judylou's 999 challenge

I have come up with the following 9 categories after much thought. I am quite sure that there will be changes along the way, but this is the direction I see the challenge going . . . .

1. Orange Prize Long & Short Listed Books completed
2. Booker Prize Long & Short Listed Books
3. '1001 Books to read before you die' Books completed
4. Books published in 2009 NOW Books from the Library completed
5. Recommendations from LTers completed
6. Recommendations from Friends & Family completed
7. Books in Series
8. Young Adult Books completed
9. Random picks from the TBR Tower

I will select some books for some categories prior to starting, but others will be added during the challenge, and, of course, I welcome any comments you would like to make.




Judy

Orange Prize Long & Short Listed Books

1. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie July
2. Monster Love by Carol Topolski January
3. Rape: a Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates January
4. House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore October
5. The Keep by Jennifer Egan October
6. The Twins by Tessa de Loo October
7. Property by Valerie Martin July
8. Afterwards by Rachel Seiffert July
9. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood January

Booker Prize Long & Shortlisted Books

1. The Van by Roddy Doyle
2. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters August
3. The Children's Book by AS Byatt June
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
5. Paddy Clarke Hahaha by Roddy Doyle October
6. The Famished Road by Ben Okri
7. Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones April
8. The Accidental by Ali Smith September
9. What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn October

'1001 Books to read before you die' Books

1. Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford December
2. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink January
3. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami February
4. The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble September
5. In the Forest by Edna O'Brien November
6. Fury by Salman Rushdie May
7. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick August
8. Middlemarch by George Eliot December
9. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields March

alternate The Body Artist by Don DeLilloFebruary
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor DostoevskyFebruary

Books from the Library

1. The Sinkings by Amanda Curtin March
2. Valley of Grace by Marion Halligan April
3. Verandah People by Jonathan Bennett April
4. DeNiro's Game by Rawi Hage June
5. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas May
6. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist May
7. Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura May
8. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway May
9. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon July

Recommendations from LTers

1. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry March
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman March
3. The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys May
4. Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro May
5. Dear Husband by Joyce Carol Oates June
6. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne June
7. The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan August
8. The City & the City by China Mieville August
9. The Oxford Project by Peter Feldstein October

*Dear American Airlines abandoned

Recommendations from Friends & Family

1. Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink September
2. The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll January
3. The Great Arch by Vicki Hastrich January
4. Everything I Knew by Peter Godsworthy March
5. American Journeys by Don Watson May
6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith May
7. Vertigo by Amanda Lohrey August
8. The Girl on the Landing by Paul Torday August
9. Hater by David Moody August

Books in Series

1. The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket December
2. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett January
3. Sabriel by Garth Nix April
4. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Shikasta by Doris Lessing February
6. The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks March
7. Heaven's Net is Wide by Lian Hearn June
8. The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket August
9.

Young Adult / Children's Books

1. If I Stay by Gayle Forman August
2. Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French February
3. Dear Diary by Lesley Arfin October
4. Before I Die by Jenny Downham June
5. Blood Child by Tim Bowler November
6. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan March
7. Cloudland by Lisa Gorton February
8. Holes by Louis Sachar April
9. The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett June

Random picks from the TBR Tower

1. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews January
2. Due Preparations for the Plague by Janette Turner Hospital February
3. The Submerged Cathedral by Charlotte Wood March
4. Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates April
5. Pobby and Dingan by Ben Rice August
6. The Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz December
7. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez December
8.
9.

My first one done!

The Light Fantastic is one of the early Discworld books. I have previously only read Mort which I thought was great too. I will continue to read this series every now and then.

2. A Complicated Kindness

I stayed up very late last night to finish this one. It just seemed to get better as it went along.

16yo Nomi Nickel lives in a small Mennonite community with her father. She is a rebellious teenager looking for her own identity within the severe restrictions of her religion, and a sad and lonely girl with a beautiful relationship with her sad and lonely father. I think the author has captured the real voice of Nomi, the aloneness of a small town girl. I will be looking forward to reading more of Toews' novels.

