This Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

The Books "About Me"
At first I had no clue what books I could pick that somehow represented me - but then I had a hard time keeping it to just five! These are the ones I settled upon:

• Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  One of the few books I've read over and over, this classic non-fiction book was given to me by my mother after I had graduated from college and taken a job in another state. The issues Lindbergh explores are just as pertinent to women today as it was when it was first published in 1955.


• All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
  I am the oldest in a family of seven daughters and no sons, so I grew up in an "all of a kind family" like the one in this novel. I also think this children's book, read to my sisters and me by our mom, was the beginning of my interest in the Jewish culture.


• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
  I read this book a few years ago when it was required reading in my daughter's middle school English class. I immediately fell in love with this celebration of nonconformity. The girl called Stargirl is my hero!


• Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
  This young adult novel is a spin on the Cinderella story that takes place after Ella has been whisked off to the castle by the prince and she finds that both he and life as a princess is not all she had hoped. As a feminist, I believe that, like Ella, girls need to find out who they are as individuals before they become somebody's wife.


• Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker
  This classic novel is a recent discovery for me, and I decided to pick it partly because it's set in the Western United States - and I'm definitely a Western States girl. I also picked it because it is about a young woman growing up and figuring out who she is. (You can read my review of the book here.)

I guess there's a bit of a recurring theme here - but maybe that was the point!


The Books I'm Reading
So which of the books about other participants have I decided to read? That's been even more difficult to decide! Our host Lisa has said that she originally thought she'd choose one book from each participant's list - but she greatly underestimated the popularity of this unique reading challenge. (I count over sixty participants at this point.) I wish I could read one book from each list - but I've settled on five that I will definitely read by the end of the challenge (on December 31) and five more that I will hope I can get to. All the other great suggestions will have to go on the "someday" list. Here are my two sets of five:

• So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson
  (from the lists of Vasilly, A Book in the Life, and Sally) With the same title as the name of my blog, how can I pass this one up?


• Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter
  (from Stephanie's list)


• The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
  (from Sarah Miller's list)


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  (from Becky's list)


• Marley & Me by John Grogan
  (from Lynne's list)

• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
  (from Kristin's list)


• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  (from Juli's list)


• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  (from Faith's list)


• Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
  (from Raidergirl3's list)


• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
  (from the lists of A Book in the Life, Maryanne, and Heidijane)