Books: Random Book Challenge

I've found another fun reading challenge that I just can't resist. This one was just too interesting. Instructions are explained for choosing each book. I've figured out the book I'll read for a few of them, but I'll post an update once I have them all.

10 RANDOM BOOKS CHALLENGE

1. Random Book Selection. Go to the library. Position yourself in a section such as Fiction. Then write down random directions for yourself (for example, third row, second shelf, fifth book from right). Follow your directions and see what book you find.

Book:

2. Random Word. Go to this random word generator and generate a random word. Find a book with this word in the title. Read the book and write about it.

Word: Highway

Book: "Blue Highways: A Journey into America" by William Least Heat-Moon

3. Birth Year Book. Find a book that was published in the year of your birth.

Book: "Flaubert’s Parrot" by Julian Barnes

4. Judge A Book By Its Cover. Pick out a book based SOLELY on the cover.

Book: "Blindness" by José Saramago

5. Phoning An Author. Pick a random last name out of the phone book. Find an author with the same last name and read a book by them.

Name: Morris

Book: "News from Nowhere" by William Morris

6. Public Spying. Find someone who is reading a book in public. Find out what book they are reading and then read the same book.

Book:

7. Random Bestseller. Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the number 1950 for the min. and 2008 for the max. and then hit generate. Then find the bestseller list for that year and pick a book.

Year: 2007

Book: The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian or A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

8. Turn on your iPod and hit play, the first song that comes on at random, find a book that shares at least one word in its title with the title of that song.

iPod song- Fool for a Lonesome Train by Ben Harper

Book: "Fool" by Christopher Moore

9. Have Random.org give you a number between 1 and 1,000 and read the book that is that number of the list of 1,000 books to read before you die.

Number: 689

Book: "Strait is the Gate" by André Gide

10. Movie/Book Comparison. Find a book that you haven't read that has a movie based on it that you haven't seen. Read the book and watch the movie within a few days of each other.

Book: "Proof" by David Auburn

Photo by Pidge

What's on my bedside table?

No matter how fast I read, the stack on my bedside table always gets out of control. Right now I'm reading an interesting mix of books. I just finished the Pulitzer-Prize winning play "Dinner With Friends," "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "Great Expectations" (reviews below). I'm in the middle of "The Color Purple" and am finishing up "The Portable Dorothy Parker." It looks like this is going to be a great year for reading.

Dinner With Friends ★★★★

The story follows two married couples in their 40s. Gabe and Karen, happily married with kids, and Tom and Beth, who are in the midst of getting a divorce. The play paints an intimate portrait of marriage and friendship. The play is really well done, giving glimpses of each of the characters' true feelings, which aren't always pretty.

It was interesting to read the play as a newlywed. It almost felt like a cautionary tale. But the portrayal of the two couples also reminded me that marriage is work, a lot of work and you need to treat your partner with the respect they deserve if you want your marriage to last.

Great Expectations ★★★★★

I've had a interesting relationship with Dickens over the years. I've really enjoyed some of his books (A Tale of Two Cities) and didn't like others (Oliver Twist), but Great Expectations is the first that I've truly loved.

The plot follows Pip from his time as a young orphan through his maturing into a young gentleman. All of the main characters are deeply flawed: the violent criminal Magwitch, selfish Miss Havisham, haughty Estella. But each of them has redeeming qualities or aspects of their lives the reader can identify or sympathize with.

In addition to that, the plot is so richly developed that, though at its core it's a coming of age story, it feels so much more complicated than that. It was a book I could dive deeply into. Its lessons were diverse as well: the danger of refusing to open your heart to anyone, the importance of valuing the people who care for you, the unimportance of wealth in the large scheme of things. It's a book that resonates with readers for so many reasons. Great Expectations reminded me, once again, that sometimes books become classics for a reason.

The Girl Who Played With Fire ★★★★☆

The book sucked me in immediately. At the end of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," the one thing I wanted to know more about is the character Lisbeth Salander. This book explores her world in much more details. The story is well-written, the characters are rich in detail, I was hooked. This is the second book in the Millennium trilogy and I would definitely recommend reading the first book before diving into this one. It was a great read!

