avisannschild's 888

This is my first-ever challenge, so I'm excited about coming up with a list of books to read in advance (plus list-making is one of my favourite activities). So far, my categories are:

1 - Classics I own
2 - New authors
3 - Latest books (in paperback) by favourite authors
4 - Non-fiction
5 - SF/fantasy
6 - Mysteries
7 - Family history related (somehow)
8 - Autobiography/biography/memoir

I'm thinking that I might extend the challenge to 88 books, so I have three more possible categories:

9 - Rereads
10 - Books in a series
11 - Books I've been meaning to read for a long time

1 - CLASSICS I OWN

1. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
2. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
4. The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot
5. The Story of Avis by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
6. The Bostonians by Henry James
7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
8. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Edited to place them in chronological order of publication, as I want to read them in that order.

2 - NEW AUTHORS

1. What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin
2. Altar Music by Christin Lore Weber
3. Sitting Practice by Caroline Adderson (Early Reviewer book)
4. Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes
5. Spies by Michael Frayn
6. Certainty by Madeleine Thien
7. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
8. Tamarind Mem by Anita Rau Badami

3 - LATEST BOOKS (IN PAPERBACK) BY FAVOURITE AUTHORS

1. A Troubled Guest: Life And Death Stories by Nancy Mairs
2. Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
3. Saving Fish from Drowing by Amy Tan
4. Blue Water by A. Manette Ansay
5. Solstice Wood by Patricia McKillip
6. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
7. Dogs by Nancy Kress
8. Orpheus Lost by Janette Turner Hospital

Some of these books are not out in paperback yet, so I may have to substitute if they don't come out in time for me to read them in 2008!

4 - NON-FICTION

1. Storming Heaven’s Gate: An Anthology of Spiritual Writings by Women edited by Amber Sumrall and Patricia Vecchione
2. The Undertaking by Thomas Lynch
3. The Spiritual Tourist by Mick Brown
4. One Continuous Mistake: Four Noble Truths for Writers by Gail Sher
5. Essays of E.B. White by E.B. White
6. Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier
7. Writing the Mind Alive by Linda T. Metcalf and Tobin Simon
8. The Woman’s Retreat Book by Jennifer Louden

5 - SF/FANTASY

1. Brain Plague by Joan Slonczewski
2. Slant by Greg Bear
3. The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card
4. Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
5. The Stone War by Madeleine E. Robins
6. The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker
7. The Children of Men by P.D. James
8. TBA

Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip could be my eighth here, but I'd rather avoid overlaps...

6 - MYSTERIES

1. The Shaman’s Knife by Scott Young
2. The Price of Silence by Kate Wilhelm
3. The Last Judgement by Iain Peters
4. Half Moon Street by Anne Perry
5. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
6. Asta’s Book by Barbara Vine
7. Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Baron
8. The Minotaur by Barbara Vine

The Minotaur is the only one of these that I don't currently own, so I may end up replacing it with something else.

7 - FAMILY HISTORY RELATED (SOMEHOW)

1. Lark Rising to Candleford by Flora Thompson
2. Isle of Cane by Elizabeth Shown Mills
3. In a Land of Plenty by Tim Pears
4. Another World by Pat Barker
5. Who We Are: Our Heritage and Horizons — Home Economics in Prince Edward Island in the Twentieth Century by the Home Economics History Committee
6. The Longest Night: 10-11 May 1941 — Voices from the London Blitz by Gavin Mortimer
7. Clouds of Glory: A Hoxton Childhood by Bryan Magee
8. Much to Be Done: Private Life in Ontario From Victorian Diaries edited by Frances Hoffman and Ryan Taylor

8 - AUTOBIOGRAPHY/BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

1. Rebel Daughter by Doris Anderson
2. A Circle of Sisters by Judith Flanders
3. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
4. Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum (Early Reviewer book)
5. Stet by Diana Athill
6. Paradise, Piece by Piece by Molly Peacock
7. A Romantic Education by Patricia Hampl
8. The Liar's Club by Mary Karr

I see that you spend your sleeping hours productively! So do I. Some interesting selections. I hope you post reviews when you've read them. Enjoy.

Perhaps I'm being overly ambitious considering how many books I've read so far (only 3!), but I really want to read 88 books in 2008, so I'm adding three more categories: Rereads, Borrowed Books and Books I've Been Wanting to Read for a Long Time...

