Reading Challenges

Books to Read Before I Die reading challenge is sponsored by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. The idea of this challenge is similar to a "Bucket List" and, as Diane said so well, what better way to start off 2010, than with a Challenge that encourages us to "Read the Best Books First"!

Here are the guideline for the challenge:
*Between now and December 31, 2009, make a list of between 10 and 20 Books to Read Before You Die. (depending on interest, this may be an annual event challenge).
*The books on your list can come from your stacks or the library, and be in print or audio format.
*Overlaps with other challenges is fine with me.
*Once you've created your post with tentative titles, THEN sign up using Mr. Linky, by pasting the link to your post, along with your name/blog name. This is how you will be registered. Finalize your list by 12/31/09 (no changes to the list after 12/31/09).
*All bloggers who complete the challenge will be entered in giveaway to win an Amazon Gift Card.

My list of Books to Read Before I Die:

1.The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
2.Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
3.Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
4.Snow by Orhan Pamuk
5.The Gathering by Anne Enright
6.Jantzen's Gift by Pam Cope
7.God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
8.Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
9.Felicia's Journey by William Trevor
10.Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
11.Generation A Douglas Coupland
12.The Help by Kathryn Stockett
13.Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
14.The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
15.The Help by Kathryn Stockett
16.The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
17.The Sea by John Banville
18.Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
19.The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
20.Molly Fox's Birthday by Deidre Madden



The Awesome Author Challenge is being hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books.

"The idea behind this challenge is to read works by authors who have been recommended to you time and again, yet somehow you haven't managed to read any books by those authors. These are the authors that everyone else tells you are awesome, thus the "Awesome Author Challenge" title."

The challenge begins January 1, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010 so there's a lot of time to read your Awesome Authors!
The Rules for this challenge:
**Crossover from other challenges is allowed
**Choose the level at which you would like to participate, post about it and leave a link to your post in Mister Linky.
**Titles and authors do not have to be predetermined, and can change at any time.
**Books can come from any genre or reading level, the only requirement is that you have heard great things about the author, but haven't yet read any of their works
The Levels of the challenge:
*Easy: Choose three authors and read at least one title from each author
*Moderate: Choose six authors and read at least one title from each author
*Challenging: Choose ten authors and read at least one title from each author.
*Over-Achieving: Anything over ten authors

I have a long list of authors that have been recommended to me many times and I have yet to read so I am going for the "Over-Achieving" Level and make a good dent in my list. I have updated my list here and listed some of the books I plan to read or choose from!

Away by Amy Bloom
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
Native Speaker; A Gesture Life; Aloft by Chang-Rae Lee
The History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Housekeeping; Gilead; House by Marilynne Robinson
Disgrace; The Lives of Animals; Elizabeth Costello; Summertime by J.M. Coetzee
The Moons of Jupiter; Runaway; View of Castle Rock by Alice Munro
The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Prodigal Summer; The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Master; The Blackwater Lightship; Mothers and Sons; Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
March; Years of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Intuition; Paradise Park; The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman