Joy (jlshall) Tries an Alphabet Challenge

I’ve tried other alphabet challenges in the past and had a lot of fun with them, so I thought I’d try one here at LibraryThing. I’m going to be using authors’ last names, with (at least) one author and (at least) one book for each letter of the alphabet. And just to make it a little more interesting, I’m limiting myself to authors who are new to me - that is, authors whose works I haven’t read before (not necessarily authors I’ve never heard of before).

I'm not putting a limit on genre or format; and some books will probably be children's or young adult titles.

To start with, the time frame will be January 1 - December 31, 2014. But if I need more time, I’ll go ahead and give it to myself. (I’m not very strict.) If all goes well, maybe I’ll try another A-Z using book titles. But that might just be wishful thinking....

Oh, and I won’t be reading the books in any particular order.

This is where I’ll keep track of the books I’ve actually read:

A: AYCLIFFE, Jonathan. The Silence of Ghosts
B: BENISON, C.C. Ten Lords A-Leaping
C: CHIAVERINI, Jennifer. The Quilter's Apprentice
D: DICKS, Terrance. Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster
E: EXTENCE, Gavin. The Universe Versus Alex Woods
F: FURST, Alan. Midnight in Europe
G: GANNETT, Ruth Stiles. My Father's Dragon
H: HILL, Antonio. The Good Suicides
I: ISHIGURO, Kazuo. An Artist of the Floating World
J: JONES, Kaylie. The Anger Meridian
K: KARLSSON, Jonas. The Room
L: LOVETT, Charlie. The Bookman's Tale
M: McHUGH, Laura. The Weight of Blood
N: NARCEJAC, Thomas (and Pierre BOILEAU). Vertigo
O: OCKLEY, Martha. A Saintly Killing
P: PERRY, Karen. The Innocent Sleep
Q: QUINDLEN, Anna. Miller's Valley: A Novel
R: ROWLAND, Amy. The Transcriptionist
S: SAUER, Julia L. Fog Magic
T: TROLLOPE, Joanna. The Book Boy
U: UPSON, Nicola. Sorry for the Dead (Josephine Tey #8)
V: VIORST, Judith; illus. by Ray CRUZ. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
W: WARREN, Barbara. Murder at the Painted Lady
X: XARISSA, Diana. The Appleton Case (Markham Sisters #1)
Y: YOURCENAR, Marguerite. Coup de Grâce (See Review)
Z: ZWEIG, Stefan. Chess Story

And, just in case, a place for making notes, etc.

Good luck!

Thanks! I think this should be a lot of fun.

Nine books to go in this challenge. Thinking of starting another one, using book titles.

Well, it's been a couple of years now (!) and I still need five more books to complete this challenge. Q and X are definitely hard ones, but I, U, and V shouldn't be so difficult. Hope to finish this up in 2016!

Good luck!

And yet another year has gone by with no updates to this challenge. Actually not true -- I added Q (Anna Quindlen) this year. Still need I, U, V, X titles.

Well, I doubt I'll be doing much reading during the rest of 2016, so this will have to be continued in 2017. You'd think three years would be enough time to cover the entire alphabet. Wouldn't you?

This is very embarrassing. It's been over FOUR years since I started this challenge! But I've finally managed to find my "X" author, so I guess I'll just keep plugging away.

>10 jlshall:

4 years is not so bad :)

It's been 4 years for me too! I am more dedicated to some of the other challenges I participate in, so I think it's ok.

Congratulations on getting an X author! That's the one I usually fudge a little on.

Took me nearly two more years, but I've ALMOST managed to add one more author to my alphabet. For "I" I've narrowed it down to Susan Isaacs (Takes One to Know One, published October 1st, 2019) or Kazuo Ishiguro (An Artist of the Floating World, first pub. 1986).

Still haven't settled on anything for "U" or "V". Why are those letters giving me such a hard time, I wonder. Especially when I'm such a fan of Barbara Vine and John Updike.

When I started this challenge back in December of 2013, I never expected it would take me so LONG to finish it. But I'm just now finishing up a book by a "U" author -- Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson. Still need to find "I" an "V" authors, and would really love to do that before the end of the year.

One would have thought that SIX years would be long enough to finish any challenge. But obviously, one would have been wrong about that.

How about some Henrik Ibsen for I? We seem to share at least one of his so you have him in your library. Or Ishiguro?

>15 AnnieMod: I need to visit this thread a little more often! Thanks for the suggestions.

The problem with Ibsen is that I've read most of the plays already (used to be a theater geek) and I'm not really eager to re-read any of them. But I'm thinking that Ishiguro might be a good choice. I think I've only read one of his books (Remains of the Day) and I've got several others on my "Must-Read-This" list.

