35th Challenge Completed!

The Series Challenge: Season 2 was a great incentive for me.  I am now up-to-date in 5 series and have made progress in 2 others - totaling 16 books in 6 months.  I'm very pleased with the outcome of this challenge and hope to continue to advance in all the series I have going, in 2009.

Thank you, Kathrin from Crazy Cozy Murders, for hosting this challenge.

Series Challenge: Season 2 Reads:

Stripped (Freeman)

Eleven on Top (Evanovich)

Twelve Sharp (Evanovich)

Lean Mean Thirteen (Evanovich)

Fearless Fourteen (Evanovich)

The Apprentice (Gerritsen)

The Sinner (Gerritsen)

Odd Hours (Koontz)

The Lost Boy (Pelzer)

A Man Named Dave (Pelzer)

The Privilege of Youth (Pelzer)

A Fatal Grace (Penny)

The Cruelest Month (Penny)

Pardonable Lies (Winspear)

Messenger of Truth (Winspear)

An Incomplete Revenge (Winspear)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

The Lost Boy (Pelzer)

Least Favorite:

Lean Mean Thirteen (Evanovich)

34th Challenge Completed!

This challenge was created due to my lack of Agatha Christie reads.  I thought this would be a good jump start to further adventures.  While I only read 2 books and the rest were short stories, I do feel like I have had a decent introduction to Agatha Christie's mysteries.  I am not enthralled with her work, but I did enjoy what I read.

Anything Agatha Challenge Reads:

The Tuesday Night Club (Short Story)

The Idol House of Astarte (Short Story)

Ingots of Gold (Short Story)

And Then There Were None (Novel)

Murder on the Orient Express (Novel)

The Bloodstained Pavement (Short Story)

Motive V. Opportunity (Short Story)

The Thumbmark of Saint Peter (Short Story)

Blue Geranium (Short Story)

The Companion (Short Story)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

The Tuesday Night Club (Short Story)

Least Favorite:

The Companion (Short Story)

(only because I had to reread a little)

33rd Challenge Completed!

This was a fun challenge for me.  I did not join it last year because I didn't think I knew any Canadian authors, so I didn't pursue it.  Using the book lists from last year's challenge, I was able to come up with ample books to choose from for this year.  My ratings ranged from 1.5 to 4.25, meaning my pleasure varied; however, that's not an indication of my overall feelings towards the challenge.  I actually had a very good time gathering and reading books by many new-to-me Canadian authors, several of which I plan to continue with their series.

I have one confession to make - I sort of wimped out at the end.  I did not plan it this way, but my last three books are short graphic novels all by the same author.  Once I became aware of the books, I was going to count the three of them as one (trilogy).  BUT, after further thought, I decided it was legit and I'm calling the Canadian Challenge completed!     

Thank you John from The Book Mine Set for hosting this challenge.

The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge Reads:

Anne of Avonlea (Montgomery)

Charley's Web (Fielding)

The Penelopiad (Atwood)

Gallows View (Robinson)

Runaway (Munro)

Moral Disorders and Other Stories (Atwood)

The Cruelest Month (Penny)

Hate You (McNamee)

Forty Words for Sorrow (Blunt)

Bad City Bad Blood (Chercover)

Griffin & Sabine (Bantock)

Sabine's Notebook (Bantock)

The Golden Mean (Bantock)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

The Cruelest Month(Penny)

Least Favorite:

Penelopiad (Atwood)

THE TRANSLATOR: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur & 32nd Challenge Completed!

Author:  Daoud Hari

Genre:  Memoir

Published:  2008

Personal Rating:  4/5

Yearly Count:  129

The following is taken from the dust jacket:

Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman, grew up in a village in the Darfur region of Sudan.  As a child he saw colorful weddings, raced his camels across the desert, and played games in the moonlight after his work was done.  In 2003, this traditional life was shattered when helicopter gunships appeared over Darfur's villages, followed by Sudanese-government-backed militia groups attacking on horseback, raping and murdering citizens and burning villages.  Ancient hatreds and greed for natural resources had collided, and the conflagration spread.

Though Hari’s village was attacked and destroyed his family decimated and dispersed, he himself escaped. Roaming the battlefield deserts on camels, he and a group of his friends helped survivors find food, water, and the way to safety. When international aid groups and reporters arrived, Hari offered his services as a translator and guide. In doing so, he risked his life again and again, for the government of Sudan had outlawed journalists in the region, and death was the punishment for those who aided the “foreign spies.” And then, inevitably, his luck ran out and he was captured . . . . 

