Annual A-Z Authors Challenge 2020

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Welcome to the challenge Nicola and Bron. I have linked your names.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Corey White is one of those Aussie kids who fell through the cracks of "the system" and landed in some inexcusably bad foster care. This popular comedian's memoir is terrific! The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory
5★ Link to my review

He was my "C", by the way, but would make a fine "W", if you need one.

[Janine]

Finished my 5th
V - Victoria Purman The Land Girls(AA) 4*

[Jackmeister]

I’ve finished 2

A - Rachel Amphlett with Call to Arms AA ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

U - Arthur W. Upfield with The Barrakee Mystery AA ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Janine]

Finished 2 more #6&7

G - Lisa Gardner Never Tell 4*

L - Linda Lael Miller The Yankee Widow 3*

[PattyMacDotComma]

A good one for Z
Best one yet! Into the Fire Orphan X #5 by Gregg Hurwitz doesn’t pause anywhere long enough to let you catch a breath!
4.5★ (rounded up) Link to my review

[Rob]

First 2 books of 26 finished.
What a great start to this challenge. Both books were excellent reads.
J=Jane Harper The Dry 4.5 stars.
Y=John Boyne The House of Special Purpose 5 stars.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

That's good Rob!

[Jason]

What are the rules re:DNF? There’s literally no way I can endure another 150 pages of While You Were Reading 😏

Can I just replace it?

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Jason, you certainly can. You can replace any of your choices, as long as they still fit the criteria.

[TheMadHatter]

First book done....25 to go :-)

V Vicki Laveau-Harvie - The Erratics
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)

[Janine]

Finished my 8th

H - Anstey Harris The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton 3*

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

TheMadHatter wrote: "First book done....25 to go :-)

V Vicki Laveau-Harvie - The Erratics
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)"

Plus 11.5 months to do it in MH ;)

[Nicola]

Have read another couple...
R- Man Drought / Rachael Johns AA 3*

S- The Dairy Farmer's Daughter / Sarah Williams AA 3*

[Janine]

Finished my 9th

U - Lisa Unger The Stranger Inside 3*

[Irene]

My review of Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Janine]

Finished #10

E - Kendra Elliot Bridged 4*

[Rob]

Book 3 of 26 books finished on 20/1/20.

The Good People by Hannah Kent

Another great 4 star read.

[Janine]

Finished #11

X - Nicole Alexander An Uncommon Woman(AA) 2*

[PattyMacDotComma]

M is for Michael Robotham. I loved the second book of his Joe O'Loughlin series, Lost. Good pace, good plot, characters I cared about.
What more could I ask?
4.5★ Link to my review

[Rob]

Book 4 of 26 finished.
D= Jeffery Deaver The Blue Nowhere .

A good, if a bit dated, cyber thriller.
4 Stars

[Janine]

Finished my 12th

P - Fiona Palmer Matters of the Heart(AA) 4*

[Rob]

Book 5 of 26 finished.
Z=Markus Zusak The Book Thief .

What a start, 5 books and the worst result, so far, is 4 stars.
This one is a must read.
5 stars.

[Deb]

Hello Phrynne - I am so late to this party, but I was not sure I could fit it in with my personal 2020 challenge. However, what the H***, sign me up!

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Is this your first post Deborah? Or will you make a different one? Phrynne will sign up your main post :)

[Deb]

Jason wrote: "What are the rules re:DNF? There’s literally no way I can endure another 150 pages of While You Were Reading 😏

Can I just replace it?"

LOL, I never tried that book but I well know that feeling of 'no WAY can I bear any more of this'

[Deb]

