2013 Challenges
Challenge: Reading
Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Hobbitsies.net
What is it they say, if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans. Well, the time to knock out a few more books of my 2012 Reading Challenges is coming to an end and there are two things I realized. First, I am horrible at keeping up my blog. Second, I really need to carve more time out to read. I am taking part in two challenges this year, but I'm allowing a little more "freedom" in my choices.
I am re-committing to the Debut Author Challenge this year. I got a chance to meet some of these amazing writers in person last year and I hope to continue the trend this year. Once again, the challenge is to read twelve (12) YA books by debut authors in twelve months. Last year, I tried to read them in the month they were released, but this year, as I mentioned, I'm going for freedom, so the goal is to read one Debut Novel a month, no matter the release date.
January - Level 2 by Lenore Applehans (completed)
February - Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard (completed)
March - Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza (completed)
April- Rump by Liesel Shutlif (completed)
May - Coda by Emma Trevayne (completed)
June - The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke (completed)
July - 45 pounds More or Less by K.A. Barson (completed)
August - Prep School Confidential by Kare Taylor (completed)
September - Find Me by Romily Bernard (completed)
October- Red by Alison Cherry (completed)
November - Cracked by Eliza Crewe (completed)
December - Control by Lydia Kang
Good Reads A-Z Reading Challenge
As the challenge name suggests, I am going to read 26 books. I get to pick my own poison here, meaning, I can have books suggested to me by friends, pick based on title, or pick based on author. Believe it or not, I'm going to go with friend suggestions. Now, I reserve the right to included facebook and twitter pals in this list. Why friends? Well, first of all, I have been known to pick up a book based on it's cover and be thoroughly disappointed. This way, the book has at least been vetted by someone before I pick it up.
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Challenge: Writing
Last year, I managed to actually meet my goals for writing and then some. In November, I took part in NaNoWriMo and "won" by writing a novel in one month. Now I'm revising like crazy! I've also made some decision on The Partizans. It's been reverted back to the college age and if the agents I send it to aren't interested, then I'll self-publish it myself. Yes, I said I would never self-publish, but if "new adult" isn't catching on with the publishing world, there are still readers out there that will read it.
So my challenges this year are three fold:
1. Finish Replay (NaNoWriMo novel) by May so it's ready to pitch at the conferences listed below;
2. Make one more pass over The Partizans and then submit. Based on responses, I may or may not self-publish;
3. Write book two of The Partizans.
That's "all".
Challenge: Professional Development
(aka Conferences, etc.)
In 2013, I have three trips on the schedule.
January: The "Muncie Family Reunion" - A group of us who met up at Midwest Writers Workshop decided a year was too long to go without seeing each other and so we decided to rent out a B&B in South Bend, Indiana and spend a weekend writing at our own little retreat. No agenda, just fellowship, work, and hopefully some critique time, as well.
May: This year, I will be attending a multi-state SCBWI conference in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. More information on this to follow.
July: As always, I will be attending the Midwest Writers Workshop. My plan this year is to pitch Replay. More information about this will be available soon.
2012 Challenges
2012 is looking to be a big year for me in the world of readin' and writin'. I've really piled my plate full and am ready to dig in! Below are the Challenges I've set for myself. Follow along on this year long journey of literary immersion, or better yet, grab a book (or a pen) and come along! It's going to be an awesome ride!
The goal of the Debut Author Challenge is pretty simple. Read twelve (12) YA books by debut authors in twelve (12) months. It doesn't matter if you read them all in one month or spread the fun out over the entire year. Since I have a number of reading and writing goals, I've opted to spread the books out over the year. Here are the books I've picked out for the moment:
January - Cinder by Marissa Meyer (completed)
February - Scarlet by A.C Gaughen *also known as Kidlet #2's birthday (completed)
March - Croak by Gina Damico (completed)
March Bonus Novel: Starter by Lisa Price (completed)
March Bonus Novel: Starter by Lisa Price (completed)
April -The Selection by Kiera Cross (release date 4/24/2012) (completed)
May - Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock (release date 5/8/2012) *also know as my birthday!
Bonus May Novel - Chained by Lynne Kelly Hoenig (release date 5/8/2012) *another b-day release!
Bonus May Novel - Chained by Lynne Kelly Hoenig (release date 5/8/2012) *another b-day release!
June - Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (release date 6/5/2012)
July - Insignia by S.J. Kinkaid (release date 7/10/2012) (completed)
July Bonus Novel - Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire (completed)
July Bonus Novel - Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire (completed)
August -Glitch by Heather Anastasiu (release date 8/7/2012)
September - If I Lie by Corrine Jackson (release date 9/4/2012)
October - Time Between Us by Tamara Stone (release date 10/9/2012)
November - Ashes to Twilight by Kasey Tayler (release date 11/13/2012)
December - My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris (release date TBA)
These books are subject to change, but as of right now, these are the debut novels I will be reading and reviewing, so look for the Cinder review later this week!
Book Club Challenge 2012
I know the image may look like it's a bunch of women sitting around having adult cocktails, and it is, but it's also a pretty accurate representation of my book club, commonly referred to as the Cacklin' Bs. (Thanks Andy Smith for the inspiration!)
It's kind of unfair to call this a challenge because the truth is, I love this group, I love the books we pick, and I love the food and drinks that accompany our gatherings. Still, I am committed to reading all 11 books and attending the meetings, so I'm putting it down. Since we're all moms of school age kids, we took the month of January off to recover from Winter Break, but we will be back in full swing come February. I'll update the challenge with the books once we've decided on the titles.
February - Superfudge (A flash back book from our youth!)
March - Grapes of Wrath (Part of a county wide initiative!)
April - Cutting the Stone
April - Cutting the Stone
May -
June -
July - Night Circus
August - 13 Reasons Why
September -
October -
November -
December -
If you are a reader, I highly encourage you to set up an account on Goodreads. If you do, I'll be your buddy! Anyway. There are tons of groups on the site and one of them is the YA Book Club. Every month, the members vote on what the next month's book will be and then there's... you guessed it... a discussion. I love this group because all of the members are YA readers and a lot of them are teens, which helps me keep my finger on the pulse of my target audience. Now, I haven't been as good as I should be in regards to taking part in the discussion, so this year, I'm going to make more of an effort! I'll post the books as they're voted in!.
2012 Goodreads YA Book Club Challenge
If you are a reader, I highly encourage you to set up an account on Goodreads. If you do, I'll be your buddy! Anyway. There are tons of groups on the site and one of them is the YA Book Club. Every month, the members vote on what the next month's book will be and then there's... you guessed it... a discussion. I love this group because all of the members are YA readers and a lot of them are teens, which helps me keep my finger on the pulse of my target audience. Now, I haven't been as good as I should be in regards to taking part in the discussion, so this year, I'm going to make more of an effort! I'll post the books as they're voted in!.
January - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (completed)
February - Wake by Lisa Mcmann
February - Wake by Lisa Mcmann
March - The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
April -
May -
June -
July -
August -
September -
October -
November -
December -
2012 Reading Challenge
And all the books I'm reading are ultimately going to get me closer to my 54 books read in one year goal. Honestly, I would love to make it an even 100, but as you will see below, my free time is going to be limited this year!
Books Read
1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (1/6/12)
2. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher (1/10/12)
3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (1/11/12)
4. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (1/13/12)
5. XVI by Julia Karr (1/13/12)
6. Crossed by Ally Condie (1/19/2012)
7. The Daughters by Joanna Philbin (1/21/2012)
8. Starters by Lissa Price (1/29/2012)
9. Gossip Girl #1 by Cecily von Ziegesar (1/31/2012)
10. The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler (2/14/2012)
11. Don't you Wish by Roxanne Sinclaire (2/20/2012)
****Had to slowdown for a few weeks to work on my own work***
12. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman (3/24/2012)
13. How to Save A Life by Sara Zarr (4/19/2012)
14. Croak by Gina Daminco (4/26/2012)
15. Where She Went by Gayle Foreman
16. Scarlet by AJ Gaughen
17. The Selection by Kiera Cass
18. Torn by Erica O'Rourke
19. Tangled by Erica O'Rourke
20. Bound by Erica O'Rourke
3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (1/11/12)
4. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (1/13/12)
5. XVI by Julia Karr (1/13/12)
6. Crossed by Ally Condie (1/19/2012)
7. The Daughters by Joanna Philbin (1/21/2012)
8. Starters by Lissa Price (1/29/2012)
9. Gossip Girl #1 by Cecily von Ziegesar (1/31/2012)
10. The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler (2/14/2012)
11. Don't you Wish by Roxanne Sinclaire (2/20/2012)
****Had to slowdown for a few weeks to work on my own work***
12. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman (3/24/2012)
13. How to Save A Life by Sara Zarr (4/19/2012)
14. Croak by Gina Daminco (4/26/2012)
15. Where She Went by Gayle Foreman
16. Scarlet by AJ Gaughen
17. The Selection by Kiera Cass
18. Torn by Erica O'Rourke
19. Tangled by Erica O'Rourke
20. Bound by Erica O'Rourke
2012 Writing Challenge
Honestly, I should have put this as the very first challenge, since it's the one that's going to be the toughest to pull off. I have challenged myself to write two books this year. WHAT? You say, and all I can answer with is, I KNOW, RIGHT!
It shouldn't be as hard as it sounds. I'm almost finished with the first ACADA Chronicles book. The first draft should be done by the end of January with revisions being completed by March 10th June 10. After that, I'm heading right into the second book of the series while I workshop and beta read book one. I'm not saying I'll have two books ready to submit by the end of the year, but I should have a total of three (let's not forget the Partizans), at some stage of development.
I didn't make this deadline, but it's nearing completion and I have plans for a major revision. New deadline: June 10, 2012.
And since we aren't forgetting the Partizans, I should mention that my writer's group is taking a whack at it, so I'm hoping to have a completely polished product by the middle of the year. Sweet, right!
And finally...
2012 Writer's Conference Challenge
Because I just don't have enough things to do in the coming months, I'm challenging myself to attend two writer's conferences and one writing symposium at Gen Con 2012, which happens to be in Indy, which makes travel easy. To make things just a little more stressfully fun, I'll be pitching my new book to agents and taking part in some critique groups.
The New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (NESCBWI) Regional Conference will be held April 20-22, 2012 in Springfield, MA. The faculty is looking amazing and I'm hoping to take part in the Novel Author's Academy. I'm really looking forward to a spring vacay to the East Coast! COMPLETED!!! Amazing Conference with so many benefits. I am sold on the benefit of SCBWI, but you have to take advantage! Met so many published and yet to be published authors and heard inspirational speeches by Kate Messner, Sara Zarr, Harry Bliss and Jane Yolen. AND... made friends with the same love of kidlit that I have! I also got to meet some of my new fave authors like A.C. Gaughen and Gina Damico which was awesome, plus I met a future debut author named Sashi Kaufman. Really looking forward to reading her book when it comes out!
All in all, worth every penny!!
No year would be complete without the Midwest Writer's Workshop, held in Muncie, Indiana on the Ball State University Campus from July 26-28, 2012. This will be my second year attending the conference and I know it will not disappoint. I've been so lucky to meet great friends and mentors at this conference that I can't see a time when I'm not involved with this amazing group of people.
I'm registered and here's the intensive workshop I'll be in...
“YD Double Header: Strategies for Crafting Compelling Young Adult Novels” – Erica O’Rourke.Love triangles are A two-part session that addresses key issues in young adult novels today: creating compelling love triangles and honing your YA voice. There’s no denying that teens love to read about love — and in The Geometry of YA Love Triangles, we’ll talk about how to create one that feels organic and believable, and actually strengthens the story you want to tell. We’ll analyze the construction of different types of love triangles, figure out what makes them successful (and what doesn’t), and look at how you can use a love triangle to further characterization and theme. In the second half of the day, we’ll spend time Stalking the Elusive YA Voice. Editors and agents often talk about the importance of an author’s voice when they’re deciding whether to take on a project. But what is “voice” and how can you tell if yours is the right fit for YA? We’ll look at examples of distinctive voices in YA literature, talk about how it can shape the story you want to tell, and learn some techniques for strengthening your voice — as well as common pitfalls to avoid.
... are you jealous? Don't be... I also have a query letter critique with Chuck Sambuchino, a manuscript evaluation with Erica O'Rourke and an agent pitch with Sarah LaPolla... oh wait... I bet you are jealous... of course, there's a lot of work to do between now and then. Like finish and polish the manuscript, work on my letter and pitch and get some extra sleep because, what happens in Muncie... well, it normally goes on twitter, but still... it's a crazy time in the cornfields!! Not doing anything? You should come!
I was planning on taking part in a writing symposium as part of the Gen Con, but have opted instead to go to an intensive workshop sponsored by Midwest Writer's Workshop. Here's the lowdown on the track I'm taking! I've seen Shirley Jump speak and she is as passionate as she is about writing as she is hilarious about the reality of being a mom and a writer! Really excited about spending the day with this very cool woman!
