The Officially Dangerous Titles, hosted at Estella's revengeJanuary: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens (since Estella is our namesake)
February: The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison (African American)
March: Cat's Eye, by Margaret Atwood (Atwood for Atwood's sake)
April: Transformations, by Anne Sexton (Poetry)
May: Other Voices, Other Rooms, by Truman Capote (Southern)
June: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (Russian)
July: The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier (adolescent)
August: Maus I and II, by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novel, Pulitzer winner)
September: The Secret Lives of People in Love, by Simon Van Booy (Independent)
October: The Human Stain, by Philip Roth (Contemporary/Jewish)
November: A Month of Classic Short Stories, Various - watch for a list
December: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Dusty)
Why Not?
January: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: I want to read a Dickens, I have A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver, but maybe not in January
February: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison I really don't like Morrison, and I think I've read this one already, years ago, when I believed Oprah about books
March: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood I've read Cat's Eye, but I like Atwood and have others of hers to read.
June: Lolita by Nabokov I just finished Lolita
October: The Human Stain by Philip Roth I've read The Human Stain. Didn't like it at all.
My Official List of Reading Dangerously:
I'd like to try a combination of the official list and my adaptations
January: A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver to be read sometime during the year
February: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines (African American)
March: Oryx and Crake by Atwood
April: Unsettled by Zachariah Wells (poetry)
May: Other Voices, Other Rooms by Capote (or some other Capote)
June: something Russian (are there any short Russian books?)
July: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (adolescent)
August: Maus I and II
September: The Secret Lives of People in Love
October: American Pastoral or The Plot Against America by Roth (Contemporary/Jewish)
November: classic short stories
December: The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
