Mythopoeic Award Reading Challenge 2008

I am still new at this blogging, so I'm realizing the bonus of doing an actual blog on joining a book reading challenge - I can link back to it! And link to the challenge site too....So, although I joined this one a while ago, here is my blog on joining! I was thrilled to join this challenge, since I love fantasy so much. It was fun to go to mythopoeic list site and see how many books I had already read.......and it was surprising how many I hadn't read yet. A tiny voice is whispering that I think I am going to make it my challenge to read all the winners (and possibly the nominees as well,), in an open-ended challenge, like the on-going Pulitzer and Booker Man open-ended challenges to read all the winners. Oh, if only we were paid to read all these books and didn't have to work! I would gladly sit around reading for the rest of my life!!! So long as we kept the same income....of course we could always get paid more than what I currently earn!!!!

I highly recommend this mythopoeic challenge for those, who like with the Once Upon A time Challenge hosted by Carl, are looking for good fantasy to read. Lenneth at Foxy Writer is hosting this one. Here are her rules:

"The Mythopoeic Society is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of fantasy and mythic literature, especially the works of the Inklings, an informal literary circle at Oxford that included the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and others. Each year the Society awards the best scholarly and literary achievements exemplifying “the spirit of the Inklings” with the Mythopoeic Award.

The challenge is to read seven books between JANUARY 1ST 2008 to DECEMBER 31ST 2008 from the list of Mythopoeic Award Winners. (See? All kinds of brilliant Fantasy books to choose from!) [EDIT: Becky requested that I broaden the challenge to include the nominees for the fantasy and scholarship, which gives you a lot more choices!]

Here are the rules:

1. Choose seven books from the list of Mythopoeic Award Winners (or nominees, here for fantasy or here for scholarship).
2. Anything on the list is fair game, fiction or non-fiction.
3. Post a link to your list in the comments of this post (if you don’t have a website, post your list in the comments.)
4. Somewhere in your post, link back to this challenge post. (permalink)
5. Read the books between January 1st, 2008 and December 31st, 2008.
6. You may start anytime in 2008, but you must finish by the end of December 31st, 2008.
7. You may combine this challenge with other challenges. "

My seven books are:

• Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke - DONE (888 Fantasy)
• Inkheart - Cornelia Funke DONE (888 Books TBR, Once Upon a Time, Banned Books) -
• Coraline - Neil Gaiman DONE
• The Innkeeper's Song - Peter S. Beagle
• Briar Rose - Jane Yolen
• Fire and Hemlock - Diana Wynne Jones - DONE (888 Fairy Tales)
• The Door in the Hedge - Robin McKinley (888 Fairy Tales) - DONE

I could have added so many more, and indeed we are free to, but I have to be realistic, and I think if I, after doing this challenge for this year, make it my personal challenge to read ALL the books on the Mythopoeic list - with no set time frame - then that will satisfy my urge to read as much fantasy as I want to! (which I do anyway) AND complete an amazing challenge!

*********ADDED Oct 5 2008: ALTERNATES*****
- Forests of the Heart - Charles de Lint
-Ysabel - Guy Gavriel Kay - DONE
-In the Forest of Forgetting - Theodora Goss
- Tamsin - Peter S. Beagle - DONE