Monday, May 26, 2008

Raved-About Reads Challenge

MizB of The Book Zone has come up with a new challenge. Oh goody!

The idea behind the Raved-About Read Challenge is to read the books that all the other book bloggers are raving about and saying that everyone should read. I tend to put these books on my wish-list where they sit...and sit...and sit. So I'm hoping the Raved-About Reads Challenge will get me to read a few of them!

The challenge is perpetual, so, of course, this list will grow. But, for now, I'm going to list 10 that I want to read as soon as possible. Several of these are kind of old, but I haven't gotten to them yet. Hence joining the challenge...

  1. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
  2. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
  3. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
  4. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
  5. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
  6. Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
  7. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  8. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  10. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Edited to add:

11. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
12. Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos
13. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
14. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
15. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
16. Dewey: The Small-Town Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

Back to my regularly scheduled list...

If you've read any of these, did you like them? Hate them? Tell me about your experience.

Kristi

11 comments:

raidergirl3 said...

In the last year I read: #5, #7, #9, #10.
I read #1 and #3 a long time ago, and I really want ot read #6 and #8.

Loved Owen Meany; Inkheart was cute; and The Road was undescribable.

Have fun!

Kristi said...

Thanks, raidergirl! I'm so looking forward to reading some of these I've been putting off. Not because I didn't want to read them before, but other books just seemed to keep jumping in front of them! Glad to hear you liked some of them!

beastmomma said...

I enjoyed fast food nation.

Terri B. said...

I read #1 and enjoyed it as an enjoyable summer read. Nothing too deep there which is often just what I need. Lots of female relationship stuff as I recall.

Didn't like #3. Atwood is hit or miss for me. I read this years ago, so I might feel differently about it now. I'm guessing I just didn't care for the topic at the time.

#2, #7, #9 and #10 are all on my TBR pile that keeps getting taller! I read the first page of #10 and was blown away. That book is laying on the top of the pile so I will read it as soon as I can fit it into my scheduled reading. I look forward to reading what you have to say about these books.

I want to read #4 and #6. I'm thinking that #6 Molokai would make a good choice for my bookclub.

Kristi said...

Beastmomma--I can't wait to read Fast Food Nation. Although, technically, I guess I can since I've had the book at least a year and haven't gotten around to it yet. Sigh...

Terri B.--I actually suggested Molokai to my f2f bookclub this past month (after seeing how many book bloggers liked it) and it was picked for our August read. I'm really looking forward to it!

Stephanie said...

I haven't read many of these, but Handmaid's Tale and Snow Flower were both EXCELLENT books!

Looking forward to your reviews!

joanna said...

I absolutely loved the ones that I already read: Divine Secrets, Fast Food Nation, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The others are on my list to read sometime soon-ish.

I'd like to participate in this challenge but am afraid to start a list that will be never-ending. Maybe limiting it to 10 or so like you did is a good idea!

MizB said...

Thanks for joining in on the challenge, Kristi! Nice list!

I found the "Super-Size Me" documentary (film) to be very good, so I'm interested to hear how you like "Fast Food Nation".

"Moloka'i" was fantastic! I finally got around to reading it last year, and couldn't believe, afterward, that I'd put it off for so long! Great book!

Good luck with the challenge! :D

Kristi said...

Joanna -- I hear you ;>). I actually have a longer list, but I decided to tackle 10 at a time for now. When I finish my first 10, I'll revisit what I'm sure will become a very long list and pick out my next 10. ;>P

MizB -- Thanks! I'm really looking forward to both "Fast Food Nation" and "Moloka'i."

Juliann in WA said...

Love Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and am almost finished with Fast Food Nation. This looks like a great challenge.

Josette said...

Ooh, I haven't read ANY of those books in your list! Can't wait to read your reviews. :) I'm joining this challenge too.