“Fiddle-de-dee’s not English.”

Oh. I forgot to post this here. I don’t think it matters much though, since I’m pretty sure that anyone who reads the posts here also read the stuff I post at my LJ? It doesn’t matter, really, since any commentary I might post will be posted at both places anyway!

Renay is hosting a reading challenge! It’s easy! Just list ten books you love and read three books out of all the books recommended by others. Simple, isn’t it? I give this challenge an A++!

Here’s my list. It’s sorted by author’s last name, and, where possible, I’ve linked it to my own recap of the book.

1. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
   This one’s a classic. It was my favourite book as a child, and I’m still terribly fond of it. Oddly enough I don’t seem to have a copy with me. Hmm. A young girl named Alice follows a white rabbit into a nonsensical Wonderland and finds herself surrounded by eccentric characters.
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
   I struggled with this book at the start, and I ended up loving it. Alternate history set in the 1800s London, written to imitate the style of the period. The book’s premise is magic returns to England after not being practised for hundreds of years and it focusses on the relationship and rivalries of two magicians.
3. Matilda by Roald Dahl
   Juvenile fiction. A precocious little girl who loves reading tries to get even with her dull parents and terrifying headmistress. With illustrations by Quentin Blake! My favourite Roald Dahl book.
4. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
   Historical fiction, set in 1547 Scotland. Francis Crawford of Lymond, an outlaw, returns to Scotland, and his future depends on him finding three men. First book in a series of six known as The Lymond Chronicles, though this can stand on its own. One of my favourites from the novels I’ve read this year; the whole series made me go asdfhkll;lk a lot.
   (My rather incoherent recap is here.)
5. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
   YA fantasy. Sophie Hatter, the eldest of three sisters, finds herself cursed by the Witch of the Waste, and the wizard Howl is the only person who can help her. A lot of hijinks! Humour! Well-handled romance! My favourite DWJ book so far (and perhaps my favourite book in this list)!
   (Slightly spoilery recap here.)
6. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
   Young Scout Finch has to deal with racism as her father, a lawyer, defends a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime in 1930s Alabama. This was required reading in school (despite the fact that half of the class never even started it), and I loved the book so much that I asked to keep my copy.
7. Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
   YA. Willie Beech, a timid, abused boy, is evacuated to an English countryside at the brink of World War II and his gruff and solitary guardian, Tom Oakley, helps him realise that family is more than just the one you’re born to.
   (Recap here.)
8. Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
   YA fantasy. Tom is sent to live with his aunt and uncle when his brother is ill with the measles, and discovers a garden outside the back door when the clock strikes thirteen. A great story about friendship and how things change over time.
   (Recap here.)
9. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
   If there ever was a book that made me look like an idiot for laughing like a loon in a train, this would be it. The end of days is coming, and apocalypse is near, and the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale are determined to stop it.
10. Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass) by Philip Pullman
    YA fantasy, alternate history. Lyra is one of my favourite characters in YA fantasy. ♥ Great world building and wonderful storytelling. First book of the His Dark Materials trilogy.

(This list is mirrored at my LiveJournal here.)

I just realised that the Speculative Fiction challenge hosted by Renay ended on 1 April! My posting this now is more of a coincidence than me being attentive to dates, really.

This is the first reading challenge I participated in and I’m glad to say I actually completed it! It actually helped me clear a few books off my to-read pile, some of which have been in that pile for a while. It also made me read something I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

I chose the path of A Theoretical Handbook For the Unseasoned Speculator and had two alternates. I read all the books in my main list, though I originally swapped out Temeraire for The Riddle-Master’s Game, I ended up reading both anyway. Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children was the only book left out.

Here’s a short recap of the seven titles, starting with the ones I liked most:

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
This is the first book of The Hungry City Chronicles, where Tom, a boy in a post-apocalyptic future in which traction cities roam, finds himself caught in a middle of a conspiracy. YA steampunk, science fiction.

The Riddle-Master’s Game by Patricia A McKillip
One bound volume with all three books in the trilogy: The Riddle-Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire and Harpist in the Wind. Young Prince Morgon of Hed goes off in search of his destiny. Almost your standard coming-of-age story, except with better prose. :P High fantasy.

