Take It or Leave It Challenge - May 2010

For those new to this challenge: More info and monthly index can be found in post #1 of this thread.


...graphic design by cyderry

Here’s a challenge you’re sure to love. It’s purely for fun and not intended to make you read anything specific. I seriously doubt if any other group will copy this silly challenge, but I think it will be very entertaining. For the month of May, I challenge you to Read a Book with a One-Word Title. Here's the May 2010 wiki.

I know, I know. Often you’ll find a book with a one-word title that is followed by a colon and a further explanation. It would be acceptable to select a book with a one-word title and a colon which is followed by “a novel”, “a memoir” or something similar but try not to select books which have any further descriptive words. I’m not the title police, so I’m leaving it up to you to comply! :)

In addition, for this challenge you *must* count such words as “a” or “the” as part of the title. In other words (no pun intended), a book such as The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy is not acceptable because it’s a two-word title. If you’re not sure about your book selection, just put up a poll and let’s take a vote!

Here are some books I liked:
Kitchen – Banana Yoshimoto
Goat – Brad Land
Feed – M.T. Anderson
Rat – Andrzej Zaniewski
Beaufort – Ron Leshem

Here are some books I haven’t read but that look interesting to me:
Identity – Milan Kundera
Harbor – Lorraine Adams
Coraline – Neil Gaiman
Shipwrecks – Akira Yoshimura
Ice – Vladimir Sorokin

In the interest of conversation, here are some books read in previous months by TIOLI challengers:
Angelica - Arthur Phillips
Biblioholism - Tom Raabe
Clapton - Eric Clapton
Elsewhere - Gabrielle Zevin
Elynia - David Michael Belczyk
Eragon - Christopher Paolini
Fatherland - Robert Harris
Prague - Arthur Phillips
Scaramouche - Rafael Sabatini
Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
Soulless - Gail Carriger
Sugar - Bernice McFadden
Waterlog - Roger Deakin

Find your book(s) now, and have fun, everyone!

Yay! This is always such an exciting moment.

This month, I will read a book from the Best of the Quarter list (here). Practically guaranteed good reads!

I was waiting to see who would discover it first. It took you three minutes to discover it, Zoe! :D

Oh boy! This one sounds like it could be really fun :)

You know I was just waiting for it!

Can't wait to go check my shelves...................gone.

I may be a bit overly-optimistic... I've added four books to the wiki already!

Meanwhile, it's almost deleting time for April....

I always look forward to your announcement, Madeline. Very interesting challenge for May and I'm off with Bonnie to check my Tipping Tower.

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Were you at the computer since the stroke of midnight last night, Zoe?

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I think the fun of this challenge will be that you won't know what you'll be reading until you see what TBRs you actually have. You might be surprised at your choices!

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You know, it's funny, Zoe. When I created the TIOLI, I was thinking that this would be an interesting way to add one book to each month's reading. Now I seem to want to do everyone else's challenges as well... and this, in reality, is turning out to be much more than just one book!

I think that the logo that Cheli designed looks quite snazzy up there in Post #1!

Success! My Maeve Binchy books were the next ones in my alpha order selections and lo and behold I am going to read Quentins for the May one word title challenge.

I'm in & I've added Jumper to the wiki.

I have quite a few to choose from (the beauty of having more than one TBR tower). I'll be conservative and start with Paula by Isabel Allende and Atticus by Ron Hansen because they were closer to the tops.

I'm currently reading Witness by Karen Hesse. I doubt if I'll finish it this week, so can I count it in May for this challenge?

Absolutely, Linda!

I'll choose Piano by Jean Echenoz for the One-Word Title challenge. I've read two of his other books that have a single word in the title: Ravel, which was on the shortlist for last year's IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and Running, which were both excellent.

I've created a challenge: Read a Novel By a Latin American Writer. I've listed Season of Ash by Jorge Volpi, which I'll read for the Reading Globally monthly theme read (Mexico), and The Green House by the Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa.

I addded my first challenge: Read a book by a Canadian author. I have yet to find a Canadian author I haven't loved including:

Wayne Johnston - The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Robertson Davies - The Deptford Trilogy
Louise Penny - Three Pines Series
Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient
Joseph Boyden - Three Day Road
Margaret Atwood - Blind Assassin

Other Canadian authors I haven't read yet:

Alice Munro
Laurence Hill
Will Ferguson
Alistair MacLean

There are certainly many others I haven't yet discovered.

Fo my one word challenge I'm going to read the clasic Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier which has been languishing on my shelves for a very long time.

Bonnie

I highly recommend the wonderful Canadian authorHelen Humphreys. She is the writer of The Frozen Thames and Wild Dogs, both of which I enjoyed!

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Bonnie, I thoroughly enjoyed Crow Lake by Mary Lawson and The Flying Troutmans by Miram Toews.

Madeline, I'd be happy if I could fit every book I read into a TIOLI challenge! Hehe.

I have to sigh with relief that I found a book by a Canadian author on my shelf; that would have been embarrassing. The Lightbearer's Daughter by O.R. Melling is the third in a series, and I really enjoyed the first two. (I actually have The Handmaid's Tale on my shelf here as well, but since I failed in reading that one for Atwood in April, I don't want to push it.)

Other books I'm planning to read (for a start ;)) are:

One-Word Titles
Weight
Sunshine

From our Best of the Quarter list
Shades of Grey (listed by souloftherose and drneutron)
Lips Touch: Three Times (listed by allthesedarnbooks)

I loved Kitchen! It was so touching. I may have to re-read it now. :P

Madeline,

The one-word title challenge is one I was going to set up for myself over the summer because in mucking about in my library, I found I have some 60 books that fit into that category! So, I may do it for May and then set it up again over the summer.

For my personal challenge in May, I am setting one up called "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!", books either set in Russia/Soviet Union or written by a Russian/Soviet writer. My titles for that challenge are: Oblomov, The Master and Margarita, The Idiot, Eye of the Red Tsar, King, Queen, Knave, and The Siege.

Oooh, the one word challenge may help me put a significant dent in my unread stacks.

I've got 12 to choose from and I'm gonna start with Stargirl and Coraline, both of which I have dipped a toe into and have been meaning to finish. And I'm going to commit to one Pratchett but I haven't decided between Nation and Mort yet.

ok wait a minute what if the title has only one word but it's repeated? (I'm reading America America and I am only kidding)

I might take it and leave it.

Here's my challenge: The Same First Name Challenge. I realize this might be virtually impossible for some but my challenge is to read a book by an author who shares the same first name with you.

For example, my first name is Linda, so I plan to read a book by Linda Fairstein, Lethal Legacy.

If your name is William but people call you Bill, a book by an author with either first name would be fine.

#27: That one might take some research on my part :)

#28 Stasia, I was thinking it'd be tough for you and Cheli.

#29: I am almost positive that I do not own a single book by a person with the first name of Stasia. I could probably find such a book at the public library, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the TIOLI challenge for me, since I am using it as impetus to read books that I own. If a challenge fits a book I have out of the library already, that is one thing (like Coraline for the 1-word title challenge.) Having to find a book at the library to fit the challenge is another. I think I probably will not be doing your challenge, Linda. Sorry.

#27 Aww that would have been fun! But I've already read Rebecca...

Just a quick check shows me I have Evelina, She, Roxana and Kim on my e-text to be read pile, let alone at home. Hmmm which one to pick first...

>>11 SqueakyChu:: I think that the logo that Cheli designed looks quite snazzy up there in Post #1!

Agreed! Very nice. :)

Hm. I already had Chuck Palahniuk's Survivor on my to-read list for this year, and then I just BookMooched Choke and was trying to decide which to read first. I'll make one of those a TIOLI. Anyone have an opinion on which is better?

Mr. Palahniuk has quite a lot of one-word titles btw, if anyone is looking for more ideas.

