How is everyone doing on their 888 list?

[Tonia]

I'm picking up steam and getting quite a few books finished - five done so far and working on Deconstructing Penguins, The Iliad, How the Irish Saved Civilization, Teach Your Child Math, and Becoming Jane Austen. So how is your list going? ;)

[WTMindy]

I was going to ask the same question. I've somehow managed to finish 10 so far. I had a very reading-heavy weekend. It was great! But, remember that I cheated and had started a couple weeks before Jan 1 once I had made my list!

I've already finished:
Gahndi's autobiography (started before Jan. 1)
All Rivers Run to the Sea (Elie Wiesel)-loved this one!!
Surprised by Joy (CS Lewis)
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)-audiobook (started before Jan 1)
Eclipse (Stephnie Meyer)-audibook
A Girl Named Zippy (Haven Kimmel) (started before Jan 1)
Leave me Alone, I'm Reading (Maureen Korigan)
Joy in the Morning (Betty Smith)
Inkheart (Cornelia Funke)
Man's Search for Meaning (by Viktor Frankl)

[Sixmeadows]

please tell me what is the 888 list?

It has to be something good :p becasue I saw Mindy's book list and it looks fun.

thanks,

Cheri

[Tonia]

Here is the original blog (http://triple8challenge.blogspot.com/) about the 888 challenge. The goal is to pick 8 categories of books and 8 books for each category. My list is here (http://thesunnypatch.blogspot.com/2007/12/triple-8-8-books-in-8-categories-in.html).

[Allen Academy]

I've read 7 of mine:

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
Notes from a Liar and her Dog, by Gennifer Choldenko
The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion
The Choice, by Nicholas Sparks
Lucky You, by Carl Hiaasen
Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse
True to Form, by Elizabeth Berg

I'm working on To the Scaffold, by Carrolly Erickson, and Blink, by Malcom Gladwell.

[angela in ohio]

Swiss Family Robinson
Desiring God
Home Education, vol. 1 (Charlotte Mason)

...but I'm way ahead in my yearly plan to read through the Reformation Study Bible and Valley of Vision.

I'm starting Mere Christianity and waiting for Heart of Anger to come ILL.

[Kathie in VA]

I can say that I finally finnished Les Miserables after the holidays.... but I started it back in September. Pretty lame uh?

[Angela in TN]

I am on my 5th book and I'm really enjoying this challenge, because it makes me do something I enjoy that usually is the thing I cut out so now I'm making the time. So far I've finished Peony in Love, About a Boy, Chocolat, Stardust and I'm now reading Shadow Patriots. I have loved all the books, the one I'm reading now was hard to get into but I'm loving it now. :)

[Luanne]

Are some of the books easier to read? I probably am not completely up to an adult reading level. I'm a bit confused, in case you can't tell.

[Phyllis in Canada]

I've finished 7 and am in the middle of four more, but I'm afraid the ones I've read are among the easier ones on the list! I also really want to take the time to think and write about some of them, so I have to force myself to slow down a bit. My list is here (http://lifeonwindyridge.blogspot.com/2008/01/888.html).
And I've written about some of them on my blog also.

[melissel]

Are some of the books easier to read? I probably am not completely up to an adult reading level. I'm a bit confused, in case you can't tell.

Luanne, the books are totally up to you. You pick your own 8 categories and the books you want to read to fill them up. They can be easier or more difficult, whatever you like. I've always been a voracious reader, but for the past few years, I've only really been able to get involved in kids' or young adult books or parenting books. I'm using my challenge list to force myself to broaden my horizons, but you can choose whatever you want.

I'm not doing so well, relatively speaking--I've only just finished Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud, but I'm hitting the library tomorrow for my next pick. And regardless of whether or not I hope to finish all the books on my list, I'm SO looking forward to getting into some real reading again!

[melissel]

Also, WHEN are you all finding time to read so much?!!! If I want to read, I have to force my kids to watch TV :eek: Or else I can get through a few pages when I'm laying down with my two-year-old for bedtime, but in general, I find I have almost no reading time :(

[Mrs. Readsalot]

Here are th ebooks I have read so far

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. A Walk with Jane Austen
3. Austenland by Shannon Hale
4. Persuasion by Jane Austen
5. Lost in Austen by Webster
6. Surviving Jamestown by Karwoski
7. The Serpent Never Sleeps by O'Dell
8. Eating the Plates by Penner
9. Landing of the Pilgrims by Daughtery
10. Potomac Captive
11. Riding Lessons by Gruen
12. Dogsong by Paulsen
13. Bridget Jones Diary by Fielding

[MNClaire]

I never posted my list, but I am participating. I have only these done so far:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander
Rasputin's Daughter by Robert Alexander
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Just starting The Brothers Karamazov by Dystoevsky and am reading Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen.

Looking forward to the challenge. I forwarded it to the ladies in my book club...one is particpating, another replied "what on earth are you thinking?" :D

It should be a ride!

[Leah]

I've finished 6 books and am in the middle of 3. I'm loving the plan!
Finished-
1. The Great Bridge
2. Lake Wobegon Days
3. The Future and Its Enemies
4. I am America and So Can You
5. Stop Dating the Church
6. The Game

I also have my whole list on my blog.

[Sunny]

It is a great way to round out my reading, and preplanning what I want to read for the year.

I've only finished 2 books, and am working on 3 others.
I'm not sure I can read 56 books, but I'm going to attempt to do what I can.

[WTMindy]

The premise behind the 888 list is that you choose 8 books to read in 8 categories in the year 2008. You can choose whatever categories you want. If you search the old boards you can see different people's lists. I took some of my categories from different booklists I am reading through. My categories are
1. Autobiographies (from Well Educated Mind)
2. World Magazine book list (books that have been influential in Christianity in some way)
3. Great Books List
4. Christian Fiction books
5. Books from WTM recommendations
6. Children's books (These are mostly read alouds to my kids)
7. Spiritual growth books
8. Pulitzer Prize winners

[WTMindy]

I'm picking up steam and getting quite a few books finished - five done so far and working on Deconstructing Penguins, The Iliad, How the Irish Saved Civilization, Teach Your Child Math, and Becoming Jane Austen. So how is your list going? ;)
Les Mis takes a long time to read, but oh how worth it!! I could have done without the long rabbit trails, but I love the story and the ending is so great!!

[JennifersLost]

my books keep leading to other books that aren't on my list!

So far:

Sixty Days and Counting, by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Wild Trees, by Richard Preston
A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson

And currently:

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
The Skeptical Environmentalist
The Not-so-Big House

I'm realizing that I read non-fiction waaaaay slower than fiction and my whole list just about is non-fiction! Yikes!

[Tonia]

I'm using my challenge list to force myself to broaden my horizons, but you can choose whatever you want.

I'm not doing so well, relatively speaking--I've only just finished Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud, but I'm hitting the library tomorrow for my next pick. And regardless of whether or not I hope to finish all the books on my list, I'm SO looking forward to getting into some real reading again!

That's where I'm at as well - I'm using my list to broaden my horizon and read books I probably wouldn't get to (but I've also added in some books I know are just for my enjoyment!)

I don't know if I'll actually finish ALL the books in my list, but I'm trying to read one from each category at a time. Otherwise I'd read all the kid's books and easy fiction first! This way I've got to read something harder (like "The Iliad" before I can read something fun).

Also, WHEN are you all finding time to read so much?!!! If I want to read, I have to force my kids to watch TV :eek: Or else I can get through a few pages when I'm laying down with my two-year-old for bedtime, but in general, I find I have almost no reading time :(

Two words for you - Quiet Time! Every afternoon we go to our rooms and rest for an hour. I use that time for my reading. Also, with the writer's strike, there isn't much on tv so I'm reading a lot more in the evenings than I normally do!

