Prop2gether's 999 Challenge for 2009

Well, fubar! I can't retrieve my original thread, so this is a new and revised one for the new year. Hopefully, it will be cleaner and easier to follow!

My 999 Categories are:

1284 Must Read
Reading Around the Globe
Reading Nationally
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
Memoir/Biography/True Life Stories
Mysteries With a Twist: Next in Series Order
Histories
Young Adult/Children's (CATEGORY COMPLETED 9/2009)
Stuff That Caught My Eye (from the bookstore, the library shelf, or from an LT thread)




Quick Note: My reading plans may change over the year, but as of December 2008, this is what's on my shelf or I'm seeking out to read.

List 1: 1284 Must Read

--City of God by E. L. Doctorow
--The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
--Chocky by John Wyndham (October 2009)
--The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy (July 2009)
--The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster (March 2009)
--Hard Times by Charles Dickens
--Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenov
--The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
--The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor

List 2: Reading Around the Globe

--France: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (November 2009)
--Australia: Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
--Turkey: Snow by Orhan Pamuk
--England: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (June 2009)
--Greece: Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
--Germany: Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe
--Nigeria: Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe (April 2009)
--Congo: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (February 2009)
--Portugal: The History of the Siege of Lisbon by Jose Saramago

List 3: Reading Nationally

--California: Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson (February 2009)
--Arizona: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (February 2009)
--New Mexico: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (February 2009)
--Texas: Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter (February 2009)
--Oklahoma: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
--Kansas: SUBSTITUTED BOOK Aventine forThe Leopard's Daughter by Lee Killough (May 2009)
--Missouri: Back Street by Fannie Hurst
--Illinois: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
--California Redux: The Sea-Wolf by Jack London

Clever map readers will note that I'm following the old Route 66 through 8 of the states

List 4: Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror

--Duma Key by Stephen King (1/2009)
--Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
--Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (1/2009)
--Moonheart by Charles de Lint (11/2009)
--Lisey's Story by Stephen King (May 2009)
--Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne (2/2009)
--Earth by David Brin (3/2009)
--The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft (1/2009)
--General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn (3/2009)

List 5: Memoir/Biography/True Life Stories

--J.M. Barrie and The Lost Boys by Andrew Birkin
--Dear Me by Peter Ustinov
--War Is...Soldiers, Survivors, and Storytellers Talk About War by Marc Aronson and Patty Campbell
--No Choirboy: Murder, Violence and Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kulkin (January 2009)
--Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era by Carl Sferrazza Anthony
--Fear on Trial by John Henry Faulk (October 2009)
--Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making Rebel Without A Cause by Lawrence Frascella and Al Weisel (June 2009)
--Founding Father by Richard Brookhiser (May 2009)
--Dearest Friend by Lynne Withey (February 2009)

List 6: Mysteries With a Twist: Next in Series Order

--Murder on the Caronia by Conrad Allen (aka Edward Marston) (March 2009)
--Gone by Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware) (November 2009)
--Day of Atonement by Faye Kellerman (Peter Decker/Rita Lazarus)
--The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
(No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency) (February 2009)
--The Fifth Woman Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallender) (February 2009)
--The King's Gold by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Captain Alatriste) (March 2009)
--Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (Easy Rollins) (February 2009)
--Black Ice by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch) (March 2009)
--Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman (Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn) (October 2009)

CATEGORY COMPLETED NOVEMBER 2009

List 7: Histories

--Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (5/2009)
--What the Dormouse Said by John Markoff
--Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile
--ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer by Scott McCartney (4/2009)
--Extraordinary Story of the Book That Defined the World by Henry Hitchings
--Lion's Pride by Edward Renehan
--First Families by Bonnie Angelo
--The Battle for New York by Barnet Schecter
--The Long Fuse by Don Cook

