punkypower's 150 book challenge

edited on 2/11/07

so, two things:

1. I'm reading (or will start! :P) a horror anthology, The Dark Descent. As it's 1024 pages (which if it were one book, would probably be fine, it's just there's so many books I want to read, and can't wait to get to), I think I'm just going to break it down into stories, review them here and add the pages to the word-o-meter. If and when I do finish the anthology, I'll add it as a book.

2. Since my Amazon Wish List is now over 300, and I'm losing track of what I want to read and how I want to read them (not to mention my to be read stacks in the corner just get larger and larger), I'm going to try and make a list of what I want to read. I'll review and touchstone them as I read them.

Preorders
April: White Night (3)
April: Ironside: A Modern Tale of Faerie (24)
July: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow(21)
July:Thursday Next: First Among Sequels: A Thursday Next Novel(19)
August: Seeing Redd (21)
August: Dexter in the Dark: A Novel (14)
August: Fatal Charm(1)

1001 Books to Read Before You Die
House of Leaves
In Cold Blood
Casino Royale
American Psycho
Lord of the Flies
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Choke
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
The Little Prince (reread)
The Razor's Edge (reread)
Middlesex: A Novel
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Black Dahlia
Siddhartha
In a Glass Darkly
The 120 Days of Sodom
A Tale of Two Cities (reread)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (reread)
Trainspotting
Lolita
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings

The Most Challenged Books of the Century
Scary Stories Boxed Set
The Chocolate War
Forever
The Giver
The Color Purple
A Wrinkle in Time
The Outsiders
Blubber
To Kill a Mockingbird (also 1001 booklist)
The Handmaid's Tale
We All Fall Down
Deenie
Brave New World (reread)
James and the Giant Peach
Bumps in the Night
Crazy Lady
The Face on the Milk Carton (reread)
Christine
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (reread)

Horror
The Girl Next Door
The House on Haunting Hill
Cabal
The Turn of the Screw
Ghost Story
Dark Companions
Dark Descent
Cover
Sleep Disorder
Off Season
Offspring: The Sequel to Off Season
The Lost
Ladies Night
Right to Life and Two Stories
Hide and Seek
The Tooth Fairy: A Novel
The Talisman
IT (reread)
Dolores Claiborne
Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James

Crime Fiction
Storm Front
Fool Moon
Grave Peril
Summer Knight
Death Masks
Blood Rites
Dead Beat
Proven Guilty
The Big Over Easy
The Fourth Bear
And Then There Were None
Darkly Dreaming Dexter (for book club on Jokers)
Dearly Devoted Dexter (see above)
The Eyre affair : a novel
Thursday Next in Lost in a good book : a novel
Thursday Next in The well of lost plots : a novel
Thursday Next in Something rotten : a novel

Young Adult
Arabat
Arabat: Days of Magic, Nights of War
Uglies
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
Don't Die, Dragonfly
A Certain Slant of Light
Dark Visions: The Strange Power
Dark Visions: The Possessed
Dark Visions: The Passion
Peeps
The Halloween Tree
Blood and Chocolate

Other Books
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
The Witches
The Menstruating Mall
The Prestige
Peaceable Kingdom
Dead Witch Walking
The Tenth Kingdom
Imajica
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Jim Henson: The Works--The Art, the Magic and the Imagination
The Princess and the Curdie
Gods in Alabama
Practical Demonkeeping
Coyote Blue
Bloodsucking Fiends
Razor Wire Pubic Hair (it's not what you think..hopefully!)
The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

Those I didn't have on my original list and am just buying anyways:
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud (borrowed)
Pretties
Specials
The Seer: Last Dance
American Born Chinese
The Witch's Boy
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Witch Child
Tuck Everlasting
Looking Glass Wars
Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
The Book of Lost Things: A Novel
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson
Fables, Volume One: Legends in Exile
Practical Magic
Sword Play (Seer)
Witch Ball (Seer)
Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie

So that's between 100 and 150, and I'll stick with that list. I'll leave slack for any book clubs, book that you LT'ers recommend, any banned books/1001 books to read before you die I want to get ahead on, etc. IF I don't get to some of these books because I changed my fickle, fickle mind, I'll just laugh at myself and try again with them next year.
edited on 3/12 to hang head in shame

original message:

Hi everyone!!

Just joined the group, and can't wait to get to know everyone!!

