Sunshine Smackdown! Battle of the Prizes Challenge

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 1 May to 7 September 2009
Hosted by: Rose City Reader

Guidelines:

• Chose three books that you have not read before:
  1) One that won both the Pulitzer and the National;
  2) One that won the Pulitzer but not the National; and
  3) One that won the National but not the Pulitzer.
  
• OPTION: For those who have already read all six of the double-dippers, or otherwise do not want to read one of those six, pick two Pulitzer winners and two National winners for a total of four books.
  
• Read all books between May Day and Labor Day. Overlap with other challenges is allowed -- and encouraged!

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my challenge wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge wrap-ups page here.

MY READING LIST

1. Double Winner: Rabbit is Rich. John Updike [see review]
   
2. Pulitzer Winner: The Optimist's Daughter. Eudora Welty [see review]
   
3. National Book Award Winner: Victory Over Japan. Ellen Gilchrist [see review]
   

The Herding Cats II Challenge (Attack of the Hairballs)

***Challenge ended.***

Well, this was sort of a non-challenge (see guidelines), so I guess it's OK that I didn't read any books for it. But I certainly enjoyed looking at the list of possible reads!

Dates: 1 April to 31 December 2009
Hosted by: Renay, at Let's Get Literate

Guidelines:

• Make a list of five books you want to recommend. All titles must be books you've read in 2007, 2008 or 2009. Do not list entire series of books - just one of the titles in the series.
• Post your list in your own blog or in comments on the challenge announcement page. Your list must be public (no locked entries, no logging in to view).
• Browse the Master Book List for books you'd like to read.
• Read or not, as you like. Review or not, as you like. Share your reviews or not, as you like.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the Book List here.
See the Review List here.

MY READING LIST (the books I would have read, if I'd read any for the challenge):

1. The Library at Night. Alberto Manguel
2. The Manual of Detection. Jedediah Berry
3. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. Ann B. Ross
   
4. Norwegian Wood. Haruki Murakami
5. The Secret History. Donna Tartt
6. Smilla's Sense of Snow. Peter Hoeg
7. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson