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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!
Vampires1. Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore2. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz3. 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 Livingston2. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips3. 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.
Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean by Justin Somper
3 starsReasons for reading: thought it would be a good one to be able to tell the library kids about; last Vampire book and the last book for the Triple 8 ChallengeDescription: "Twins, Connor and Grace, never dreamed that there was any truth to the Vampirate shanty their father sang to them before he died, but that was before the two were shipwrecked and separated from each other. For Connor, who is taken aboard a pirate ship, there's the chance to learn to swordfight, but for Grace, aboard a mysterious ship of vampire pirates, the danger is great. What will it take for them to find each other?"My thoughts: This has definite kid appeal. I mean, two of the coolest things out there combined? What more could you want. I see there are now 4 books in this series, so I'm glad to have read the first one. I enjoyed the swashbuckling bits and thought the bond between Connor and Grace was great. The book had a slightly odd feel to it for me, I can't quite put my finger on it - probably because it was set in 2025, yet it had an 18th century feel to it. I liked that the pirate ship's crew was made up of both men and women.
You can really tell this is the first book in a longer series, as it asks more questions than it answers. I don't know if I'm invested enough to read them all, but I'm glad to know what the series is about.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
4 stars
Reasons for reading: lots of people I know loved it; Historical Fiction for Triple 8 Challenge; Alex Award-winner for the Book Awards Challenge
Description: "Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell. Jacob was there because his luck had run out—orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act—in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival."
My thoughts: At first I wasn't 100% sold on this book, I wasn't sure I liked the alternating past and future chapters and I'm not really a circus person. But it came together at the end thanks to some literary sleight of hand from the beginning and the actual ending itself. That sent it right up to 4 stars and I could see why my friends enjoyed it so much.
Gruen clearly really researched circus life and I was really pleased to discover in her author's note that some of the incidents were inspired by real circus elephants. I loved her opening quote from Horton Hears a Who, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant...an elephant's faithful - one hundred percent!" Rosie the elephant is as much a character as any of the human beings. The old photos at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch. The brutality of circus life was quite shocking in some parts and the reality of life during the Depression came across clearly.
I thought she did a good job of writing from an elderly man's point of view and there were some really sad but well-done moments that demonstrated what it's like to get old, particularly that you still feel like yourself, but your body has changed almost beyond recognition and people don't treat you like an adult any more.
An interesting book with a great ending, and an elephant!
Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: a Slightly Tarnished Southern Belle's Words of Wisdom by Celia Rivenbark
3.5 starsReasons for reading: Nonfiction for Triple 8 Challenge; it's Southern; saw a good review on someone's blog (leave a comment if it was yours! :-) )Description: "Celia Rivenbark is an intrepid explorer and acid commentator on the land south of the Mason-Dixon Line. In this collection of screamingly funny essays, you'll discover: * How to get your kid into a character breakfast at Disney World (or run the risk of eating chicken out of a bucket with Sneezy) * Secrets of Celebrity Moms (don't hate them because they're beautiful when there are so many other reasons) * Ebay addiction and why "It ain't worth having if it ain't on Ebay." *Why today's children's clothes make six-year-olds look like Vegas showgirls with an abundance of anger issues *And so much more! Celia Rivenbark's essays about life in today's South are like caramel popcorn---sweet, salty, and utterly irresistible."My thoughts: This was a fun and funny book of essays that helped keep me sane during an almost 2-hour wait for a doctor's appointment. I liked the Southern-ness of it, particularly the one on how to speak Southern. And I completely agree with the title essay - six-year-olds definitely shouldn't be dressed as sexily as they are these days. Rivenbark is a keen observer of everyday life with a biting wit. I'll definitely be looking into her other collections.
