American Author Challenge 2016: General Discussion

Anne Tyler, Richard Russo, Annie Proulx, John Irving, Annie Dillard

January- Anne Tyler: https://www.librarything.com/topic/209590
February- Richard Russo: http://www.librarything.com/topic/218031
March- Jane Smiley: http://www.librarything.com/topic/219663
April- Poetry Month: http://www.librarything.com/topic/220301#5531905
May- Ivan Doig: https://www.librarything.com/topic/222544#
June- Annie Proulx: http://www.librarything.com/topic/223959#
July- John Steinbeck: http://www.librarything.com/topic/225959
August- Joyce Carol Oates: http://www.librarything.com/topic/227795#
September- John Irving: http://www.librarything.com/topic/230694
October- Michael Chabon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/233731#
November- Annie Dillard: http://www.librarything.com/topic/238289#5779417
December- Don DeLillo: http://www.librarything.com/topic/242004#

**Very simple. Pick a book or two 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.

^^I will post the links to each author AAC, next to the author's name for easy access.

Advanced picks for AAC IV 2017:

Octavia Butler
Stewart O' Nan
William Styron
"April Poetry"
Zora Neale Hurston
James McBride
Sherman Alexie
Patricia Highsmith
Short Story September
Colson Whitehead
Ann Patchett
Ernest Hemingway

May Sarton
Dawn Powell
Andre Dubus
Amy Tan
Tobias Wolff
Pearl S. Buck
Julia Alvarez
Russell Banks

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!! This Is Gonna Be Great!!

I'm going to post my pre-season picks right here, Mark. But not today; family frivolity wins this day.

January: Anne Tyler
     Breathing Lessons* ROOT
     The Accidental Tourist ROOT
     Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant ROOT

February: Richard Russo
     Empire Falls* ROOT
     Bridge of Sighs ROOT

March: Jane Smiley
     A Thousand Acres*
     Horse Heaven ROOT
     Good Faith

April: poetry month
     The Golden Trashery of Ogden Nashery ROOT
     John Brown's Body* by Stephen Vincent Benet ROOT

May: Ivan Doig
     Last Bus to Wisdom

June: Annie Proulx
     The Shipping News* ROOT

July: John Steinbeck
     The Grapes of Wrath*
     In Dubious Battle ROOT
     East of Eden ROOT
     Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters ROOT

August: Joyce Carol Oates
     Blonde
     Black Water ROOT

September: John Irving
     The Cider House Rules ROOT

October: Michael Chabon
    Gentlemen of the Road
     The Final Solution

November: Annie Dillard
    An American Childhood ROOT

December: Don DeLillo
    The Body Artist ROOT
     Falling Man ROOT

*Pulitzer Prize winner

Let's see how many I can read this year.

January- Anne Tyler: A Spool of Blue Thread
February- Richard Russo
March- Jane Smiley: Moo
April- Poetry Month
May- Ivan Doig
June- Annie Proulx: The Shipping News
July- John Steinbeck
August-Joyce Carol Oates
September- John Irving
October- Michael Chabon: The Yiddish Policeman's Union
November- Annie Dillard
December- Don DeLillo

Going to try this once again, and hopefully not fail miserably this year. ;)

Not making any promises, Mark, but I am in for Anne Tyler - reading Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, which was recommended by Katie.

me, too, no promises. Just bought Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant for the Kindle. I'll spend sometime this afternoon reading: W&P first, and then Anne Tyler's book. Smiling. Time for reading is in hand.

Love Anne Tyler, library not cooperating sending me the earliest book of hers I could find on their catalogue. Fingers crossed it'll be here before the end of Jan!

I like the looks of this list of authors and would love to dive into some great American writing this year. If they had a memoir or book about writing, I tended to choose that. I'll add a few ROOTS but I also want to connect better with my local library and I suspect I can get many of these there.

January- Anne Tyler A Spool of Blue Thread This is part of Kindle Unlimited so I grabbed a copy. I may still read The Accidental Tourist as my library has a copy.
February- Richard Russo Elsewhere
March- Jane Smiley: Some Luck ROOT
April- Poetry Month Wendell Berry: Not putting a check here as I didn't finish a complete book of poetry but I did read a fair amount of Berry's verse, mostly from the This Day: Collected & New Sabbath Poems
May- Ivan Doig Last Bus to Wisdom ROOT
June- Annie Proulx Bird Cloud: A Memoir (Review
July- John Steinbeck The East of Eden Letters and East of Eden
August-Joyce Carol Oates Where I've Been and Where I'm Going ROOT NOTE: I at least started it in August but am not going to get it done.
September- John Irving The Imaginary Girlfriend and Avenue of Mysteries
October- Michael Chabon Summerland
November- Annie Dillard The Writing Life
December- Don DeLillo White Noise

I downloaded Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant from Overdrive. I was surprised it was available. I guess I'll see if I can get it read in the next 21 days.

>10 witchyrichy: Glad you will be joining us. Good to see you.

>11 thornton37814: I am waiting for my ebook to arrive from the library, Lori. Hopefully it will be in soon.

Here's what I'm thinking so far:
(I will read nothing but ROOTS for this challenge this year)

January- Anne Tyler - Noah's Compass
February- Richard Russo - Bridge of Sighs or That Old Cape Magic
March- Jane Smiley - The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton
April- Poetry Month
May- Ivan Doig I have 8 unread Doig works on my shelf...I'll choose when the time comes
June- Annie Proulx 5 choices on hand here, but I'm leaning toward Bird Cloud, which is a memoir
July- John Steinbeck Again, I'm spoiled for choice, so will defer a decision until I see what appeals to me in July
August- Joyce Carol Oates - The Museum of Dr. Moses
September-John Irving I may try Son of the Circus, which I've abandoned in the past. Otherwise, I think I've read all his best stuff, and the others of his on my shelf are probably not ever going to get read.
October- Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policeman's Union
November- Annie Dillard - Teaching a Stone to Talk I have several more of her non-fiction works and one novel, so this is subject to reconsideration.
December-Don DeLillo - Underworld I expect I will either love it or feel justified in removing its bulk from my shelves, leaving room for 3 or 4 other books.

Nice list, Linda! I am glad you'll be joining us once again. This is one of my favorite things to do, each month.

I am also going to try to read only books I already have on-shelf, so....

January- Anne Tyler - Breathing Lessons
February - Richard Russo - Nobody's Fool
March- Jane Smiley - Horse Heaven
April- Poetry Month - To Be Determined
May- Ivan Doig - The Whistling Season
June- Annie Proulx - The Shipping News
July- John Steinbeck - Cannery Row
August-Joyce Carol Oates - You Must Remember This
September- John Irving - A Widow for One Year
October- Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policeman's Union
November- Annie Dillard - An American Childhood
December- Don DeLillo - Falling Man

Other than DeLillo, I have multiple options for each author, so all of this is, of course, subject to change :)

Go Katie! Go Katie!

I am still amazed at the sheer amount of books, people have on their TBR shelves. Wowza!