List 8: Young Adult/Children's

--The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (4/2009)
--The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (4/2009)
--The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (4/2009)
--Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors (4/2009)
--Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman (1/2009)
--What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (2/2009)
--The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (9/2009)
--Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (6/2009)
--Suck It Up by Brian Meehl (1/2009)

Completed category September 2009

List 9: Stuff That Caught My Eye

--The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (2/2009)
--Not Quite What I Planned Saying: Six Word Memoirs (completed 1/2009)
--Tragically I was an Only Twin: The Complete Peter Cook edited by William Cook
--The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
--Messengers of God by Elie Wiesel (1/2009)
--Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (10/2009)
--The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
--The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton (3/2009)
--TBD

Whew! Got my categories and loaded them with books on my TBR shelves at home or from recommendations from friends, family and LTers. Also filled in a couple of categories with some extra 1284 books (tee hee!), so I can keep rolling on that list.

You've stumped me. What's a "1284" book? The number of books you own? The books you owned by December '84?

The 2008 edition of the "1001 books you must read" book dropped 283 from the previous edition. The missing ones are still worthy to read. Hence the combined list of 1284.

Got it. I've looked at the original 1001 books book, but not the latest edition. The 283 interests me more than the 1001. I'll have to check out the new edition.

Thanks, Renee

ReneeMarie, I'm using the marvelous charts created by arukiyomi to chart my progress, and another I created in author alphabetical order so I can find the books on shelves. And I'm currently at 236 completed on the combined list, because I haven't counted anything I read in an abridged version (which cut out a lot!), and I'm just having fun with the list.

Filled in all but one blank--so now the game's afoot on January 1--will I stick to the list or substitute another? Will I find an author I absolutely cannot ignore? It will be a wild ride.

Good for you!
I still have 3 more to identify for mine.

I'm impressed! It looks like an interesting year and I know I'll get suggestions to put on my 2010 list!

These are the ones that I've read and loved. I won't mention the ones that didn't "send me"--don't want to influence you. And if you don't love the ones I did, I hope we can still be friends! ;-)

Woman in White is a great Victorian mystery novel--I love the genre!
The Violent Bear It Away--I love everything Flannery O'Conner wrote--and I've read it all. If you like this, I recommend reading Habit of Being--a collection of her letters, which tells you al lot about her and helps you understand "where she's coming from" in her quirky stories.
Arrow of God--I also love his writing; if you like this you should read Things Fall Apart; I have a book of his essays in my 999 challenge.
Heart of Darkness--this is not to everyone's taste, as I've discovered on LT. But I loved it--and it has the advantage of being short if you don't love it.
The Eyre Affair--this one is just pure fun--especially if you like Jane Eyre and mysteries.
The Man Who Was Thursday--another "quirky" novel which I read this year and really enjoyed. It's on my favorites list for this year. You do have to "go with the flow" in this one. I've read a lot of Chesterton and was prepared to enjoy it.

MusicMom, I love Collins and O'Connor. I was curious about The Eyre Affair from last year's group notes, and Arrow of God actually deals with a category plus a 1284 read. I enjoyed Things Fall Apart, but I read an edition that had complementary notes which were quite good. Conrad has been one of those writers who I've avoided for years, so I'm going to try again. And Chesterton--I was first introduced to him via his Father Brown stories many years ago. Lots of fun.

What great lists! I am looking forward to your reports as you go along. I read Chocky many, many years ago but still remember loving it - we actually named one of our dogs after it. Could be time for a reread!

>19 Prop2gether: Prop, I am getting the collected works of Flannery O'Connor for my birthday on the 28th of December and plan to read her in 2009.

- TT

I'll be interested to see how you like Chocky. I just discovered it would fit in my scifi/fantasy category. If it's a great read I may want to add it.

MusicMom--the answer is probably yes. I read three or four John Wyndham novels this year, and enjoyed every one of them. This is one that is held in the secret reserve section of my local library, so I have to promise to be really, really careful and good to books in order to check it out.