(These touchstones are so screwy sometimes!)

Hmmm...one word...let's see here, I have Thunderstruck on the TBR, maybe that can be mine!

Great challenge. And that graphic is very nice as a roadmarker, too! Thanks, Cheli, great addition.

I'm going to read A. S. Byatt's Possession for the one word title. (If I have time, I might try to get to Neverwhere as well, although adding Cranford might be too much.)

I have some books by Latin American, Canadian and Russian authors, but I don't think I'll have a lot of time to read in May. If I do get to them I'll add them in.

Despite having said last month that I didn't think I was very likely to start a challenge of my own, I'm going to do just that:

I can't believe you haven't read that yet! - Books with more than 10,000 copies listed on LT that you've never read before.

Zeitgeist is a few copies behind the total, but pretty up to date and there are 121 books with more than 10k copies.

And I'm going to start at the top with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Yes, it's true: I have never read Harry Potter.

#34: I will join you in that one, Caty, with A Thousand Splendid Suns which I have been meaning to read ever since I read The Kite Runner.

I haven't done a TIOLI challenge till now (I've been watching, but have been reading at random) but am going to go for two in May - I have quite a few Canadian books sitting here, and just found Fingersmith and Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski for the one word challenge. I'll try one of those.

Edited to add that I've chosen Aleta Day for my Canadian book. Do we have to wait till May 1 to start?

I like that one, Caty! I'm going to try reading American Gods.

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Good for you, Linda, to offer that challenge! I'd actually thought of that one but eliminated it, thinking it might be too hard for some to find such books. Nice idea, though. It'll be interesting to see what books people are able to find.

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Palahniuk's Choke is okay, but my favorite one of his is Diary. I haven't read Survivor. Palahniuk's books were fun to read in the beginning, but began to seem formulaic after reading a few of them.

I like these challenges.
I just bought Neverwhere from the library yesterday so that's my one-word title.
And I have a number of books on my desk that fit the 10k copies on LT list, so I've added the 2 I intended to read in April and never got to, plus Walden which my book club is reading in May. That's a good start, we'll see how the month plays out.

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Tabatha, I'm so excited that you've also chosen to read Susan Coll's Acceptance. That book is hilarious!

Susan Coll is an author local to my area (the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC). I'm trying to decide if she based the city of Verona (in which the characters live) on either Bethesda (where the author lives) or Rockville (where I live and the city on which she based her novel Rockville Pike). Now I absolutely have to get hold of her novel Beach Week.

The fun thing about reading Acceptance for May's TIOLI is that the author will be appearing in May at the Gaitherburg Book Festival in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. Can't wait to see her in person!

Coll's novel Acceptance is a satire based on the madness that accompanies the high school experience of college acceptances. It's truly a crazy whirlwind of emotions and activities. Coll's funny novel captures that so well. I'm only halfway through this book, folks, but I'm already loving it!

I have to say that I love the variety of challenges that TIOLI participants are choosing to post. They are all so creative and wonderful. There's something here that should appeal to everyone.

Isn't it great how much excitement the TIOLI challenge creates every month? It's really unbelievable.

I will add The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian to the wiki for Zoe's challenge, Best of the Quarter Reads, since I just received it in my haul from the Book Closeouts haul.

Thanks to everyone for all the Canadian author suggestions. I read and loved Crow Lake.

#40 Oooh if I read Neverwhere it'll make hubby happy. He's always bugging me about reading Gaiman. I guess there's Stardust too if I follow that vein.

Plus I just picked up Fingersmith at a charity shop the other day - thanks for reminding me Cushla!

#38 I was surprised by how few Linda authors there are. Linda Fairstein and Linda Howard were among the more well-known. I'm not at home but doubt I will find any other Linda's on my bookshelves.

I have to check out the best of the quarter list. There has got to be something there.

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Oh, Bonnie. I'm so excited that you're reading The Leisure Seeker. I loved that book. I know. I'm all excitement today! :)

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Yeah. It was my husband that kept on bugging me to read Neverwhere, too. That got me started on Gaiman's other works as well. Then I never looked back. Good book choice!

#47 I just have a sickening feeling that it is also in a box in my parents loft (same prob I am having about joining the Norwegian Wood group read).

To the library!

I am finding lots of books already on my shelves that meet these challenges so I'm getting excited about a good books on the shelf month.

I just need to finish these 3 non-fiction library books first.

#41 Hah. I'm excited that you're excited, SqueakyChu! (Does that sentence make sense? Probably not.)

I've had Acceptance in my TBR stacks for a while. I picked it up at a book sale knowing nothing about it except that the cover appealed to me. I didn't even notice it when I did a once over for one-word-book-titles in my library until I saw your entry in the wiki. :)

I've just found 4 more one word books on my shelf to choose from, in case anyone wants some ideas:

Firewall by Henning Mankell (it's a Kurt Wallender - not sure which number)
Alliance by Jonathan Fenby - about Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
and two Virago Modern Classics: Hester by Mrs Oliphant, and Spinster by Sylvia Ashton-Warner.

This might be very good for my TBR clearout...

#1 - Shipwrecks is excellent (if bleak).

Off to check my shelves!

Ah, the perfect excuse to start Queenpin!

I'm afraid we may have become too much of a success. There are too many great challenges this month. I've got books on my shelves for every challenge. Geesh!

#54: I guess the good thing is that this is not homework, Bonnie. You can just pick and choose which ones you want to do and do not have to do them all!

>55 alcottacre: Well that's the problem; picking :)

#56: Um, eeny meeny miney mo?

I think I'll struggle to find anything by an author with the same first name as me - Genny is very uncommon spelling (unless I can count Jenny? - and can't think of any authors by that name on my TBR pile in any case). Will be off to check the pile for single word titles which is a more likely challenge (I do fancy reading Cranford) , and I may check out one or two of the other challenges too, esp books with more than 10,000 copies.

Oddly enough, I just received a book from bookcloseout that I ordered because the author had my uncommon last name. Maybe that could be a challenge for next month???

1984, The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird are the three highest ranking books that I have never read(how could I have missed them all?) on the list of those with more than 10,000 copies on LT. I don't have copies of any of these, but I shall try to borrow at least one, or find second-hand, before the end of May.

I'll also read a couple of books in the Latin American writer category - Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter and The Hour of the Star.

Love the one-word challenge. I will definitely read Incarceron this month, and may move up some others in the queue because they fit.

If anyone's looking for more suggestions, Bloomability and Holes are both excellent children's/YA books that I enjoyed as an adult.

Message #30...
Linda, our name is a very popular one..I graduated from a class of 106, of which seven had the name Linda. My mother told me that she named me this because it was very popular in the 40's and 50's.

http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=linda
http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=stasia
http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=bonnie
http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=madeline
http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=zoe
http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=richard

Did you find any titles with our name in it?

Stasia..You are original.

#63 Linda, Mystery author Linda Fairstein has written quite a few including the one I'm planning to read, Lethal Legacy, which involves The New York Public Library. There is also a Linda Howard.

The challenge that baffles me, somewhat, is the one word title challenge. I have plenty of one-word title books but they all are nonfiction and followed by a colon with descriptive text. I need to rummage through my books.

>>34 Eat_Read_Knit:: Love that idea Caty! =) Interesting list, too. I found four 10,000+ books that were already on my to-read-this-year list, and a few others that are in my TBR pile, so I'll definitely be doing this challenge. (Start looking for the other 6 HPs if you don't have them already. They're addicting. :)

>>60 gennyt:: All great books Genny. If you're not already leaning in any direction though, I recommend To Kill a Mockingbird. It's one of those I can read over & over & over ...

Linda
I apologize...I misunderstood the challenge. I thought you meant books with the title that contained the name.

I have a few Linda Fairstein books.

