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Brilliant - are you starting again (ducks)?

Well done gem, some great choices, some I've read, some I like the look of , some on my list of books to read and one I'm reading now! You have the making of an around world challenge there!

Bit late but well done Gem.

Well done. I may have to pinch some of these for my hard to get letters.

That's 2013 done and dusted!! All new authors to me.

A- * Chingiz Aitmatov - Jamilia
B- * Katherine Boo - Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
C- Lucy Clarke - Swimming at Night. My copy was called The Sea Sisters.
D- Elanor Dymott - Every Contact Leaves a Trace
E- * Kerstin Ekman - Under the Snow
F- * William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying
G- * Abdulrazak Gurnah- Admiring Silence
H- Rod Humphries - The Last Coal Trip to Tenby
I- Conn Iggulden - Quantum of Tweed: The Man with the Nissan Micra
J- Cynan Jones- Everything I Found on the Beach
K- *Brian Kimberling - Snapper
L- *Danny Laferriere - The Enigma of the Return. 17321594
M- * Camilla Macpherson - Pictures at an Exhibition
N- Nele Neuhaus- Snow White Must Die
O- * A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
P- *Per Petterson - Out Stealing Horses
Q- * Matthew Quick- The Silver Linings Playbook
R-*Kate Roberts - Feet in Chains
S- * Muriel Spark- The Abbess of Crewe
T- * Antonio Tabucci - pereira maintains
U- * Jane Urquhart- Sanctuary Line
V- * Célestine Hitiura Vaite - Frangipani
W- * John Edward Williams- Stoner
X- Lovers in the Age of Indifference - Xiaolu Guo
Y- Jacqueline Yallop- Kissing Alice
Z- * Stefan Zweig - Journey Into the Past

Sue wrote: "That's 2013 done and dusted!! All new authors to me.

A- * Chingiz Aitmatov - Jamilia
B- * Katherine Boo - Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
C- Lucy Clark..."

Excellent - congratulations!

Well done Sue.....and all new authors as well. I'm going miss out by 2 this year

Thank you Liz and Ian - enjoyed most of them too!

And inspired by your good self....I've just bought an X and a Z.

Ian wrote: "And inspired by your good self....I've just bought an X and a Z."
hope you enjoy them - the X one is bleak but at least with them being short stories you can eke them out. Does give you a sense of the China that is not usually portrayed. Be interested to hear how you get on with them.

I'm very pleased to announce that I've finished my first ever challenge! :)

A-Z Authors started Jan 2013 and finished Jan 2014.

A - Michael Asher - The Eye of Ra
B - John Buchan - Huntingtower
C - Agatha Christie - Dead Man's Folly
D - Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist
E - Greg Egan - Zendegi
F - Jasper Fforde - The Eyre Affair
G - Catherine Gavin - The Moon into Blood
H - James Herriot - If Only They Could Talk
I - Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day
J - Rachel Johnson - Winter Games
K - Jesse Kellerman - Sunstroke
L - Joan Lindsay - Picnic at Hanging Rock
M - Madeline Miller - The Song of Achilles
N - Bill Napier - Shattered Icon
O - Anne O'Brien - The King's Concubine
P - Ellis Peters - Saint Peter's Fair
Q - Julia Quinn - Just Like Heaven
R - Anne Rice - Interview with the Vampire
S - Anya Seton - Katherine
T - J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
U - John Updike - Brazil
V - Jules Verne - A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
W - Lew Wallace - Ben Hur
X - Gao Xingjian - Soul Mountain
Y - Margaret Yorke - The Small Hours of the Morning
Z - Anne Zouroudi - The Taint of Midas

Congratulations Kate!

Some great ideas Kate.

Congratulations, Kate. An excellent variety there.

Well done.

Brill kate!

