Leah's R.E.M. Challenge

[Leah]

Okay. I'm doing it. My challenge is that I am going to completely complete these four albums (Murmur, Life's Rich Pageant, Green, Accelerate) that are the most in line with what I read but still have some out-there challenges enough for me to make it an actual challenge. You can all laugh at me when I fail.

Because I'm in completion mode, I'm going to use a book twice if it fits into two separate categories (but only if/when I get desperate). If I have completed all of these by October, then I will add another album. Lordy. Give me the bourbon and the books!

[Leah]

MURMUR (1983)
"Radio Free Europe" – read a book that takes place in Europe The Time Being by Antonia Honeywell
"Pilgrimage" - read a book about a character who goes on a long journey Tai-Pan by James Clavell
"Laughing" – read a book that will make you laugh The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
"Talk about the Passion" – read an erotica book (This is the closest I will ever get.) The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
"Moral Kiosk" – read a book in which one of the characters is struggling with his morality No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
"Perfect Circle" – read a book about a tight-knit group of friends or family The Infinite by Nicholas Mainieri
"Catapult" – read a book set in Medieval times
"Sitting Still" – read a book in which nothing seems to happen Walden by Henry David Thoreau
"9-9" – read a book with 9 in the title, or a book that has only 9 chapters The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Shaking Through" – read a scary book The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown
"We Walk" – read a book about a protagonist, or group of characters, whose main mode of transportation is walking Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
"West of the Fields" – read a book about someone who has gone away, or is gone from home too long Trip Through Your Wires by Sarah Layden

[Leah]

LIFE’S RICH PAGEANT (1986)
"Begin the Begin" – read a book you’ve already read
"These Days" – read a book that takes place in present day We Come to Our Senses: Stories by Odie Lindsey
"Fall on Me" – read a book about oppression The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
"Cuyahoga" – read a book that takes place on or near a river, in which a river is prominently featured View of the Valley of the Mississippi, Or, the Emigrant's and Traveller's Guide to the West: Containing a General Description of That Entire Country; And Also Notices of the Soil, Productions, Rivers, and Other Channels of Intercourse and Trade, And... by Robert Baird
"Hyena" – read a book with an animal in the title (Charlie Freeman is a chimpanzee, so I say it counts!) We Love You, Charlie Freeman by Kaitlyn Greenidge
"Underneath the Bunker" – read a book about the end of the world I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
"The Flowers of Guatemala" – read a book that takes place in a foreign country Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
"I Believe" – read a book about fairy tales or a book that is a spin on a fairy tale The Girl Wakes: Stories by Carmen Lau
"What if We Give It Away" – read a book about giving up or giving something up The Orange Grove: A Novel by Larry Tremblay
"Just a Touch" – read a book that uses multiple formats or gimmicks in which to tell its story All Movies Love the Moon: Prose Poems on Silent Film by Gregory Robinson
"Swan Swan H" – read a book with a word repeated in the title Hoyle's Improved Edition of the Rules for Playing Fashionable Games: Containing Copious Directions for Whist, Quadrille, Piquet ... Together with an Analysis of the Game of Chess and an Engraved Plate for the Instruction of Beginners by Edmond Hoyle
"Superman" – read a book about a superhero

[Leah]

GREEN (1988)
"Pop Song 89" – read a book that is about another book Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
"Get Up" – read a book that sounds boring Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society by Illinois State Historical Society
"You Are the Everything" – read a book in which the protagonist is pining for someone Tobin's Palm by O. Henry
"Stand" – read a book that deals with direction (either literally or figuratively) The Game of Faro by Don Meyer
"World Leader Pretend" – read a book that revolves around war Fallen Land by Taylor Brown
"The Wrong Child" – read a non-YA book in which the protagonist is a child A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor
"Orange Crush" – read a book about a protagonist who is called away or forced to leave The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
"Turn You Inside Out" – read a book that hinges itself on dishonesty The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips
"Hairshirt" – read a book with a weird title
"I Remember California" – read a book that takes place in California
"Untitled" – read a book that deals with protection in some way The Hospital: The First Mountain Man Story by Keith C. Blackmore

[Leah]

ACCELERATE (2008)
“Living Well Is the Best Revenge” – read a book that has a great revenge scene Fierce Bitches by Jedidiah Ayres
“Man-Sized Wreath” – read a Christmas-themed novel The Chimes by Charles Dickens
“Supernatural Superserious” – read a book that takes place in a summer or day camp The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates
“Hollow Man” – read a book that has failed to meet the hype that surrounded it On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
“Houston” – read a book that is set in a big city Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
“Accelerate” – read a book that is fewer than 125 pages long The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
“Until the Day Is Done” – read a book in one sitting Mountain Plants of Northeastern Utah by Berniece A. Andersen
“Mr. Richards” – read a book that prominently features a president The Andrew Jackson Stories by Aaron Sitze
“Sing for the Submarine” – read a classic dystopian/apocalyptic novel
“Horse to Water” – read a book that involves a fight of some sort Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

[Lori, Super Mod]

Nice start, Leah!

[Lori, Super Mod]

You are tearing Life's Rich Pageant UP!

[Leah]

It's really only four books, haha. They just have the longest titles ever, because I read such boring things! :) I'm tied with Life's Rich Pageant and Green. I have an "inner challenge" to see which one of those two will get filled up first.

[Leah]

I. am. killing. it.

[Lori, Super Mod]

Uhm.. yeah you are!

[Lori, Super Mod]

You are on Fiyah!

[Leah]

They're getting harder, though!

[Elizabeth]

Amazing progress!

[Leah]

Elizabeth wrote: "Amazing progress!"

Thanks! The last few are getting tough! I'm going to have to add a new album.

[Leah]

All right, I'm getting down to difficult ones to cross off, so I'm going to add another album. Oh, boy. Here goes.

[Leah]

RECKONING (1984)
"Harborcoat" – read a book that is left open for interpretation, whose plot is ambiguous Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
"7 Chinese Brothers" – read a book about pain, loss, bereavement Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville
"So. Central Rain" – read a book in which the character or characters are waiting for something The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop
"Pretty Persuasion" – read a book that someone recommended to you
"Time after Time (AnnElise)" – read a book that spans a large period of time History of Mechanicsburg, Ohio by Joseph Ware
"Second Guessing" – read a book that you’ve been hesitant to pick up
"Letter Never Sent" – read a book that is told primarily in letters or diary entries Education of Deaf Children: Evidence of Edward Miner Gallaudet and Alexander Graham Bell by Joseph Claybaugh Gordon
"Camera" – read a book that centers on photography or on a particular photograph (Illustrations before the days of cameras, so I say it's close enough!) American Ornithology: Or, the Natural History of the Birds of the United States... by Alexander Wilson. with a Sketch of the Author's Life, by George Ord, F. L. S. & C. by Alexander Wilson
"(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville" – read a book you promised yourself you would never revisit
"Little America" – read a book set in the Western era The Great Platte River Road: The Covered Wagon Mainline via Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie by Merrill J. Mattes

[Lori, Super Mod]

You are out of control there, Leah : )