I'm so excited about the challenge, I won a "Read a Million Minutes" contest in elementary school, and this challenge will definitely help me get through my Amazon wish list (however, pretty much deplete my checking account! :P)

Books read so far in 2007:

1. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe 416 pages
2. Dolores Claiborne 372 pages
3. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty 253 pages
4. Storm Front 336 pages
5. Fool Moon 352 pages
6. Grave Peril 378 pages
7. Summer Knight 371 pages
8. Death Masks 378 pages
9. Blood Rites 372 pages

Total: 3228 pages

You can do it!

Thanks so much, StBarbarella!! Dead Beat 424 pages
11. Proven Guilty 479 pages

Up until now, Fool Moon has been my favorite of the Dresden Files. Proven Guilty rivals it.

Part of me is relieved that I can move on to other books for now, but the other part wonders how the heck I'm going to make it until April for White Night

Total pages=4131

12. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde 383 pages
13. The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde 378 pages

LOVED these books!! Along the same veins of Gregory Maguire and Angela Carter, Fforde puts a delcious twist on old classics. I'll definitely have to get the Thursday Next series sometime this year!

Total page count=4892 pages

13 / 150
(8.7%)

4,131 / 50,000
(8.3%)

The Thursday Next books are hilarious. You'll enjoy them immensely I think. Doubly so, for I believe the Nursery Crime books are spin-offs of characters that appear in some of the later books in Thursday Next series.

The first book is The Eyre Affair :-).

woohoo! thanks waiting4morning, I'll be getting them ASAP!
Hope we get a release date on his next Nursery Crime book (about the Tortoise and the Hare!)

14. The Witches by Roald Dahl

I can't remember if I read this book as a child or not. It was a fast, fun read, and it's Dahl--nuff said.

201 pages

15. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

Holy. crap. I JUST finished reading this book. Still numb. So I read about it in the Thingamabrarians Go Bump in the Night horror group. Oh this was horror all right. Not ghosts and ghoulies, but real horror. I had to close at night and have to be back in about 4 hours, but I read it all in one sitting. Now I'm an unflappable girl. I LOVE horror movies and books, but nothing ever freaks me out. Minus the clown in Poltergeist as a kid, no story has ever scared or affected me. This one did. There were times I had to shut the book for a few seconds to compose myself, get the anger and scowl off my face. There were times where I was shivering, and it had nothing to do with how cold it was outside. There were two times were I cried. The worst part is, this is based on a true story. I think it'll take awhile to get this story out of my head. As Forrest Gump says, "And that's all I have to say about that."

Man, I really wished I would have waited for The Witches. I could REALLY use a light read now. :(

233 pages
(since this touchstone is a wonky one, here's the link:
http://www.librarything.com/work/38491&book=11595295)

15 / 150
(10.0%)

4,364 / 50,000
(8.7%)

I edited my original message.

I wanted to give myself some direction this year, and prioritize things from my Amazon Wish List--things I REALLY want to read ASAP, and things I've had on there for years and will someday get to.

Also explained about how breaking up my horror anthology The Dark Descent

16. The Menstruating Mall by Carlton Mellick III

Hmm, not exactly sure what I've read tonight. The cover is definitely my favorite part, and the "advertisements" are hilarious. I didn't laugh at loud, but I did find it funny. Not really a fan of the super-large print. Wasn't a favorite, but curious to see his other stuff, although I'd feel very sacreligious reading a book titled The Baby Jesus Butt Plug: A Fairy Tale..things that make you go hmm...

212 pages

16 / 150(10.7%)

4,576 / 50,000(9.2%)

The Haunting of Hill House 246 pages
And Then There Were None 264 pages

WHY did I wait so long to read these classics?! If you're like me and have been putting them off, definitely get them as soon as you can!

Granted, it took me a little bit to get into Hill House. My attention span sometimes wanders, and Jackson is a bit TOO descriptive. I kept re-reading the beginning chapters, trying to tell myself that I needed to concentrate on all these narratives on the house. After I let myself relax, I loved the book. While I love horror, not much frightens me (see Jack Ketchum and Girl Next Door). There were a couple chilling moments in the book, but it was mostly a psychological thriller. Makes me want to rent the black-and-white original movie to see how they treated it.

Read And Then There Were None in practically one sitting. It was THAT delicious. This coming from someone who is not a mystery fan. Kept me guessing until the end, and then I was looking at the pages, "NO WAY!" I will definitely be getting more of Christie's mysteries down the road.