Linda, I'm glad you asked. I doubt I have any books with Linda in the title.

After rummaging around, I have more one-word title books in my possession than I realized. Most likely, I will read Sara Paretsky's second mystery, Deadlock. I've also got two mysteries by Julie Kaewert, including the first one, Unsolicited and also Peter Lovesey's book, Bloodhounds.

Most embarrassing is the fact that I have a Linda-authored book by a favorite law school professor but forgot about it. Linda R. Hirshman wrote Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World. I surely must read that one.

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Acceptance is *stellar*! I can't believe that Coll has that much to say about the college search process, but the story is hilarious.

I was sitting on the Metro today trying not to laugh out loud at that story. That was kind of hard, you know?

Anyway, Tabatha, you're really in for a treat.

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I've got books on my shelves for every challenge.

LOL @ Bonnie!! Er...you've got a problem! :)

I have a few books by different Lucys and came home with another from the library yesterday - I spell my name Luci but it's Lucy on official documents! I have lots of books by Lindas but obviously that's no help to me, as well as Fairstein and Howard, there is Linda Barnes and two Linda Grants - one American mystery writer and one English novelist.

I'm going to see how many categories I can find a library book to match - I can see 3 books for 2 categories so far.

#60 - I agree with the recommendation for To Kill a Mockingbird. I finally read it last year and loved it!

...But... I'm reading Cather in the Rye so if you read that one, we get a point for the challenge.

Points are fun, but I can pretty much guarantee you'll like To Kill a Mockingbird much more.

I haven't read 1984 since I had to read it in school in 1984.

It turns out I have quite a few one word titles too and even more books about and by Russians (books about the Tsars and the revolution are one of my weaknesses though the rate at which I buy the far outpaces the rate at which I read them).
I think I'm going to start with Aftershocks because I think it is one of the books that has been languishing on my TBR shelf the longest.

>75 barefeet4: the rate at which I buy them far outpaces the rate at which I read them

Really?? I don't know what you're talking about. Who buys more books than they could possibly read?? I don' know anybody like that ;-)

27> omg, I found one on amazon called "Milda Has No Regrets", a memoir.
luckily, it looks kinda unreadable, so I don't have to buy it.

Milda
You are right up there with Stasia re. unique names:

http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=milda

Well, I've found quite a few single word titles on my pile - so I'm going to try to read them all this month! Night by Elie Wiesel is long overdue a read; Lolita I picked up recently second hand - have never read any Nabokov; We is a new book by a friend of mine, John Dickinson. This one, unlike his previous novels, is Sci-Fi; Netherland by Joseph O'Neill is one I started reading in 2008 for a book club read and never quite finished, so I'll try to finish it and remove it from the pile. On my shelves already but never read is Cranford so I hope to manage that one too.

There is also Twilight lurking in my pile. I picked it up cheap, but I'm not really keen to read it. I may tackle it under the 10,000 or more copies on LT category, as the only reason I'm considering reading it is because so many people have done.

This should all keep me busy, even before I try to get hold of a copy of To kill a mockingbird or one of the others mentioned above (#60, thanks for recommendations at #66, #74). I won't add this one to the Wiki until I've got a copy read to read!

Edited to remove non-working touchstone for We.

I have finally settled on what I am going to read for the one-word title books:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
Fludd by Hilary Mantel
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Feed by M.T. Anderson
March by Geraldine Brooks
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Since I was planning to do a one-word title challenge of my own over the summer, I had a bunch set aside.

Madeline, is it still OK for me to do the one-word title challenge over the summer? I have at least 50 more in my personal library.

is it still OK for me to do the one-word title challenge over the summer?

Absolutely!

By the way, I loved Feed which I listened to on CD last year (ETA: ...or thereabouts!).

#81: OK, thanks!

Good to know about Feed. I have had that one for a while now.

I'd planned to read Soulless anyway next month, and maybe Spellbent.

If anyone is looking for more recommendations, I've read Spooner, Wanting, and Tinkers this year and recommend them all: the first guardedly, the last two enthusiastically.

Stasia, I see that there is an author Stasia Ward who writes nonfiction books for children. As "Stasia Ward Kehoe" she has written a series, "Kids in Their Communities" with titles like, "I Live in a City" and "I Live on a Farm" (no touchstones -- that may not bode well for availability.) As "S. Ward" she has written a series, "About the Author" with titles like Meet J.K. Rowling and Meet Beverly Cleary. At 24 pages per, you should be able to read one without blinking.

A search in WorldCat uncovers several more Stasias, but most of their works look slightly less exciting than a root canal.

#83: While I appreciate the research, I do not think I will be seeking out any of those books :)

Woop! We are reading Fingersmith for this months bookgroup (I may have steered them towards the one title novels last night...) so that'll be one down anyway.

#80 I have Fludd down as a possible: if you are reading it, that might give me a kick to pull it out of the TBR.

(I found Lolita in the same pile; I have *far* too many books to choose from for the challenges this month.)

(I may have steered them towards the one title novels last night...)

LOL!!

#86: Stasia kicking Caty:

#88 Ouch! You didn't need to do it that hard!

Just for fun, and as the possessor of another unique name, I did a quick search of my library and all of the results were supernatural. But Tabatha = Witch is a fact I've use every Halloween that I've felt lazy, so it wasn't a big surprise. :)

"Tabatha" got me some children's nonfiction and Marvin Monster's Big Date. I also tried the more common spelling "Tabitha" and got a bunch of books from horror writer Tabitha King and a tie-in with the daytime soap opera "Passions" called Hidden passions : secrets from the diaries of Tabitha Lenox.

#87 Glad you appreciate :)

I think I'll make my monthly Pratchett Truckers as well.

I have so many books that could fit the challenges this month! I am going to try not to overcommit myself before May even begins but I am going to try to read:

One-Word Title:

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Fludd by Hilary Mantel

A novel by a Latin American writer:

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende

I can't believe you haven't read that yet!:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I didn't think I would have many books with one word titles but I have loads! I think I will be joining Stasia when she reintroduces the challenge in the summer!

I've probably over-committed myself already - can see myself hastily removing some books from the wiki before the end of the month. But I will start with Cranford I think since a couple of others have mentioned that.

I'm really tempted to add American Gods for the 'I can't believe you haven't read that yet!'.

>94 avatiakh: No need to resist the temptation!

>95 _Zoe_: Sure there is: It's not a very good book!

That's not what I wanted to hear!

It was surprisingly difficult finding tbr one-word titles on my shelves:

Steppenwolf (qualifies also for the 'I can't believe you haven't read that yet!' challenge)
Walden
and I'll finish Ulysses in May.

Presently no Latin American books tbr.

#98: I wondered whether this challenge was a sign that it's time for a reread of Ulysses. Then I figured probably not: it took me three months the first time, what are the chances I can do it in just one, even on a reread? How long has it taken you?

#92,94: I started American Gods last year and got distracted. I'll give it a second try this month, for the Challenge Points.

I have seen from the wiki that there is also a challenge to read a book with an author's name in the title. Just wondering whether a first name would be all right, if the book is about that person - I have two books which would fit, Will by Christopher Rush (about Shakespeare) and Arthur and George by Julian Barnes (about Arthur Conan Doyle).

What do you think?

I voted yes, because the title still refers to that particular person. And you know you want to read those books!

I voted Yes for the same reason as Cushla.

Ditto Cushla and Stasia.

Wow - so much choice this month. I can think of loads; and that's without even going to the shelves!

I put out two challenges:

Challenge #6: A book about your hometown or home state - How many different locales can be honored? and

Challenge #7: A book where the title suggests Love and Marriage - in honor of my wedding anniversary (36 years)

Last month I read 10 books in 5 challenges for TIOLI and I think I overdid it so, this month, I think I'm going to stick a a lesser number.