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shirley Jump spends her days writing women’s fiction and romantic comedies (One Day to Find a Husband, July 2012) to feed her shoe addiction and avoid cleaning the toilets. As AJ Whitten (www.ajwhitten.com), she and her daughter also write horror young adult novels for Houghton Mifflin’s Graphia imprint (The Cellar, May 2011). She cleverly finds writing time by feeding her kids junk food, allowing them to dress in the clothes they find on the floor and encouraging the dogs to double as vacuum cleaners. Visit her website at http://www.shirleyjump.com/ or read recipes and life adventures at http://www.shirleyjump.blogspot.com/.
“Once Upon A Time…Writing Your First Novel” with multi-published author SHIRLEY JUMP. Have you ever wanted to write a short story or novel? Wondered what it took to get from “Once upon a time” to “The End”? This session will help you: [1] decide whether an idea is “big” enough to encompass a novel; [2] create characters; [3] decide on character goals, motivations and conflicts; [4] develop a story arc; [5] create scenes and sequels; [6] polish your manuscript; [7] discover resources for getting published. At the end of this session, you will have a good basic knowledge of how to write a story, and you’ll understand what encompasses a strong plot. [Note: this session is for any fiction writer!]
In 2009, Shirley captivated MWW with her banquet keynote describing how she “quit” writing only days later to receive one of many contracts which brought her to the New York Times bestseller list. She’s published 35+ books, from romantic comedy to romance with recipes to YA with zombies, and has worked for three publishing houses.
A powerhouse of insider publishing information, Shirley will share the secrets she’s learned in her career in this intensive session. She’s currently teaching a popular online course called “Taking A Book From Good To Sold” and is ready to help writers, at whatever stage, in their writing journeys.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shirley Jump spends her days writing women’s fiction and romantic comedies (One Day to Find a Husband, July 2012) to feed her shoe addiction and avoid cleaning the toilets. As AJ Whitten (www.ajwhitten.com), she and her daughter also write horror young adult novels for Houghton Mifflin’s Graphia imprint (The Cellar, May 2011). She cleverly finds writing time by feeding her kids junk food, allowing them to dress in the clothes they find on the floor and encouraging the dogs to double as vacuum cleaners. Visit her website at http://www.shirleyjump.com/ or read recipes and life adventures at http://www.shirleyjump.blogspot.com/.
COMPLETED!!! I have to admit, I wasn't sure about this workshop. It was geared toward those who were starting their first novel, and I'm on my third, but it was just what I needed to kick myself in the butt and get back to the job of writing. Plus, I got a lot of great ideas about how to study plot structure and weave romance into my plot line. Needless to say, this workshop launched me into a new revision that turned into a major rewrite. So worth it!
Lifetime Reading Challenges
Gilmore Girls was one of my favorite TV series . It was intelligent and funny . Rory Gilmore made it more enjoyable because she had an obsession for anything literary. Each episode had books( how many TV shows have books ? Not many.). Books that she read at home, in school and during travel. Her choice in books was eclectic . It included classics , poetry, chick lit, modern literature , mystery , middle grade books , politics and much more. Below are 250 books Rory mentions, quotes, is seeing reading, etc. in the show. Over the course of my life, one reading goal is to be as literate as Rory Gilmore. I've already marked the ones I've read in the past... whew... my TBR pile just got a lot bigger!
1984 by George Orwell- Read
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt-Read
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - Read
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire - READ
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer - READ
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - READ
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White - READ
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - READ
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père
Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
The Crucible by Arthur Miller - READ
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - READ
The Da Vinci -Code by Dan Brown – READ
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the
Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band
by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante - READ
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells - READ
Don Quijote by Cervantes
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien -READ
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom – READ
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - READ
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and
Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – READ
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck- READ
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – READ
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - READ
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare - READ
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling – READ
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling – READ
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (TBR)
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss - READ
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer - READ
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inferno by Dante
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton - READ
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan -READ
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare -READ
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - READ
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – READ
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Love Story by Erich Segal
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsro by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
Myra Waldo’s Travel and Motoring Guide to Europe, 1978 by Myra Waldo
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel -READ
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/
Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Old School by Tobias Wolff
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton - READ
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – READ
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers – read
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - READ
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR) – READ
R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert - READ
Roman Holiday by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - READ
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
The Rough Guide to Europe, 2003 Edition
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller by Henry James
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne – READ
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Hotels of Europe
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen – READ
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the
Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - READ
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – READ
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom – READ
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe – READ
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico
(Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau - READ
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles -READ
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson - READ
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire – READ
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