Mark, I have to admit I've only read a quarter of the books I own...

Not counting my audio TBRs, I have read, less than a third of my books on shelf. Of course, that is a rough guess.

I have at least six of these authors on my TBR shelves so will join in the months that I can.
Anne Tyler Patchwork Planet will be my January book.
Richard Russo Nobody's Fool for February

>17 Caroline_McElwee: A quarter is good. I don't think I have read as many as that off my own shelves. I have a lot of the BAC and CAC author's books on my shelves but not that many AAC authors. Not sure if I will resort to library books or just give those authors a pass. (I will not buy more books for this challenge. I will not buy more books for this challenge. Maybe if I say it enough times it will sink in?)

I'm going to start Digging to America. I've read a few of Anne Tyler's but don't have any unread on my shelves.

And, may I say, this year's slate of authors looks terrific!

Karen O.

I started Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant last night.

I don't see anyone reading the Anne Tyler book I've chosen: Morgan's Passing. It is my librarian/friend's favorite book by AT.

The author is kind of hit and miss for me. I've liked most of her books and loved a few. It looks like I've read eleven of her books. The highest ratings of 4 stars go to: Saint Maybe, Celestial Navigation, and A Spool of Blue Thread.

>22 thornton37814: >23 Donna828: The Tyler author thread is up. If you can leave your comments over there too, that would be great.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/209590

The Richard Russo thread is up. Stop by and let us know, what you will be reading:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/218031

adding this thread to my list

^Listen to a terrific conversation with John Irving, hosted by Jeanette Winterson. This is from the Guardian Books Podcast. They discuss his latest book, Avenue of Mysteries, which I am reading for AAC, but there are other tasty bits, as well.

http://www.theguardian.com/membership/audio/2016/feb/08/john-irving-in-conversat...

The Jane Smiley American Author Challenge thread is up:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/219663

This seems the appropriate place to share the sad news that Pat Conroy has died of pancreatic cancer.

70 is too young in my book. RIP Pat.

My progress to date:
January- Anne Tyler - The Accidental Tourist
February- Richard Russo - Straight Man
March- Jane Smiley A Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck
April- Poetry Month The After Party: Poems
May- Ivan Doig Last Bus to Wisdom
June- Annie Proulx The Shipping News
July- John Steinbeck Sweet Thursday
August- Joyce Carol Oates Black Water
September- John Irving
October- Michael Chabon
November- Annie Dillard
December- Don DeLillo

For anyone interested in reading Annie Dillard's memoir An American Childhood for the November AAC, it is currently $1.99 on Kindle (US).

Thanks, Katie! I was going to post that. I snagged it!!

>32 katiekrug: That's a great read, too.

>32 katiekrug: Thanks! I just bought it.

^Anyone interested in a John Irving title, to have in reserve for September, A Prayer for Owen Meany is available on Ammy for 2 bucks:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006VE6TCW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=eriq-pwe-20&linkCode...

^And it is one of his best.

>36 msf59: *nods in agreement*

>36 msf59: and >37 laytonwoman3rd: Yep.

We will be reading American Poetry in April. I wanted to post this a bit earlier. Here is the link:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/220301

>39 msf59: Thanks I just bought that one, too.

“Death steals everything except our stories.” ― Jim Harrison

Dec 11 1937- Mar 26, 2016- RIP

"In a career that began in the 1960s — and brought comparisons to Faulkner and Hemingway — Jim Harrison wrote more than three dozen books, including the novels Dalva and True North, the novella Legends of the Fall and many collections of poetry. He died Saturday in Patagonia, Ariz., at the age of 78, his publisher has confirmed to NPR."

Harrison's life was the subject of his 2007 poem "Water."

"Before I was born I was water.
I thought of this sitting on a blue
chair surrounded by pink, red, white
hollyhocks In the yard in front
of my green studio. There are conclusions
to be drawn but I can't do it anymore.
Born man, child man, singing man,
dancing man, loving man, old man,
dying man. This is a round river
and we are her fish who become water."

I have read at least 5 of Harrison's books, starting with Wolf, about 40 years ago. He was a true American writer!

I think I have one novel, and one non-fiction of his. 78 still feels too young to exit.

I have purchased 2 of Jane Smiley's novels as she is to appear at the writer's festival in Auckland in May. So I will belatedly try to read A Thousand Acres in April.

The Ivan Doig thread is up: http://www.librarything.com/topic/222544#

And one more poem about books before April ends...I think we can all relate!

“Bookshelf,” by Robert William Service

I keep collecting books I know
I’ll never, never read;
My wife and daughter tell me so,
And yet I never heed.
“Please make me,” says some wistful tome,
“A wee bit of yourself.”
And so I take my treasure home,
And tuck it in a shelf.

And now my very shelves complain;
They jam and over-spill.
They say: “Why don’t you ease our strain?”
“some day,” I say, “I will.”
So book by book they plead and sigh;
I pick and dip and scan;
Then put them back, distrest that I
Am such a busy man.

>45 Berly: I love it! Thanks, Kim! Can I share it on the Poetry Thread?

Done!!

>45 Berly: What a great poem! I can definitely relate!

^Hooray, I met my first AAC author. How cool is that? And he was as smart, funny and engaging as you would expect. I wish I would have had the chance to gush a bit to him about the AAC but I could not hold up the line.

>49 msf59: Seriously cool, Mark. Maybe you could post it on Russo's FB page, with a bit of a plug for LT and the AAC.

^Enough said...

>50 laytonwoman3rd: I took your suggestion, Linda. It was a fine one.

>49 msf59: >51 msf59: Wonderful photos, Mark!

>49 msf59: Great photo.

>51 msf59: "To Mark and to the AAC" - ha! Love it!

Maybe he'll join in?

>52 msf59: I live to serve!

That's great Mark. Good to see you too.

>53 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! Glad I had the opportunity.

>54 jnwelch: Honestly, I was hoping to have a couple of free minutes to talk to him about the AAC but it did not happen. I didn't want to hold up the line.

>55 laytonwoman3rd: Your work is done, right, Linda?

>49 msf59: >51 msf59: Very cool Mark.

>49 msf59: Looks like you belong at that table, Mark. Too cool!

>58 RBeffa: >59 Familyhistorian: Aw shucks...

>49 msf59:, >51 msf59:
You are on to it. I never thought of this on Friday, when I spoke to Jane Smiley and had her sign my books at the Auckland Writers Festival.
Well done, Mark.

Oh, Helen, that would have been perfect. Funny, I did not think of it immediately. It may have even been that day but at least the bulb went off. LOL.

How was Smiley?

I was impressed by her down to earth manner. We discussed the hand knitted top she was wearing, which she had made herself. She is obviously very approachable. One could easily imagine sitting and chatting to her about everyday things. I guess her books are about the everyday folk in life though.

Here's a fascinating article about a novel that almost didn't see print. Of interest to anyone who loves The Grapes of Wrath and/or The Worst Hard Times, it's a dust bowl novel that was submitted to Random House, and accepted for publication on the basis of early chapters, before Steinbeck began writing his. I hadn't heard of it 'til my daughter brought this article to my attention this morning. 104 LT members have it in their catalog. It's about to be 105.

