Perpetual Challenge Wrap-up for 2009

Well, I made some goals but failed at others. I’m very happy that I was able to complete my goals for the Pulitzer, Newbery, Notable, and Nobel lists. I’m really disappointed, though, that I only read 2 Bookers, 2 Oranges, and 3 Science in Fiction books. But there’s always next year, right?

My goal was 6 in each category, and here’s how I did:

Pulitzers (6 titles)

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2008)
2. The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty (1973)
3. A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor (1987)
4. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (1932)
5. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1921)
6. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)

Booker Prize (6 titles)

1. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
2. The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro

Orange Prize (6 titles)

1. Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (1997)
2. Property by Valerie Martin (2003)

Newbery Award (6 titles)

1. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
2. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
3. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
4. The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
5. Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
6. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
7. Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Nobel laureates (6 titles)

1. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda
2. Thousand Cranes by Yaunari Kawabata
3. A Tale of Two Gardens by Octavio Paz
4. Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
5. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
6. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
7. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof
8. Kristin Lavransdatter III: The Cross by Sigrid Undset

Notable Books (6 titles)

1. Finn by Jon Clinch (2008 ALA)
2. Petropolis by Anya Ulinich (2007 CSM)
3. Mistik Lake by Martha Brook (2007 PW)
4. Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junor Diaz (2007 NYT)
5. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro (2007 NYT)
6. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (2007 PW)
7. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti (2008 NYT)
8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009 CSM)
9. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2009 NYT)
10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008 PW)
11. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2009 PW)