Rebecca's 888 challenge

Great idea! :-)

I plan on picking most of the books as I go in the following 8 categories:

1. Books I own (I own waaaay too many books that I've never read)
2. Nonfiction
3. Historical fiction
4. YA
5. Graphic novels
6. Classic literature
7. Canadian authors (multiple books by one author permitted)
8. Just for fun (a.k.a. books that don't fall into any of the above categories)

Books I own category

1. A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini
2. The road by Cormac McCarthy
3. Smashed: growing up a drunk girl by Koren Zailckas
4. Tamar by Mal Peet
5. Me talk pretty one day by David Sedaris
6. Rick Mercer Report: the paperback book by Rick Mercer
7. TBD
8. TBD

Nonfiction category

1. Letter perfect by David Sacks
2. A history of the world in 6 glasses by Tom Standage
3. 20 Hours, 40 Min.: Our flight in the Friendship by Amelia Earhart
4. Shake hands with the devil by Romeo Dallaire
5. Born on a blue day by Daniel Tammet
6. Smashed: growing up a drunk girl by Koren Zailckas
7. I feel bad about my neck by Nora Ephron
8. The Five love languages by Gary Chapman

Historical Fiction category

1. Tamar by Mal Peet
2. Faro's daughter by Georgette Heyer
3. The secret diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell
4. The name of the rose by Umberto Eco
5. Water for elephants by Sara Gruen
6. A thread of grace by Mary Doria Russell
7. The gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
8. The kite runner by Khaled Hosseini

YA category

1. Freak show by James St. James
2. Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher
3. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
4. Forever by Judy Blume
5. Memoirs of a teenage amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
6. Before I die by Jenny Downham
7. Story of a girl by Sara Zarr
8. Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Don't forget that there is some interesting non-fiction by Canadians. You could try Northrop Frye or Lee Smolin.

Have fun,

Robert

Classic literature category

There are some classic books that I have been wanting to get at for years and this is a great way to make myself read them!

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
2. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
6. The great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens
8. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Canadian Authors category

1. The Manticore by Robertson Davies
2. World of wonders by Robertson Davies
3. Little brother by Cory Doctorow
4. Rick Mercer Report: the paperback book by Rick Mercer
5. The gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
6. The birth house by Ami McKay
7. The last Tasmanian by Herb Curtis
8. The girls by Lori Lansens

Graphic Novels category

1. Castle waiting by Linda Medley
2. The Sandman: endless nights by Neil Gaiman
3. Amulet: the stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
4. Death: the time of your life by Neil Gaiman
5. 30 days of night by Steve Niles
6. Wolverine: Origin by Bill Jemas
7. Rapunzel's revenge by Shannon Hale
8. Into the volcano by Don Wood

Just for Fun category

1. The sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
2. Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
3. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
4. How they met, and other stories by David Levithan
5. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
6. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
7. Me talk pretty one day by David Sedaris
8. Blindness by Jose Saramago

Robert > thank you for the tip - Lee Smolin's books sound fascinating!

First one down, 63 to go!

I finished A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini last night (which my boyfriend gave me for Christmas) and really enjoyed it! My sister-in-law raved about it over the holidays and I wasn't disappointed. The characters were just devastating. Wonderful!

I think I'll A history of the world in 6 glasses next as I see it's been getting good reviews here on the site.

What sort of YA are you thinking? One I just read that was quite fantastic was Spud, if you don't mind South African boy's boarding school "unfiltered".

Any kind of YA, really. :) I'm the librarian at a school with grades 7-12 so I do a lot of reading from the library as well as what I call "preview reading" of books that I research and consider purchasing (we have a small budget so I try my best to spend it wisely).

That said, one of the students got Spud for Christmas and raved to me about it so I'll try to either borrow it from her or track it down at the public library. Do you have any other recommendations?

Hmm . . . for YA chick lit, it's hard to touch Meg Cabot; The Princess Diaries is obviously the famous one, but equally it is an undertaking due to the sequels. All-American Girl is quite a nice one there, I think. I . . . um . . . oh dear, I read YA all the time, but generally as "fluff", so it's hard to remember titles. Scanning my library, Lemony Snicket jumps out (wish there was a way to touchstone series . . .)--it's generally shelved in libraries/bookstores as one level younger than "YA", but that's really a choice of "youngest age appropriate"; at least in my opinion, they're amazing for 7-12th grades. But then I may not be the best person to ask, as I recently wrote a 29-page term paper on them for my AP-equivalent English class.

You know, I've never read Lemony Snicket books (although I once went through the series at the library just to read and laugh at the Beatrice dedications). I'll add them to the list, especially if you had enough material for a 29-page paper! Holy smokes!

I've read a few of the Princess Diaries books and enjoyed them. Have you read the Mediator series by Meg Cabot? I've read I think 4 of the 6 books - they're quite good, especially if you're into the paranormal/romance thing (like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - which you must read if you like YA for "fluff" as it is wonderfully fluffy and addictive).

Well, it's quite easy to find material for a 29-page paper in 2500+ pages of primary source material alone. :) And I did have a bit of the "obsessive fan" thing as a child, which helped; for example, I knew who Beatrice was about five years before it was "officially" announced, and there was a lot of stuff bouncing around my head.

I have not read the Mediator books, as it's not really a favorite genre of mine; the thing about Meg Cabot is that, while she's one of my favorite authors, she's so prolific that I've utterly given up ever reading everything she's written.

I feel like I'm plugging this books all over the place...but for a YA list, I'd recommend The Lightning Thief, especially if you're a middle school librarian. That's the age group that can be rewarded the most by a book like this. They're in the midst of learning all that Greek mythology which makes parts of the book much more rewarding.

