane, E.E. Cummings, Timothy Donnelly, Stephen Dunn, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, Langston Hughes, Robert Lowell, Campbell McGrath, Ogden Nash, Sharon Olds, Sylvia Plath, Ezra Pound, Carl Sandburg, Anne Sexton, Gary Snyder, Wallace Stevens, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Natasha Trethewey, Richard Wilbur, William Carlos Williams - any more for anymore

^^ I think we will save the poets for a different challenge. I think we have our hands filled with novelists. LOL.

I hope to dip more into poetry, next year. It is one of my literary shortcomings...

A separate poetry challenge might be something to think about...

>48 laytonwoman3rd: That's a great idea! Maybe a general, tra-la-la thread where people can post comments on what they're reading and offer suggestions/post examples?

As for the novelists, I go back to one of my earlier comments that I'd like to see authors chosen who have at least a few works to choose from. Otherwise, it's really just a group read of a particular work, which is fine, but to me at least, something different than an author challenge.

>50 katiekrug: I agree, Katie. That would leave out Margaret Mitchell, or Harper Lee, but in the spirit of the challenge anyone who wanted to substitute or add a book by one of those or any other American author, would be encouraged to do so and share thoughts with the group.

>50 katiekrug: >51 laytonwoman3rd: I also agree. There needs to be a sufficient body of work so that even the well-read can find something that they may not have read.

>50 katiekrug: I also agree, Katie! And I did exactly that in selecting this year's choices.

If we want to branch into non-fiction we could include Rachel Carson., The Sea Around Us, and Silent Spring are more sciencey, but Under the Sea Wind and The Edge of the Sea are pretty accessible and available. There are a few other more obscure options too.

One of the reasons I love Annie Dillard, Annie Proulx and Barbara Kingsolver is that they write both fiction and non-fiction, so you can get your "fix" of whatever you're hankering for with them.

I like the idea of limiting it to novelists with bodies of work. Otherwise, too many works will fit the category and some of the fun will be gone.

I am another fully in agreement with Katie on the body-of-work qualification. I would guess at least four or five published novels and ideally many more.

I also agree. I want to read new books and I've already read Gone with the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird.

I also agree on the bodies of work. Also, has anyone suggested Sherman Alexie as an author?

>59 banjo123: Excellent idea!

Having a body of work was among my main criteria for all the authors on the list I submitted in >22 Smiler69:.

The Updike AAC thread is up. Drop on by:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/182191#4895241

I'm loving the lists of recommendations for next year! I would like to second (or third) a bunch of them but I'm just going to register one vote: Octavia Butler.

>4 msf59: Of the authors in your list, I'm super-thrilled about the following:

Herman Melville
Sinclair Lewis
Wallace Stegner
Russell Banks
Zora Neale Hurston
Joyce Carol Oates
Pearl Buck
Ursula K. Le Guin

If I had to narrow it down to two, I'd vote for Sinclair Lewis and Ursula K. Le Guin.

ETA: Wait. Are we still voting? If not, just ignore me. :-)

Mark, any hints as to your thought for next year?

Hi Lois! I better find some time to start narrowing down my options. Paul is out-gunning me over on the BAC.
One thing is for sure, I will stick with one author a month.

>66 msf59: LOL! That's probably a good thing! Narrowing down choices might help keep my 2015 reading list down to a manageable number.

>66 msf59: No Mark, I don't agree that you are being outgunned. The BAC is set up in homage to your AAC but it wouldn't have done to follow your methods exactly.

I am also very interested to see your picks Buddy and will, for certain, follow whoever you choose every month and avidly so.

I can't wait to follow both AAC and BAC next year :) I joined the AAC a little late but I've loved it. Updike is proving a great read (albeit only 30odd pages in to Rabbit Run).

Chiming in as another LTer looking forward to next year's AAC!

Both of you fine gentlemen have increase the depth and range of my reading immensely. Unlike many here I did not study literature while in college and spent a good deal of time just shopping at the grocery store for books. I continue to read in the area of history, politics, and autobiography/biography however the fiction side of my reading is growing so fast. I'm thrilled, if occasionally overwhelmed.

I am very thankful for both of your efforts.

And Mark, no hurry. I don't plan on starting any of this reading in January, any way.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Once again, I am awestruck by the participation and hopefully next year will be just as fun. I am slowly working on the selections and I'll try to have them up soon.

>68 PaulCranswick: I was being a bit tongue and cheek, in my remark. Honestly, you've kicked this off superbly, Paul! I think we really like reading something collectively. It really binds us together, like we NEED any more binding. LOL.

>69 BekkaJo: Yah, some Updike love!! Not much of that happening at the moment, Bekka. LOL. Hurry up and post that on the Updike thread, before everyone deserts.

>71 maggie1944: Thanks, Karen! I think this wonderful place has changed and molded our reading life, in many different ways and it will continue to do so.

Loving the list so far for 2015
Authors. There are many on there I have been wanting to try and I even have some of them on the TBR. Very exciting!

okay, just having a peek and wondering what "BAC" is…..I can guess but maybe someone can give me a link. thanks

Mary- Paul is hosting the British Author Challenge and it is taking off like a rocket. Here is the link:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/182355

Thanks Mark, I did figure it out and starred it but thanks for your help. I am figuring that it is a new one based on your great success with AAC. We will need a CAC! (Canadian). Who will take it on?

You?? LOL!

AAC and BAC. I'm in for both, full stop.

Okay, boys and girls- AAC 2015:

Carson McCullers- January
Henry James- February
Richard Ford- March
Louise Erdrich- April
Sinclair Lewis- May
Wallace Stegner- June
Ursula K. Le Guin - July
Larry McMurtry- August
Flannery O' Connor- September
Ray Bradbury- October
Barbara Kingsolver- November
E.L. Doctorow- December

OHhhhh, I think I might be purist next year, Mark! Nice list! And I have almost every one of those in the giant TBR!!

Fortunately I had a very good list to choose from, thanks to all of you. I tried to do a nice mix: old, new, male, female, with a couple genre-type authors tossed in. Also, I think this one has a few less "controversial" authors, if you know what I mean. LOL. It wasn't a conscious decision, just worked out that way.

Heavy-weights like Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck didn't make the cut this time. Steinbeck remains my favorite American author but I am putting him off again because of the wonderful Steinbeckathon we had, a couple years ago. If I have AACIII, he should be on it. LOL.

Nice list! I think the only one I'm hesitant about (and don't have on the TBR) is LeGuin, but I had the same reaction to Vonnegut this year and ended up really enjoying Mother Night, so I'm keeping an open mind.

I will aim to be a "purist" again next year :)

Great, Great list, Mark and I think I have something on my shelf for most of these authors! So, If I've got it I'm in it!!!!! So excited! I'm running to my bookshelf right now----------------->

>82 katiekrug: Katie, I read The Dispossessed, which had been recommended to me by Kerri, and I loved it. I think you might like that one.

>84 Crazymamie: - Thanks, Mamie! I will make a note of that one.