Happy Anniversary, Cheli!

I plan to read several more books from the 2010 Orange Prize longlist, but I'm not sure if there is enough interest amongst the 75ers to justify creating another challenge read. So, I thought I'll let y'all decide:

Every month, I think "I should read this for TILI and that one, too." I always bite off way more than I can chew.

This month, I am trying to be more cautious, aiming for only 6 TIOLI books. Even that is probably too much but at least it's potentially do-able.

Hehe! I originally set up the TIOLI so everyone could the pick one challenge they liked the best. That didn't work, did it?! :D

This way's much more fun, though. It's like trying to play "Beat the Clock". Anyone old enough here to remember that TV game?

Way back to >18 brenzi: ---- Read Margaret Laurence! Read Margaret Laurence!!!!! She's "the first lady of Canadian Literature," and a woman whom Atwood looks up to according to MA in her introduction to my copy of The Stone Angel.
And for my first TIOLI, I will naturally read my ER ARC, Chef!

And for my first TIOLI,...

First TIOLI?! Welcome, Peggy!!

--->109 SqueakyChu: Wait! What?!? I missed the one part! Oh dear....

There are so many challenges this month that fit my shelves...and of course dearrichard has added numerous titles to my wishlist. However, he's also helped me choose two challenges for this month:
Thunderstruck (I actually forgot I owned it, hiding as it was behind a cupboard door) and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands---his description tipped the scales on that for me (something about horny ghosts...). I'll definitely do a Canadian author and a Can't Believe one as well, but don't want to pick too soon.

This month is really, really fun.

>109 SqueakyChu: You mean Beat the Clock with Bud Collier? Heh, heh yeah I remember that just don't ask me what I had for lunch yesterday;-)

>110 LizzieD: Margaret Laurence, right. I've heard of her, although I don't have anything on my shelves by her right now. I will look for her books. I took a book out of the library once because it was written by Margaret Lawrence....not the same author.

I liked Margaret Lawrence, the mystery author. Her mysteries, such as Hearts and Bones were among the best of the 1990s.

I liked the Hannah Trevor books by Margaret Lawrence too. I still have the 4th book about Hannah's daughter waiting to be read somewhere.

> 113

Bonnie! How could you even *remember* the name of Bud Collyer from Beath the Clock? That's a name I haven't heard in a while (like 50 years!). You've a great memory!!

Shoot, SkqueakyChu, you closed the April thread too early. Yahoo, I finished Three Cups of Tea just in time. I did like it. I'm always impressed by people who don't just sit and wish life were better but actually go out and make it happen, and of course I love to hear about nurses who accomplish great things. Greg Mortenson has worked for years to build schools, health care facilities and water distribution systems in Pakistan and Afghanistan where the governments were too busy starting and fighting wars to actually help the poorest of the poor. Isn't it always the case that there's no problem finding the money for a good war, but so hard to actually help the living?

Anyway, I will not be accepting 4 challenges in May. I'm going for Zoe's read a book on the best of the quarter list because I already got Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey from the library after the great reviews on LT. I just don't have time for any other challenge but my own desires because, alas, I have to hold down a job for the next couple of months. Oh, woe is me.

D'oh! It's still April 30th where I am, but that thread is closed. Ah well.

Finished my LT challenge, Dead End Gene Pool, which is a dark but funny memoir by a great(x4) granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt who grew up in an extremely rich, extremely dysfunctional family. LT review here.

Also finished The Beautiful by Michelle Tea for the living poet challenge. It was raw and honest and funny and passionate. It was like reading her memoirs distilled to their basic components.

Now to add some books to the May wiki ...

I finished up Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet earlier today for April as well. I liked it.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I finished up The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in the wee hours Friday morning. Terrific book!

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Oops! Yeah. I forgot about the different time zones, but it's okay to talk about April's books here as you're finishing them up. I just wanted to stop us from talking on two different threads at this time. The transition does take a few days, so not to worry.

ETA: Next month I'll leave the previous month's thread open just a wee bit longer...at least until midnight passes around the whole world! :)

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I, too, really liked the story about Greg Mortenson in Three Cups of Tea. The writing was so-so, but the story of what Mortenson accomplished was amazing. It's so nice to read about the interaction between Mortenson and the villagers, people of deep cultural divides, but all with so much respect for the dignity of the other. There is much to learn in the lessons of this book. I heard that Mortenson's next book is even better.

I've put some books onto the wiki. 2 one word titles; 1 Canadian author; 1 South American Author and 4 in the over 10,000 copies on LT challenge. Now I only have to read them;-)

News Flash

CatyM's Chellenge, I can't believe you haven't read that yet! (10,000+ copies on LT but new to you, is quickly gaining sign-ups. Nice idea for a challenge, Caty! Looks as if your challenge will be a popular one this month.

Neil Gaiman seems to be *the* author to read this month as participants have already checked seven of his books into the first day of May's challenge!

I finished my first May TIOLI book for brenzi's "read a book written by a Canadian author" challenge. My latest ER book has a definite Indian look and theme, but I was pleasantly surprised to read that Shilpi Somaya Gowda was born and raised in Toronto. I gave Secret Daughter 3.5 stars and reviewed it here.

I read Lips Touch: Three Times for the Best of the Quarter challenge, and I can see why Marcia included it on the list. I would say I've read a lot of YA fantasy, but this one felt completely fresh and different. I'd definitely recommend it, and I'll be reading more by this author.

Added to wiki: Choke for the one-word title challenge, The Life of Pi for the 10,000+ on LT challenge, and The Book Thief for the Best of the Quarter challenge. Canadians and Latin Americans to possibly follow ... :)

Due to a discussion Darryl and I were having on a different thread, I have decided to add Troubles by J.G. Farrell to the one-word title challenge for this month.

I've added two more books to the one-word title challenge: Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki, which I had already planned to read this month, and Yalo by Elias Khoury, which I hope to squeeze in at the end of the month.

I'm currently reading Piano by Jean Echenoz, which I should finish by this evening.

Still looking through my TBR pile to find books that fit. Commitment will happen eventually. Either I will commit to a book or become committed...

#99: It took me almost 3 months to read Ulysses, but I was reading it in small bits. I finished it yesterday.

I bought another 'big' book on Friday, 2666, which would qualify for the 'Latin American author' challenge, but reading this in just one month would put too much pressure on me.

I just realized that Steppenwolf doesn't qualify for the 'I can't believe you haven't read that yet!'-challenge (not enough copies on LT). So for now I'll leave it with Walden for the one-word title challenge.

My review of Piano by Jean Echenoz is on the book's LT home page. Today I'll start, and hopefully finish Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki. I've also added Source, a collection of poems by Mark Doty, to the one-word title challenge.

I finished my first TIOLI of the month, Life of Pi. I've started my second The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart for the Canadian author challenge.

Deern - I've put Steppenwolf in the one word title challenge as well and hope to get to it soon.

I finished Aleta Dey for the Canadian author challenge - not bad, but not amazing.

I'm mucking around reading a bit of Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinksi and Fingersmith by Sarah Waters but not into either enough yet to add one to the challenge.

I just finished an absolutely fascinating book about the 1917 harbor explosion in Halifax. Curse of the Narrows by Laura M. MacDonald.

Just added Resurrection to "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!" which, on a completely unrelated note, is one of my favorite movies.

I finished The Catcher in the Rye today. I can see why people talk about it all these years later and why it would be a bit polarizing. I think he captured the timeless voice of the teenage angst. With a 15 year old nephew who has about as much ambition and drive as Holden Caulfield it seemed rather familiar.

I'm reading a chicklit novel, Secrets by Freya North. It's one of the library books I've had out for a very long time as well as just happening to fit the one word title criterion.