Temeraire by Naomi Novik
First book in the Temeraire series, in which we revisit the Napoleonic Wars but this time with dragons. Dragons! Otherwise known as the adventures of Captain Will Laurence and the fighting dragon Temeraire. Good stuff. Fantasy, alternate history.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories by Susanna Clarke
Short story collection set in the same universe as Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Alternate history, fantasy.

Ilium by Dan Simmons
In which the Trojan Wars are being re-enacted on Mars. I kid you not. The book does not stand alone; it has a sequel called Olympos, which I didn’t like as much. Science fiction.

The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
In which an old guy, who happens to be the Merlin, dies, and the new one doesn’t seem to be quite up to par. Sounds suspicious? You bet! It’s up to our heroes to find out why. YA fantasy, alternate realities.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
The story of a boy who runs away from home coincides with one of an old man who can talk to cats. There are a lot of metaphors. Magical realism.

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I wouldn’t have read Kafka on the Shore otherwise, and The Riddle-Master’s Game had sat on my TBR shelf for ages, so this challenge was a good thing. So many thanks to Renay for hosting it!

Maybe one day I’ll host a challenge. Once I figure out about what.

I wasn’t planning on participating in another challenge, really. (I don’t browse through book blogs much, but every other one I glance through seems to be focussed on joining as many challenges as possible. This. Uh. This seems like a rather strange thing to do, to my mind.) However, I saw this challenge and thought, hey, wouldn’t this be a great way to sort out the books for 2008? I can cycle through the categories and vary my reading a bit instead of focussing on one genre. (Guess what I’ve been reading for most of 2007? You win ONE (1) FREE INTERNETS if you guess correctly!)

All that said, I’m probably not including anything non-fiction in this list. I am just that bad with non-fiction titles. Though Empire of the Sun is partly autobiographical, I think?

The challenge is to read eight books each in eight different categories in 2008. Eight overlaps are allowed, so there’s a minimum of fifty-six unique titles. Something doable within the year, I think, and the way the challenge is structured allows for changes easily, and that’s the main reason why I think it’s cool. There are way too many books to explore out there to limit yourself to only a static list for a year, challenge or no challenge!

Here’s the list.

Booker prize winners and shortlisted or longlisted titles

1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
   » completed 22 March 2008
2. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
   » completed 14 December 2008
3. Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard
4. Possession: A Romance by AS Byatt
   » completed 7 July 2008
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
6. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
7. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
   » completed 13 July 2008
8. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
   » completed 10 October 2008
9. number9dream by David Mitchell
   » completed 4 June 2008
10. The Accidental by Ali Smith
11. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
12. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
13. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
    » completed 22 May 2008

classics

1. Tales from the Thousand and One Nights by Anonymous
2. East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Peter Asbjørnsen
   » completed 21 September 2008
3. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
   » completed 25 August 2008
5. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
6. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
   » completed 7 December 2008
7. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
8. A Room with a View by EM Forster

books set (at least partly) in Asia

1. My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey
2. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
3. Ghostwritten by David Mitchell
   » completed 30 October 2008
4. A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul
5. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
   » completed 1 March 2008
6. The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk
7. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
8. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
9. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng

young adult/juvenile fiction

1. Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond
   » completed 23 February 2008
2. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
   » completed 24 April 2008
3. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
   » completed 11 February 2008
4. Postcards from No Man’s Land by Aidan Chambers
   » completed 5 April 2008
5. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
   » completed 3 May 2008
6. Just in Case by Meg Rosoff
   » completed 4 May 2008
7. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
   » completed 14 May 2008
8. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
   » completed 19 April 2008

speculative fiction

1. Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint
   » completed 15 February 2008
2. The Giver by Lois Lowry
   » completed 26 April 2008
3. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
   » completed 15 May 2008
4. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A McKillip
   » completed 3 May 2008
5. Winter Rose by Patricia A McKillip
   » completed 20 March 2008
6. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
   » completed 1 March 2008
7. Temeraire by Naomi Novik
   » completed 21 February 2008
8. Starcross by Philip Reeve
   » completed 24 March 2008

recommended by my sister

1. Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard
2. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernièrs
3. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
4. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
5. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
6. A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul
7. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
8. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday

other books we own

1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
   » completed 19 October 2008
2. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
   » completed 1 May 2008
3. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
   » completed 19 October 2008
4. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
   » completed 29 February 2008
5. King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett
   » completed 30 September 2008
6. Predator’s Gold by Philip Reeve
   » completed 4 October 2008
7. The Name of the Wind by Philip Rothfuss
   » completed 14 October 2008
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
   » completed 15 May 2008