>64 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks for that, Linda! Whose Names Are Unknown sounds good - I'll be looking for it.

>64 laytonwoman3rd:, 65 Whose Names are Unknown is an excellent book by Sanora Babb. The book's provenance is also fascinating. Interesting to me, Babb went to high school in the panhandle of Oklahoma in the same tiny town where my mother's family settled and still resides.

>66 brenpike: I just love these connections that crop up here from time to time!

>64 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks for the article. I am adding that to my wishlist.

Shamefacedly, despite being a Steinbeck fan, I've not yet read The Grapes of Wrath. It winks at me from time to time.

Interesting article Linda, it goes on the list. Which list? The endless list.

Annie Proulx has a new novel. Just in time for JUNE!!!

>64 laytonwoman3rd: That is a great article, Linda. Thanks! I would love to read Whose Names are Unknown. Grapes remains my favorite novel and I would love to revisit it, later this year.

>70 laytonwoman3rd: I did hear about the new Proulx. A big book too. I have read The Shipping News and Close Range and I was deciding which one of hers to read next month. Do you have a suggestion?

>69 Caroline_McElwee: Steinbeck is July! Your timing could not be more perfect, Caroline. Just sayin'...

>71 msf59: Accordion Crimes is a grand read, Mark. It's hefty and a bit dense, but I really loved it. My review is here. Of course, I see many other reviewers found it depressing. Pffft. I don't recall that. But then, I might like darker stuff than some.

>70 laytonwoman3rd: it's in my basket, it comes out 15 June here Linda.

>71 msf59: quite so! And I can even see it from here, though whether I can get to it via obstacles ... well I've got a few weeks ha.

Adding the Proulx to my wishlist. Thanks folks!

The Annie Proulx thread is up. Stop by and let us know what you are reading:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/223959#

>73 Caroline_McElwee: Glad you can see it from there Caroline. Do not take your eyes off of it. LOL.

Ha Mark. Well, I put my mountaineering togs on, success. I also pulled East of Eden off the shelf. It is years since I tried to read it, but I always threw it aside as it felt quite mysoginistic, he had not one good word for any of the female characters in the first fifty pages, which is as far as I got on the couple of attempts made. I never found the problem in his other works. Of course I saw the film of it several times.

Mr. Steinbeck's thread is up and running. Stop by and let us know what you have planned: http://www.librarything.com/topic/225959#

"The 7 Best Joyce Carol Oates Novels": http://x.e.crownpublishing.com/ats/msg.aspx?sg1=b0b182bef5bb8da33ba15cf8bb3bb10a...

^I stumbled across this interesting and useful list. Oates will be our featured author next month, so the timing is perfect. I will probably be reading/listening to Blonde.

Nice quote, Mark.

I've not read any JCO, yet. Coincidentally, I also have Blonde on the shelf for August. Keep in mind, Mark, that it is certifiably a Deadweight Doorstop. To balance it, I also have Black Water on the shelf, and it is a Wedgie.

Don't let me down now, Joyce Carol.

>80 weird_O: I don't think you will be disappointed by Blonde Bill.

>79 msf59: I've a large collection of JCO books, and maybe read ten over the years, I can't say what my favourites would be, but favourites may not necessarily be equated with best.

Her novella I Lock My Door Upon Myself (1990) is the one I would grab if I could only have one. I don't think you would say it is particularly representative of her work, but then I'm not sure anything will be.

Blonde, Middle Age, The Falls, The Tatooed Girl are all excellent novels.

ETA: I have 47 of her books, probably less than half of those published!

"I have 47 of her books." Wow! I would say that makes you an authority on JCO. LOL. I do not think I have read that many books by one single author.

I plan on reading Blonde.

I'm playing light with the AAC this year, and have never read a JCO story before (that I know of). I remember my mom reading some of her books. I do however have one of hers in an unread Neil Gaiman anthology, Stories. "Fossil-Figures" by Joyce Carol Oates. I might give that a go next month.

>82 msf59: well I've probably only read 10-12 of them so far Mark. I've had to stop buying them until I actually read more of them!

I have three JCO's waiting to be read but I think it will be We were the Mulvaneys which I choose to read. >81 Caroline_McElwee: What a prolific writer. I have only read two of her other books. One short stories and the other Black Girl, White Girl. I have some catching up to do.

The JCO thread is up: http://www.librarything.com/topic/227795#

The John Irving thread is up: http://www.librarything.com/topic/230694

As promised the new poetry thread is up. Stop by and keep spreading the joy: http://www.librarything.com/topic/230813#

The Michael Chabon thread is up: http://www.librarything.com/topic/233731

Hmmm we must be getting near to the time to be thinking of 2017s list....

Hoping to discover some writers I've missed, and putting in a bid for an old favourite:

James Baldwin

I was just thinking the same thing, Caroline..... And a subtle reminder to Mark:

STEWART O'NAN!!!!!

ETA: typo fixed!

Oooh yes, Stuart O'Nan seconded, I have a small pile of his books, purchased after reading Last Night at the Lobster, which I loved.

He has such a good body of work from which to choose - and not enough people know about him!

ETA: 'Lobster' remains my favorite :)

Another vote for O'Nan.

My participation here has been almost null this year but I'd definitely join an O'Nan month; I have several on my shelf.

My "wish list" would be:

Stewart O'Nan
Sue Miller
William Styron
Mary McGarry Morris
Tom Perrotta

and I wouldn't mind some repeats, especially of classic authors like Willa Cather and John Steinbeck or others with large bodies of work....

I promised Katie that O'Nan would be on next year's AAC, so that is a done deal.

I like the idea of adding James Baldwin too.

How is everyone doing on this year's AAC?

I'm up-to-date thru August. I started Annie Dillard's An American Childhood thinking she was September, so now I'm out of sync. Hopefully, I can catch up by the end of the year.

JAMES BALDWIN!!!



eta: I should add I just recently grew my JB collection on the tbr and wishlist...

I really liked the James Baldwin I read when he was part of the challenge in 2014.

So we can nominate repeats?

Baldwin would be a re-visit as well....we did him in 2014. Nothing wrong with having one repeat author in the mix, though.

Here's a list of authors I'd like to see us read together
Robert Penn Warren
Reynolds Price
Walker Percy
Andre Dubus (Sr.)
May Sarton
Dawn Powell
Zora Neale Hurston
Lafcadio Hearn --- NOT an American, but his American Writings are fascinating, and quite appropriate for this challenge, I think.

EDIT: Oh, Snap, Katie. We were typing together there!

I'd second Price and Hurston!

Mark - I realize this is your challenge and you can pick whoever you want, regardless of nominations and seconds. It's just fun to see what people suggest :)

Oops I forgot we had Baldwin already. It's because I'm doing a reread of him at the moment. >96 msf59: Yay re O'Nan.