It's good fun - Tess and her baby daughter have applied to housesit and are staying in a lovely house in North Yorkshire, owned by a man who is away a lot on business. Tess and Joe clearly fancy each other, and I can predict various things about this but it's good fun. Freya North often includes quite saucy scenes.

I started American Gods, and to be honest I'm finding it sort of slow going so far. I still hope to finish it by the end of the month, but I think I'll set it down periodically to read other books.

I finished Toast by Nigel Slater, my first TIOLI read for the book with a one word title.

I’m not sure what first attracted me to this title. I guess I have read a few “culinary” biographies, and I’m always a sucker for British writing, so this seemed the perfect combination. Emphasis on “seemed”. It was a good book, and I did enjoy it once I finished, but the fact is that I had never heard of the author (Nigel Slater) or his culinary background, so it truly served as a simple biography of a chef. And an odd biography it was.

If you didn’t know Slater before, you’ll certainly know him by the time you finish. The personal details and insights were oft shocking, and the flow of the narrative was so violently “non-directional” the blush may not even have faded from your cheeks before you start the next section on Candy Floss. Initially the stream of consciousness style was distracting, but you get used to it, and in the end it’s like someone sharing stories with you over a few (or a lot) of pints of Guinness.

Nice review, Patrick! Pass the Guinness.

#137 Maybe I should start reading that one sooner rather than later this month then!

>140 souloftherose: Just today I saw another reason to start reading it: it's been chosen for One Book, One Twitter, so a lot of people may be talking about it in the near future.

Interestingly, the article that I linked to quotes Gaiman himself as being sort of ambivalent about the selection: "Some people love it, some sort of like it, and some people hate it ... It's not a book I'd hand out to everyone, because the people who don't know anything about what I've written and who hate it – who might have loved Stardust, or Neverwhere, or The Graveyard Book or Sandman – probably won't go and look any further". Hmm.

>137 _Zoe_:, 141: American Gods was the first Neil Gaiman I read and it made me want to read more of his. Besides its being clever and well-written, I really love world mythology so it was right up my alley.

>142 madhatter22: I think it's just... grittier, maybe, than I usually enjoy. The main character is just out of prison; another character is a prostitute, with the sex described in somewhat more detail than necessary.... Despite the gods, there's more of the real world in it than I like in my fiction. Also, the various unrelated scenes haven't yet been tied together, so it seems that the main plot is moving sort of slowly. I'll be curious to see what other people think.

I've been trying to find a Latin American author on my TBR shelves but they were all too lengthy. Today, I was fortunate enough to find one of my favorite authors at a local library booksale. With that in mind I am able to add Laura Esquivel's Malinche to the Latin American author challenge in TIOLI. That makes three TIOLI's for me in May - hope I can swing it.

Curious thing about American Gods. I read it earlier this year - for the first time I thought. I started it and was kind of gripped by the story of the convict about to get released and his plans with his friend and wife. Then that weird chapter with the prostitute came up and I realized I had started this book before and stopped at that chapter. I am so glad I pushed through this time because that chapter is not representative of the rest of the book.

>I'm glad it's not representative! I did push through and I think I'm about at page 130 now, but I've still set the book aside for the moment and picked up something that I'm more excited about. I still think I'll finish American Gods by the end of the month, though.

I will join the American Gods TIOLI read as I also started it a few years back and put it aside to finish another time. I won't get to it for a couple of weeks though.

Well, American Gods ann Life of Pi seem to be "the" reads so far this month. Now's the time to jump on the bandwagon!

I've got the Latin American Author - Living to Tell the Tale. Still debating over one word title. It seems wimpy to read a Georgette Heyer...

Hmmm... I wonder if we have a copy of American Gods lying around or if they've been boxed (I think we haev two). It would make hubby v happy - he's been nagging me to read this since we got together - so 7 1/2 years now!

In the middle of Elie Wiesel Night for the one word title challenge.

For my 'I can't believe you haven't read that' read, I have a choice between The Great Gatsby and The Road. Any thoughts?

Do you want to be sad, depressed, horrified but also take courage in the undying love of a father and his son? Then I recommend The Road.

I didn't get The Great Gatsby (at school) and loved The Road (last month). I know which one I'd want to read again.

Oh yeah, I'd hit The Road. Lynda gave you fair warning in Post 153. The horrifying parts are just that, but I took away the underlying message of hope to remember. I have NO desire to see the movie because I think I know what parts they will focus on.

Edited to get correct touchstone and add that it was in my Top Ten for 2007.

I'm continuing my 'Anne' kick with Anne of Avonlea, on the (naturally) Canadian authors challenge. This is from my TBR-again shelves, and one of my all-time favourites. I think (starting at the beginning of May), I actually have a chance of making it, this month!

#152: I hate The Great Gatsby but loved The Road, so I vote for McCarthy.

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I'd go with The Road as well. I read both of the books you mentioned but liked The Road much more than The Great Gatsby.

I hated The Great Gatsby as well. Can't comment on The Road other than to say that those who are saying they liked it are reliable. (:

Has anyone read Ilustrado? I picked it up on the new books table at the local library today. I could use it for my one word title book, but I'd like to hear an opinion before I start?

#151 - I hope you are finding Night a good read. I thought it was difficult, but more inspiring than many books on the same topic.

Well, the reviews of Ilustrado here on LT are not very promising. If you read it, give us your opinion of it!

I'm nearing the end of my one word challenge, Rebecca and all I can say is, "Gah, why in the world did I wait so long to read this book?" It's absolutely fabulous.

I kinda feel the same way about Fingersmith - I totally didn't expect to like it but I am really hooked. Though it gave me very weird dreams about being in an old fashioned asylum last night!

Loved Rebecca and have Fingersmith lined up to read in Orange July.

I finished the first of the books I chose for my one-word challenge. I had ambivalent feelings about Tinkers by Paul Harding as a novel, but highly recommend it for the absolutely gorgeous prose. I ended up rating this Pulitzer Prize winner at 4 stars and reviewed it here.

Finished my first TIOLI book, Steppenwolf, for the one-word title challenge. I loved it, though I preferred Siddharta. The ending is a bit weird, almost kafkaesque I'd say.

Great - The Road it is! Thank you for all the input.

>165 wandering_star: Looking forward to your thoughts on The Road!

Bonnie - I am glad you like Rebecca. Now that is my idea of a mystery!

Finished Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery!

This is the second book in the 'Anne' series, and takes our heroine, at half-past sixteen, from the end of the first book through about a year and a half of growing up, when her imagination helps her see the beautiful, and the funny, sides of life, whether things are going well, or she's getting into one of her scrapes (though she doesn't have quite so many of them as she used to).

This is a more gentle book, as Anne's temper mellows and her friendships deepen. The young people of Avonlea form an Improvement Society, and prevail against the amusement of older heads so well that the Society grows considerably. There is the addition of six year old twins - who struck a chord with me, although mischievous Davy is more like my one year old than my six year old. And there is more than a hint of romance in the air as Anne meets new friends who renew old courtships , and her old friends start to grow up and begin new courtships.

Montgomery's evocations are as poetical as ever, bedecking her beloved Island in misty, pastel hues. I may not be quite one of Anne's 'kindred spirits', but my imagination hasn't been fully quenched, and I do love being taken back to a place that reminds me of my childhood. Enchantingly written, as always.

>167 nittnut: Oh yeah my nails are bitten down to the quick LOL.

#168 - great review of Anne of Avonlea. I have such happy memories of reading the Anne books as a child.

Well, too late in posting, but I just wanted to say how much I hated, hated, hated The Road and would never recommend it to anyone. After Reading Lolita in Tehran I thought about reading The Great Gatsby since they had so much to say about it but haven't done so yet.

I'm just starting on Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde for Zoe's best of the quarter challenge.