It is SOOOO embarrassing that it's taking me this long to finish the challenge!

New Challenge: TITLES

Well, I'm ALMOST finished with the author challenge that I started back in 2013. So I think I'll start a title challenge and see how long this one takes. Hopefully, not another seven years! And even though it's now February 2020, I'm making January my official start date and adding the books I read last month. So here goes....

A: And Be a Villain (Nero Wolfe #13). Rex Stout
B: Bitter End (The First Nero Wolfe Novella). Rex Stout
C: The Circus: A Novel. Jonas Karlsson
D: A Death Long Overdue (Lighthouse Library Mystery #7). Eva Gates
E: Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs. John Bloom & Jim Atkinson
F: A Fragment of Fear. John Bingham
G: A Guilty Thing Surprised (Inspector Wexford #5). Ruth Rendell
H: The Haunted Lady (Hilda Adams #2). Mary Roberts Rinehart
I: In the Last Analysis (Kate Fansler Mysteries, #01). Amanda Cross
J: Jerusalem Inn (Richard Jury #5). Martha Grimes
K: Kill Your Darlings (Mallory #3). Max Allan Collins
L: The Light After the War. Anita Abriel
M: Murder, She Wrote: Gin & Daggers (Murder, She Wrote #1). Donald Bain
N: Nemesis (Miss Marple #12). Agatha Christie
O: Oranges and Lemons (Bryant & May: Peculiar Crimes Unit #17). Christopher Fowler
P: The Postscript Murders (Harbinder Kaur #2). Elly Griffiths
Q: The Queen of the Tambourine. Jane Gardam
R: Ramona and Her Father (Ramona Quimby #4). Beverly Cleary
S: The Silent Speaker (Nero Wolfe #11). Rex Stout
T: The Talented Miss Farwell. Emily Gray Tedrowe
U: Unexplained Laughter. Alice Thomas Ellis
V: The Virgin Suicides. Jeffrey Eugenides
W: Where There's a Will (Nero Wolfe #8). Rex Stout
X:
Y:
Z:

Good luck!

>18 Bcteagirl: Thank you! I'm sort of hooked on these challenges.

Yet another New Challenge: CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

I've been reading a lot of young adult and children's books this year. Seems like a good time for it — sort of comfort food for the psyche. So although I'm still working on my other alphabet challenges, I think I'll start another title challenge, just for kiddie lit. For the last few years, I've been trying to read more of the award winners from the past — Newbery, Caldecott, Carnegie, etc. — and this should help a lot with that endeavor. I might also revisit a few of my childhood favorites.

Inevitably, some of these will be very short. I don't mind that at all.

Challenge begins 8/01/2020, but I'm including a book (Beezus and Ramona) that I started in July. I asked myself if that was OK, and the answer was yes!

A: Amelia Bedelia (Amelia Bedelia #1). Peggy Parish; illus. by Fritz Siebel (1963)
B: Beezus and Ramona (Ramona Quimby #1). Beverly Cleary (1955)
C:
D: Dear Mr. Henshaw. Beverly Cleary (1983; 1984 Newbery Medal)
E:
F: Franklin Endicott and the Third Key. Kate DiCamillo; illus. by Chris Van Dusen (2021)
G: The Giving Tree. Shel Silverstein; illus. by author (1964)
H: The Happy Hollisters on a River Trip (Happy Hollisters #2). Jerry West (1953)
I: In the Night Kitchen. Maurice Sendak; illus. by author (1970; 1971 Caldecott Honor Book)
J: Jumanji, Chris Van Allsburg; illus. by author (1981; 1982 Caldecott Medal)
K:
L: Little Red Riding Hood. Retold and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (1983; 1984 Caldecott Honor Book)
M: Mrs Armitage on Wheels. Quentin Blake; illus. by author (1987)
N: The Night Gardener. Terry and Eric Fan; illus. by authors (2016)
O: Outside Over There. Maurice Sendak; illus. by author (1981; 1982 Caldecott Honor Book)
P: Planting a Rainbow. Written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert (1988)
Q: Queen of the Falls. Chris Van Allsburg; illus. by author (2011)
R:
S: Sarah, Plain and Tall. Patricia MacLachlan (1985; 1986 Newbery Medal)
T:
U:
V: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers. Nancy Willard; illus. by Alice & Martin Provensen (1981; 1982 Newbery Medal)
W:
X:
Y: Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Dr. Seuss (1950; 1958)
Z: Zathura. Chris Van Allsburg; illus. by author (2002)

What a wonderful idea to read and list children's book. I have lots of these books and may consider doing.

>21 fdholt: Thanks. Yes, my enormous TBR pile includes LOTS of children's books. This might help me clear a few of those off the stack.