Showing posts with label reading challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading challenge. Show all posts

Sunday, April 18, 2010



I found a new challenge I couldn't resist. I like the idea of this one, because there's a wide selection of books to chose from. It's the Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Reading Challenge.


Bibliobabe sent me a copy of Read, Remember, Recommend reading journal last year and I found it to be a great resource for readers.

Here's the challenge rules:


Read as many books from the Read, Remember, Recommend reading journal as you can in one year. Books read before April 1st, 2010 do not count. Overlaps with other challenges (including the Read, Remember, Recommend Teen Reading Challenge) are acceptable – and encouraged!


Dates:

April 1st, 2010 to April 1st, 2011





I'll be linking my reviews as I read the books.

1. The Road

2. Gone With the Wind

3. Cold Mountain

4. Mrs. Dalloway

5. All The Pretty Horses

6. The Awakening

7. The Great Gatsby

8. Revolutionary Road

9. Frankenstein

10. Of Mice and Men


11. Where The Heart Is

12. Nights At The Circus



13. To Kill A Mockingbird

14. The Bell Jar



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Nymeth is hosting the Try Something New Mini-Challenge:

During the month of March, you’ll be asked to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. It can be something Dewey-inspired, like a comic aka graphic novel, a YA novel, a book on feminism, etc. But it can be something else too: poetry, a short story collection, manga, non-fiction, a cookbook, a book on knitting or other crafts, a book on social issues, a play, a horror book, fantasy, sci-fi, a collection of fairy tales or a fairy tale retold…you decide. It’s not mandatory that you have never ever read a book of the kind you pick before…all I’m asking is that you pick something that is still mostly new territory for you.




1) Sign up and get in touch with your partner

2) Read one book

3) Collaborate on a post






deadline: 7th of April


My partner is Rhinoa, who made some great reading suggestions for me. I figured i'd go with sci-fi.


Since I don't read as much science fiction as I'd like to, I am reading:



title: The Colors of Space

author: Marion Zimmer Bradley

published: 1963

genre: science fiction/YA

first line: It was a week before the Lhari ship went into warp-drive, and all that time young Bart Steele had stayed in his cabin.




Interesting tidbit, Marion Zimmer Bradley is the same author who wrote The Mists of Avalon.




Sunday, March 22, 2009



Carl is hosting the Once Upon a Time III and I couldn't resist.

fan⋅ta⋅sy: a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting.(Wiki)



fairy tale: a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events. (Wiki)



folk⋅lore: the traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc., of a people; lore of a people; The traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally. (Dictionary dot com)



my⋅thol⋅o⋅gy: a body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person; a set of stories, traditions, or beliefs associated with a particular group or the history of an event, arising naturally or deliberately fostered.





I'm choosing to do The Journey:

This is really as simple as the name implies. It means you are participating, but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. All reading is a journey, perhaps none more so than reading fantastical fiction. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to at least read one book within one of the four categories during March 21st to June 20th period. Just one book. If you choose to read more, fantastic!



My picks:


Eragon by Christopher Paolini

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke



Sunday, December 21, 2008



My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge:

Your job: Read 12 books you deem "dangerous." between January 1st and December 31st 2009. They may be banned or challenged books, new-to-you genres, books that seem to inhabit a permanent space on your stacks, or authors you're afraid of. The possibilities are endless! If it's dangerous to you, it's challenge-worthy to us!



Here's my list of Dangerous reads and why:

1. Gone With the Wind: I've been wanting to re-read it, and its dangerously long and dramatic.

2. Tao Te Ching: This is a totally different read from what I would normally pick up.

3. Bridget Jones Diary: Another re-read, loved the film and want to re-visit the book.

4. Sense and Sensibility: I started this one a while ago, then never finished it. It's time to read it.


5. The Other Boleyn Girl : A Chunkster at over 600 pages, it's about time I read it.

6. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: I bought this one because so many of my blog friends recommended it, then I just wound up adding it in my TBR mountain, shame on me.

