2018 Group Challenge: Read the Name

[Leslie]

Watch this space for information about our next group challenge!

[Joan]

I’m watching!

[Leslie]

2018 AAB Group Challenge: Read the Name

Inspired by the 2017 challenge of one of members, Alannah, & suggested as a group challenge by Pink, we have chosen to do a "read the name" challenge in 2018. To help members protect their privacy, we will not be doing our own names but rather using literary names.

The aim of the challenge is very simple, it's just picking letters from the name of a favorite author or character and finding books that match that letter. Each person can choose whether to use the full name or just the last name of the author/character they have chosen.

To make it more challenging, members can restrict themselves to using only those book titles which start with the letter needed (ignoring initial articles like “The” or “A”), such as The African Queen for A, or can choose to use any word in the title that matches, such as A Light in August for A.

For an easier challenge, members can choose to use either titles or author’s name, such as The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster for A.

Members can use this thread to update their progress or do the challenge in their personal challenge thread.

[Leslie]

What author or character will you choose?

I am thinking of doing Thackeray (partly because his full name is nice & long!) or maybe Lois McMaster Bujold...

Although I haven't discussed this with the other mods yet, I think that for those speedy readers in the group, it would be fine to choose a second name once you complete your first choice.

[[deleted user]]

If we chose a character do titles like sir, king, or queen count? Yes or no?

[[deleted user]]

It’s up to you, Janessa. I would say yes but if other people want to leave them off than that is fine too

[Pink]

Thanks Leslie. I'm not sure if I'm doing any challenges next year, but I'll give this some thought. There are a few authors whose works I'd like to read more of in 2018, so I might fit this in with the name challenge. At the moment DH Lawrence is top of my list!

[Karin]

I am interested in this. I just have to think of a character or author's name to use. In fact, I am mulling over using an author name that is also one of my ancestors (but since he wrote in the 13th century, it won't give away who I am. He still has works in print and one of his books was used as a textbook for about 600 years).

[Veronica ⭐️]

I will be joining in. I think I’ll use a couple of my favourite authors from my 2017 reads. I will also read one book written by each of the authors I have chosen.

Karly Lane

K: Karly Lane - Six Ways to Sunday
A: A Brush with the Beast by Richard Sones
R: Return to Roseglen by Helene Young 31/7/18
L: Little Secrets by Anna Snoekstra
Y: You Wish by Lia Weston

L: The Last Days Of Us by Beck Nicholas
A: Assassins Hunted by Rachel Amphlett
N: No Place Like Home/Zane: The Wild One/Quade: The Irresistible One/A Tempting Engagement by Bronwyn Jameson 5/10/18
E: Esme's Wish by Elizabeth Foster

Lisa Ireland

L: Lisa Ireland The Art of Friendship
I: If Kisses Cured Cancer by T.S. Hawken
S: Scrublands by Chris Hammer 28/10/18
A: Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

I: Ill Will by Michael Stewart
R:
E: Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
L: London Large: Blood on the Streets by Roy Robson
A: Assassins Hunted by Rachel Amphlett
N: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty 28/9/18
D: Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen

[Esther]

One of my favourite authors is Jasper Fforde.
So I think I will start with Jasper which gives an unusual mix of letters and if my reading stays on track, which is highly unlikely, I will move on to FForde.

[Jim]

Good morning!

I would like to try this with Cory Doctorow, author of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.

C
O
R
Y

D
O
C
T
O
R
O
W

Jim

[LauraT]

I was thinking about Jane Austen

[Tam]

This sounds interesting but I just want to make sure I understand. So we choose a name for 2018 and then the challenge is to read books which have one letter in the title from the name but we can choose any letter that is in the name, first or last. So, for example, say I chose Stephen King. I would read books that have any of the letters of his name in the title (like Fifty Shades of Grey, for the "S", "Gone Girl" for the "g", etc). Do I have that right?

Tam

[Leslie]

Tam wrote: "This sounds interesting but I just want to make sure I understand. So we choose a name for 2018 and then the challenge is to read books which have one letter in the title from the name but we can c..."

