Did you participate in the Decades ‘09 last year? Would you like to again? Or, if you didn’t take part in 2009, are you interested in doing so in 2010? We’d love to have you join us!
Decades 2010 Rules:
Read a minimum of 10 books in 10 consecutive decades in 2010.
Books published in the 2000’s do not count.
Titles may be cross-posted with any other challenge.
You may change your list at any time.
Peruse the eligible book lists and reviews from previous years (found on the sidebar at the Decades site). Any book from that decade is eligible; it doesn’t have to be on the list to qualify. A good source to find out when books were published is wikipedia. For example if you follow this link, you will see how easy it is to search books by a particular decade. Another resource is fantasticfiction.co.uk.
Sign up through Mr. Linky. Please use the url of your specific post for this challenge rather than just your blog url.
Come back to the Decades site and post the links to your reviews into Mr. Linky.You don’t have to, but you are encouraged to post all the books you’ve read for that decade if you’re participating in Decades 2010.
Have fun reading your Decades 2010 books, and have a great year!
This year I read 20 books in translation in 10 different languages, and 34 works of English by foreign authors for a total of 54 out of 112 books read. Not bad, but 2008 was actually a better year in world literature for me.
In 2007 I read 79 new-to-me authors which was 90% of my total reading, and in 2008 I read 90 new-to-me authors for 88% of my reading.
This year, for 2009, I read 72 new-to-me authors, which emcompassed 65% of my total reading for the year. Still a lot of new authors, but I went back to some favorites and also kept up with a few series. Looking at all the wonderful authors below, it’s really impossible to say who my favorites were because there were so many. I really enjoy ‘meeting’ new authors, and though I know I always will, I’m also getting to the point where I want to delve deeper into more of my favorite authors’ works as well. Do I have a prediction for 2010? I’ll take a guess that the new-to-me authors will be somewhere around 50-60%.
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson (2006, 368 pp.)
I’ve completed this challenge 3 years in a row, so I think I’m done now. It’s just too difficult to do now that I’m running out of X’s, Q’s, and Z’s titles or authors I want to read. It’s been a fun challenge to do, though!
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Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson
This challenge was a no-brainer for me. I love reading ‘around the world’ so of course I participated. The challenge required 10 books by 10 different authors representing 10 different countries. I managed to read 15.
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith (UK/Scotland)
We had to give 5 book recommendations, and then choose titles from a master list. My goal was 5, and I read 6.
My 5 suggestions were:
The Houskeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (read in ‘09) — Sweet, tender story about mathematics, baseball, memory, and finding family.
The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho (read in ‘09) — I love Coelho, and this book raises an important question on the issue of whether humans are basically good or basically evil.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (read in ‘08) — This was recommended by Dewey last round, and it was one of the titles I read for the challenge and absolutely loved. This one is NOT just for kids!
Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen (read in ‘08) — Very quirky book that I enjoyed because I felt Galchen had a unique writing style and because I got the inside jokes and references about Argentina. A NYT Notable book.
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman (read in ‘08) — Scarily enough, this book describes the small town I grew up in almost exactly.
A Fatal Grace (aka Dead Cold) by Louise Penny (Agatha)
Bonus reads:
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor (Pulitzer) The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Pulitzer) The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (Pulitzer) The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Agatha) Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
In 2007 I read 79 new-to-me authors which was 90% of my total reading, and in 2008 I read 90 new-to-me authors for 88% of my reading.