7. Cold Mountain: Another film I love, went and bought the book, then just ignored it.

8. The Virgin's Lover : Every time I join a challenge I add this one in there, it's time to read it. I loved The Constant Princess.

9. Northanger Abbey: I'm a big Austen fan and have never read this one. It's been sitting on my shelf for some time now.


10. Just Ella : I've wanted to read this one for years. I just got it as a gift, and must make time to read it.

11. A Science Fiction book: I don't know which one yet, but I always neglect this genre: The War of the Worlds by HG Wells

12. A non-fiction book: Another genre I tend to neglect, but enjoy very much: In The Land of Invisible Women and The Obama Revolution




Sunday, December 14, 2008

Triple 8 Challenge

1. Challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2008.


2. Choose 8 categories of your own that you would like to read 8 books EACH in.


3. You will be allowed 8 overlaps, for a total of 56 unique book titles.


4. You may overlap these 56 titles with any other challenge.


5. You may change your list or your categories at any time.




my lists: Challenge Completed 12/11/08



Because I Love to Read:

1. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory


2. A Jolly Good Fellow by Stephen V. Masse

3. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston

4. Considering SomeplacElse by B. L. Lindstrom

5. Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase

6. First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader

7. Operation Blue Light: My Secret Life among Psychic Spies by Philip Chabot

8. Soup in the City by Kelly Hollingsworth






Because I felt like staying up late reading:

1. Trust Me by Brenda Novak

2. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

3. Wife In the North by Judith O’Reilly

4. The Good Guy by Dean Koontz

5. Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors

6. Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye

7. The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer

8. The Exchange by Inga Ellzey


Horror/Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker

2. All The Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison

3. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

4. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill


5. The Ruins by Scott Smith


6.
The Ghost of Blackwood Hall (Nancy Drew) by Carolyn Keene






7. 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill



8. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown




Books that were made into movies:

1. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

2. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

3. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

4. The Shining by Stephen King

5. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

6. Persuasion by Jane Austen

7. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

8. Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde



Random Picks:

1. Like Lightning by Charlene Sands

2. The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work
by Jon Gordon



3. Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer

4. Wicked Ties by Shayla Black

5. Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde

6. Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo


7. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

8. Matrimony by Joshua Henkin



More Romance

1. Scandalous Love by Brenda Joyce

2. Gone With the Witch by Annette Blair

3. Wicked Nights by Nina Bangs


4. Return of the Rogue by Donna Fletcher

5. Everlasting by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

6. Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts

7. Entangled by Kathleen Dante

8. Enticed by Kathlee Dante




More Random Picks:

1. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Clayton

2.
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle



3. An Absolute Gentleman by R. M. Kinder

4. I Just Want My Kids to Be Happy! by Aaron Cooper & Eric Keitel



5. Perfect on Paper The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson by Maria Murnane



6.
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

7. The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

8. The Secret Scroll by Ronald Cutler




Fantasy/Sci Fi/Paranormal:

1. Immortal Warrior by Lisa Hendrix

2. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

3. Carpe Demon By Julie Kenner

4. Demons Are Forever : Confessions of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner


5. The Host by Stephenie Meyers

6. The Taking by Dean Koontz

7. Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

8. The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter






Friday, November 14, 2008




These are the NINE categories to celebrate 2009!

The Challenge starts 12/27/08 to 12/27/09

1. Long: You decide how long is long. If you normally read 250 pages, then 251 is LONG: Inkheart

2. Free: Stardust: gifted to me by Serena

3. Dusty

4. Used: A book that has been previously owned, that you paid for. The Lovely Bones

5. Letter: Find a Letter, Any Letter. Select any letter (from the alphabet) in your first name or blog name. Find the letter anywhere in the title of the book: N


The Virgin's Lover

6. Strange: Leave Your Comfort Zone.
Read something that you normally don’t pick up
Science Fiction


Fahrenheit 451



7. Distance:Read a book in which the author’s birthplace or setting is more than 1000 miles (1609.344 kilometers) from your present location:

Saudi Arabia: Distance is 10,548 kilometers or 6554 miles or 5695 nautical miles:
In The Land of Invisible Women

8. Alive or Not: ALIVE Or NOT!


Select an author that was nominated or won any literary prize. (Your book does NOT need to be the prize winner.)