A Nicole Alexander An Uncommon Woman AA
B Frances Hodgson Burnett The Secret Garden
C Rose Carlyle The Girl in the Mirror340150] AA
D Garry Disher Snapshot AA
E Emuna Elon House on Endless Waters
F Christine Feehan Mind Game
G Kenneth Grahame The Wind in the Willows
H Erin Hortle The Octopus and I AA
I Ion L. Idriess Flynn Of The Inland AA
J James Joyce Ulysses
K Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis
L Julian Leatherdale Death in the Ladies Goddess Club AA
M Walter M. Miller Jr. A Canticle for Leibowitz
N E. Nesbit The Railway Children
O George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four
P Edgar Allan Poe The Fall of the House of Usher/The Pit & the Pendulum/Other Tales of Mystery & Imagination
Q Ellery Queen The Player on the Other Side
R Heather Rose Bruny AA
S Randolph Stow Tourmaline AA
T Valerie Taylor Valerie Taylor: An Adventurous Life: The remarkable story of the trailblazing ocean conservationist, photographer and shark expertAA
U Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary
V Jules Verne Journey to the Centre of the Earth
W Tim Winton Shallows AA
X Malcolm Knox Bluebird AA
Y Liane Moriarty Big Little Lies AA
Z My Name Is Legion Roger Zelazny

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Welcome to the challenge Deborah. I have linked your post.

[Deb]

Rob wrote: "Book 5 of 26 finished.
Z=Markus Zusak The Book Thief .

What a start, 5 books and the worst result, so far, is 4 stars.
This one is..."

I really enjoyed that one! And I had avoided it for so long, because of the hype.

[Jason]

FINISHED - LINK

I'm really glad I did this as I rarely read Aussie authors so without it I would never have discovered Evie Wyld or, more importantly, re-discovered Nevil Shute. Also, I would never, ever in a million years have read Tim, even though I'm still not sure if it was sweet & touching or sick & disgusting :-D. I also now have a side in the Dark Emu debate, although it is the same side as the right-wing nutjobs that I hate. Tim Winton is another guy I'd never given a chance because I thought he just wrote for teenagers. I also discovered that Outback Noir is a thing and, more importantly, that it isn't my thing. And while she isn't Australian, I did manage to finish a Virginia Woolf novel for the first time after at least 5 failed attempts. It wasn't worth the effort but at least I finally managed to do it :-)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Wow Jason! 26 books in 29 days!! You'd better do an Annual Challenge once a month! Well done - so glad you enjoyed it and took yourself out of your comfort zone :)

[Mary]

HI Phrynne, Sorry I'm late but I'd love to play. I've just lost the list I was creating which had 15 of the 26 books in it so it might take me a while to put it all together again. Sorry.

7/26

A Hunter Hunted by Keri Arthur AA READ 4*
B SEAL Camp by Suzanne Brockmann. READ 4*
C The Weekend by Charlotte Wood AA
D The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan AA READ 5*
E The Aunts' House by Elizabeth Stead
F Crimson Lake by Candice Fox AA
G Too Easy by J.M. Green AA READ 3.5*
H Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett AA
I Nest by Inga Simpson AA
J The Lost Man by Jane Harper AA READ 5*
K Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood AA READ 4.5*
L You Sent Me a Letter by Lucy Dawson
M The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley AA
N The Nowhere Girl by Nicole Trope AA
O Back, After the Break by Osher Gunsberg AA
P Dead Point by Peter Temple AA
Q The Scoop by Terence J. Quinn AA
R Two for the Road by Shirley Hardy-Rix AA
S The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey AA
T Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton AA
U Resurrection Bay by Emma
Viskic AA
V Ill-Gotten Gains by Ilsa Evans AA READ 4*
W The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory by Corey White AA
X Lexicon by Max Barry AA
Y The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland AA
Z Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak AA

[Jazzy]

Deborah wrote: "OK - rough draft, I know I still need a couple of Australian Authors.

May I suggest for F -

Miles Franklin (Australian Author) - My Brilliant Career (1901)

I'm just finishing up this classic book about her life in the bush now.

you can find it free online to read, or on librivox to listen to, or you can easily find a paperback copy to buy :)

[Jazzy]

I should like to have a go!
I have started only been reading classic books (50 years or older) going on a couple of years now, and started this with my classics group on New Years Day 2020.