Looking at the suggested lists above I'd agree with

William Styron
May Sarton
Andre Dubus Snr

All writers I already love. Also looking forward to meeting writers I've missed. This year, for me, that was Ivan Doig especially, and Richard Russo.

AAC 2016 I read something by:

Richard Russo
Ivan Doig
Joyce Carol Oates
Michael Chabon

Planning to read:

Nov: Annie Dillard (latest volume of essays).
And may probably read a Steinbeck in December.

I'm happy with that.

I've been concentrating on reading books already on my massive tbr for all these challenges, so I'll look at that list and see if I can suggest other authors you might consider Mark. Mind you, I know the idea is also to discover authors, but the added incentive to participate is more present when it also means visiting my own shelves...

^I am so pleased to see the love and support this Challenge is receiving. Makes my little heart soar.

I think I will have to add William Styron to the mix. I think I will also continue to do the April Poetry thread.

I can't find my list of possibilities for next year. Shoot!!

>100 laytonwoman3rd: I have not read, Warren, Price, Sarton or Powell and I want to read more Percy. Wow! I have some work to do.

>101 katiekrug: No problem, Katie. I completely understand.

>103 Smiler69: I would also love to read something off the TBR shelves too but it just does not always work out that way. I have discovered some terrific authors on the BAC and CAC and look forward to finding more.

I think repeats are okay, right Mark?

>100 laytonwoman3rd: That is a great list. May Sarton gets a vote from me, along with William Styron and Andre Dubus (Sr.). And yes to Stewart O'Nan, too!

**I started an advanced list of author suggestions, for next year, in Post #3. This will help me out. I would like more female author suggestions and keep in mind, I would like an author with a decent amount of books under his/her belt. This gives us a wider umbrella of books to choose.

>106 EBT1002: I am not sure if we are ready for repeats...quite yet, but I will not completely rule them out.

Would everyone be up for more genre-type writers to be included, like Stephen King, Octavia Butler or Raymond Chandler?

In one way or another you could attach a genre to most writers, so I don't see why more obvious genre writers should be excluded.

Like how the the list in >3 msf59: is shaping up. What about Colson Whitehead. I've only just started hearing about him, but what I'm hearing is good.

>109 Caroline_McElwee: I think Colson Whitehead is a fine choice and that also led me to James McBride. I will include both.

Thanks Caroline.

I think including at least one "genre writer" is a fine idea. I also think we might consider one month letting everyone pick a favorite "sleeper" author -- someone not in any pantheon, who others may not have heard of, and sharing what we find wonderful about that author. In other words, not everyone would be reading the same author at the same time. Or we could make that option an alternative in any month where the chosen author doesn't appeal to you, and possibly have an ongoing separate thread for those discussions.

P.S. to Mark....could you add "2017" to your Post No. 3 above, so it's clear what "next year" you're talking about? Just because the very next post might seem to be a response, and dates nothwithstanding, it might not make sense if anyone comes to this thread for the first time.

Thanks for the suggestions, Linda. Always appreciated. I have added 2017 to post #3. Fine idea.

I should try to find last year's thread, when I was taking recommendations. I will try to save it somewhere next time.

I like the developing list in >3 msf59:.
One typo: it's May Sarton (not Mary).
And yes to a "genre" writer or two. Octavia Butler would be great.
Did we already do Zora Neal Hurston? Or was that a different challenge that I'm remembering? (since maybe not yet ready to dig into repeats)

I'll keep trying to think of women authors who fit to help you out on that score.

Jamaica Kincaid?
Dorothy Allison?
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni?

I had a list of possible AAC authors; now I gotta find it.

Sherman Alexie
Gish Jen
Amy Tan
Tobias Wolff

**How about selling an author to me, especially if they are not as well known? I think I am pretty well read, but there are still a score of authors I have not read. Just give me a reason, a selling point, why they should be included.

>113 EBT1002: No, we have not done Zora Neal Hurston. I corrected Sarton's name. Thanks, Ellen.

>115 weird_O: Go Bill! Go Bill!

Ok, Mark, here's the convincing:

for Sherman Alexie, who would be the first Native American for the AAC. :

"These are things you should learn. Your past is a skeleton walking one step behind you; your future is a skeleton walking one step in front of you. Maybe you don’t wear a watch, but your skeletons do, and they always know what time it is. Now, these skeletons are made of memories, dreams, and voices. And they can trap you in the in-between, between touching and becoming. But they’re not necessarily evil, unless you let them be."

Gish Jen for the immigrant experience:
"A white person was by definition somebody. Other people needed, across their hearts, one steel rib."

Amy Tan for a view of mother/daughter relations in a bi-cultural setting.
“Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh."

And Tobias Wolff for a haunting look at American masculinity:
"When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests, and that falling and dying are for quitters. We live on the innocent and monstrous assurance that we alone, of all the people ever born, have a special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever."

>118 banjo123: This is good, Rhonda. I had thought of Sherman Alexie earlier. A perfect choice. Thanks for the reminder. I like Wolff and Tan as additions too. NEED to read more of both of them.

Not at all familiar with Jen. How much of her have you read?

I'm not sure I can sell you on any of my suggestions, as most are ones I haven't read but have been meaning to. When I make a suggestion, I do try to ensure that there are at least several books to choose from.

I think Rhonda's suggestions are great.

I'd also nominate Russell Banks - he has a large oeuvre (several of which I own and want to read!) and is known for, according to Wikipedia, "detailed accounts of domestic strife and the daily struggles of ordinary often-marginalized characters".

And how about Sarah Orne Jewett or Edna Ferber - we seem to be light on non-contemporary female authors...

Or Julia Alvarez for some diversity?

I can see we have several years worth of prospects here already. I'm already sold on Alexie, heading to click central.

I would second Edna Ferber. Has Pearl S. Buck already been featured in the AAC? If not, I'd suggest her as well. She won a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize.

Booth Tarkington won two Pulitzers and was an influential author in the early 20th century.

It seems like everything that Marilynne Robinson writes is a contender for multiple major awards, but there are only a handful of books to choose from.

What about someone like Carl Sandburg?

I'd also love an excuse to read more of Zora Neale Hurston's works.

>120 katiekrug: Hi, Katie! I have a lot of authors being thrown at me, that I am not familiar with, so I need something to open my eyes with.

I think Russell Banks is a terrific choice. I will add Ferber too. I have never read her. I have not hear of Jewett. I have heard Julia Alvarez mentioned before, as a recommendation but have not read her either.

>122 cbl_tn: Hi, Carrie! Thanks for chiming in. Pearl Buck would be a good pick. Tarkington is not bad either.

I have considered Robinson too, she is one of my favorites, but not sure if she has enough under her belt. I will think about it.

How about Alice Walker? I know she wrote The Color Purple, which was excellent but has she wrote other books that have been worthy reads?

Given your interest in Maine, you might look into Jewett. Her most famous work is The Country of the Pointed Firs.

I only found a list of two dozen possible authors for a nonfiction AAC. Ha! But that's on my Windows laptop and I'm using my Mac just now. So I'll post that tomorrow.