Think I'll be reading Imagica for the one word title challange, as it's already on my shelves for my 1010 challenge after an LT member recommendation. I love some of the things people are reading - wish I could read Rebecca again for the first time

For people doing the TIOLI American Gods challenge, are you reading the original version or the authors preferred version? I just finished the later, and found I didn't enjoy it as much as some of his other books (Good Omen, Anansi Boys and Fragile Things. Has anyone read both? Is it worth tracking down the original?

To be honest, I hadn't realized there were multiple versions of American Gods. If I picked up a random copy, which is it more likely to be?

#159 I've finished Night now and will post something on my thread soon I hope. Interesting to read it fairly soon after reading The Road as there are similarities in the horror of what is described. The latter I did not find depressing, it is beautiful though it is very bleak, whereas Night was much harder - perhaps simply because it is a factual memoir, not fiction.

(edited touchstones)

Just completed my "author's name in the title" challenge - my second TIOLI for the month - Shakespeare: World as Stage by Bill Bryson. Initially I had planned on using it for the primary one-word title challenge, but the "subtitle" threw me - and the touchstone makes the subtitle a part of the book name - so I felt it would be cheating to force the issue. Luckily for me, it fit into one of the "under-challenges".

Not a typical Bryson read, it's enjoyable all the same. He did a great job summarizing a lot of scholarly work into a relatively small work, and the author's personal wit has occasional opportunity to rise to the surface making a potentially dull subject come alive.

I finished and reviewed the classic (and wonderful) Rebecca for the One Word Title Challenge.

Now I'm on to The Leisure Seekers by Michael Zadoorian for the Best of the Quarter Challenge.

Waiting to hear what you think of The Leisure Seekers, Bonnie...

In the meantime, I picked up Sea of Poppies as an audio book and put it in the under the Best of the Quarter category. I'm glad it had a TIOLI category to fit - thanks to Zoe! :) I almost never make it through the month with these CDs as I'm not in my car enough. We'll have to wait to see how I do with this book.

I'm reading a second Canadian-authored book as well as a book about my hometown. I've deleted my same first name as author challenge--three TIOLIs in one month is plenty.

I see that two people have added The Book Thief under two different challenges. A friend at work is reading it and invited me to join her on that and I might finally read it. I've heard rave reviews about it.

I see that two people have added The Book Thief under two different challenges.

Sorry! No TIOLI points unless the books are adjacent (hint: either one can be moved by its reader).

The Book Thief is a great book. I'd say go for it, Linda...even if it *is* another TIOLI book. :)

---178: The Book Thief is certainly on my Lifetime Top 100. It's amazing: the theme and setting are given fresh treatment, which I thought it almsot impossible to do, there is some very gentle humor, painless because well-written life lessons...do try it when you can, Linda; I promise you won't regret it.

I finished my first book for the one word title challenge, Jumper, enjoyable escapist reading. I'm probably overcommitting but I've added another book to this challenge - Nada.
Pulled out my copy of American Gods and see that it has over 600 pages, so it better be good.

I finished up my first TIOLI book for the month: Troubles by J.G. Farrell, which is terrific and highly recommended.

Edited trying to fix Touchstones

Finished Fingersmith and loved it.

May start Evelina next.

I loved American Gods, it's by far my favourite of Gaiman's that I have read.

So far for this challenge I have read Icefields (good) and Arthur and George (excellent). Good start to the month...

I finished Still Life this morning. What a fabulous story! I'm only sorry I didn't pick it up earlier...

I finished Neverwhere by Gaiman. He writes some interesting and good stories.

#184 Good to hear that about American Gods, I'm sure to like it, just feeling the pressure of over-committing on my reading. I liked Arthur and George too and recently read his Flaubert's Parrot which I thought was excellent.

Someone upthread had something to say about The Road--I guess it's good if you've never read any other post-apocalyptic literature. Neil Gaiman has faaabulous ideas and can't write an ending to save his immortal soul. And The Great Gatsby is flat-out brilliant. It's had a huge influence on the course of English-language literature. It's elegantly simple and fiendishly complex at the same time.

But what the hell, the world doesn't run to my design, so read parts of each and all and then see what YOU like.

Deleting Sea of Poppies. One of the CDs doesn't work. :(

Off to finish Acceptance.

Finished my third TIOLI - and my second Book with a One World Title challenge. Airman by Eoin Colfer. Very different from his Artemis Fowl series, but equally well written and very enjoyable. Technically a YA novel, the writing is sophisticated enough that an adult can enjoy it with no problem.

Completed my first TIOLI in the one word title category. Read my review of Quentins right here.

>191 Carmenere: No sweetener required in my coffee this morning, I have already had way too much sugar.

ROFL

Thumbs-upped you for that one, Lynda!

I think it was Quentins that made me realize I'd finally had enough of Maeve Binchy or it could have been the one after that. I have pretty high tolerance to mocha frappuccinos but I believe I've had my fill now.

I read my first David Lodge book. I rather liked it, Richard. Would you be so kind as to share why you don't care for him? At first, I thought he was trying too hard, but the character of Tubby Passmore and his post-midlife crisis grew on me. Oh yes, the book is Therapy, qualifying it for the one-word title challenge. I rated it 3.5 stars and reviewed it here.

--->194 Donna828:: At the risk of slightly taking over this thread just for one or two posts, I would also be interested what puts you off David Lodge, Richard. I like to compare opinions and see things I may have missed in my reading.

I finished Thunderstruck as my one-word title book. It was good, with excellent research and some good writing, only slightly marred by occasional infelicities ("glowful" for glowing comes to mind). Unfortunately my enjoyment was lessened by my complete lack of interest in electricity.

Mmmmmm, have not heard of David Lodge till today. Must wishlist him.

I'm finding Possession very dry and uninspiring, so I'm putting it to one side and making a start on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I've been told Possession gets better, though, so I'll go back to it later in the month.

Having finished Night I have started on a very different second book for the one-word-title challenge: Cranford. Enjoyed the first couple of chapters very much. Am also reading a book by a Canadian author: The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay - I've never read any of his, and hadn't realised he was Canadian until I picked this one up in the library.

>194 Donna828: I read David Lodge's Deaf Sentence last year and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure why Richard doesn't like him but I am looking for more by him and this might be it although I know I have a book of his with three stories in it somewhere in my teetering tower. Hmmmm.

I have a book by him...just a sec...The Art of Fiction, which details some different aspects of fiction, each illustrated by citations from one or two "classic" authors: "The Exotic" is explored in Graham Greene's work, "The Unreliable Narrator" by Ishiguro's work, etc. It was my introduction to Lodge and I really enjoyed it. Then I read his Author, Author, a novel on Henry James's lack of success at drama, and liked it very much as well. I'm looking forward to more of his work, but again, I'm always interested in the ideas of other readers; sometimes they help me to clarify my own thoughts, and sometimes they point out things I jst rushed right by.

--->197 Eat_Read_Knit:: I'm so sorry that Possession didn't work for you, Caty, and hope that a second try later on will be a better experience for you. I thought it an amazing work, but very complex, with lots of somewhat veiled references toward Victorian authors which might not suit you if you're not fairly familiar with that body of literature.

#200 Well, I'm reasonably familiar with Victorian literature, but more so with prose than poetry and more with some authors than others, so it depends what's being referenced. I've read a lot of reviews that say the first hundred pages or so are hard going; I'm perhaps half way to that mark, so I've decided that I'm going to pick it up again (probably in a week or so) and give it at least another hundred pages.

There are quite a few things I like about it, but so far they're swamped by the dullness and the twenty-three subclauses (and sub-subclauses) that seem to constitute every other sentence.

I added two more books to my Latin American author challenge, both by Chicano authors: The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue by Manuel Munoz, and The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes.

I should finish Season of Ash by the Mexican author Jorge Volpi by tomorrow.

