Everyone is by now very familiar with the1001 Books to Read before you die list, which can be found here (this is mostly for future reference for myself). I'm going to note here which of the few from the list I've read so far. As lists always are, this one is skewed to the compilers' tastes, and some are widely divergent from mine. Still, there are more than ten unread titles which appeal to me.

3M has come up with another challenge.

In 2008 I need to read 8 books that are first published in 08. Most of these books will probably be review books I receive. So I will not be making a list beforehand. I will add the books I've read to this list as I go.

Booknut is hosting this great challenge to read 4 books by authors that are not Caucasian. More details here.

I'm definitely participating as the majority of the authors I read are white. I don't have a list of books yet but I'll work on them. I'm going to do her second choice and read one from each of the categories listed (that's 6 books, but 4 minimum to finish this challenge) This challenges is from January-April 2008

I was doing this Sept 2007 to Sept 2008 because I missed sign ups but now since it's starting again in 2008 and I've only read two books out of my whole list, I'm going to change those two books and make this a 2008 challenge. This also means I have to come up with an author list.

A - A Dog So Small by Phillipa Pearce
B - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (re-read)
C - Critical Conditions by Stephen White (also for 888 challenge)
D - Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor
E - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (also for In Her Shoes Challenge)

Checking it twice. Okay, I'm making my book lists for 2 future challenges:

The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge hosted at The Book Mine Set. I'm picking The Free Spirit approach. I don't like being boxed in. Well, mostly it's because I still have a bunch of books I haven't finished for the last challenge. I will do better this time. Here's my list:

I just found this meme on Ticket to Anywhere, a bookblog I recently discovered. She found this meme on LibraryThing's blog.

The following is a list of the top 106 books tagged as “unread” on LibraryThing. I’ve divided them up into categories.

Let’s see how I do.

UNOWNED AND UNREAD
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Emma by Jane Austen
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Lady Chatterley's lover by D.H. Lawrence
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

There are too many books piled up on my book shelves waiting to be read. Hence I joined From the Stakes Winter Reading Challenge. That way I can read atleast 5 books from that pile from Nov 1, 2007 to Jan 30, 2008.

My tentative list:

Roots by Alex Haily

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

Deep Freeze by Lisa Jackson

In 2008 I'll be participating in Becky's Young Reader's Challenge. I need to read 12 books aimed at the 12 and under crowd. I read a lot of these anyways so I figured why not! I'll stay away from picture books since I'm doing that for the Celebrate the Author Challenge.

List to come

"What's In A Name?" Reading Challenge
Dates: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008
The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a colour in its title.

Okay so I meant to sign up for this challenge back in February. Oh well. I should be able to read 5 nonfiction books about health and wellness by Nov. 14.

1. The Hidden Dangers of Soy by Diane Gregg
2. Nourishing Your Daughter by Carol Beck
3. Stick Figure: A Diary of a Former Self by Lori Gottlieb
4.
5.

For the Title Master Reading Challenge, you read at least 4 books where the words in the title all start with the same letter. (Note, The is not counted but A is)

Here is a list of books that I'm already reading that fit the theme. In brackets is the challenge(s) they also fall under. I will read at least four of them between March 1 and July 1/08.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (Whitecoulls)
X-traordinary X-tremes by Mary Packard (A to Z extra)
Criss Cross by Lynee Rae Perkins (888, Newbery)
Midnight Magic by Avi (Young Adult extra)
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (Young Readers)
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Newbery)
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Newbery)
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Newbery)

When I first saw this I thought it said Enormous Challenge LOL. Then I read it again and I was like, Epony what? I'll be reading 4 books from March 1 to May 31 whose titles contain at least one of the characters names (like Oliver Twist) or a description of a character (like Merchant of Venice)

So here's my list:

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (Also Book Awards)
Waiting For Sarah by Bruce McBay (Also Canadian Book)
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan (Also Whitecoulls List)
When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton (Also 888)

I finished this challenge on time. I challenged myself to read 12 books and I finished them all.

I did make a goal to catch up on my reviews which I did but I'm behind again unfortunately. I had fun and hope to participate again next year.

You can see my list of books read here.

Kathleen is hosting the Winter Reading Challenge.

This is a list of books I'll be reading in December, January and February.

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Season of the Witch Natasha Mostert
Looking for Juliette by Janet Taylor LisleThe Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
Nim's Island by Wendy Orr
Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen
Dog Years by Mark Doty

I finished six books for RIP II Autumn Challenge.