Not finding my old list, I compiled a new one.

Edward Abbey
Isaac Asimov
Nicholson Baker
Thomas Berger
Wendell Berry
T. C. Boyle
Charles Bukowski
James M. Cain
Erskine Caldwell
Truman Capote
Raymond Chandler
John Cheever
Pat Conroy
PKD
Denis Johnson
Jhumpa Lahiri
Madeleine L'Engle
Norman Mailer
Bernard Malamud
Thomas Pynchon
Marilynne Robinson
William Styron
Hunter S. Thompson
Gore Vidal
David Foster Wallace

All courtesy of the commonplace minds of The Weird_o Workshop.

OIC so few ladies on this list. How about Alice Hoffman? Cynthia Ozick? (Larry McMurtry likes her.) Ann Beattie? Leigh Brackett? (Screenplays, but also sci-fi.) Patricia Highsmith? Shirley Jackson? Alice McDermott? Eudora Welty? Meg Wolitzer?

Cynthia Ozick is a good Idea. There was an very intriguing article about her in the NYT a little while ago.

I really like Gish Jen, and have read most of her work, but she is not super-popular. Typical American was my favorite....very funny.

NF female authors: Candice Millard (you'll make Mark happy), Doris Goodwin, Mary Roach (very funny, too), Barbara Tuchman, Lauren Hillenbrand, Katherine Boo (Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a knockout), Isabel Wilkerson, Esmeralda Santiago could all be considered.

In light of the Nobel Prize announcement this morning, I guess we should add Bob Dylan to the list. Perhaps we could have a hootenanny one month, and just sing (or warble) to each other?

>130 laytonwoman3rd: LOL!

>130 laytonwoman3rd: What Joe said!

ETA: Would Dylan fit the poetry category?

If, I say if one were to consider having an American NonFiction Author Challenge, here's my list of contenders cited above (>128 banjo123:).

1. David McCullough
2. John McPhee
3. David Halberstam
4. Shelby Foote
5. Bill Bryson (Iowa-born and bred)
6. Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Richard Rhodes
8. Gay Talese
9. Diane Ackerman
10. Studs Terkel
11. Henry David Thoreau
12. Jon Krakauer
13. Ron Chernow
14. Daniel Okrent
15. Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit, etc)
16. Jill Lepore
17. Susan Orlean (The Orchid Thief)
18. Mary Roach
19. Caroline Alexander
20. Wallace Stegner
21. Erik Larson
22. Tracy Kidder
23. Annie Dillard
24. Walter Isaacson

This list was contrived more than a year ago, I could easily add another dozen.

>132 weird_O: These poets have won the prize before:

Rabindranath Tagore (1913)
W.B. Yeats (1923)
Gabriela Mistral(1945)
T.S. Eliot (1948)
Pablo Neruda (1971)
Czeslaw Milosz (1980)
Octavia Paz (1990)
Seamus Heaney (1995)
Wislawa Szymborska (1996)
Rudyard Kipling (1907)
Romain Rolland (1915)

I've not heard of a couple of those...but it's pretty weighty company.

Mark, since you're our own "606--" guy, how about a month for Chicago authors (like Paul's Yorkshire month)? It could be someone who was born in Chicago or lived a significant time in Chicago. Here's just a small list off the top of my head to start off (you may have done a couple of these in past Challenges, so pardon my duplication):

Theodore Dreiser
Nelson Algren
Richard Wright
Saul Bellow
Studs Terkel
James T. Farrell (Studs Lonigan)
Ernest Hemingway
Scott Turow
Gwendolyn Brooks
Sara Paretsky (The V.I. Warshawsky series)
Sandra Cisneros (The House on Mango Street)
Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)
Adam Langer (Crossing California)
John Green (The Fault in Our Stars)

and I'm sure you could come up with a bunch of your own home-town favorites.

My head is still spinning...I will return. Pant, pant...

>135 kac522: That's an impressive list...and I don't think we have "done" any of those authors yet.

I think Octavia Butler would be a great choice. Also in favor of Studs Terkel. Sandra Cisneros would be good. I like the idea of Booth Tarkington. Nobody thinks of him anymore. What about James Michner? Or Louis L'Amour? They both had a profound effect on popular culture.

There is nothing wrong with doing a repeat as well. I think a Steinbeck or Fulkner would be good.

so many great possibilities.

I have one of Michner's great doorsteps around here somewhere. Funny how writers go out of vogue.

>110 msf59: I will second James McBride as I have him on my TBR shelves. I have enjoyed being part of this group as it has encouraged me to pick up books that have stayed far too long on my shelves. Sadly I have never heard of most of the other American authors suggested above, I am a New Zealander, other than Amy Tan and the classics. I would happily read more of hers.

I always like to be surprised by your final list, Mark. I'm just here to say that I'm hoping you'll continue your challenge with just the one author per month.

Yes to both Colson Whitehead and James McBride! The Underground Railroad and The Good Lord Bird are both sitting on the shelves.

Thanks for all the wonderful support and suggestions. I will update the list up there. It should be a great line up for AACIV.

I've finished my AAC 2016 and I'm looking forward to the next year's challenge. I skipped two months due to not being able to find a book from these authors and the poem month I skipped, too.

January (Anne Tyler): The Beginner's Goodbye (2016-01-29)
February (Richard Russo): That Old Cape Magic (2016-02-17)
March (Jane Smiley): Some Luck (2016-02-22)
April skipped
May skipped
June (Annie Proulx): Brokeback Mountain (2016-06-15)
July (John Steinbeck): Of Mice and Men (2016-07-16)
August (Joyce Carol Oates): Black Dahlia & White Rose (2016-07-24)
September (John Irving): In One Person (2016-10-05)
October (Michael Chabon): The Yiddish Policemen's Union (2016-10-13)
November skipped
Decmber (Don DeLillo): Falling Man (2016-10-19)

>127 weird_O: I like some of those suggestions a lot! I'd definitely be up for Bukowski, Mailer, Pynchon, Thompson, Wallace. I've read something already by all of them except Bukowski.

>127 weird_O: >133 weird_O: are great lists Bill (and I know about lists!)

>135 kac522: I think that is a splendid idea Kathy. If Chicago then why not New York (I guess Mark may agree with you!)

I would certainly like:

Mailer
Malamud
Pynchon
Dreiser
Bellow
Capote
Jackson
Angelou
Walker
Fenimore Cooper
Tan
Sontag
Patchett
Johnson
Styron
Vidal
Tuchmann
Hawthorne
Poe

Perhaps a retro month where you can read any of the authors from previous years that you had enjoyed or wanted to try again

Hmm, not sure about selling it but Russell Banks is an appealing nominee. I did read Cloudsplitter. It was a tome and it was wonderful. I read it well over a decade ago and I well remember scenes and characters. So, that is my pitch for him to be included.

I'll also second the nomination of Julia Alvarez because the works I've read are wonderful but there are several more from which to choose. She is a Dominican-American author and has written novels as well as poetry.

