Collecting Dust July 2014 Challenge

[MK]

This is a monthly challenge for those readers who have had books forever on their TBR list.

This challenge will help you get those books finally read.

If you wish to participate then from your TBR bookshelf list 5 books that you would like to read for the month of July. The next member who comments will pick two choices from your list. You are only obligated to read 1 of those books, but you may choose to read both. Once you read it, let us know and you may add your review or link to your review!

RULES:
1) If you would like to participate, please sign up by June 30th, 2014.

2) Choose 2 books from the person's list that commented before you. First in, is last to pick - First person to sign up, please pick books for the last person to sign up :).

3) Each participant will have the entire month to read their book(s), post their rating and review. And tell us what you think of your book in this thread.

Let's have fun reducing our TBR piles*.

(link to June 2014
link to August 2014)

*Books can be any of your TBR books, not restricted to classics.

[MK]

July Dusty Challenge is open! :)

[Rachel]

Hi Matt!

My picks for you are Vineland and Death in the Afternoon. Happy Reading!

Here are my choices:

1. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
2. Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger
3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
4. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
5. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

[Connie]

Rachel:
My picks for you are Eat, Pray, Love and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

My list of 5 is:
1) The Fifth Mountain
2) A Wild Old Man on the Road
3) Ludmila's Broken English
4) The Apprentice
5) Caleb's Crossing

[Diana S]

Hi Connie,
My picks for you are Ludmila's Broken English and The Apprentice Have Fun! :)

My list of 5 is:
1. Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West
2. Wrapped
3. The Wedding Officer: A Novel of Culinary Seduction
4. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle
5. The Mapmaker's Wife: A True Tale Of Love, Murder, And Survival In The Amazon

[Julie]

Diana S, for you I choose: The Wedding Officer: A Novel of Culinary Seduction and Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West.

I would like to chose from this list:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

[Maarit]

Julie, my picks for you are The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Life of Pi. I hope you enjoy them :).

This is my list of 5:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Animal Farm
Neverwhere
The Garlic Ballads
The Phantom of the Opera

[[deleted user]]

Maarit, I choose Animal Farm and Neverwhere for you to read.


My list for July

A Study in Scarlet
The Catcher in the Rye
Tender Is the Night
Jane Eyre
Oliver Twist

[Simona]

Caroline, my choices for you are Jane Eyre and Oliver Twist. Hope you'll enjoy the books! :)

These are mine:
1984 by George Orwell
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

[Lesserknowngems]

Simona, I think you should read Romeo and Juliet, because I love Shakespeare and I would like to know your thoughts and On the Road

These are mine:
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Lesserknowngems,
Choose from Villette and A Room of One's Own


My List for July:

Bleak House
Cloud Atlas
Johnny Appleseed: The Man, the Myth, the American Story
Ship of Magic
The Winter Sea

[Claudia]

Kathy,
My choices for you are Bleak House and Cloud Atlas

This is my list:

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
The Alchemist
The End of Mr. Y
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
We Have Always Lived in the Castle

[D]

Claudia, I've loved a few of these books, but I choose The Alchemist and The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

My books are:

The Silence of the lambs
Norwegian Wood
And the mountains echoed
Manual of the warrior of light
Winter in Madrid

[MK]

One more day to sign up for July dusty challenge! Who's in?

[Amberthereader]

Hi Danielle, I pick And the Mountains Echoed and Silence of the Lambs.
My books are:
1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

[Shawn]

Danielle, I choose The Silence of the Lambs (a chiller) and Winter in Madrid (chilly, lol).

My books are:
The Joy Luck Club
The Last Days of California
Mozart's Sister (Ladies of History #1)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Wilder Rose

[MK]

Shawn wrote: "Danielle, I choose The Silence of the Lambs (a chiller) and Winter in Madrid (chilly, lol)...."


Shawn,

Ooops! Amber snuck in right in front of you and picked for Danielle :). Want to re-pick, for Amber? :D

[Shawn]

MK wrote: "Shawn wrote: "Danielle, I choose The Silence of the Lambs (a chiller) and Winter in Madrid (chilly, lol)...."


Shawn,

Ooops! Amber snuck in right in front of you and picked for Danielle :). Want ..."


Okay, Amber! I pick Mansfield Park and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Here's my list (again):
The Joy Luck Club
The Last Days of California
Mozart's Sister (Ladies of History #1)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Wilder Rose

[AC]

My turn to join:

Hello Shawn, I pick Mozart's sister and a tree grows in Brooklyn.

My choices are:

The One
The Pearl
Grapes of Wrath
The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Fahrenheit 451

((Note: most, if not all, are not actually on my goodreads to-be-read list.))

[Reyouf M]

Hello , my picks for you Aidan are Fahrenheit 451 & Grapes of wrath. Happy reading!


My choices:

1- Sense and Sensibility
2- The Diary of a Young Girl ((Anne Frank))
3- The Night Circus
4- Pandemonium
5- Oh Dear Silvia

:)

[Linnea]

Hi! My picks for you, Reynawaf, are Sense and Sensibility & Anne Frank. Enjoy! :)

My choices:

1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
2. Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred
3. Sense and Sensibility
4. Dead Souls
5. Small Island

:)

[MK]

Matt wrote: "Ooo, I go first this month!
...



Matt, you get to choose for Linnea :)


(will get August up by end of day)

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Unusual title, reminds me of two titles I have come across, both I want to read just because the title is cool.

Puck of Pook's Hill by Kipling

or

Pudd'nhead Wilson by Twain

[Tytti]

Matt wrote: "even though I've never heard of it, the title is so awesome that I have to read your review."