3. Monster Love

This is not one for the squeamish! A couple have a baby who is not wanted. They neglect and abuse her and she ultimately dies. The story is told through the perspectives of many different people. Family, neighbours, colleagues, and the parents themselves. I liked the story but . . . I didn't feel the parents were real people. They were just too one dimensional I think. Pure evil. And I choose to believe that no-one is totally evil. However, it was an interesting book.

4. Rape: A Love Story

Another very difficult read - the subject not the writing! A woman and her young daughter are beaten by a group of men; the mother is raped, the daughter manages to escape, but is able to hear her mother being beaten, raped and left for dead. The story follows the path to a form of justice for the perpetrators.

Next up - an easier to read one from the recommendations list!

5. The Good Mayor

I really, really liked this book. A whimsical story in an ambiguous setting about a man and a woman falling in love. There is a little bit of magic and a little bit of fantasy and just a really lovely story.

Currently reading - The Reader

6. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

The first one from my 1001 list . . . .

Michael is 15 when he meets Hanna, twice his age. They have a relationship for about 6 months and Hanna disappears. Michael discovers Hanna's past while he is studying law and it is at this point that he finally understands her secret and what has driven her to make some vital decisions in her life. A very powerful and readable book.

Hi Judy - I am enjoying following your reading.
Your last was one of my most powerful reads of last year. All the more so as it was recommended to me by a delightful German lady in her late sixties, married to an English teacher.

Thanks Julie, I would think that this was a very important book for that generation of Germans. The realization of what had happened during the war and the attempt to either alleviate or address the issues must have been very difficult for all.

Absolutely Judy. And I was so very touched when we began to talk about the issues. Whilst we were acquaintaces and friendly previously, the book really opened up conversations and a much deeper understanding of one another. In fact she was dating an English man very soon after the war and has many memories of that very challenging time.

Hi Judylou!
I love your list and I'll be keeping an eye on your reading! We have some reads in common; I also have a book from Sarah Waters to read, although it is Tipping the Velvet rather than Fingersmith (but this one is my TBR list too!)
I read Atonement and it was a fascinating book, although it felt a little "slow" in some parts.

HI kittykay. Both Fingersmith and Atonement are books that I have been putting off for far too long.

>16 judylou:. I just was the movie The Reader based on the book. I have the book waiting at home to read. I'm hoping it's just as good as the movie. It was very powerful.

I will definitely be going to see that movie.

Hey Judy this challenge looks fun. If you haven't read it already I highly recommend the Percy Jackson series (that covers a couple of categories!).

I loved Suite Francaise such a beautiful story and I thought considering her own story (which is woven in and fascinating if sad) she wrote the Germans in a very humane and understanding way.

Wow, caspettee, I hadn't seen the Percy Jackson series before, but I just had a look at the website and it looks veeeery interesting! Its now on the list!

LOL I hope you like it as much as I did.

Hi Judy, you have some great books in your lists. I have already added to my TBR pile. Will be watching to see the reviews.

Thanks dianestm.

7. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

A wonderful book. A fascinating account of Grace Marks who was accused of murdering her employer and the housekeeper in Canada in the 1800s.

Alias Grace is one of my favorites of Atwood's books. I'm glad you loved it too.

8. The Great Arch by Vicki Hastrich

Another very interesting book. This is an acoount of the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as told by an Anglican minister whose parish is strongly affected through demolition and building upheaval.

I have just finished Duma Key which doesn't really fit into any of my categories, sadly enough, but it was a good story :o)

9. The Body Artist by Don DeLillo

An engrossing, even compelling book. But a little bit strange too! An alternate title for my 1001 category . . . just in case ;o)

10. Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French

The first one from my Young Adult / Children's category. (just amended this category) Not wonderful, but not bad either.