I can't keep track of all the suggestions. Has Thomas Wolfe been done or suggested? I've never read him, but somehow I wound up owning two copies of Look Homeward, Angel. That's not much of a convincing argument, but supposedly Faulkner said Wolfe was the greatest talent of their generation. (But then I'm not a big Faulkner fan...). He only wrote four novels, but lots of short stories, plays, and novellas.

>148 tymfos: I read all Thomas Wolfe's four novels in high school. (I was a very nerdy kid) It is more or less a series, so you kind of need to start with Look Homeward Angel. It's more readable than Faulkner, IMHO, based on my 40 year old memory. I think more like a cross between Carson McCullers and Somerset Maugham

I would be up to read it again (at least LHA), but it might be too obscure, and long, for the group.

>147 EBT1002: I've never read anything by Russell Banks, Ellen, but I found a copy of Continental Drift on the $1 books cart in front of my local used book store (a first edition at that, hardcover complete with dust jacket). The work page here at LT says I am the first LT member to add that book to his/her collections. Huh...

So I am ready perchance The Worbler King picks Banks for the AAC4.

ETA: I knew that couldn't be correct. I just now followed the link in >147 EBT1002: to Russell's Bank's page here at LT and see that 727 members have the book. But I'm not one of them. Going to have to fix that. Never mind that, I'm STILL ready!

>144 Ameise1: Yay! Congrats!

I have had Cloudsplitter on my list for of books to read for years. It is over 1,000 pages so it will take me years to get it read. Maybe I should start it now.

The Annie Dillard thread is up. Stop on by: http://www.librarything.com/topic/238289#5779417

Thanks again everyone for giving suggestions for next year. I will take them all under consideration.

We are very close to our penultimate author. Who is currently 10 for 10? I am! I am!

I am!!

Go Katie! Go Katie! That's my KAK.

Mark, I can see why your head is spinning. We've had many excellent nominations. I second All of them. lol

I trust you completely to come up with another wonderful American Author Challenge for 2017. I have some catching up to do before I can claim completist status for this year. Life has been interfering with my reading time lately.

I don't think I'll ever be a completist in the AAC. I've never been an American lit fan. I'd much rather read the literature of other countries. As long as I read as many or more than I did the previous year I'll count it a success. So far this year I've managed Anne Tyler, Richard Russo, Jane Smiley, poetry month with Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ivan Doig, John Steinbeck, and Joyce Carol Oates. That may be it for the year. That's better than 50%!

It might be fun to put Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett in there as a change of pace.

Louise Erdrich
Leslie Marmon Silko
Jonis Agee
Paulette Jiles
Jennifer Egan
Curtis Sittenfeld
Lydia Millet
Toni Morrison
Gloria Naylor
Ann Patchett
Eudora Welty
Louisa May Alcott
Andrea Barrett

These are a few. I think most of them have a decent selection to choose from.

>160 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! That is a strong list. A few of those, we have all ready featured on the AAC. I think we can keep the AAC going for years to come.
Grins...

I think I am 9 out of ten so far. Mark but I still hope to add a Chabon to my list this month and finish the year with a full house.

I am almost halfway through my normally tortuous and teasing method of selecting the British Author Challenge and I am always keen to see who you will put up as it instructs my reading plans for the coming year.

>160 BLBera: Now that list pleases me as I have about 5 of those authors on my TBR shelves.

The Don DeLillo thread is up. Stop by and let us know what you will be reading: http://www.librarything.com/topic/242004#

No pressure, Mark, but might you be deciding on next year's challenge soon?

>165 katiekrug: You are so right, Katie! I will get it up this week. I have a very good idea, what my line up will be, so I just need to put it together.

Since I am seriously considering, adding William Styron to the AAC 2017, I thought I would mention, that they are having a great Kindle sale, that includes 4 of his books for only 4 bucks total. I snagged it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CLVBADM?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeA...

>167 msf59: Yes, Styron! Yes.

>167 msf59: I would be pleased with the inclusion of Styron. I have read Sophie's Choice and have The Confessions of Nat Turner on the shelves.

I'm going to brag, my copy of Sophie's Choice is signed. I got to hear one of Styron's last speaking engagements a year or so before he died, and was one of three people who got their book signed.

>168 laytonwoman3rd: What are your favorites, of his books, Linda?

>169 PaulCranswick: I might start with The Confessions of Nat Turner, Paul. That one, really sparks my interest.

>170 Caroline_McElwee: Brag away, Caroline. How cool is that? What are your favorites, of his books?

Funny story about my fantastic poorly timed reading choices. When I went to the clinic to have my second child, I told Sophie's Choice along to read. Amazing that I didn't fall into deep postpartum depression.

>171 msf59: I've read three so far, and Sophie's Choice remains top. The story is heartbreaking, wonderful characterisation, superb writing. It's the writing and tone I guess that will bring me back to it.

Thanks, Caroline! I will try to read Sophie's Choice next year. It has been over 20 years since I saw the film.

American Author Challenge 2017

January- Octavia Butler
February- Stewart O' Nan
March- William Styron
April- Poetry Month
May- Zora Neale Hurston
June- Sherman Alexie
July- James McBride
August- Patricia Highsmith
September- Short Story Month
October- Ann Patchett
November- Russell Banks
December- Ernest Hemingway

^Okay, kids, here we go. It's a pretty diverse list and I tossed in a couple genre authors too. I decided to keep the April Poetry month and I added a short fiction month for September. I am sure we all have plenty of story collections sitting on shelf, by American authors. I considered a Nonfiction November but felt there were enough challenges with NF.

Sorry, if your author did not make the cut, but keep in mind there is always '18.

This looks like a good list. I hope I can actually read more of them this time around than last year.

>175 msf59: REALLY HAPPY with that list Mark. I cut down my TBR to 780 fictions from January 1 and of the 10 individual authors I don't have much to do to add to those.

>176 benitastrnad: Have you read Octavia Butler? She seems like a Benita author. Sadly, I have never read her.

>177 PaulCranswick: Glad you like the list, Paul. Do you have any on shelf? I think I have about every author, in one format or another, other than Hurston.

I think I may jump in for a few of these, Mark. I have at least 3 for sure on my shelves, and possibly another 2 (have to check).

So, do I star this thread or is there a new thread for the new year?

>179 jessibud2: We would love to have you tag along, Shelley. The more, the merrier, I always say.

Once the 2017 threads are posted, at the end of next month, I will start the General thread and the Butler thread.

>171 msf59: I have only read Sophie's Choice and A Tidewater Morning, which is a collection of short fiction, Mark. I have several other Styron novels on my shelves, which is why I'm happy to see him included for next year's challenge. I know he can be dark and wordy. Sometimes that's just what I'm looking for!

>175 msf59: I'm likin' that line-up! I'm hoping to get to all of them in 2017.

>175 msf59: Good list, Mark. I especially like the short-story month idea. You're right about that--I've got lots of short-story collections on the shelves, and I generally just read 1 or 2 stories out of each. This will get me to finish an entire volume. Plus I have about 3 or 4 of the others on the shelves, so should help me whittle down the TBR.

