My Reading Challenges

Challenge Index: Current Challenges

2013-01-04T00:00:00.011-05:00

Here are the links to the individual listings for each of my current challenges
(** = challenges that are completed but have no wrap-up posts as yet):

12 in 12 Category Challenge at Library Thing (2012)
50 Book Challenge at Library Thing (2012)
1st in a Series Challenge 2012
Banned Books Project (ongoing)
Battle of the Prizes 2011: British Version
Books in Translation Reading Challenge 2012
Books of the Century (Perpetual) Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2012
Historical Fiction Challenge 2012
Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2012
Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge 2012
New Author Challenge 2012
Off the Shelf Challenge 2012
Reading Challenge Addict 2011
Reading the 90s Personal Challenge (ongoing)
What's in a Name 5 (2012)
P.G. Wodehouse Challenge (2011-2013)
INDEX to Completed Challenges

Books in Translation Reading Challenge 2012

2012-01-18T14:22:00.000-05:00

Hosted by: The Introverted Reader
Dates: 7 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

The challenge goal is to read any book that's been translated from its original language into another language that you're comfortable reading.
Any genre, format, or age range is accepted.
Crossovers with other challenges are OK.
You don't need a blog to participate; link up through Good Reads, Library Thing, etc.

Levels:

Beginner: Read 1-3 books in translation
Conversationalist: 4-6
Bilingual: 7-9
Linguist: 10-12

✷ I'm signing up at the "Conversationalist" level, so I'll be reading 4-6 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews)

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

Buddenbrooks. Thomas Mann
The Castle. Franz Kafka
Chess Story. Stefan Zweig
The Double. Jose Saramago
Farewell Waltz. Milan Kundera
If on a winter's night a traveler. Italo Calvino
Ignorance. Milan Kundera
Invisible Cities. Italo Calvino
Last Year at Marienbad. Alain Robbe-Grillet
Skylark. Kosztolanyi Dezso
Steppenwolf. Hermann Hesse
The Trial. Franz Kafka

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2012

2012-01-06T18:32:00.003-05:00

Hosted by: Historical Tapestry
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

Anyone can join, and you don't need a blog to participate.
Any kind of historical fiction is accepted.
There will be a monthly link-up for reviews.

Levels:

Severe Bookaholism: 20 books
Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books
Struggling the Addiction: 10 books
Daring & Curious: 5 books
Out of My Comfort Zone: 2 books

✸ I'm signing up at Level 4 ("Daring & Curious"), so I'll be reading at least 5 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

The House at Riverton. Kate Morton (reading now)

What's in a Name 5

2012-01-02T18:34:00.009-05:00

Hosted by: Beth Fish Reads
Dates: 1 January to 31 December, 2012

The idea of the challenge is to read one book in each of the following categories:

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title
A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title
A book with a creepy crawly in the title
A book with a type of house in the title
A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title
A book with something you'd find on a calendar in the title

Other Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
Books may overlap other challenges.
Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.
See the Gateway to Challenge Links here.

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

Category 1:
Category 2:
Category 3: Spiderweb. Penelope Lively (See Review)
Category 4: The House at Riverton. Kate Morton (reading now)
Category 5:
Category 6:

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

Category 1:
~ She Walks These Hills. Sharyn McCrumb
~ Tyrannosaur Canyon. Douglas Preston

Category 2:
~ The Evening Star. Larry McMurtry
~ A Fall of Moondust. Arthur C. Clarke
~ The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
~ A Patchwork Planet. Anne Tyler
~ Ring Around the Sun. Clifford D. Simak

Category 4:
~ Iron House. John Hart
~ Rose Cottage. Mary Stewart

Category 5:
~ Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
~ The Glass Key. Dashiell Hammett

Category 6:
~ 11/22/63. Stephen King
~ The Man Who Was Thursday. G.K. Chesterton
~ A Month in the Country. J.L. Carr
~ The September Society. Charles Finch
~ Three Junes. Julia Glass

Off the Shelf Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T18:04:00.024-05:00

Hosted by: Bookish Ardour
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

"This challenge is to read those books you own a copy of, print, digital, and audio, you have been meaning to read, but never gotten to. If you don’t own enough books for the challenge you can read your TBR list instead. And no, you do not need to get rid of your books afterwards, that’s completely your choice, this challenge is only to read them." (quoted from the challenge announcement page)

Guidelines:

Only books acquired (or listed) before 2012 are eligible.
Sign up until the last two weeks of December 2012.
Any genre is allowed.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
You can change levels at any time.
eBooks, short stories, and graphic novels are allowed.
You don’t need a blog to join in.
There will be a link for reviews.

Challenge levels:

Tempted– Choose 5 books to read
Trying – Choose 15 books to read
Making A Dint – Choose 30 books to read
On A Roll – Choose 50 books to read
Flying Off – Choose 75 books to read
Hoarder – Choose between 76-135 books to read
Buried – Choose between 136-200 books to read

✸ I'm signing up at the "Trying" level, and will be reading 15 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the link for reviews here.

MY READING LIST (books read with links to reviews):

Spiderweb. Penelope Lively
The Players Come Again. Amanda Cross
The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
Liberty. Garrison Keillor
The House at Riverton. Kate Morton (reading now)

POSSIBLE CHOICES (Fiction):

Afternoon Men. Anthony Powell
The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler
Buddenbrooks. Thomas Mann
The Circular Staircase. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Cranford. Elizabeth Gaskell
Death of a Hollow Man. Caroline Graham
The Debut. Anita Brookner
English Music. Peter Ackroyd
Flaubert's Parrot. Julian Barnes
The Forgery of Venus. Michael Gruber
The Geographer's Library. Jon Fasman
Heroic Measures. Jill Ciment
If on a winter's night a traveler. Italo Calvino
Inkheart. Cornelia Funke
~~The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman~~
Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte
July and August. Nancy Clark
Lethal Legacy. Linda Fairstein
~~Liberty. Garrison Keillor~~
Loop Group. Larry McMurtry
Los Alamos. Joseph Kanon
The Mists of Avalon. Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
The Pale Horse. Agatha Christie
Providence. Anita Brookner
The Saint Bids Diamonds. Leslie Charteris
The Secret Adversary. Agatha Christie
The Sign of the Book. John Dunning
Silver on the Tree. Susan Cooper
Three Junes. Julia Glass
Travels with My Aunt. Graham Greene
The Warden. Anthony Trollope
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Alan Bradley

POSSIBLE CHOICES (non-fiction):

Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
A Gentle Madness. Nicholas A. Basbanes
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote
Just Kids. Patti Smith
Manhattan '45. Jan Morris
The Pattern in the Carpet. Margaret Drabble
The Year of Magical Thinking. Joan Didion

New Author Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T17:47:00.005-05:00

Hosted by: Jackie at Literary Escapism
Dates: 1 January through 31 December, 2012

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.
Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies.
You can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors....If you reach your goal halfway through the year, don’t stop. Any new author you try can be added to Mr. Linky.
After reading your new author, write your review and then come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky. Make sure you include your name and the author, but adding the title is completely up to you.
Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome. You don’t have to have a site to participate. You can link up via Facebook, GoodReads or even Amazon if you’d like.

✸ I'm going to commit to 15 new authors, but hope to do a little better than that.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

Chris Bohjalian: The Night Strangers

Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T17:34:00.001-05:00

Hosted by: Book Chick City
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

No need to select books ahead of time.
If you do make a list, it can be changed.
Crossovers with other challenges are OK.
Join at any time. All books read in 2012 count towards the challenge, no matter when you sign up.
There will be a monthly link for reviews.
Audiobooks don't count, but all other formats are OK.
You don't need a blog to join in.
See the list of sub-genres to choose from.

Choose from two levels for the challenge:

Read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2012
Read TWENTY FOUR (24) mystery & suspense novels in 2012

✸ I'm signing up at the first level, and will read 12 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (books read with links to reviews):

The Night Strangers. Chris Bohjalian
~ Supernatural Thriller Category

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T16:59:00.014-05:00

Hosted by: Bev @ My Reader's Block
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

Choose your level. Once you choose, you must complete at least that many books (more is OK, too).
Sign up anytime from now until 30 November 2012.
Books read must be books owned by you prior to 1 January 2012. No books acquired after that date; no ARCs; no library books; no re-reads.
Books may overlap with other challenges.
You can make a book list in advance, or just list them as you read them.
A blog is not required to participate.
There will be a quarterly check-in post for reviews.

Challenge Levels:

Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 25 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 40 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 50 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100+ books from your TBR pile/s

✸ I'm signing up at the Pike's Peak level, and will be reading at least 12 books from my TBR pile.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (books read):

Spiderweb. Penelope Lively
The Players Come Again. Amanda Cross
The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
Liberty. Garrison Keillor
The Children's Book. A.S. Byatt (reading now)
The House at Riverton. Kate Morton (reading now)

POSSIBLE CHOICES (Fiction):

Afternoon Men. Anthony Powell
The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler
Buddenbrooks. Thomas Mann
The Circular Staircase. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Cranford. Elizabeth Gaskell
Death of a Hollow Man. Caroline Graham
The Debut. Anita Brookner
English Music. Peter Ackroyd
Flaubert's Parrot. Julian Barnes
The Forgery of Venus. Michael Gruber
The Geographer's Library. Jon Fasman
Heroic Measures. Jill Ciment
If on a winter's night a traveler. Italo Calvino
Inkheart. Cornelia Funke
~~The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman~~
Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte
July and August. Nancy Clark
Lethal Legacy. Linda Fairstein
~~Liberty. Garrison Keillor~~
Loop Group. Larry McMurtry
Los Alamos. Joseph Kanon
The Mists of Avalon. Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
The Pale Horse. Agatha Christie
Providence. Anita Brookner
The Saint Bids Diamonds. Leslie Charteris
The Secret Adversary. Agatha Christie
The Sign of the Book. John Dunning
Silver on the Tree. Susan Cooper
Three Junes. Julia Glass
Travels with My Aunt. Graham Greene
The Warden. Anthony Trollope
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Alan Bradley

POSSIBLE CHOICES (non-fiction):

Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
A Gentle Madness. Nicholas A. Basbanes
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote
Just Kids. Patti Smith
Manhattan '45. Jan Morris
The Pattern in the Carpet. Margaret Drabble
The Year of Magical Thinking. Joan Didion

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T16:45:00.001-05:00

Hosted by: Yvonne (Socrates' Book Reviews)
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines (quoted from the announcement/sign-up page):

All books that are part of a continuing series qualify
It doesn't matter if you have 1 or 10 books in a series to complete it, it qualifies....The goal is to complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book.
The qualification period is January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Books must be read during this time frame to count.
Any format of book counts - audio, ebook, etc.
You should choose the series you want to finish before the challenge begins, but it isn't necessary. It's fine to change series during the year - as long as you complete whichever series it is.

There are three levels to choose from:

Level 1 - Complete 1 series.
Level 2 - Complete 2 series.
Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

✸ I'm signing up at Level 1, and I'll be trying to finish up the Mrs. Malory mystery series by Hazel Holt (three books left to read).