The Translator tells the remarkable story of a man who came face-to-face with genocide – time and again risking his own life to fight injustice and save his people.

The atrocity of a genocide is well beyond what I could have imagined. Daoud Hari's perspective educated me as he described his inside view of the brutality taking place.  The inhumane acts continue to be performed on a daily basis.  It's cruel and heart-breaking, and most of all . . . unnecessary.  Read The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur, I guarantee that you will learn something.

32nd Challenge Completed!

*I read this book for the Reading & Blogging for Darfur Campaign that was hosted by Natasha at Maw Books during the month of September, 2008.  Thank you, Natasha, for bringing this to my attention.

31st Challenge Completed!

The second round of Book Awards proved to be a wonderful challenge for me.  I read all Newbery Award winners for the 2007-8 Challenge, but this time around the challenge required that there be 5 different awards included in your choices.  With the exceptional lists provided on the Book Awards II Challenge site for eligible books, I was able to gather up numerous possibilities.        

Thank you 3M from 1MoreChapter for hosting this challenge.

Book Awards II Challenge Reads:

The Spellman Files (Lutz)

Persepolis (Satrapi)

B is for Burglar (Grafton)

Flowers for Algernon (Keyes)

Last Days of Summer (Kluger)

Murphy's Law (Bowen)

Year of Wonders (Brooks)

The Chatham School Affair (Cook)

The God of Animals (Kyle)

Runaway (Munro)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

Last Days of Summer (Kluger)

Least Favorite:

Spellman Files (Lutz)

30th Challenge Completed!

I have a mile long list of "2nds" that I'd like to pick up, so this challenge was a breeze to complete.  My plan is to continue working on that list during 2008, but I will certainly devote more time to it in 2009.

2nds Challenge Reads:

Persepolis 2:  The Story of a Return (Satrapi)

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Gilman)

The Truth About Forever (Dessen)

The Chatham School Affair (Cook)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

Persepolis 2 (Satrapi)

Least Favorite:

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Gilman)

(which was still okay)

29th Challenge Completed!

I am so glad that I joined this challenge!  My interest in short stories has always been on the surface and this gave me a sound reason (and encouragement) to jump in.  It's been a slow start, but my interest has grown.   Since this challenge began, I have purchased several collections of short stories and have seen several others that I am interested in, so I feel well-prepared and well-stocked to continue reading a short story from time to time.

Thank you Kate from Kate's Book Blog for hosting this challenge.

The Short Story Reading Challenge Reads:

Awaiting Orders (Wolff)

The Tuesday Night Club (Christie)

The Idol House of Astarte (Christie)

The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe)

Ingots of Gold (Christie)

Runaway (Munro)

Chance (Munro)

The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman)

He (Porter)

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (Hemingway)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman)

Least Favorite:

Ingots of Gold (Christie)

28th Challenge Completed!

I love to read books recommended by fellow readers and bloggers - this challenge focused on just that!  I happened to choose books that were published in 1992, 2001 and 2008.  They were all good and I'm glad to have read them.  Two of them were the first in their series, so I can continue on and on . . . and I think I will.  :)

Thank you Lynne from Lynne's Little Corner of the World for hosting this challenge.

I Heard It Through the Grapevine Challenge Read:

The House at Riverton (Morton)

Thyme of Death (Albert)

Murphy's Law (Bowen) 

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

Murphy's Law (Bowen)   

27th Challenge Completed!

The Reading Full Circle Challenge was created from observing the titles of the books on my TBR list.  Seeing the repetitive words in their titles, I decided to connect them via those individual words.  It ended up being a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but it was a lot of fun coming up with my final list.  

Reading Full Circle Challenge Reads:

A Child Called "It" (Pelzer)

Still Life (Penny)

A Thousand Bones (Parrish)

Life As We Knew It (Pfeffer)

Still Summer (Mitchard)

Book of a Thousand Days (Hale)

Last Days of Summer (Kluger)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

  

Favorites:

A Child Called "It" (Pelzer)

Last Days of Summer (Kluger)

Least Favorite:

Book of a Thousand Days (Hale)

25th & 26th Challenge Completed!

TWO CHALLENGES IN ONE!

As I continue in my quest to finish up challenges, I decided to go ahead and complete these two.  I combined both of these challenges by celebrating an author's birthday by reading one of their young readers book.  The books I chose have been by authors that I have wanted to read and for the most part enjoyed doing so.  