Next up:
Dearly Devoted Dexter for an online bookclub
In Cold Blood
Cabal

18 / 150(12.0%)

5,086 / 50,000(10.2%)

And Then There Were None is one of Christie's absolute classics. She changed the ending for the stageplay version (as she did, in fact, change most of her adaptations to stage), but I like the book better. As someone who's read - eh - maybe 2/3s of her output, now, I would highly recommend The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (the one she became duly famous for) and my personal favorite, just for a good tense thrilling mystery, The A.B.C Murders.

And the original film of And Then There Were None is great, too - although it follows the play. :)

~Sarah

Hi Sarah!!

Just put The A.B.C. Murders on my wishlist for the next order (it will be awhile, unfortunately, just went on a rampage at Amazon this week. ;)

Thanks so much for the advice!! I also have Sleeping Murder and the Murder at the Vicarage I had gotten from my aunt's library when she passed. I will try and add that to my list to read for the year.

Will definitely check out the film. Picked up the original version of "The Haunting" for under ten bucks last night and can't wait to watch it!!

19. Darkly Dreaming Dexter 288 pages
20. Dearly Devoted Dexter 294 pages

I spend a lot of time at Jokersupdates.com. I found it because of the tv show Big Brother, but there is something for everyone over there. My fave forum, of course, is the Book Nook. They made a private forum (anyone can join, however) for a book club. First book up was Dearly Devoted Dexter, as she wasn't aware there was a first. I am so glad she picked this, as I would never have known about these books. I liked them both a lot, they were fast, easy reads. Laughed out loud a few times, and shook my head at others. Will definitely get the third when it comes out this spring.
Just a small plot summary: Dexter passes for a human each day working as a blood splatter analysist. Every now and then, his mind takes the backseat to the Dark Passenger who takes out the bad guys. There's supposed to be a new show on Showtime based on this series.

Darn. The Wordmeter's still down. Anyone else know where we can find a replacement?

20/150 (13.3%)
5666/50000 (11.3%)

edit: as far as what's next, I'm not sure. I'm VERY happy with my motherload delivery from Amazon yesterday (14 books), but what the heck do I read first?!?! Also, I still have In Cold Blood from my last shipment. Ack, I hate these kinds of decisions!

Well, I hope you enjoy The A.B.C. Murders as well as the other ones. From my recollection, Murder at the Vicarage is also quite good - it's the first Miss Marple novel, from a time when just about every Agatha Christie novel was pretty dynamic. I've never been *that* entranced with the Marples, though, so I never got to Sleeping Murder, though I probably saw the TV adaptation 15 years ago. I'll be interested to see what you think.

The Haunting is quite an unusual film...saw it at Halloween. Good, in its way, but your enjoyment may depend a lot on how you see the subtext(s). :)

~Sarah

Sarah--do you ever feel you have too much on your wish list? I have no idea where to put all the Agatha's I want on my list! ;)

Still haven't watched "The Haunting"--I started to, and then my desire to read came over me as usual.

21. Cabal by Clive Barker

This was my first Barker outing (somehow, up until I found LT, I just thought he was a horror director!) So, silly Tanya didn't realize it was the novel "Cabal" (aka "Nightbreed") and four short stories. I was halfway into the first short story, and thinking, "what the heck does this have to do with the story?!" I've been a fan of the movie "Nighbreed" for years, and I enjoyed the novel even more. Barker is a sick, sick man and I for one mean that as a compliment! SLIGHT nit-pick here: Now I'm a pretty easy-going gal. I like dirty jokes and nothing really offends me. Not a fan of the "c-word" though, and Barker likes to use it. a lot.

The short stories were FANTASTIC as well. Honestly, I need to come back and read "Twilight at the Towers." I just couldn't get into it, and I have so much that I want to read that I figure I'd come back to it between deliveries or something.

358 pages

22. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

I love Young Adult stuff. I'll still pick up my old Christoper Pikes or L.J. Smiths. However, it's been WAY too long since I've read anything new in the genre, and I'd heard good things about this book. It's definitely one of the more clever spins put onto vampirism. Also, I learned more about parasites from his book than I did from microbiology or anatomy/physiology. Wow! I can't wait to get into Uglies.

312 pages

22/150 (14.66%)
6336/50,000 (12.67%)

You can never have too much on your wishlist! Yesterday I spent the evening adding all the Newbery Medal winners to my list, after someone suggested a challenge to read them and all the Newbery Honors books.