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST:

1st in a Series Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T15:55:00.000-05:00

Hosted by: Katy (A Few More Pages)
Dates: 1 January through 31 December, 2012

Guidelines (quoted from the announcement/sign-up page):

Anyone can join. You don’t need a blog to participate.
You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you. Any genre counts. Any book format counts.
A post will be created here where you can link-up your reviews and visit the reviews of other participants.

There are four levels for this challenge:

Series Novice: Read 3 books that are the first in any series.
Series Lover: Read 6 books that are the first in any series.
Series Expert: Read 12 books that are the first in any series.
Series Fanatic: Read 20 books that are the first in any series.

✸ I'm signing up at the "Series Novice" level, and will be reading 3 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler (first Philip Marlowe novel)
Fer-de-Lance. Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe)
Last Bus to Woodstock. Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse series)
A Man Lay Dead. Ngaio Marsh (Albert Campion series)
Relic. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Pendergast series)
The Warden. Anthony Trollope (Chronicles of Barsetshire)

Reading Challenge Addict Challenge 2011

2012-01-01T18:07:00.009-05:00

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Hosts: Cheryl @ CMash Loves to Read, Gina @ Hott Books

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

Write a starting post joining the challenge and outlining your challenges.
Track all of your challenge accomplishments - good & bad.
Stop by to join Gina and Cheryl in the mini-challenges, updates & extra giveaways throughout the year.

Levels of participation:

Easy as Pie: 1-5 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
On the Roof: 6-10 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
In Flight: 11-15 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
Out of This World: 16+ Challenges (Entered & Completed)

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge sign-up page here.
See the challenge blog here.

My 2011 Challenges:

1st in a Series Challenge 2011
2nds Challenge 2011
Alex Cross Reading Challenge (2011)
ARC Reading Challenge 2011
Aussie Authors Challenge 2011
Awesome Author Challenge 2011
Banned Books Project (ongoing)
Battle of the Prizes 2011: British Version
Book Awards Challenge V (2011)
Books of the Century (Perpetual) Challenge
Cruisin' thru the Cozies Challenge 2011
Fall Into Reading 2011
Historical Fiction Challenge 2011
Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2011
New Authors Challenge 2011
Off the Shelf Challenge 2011
Once Upon a Time V Challenge (2011)
Pub Challenge 2011
Reading the 90s Personal Challenge
RIP/VI Challenge (2011)
TBR Lite Challenge 2011
Themed Reading Challenge 2011
Vintage Mystery Challenge 2011
What's in a Name 4 Challenge (2011)
P.G. Wodehouse Challenge (2011-2013)

Fall Into Reading 2011

2011-09-26T16:05:00.028-04:00

**Challenge complete.**

Dates: 23 September through 21 December 2011
Hosted by: Katrina at Callapidder Days

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge website):

Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this fall. Your list can be as long or as short as you’d like.
Write a blog post containing your list and submit it to this post....
Get reading! The challenge goes from September 23rd through December 21st.
Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile, if you wish!
Write a post about your challenge experience in December, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how Fall Into Reading went for you.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY BOOK LIST (with links to reviews) :

The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Mrs. Malory and A Time to Die. Hazel Holt
Episode of the Wandering Knife. Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Killings at Badger's Drift. Caroline Graham
Third Girl. Agatha Christie
Hallowe'en Party. Agatha Christie
Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie
The Seance. John Harwood
Literary Brooklyn. Evan Hughes
My Brilliant Career. Miles Franklin
Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life. Martin Meredith
The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes
Bid Time Return (aka: Somewhere in Time). Richard Matheson
Staying On. Paul Scott
Alice I Have Been. Melanie Benjamin
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II. Philip Eade

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge VI

2011-09-18T14:30:00.014-04:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: September 1 through October 31, 2011
Hosted by: Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings

Guidelines:

✸ There are several different levels of participation:

Peril the First: Read four books of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Peril the Second: Read two books of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Peril the Third: Read one book of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Peril of the Short Story: An extra option, for those who want to read shorter works.
Peril on the Screen: Another extra option, for those who like to watch scary or suspenseful fare on the large or small screen.
Peril of the Group Read: A third extra -- there will be several group reads during the challenge. See announcement page for info.

✸ Choose your books from the following subgenres:

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic
Horror
Supernatural

See my original post about the Challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the Challenge announcement page here.
See the Challenge review page here.

I signed up at the Peril the First level (four books), and combined that with Peril on the Screen.

MY BOOK LIST (books read; with links to reviews):

The Winter Ghosts. Kate Mosse
Quiet as a Nun. Antonia Fraser
Mrs. Malory and A Time To Die. Hazel Holt
The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Episode of the Wandering Knife. Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Killings at Badger's Drift. Caroline Graham
Third Girl. Agatha Christie
Hallowe'en Party. Agatha Christie

MY SCREEN PERIL LIST (movies/TV shows watched; didn't review any of these):

Case Histories: Episode 1 (TV series; 2011)
Case Histories: Episode 2 (TV series; 2011)
Case Histories: Episode 3 (TV series; 2011)
The Five Red Herrings (Lord Peter Wimsey): Episodes 1-4 (TV mini-series; 1975)
Inspector Lewis: Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things (TV series; 2011)
Inspector Lewis: And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea (TV series; 2008)
Inspector Lewis: Wild Justice (TV series; 2011)
Inspector Lewis: The Gift of Promise (TV series; 2011)
Inspector Morse: Ghost in the Machine (TV series; 1989)
Midsomer Murders: The Killings at Badger's Drift (TV series; 1997)
Midsomer Murders: Written in Blood (TV series; 1998)
After the Thin Man (film; 1936)
The Big Clock (film; 1948)
The Black Room (film; 1935)
The Evil of Frankenstein (film; 1964)
The Innocents (film; 1961)
In the Mouth of Madness (film; 1994)
It! The Terror from Beyond Space (film; 1958)
The Thirteenth Floor (film; 1999)
The Tingler (film; 1959)
The Uninvited (film; 1944)

Once Upon A Time V Challenge

2011-05-01T11:35:00.010-04:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 21 March to 22 June, 2011
Host: Carl V @ Stainless Steel Droppings

Guidelines:

Readings should come from these four genres: fantasy, fairy tale, folklore and mythology.
Participants can choose one or more of the following levels (or Quests).

The Journey - Read at least one book from any of the four genres. No need to commit to any set number of books.
Quest the First - Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time III 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.
Quest the Second - Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology.
Quest the Third - Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR a viewing of one of the many theatrical versions of the play.
Quest the Fourth - Read two non-fiction books, essay collections, etc. that treat any one or more of the four genres covered in this challenge.
Short Story Quest - This quest involves the reading of one or more short stories that fit within at least one of the four genres during the course of the weekend. Ideally you would post about your short story readings on Sundays or Mondays, but this is not strictly necessary.
Quest on the Screen - To participate in this quest simply let the other participants know about the films and/or television shows that you feel fit into the definitions of fantasy, fairy tales, folklore or mythology that you are enjoying during the challenge.

See my original post about the Challenge here.
See the Challenge Announcement page here.
See the Challenge Review page here.

✸ I'm joining the Challenge at the Journey level, although I'm hoping to manage more than one book; my reading will most likely be from the fantasy genre. And this year I'm going to try to participate in the Screen Quest as well.

MY READING LIST

Cynthia's Attic: The Missing Locket. Mary Cunningham (Review to come)

MY VIEWING LIST

2011 Battle of the Prizes: British Version

2011-02-27T14:51:00.010-05:00

Dates: 1 February 2011 - 31 January 2012
Host: Rose City Reader

Guidelines:

Choose from two reading options:

Option One:
Choose three books that you have not read before:

1) One that won both the Booker and the James Tait Black prizes (see the list of "double-dippers").
2) One that won the Booker Prize (but not the James Tait Black Prize).
3) One that won the James Tait Black Prize (but not the Booker).

Option Two:
For those who have already read all three of the double-dippers, or otherwise do not want to read one of those three, pick two Booker winners and two James Tait Black winners for a total of four books.
Challenge rules:
1) Read all books between February 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012.
Books don't have to be chosen ahead of time; and choices can be changed at any time.
2) Overlap with other challenges is allowed.
3) Reviews are not necessary, but encouraged. If you do not have a blog, put your reviews or reports in a comment on the announcement post.

✸ I'll probably be choosing Option Two, since I'm not really interested in any of the "double dippers."

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.
See the list of Booker winners here.
See the list of James Tait Black winners here.

MY READING LIST:

The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes (2011 Man Booker)
Staying On. Paul Scott (1977 Man Booker)
The Children's Book. A.S. Byatt (2009 James Tait Black; reading now)

Book Awards Challenge V

2011-02-27T14:27:00.008-05:00

**Challenge ended.**

Dates: 1 February - 1 December 2011
Host: 3M (Michelle) @ 1 More Chapter

Guidelines:

Read 5 books from 5 different awards during the period from February 1 through December 1, 2011. (See the announcement page for a list of eligible book awards to choose from.)
Overlaps with other challenges are permitted.
Choices don't have to be posted right away, and lists may be changed at any time.
'Award winners' is loosely defined; make the challenge fit your needs.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.
See the list of awards to choose from here.
See the Mr. Linky page for reviews here.

MY READING LIST (only managed three out of the five books for this one):

A Visit from the Goon Squad. Jennifer Egan (2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
Bid Time Return. Richard Matheson (1976 World Fantasy Award, Best Novel)
The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes (2011 Man Booker Prize)

2011 Pub Challenge

2011-02-27T14:10:00.022-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: 3M (Michelle) @ 1 More Chapter

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

Read a minimum of 11 books first published in 2011. You don’t have to buy these. Library books, unabridged audios, or ARCs are all acceptable. To qualify as being first published in 2011, it must be the first time that the book is published in your own country. For example, if a book was published in Australia, England, or Canada in 2010, and then published in the USA in 2011, it counts (if you live in the USA). Newly published trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks do not count if there has been a hardcover/trade published before 2011.
At least 6 titles must be fiction.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.
See the review page for January/February reviews here.

MY READING LIST (with links to reviews):

The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead. Paul Elwork (fiction)
The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady. Elizabeth Stuckey-French (fiction)
Art and Madness. Anne Roiphe (nonfiction)
Mr. Chartwell. Rebecca Hunt (fiction)
Tassy Morgan's Bluff. Jim Stinson (fiction)
Shut Your Eyes Tight. John Verdon (fiction)
Nat Tate. William Boyd (fiction)
The Brothers of Baker Street. Michael Robertson (fiction)
The Fatal Touch. Conor Fitzgerald (fiction)
The Winter Ghosts. Kate Mosse (fiction; American edition published 2011)
Literary Brooklyn. Evan Hughes (nonfiction)
Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life. Martin Meredith (nonfiction)
The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes (fiction)

Themed Reading Challenge 2011

2011-02-27T13:51:00.013-05:00

**Challenge ended.**

Dates: 15 February - 15 August 2011
Host: Teddy Rose @ So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

This is a six month challenge designed to help readers clear books from their to-be-read stacks which center around a common theme or themes.