But if you can’t find any prize nominated/winning, live authors in your collection, choose any dead author from your stacks. The dead author doesn’t have to have won anything.



The War of the Worlds by HG Wells: 21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946




9. Cover: Find the book with the prettiest or ugliest cover.

Let us know which you selected and whether the work lives up to the illustration or photograph.



Just Ella: Pretty Cover. Yes, the story does relate to the cover art.







check out the challenge blog for details







* set a goal for how many of your OWN books you’d like to read in 2009


* read from your own collection between January 1st and December 31st, 2009




I'm going to try and read as many of my books in my TBR mountain in 2009.
Here's the book list as I go along, linked to the reviews:

1. Inkheart

2. Cold Mountain

3. Gone With the Wind

4. Sense & Sensibility

5. Mansfield Park

6. Eragon

7. The Virgin's Lover


8. The Goose Girl

9. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

10. Just Ella


11. The Almost Moon


12. The Tales of Beedle the Bard

13. Beloved











The 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge



You all know what a supporter of the library my family and I are. What better way to pay homage than by having a reading challenge in 2009? Since we are all different, there will be three sizes of challenges.


** The first is to read 12 books from your local library in 2009.

** The second is to read 25 books from your local library in 2009.

** The third is to read 50 books from your local library in 2009.



You decide which one of the three challenges is best for you.

I'm going for 12.



Here are the guidelines:


1) You can join anytime as long as you don’t start reading your books prior to 2009.


2) This challenge is for 2009 only. The last day to have all your books read is December 31, 2009.


3) You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.



1. Heartsick


2. Blackbird House

3. Fahrenheit 451






Sunday, September 21, 2008



I swore up & down I wasn't going to join any more reading challenges this year. But this one was too hard to resist, especially since it's so simple.


Fall Into Reading 2008








What: Fall Into Reading 2008 is a casual, low-pressure challenge that revolves around -- you guessed it -- reading. My goal is simply to provide you with motivation to read, and to provide an opportunity for all of us to set goals when it comes to our personal (or family) reading.


As a participant, all you'll have to do is make a list of books you want to read this fall and post that list on your blog. They can be books you intend to read on your own, books you want to read with your kids/family, Bible study books you're working through, or a combination of any of those things.


Bottom line of the challenge: We'll share our goals with each other, and then share our experience and results when the challenge is over.


When: I'm sure this will come as no surprise. Fall Into Reading 2008 will take place throughout the fall of 2008. Shocking. The official dates are September 22nd through December 20th.




1. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston

2. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

3. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

4. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

5. Romeo, Romeo




Tuesday, August 26, 2008






R.I.P. Challenge III

There is just something about this time of year, when the ghosts of past Autumns and the Autumn to come chase away the dog days of summer, that entices one to read books that fit into the above categories.


It was a desire share the love of eerie, creepy, things-that-go-bump-in-the-night literature that brought me into the online reading challenge game for the first time back in September of 2006. My goals today, in this its third iteration, are no different than the inaugural R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.

2. Share that fun with others.



And so, on to the particulars:


R.I.P. III runs from September 1st through October 31st, 2008. But I’m no stickler, start reading now if you feel so inclined.



I choose:


Peril the First:


Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.


here are the subgenre's:

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.


Last year I had fun with this challenge, that's when I read Anne Rice for the first time, and loved 'Interview With the Vampire' and 'The Vampire Lestat'. I've been waiting for R.I.P. to come around again :)





Here are my picks, I want to read at least 4: (Since I am on a book ban, self-imposed believe it or not...lol!3 of these books I already have in my TBR, the rest I will be borrowing from the library)

1. The Shining by Stephen King

2. Dracula by Bram Stoker

3. Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury

4. 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill



5. Odd Hours
by Dean Koontz






Monday, August 25, 2008


c.j. over @ 'The Trillionth Page' was hosting Nancy Drew week.


