Wednesday, July 2, 2008

New Classics Challenge

I've decided to host a challenge! And I'm very excited! :-)

Deb from the A Novel Challenge yahoo group posted a link to this list of Entertainment Weekly's list of new classics, what they call the best reads from 1983 to 2008. I loved the list - many of my recent favorites are on it so I'm intrigued to see what some of the ones I haven't read yet will be like.

So the challenge rules are:

1) Copy the list (which I have pasted here, just in case that link ever disappears) and bold the titles that you have already read.

2) Choose at least 6 other books from the list , read and review them between 1 August 2008 and 31 January 2009.

2) Come back here and post links to your reviews.

3) In January 2009, cast your vote for which one of the 100 books on the list is your favorite (and write a post on why). The winning book will be sent to a lucky winner chosen by the scientific method favored here in the blogosphere, i.e. names in a hat. Other contests are very probable too, I have some ideas, but they need planning.

4) Have fun! :-)

Oh and can anyone make a button for this? I have no idea how to do that so a kind volunteer would be welcome!

Sign-up here - make sure you link to the specific post about this challenge!


84 comments:

sfdavide said...

I am looking forward to this challenge. My blog is sfdavide.blogspot.com. My Christopher Moore challenge is underway also

Juli said...

Sounds like fun!

Melody said...

Joanna, that's great you're hosting a challenge! This one sounds fun but unfortunately I'm not able to sign up more as my reading lists are full. I haven't complete any of the challenges to-date!! :P

Marie Cloutier said...

What a great idea. There were so many responses to that list when I posted it on my blog, and when it showed up on LibraryThing, etc. And thanks for dropping by my blog- I hope you enjoy the books when you get a chance. :-)

Unknown said...

Looking forward to this challenge. Thanks for hosting it.

bookinhand said...

I will make a post on my blog sometime in the next week. Looking forward to this challenge! Diane

Teddy Rose said...

I am interested in this challenge but have a couple questions:

1. Can we read books in conjunction with other challenges?

2. Can we make changes on our list of 6 if we change our mind or don't care for a book we started?

Thanks!

joanna said...

Those of you that are joining in, great, glad to see you here!

Melody - no worries, I'll forgive you, it's a reason I can easily understand! :-)

Teddy Rose - Yes of course! I've never seen a challenge that didn't allow these things so I didn't even think of including them... Maybe I should!

Teddy Rose said...

Thanks for hosting this challenge! I'm in and just put my link on good old Mr. Linky.

Jenn and The Cats of Castle Coull said...

Sounds like fun!
http://jennandthecats.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-classics-challenge.html

bookinhand said...

My list is posted here:
http://bookinhand.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-classics-challenge.html
Looking forward to to this challenge! Diane

Anonymous said...

I have my list on my blog at http://ladybug1016.blogspot.com/. This sounds like a fun challenge for me! :D

ScribblingformySupper said...

Thanks for hosting - sounds like a great challenge! I was surprised at how few of those I had actually read. I look forward to reading many more. At least now I have a new list to go off of! Thanks Joanna!

--Kat

Kate said...

Hi Joanna,

Can you send me a PM with your email! I made you a button!! Thanks!

Kate

joanna said...

Wow Kate, thanks! I just emailed you.

readerbean said...

This is my first reading challenge and I'm looking forward to it! Thanks for hosting - can't wait to see what everyone thinks of their picks! My blog is gettingbydreamingbig.blogspot.com
-Beth

The Bookworm said...

sounds like fun! My post is up and I made 2 buttons for you, they are at my post.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-classics-challenge.html

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this challenge. I'm just starting a blog and can't believe I've been missing all this challenge stuff. Perfect for the listmaker in me.

joanna said...

Naida - thanks those look great!

lovelylazylife - your list looks great! I wanted to leave a comment but I had to log into wordpress and i don't have an account with them...

Jendeis said...

Ooh, sign me up! It'll be my first blogging reading challenge. :) I'll have my list up on my blog tomorrow.

Sell Crazy Someplace Else

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting such a great challenge. It will be my first. I put my list up just a few minutes ago!

http://nbbaker1102.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/me-joining-a-book-challenge/

joanna said...

Jendeis and nbbaker - welcome to the world of challenges! :-)

Angela said...

My blog is www.fallingstar924.blogspot.com

I'm hoping to start this weekend with "The Handmaid's Tale"!

Ali said...

Thanks for the great challenge. I posted my reading list here: Worducopia

Allison said...

I can't wait to start this challenge!

Unknown said...

Yay! I'll play! It will take some time to get my list up (dang summer vacations and their laundry!) but count me in.