Here are my reviews:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowlings

Dewey is hosting the Printz Award Challenge. The challenge is to read 6 Printz Award winner or honor books in 2008. My list:The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak (Also 888 and Book Around the World)
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen YangLooking for Alaska, by John GreenA Step From Heaven, by An Na

I think I am getting cold feet looking at my own list. However, I have to do this. I can't go on procastinating!

Man Booker Challenge 2008
1) 2007 The Gathering by Anne Enright
2) 2006 *The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
3) 2000 *The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood currently reading it
4) 1981 *Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
5)
6)

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Words for Annie is hosting her first challenge.

For all of 2008 I must read at least one book from each category below.

1. A book with a color in its title. - The Color Purple by Alice Walker (also for 888 and Book Awards)
2. A book with an animal in its title. - Elephant in the Playroom by Denise Brodey (also for 888)
3. A book with a first name in its title. - Lessons from Jacob by Ellen Schwarts (also for In Their Shoes)

This is my tentative list for the Decades Challenge 2008. At least 8 books to be read from consecutive decades. I can change my list at anytime.

Before 1800
1719: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

1810's
1816: Emma by Jane Austen
1817: Rob Roy by Walter Scott

1820's

I had thought of joining this challenge. However, I am not much familiar with southern authors. As an Indian, I go by country or continents. However, on Maggie's insistence, I am giving it a go.

Here is my list:

(1) Roots by Alex Haley
(2) Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
(3) In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
(4) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

As I have already read the first two, that too in May, those may be counted for the challenge. I only need read one more. The last two are very much with me and so reading those won't be a problem!

And now for a Southern haiku:

your very own greed

I have completed the Pub'08 Challenge! I have been fortunate to receive several ARCs of books published in '08. For the most part, I have enjoyed them all. Here's what I read:
**Click on the title for reviews.**

It's here! The 2008 TBR challenge!

I didn't get to participate last year so I'm excited. I just need to finalize my list. I already have a lot of books to read so I can't choose all new books but I don't want them all to overlap either.

So the list is to come, very soon of course since I have to have it done by Dec. 31/08

Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting this challenge to read books that are part of these categories: Fantasy, Folklore, Fairy Tales and Mythology. This is a Spring challenge and takes place from March 21 to June 20. He has three journeys, I'll be taking this one:

Quest the First

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time II criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

So without futhur ado, here is my list of choices:

Here is a Book Meme going around....I got this from Books, Memes, Musings.

These are the top 106 books that are most often marked "unread" by LibraryThing's users. Bold what you've read, italicize what you started but couldn't finish, strike thru those books you hated. Add an asterisk(*) beside those you've read more than once, and underline those on your TBR list.

Jonathan Strange & M. Norrell (own it)
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment (own it)
Catch-22
One hundred years of solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: a novel
The Name of the Rose (own it)
Don Quixote (own it)
Moby Dick (own it)
Ulysses
Madame Bovary (own it)
The Odyssey (own it)
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov

For this challenge I'll be reading 3 books that were recommended to me by November 30/08. The rules didn't say if they had to be personally recommended to me or recommended to all readers in general but I'll be doing books personally recommended to me. Or at least I'll try.

1. A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (recommended to me after I read Midwives by Chris Bohjalian but I can't remember from who and can't find the recommendation! If it was you, let me know!)
2.
3.

Stars: ***1/2 These books were read for the Decades 08 Challenge and as part of the A Novel Challenge Mini-Challenge 2008.

Alice in Wonderland was first published in 1865 and Through the Looking Glass was first published in 1871. However I read a 2006 edition by Parragon Publishing in the UK. It’s a part of the Children’s Classic Collection. (not the cover pictured)

This was the first time I’d ever read these books, which I thought were one book, but I did know the storyline from the movie. Although I liked the movie, I wasn’t as fond of the book. Since the majority of what happens in the story is nonsense, it can be hard to follow so the movie made it a little easier. I’m not real fond of either though. They are well written and very creative, but just a little too strange for me.

This is a new challenge from me. From February to May 2008, read at least two books by authors who share the same name as you. More info here.

My list:
Don't Call them Ghosts: the spirit children of Fontaine Manse: a true story by Kathleen McConnell
The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson (Also 888 and Young Adult)
Looking at the Moon by Kit Pearson (Also 888 and Young Adult)
Awake and Dreaming by Kit Pearson

I'm reading lots of Katherine's and Kathy's already too but I only need to read two so this list is enough.