# The 50 Book Challenge - The Challengers List **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779 "2003-01-05T15:49:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/1 "2003-01-05T15:49:47Z")
As promised, here’s the follow-up thread for those of you who expressed interest in joining me in my challenge to read 50 books in 2003. Here are the people that expressed interest in joining me in my 50 Book Challenge (see [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=152853) for more info): Edward The Head Eutychus elfkin477 twickster47 kiz (whiskchick on LJ) Politzania aaaaaarrgg (possibly) Kezermezer LaurAnge Winnowill Zette If I missed anyone who wanted to participate, please let me know!! While I’m perfectly willing to post threads here on occasion to catch up with y’all, I have also created a community journal on [LiveJournal](http://www.livejournal.com) where we can go to check in with each other. The journal name is [50bookchallenge](http://www.livejournal.com/community/50bookchallenge/) and you are all welcome to join. If you’re not familiar with LiveJournal at all, please let me know if you’re interested in creating a journal so that you can participate over there. You’ll need a code to create a journal to join, and I have 2 codes left. Some of the other challenge participants who are already on LJ have also indicated that they have codes to spare, so please don’t let the lack of code deter you from joining. Having said that, I’d just like to say that I’m about 1/3 of the way through my first selection, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (thanks, **delphica**!) and I’m enjoying it tremendously. How’s everyone else doing? ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/2 "2003-01-05T15:57:50Z")
Ack! I knew I forgot something! The following people expressed interest via my journal rather than the thread: lucyshoe soda bristlesage Sorry, guys! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/3 "2003-01-05T17:35:38Z")
I also have LJ codes available if anyone wants to join LJ – email me (in my profile) and I will send you a code to join. And I’m so honored that one of my favorite books became **Jadis’s** first book selection! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/4 "2003-01-05T18:21:05Z")
I finished my first book (Dean Koontz’s newest) and am in an all-too-familiar position: being 50 pages into one book, I started another. (Stopped at Atlantic Books on my way to my boyfriend’s, then he wasn’t there when I got there, so I picked out one of my purchases to while away some time with…) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/5 "2003-01-05T18:50:52Z")
Surely I’m not the only doper doing both this thread and the SDMB Bookclub – [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153989](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153989) ---
**Author:** ![RichietheGrenzlander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/87869e/32.png) [@RichietheGrenzlander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichietheGrenzlander)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/6 "2003-01-05T19:13:24Z")
Count me in. I read 72 books in 2002 😉 I am currently reading Conor Cruise O’Brien’s _The Siege_ ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/7 "2003-01-05T20:03:34Z")
Yes, I will read fifty or more books this year–I do that anyway, though I don’t normally record them. Yes, I’m in the book club. Yes, I might be interested in participating in the Live Journal thing but, alas, I have no code. ☹ I guess if it’s not a big deal to send a code (I’ve heard they’re hard to get–I don’t understand the big deal about this, though), you can send mine to [Mephistopheleas@yahoo.com](mailto:Mephistopheleas@yahoo.com) (somebody else has the more correct spelling for his or her email). Although I’ll understand if you don’t send the code because from what I gather these codes are worth more than all the gold in Fort Knox. That said, if I do get the magic code, I will certainly post the books I have read and let people know what I think about them. I’m currently within a couple days of completing _The Gun-Slinger_ by Stephen King, _Son of Rosemary_ by Ira Levin, and _Lefties: The Origins & Consequences of Being Left-Handed_ by Jack Fincher. ---
**Author:** ![bristlesage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@bristlesage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bristlesage)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/8 "2003-01-05T20:04:15Z")
Yep, I did indeed express interest. Off to join the community. Thanks for all this, Jadis! ---
**Author:** ![dejahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dejahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dejahma)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/9 "2003-01-05T20:23:21Z")
Is it too late to join? ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/10 "2003-01-05T20:30:14Z")
I didn’t post in that thread, but I may be interested. Would the procedure just be posting the books as you finish them in the 50 Book Challenge LJ Community? Have books that I have already read this year count, provided I started that book after Jan 1? ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/11 "2003-01-05T20:40:55Z")
Oh, I’m in on this one. I joined the Livejournal community, but I have a conundrum, I finished one book this year already (on the 2nd, but read at least half of it on the 1st and 2nd), and am nearing the end of another, and have yet another being read, but I started all of them prior to the New Year. I’m going to go ahead and count them, though, unless any one objects. ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/12 "2003-01-05T21:10:54Z")
