The list

The List Changed....Here is the FINAL copy of the list...no changing.

1. Julie and Julia (a combination of Julia Child's autobiography and Julie Powell's memoir)
2. All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren
3. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
4. Animal Farm by George Orwell
5. Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara
6. The Assistant by Bernard Malmud
7. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien
8. Atonement by Ian McEwan
9. Belovedby Toni Morrison
10. The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
11. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
12. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
13. BloodMeridian by Cormac McCarthy
14. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
15. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. A clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
17. A Dance to the Music by Anthony Powell
18. Deliverance by James Dickey
19. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
20. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
21. Herzog by Saul Bellow
22. Infinate Jest by David Foster Wallace
23. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
24. Light in August by William Faulkner
25. Lord of the Fliesby William Gold
26. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
27. The Man who LovedChildren by Christina Stead
28. The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
29. naked Lunch by William Burroughs
30. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
31. 1984 by George Orwell
32. One Flew Overthe Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
33. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
34. Possesion by A.S. Byatt
35. Red Harvest by Danshiell Hammett
36. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
37. The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
38. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway
39. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
40. Ubik by Philip K. Dick
41. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
42. White Noise by Don Delillo
43. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picult
44. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
45. Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
46. I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
47. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
48. Paper Towns by John Green
49. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
50. Featehred by Laura Kasischke
51. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
52. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

Dear Followers,

Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher is simply an amazing jaw droping book. It covers a theme that is just astounding. Who would want to be the person to hear the reasons why a girl committed suicide through a set of cassette tapes and to find out you are one of the reasons? I love this book. Just that. I'm not making the video until I'm done reading "The Lords Of Discipline" which sould be the end of this week

Okay guys i'm sorry i'm not following the order that I said i would be, but i've lent out some books, and I want to get as many books read this year as i can, plus with school work and all starting up today (ugh school!) its easier to jsut pick up what is most ready available. which happens to be books sitting on my shelf.

Wish you'd leave me some feedback.

love,
Shannon

Feathered, THe Lovely Bones, and My Sister's Keeper

Feathered, The Lovely Bones, and My Sister's Keeper. I was wonderng....why does Feathered make me angry?
Watch the video via youtube :)

and stay tuned...i'm going to do a video for Thirteen Reasons and THe Lords of Discipline next! Wooohooo

p.s. rachel isn't even done her first book. :p

Check It Out

Okay guys, Check out to the left...there is a video thing, and let me tell you, it's got the video I couldn't put up here, and it'll have all our videos. It's simple, just click on the video you want to watch!

Reading Feathered Among Other Things

hey everybody! I'm currently reading Feathered, which is an amazing book so far. Although it kind of makes me a little nervous, especially since I'm reading it while I'm alone, and the book is about being alone and strangers and stuff. Just don't answer the door to strange people unless it's the pizza guy delivering you food! ;) haha.
Okay, I'm just a little bored right now, and getting prepared to have a delicious lunch break...

I'm more excited about reading My Sister's Keeper, which is next because its summer reading. oh, and let me tell you one other thing, I"ve been reading The Greatest Generation by tom brokav and its really amazing. Its a summer reading book so i have to read it, and its interesting enough, it's about WWII and the people who faught for us. Its really inspiring, and I thought I'd let you guys know that i strongly reccommend this book! Go for it! :)

Okay enough chit chat, I'll update you all later!

Yours Truely,

Shannon

August 8th (A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray)

Hey there guys, it's Shannon. I'm posting my first book video! It's on YouTube, blogspot is kinda screwing things up and it's not really uploading. I'm going to try again later, but for now, check it out on YouTube!! the link is:
http://www.youtube.com/52Books1Year

Hope you guys like it, I wasn't sure what i was supposed to do....so i just winged it ;)



Yours Truely,



Shannon

She's The Enforcer

Just letting you guys know what's up! Look for our videos August 8th! :)

p.s. Rachel did this since Shannon is not very good at making videos. it's ok she'll learn.

August 1st

Hello everybody!

today we get to start our first books and report back to you in a week! Make sure you check August 8th for the videos and also check youtube for us as well!
Rachel begins The Adventures of Auggie March and Shannon begins A Great and Terrible Beauty.
Just note that, due to summer reading some of the order of the books will not be the same, considering summer reading is mandatory followed by a *gulp* test or project on the books....however for the most part we will be following the pattern of the list, so if you wish to join us, (at whatever pace you want) go for it, and we'd love to hear your opinions and thoughts on the books as well!
Just be sure to follow the rules, no spoilers please...

sincerely,

Rachel & Shannon

Video...Testing Things Out

Hey guys, it's Shannon....just posting a quick video and just to let you know, you can check us out on youtube.com as well....I'll let rachel give you the links and stuff!! Only a few more days left of July and then August roles around and we get to start! I'm super excited! :)

yours truely,

Shannon

The First Two Books starting August 1st

Rachel's journey begins with the novel The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow

Shannon's journey begins wtih the novel A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

For those of you who are not farmiliar with these two books....

Both begin August 1 and have until August 8 to finish their first book :)

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The Adventures of Augie MArch by Saul Bellow (1953)
This novel centers on the eponymous character who grows up during the Great Depression. This picaresque novel is an example of bildungsroman, tracing the development of an individual through a series of encounters, occupations and relationships from boyhood to manhood. Bellow explores the themes of belonging, poverty and wealth, love, and loss.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (2003)
This novel centers on a character in the late 1800s who grows through her teenage years by learning she has "magical" powers through a series of events, people, and places. With the help of her three friends at boarding school the main character develops. Bray explores the themes of belonging, love, friendship, and coming of age.

The Rules

When deciding to take on the project we decided there should also be some rules considering we are starting from two opposite sides of the list. The rules are as follows:


We must read one book per week
We can not spoil anything for the other reader
We must make one video documenting our opinions on each book
No spark notes (or anything of such sort)
Must read the book all the way thru regardless of our opinion on it

Our Booklist

The List:

The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara
The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A Dance to the Music by Anthony Powell
Deliverance by James Dickey
The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Herzog by Saul Bellow
Infinate Jest by David Foster Wallace
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Light in August by William Faulkner
Lord of the Flies by William Gold
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
1984 by George Orwell
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
White Noise by Don DeLillo
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult
Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Paper Towns by John Green
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Feathered by Laura Kasischke
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

We decided to read 43 of the New York Times 100 Best Novels and then chose 9 of our own. Some we have read, some we haven't. The ones we have read, we read again. Either way, this is going to be interesting....