Starting August 18th, will be Nancy Drew week here at The THRILLIONTH PAGE, full of mini-recaps and reader reviews of favorite Nancy Drew adventures, recollections from the books or series, opinions, and more!




I've been reading The Ghost of Blackwood Hall with my daughter. It's her first time reading Nancy Drew and she really enjoyed it. Read on for my review.




title: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall


author: Carolyn Keene


pages: 178

genre: mystery

published: 1948

first line: "If I ever try to solve a mystery with a ghost in it, I'll use a smart cat to help me!"

rated: 4 out of 5





Widow Mrs. Putney, asks Nancy Drew for help finding her stolen jewelry. Nancy's friends Bess and George, wind up helping her and the search leads them to New Orleans. Mrs. Putney keeps telling Nancy that her late husbands ghost has been speaking to her, first telling her where to bury his jewels, then once the jewels are stolen and replaced with fake ones, his spirit tells her not to seach for them any longer. Nancy notices this odd behavior from Mrs. Putney, and doesn't believe in spirits herself, but choses to humor the widow until she can solve the case. The case leads her to a deserted old mansion called Blackwood Hall, that is haunted by a ghost playing a piano.
With some help from her friends George, Bess and Ned, Nancy solves the mystery and all ends well.




'Nancy's attractive face tightened as she realized that danger might be lurking in the forest. She was convinced that the theft of Mrs. Putney's buried treasure was no ordinary affair.'




I read this book a few chapters at a time to my daughter each night before bedtime. Being a 3rd grader, I hoped she was ready for a Nancy Drew mystery. And she was. She really enjoyed reading it and followed the storyline very well. Some of the writing is a bit outdated, so I had to stop and explain certain words or phrases to her, but all in all, she really liked the story.







Part of the fun about the Nancy Drew books are the creative covers. Here's a few I found. Click on each to read about the story.

























About the author:
Nancy Drew is an amateur sleuth, the fictional heroine of a popular mystery series, primarily aimed at the children-young adult audience, and written under the collective pseudonym "Carolyn Keene". The series was created and outlined in detail in 1930 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, with the first manuscripts written by Mildred A. Wirt Benson and edited by Stratemeyer's daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. The Stratemeyer Syndicate had a strict non-disclosure contract; writers such as Mildred Benson produced books based upon outlines provided by the Syndicate. As a ghostwriter, Benson was the second most prolific writer (after Stratemeyer-Adams herself), producing twenty-three of the first thirty volumes.


quoted from wikipedia




visit http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/ for more










Nancy Drew is a movie made in 2007 based on the mystery novels. We did watch the film and enjoyed it too. Nancy's character was just how you'd expect her to be and Ned is a cutie!

In the movie, Nancy is trying to give up sleuthing. She winds up moving to LA with her father, and going to a new school, where they do make fun of her and her 'old fashioned' style of dressing. Of course, there's a murder mystery involving a movie star and the home she and her father are staying in, that she just has to solve.


Nancy solves the mystery, with the help of her friends and some of her housekeeper's baked goodies. And her 'old fashioned' outfits even end up being featured in a fashion magazine. WTG Nancy :)






Sunday, August 17, 2008




j.kaye came up with this great idea for a book challenge. It's kind of a challenge, but with a twist. Read on...



Guidelines for the 2008 Ban on Book Challenge:




1. No purchasing books for yourself until all the books listed are gone. No purchasing books for other people with the intention of reading them after they are finished. Library or other borrowed books can’t be listed.


2. Any books won in a raffle or given to me as a gift will be added to this list.


3. Books to be reviewed for promo companies, other blogs, authors, etc. do not count and are not added to this list.


4. Start anytime and list as many or as few books as needed. Once all books are checked off from the list, the ban is lifted and the spending can begin again.


5. The ending date for each person can vary to a few weeks or months as long as it doesn’t exceed December 31, 2008. This ban can be lifted earlier if all books listed have been read or donated.