So here goes:

9 - REREADS

1. Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
2. Berlin Solstice by Sylvia Fraser
3. Charades or Borderline by Janette Turner Hospital
4. Sleep Thieves by Stanley Coren
5. Spring of Living Water by Karen Lawrence
6. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
7. Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
8. TBA

10 - BORROWED BOOKS

1. Giving Up: The Last Days of Sylvia Plath by Jillian Becker
2. Holes by Louis Sachar
3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
4. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
5. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
6. The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain
7. TBA
8. TBA

11 - BOOKS I'VE BEEN MEANING TO READ FOR A LONG TIME

1. Food by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto
2. In and Out of the Garden by Sarah Midda
3. Why We Garden by Jim Nollman
4. Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself by Patricia Lynn Reilly
5. The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Theodore Roszak
6. As for Me and My House by Sinclair Ross
7. The House with the Blind Glass Windows by Herbjorg Wassmo
8. TBA

I've been neglecting my 888 challenge (or at least haven't been updating it)! In January, I read:

Holes by Louis Sachar (borrowed books)
Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum (autobiography/biography/memoir)
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (borrowed books)
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (rereads)
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (rereads)

I'm rethinking this challenge because at the moment reading 88 books in a year is making me feel panicked. So instead I'm going to aim for 88 with 8 overlaps, so really only 80 books, which feels more doable (hence the change to my ticker).

I've finished 8 books in February so far:

Chocolat by Joanne Harris (borrowed books and rereads)
The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris (latest books by favourite author)
Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel (mysteries)
Storming Heaven’s Gate edited by Amber Sumrall and Patricia Vecchione (non-fiction)
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip (rereads)
Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip (borrowed books and rereads)
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (classics)
Someone Not Really Her Mother by Harriet Scott Chessman (new authors)

I've also posted reviews for some of the books I've read (go to this page to see them: http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=avisannschild), although I'm behind on my reviews as well. Now I just need to redo all my lists...

Hmmm-I like the idea of doing the 88 books. I wanted to read 100 anyways, so I think I might borrow (read: steal) this idea. Good progress, by the way.

Thanks, Kaeli, for the encouragement. I of course "borrowed" the idea in turn from someone else in this group, so you're certainly welcome to borrow it from me! I'm impressed that you've read 18 books so far this year! I'm only up to 13 because I was sick for a week at the beginning of this month...

I enjoyed your review of Kitchen Literacy by the way. The title grabbed my attention, but from your review I'm not sure it's entirely what I would expect (from the title). I'm interested in reading a history of where food comes from (as in where potatoes were originally grown historically as opposed to where the potatoes on my table were grown); I'm hoping the book Food by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto will give me that...

Touchstones not working, unfortunately...

A quarter of the year has passed, so it's time to update my lists! I haven't changed any of my categories, but I've certainly not been sticking to my original lists.

What I've read so far:

1 - CLASSICS I OWN
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (Feb)

2 - NEW AUTHORS
Someone Not Really Her Mother by Harriet Scott Chessman (Feb)
Sitting Practice by Caroline Adderson (Mar)
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Mar)

3 - LATEST BOOKS BY FAVOURITE AUTHORS
The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris (Feb)
Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip (Feb)

4 - NON-FICTION
Storming Heaven edited by Amber Sumrall and Patricia Vecchione (Feb)

5 - SF/FANTASY
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (Jan)
The Stone War by Madeleine E. Robins (Mar)

6 - MYSTERIES
Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel (Feb)
Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings (Mar)

7 - FAMILY HISTORY RELATED (SOMEHOW)
Nothing

8 - AUTOBIOGRAPHY/BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum (Jan)

9 - REREADS
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (Jan)
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip (Feb)
Chocolat by Joanne Harris (Feb)

10 - BORROWED BOOKS
Holes by Louis Sachar (Jan)
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Jan)

11 - BOOKS I'VE BEEN MEANING TO READ FOR A LONG TIME
Nothing

There are four books that could fit into two categories, but for now I'm only counting them once.

What I'm currently reading:
Grasshopper by Barbara Vine (Mysteries)
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (SF/Fantasy)
Why We Garden by Jim Nollman (Books I've been meaning to read for a long time)

My favourite reads so far have been Someone Not Really Her Mother, The Thirteenth Tale (both from new authors and the latter discovered thanks to LT!) and Storming Heaven. I also loved rereading Chocolat and Ammonite! Five great books out of 17 is not bad, especially considering I enjoyed several others on my list as well.

I read seven more books in April:

Grasshopper by Barbara Vine (Mysteries)
The Price of Silence by Kate Wilhelm (Mysteries)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Sisters in Fantasy edited by Susan Shwartz (SF/Fantasy)
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (SF/Fantasy)
Birth Marks by Sarah Dunant (Mysteries)
Lover of Unreason by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev (Non-Fiction)

I seem to have only read three books in May (ack!):

Artificial Things by Karen Joy Fowler (SF/Fantasy)
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton (New Authors)
Wit's End by Karen Joy Fowler (Latest Book by Favourite Authors - though after reading this book I'm not sure about her favourite status!)

