YA Challenge Wrap-up

And another one! Woo, I'm getting these all done just in the nick of time before I head off on vacation. This is such a great challenge because I love YA lit - I'm already looking forward to next year's, yay!

1. Jars of Glass by Heather Hepler and Brad Barkley
2. Death by Bikini by Linda Gerber
3. Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
4. Suck It Up by Brian Meehl
5. Masquerade: a Blue Bloods novel by Melissa de la Cruz
6. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison
7. Envy: a Luxe novel by Anna Godbersen
8. Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby
9. Paper Towns by John Green
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
11. Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gerhman
12. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Seconds Challenge Wrap-Up

Hooray, I did it! This was a great challenge because I'd read so many great first books last year and this gave the even more incentive to continue with their authors! Thanks to the amazing J. Kaye for hosting it!

Here's my final list:
1. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson
2. Murder with Puffins by Donna Andrews
3. Three Can Keep a Secret by Judy Clemens
4. Grounds for Murder by Sandra Balzo
5. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
6. Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos
7. The Dead and the Gone by Mary Beth Pfeffer
8. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
9. Betrayed by PC Cast
10. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
11. The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
12. Plantation by Dorothea Benton Frank

What's in a Name? Challenge Wrap-Up

Hooray, another challenge done! I like this one, it's fun to find books to fit the categories. Thanks to Annie for hosting it for the last 2 years!

Here are my books:

1. Medical condition: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
2. Body part: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3. Building: The Beach House by Jane Green
4. Profession: The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas
5. Time of Day: Last Night at the Lobster by Stuart O'Nan
6. Relative: The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabriele

I enjoyed all of the books - I think Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac edges out City of Bones by a tad for spot #1 because I liked the amnesia angle and it was a bit of a "tighter" book. My least favourite was Last Night at the Lobster, mainly because it was more of a novella than a novel. But there weren't any books I didn't at least enjoy an average amount, so hooray!

Now I have to get working on my sign-up post for What's in a Name #3, starting next year!

Genre Challenge Wrap-up

I did it, I got through all 10 of the genres I chose! Thanks to Samantha for hosting it. (And for my prize of Abigail's Story, too!)

Here's what I read:

1. Crime - The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz
2. Detective - The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
3. Mystery - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
4. Thriller - Vodka Neat by Anna Blundy
5. Science Fiction - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
6. Action/adventure - Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
7. Fantasy - The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
8. Realistic - Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
9. Historical - The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue
10. Western - The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas

This was a great challenge for introducing me to new books. I don't think I'd ever read a Western before and I hadn't really thought about women writing them, so that was a cool discovery. I was glad to finally read a James Bond novel, even though it wasn't my favourite. And it got me to read the fabulous And Then There Were None, which had been lingering around in the back of my mind under "I really should read that..." Sadly, The Case of the Missing Books was a huge disappointment (apparently to Samantha and to a lesser extent to Raidergirl, too).

Wow, yet another challenge finished! 6 more to go before the end of the year...

Themed Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

Finished, hooray! My theme was books about sisters. I have to say, not as interesting as my theme last year, which was vampires. I just didn't seem to have enough books with a cool theme in my to-read list this time. Still, thanks to Wendy for hosting it again, it's a great idea - I just need to pick a better theme next year!

1. Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas
2. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
3. Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle
4. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

Given that I have no siblings, I was probably missing a big chunk of what you need to appreciate books about sisters! But it was still interesting to read about their relationships - some made me wish I had a sister, some made me glad I don't!

The House at Riverton was my favourite, followed by The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox.

Book Awards Challenge Wrap-Up

Made it just in the nick of time! I'd somehow forgotten the challenge ended on June 1, but I managed to hustle (with a few late-in-the-game substitutions!).

I managed to represent 9 different awards, yay!