Rules:

1. Readers may join at ANY TIME between now and August 15th.
2. Books should be chosen from the reader’s TBR pile (this may be an actual physical pile or a virtual pile).
3. The goal is to read AT LEAST 5 books linked by theme and review them.
4. Overlaps with other challenges are allowed.
5. Readers may change their list of books OR their theme(s) at any time.
Readers may choose from three levels of participation:

1. Read at least 5 books which share the same theme.
2. Read at least 5 books which share TWO themes.
3. Read at least 5 books which share MORE THAN TWO themes.

Themes can be geographic, genre, author, subject matter, or anything in between!

✸ My themes were mystery novels that feature amateur sleuths, written by female authors. The sleuths didn't have to be female -- just the authors. I'm not sure whether my books shared two or three themes, but I signed up at level two. Only got four of the five required books read -- I think I'm just not very good at sticking with a theme.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST:

Whisker of Evil (A Mrs. Murphy Mystery). Rita Mae Brown
Malice in Miniature (A Dorothy Martin Mystery). Jeanne M. Dams
Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy (A Mrs. Malory Mystery). Hazel Holt
Mrs. Malory and A Time to Die (A Mrs. Malory Mystery). Hazel Holt

Aussie Author Challenge 2011

2011-01-04T16:40:00.013-05:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: Joanne @ Booklover Book Reviews

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

Objective: Read and review books written by Australian Authors - physical books, ebooks and audiobooks, fiction and non-fiction!
Challenge Levels:
~ Tourist - Read and review 3 books by 3 different Aussie Authors
~ True Blue - Read and review 12 books by Australian authors (at least 9 different authors)

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.
Find the link for reviews here.

✸ I'm signing up at the "Tourist" level, and will be reading three books.

MY READING LIST (books read):

Picnic at Hanging Rock. Joan Lindsay
The Seance. John Harwood
My Brilliant Career. Miles Franklin

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

Jessica Anderson: The Impersonators (1980)
-----. Tirra Lirra by the River (1978)
Peter Carey: My Life as a Fake (2003)
-----. Oscar and Lucinda (1988)
-----. Parrot and Olivier in America (2009)
Miles Franklin: My Brilliant Career (1901)
Kerry Greenwood: Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher series, #1)
John Harwood: The Ghost Writer (2004)
-----. The Seance (2008)
Shirley Hazzard: The Bay of Noon (1970)
-----. The Great Fire (1980)
-----. The Transit of Venus (1980)
Maggie Joel: The Past and Other Lies (2009)
Elizabeth Jolley: An Innocent Gentleman (2001)
-----. Foxybaby (1985)
-----. Miss Peabody's Inheritance (1983)
-----. The Newspaper of Claremont Street (1988)
-----. The Orchard Thieves (1995)
-----. Palomino (1980)
-----. The Well (1986)
Frank Moorhouse: Grand Days (1993)
Kate Morton: The House at Riverton (2006)
Henry Handel Richardson: The Getting of Wisdom (1910)
Christina Stead: Letty Fox: Her Luck (1946)
-----. The Little Hotel: A Novel (1973)
-----. A Little Tea. A Little Chat (1948)
-----. The Man Who Loved Children (1940)
-----. Miss Herbert: The Suburban Wife (1976)
-----. The People With the Dogs (1952)
Markus Zusak: The Book Thief (2006)

Awesome Author Challenge 2011

2011-01-01T17:10:00.014-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: Alyce of At Home With Books

Guidelines (quoted from the announcement/sign-up page):

Read works from authors that are completely new to you (you haven't read any of their writing before).
Read books that have been recommended by friends, bloggers, or books that have been on your TBR forever because you have heard that the author's writing is fantastic.
Crossover from other challenges is allowed.
Titles and authors do not have to be predetermined, and can change at any time.
Books can come from any genre or reading level, the only requirement is that you have heard great things about the author, but haven't yet read any of their works.
Choose from these Reading Levels:
~ Simply Awesome - 3 to 6 Books
~ Totally Awesome - 6 to 10 Books
~ Blinded By Overexposure to Awesomeness - Over 10 Books

✸ I signed up at the "Simply Awesome" Level, and read 6 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the page for review links here.

MY READING LIST:

Andrew Taylor: The Anatomy of Ghosts
Peter Robinson: Bad Boy
Anne Roiphe: Art and Madness (See Review)
Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad (See Review)
Joan Lindsay: Picnic at Hanging Rock (See Review)
Kate Mosse: The Winter Ghosts

TBR Lite Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T23:55:00.030-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: MizB

Guidelines:

Choose from three reading options (quoted from the announcement page):
Option A: read 6 books in 12 months ~ your list of books CANNOT be changed, but you are allowed to have an “Alternates” list to choose from (like in the Original TBR Challenge).
Option B: read 6 books in 12 months ~ you CAN change your reading list throughout the year
Option C: make up a list of however many books you think you could get read in 12 months, as long as they are from your TBR stack/list, and then read them between January 1st and December 31st. You must have at least 3 books on your list.
Overlapping with other challenges is allowed.
Audiobooks are allowed, and e-Books are allowed, but they must still be books that you’ve wanted to read for three months or more.
You should have a list of books posted somewhere for other participants to see.
You don’t have to read your books in the order you put them on your list.

✸ I signed up for Option B, and ended up reading seventeen books from my TBR list.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge Yahoo group here.

MY READING LIST (with links to reviews):

Knight's Castle. Edward Eager
The Time Garden. Edward Eager
A Shilling for Candles. Josephine Tey
Picnic at Hanging Rock. Joan Lindsay
Whisker of Evil. Rita Mae Brown
Along Came a Spider. James Patterson
Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy. Hazel Holt
Quiet As a Nun. Antonia Fraser
Mrs. Malory and A Time to Die. Hazel Holt
The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Episode of the Wandering Knife. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Third Girl. Agatha Christie
Hallowe'en Party. Agatha Christie
Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie
The Killings at Badger's Drift. Caroline Graham
My Brilliant Career. Miles Franklin
Staying On. Paul Scott

2nds Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T18:45:00.011-05:00

***Challenge complete. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: Katy @ A Few More Pages

Guidelines:

Read books that are either the second book in a series you've started, or just the second book you've read by any author.
Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. You can sign up anytime before December 31, 2011.
You don't need to make a list of books, but if you do, the list can be changed at any time.
Any genre is allowed.
Choose from one of four reading levels:
1) Just a spoonful - Read 3 books that are 2nd in a series or the second time you've read the author.
2) A few more bites - Read 6 books that are 2nd in a series or the second time you've read the author.
3) A full plate - Read 12 books that are 2nd in a series or the second time you've read the author.
4) All you can eat - Read 20 books (or more) that are 2nd in a series or the second time you've read the author.

✸ I'm signing up at the first level ("Just a spoonful"), so I'll be reading at least three books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (Books Read):

A Shilling for Candles. Josephine Tey
Shut Your Eyes Tight. John Verdon
Malice in Miniature. Jeanne M. Dams

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

Death of a Hollow Man. Caroline Graham (2nd Inspector Barnaby novel)
Framed in Lace. Monica Ferris (2nd Needlecraft series novel)
The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
Iron House. John Hart
July and August. Nancy Clark
Last Seen Wearing. Colin Dexter (2nd Inspector Morse novel)
Los Alamos. Joseph Kanon
Miss Zukas and the Library Murders. Jo Dereske
Morality Play. Barry Unsworth
Murder on the Links. Agatha Christie (2nd Poirot novel)
Mystery Mile. Margery Allingham (2nd Campion novel)
Outer Banks. Anne Rivers Siddons
The Players Come Again. Amanda Cross
Prophecy. S.J. Parris
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Alan Bradley

1st in a Series Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T18:30:00.019-05:00

***Challenge Completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: Katy @ A Few More Pages

Guidelines:

Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. You can sign up anytime before December 31, 2011.
You don't need to make a list of books, but if you do, the list can be changed at any time.
Any genre is allowed.
Choose from one of four reading levels:
1) Series Novice: Read 3 books that are the first in any series.
2) Series Lover: Read 6 books that are the first in any series.
3) Series Expert: Read 12 books that are the first in any series.
4) Series Fanatic: Read 20 books that are the first in any series.

✸ I'm signing up at the "Series Novice" level, but hope to read more than three books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my challenge wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (Books Read):

Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross mystery series). James Patterson
Quiet As a Nun (Jemima Shore mystery series). Antonia Fraser
The Killings at Badger's Drift (Inspector Barnaby mystery series). Caroline Graham

LIST OF POSSIBILITIES:

A Great Deliverance (Inspector Lynley series). Elizabeth George
Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross series). James Patterson
A Man Lay Dead (Inspector Alleyn series). Ngaio Marsh
At Home in Mitford (Mitford Years series). Jan Karon
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe novels). Raymond Chandler
Death of a Gossip (Hamish Macbeth mysteries). M.C. Beaton
The Deep Blue Good-by (Travis McGee series). John D. MacDonald
Dolled Up for Murder (Dolls to Die For series). Deb Baker
Fer-de-Lance (Nero Wolfe series). Rex Stout
Fortune Like the Moon (Hawkenlye Mysteries). Alys Clare
The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (Haunted Bookshop series). Alice Kimberly
The Godwulf Manuscript (Spenser series). Robert B. Parker
Grey Mask (Miss Silver series). Patricia Wentworth
The Inimitable Jeeves (first Jeeves/Wooster novel). P.G. Wodehouse
In the Last Analysis (Kate Fansler series). Amanda Cross
The Killings at Badger's Drift. (Inspector Barnaby series). Caroline Graham
Last Bus to Woodstock (Inspector Morse series). Colin Dexter
Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs series). Jacqueline Winspear
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind (Miss Julia series). Ann B. Ross
Miss Zukas and the Library Murders (Miss Zukas series). Jo Dereske
The Moving Target (Lew Archer series). Ross Macdonald
Murder Is Binding (Booktown series). Lorna Barrett
The Quiche of Death (Agatha Raisin series). M.C. Beaton
Quiet As a Nun (Jemima Shore series). Antonia Fraser
The Quilter's Apprentice (Elm Creek Quilts series). Jennifer Chiaverini
Relic (Pendergast series). Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Say It With Poison (Mitchell & Markby series). Ann Granger
The Secret Adversary (Tommy & Tuppence series). Agatha Christie
The Sunday Philosophy Club (Sunday Philosophy Club series). Alexander McCall Smith
The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ripley novels). Patricia Highsmith
The Warden (Barsetshire novels). Anthony Trollope

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T18:00:00.020-05:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: Historical Tapestry

Guidelines:

The challenge is open to everyone. You don't need a blog to participate.
If you do have a blog, there will be a monthly link for reviews.
Any kind of historical fiction is acceptable.
Overlapping with other challenges is allowed.
Choose from one of five Levels:
1. Severe Bookaholism: 20 books
2. Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books
3. Struggling (with) the Addiction: 10 books
4. Daring & Curious: 5 books
5. Out of My Comfort Zone: 2 books

✸ I'm signing up at level four ("Daring & Curious"), so I'll be reading five books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (Books Read):

The Anatomy of Ghosts. Andrew Taylor (Review to come)
The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead. Paul Elwork
Mr. Chartwell. Rebecca Hunt
Picnic at Hanging Rock. Joan Lindsay
The Winter Ghosts. Kate Mosse (Review to come)
The Seance. John Harwood
Alice I Have Been. Melanie Benjamin (Review to come)

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

A Morbid Taste for Bones. Ellis Peters
Alice I Have Been. Melanie Benjamin
The Children's Book. A.S. Byatt
The Dante Club. Matthew Pearl
The Glass Room. Simon Mawer
The Heretic's Daughter. Kathleen Kent
The House at Riverton. Kate Morton
The Lady and the Unicorn. Tracy Chevalier
The Little Stranger. Sarah Waters
Los Alamos. Joseph Kanon
Loving Frank. Nancy Horan
The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre: A Novel. Dominic Smith
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Alan Bradley
World's Fair. E.L. Doctorow

Cruisin' thru the Cozies Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T17:00:00.013-05:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: Yvonne of Socrates' Book Reviews Blog

Guidelines (quoted from the announcement/sign-up page):

Choose the level you wish to participate:
Level 1 - Snoop - Read 1-6 books
Level 2 - Investigator - Reading 7-12 books
Level 3 - Super Sleuth - Read 13 or more books
The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 and ends December 31, 2011.
You don't have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.
Books can be in any format - paper, audio, ebooks...it all counts!
You don't have to post a review, but I'm sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.