Can Duma Key fit in your ninth category? Is it a random pick from your TBR Tower?

It's only on my virtual TBRs. I am determined to chip away at my real TBRs this year, so have made that category only for books I own! I really need another category - Books from the library that just look good!

Ah, yes. It seems that this year I could use that category too. But I must refocus on that TBR monolith!

11. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

From the 1001 category. I enjoyed this story. A love triangle with a twist.

I finished another one from the 1001 list Notes from the Underground, but I haven't counted it officially, hoping to read all of the ones I have added to the category from my TBR books.

12. Due Preparations for the Plague

Finished this one for my Random Picks category. It is also on my TBR challenge. I liked it!

>35 judylou: :D I'm going to have to add that category to my 999 challenge too, since I'm trying out the library this year and never finding the books on my list that I'm searching for, but usually find something else good to read.

I recognise that category - in my 999 categories it is called Caught My Eye!

13. Shikasta

This was a difficult book to read. It was a very interesting story, confronting and insightful. It is the first of a series of five books. I have books 2,4 and 5. But I'm finding it hard to find no 3.

14. Cloudland by Lisa Gorton

One from the YA / Children's category. Not a bad story. Not wonderful. But a nice good vs evil fantasy.

Hi Judylou,
I've just found your thread and am enjoying catching up on your reading.

I have Fingersmith and Affinity by Sarah Waters to read - hope I like her as much as everyone else on LT seems to!

I'm going to add A Complicated Kindness and The Great Arch to my library list. They both sound really interesting.

Thanks cmt! I have only read The Night Watch so far, but have had a copy of Fingersmith for ages. I am looking forward to it after reading so many wonderful reviews here.

Hey Judy I am currently reading World War Z and loving it. Thanks for the recommend!

That's great Mandy. It is one of those books that doesn't sound like it will be any good, but when you are reading it . . . .

Yea it was great.Such and interesting way to tell the story. Apparently Brad Pitts production company has bought the rights.

That'll be something to look forward to.

No 15 finally finished. A Fine Balance took a long time to read, but geez, it was worth it! I have Family Matters in the Booker category too, so after a bit of a break, I'll be getting stuck into that one as well!

Finished Everything I Knew. A good coming of age story set in a small town in South Australia. Not bad.

The Graveyard Book was a book I was looking forward to. It had a lot of hype happening on different threads, but it wasn't Gaiman's best.

2/9 of the way there with my 18th book finished. The Submerged Cathedral was a beautiful book. I just loved it.

btw, I am changing my "published in 2009" category to "library books" category. I think it will make more sense to do it that way.

Will you tell us something about it? There are no reviews posted on LT!

Finished book 19 - The Elves of Cintra Book 2 in a trilogy. Good fun story.

RidgewayGirl, The Submerged Cathedral is a love story; but not just a love story. The writing is superb and the characters are wonderful. The landscapes play a huge part in the story - from the ocean and the mountains of Australia, to the streets of London and the gardens of Europe. It is, in essence, a story of love, loss and faith.

Hmmm...I'll have to keep an eye out for that one.

The Sinkings was my 20th book. An excellent stroy about a woman with an intersex child who researches an 1800's convict, also intersex, transported to Australia. Both stories are told consecutively.

Finished no. 21 Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief for my YA / Children's category. A good fun story.

The Stone Diaries will be one of my favourites for the year I think.

My 23rd book Valley of Grace was just lovely. Marion Halligan is one of my favourite authors. I have always enjoyed her books. This one did not disappoint!

The Stone Diaries is so good. Imagine being that startled peddlar! I have found all of Carol Shields's books wonderful, especially Larry's Party, although it was absolutely nothing like The Stone Diaries.

RidgewayGirl, I have Larry's Party on the tower - I am keen to read it. I have also liked all of the Shields books that I have read.

I finished no. 24 - Holes, and thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Book no 25 Mr Pip was a stunning book. Just exceptional.

I like how Mister Pip seemed like it was going to be one kind of book and then turned into another.