Is all this interfering with your school work?

Signed, Dad

ArmyAngel-I tried doing a listofbests, like you're doing, but I would have SO many--1001 books to read before you die, Alex Awards, Most Challenged Books, etc...Maybe if I take a vacation soon, I'll sort them all out. Speaking of vacations, did you do anything for Mardi Gras?

MAJ-hehe, are you talking to me or ArmyAngel? I'm done with one degree and won't be going back for anything else until I figure out what I really want to do in life (I thought it was nursing, now I'm wondering whether to stay in retail management, I would REALLY love to be a trio of librarian/writer/dog groomer/animal sanctuary owner)

23. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

(WARNING: spoilers are included toward the end)

MAN!! I was a little reluctant to start this book, as it usually takes me awhile to get into non-fiction. Not so here...if I hadn't been working overnight all week and needed to get some sleep, I would have devoured this in one sitting. It's really odd, but as angry as the--crime seems too soft a word--made me, I still felt some pity for Perry while I felt nothing but contempt for Dick. Funny, since he was the one that actually committed the murders. This book was fanf'ingtastic, and I recommend it to everyone. Definitely can't wait to see Capote now, as I heard what his part in this was.

343 pages

23/150 (15.33%)
6679/50000 (13.36%)

MAJGross was talking to me: he's my dad, lol. I have 22 lists on listsofbests, some of them I'm not even working on, or won't be able to work on for a while! I am looking forward to reading my "Works of Phillipa Gregory" list, I'm thinking about doing that as part of my 50 Books next year.

I think you'll really enjoy Blood and Chocolate. I loved it, and I'm kind of looking forward to/dreading the movie-I love when my favs are turned into movies, but it looks like they sissified the main character.

For Mardi Gras, I went to Mississippi and visited with some friends. No parades for me! I think next year I'll go to New Orleans to see the real deal, but this year I wanted some peace and quiet. You?

Hey ArmyAngel!!

Hehe, sorry, didn't think it could happen, but had to spend some time away from LT--worked major OT and then ran myself into the flu..

Speaking of work, that's what I wound up doing for Mardi Gras. It's funny, I was born and raised in New Orleans, but haven't been to a parade since I was a kid. Now I live in Lafayette, but their ideas of Mardi Gras are slightly more skewered. In one city, they have a boucherie, where they slaughter a pig to celebrate and then feast. In another, they have a courir, where the men get drunk and chase chickens in order to make a gumbo. Hmm, I think like you, I need to get back to New Orleans next year! ;)

So how's school going?What are you going for, by the way?

Man, you guys, I have got to get my act together. My to-be-read pile just gets bigger and bigger and I keep buying more books. Example, I have some books I hear great things about like House of Leaves and Arabat just sitting here, and I can't get more than five or ten pages in because I want to buy books like Looking Glass Wars and American Born Chinese and read them first. Sigh...

24. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

I can't remember if I read this one as a kid or not. Regardless, great stuff as always from Dahl. Reminds me of when there was a time anything was possible, dreams and nightmares alike.

146 pages

25. The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce

Very frigged up. That's about it. I still liked it though. ;)

320 pages

26. IT by Stephen King

It's been years since I've read IT. Reading it this week has just solidified its place as my favorite book ever. I'd recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. (Yes, even young adults. I read it for the first time when I was twelve or thirteen, and I turned out relatively okay. :P)

1090 pages

26 / 150
(17.3%)
8,235 / 50,000
(16.5%)

edited because House of Leaves touchstone is incorrect. I REALLY wish there was one for S.K.'s IT.

You should definitely read American Born Chinese. It's short, so it will give you a sense of progress without actually taking away significant reading time from your TBRs. Plus it's a good book :)

Welcome back, Punky! I know how you feel, I was so busy with school in February I didn't finish any books! But the past two days I finished In the Wake of the Plague and War of the Worlds, so I'm glad to be picking up speed again. Still worn out from classes, though, can't wait for spring break. I've stuck to my goal of not buying any new books, but I've been given a couple, and now my TBR pile is moving back up to what it was before I started the challenge!

I'm working towards double degrees in History and Political Science, with law school as the goal. But the more time I spend in classes, the less likely that looks!

Speaking of IT, someone else read IT for their challenge too, we were talking about how King has a knack for taking every day things and making them scary. I mentioned how IT was the first movie to actually upset me!

Hope you're feeling better!