Thank you Becky from Becky's Book Reviews for hosting these challenges.

Celebrate the Author & Young Reader Challenge Reads:

Winnie-the-Pooh (Milne)

My Mama Says . . . (Viorst)

Koala Lou (Fox)

The X-ed Out X-Ray (Roy)

Puff the Magic Dragon (Yarrow)

Zathura (Van Allsburg)

Thank You, Mr. Falker (Polacco)

Choo Choo (Burton)

Big Anthony and the Magic Ring (de Paola)

Russell's Secret (Hurwitz)

Arthur Meets the President (Brown)

My Red Balloon (Bunting)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

Winnie-the-Pooh (Milne)

Least Favorite:

Puff the Magic Dragon (Yarrow)

24th Challenge Completed!

It's done!  The TBR Challenge is now completed.  This was the perfect challenge to actually get to some of those books that I have put on the back shelf for way too long.  I read 8 books from my main list and 4 books from my alternate list.  Most, if not all, were chosen to be read at times when they would coincide with other challenges.  That worked out very well.   However, as usual, there were some books that were better than others, but in the long run, I am happy to have read them all.   

Thank you MizB from MizB's Book Reviews for hosting this challenge.

TBR Challenge Reads:

1.  A Child Called "It" (Pelzer)

2.  The Bluest Eye (Morrison)

3.  The Monkey's Raincoat (Crais)

4.  Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery)

5.  The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Gilman)

6.  New Moon (Meyer)

7.  If I Am Missing or Dead (Latus)

8.  The Nazi Officer's Wife (Beer)

9.  Naked in Death (Robb)*

10.  Atonement (McEwan)*

11.  Booked to Die (Dunning)*

12.  Gallows View (Robinson)*

*Alternates

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

 Favorites:

A Child Called "It" (Pelzer)

The Nazi Officer's Wife (Beer)

Least Favorites:

The Bluest Eye (Morrison)

Atonement (McEwan)

23rd Challenge Completed!

My reading reigned the medical genre this month of August.  It was mainly due to the availability of my book choices from the library that guided these reads, and for the most part I was pleased with the results.

Thank you Twiga92 from Journey to the End of the TBR Pile for hosting this challenge.

Medical Mystery Madness Challenge Reads:

The Apprentice (Gerritsen)

Carved in Bone (Bass)

Projection (Ablow)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

Tie:  The Apprentice (Gerritsen) & Carved in Bone (Bass)

Least Favorite:

Projection (Ablow)

22nd Challenge Completed!

Wow!  I am happy-happy!  After all my grumbling (I really tried to keep it in check), I am thrilled with the outcome of this challenge.  I was able to cross off many books from my TBR list that I was afraid to tackle (I suffer from classic-phobia).  This time around my personal ratings averaged a 3.9 with 6 books.  I consider that a huge success!

Thank you Trish from Trish's Reading Nook for hosting this challenge.

Classics Challenge Reads:

Anne of Avonlea (Montgomery)

*The Remains of the Day (Ishiguro)

Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)

The Bell Jar (Plath)

Flowers for Algernon (Keyes)

Travels with Charley (Steinbeck)

*Classic Wannabe Extra

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)

Least Favorite:

Travels with Charley (Steinbeck)

21st Challenge Completed!

While "Chick Lit" is not a favorite genre of mine, I have to admit that picking one up here and there is good for my reading diet.  I'm really glad I joined this challenge to remind me of that very fact.  Something Borrowed (Giffin), which I really enjoyed, most likely would not have been read, had it not been for this challenge.   Every now and again, I will have to throw a chick lit book in just for good measure.

Thank you Twiga from Journey to the End of the TBR Pile for hosting this challenge!

Chick Lit Challenge Reads:

Eleven on Top (Evanovich)

Something Borrowed (Giffin)

The Spellman Files (Lutz)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

20th Challenge Completed!

Woo Hoo!!!  This year has provided me with the opportunity to listen and read and listen some more to books that I have had on one list or another.  Today I actually reached 100!  (And, yes, I have listened to more books than I have read.)  It's been a lot of fun watching my yearly count go up and up, and there's still many more months left in the year.  I have no goal for my yearly total, but it'll be fun to see where I end up.

Thank you J. Kaye from J. Kaye's Book Blog for hosting this challenge!

100+ Reading Challenge Reads:

You can see my list here.

Favorites:

Best Reads of 2008

(located on the left sidebar)

Least Favorites:

The Year of Fog (Richmond)

Elsewhere (Zevin)

The Gathering (Enright)

Puff the Magic Dragon (Yarrow)

Reconstruction (Herron)

The House at Pooh Corner (Milne)

The Widow (Neggers)

19th Challenge Completed!