✸ I'm signing up at the first level ("Snoop"), and will be reading 1-6 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (Books Read):

Whisker of Evil. Rita Mae Brown
Malice in Miniature. Jeanne M. Dams
Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy. Hazel Holt
Mrs. Malory and a Time to Die. Hazel Holt
Quiet As a Nun. Antonia Fraser
The Killings at Badger's Drift. Caroline Graham

ARC Reading Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T16:40:00.028-05:00

**Challenge ended.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Host: Teddy Rose of So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Guidelines:

Choose a reading level:
1: Bronze -
~ a. Everyone who has or will have fewer than 12 ARCS must read all of the ARCS they have. (Note, that if you have 11 ARCs and then receive a 12th, you will be bumped up to catagory b.)
~ b. Everyone who has or will have 12 or more ARCS must read and review at least 12.

2: Silver - Read 24 ARCs
3: Gold - Read 25 ARCs
4: Platinum - Read 30 or more ARCs
Lists are not required, but you can make one if you want.
If you choose a lower level, you can always change it to a higher level if you like. However, you cannot go from a higher level back down to a lower level.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed
Audio-books and ebooks are allowed as long as they are ARCs.
Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don't have a blog, you can post your review on sites like Powells, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.

✸ I'm signing up at the Bronze Level (category B), as I want to try to go back and read a few of the ARCs I have from past years.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the review page for January here.

BOOKS READ:

The Anatomy of Ghosts. Andrew Taylor
Bad Boy. Peter Robinson
Henrietta Sees It Through. Joyce Dennys
The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead. Paul Elwork
The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady. Elizabeth Stuckey-French
Mr. Chartwell. Rebecca Hunt
Tassy Morgan's Bluff. Jim Stinson
Shut Your Eyes Tight. John Verdon
Nat Tate. William Boyd
Literary Brooklyn. Evan Hughes
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II. Philip Eade

LIST of ARCs To Be Read:

Published in 2008
Descartes' Bones. Russell Shorto
The Glister. John Burnside
The Heretic's Daughter. Kathleen Kent
One More Year. Sana Krasikov
Shadow of Colossus (A Seven Wonders Novel). T.L. Higley
Stealing Athena. Karen Essex
Stone Creek. Victoria Lustbader
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. Kate Summerscale
Tethered. Amy MacKinnon
Published in 2009
Angels of Destruction. Keith Donohue
The Atlantis Revelation. Thomas Greanias
The Manual of Detection. Jedediah Berry
The Rapture. Liz Jensen
Stone's Fall. Iain Pears
Published in 2010
Mr. Toppit. Charles Elton
~~Bad Boy. Peter Robinson~~
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise. Julia Stuart
Room: A Novel. Emma Donoghue
Moonlight Mile. Dennis Lehane
Must You Go? Antonia Fraser
My Reading Life. Pat Conroy
Published in 2011
A Widow's Story. Joyce Carol Oates
~~The Anatomy of Ghosts. Andrew Taylor~~
Prophecy. S.J. Parris
The Survivor. Sean Slater
Altar of Bones. Philip Carter
~~The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady. Elizabeth Stuckey-French~~
The Land of Painted Caves. Jean M. Auel
~~Henrietta Sees It Through. Joyce Dennys~~
Iron House. John Hart
~~The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead. Paul Elwork~~
Dreams of Joy. Lisa See
~~Mr. Chartwell. Rebecca Hunt~~
Noah Barleywater Runs Away. John Boyne
~~Tassy Morgan's Bluff. Jim Stinson~~
The Map of Time. Felix J. Palma
~~Nat Tate. William Boyd~~
~~Shut Your Eyes Tight. John Verdon~~
~~Literary Brooklyn. Evan Hughes~~
~~Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II. Philip Eade~~
~~The Shakespeare Thefts. Eric Rasmussen~~

Young Readers Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T16:20:00.014-05:00

Note: It seems I never actually signed up for this challenge (?), so I won't be writing a wrap-up post even though I'll likely continue to read more children's books this year.

Dates: January - December 2011
Host: Becky of Becky's Book Reviews

Guidelines:

Read 12 Children's Books
Books should be appropriate for the "E" (Easy) and "J" (Juvenile or Junior) sections of the library.
Participants do not have to have a blog.
No reviews are required, but participants may keep in touch and leave links to any reviews they write.
A list is not required. "Choose what you like. Choose as you go. Or plan it all out now. Whatever you want."

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST:

Smart Dog. Vivian Vande Velde
Homer Price. Robert McCloskey
Knight's Castle. Edward Eager
The Time Garden. Edward Eager
Cynthia's Attic: The Missing Locket. Mary Cunningham

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

The Amelia Bedelia books. Peggy Parish
Arabel's Raven. Joan Aiken
Bunnicula. Deborah & James Howe
The Doll People. Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin
Encyclopedia Brown. Donald J. Sobol
Ginger Pye. Eleanor Estes
The Goosebumps books. R.L. Stine
The Great Brain. John D. Fitzgerald
Half Magic. Edward Eager
Harriet the Spy. Louise Fitzhugh
Hitty Her First Hundred Years. Rachel Field
The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Brian Selznick
Island of the Aunts. Eve Ibbotson
James and the Giant Peach. Roald Dahl
Knight's Castle. Edward Eager
The Lemonade War. Jacqueline Davies
The Magic Tree House books. Mary Pope Osborne
Matilda. Roald Dahl
The Mysterious Benedict Society. Trenton Lee Stewart
The Phantom Tollbooth. Norton Juster
Pipi Longstocking. Astrid Lindgren
The Ramona books. Beverly Cleary
The Red Pyramid. Rick Riordan
Roller Skates. Ruth Sawyer
Seven-Day Magic. Edward Eager
Stuart Little. E.B. White
Thimble Summer. Elizabeth Enright
The Time Garden. Edward Eager
The Tower Treasure. Franklin W. Dixon
The View from Saturday. E.L. Konigsburg
The Well-Wishers. Edward Eager
When You Reach Me. Rebecca Stead
The Witches. Roald Dahl

New Authors Challenge 2011

2010-12-26T15:55:00.029-05:00

***Challenge complete. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January through 31 December, 2011
Hosted by: Jackie at Literary Escapism

Guidelines:

Choose 15, 25, or 50 new-to-you authors.
No limit on genres.
Anthologies are allowed; however, only a third of your choices can be from anthologies.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
You don't need a blog to participate.
There will be a Mr. Linky for reviews.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

✸ I'm committing to 15 new authors, and hope to do a little better than that.

MY READING LIST:

Andrew Taylor: The Anatomy of Ghosts (Review to come)
Peter Robinson: Bad Boy (Review to come)
Joyce Dennys: Henrietta Sees It Through
Paul Elwork: The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead
Elizabeth Stuckey-French: The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady (Review to come)
Mary Cunningham: Cynthia's Attic: The Missing Locket (Review to come)
Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad
Jim Stinson: Tassy Morgan's Bluff
Rebecca Hunt: Mr. Chartwell
Joan Lindsay: Picnic at Hanging Rock
William Boyd: Nat Tate
Michael Robertson: The Brothers of Baker Street
James Patterson: Along Came a Spider
Conor Fitzgerald: The Fatal Touch
Kate Mosse: The Winter Ghosts
Miles Franklin: My Brilliant Career
John Harwood: The Seance
Paul Scott: Staying On
Melanie Benjamin: Alice I Have Been
Philip Eade: Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II

Alex Cross Reading Challenge

2010-12-17T17:09:00.007-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: September 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011
Hosted by: Yvonne of Socrates' Book Reviews

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

Choose how many books you'd like to read from the series. You can read the entire series or however many you'd like. It's up to you! You can change your mind any time throughout the year.
All books need to be read between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011. Books read prior to September 1st don't count for this challenge.
If you want to participate, just post about it on your blog with a link back to here. Make sure you list the books you need to read.
Audio and Ebooks are acceptable. You can also use these books for other challenges.
Please use Mr. Linky below to sign up. Use the link to your post about this challenge, not your main blog address. Links that don't go directly to your challenge post will be deleted.
Once you complete the challenge, please post the link to your wrap-up blog post with Mr. Linky [There will be a Mr. Linky for completed lists.]
There will also be a Mr. Linky for reviews, although posting your reviews are not a requirement.

✸ I haven't read any of the Alex Cross book, so I'll be starting with the first book in the series, Along Came a Spider.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST:

Along Came a Spider

Mystery and Suspense Challenge 2011

2010-12-17T16:53:00.027-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Hosted by: Book Chick City

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

Read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2011 (12 is the minimum but you can read more if you wish!)
You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.
At the beginning of Jan 2011, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews. There will be a monthly prize too courtesy of the lovely Simon & Schuster - you must be signed up to the challenge and add the link to your review to be entered into the monthly prize draw.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the list of sub-genres here.

MY READING LIST (with links to the few reviews I posted):

The Anatomy of Ghosts. Andrew Taylor
~ Historical Mystery category
Bad Boy. Peter Robinson
~ Police Procedural category
A Shilling for Candles. Josephine Tey
~ Murder Mystery category
Shut Your Eyes Tight. John Verdon
~ Serial Murderer Category
Whisker of Evil. Rita Mae Brown
~ Cozy Mystery category
The Brothers of Baker Street. Michael Robertson
~ (Not really sure what category to put this in)
Along Came a Spider. James Patterson
~Police Procedural category
Malice in Miniature. Jeanne M. Dams
~ Cozy Mystery category
The Fatal Touch. Conor Fitzgerald
~Police Procedural category
Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy. Hazel Holt
~ Cozy Mystery category
Mrs. Malory and A Time to Die. Hazel Holt
~ Cozy Mystery category
Quiet As a Nun. Antonia Fraser
~ Cozy Mystery category ?
The Killings at Badger's Drift. Caroline Graham
~ Cozy Mystery category?
The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart
~ Murder Mystery category
Episode of the Wandering Knife. Mary Roberts Rinehart
~ Murder Mystery category
Third Girl. Agatha Christie
~ Murder Mystery category
Hallowe'en Party. Agatha Christie
~ Murder Mystery category
Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie
~ Murder Mystery category

Off the Shelf Challenge 2011

2010-12-17T16:40:00.023-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Hosted by: Bookish Ardour

Guidelines: "This challenge is to read those books you own copies of, but have never got around to reading. If you don't have many that you own, but have a massive TBR shelf you're welcome to read those ones as long as you don't add new ones. You don't need to actually get rid of your books after you've read them, this is just to read them." (quoted from the challenge blog)

Challenge Levels:

Tempted– Choose 5 books to read
Trying – Choose 15 books to read
Making A Dint – Choose 30 books to read
On A Roll – Choose 50 books to read
Flying Off – Choose 75 books to read

For extra hard challenges:

Hoarder – Choose 76-125 books to read
Buried – Choose 126-200 books to read

✸ I signed up at the 15 book level ("Trying"), and ended up actually reading 20 books from my TBR "shelf."

