Carmenere's Alpa order challenge

Thanks Annie for setting up this thread just when I began my new alpa order reading agenda.

Thanks also to 75 challengers Ellie and Belva for alerting me to this thread.

Now before I continue to babble aimlessly I intend to read the other threads here and find out what's what.

Here are my alpha reads to date for 2009. Reviews for these books can be found in my 75 book challenge thread or on my profile.

A:

Albom, Mitch - Tuesdays with Morrie

Ali, Monica - Brick Lane

Allenda, Isabel - Daughter of Fortune

Asimov, Issac - The Collapsing Universe

Austen, Jane - Persuasion

Albee, Edward - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Atwood, Margaret - The Handmaid's Tale

Austen, Jane - Sense and Sensiblity

Austen, Jane - Northanger Abbey

Atwood, Margaret - The Blind Assassin

Austen, Jane - Mansfield Park

B:

Blake, Sarah - The Postmistress

Baldacci, David - The Simple Truth

C:
Coppola, Chris - Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq

D: Dumas, Alexandre - The Count of Monte Cristo

E: Esquivel, Laura - Malinche

F:
Forster, E. M. - Passage to India

G: Gael, Juliet - Romancing Miss Bronte

H:
Hardy, Thomas - Jude the Obscure

I: Ishiguro, Kazuo - The Remains of the Day

J: Jordan, Hillary - Mudbound

K: King, Stephen - Thinner

L: Leon, Donna - A Sea of Troubles

M: Monninger, Joseph - Eternal on the Water

N: Nabokov, Vladimir - Glory

O: Orwell, George - Animal Farm

P:
Pearl, Matthew - The Last Dickens

Q: Quindlen, Anna - How Reading Changed My Life

R: Rowling, J.K. - The Prisoner of Azkaban

S: Staples, Suzanne Fisher - Under the Persimmon Tree

T: The Arrival - Shaun Tan

U: Urrea, Luis Alberto The Devil's Highway

V: Vreeland, Susan - The Forest Lover

W: Wharton, Edith - Old New York

X: Xinran - Sky Burial

Y: Young, Wm. Paul - The Shack

Z: Zusak, Markus - The Book Thief

Welcome!~!
I am so glad you are here with us. We are going to have so much fun doing this challenge!
later babe,
belva

My goal is 160 and not 26 because that is the approximate total of TBR's on my bookshelves. My hope is to read what I have (in alpha order) to make room for more books by weeding out the non-keepers.

Welcome on board.

You have only 160 books on your TBR pile? :) Have fun with them :) If you can stop yourself from buying new ones :)

#4 What a great idea! What happens if you get a new book by an author that you've already passed in the alphabet?

#4 What a great idea! What happens if you get a new book by an author that you've already passed in the alphabet?

You could always save it for a second time round. ;)

I stand impressed with your restraint in owning only 160 unread books. You must have the self-denial skills of a supermodel and the discipline of a long distance runner.

>5 AnnieMod: Thanks for the warm welcome Annie - this thread is great and just what I needed
>6 sjmccreary: & 7 Well, I've given this some thought and perhaps what I will do is put any new books in its own seperate pile and when I've completed a to z with my current TBR's I could start over again backwards, z to a. Think that'll work?
>8 RidgewayGirl: I just have way too much restraint when it comes to buying anything! A habit I need and am willing to break when it comes to books.

Happy reading to you all.

Hi Carmenere, you have inspired me to add to my own challenge. Instead of 26 authors A - Z, I will add a second 26 of book titles A - Z. So there's another 26 to take off my TBR shelves. I just hope we all can read faster than we can buy!

We can't (except for Carmenere here), but we do try!

>10 DeltaQueen50: Alright DQ! I'm so happy that I have served as an inspiration for someone!! It is too bad that I read slower than a slug on tar otherwise I could rip thru those babies in weeks.

>11 RidgewayGirl: lol Miss Ridgeway Girl, you're making me feel guilty. That's reason enough for me to mosey over to my favorite online bookstore and buy a small stack.

>10 DeltaQueen50: - I just hope we all can read faster than we can buy!

The world peace has better chances...

Loved "slower than a slug on tar". =)

>13 AnnieMod: :) Perhaps, reading and buying more books could be the utopia we need to create world peace.

>14 chrine: But 'tis true. (Smiley central wouldn't post my picture, so here's my version of a slug) ~.

I just finished The Handmaid's Tale and I should be reading my next Atwood The Blind Assassin but I need some time to digest Handmaid and write my review so I'm going to put TBA aside and start with my first B selection which happens to be an ARC from Barnes and Noble The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.

That's a great idea to read in order. I'm hoping this challenge reduces my TBR too. Gosh knows it's totally out of control.

I will have to check your reviews on Margaret Atwood. I keep wanting to read her but have no idea where to start.

My review of The Handmaids Tale can be found here:

http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Carmenere

Just started Sense and Sensibility for my A list and continuing to read The Postmistress at a slower pace to keep on my book clubs schedule. Reviews should be forthcoming.

Here is my review for The Postmistress 4.5 stars.

