Sarahbird Joins the 1010 Challenge

I realize that I'm joining this challenge pretty late, but I'm still (over)confident in my ability to get through my list! I'm planning on a "stepped" challenge, for a total of 55 books read. I will check back in this thread periodically to report my progress.

2010 Category Challenge

21 Books Finished!

1. Humor 1/1
1. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

2. Oldest Books from TBR 1/2
1. Half of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2. The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits

3. Short Stories 1/3
1. The Best American Short Stories 2003 by Walter Mosley
2. Slippage: Previously Uncollected, Precariously Poised Stories by Harlan Ellison
3. Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin

4. Classics 1/4
1. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
2. Middlemarch by George Eliot
3. The Time Machine and The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf

5. New Authors 3/5
1. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
2. A Stranger in the Earth by Marcel Theroux
3. Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker
4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
5. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

6. Fantasy 1/6
1. Covenants by Lorna Freeman
2. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
3. The Rats of Hamelin: A Piper's Tale by Keith McCune
4. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
5. Time and Again by Jack Finney
6. 1632 by Eric Flint

7. Food Books 3/7
1. Waiting by Debra Ginsberg
2. The Matchmaker of Perigord by Julia Stuart
3. The Cook and the Gardener by Amanda Hesser
4. The Food of A Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky
5. A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
6. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
7. Cherries in Winter by Suzan Colon

8. Nonfiction 2/8
1. Cleaving by Julie Powell
2. Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
3. Quiet Please by Scott Douglas
4. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
5. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
6. This I Believe by Jay Allison
7. The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
8. Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles

9. Historical Fiction 3/9
1. The White Queen Philippa Gregory
2. The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick
3. The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George
4. The Innocent by Posie Graeme-Evans
5. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester
6. False Colours by Georgette Heyer
7. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
8. An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan
9. The Secret of the Jin-shei by Alma Alexander

10. Owned and Unread 5/10
1. Atonement by Ian McEwan
2. The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
3. Embers by Sandor Marai
4. Peony in Love by Lisa See
5. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
6. Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile by Verlyn Klinkenborg
7. Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
9. The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov
10. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

Now that I've made some headway into this challenge, I thought I'd post brief impressions about each book I have read so far. Since it is already September, I'm fairly sure that I won't complete this challenge on time, but I'm enjoying myself and have decided to treat this as a journey more than a destination. Overall, I'm really happy with the choices I made - a lot of the books I've read so far have been really excellent!

Changing Planes - I really enjoyed the dreamy, sci-fi quality of this series of short stories. Each vignette was like a daydream of another world.

Middlemarch - Very very good, although it did take me quite a while to finish. Reminded me a bit of Thackeray's Vanity Fair, both in size and scope.

Revolutionary Road - I really thought this book was excellent - Yates captures his characters so perfectly that they become real. I am looking forward to seeing Winselt and DeCaprio in the film adaption.

A Homemade Life - This book was sweet but a bit forgettable. I did copy out some of her recipes to try.

Cleaving - Ugh. Just awful. Probably the worst book I have read in recent years. I had to restrain myself from throwing it across the room on several occasions.

Eating the Dinosaur - Funny and smart.

The Secrets of Jin-shei - Interesting female-centered historical fiction with a somewhat epic storyline. I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't completely blow me away.

Peony in Love - I was expecting this to be more straightforward historical fiction, and found the magical/fantasy element that was present somewhat distracting. I liked this book but didn't love it.

The Sparrow - I wasn't expecting to enjoy this so much, but I really really loved it! The characters were perfectly drawn, the story really captivated me, and I found the spirituality aspect fascinating.

Never Let Me Go - A really beautiful book. The language is so evocative, and the pacing and suspense of the story kept me hooked. I have to admit that I teared up while reading at one point, which rarely happens to me!

>2 sarahbird: Hi Sarah, The Sparrow is one of my all-time favorites, so completely does it present an alien point of view and culture. And it's a great story, too. There's a sequel (Children of God) which is also a great read, although the shock of the original is absent, of course. Still, it has a few surprises of its own. I wish I could experience The Sparrow again for the first time!

Marge, The Sparrow really does pull you into that alien world, doesn't it? I am really looking forward to Children of God - I'm actually planning to incorporate it into my 2011 challenge!

The Big Over Easy - Lots of fun, you can never go wrong with Fforde!

Half of a Yellow Sun - This book was really excellent - I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really loved it.

American Wife - I really enjoyed this book, the characters were very well-drawn and the story was interesting. I didn't love the last 30 pages or so, but I liked it a lot up until then.

A Stranger in the Earth - I don't know about this one. It wasn't bad, but I feel like I spent the whole book waiting for something to happen, and nothing ever really did.

Time and Again - This one was just OK. I enjoyed the premise of the story, but I didn't think it was very well executed.

The Matchmaker of Perigord - Super cute story, lots of fun.

Kitchen Confidential - Really enjoyed this one, it was really interesting and I love Anthony Bourdain.

The White Queen - I liked this book a lot, I usually enjoy Philippa Gregory's stuff. I really want to read the rest of this series!

False Colours - I loved this book! It was so much fun, like a cross between Austen and Wodehouse.

Since 2010 is finished, I thought I'd stop by and wrap up my 1010 Challenge thread. I definitely did not finish this challenge - I fell short by about 34 books. However, I had fun and I read some good books, so overall I'm pretty happy with my result. Here are my thoughts on the last two books that I completed:

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - To be honest, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I was going to.

Five Quarters of the Orange - I really liked this book. Lush, gorgeous writing, an interesting story and lots of yummy food descriptions.

Happy New Year! I'll see you all at the 11 in 11 Challenge.