I've put it on my library list and will request it when I get home. There is only 1 copy in the entire Central Valley Catalog system! I hope I don't have to wait forever!

Prop2gether, I'd be really interested in your reaction to Chocky - it's the only John Wyndham I've never read, which is odd, because generally I have loved his stuff and I know my sister has a copy...

Flying home tomorrow from St. Louis via Las Vegas, and brought 3 of these selections to start the 999 year:

The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy
The Sea Wolf by Jack London
Not Quite What I Planned To Say: Six Word Memoirs

Plan to finish Collodi's Pinocchio (Early Reviewer new edition), Summer by Edith Wharton, and a book on tape Pere Goriot by de Balzac somewhere between now and this weekend. Start the year off with a bang!

Have a great new year, everyone!!

Well, I got waylaid, as usual, and finished Not Quite What I Planned to Say, and my ER edition of Pinocchio--reviews in my 75er page.

I love the 1284 category! I have one called "Kicked off 1001". I also like your Reading Nationally category - looks like some good books on that one!

Thanks about the 1284 books--it's got some books I've been letting sit on shelves for years, and I figured this was one way to push them off the shelves! I'm something of a compulsive list reader, so I'm hoping it works.

The Reading Nationally includes some authors who've been recommended, but I've never read, so I'm following Route 66 to get to them.

Very cool. I am obsessed with lists. Have you ever been to www.listsofbests.com? It is list paradise!

Is there a reason for following Route 66? I used to date a guy who was very into 66. All our vacations were driving up and down it. I've covered it from Chicago to Kingman, AZ.

There was discussion in the 75er group last year of a Reading Nationally group similar to the Reading Globally group. Some people wanted to follow a map, some an area, and I selected Route 66 because it starts in California (no, not in Illinois!), and it's got lots of memories for childhood moves. Plus the movie Cars was just too much fun.

Lists, lists, lists. Not that I ever complete all of them, but they help refine the search! And, yes, I've been to listsofbests.com. I like the movie and book lists from BBC, and several others as well. I really started working on completing lists when my son hit high school and was looking for books to read off specific lists. He was a very selective reader in those days, and I often read something first--just to recommend it or not.

Just finished No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin, listed in Category 5, but originally found on the ALA YA suggested reading. Interesting read, but my full review is on my 75er thread.

Two books down, 79 to go!!

Currently speeding my way through Duma Key by Stephen King, and loving it.

I hope you enjoy Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy if you haven't read them before (don't know how many people are doing rereads as part of the challenge). They're some of my favorite books, and I've reread them a few times.

Happy reading!

Thanks, celiafrances, I'm a fan of most of this type of story (and, yes, I'm one of the Eragon fans as well as LOTR. The books have been sitting on my shelves for months (as have most of those on this list), and I simply have to reduce those piles!

Also, I'm speeding through Duma Key by Stephen King and it is fabulous!!! Thank you, blackdogbooks on the 75er list, for pushing so hard for this read!

Finished Duma Key and loved it. Now sailing through Neverwhere by Gaiman. I'm enjoying this book by Gaiman much more than Stardust.

Prop2gether

I own Neverwhere and haven't read it yet. Could it be considered fantasy or SciFi? The only Gaiman or Pratchett that I have read is Good Omens and I think I need to "branch out"--Gaiman seems like an easier place to start because Pratchett looks overwhelming when I go the the bookstore!

#37 Definitely recommend Neverwhere MusicMom41! As with pretty much all Neil Gaiman's stuff, it's definitely fantasy rather than SciFi. Don't be fooled by Terry Pratchett's enormous back catalogue - there's all sorts of random stuff by Neil Gaiman all over the place - every time I think I've found everything, I discover something I missed!

#36 Glad you're enjoying one of my favourites Prop2gether! I agree re Stardust - it was actually my least favourite of his stuff - strangely post-film, I've enjoyed it much more!

They had a PBS version of The Woman in White that was really well done.