(not the first book!) in a series

1. Queens’ Play by Dorothy Dunnet
   » completed 16 March 2008
2. The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnet
   » completed 26 March 2008
3. Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
   » completed 28 March 2008
4. The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett
   » completed 30 March 2008
5. Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett
   » completed 1 April 2008
6. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle
   » completed 3 January 2008
7. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
   » completed 10 March 2008
8. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
   » completed 21 August 2008

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There are currently four overlaps: Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard, The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng, A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul and Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. Some slots are still empty. I’m not too worried about filling them up, really, even though this list took forever to compile. Only the first category crosses over with another challenge — the Man Booker challenge hosted by Dewey — the others are mostly books we already own or I already plan to read. I started the list (rather idly, admittedly) sometime in early November, but the books in it kept changing. Partly because I started reading some of the books and finishing them even before 2008 started — How I Live Now and Tom’s Midnight Garden from the YA/children pile were among the casualties — and some because I realised that I wouldn’t like them, so why bother?

The rest of the list may still change — knowing myself, I’ll probably be picking one of the books in the list and finishing it before the clock strikes midnight on 31 December. Besides, there are books being published in 2008 that I have to slot in somewhere. Anyway, if I don’t like a book enough, I reserve the right to put it aside and replace them with something else, ha.

Recommendations/suggestions welcomed!

Well, I’ve been looking at some of the challenges floating around and I saw the Man Booker Challenge hosted by Dewey and thought, hey, this is one for me! Because, you see, we already have almost all the books in my list at home, and I never get around to reading them, so I thought a challenge may be the best thing to get me to actually reading them.

So here’s my list, subject to change:

• The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
  • Winner 2006
• The Accidental by Ali Smith
  • Shortlisted 2005
• On Beauty by Zadie Smith
  • Shortlisted 2005
• A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
  • Longlisted 2005
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
  • Longlisted 2003
• Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard
  • Shortlisted 1984

Alternates I should mention, because I’m curious about these:

• The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
  • Longlisted 2007
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
  • Shortlisted 2004
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  • Shortlisted 1986

Full list of all the books that have won, or been shortlisted or longlisted for, the Booker prize can be found here. Consider the whole thing my alternate list. :P

To celebrate finally finishing setting up the site (and a reason for me to procrastinate posting about the books I have read), I’ve decided to take part in the Book Ninja’s Speculative Fiction reading challenge!

Here’s the, uh, sexy image for the challenge:

And quoting the quote from Renay:

Speculative Fiction . . . the action of the story can take place in a culture that never existed, a world we know nothing of, or an earth that might have been or might be, to name a few. . . . This distinctiveness is best illustrated in the primary question asked by the writers of Speculative Fiction, “What if?” . . . this genre has a special capacity to deal with the human equation. (source)

I’ve chosen the path of A Theoretical Handbook For the Unseasoned Speculator, otherwise known as the speculative fiction buffet. (But damn, I would’ve liked to claim I was reading for Skinning Schrödinger’s Cat With Occam’s Razor, if only because I find the title hysterical.)

Books chosen are:

• Ilium by Dan Simmons
  • science fiction
• The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
  • fantasy
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
  • alternate history, or at least I hope so! It’s a short story collection and I know some of the stories share the same world as Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
• Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
  • alternate history sorry, sorry, it’s probably science fiction; I’m confusing it with Larklight
• Temeraire by Naomi Novik
  • alternate history
• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
  • magical realism

Alternates, because I’ve been known to be easily distracted!

• Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
  • magical realism
• The Riddle-Master’s Game trilogy by Patricia A McKillip
  • fantasy (I have a bound book with all three of the books in the trilogy in it. I may decide to cop-out and read the first volume, The Riddle-Master of Hed, only!)

Yay!