Andy and Netty’s Reading Challenge 2009

A couple of years ago Andy and Netty were slightly pissed at some bar in Melbourne, Australia, talking about the books they’d never read that they knew they should’ve read when all of a sudden it dawned on them – maybe they should read those books they’d never read that they knew they should’ve read! It was an epiphany of awesome power and insight and intellect and awesomeness and awesomely they decided that yes, yes, that’s what they’d do. So at the end of 2007 they sat down and came up with a list of 12 books that they would read from January 2008 to December 2008. A book a month. They would get together at the end of every month or more likely they beginning of the next month and discuss each book, almost always while they were slightly pissed at some bar in Melbourne, Australia. And then they’d blog about it. Here’s a list of the books we read in 2008:

JANUARY: An Equal Music by Vikram Seth (chosen by Netty); FEBRUARY: Unweaving The Rainbow by Richard Dawkins (Andy); MARCH: Due Preparations For The Plague by Janette Turner Hospital (Netty); APRIL: Feast Of The Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa (Andy); MAY: Memories Of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Netty); JUNE: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (Andy); JULY: Equus by Peter Shaffer (Andy); AUGUST: The Dark Prince by Iris Murdoch (Andy); SEPTEMBER: The Crying Of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon (Netty); OCTOBER: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Netty); NOVEMBER: Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (Andy); DECEMBER: Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth (Netty).

And these books were read (mostly) and were found to be (mostly) good. (Although one or two of them were complete shit.)

And so it came to pass at the end of 2008 that Andy and Netty decided they would proceed to the Andy and Netty Reading Challenge 2009, which is where we find ourselves today. The reading list for 2009 is as follows:

JANUARY: New York Trilogy – PAUL AUSTER (Andy); FEBRUARY: Delta Of Venus – ANAIS NIN (Andy); MARCH: The White Tiger – ARAVIND ADIGA (Netty); APRIL: Rabbit Run – JOHN UPDIKE (Andy); MAY: Voss – PATRICK WHITE (Netty); JUNE: Some Jazz A While – MILLER WILLIAMS (Netty); JULY: Tree Of Smoke – DENNIS JOHNSON (Netty); AUGUST: The Black Swan – NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEB (Netty); SEPTEMBER:  Liquor – POPPY Z. BRITE (Netty); OCTOBER: Invisible Man – RALPH ELLISON (Andy); NOVEMBER: The Law Of The Land – HENRY REYNOLDS (Andy); DECEMBER: For Whom The Bell Tolls – ERNEST HEMINGWAY (Andy).

At this stage (mid-September) we have just blogged at WordPress about Tree of Smoke and are about to let you know what we think of The Black Swan. All previous blogs were to a now sadly defunct website. These blogs have, however, been saved to our hard drives and just as soon as we figure out how to upload it all to WordPress we shall do just that. Or something.

Anyway, welcome to the Challenge. We hope you enjoy.