The goal is to read one book for each letter in the name chosen so if you picked Stephen King & decided to do both first and last names, you would read 11 books:
S =
T =
E =
P =
H =
E =
N =

K =
I =
N =
G =

In the 'middle' option, you could use Fifty Shades of Grey for S. In the 'hard' option, you would have to find a book whose title begins with S. In the 'easy' option, you could use either a book title (either of the above options would work) or an author's name.

I hope that helps clarify things.

[Beth]

I might do this - probably the easy option. I'll give some thought to which name to spell out.

[Alannah]

F Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
R Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
A A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
N Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
C Clean by Juno Dawson
I Introductions by C.L. Stone
S Scythe by Neal Shusterman

S Small Great Things: The bestselling novel you won't want to miss by Jodi Picoult
C Condemn Me Not: Accused of Witchcraft
O Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
T Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
T Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

K Kings & Queens of England by Jen Green
E Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Y Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

F Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
I Infinite Sacrifice by L.E. Waters
T Two Little Girls by Kate Medina
Z Z-Burbia by Jake Bible
G Get Your Sh*t Together: How to Stop Worrying About What You Should Do So You Can Finish What You Need to Do and Start Doing What You Want to Do by Sarah Knight
E Eve of Man by Giovanna Fletcher
R Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
A Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
L Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
D Do Not Disturb by Claire Douglas

[Karen]

My author would be Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie because I read A LOT so apart from hero worshipping her anyway I needed a long nap!! This should keep me going for half the year at least!

[[deleted user]]

Even though Charles Dickens is not one of my favourite authors his name looks like it would work quite well for this so I think I will pick him!

I thought about using Terry Pratchett but I think there are too many t's. My other thought is Margaret Atwood which has a good variety of letters

[Tweedledum]

I was tempted to go for Solzhenitsyn but then I realised his first name has an X in it....

[Joan]

This is fun - I looked at my to-be-read pile and toss the letters like in Scrabble to see what names might pop out and I found Thomas Hardy
which is funny because I had decided on a personal challenge to read the novels and poetry of Thomas Hardy in 2018.

If you need an interesting book for Z, I recommend
Z by Vassilis Vassilikos
The Guardian calls it book everyone should read.

[Tweedledum]

Joan wrote: "This is fun - I looked at my to-be-read pile and toss the letters like in Scrabble to see what names might pop out and I found Thomas Hardy
which is funny because I had decided on a ..."

Thanks Joan, iI'll bear that in mind it's not a book I have heard of. Actually do have a possibility for X though.... XO by Jeffery Deaver!

[Kathleen]

This sounds like fun! I like the connection to a favorite author or character. The last thing I need is another challenge, but what the heck.

I'm going to choose Fay Weldon. I've been thinking about her and want to read more by her next year, and I've already come up with books I was going to read anyway that work!

Then, if that goes well, I want to try Miss Havisham, because I'll be reading Great Expectations for the first time next year. :-)

Here we go, with possible titles ...
F = Future Home of the Living God Finished 6/23/18 ★★★★
A = The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story Finished 4/20/18 ★★★★
Y = The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood, Finished 1/17/18 ★★★★

W = The Women of Brewster Place Finished 2/8/18 ★★★★★
E = The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks Finished 6/30/18 ★★★
L = Light Finished 6/26/18 ★★★★
D = Devotion Finished 8/27/18 ★★★★
O = Out of Africa Original Fire Finished 10/3/18 ★★★
N = Nightwood Finished 7/6/18 ★★★★

[Petra]

Tweedledum wrote: "I was tempted to go for Solzhenitsyn but then I realised his first name has an X in it...."

Ooh, I like this author (his work & his name for this challenge).

Tweedledum, do you mind if I use it as well?

As for an X title, do you enjoy Sci-Fi? The third of the Ender series is Xenocide. The first of the series is rather YA but it gets into adult themes in the second book. I do recommend the first two (the only ones I've read yet).

[Leslie]

For those mystery fans out there, I have discovered an author whose name covers 2 difficult letters - Q & X

Qiu Xiaolong

I read the first book in the series, Death of a Red Heroine, and enjoyed it a lot.

