My Challenge List II

So this last year, I managed to read 40 books. I was hoping for 50 but that didn't happen. Anyhou, I think I'm going to shoot for 30 books from June 1 2008-May 31 2009. Here goes nothing!

1. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

2. Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya

3. Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

4. Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

5. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

6. Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington

7. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

8. With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child Vol 1 by Keiko Tobe

9. With the Light : Raising an Autistic Child Vol 2 by Keiko Tobe

10. Personal Days by Ed Park

11. Clapton by Eric Clapton

12. Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen

13. Books by Larry McMurtry

14. Book of Jude by Kimbery Heuston

15. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

16. Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan

17. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

18. Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

19. Everything is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger

20. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong

21. Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown by Louise S. Robbins

22. Atherton: The House of Power by Patrick Carman

23. Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

24. Things Hoped For by Andrew Clements

25. Crispin: the cross of lead by Avi

26. Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg

27. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

28. Hurricane by Terry Trueman

29. The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture by John Battelle

30. Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan

31. Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

32. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

33. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

34. Smart Women by Judy Blume

35. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

36. Animal Farm by George Orwell

37. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

I thought this book was going to be complete "fluff" from cover to cover, but I was surprised (in a good way) by how much historical information was included, etc. I liked this book ALOT!

39. Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

On the opposite end, this book was really disjointed. I wasn't able to follow the plot very well - too many perspectives/characters to keep straight.

Hi, hansenmk!
You have a great collection of books that you have read! You are well past your goal of 30! Congrats!
--BJ

I found myself doing a lot of flipping back and forth when I read Joy Luck Club, trying to keep everyone straight--I'm still not sure how I felt about that book. You may have convinced me to pick up Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood though...

40. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

All I can say on this one is WEIRD! Really really WEIRD... and in a not good way!!!!

41. Paradise by Toni Morrison

Again, I had difficulty following the plot. It could be just me though..... maybe I've got too much on my mind or something....

42. White Giraffe by Lauren St. John

43. Hole in my Life by Jack Gantos

44. First Part Last by Angela Johnson

45. Interworld by Neil Gaiman

46. The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson

47. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

48. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

49. Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

50. The Field Guide by Holly Black

51. The Seeing Stone by Holly Black

52. Lucinda's Secret by Holly Black

53. The Ironwood Tree by Holly Black

54. The Wrath of Mulgarath by Holly Black

Hi, hansenmk!
Congratulations on topping 50, and it is not even May yet! Yea!! :)
--BJ

A friend recommended A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I really didn't think it was a book I would get into. but I really enjoyed it. I read it in a weekend. I just couldn't put it down. I think I need to read Kite Runner too. Have you read it?

The Kite Runner was fantastic, marisa-w! I actually liked it better than A Thousand Splendid Suns, I'd highly recommend it.

Marisa W,

I agree with space potatoes, Kite Runner is fantastic. I read it last year.

~hansenmk

55. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt

56. Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis

57. Monster by Walter Dean Myers

The format of this book (written like a movie script) was a little distracting at times, but overall it was quite unique and I LOVED it. I've gotta read more of Myers' stuff!!

58. Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary

59. Small Steps by Louis Sachar

60. Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume

Like I said in an earlier post Monster spurred me to read more of Walter Dean Myers books....

61. Shooter by Walter Dean Myers

The audiobook version of this was AMAZING.... different narrators were used for the different people, which was very powerful

62. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

I'd never read a work of fiction about the Vietnam War, so this was very intruiging. I also found it interesting that it was written in the 1980s, not too long after the war ended.

Even though I love Myers work and I'm glad read these three titles, I gotta read something a little lighter now because the subject matter Myers writes about is pretty darn somber!

63. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

This is the first printed book I've read since First Part Last (#44). I drive a lot so most of the books on my list are audiobooks. Anyhou, I enjoyed this one.... Lois Lowry is one of the few fantasy authors I can tolerate.

64. No More Dead Dogs by Gordan Korman

65. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

66. Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce Coville

67. Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

So I know I'm past the end of my goal year, but don't have time to create another topic at the moment. So...

68. Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

69. Gay America by Linas Alsenas

70. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

71. For Boys Only by Marc Aronson

72. From Cover to Cover by Kathleen T Horning

73. Totally Joe by James Howe

74. Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

I read this one earlier this year but had to read it again for a class I'm taking. I was happy to do so though as I absolutely ADORE this book. I think it's now added to my ever growing list of favorite books.

75. Reaching Out by Francisco Jimenez

76. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney

77. Houdini: The Handcuff King by Jason Lutes