Both the original and the Finnish title are much more ordinary, roughly "The story of a monstrous/weird love (affair)".

[MK]

Thanks, Matt :)

Okay! signups for July officially closed!


---------------------------------------


Let's have the reviews :)

[Julie]

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - highly recommended, kinda of a crime story with the detective being an autistic boy, and all from his point of view - loved it :-)

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Julie wrote: "I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - highly recommended, kinda of a crime story with the detective being an autistic boy, and all from his point of view - loved it..."

I read this book several years ago and I loved it too. Highly recommended.

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Bob wrote: "Unusual title, reminds me of two titles I have come across, both I want to read just because the title is cool.

Puck of Pook's Hill by Kipling

or

Pudd'nhead Wilson..."

Actually, Bob -- I have both of those on my TBR list for exactly the same reason :)

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Matt wrote: "For Linnea:
*The Unbearable Lightness of Being, because it's been on my shelf for a while and I want to know how it is!
...and...
*[book:Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred..."

Oh, what a great title. I am intrigued.

[Blueberry]

Kathy wrote: "Bob wrote: "Unusual title, reminds me of two titles I have come across, both I want to read just because the title is cool.

Puck of Pook's Hill by Kipling

or

[book:Pudd'nhead Wi..."

I enjoyed Pudd'nhead Wilson.

[D]

I got distracted by a few other books before I started reading And the Mountains Echoed. But, I finally got into my reading list!

I finished it a few hours ago and I'm still trying to figure how exactly I feel about it. Having read A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner, I was excited to continue reading stories about Afghanistan. Last year, I'd lived in a Muslim country and knew partly as an observer of some of the women's struggles.

I started this book and for the first 1/3 of the book couldn't put it down; the interwoven oral story of a father losing a child which reflected his own sorrow, beautiful. However, after reaching half way, I started to get lost. There were characters that appeared who seemed to have no connection to the previous storytelling.

Overall, it was yet another great story and Hosseini's story telling reaches you more than you can imagine, although I felt it lacked something the other previous two owned.
The idea of family and the importance of our connections, being a theme throughout the book; it ending, as usual, as a raw, emotional experience (in a good way).

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

I have totally been distracted this month. I read The Winter Sea which was on my list of 5, but not one of my two to read. I liked it okay -- but it is so similar to the other book that I read by Susanna Kearsley that I knew the plot and most of the story already.

I am off to start Cloud Atlas, one of the two chosen for me this month. Still have half the month left and some beach time coming up.

Danielle -- I've wanted to read And the Mountains Echoed since it came out but just haven't done it yet. I guess I will have to put it on my next dusty challenge.

[MK]

Kathy wrote: "I have totally been distracted this month. ..."

Kathy, ME TOO. I went to my monthly library book club last Thursday, and I hadn't even finished reading my book. Actually, only started the day before the meeting! I haven't been able to put my focus on a page all month, it feels like.

[Maarit]

I just finished Eläinten vallankumous (Animal Farm) by George Orwell. I wrote a short review of it (though sorry, in Finnish) and I can say that it was a pretty good book despite the fact that it was a political satire and a kinda depressing to read.

I still have to read Neverwhere, but I will start it soon.

[MK]

I really enjoyed Neverwhere, Maarit

[Maarit]

Good to know, MK :). I've only read it about 30 pages or so, because I've totally side-tracked at reading The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith which is almost to the end and I only started it a few days ago.

[MK]

I hope you like it :)

[Lesserknowngems]

I am working on a bookblog and will have a full review there, when that time comes. For now I will just say that Villette is abook that needs time, but the more time the book gets the more I like it. It's about the everyday of a middle class woman who loses all her money and isn't married. It's a great read for patient people who don't mind feminist books. :)

[Linnea]

The books chosen for me to read in July were: The Unbearable Lightness of Beingand Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred (which I read in Swedish).

I enjoyed both books a lot! They are quite different in style and execution, but have one thing in common: they both touch on human nature, with all its faulty beauty.

Kundera has skillfully constructed a novel that in an effective way gets his many points and ideas across, without telling you what to think. It allows a glimpse into your own mind, without you sometimes even knowing it. It's a difficult book to sum up in a review, mostly because it raised a lot of thoughts, and still does. And that, to me, is what makes it great. I gave it 4 stars, but am now considering it a 5.

Vallgren's book is easily read both in regards of language and structure. That said, the language is beautiful and elaborate and the structure somewhat complex. The main character is a deaf-mute cripple lacking all signs of physical beauty. But as compensation, he has a gift; he can read minds. We get to follow him on his adventures through 19th century Europe(and a bit in the US). What really runs like a red thread throughout it all and which gives the story purpose is his love for his childhood friend, beautiful Henriette Vogel. This propels the story forward. Vallgren,with the help of this mind-reading monster, gives his take on human nature and the upsides, as well as downsides, of love. 4 stars.

[AC]

Oh my gosh! I forgot all about writing my review!!!!! MK, I am guiltily admitting that I have written not very many reviews throughout my experience on goodreads, and I am wondering if I am supposed to write a spoiler-filled summary or just a brief outline. I've read the books, but sharing my opinion of them with the world has not yet been initiated.

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

I go with the short review myself. Depends on what you want to do, and never feel guilty about it. This is a fun stress free kind of group.

[AC]

Thanks

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

So sorry all, but I did not get to my challenge books this month. I do plan to read them, but will have to push them to another Dusty Challenge I guess.

[[deleted user]]

Kathy wrote: "So sorry all, but I did not get to my challenge books this month. I do plan to read them, but will have to push them to another Dusty Challenge I guess."

I didn't get around to reading mine either. Will try to squeeze them in next month.