Down the Nile: alone in a fisherman's skiff by Rosemary Mahoney
2.5 starsReasons for reading: book club; late Nonfiction entry for Triple 8 ChallengeDescription (from Publishers Weekly): "...the reader is taken on a great trip with an erudite travel companion soaking up scads of history, culture and literary knowledge, along with the scenery. The genesis for the trip is simple: the author's love of rowing. Her plan, "to buy a small Egyptian rowboat and row myself along the 120-mile stretch of river between the cities of Aswan and Qena," is less so. Mahoney (The Singular Pilgrim; Whoredom in Kimmage) conveys readers along the longest river in the world, through narrative laced with insight, goodwill and sometimes sadness. Mahoney's writing style is conversational, her use of metaphor adept. She cleverly marshals the writings of numerous river travelers but focuses on "two troubled geniuses": Florence Nightingale and Gustave Flaubert. The device allows readers a backward glance at the Edwardian travel accoutrements of sumptuous riverside dinners, staggering supplies of alcohol and food, trunks of books and commodious accommodations. The physical environment is demanding. "When I removed my hat, the sun had made the top of my head sting... it was like having a freshly baked nail driven into one's skull." Yet her biggest obstacle isn't the climate but the slippery hurdles of culture and sex. Whether struggling to buy a boat, visiting historic Luxor or rowing, innocent encounters become sticky psychological and philosophical snares."My thoughts: This is a late entry because I'm just not going to finish the last nonfiction book on my list in time, so I substituted this one, since I realized it was a nonfiction book read during the challenge period. I read it in the summer, so my memory's a bit fuzzy, but it definitely wasn't one of my favourites. The Edwardian parts got a bit long (though I did learn that Florence Nightingale was quite a remarkable and interesting woman and Flaubert a whiny little thing who wanted his mama) and I have no real interest in Egypt, so that didn't help. But the whole journey seemed rather pointless to me. It took her as long to get a rowboat as it did to row down the small part of the Nile she traveled. Plus, she wasn't alone, she had to have a man in a boat follow her before she could go at all. Her determination to do it seemed misplaced to me, rather like the answer, "Because it's there." about climbing a mountain, which I've never found convincing. She didn't seem to enjoy it much. And the book ended very suddenly, with her going home rather depressed. She did have a good quote from (I think) Flaubert about being glad to go home at the end of a trip (I've definitely felt that, you sometimes do just want it to be over with if it's been a long journey) but the whole thing left me wondering why I'd had to read about it if she hadn't even enjoyed it firsthand.
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
4.5 starsReasons for reading: had been on the TBR list a while; Historical Fiction for Triple 8 ChallengeFirst line: "Polly Nichols, a Whitechapel whore, was profoundly grateful to gin."Description: "East London, 1888-a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.But Fiona's life is shattered when the actions of a dark and brutal man take from her nearly everything-and everyone-she holds dear. Fearing her own death, she is forced to flee London for New York. There, her indomitable spirit propels her rise from a modest West Side shop-front to the top of Manhattan's tea trade. But Fiona's old ghosts do not rest quietly, and to silence them, she must venture back to the London of her childhood, where a deadly confrontation with her past becomes the key to her future."My thoughts: This was just my kind of book! Nice and long to sink your teeth into, an interesting historical setting, romance, rags-to-riches, revenge... Publishers Weekly sums it up well: "Donnelly indulges in delightfully straightforward storytelling in this comfortably overstuffed novel." The tea industry and Jack the Ripper elements added even more interest (although the latter is pretty grisly). Fiona is a great character - spirited, resilient, smart and, of course, beautiful. The settings, from East London to Covent Garden to both the common and the glittering areas of New York City are really well drawn. A lot happens, but it doesn't get confusing and even though I knew that Joe and Fiona would eventually get together, I held my breath for them every time it seemed about to happen. A super read, highly recommended. I've got the sequel, The Winter Rose, all queued up and I can't wait to start it!
Star-Crossed by Linda Collison
3 starsReasons for reading: looked interesting; liked the cover; Historical Fiction for Triple 8 ChallengeSummary (from School Library Journal): "Patricia Kelley is the bold heroine of this 18th-century seafaring saga. Left with debts after her father's death, the teen leaves her English boarding school to claim her Barbados plantation. She stows away on a merchant ship, but is soon discovered and threatened with expulsion at the nearest port. The ship's surgeon intervenes and she becomes skilled as a nurse, but finds joy only in her nightly visits on deck when she wears sailor's clothes and learns to climb the ropes. She longs to be with Brian Dalton, the bosun's mate, but he is beneath her socially. In Barbados, Patricia finds that she has no home, and she agrees to the surgeon's marriage proposal. Part two depicts their growing relationship and the work they do to combat yellow fever. Part three finds Patricia a penniless widow and shipwreck victim. Disguised as a man, she signs on as an assistant surgeon on a frigate bound for battle in Havana and is reunited with Brian."My thoughts: This was a good, well-researched story with many details about 18th century medicine, history, and ships. I confess I got a bit bogged down with all of the references to the different types of sails, etc., but it turns out there's a handy glossary in the back, which would've been good to have seen beforehand. I found the medical and historical details more interesting.Patricia is very unlikable at first, which was a bit off-putting, but she develops as the story progresses and she realizes that her expectations are not going to come to fruition and she must make a new life for herself. All of the characters are quite well-done, especially Dr. MacPherson, the kind, sometimes gruff bagpiping ship's surgeon who becomes Patricia's husband.
This is definitely a book for high school readers, as there are many references to prostitution, sex, birth control, and lots of graphic details about the illnesses and injuries Patricia has to deal with. (I never need to read the words "bloody flux" again!)Overall, a good historical story with elements of sea-faring and female empowerment.