Annual A-Z Author Challenge
Duration: 1/1/20 - 31/12/20

26/26

✅ A: Dante Alighieri - Inferno (1320)

✅ B: Enid Bagnold - The Chalk Garden (1956)

✅ C: Anton Chekhov - The Lady With the Little Dog and Other Stories, 1896-1904

✅ D: Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Notes from the Underground (1864)

✅ E: George Essex Evans - The Secret Key, and Other Verses (1906) AA

✅ F: Miles Franklin - My Brilliant Career (1901) AA

✅ G: Dan Greenburg - How to Be a Jewish Mother (1964)

✅ H: Frank Herbert - Dune (1965)

✅ I: Henrik Ibsen - A Doll's House (1879)

✅ J: Shirley Jackson - The Lottery (1948)

✅ K: Rudyard Kipling - Captains Courageous (1896)

✅ L: H.P. Lovecraft - The Beast in the Cave (1918)

✅ M: Theodor Mommsen - The History of Rome, Vol 1 (1854)

✅ N: Vladimir Nabokov - Spring in Fialta (1959)

✅ O: Kenzaburō Ōe - A Personal Matter (1964)

✅ P: Sully Prudhomme - Les Vaines Tendresses (1875)

✅ Q: Raymond Queneau - Exercises in Style (1947)

✅ R: Christina Rossetti - Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862)

✅ S: Nevil Shute - Trustee from the Toolroom (1960) AA

✅ T: Ethel Turner - The Family at Misrule (1895) AA

✅ U: Sigrid Undset - Jenny (1911)

✅ V: Paul von Heyse - The Dead Lake and Other Tales (Translated by Mary Wilson) (1870)

✅ W: Oscar Wilde - The Happy Prince (1888)

✅ X: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince (1943)

✅ Y: W.B. Yeats - Poems Selected by Seamus Heaney

✅ Z: Yevgeny Zamyatin - We (1921)

[Mary]

Jazzy wrote: "I should like to have a go!
I have started only been reading classic books (50 years or older) going on a couple of years now, and started this with my classics group on New Years Day 2020.

Annua..."

That's an interesting challenge. What a great set of authors and books.

[Mary]

I'm inspired by the way you keep coming up with great challenges.
I'm definitely in although it may take me a while to get all the books together.

A
B
C Clementine - Lapse by Sarah Thornton
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

You just posted the character challenge in the wrong place Mary!
But I am happy to welcome you to the author challenge in post 132 and you are linked!

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Welcome to the challenge Jazzy! You are linked.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Phrynne wrote: "You just posted the character challenge in the wrong place Mary!
But I am happy to welcome you to the author challenge in post 132 and you are linked!"

If you transfer it to the Characters challenge Mary, then I'll link you :)

[Jazzy]

Many thanks Mary and Phryne! <3

[Mary]

Thanks Phrynne and Brenda. Much appreciated 😁

[Rob]

Book 6 of 26 finished.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman.

I'm on a roll 6 books and 5 of them 5 star read.
Yet another great 5 star read.

[Deb]

I just crossed a couple more off the list;
E for Emuna Elon who wrote House on Endless Waters which I loved and gave 4 stars to
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also M for Walter M. Miller Jr.A Canticle for Leibowitz a classic sci-fi which I ended up disliking as cordially as I did when I first read it as a teenager. 1 star

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Deb]

Finished my 'T' with J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

Such a great book, never grows old

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kim]

Book 2 of 26
Finished my 'A'
The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley AA 4 Stars
Another beautiful book from this author about another woman lost to history. A French author in the 18th century in Melissa Ashley's 2nd novel.
Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PattyMacDotComma]

V is for Aussie author Emma Viskic. I do enjoy her deaf detective, Caleb Zelic, his deaf community, his Aboriginal extended family, and the harrowing escapades he gets caught up in in spite of his best intentions.
Darkness for Light is the third in the series.
4.5★ Link to my review

[PattyMacDotComma]

Q is for Terence J. Quinn, another Aussie author who wrote The Scoop, a rip-roaring modern pirate story that may cancel a few sailing holiday plans. Other readers have loved it - I feel like a traitor!
3.5★ Link to my 'Scoop' review

[Janine]

D - Daniel Silva The New Girl 3*

[Rob]

Book 7 of 26 finished.
V = Vince Flynn Memorial Day .
Highly, if fanciful, entertaining read. 4 stars.

Still no disappointments they have all been great reads so far.

[PattyMacDotComma]

L is for Louise Penny. I sure don't need a challenge to encourage me to read about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. He's a favourite, and How the Light Gets In is one of the best so far.
5★ Link to my review