Bonnie, that is exactly how it was! The book lulled me into a sense of wellbeing - life in the village for Matilda was slow and easy - and then, all of a sudden . . . . .

This sounds like a funny connection, but I remember a looooong time ago when I saw the movie "Rosemarie's Baby." I don't know what kind of movie I thought it was going to be, but I had no idea it was going to involve the devil. And the surprise and then the resulting dread made that movie so tension filled, so much more exciting/satisfying than if I had known more about it going in. Nowadays, with all the previews of movies bombarding us it's so rare to be surprised like that, but I still try to achieve it as a reader. Being on LT sort of defeats this goal, it would seem, but I'm writing down so many book titles that I can pretty much count on not remembering any specifics by the time I get the book! :-)

You are so right! I have such a huge list of books that I have completely forgotten where they came from or why I have them written down. So I choose one every now and then randomly. Sometimes I get a surprise!

Just catching up on your thread you have been busy! I am glad you liked Percy Jackson I have book 2 sitting in my to be ordered pile on fishpond.com.

Mr Pip sounds interesting and I remember the period and the violence on Bouganville in the 90's.

Just read Zombie. It is not for the squeamish. Wonderfully written, but the subject matter is not pleasant.

No 26 is Sabriel - part one of a trilogy and therefore in my Books in Series category. I enjoyed this fantasy tale. It was well written and held my interest throughout.

I enjoyed Sabriel, but for some reason I never went on to read the next two books. Maybe I will give them a try this year.

I enjoyed it enough to hope to find time to read the next two this year.

From my library book category, I read Verandah People. A series of short stories which were not that great, unfortunately.

Another one from the Library - The Slap - shortlisted for the Miles Franklin this year. I thought it was excellent.

I have The Slap on order at the library. Hopefully I will get to it soon as it does look good.

I think you will like it dianestm. It has a lot to say!

Finished book no 29 - from the LT recommendations category. I wasn't overly impressed with The Frozen Thames. Although it is a beautifully presented book, it just didn't do much for me.

My 30th book is from the 1001 category. Fury was a very intense read, but very worthwhile.

Three more read. I really enjoyed Handling the Undead - a story about the dead returning to life, or "reliving". Finished American Journeys which was interesting, but not wonderful and Shipwrecks - a brilliant story about life in medieval Japan.

And another one . . . Ishiguro's Nocturnes (bad touchstones tonight). Loved these short stories of music and the passing of time.

The Cellist of Sarajevo is a wonderful story. I recommend it to everyone.

Book #35 was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which was a bit of a disappointment. The premise was good, but it just didn't quite make it IMO.

Wow Judy you are blitzing the books at the moment. Must be all that cold weather keeping you inside.

There is an irony our cold weather has people going outside. But then again our "cold" is 28 during the day (if we are unlucky its usually 30)and 20 at night LOL. Where as hot has us indoors or in pools.

I am so intrigued by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The premise is so interesting. Why was it disappointing?

Oh, Caspettee, stop showing off! The rest of us have to suffer through freezing cold nights and damp, miserable days! But at least I can boast of owning three pairs of moccies - bet you don't have any!

RidgewayGirl, it just didn't go far enough. Apparently 85% of the original text remained and the other 15% contained the zombie storyline. I don't think it was enough. It just felt like a bit of an afterthought, just tacked on to create an effect. I actually became a bit bored of it.

Number 37 is from the Books in Series category. Lian Hearn's prequel to The Tales of the Otori. Not bad, quite interesting, I'll look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Finished De Niro's Game which was just wonderful.

Halfway there and one category completed (although it was the easiest category - library books). Finished The Children's Book which had a great story, but was bogged down in too much detail (IMO).

Congratulations, judylou, on reaching the mid-way point. Some great reads on your lists. Couldn't drag myself away from Fingersmith. A good book for a cold, wet weekend.

The Slap was worth the wait.

