Ignatious' 888 challenge

I'm in a little late, but I will use two books I've already read this year. This is a perfect way for me to finish a whole mess of books that wouldn't get read otherwise. It will also help me take a bite out of the 1001 book list. Here goes...

SPORTS BOOKS

1) Pitchers Do Get Lonely
2) Best American Sports Writing 1998
3) The Bad Guys Won
4) Sports Guy
5) Sport and Society in Ancient Greece
6) Bump and Run
7) Landry
8) Pure Baseball

CLASSICS I SHOULD HAVE READ BY NOW

1) For Whom the Bell Tolls
2) Farewell to Arms
3) Dracula
4) 1984
5) Kim
6) Things Fall Apart
7) Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde
8) The Call of the Wild

ANCIENT CLASSICS

1) Aesop's Fables
2) Pilgrim's Progress
3) Don Quixote
4) The Thousand and One Nights
5) Oroonoka
6) Princess of Cleves
7) TBA
8) TBA

BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES

1) Capote
2) Risk Pool
3) Children of Men
4) Stardust
5) Zodiak
6) The Hunt for Red October
7) Dune
8) Children of Men

RELIGION

1) Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen
2) Mark: Tyndale New Testament Commentary
3) The Word of God in English
4) Meaning Based Translation
5) Don't Waste Your Life
6) Names of Jesus
7) Best American Religious Writing 2003
8) Another commentary on Mark...TBA

1001 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE I DIE

1) 2001: Space Odyssey
2) The Book of Daniel
3) Ragtime
4) The Color Purple
5) Dick Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
6) Rabbit Run
7) Rabbit Redux
8) Rabbit Rich

NON-FICTION

1) Inside 9/11 What Really Happened
2) Land Beyond the Nile
3) A Charge to Keep
4) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
5) History
6) Best American Travel Writing 2002
7) Teaching to Change Lives
8) A book on Austria (haven't picked it out yet)

EASY FICTION

1) The Long Walk
2) Vienna Prelude
3) Hawaii
4) A Place of Execution
5) 'A' is for Alibi
6) Vijero
7) Creature
8) The Day of Small Beginnings

If anyone has any suggestions or comments, please go ahead.

1 Down, 63 To Go

OK, I need to read a book every 5.7 days in order to get this thing done, so I am off to a slow start. The first book I tackled is Risk Pool by Richard Russo. This was one of those books that was uninteresting, yet good. There are few writers that can take a mediocre story and make it a fascinating read, Russo does that here. The story is too realistic to be worth anything on its own, but it is colored in great writing. I look forward to reading his other work.

2 Down , 62 To Go

I'm still behind schedule, but I am almost done with three more right now. We'll see how long I can pretend I can read 64 books this year.

I just finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I had an e-copy, and quickly read this on my computer. Parts of the book were laugh-out-loud funny and the tale was pure 'cheeseball' fantasy. While cheeseball usually is used in my vocabulary to describe the sub-par, in this case it is positive. With tones of Douglas Adams humor, Gaiman transforms a plot deprived fairy tale into an enjoyable reading experience. I look forward to watching the movie and also reading some of his other stuff. I enjoyed this work much more than Anasi Boys, the only other book I have read by Gaiman.

I've never read Gaiman, but after seeing him mentioned so often on LT, I'd resolved to read something by him in 2008. So you'd recommend Stardust? Or have you heard of another by him that I should try first?

Thanks!

3 Down, 61 To Go

I just finished reading Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene. I actually had a hard time getting through it, but the history and culture in the story was interesting, I just couldn't get into the story. Like most WW2 books set in Europe, the book causes the reader amazement at what the German War Machine was capable of only 65 years ago. How did this happen?

In regard to Gaiman, I've only read him twice, Stardust being the better of the two. Give him a try if you like Pratchett type fantasy/humor.

4 Down, 60 To Go

I just finished reading Aesop's Fables, all 200 or so of them. They were easy to read, sometimes funny, usually witty. The illustration communicates much better than the stated abstract thought behind the illustration, especially in non-Western societies which prefer to communicate in the concrete rather than the abstract.

Well, I should have 5 read by now, but I have four in the works. Hopefully I can get 5 or 6 read this month.

5 Down, 59 To Go

After almost 15 months, I finally finished Hawaii by James Michener. I have enjoyed the four Michener books I have read now, though long and not terribly exciting, they are written simply and have good educational value. This 1036 page book gives a broad stroke of Hawaiian history, focusing on what Michener calls the 'golden man'. The golden man is one who bridges the West and the East, understanding and being a part of both cultures. I hope to read more of Michener, but I am only going to live so long. I am behind pace, but I think I will catch up this month.

--> 4

The book that got me hooked on Neil Gaiman was Neverwhere, first recommended to me by my husband. I'm not usually a fantasy reader, but loved the plot of this book and Gaiman's dry sense of humor. I've been a fan of this author ever since (and especially since I had the good fortune to hear him speak at the National Book Festival). He's so funny and cute! Plus, I love his accent!! :D

6 Down, 58 To Go

Love him or hate him, A Charge to Keep by George Bush gives a good insight into GW's life and some of his convictions. Written before he was elected president, this short auto-biography is well written and obviously political propaganda for his publicity. I actually like the guy, but in politics I have hard time separating truth from crap.

I am rethinking my 888 challenge. I don't really like the ancient books. Metamorpheses and Don Quioxte are currently boring me, and the others on my list aren't looking promising. Maybe I will have to do some substitution.

Yeah, I enjoy Gaiman. I should try Neverwhere.

7 Down, 57 To Go

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn is a story of an African prince taken as a slave. The bulk of the story though is centered around his relationship with a woman who doesn't have a very good lot in life. I would explain the pathetic things that happen to these two, but it would ruin the fun of the story.

It was written in the 17th century by an African woman. I can't say I really enjoyed the book, but it was so short, I can't consider it a waste of time. I am starting to appreciate the fact that people kept writing books after the 16th and 17th centuries, because those old ones don't appeal to me very much. I wonder if people in the 24th century will be saying that about our contemporary books.

8 Down, 56 To Go

I just finished reading through Mark: Tyndale New Testament Commentaries by R. Alan Cole. I am planning on teaching through the book of Mark this year, so this was a way to get my mind thinking about the book. It was OK, but a bit archaic in language and style. I read along with the Bible one chapter a day for seventeen days. I gleaned a bit, but not as much as I expected.

I need to get two more read this month to keep pace. I should finish A Day of Small Beginnings and For Whom the Bell Tolls this month.