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (with links to the few reviews I posted):

A Shilling for Candles. Josephine Tey
Knight's Castle. Edward Eager
The Time Garden. Edward Eager
Homer Price. Robert McCloskey
Smart Dog. Vivian Vande Velde
Picnic at Hanging Rock. Joan Lindsay
Whisker of Evil. Rita Mae Brown
Along Came a Spider. James Patterson
Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy. Hazel Holt
Mrs. Malory and a Time to Die. Hazel Holt
Quiet As a Nun. Antonia Fraser
The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Episode of the Wandering Knife. Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Killings at Badger's Drift. Caroline Graham
Third Girl. Agatha Christie
Hallowe'en Party. Agatha Christie
Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie
My Brilliant Career. Miles Franklin
Bid Time Return (aka: Somewhere in Time). Richard Matheson
Staying On. Paul Scott

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2011

2010-12-17T16:25:00.015-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Hosted by: Bev Hankins @ My Reader's Block

Guidelines:

All books must have been written before 1960 and be from the mystery category.
Overlapping with other challenges is permitted.
You can sign up any time before November 30, 2011.
Reviewing is not required, and you don't need a blog to participate.
Try to read at least two different vintage authors.
Once you declare your challenge level...you are locked in for that number of books. But you may change your list of books at any time.

Challenge Levels:

In a Murderous Mood: 4-6 Books
Get a Clue: 7-9 Books
Hot on the Trail: 10-12 Books
Capture the Criminal: 13-15 Books
Take 'Em to Trial: 16+ Books

Or, alternate categories/levels:

The Golden Age Girls: Read 5-7 books from female authors from the vintage years
Cherchez Le Homme: Read 5-7 books from male authors from the vintage years

✸ I signed up at the 4-6 book level ("In a Murderous Mood"), and read 4 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST:

A Shilling for Candles. Josephine Tey (1936)
The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart (1906)
Episode of the Wandering Knife. Mary Roberts Rinehart (1943)
Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie (1952)

What's in a Name 4 Challenge (2011)

2010-12-17T16:00:00.019-05:00

**Challenge completed.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Hosted by: Beth Fish Reads

Guidelines:

Read six books; one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a number in the title
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title
3. A book with a size in the title
4. A book with travel or movement in the title
5. A book with evil in the title
6. A book with a life stage in the title
Books may be any format (audio, print, e-book).
Overlapping with other challenges is permitted.
Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
A preliminary list of books is not required.
You can read through the categories in any order.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

Had a lot of fun with this one, even though I didn't get many reviews written.

MY READING LIST:

Category 1: The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart (See review)
Category 2: Cynthia's Attic: The Missing Locket. Mary Cunningham
Category 3: Malice in Miniature. Jeanne M. Dams
Category 4: Along Came a Spider. James Patterson (See review)
Category 5: Whisker of Evil. Rita Mae Brown
Category 6: Bad Boy. Peter Robinson

P.G. Wodehouse Challenge

2010-12-17T15:45:00.001-05:00

Dates: December 1, 2010 through December 31, 2013
Hosted by: Andrea @ The Little Bookworm

Guidelines:

The challenge:
Read as much P.G. Wodehouse as you can (or want to), over the course of three years.
The levels:

a.) The Blandings Castle Level: read the entire Blandings Castle series including novels and short stories

b.) The Jeeves and Wooster series: read the entire Jeeves and Wooster series including novels and short stories

c.) Free for all level: read other Wodehouse stories or novels or any other series. It's completely up to you

To begin with, I'll be concentrating on the Jeeves/Wooster series.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST:

Fall Into Reading 2010

2010-09-24T15:00:00.021-04:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 22 September through 20 December 2010
Hosted by: Katrina at Callapidder Days

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge website):

Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this fall. Your list can be as long or as short as you’d like. (Also, feel free to modify your list during the challenge if it’s not working for you.)
Write a blog post containing your list and submit it...using the Mr. Linky [on the challenge announcement page].
Get reading! The challenge goes from today, September 22nd, through December 20th.
Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile!
Write a post about your challenge experience in December, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how Fall Into Reading went for you. But remember: this is a low-pressure challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this fall (and enjoy it!), that’s good enough for me.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY BOOK LIST (Books Read):

Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie [See Review]
The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons [See Review]
Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff [Review to come]
Animal Farm. George Orwell [Review to come - maybe]
The Dark Half. Stephen King [Review to come]
After Claude. Iris Owens [See Review]
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant [Review to come]
We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson [Review to come]
The Distant Hours. Kate Morton [Review to come]
Juliet. Anne Fortier [See Review]
The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown [See Review]
The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan [See Review]

OTHER POSSIBILITIES (Fiction):

Afternoon Men. Anthony Powell
Alice I Have Been. Melanie Benjamin
Appointment in Samarra. John O'Hara
Bad Boy. Peter Robinson
Dead Man's Folly. Agatha Christie
The Distant Hours. Kate Morton
The House on Tradd Street. Karen White
I Am Madame X. Gioia Diliberto
Moonlight Mile. Dennis Lehane
Mr. Murder. Dean Koontz
Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie
The Prince of Mist. Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Relic. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Room. Emma Donoghue
The Sign of the Book. John Dunning
Spiderweb. Penelope Lively
A Stir of Echoes. Richard Matheson
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise. Julia Stuart
The Women. T.C. Boyle
Something by Nina Bawden
Something by Muriel Spark

OTHER POSSIBILITIES (nonfiction):

Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
Just Kids. Patti Smith
Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter. Antonia Fraser
My Reading Life. Pat Conroy
Strapless. Deborah Davis
The Pattern in the Carpet. Margaret Drabble

The RIP V Challenge

2010-09-23T01:00:00.023-04:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: September 1 through October 31, 2010
Hosted by: Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings

Guidelines:

There are several different levels of participation:

Peril the First: Read four books of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Peril the Second: Read two books of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Peril the Third: Read one book of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Short Story Peril: An extra option, for those who want to participate in Short Story Sundays.
Peril on the Screen: Another extra option, for those who like to watch scary or suspenseful fare on the large or small screen.

Choose your books from the following subgenres:

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic
Horror
Supernatural

See my original post about the Challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the Challenge announcement page here.
See the Challenge review page here.

I'm going to be signing up at the Peril the First level (four books), and combining that with Peril on the Screen and maybe a bit of Short Story Peril, if all goes well.

MY BOOK LIST (books read):

The Inheritance. Simon Tolkien [See Review]
Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie [See Review]
The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons [See Review]
Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff [Review to come]
The Dark Half. Stephen King [Review to come]
We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson [Review to come]

MY SCREEN PERIL LIST (films/TV shows watched):

Midsomer Murders: "Sauce for the Goose" (TV series; Episode #807, 2005)
Midsomer Murders: "Midsomer Rhapsody" (TV series; Episode #808, 2005)
Midsomer Murders: "The House in the Woods" (TV series; Episode #901, 2005)
Midsomer Murders: "Dead Letters" (TV series; Episode #902, 2005)
Midsomer Murders: "Vixen's Run" (TV series; Episode # 903, 2005)
Midsomer Murders: "Down Among the Dead Men" (TV series; Episode #904, 2005)
Midsomer Murders: "Death in Chorus" (TV series; Episode #905, 2006)
Midsomer Murders: "Country Matters" (TV series; Episode #906, 2006)
Midsomer Murders: "Last Year's Model" (TV series; Episode #907, 2006)
Inspector Lewis: "Counter Culture Blues" (TV series; 2010)
Inspector Lewis: "The Dead of Winter" (TV series; 2010)
Inspector Lewis: "Dark Matter" (TV series; 2010)
Inspector Lewis: "Your Sudden Death Question" (TV series; 2010)
Inspector Lewis: "Falling Darkness" (TV series; 2010)
Inspector Morse: "Last Bus from Woodstock" (TV series; 1988)
Inspector Morse: "The Settling of the Sun" (TV series; 1988)
Inspector Morse: "Second Time Around" (TV series; 1991)
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (film; 1972)
The Bourne Supremacy (film; 2004)
The Bourne Ultimatum (film; 2007)
The Brides of Dracula (film; 1960)
The Curse of Frankenstein (film; 1957)
Curse of the Demon (film; 1957)
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (film; 1964)
The Dark Half (film; 1993)
Dark Mirror (film; 2007)
Dead of Night (film; 1945)
Dracula, Prince of Darkness (film; 1966)
Five Million Years to Earth (film; 1967)
The Forgotten (film; 2004)
Frankenstein Created Woman (film; 1967)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (film; 1969)
The Haunting (film; 1963)
The Mummy's Shroud (film; 1967)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (film; 1958)
Secrets Inside the Walls (film; 2010)
Session 9 (film; 2001)
The Talented Mr. Ripley (film; 1999)
These Are the Damned (film; 1962)
The Uninvited (film; 1944)
X The Unknown (film; 1956)

Banned Books Project

2010-04-15T22:16:00.009-04:00

Dates: Ongoing, no time limit
Hosted by: Bonnie Jacobs of Bonnie's Books

Guidelines:

From the project's blog:
"Members of the Banned Books project will read and post about banned books. That's it. No time limit, no required number to complete, just reading any book that has ever been challenged or banned; and registration is always open."
If you want to be a contributor to the project blog, email Bonnie at emerging dot paradigm at yahoo dot com. Then you will be able to post your reviews of banned books, as well as cross-post them on your own blog, if you choose. Remember to include Banned Books in the subject line and include your blog URL (if you have one).

See the Banned Books Project blog here.

