christiguc - 888

This sounds like fun! I'll try:

1) Books I borrow
2) Bought on recommendation (in 2008)
3) Books I already own (pre-2008)
4) Rereads (can go into only this category)
5) Non-fiction
6) Virago Modern Classics
7) Books translated into English
8) Mysteries

If books fit more than one category, I'll pick whichever one I feel appropriate. But I reserve the right to move them around if one of my other categories is struggling!

BOOKS I BORROW
Optimistically, I hope that this will help me save money. More than likely, it will just mean that my TBR pile of books owned but not read will grow out of control even more.

1) 01/13/08: North by Seamus Heaney

2) 02/09/08: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

3) 02/24/08: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

4) 03/19/08: Void Moon by Michael Connelly

5) 03/27/08: The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

6) 04/26/08: Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

7) 06/20/08: White Teeth by Zadie Smith

8) 07/19/08: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

BOUGHT ON RECOMMENDATION
Contrary to the intentions above, this category is for books I buy this year purely on recommendation.

1) 01/31/08: Money by Martin Amis

2) 03/15/08: Doreen by Barbara Noble

3) 04/24/08: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

4) 05/16/08: Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim

5) 05/28/08: Mistress in the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

6) 06/22/08: The Pursuit of Love; and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

7) 07/04/08: The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville

8) 07/06/08: Property by Valerie Martin

BOOKS I ALREADY OWN
That TBR "pile" is a monster. Every little bit helps.

1) 02/05/08: Fatlands by Sarah Dunant

2) 03/01/08: The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead

3) 03/20/08: The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout

4) 06/03/08: The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout

5) 07/01/08: Arms and the Women by Reginald Hill

6) 07/10/08: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka

7) 07/28/08: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

8) 08/10/08: The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith

REREADS
Can go into only this category.

1) 01/05/08: Flashman and the Angel of the Lord by George MacDonald Fraser

2) 01/11/08: Middlemarch by George Eliot

3) 02/04/08: The Luck of the Bodkins by P. G. Wodehouse

4) 08/31/08: Mariana by Monica Dickens

5) 10/03/08: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

6) 10/11/08: Oh What a Paradise It Seems by John Cheever

7) 10/16/08: Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene

8) 10/29/08: Orlando by Virginia Woolf

NONFICTION
Although I've never paid attention to distribution before, I think I don't read a lot of nonfiction. Hopefully this won't be too difficult.

1) 01/23/08: In the Blood by Andrew Motion

2) 02/18/08: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

3) 03/25/08: The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari

4) 04/04/08: The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

5) 04/14/08: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

6) 05/13/08: Antonia White: a life by Jane Dunn

7) 06/24/08: West with the Night by Beryl Markham

8) 09/20/08: Christine: SOE Agent and Churchill's Favourite Spy by Madeleine Masson

VIRAGO MODERN CLASSICS
I have many; I've read too few.

1) 01/02/08: The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy

2) 01/27/08: Walking Naked by Nina Bawden

3) 03/07/08: Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison

4) 03/09/08: The Three Sisters by May Sinclair

5) 05/01/08: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

6) 05/23/08: Miss Mole by E. H. Young

7) 06/01/08: The Holiday by Stevie Smith

8) 06/08/08: Troy Chimneys by Margaret Kennedy

BOOKS TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
We'll see how it works out--I hope to have each book that counts here be from a different original language. But that's not a requirement!

1) 01/27/08: He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum (Norwegian - English)

2) 04/01/08: Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Spanish - English)

3) 04/12/08: Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (Arabic - English)

4) 06/10/08: The Tale of the Unknown Island by Jose Saramago (Portuguese - English)

5) 06/11/08: The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares (Spanish - English)

6) 07/23/08: Fault Lines by Nancy Huston (French - English)

7) 08/18/08: The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig (German - English)

8) 09/02/08: Independent People by Halldór Laxness (Icelandic - English)

MYSTERIES
I read a lot of mysteries, so this just gives me a bit of wiggle room on this challenge.

1) 01/08/08: Black Dog by Stephen Booth

2) 01/19/08: Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham

3) 04/19/08: Under My Skin by Sarah Dunant

4) 05/07/08: Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill

5) 05/11/08: The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer

6) 05/19/08: A Dog Among Diplomats by J. F. Englert

7) 06/13/08: Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride

8) 08/03/08: Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin

This one was bought on recommendation and is non-fiction! For now, I'll classify it is non-fiction. In the Blood by Andrew Motion is Andrew Motion's memoir of his childhood years--about his mother and about his growing knowledge and love of reading and poetry.

