Tuesday, May 26, 2009

2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge


In my last post I said I was going to participate in TWO book challenges. The second one is hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog. How could I possibly pass up the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge? Come on! Not only am I a library lover, I work in a library! This challenge was made for me. In this challenge you decide whether you will read 12, 25 or 50 library books, in 2009. I chose 50. Check out J. Kaye's Book Blog for all the details. Luckily for me the rules for the New Author Challenge allow using books from other challenges, so most (but not all) of my books will overlap (gotta love that). Here's my list so far:



2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge



1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
2. The Last Queen by C. W. Gortner
3. The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin
4. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
5. How Not to Die by Jan Garavaglia
6. Publishing a Blog with Blogger by Elizabeth Castro
7. A Parting Gift by Ben Erickson
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
9. The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir by Patricia Harman
10. Song Yet Sung by James McBride
11. The Everything Blogging Book by Eliza Risdahl
12. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
13. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
14. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
15. The Courtier's Secret by Donna Russo Morin
16. The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the editors of the Huffington Post
17. The Secret Currency of Love edited by Hilary Black
18. Ex Libris: Confession of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
19. Mistaken Identities: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Ryn, Don Van
20. The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
21. The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
21. Against Medical Advice: A True Story by James Patterson
23. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
24. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
25. Nov. 22, 1963 by Adam Braver
26. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
27. The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney
28. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
29. Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
30. Writing on Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life by Christina Marsden Gillis
31. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
32. Upstate by Kalisha Buckhannon
33. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
34. Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind
35. Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins.
36. The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser
37. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
38. The End of Manners by Francesca Marciano
39. The Lost City of Z by David Grann
40. Teaser by Jan Brogan
41. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
42. The Cradle by Patrick Somerville
43. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
44. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
45. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
46. A Daughter's Love: Thomas More and His Dearest Meg by John Guy
47. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
48. Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse
49. Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See by Rober Kurson
50. Darling Jim by Christian Moerk


You can follow my progress by clicking on the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge button on my sidebar. Anyone interested in joining me? Leave me a comment letting me know and be sure to sign up at J. Kaye's Book Blog.

13 comments:

mommakin said...

This sounds like a cool idea. I know myself, though - if I start doing it for the numbers it will stop being fun! I'll be following your progress, though, and always looking for something new to read...

Pam said...

Tammy - I totally understand. That's why I picked a total I KNOW I can complete. I most likely would have read 50 books this year - challenge or not. So, win-win!

Unknown said...

I think you will enjoy this challenge Pam, and when looking at others' lists you might see a few titles you hadn't thought to read. I'm like Tammy, if I feel I "have" to do something, I'm more likely to fail. My goal is to always read 2 books a month, not a very high #, but it works for me. I'll be following you, I get great ideas from your lists. BTW, let me know how you would rate or rank the books on blogging you read, I was thinking of checking one or more out.

Pam said...

Anita - I found The Everything Blogging Book and Publishing a Blog with Blogger to be extremely helpful with I FIRST starting blogging. They walked me through fairly basic things like linking. The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging focused more on blog content and getting your blog "out there". They all served a purpose. Huffington also spends a lot of time on "professional" blogs or "business" blogs. I really did learn something from all of them, but I bought the Huffington book. I hope this helps.

Alex the Girl said...

I am too book picky to commit to the library challenge...well...too author picky..I don't know what to call it. It just takes me a while to find something to read. For instance, I flew through "Fried Green Tomatoes," but stalled and came to a dead end when I tried "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood." However, I will support your endeavor (hope I spelled that right)! Fifty books must be like slicing cake with a chain saw for you!

kel said...

I've been trying to get videos from the library more.. I've got so many books stacked up right now!

Pam said...

Alex - Yes, chain saw in cake is just about right! Really, I would have read 50 library books this year - challenge or no challenge. So, it's not much of a stretch for me.

Sometimes, I have a real book slump and can't seem to find anything that really grabs me. I HATE when that happens. Right now I've been on a roll. The last 3 books I've read have been amazing: The Help, The Gargoyle and Mudbound (which I will finish today)! That doesn't happen too often. I've got high hopes for the book "on deck" as well. It's called The Weight of Water and it's by one of my favorite authors, Thrity Umrigar. Can't wait to start it!

Kel - The vast majority of the patrons at the small library where I work come in for DVDs. Some of them never check out a book. I've always thought they were non-readers, but maybe like you they just OWN all the books they read. Hmmm.... Something to think about. In any case, the library is a GREAT place to get DVDs. It's free and there is usually an eclectic selection. So you can get the latest "hot" movie, a golden oldie, an indie film, a foreign flim, the latest PBS movie, a documentary, etc. The choices are limitless. (Can you tell I'm in charge of DVD acquistions at my library?). LOL!

Clare said...

I gave you an award tonight. Come over to my blog

FranticMommy said...

This is a great idea Pam. I am such a boring reader. I read stuff like The Referral Of a Lifetime and The CEO of YOU (all business-y). This is a little OT, but have you ever heard of Wendy Rosneau? She's a romance writer.

Pam said...

Beth - You did! Really? I'm flabbergasted. Thank you.

Clare - Oh my! I feel so special. Thank you.

Mommy - Wow! Talk about eclectic reading tastes. Business non-fiction and romance! Hmmm... The many sides of Mommy! Anyway, I have not heard of Wendy Rosneau. Romance (and Business) are not genres I'm very well versed in.

Gibby said...

This is a cool idea. I am a huge reader (although blogging has cut into that time!), but used to be a book snob and only read book I paid for rather than using the library. Which is odd, because I have been going to the library weekly with my girls since they were babies. Thanks to some new economic times, as well as finding out that the more books the library loans, the more money they get, I now borrow books for me, not just for the kids. Let me know if you learn anything good from all those blogging books!

Pam said...

Gibby - Blogging has totally cut into my reading time too. *sigh* I work in a library and it is true that the more patronage we have the more money we get from the state and also from our town governments. So check out lots and lots of books, even if you only read the ones you buy!

Anonymous said...

Wanted to stop in and welcome you to the Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge. If you haven’t already, feel free to join our Yahoo Groups . There you’ll find others who are trying to complete this reading challenge.

Links to post your reviews are found at the bottom of J. Kaye’s Book Blog. The bottom of the blog has clickable buttons. Just click on 2009 Book Challenges and it will take you to the correct page. This is, of course, totally optional.

Have Fun!

 

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