Friday 2 May 2008

342,745 Ways to Herd Cats, OR tl;dr1 Challenge



Here it is! And, I just had to join.....that title - herding one cat is hard enough. 342,00 of them??? Is she making a comment that us readers are kind of like cats?? Hmmm, she might be right....and so says my kitty, who is meowing because it's after midnight and I'm still up.

Renay at bottle-of-shine is hosting this challenge. The rules are simple:

I just like the phrase herding cats. How to play:

1. Make a list of ten books you love. That's the only qualification; you had to love (or at least like it) the books on the list. Ten books, a list full of ♥

2. Share the list by posting it on your blog and then letting me have the link!
(*note, go to her blog to get more details here about giving her the link)

3. Browse the lists created by our other members, collected here: reading lists! There will also be a master list of books available when people actually makes their lists. *STARES AT KJ* :D

4. Read at least three books recommended by others between May 1st - November 30th, 20082. Of course, more is fine! Encouraged, even!

5. Write reviews of the books you read! As long as folks are reading from our collection of lists, I'll continue collecting those reviews in our account, until the very last second of November 30th. Three is just the minimum, in order not to scare off people who shall remain nameless that might be a member of 745,936,623 reading challenges. >.>

6. Share the links to your reviews for the challenge by using one of the steps listed in #2. All reviews will be collected in the reviews (link will exist soon) tag, and all participants will be listed in (who would've guessed), the participants tag.


So, my books. These are books that I have given copies of to other people, because I loved them so much. If you were here, I'd give you these to read, Gentle Reader!!

1. Black and Blue - Ian Rankin (John Rebus mystery)
2. Bellwether - Connie Willis
3. In the Garden of Iden - Kage Baker ( first book in The Company series - sf)
4. Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
5. Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde (first book in the Thursday Next series - fantasy)
6. Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg
7. Summon the Keeper - Tanya Huff (first book in The Keeper's Chronicles - fantasy)
8. Forty Words for Sorrow - Giles Blunt (first in John Cardinal mysteries)
9. Mallory's Oracle - Carol O'Connell (Kathy Mallory mysteries)
10. Stalker - Liza Cody (Anna Lee mystery)

I could have added so many more books! But these are ones that I keep with me, no matter what, ones I remember and that live on within me, images and characters that have become part of my book-reading life, that I carry in my soul. I hope you find them as wondrous and funny and enchanting as I do. Or, in the case of the mysteries, deep and dark and exploring the shape of people's souls, showing the light so the dark doesn't take over. And excellent series characters, too. I'd love to meet Anna Lee! and Thursday Next! Not so sure about Kathy Mallory, though, she's scary as well as fascinating.

I haven't picked my 3 books from other people's lists yet, that is one of my things to do this weekend. I'll post them when I have them chosen. There are so many good books on other people's lists! How can I choose only 3? See, this is an easy challenge to join!!! Thanks, Renay, for hosting this one!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't read any of your 10 books... If I have time I will try and fit one in to my reading this year.

Anonymous said...

One of my students 'discovered' Thursday Next' last weekend and was just bursting to tell me about it on Wednesday. It has to be said that the rest of the class thought we were crazy, but how do you explain Jasper FForde to anyone who hasn't read him?

Ana S. said...

I haven't read a single one of your ten either! I should do something about that, shouldn't I?

Susan said...

rhinoa: thanks! I don't know what you will find over there, except for Ian Rankin (who looks alot like Neil Gaiman and i have to say my heart goes pitter-pat over him too....)who should be in every single bookstore there! Liza Cody should be in your used bookstores, though I hear some are being reprinted again....anyway, it's lovely that you want to try one or two. I think your list was pretty good too....

table talk: it's almost impossible to explain, isn't it? And yet it's such a delightful series, and wonderful for any booklover!! I'd love to jump into books too like Thursday does!

nymeth: I can't believe you haven't read any Jasper Fforde yet! You are missing a real treat, they are fun and like I said to table talk, they are made for book lovers!! I think you would really love Tanya Huff; fantasy with a talking cat, a witch and priceless dialogue of Hell arguing with itself....can you get any of the series there in Portugal? She's Canadian, so might not be picked up in Europe. thanks for thinking my list might be worth looking into! I know yours was too, like rhinoa's. And Chris's. and 3m's...and i have to go see who else joined that we know....