>79 msf59: Oh, great list! I can't help it. I must immediately do a preliminary possible reads list. Of course, any and all may change.

*Carson McCullers- Not sure. I've already read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and I know that's the show-stopper, so not sure where to go from there. Any suggestions?
*Henry James - Maybe Washington Square, based on LT Joe's recommendation
*Richard Ford- Canada - (I think? Should I read something else?)
*Louise Erdrich- The Round House probably. I've only read The Bingo Palace and liked it, but wasn't blown away.
*Sinclair Lewis- Main Street or Kingsblood Royal (One of my favorite authors! OMG!)
*Wallace Stegner- Crossing to Safety for sure
*Ursula K. Le Guin - Either The Lathe of Heaven or Rocannon's World
*Larry McMurtry- Probably I have to read Lonesome Dove, right? Otherwise, I have no idea.
*Flannery O' Connor- A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories (I know I've read a couple of these, but I'll try to finish up the collection.)
*Ray Bradbury- Probably The Martian Chronicles
*Barbara Kingsolver- Probably Pigs in Heaven, since I read The Bean trees last year (and loved it).
*E.L. Doctorow- I think Ragtime

Bold means I've never read the author.

>84 Crazymamie: and >85 katiekrug: Oooh, I'm wondering if Katie would like it. I'm not sure. Definitely read a plot overview first. Katie - Do you like wizards (I suppose not everyone does)? If so, maybe The Wizard of Earthsea?

>87 DorsVenabili: - I've been looking at several LeGuins on Amazon. The Left Hand of Darkness and The Lathe of Heaven sound interesting. If all else fails, I will read Catwings, one of her children's books :)

For anyone interested, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis is $1.99 on Kindle (US). I own a print copy but snapped up the Kindle edition, too...

>88 katiekrug: The Left Hand of Darkness looks interesting to me too Katie.

Great, Mark. I particularly like the idea of having Sherman Alexie and Marilynne Robinson on there, just because I like their writing. I haven't read Amy Tan or Jane Smiley or Barbara Kingsolver, so any of those would be good, too.

>79 msf59: Oops, I missed the list! OK! I may substitute in again once or twice, but this looks good.

>88 katiekrug: - The Left Hand of Darkness is fantastic!

>91 jnwelch: Agreed. Classic.

#79 Oooh research time! Love it when the new lists come out :)

Though I'm not looking forward to Feb :/ I do detest James. But I have a number left on the 1001 so I may as well bite the bullet now!

You have knocked it out of the park with your selection of next year's AAC authors, Mark! You can count me in for next year, as you've chosen two of my favorite authors, Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor, along with several others that I'm interested in exploring, namely Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Louise Erdrich, Wallace Stegner, Richard Ford, E.L. Doctorow and Barbara Kingsolver. I'll have to look over my library and my TBR list to see which books I'll read.

For McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is, of course, her masterpiece. I'd also highly recommend The Ballad of the Sad Café, a novella that I gave 4½ stars to. The Member of the Wedding is also good (4 stars from me). I own her Library of America collection Complete Novels, and I'll have to see if I've read it from cover to cover. I'll finish it if I haven't; if I have I'll re-read The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.

I've read nearly everything by O'Connor as well, save for a few short stories in The Complete Stories, and her letters and essays at the end of her Library of America collection Collected Works.

I'll definitely read The Round House by Erdrich, Arrowsmith by Lewis, and Flight Behavior by Kingsolver, as I already own them. I'll probably read The Wings of the Dove by Henry James, Crossing to Safety by Stegner, Independence Day by Richard Ford, Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury, and The March by Doctorow. I may take a pass on McMurtry and Le Guin, but overall this is a very impressive list.

I second or third The Left Hand of Darkness as well. Fascinating read!

Thanks for getting this organized Mark. A nice blend of authors I've read and ones I haven't so will have to check them out and see what I can come up with up.

Off hand LeGuin, Kingsolver are definitely winners since I've read a few of their books and loved them. Ford and Erdrich I'm curious about. The fact that I haven't read any Bradbury should be a crime but it looks like 2015 is an excellent year to remedy that. :)

Interesting list, Mark! Some authors, I've read; some, I haven't; some I haven't even heard of!

BTW, I think there is a plot underfoot at LT to get those of us who avoid the science fiction genre (and the 15 million sub-genres) to expand beyond our comfort zone!

Well, I thought I posted here an hour ago, but I must have forgotten to push that little button at the bottom and moved on. *Sigh* What I MEANT to say was, NICE LIST, MARK! I'm really looking forward to most all of these authors. (LeGuin gives me pause, and I remember thinking Sinclair Lewis was a snore in high school, but I'll probably feel differently now.) My library is well-stocked with selections from all of them except Ford.

A great list, Mark. It will make me stretch my comfort zone a bit. Currently I have no books by Ursula Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, Larry McMurtry, or Sinclair Lewis but there is always the library. I recall reading Babbitt during a summer vacation while in high school - it was not a school reading assignment so it couldn't have been too bad. Ready to try it again. Thanks for your efforts in putting this tougher for us.

Fantastic list Mark! I'm thrilled with your selections and I have most of these on the TBR. As was the case this year, I'll be using the challenge to read from the books I already own though I might bend my own rules a little.

- Carson McCullers is a favourite of mine, but I may have to substitute her since I just reread The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter this year and The Ballad of the Sad Café last year. I suppose I could reread The Member of the Wedding, or finally get Reflections in a Golden Eye, but then I wouldn't be following my self-imposed restrictions...
- Henry James: I'll be reading What Maisie Knew or The Europeans
- Richard Ford: Bending my own rules, as been wanting to start his Frank Bascombe series, available on audio from the library, so will start with The Sportswriter.
- Louise Erdrich: The Roundhouse, which was also picked for me by Donna recently.
- Sinclair Lewis: I substituted John Updike for him and will be reading Elmer Gantry this month, but have more on the TBR, so will be reading either Dodsworth or Babbitt
- Wallace Stegner: Angle of Repose
- Ursula K. Le Guin: TBD (not on the TBR)
- Larry McMurtry: The Last Picture Show (also picked for me by and a shared read with Mark).
- Flannery O' Connor: Everything That Rises Must Converge
- Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 (reread)
- Barbara Kingsolver: Have Flight Behavior, The Lacuna and Prodigal Summer to choose from.
- E.L. Doctorow: TBD (not on the TBR)

Hope this works. I pinned my planned reads for your challenge onto Pinterest. I'm lacking four authors on my bookshelf but Henry James is sure to take a couple of months for me to read. Thanks for setting this up, Mark!

Very excited by your author choices for next year, Mark. A great blend!!

Especially excited about Stegner. Richard Ford is about the only author I know nothing about.

A few authors where I've already read one or more books but have hoped to read more. A few authors I've never read, including, sadly, Bradbury. I could just about walk to his hometown, too.

(Oops, no wait, I have read Farenheit 451)

Will have to scan my owned books to see what I have.