I won't post an Orange Prize challenge, as I don't think I'll read more than one OP book this month. I think it would make more sense to post it as a challenge in July, during Jill's Orange July challenge.

I think it would make more sense to post it as a challenge in July, during Jill's Orange July challenge.

I'd imagine that Jill would like that as well!

David Lodge Aversion, genesis: Nice Work. Ponderous, to be polite, satire on the order of Kingsley Amis...if he'd had a stroke and used a Albanian-speaking amanuensis writing with splattery quills dipped in lemon-water on parchment, which sheets were then scanned and published exactly as they appeared in the inbox of an editor whose first language wasn't even Earthly.

Then came Therapy, read at the behest of the snarky little man I was involved with at the (ever so brief) time before I met Mr. Man. It confirmed my growing suspicion that I was finally too old to overlook bad taste for the sake of good sex. Again with the ponderous, heaving, creaking-from-the-strain of-freighting-his-single-entendres Lodge stodge.

Don't work so hard, I want to say; if you're really clever (which he decidedly is *not*) it will be obvious to me.

Not that I wouldn't piddle on him if he was on fire! He's not Hemingway or Dickens, after all. But he may be kind to puppies and kitties, good to his mama, and pay his taxes on time; he still doesn't do a good job of being funny. Yes, of course senses of humor are different and good heavens people even find Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler funny; but I've never even seen a sentence of Lodge's that wasn't just awkward and/or misshapen.

You DID ask.

But besides that, what's the problem?

>204 richardderus:: Oooookay then. Now we know. I do appreciate your opinion and your honesty, Richard. And I do agree with you on many other things.

I liked his books set in academia - Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work are a sort of trilogy and I've read some of his others. Deaf Sentence took me longer to read but it was only a few weeks before Conor was born and I was really struggling - I did think it was well done and it made me think about what some older people struggling with hearing who are close to me might be experiencing. My mum bought her rather deaf husband a copy when I told her about it and I know they both really enjoyed it.

Ha! Books read at the behest of snarky little men. Those were the days.

Richard almost had me scared away from Lodge, who I've never read, but Deaf Sentence piqued my interest as severe hearing loss runs in my family. Perhaps I'll give him a try.

>205 brenzi: He is ugly and his mama dresses him funny.

>206 Donna828: Yeah, Donna, it's a bad idea to ask me what I think and expect anything other than the full, complete story....

>207 elkiedee: Everyone's got one, an opinion that is....

>208 madhatter22: Drat! Blast! Please, 22, please, *be very afraid*! Run run run like a little bunny away from the "FIC L" aisle of the liberry and save your soul!

#197 - I really enjoyed Possession - if we are talking A.S. Byatt. It did take a little while to get into. I thought the movie was very well done.

I finished my second TIOLI book, Life of Pi. I liked it but didn't love it. Maybe I'll have to let it settle for a few days.

'Walden' is quite hard work, but I started early and should finish it before May ends.

RE: Possession: Yes, you are absolutely right, Caty, it started ever so s...l..o...w...l...y, and I had to give it a second chance as well. When it finally got rolling, or I got more attuned to the pace, or whatever happened, I loved it. I also seem to remember that it was very difficult at first to untangle the threads of the story---it seemed maze-like. I just kept thinking, "Who are all these people?"

Richard, thank you for your complete explication of your dislike of Lodge. That first para. is a priceless gem.

Right now I'm reading my second TIOLI, The Robber Bride, which is odd but intriguing. I've never read Atwood before, and I really wanted to see what all the shouting is about. It's pretty good so far, but I'm only about a fifth of the way through.

Richard, one of the reasons I really like David Lodge is that I've spent years in university settings very similar to his - I find his satire really funny and very close to the truth! I haven't read Therapy or Deaf Sentence. I liked Thinks... but didn't love it as much as some of the earlier ones.

I've spent years in university settings very similar to his - I find his satire really funny and very close to the truth

I have never, in all my life, read a more chilling sentence than that one.

You mustn't have worked in an underfunded New Zealand university! Not all of it is, but the internal politicking bits ring true.

Re David Lodge--I'm a fan. Before reading this thread, I had just left a note over on Donna's thread mentioning the other (than Therapy) two books of his I especially liked: Nice Work and Deaf Sentence.

For the one-word title TIOLI challenge I read Brodeck by Philippe Claudel. It's set in an unnamed idyllic mountain village after an unnamed war (which resembles World War II), and what happens after a stranger comes to town. I was very impressed by how cleverly the author peeled back layer after layer of the village's facade to reach its rotten core. Highly recommended. Prix Goncourt winner.

I started Walden today. It is a little tough going at times. He is quite serious about some great topics, but also very funny in places. On the very first page Thoreau admits "I should not talk so much about myself if there were any body else whom I knew as well."

I'm reading this for my local book club and I'm looking forward to the discussion.

I finished my second one-word title TIOLI book today and loved it - Carmen Laforet's Nada which was first published in 1945 and is set in post-Civil War Barcelona.

I decided now is the time to read Dracula by Bram Stoker. It's been on my To Be Read list since February, 2007. That's definitely good for a one-word title!

ETA: Actually, I think I like it better for the I can't believe you haven't read that yet! (10,000+ copies on LT but new to you) category.

*runs to move it*

I've also finished my first TIOLI Latin American writer book - The Hour of the Star. For all that it is only 80 or so pages of text, I found it quite an interesting and challenging read with the writer continually interrupting the narrator with philosophical insights.

I've just started Lullabies for Little Criminals which I borrowed from the library months ago, then found my own copy, under the Canadian writer challenge heading.

Have read two pretty short one-word titles: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and the excellent Sum by David Eagleman.

I finished the first book for my Latin American author challenge, Season of Ash by Jorge Volpi, and reviewed it here.

Today I'll start my next book for this challenge, The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes.

I've just added Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski to the wiki, now that I'm really reading it. It's very good so far and I'm learning heaps about Armenia instead of cooking dinner...

Thanks to Madeline for suggesting the book I just read and reviewed called The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian. It was wonderful.

Now I'm on to my book for the challenge to read about your hometown called Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner.

I finished Coraline by Neil Gaiman for the one-word title challenge.

I could have easily finished Malinche today. It was a nice rainy day, no major commitments and then......I realized my son forgot to put his DS in his backpack. Well, needless to say, mom got a little pre-occupied with Brain Age and some silly SpongeBob Game and my oh my how the time flew. I'll make sure he doesn't forget it tomorrow!!!

I've finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: I thought it was quite entertaining but I didn't love it. Back to Possession.

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Oh, Bonnie. I'm so glad you liked The Leisure Seeker. Michael Zadoorian is an LT author whose first novel I discovered years ago in a used book store. No one has ever heard of him. What I liked about his other books (and you picked up on this with The Leisure Seeker) were the great lines he came up with. These were simple, but heartfelt, truths that I had to copy down as I was reading them.

If you get a chance, read his book of short stories, The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit at some point. It's an enjoyable read as well.

The Leisure Seeker is being made into a film, if you didn't already know.

ETA: Great review, by the way! Thumbs way up on that!!

I stopped reading The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes almost halfway through (140/308 pages). Can I still count it for the challenge?

>230 kidzdoc: Maybe this calls for a poll?Personally I'd say no. But of course, Madeline has the final say.

>229 SqueakyChu: No Madeline, I didn't know they were making a movie of The Leisure Seeker; thanks for that info. I've added The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit. I'm getting to be a real short story afficionado, thanks to you:)

I voted No as well, but I wanted to see what others thought. I'll take this book off the list for now, and add it back only if I go back and finish it.

I'm adding a book to Madeline's one-word title challenge: Tranquility by Attila Bartis.