Jan in Edmonds said...

Joanna & all -- what a great challenge. I printed out the list, highlighted 23 that I've read, checked with the library on which ones were available on CD/CT and cross checked with 1001 to read before you die (not a requirement of this challenge but something I'm doing for another challenge).

What I've decided is:

On Beauty - Zadie Smith
Possession - A. S. Byatt
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst
The Corrections - Johathan Franzen
Secret History - Donna Tartt

Oh yes & the Booker winners which I'm also working on.

Thanks for having me!

joanna said...

Angela, Ali, Allison - welcome, glad you're joining in the fun!

rachael, welcome to you too and I'm looking forward to seeing your choices.

Jan - glad to have you here! I just received On Beauty as an unexpected gift so may have to read that too!

Grilsgood said...

Dont' do blogs, but I keep my postings on the Novel Challenge Link site

Unknown said...

I'm late, but I'm in. Great idea. And so many of the books on this list are already favorites of mine.

Sally HP said...

I'm excited to join this challenge!

Crafty Mama said...

Looking forward to reading and writing reviews! Very excited.....

Sarah at SmallWorld said...

I'm in! Sounds like fun!

Lisalit said...

I can't wait to begin!

Melissa Jungnitsch said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melissa Jungnitsch said...

I am excited about this!

Mari said...

What a great challenge and sounds like fun. I have posted my book choices here.
Thanks for hosting.

Jill said...

I'm in and it's my first challenge. Happy to see that there are a few other newbies involved! My post is up at http://underthedresser.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-classics-challenge.html

Kristi said...

Hey - this is my second challenge ever (and just signed up for the first one a few minutes ago!) Plan on signing up for one more today, then guess I better start reading!

Gina said...

This is going to be my first challenge! Thanks for hosting it.

Anonymous said...

What a great reading challenge! Thanks for creating this opportunity for all of us. I've posted my list of book on my blog.

Anonymous said...

I posted my first review of a book: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I added a link to the list above. Is that right?? Or should I just link to the review here?

http://nbbaker1102.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/eat-pray-love-new-classics-challenge-book-1/

Dani In NC said...

I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a reading challenge until today! I was reading Yarn-a-Go-Go when she mentioned a blog called Teach Me Tonight, which led me to ReadingAdventures, which pushed me down a slippery slope. Next thing I knew I had 10 tabs open and I ended up here :-).

I want to start reading more books and watching less TV, so I think I may be ripe for my first challenge. I'll have to think hard about this one. Thanks for starting it!

joanna said...

nbbaker - I just posted a Mr. Linky for August reviews, could you add your link there please? Thanks!

Tracey said...

I'm with Dani in NC. Trying to turn off the TV and get my nose in a book more often! This is so terrific - thank you for the idea and the post.

My blog and the link to my book list . . .

http://tinyurl.com/5nerrq

I hope to try more of your challenges in the future!

Karen said...

Thanks for hosting this challenge - I think this one definitely will be a challenge for me but I will see how I go!

Caitlin said...

Since my goal is to read more classics, (both old and new), I figure this challenge will encourage me to do so. There are many books on this list I will be checking out. Count me in!

Ana S. said...

Okay, I caved :P Thanks for hosting, Joanna. This is going to be fun for sure :)

Amanda Roper said...

Sign me up! This sounds grand!

Chris said...

I'm disappointed - and emabarassed - to see that I've only read ten books on this list! However, there are at least ten that I have sitting on my TBR shelf, so this is a perfect challenge for me to pursue. Count me in.

joanna said...

Welcome one and all! ;-)

Nymeth - so glad you caved! :-)

Chris - it's amazing, isn't it? I thought I'd read more than I have from this list as well, I think so many titles are familiar to us that are brains count them as read!

April said...

I hope it's not too late for me to join. It's a great list.

Unknown said...

Count me in. Ever since I joined A Novel Challenge, I have been signing up for more challenges than completing them! Judy

Anonymous said...

I forgot to comment before when I signed up. Thanks for this challenge, I'm looking forward to it!!

Kayleigh Sheehan said...

I've just started transferring my posts over from Chapters.Indigo.ca Community to my own blog (http://duringintermission.blogspot.com/), so there will be changes and tons of archived posts in the next few weeks, but I'll still be blogging. Bear with me!

Amanda said...

This seems like a really great challenge. I've already read a few of these books and a lot of them are on my TBR list. I'm really looking foward to seeing how many of these books I can read in the next few months.

Gentle Reader said...

Thanks for hosting, this is a great challenge!

Kim said...

