Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Pulitzer Project

CJ made me do it!!! So I said no more challenges this year except for Carl's RIP challenge which is coming up really soon and I'm SO excited about. But this one sounds so cool and it will give me a reason to read so many classics that I haven't had the chance to read yet. It's The Pulitzer Project sponsored by 3M. The challenge (or project if you'd like to call it that) is to read all 81 novels that have won the Pulitzer award. Sounds daunting right? Well here's what I like about it...there's no time limit! So if it takes me 3 years to do it with all of my other reading, that's fine! And I can work some of these into other challenges as well. So Nymeth, if you're still thinking of that Pulitzer challenge...I'm all in! ;)

20 comments:

Kailana said...

The problem, for me, with this challenge is I am not sure if all the books that have won the pulitizer interest me... Then it is boring, and reading is supposed to be fun. Best of luck to you on it, though, I will be following your progress. :)

Anonymous said...

Like kailana, I'm not sure I would want an obligation to read an entire list.

A challenge like this does have an up-side though. Since everyone would be reading the same books, you'd have plenty of people to talk about them with.

chrisa511 said...

Kailana, I was worried about the same thing, but it's very rare that I don't get something out of a book, so I figured I'd give it a go...I can always give the book the old "Did Not Finish" if I really can't get through it ;) I also like to read outside of my comfort zone which is fantasy and sci-fi and since nearly all of these are outside of that, this should do the trick! We'll see how it goes!

Kim, It looks like there's going to be a pretty big response to this one considering that there's no time frame, so there will indeed be plenty of people to talk to. And many people have read a lot of these books already...now I can catch up with the rest of the human race ;)

Kailana said...

I have read some of the Pulitizer books already, actually. Have you read any of them before?

I would rather read all the Nebula or World Fantasy Award books or something. But, yeah, that would not be out of my comfort zone. I read more than fantasy, though. :)

chrisa511 said...

Kailana, That's the embarassing thing, I haven't read any of them! Plenty of them are books I was supposed to read in high school but didn't because I was a slacker...I loved to read in high school but hated reading books that I was told to read :p Mr. Rebel over here.

A Nebula or World Fantasy Challenge would be awesome.

I've definitely noticed that you have an extremely eclectic taste in books which is awesome. I need to learn to expand a little bit more. I used to read a lot more than just fantasy, but lately that's all I've been reading.

Kailana said...

I hated required reading too, but I still read them. :)

Good luck on being more eclectic. It's hard, though, there are lots of fantasy books I want to read that I don't get to because I am reading something else.

The Color Purple won the Pulitizer, right? I liked that book. I just read Middlesex, which I really liked! I read Gilead last year, that was BAD in my opinion. The Stone Diaries is by a Canadian author, she died though. :( It was a good book, I read it in high school. haha, and I am totally not a Hemingway fan. Old Man and the Sea is literally about an old man and the sea... I really hated that book. I have read some of the others, but there are some of my early morning thoughts. :)

Anonymous said...

it sounds great :)

its also good to read some "prizeworthy" stuff every now and again.

Ana S. said...

I am definitely in! I probably won't be able to do much this year, as I still have a few challenges going, but as there's no time limit that's not a problem. Like Kailana and Kim said, I'm not sure if ALL of them will be good, but I still think it's worth a try. There will definitely be some great ones to be discovered.

Bookfool said...

I'm with Kailana - there are a lot of titles that don't interest me. I've read five and I'm sure there are more I'll read, since some are on my shelf and some on my wishlist. But, I'm too old to read anything that doesn't holler, "Read me! Read me!" LOL

Best of luck, though, you challenge nut!!!

Stephanie said...

This sounds like such a great challenge! Especially without the time constraints. I've always wanted to "do the list". I may have to check out the blog!

ELIZABETH said...

Go on. Be daring. Comfort zones can get stifling at times.

chrisa511 said...

Kailana, I'm really excited about Middlesex...I've heard some really great stuff about that one. Not so excited about Hemingway. I know people love him or hate him...I have a feeling I may be the latter.

Jean Pierre, That's how I was feeling. This will give me the chance to read some "prizeworthy" stuff every now and then.

Nymeth, My thoughts exactly! I'll discover some great books while doing this undertaking, but I'm sure I'll find some real duds along the way as well :p

Bookfool, You're crazy! You're not too old to do this challenge. You could be finished it in 5 days with the way you fly through books!

Stephanie, I LOVE the no time constraints idea. That's the main reason I'm doing this one. I've also always wanted to complete a whole list of books that were given a certain award...so this will be cool. I can say, "I've read every Pulitzer book!"

Elizabeth, Thanks for the encouragement! You're spot-on!

CJ said...

Now wait one cotton-picking minute here.

The project was 3M's idea. So, if you're looking to blame someone, blame her.

On the other hand, if that was meant as a thank you...

You're welcome.

Glad you and Nymeth are on board!

cjh

darkorpheus said...

*Smiles* More challenge, Chris? What are you getting yourself into? It's interesting, how there seems to be reading groups for the Pulitzer Prize and the Man Booker Prize recently.

Jeff S. said...

I think this is a nice idea but I'm afraid not nearly enough of the titles interest me. I've read two of them already ( To Kill a Mocking Bird - Loved it and Grapes of Wrath - had to read it for school and I didn't like it ). I also tried reading The Adventures of Kaviler and Clay but I just couldn't get into it which is hilarious since I work part-time at a comics shop.

Good luck with the challenge Chris! I think I will lean towards kailana suggestions of Nebula or World Fantasy books if I had to pick an awards list challenge.

I'm really jazzed up for RIP II at this moment anyway. I even picked up a Poe collection this summer and have saved it just for the occassion.

chrisa511 said...

CJ, HA!! I would've never heard of it if it weren't for you. I'm glad I heard of it though ;) That comment was for everyone who is going to say "aNOTHER one?"

Dark Orpheus, okay, okay...so it's another challenge, but NO TIME LIMIT!! haha...otherwhise I would never have signed up for this one because I never would have completed it on time. But I think it's a great idea and I'm looking forward to it!

Jeff, some of the titles don't interest me either, but that's part of the fun of this challenge for me. I've found that many titles that I think I won't like end up being favorite books of mine! So we'll see how it goes.

I'm so pumped about the RIP challenge!!! At last count I have 19 books put aside for that one. Not that I'll finish all of those in 2 months, but it's a nice selection to choose from.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with the project. I am passing on this one as I have so many books in my house to read as it is.

Booklogged said...

I think you guys who are doing this challenge are so brave. You are all my heroes.

chrisa511 said...

Rhinoa, Yeah, the same thought entered my mind. I may actually start using the library for this one ;)

Booklogged, I think I'm still surprising myself that I signed up for this one, lol. But I'm REALLY looking forward to it!

CJ said...

So, you're not blaming me yourself but you're setting it up for others to blame me???

Naw, just kidding. I'm glad to be of help by spreading the word, so to speak.

cjh