Great list, Mark.

>178 msf59: Got something by all of them except Butler and I read and enjoyed her Kindred earlier this year.

>178 msf59: Oh! You are in for a treat with Butler! There are still a couple of hers I need to read, so I may join you in January. And I've been wanting to read another Hemingway, having loved A Moveable Feast and The Sun Also Rises.

(BTW, your Stewart O'Nan touchstone in >3 msf59: goes to the wrong page.)

MARK!!! I love your 2017 line-up! I think I have something to read each month, so I should maintain my purist status :)

Nicelist!

Looks like a great list Mark. Not sure I'll get to them all, but I'll give it a shot!

>181 laytonwoman3rd: "I'm hoping to get to all of them in 2017". Big grin...

>182 kac522: We will start listing story collections, later on, Kathy. To help guide, the uninformed.

>186 katiekrug: It passed the KAK Test! It passed the KAK Test! Hooray!

>188 charl08: Dip in, whenever you can, Charlotte. With all the various challenges going on and our other reading commitments, you read what you can.

I have (and am looking forward to) Kindred by Butler, and I have read (and LOVED!) The Color of Water by McBride. I have 2 other books by him on my shelf so that will be easy for me, too. I also have a book by Zora Neal Hurston. So three for sure, without any problems. Although I am not much into poetry, I think I actually have a couple of slim volumes of poetry on my shelves, too so I can probably meet that challenge as well. As for the others, I'll see what I can come up with. Looks good. Haven't read Hemingway since high school but I'm sure I can find something I haven't read. I am not a re-reader, as a rule - I'm too slow of a reader and there is just way too much I haven't read so I rarely reread (though it has happened, on occasion!).

>175 msf59: impressive list, Mark. Some authors I've never heard of but will have to look into.

Off the shelves and above the wardrobes

Stuart O'Nan - Emily Alone
William Styron - The Confessions of Nat Turner
Zora Neale Hurston - Their Eyes are Watching God
Sherman Alexie - Indian Killer
James McBride - The Good Lord Bird
Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr. Ripley
Ann Patchett - Bel Canto
Russell Banks - Cloudsplitter
Ernest Hemingway - To Have and Have Not

Octavia Butler - I need to go and get something (loved Kindred).

Poetry - Have loads. My poetry collection runs to several hundred titles. Spoilt for choice. Want to add some Robert Pinsky and some Anthony Hecht.

Short Stories - Again I have lots. Thinking maybe Adam Johnson's recent collection or perhaps George Saunders.

>191 lindapanzo: I hope you can discover a few new authors, Linda. That is exactly what this is about.

>192 PaulCranswick: Nice picks, Paul! I may be joining you on a few. Nat Turner, the McBride and Cloudslitter, which I have wanted to read for years.

Ooh, George Saunders...

>175 msf59: As I delve further into these authors, I note that Stewart O'Nan has written a baseball book (with Stephen King). I'll be all over that one. Faithful.

I've read his The Circus Fire and really enjoyed that disaster book.

It's a nice assortment of some I've read but not for awhile, like William Styron, and some I've been meaning to read, like Zora Neal Hurston. Plus some I've never heard of, like Octavia Butler.

>167 msf59: I note that, if someone wanted to take advantage of that great Amazon offer on William Styron books, the price has now jumped to $17. Still cheaper than buying all of the Kindle books separately but much higher than the sale price from earlier in the week.

I really like that list, Mark! Nicely done, and I have most of those authors in the stacks. I am not committing to anything next year except Ellen's re-reading thing, but I might join in here and there with yours. You know I love to be tainted, so I don't have to worry about the purist pressure getting to me.

Great list, Mark. I'll probably participate more than this year.

>194 lindapanzo: The Circus Fire was my first O' Nan, Linda. And it still haunts me. I wish he would write more NF. You will have to let us know how the baseball book goes.

Wow! I can't believe that Styron ebook collection, jumped up so high. Glad I grabbed it early.

>195 Crazymamie: I hope you can join us on a few, Mamie! Yes, hitting "Purist" status, on the AAC is pretty damn special but, is also no big deal. Grins...

>196 jnwelch: Love to see you jump in, Joe! Have you read Butler? She sure seems like your cuppa.

>192 PaulCranswick: Paul, I've read & enjoyed both Their Eyes Were Watching God and Bel Canto. Bel Canto is loosely based on a true event and was made into an opera which had its world premiere last year here in Chicago at the Lyric. I wasn't able to go, but it is a spell-binding story.

>197 msf59: I read her Parable books (very good). I haven't read Kindred.

>175 msf59: a nice mix of writers I've read and writers I haven't Mark. Will ponder what I will read over coming weeks.

I've failed to read more that four from this year's list, but that may hit five when I finish the Dillard essays.

I'm trying not to look at Paul's BAC challenge, but it seems I have eyes in the back of my head...

Thanks for keeping this group on the boil Mark, I do enjoy participating, even if I only read a few.

>175 msf59: Excellent list, Mark. I'll be jumping in for one. That will be Mcbride in July. I read his Miracle at st. Anna years ago and greatly enjoyed it. Since then I have been waiting for the opportunity to read his book Song Yet Sung. This is the time.

Now I've gone and gotten tempted to read a Hemingway. No promises. But, perhaps, For Whom the Bell Tolls.

>175 msf59: interesting list Mark. I'll join in on some! I liked the O'Nan I read earlier this year quite well, so a nudge to read another is good. I'm long overdue to try a novel by Octavia Butler as well. I'll probably go with Dawn or Parable of the Sower.

>201 brodiew2: >202 RBeffa: It is great having the guys along, even for just one or two of the authors. Of course, I would prefer more. Grins...

>203 msf59: I'll certainly be there for Mr Hemingway as well! and undoubtedly another here and there. I'm on facebook as Ron Beffa.

I guess I'm IN for 2017. I'm set for O'Nan, Styron, Banks, and Papa H. I'm familiar with Hurston and Highsmith, but I haven't anything by either on the TBR. The other named authors are essentially unknown to me; don't worry, I'll manage. For poetry and short stories, I might look at anthologies, rather than zero in on a single writer.

Ha, Mark, you'll never guess what I found. I went downstairs to the basement to look in one of my bins for a different book, which of course, I didn't find. But I did find a copy of An American Childhood which I obviously picked up at a library discard sale. And forgot I had. Pity it isn't on the list for the 2017 challenge. But I will read it anyhow!

Thanks for the update of AAC 2017. I'm in but only with seven months due to not finding some authors when checking at my local library.

Not such a great list for me this year. I only have two of these authors on my shelves -James McBride Miracle at St. Anna, which has been waiting a long time and Ann Patchett. I have both State of Wonder and Bel Canto. I will try to check in in July and October.
Thanks for helping me to shift six books this year and introducing me to some new authors.

I really want to read The Confessions of Nat Turner in 2017.

I have read Miracle at St. Anna and have a copy of Good Lord Bird but I have long wanted to read Color of Water, so I think I might do that one over Christmas. I just added Kill 'em and Leave to my wishlist of books I want to read someday and the library has a copy of that. Guess I'll see what appeals to me when it gets closer to the reading time.

