Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Margaret Atwood Project



Dog Ear Discs is hosting Project Read all of Atwood.  One of her books per month, fiction and story anthologies only, starting from the earliest published book.  I'm going to try to keep up with this one, as I've always wanted to read her books and I own quite a few titles already.  Time to watch for more of her books at library sales. =O)  Note:  I'm not a big fan of short stories outside the realm of horror so I may skip the months with short stories.

Here's the list of her works, in order:

2012
MAY--The Edible Woman (1969)
JUNE--Surfacing (1972)
JULY--Lady Oracle (1976)
AUGUST--Dancing Girls (1977) [Short Stories]
SEPT--Life Before Man (1979)
OCT--Bodily Harm (1981)
NOV--Murder in the Dark (1983) [Short Stories]
DEC--Bluebeard’s Egg (1983) [Short Stories]

2013
JAN--The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
FEB--Cat’s Eye (1988)
MARCH--Wilderness Tips (1991) [Short Stories]
APRIL--Good Bones (1992) [Short Stories]
MAY--The Robber Bride (1993)
JUNE--Good Bones and Simple Murders (1994) [Short Stories]
JULY--Alias Grace (1996)
AUGUST--The Labrador Fiasco (1996) [Short Stories]
SEPT--The Blind Assassin (2000)
OCT--Oryx and Crake (2003)
NOV--The Penelopiad (2005)
DEC--The Tent (2006) [Short Stories]
2014
JAN--Moral Disorder (2006) [Short Stories]
FEB--The Year of the Flood (2009)

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Monday, May 7, 2012

Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Book Challenge


***Final Update:  I ended up tanking and only completing one book for this.  #4 = 15 points  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson REVIEW***

Megan at Semi-Charmed Kind of Life is hosting the Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Book Challenge.  How could I resist this great challenge!

If you would like to sign up, click the link or image above.

Details from Megan:
How to keep track: I’ll post a check-in every Sunday on which you can comment with your progress. I will also include the scoreboard from the previous week on each check-in post. (Sorry if that doesn’t make sense; just check back on Sunday, May 6, for the first check-in.)

Rules:
  • The challenge will run from May 1, 2012, to September 1, 2012. No books that are started before May 1 or finished after September 1 will count.(That's why I'm posting this early, so you can plan your next books!)
  • No re-reads! I want you to experience new books with this challenge.
  • Each book must be at least 200 pages long, unless otherwise noted.
  • A book can only be used for one category. If you want to switch the category later, that's fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.
  • Each category may only be completed once, so the highest possible total is 200 points.
  • The first three people who finish the challenge will win a featured/guest post on my blog. If less than three people finish, the participants with the three highest scores will "win." Good luck!
The Challenge:

  1. 5 points: Read a book chosen for the U.S. 2012 World Book Night.
  2. 10: Read a book you were supposed to read in school, but either bailed on or Cliff-Noted. (If you were super studious and never did this, then read a book most people were assigned to read in high school but you weren’t.)
  3. 10: Read a memoir or narrative nonfiction book. (Examples: Friday Night Lights, When the Game Stands Tall, The Devil in the White City, etc.)
  4. 15: Read a book in one calendar day. (Must be at least 150 pages long.)
  5. 15: Read a book that you've always wanted to read but haven't gotten around to yet.
  6. 20: Read a pair of books that have antonyms in the titles. (For example: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Boy in the Suitcase, or The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Heart of Darkness, etc..)
  7. 20: Read a book that is set in a place you've never been but want to visit.
  8. 25: Find a book written the year you were born that was later made into a movie. Read the book and watch the movie; compare. Or find a movie released the year you were born that was based on a book. Do the same thing.
  9. 25: Go into a bookstore or library. Pick any bookshelf. Read the third book from the left on the fourth shelf from the top. (If it's not at least 200 pages, pick the next book to the right.)
  10. 25: Read a book about which you’ve heard bad things. (Hey, you can’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it, right? And I’m upping the points to make it worth your while.)
  11. 30: Read a trilogy (or any three consecutive books in a series). Total page count for all three books together must be at least 500 pages. (Remember, you can’t have read any of the books before! Suggestions: The Robert Langdon series, The Hunger Games, Twilight...)

My list:

  1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
  2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley or The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (I read all required reading in high school so I browsed high school lists online)
  3. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (taking Megan's suggestion...I've been wanting to read this one for a long time!)
  4. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson
  5. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
  6. To Serve a King by Donna Russo Morin and To Be Queen by Christy English
  7. The Arrow Chest by Robert Parry
  8. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
  9. The Visitant by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear
  10. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
  11. Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, and Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
*I reserve the right to make changes to this list at any time.

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