Agatha Award: Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews

Alex Award: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Anthony Award: Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Booker Prize: Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner

Carnegie Medal: Millions by Frank Boyce Cottrell

IMAC Dublic Award: Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

Newbery Medal:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Orange Prize: On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Printz Award: How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Favourite: Murder With Peacocks - it's just a really fun book.
Runner-up: Water for Elephants - a great story, cleverly told.

Least Favourite: Out Stealing Horses - I know lots of people really liked this one (including memebers of my book club) but I think it was just too... quiet for me.

Thanks so much to 3M for hosting this challenge - it definitely challenged me to read some books I probably wouldn't have picked up without it.

Daring Book Challenge Wrap-Up

June 15, 2008 - February 15, 2009

So, I did the relatively short version of this challenge, just 6 books. Thanks to Callista for hosting it!

1. Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery
2. The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater
3. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
4. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
5. Beauty by Robin McKinley
6. The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell

Favourite book: Beauty, by a long shot - a wonderfully written re-telling of Beauty and the Beast.

Overall thoughts: This challenge made me read some classics I should've read long ago, which was great. As much as I love LM Montgomery, I found that coming back to her in adulthood without the foundation of childhood love (which I have for Anne of Green Gables) was a bit tough - I couldn't give myself over to Emily as I did to Anne when I was young. I found Trixie Belden and Black Beauty really old-fashioned, especially the latter. I enjoyed The Book of Three more than I thought I would, not having been a fantasy fan as a child and not being much of one now.

Triple 8 Challenge Wrap-Up

Wow, what a year of reading it's been! And this challenge accounted for a lot of that reading! Thanks so much to 3M for hosting it.

The final list (it changed a lot over the year, though the categories remained the same). I started out with overlaps but managed in the end not to have a single one, woo!

Vampires
1. Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
2. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

3. Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett
4. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
5. Demons of the Ocean by Justin Somper
6. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
7. Marked by PC Cast
8. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: 8th Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Titles with Numbers
1. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
2. Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham
3. The Three Miss Margarets by Louise Shaffer
4. The Perfectly True Tales of a Perfect Size 12 by Robin Gold
5. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
6. One of those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
7. Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro
8. One Dangerous Lady by Jane Stanton Hitchcock

Nonfiction
1. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
2. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
3. Rat Pack Confidential by Shawn Levy
4. Down the Nile by Rosemary Mahoney
5. Food and Loathing: a life measured out in calories by Betsy Lerner
6. Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank by Celia Rivenbark
7. Dear Sad Goat: a Roundup of Truly Canadian Tales and Letters compiled by Bill Richardson
8. Gastroanomalies by James Lileks

Southern
1. The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi
2. Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews
3. The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel by Jill Conner Browne
4. Miss Julia Throws a Wedding by Ann B. Ross
5. Miss Julia Takes Over by Ann B. Ross
6. Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not really) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey
7. My Summer of Southern Discomfort by Stephanie Gayle
8. Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes by Cathy Holton

Historical Fiction
1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
2. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
3. The Bad Behaviour of Belle Cantrell by Loraine Despres
5. Star-Crossed by Linda Collison
6. Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
7. Fleur De Leigh's Life of Crime by Diane Leslie
8. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Set in New York
1. The Perfect Manhattan by Leanne Shear and Tracey Toomey
2. The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine
3. Breakfast at Bloomingdale's by Kristen Kemp
4. Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson
5. Ten Things to do Before I Die by Daniel Ehrenhaft
6. The Art of Undressing by Stephanie Lehmann
7. Elements of Style by Wendy Wasserstein
8. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Mystery
1. Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris
2. Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Militant Midwives by Michael Bond
3. Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
4. Over Her Dead Body by Kate White
5. Piece of my Heart by Peter Robinson
6. Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo
7. Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
8. Till the Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens

New-to-me Authors
1. Cease to Blush by Billie Livingston
2. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
3. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
4. The Marriage of True Minds by Stephen Evans
5. Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking by Aoibheann Sweeney
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
7. Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner
8. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka

I feel like a wrap-up should have some final thoughts, let's see...

