[UPDATE] I've put a new entrant into the first update, as I really shouldn't have published this until the official one-month anniversary of August 2, 2009. Welcome to the jungle, Betty! And as Betty is located in Missouri, this contest has officially gone international! Whooo! Acceptance (seven reviews)
Depression (six reviews)
Anger (five reviews)
Guilt (four reviews)
Bargaining (three reviews)
Denial (two reviews)
Shock (one review)
- Betty, Generation Dead/Generation Dead: Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters
- gypsysmom, Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
- Corey Redekop, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- Steve Zipp, Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
So, two [NOW THREE] souls (excepting myself) brave enough to push the envelope, max the extreme, and revolutionize outside the box! Well done!
For those new to this, I am running a contest to encourage people to read those novels or authors they have always avoided, be they critical darlings or those generally considered to be terrible. And from the scoreboard, I can safely say that we have two novels usually categorized in the 'good,' and one firmly in the 'bad.' You figure out which.
Remember, this contest runs for a full year, so you've got plenty of time to flagellate yourselves. I've already offered up a copy of Shelf Monkey as a prize to one lucky finisher, and now we have a second: Mark A. Rayner, friend of the blog and first-rate satirist, has generously offered up a copy of his debut novel The Amadeus Net as further inducement to leap feet first into the rich creamy broth that is the unexplored literary wonderment of our great planet! Mark's second novel, the weird and memorable Marvellous Hairy, arrives in September from Crossing Chaos Enigmatic Ink, so this would be a good time to introduce yourself to his unique brand of satire.
I will do a random drawing of all entrants at the 6-month mark in January for The Amadeus Net, regardless of the entrants overall score. So get cracking, and start punishing yourself!
As for me, I have already begun my second novel, passing from Shock into Denial. It is the stirring tale of Civil War soldiers adventuring it up on the front lines, in a tale so raucous only Chuck Norris could tell it (well, Chuck Norris and three other people). Prepare yourself for the awesome roundhouse-kick to the head that is: The Justice Riders!
Play us off, keyboard cat!
3 comments:
Hi there.
Well I have gone through Shock, and so far I have been lucky. Now I have to figure out what to read for Denial. :-)
http://jumpysteve.blogspot.com/2009/07/shelf-monkey-challenge-book-1.html
Thanks for a really unique challenge!
Welcome aboard, glad to have you.
I've read my second book for this contest and I'm sorry to say it was not as good as an experience as my first read. Maybe I should have been forewarned by your experience with Twilight but I thought a book that was on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list should have some redeeming qualities. Interview with the Vampire didn't give me nightmares because of the story but I did lose some sleep wondering why I was reading this book. Actually, this contest was one of the reasons I persevered. The other was so I could say I had read 155 books out of the 1001. I'm definately a book nerd.
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