Are you really surprised?  I've found yet another challenge I want to join, this time courtesy of the lovely Shaila Abdullah.  It's the New Author Challenge 2009, hosted by Literary Escapism.

The Rules:

1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
2. Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels, but anthologies are also a great way to try someone new.
3. I want this to be an easy challenge, so you state how many new authors you want to try this year and then that’s your challenge. For me, I’m trying another 50 new authors. If you want a number given to you, try for either 25 or 50.
4. Add your name to the Mr. Linky below. If you do not have your own blog, you can join the group blog here.
5. Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome
6. When you read a new author, write your review (either at your site or the group blog) and then come back here and post a link to your review.

If you'd like to sign up, here is the information.

 

1. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris [review]
2. The King's Last Song - Geoff Ryman [review]
3. Sister Wife - Shelley Hrdlitschka [review]
4. This Year's Model – Carol Alt [review]
5. One More Year: Stories - Sana Krasikov [review]
6. The Virgin Queen's Daughter - Ella March Chase [review]
7. Dreamers of the Day - Mary Doria Russell [review]
8. Bras and Broomsticks - Sarah Mlynowski [review]
9. The Gathering - Anne Enright [review]
10. The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Dehli, 1857 - William Dalrymple [review]
11. Wife Goes On - Leslie Lehr [review]
12. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn [review]
13.. Black Ships - Jo Graham [review]
14. Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes - Billy Watkins [review]
15. The View from Garden City - Carolyn Baugh [review]
16. Conscience Point - Erica Abeel [review]
17. Midori by Moonlight - Wendy Tokunaga [review]
18. Super in the City - Daphne Ulliver [review]
19. Real Life & Liars - Kristina Riggle
20. Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi - Nanci Kincaid [review]
21. Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name - Vendela Vida [review]
22. The Debs - Susan McBride
23. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders - Daniyal Mueenuddin [review]
24. Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries - Neil deGrasse Tyson [review]25. The Mighty Queens of Freeville - Amy Dickinson [review]
26. Dracula: The New Annotated Edition - Bram Stoker & Leslie Klinger [review]
27. I See You Everywhere - Julia Glass [review]
28. Mistress Shakespeare - Karen Harper [review]
29. The Fire Gospel - Michael Faber [review]
30. Bound South - Susan Rebecca White [review]
31. This One Is Mine - Maria Semple [review]
32. The Book of Unholy Mischief - Elle Newmark [review]
33. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell [review]
34. The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett [review]
35. One True Theory of Love - Laura Fitzgerald [review]
36. The Kingmaking - Helen Hollick [review]
37. Posed for Murder - Meredith Cole [review]
38. The School of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister [review]
39. Just Breathe - Susan Wiggs
40. The Smart One - Ellen Meister [review]
41. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch [review]
42. The Writing on My Forehead - Nafisa Haji [review]
43. Sonata for Miriam - Diana Olsson [review]
44. The Seance - John Harwood [review]
45. Ingrid: Ingrid Bergman, A Personal Biography - Charlotte Chandler
46. Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories - Lauren Groff
47. Watchmen - Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons [review]
48. The Rose of Sebastopol – Katherine McMahon [review]
49. The Reader – Bernard Schlink [review]
50. Willing Spirits – Phyllis Schieber [review]
51. Pictures at an Exhibition – Sara Houghteling [review]
52. North of Beautiful – Justina Chen Headley [review]
53. The Heretic's Daughter – Kathleen Kent
54. Wake – Lisa McMann [review]
55. Almost Single – Advaita Kala
56. Land of Marvels – Barry Unsworth [review]
57. Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason – Russell Shorto [review]
58. Disquiet – Julia Leigh [review]
59. A Reliable Wife – Robert Goolrick
60. A Hopeless Romantic – Harriet Evans [review]
61. Saffron Dreams – Shaila Abdullah [review]
62. An Offer You Can't Refuse – Jill Mansell
63. The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine – Benjamin Wallace [review]
64. The Mechanics of Falling and Other Stories – Catherine Brady
65. It Will Come to Me – Emily Fox Gordon [review]
66. Silent in the Grave – Deanna Raybourn
67. Spade & Archer – Joe Gores
68. Sleepwalking in Daylight – Elizabeth Flock
69. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven – Susan Jane Gilman
70. Secrets to Happiness – Sarah Dunn
71. The Traitor's Wife – Susan Higginbotham
72. Gifted – Nikita Lalwani
73. Laura Rider's Masterpiece – Jane Hamilton
74. The Empty Mirror – J. Sydney Jones
75. Caravaggio's Angel – Ruth Brandon
76. The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club – Gil Mcneil

So, since I've already read 76 books by new authors since the beginning of the year, I'm going to set my goal for new authors at 200!  Whew, hope I can make it!