I have really enjoyed this challenge but it seemed to take a while but I plan to do another because there is a randomness about the first few which is fun plus I might try and run a women only A-Z in tandem:
A;Carry the one by Carole Anshaw.
B;Every man for himself by Beryl Bainbridge.
C;The MoonstoneOn Kindle at breakfast,Wilkie Collins
D;The Greatcoat byHelen Dunmore.
E;If this is home by Stuart Evers
F;Flashman by George Macdonald Fraser.
G;A perfectly good man by Patrick Gale.
H;This book will save your life by A M Holmes
I;In one person by John Irving
J;The Unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
K;DEATH AND THE PENGUIN by Andrei Kurkov.
L;Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively.
M;1Q84 by Murakami
N;Pnin by Vladamir Nabakov.
O;The man who forgot his wife by John O'Farrell.
P;1980 by David Peace.
Q; The Conductor by Sarah Quigley.
R;The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan.
S;Crossing to safety by Wallace Stegner.
T;SWING HAMMER SWING by Jeff Torrington.
U; On Black sister's street by Chika Unigwe
V;The sound of things falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez
W;Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse.
X;Death of a red heroine by Qui Xialong.
Y;Disturbing the peace by Richard Yates
Z;Shadow of the wind by Carlos Luis Zafon

Well done Andrew! There's some there I may have to try.

Well done.

Well done everyone!

Well done Andrew.

Andrew wrote: "I have really enjoyed this challenge but it seemed to take a while but I plan to do another because there is a randomness about the first few which is fun plus I might try and run a women only A-Z ..."

Congrats! I might just do a woman only A-Z too. I had a look through my to-read list and there are plenty of contenders, although I would need suggestions for Q and V....

Ooh! Just noticed your Q!

You'll like it I think Liz.

Well done Andrew Ideas for next year too!

Just completed my first ever challenge. Going to give it another but won't be setting any time limits. I'll let my list when I'm at a computer.

Ellie wrote: "Just completed my first ever challenge. Going to give it another but won't be setting any time limits. I'll let my list when I'm at a computer."

Well done Ellie!

Lynne - The Book Squirrel wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Just completed my first ever challenge. Going to give it another but won't be setting any time limits. I'll let my list when I'm at a computer."

Well done Ellie!"

Thanks Lynne - sorry, just seen this now!

Well done Ellie!

Thanks Sue!

The completed list...

A: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
B: The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
C: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, Christabel, and the Conversation Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
D: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
E: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
F: On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming
G: Coraline by Neil Gaiman
H: Venetia by Georgette Heyer
I: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
J: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
K: The Stand by Stephen King
L: Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
M: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
N: Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
O: Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor
P: The Day The Ravens Died by Timothy Pilgrim
Q: The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
R: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
S: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat & Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
T: Salmon Fishing In The Yemen by Paul Torday
U: Black Out by Lisa Unger
V: Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida
W: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
X: Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran
Y: My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young
Z: Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola

Well done Em.

Well done Em!

Completed with a few days to spare!

A Sinan Antoon- The Corpse Washer
B Alessandro Baricco -Silk
C Lucy Cruickshanks -The Trader of Saigon
D Louise Doughty - Apple Tree Yard
E Twan Tan Eng
The Garden of Evening Mists -
F Nathan Filer - The Shock of the Fall
G Rumer Godden- The River
H Cicely Hamilton William - An Englishman
I Hamid Ismailov - The Dead Lake
J Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived in the Castle
K Jamaica Kincaid - A Small Place
L Ã…sa Larsson-Sun Storm
M Lottie Moggach- Kiss Me First
N Charity Norman - After the Fall
O Caroline Overington - I Came to Say Goodbye
P R.J. Palacio -Wonder
Q Anna Quindlen - Still Life with Bread Crumbs
R Jess Richards -Snake Ropes
S Sathnam Sanghera - Marriage Material
T Rosie Thomas -The Kashmir Shawl
U Chika Unigwe - On Black Sisters' Street
V Juan Gabriel Vásquez- The Sound of Things Falling
W Evie Wyld- All the Birds, Singing
X Ruiyan Xu - The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai: A Novel
Y Christopher J Yates - Black Chalk
Z Koethi Zan - The Never List

Well done Sue!

Nice one Sue.

Snap, finished this afternoon. Pleased that it took less than half the time of the last one.