What do you think of it? I've read some of his poetry, and his biography of Larkin, and enjoyed them both.

I loved In the Blood. I've read Motion's poetry before but hadn't read any of his prose until now. The sketches were inspiring in detail, evoking beautiful precise images. It is told from the perspective of the boy he was at that point, with no benefit of hindsight, and while that form doesn't allow for retrospection from the older, wiser poet, I think it holds truer to memory. And although the lack of a conclusion, moral, or a "what I learned from this" from the adult Andrew Motion left me feeling the book was a bit open-ended, I think that, if viewed as a peek into the past of the development of a great poet, the book is excellent and won't leave you expecting any analysis.

Sounds great - another one to add to the list...

Walking Naked by Nina Bawden. This is a book I already owned and is a VMC. I'll count it under Virago for now.

I'm just listing these to create touchstones. I'm going to change the touchstones above to html links so that the touchstones don't need to reload and I don't need to find the right touchstone everytime I edit the lists above.

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
North by Seamus Heaney
Flashman and the Angel of the Lord by George MacDonald Fraser
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Black Dog by Stephen Booth
Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham

He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum. This was a book I already owned, a mystery, and was translated into English (from Norwegian). I'll put it in the translated category for now.

Edited to add: I just put up a review, if anyone is interested.

Money by Martin Amis--a book bought on a friend's recommendation. The book wasn't to my taste but I can see how Martin Amis could be great. I'll have to try another of his books to see if a different one will be more to my liking.

The Luck of the Bodkins by P. G. Wodehouse. It would fit under the categories of already owned and reread, but since it is a reread, I can only count it in that category. Great book--but I say that about every Wodehouse I've read. :)

Hello!

I noticed you mentioned changing the touchstones to HTML so you wouldn't have to keep reloading...

Pray...do tell! I noticed many of my books are highlighted...then suddenly not! I assume that is do to my editing?

How can I change to HTML so I don't have to keep reloading?

Also, Have you read The Dud Avacado yet? I love the name. I think it just made my "Books I picked because I liked the cover or title" category.

Thanks!

>19 mojo1111:

The Dud Avocado was wonderful! I think it is my favorite book of the year so far.

To make html links, type {a href=/everythingafterthedotcom}your text{/a} (replacing the } with > and the same for the other side).

So, if I wanted to link to this talk topic, I would type {a href=/talktopic.php?topic=28411}christiguc's 888 challenge{/a}.

If I wanted to link to your profile, I would type {a href=/profile/mojo1111}mojo1111{/a}. (substituting side-carrots for the brackets)

I did html links for messages 2-9 because I edit them frequently (every time I finish a book I edit one!). Whenever they are edited, the touchstones need to reload, and since touchstones sometimes have trouble, I think it's more reliable this way. :)

That's good to know - I have a copy of The Dud Avocado on its way to me courtest of ReadItSwapIt.

>21 BeyondEdenRock: Excellent! I hope you enjoy it as well.

I just finished a fun mystery--Fatlands by Sarah Dunant. It was a really quick read, and Hannah Wolfe, the PI narrator, speaks with a natural voice. This qualifies in the categories of mysteries and books I already owned. It'll go into the latter category for now.

That's a lot of typing! I also edit a lot so I'll get to work on that tomorrow. I am pleased to hear you like The Dud Avacado so much. I look forward to reading it!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini--borrowed from a friend.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan--nonfiction and borrowed from library. I saw this title mentioned on alphaorder's reading challenge thread and decided to try Pollan. He told me things I already believed, but in a very readable way. I enjoyed it.

The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco. I've been working through this one for a while now. I didn't like it as much as Foucault's Pendulum, and the intricacies I enjoyed in that book were tedious here. For me, it wasn't enjoyable enough, considering the time it took to read it. It's a pity, because I really enjoyed The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum.

It was a library book, so it is going under the "borrowed" category.

I love Wodehouse! He made it into my 888 list - Books that made me laugh out loud.

>28 cmbohn: I know! There are some authors I need to be in the mood for before I read, but I'm always in the mood for Wodehouse. :)

The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead -- books I owned pre-2008.

I've read two more Viragos--Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison and The Three Sisters by May Sinclair.

I just finished Doreen by Barbara Noble. I'm not quite sure where I get to put this! I bought it this year (for the "social class" theme read in the Girlybooks group), so I'm going to say it counts close enough to Bought On Recommendation.

Book I borrowed - Void Moon by Michael Connelly

Owned pre-2008: The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (could also be classed as mystery)

Two more borrowed:
The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari (counted as non-fiction)
The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman: Nonfiction and bought on recommendation. Counts as nonfiction for now.

Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

Under My Skin by Sarah Dunant

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton - bought this year on recommendation (for Girlybooks April theme read on Women and Beauty)
Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman - borrowed
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - VMC

Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill - mystery

Another quick yet enjoyable mystery: The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer

Two more to add:

Antonia White: a life by Jane Dunn - a biography so non-fiction

Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim - a VMC and bought on recommendation (because many people whose taste I trust were raving about it in the Virago Modern Classics thread--I wasn't disappointed). It'll count under VMC for now.

Hi, how did you find Bones and Silence?

I've always been fond of Dalziel and Pascoe, the tv-adaptation, even though the recent ones are only 'based on the characters by Reginald Hill', but I've never gotten into actually reading the books. So, I guess I know the stories are good (or?) but is he a good writer? Is there any good reason to read them, if I already know the mysteries?

eairo: I apologize for my late reply--I didn't see your question earlier! I've never seen the TV series for Dalziel and Pascoe, so I can't compare the books to the adaptations. However, I will say that I think that Reginald Hill is an excellent writer. There are many TV adaptations of mysteries that I like (e.g., Morse, Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes), but I usually find reading the books worthwhile if the writing is good. And here it is. I find that the books usually are richer in character development, subplots, and descriptions than what a TV serial can capture.

I enjoyed Bones and Silence. I don't know which have been adapted for TV, but On Beulah Height is my favorite of his so far.

A Dog Among Diplomats by J. F. Englert - a mystery, sent to me by the author who was participating in author chat!

Miss Mole by E. H. Young - a wonderful VMC

Mistress in the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin - bought on recommendation from LT user Imprinted. Very good historical mystery, first in series.

Another VMC: The Holiday by Stevie Smith

The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout. It could count as a mystery, but I'm going to put it in the 'owned pre-2008' category.

Troy Chimneys by Margaret Kennedy. Another excellent VMC. (Could also be classified as bought this year). Quite good.

The Tale of the Unknown Island by Jose Saramago

The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares

I liked it--I think the plot and writing style were very fluid. I never really "got" the fugitive, never fully understood his motivations or identified with him, but that may have been a casualty of the translation (language or culture). Nevertheless, I found it completely enjoyable, and I think the ingenuity of the plot and the thoughtfulness of the exploration of ideas make up for the fact that I didn't get emotionally invested in the characters.

Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride - Mystery

The first in his Logan McRae series. I don't think I found the book predictable, but I managed to guess each veer the mystery was going to take quite a bit ahead of time. I don't know. I liked it and will get the next in the series--I just hope it's not the same way.

All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West - VMC

White Teeth by Zadie Smith - a library book.

Just a mid-year assessment: I think I'm doing well. I need to focus on my TBR pile more because not many of my books are in the owned pre-2008 section!

The Pursuit of Love; and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

Bought on recommendation, the recommendation of LT-member Imprinted. Excellent selection--perhaps she should choose some more books for me! :)

West with the Night by Beryl Markham

Classified as non-fiction. An autobiography of the daring aviator and life adventurer, Beryl Markham. Quite good.

The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy

Arms and the Women by Reginald Hill. A mystery and one from my pre-2008 TBR mountain.

Two bought on recommendation (for my Orange July): The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville and Property by Valerie Martin

Owned pre-2008: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka

Library books: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Really depressingly, gut-wrenchingly emotional. Very good.

Fault Lines by Nancy Huston

Another excellent Orange book (Shortlist, 2008). Translated from the French (by the author herself).

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, a play I've owned for a couple years now and haven't gotten around to reading. I'm glad I did.

A mystery: Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin

The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith

This one came off of Mt. TBR after sitting there for about a year. It's the first of his books that I have read, and I will be reading more. (After all, I do own another of his books that is in the TBR line-up).

I'm doing well on my challenge so far. Many categories are finished.

I need to read

2 translated books
1 non-fiction book
5 rereads!!

I guess if I can't find five books that I want to reread before the end of the year, I'll have a hard time justifying why I keep books after I have finished reading them. . .

A German-to-English translation (and a very good read, I say 4.5/5 stars): The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

Reread. It's been 8 years. Mariana by Monica Dickens

An Icelandic-to-English translaton: Independent People by Halldór Laxness

Oh What a Paradise It Seems by John Cheever REREAD

Only two more to go!!! I just need to find two more rereads.

:) Completed! (And in time!)

Hi christiguc!
Congratulations on completing your 888 challenge! What did you think of Independent People? I have been seeing good things about Laxness.
--BJ
ETA Oops! I thought I was on the 50 book challenge page! I hope that I will be able to finish my 888 Challenge before the end of the year.