>95 kidzdoc: - Thanks! I think I'll try The Ballad of the Sad Cafe then.

Oh yay! Excellent choices for AAC II. I'm looking forward to putting together my list of planned reads.

>79 msf59: de-lurking to say great list and while I may not read all, I hope to read some. A couple of these authors are already on my TBR so there's really no excuse.

Great list Mark! I've only read Henry James, Barbara Kingsolver and Ursula K. le Guin although I think I've got some of the others on the TBR shelf.

Cool!

Wow! Everyone seems to be happy with the list, unless, of course you are just humoring me...which is just fine by the way.

This time around, I did not consider my own TBR shelves, because I just didn't want to hobble myself, in making the selections. Of course, every single author, is one I WANT to read more of. I have read at least one of every author, to date.

ALERT: I just happened to see this, in an email, HarperCollins is having a Barbara Kingsolver deal going on. $3 ebooks. $5 paperbacks. You shouldn't continue to read this but click rapidly on this link:

http://www.harpercollins.com/backlistpromotion?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&u...

>79 msf59: Yipeee! I would echo the comments of everyone else.....great list buddy. I will definitely be in every month and have plenty on the shelves to cover each month. Great mix.

>72 msf59: Very kindly put Mark.

>76 mdoris: Another good idea. I would be up for that one too!

Preliminary List

January - Carson McCullers - The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
February - Henry James - The Ambassadors
March - Richard Ford - Independence Day
April - Louise Erdrich - The Round House
May - Sinclair Lewis - Arrowsmith
June - Wallace Stegner - Angle of Repose
July - Ursula LeGuin - A Wizard of Earthsea
August - Larry McMurtry - Comanche Moon
September - Flannery O'Connor - Everything That Rises Must Converge
October - Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
November - Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible
December - E.L. Doctorow - The March

At the risk of sounding like an echo, I'd like to add that I, too, am so excited about all of the authors you picked. I am very much looking forward to participating in the 2015 AAC!

Karen O.

Nice, choice of authors. Unfortunately I'm not able to get books from everyone. So I'll jump in whenever possible.

I am in. Building a list on my thread...

Good Looking list. Mark. I'd like to read along with the 75ers again next year.

I love the AAC list for 2015 because other than reading Lonesome Dove last year, I have not read anything by any of the authors listed.... great opportunity for me to try out new authors and rely on a group of readers to provide suggestions of favorites!

>86 DorsVenabili: Nice rough list, Kerri! I haven't even thought about my author choices yet, but I'll get there. I wasn't crazy about Canada. I will probably start with The Sportswriter, the 1st of his Bascombe books and hopefully reread Independence Day.
My favorite Stegner is Angle of Repose but Crossing to Safety is a close second.
And YES- Please read Lonesome Dove. It is freakin' wonderful! I might do Pigs in Heaven, with you.

>91 jnwelch: Substitute you say? Really? Come on, Joe!

>95 kidzdoc: Thanks for your insightful comments on the AACII, Darryl. It will really be nice to have you along this year.

>100 Smiler69: Love the rough list, Ilana! Glad to see so many titles included.

>101 Carmenere: I love in, Lynda! Getting a photo of your AACII books, is absolutely perfect. Thank you. And some great titles there.

>102 lindapanzo: Glad you are giving the list some consideration, Linda! I think you could find something readable, by every author there.

>109 PaulCranswick: Great list, Paul! I have not read The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, The Ambassadors,Arrowsmith or the O' Connor.

>79 msf59: Great list Mark!

I may join in for more than just one author next year. I have unread books on the shelf by Erdrich, Stegner, McMurtry, Bradbury, and Kingsolver (and the books I've already read by them were all wonderful). I think I've read all the Doctorow I'm interested in reading but a reread may be in order. I wouldn't mind reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter again either.

So maybe not every month but a lot of months...

Here are my planned selections:

January - Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
February - Henry James - The Portrait of a Lady
March - Richard Ford - The Sportswriter
April - Louise Erdrich - Love Medicine
May - Sinclair Lewis - Arrowsmith
June - Wallace Stegner - Crossing to Safety
July - Ursula LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness
August - Larry McMurtry - The Last Picture Show: A Novel
September - Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood: A Novel
October - Ray Bradbury - The Halloween Tree
November - Barbara Kingsolver - The Bean Trees: A Novel
December - E.L. Doctorow - Ragtime: A Novel

Nice lineup - I didn't participate this year but will try to join in a few times next year.

Here's my list:

January: Carson McCullers, Clock Without Hands
February: Henry James, The Wings of the Dove
March: Richard Ford, Independence Day
April: Louise Erdrich, The Plague of Doves
May: Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith
June: Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety
July: Ursula Le Guin
August: Larry McMurtry
September: Flannery O'Connor, The Complete Stories
October: Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
November: Barbara Kingsolver, Flight Behavior
December: E.L. Doctorow, The March

Some comments: Clock Without Hands is the only novel by McCullers that I haven't read yet. I was planning to read The Round House by Erdrich, but apparently I don't own it. I do have The Plague of Doves, and I may buy and read The Round House as well. I'll be busy reading the Booker Prize longlist in the summer, so I'll pass on Le Guin and McMurtry. I've read nearly all of O'Connor's short stories in her Library of America edition, Collected Works, so it won't take me long to finish The Complete Stories. And, if I have time I may read The Poisonwood Bible along with Flight Behavior.

^^This is us, in preparation, for next year, with our various challenges, group reads, theme months & TBR reduction tactics. Whew!! I am sure it will be a blast but we NEED more time. How about an extra day a week, set aside, for nothing but reading?

Yes, I feel that picture captures my reality perfectly! However, I fear even one day extra per week, dedicated to Do Nothing But Read, might not be sufficient for me with my slower reading style these days. I think when I was younger I read faster because I was skimming a good deal, and was reading books that were a good deal less well written. Today, I do like to savor my words as I read them. A true banquet of excellence must be taken slowly, slowly, slowly. Ahhhhhhhh.

I am delighted to think of all the good reading in my future. Thank you so much for your contribution to the opportunity to select some authors and books I might not otherwise have thought to approach.

>120 msf59: "How about an extra day a week, set aside, for nothing but reading?" Yeah, how about that, hmmm?

I haven't begun to think hard about my reading choices for AAC 2015, but there are a couple that are already obvious, partly because I've read everything else by a particular author. Doctorow needs to write something new just for me! I may try re-reading City of God, which bewildered me before, or maybe I'll revisit one of my favorites, Ragtime or Homer & Langley. For Kingsolver, it will be Flight Behaviour, which is the only one of her novels I haven't read. I also have a copy of her memoir, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, so maybe I'll get to both. I love her for her story-telling chops, in spite of her tendency to get a little heavy-handed with her "message" from time to time. Anyone who is approaching her for the first time could hardly go wrong by selecting her early novel The Bean Trees, which is absolutely wonderful. If you'd like a little natural history mixed in with your fiction reading next year, try her collection of essays on the world around us, Small Wonders.