That can't be right, though, since I'm claiming I've read 28 books and that only adds up to 27. Oh dear, you know you're not getting enough sleep when you can't remember what four books you read in the last month!

I finally figured out what the missing book was! It's The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe and it fits under my Classics category. So that brings up my total for May to four.

I'm giving up on 80 books this year and going back to 64.

My revised categories:

1. Classics
2. New Authors
3. Favourite Authors
4. SF/Fantasy
5. Mystery
6. Non-fiction
7. Rereads
8. Borrowed Books

I'll redo the lists at the end of this month.

Wow, I thought four books in May was bad, but I only read three in June! They are:

The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex and Other True Stories by Pagan Kennedy
Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

I moved in June, so that contributed to the lack of reading in the last two months...

Well, you did better than I did: I only finished 2 in June, but one of them was also The Woman in White. I don't know about you, but it took me forever to read it! I'm glad I did finally read it, and I liked it, but it won't rank as a favorite book. What did you think of it?

Heya ivyd,

Yeah, it took me forever to read it too! I usually read books pretty fast, but this one took me nearly a month. I actually enjoyed it quite a lot; it's pretty complicated and convoluted, but it sustained my interest throughout. I want to read The Moonstone too, which is saying something (since I don't usually read classics; this is the one type of book that I've read more of this year on account of this challenge)! I don't imagine I'd be inspired to read it again, but it was well worth it, imo.

So to recap what I'd read by the end of June with slightly tweaked categories:

1 - CLASSICS
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (Feb)
The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe (May)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (Jun)

Up next: Probably Great Expectations

2 - NEW AUTHORS
Someone Not Really Her Mother by Harriet Scott Chessman (Feb)
Sitting Practice by Caroline Adderson (Mar)
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Mar)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (April)
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton (May)

Up next: Undecided

3 - FAVOURITE AUTHORS
The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris (Feb)
Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip (Feb)
The Price of Silence by Kate Wilhelm (April)
Wit's End by Karen Joy Fowler (May)

Up next: Probably Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

4 - NON-FICTION
Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum (Jan)
Storming Heaven edited by Amber Sumrall and Patricia Vecchione (Feb)
Lover of Unreason by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev (Apr)
The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex and Other True Stories by Pagan Kennedy (Jun)

Currently reading: Weaving a Way Home
Up next: Either Bottomfeeder or The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

5 - SF/FANTASY
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (Jan)
The Stone War by Madeleine E. Robins (Mar)
Sisters in Fantasy edited by Susan Shwartz (Apr)
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (Apr)
Artificial Things by Karen Joy Fowler (May)

Currently reading: Six Moon Dance by Sheri S. Tepper

6 - MYSTERIES
Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel (Feb)
Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings (Mar)
Grasshopper by Barbara Vine (Apr)
Birth Marks by Sarah Dunant (Apr)
Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker (Jun)

Up next: Undecided

7 - REREADS
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (Jan)
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip (Feb)
Chocolat by Joanne Harris (Feb)

Up next: Undecided

8 - BORROWED BOOKS
Holes by Louis Sachar (Jan)
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Jan)

Up next: Maybe Garden Spells

My three July books are:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Borrowed)
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (Mysteries)
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (New Authors)

I'm right on track at 34 read about halfway through the year!

So in the end, in July, I read 7 books: the three mentioned above plus

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry (New Authors)
Six Moon Dance by Sheri S. Tepper (Favourite Authors)
So Long at the Fair by Christina Schwarz
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Non-Fiction)

I just realized the So Long at the Fair doesn't fit into any of my categories unless I cheat...

I also have just finished With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George, which could fit under Favourite Authors or Mysteries.

Oh dear, I haven't updated this in such a long time... I'm not sure I can remember what I read in the last three months, but I'll try to figure it out.

August
With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George
Aberrations by Penelope Przekop
Polite Lies: On Being a Woman Caught Between Cultures by Kyoko Mori

September
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Late Bloomer's Revolution by Amy Cohen
Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell
The Nettle Spinner by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer
The Corpse Will Keep by Pat Capponi

October
The Richest Season by Maryann McFadden
Farthing by Jo Walton
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

November (so far)
The Grift by Debra Ginsberg

I must have read other books in August, but I can't remember any others at the moment. I will wander around my house and hopefully eventually figure it out... I also have to see where these books fit in my categories!

American Wife yea or nay?
also for Love Walked In?

Hi Shannon,

I felt kinda nya about American Wife (neither yea nor nay). You can read my review here.

I loved Love Walked In! It's very much a fairytale for grownups (so not super realistic, plot-wise), but the characters are great. I highly recommend it.

I've heard good things about Jo Walton's Farthing. What did you think of it when you read it?

Thanks, Renee