[Tweedledum]

Petra wrote: "Tweedledum wrote: "I was tempted to go for Solzhenitsyn but then I realised his first name has an X in it...."

Ooh, I like this author (his work & his name for this challenge).

Tweedledum, do yo..."

Please do. I am still cogitating.

[Joan]

You could use the Aleksandr transliteration of his name, I think that is how he wrote his name in the Latin alphabet - though a K might not be any more helpful.

[Tweedledum]

I have a k novel planned to read next year.... Kafka on the Shore .... Slowly working my way through Murakami....

[Ruth]

I think I will go with Simone de Beauvoir. I have only discovered her and I want to read her books and there are a good variety of letters in her name.

S Slade House *READ* 06.10.2018
I : In Patagonia*READ* 21.01.2018
M Music Game Book: A World History of 20th Century Music*READ* 10.08.2018
O On Cats *READ* 09.04.2018
N Night Shift *READ* 03.08.2018
E Eleven Minutes *READ* 14.02.2018

D Doctor No *READ* 24.08.2018
E Echoes In The Darkness *READ* 21.10.2018

B Burning Bright *READ* 21.04.2018
E Evil Relations *READ* 14.03.2018
A A Thousand Splendid Suns *READ* 18.01.2018
U Under the Knife *READ* 10.05.2018
V Vivienne Westwood *READ* 30.09.2018
O Out of Breath*READ* 21.11.2018
I In Their Footsteps *READ* 12.11.2018
R Ruby Red *READ* 09.02.2018

16/16 !!! 🤗🎉 YAY! I completed my challenge for the year. 21.11.2018

[Alannah]

I have decided on my name, hope it's ok, but I will use the personal challenge thread to update and post here when it is finished. I find having my own thread makes it easier for me to edit.

[Leslie]

Alannah wrote: "I have decided on my name, hope it's ok, but I will use the personal challenge thread to update and post here when it is finished. I find having my own thread makes it easier for me to edit."

That's fine Alannah.

[Tweedledum]

Petra wrote: "Tweedledum wrote: "I was tempted to go for Solzhenitsyn but then I realised his first name has an X in it...."

Ooh, I like this author (his work & his name for this challenge).

Tweedledum, do yo..."

I read the first Ender book maybe last year. I certainly found it compelling.

[Beth]

I think I will try to spell out one of my favorite authors from 2017.
update 9/5/2018 finished! but maybe I will add another name to spell out.

H Henry V 3/5/2018

E The Enchantress of Florence 5/27/2018

R The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 5/28/2018

O One Woman's War: Da (Mother) the Memoirs of Seyyedeh Zahra Hoseyni Paperback 6/11/2018

D Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege 8/31/2018

O The Owl Service 8/22/2018

T Too Like the Lightning 2/9/2018

U Utopia 7/6/2018

S Seven Surrenders 3/7/2018

[Petra]

Tweedledum wrote: "I read the first Ender book maybe last year. I certainly found it compelling. ..."

I agree, Tweedledum. The second was thought provoking. I have yet to read the third.

[Leslie]

Here is my spot! I have decided to use the author of the Vorkosigan books, a sci fi series I am thinking of revisiting - Lois McMaster Bujold. A nice long name & good selection of letters :)

18 books for this name... I will put in some possibilities based on books I already own but reserve the right to change my mind!

Progress: 18/18 -- DONE!

✔L = Local Custom (3/5)
✔O = Over My Dead Body (paperback) (1/11)
✔I = The Ice Princess (1/6)
✔S = The Sweet Cheat Gone (aka The Fugitive) (2/23)

✔M = Martin Eden (Kindle) (1/17)
✔C = The Captive (aka The Prisoner) (Kindle) (1/10)
✔M = Mike (1/8)
✔A = The Abbey Court Murder (1/7)
✔S = The Silent Speaker (3/20)
✔T = Thrush Green (3/11)
✔E = The Eye of the World (audiobook) (2/17)
✔R = The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Kindle) (1/1)

✔B = Beguilement (audiobook) (1/3)
✔U = The Underground Man (4/7)
✔J = Juba! (audiobook) (2/9)
✔O = The Old Wives' Fairy Tale Book (1/22)
✔L = Leave It to Psmith (4/9)
✔D = Dead Lagoon (paperback) (1/4)

[Adrian]

Wow that’s some challenge Leslie, serious respect 👍

[Leslie]

Thanks Adrian! You should join in - the name you pick can be as long or as short as you want.