MY READING LIST (books read):

The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder [See Review]
Animal Farm. George Orwell (read in 2010)
Goosebumps Series: Welcome to Dead House. R.L. Stine (reading now)

POSSIBLE CHOICES - Banned and Challenged Books:

Anastasia Krupnik Series. Lois Lowry
Animal Farm. George Orwell
Appointment in Samarra. John O'Hara
Babbitt. Sinclair Lewis
Bag of Bones. Stephen King
The Bostonians. Henry James
Bunnicula. James Howe
Cradle and All. James Patterson
The Dead Zone. Stephen King
The Diviners. Margaret Laurence
Earth's Children (series). Jean M. Auel
The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Ethan Frome. Edith Wharton
Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury (re-read)
The Figure in the Shadows. John Bellairs
The Giver. Lois Lowry
The Goosebumps Series. R.L. Stine
The Headless Cupid. Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Inkheart. Cornelia Funke
It's Not the End of the World. Judy Blume
James and the Giant Peach. Roald Dahl
Main Street. Sinclair Lewis
Matilda. Roald Dahl
Maurice. E.M. Forster
Peyton Place. Grace Metalious
The Phantom Tollbooth. Norman Juster
Portnoy's Complaint. Philip Roth
Queen of the Summer Stars. Persia Woolley
Rabbit, Run. John Updike
A Rage to Live. John O'Hara
Snow Falling on Cedars. David Guterson
The Stone Angel. Margaret Laurence
The View From the Cherry Tree. Willo Davis Roberts
Wide Sargasso Sea. Jean Rhys
The Witches. Roald Dahl
The Wizard in the Tree. Lloyd Alexander
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum
A Wrinkle in Time. Madeleine L'Engle
Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings. D.T. Suzuki

Spring Reading Thing 2010

2010-03-31T14:03:00.025-04:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 20 March through 20 June, 2010
Hosted by: Katrina of Callapidder Days

Guidelines:

Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this spring. No set number of books: Your list can be as long or as short as you'd like.
Post the list on your blog and then link your post to the sign up page (using Mr. Linky there).
Lists can be changed at any time during the challenge.
When the challenge ends in June, write a post about your challenge experience, telling whether or not you met your goals and how the Spring Reading Thing went for you.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the page for challenge wrap-ups here.

MY READING LIST:

Heresy. S.J. Parris [Review to come]
A Stitch in Time. Monica Ferris [Review to come]
A Fair Maiden. Joyce Carol Oates [Review to come]
The Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw [See Review]
An American Type. Henry Roth [See Review]
A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters [See Review]
Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner [See Review]
The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry [See Review]
Tinkers. Paul Harding [See Review]
The Last Child. John Hart [Review to come]
Innocent. Scott Turow [See Review]
The Hypnotist. M.J. Rose [See Review]
The Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton [Review to come]
The Magicians. Lev Grossman [Review to come]

ARC Reading Challenge 2010

2010-03-21T16:30:00.048-04:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 2 January - 30 December, 2010
Hosted by: Teddy Rose of So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Guidelines:

Sign up on the challenge announcement page, using Mr. Linky, and leaving a direct link to your blog post about the challenge. Your post should contain your list of ARCs that you'll be reading (see #2 below).
List all the ARCs you have to read right now. Then, throughout the year, you must continue updating that list as you receive more ARCs. Also strike out the ones you finish.
You don't need to indicate which ARCs you plan to read, but can if you wish.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
Audio-books are allowed as long as they are ARCs.
Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don't have a blog, you can post your reviews on other sites, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell's, etc.

The Levels:

Bronze:
a. All participants who have or will have twelve or fewer ARCs on hand must read and review all of those books.
b. All participants who have or will have more than twelve ARCs must read and review at least twelve.
Silver: Read 24 ARCs.
Gold: Read 25 or more.

If you choose a lower level, you can always change it to a higher level if you like. However, you cannot go from a higher level back down to a lower level.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

I'm signing up at the Bronze Level, so I'll be reading at least twelve of my ARCs during the year.

BOOKS READ:

The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson [See Review]
Heresy. S.J. Parris [Review to come]
The Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw [See Review]
An American Type. Henry Roth [See Review]
A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters [See Review]
Live To Tell [See Review]
The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry [See Review]
Innocent. Scott Turow [See Review]
The Good Psychologist. Noam Shpancer [See Review]
Damaged. Alex Kava [See Review]
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden (paperback edition) [Review to come]
Think of a Number. John Verdon [Review to come]
All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost. Lan Samantha Chang [See Review]
The Convent. Panos Karnezis [See Review]
After Claude. Iris Owens [See Review]
The Distant Hours. Kate Morton [Review to come]
Juliet. Anne Fortier [See Review]
The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown [See Review]

LIST of ARCs To Be Read:

Published in 2008
Descartes' Bones. Russell Shorto
The Glister. John Burnside
The Heretic's Daughter. Kathleen Kent
One More Year. Sana Krasikov
Shadow of Colossus (A Seven Wonders Novel). T.L. Higley
Stealing Athena. Karen Essex
Stone Creek. Victoria Lustbader
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. Kate Summerscale
Tethered. Amy MacKinnon
Published in 2009
Angels of Destruction. Keith Donohue
The Atlantis Revelation. Thomas Greanias
The Manual of Detection. Jedediah Berry
The Rapture. Liz Jensen
Stone's Fall. Iain Pears
Published in 2010
~~The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson~~
~~Heresy. S.J. Parris~~
~~The Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw~~
~~The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry~~
~~Live to Tell. Lisa Gardner~~
~~A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters~~
~~The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant~~
~~Juliet. Anne Fortier~~
~~An American Type. Henry Roth~~
~~Innocent. Scott Turow~~
Mr. Toppit. Charles Elton
~~Damaged. Alex Kava~~
~~The Good Psychologist. Noel Shpancer~~
Bad Boy. Peter Robinson
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise. Julia Stuart
~~Think of a Number. John Verdon~~
~~All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost. Lan Samantha Chang~~
Room: A Novel. Emma Donoghue
~~The Convent. Panos Karnezis~~
Moonlight Mile. Dennis Lehane
~~The Distant Hours. Kate Morton~~
Must You Go? Antonia Fraser
My Reading Life. Pat Conroy
~~After Claude. Iris Owens~~
A Widow's Story. Joyce Carol Oates
The Anatomy of Ghosts. Andrew Taylor
~~The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown~~

Memorable Memoir Reading Challenge

2010-02-26T12:20:00.016-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December, 2010
Hosted by: Melissa of The Betty and Boo Chronicles

Guidelines:

Read at least four books during 2010; but more than four is OK.
Choices can come from memoirs, autobiographies, diaries, letters ("Basically, if you think it is the stuff of memoir, it counts.").
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
Audio-books and e-books are allowed.
No lists are required, but you can make one if you want.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the announcement/sign-up page here.
See the review page here.

MY READING LIST (books read):

Just Kids. Patti Smith (reading now)

LIST OF POSSIBLE CHOICES:

American Girl: Scenes from a Small-Town Childhood. Mary Cantwell
And I Worked at the Writer's Trade. Malcolm Cowley
A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict. John Baxter
Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
Bookshop at 10 Curzon St: Letters between Nancy Mitford and Heywood Hill, 1952-73. John S. Smith, ed.
D.V. Diana Vreeland
Here At The New Yorker. Brendan Gill
Hons and Rebels. Jessica Mitford
Intellectual Memoirs: New York, 1936-1938. Mary McCarthy
Just Kids. Patti Smith
Kafka Was All the Rage: A Greenwich Village Memoir. Anatole Broyard
Literary Life: A Second Memoir. Larry McMurtry
Losing Mum and Pup. Christopher Buckley
Manhattan, '45. James/Jan Morris
Manhattan, When I Was Young. Mary Cantwell
Memoirs of Montparnasse. John Glassco
My Dark Places. James Ellroy
My Word is My Bond. Roger Moore
New York Days. Willie Morris
Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Passion. Madeline B. Stern and Leona Rostenberg
Out of Africa. Isak Dinesen
The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws. Margaret Drabble
Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World. Alexander Bloom
Reading Lolita in Tehran. Azar Nafisi
Shakespeare and Company. Sylvia Beach
Sixpence House. Paul Collins
So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading. Sara Nelson
The Year of Magical Thinking. Joan Didion
The Years With Ross. James Thurber
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, A History. Lewis Buzbee

The New York Challenge

2010-02-25T18:43:00.016-05:00

Dates: 1 February through 15 May, 2010
Hosted by: Jill of Fizzy Thoughts

Guidelines:

Read one book (or more) set in New York City, and post your review.
All genres are OK - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose, graphic novels, audio-books, or even guidebooks. It just has to have New York City as its primary setting.
No re-reads.
There will be monthly mini-challenges, and a separate link for posting reviews.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.
See the review page here.

MY READING LIST (books read):

The Hypnotist. M.J. Rose [See Review]

LIST OF POSSIBILITIES:

Fiction
The Book of Daniel. E.L. Doctorow
The Company She Keeps. Mary McCarthy
The Doorbell Rang. Rex Stout
The Family Man. Elinor Lipman
Heroic Measures. Jill Ciment
The House of Mirth. Edith Wharton
In the Night Cafe. Joyce Johnson
Laura. Vera Caspary
Lethal Legacy. Linda Fairstein
Manhattan Monologues: Stories. Louis Auchincloss
Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer. Steven Millhauser
Minor Characters. Joyce Johnson
The New York Trilogy. Paul Auster
Old New York. Edith Wharton
Relic. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Tales of Manhattan. Louis Auchincloss
The Thin Man. Dashiell Hammett
This Dame for Hire. Sandra Scoppettone
Time and Again. Jack Finney
The Unpossessed: A Novel of the Thirties. Tess Slesinger
World's Fair. E.L. Doctorow
Nonfiction
Apple of My Eye. Helene Hanff
Book Row: An Anecdotal and Pictorial History of the Antiquarian Book Trade. Marvin Mondlin
Here At The New Yorker. Brendan Gill
Intellectual Memoirs: New York, 1936-1938. Mary McCarthy
Kafka Was All the Rage: A Greenwich Village Memoir. Anatole Broyard
Manhattan '45. Jan Morris
Manhattan, When I Was Young. Mary Cantwell
New York Days. Willie Morris
Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World. Alexander Bloom
The Story of the Armory Show. Milton W. Brown
The Year of Magical Thinking. Joan Didion
The Years with Ross. James Thurber

Battle of the Prizes, American Version

2010-01-31T16:50:00.018-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 February 2010 to 31 January 2011
Hosted by: Rose City Reader

Guidelines:

This challenge pits winners of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction against the winners of the National Book Award in the American version of the Battle of the Prizes.
Chose three books that you have not read before:
1) One that won both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award
2) One that won the Pulitzer but not the National
3) One that won the National but not the Pulitzer
OPTION: For those who have already read all six of the double-dippers, or otherwise do not want to read one of those six, pick two Pulitzer winners and two National winners for a total of four books.
Read all books between February 1, 2030 and January 31, 2011.
Overlap with other challenges is allowed -- and encouraged!
You do not have to commit to your choices now; you can change your mind about books at any time.
You do not need a blog to participate; and reviews, although encouraged, are not required.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST (books read):

Tinkers. Paul Harding: Pulitzer 2010 [See Review]
The Magnificent Ambersons. Booth Tarkington: Pulitzer 1919 [Review to come]

List of possibilities:

Pulitzer Winners:

His Family. Ernest Poole (1918)
The Magnificent Ambersons. Booth Tarkington (1919)
Early Autumn. Louis Bromfield (1927)
The Late George Apley. John P. Marquand (1938)
In This Our Life. Ellen Glasgow (1942)
The Keepers of the House. Shirley Ann Grau (1965)
Angle of Repose. Wallace Stegner (1972)
Rabbit At Rest. John Updike (1991)
The Stone Diaries. Carol Shields (1995)
Martin Dressler. Steven Millhauser (1997)
American Pastoral. Philip Roth (1998)
The Hours. Michael Cunningham (1999)
Olive Kitteridge. Elizabeth Strout (2009)
National Book Award Winners:

Ten North Frederick. John O'Hara (1956)
The Waters of Kronos. Conrad Richter (1961)
Morte D'Urban. J.F. Powers (1963)
The Spectator Bird. Wallace Stegner (1977)
Plains Song. Wright Morris (1981)
World's Fair. E.L. Doctorow (1986)
Charming Billy. Alice McDermott (1998)
Three Junes. Julia Glass (2002)
The Echo Maker. Richard Powers (2006)

Books of the Century Challenge

2010-01-24T15:00:00.009-05:00

Dates: This is a perpetual challenge, beginning in 2010
Hosted by: Tim (A Progressive on the Prairie)

Guidelines:

This challenge is based on Daniel Immerwahr's Books of the Century website.
The challenge provides an opportunity to "combine some excellent and classic reading from the history of popular American reading."
Given the number of books, this will be a perpetual challenge.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.