This sounds like a great challenge and I'd love to participate. Is it only open to bloggers?

Molly Amanda said...

Thank you for this challenge, It's my first as well! I will be using the list in the future. Read on!

joanna said...

Hi Kim, it's open to one and all! :-)

Colleen said...

I'm signing up a little late. Great idea for a challenge!

Rebecca said...

I searched my shelves because I know that I have purchased many of these books with the intent to read. I think that is how I am going to pick my six.This is what I own that I have NOT read:

16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)

Wow. I just dug all these books off my shelves and many of them have bookmarks on page three. Not a good sign. I must have started them at some point and just couldn't do it. This is really going to be a challenge for me. Add a busy toddler, three CRAZY dogs, a part time job and a college literature course... I hope I can do it, but more importantly I hope I have fun trying. :)This is my first challenge. I am new to book blogging.

Rebecca
http://stillreadingbooks.blogspot.com/

Literature Crazy said...

I tried to stretch myself (with an additional 8 titles to be read in that same amount of time) because I already had six of those on my bookshelf to be read.

Unknown said...

This is my first challenge and I'm excited. Hopefully this will motivate me to check off a few of those books that I've always felt like I should read.
-Heather

Teddy Rose said...

I just finished the first book for the challenge. Here's the link to my review:

http://teddyrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/brief-wondrous-life-of-oscar-wao-by.html

Jan in Edmonds said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jan in Edmonds said...

I've finished five of the six books and my reviews for:

On Beauty - Zadie Smith
Possession - A. S. Byatt
The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst
The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
The Secret History - Donna Tartt

can be found on my blog. Just go to http://jottingsfromjan.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and posted a brief review on my blog.
http://restlessreader.com/?p=1579

Sandra said...

I'd love to do this. I read alot so I'm sure I can finish. Sign me up please. I will be back with a post link for it asap.

Kristi said...

Hello,

Just finished my first book for this challenge - The Handmaid's Tale - my review can be found here:
http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2008/11/handmaids-tale-by-margaret-atwood.html
Kristi

Teddy Rose said...

Hi Joanna,

I want to thank you for hosting this challenge!

I have made the tough decision to cut down on my challenges. This is a really good challenge,but I am not going to do it after all.

Thanks Again!

Teddy

joanna said...

Teddy Rose - ok, good luck with the ones you're continuing!

Okie said...

Great challenge...I felt twinges of guilt at having read so few of the books on this list. Looking forward to reading more of the "contemporary classics."

Marina said...

I'm joining really late, but I'll see what I can do...

Ali said...

Here's my review for Comfort Me With Apples. A book that definitely would not make my personal list of New Classics!

Teddy Rose said...

I want to thank you again for hosting this challenge. I have only read one book for is and have decided to cut down on my challenges. This is one I decided not to continue with. There's no way I would be able to finish it on time anyway.

Thanks again!

Kristi said...

I am still plugging away - Here is only my second review for The Road - but am close to finishing 2 more books!

http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2009/01/road-by-cormac-mccarthy-book-review.html

Kristi

Sofia said...

So, I've postade a review of A Secret History, although it was not originally on my list on the challenge =)

Kristi said...

Review #3 - still at it! This is for The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2009/01/lovely-bones-by-alice-sebold-book.html

Jennie said...

I thought I signed up for this in August, but apparently not! And... I haven't done any reading yet, but I plan a last minute miracle and I did publicly announce my intentions on my blog in August, so I'm signing up now!

Suzanne said...

Oh! I just found this and want to join. I'll bet I can read 6 books in the next two weeks no problem! heehee...if I don't finish will you be doing another like this? It sounds fun.

Wendy said...

Joanna...wanted to let you know I was contacted about a perpetual challenge to read from this list (the challenge has no time limit and is to read all 100 books). My policy at A Novel Challenge is to post all challenges...even if they overlap or are similar to other challenges...but I do give readers the link to similar challenges as well. I did not know if you were planning to do this one again in 2009... let me know if you are and I am happy to post that information as well.

Jan in Edmonds said...

Well -- I blew this challenge. Just couldn't seem to get that sixth book read. Too bad I can't use the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao which I read in June, 2008, but that pre-dates the beginning of the challenge. Oh well. I think my most fav book of this list is Lonesome Dove. I love McMurtry's tags with which he labels his characters.

Thanks so much Joanna for hosting a wonderful challenge and I'm mentally adding new books to it already.

Jan in Edmonds said...

I made it! Right after my previous post I got a message from my library that the CD was in so I went and got it and just finished it. Look for my post on my blog -- either today or tomorrow (1/31/09)! Yippee!!