[Tea]

I'm going to go for Brandon Sanderson purely because this year (2017) I've read so many of his books and this seems a good way to cull my TBR pile!

6/16

B= Brilliance
R
A
N= Norse Mythology
D= Dark Matter
O
N

S= Strange the Dreamer
A
N
D=Desperation
E
R=The Rithmatist
S
O
N

[Josen]

Leslie wrote: "Here is my spot! I have decided to use the author of the Vorkosigan books, a sci fi series I am thinking of revisiting - Lois McMaster Bujold. A nice long name & good selection of le..."

Wow I'm impressed you picked all the books already.........okay, tentatively but still! Nice! I'm having a hard enough time thinking of an author or character to use. Lol!

[Tiny]

I am going with Khalid Hosseini partly because I finally this year I finished reading everything published by him and partly because I love his work! Since I'm starting a new job next year, it seems like a good idea not to go overboard and plan the challenge in a fun and possible way.

[Rhonda]

I am going with

A - Aunt Bessie Believes - Diana Xarissa
G - A Golden Cage - Shelley Freydont
A - The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie
T - Then She Was Gone - Lisa Jewell
H - Half Price Homicide - Elaine Viets
A - At Bertrams Hotel - Agatha Christie

C - A Casualty of War - Charles Todd
H - The Highway - C. J. Box
R - Rush Revere & The Star Spangled Banner - Rush Limbaugh
I - I've Got My Eyes On You - Mary Higgins Clark
S - The Secrets of Gaslight Lane - M. R. C. Kasasian
T - Twelve Angry Librarians - Miranda James
I - I Found You - Lisa Jewell
E - Elephants Can Remember - Agatha Christie

My next name is Anne Perry who I really like

A - The Alcatraz Escape - Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
N - Never Buried - Edie Claire
N -N or M - Agatha Christie
E - Endangered - C. J. Box

P - Pushing Up Daisies - Penny Clover Petersen
E - Exposed - Lisa Scottoline
R - Remains of Innocence - J. A. Jance
R - Recipe for Treason - Andrea Penrose
Y - The Young Clementina - D. E. Stevenson

On to my third name:

H - The Heirloom Murders - Kathleen Ernst
A - The Art Forger - B. A. Shapiro
R - Read and Buried - Erika Chase
L - The Last Hostage - John J. Nance
A - After Anna - Alex Lake
N - A Noise Downstairs - Linwood Barclay

C - Chime and Punishment - Juliane Holmes
O - The Other Typist - Suzanne Rindell
B - Better Off Read - Nora Page
E - Enforcing the Paw - Diane Kelly
N - N is for Noose - Sue Grafton

[Josen]

I think I'll do Harlan Coben because going through my books he's the author I've read most. I read 11 of his.........definitely one of my go-to authors.

H - Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
A - Awakened by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth
R - The Round House by Louise Erdrich
L - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A - The Archived by Victoria Schwab
N - Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

C - Cinder by Marissa Meyer
O - Old Man's War by John Scalzi
B - The Bat by Jo Nesbø
E - Every Day by David Levithan
N - Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay



Woo-hoo! I finally finished! Lol! That's okay I gave myself the entire year anyway. :)

[Stef]

I love this sort of thing. What's the deadline? Do we have all year? I am going back to my favourite Obernewtyn heroine since the author added me as a facebook friend and she is COOL like her character.

E
L - Lambs of God
S -Socialist Reasoning: An Inquiry Into the Political Philosophy of Scientific Socialism
P - People of the Book
E
T - Tangara
H

G
O - The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View
R
D - Daggerspell
I
E

I just realised everyone else is doing an author, but I am still doing a character!

[[deleted user]]

I'm going to choice the character Linh Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

L-Leviathan
I-I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
N-No Country for Old Men
H-Heartless

C-The Crossover
I
N-Night Witches
D- The Dead House
E-Every Day
R-Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

[Leslie]

Stef wrote: "I love this sort of thing. What's the deadline? Do we have all year? I am going back to my favourite Obernewtyn heroine since the author added me as a facebook friend and she is COOL like her chara..."