>210 benitastrnad: - I listened to The Color of Water on audiobook, read by Andre Braugher. I could listen to that man read the phone book and I'd be hooked. Powerful reader, powerful story. If you can find that version, I would highly recommend it.

>211 jessibud2: Very cool about Braugher reading The Color of Water. I LOVED him on Homicide. His voice is quite distinctive. I'll look for thst as a seconday McBride in 2017.

>212 brodiew2: - Funny, I don't watch a lot of tv and never knew him from tv. I think he was once on a medical show, playing a doctor, single father I think it was. That was my first and only encounter with him and I think I may have only seen a couple of episodes. I do listen to a lot of audiobooks, though, and this was the one that brought him to my full focus. McBride's story is such an amazing one (this story is a memoir, the story of his mother, really), but Braugher's voice had me sitting in the car and not wanting to get out!

For anyone planning to read Styron next year, Sophie's Choice is on sale for Kindle in the US.

^And speaking of Styron, his memoir Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness is available as a Kindle deal. It sounds harrowing:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BBPVYUS?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeA...

I've completed my AMERICAN AUTHORS CHALLENGE 2016!

January: Anne Tyler
..... Searching for Caleb (3 stars) - 1/7
February: Richard Russo
..... Empire Falls (4) - 2/1
March: Jane Smiley
..... Private Life (3.5) - 3/11
April: Poetry Month
..... Why I Wake Early, Mary Oliver (4) - 4/14
May: Ivan Doig
..... This House of Sky (4.5) - 5/5
June: Annie Proulx
..... Close Range (3) - 6/17
July: John Steinbeck
..... Grapes of Wrath (4) - 7/3
August: Joyce Carol Oates
..... The Truth Teller (2.5) - 8/4
September: John Irving
..... The Avenue of Mysteries (1) - 11/18
October: Michael Chabon
..... Gentlemen of the Road (4) - 10/3
November: Annie Dillard
..... The Writing Life (1.5) - 11/5
December: Don DeLillo
..... Zero K (2) -12/11

Average 3.08

>216 countrylife: Way to go!!

btw, if anyone is interested in Bel Canto, Lyric Opera's opera version of Bel Canto will be on PBS's Great Performances in January. Middle of the month, I believe.

>216 countrylife: Yay!

>217 lindapanzo: - Thanks for that tip, Linda!

>216 countrylife: Yeah, Cindy! Great work.

I too have finished the challenge, though I have one last book to read (a second novel by DeLillo). I found it interesting that we only duplicated two books--Empire Falls and Gentlemen of the Road. I read Grapes of Wrath years (and years) ago as well as The Writing Life three or four years ago. Same authors, different books. Neat.

>216 countrylife: Congrats, Cindy. I have one more left to go. I found a novella to read for December's challenge so I hope to be done soon.

I am not sure about the AAC for 2017. When I look at the names and recognize only two of them, it makes be realize how few American authors I actually read.

>221 Familyhistorian: "When I look at the names and recognize only two of them, it makes be realize how few American authors I actually read." That's the "challenge" part! (Which two do you recognize...inquiring minds of an American-literature bent want to know.)

I didn't do much better than last year, completing a Russo, Doig and Oates this year. I'm half throug a Chabon and a Dillard, so may finish one or both of those. But Russo and Doig were new discoveries for me, and I will read more of both, and that's the point for me.

My plan next year will probably be similar to last, to aim for half a dozen AAC books which must include 3 new to me authors. I also want to do a few from the BAC list run by Paul Cranswick (with the same proviso of 50% new to me writers), and maybe six of the Non-Fiction challenge. With my local book group that will make 28 books in some way dictated, a hefty commitment for a mood reader! I also want as many of these as possible to be ROOT reads.

>223 Caroline_McElwee: Hahaha so you were peeking. xx

>216 countrylife: Impressive job, Cindy! Good for you. Glad I decided to skip The Avenue of Mysteries. Whew! I also loved This House of Sky. I wish I could have squeezed in one more Doig.

Look forward to seeing you next year.

>220 weird_O: Good Job, Bill! I still hope to read a seconf DeLillo too.

>222 laytonwoman3rd: "That's the "challenge" part!" Amen, Linda!

>224 PaulCranswick:, dash it, I forgot you loafed in here too...

>227 Caroline_McElwee: :D

>222 laytonwoman3rd: Since you asked, Linda, the two names on the list that I know are Ernest Hemingway, who I have actually read, and Ann Patchett, whose name is familiar from drawling around the threads.

>229 Familyhistorian: I would have bet on Hemingway being one fo the two. I just recently read Ann Patchett for the first time, and I was impressed.

>230 laytonwoman3rd: Yep, no getting away from Hemingway when he is part of the school curriculum. Which Ann Patchett impressed you?

It looks like a great list, Mark!

I've read seven of the authors, but all are ones that I would enjoy reading more. Not to mention that I may join Ellen's challenge in doing some rereading this year and several of these, especially Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Talented Mr Ripley would be fun to reread.

ETA: One of the authors I haven't read is Octavia Butler. I picked up The Parable of the Sower from the library yesterday. I don't read a lot of sff, but I do have a soft spot for dystopian fiction. And how can one miss a black woman who was a pioneer and giant in her field?

I completed - and I do mean COMPLETED!!!! - the 2016 American Authors Challenge.



January: Anne Tyler - The Accidental Tourist DONE
February: Richard Russo - Nobody's Fool DONE
March: Jane Smiley - Private Life DONE
April: Poetry Month - Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins DONE
May: Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun DONE
June: Annie Proulx - Postcards DONE
July: John Steinbeck - The Long Valley DONE
August: Joyce Carol Oates - Jack of Spades DONE
September: John Irving - A Widow for One Year DONE
October: Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay DONE
November: Annie Dillard - Encounters with Chinese Writers DONE
December: Don DeLillo - Pafko at the Wall DONE

It feels like more than a year since I have read some of those, but then, that's the kind of year it has been.

Congrats!

>234 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>233 Familyhistorian:



^Bravo, Meg! Bravo! I do not like to heap a lot of praise on my fellow Purists, (because of the unfortunates) but I will do so anyway. You earned it!

I just started my second DeLillo!

>231 Familyhistorian: I read Patchett's Taft, Meg.

>236 msf59: Thanks Mark, it was touch and go there for a while. Good luck with the DeLillo.

>237 laytonwoman3rd: I thought at first that was a presidential bio, Linda. Definitely not according to the write-up. Any idea of what you are going to read when her month comes up in the AAC?

>238 Familyhistorian: My mother asked me, when she saw me reading Taft, if it was about the President! I think I may try Patron Saint of Liars for the AAC.

>239 laytonwoman3rd: That looks interesting, Linda. I will have to see what is available in the library when Patchett comes up. I miss being able to read something from my TBR for the AAC.

The new General Discussion Thread for 2017 is up. Stop by drop a star and or a comment, hopefully both:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/244600