My faves in each category are in italics, but that doesn't mean I didn't really enjoy most of the books.

Least favourite book: Food and Loathing by Betsy Lerner

Favourite category: Southern - I knew that going in! :-)

Surprising category: Mysteries - I've always thought I wasn't a mystery person, but it turns out there were a lot I wanted to read and I really enjoyed all but one of them.

Least favourite category: Nonfiction - I also knew that going in. But it was good to branch out. And I'd forgotten how much fun humour nonfiction can be, I'll definitely be seeking out more of it to give me some much-needed laughter.

That's it! It was really fun to undertake such a big challenge this year and I'm proud of myself for finishing it.

Young Adult Challenge Wrap-Up

Finished! Thanks to Joy for hosting it!

My books were:

1.Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
2.Naomi & Ely's No-Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
3.10 Things to do Before I Die by Daniel Ehrenhaft
4.The Poison Apples by Lily Archer
5.Aurelia by Anne Osterlund
6.Derby Girl by Shauna Cross
7.Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
8.Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling
9.The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
10.Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee
11.Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
12.Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Favourite: Ooo, that's a toughie. But I gave the highest marks, 4.5 stars to Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List and I'd say it's my fave - the characters, the writing, the Buffy references, the two-author technique...I loved it all. I'd say the runner-up is Artichoke's Heart because I could really relate to it and because I found Suzanne Supplee a fresh new voice on the YA scene.

Least favourite: Aurelia. Not because it was bad, but I'd already read Fairest and Princess Academy, which were good, and I'd had enough of the princess/ye olde fairy tale setting thing. 10 Things To Die Before I Die was at the bottom, too, because too much was squeezed into a short book and the ending was too After School Special-ish.

Overall, though, I didn't hate any of the books and didn't give any of them less than 3 stars. This was a perfect challenge for me, as I read YA all the time and am always finding new ones to add to the TBR list as I order them for the library. I'm looking forward to the 2009 one already!

Orbis Terrarum Challenge Finished!

I did it, I read 9 books by 9 authors from 9 countries between April 1st and today!

1. Fashionably Late by Nadine Dajani (Lebanon)
2. Indie Girl by Kavita Daswani (Hong Kong)
3. Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay (Canada)
4. Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (Ireland)
5. On Beauty by Zadie Smith (England)
6. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Iran)
7. Theft: a love story by Peter Carey (Australia)
8. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (Germany)
9. Silk by Alessandro Baricco (Italy)

Favourite: On Beauty by Zadie Smith because it gave me a lot to think about and had some really well-written and witty sections.

Least favourite: Persepolis because I'm not really a graphic novel gal

Overall thoughts: This was a good challenge for me, as it helped me read outside my usual comfort zones. I never would have read Theft or Silk without it. And while they weren't my favourite reads of the year, it was good to stretch myself a bit. (I'm particularly glad to now know about Peter Carey, as he seems like quite the extraordinary author, I may read his Oscar and Lucinda.) I don't know if it'll change my reading habits a lot, as it did confirm my belief that reading for pleasure shouldn't feel like work, and a few of these did. But a few mind-stretchers out of 100-odd books in a year isn't a bad thing at all!

Thanks to B&b at Ex Libris for hosting it!

What's in a Name? Challenge Wrap-Up

Hooray, another challenge finished!

My books were:

Book with a colour in the title:
Beige by Cecil Castellucci (3.5 stars)

Book with an animal in the title:
Dear Sad Goat: a roundup of truly Canadian tales and letters compiled by Bill Richardson (3 stars)

Book with a first name in the title:
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (3.5 stars)

Book with a place in the title:
Looking for Alaska by John Green (4.5 stars)

Book with a weather event in the title:
Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (3.5 stars)

Book with a plant in the title:
Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes by Cathy Holton (3.5 stars)

Favourite books:
I'd say entertainment-wise my favourite was Agnes and the Hitman - it was funny and sexy, had elements of both a thriller and a romance, and was a bit odd.

