Hello!

I liked Nathaniel's idea of having both fiction and nonfiction on the list of twelve, so I am doing the same thing. Props to Nathaniel!

Here's my list:

Fiction:

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Wreckage by Michael Crummey
Infinite Jest A Novel by David Foster Wallace



Nonfiction:

A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books by Alex Beam
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Letters of E. B. White, Revised Edition by E. B. White
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett

Infinite Jest woulda made the cut for me, but I hope to finish it before the year is out.

Key word: Hope.

(Plus my page count is outta hand.)

I know...the page count is a bit daunting, but having a year to work it in should be doable. I hope you do finish it before year's end. How far in are you?

Roughly 200 pages in. (That's probably 225 with reading the endnotes.)

It's not Wallace's fault. I think its brilliant, and funny, if not convoluted. I just lost steam on it, and haven't picked it back up.

This summer there was a website devoted to bookclubbing it. Infinitesummer.org....but they finished in September and moved on to Dracula, and took down all the Infinite Jest stuff. There is a page that you're supposed to get to before putting it down, somewhere in the 230s, I think, where apparently the whole thing changes.

Thanks for the Infinite Summer link Nathaniel. How long has it taken you to get where you are?

I read the 200 pages in like a week to ten days.

I am really looking forward to this task for 2010!

The books I chose have been waiting for me for so long, they have become list-worthy (of course most books are worthy in so many ways) and have triggered negligence guilt!

I have them set aside for the New Year but I'm not too worried about being tempted to start them early, I am working on the Fall seasonal reading challenge and will then be into the Winter challenge starting December 8th.

As the refrain goes, so many books...so much enjoyment. What? that's not how it goes? :P

Hi Jennifer. Great list. I don't even know where to start with my. I've decided that I have to make the list today and get it posted. I need to read non-fiction. I almost never do and I'm sure I'm missing out.

mary

MarBear! wrote: "Hi Jennifer. Great list. I don't even know where to start with my. I've decided that I have to make the list today and get it posted...."

Hi Mary. Thanks. I am pretty happy with my list. I didn't have a hard time deciding what to read as some books have been in my TBR for far, far too long. Nonfiction is almost as important to me as fiction. There is just so much to learn more about. I hope you have success compiling your list; you do still have lots of time though, no panic. :)

Okay, so I am rethinking both my fiction and nonfiction lists!

Fiction

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks has to come off, because, in looking at my shelf, I have had other books waiting much longer longer.

Options to add:
* The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
* Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
* The Golden Notebook By Doris Lessing
* The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnston
* Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon

Nonfiction:

Again, in looking at my shelves, I have had other books waiting longer than both The Geography of Bliss One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World and A Great Idea at the Time The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books

Options

* Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear
* Thanks by Margaret Visser
* Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare by Clare Asquith

Input, opinions and feedback most welcomed...I don't know if I am daring enough to set up a poll, like Nathaniel ~ the benevolent dictator! LOL!!

I have to say, I feel illiterate reading your list as I am not familiar with any of them.

Jill wrote: "I have to say, I feel illiterate reading your list as I am not familiar with any of them."

Oh, don't Jill! Your comment was quite literate! LOL!

Everyone reads such different things. So many books, so much to learn, so little time!!

:)