I have several perpetual challenges going on, and last year it was my goal to read 6 books in each category. I made my goal in some categories but not in others. This year, I’ll have two different levels. Some categories will have a 6 book goal, and some will have a 3 book goal. I’ll list some possible titles below under each category, but I do reserve the right to change my titles at any time.
Here is the plan for 2010:
Pulitzer Prize – 6 titles
- 2010 winner
- 2002 – Empire Falls (Russo)
- 2001 – The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Chabon)
- 1992 – A Thousand Acres (Smiley)
- 1989 – Breathing Lessons (Tyler)
- 1981 – A Confederacy of Dunces (Toole)
- 1937 – Gone with the Wind (Mitchell)
- 1936 – Honey in the Horn (Davis)
- 1935 – Now in November (Johnson)
- 1925 – So Big (Ferber)
Booker Prize – 6 titles
- 2010 winner
- 1999 Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
- 1998 Amsterdam: A Novel by Ian McEwan
- 1990 Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt
- 1988 Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
- 1982 Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally
- 1981 Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Newbery Medal – 6 titles
- Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
- Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
- The View from Saturday by Konigsburg
- Holes by Sachar
NYT Notable – 6 titles
- American Rust by Phillipp Meyer
- In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
- The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
- Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Home by Marilynne Robinson
- The Maytrees by Annie Dillard
- Kafka on the Shore by Murakami
- On Beauty by Zadie Smith
- The Road Home by Rose Tremain
Orange Prize – 3 titles
- 2009 Home, by Marilynne Robinson
- 2008 The Road Home, by Rose Tremain
- 2006 On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
- 2005 We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver
- 2004 Small Island, by Andrea Levy
- 2002 Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
- 2001 The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville
- 1998 Larry’s Party, by Carol Shields
Printz Project – 3 titles
- 2009 Jellicoe Road by Marchetta
- 2006 Looking for Alaska by John Green
- 2001 Kit’s Wilderness by Steve Almond
Nobel laureates – 3 titles from 3 different laureates
- 2007 - Doris Lessing
- 2004 - Elfriede Jelinek
- 1999 - Günter Grass
- 1998 - José Saramago
- 1994 - Kenzaburo Oe
- 1991 - Nadine Gordimer
- 1976 - Saul Bellow
- 1958 - Boris Pasternak
- 1957 - Albert Camus
- 1949 - William Faulkner
- 1929 - Thomas Mann
Science in Fiction – 3 titles
- The Oxford Murders by Martinez
- Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
- Periodic Table by Primo Levi
- The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
- Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
- Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
- Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers
- Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann
- Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
- Kepler by John Banville
Good luck! Man, there are some great books on that list!
What a lovely way to list what you want to read this year! Good luck on your challenges, you have some very interesting books to read. I’m not sure how I’m going to organize my goals for this year yet.
Several on that list that I have read, want to read, and plan to read! I placed a large order at amazon today for a couple of books I want to read but the hold list at my library just never seems to go down on them. One of them is Jellicoe Road. Great way to lay out your goals. Good luck!
*smiles*
I love how you’ve done this!
I’m discovering that perpetual projects (note I am not using the word “challenge”) suit me much, much better.
In that regard, the lists I’ve made for those projects are similar to yours.
You have many great titles here. I know they are subject to change, but I hope you can get to many of the ones listed.
HI!!!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!
Hope you make progress in all the challenges! I am in on some of them as well.
Looks like you have your work cut out for you!
Good luck with your goals for 2010!
You have read so many more books than me that I always get excited when I see ones that I’ve read and you haven’t (yet). I’m especially thinking of Gone with the Wind and Schindler’s List.
Can’t wait to talk to you about them, and many many others.
i admire that you can keep up with the challenges. i’m resolving to get some decent reading this year! happy new year 3m!
Looks like you will have your work cut out for you with those goals. happy reading.
Wow, there are some incredible titles in this bunch! I’m usually a big fan of the Pulitzer picks, myself. Gone with the Wind, Confederacy of Dunces and Kavalier and Clay are three of my all time favorites. Enjoy!
I don’t know if you allow yourself crossovers, but your Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis in the books about Science category could also count for your Nobel list. In fact Lewis was the first US write to with the Nobel for literature. Arrowsmith is a great book. For other Lewis think about Main Street, Dodsworth, and Babbitt.
This is an ambitious list, and it makes me jealous. I doubt I’ll have the time to get to half the books I hope to read. Nevertheless, your list inspired me to make one of my own. I’m hoping that having written it down will make me more accountable! Thanks for sharing!