Helen wrote: "Snap, finished this afternoon. Pleased that it took less than half the time of the last one."

Well done Helen!

Not sure if a completed title one should go here but it can always be deleted:

A All the Birds, Singing - Evie Wyld
B Burial Rites - Hannah Kent
C Cockroaches - Jo Nesbo
D The Dead Lake - Hamid Ismailov
E Entry Island - Peter May
F Fly Away Peter- David Malouf
G The Goddess and the Thief- Essie Fox
H The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty
I I Came to Say Goodbye- Caroline Overington
J Just What Kind of Mother Are You? - Paula Daly
K Kiss Me First - Lottie Moggach
L The Lie - Helen Dunmore
M The Master and Margarita A Graphic Novel - Mikhail Bulgakov
N The Never List - Koethi Zan
O Our Man in Havana- Graham Greene
P The Pure Gold Baby - Margaret Drabble
Q The Queen of Spades - Alexander Pushkin
R The Return of the Soldier - Rebecca West
S The Sound of Things Falling- Juan Gabriel Vásquez
T Tipping the Velvet- Sarah Waters
U Unspoken - Mari Jungstedt
V Rebecca Wait - The View on the Way Down
W William - An Englishman - Cicely Hamilton
X Xingu - Edith Wharton
Y Young Goodman Brown - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Z Zadig - Voltaire

Just in time, too!

Wow! Another one down. Well done.

Well done you too. Can't believe you did two.

Would anyone like to recommend books for O, Q, U, X, Y or Z? :) Open to anything!

Kristi wrote: "Would anyone like to recommend books for O, Q, U, X, Y or Z? :) Open to anything!"

The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet - Xinran
In the Blood - Lisa Unger

Caroline wrote: "Kristi wrote: "Would anyone like to recommend books for O, Q, U, X, Y or Z? :) Open to anything!"

The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
[book:Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story o..."

Thanks Caroline! I LOVED the film of Silver Linings Playbook, so thats a great suggestion! :) The others sound really interesting too, I'll look them up :)

I haven't actually seen the film yet and only picked the book up to get a Q author. I thought it was great though and now have the film on my sky box waiting to be watched :)

I would normally prefer to read the book before the film as otherwise I imagine the film characters in my head whilst reading the book...but I can think of worse people to imagine than Bradley Cooper! :P

I have finished the A-Z challenge, in a mere 64 days (clearly don't have a life... haha!). Very proud of myself though. I have read some great titles as part of this, and thank you to those of you who recommended me some of the titles, because they were fab :)
A - Mitch Albom - The First Phone Call from Heaven
B - Laura Bates - Everyday Sexism
C - John Connolly - Bad Men
D - Lucy Dillon - One Small Act of Kindness
E - Imogen Edwards-Jones - Hotel Babylon
F - Jane Fallon - The Ugly Sister
G - Jane Green - The Other Woman
H - Emma Healey - Elizabeth is Missing
I - John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany
J - EL James - Grey
K - Nicole Krauss - The History of Love
L - Francois Lelord - Hector and the Search for Happiness
M - Ken Macleod - Intrusion
N - Jennifer Niven - All the Bright Places
O - Maggie O'Farrell - Instructions for a Heatwave
P - Sylvia Plath - The Bell Jar
Q - Matthew Quick - The Silver Linings Playbook
R - Stella Rimington - The Geneva Trap
S - Alice Sebold - The Lovely Bones
T - CL Taylor - The Accident
U - Fred Uhlman - Reunion
V - Ferdinand von Schirach - The Collini Case
W - Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
X - Xinran - The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices
Y - Louise Young - The Heroes' Welcome
Z - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Shadow of the Wind

All reviews of these books are on my blog


Thank you for giving me such a great idea! :)

Wow that was quick and you have some really long ones there too. Well done!

Well done Kristi! So what's your next challenge?

Thank you Sue and Liz! Liz...I don't know yet! Any ideas? :)

I've really enjoyed the 'Around the World in 80 books Challenge' - although I'm still twenty books away from the finish...