Pop Sugar 2016, read on the porch...

I planned on reading 80 books in 2016. I only read 59. I was a little optimistic. I did read several books over 500 pages, though, including Moby Dick. These are the two grands I left out of my post the other day...

Pop Sugar 2016 Challenge

1. A book based on a fairy tale~Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2. A National Book Award winner~The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

3. A YA bestseller~ Mosquitoland by David Arnold

4. A book you haven't read since high school~Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Cade had to read it     for his freshman English class)

5. A book set in your home state~Barkskins by Annie Proulx (part of the story took place in  Michigan Territory)

6. A book translated to English~Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki 

7. A romance set in the future~Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

8. A book set in Europe~The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

9. A book that is under 150 pages~Animal Farm by George Orwell

10. A New York Times bestseller~Go set a Watchman by Harper Lee

11. A book that is becoming a movie this year~Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk by Ben Fountain

12. A book recommended by someone you just met~The Round House by Louise Erdrich (online rec)

13. a self improvement book~Wait, what?

14. A book you can finish in a day~Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

15. A book written by a celebrity~M Train by Patti Smith

16. A political memoir~Between the World and Me by Te-Nehisi Coates

17. A book at least 100 years older than you are~Moby Dick by Herman Melville

18. A book of more than 600 pages~A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihira

19. A book from Oprah's book club~Wild by Cheryl Strayed

20. A science fiction novel~The Beast by JR Ward

21. A book recommended by a family member~The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Lila and Ivy)

22. A graphic novel~Check, Please! by Ngozi Uzaku

23. A book published in 2016~My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

24. A book with a protagonist who has your occupation~Teacher Man by Frank McCourt TBR

25. A book that takes place during the summer~Fates and Furies by Lauren Goff

26. A book and it's prequel~Cinder and Glitches by Marissa Meyers

27. A murder mystery~The Lake House by Kate Morton

28. A book written by a comedian~Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow

29. A dystopian novel~Lady Midnight by Cassandra Claire

30. A book with a blue cover~This is Your Life Harriet Chance by Jonathan Evison

31. A book of poetry~Sonnets 1-50 by William Shakespeare

32. The first book you see in a bookstore~Miller's Landing by Anna Quinlan

33. A classic from the 20th century~ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

34. A book from the library~Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

35. An autobiography~Not My Father's Son byAlan Cumming

36. A book about a road trip~Barbarian Days by William Finnegan

37. A book about a culture you are unfamiliar with~The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot  Diaz

38. A satirical book~Animal Farm by George Orwell

39. A book that takes place on an island~Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (Porto Vergongna)

40. A book that is guaranteed to bring you joy~Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson

 

2016 Book Challenges are in the books...

I am posting my 2016 challenges today. Still some reading to do but my ten grands and their various parents will begin arriving tomorrow. I have no illusions about my ability to post anything of significance after the onslaught! I must say that these lists forced me out of my reading comfort zone. So here I go:

Read Harder 2016

*A horror book~The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame Smith (delicious and horror-able)
*A non-fiction book about science~An Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (kicking and screaming,   probably will not finish)
*Read a collection of essays~Drown by Junot Diaz (highly recommended)
*Read a book out loud to someone else~Little Moon Dog to Emma
*Read a middle grade novel~The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Ivy and Lila, eleven and twelve year old     grands, recommended this raw coming of age story to me)
*Read a biography or autobiography~Not my Father's Son by Alan Cumming
*Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel~Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (read along with my  15 year old grandson for his freshman English class)
*Read a book originally published in the decade you were born~Fahrenheit 451 does double duty  here, I still want to reread Catcher in the Rye
*Listen to an audio book that has won an Audie Award~The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (I did  not vote for this book, tho)
*Read a book over 500 pages long~Barkskins by Annie Proulx (700+page saga. My husband is  French Canadian. A character in the book, Jacques Nadeau, has the name of my hubby's great  grandfather!)
*Read a book under 100 pages~Animal Farm by George Orwell (Humans nor pigs will ever get it  right)
*A book by or about a person that identifies as transgender~The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff
*Read a book that is set in the Middle East~The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (eye-  opening)
*A book by an author from Southeast Asia~Malinky Robot Collection: Preview by Sonny Liew (It  was easy to find Asian authors, not easy to narrow the field to actual Southeast Asian)
*Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900~Virgins (Outlander) Diana Gabaldon
*Read the first book in a series by a person of color~The Round House by Louise Erdrich (I don't  think this is the first in a series, maybe the second in interconnected novels. Best book I read this  year)
*Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years~Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu (I  am too old for this)
*Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie~The Shawshank Redemption by  Stephan King (How is this King?)
*Read a non-fiction book about feminism or dealing with a feminist theme~We Should All be  Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche (Tip:  read everything she writes)
*Read a book about religion, fiction or non-fiction~Lila by Marianne Robinson (Maybe there is a  God)
*Read a book about politics, fiction or non~The Orphan Master's Son (quit 1/2 way through-so  awful)
*Read a food memoir~Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J Ryan Stradal (Author e-mailed me back!)
*Read a play~The Cursed Child by J K Rowling (I finally know why Harry loved Ginny)
*Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness~The Girl in the Spider's Web by David  Lagercrantz (Recently~Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson)

I will have to do another post. Pop Sugar challenge next! I chose, to my enjoyment, very good books in 2016.

Seventeen days left in 2016...

Bob Dylan won the Pulitzer Prize for literature. I am so affected by this. His lyrics, his body of work were the back ground sound of my youth.
I am reading Judd Apatow's book Sick in the Head. It goes to show you reading out of my comfort zone is enlightening. His comedy is so not my style, 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, but his motivation for his life's work is fascinating. He has been interviewing comedians since he was a teen.
This is pop culture come alive. Very good.

I am preparing for my ten grands and their half dozen parents to arrive for Christmas week. I am excited to see them all. I am just hoping my hostess skills are honed. Ha!

I am watching Poldark on BBC. Being Human. What do you get when a werewolf, a ghost and a vampire live together? Sherlock Season 4 starts 1/1/2017. I watched the Irish movie Sing Street on Netflix. I liked it.
The Clique dinner party was lovely. My gift was a mercury glass coffee cup and the electric tea kettle that Sherlock uses.
 I attended the Learning Center Christmas program today. Amazing as usual. I love every one of those people.

Pictures from FL and TX...

                                "Sister" as her flag football team calls her on the field and off

                                      Double- nickle, my 13 year old 7th grade football boy

                        "42" on the field and with Papa, Freshman football, "Just doing his job"

                                                            Beach girls, sisters

                                          Pepper palm, leaves are razor sharp, skate boarder

 Bamboo is so exotic

Will I ever stop calling her the "Baby"

Finishing my two book challenges, at least I am working on them. I was not going to save all the hardest books for last but I have...again. I am trying to slog through The Origin of Species by Darwin for my non-fiction science. The Danish Girl for a book about a person who identifies as transgender. I have read The Catcher in Rye for a book published the year I was born, if I don't finish Farenheit 451 can do double duty. Book by a Southeast Asian author. I can do this Read Harder. Also working on Pop Sugar challenge. A self- improvement book. What's to improve? Not my genre! Teacher Man by Frank McCourt for a book about a person in my profession. A book by a comedian?? I am almost there.