6. If you don't have a blog and would like to still join, list your books in the comment section below.



Now, since I placed myself on a book ban a few months ago, promising not to buy any more books till there is snow on the ground, this is the perfect challenge for me. I won't buy any more books until the following are read: (this is my TBR mountain)

I'll be updating this list with links to my book reviews as I go along.

Wish me luck!



1. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston

2. The Preacher and the Presidents by Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy

3. Swine Not? by Jimmy Buffett, Helen Bransford

4. Miscarriage of Justice by “Kip” Gayden

5. Trespassers Will Be Baptized by Elizabeth Hancock

6. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan

7. A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand

8. Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

9. Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts

10. Off Season by Anne Siddons

11. A Rose by the Door by Deborah Bedford

12. Remember Me by Deborah Bedford

13. Child 44 by Tom Smith

14. Close by Martina Cole

15. Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase

16. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

17. The Shining by Stephen King

18. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

19. Taken By Storm by Donna Fletcher

20. The Goose girl by Shannon Hale


21. Good Man Hunting by Lisa Landolt

22. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

23. The Richest Season by Maryann McFadden

24. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

25. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

26. The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly


27. Inside my Heart by Robin McGraw

28. The Raven by John Lawson

29. Rich Ember by John Lawson
How nuts is it that I need to read 29 books before I can buy more?

Seeing them listed this way just made me panicky...lol!







However, the one book I will break my ban for is 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Harry Potter Series) by by J. K. Rowling'. It's a must have for me.



Wednesday, July 9, 2008




I found another challenge that sounds like fun.

New Classics Challenge



1) Copy the list (which I have pasted here, just in case that link ever disappears) and bold the titles that you have already read.



2) Choose at least 6 other books from the list , read and review them between 1 August 2008 and 31 January 2009.



2) Come back here and post links to your reviews.



3) In January 2009, cast your vote for which one of the 100 books on the list is your favorite (and write a post on why). The winning book will be sent to a lucky winner chosen by the scientific method favored here in the blogosphere, i.e. names in a hat. Other contests are very probable too, I have some ideas, but they need planning.



4) Have fun! :-)




Here's the list:


I bolded the ones I already read.



And the ones in italics are the ones I want to read for this challenge, a few of these are already on my TBR.






1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)


2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)


3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)


4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)


5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)


6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)


7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)


8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)


9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)



10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)


11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)


12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)



13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)


14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)


15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)


16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)



17.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez (1988)




18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)


19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)


20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)


21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)


22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)


23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)


24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)


25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)



26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)


27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)


28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)


29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)


30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)


31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)


32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)


33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)



34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)


35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)


36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)


37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)


38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)


39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)


40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)


41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)


42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)


43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)


44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)


45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)


46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)



47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)


48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)


49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)


50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)


51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)


52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)


53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)


54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)


55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)


56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)


57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)


58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)


59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)


60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)


61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)


62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)


63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)


64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)


65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)


66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)


67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)



68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)


69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)


70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)


71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)


72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)


73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)


74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)


75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)


76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)


77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)


78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)



79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)


80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)


81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)


82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)



83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)


84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)



85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)


86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)


87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)


88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)


89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)


90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)


91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)


92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)



93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)


94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)


95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)


96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)


97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)


98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)


99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)


100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)






Sunday, July 6, 2008



I was over @ Stephanie's Blog and found her post about the
LOST Books Challenge. I'm a big fan of LOST. So of course, I have to join.


Here are the rules of the Challenge:


1) Check out this site, and this site and compile a list of 5 books and upwards that you want to read to complete this challenge. (If you know another book mentioned on the show or relating to the show, you can defend your choice in your post) Update: If you have not finished watching the show, please use this list, so as not to be spoiled!

2) Write a post on your blog announcing your intention to participate in the challenge, list the books you want to read, and invite your readers to do the same. Then come back here and add a direct link to your post to Mr. Linky. (not a general link to your url)

3) You are absolutely welcome to cross books from this challenge with books in other challenges.