I TIOLI'd the one-word Zeitoun, thanks to tymfos who sent me her copy; I read it, and I am a thrilled, excited supporter of the book. Please, read soonest and buy a copy. There aren't even 700 copies of it on LT -- and there ARE tens of thousands of copies of Twilight.

This simply shouldn't be.

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Madeline said no, but the poll has the final say. The poll runs through the end of May.

my review of Malinche for the Latin American Author challenge is right here.

Now I have no excuses, I must move on to Romancing Miss Bronte for my Author's name in the title challenge, Ugh.

#237: You could always do like I do, Lynda: overcommit yourself so that at the end of the month you have to drop title's from the challenge and so can dispense with any you really did not want to read anyway :)

>238 alcottacre: So true Stasia, however I pulled that with this novel in April and since it is an ER I really should not put it off any longer.

#239: Yep, you have a point.

>238 alcottacre: Stasia, this is exactly what I do! (ER or not... Lynda, you're a better person than me.)

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Stasia, you're right! I think it's an interesting process at the beginning of the month to list titles I'm sure I want to read but later to actually experience which books grab me and which ones don't. It's often hard to tell before I start reading them.

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So sorry about your predicament, Lynda. The good news is that the TIOLI will help you get through this with lots of group support. :D

I also find it useful to list all my potential books in case other people want to join in, and then I prioritize the ones that are worth points.

Although American Gods is taking me so long that I may even have to get rid of other point books this month....

Stasia, every month, during the initial excitement of new challenges, I always overcommit. This month, not so much. I said I'd read three TIOLI books and I've read them all. Now, I might read another or two but won't jot them down until I'm in progress. The Book Thief looks like a distinct possibility.

I mentioned I might read it to a woman at work and now people I barely know are coming up to me and saying "hey, I heard you're going to read The Book Thief."

I mentioned I might read it to a woman at work and now people I barely know are coming up to me and saying "hey, I heard you're going to read The Book Thief."

LOL at Linda!! It sounds as if you *are* committed - even if you don't think so. You don't want to disappoint your work colleagues, do you? :)

By the way, The Book Thief can be read fairly quickly for the size of book that it is. It's definitely worth taking your time to do this, if only to see how well a book that is marketed as a "young adult" book can be written. It's a lovely story about good Germans during World War II. I'd say to go for it!

#245 Next weekend, I'll have a 5-hour Amtrak ride to St Louis. Is this something I can get wrapped up in during a long ride?

Probably.

I have definitely over-committed this month - this is only my second month taking up the challenge and I didn't discover the wiki last time, so this time I entered everything on my TBR pile that I could fit into a challenge. Most of them were not ones that others are joining in with, so I shall try to prioritise the ones that are.

I've started Cranford, and I've acquired a copy of Is by Joan Aiken - but I don't want to read that out of sequence, so I've just read an earlier one of hers, and I think there is one more to read before I get to Is.

I have also just finished The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay which I'm counting under the Canadian author challenge. I see richardderus has listed one of his too on the wiki, but it's not the same book so no points there!

Speaking of overcommitting, I just took a look at the wiki to see what other people were up to and was surprised to see myself signed up to read The Book Thief for the Best of the Quarter Challenge. I thought I'd played it safe and only listed two books!

I also realized that there's a challenge I wasn't aware of (home town/state) that fits a book I'm reading now. I wasn't thinking I'd finish it this month, but now I'm kind of more motivated to do it just to be able to cross something else off another list. (That I haven't even added myself to yet! It's a sickness. :)

Did someone say "committed"? I've asked and asked that y'all not talk about my problems with book mania...Oh; sorry, different meaning.

Well. Finished my second TIOLI, The Robber Bride, for the Canadian author set. I'm torn between saying, "Man, what a potboiler!" and seriously considering whether or not Ms. Atwood is attempting a rewrite of some mythic ideas, using women in places usually filled by men. Still not sure...it's a good read, but seems somewhat improbable. As Stasia would say, recommended with reservations.

And moving right along with my "Best of the Quarter" TIOLI, Still Life. I'm not sure, but I think it was Richard who initially piqued my interest in Louise Penny. Her books are amazing, and I was very glad to be able to fit this into this month's challenges.

Of course I'm putting off the South American book...but I hope to get to it as well.

I just picked my book for the "Readathing" readathon tonight - and I'm doing double duty. A kids book with an author's name in the title. D is for Dahl. With any luck, I can finish it during my time slot on the readathon.

I pulled another one to read which also matches this TIOLI challenge, just in case I finish my first one - but it's not going up on the wiki yet. I haven't had to pull a book off a wiki for TIOLI yet, so that's my "commitment" - I only want to post what I'm pretty sure I can finish. It may impact people's decisions on points, but I would hate to put it up, have someone else choose it because it's suddenly worth points, and then have to pull it - so no points end up awarded anyway.

There are still time slots open for the Readthing for anyone not in the US - they're in the middle of the night here. See the homepage of LT for info on it.

Just a question ---- I thought I had posted my one-word title book (Chef) on the wiki, but it's not there. Is that because it has a subtitle, *Chef: a Novel*? At any rate I finished it, found it lacking, and reviewed it, so I'm off the hook to ER for that one at least.

Lizzie, I looked at all the entries and did not see any for you. Perhaps you made the entry and forgot to hit the "save" button at the bottom of the page? By all means, do the entry again. Be sure to hit the "save" botton. Go out of the wiki. Go back into the wiki. Make sure it's there this time*. I could do it for you, but I want you to learn how it's done (and saved!).

Chef does meet the criterion of a one-word book. Nobody kicked you out of the wiki. We're all pretty laid back around here. :)

Sorry the ER book wasn't too good. At least get it on the wiki so we have a record of your having read it. Better luck next time around with your next ER book.

*ETA: Read what it says when you try to save your entry. You might have to hit the "save" button twice. The way I do it is to "preview" it first. If I like what I see, then I hit the "save" button.

I finished Tranquility by Attila Bartis, and I've added Fear by Stefan Zweig for Madeline's one word title challenge.

I'll add The Informers by the Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez to my Latin American author challenge. I'll also see if I can slog my way through to the end of The Death of Artemio Cruz, in small doses, by the end of the month, so that I can count it for this challenge, my book count, and the Reading Globally monthly theme read (Mexico). However, I won't add it back to the TIOLI list until I finish it.

ETA: I also added The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector to my challenge.

Darryl (and everyone else), we need everybody to list their books that fit the challenges. You can always take them out later. Don't worry about the points coming and going. Let me do the worrying! :)

ETA: It might be fun to have someone else have to slog through a book that you're reading. Then you can both decide together whether or not to ditch it unfinished. Don't miss out on that. Ha!

Hello. I'm reading Solar for the one word title challenge :-)

Just started it and not sure how I feel about it yet!

I finished my first book for my 'The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!' challenge, The Idiot. A masterpiece, pure and simple.

I'm over committing again, but I have a hankering to read a Patricia Grace novel and her Tu fits the one-word title challenge.

Kerry, have you already read Potiki? I have that one here and will add it now. About time I read some more Patricia Grace.

I read Potiki a year ago, loved it and still haven't got round to reading another of hers. It's time.

(Many thanks, SC! I thought I had checked after I saved it the first time, but obviously not. Anyway, it's on there now and I'm content......well, except with the book.)

I read Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah for the one word title challenge.

Finished D is for Dahl by Roald Dahl. I started it for the Readathon for children's books last night. I didn't finish it during my "time slot" but cranked the rest out this morning. Counted this toward the "Author's Name in the Title" challenge, and highly recommend it for a quick read. See the full review here

I finished both Feed and Fludd for the one-word title challenge.

I finished Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski for the one word challenge, and I'm going to start Cranford in a few days - I'll add my entry for it to the wiki now.

I just received notification that this thread is loading too slowly (Thanks, Cheli!) so this thread is now CLOSED, but our conversation can continue here.