Friday, August 31, 2007

Unread Authors Challenge Rules

Here I go, joining the fray of Book Challengedom by, at long last, starting my own challenge: the Unread Authors Challenge.

The premise is this: almost all of us have authors who we have long meant to read, but somehow never gotten around to (you can see a long list of mine at the bottom right of the blog). Perhaps you have always been intrigued but intimidated by their work. Perhaps "required reading" and your favorite authors have taken up most of your time. Perhaps they have been sitting on your shelves for years, continually trumped by new fascinations. Well, now is their time.

Here are the rules of the Challenge, which will run from September to February (six months total):

1) In this time, read six books by authors you have never read before. If you would like to read more in this time frame, go for it!

2) You are welcome to approach the Challenge in any of several different ways. You can choose one or two (or 3-5) unread authors and read several of their works, or you can choose six neglected (by you) writers and read a book apiece by them. Authors of fiction, non-fiction, genre fiction, graphic novels/comics, drama, and poetry are all welcome inclusions, although the individual works you choose should be book length. I will leave the definition of "book length" to your discretion, but in my mind a full length play or epic poem would certainly count, as would collections of shorter works.

3) Write a blog entry that links back to this post and lists the authors and works you have chosen. You should feel free to change this list as you go along, or list "alternates," as I have below.

4) Then leave a note in the "Comments" section of this post, letting me know that you have joined and linking back to the blog entry that discusses your list. [If you link back to the specific post rather than to your main blog address, it will make it easier for your fellow participants to find your list.]
I will then make a master list of participants and links; I hope that we will have a fair amount of cross-fertilization as people remember authors they have neglected (until now!). That is, if others are as intrigued by this challenge idea as I am.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I signed up for this challenge on 12/1/07 yet don't see my name on the list.

I've completed the challenge and here is the list.

1. Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
2. Vanity Fair - W. M. Thackeray
3. The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
4. A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah
5. The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
6. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
7. Bargaret Ayer Barnes - Lloyd C. Taylor
8. Last Orders - Graham Swift
9. True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey
11. The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
13. The Sea - John Banville
14. Atonement - Ian McEwan
15. The Master - Colm Toibin
16. The Inflammation Syndrome - Jack Challem
17. The Wisdowm of Yo Meow Ma - Joanna Sandsmark