Wendy, caribousmom, is again hosting the themed reading challenge, where reader's pick four to six books of a theme of their choosing. This was one of my favorite challenges last year, reading books about books and I had some spectacular reads.The dates are: February 1, 2009 - July 31, 2009
I am going to read epistolary [An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used] novels. I always enjoy them when I read them, like 84 Charing Cross Road, Bridget Jones, and Jaclyn Moriarity's other book, The Year of Secret Assignments. Here's a list of books in the library that fit this category
- The Pull of the Moon - Elizabeth Berg Apr 10/09
- Last Days of Summer - Steve Kluger Feb 9/09
- Dear Mr Henshaw - Beverly Cleary Apr 7/09
- A Celibate Season - Carol Shields, Blanche Howard Apr 12/09
- Angus, Thong, and Full-Frontal Snogging - Louise Rennison April 10/09
- Clara Callen - Richard B Wright July 10/09
- Feeling Sorry for Celia - Jaclyn Moriarity
- Gilead - Marilynne Robinson Feb 8/09
- From A - Z: A Story in Letters - John Berger
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (I'm on the list at the library and it might come in before February. If it does, I am going to count it for this challenge because it was this book that made me think of the theme and I thought this challenge was going to start in January!) Jan/09
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - turns out to be written in many forms of letters, diaries, and interviews. Jan/09
Other possible themes include:
- books I've bought for my children
- catching up on a series like Miss Julia, #1 Ladies Detective, Insp Lynley
- books I've won from other bloggers
ha ha - I had to look up WTF epistolary meant ;0)
ReplyDeleteI have the Potato Peel Society on my to-read list as well. I have a different E. Berg book on my shelf as well - haven't read her yet.
I love your theme! I had no idea Gilead was an epistolary novel. I have it on my shelf, but haven't gotten to it yet. Also, I loved The Last Days of Summer (Kluger) and The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society (Shaffer). You have some great reading ahead of you, Raidergirl3!
ReplyDeletebumbles - I haven't read Berg yet either and have another one here to read I've heard good things about her writing.
ReplyDeleteGlad to say my blog is educational!
joy - I didn't know which books were epistolary either, I just clicked the category at my online library listings, it was a keyword. I in line for the Potato Peel book at the library and it was a keyword, so I clicked it, and got 8-9 hits, including a few books I knew I liked, so I went for the theme. I don't have any of the books however, so it is adding ot my TBR pile, not lessening it.
I think my love of this style goes back to 'Free to Be You and Me' which had the story where the boy and the girl pass notes in class about his baseball team, and she wants to be the pitcher. Good stuff.
Cool, I love the epistolaries, too! And those 3 examples are fab - I loves me Bridget. I'll definitely be looking very forward to your reviews (as always)!
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