At least for the first year, the levels of participation will be:

Popular Literary Culture 101 -- Five books from the entire list.
Popular Literary Culture 201 -- Ten books from the entire list.
Popular Literary Culture 301 -- One book from any of five different decades on the list.
Popular Literary Culture 401 -- One book from each decade on the list.
Master's in Popular Literary Culture -- Twenty books from the entire list, with at least each decade represented once.
Doctorate in Popular Literary Culture -- Two or more books from each decade on the list.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge blog here.
See Daniel Immerwahr's Books of the Century website here.

I'm going to start off at the first level: Popular Literary Culture 101; so I'll be reading a total of five books from the list.

MY READING LIST:

Contact. Carl Sagan (published 1985) [See Review]
Animal Farm. George Orwell (published 1945) [Review to come]
The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart (published 1906) [See Review]

List of Possibilities:

1900-1909:
The Golden Bowl. Henry James
The House of Mirth. Edith Wharton
The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Old Wives' Tale. Arnold Bennett
The Wings of the Dove. Henry James
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum
1910-1919:
The Ambassadors. Henry James
The Magnificent Ambersons. Booth Tarkington
Swann's Way. Marcel Proust
The Window at the White Cat. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Winesburg, Ohio. Sherwood Anderson
1920-1929:
Babbitt. Sinclair Lewis
The Bishop Murder Case. S.S. Van Dine
The Enchanted April. "Elizabeth"
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Anita Loos
Good-bye to All That. Robert Graves
The Greene Murder Case. S.S. Van Dine
The Hotel. Elizabeth Bowen
Jalna. Mazo de la Roche
The Magic Mountain. Thomas Mann
Main Street. Sinclair Lewis
1930-1939:
Appointment in Samara. John O'Hara
The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler
Call It Sleep. Henry Roth
Invitation to the Waltz. Rosamond Lehmann
Seven Gothic Tales. Isak Dinesen
1940-1949:
Animal Farm. George Orwell
Father of the Bride. Edward Streeter
The Human Comedy. William Saroyan
Mistress Masham's Repose. T.H. White
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Eric Hodgins
Random Harvest. James Hilton
1950-1959:
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. Sloan Wilson
Peyton Place. Grace Metalious
1960-1969:
Portnoy's Complaint. Philip Roth
Rabbit, Run. John Updike
1970-1979:
Angle of Repose. Wallace Stegner
The Best and the Brightest. David Halberstam
Captains and the Kings. Taylor Caldwell
Condominium. John D. MacDonald
The Day of the Jackal. Frederick Forsyth
The Dead Zone. Stephen King
Evergreen. Belva Plain
The Greek Treasure. Irving Stone
How to Save Your Own Life. Erica Jong
If on a winter's night a traveler. Italo Calvino
The Passions of the Mind. Irving Stone
Play It As It Lays. Joan Didion
Rabbit Redux. John Updike
Time and Again. Jack Finney
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. John Le Carre
Touch Not the Cat. Mary Stewart
Travels With My Aunt. Graham Greene
1980-1989:
". . . And the Ladies of the Club." Helen Hooven Santmyer
The Bourne Identity. Robert Ludlum
Contact. Carl Sagan
Lake Wobegon Days. Garrison Keillor
The Parsifal Mosaic. Robert Ludlum
The Pillars of the Earth. Ken Follet
Texas. James A. Michener
1990-1999:
The Celestine Prophecy. James Redfield
The Hours. Michael Cunningham
September. Rosamunde Pilcher

Themed Reading Challenge 2010

2010-01-17T19:39:00.023-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 14 February to 14 August, 2010
Hosted by: Caribousmom

Guidelines:

This is a six month challenge designed to help readers clear books from their to-be-read stacks which center around a common theme or themes.
Readers may join at ANY TIME between now and August 14th.
Books should be chosen from the reader's TBR pile (this may be an actual physical pile or a virtual pile).
The goal is to read AT LEAST 5 books linked by theme.
Overlaps with other challenges are allowed.
Readers may change their list of books or their theme(s) at any time.

There are three different levels of participation:

Read at least five books sharing the same theme.
Read at least five books sharing TWO themes.
Read at least five books sharing MORE than TWO themes.

Readers decide on their own themes, which can be geographic, genre, author, subject matter, or anything in between!

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the list of reviews here.

I'm signing up for level one (at least five books that share a single theme). And for my theme, I'm choosing "Women of a Certain Age" (that is, books with older female protagonists).

MY READING LIST:

Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death. Hazel Holt [Review to come]
A Stitch in Time (Needlework/Betsy Devonshire series). Monica Ferris [Review to come]
The Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton [See Review]
The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Cathleen Schine [Review to come]

List of Possibilities:

Alice I Have Been. Melanie Benjamin
All Passion Spent. Vita Sackville-West
Back When We Were Grownups. Anne Tyler
Eve's Daughters. Lynn Austin
For My Daughters. Barbara Delinsky
Heat Wave. Penelope Lively
July and August. Nancy Clark
Jumping the Queue. Mary Wesley
Kinds of Love. May Sarton
Last Lovers. William Wharton
Loop Group. Larry McMurtry
Lunch at the Piccadilly. Clyde Edgerton
Miss Bunting. Angela Thirkell
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. Ann B. Ross
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. Elizabeth Taylor
My House In Umbria. William Trevor
Not That Sort of Girl. Mary Wesley
Seek My Face. John Updike
Spiderweb. Penelope Lively
The Art of Mending. Elizabeth Berg
The Cranford novels. Elizabeth Gaskell
The Dorothy Martin mysteries. Jeanne M. Dams
The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Muriel Barbery
The Magnificent Spinster: A Novel. May Sarton
The Miss Silver mysteries. Patricia Wentworth
The Mrs. Bradley mysteries. Gladys Mitchell
The Mrs. Jeffries mysteries. Emily Brightwell
The Mrs. Malory mysteries. Hazel Holt
The Needlework (Betsy Devonshire) mysteries. Monica Ferris
Travels With My Aunt. Graham Greene
Walking Across Egypt. Clyde Edgerton

A to Z Challenge 2010

2010-01-09T11:05:00.050-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: Becky of Becky's Book Reviews

Guidelines:

Read 26 or 52 books:

Authors - Read alphabetically by author. Commit to 26 books.
Titles - Read alphabetically by title. Commit to 26 books.
Authors & Titles - Commit to reading 52 books.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the Yahoo discussion group here.

I'll be reading 26 books, chosen alphabetically by title.

MY READING LIST:

A: (The) Anthologist. Nicholson Baker [See Review]
B: (The) Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson [See Review]
C: Contact. Carl Sagan [See Review]
D: Damaged. Alex Kava [See Review]
E: (The) Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder [See Review]
F: (The) Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton [See Review]
G: (The) Good Psychologist. Noel Shpancer [See Review]
H: (The) House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons [See Review]
I: Innocent. Scott Turow [See Review]
J: Juliet. Anne Fortier [See Review]
K:
L: Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner [See Review]
M: (The) Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry [See Review]
N: Noah's Compass. Anne Tyler [Review to come]
O: Operation Terror. Murray Leinster [Review to come]
P: People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks [Review to come]
Q: Quattrocento. James McKean [See Review]
R: (The) Raphael Affair. Iain Pears [See Review]
S: (The) Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw [See Review]
T: Tinkers. Paul Harding [See Review]
U
V: Venom. Joan Brady [See Review]
W: We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson [Review to come]
X
Y:
Z:

Decades 2010

2010-01-04T18:24:00.026-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: Michelle at 1MoreChapter

Guidelines:

Read a minimum of ten books in 2010, which were published in ten consecutive decades.
Books published since 2000 don't count.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
Lists can be changed at any time.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

I'll be reading books from the 20th Century, 1900-1999.

MY READING LIST (with links to reviews):

1900-1909:
1910-1919: The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan
1920-1929:
1930-1939: The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson
1940-1949: Animal Farm. George Orwell [Review to come]
1950-1959:
1960-1969: The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder
1970-1979: The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons
1980-1989: Contact. Carl Sagan
1990-1999: The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears

RYOB (Read Your Own Books) Challenge 2010

2010-01-02T00:51:00.050-05:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: MizB's Reading Challenges

Guidelines:

Pick a number of books you'd like to read in one year; choose them from your OWN collection; read them between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
Audio-books and e-books are allowed, but re-reads are not.
You don't need a blog to participate.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

I'm planning to read at least twenty books from my own collection for the challenge.

MY READING LIST:

Venom. Joan Brady (ARC) [See Review]
People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks [Review to come]
Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death. Hazel Holt [Review to come]
The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson [See Review]
Heresy. S.J. Parris [Review to come]
A Stitch in Time. Monica Ferris [Review to come]
The Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw [See Review]
An American Type. Henry Roth [See Review]
A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters [See Review]
Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner [See Review]
The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry [See Review]
Innocent. Scott Turow [See Review]
The Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton [See Review]
The Spider Bites. Medora Sale [Review to come]
The Good Psychologist. Noam Shpancer [See Review]
Damaged. Alex Kava [See Review]
The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder [See Review]
Think of a Number. John Verdon [Review to come]
All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost. Lan Samantha Chang [See Review]
The Convent. Panos Karnezis [See Review]
The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons [See Review]
Animal Farm. George Orwell [Review to come - maybe]
After Claude. Iris Owens [See Review]
We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson [Review to come]
Juliet. Anne Fortier [See Review]
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant [Review to come]
The Distant Hours. Kate Morton [Review to come]
The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown [See Review]
The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan [See Review]
Operation Terror. Murray Leinster [Review to come]

The 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

2010-01-01T22:08:00.038-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog

Guidelines:

Read a set number of books from your local public library.
Anyone can join; you don't need a blog to participate.
Reviews are not required.
Audio, e-books, young adult, young reader, re-reads are all allowed - anything counts as long as it's checked out from the library.
There's no need to list your books in advance - you can choose as you go. If you do make a list, it can be changed at any time as necessary.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.