This year's Notable Book Challenge was an expanded version of the NYT Notable Book Challenge of last year.  Many lists of books were available for the choosing and there was no minimum book requirement.  I, once again, chose 6 books - all being Young Adult, except one.  My original intent was not to read all YA, but that's how it evolved.  Rating wise, this turned out to be a pretty successful challenge.

Thank you Wendy from Notable Books for hosting this challenge!

Notable Book Challenge Reads:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Selznick)

2007 Publisher's Weekly Best Books

The Gathering (Enright)

2007 NYT Most Notable

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Kenney)

2007 Publisher's Weekly Best Books

The Boy in Striped Pajamas (Boyne)

2007 International Reading Association Notable Books

Sold (McCormick)

2007 International Reading Association Notable Books

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie)

2007 Publisher's Weekly Best Books

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

Sold (McCormick)

Least Favorite:

The Gathering (Enright)

18th Challenge Completed!

The Man Booker Challenge was one that gave its participants the freedom to choose how many books they wanted to read during the year.  I chose 6.  My choices ended up running the whole gamut of my rating scale rendering this challenge an interesting one.

Thank you Dewey from The Hidden Side of a Leaf for hosting this challenge!

Man Book Challenge Reads:

The Other Side of the Bridge (Lawson) ~ 2006 Longlist

The God of Small Things (Roy) ~ 1997 Winner

The Gathering (Enright) ~ 2007 Winner

The Atonement (McEwan) ~ 2001 Shortlist

The Remains of the Day (Ishiguro) ~ 1989 Winner

Purple Hibiscus (Adichie) ~ 2004 Longlist

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

The Other Side of the Bridge (Lawson)

Least Favorite:

The Gathering (Enright)

17th Challenge Completed!

This was a big challenge and one that I'm happy to have completed. There were only a few letters that I had trouble filling, but other than that, it went smoothly.

A ~ Z Reading Challenge Reads:

Author & Title Lists

Ratings - Tally

5 - 1

Total 5's - 1

4.75 - 2

4.5 - 5

4.25 - 2

4 - 11

Total 4's - 20

3.75 - 8

3.5 - 5

3.25 - 1

3 - 6

Total 3's - 20

2.75 - 3

2.5 - 1

2.25 - 1

2 - 5

Total 2's - 10

1.75 - 0

1.5 - 0

1.25 - 0

1 - 1

Total 1's - 1

Well . . . these categories are well defined! lol I'm astounded as to how the tally turned out. Very cool.

Favorite:

At this point in time, I would not consider this my only favorite read. However, at the time it was read, it was a 5!

The Lost Boy (Pelzer)

Least Favorite:

The Gathering (Enright)

16th Challenge Completed!

This was such a successful challenge for me - I loved all my choices! I hope I get back to reading more non-fiction as the year progresses.

Non-Fiction Five Challenge Reads:

1. The Borden Tragedy (Geary)
2. A Walk in the Woods (Bryson)
*3. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale - My Father Bleeds History (Spiegelman)
4. The Lost Boy (Pelzer)
*5. Maus II: A Survivor's Tale - And Here My Troubles Began (Spiegelman)
6. Emotional Blackmail (Forward)

*Only 5 books were required, but I considered Maus I and Maus II as one book for this challenge.

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

(they were all terrific reads, however, this is

the only one that received a 5/5)

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale - And Here My Troubles Began (Spiegelman)

15th Challenge Completed!

I completed my personal goal (no specified number required for the challenge) at the end of June by reading 10 memoirs. Memoirs is one of my favorite genres, so this challenge fit nicely into my desired reading choices. As I was making up my possibilities list, I discovered many others that I have added on my TBR list and look forward to reading them.

Thank you N. Vasillis from In Their Shoes for hosting this challenge!

In Their Shoes Challenge Reads:

The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival (Alpert)
The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust (Beer)
If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation (Latus)
A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive (Pelzer)
My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud (Clash)
Blankets (Thompson)
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Bryson)
The Lost Boy (Pelzer)

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)

Here's my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorites:

The Nazi Officer's Wife (Beer)

A Child Called "It" (Pelzer)

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)

Least Favorites:

(these were still okay/good reads)

The Birthday Party (Alpert)

If I Am Missing or Dead (Latus)

My Life as a Furry Red Monster (Clash)