Zoe! Hey, hey, how's it been going? Thanks so much! I went with your recommendation, and got American Born Chinese in my shipment today. I've never read a graphic novel, and now I have that and Fables: Legends in Exile to break myself in! ;)

ArmyAngel!! That's the good thing about this challenge though, in that you can give yourself a couple of days per month where you just take a break or (gasp!) get school and work done! ;) I say we give up on the TBR pile..Just as long as they don't go up to the attic or away, they'll always be there. Why do you say law school looks less likely? Finding other things you'd rather do? You seem to have a great background for it, but my dad always told me liking your job is 90% of it (hence, I'm still trying to figure out what I like!) :P I LOVE King, but I'm really chicken to try any of his newer stuff..Thanks for the feel better wishes, I'm just running myself down. Got Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate in the shipment today and hope I can finally figure out how to actually do it!

So since Sunday, I've just been devouring books. It's been a young adult week, mostly, and I'm not sure why I can go through two 300+ page books a day..not sure if it's just REALLY a light read or what..I have enjoyed everything I've read, however!

27. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood

When I stopped into work to let them know I'd be out, a friend told me to hold on a sec, ran in her office and bring it out. Her only request was to "pass it on..." This book had it all, was magical without being shmaltzy. Apparently, Sherwood did his research by actually working at a cemetary in all aspects: gravedigger, caretaker, etc. Anyways, small plot summary: Charlie St. Cloud would give anything to take back the night he stole his neighbor's car and took his brother to a Red Sox game. When he discovers he has a gift, he realizes he has a chance to make it all up. A spirited woman comes across his path, and he has to make a choice between the living and the dead.

269 pages

28. Don't Die, Dragonfly by Linda Joy Singleton

Zoe, I think you'd really enjoy this one (and definitely Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale! Sabine has been kicked out by her mom and has moved back to the childhood comfort of her grandmother's farm. She struggles to hide who she is and wants above all to fit in. However, is her newfound popularity worth risking a friend in danger?

269 pages

29. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black
This was a really fun read. Kaye spends her night holding her mother's head over the toilet while she tours with her rock band, but due to her mom's bad taste in men, they move back to their hometown and in with her grandmother. She wonders if her old friends will come to visit her now that she's older. Indeed they do, but before she's reunited with them, she meets the stranger of her dreams. While her old friends warn her of his danger, she's pulled to him. She thus winds up in the middle of a faerie war.

331 pages

30. Uglies and 31. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

(warning: mild spoilers)

I definitely enjoy these books. I know they enjoy strong feelings from their readers, but I'm finding I have extremely strong feelings for the characters. I'm in the middle of Specials right now, and there are many moments where Tally bugs me. What kind of friend of she is to Shay? (I know she does have her moments of saving grace, pun intended) However, has she never heard of the saying, "Bros before hos?" I'm not digging Specials so far (it's so tedious as of right now), but I devoured the first two. Small plot summary for the series: Tally has waited all of her life to turn sixteen. On this birthday, she'll receive the surgery that will make her Pretty, and she can have the time of her life night after night, with nothing to worry about but parties and fireworks. She meets a friend with the same birthday who seems opposed to the operation, much to Tally's horror. These books are a cross between Brave New World and George Orwell. I recommend them heartily.

Uglies: 425 pages
Specials: 368 pages

31 / 150
(20.7%)

9,897 / 50,000
(19.8%)

Oh good, I hope you like it! I had never read a graphic novel before either, and it seemed like a good one to try. I really enjoyed it anyway, and I'll definitely try more graphic novels in the future. Maybe I'll read that Fables one eventually.

Don't Die, Dragonfly does look like a book I'd really like (noooo, the TBR pile!). Luckily I've already read Tithe :). I even bought Valiant and have it sitting on my shelf waiting to be read someday.

I completely agree with you about Specials. There were so many things that bothered me about that book. There were some things that bothered me about Uglies and Pretties too, but not nearly as much. SPOILERS for Uglies: Like the fact that Tally didn't consider that destroying the pendant might activate it. It seemed like she needed to be dumb about that just to move the plot along. But the stupid things she and Shay did in Specials were even worse because they were supposed to be able to think so clearly. It's weird, because I'm really glad I discovered Scott Westerfeld, and I'm really glad I read that trilogy, but at the same time I'm a bit disappointed because he had such great ideas that could have been executed a bit better. There was way too much description of hoverboarding.