I have a mighty stash of unread Erdrich, and I'm half inclined to start at the beginning with her Love Medicine cycle (they aren't strictly chronological) and read them in the order LT suggests. I've dipped in and out of it before, and that's how I came to love her writing, so obviously that works just fine too.

Henry James is not one of my favorites, but I have enjoyed Washington Square, and, less so, The Turn of the Screw. All I know at this point is I will never crack the covers of The Ambassadors again! Trying to read that one in college nearly killed both my husband and me, and it did kill the copy he was reading, as he nodded off while reading it in the bathtub. Thankfully, only the book was drowned.

My list, though still a work in progress...

January: Carson McCullers, Clocks Without Hands
February: Henry James, The Ambassadors
March: Richard Ford, The Sportswriter
April: Louise Erdrich, The Master Butcher Singing Club
May: Sinclair Lewis, Main Street
June: Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety or The Big Rock Candy Mountain
July: Ursula Le Guin--substitute Theodore Dreiser The Financier
August: Larry McMurtry--The Last Picture Show
September: Flannery O'Connor, substitute Saul Bellow The Adventures of Augie March
October: Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine
November: Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible
December: E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime

Can anyone recommend the least Henry Jamesey Henry James book?

>124 SandDune: - Rhian, I don't know how "Henry James-y" it is, as I've only read two things by him (and liked both), but Daisy Miller has the advantage of being rather short :)

>115 msf59: Oh! I hadn't thought of Angel of Repose. Perhaps I'll read that instead. Thanks! And a Pigs in Heaven shared read would be fun.

>124 SandDune: Washington Square was short. I read it years and years ago and liked it.

For those wanting to tackle Portrait of a Lady by James there will be a group read in February over at the 2015 Challenge Group. When the thread is set up I'll come over here and post it.

Here I am with my list. It's not an easy task to find books of every author here in Switzerland. Therefore some months are empty but I try to take part when ever possible.

January: Spiegelbild im goldenen Auge or Die Ballade vom traurigen Café
February: Daisy Miller or Überfahrt mit Dame
March: Let me be Frank with you
April: Shadow tag or The Plague of Doves
May: Main Street (with 904 pp probably too long)
June: Vor der Stille der Sturm or Zeit der Geborgenheit
July:
August:
September:
October: Fahrenheit 451 or Schneller als das Auge
November: Flight behavior
December: City of God or Der Marsch

For July to September I couldn't find a book written by those authors at my local library and it is a realy huge one.

>128 luvamystery65: thanks for the heads up, Roberta. I'll look forward to joining in on that group read.

>123 lindapanzo: Good list, Linda. I might be joining you on the McCullers and the Ford picks. The Lewis, Stegner, McMurtry, Bradbury, Kingsolver and Doctorow are all wonderful books. You lucky lucky woman!

>126 DorsVenabili: I haven't quite decided on my Stegner pick, Kerri. I have a couple on shelf. I might try to read a couple Kingsolvers. That essay collection sounds excellent.

>128 luvamystery65: What great timing for February, Ro! Sweet! I've already read Portrait of a Lady and loved it.

>129 Ameise1: Nice list, Barb! I hope you can track down more of the titles.

>131 msf59: They had it in January and switched at the request of one of the members to coincide with your challenge. They are an awesome group over there.

Here is my thinking so far:

January - Carson McCullers - The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
February - Henry James ??
March - Richard Ford ??
April - Louise Erdrich - hmmm.... maybe a reread of Tracks which I loved. Or one of the few I've not read.
May - Sinclair Lewis - Elmer Gantry is practically required, right? I have a copy.
June - Wallace Stegner - reread Angle of Repose or Crossing to Safety (happy sigh)
July - Ursula K. Le Guin - I've only read The Left Hand of Darkness, so I don't know where to go from there.
August - Larry McMurtry - the sequel to Lonesome Dove (there is one, right?)
September - Flannery O' Connor
October - Ray Bradbury - reread The Martian Chronicles
November - Barbara Kingsolver - This will require a reread for me. I may do The Bean Trees, her first and still my fave.
December - E.L. Doctorow Ragtime, I think.

These are tentative selections; I'm just starting to consider the options. And I borrowed Kerri's idea and put in bold the authors I've never read. It's kind of embarrassing to admit that I've never read Henry James.

Mine has some variables - some months I'm not caring what I read, just whatever I find most easily!

January - Carson McCullers - The Heart is a lonely Hunter
February - Henry James - probably The Ambassadors
March - Richard Ford - any
April - Louise Erdrich - Love Medicine
May - Sinclair Lewis - any - saying that I've read his obvious/1,001 ones...
June - Wallace Stegner - Angle of Repose
July - Ursula K. Le Guin - The dispossessed - and possibly re-read her Earthsea books...
August - Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove
September - Flannery O' Connor - Wise Blood
October - Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
November - Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible
December - E.L. Doctorow - possibly Ragtime or The Book of Daniel

I'll admit it's a bit all new for me for 2015 - I've only read James and Lewis. And LeGuin but that was Earthsea and a LONG time ago! I'm looking forward to it :)

Wow! It looks like everyone is ahead of me with their picks. I am mighty impressed. Big Grin!

I am thinking, thinking, thinking. There is a lovely used book store on Kaua'i and I may go hunting while there.

If anyone wants a weird Sinclair Lewis choice, there's always It Can't Happen Here, which is an alternate history/dystopia sort of thing. Not his best, but still kind of interesting, especially if his other stuff doesn't appeal.

>133 EBT1002: I think you might like The Dispossessed.

For anyone interested, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers is available for $1.99 on Kindle (US) today.

>138 katiekrug: There she goes again. Menace! :P

Let me go PM her some curse words! Bwahaha!

>139 luvamystery65: - What?!?!?

*bats eyes innocently*

Boo hoo, I know/have hardly any authors from the list this year. Maybe I will do the 2014 list a year late??! :)

Thanks for putting this together, Mark! I think that I will pick my books month to month, and there are 2-3 that I may skip, or sub out, due to prior experience.

I hope that most people will give Ursula LeGuin a try. She is a good writer, and is from Portland! My favorite LeGuin is actually a short story: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, which is haunting--I read it many, many years ago, and I can still hear the last sentence in my head.

All my choices are from Mount TBR (database.) If there is no comment, it means that I haven't read anything by the author, so have no opinion.

