Friday, May 1, 2009

Cannonball Read - The 100 Book Challenge

If any of you follow Pajiba as I do, you will have been reading about this for months. I just never really got the bug to do it myself. And then when AlabamaPink passed away, it felt a bit callous to pick up the challenge. But time has moved forward, and I have decided this would be a fun challenge to set for myself (and possibly Grags) for this year.

Prisco set forth the race to read 100 books. They must all be be over 200 pages; no graphic novels; and short story collections must contain at least six stories.

The fun, and more time-consuming part I imagine, is that they wrote a short review of each book. I have read a few new books this year, so I may cheat and go back to review those as my first five or so. Who knows. In the event that I'm alone in this race, the rules are bendable.

I would love to hear (legitimate) recommendations, but I make no promise to embark on them. After reading the HP series, plus all of my Neil Gaiman and Chuck Palahniuk books over and OVER again, I feel like my brain could use a new read. But speaking of that, next Tuesday (May 5th) Chuck's newest book comes out, Pygmy. I never read Snuff, though it doesn't sound like I missed much. I didn't ever get around to Rant either, which seems like a grave mistake by most Palahniukians. So those two are at the top of my list. Though not back to back; too much Chuck P can make your bile attack your brain.

While on the topic, let me recommend some of my favorite reads to you:
*Lullaby, by Chuck Palahniuk
*Survivor, by Chuck P
*Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
*Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
*The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I know the reading level is set young, but the concept and view of humanity is beautiful and should be oft revisited.
*Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley.
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling. Obviously I love them all, but this one is of highest recommendation.

2 comments:

E. Cooley said...

HOORAY!

* Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill. Beautiful, beautiful and engrossing.

* Beloved, by Toni Morrison. One of the greatest love stories ever, plus ghosts!

* Lamb, by Christopher Moore. To paraphrase the author's blessing: "If you have come to these pages for laughter, may you find it. If you are here to be offended, may your ire rise and your blood boil... If you need to test or confirm your beliefs, may you reach comfortable conclusions."

* Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenidies. Gorgeous, thought-provoking.

* The Magician's Assistant, and after that, Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett. Both just spell-binding.

Unknown said...

I'm going back through and reading some of the classics I missed in high school (Slaughterhouse Five, Crime and Punishment, Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit, etc.). After all, they are classics for a reason. :-) Except Catcher in the Rye...that one's just bad. ;-) And, of course, Wicked, Angels and Demons, The Hitchhiker's Guide series, The Divine Comedy, and anything by Faulkner.