Battle of the Prizes Challenge Completed

OK, I know I should have done this weeks ago; the challenge actually ended September 7th. So I'm very late getting this wrap-up posted. No excuses, really – I just had trouble making myself write the reviews and I was waiting around until I got that done.

The Battle of the Prizes Challenge was hosted by Rose City Reader, and it was one of my favorites among all the challenges I've participated in. It didn't require a huge number of books, and it spurred me to read three really wonderful works, all of which had been on my TBR list for many years – and at least two of which I probably never would have tackled without the incentive this challenge provided.

The three books I read were (with links to my reviews):

• The Optimist's Daughter, by Eudora Welty (Pulitzer winner, 1973)
• Victory Over Japan, by Ellen Gilchrist (National Book Award winner, 1984)
• Rabbit Is Rich, by John Updike (Double winner: Pulitzer and National Book Award winner, 1982)

I enjoyed all three books, and although I was just the tiniest bit disappointed by the Welty and the Gilchrist works, I can still say without a doubt that they're both deserving of their awards. I think reading about them for so many years probably just built up unreasonable expectations in my mind. My favorite of the three was Rabbit Is Rich. It's a beautifully written book about a really intriguing character – and it's made me want to read all the other "Rabbit" books Updike wrote (can't be bad, right?).

I want to thank Rose City Reader for hosting, and all the other participants for keeping it interesting. I believe a similar challenge is in the works for next year, so if you're interested or just want to see the list of reviews and wrap-up posts, just pay a visit here.