January: Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
February: Henry James, Daisy Miller or Washington Square - I've read The Turn of the Screw and didn't like it very much
March: Richard Ford, Wildlife - never heard of the author, didn't like the synopsis of The Sportswriter so skipped its sequels, too
April: Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine or The Round House - leaning toward the later as it's on a TBR Soon list
May: Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith - I've read Main Street
June: Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
July: Ursula K. Le Guin, Gifts - I've read many of hers so had to go with one less well known
August: Larry McMurtry, Zeke and Ned - this is my only "ugh" - didn't like Lonesome Dove
September: Flannery O' Connor, A Good Man is Hard to Find
October: Ray Bradbury, The Illustrated Man - prefer his short stories to his novels
November: Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees - reading for my literary fiction challenge anyway and I've read The Poisonwood Bible
December: E.L. Doctorow, World's Fair or City of God - I've read Ragtime and The March

A combination of library books and OTS:

January: Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
February: Henry James - The Portrait of a Lady
March: Richard Ford - Canada
April: Louise Erdrich - The Round House
May: Sinclair Lewis - It Can't Happen Here
June: Wallace Stegner - Crossing to Safety
July: Ursula K. LeGuin - Earth Sea Quartet
August: Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove
September: Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood
October: Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
November: Barbara Kingsolver - Pigs in Heaven
December: E.L. Doctorow - The March

Lots of new authors and new books to experience. Can't wait for 2015. Challenge on! :D

Re-posted from my thread.

I am looking forward to participating in the AACII next year. I will again aim for "purist" status - complete all months with no substitutions! Here is what I am looking at...

January - Carson McCullers - either The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (re-read) or The Member of the Wedding.
February - Henry James - Washington Square
March - Richard Ford - Canada
April - Louise Erdrich - Love Medicine or The Round House
May - Sinclair Lewis - Main Street
June - Wallace Stegner - Angle of Repose or Big Rock Candy Mountain
July - Ursula K. LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness
August - Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove or The Last Picture Show
September - Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood, The Violent Bear It Away, or a selection of short stories
October - Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451 or Dandelion Wine
November - Barbara Kingsolver - The Bean Trees or The Poisonwood Bible
December - E.L. Doctorow - Ragtime or Homer and Langley

(The only one I don't have on my TBR shelves is LeGuin!)

Wow! You guys are going to make me cry...stumbles away...catches myself, reaches for a cold pint glass and raises it.

>146 msf59: Mark I hope I get to meet you someday! You aren't interested in joining Katie and I in our ladies retreat are you? Bwahaha!!! Raises my glass of wine to you.

Hopefully, we will meet some day, Ro! Fingers crossed. You two will have a fantastic time at the RETREAT and you won't need any brokedown mailman, mussing up your plans.

If any of you head towards the Orlando area, let me know!

>149 LoisB: hmmm. I *do* get to Kennedy Space Center on a regular basis. Maybe I can find a time when we can get together!

>150 drneutron: That would be great! I can easily drive over to the KSC area.

Oh for pete's sake, it turns out that I have read two Ursula K. LeGuin novels, having read The Dispossessed in 2013. So, I may reread The Left Hand of Darkness or try the first in the Earthsea trilogy.

>133 EBT1002: It may be embarrassing to have read one Henry James but it is near criminal to have read two!
ETA I loved the dry humour of Linda's Ambassador's in the bathtub anecdote.

Thanks, Paul! (I see what you did there..."dry" humour in the bathtub...) My husband has read both The Left Hand of Darkness and The Lathe of Heaven, and recommends both of them. Even though I rarely read science fiction or fantasy, I will try one of those when the time comes.

FYI: There are several Henry James and Sinclair Lewis novels available on DailyLit.

>153 PaulCranswick: Paul, are we not a fan of Henry James?

I haven't decided if I'm going to participate here or if I'm just going to stick with the British author challenge. I don't want to feel obligated to read too many books that were not already on my radar. I'll probably decide on a month by month basis.

Me too!

Okay, I am finally posting my picks. Yes, I am a slacker, but then again it is only November 11th. These could change as time goes on, but I think most of my selections are pretty solid. Getting to a second author pick will not be easy but I would sure love to.

January - Carson McCullers - The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
February - Henry James – Washington Square
March - Richard Ford – The Sportswriter and possibly Independence Day, for a reread.
April - Louise Erdrich - The Plague of Doves and possibly The Round House
May - Sinclair Lewis – Babbitt?
June - Wallace Stegner - Beyond the Hundredth Meridian
July - Ursula K. Le Guin - The Dispossessed and possibly a re-read of A Wizard of Earthsea
August - Larry McMurtry – Pretty Boy Floyd and I would LOVE to do a reread of Lonesome Dove.
September - Flannery O' Connor - Everything That Rises Must Converge ??
October - Ray Bradbury - The Golden Apples of the Sun and possibly a second.
November - Barbara Kingsolver - Pigs in Heaven and possibly a NF choice
December - E.L. Doctorow – World's Fair?

Additional thoughts:
I might try squeezing in The Sportswriter earlier in the year. I did read Independence Day 20-plus years ago but I want to read the Bascombe books in order. I see he has a new one coming out too. Whew!

I have read O'Connor's first collection and it was wonderful. Has anyone read this 2nd collection?

I've read many of Doctorow's books but have not read City of God, Waterworks or World's Fair. Anyone have any thoughts on these?

Also, if you have not read Doctorow or Ragtime, I highly recommend selecting that one. It is his master-work.

>156 EBT1002: I'm not really for or against Henry James yet Ellen. Read Turn of the Screw and thought it ok but The Ambassadors needs diplomacy to describe it without upsetting his followers. I was being witlessly witty as usual.

>159 msf59: A couple of shared reads for sure there Mark. January for sure.

>161 PaulCranswick:. " The Ambassadors needs diplomacy to describe it without upsetting his followers" Oh...very clever! I agree.

>160 msf59: I tried reading City of God and it left me totally bewildered. And I love Doctorow. I think it might have been helpful to be familiar with St. Augustine's work of the same name, but that's just a conjecture.

Ok here's my tentative list for next year:

Carson McCullers - Heart is a Lonely Hunter - does double duty as a book on my TBR Classics list (on my Kindle)

Henry James - I've already read Turn of the Screw so I am going to substitute a Hemingway title from my TBR Classics list.

Richard Ford - never read this author so I think I will try The Sportswriter

Louise Erdrich - never read this author, plan to try The Round House (library)

Sinclair Lewis - Babbitt (on my Kindle)

Wallace Stegner - never read this author, plan to try Angle of Repose (library)

Ursula K. LeGuin - I have read The Wizard of Earthsea and liked it very much. I will read anything I can get my hands on by this author before next July.

Larry McMurty - I am very excited to finally read Lonesome Dove!

Flannery O'Connor - never read this author, plan to try A Good Man is Hard to Find (library)

Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles (library)

Barbara Kingsolver - Love this author. I've read The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, and Miracle, Vegetable, Miracle. I will be reading Flight Behavior (own the ebook)

E.L. Doctorow - I don't think I have read anything by this author. I plan to try Ragtime. (library)

I was looking at the Kurt Vonnegut books yesterday, I salivated a bit and then decided the library was the place for me. Oh, where was I in June!?

Ragtime it is.

Here we go, the definitive list.

January - McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

February - James - The Portrait of a Lady

March - Ford - Canada

April - Endrich - The Round House

May - ------------

June - Stegner - Angle of Repose

July - -------------

August - --------------

September - O'Connor Everything that rises must converge

October - ----------

November - Kingsolver - Homeland and other stories

December - Doctorow - The March

I've used only books found on my bookshelves so these will be applied to my 2015 ROOTS challenge as well.

