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Sycorax Pine is hosting this challenge once again. The first challenge was great, and I’m looking forward to the 2008/9 Unread Authors Challenge as well.

Lasts from August 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009

The rules:

1. Read at least SIX books by an author whose work you have never read before.
2. You may choose six different “unread” authors to introduce yourself to, or you may choose just one or two and explore their work in greater depth.
3. Authors may be drawn from any genre of literature. The only requirement is that they be authors whose work you substantially regret not having read yet.
4. Your choices may overlap with other challenges you have underway.

My choices:

1. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
2. Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White
3. Children of Men by P.D. James
4. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Anne-Marie MacDonald
5. Dracula by Bram Stoker
6. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
7. Breath by Tim Winton
8. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
9. Sky Burial by Xinran
10. Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
11. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

In addition, I also had these new author discoveries:

• Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore
• Blankets by Craig Thompson
• The Borden Tragedy by Rick Geary
• The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• Darkness Visible by William Styron
• The Pigman by Paul Zindel
• The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• Breath by Tim Winton
• Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
• The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
• A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
• The Pets by Bragi Olafsson
• Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
• Goldengrove by Francine Prose
• X-Kai by Asami Tohjoh
• Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi
• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
• Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
• Somebody Else’s Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage
• The Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek
• Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
• The Book of Murder by Guillermo Martinez
• Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love by Lara Vapnyar

The End of the World Challenge included reading books which were apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic and was hosted by Becky from Becky’s Book Reviews.

The books I read:

• Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
• Children of Men by P.D. James

My favorite by far was Children of Men by P.D. James because it had some strong Christian themes to it.  I’m really looking forward to seeing the movie now, though I know it doesn’t follow the book exactly.

My least favorite, surprisingly, was Oryx and Crake.  I love Atwood, but this book was much too gritty for my tastes.

Thanks, Becky!!  I really love the dystopian genre, and I am especially grateful to have read Children of Men.