I rated Looking for Alaska the highest because it was very well-written and definitely deserved its Printz Award. It was a gripping, tragic story with just a bit of humour thrown in for balance.

I enjoyed all of the books, thankfully, so I don't have a least favourite.

Thanks to Annie/Debi for hosting - it was really fun to find books that fit the categories. Apparently there are already plans to do the challenge again next year and I'll be sure to sign up!

Southern Challenge 2008 Wrap-Up

Well, a mighty big thanks to Maggie for hosting this fun challenge again!! I seem to read more and more and more Southern lit each year, so this one's both easy and perfect for me.

My books (with links to reviews):
1. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
2. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
3. Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch

My thoughts:
One of the things Maggie suggested we write about was how the books moved us.

I'd say Mudbound moved me the most - as I said in my review, it made me feel things physically. I was felt sorrow, anger, disgust, horror, and and a bit of satisfaction for Laura when her vile father-in-law got what he deserved. While Laura wasn't perfect, I was moved by her situation - being forced to live in a basically uninhabitable farm with horrid Pappy while her husband pays attention to nothing but his precious farm. And of course I was moved by the tragedy Ronsel faces, but also by the plight of his family as black people in 1946 in the Mississippi Delta - even though I know it was widespread, it still shocked me that they were treated that way, especially when Ronsel was a war hero and had been treated so well in Europe.

I was moved by The Sugar Queen because I felt so sorry for Josey being punished for her entire life for things now beyond her control - who her father was and how she'd acted as a child. Josey also moved me because she was so kind - even though she'd never really had friends or a boyfriend, she cared so deeply, so quickly about Chloe and Adam and even Della Lee. And while I don't have a closet stuffed with candy, I could relate to wanting to hide away and eat them quickly, to the feeling that they're the only comfort you have. I was so happy that she was able to finally come into her own and live her own life, after two decades of punishment and loneliness.

Girls in Trucks moved me because Sarah's tendency to screw up her life was so...pitiable. She was running from the constraints of her life in the South but she (and her Camellia friends) didn't really know what they were running to, so they ended up in various sad situations - some entirely of their own making, but some not.

I recommend all three of these books to y'all!

Numbers Challenge Wrap-Up

Hooray, another challenge completed! Thanks to Callista at SMS Book Reviews for hosting this fun one.

The rules were simple, 5 books with numbers in the title between January 1st and August 1st. 3 titles could overlap with other challenges, 2 had to be unique (which I didn't realize until I was almost done, so I'm glad she extended the date til August!).

My books were:
1. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
2. Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham
3. One of those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
4. 21 Proms by various authors
5. Second Chance by Jane Green

Favourite book?
Well, I gave 2 of them 4 stars - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and One Of Those Hideous Books... I'd say my top fave was the Detective Agency because I found it really charming and it brought back my faith in McCall Smith (the last couple of his I'd read hadn't wowed me as much as 44 Scotland Street).

Least favourite book?
I gave the other ones all 3 stars, so none of them were bad books. I'd say it was probably 21 Proms just because I'm not really that big a fan of short stories, but I don't regret reading it.

Themed Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

Many thanks to Wendy for hosting the challenge! I think this was the challenge that spurred me on to join others this year, especially the Triple 8, as it's all about themed lists.

The challenge was to read at least four books about a single theme. My theme was vampire fiction.

The Books
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett
Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

1. What things did you enjoy the most about this challenge?
I really liked that you could pick your own theme and that it could be anything under the sun. It was quite funny going through my TBR list - I'd never have predicted that I'd have enough vampire books to make up a whole theme! But apparently all those Buffy and Angel DVDs have been at work in the book-choosing part of my brain. I also liked that it was flexible - though I decided to just read 4 books, I liked that you could have read more.