OK, I gave out my two LJ codes to **twickster47** and **Mephisto** , so anyone else who has LJ codes to spare, I would be eternally grateful. It looks like **delphica** has a few, but any more would be great. There are no official rules to the challenge, per se…it’s just my New Year’s resolution to myself, and I thought it would be fun to have buddies doing it along with me. So, if you just finished a book that you started over the holidays and you want to count that one as your first, that’s fine with me. To be honest, I’m cheating a bit myself…I promised myself that I would read 50 _new_ books this year, but I started reading John Irving’s A Widow For One Year right before New Year’s and I’ve decided to count that as book one, even though I’ve read it before. So nyah. 😃 The community is just a way for us to keep in touch with each other, and talk about how we’re getting along with our goal. As I said, I know that not everyone will be interested in joining LiveJournal, so I’ll post a “What are the challengers up to?” thread here every now and again so that no one gets left out. IMO, you can never go wrong having friends to talk books with. 🙂 Welcome to everyone else who’s decided to join us! ---
**Author:** ![mogiaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mogiaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mogiaw)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/13 "2003-01-06T01:00:13Z")
Where do ya get the time? are ye all ultrafast readers? ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/14 "2003-01-06T01:05:34Z")
If anyone’s got a LJ code to spare, my e-mail is in my profile. I was about halfway thru _Goblet of Fire_ on Jan 1- but seeing as it’s such a long book, I’m counting it as one 😃 I’ve also read _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay_ by Michael Chabon. Quite an enjoyable and engagine read - I saw some comparisons to _Carter Beats the Devil_ by Glen David Gold (and apparently I’m not the only one - as Amazon offers the two together as a Great Buy). My “quickie” was _Myth-ion Improbable_ by Robert Asprin - noone said these had to be great works of literature, did they? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/15 "2003-01-06T02:02:43Z")
I’ll join! ---
**Author:** ![furthur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@furthur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furthur)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/16 "2003-01-06T02:22:21Z")
I’d like to join, too. Mrs. Furthur ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/17 "2003-01-06T05:44:08Z")
LOL,that’s what I get for “skipping ahead” in the post!! I was thinking about saying “heck yeah” but then I skipped through your post and went straight to what I thought was your reading list: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jadis \* > \*\* > Edward The Head > Eutychus > elfkin477 > twickster47 > kiz (whiskchick on LJ) > Politzania > aaaaaarrgg (possibly) > Kezermezer > LaurAnge > Winnowill > Zette > \*\* I thought Oh!!! Those sound waaaaaaaaay too sophisticated and “out there” for me, guess I better rethink this! LOL. Then I read the part of the post I’d skipped over. I’d like to unofficially join. I used to do a “read the classics” summer thing. This sounds more fun. My bf has the complete works of Shakespear. I was thinking about starting on that, would each play count as a “book”?? Trouble with Shakespear though, is that when a person reads the plays, he/she goes around thinking “thee and thy” and “ye, and olde” and all that all the time,hehe ---
**Author:** ![LoN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@LoN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoN)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/18 "2003-01-06T07:40:15Z")
I’ll probably read at least 50 books, so count me in. I’m not sure about joining the LJ. Currently reading Heinlien’s “Time Enough for Love.” And Mephisto, I almost envy you. You’re reading the Dark Tower series for the first time, and its a good thing… ---
**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/19 "2003-01-06T08:42:04Z")
Count me in. I’m working my way through three books at once right now, so I’ve got a nice start on things I think. Anybody with a Live Journalcode feel free to e-mail me. ---
**Author:** ![Melraidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Melraidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melraidin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779/20 "2003-01-06T09:18:55Z")
Hadn’t seen the original thread, but… So far in 2003 I’ve read: Code Complete (A manual on software design from Microsoft Press) The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out (Richard P. Feynmann) Beginning another Feynmann book, not sure of the name right now (it’s upstairs, I’m down, I’m lazy, it’s a vicious cycle). After that move onto a new Dilbert book and then have the Cryptonomicon (a book involving WW2 and cryptography, as well as modern day technology). So I suppose that makes what, 4 books I’ll have read by the end of next week? And that’ll be around the 19th of January. Yep, I can make 50 books by the end of the year. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-50-book-challenge-the-challengers-list/146779.md?page=2)