List for Mythopoeic Award Challenge

I've never heard of this award before but this challenge really interests me. I promised myself earlier not to sign up for anymore challenges. But it's really tempting! Lenneth is hosting this challenge here. The challenge is to read seven books between JANUARY 1ST 2008 to DECEMBER 31ST 2008 from the list of Mythopoeic Award Winners, fiction or non-fiction. Did some research and found 10 interesting fantasy fiction, which are available in my library. And the lucky books from the list are:

The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt

Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle

The Wood Wife by Terri Windling

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley

Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (can be crossread)

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (can be crossread)

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black
Valiant by Holly Black

I've not decided on the 7 books, but those are the possible ones.

And another! Year of Reading Dangerously

Goodness, did I sign up for this as well?? *gasp* Alright. That's definitely enough challenges to make me busy in 2008! I hope I can read along their 12 official novels:

January: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens (since Estella is our namesake)
February: The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison (African American)
March: Cat's Eye, by Margaret Atwood (Atwood for Atwood's sake)
April: Transformations, by Anne Sexton (Poetry)
May: Other Voices, Other Rooms, by Truman Capote (Southern)
June: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (Russian)
July: The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier (adolescent)
August: Maus I and II, by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novel, Pulitzer winner)
September: The Secret Lives of People in Love, by Simon Van Booy (Independent)
October: The Human Stain, by Philip Roth (Contemporary/Jewish)
November: A Month of Classic Short Stories, Various - watch for a list
December: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Dusty)

2 more challenges.......

I almost forgot about 2 other challenges. The first one is Becky's Young Reader's Challenge:

This challenge is for those interested in reading more children's literature. Choose 12 or more books for the challenge. You can choose with a theme or not. You could choose a handful of authors to focus on--Laura Ingalls Wilder, A.A. Milne, C.S. Lewis, E.B. White, etc. And read a few books by each. Or you could read twelve books by the same author--like all Beverly Cleary or all Judy Blume or all Barbara Parks. You might want to read twelve books about horses or ponies. Or you might want to read twelve books in a series. Or twelve fairy-tale related books. You could even get elaborate and read 26 books A-to-Z. A theme is NOT required. A list is not required. Choose what you like. Choose as you go. Or plan it all out now.

I'm still not decided on books to read but I might just choose during each of my library visit.

The second one is Mini Jane Austen challenge. I chose Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park. This will be cross read with the 19th century women writers. I might read another two, Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility. :)

There's another 2 more of Becky's challenges, Celebrate the Author and C.S. Lewis challenge. I don't think I'd be able to cope. So, I'm afraid it needs to be shelved. Or if I'm really keen, I might just make it a personal challenge.

19th Century Women Writers

Becky once again is hosting another great challenge. I've been wanting to strike off some 19th century novels from my list. Luckily this one overlaps with my 888 challenge. I promise, this will be my final challenge to join for next year. And that would be it. I hope. :)

19th Century Women Writers
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Persuasion, Jane Austen
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte
Lucy Gayheart, Willa Cather
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen*
Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell
Alternatives:
Sense & Sensibility, Jane Austen
North & South, Elizabeth Gaskell

TBR List!!

Now 12 books for TBR challenge. I have some trouble choosing! But this is what I came up with. I'm cross reading these with 888 challenge. I hope I can at least reduce my pile in the coming year!

Waterland Graham Swift
Brief History of The Dead Kevin Brockmeier
Mansfield Park Jane Austen
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
The Pilgrimage Paulo Coelho
Seduction of Water Carol Goodman
The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield
Surfacing Margaret Atwood
London Bridges James Patterson
Innocent Man John Grisham

Twilight Children Torey Hayden

Alternatives:

Northanger Abbey

Handmaid's Tale, Atwood

The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett

The Toy Engine, Enid Blyton

The Library Window, Oliphant

5 People you Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom

Sophie's World, Jostein Gaardner

Turn of the Screw, Henry James

In a Glass Darkly, Sheridan Le Fanu

Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie

My new list for 888 Challenge!

I did some adjustments, subtracted some categories and added new ones. And it resulted in something like this! I hope I won't make any more changes.

Historical Fiction
The Blood of Flowers Anita Amirrezvani
March Geraldine Brooks
A Year of Wonders Geraldine Brooks
Suite Francaise Irene Nemirovsky
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini*
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini*
The Book Thief Marcus Zusak
Fingersmith Sarah Waters

Alternatives:
Alias Grace Margaret Atwood
Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
A Great and Terrible Beauty Libba Bray

Children's books
Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle
The Giver, Lois Lowry
Matilda, Roald Dahl
The Enchanted Castle, E Nesbit
The Borrowers, Mary Norton

Alternative:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis

Books about books
The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak
The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly
Sixpence House, Paul Collins
Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
Booked to Die, John Dunning*
The Ghost Writer, John Harwood
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Lewis Buzbee

Alternatives:
84, Charing Cross Road, Helene Hauff
Bookseller of KabulReading
Lolita in Tehran

1st in a Series
Aunt Dimity's Death, Nancy Atherton
The Neon Rain, James Lee Burke
The Bone Collector, Jeffrey Deaver
Booked to Die, John Dunning*
A is for Alibi, Sue Grafton
Knots & Crosses, Ian Rankin
Along Came a Spider, James Patterson
Various Haunts of Men, Susan Hill

19th Century Women Writers
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Persuasion, Jane Austen
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte
Lucy Gayheart, Willa Cather
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen*
Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell

Alternatives:
Sense & Sensibility, Jane Austen
North & South, Elizabeth Gaskell

Speculative fiction
Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Waterland by Graham Swift
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
Ben Okri The Famished Road
Haruki Murakami End of the World
Isabel Allende House of Spirits

TBR Books
Waterland Graham Swift
Brief History of The Dead Kevin Brockmeier
Mansfield Park Jane Austen*
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini*
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini*
The Pilgrimage Paulo Coelho
Seduction of Water Carol Goodman
The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield

Alternatives:
Surfacing Margaret Atwood
London Bridges James Patterson
Innocent Man John Grisham

Margaret Atwood
Surfacing
Handmaid's Tale
Penelopiad
The Tent
Oryx & Crake
Alias Grace
Blind Assassin
Cat's Eye

Alternative:
Wilderness Tips

Notable Books Possible List

As a beginner, I've decided on only 5 books as listed below.

NYT Notable 07:
Falling Man by Don Delillo
Mothers and Sons: Stories, by Colm Toibin
On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan

PW Best Books 07:
Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill

2007 IRA CL/R SIG Notable Books:
The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak