Thursday, July 31, 2008

Bang Bang Book Challenge


Here's another one that enticed me - and there are more coming, I'm just doing my lists! :-) The Bang Bang Book Challenge is hosted by Kelsey and asks me to read five books set during one or more wars, between 1 September 2008 and 28 February 2009.

Completed: ALL 5/5 as of 28 February 2009 (view my wrap-up post here)


What a great idea, Kelsey, thanks!

9 comments:

Iliana said...

I am tempted to join in this challenge as well but I'm just thinking about it for now...
If you haven't read A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot I highly recommend it. It's got a mystery, history and a love story.

readerbean said...

I'm doing your New Classics challenge and so I've started perusing your blog and am really enjoying it.

Here are two recommendations for you for war time reads:

"Winds of War" by Herman Wouk - it's a little long but sooo good!

"When the Elephants Dance" by Tess Uriza Holthe

Paula Weston said...

Interesting challenge.

Probably a silly question, but have you read Atonement yet by Ian McEwan? It fits your challenge...

(I loved the Book Thief, and I know it's been hyped enormously in the past year, so I hope you enjoy it).

Liz said...

I recently read your post about Irène Némirovsky and wanted to let you know about an exciting new exhibition about her life, work, and legacy that will open on September 24, 2008 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage —A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City. Woman of Letters: Irène Némirovsky and Suite Française, which will run through the middle of March, will include powerful rare artifacts — the actual handwritten manuscript for Suite Française, the valise in which it was found, and many personal papers and family photos. The majority of these documents and artifacts have never been outside of France. For fans of her work, this exhibition is an opportunity to really “get to know” Irene. And for those who can’t visit, there will be a special website that will live on the Museum’s site www.mjhnyc.org.
The Museum will host several public programs over the course of the exhibition’s run that will put Némirovsky’s work and life into historical and literary context. Book clubs and groups are invited to the Museum for tours and discussions in the exhibition’s adjacent Salon (by appointment). It is the Museum’s hope that the exhibit will engage visitors and promote dialogue about this extraordinary writer and the complex time in which she lived and died. To book a group tour, please contact Tracy Bradshaw at 646.437.4304 or tbradshaw@mjhnyc.org. Please visit our website at www.mjhnyc.org for up-to-date information about upcoming public programs or to join our e-bulletin list.
Thanks for sharing this info with your readers. Let me know if you need any more.
-Elizabeth Sinnreich (executiveintern@mjhnyc.org)

Marg said...

Now this is a tempting challenge. I am going to have to look at my TBR list and see what I have that fits it!

Amanda said...

What a cool idea for a challenge!! I'm tempted to join :) Birdsong and Suite Francaise are great picks and I loved Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons so I'm excited to see how you like Cold Mountain.

Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors is a great one set during the French Revolution.

joanna said...

iliana - it was too tempting for me to resist! :-) And I was considering A Very Long Engagement, thanks for the rec.

readerbean - glad to have you visit! :-) Wasn't the Wouk one made into a mini-series or something? It sounds familiar...

Hi Paula - yes, I've read it, although it was a long time ago and I'd like to re-read it.

marg - oh go on, there is always room for another challenge! :-)

amanda - thanks for the idea, the French Revolution is something I'd like to know more about.

Kari said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kari said...

"Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" by Herman Wouk, were both made into mini-series. If you ever get a chance you read them, you should! Both of them are quite long, but worth the read! I ended up loving the first one so much that I read them both this summer. The story is very captivating and even though they are long, they are both a pretty easy read. If I remember correctly, in "War and Remembrance" Wouk has a message in the front saying that they are a series, but you can read the second one without having read "Winds of War" and still enjoy it.
I look forward to hearing your reviews for the Bang Bang Challenge. Should be a good one! :)