I read History of the world in 6 glasses and Letter Perfect recently and loved them. I've got a few books in my TBR pile for this challenge that, if they're interesting, I'll be sure to let you know about. They're all about juvenile literature. I'm not a children's or school librarian, but since I'm the liaison to the Education department in my library, I get to be the de-facto children's librarian-all the books and none of the parental challenges!

>12 undeadgoat: Undeadgoat: Meg Cabot definitely is very prolific. I always seem to hear about yet another series or book she wrote.

>13 kaelirenee: Kaelirenee: I read The lightning thief a few months ago and spent a good while recommending it to many, many people (students and adults alike). It's been circulating well and word-of-mouth amongst the students can be thanked for that! Have you read the sequels? I read The sea of monsters (equally great) but not The Titan's curse yet.

I'm currently a few chapters into both A history of the world in 6 glasses and Freak show by James St. James. It took a couple of chapters to get into Billy's voice in Freak show but now I'm hooked.

No-our library doesn't have either of the sequels, but I might see if the public library has it.

I completed the first two books in my YA Fiction category: Freak show by James St. James and Chinese handcuffs by Chris Crutcher.

Freak show, as I mentioned in a previous post, took a few chapters for me to really get into due to Billy's unique voice (and/or James St. James' unique writing style). I ended up enjoying the book and it brings a humourous yet head-on portrayal of what it's like to be an openly gay teenager in a suburban American school. Heartbreaking and uplifting.

Chinese handcuffs was also heartbreaking and not quite so uplifting. I read Crutcher's Whale talk a few years ago and greatly enjoyed it, and Chinese handcuffs was certainly no disappointment. Crutcher's portrayal of abuse, family, sports and teenage relationships (although I find his teen protagonists to be perhaps a bit more worldly and mature than the average high schooler) are second to none and they are presented frankly yet subtly. I really got sucked into Jennifer's plight and the suspense of what was going to happen. Great stuff.

I'm still working through The Count of Monte Cristo and am thoroughly enjoying it.

I finished The Count of Monte Cristo (which, shockingly, does not appear to have a touchstone) a few days ago and greatly enjoyed it. I had started listening to it on Librivox while I knit, but I borrowed the book from the library after suffering through a couple of chapters with a not-so-great volunteer reader. (Note: I generally adore Librivox and the readers and this was the first time I stopped listening to one of their productions due to a reader, although the different pronunciations of characters' names got to me after a while as well.)

At any rate, fantastic book! I thoroughly enjoyed it and was perpetually in awe of Dumas' mastery of writing as he had just dozens of minor events happening but skillfully maintained tension and suspense for hundreds of pages. Phenomenal, and I can definitely understand why it has stood the test of time.

I completed The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian last weekend and thought it was hilarious and heartbreaking. Loved it! Although there's been some discussion surrounding the masturbation scenes and how that impacts the appropriateness of the book for younger teens, I didn't find those episodes graphic or otherwise worrisome. Heck, I think teen boys would appreciate the frankness (I know I did when I read Judy Blume's Deenie - or was it Are you there God? it's me, Margaret? - when I was about 13). I'm definitely planning on getting it for my junior high/high school library.

Speaking of Judy Blume, I finished Forever last night and, while I enjoyed it and thought its depiction of first love and first sex was bang-on, I thought the end was a bit abrupt. Though now that I think of it, a lot of first loves DO end quite abruptly, don't they? :)

Okay, I'm a little behind in my reviews, so here we go!

I listened to Memoirs of a teenage amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin as well as Before I die by Jenny Downham and quite enjoyed them both. Memoirs was entertaining and had a great premise that was expounded quite well, in my opinion, and Before I die was very poignant, heartfelt, and matter-of-fact.

I also completed the first two graphic novels of my 888 challenge: Castle waiting by Linda Medley and Sandman: Endless nights by Neil Gaiman, et al., which were two different breeds. Castle waiting veered off into a far different direction than I had anticipated early on and never did answer a few questions I had that arose from the first few chapters, so it was "okay, but not great" in my opinion. Sandman: endless nights was really interesting and varied, given that every chapter/story was illustrated by a different artist. A great mix of styles and I loved the dark and sometimes comic aspects of the stories.

Today I completed two books: The sparrow by Mary Doria Russell and Story of a girl by Sara Zarr. I whipped through Story of a girl in one sitting and thought it was quite good, but not as good as I had anticipated given the accolades and reviews I've read about it. Perhaps, however, that was because I had only just finished The sparrow which was wonderful, harrowing, and far more multilayered. It came to me highly recommended and I understand why...the last 75 pages were absolutely gut-wrenching. I have the sequel - Children of God - waiting for me and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

I really love Castle Waiting--I've only read it in graphic novel format, but it is a collected comic, not strictly speaking a self-contained "novel", so presumably it is not impossible to find in periodical form, and also a little Google investigation reveals that volume 2 will be coming out some time this year. By way of saying of course there are loose ends not tied up!

Also: Have you read the original Sandman series? I mean, you're probably looking for diversity in your "graphic novel" category, but if it comes down to crunch time . . .

this is coming from a real kid. forever is not one of my favorite judy blume books. try Blubber, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, It's Not the End of the World, and for the boys Then Again, Maybe I Won't. If you already have these then you've made excellent choices.

>20 undeadgoat: undeadgoat: No, I've not read any of the original Sandman series - but I'm more than willing to give them a shot after reading Sandman: endless nights! Should I read them in order? Also, great news about more Castle waiting... :) How's your 50 Book Challenge going?

>21 bookishnikki: bookishnikki: Thanks for the recommendations! I remember reading Blubber years and years ago, as well as Are you there god? It's me, Margaret and Deenie. I also remember Sally J. Freedman - is that the one where the girl moves to Florida and there's something funny to do with the toilets at her new school? Anything else you'd recommend?