The Michener Challenge

Big news...a change of venue!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Stockard Miller) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 07:28:00 +0000

Hi there, challenge participants! I just wanted to dash off a quick post to let you know that we are changing venues. I have created a new community reading site which will be the home of all my long term and perpetual reading challenges (and any other reading challenges I might dream up).

The new site is called Gather Together and Read. You will find all challenge info pertaining to The Michener Challenge in the page dedicated to the challenge...found in the sidebar menu.

While you're there, check out the new perpetual reading challenge I just kicked off, 13 Ways of Looking at The Lifetime Reading Plan. I hope you will consider joining me for that as well.

If you have any questions about the new site, click the contact me button in the sidebar over at teh new site and send me a message.

Thank you for being a participant of The Michener Challenge!

The Covenant Read-a-Long - Epic Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Stockard Miller) — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 08:19:00 +0000

I must apologize for this read-a-long not happening the way it was supposed to. The reasons are many, but the main ones would be 1) this was not a good book to read during summer and 2) I could NOT get into this book! I loved the prologue, but then I was just no longer engaged. I know I will pick it up again someday, but this was not a good one for a read-a-long.

I didn't get much response on this read-a-long so hopefully not too many people joined in so it will be less people I've disappointed. I hope you will forgive me.

If there are any of Michener's books that you haven't read and would like to suggest for a read-a-long/group read, let me know in the comments and we can discuss when the best time would be to have one. Probably in the new year when all the scary Fall and November/December holiday reading is past.

The MEGA PRC Read-a-Long - The Covenant Reading Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Stockard Miller) — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 08:28:00 +0000

If you're running behind, don't worry...I am too. Should be ready to discuss the first two parts (see below), pages 3 - 498, on Monday, August 3 (Saturday is not a good discussion day for me). Please leave me a comment if you have any questions.

Today we start reading The Covenant for the MEGA read-a-long. Are you ready to start? Whew! This book is daunting, but I can't wait to dive in. I've been too long away from Michener. Let's do this!

July 1 - 15: Read pages 3 - 216/Prologue - Ch. IV: The Huguenots

July 16: Stop by and discuss at the James Michener Challenge blog

July 16 - 31: Read pages 217 - 498/Ch. V: The Trekboers - Ch. VIII: The Voortrekkers

Aug. 3: Stop by and discuss at the James Michener blog

Aug. 1 - 15: Read pages 499 - 735/Ch. IX: The Englishmen - Ch. XII: Achievement of a Puritan

Aug. 16: Stop by and discuss at the James Michener blog

Aug. 16 - 31: Read pages 736 through end (pg. 873)/Ch. XIII: Apartheid - Ch. XIV: Diamonds

Sept. 1 and 2: Stop by and discuss at the James Michener blog

The MEGA Perpetual Reading Challenge Read-a-Long - The Covenant

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Stockard Miller) — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 08:02:00 +0000

In order to increase group interaction (and participation) within this reading challenge, as well as the three other perpetual challenges I host, I've decided to host this MEGA read-a-long event. For The Michener Challenge part of the read-a-long, which is coming in July and August, I chose The Covenant. Feel free to join in on the other read-a-longs. You do not have to sign up for the other reading challenges to join in on the read-a-longs.

The hub for the entire event will be at my The True Book Addict blog but the individual read-a-longs will be hosted at their respective blogs (I will list those below). The Covenant read-a-long will be hosted here at The Michener Challenge blog. Look for a page in the menu at The True Book Addict which serves as this MEGA read-a-long's hub.

So, here is the schedule of read-a-longs and their respective blog urls:

June 2015: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - hosted at The Fantasy Project blog (read-a-long schedule is posted there) and in Goodreads group.

July/August 2015: The Covenant by James A. Michener - hosted at The Michener Challenge blog.

September 2015: The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice - hosted at The Never-Ending Anne Rice Challenge blog.

October 2015: Salem's Lot by Stephen King - hosted at The Stephen King Challenge blog.

The reading and discussion schedule for The Covenant will be coming soon. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or comments.

The Michener Challenge--Post your Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Stockard Miller) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:51:00 +0000

Post your reviews for books read for The Michener Challenge in Mr. Linky below. Put your name and the title of the book read with the link to your review post. Hope you're enjoying the challenge!

The Michener Challenge Sign Up

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Stockard Miller) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:57:00 +0000

I have been a fan of James A. Michener ever since reading Chesapeake in high school. I have many of his books, but I never seem to get around to reading them. They are usually quite long so it can be a daunting task. Consequently, I decided to start a Michener challenge! This will be a perpetual challenge, meaning no time constraints. Feel free to join whenever it suits your fancy. The challenge will officially start on January 1, 2010, but feel free to start sooner if you so choose. I am including a Mr. Linky for sign up and I will post another Mr. Linky starting after January 1st for you to post your reviews and/or reflections. Also, I have provided a list of all Michener's works in the post prior to this (check in the blog archive list for easy access). I hope you enjoy the challenge!

Happy Reading!

Michelle

James A. Michener--List of Works

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Stockard Miller) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:52:00 +0000

Here is a list of the works of Michener. Each section is in order by publication date. I have included fiction, non-fiction and collections, but you can choose the area or all areas you want to focus on in the challenge. I will probably focus primarily on his fiction. Please let me know if any titles are missing and I will be glad to add them.

Fiction:

The Fires of Spring (1949)
The Voice of Asia (1951)
The Bridges at Toko Ri (1953)
Sayonara (1954)
Hawaii (1959)
Report of the County Chairman (1961)
Caravans (1963)
The Source (1965)
The Drifters (1971)
Quality of Life (1971)
Centennial (1974)
Chesapeake (1978)
The Covenant (1980)
Space (1982)
Poland (1983)
Texas (1986)
Legacy (1987)
Alaska (1988)
Journey (1988)
Caribbean (1989)
The Eagle and the Raven (1990)
Mexico (1992)
Recessional (1994)
Miracle in Seville (1995)
Matecumbe (2007)

Non-Fiction:

The Floating World (1955)
The Bridge at Andau (1957)
Japanese Prints from Early Masters to the Modern (1959)
Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections (1968)
Presidential Lottery: The Reckless Gamble in Our Electoral System (1969)
Kent State: What Happened And Why (1971)
A Michener Miscellany: 1950-1970 (1973)
Sports in America (1976)
On Sport (1976)
All We Did Was Fly to the Moon (1985)
Six Days in Havana (1989)
Chesapeake Bay (1990)
Pilgrimage: A Memoir of Poland And Rome (1990)
The Novel: The Battle for a Bestseller (1991)
My Lost Mexico: The Making of a Novel (1992)
The World is My Home (1992)
Literary Reflections: Michener On Michener, Hemingway, Capote, And Others (1993) (see Truman Capote and Ernest Hemingway)
This Noble Land: My Vision for America (1996)

Collections:

Tales of the South Pacific (1948)
Return to Paradise (1950)
Rascals in Paradise (1957)
Selected Works (1976)
The Watermen: Selections from Chesapeake (1979)
Great World War II Stories (1989) (with Nicholas Monsarrat and Nevil Shute)
Creatures of the Kingdom: Stories of Animals And Nature (1993