So exciting and I can't wait to get started!

Although I've been absent from my thread and LT for months and months, I'm still on track to complete the original AAC in "purist" mode and am excited about the list you've put together for next year, Mark. I'll definitely be participating (and hopefully posting once in a while) and here is my list (based mostly on unread books I already own).

Carson McCullers - A Member of the Wedding

Henry James - The Ambassadors or Washington Square

Richard Ford - The Sportswriter or Independence Day

Louise Erdrich - a favorite author, will read The Painted Drum or The Last Report of the Miracles at Little No Horse (or both)

Sinclair Lewis - Main Street or Babbitt

Wallace Stegner - Angle of Repose

Ursula K. LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness

Larry McMurty - Lonesome Dove

Flannery O'Connor - A Good Man is Hard to Find or Everything that Rises Must Converge

Ray Bradbury - Dandelion Wine

Barbara Kingsolver - another favorite, have read all her fiction. Maybe High Tide in Tucson or reread The Bean Trees

E.L. Doctorow - City of God or The March

^^The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is on the Kindle Daily Deal. Start getting ready for the AACII!!

**Let's keep an eye out for any deals on any of these AAC authors. Sound like a plan??

Great! *runs over to the Kindle Daily*

Portrait of a Lady is available on Kindle for 99 cents.

I will try to do better with next year's American Authors than I have with this year's. I made a list of books to read, subject to change.

January: The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
February: Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
March:
April: The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
May: Main Street or Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis
June: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
July: Catwings by Ursula Le Guin
August: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
September: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
October: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
November: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
December: The March by E. L. Doctorow

I am planning on participating in this challenge on a somewhat limited scale next year, mostly reading books that I already have on my TBR. So far my challenge is shaping up as follows:

The American Author Challenge

January: Carson McCullers: Collected Stories of Carson McCullers*
February: Henry James - The Turn of the Screw
March: Richard Ford
April: Louise Erdrich
May: Sinclair Lewis
June: Wallace Stegner - Crossing To Safety
July: Ursula Le Guin - The Tombs of Atuan
August: Larry McMurtry - Leaving Cheyenne
September: Flannery O’Connor
October: Ray Bradbury - Dandelion Wine
November: Barbara Kingsolver
December: E.L. Doctorow - The March

* I will probably only read some of the stories here, like Member of the Wedding or The Ballad of the Sad Cafe rather than the whole thing.

Is there a new thread for the American Author Challenge?

>169 maggie1944: maggie1944 >170 LoisB: LoisB Isn't Kindle wonderful for supplying cheap (often free) copies of all the classics.

>174 jll1976: Yes! But then they want 11.99 for a newer book. I think it all evens out in the end.

yes! and when I'm in the real life brick and mortar stores we're looking at $25 and $19.95, and the like. It is easy to spend a lot of money on books, so I like having Kindle as one of several choices. Used Books on Amazon also are good bargains sometimes.

I never saw a cheap book I didn't like. :)

So now, I'm in a quandary. I had never heard of Louise Erdrich before this challenge. I was browsing through my retirement community's small library before our book club meeting today and found Four Souls which is the fifth book in the Love Medicine series. This was the only one of her books in the library. So my question is should I read Four Souls now and Love Medicine in April, or do I bring the book back to the library and hope that it is still there in April, or do I hold on to it until April? The library is an honor system affair - no check out of books, so no fees. I, like others in the community, have been guilty of taking out a book, forgetting all about it, and finding it months later (usually when I am looking for something else.). What would you do?

It's been a while since I read any of Louise Erdrich's books, but I'm sure I didn't read five of them, and I definitely did read Four Souls (which I loved). As I recall there isn't anything linear about the "series". It's more of a cycle, really. Characters reappear at different points in time, overlap, and pass through generations, but I'm not sure it matters in what order they are read. All of this is to say, I guess, that I'd go ahead and read Four Souls now.

>179 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks - that's the answer I wanted to hear.

We aim to please!

>168 msf59: Ok. You got me. I am in. :)

>178 LoisB: I have only read 2 of Louise Erdrich's books and I have to say, The Blue Jay's Dance dazzled me, where the other ( will edit to add title son: eta: Tracks) didn't at all.
Maybe because the the Blue Jay's Dance is about the later stages of pregnancy and the birth and first while of her new baby's life. It really resonated with me, the descriptions she gave about new motherhood were on the money, imo. I loved that book.

>173 mhmr: I think we will use this thread for now and I will create an AACII General Discussion thread, in about a month or so, along with the McCullers thread.

Well I fell off the wagon abysmally half way through the year, but hear are my choices for 2015, at least some of which I intend to read:

Carson McCullers- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Henry James- The Turn of the Screw
Richard Ford- The Sportswriter
Louise Erdrich- The Round House
Sinclair Lewis- Babbitt
Wallace Stegner- Angle of Repose
Ursula K. Le Guin - The Wizard of Earthsea
Larry McMurtry- Lonesome Dove
Flannery O' Connor- A Good Man is Hard to Find and other stories
Ray Bradbury- Farenheit 451
Barbara Kingsolver- Flight Behaviour
E.L. Doctorow- Ragtime

If I were to participate (and I'm not saying 100% absolutely that I will do more than lurk, which is what I'm doing this year), this would be my list:

January - Carson McCullers: Member of the Wedding
February - Henry James: The American
March - Richard Ford: Independence Day
April - Louise Erdrich: The Antelope Wife
May - Sinclair Lewis: Arrowsmith
June - Wallace Stegner: Spectator Bird
July - Ursula K. Le Guin: The Left Hand of Darkness
August - Larry McMurtry: Lonesome Dove
September - Flannery O' Connor: Complete Stories
October - Ray Bradbury: Something Wicked This Way Comes
November - Barbara Kingsolver: The Poisonwood Bible
December - E.L. Doctorow: World's Fair

I will make my decisions month to month, I think, but definitely will go for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and Lonesome Dove.

>185 SandDune: Nice list, Rhian!

>186 scaifea: Good one, Amber! I hope you can knock out a few. Fingers crossed.

Brilliant author selection Mark. Count me in as well for the 2015 challenge. Also, I don't like to plan my reading that far ahead. It even doesn't work for me, when I try to make plans for the following month. I will do the same as what I will do for the BAC. I will choose a book just before the month starts.

And again quite a few authors which are new to me. What a wonderful year 2015 will be in regards to widening my reading horizon.

Sigh. I'm really struggling with what to read for the AAC-II in March. Reading about Richard Ford, reading the reviews of Independence Day and Canada.... yuck. The covers of his books usually get my attention in bookstores but I fear I will not enjoy this author's work.

>190 EBT1002: Sorry about the conundrum, Ellen. I had mixed feelings about Canada. This was my type of book and I should have LOVED it, but it is a stand-alone. I am going to read the Sportswriter first, hopefully before March, so I can let you know. I really liked Independence Day, but it has been 20-plus years.