Finished Three Tales of Horror by H. P. Lovecraft. which included "The Dunwich Horror." Okay, I had to read all three stories in the daylight because Lovecraft has the second scare hit in a story completely sewn up. I first read Lovecraft last year, and now I have to find more to read--but only by daylight!

Also completed Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and I much preferred it to Stardust. It's a level above Ender's Game, which was a Secret Santa gift to me and I did enjoy, but not quite deep fantasy. On to the next book I can grab on the shelf.

I just finished The Graveyard Book and I really loved it. I still haven't read Neverwhere.

Just finished Antsy Does Time by Shusterman and absolutely loved it!

Just finished Suck It Up by Meehl--cute but not overwhelming. In the middle of Elie Weisel's Messengers of God, which is a fascinating discussion of various Biblical messengers.

Finished Messengers of God By Weisel; back to The Man Who Was Thursday (all things being equal).

Okay, I still have to pick up my Chesterton, but I did finish Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson for the Reading Nationally group and Devil in a Blue Dress for my "next in series" mysteries. Really enjoyed Ramona, and was quite sure I probably wouldn't. Nice surprise. The other is the first Easy Rollins book, but my book club had read a much later one, and I wanted to start the series fresh. It's fun and good writing--great combination for a mystery read.

Almost forgot that I also finished The Eyre Affair, which was cute, but not overwhelming to me.

Hmm. I have Devil in a Blue Dress around here somewhere and have never read any Walter Mosley. Sounds like that might be a good addition to my mystery category--focusing on new (to me) authors and Golden Age mysteries I still need to read. Great idea! Won't cost anything and no due date--the best of both worlds! ;-) Thanks for the nudge.

I hope you enjoy the Chesterton. It's not everybody's cup of tea but I thought it was fantastic--literally!

Just admitting to lurking! :-) Waiting for your reviews of the books in lists 1, 2, and 3 especially! :-)

Bonniebooks, my reviews can be found in the 75 Books for 2009 Group list. I did just finish Stephenie Meyer's Twilight for my road trip list above, and have Cormac McCarthy and Katherine Anne Porter both on the table to pick up, next in order.

Finished No Country for Old Men and Heart of Darkness. Neither is a happy book but both are well-told stories. I've enjoyed McCarthy in the past, but have never been able to complete a Conrad before this one. Interesting how our tastes and thinking can change as we age!

I just finished Heart of Darkness as well, and agree with your thoughts about it. It was my first attempt at a Conrad, and although I was a little wary a few pages in, and it got very good quickly!

Finished What I Saw and How I Lied and Pale Horse, Pale Rider on this list. The YA story was for mature teens, dealing with a post-WWII coming of age for a girl who's stepdad was in the miliary and a young man from the old unit who shows up. Nicely told, but not as special as Antsy Does Time--which I loved.

Pale Horse, Pale Rider with three short novels (or three long short stories, depending on your interpretation). I actually enjoyed the first two stories much more than the title story, but all well worth the reading. Porter is a master of the style.

Finished Dearest Friend by Lynne Withey, an interesting biography of our second First Lady. I have another First Lady biography on my list, but I need to find the book on my shelves now--for Nellie Taft.

Also finished three of my Next in Series mysteries by completing The Fifth Woman (Kurt Wallender) by Henning Mankell, The Miracle at Speedy Motors (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency) by Alexander McCall Smith, and by reading first The Black Echo and then the 999 list book of The Black Ice (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly, got a bit further down the track with these detectives.

From looking at my lists, I need to start on categories one and two relatively soon, but I've been so tempted by interesting books on 75er threads, that I've slacked a bit here. I am, however, carrying my copies of several--so hopefully, next message will have some of the classics listed.

Since my last entry, I've finished Earth by David Brin, The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster, Murder on the Caronia by Conrad Allen (aka Edward Marston), General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn, and The King's Gold by Arturo Perez-Reverte, all on various parts of my Challenge.