Congrats!

thanks pamelad and victoriapl! I am looking forward to Fingersmith - I will read it, I will! But I have just received The Little Stranger from the library so I will have to read that one first!

What is it they say around here . . . . something like . . . . . too many books too little time . . . . . that is my constant refrain!

Finished The Ghost's Child for my YA category. It was a beautifully written story.

SO past halfway now with book number 42 - Half of a Yellow Sun which is in my Orange Prize category. A beautiful book.

Another Orange book Property read. A very profound novel.

Loved that book! I told myself I was going to read Half a Yellow Sun this month for OJ (it's been sitting on my shelf since January) but I keep avoiding it. Tell me something that you're thinking right now about what you're reading, Judy. I need to get more curious about it.

I was about to type that I really enjoyed Property but that's the wrong word... but I couldn't stop reading.

HOAYS is sitting here waiting for me too, bonnie.

Bonnie and cmt: Half of a Yellow Sun - what can I say?

I guess we have all heard of Biafra. But I'm sure there are many, many people out there who know nothing of its history, beyond war and starvation. This story tells us so much about how the country developed, why war was inevitable and how the people suffered. And it is all told in such an accessible way, through the eyes of wonderful characters.

(I hope that helps!)

And another Orange July book. I really liked Afterwards by Rachel Seiffert.

You said it perfectly!

The Monsters of Templeton was a great read and is another on my just-in-case list for the Orange category.
I also finished The Ersatz Elevator - the next instalment in The Series of Unfortunate Events books.

Finished a "friends and family" category. A good friend recommended this one to me - The Girl on the Landing - but I had mixed reactions to it. While I did find that I liked it, I still found myself being annoyed by it, and was glad when it was finished.

Judylou, I have The Monsters of Templeton out of the library at the moment. I don't know if I'mgoing to get to it before it's due back though - it's that or Burnt Shadows, and not till I've finished Smiley's People... and written a midterm test....

cmt, life just isn't fair . . . . .

Another one from the 1001 category - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

Two more in my Friends & Family category - Hater and Vertigo - couldn't be more different from each other, but both good reads in their own right.

ANother one from the random picks category - Pobby and Dingan - I was a bit disappointed with this one.

And one from the LT recommendations - The Earth Hums in B Flat - I absolutely loved this - 5 stars!

I put it on my wish list. It's not a YA book, is it?

The Earth Hums in B Flat sounds very good. On to my wish list it goes . . .

Bonnie, its not a YA book - just a book that I loved!!!!

Another one from the LT recommendations category - The City and the City - which I thoroughly enjoyed and has made me very curious about Mieville's other books.

Finished a 1001 book. The Red Queen - not one of my favourites though!

Book no 52 - The Accidental could go into three categories. It was shortlisted for a booker prize, orange prize and is in the 1001 books as well. But because I don't seem able to read many Bookers this year - that's wher eit went.

Finished another category with Homecoming by Bernard Schlink. Didn't much like this one but.

Happily I really liked What Was Lost which is in the Booker Prize category.

You didn't say what you thought about The Accidental, but maybe you did on your other threads?

Bonnie, I liked it a lot, but make sure you have a look at my 100 challenge thread.

Finished off another category with The Oxford Project which was quite fascinating. And added a Booker winner with Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha which was excellent!

OK, just to make myself feel better, I have made a few adjustments to the books in the categories. As much as I wanted to read more from my own books, those pesky little library books kept getting in the way. So now I have only 8 more books to read (or books I have already read) to finish this challenge.

I hope I can make it . . .

Judy - well done - you have done brilliantly!

Thank you Julie - I tried my best!

In a last ditch effort I grabbed the smallest book I could find from the tower, Chronicle of a Death Fortold but although an excellent book, it still took me days to read! So unless I get very creative I will have to say I almost made it . . but not quite.

Yes, but the books you chose were interesting and worth spending time over. I'm not sure that reading a specific number is really the goal of this challenge. I mean, we say it is, but...