>190 EBT1002: >191 msf59: This challenge has reintroduce me to reading short stories as a way to experience a writer. I found even with Updike I enjoyed the Maple stories when I did not want to read anything else by him.

Richard Ford has a collection of short stories Rock Springs.

^ Thanks for that idea, Roberta. I think I'll go that route with Mr. Ford.

ETA: And Mark, my friend, you need not apologize for creating a conundrum for me. It is your challenge and one creating dissonance for me, out of twelve, is not all that bad!

A little late and a little out of order but I just finished Toni Morrison's Beloved. (That's what I like about these challenges, no rules!) Wow! incredible writing and I look forward reading her other books in the future. Good choice, Mark.

>191 msf59: I am thinking you will really like The Sportswriter if you loved Independence Day, Mark. I really liked it.

>194 Carmenere: Glad you checked in after reading the Morrison. That one is a classic.

>195 LovingLit: Good to know, Megan. Did you read the 3rd book too?

**I hope to get the Larry Watson thread up this weekend.

Hi Mark, I have the third book to go. I tell myself I am saving it, because it is always nice to have something to look forward to. But its length is freaking me out a little. The kind of book I am assuming it will be, means keeping up pace (or risk losing the thin plot). I am gearing up for it....the AACII may be just the prompt

Willa Cather- January - Death Comes for the Archbishop DONE
William Faulkner- February - Knight's Gambit DONE
Cormac McCarthy- March - All the Pretty Horses DONE
Toni Morrison- April - The Bluest Eye) DONE
Eudora Welty- May - Why I Live at the P.O. (short story) DONE
Kurt Vonnegut- June - Cat's Cradle DONE
Mark Twain- July - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County DONE
Philip Roth- August - The Plot Against America DONE
James Baldwin- September - Go Tell It on the Mountain DONE
Edith Wharton- October - Ethan Fromme DONE
John Updike- November - The Witches of Eastwick (loved the movie)
Larry Watson- December - Montana 1948

^That is very impressive, Morph! Swipes at a stray tear...

I'm impressed with those of you who have read the author for each month. Alas, I'm trying to focus more on books already on my shelf, and have on managed about half the authors. However, I do plan to read Larry Watson next month. I loved Montana, 1948, and plan to try Let Him Go in December, if I can get hold of a copy without buying it.

November Status
Willa Cather- January ..............My Antonia ........................... COMPLETED
William Faulkner- February ...... Selected Short Stories ............ COMPLETED
Cormac McCarthy- March ........ All the Pretty Horses .............. COMPLETED
Toni Morrison- April ................ Home .................................. COMPLETED
Eudora Welty- May ................ The Optimist's Daughter.......... COMPLETED
Kurt Vonnegut- June .............. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian... COMPLETED
Mark Twain- July ----------------Innocents Abroad .................. COMPLETED
Philip Roth- August --------------Nemesis ............................... COMPLETED
James Baldwin- September...... Go Tell It on the Mountain ....... COMPLETED
Edith Wharton- October ...........Ethan Frome ......................... COMPLETED
John Updike- November ...........The Witches of Eastwick ......... COMPLETED
Larry Watson- December ......... Montana 1948

I am also full house Mark.
January - My Antonia
February - As I Lay Dying
March - Suttree
April - Sula
May - The Ponder Heart
June - Mother Night
July - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
August - Zuckerman Unbound
September - Go Tell it on the Mountain
October - The Age of Innocence
November - Rabbit, Run

No full house here but I started Rabbit, Run today.

Late starter but full house here too as I finished Rabbit Run this morning. And, glutton for punishment, loaded Rabbit Redux up and ready to go.

Looking forward to next year - this has been brilliant fun.

The Larry Watson thread is up. It is hard to believe this is the final AAC selection for 2014. Swipes away a tear:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/183345#

Babbitt is currently FREE on AMMY. You can not beat this deal. I am actually buying the print book, for 3.50. It looks like it might be one I would like to keep.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P8KUD6S?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=e...

**If you see any of the AAC or BAC books come up, as a bargain anywhere, please let us know!!

I thought this might get people inspired for next July. http://flavorwire.com/492087/flavorwire-excerpt-ursula-k-le-guin-on-how-writers-...

The Kindle version of A Medicine for Melancholy and Other Stories by Ray Bradbury is on sale for $1.99: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C4TJAB0?tag=kiq-dds-20

I didn’t do so well in 2014 but I did enjoy the experience of being introduced to authors that I had never read. I managed 5/12. Only one (McCarthy) had I read before.
Here is what I managed:
Willa Cather- January - O, Pioneers
William Faulkner- February - As I Lay Dying
Cormac McCarthy- March - No Country for Old Men
Eudora Welty- May - Why I Live at the P.O.
Kurt Vonnegut- June - Slaughterhouse-Five

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will try and do better in 2015 for AACII. Bolded are new-to-me authors.

Here are my tentative plans:
January - Carson McCullers- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
February - Henry James - The Portrait of a Lady
March - Richard Ford The Sportswriter
April - Louise Erdrich The Round House
May - Sinclair Lewis - Babitt
June - Wallace Stegner - Angle of Repose
July - Ursula LeGuin - Dispossessed
August - Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove
September - Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood
October - Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
November - Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible
December - E.L. Doctorow - Ragtime

DONE 100%

Willa Cather- January ..............My Antonia ........................... COMPLETED
William Faulkner- February ...... Selected Short Stories ............ COMPLETED
Cormac McCarthy- March ........ All the Pretty Horses .............. COMPLETED
Toni Morrison- April ................ Home .................................. COMPLETED
Eudora Welty- May ................ The Optimist's Daughter.......... COMPLETED
Kurt Vonnegut- June .............. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian... COMPLETED
Mark Twain- July ----------------Innocents Abroad .................. COMPLETED
Philip Roth- August --------------Nemesis ............................... COMPLETED
James Baldwin- September...... Go Tell It on the Mountain ....... COMPLETED
Edith Wharton- October ...........Ethan Frome ......................... COMPLETED
John Updike- November ...........The Witches of Eastwick ......... COMPLETED
Larry Watson- December ......... Let Him Go .......................... COMPLETED

Thanks for hosting this challenge, Mark! It introduced me to several new authors and I enjoyed most of them.

Me, too, LoisB - 100% done!

At heart, I'm a completist, and I did so with the AAC this year. My feelings for the books I read happened to run in exact thirds. Hated four, liked four, LOVED four. I'm giving myself permission to abandon some next year, if they don't suit me. But I enjoyed completely-completing this challenge this year. Great job with your challenge, Mark!

Jan Willa Cather - One of Ours - liked
Feb William Faulkner - Selected Short Stories - liked
Mar Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses - loved
Apr Toni Morrison - Home - liked
May Eudora Welty - The Optimist's Daughter - loved
Jun Kurt Vonnegut - Breakfast of Champions - hated
Jul Mark Twain - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - loved
Aug Philip Roth - Exit Ghost - hated
Sep James Baldwin - The Fire Next Time - hated
Oct Edith Wharton - The Age of Innocence - liked
Nov John Updike - The Witches of Eastwick - hated
Dec Larry Watson - Montana 1948 - loved

I seem to have an aversion to reading things when I'm supposed to.