4) You must complete the challenge by December 31st, 2008.

5) There will be prizes raffled for those who complete the challenge, I just haven't figured out what yet!

6) If you are not a blogger, you can email me your plan to participate and I'll make a post for you right here on my blog...see? I love you too!




here's my picks, I will read 5 of the following:

1. Through the Looking Glass

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone <-re-reading

3. Alice in Wonderland


4. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

5. Lord of the Flies

6. A Tale of Two Cities



Thursday, June 5, 2008

100 +


100 + reading challenge

Yes, yes, another reading challenge?? what am I thinking? lol

I couldn't help myself. This challenge is being hosted by j.kaye ...who I totally blame for making my TBR pile get larger...*joking*...lol... j.kaye...but it's actually true...i've won a few very nice books over at her blog... :P

Like this one recently:



All The Pretty Girls


Thanks J.Kaye, and haven't stopped by her blog, you should visit, you won't be dissapointed.





More about this challenge:


Up for a serious challenge? Then come join us! Our goal is to read 100 or more books in one year.




So what I'm doing is just making a list as I go along, and so far, I've read 27 books this year. That is quite an accomplishment for me. Even if I don't get up to 100, I'll enjoy trying.



Books read and reviewed in 2008:

1. Pride & Prejudice

2. Persuasion


3. Angels and Demons


4. The Secret Sroll


5. Entangled

6. Enticed



7. The Wastelands and Other Writing



8. Return of the Rogue


9. Coraline



10. The Constant Princess


11. Practical Magic

12. The Ice Queen



13. Heart Shaped Box


14. The Colorado Kid

15. Duma Key


16. An Absolute Gentleman

17.
The Good Guy


18. Velocity

19. Carpe Demon

20.
Demons Are Forever

21. Eclipse



22. The Host



23. Blue Dahlia

24.
Key of Light


25. A Killer Stitch



26. Snowflower and the Secret Fan



27. Everlasting


28. The Wednesday Sisters

29. A New Earth


30. Beneath A Marble Sky



31. Gone With the Witch

32. All The Pretty Girls

33.Wicked Nights

34. The Taking

35. Perfect on Paper The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson

36. Scandalous Love


37. Like Lightning




38. Love in the Time of Cholera



39.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

40. The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work


41. Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife


42. Wicked Ties

43. Pay It Forward

44. Chasing Windmills



45.
Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth


46. Breaking Dawn

47. Matrimony


48.Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict



49. I Just Want My Kids to Be Happy!


50.
The Ghost of Blackwood Hall (Nancy Drew)


51. Considering SomeplacElse

52. Your Scandalous Ways

53. The Shining

54. First Daughter

55. Operation Blue Light: My Secret Life among Psychic Spies

56. Dracula


57. A Jolly Good Fellow

58. Soup in the City

59. Any Given Doomsday

60. The Monster of Florence




61. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood


62. The Darkest Night

63. 20th Century Ghosts

64. Immortal Warrior

65. Romeo, Romeo

66. Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers


67. Trust Me

68. Wife In the North



69. The Reluctant Widow

70. The Exchange

71. The Ruins


72. An Unlikely Place for Love














Sunday, March 30, 2008

I found a couple new reading challenges and couldn't help myself, so I joined them. They sound like fun and I can't wait to get started.



historical fiction reading challenge
There is only one rule:

1) You must commit to reading 6 historical novels over 6 months.



my picks:


After reading 'The Constant Princess', I'm hooked on Philippa Gregory...




Queen's Fool
by Philippa Gregory







Virgin's Lover
by Philippa Gregory






The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory





Atonement
by Ian McEwan




(of course I had to throw in a Jane Austen book here)



Persuasion by Jane Austen








The Viscount Who Loved Me
by Julia Quinn







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Once Upon a Time II Challenge

Quest the First



Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time II criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.


my picks:



Enchantment
by Orson Scott Card






Coraline
by Neil Gaiman






Eragon
by Christopher Paolini






Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine









Princess Bride by William Goldman

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