All year!

[Tom]

I was debating, but I'm in.

W = Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow 5 Stars
I = Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney 4 Stars
L = The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman 4 Stars
L = I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith 4 Stars
I = Infinite Dreams by Joe Haldeman 4 Stars
A = Artemis by Andy Weir 4 Stars
M = Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell 4 Stars

F = Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward 4 Stars
A = Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon 4 Stars
U = Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt 3 stars
L = Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran 2 Stars
K = The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 4 Stars
N = Nevernight by Jay Kristoff 4 Stars
E = Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng 5 Stars
R = Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett 5 Stars

[Tweedledum]

Here's my "read the name" challenge books for 2018. I decided these all had to be physical books so I could make a shelf of them.

A - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr Finished Jan 18
L - Life, Interrupted by James McConnel Finished jan 2018
E - The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perryfinished Feb 2018
X - XO by Jeffery Deaver finished
A - Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay by George Ewart Evans
N - The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
D - Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
E - E=mc²: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis
R - Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder Finished April 2018


S - Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells by Helen Scales
O - O Sing Unto the Lord: A History of English Church Music: A History of English Church Music by Andrew Gant
L - The Lunar Men by Jenny Uglow finished September 2018
Z - The Zoo: The Wild and Wonderful Tale of the Founding of London Zoo: 1826-1851 by Isobel Charman
H - Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World by Rachel Swaby finished March 2018
E - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Finished March 2018
N - Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down by Stuart Payne finished
I - Inside the Wave by Helen Dunmore finished April 2018 . My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
T - Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz Finished Jan 2018
S - Slow Horses by Mick Herron finished March 2016
Y - The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium by Robert Lacey Finished October 2018
N - Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell finished October 2018
15/ 21 completed

[E.A.]

2/13 Complete

R -
A - Alterations by Jane Suen
C -
H - Half-Broke Heart by Tarina Deaton
E -
l -

E -

C -
A -
R -
T -
E -
R -

[Leslie]

I have updated my post #34 - none of them were books I had preselected! lol, that is what I get for my planning :)

[Petra]

Completed 17/21 (Book Titles That start with the Letter)

A - Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change
L - The Lathe of Heaven
E - East of Eden
K - Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade: The 5 Love Languages and the Alzheimer's Journey
S - The Spencer Mansion: A House, a Home, and an Art Gallery
A - The Alphabet House
N - Notes Left Behind
D - Dune
R - The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. ****

S - Smile
L - The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story
Z
H - The Handmaid's Tale
E - Educated: A Memoir
N - Notorious Nineteen
I - Independent People
T - Takedown Twenty
S - The Summer Book
Y
N

[Claire]

I will read for one of my favourite authors first
I
A
N

M
C
E
W
A
N

Finished
I I Have Lived a Thousand Years Livia E. Bitton-Jackson 234 p. read: 25/1/2018 Rating: 3 stars
R The Red HouseMark Haddon Pages: 273 p. Date read:17/1/2018 Rating: 3 1/2 star
I In mijn dromen Simone van der Vlugt 267 p. 5 apil 2018 3 stars
S Silas Marner George Eliot Pages:240 p. Date read: 4/2/2018 4 stars

M My Name is Lucy Barton Elizabeth Strout 209 p. 14 april 2018 3 stars
U Uitgeteld Marja West Pages: 272 p. Read:30/1/2018 3 1/2 stars
R Raptor Red Robert T. Bakker Pages: 256 p. Date read: 13/1/2018 Rating: 3 stars
DDouble Indemnity James M. Cain
Pages: 128 p. Date read:4/2/2018 Rating:4 stars
O One Cup Of Flour Two Cups Of Murder Emily PagePages:126 p. Date read:28/1/2018 Rating:3 stars
C Case Histories Kate Atkinson Pages: 429 p. Date read: 3/2/2018 Rating: 3 stars
H
H Is for Hawk Helen Macdonald 322 p. 3 april 2018 5 stars