That being said, I've finished a good number for the challenge:

January--Cather: Death Comes for the Archbishop
February--Faulkner: Absalom, Absalom!
March--McCarthy: Suttree
April--Morrison: Sula
May--Welty
June--Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse Five
July--Twain: Letters from the Earth
August--Roth
September--Baldwin
October--Wharton
November--Updike: Rabbit, Run
December--Watson: Laura (will finish this weekend)

So: 66%
Not too bad for a recalcitrant old lady.

I enjoyed the challenge and reading familiar and new authors. I just like to go at my own mulish speed.

2014

I didn't do so good on my American Authors Challenge. I managed 4 out of 12:

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (January)
The Hamlet by William Faulkner (February) - I plan to read the rest of this trilogy next year
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (April)
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (October)

I had read other work by each of the above writers, but not these works.

I did however read a number of books by other American writers:

Non-Fiction

The Writing Life Annie Dillard (re-read)
Sempre Susan Sigrid Nunez (the author may not be American, but the subject was)
Standing in the Light Sharman Apt Russell
Woolgathering Patti Smith
Margaret Fuller: A New American Life Megan Marshall
Andrew Wyeth: A spoken self-portrait with Richard Merryman
Rainbow in the Cloud Maya Angelou

Fiction

Tinkers Paul Harding
Lila Marilynne Robinson
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter Tom Franklin

And we lost precious and wise, Maya Angelou (among others I am sure)



2015

Here's what I am thinking:

January: Carson McCullers Ballad of Sad Cafe
February: Henry James some of his short stories, and maybe a novel tbc
March: Richard Ford Canada its been on the pile a while
April: Louise Eldridge: Love Machine
May: Sinclair Lewis: tbc
June: Wallace Stegner: Angle of Repose I've been wanting to re-read this for a while, and possibly one I haven't read yet - tbc
July: Ursula La Guin The Left Hand of Darkness
August: Larry McMurthy Lonesome Dove I started this a year or so ago, was loving it but not quite in the frame of mind for a slow novel, so I'll return to it.
September: Flannery O'Connor A Circle in the Fire and other Stories
October: Ray Bradbury Martian Chronicles
November: Barbara Kingsolver Prodigal Summer
December: E L Doctorow Ragtime and maybe some essays

All of the above I own except the Eldridge, and I bought the La Guin when I decided to read it as part of the challenge, so 10 of the books will be off the shelf.

Full Sweep...

Willa Cather- January - Death Comes for the Archbishop DONE 7/10 stars
William Faulkner- February - Knight's Gambit DONE 6/10 stars
Cormac McCarthy- March - All the Pretty Horses DONE 6/10 stars
Toni Morrison- April - The Bluest Eye DONE 8/10 stars
Eudora Welty- May - Why I Live at the P.O. (short story) DONE 4/10 stars
Kurt Vonnegut- June - Cat's Cradle DONE 6/10 stars
Mark Twain- July - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (short story) DONE 5/10 stars
Philip Roth- August - The Plot Against America DONE 6/10 stars
James Baldwin- September - Go Tell It on the Mountain DONE 4/10 stars
Edith Wharton- October - Ethan Fromme DONE 5/10 stars
John Updike- November - A&P (short story) DONE 5/10 stars
Larry Watson- December - Montana 1948 DONE 8/10 stars

Stars
4/10 Stars - 2
5/10 stars - 3
6/10 stars - 4
7/10 stars - 1
8/10 stars - 2

So, a pretty even range of stars for the year. I'm happy I read them all. Even the ones I didn't like because at least I tried them.

Go Morphy! Go Morphy! Excellent job! Have you been over to the new AACII thread?

If you hadn't noticed, we were posting at the same time. I added some star information.

No, I haven't been to the new thread yet though I have ordered January's book from the library. I'm still focusing on catching up on the end of this year's stuff.

Good job on the grading Morph! We were close on the Welty, my only AAC letdown but I loved both the Wharton and the Baldwin. And I am glad both your Morrison and Watson were AAC highlights. I am huge fan of both.

Purist Report:

✔1. January: Willa Cather- Death Comes for the Archbishop
✔2. February: William Faulkner- Light in August
✔3. March: Cormac McCarthy- Blood Meridian
✔4. April: Toni Morrison- Home, Jazz
✔5. May: Eudora Welty - The Optimist's Daughter
✔6. June: Kurt Vonnegut- Mother Night
✔7. July: Mark Twain- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
✔8. August: Philip Roth- American Pastoral
✔9. September: James Baldwin- Giovanni's Room
✔10. October: Edith Wharton- House of Mirth
✔11. November: John Updike – The Maples Stories
✔12. December: Larry Watson - Montana 1948

Looking forward to kicking off 2015 with A Member of the Wedding. Thanks, Mark, for this fabulous challenge!

I completed my challenge!

January/Willa Cather- Death Comes for the Archbishop
February/William Faulkner- The Hamlet
March/Cormac McCarthy- All the Pretty Horses
April/Toni Morrison- The Bluest Eye
May/Eudora Welty- A Curtain of Green
June/Kurt Vonnegut- God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian
July/Mark Twain- Life on the Mississippi
August/Philip Roth- The Plot Against America
September/James Baldwin- Go Tell it on the Mountain
October/Edith Wharton- The New York Stories of Edith Wharton
November/John Updike- The Maple Stories
December/Larry Watson- Let Him Go

Great job Anne & Ro! I am very impressed. Let's do it again!!

I'm very satisfied with my 2014 American Authors Challenge:

January
Willa Cather-- Alexander's Bridge and My Antonia

February
William Faulkner-- Mosquitoes and Flags in the Dust

March Cormac McCarthy--Suttree

April Toni Morrison-- Song of Solomon

May Eudora Welty --Delta Wedding

June Kurt Vonnegut -- A Man Without a Country

July Mark Twain-- Life on the Mississippi

August Philip Roth

I skipped Roth, feeling I have read all I ever care to of his work. So In August I introduced myself to the graphic novels of Lynd Ward, who I knew nothing at all about until I received a two volume set of his "novels without words, in woodcuts" as part of a legacy of over 200 Library of America volumes in 2012.

September James Baldwin-- Go Tell it on the Mountain and The Fire Next Time

October Edith Wharton --The Custom of the Country and
Short fiction "Bewitched" and"The Hermit and the Wild Woman"

November John Updike -- Completed the following selections from Due Considerations : "The Future of Faith", "My Life in Cars"; "Extended Performance" (A review of The Wizard of the Crow); "Pre-Gay Gray" This book remains on my nightstand, as I intend to read more of his reviews and essays. I was unexpectedly impressed by his non-fiction.

December Larry Watson - Justice