"It gets you thinking about all the parts in a story we never see...the parts around the edges." Sarah Blakes new novel The Postmistress is sure to get many a reader thinking about the parts around the edges of this engrossing story.
Ms. Blake expertly captures a period in time back when mail was sorted by hand and radio waves carried the news of the day. It is 1940 pre-war in Franklin, Massachussets but the Blitz is on in London, England and Frankie Bard is there to professionally deliver the latest news to those at home. She wants to inform people in the U.S as to what atrocities are happening in London and across Europe. The reaction to those on the receiving end of her radio signal in Franklin react with either indifference or as a call to action.
Iris, the Postmaster of Franklin on the other hand, delivers the mail. She is the source the residents of this town go to and depend upon to have their personal information passed on to the intended receiver with efficiency and aplomb
Both are very skilled at their job, most of the time......
Ms. Blakes characters are well formed, believable and stong. She has an uncanny knack for creating atmosphere in two locals which are an ocean apart.
I, at first. found the transition between scenes at times abrupt but I took it to indicate how lives suddenly change, how random and horrible things happen at the drop of a dime. As the story progressed I found the transitions to be less obtrusive.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel to those who like historical fiction or to anyone who enjoys a well written and thought provoking story. Sarah Blake delivers!

The Postmistress sounds like a really good book, it's going on my wishlist. I have a category for the 1010 challenge called War & The Homefront, this sounds a good fit for that.

#22 I think it will be a good choice, DQ50. Hope you enjoy it!

Hey readers, I need some help. I'm moving on to my next A read from my TBR shelves and wanting to stay with the Austen's I have two choices. First, Northanger Abbey and its decrepit castles are pulling me one way and Mansfield Park and Fanny Price are pulling me another. Please help me choose!!
~

*Hands Carmenere a coin* Maybe this will help.

If you stay with the alphabet theme, 'M' comes before "N" ... :)

>25 AHS-Wolfy: Perhaps Miss Austen would have approved of the coin toss for many of her stories contain a touch of fate and providence. So with that in mind, I will accept your coin Wolfy...

Heads - Mansfield Park
Tails - Northanger Abbey

Winner is.................Tails

>26 DeltaQueen50: I have no alpha theme for titles just authors, but in my coin toss, per your post Delta, I put 'M' before 'N'.

Thanks for your help and here's your coin back :)

Here is my review of Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Carmenere. I jumped to the C's because I received this in early reviewers. Now it's back to Ms. Austen.

Good review, Lynda. I requested that one from ER too.

Here is my review of Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Carmenere

I am jumping over to the F category to read Passage to India by E M Forster for my author of the month read.

Another good review, Lynda. I plan to read all of Jane Austen's novels one day.

Thanks chrine. I'll be moving on to Austen's Mansfield Park later this month. Stay tuned.

I take it you're reading your way through Austin then?

Well sort of chrine. I'm reading through the Austens I own. Mansfield Park is my 5th and final Austen. Unfortunately I've put Mansfield Park on hold till 2010. I got caught up with Passage to India for author of the month and that will probably end '09 for me.

My review of A Passage to India is here http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Carmenere

Woe! I haven't checked in for ages. I just finished The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood so I have only 1 more A (Austen) on my shelf to read. Jumped to the H's for Thomas Hardy month and began reading Jude the Obscure. Hope I stick with it this time around.

Good review of A Passage to India. It's on my wishlist, one of those books I have been planning on reading for ages, just never seem to get around to it. Maybe this year ... or next ...

Thanks for stopping by Judy.

I am way behind on reading posts - will try to catch up tomorrow.

Just finished H. Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. Excellent book and sorry it sat on my TBR shelf for so long. I think it would have been a shocking book back in 1896, it to me by surprise at times too.

Back to the last of the A's. I am starting Austen's Mansfield Park and I'll also start on Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo for the group read.

I can't help but feel like I'm accomplishing so much when I finish another TBR.

My goodness, it's been ages since I updated here. On my way to Mansfield Park I was detoured by Wolf Hall and a couple of ARCS. So here, finally is my review of MP

Off the Tipping Tower of Tomes, I've jumped to the P's and began reading The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl. He is an LT author, if anyone is interested.

Finished David Baldacci's The Simple Truth.

Next up, Elizabeth Berg's Open House.

Finished Open House here is my review:
http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Carmenere

Next up, Quentins by Maeve Binchy.

Long overdue update to my Alpha Challenge is posted to #2.

I found that I only need 7 more letters to complete the challenge. N, R, T, U, V, X, Z!

With my latest read, Sky burial by Xinran, I only need 6 more letters to go to finish my alpha challenge. They're beside my reading rocker so I have no excuses not to read them by the end of the year, except some great TIOLI challenges, perhaps.

PS. Thanks for your assistance calm.

Forgot one, No Place for Heroes by Laura Restrepo.

Only five more letters to go!

Just finished my 'N' author - Vladimir Nabokov's Glory.

Only 4 more to go!

Just 3 more to go: U, V and Z.

Ah ha! Just realized that Susan Vreeland's book The Forest Lover fulfills my V requirement. 24 down 2 to go!

As I have finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak I only need one more book to complete the alphabet challenge. I believe the U will be by the author of Hummingbird's Daughter, Urrea.

Nearly four years ago I began this challenge and I am happy to say with my latest read by Luis Alberto Urrea I have completed the Alpha Challenge. Back in 2009 I wanted to read all the books I owned at that time alphabetically but since then my TBR's have grown exponentially so I'll just be satisfied to have read at least one author from the entire alphabet.

Congrats! Well done! :-D

Congratulations :)
Want to do one more now? :)