Happily, I enjoyed all of the above, and I'm currently midway through ENIAC and starting Dear Me for this Challenge. Lots of library books to read and return though--for lots of recommendations and other lists! LOL! It's getting busier!

Well, still reading Dear Me (I'm enjoying Ustinov's biography, but fortunately for me, it's a nice leisurely read.)

However, in April I also finished ENIAC; the three books of His Dark Materials including The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass; Saving Juliet, and Arrow of God.

By count, I'm almost one-third through my lists--and I have some looooooooonnng books coming up. However, it is helping my TBR pile (I hope).

Oh my, nearly the end of June, but I have finished 40 books on my list. In May and June, they included:

Aventine by Lee Killough, which was a substitute for Killough's The Leopard's Daughter which I cannot locate in four library systems. However, I really enjoyed this series of stories about life on a planet catering to artists and artistes. Not always fun, but always interesting and some thought-provoking as well.

Lisey's Story by Stephen King--OMG--King is back on form and this book is a paean to love and all its strengths. I recommend this book to all King fans, and, because it's on the shyer side of horror, to anyone tempted to try King for the first time.

Live Fast, Die Young is a history of the making of Rebel Without a Cause--all of the young stars and the director, producer, writer(s), and how the story and film that rocked generations was laced together. Some great production pictures as well, this book is mostly for fans, but is accessible to any reader.

Thunderstruck by Eric Larsen is another of his two stories in one histories: this one is about Enrico Marconi and his magic wires tied to the "murder of the century" committed by Dr. Crippen in London. I like Larsen's work, and, although at times, the story drags a bit, I was not bored.

Jellicoe Road was a pull from the ALA list of nominees for awards last year, and, while I initially had trouble both following the plot lines and disliked the central character, if you stay the course, the novel is quite a good read. A bit long for young adult, especially because of its convoluted story telling, it was worth the time.

Cranford was amazing. I've tried twice before to read this novella, but got bogged down shortly after the excellent introduction. This time I skipped the intro, went right to the story, and stayed with it. It's a very gentle telling of life in a small English village which is heavily populated with single women in the early to mid-Victorian era. It's a slice-of-life tale which can also mean a slower pace, but it has real heart-tugging moments. I really enjoyed this one.

I'm one-third through Cryptonomicon, which a 300-plus read thus far, and have several others sitting on my table.

...and months later...

I still have not finished Cryptonomicon although I have completed one category. My reading has been so scattered the last few months that I'm anticipating that I will not finish this challenge as I set it out.

However, I have read in series beyond my listed choices (lots of Verne; several Austers; more Gaiman and King; as well as the balance of the "Shipboard Romances" of Edward Marston, three additional volumes of the Harry Bosch series; six additional volumes of the Easy Rollins series; and lots of young adult literature from authors I first read for this challenge.

So, since I'm at 44/45 completed, I'm going to see how far I get on the rest of my lists. They are all books I want to read, so eventually they'll pop up. So far, so good--for me.

Well, I'm at 47 completed, with 3 in the reading process, so I may get about 2/3 through these lists by year's end. I'm pleased with the progress, but in looking over my reading, I find I was "distracted" by attractive recommendations from others, especially during the summer. I also tended to read the next(s) in order in most of the series works I read, so that meant I didn't read something else on my wannabe read lists.

I'll see how this month ends, and December works out, before I think about another challenge like this one. I don't have the time to keep up the thread readings in this group, and that's a loss for me as well. Maybe I'll just make the list and see what happens.

I feel a bit that way too. I won't finish the challenge unless I get a bit creative in allocating books I have read to the categories. I started the challenge in order to reduce the amount of tbrs I own, but instead, I have been distracted by all those bright and shiny books I see every day!

Laurie,

It's not so much the number that you read, but the fact that you enjoy the effort.

You don't see Stasia leaving us because we all read so many fewer than she does. It's the people here that is important to the effort not the number.