The White Tiger ★★★

The story is told through letters from a formerly poor Indian man named Balram. He has made his fortune and is now an entrepreneur, but to reach that level he killed his boss. He tells his story, starting with that piece of info. The telling was fresh and original. It was an interesting look at the caste system and corruption in India, but it never quite got me to feel deeply for the characters. It's a interesting was to tell the story, but in the end it fell flat to me.

My Rating System (I rate on my personal reaction to the book):

★ = one star

☆ = 1/2 star

★★★★★ - a must-read

★★★★ - liked it a lot

★★★ - nothing special, but OK

★★ - not my cup of tea

★ - a waste of time

Photo by moi

Books: Audio Book Challenge

Another book challenge I'm undertaking this year is the 2010 Audio Book Challenge Hosted by Royal Reviews. The challenge has different levels and I'm doing the "Obsessed" level.

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

I love reading in audiobook form. It's like sitting around a fire and having someone tell you a story. So, I don't think this one will be too hard. Hop over to Royal Reviews if you want to join!

Books: 999 Challenge

These are the books I read to complete my 999 Challenge. I picked 9 categories and read 9 books in each category in 2009. Sorry for the lengthy post, there's just no great way to list these.

-New Authors

-"Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer" by: Steven Millhauser - ★★★☆

-"Bowl of Cherries" by: Millard Kaufman - ★★★

-"Rabbit Hole" by: David Lindsay-Abaire - ★★★★

-"Revolutionary Road" by: Richard Yates - ★★★★☆

-"Before You Know Kindness" by: Chris Bohjalian - ★★★☆

-"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by: Seth Grahame-Smith - ★★★☆

-"Wit: A Play: by: Margaret Edson - ★★★★

-"Atlas Shrugged" by: Ayn Rand - ★★★★☆

-"The Good Women of China" by: Xiaran - ★★★★

-Favorite authors

-"Black Dogs" by: Ian McEwan - ★★★☆

-"Shakespeare: The World As A Stage" by: Bill Bryson - ★★★★

-"When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by: David Sedaris - ★★★★

-"The Martian Chronicles" by: Ray Bradbury - ★★★★☆

-"Babylon Revisited" by: F. Scott Fitzgerald - ★★★★

-"Echoes" by Maeve Binchy - ★★★

-"F is for Fugitive" by: Sue Grafton - ★★★★

-"Treasure Box" by: Orson Scott Card - ★☆

-"Out of the Silent Planet" by: C.S. Lewis - ★★★★

-Nonfiction

-"The Middle Place" by: Kelly Corrigan - ★★★★

-"A Girl Named Zippy" by: Haven Kimmel - ★★★☆

-"Freakonomics" by: Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner - ★★★★

-"Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby - ★★☆

-"Brave Men" by: Ernie Pyle - ★★★★

-"Nickel and Dimed" by: Barbara Ehrenreich - ★★★★

-"A Beautiful Mind" by: Sylvia Nasar - ★★★☆

-"Partly Cloudy Patriot" by: Sarah Vowell - ★★★★

-"My Life in France" by: Julia Child - ★★★★

-Recommended

-"The Muse Asylum" by:David Czuchlewski - ★★★★☆

-"Winesburg, Ohio" by: Sherwood Anderson - ★★★★

-"Looking for Alaska" by: John Green - ★★★★

-"The Brothers K" by: David James Duncan - ★★★★★

-"The Penelopiad" by: Margaret Atwood - ★★★★

-"Sherlock Homes: A Baker Street Dozen" by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - ★★★★

-"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - ★★★★

-"Close Range: Wyoming Stories" by" Annie Proulx - ★★

-"Blessings" by: Anna Quindlen - ★★★★

-Amy's List (a list of books a friend created for me as must reads)

-"The Portable Dorothy Parker" by: Dorothy Parker - ★★★★

-"Anna Karenina" by: Leo Tolstoy - ★★★★★

-"The Name of the Rose" by: Umberto Eco - ★★★☆

-"My Sister's Keeper" by: Jodi Picoult - ★★★★

-"Bee Season" by: Myra Goldberg - ★★★☆

-"Uncle Tom's Cabin" by: Harriet Beecher Stowe - ★★★★

-"Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky - ★★★★

-"Time and again" by Jack Finney - ★★★★

-"Old School" by Tobias Wolff - ★★★☆

-1,000 books to read before you die

-"White Noise" by: Don Delillo - ★★

-"Things Fall Apart" by: Chinua Achebe - ★★★☆

-"Wide Sargasson Sea" by: Jean Rhys - ★★☆

-"Hideous Kinky" by: Esther Freud - ★★★☆

-"The Prime of Miss Brodie" by: Muriel Spark - ★★★☆

-"On Beauty" by: Zadie Smith - ★★★★☆

-"The World According to Garp" by: John Irving - ★★★☆

-"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien - ★★★★☆

-"The Corrections" by: Jonathan Franzen - ★★☆

-Young Adult

-"Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz" by: L. Frank Baum - ★★★

-"Anne of Windy Poplars" by: L.M. Montgomery - ★★★☆

-"The Call of the Wild" by: Jack London - ★★★

-"Peter and the Star Catchers" by: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - ★★★☆

-"Eggs" by: Jerry Spinelli - ★★☆

-"The Hostile Hospital" by: Lemony Snicket - ★★☆

-"Inkheart" by: Cornelia Funke - ★★★★☆

-"The Graveyard Book" by: Neil Gaiman - ★★★★

-"Because of Winn-Dixie" by: Kate DiCamillo - ★★★☆

-Sequels

-"Perelandra" by: C.S. Lewis - ★★★

-"The Well of Lost Plots" by: Jasper Fforde - ★★★★

-"Something Rotten" by: Jasper Fforde - ★★★★

-"Dexter in the Dark" by: Jeff Lindsay - ★★★☆

-"Dearly Devoted Dexter" by: Jeff Lindsay - ★★★★

-"Teacher Man: A Memoir" by: Frank McCourt - ★★★★

-"Eclipse" by: Stephenie Meyers - ★★★★★

-"Son of a Witch" by: Gregory Maguire - ★★★☆

-"Coming Attractions" by: Robin Jones Gunn - ★★★★

-Book Club

-"Isaac's Storm" by: Erik Larson - ★★★★☆

-"The Ride of Our Lives" by: Mike Leonard - ★★

-"Cry, the Beloved Country" by: Alan Paton - ★★★☆

-"Peace Like a River" by: Leif Enger - ★★★★☆

-"The Soloist" by: Steve Lopez - ★★★★☆

-"A Mercy" by: Toni Morrison - ★★

-"The History of Love" by: Nicole Krauss - ★★★★★

-"The Grapes of Wrath" by: John Steinbeck - ★★★★★

-"Manhunt" by: James L. Swanson - ★★★

My Rating System (I rate on my personal reaction to the book):

★ = one star

☆ = 1/2 star

★★★★★ - a must-read

★★★★ - liked it a lot

★★★ - nothing special, but OK

★★ - not my cup of tea

★ - a waste of time

Photo by moi.

Reading Rainbow

As the year winds to an end I'm picking a few reading challenges to tackle in 2010.

I recently found a fun one here at Lost in Books that I’m going to attempt. It’s called the Color Challenge. You pick 9 books with different colors in the title. I'll keep you all updated on my progress. Let me know if you're doing this challenge too!

Here’s what I’m hoping to read for this challenge…

Color Challenge: 9 books with 9 different colors in the title

"The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga

"Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

"Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi

"The Green Hat" by Michael Arlen

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

"Briar Rose" by Jane Yolen

"My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru" by Tim Guest

"Blue Highways: A Journey into America" by William Least Heat-Moon

"The Scarlet Thread" by Francine Rivers

Photo of the beautiful cloth bound Penguin classics found here.