[melissel]

That's where I'm at as well - I'm using my list to broaden my horizon and read books I probably wouldn't get to (but I've also added in some books I know are just for my enjoyment!)

I don't know if I'll actually finish ALL the books in my list, but I'm trying to read one from each category at a time. Otherwise I'd read all the kid's books and easy fiction first! This way I've got to read something harder (like "The Iliad" before I can read something fun).

Ha! I'm doing the same thing. My first book was from my YA Fiction category, my second is from my Nonfiction That I Wouldn't Normally Be Interested In.


Two words for you - Quiet Time! Every afternoon we go to our rooms and rest for an hour. I use that time for my reading. Also, with the writer's strike, there isn't much on tv so I'm reading a lot more in the evenings than I normally do!

We just started doing this! So far, the 5 y.o. is having more trouble with it than the 2 y.o. :rolleyes: But it always seems that I have huge amounts of dishes to wash or toys to put away or work to do. Sheesh. I need to be better organized! Do you think I could feasibly arrange it so I could get them to do 3 or 4 hours of quiet time a day? LOL!

[Sixmeadows]

I knew coming off my break would be dangerous.... It is hard to stay away for too long, and I miss so much fun. thanks for the explanation ladies.

Cheri

[Marie in Oh]

I have read 4 and am working on a couple more. So far I've read:

The Chosen, Chiam Potok
Island of the Blue Dolphins, O'Dell
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Speare
Susanna Wesley

I am reading:
Don't Waste Your Life, Piper
Parenting in the Pew

I am trying to Get thorugh Robinson Crusoe and The Call of the Wild, but not enjoying either.

[angela in ohio]

Also, WHEN are you all finding time to read so much?!!! If I want to read, I have to force my kids to watch TV :eek: Or else I can get through a few pages when I'm laying down with my two-year-old for bedtime, but in general, I find I have almost no reading time :(

Dc go to bed at 8:00 p.m., and I can read for a few hours after that each evening, while dh reads for studies for his Bible class. I also get in some time while dc are doing the independent part of their schoolwork, if I get my chorees and grading done quickly enough.

[mellifera]

I finished 5 on my list so far: Sophocles 1, The Devil's Arithmetic -Jane Yolen, Plutarch's Lives, The Essential Father Brown-G.K. Chesterton, and Defend and Betray-Anne Perry.

Right now I'm in the middle of Livy's The Early History of Rome, but I think I'm going to take a break from that and read something lighter.

[slug hollow]

I made an abbreviated list. My 888 is more like a 448...
I don't get a lot of time to read, especially since I dislike being interrupted. My good book time is before bed, but pregnancy is knocking me out early these days. :)
I've finished one so far.

[CookieMonster]

I started one book and decided it wasn't to my taste. That turned me off. I've decided to regroup and try again after my vacation is over. :)

[BritAnnia]

I'm having such a fun time being more guided with a list this year. Problem is, I keep noticing more books I want to read. :D I'm starting an alternates list in case I need to play switcheroo with my 888 list later in the year, or perhaps to kick start next years reading list.
Finished: Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen)
A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson)
The Distant Echo (Val McDermid)
The Story of My Life (Helen Keller)
The Two of Us (Sheila Hancock).
Reading: A Confederacy of Dunces (Robert Kennedy Toole)
Murder Most British (Various)
The Fellowship of the Ring (J. R. R. Tolkien)
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)

I'm also reading The Time Machine (HG Wells) and All Creatures Great and Small (James Herriot) with ds12, so I've got some great options anytime I find time to bury my head in a book.

[cin]

So far I've read:

A Wrinkle in time, Fast Food Nation& Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. I'm working through Fox's Book of Martyrs, a book about Einstein's brain, Pride and Prejudice, and Death's Acre. I had to replace a couple because of availablity. The library didn't have some of my top picks, so I've tried to stay with the general topic (I wanted a biography of Einstein, for example, but the library had the story of the travels of his brain). I am enjoying the diversity and enlightenment :)