2. Favourite book?
Bloodsucking Fiends - it was so hilarious and bizarre.

3. Least favourite book?
Real Vampires Have Curves - it had too much repetition and was too Harlequin-ish for me.

4. Would you do this one again if it were offered next year?
Yes!!

5. Anything you'd change about the challenge?
No, I think everything was great!

Newbery Challenge Wrap-Up

The Challenge: Not long before she died, Nattie, may she rest in peace, challenged us to read and review 6 Newbery winners (click the logo above for the page).

My Books:
1. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
2. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
3. Crispin: the cross of lead by Avi
4. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
5. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
6. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Favourite book? While the intrusive narrator bugged me a bit, The Tale of Desperaux was lovely.

Book I Could Have Done Without: While I didn't adore them all, I'm definitely glad to have read them all.

What I Learned: As with the Something About Me Challenge, I see that I often need an excuse to read things. I'd been meaning to read Shiloh, Maniac Magee, and Number the Stars for years.

Thank you, Nattie, for a great challenge! I wish you'd gotten to finish it with us.

If anyone else did the challenge, please feel free to post a link in the comments, I'd love to see your picks and reviews.

Something About Me Challenge Wrap-Up

Challenge summary: Lisa from Breaking the Fourth Wall hosted this fab challenge, complete with its own blog. Participants chose 5 books that they felt said something about them and then everyone chose from those lists.

My books: Here are the ones I'd planned to read. I can't believe I picked 25, but every time a new list came up, I'd find another one I couldn't resist.

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (Athena)
So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson (Vasilly, A Book in the Life, Sally)
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Kristin)
Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter (Stephanie)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (Wendy)
The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler (Nattie)
Sixpence House: lost in a town of books by Paul Collins (Nattie)
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth (Raidergirl13)
Evening Class by Maeve Binchy (Raidergirl13)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Christina)
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (various lists)
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Margo)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Soleil)
Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan (Booklogged)
Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand (LibraryLady)
An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance (LibraryLady)
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (SheReads)
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (SheReads)
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (Valentina)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Juli)
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Faith)
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Kelly)
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (Historia)
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (Vasilly)
Marley and Me by John Grogan (Lynne)

The best book?: I can't pick just one! I can barely narrow it down to half a dozen, but here they are:
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Thirteenth Tale
The Polysyllabic Spree
An Inconvenient Wife
Evening Class
84 Charing Cross Road

Books I could have done without:

The Neverending Story, The Little Prince, and Inkheart - It's not exactly true that I could've done without them, because I did want to add add them to my children's librarian repertoire and I'm glad I did. But for me, they were pretty mostly chore-like and a struggle to get through.

Sixpence House - While I liked bits of the author's wit, I really didn't see the point of this book.

Books not finished:

Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading - From the introduction and table of contents, I could just tell her reading tastes were way too estoeric for me. She had a section titled something like What I learned from Catholic nun stories. As I wasn't even aware that was a genre, I figured we should part ways.

Marley and Me - Several things kept me from finishing this one - I'm not a large-dog person, I'd been reading a lot of non-fiction and needed a break, and I figured it would have to end with Marley dying, and I just didn't want to get invested only to have a sad ending.

The Historian - I just couldn't get into it, it seemed so very large and dark. And while I enjoy vampire stories, I'm not actually very interested in Dracula.

(Technically I didn't finish East of Eden for the challenge, unless I finish the last half by tomorrow night, but I am reading and enjoying it.)

What I learned from this challenge:

1) That there's a wonderful community of book bloggers out there! I guess I already knew that books can be a great common denominator for people, but it was cool to see it play out in cyberspace among (mostly) virtual strangers who all came together because of our love of reading. And I learned that that community is a wonderful source of recommendations - I liked most of the books and I loved a lot of them.

2) That I seem to need the "excuse" of a challenge to read things that have been on my TBR list for ages. East of Eden is one of my husband's all-time favourites and I've been meaning to read it since we met, but I hadn't tackled it til now. Same with the 3 children's books mentioned above and also Rebecca. I've joined a ton of challenges for next year and organized my TBR list on LibraryThing, mostly as a way to whittle down the list.

3) As with past challenges, I expanded my reading horizons. In particular, I read more nonfiction in the last half of this year than I've probably read in the last five years, combined.

Alphabet Challenge Wrap Up

Challenge summary: I found this via a blog in BookCrossing, though I think it has quite a few incarnations. The goal was to read a book for each letter of the alphabet, times 2. New-to-you authors from A-Z and also titles from A-Z. I started in January 2006 and finished in September 2007. I'd hoped to complete it in a year, but I'm still pretty pleased with finishing it in under 2, given all the other things I was also reading.

My books: All 52 of them can be seen here.

The best book: Oh, there were some great ones... Off the top of my head, I'd say these are my top 12 (in no particular order; some have much literary merit, some are just very fun, some are both):

My Saucy Stuffed Ravioli by Cherry Whytock
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
Love, Cajun Style by Diane Les Becquets
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin
A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke
Rococo by Adriana Trigiani
Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
The Wives of Bath by Wendy Holden

Any new authors?: So many! All 26 of the A-Z Authors, of course, and quite a few in the Titles, too.

New-to-me authors that I hope to read more of include:
Joanna Trollope
Polly Shulman
Diane Les Becquets
Adriana Trigiani
Debra Galant

Authors that I've read more of already (and I thank them for writing second books so quickly!) are Catherine Gilbert Murdock and Brad Barkely/Heather Hepler.


Book I could have done without:
Screen Legends - Had some interesting parts, but I probably would've stopped reading if not for the fact that I was desperate for a Y author. I'd already tried 2 manga Y-authors and just couldn't get into the manga mindset. (Sorry, manga fans, I just don't get it.)

Home Sense - Nothing wrong with it, I just don't normally read decorating books and I picked it just because his name started with X.

The Xenocide Mission - I'd actually had this on my TBR list for a few years because I wanted to read some boy-centred YA sci fi. But I didn't enjoy it much - I just couldn't keep track of the planets, the different creatures, the history. Probably not a bad book, but not my style at all.

The Year of Magical Thinking - This was for my book club, so I had to read it, challenge or not. As well-written as it was and legendary as Joan Didion is, it was much too sad for me. I am not a reader of sad things, if I can help it.

Books not finished: I did get to the end of Screen Legends, but I did eventually resort to skipping sections on people I had never, ever even heard of and didn't care to learn about. Everything else I read from cover to cover.

What I learned from this challenge: To stretch my reading horizons. Even if I didn't enjoy all the books, it was a fun way to experience a lot of variety. I actually had lots of fun slotting them into the challenge and finding contenders for the tricky letters - as my husband will tell you, I love to make lists! And, best of all, it got me interested enough in challenges to sign up for so many this year!



(Thanks to Book Haven and Eva for the questions!)

Southern Challenge wrap-up

Many thanks to Maggie for hosting the Southern Challenge! It was great fun (and only 3 books, for which I thank her!)


The challenge was to read 3 books by Southern authors and I picked:
1. Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson
2. Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross
3. Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

The best book? They were all really good, but I just loved Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind - it was truly delightful.

Any new authors? All of them. I'll definitely be reading more of Joshilyn Jackson and the Miss Julia series.

Book I could have done without? None of them. Hannah Coulter probably isn't a book I'd have picked up without the challenge, but I was glad I did. And that's what challenges are for, right? Broadening one's reading horizons! :)

What I learned from this challenge: Well, I already knew I enjoyed Southern literature, but I'd stayed mostly in the chick lit/romance vein, so this helped me discover that there's much more to the genre. And I also came across so many new and interesting bloggers from keeping track of the challenge at Maggie Reads.

(Thanks to Book Haven and Eva for the questions!)