Levels of Participation:

The Mini - Check out and read 25 library books.
Just My Size - Check out and read 50 library books.
Stepping It Up - Check out and read 75 library books.
Super Size Me - Check out and read 100 library books.

I'm signing up at the "Mini" Level (25 books).

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST:

The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy. Nick Bantock [See Review]
The Anthologist. Nicholson Baker [See Review]
The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears [See Review]
Quattrocento. James McKean [See Review]
Contact. Carl Sagan [See Review]
A Fair Maiden. Joyce Carol Oates [Review to come]
Before the Throne. Naguib Mahfouz [Review to come]
Tinkers. Paul Harding [See Review]
The Last Child. John Hart [Review to come]
The Hypnotist. M.J. Rose [See Review]
The Magicians. Lev Grossman [Review to come]
The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Cathleen Schine [Review to come]
Noah's Compass. Anne Tyler [Review to come]
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley [Review to come]
The Inheritance. Simon Tolkien [See Review]
Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie [See Review]
Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff [Review to come]
The Dark Half. Stephen King [Review to come]

Quick Guide Rehab for 2010

2010-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a new format for my Quick Guide for 2010. Hopefully, it will be a little more useful and easier to update than the 2009 Guide.

More to come.

The 42 (Sci-Fi) Challenge 2010

2009-12-27T18:34:00.018-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 3 December 2010
Hosted by: Becky of Becky's Book Reviews

Guidelines:

Read, watch, or listen to (and possibly review) at least 42 science fiction items.
Keep an ongoing list of your items on the challenge blog or on your on website.
You can link to your reviews or not; and reviews are not required in order to participate.

See my wrap-up post here.
See my personal challenge blog here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge blog here.
See my challenge blog posts here.

MY LIST:

Avatar (2009; film)
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953; film)
Contact. Carl Sagan (1985; novel; 432 pages)
Deja Vu (2006; film)
Doctor Who (David Tennant): "Planet of the Ood" (2008; TV series)
Doctor Who (David Tennant): "Partners in Crime" (2008; TV series)
Eureka: "Founder's Day" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "A New World" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "All the Rage" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "Crossing Over" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "Momstrosity" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "Stoned" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "The Ex-Files" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "I'll Be Seeing You" (2010; TV series)
Eureka: "O Little Town" (2010; TV series)
Five Million Miles to Earth (1967; film)
Forbidden Planet (1956; film)
The Forgotten (2004; film)
Operation Terror (1962; novel)
Panic in Year Zero! (1962; film)
Star Trek (2009; film)
Star Trek: Generations (1994; film)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Family" (1990; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Future Imperfect" (1990; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Reunion" (1990; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "I Borg" (1992; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "The Inner Light" (1992; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Relics" (1992; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Homeward" (1993; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Sub Rosa" (1993-94; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Emergence" (1994; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Eye of the Beholder" (1994; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Genesis" (1994; TV series)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Journey's End" (1994; TV series)
Space Cowboys (2000; film)
The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells (1895; novel; 245 pages)
X the Unknown (1956; film)
These Are the Damned (1962; film)

The Typically British Reading Challenge 2010

2009-12-27T16:16:00.031-05:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: Book Chick City

Guidelines:

The challenge is to read a set number of fiction books by British authors.
Challenge begins January 1, 2010. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
You don't have to make a list of books to read - just choose as you go. Or, if you do make a list, it can be changed at any time.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
There will be a place to link your reviews, but reviews aren't mandatory.

Levels of Participation:

"Put the Kettle On" - Read 2 books
"Gordon Bennett" - Read 4 books
"Bob's Your Uncle" - Read 6 books
"Cream Crackered" - Read 8 books

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge review page here.

I'm signing up for Level 4 ("Cream Crackered") - read 8 books.

MY READING LIST (subject to change):

The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears [see review]
The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells [see review]
The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson [see review]
Heresy. S.J. Parris [Review to come]
The Inheritance. Simon Tolkien [see review]
Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie [see review]
Animal Farm. George Orwell [Review to come]
The Thirty-nine Steps. John Buchan [see review]

Other Possibilities:

According to Mark. Penelope Lively
Afternoon of a Good Woman. Nina Bawden
All Passion Spent. Vita Sackville-West
The Ballad of Peckham Rye. Muriel Spark
The Black Prince. Iris Murdoch
The Camomile Lawn. Mary Wesley
Circles of Deceit. Nina Bawden
The Comforters. Muriel Spark
Consequences. Penelope Lively
The Driver's Seat. Muriel Spark
Family Album. Penelope Lively
Family Money. Nina Bawden
The Finishing School. Muriel Spark
The Go-Between. L.P. Hartley
The Heat of the Day. Elizabeth Bowen
Heat Wave. Penelope Lively
Judgment Day. Penelope Lively
Jumping the Queue. Mary Wesley
The Mandelbaum Gate. Muriel Spark
The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. Elizabeth Taylor
Murder Must Advertise. Dorothy L. Sayers
The Public Image. Muriel Spark
The Road to Lichfield. Penelope Lively
The Sea, The Sea. Iris Murdoch
Treasures of Time. Penelope Lively
The Virgin in the Garden. A.S. Byatt
Symposium. Muriel Spark
In Chancery (Forstye Saga, book 2). John Galsworthy
To Let (Forsyte Saga, book 3). John Galsworthy
Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie
The Secret Adversary. Agatha Christie
Good Morning, Midnight. Jean Rhys
The Years. Virginia Woolf
The Children's Book. A.S. Byatt
Afternoon Men. Anthony Powell
Travels With My Aunt. Graham Greene
Party Going. Henry Green

The 2010 Bibliophilic Books Challenge

2009-12-20T01:08:00.022-05:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: Lesley of A Life in Books

Guidelines:

Read a set number of books that focus on books or reading.
Books can be fiction or nonfiction.
Only books read during the challenge will count.
Re-reads and crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
No need to make a list of books to read.
You can change your mind on any particular book selection throughout the challenge.

Levels of Participation:

Bookworm: Read three books
Litlover: Read six books
Bibliomaniac: Read twelve books

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the list of reviews here.

I'm signing up at the Bookworm level (three books), but hope to do better than that.

MY READING LIST:

The Anthologist. Nicholson Baker [See Review]
People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks [Review to come]
The Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton [See Review]
The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder [See Review]
The Inheritance. Simon Tolkien [See Review]

OTHER POSSIBLE CHOICES:

Fiction:
The Book of Air and Shadows. Michael Gruber
The Book of Lost Things. John Connolly
The Bookwoman's Last Fling. John Dunning
The Dante Club. Matthew Pearl
Ex-Libris. Ross King
The Geographer's Library. Jon Fasman
Inkheart. Cornelia Funke
The Last Dickens. Matthew Pearl
The Secret of Lost Things. Sheridan Hay
Sign of the Book. John Dunning
Nonfiction:
A Gentle Madness. Nicholas A. Basbanes
A Passion for Books. Harold Rabinowitz
Book Row. Marvin Mondlin
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. Anne Fadiman
Library: An Unquiet History. Matthew Battles
The Library at Night. Alberto Manguel
Old and Rare: Thirty Years in the Book Business. Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine B. Stern
Old Books, Rare Friends. Madeleine B. Stern and Leona Rostenberg
Sisters of the Sinai. Janet Martin Soskice
Slightly Chipped: Footnotes in Booklore. Lawrence Goldstone
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. Lewis Buzbee

The Art History Reading Challenge

2009-12-14T16:22:00.034-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: Nomadreader

Guidelines:

Read at least 3 books about art in 2010
Books can be either fiction or nonfiction, and can be from any genre (historical fiction, graphic novels, etc.)
Young adult and children's books are allowed
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed
You can make your list of books in advance or choose as you go

Levels of Participation:

Curious - Read at least 3 books about art, either fiction or nonfiction
Fascinated - Read at least 6 books about art, either fiction or nonfiction
Enamored - Read at least 9 books about art, either fiction or nonfiction
Utterly enchanted - Read at least 12 books about art, either fiction or nonfiction

I'm signing up for the "Fascinated" level (at least 6 books).

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the LibraryThing discussion group here.

MY READING LIST

The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy. Nick Bantock [See Review]
The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears [See Review]
Quattrocento. James McKean [See Review]
The Hypnotist. M.J. Rose [See Review]
The Forgery of Venus. Michael Gruber
Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper. Harriet Scott Chessman

LIST OF POSSIBILITIES

Art-Related Fiction

A Curious Earth: A Novel. Gerard Woodward
A Killer Collection (Collectible Mysteries, No.1). J.B. Stanley
Afterimage. Helen Humphreys
An Artist of the Floating World. Kazuo Ishiguro
Cat's Eye. Margaret Atwood
Chasing Cezanne. Peter Mayle
Coast Road. Barbara Delinsky
Death and Restoration. Iain Pears
Depths of Glory. Irving Stone
Feint of Art (Annie Kincaid Mysteries No.1). Hailey Lind
Girl in Hyacinth Blue. Susan Vreeland
Girl with a Pearl Earring. Tracy Chevalier
Headlong. Michael Frayn
I Am Madame X. Gioia Dilberto
Leonardo's Swans. Karen Essex
Luncheon of the Boating Party. Susan Vreeland
Lust for Life. Irving Stone
Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper. Harriet Scott Chessman
Modern Art: A Novel. Evenly Toynton
My Name Is Asher Lev. Chaim Potok
Pale as the Dead. Fiona Mountain
Quattrocento. James McKean
Seek My Face. John Updike
Stealing Athena. Karen Essex
Still Life. Louise Penny
Stone Virgin. Barry Unsworth
The Agony and the Ecstasy. Irving Stone
The Bone Vault. Linda Fairstein
The Brutal Art. Jesse Kellerman
The Calder Game. Blue Balliett
The Caves of Perigord. Martin Walker
The Cezanne Chase (Inspector Jack Oxby). Thomas Swan
The Chrysalis: A Novel. Heather Terrell
The DaVinci Deception. (Inspector Jack Oxby). Thomas Swan
The Danish Girl. David Ebershoff
The Final Faberge (Inspector Jack Oxby). Thomas Swan
The Forgery of Venus. Michael Gruber
The Illuminator. Brenda Rickman Vantrease
The Lady and the Unicorn. Tracy Chevalier
The Light Possessed. Alan Cheuse
The Light That Failed. Rudyard Kipling
The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals: A Novel. Michael Kernan
The Madonnas of Leningrad. Debra Dean
The Marble Faun. Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Matisse Stories. A.S. Byatt
The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre. Dominic Smith
The Moon and Sixpence. W. Somerset Maugham
The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World. E.L. Konigsberg
The Needle in the Blood. Sarah Bower
The Painted Kiss. Elizabeth Hickey
The Painter from Shanghai. Jennifer Cody Epstein
The Painter. Will Davenport
The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears
The Second Mrs. Gioconda. E.L. Konigsberg
The Seventh Unicorn. Kelly Jones
The Underpainter. Jane Urquhart
The Wayward Muse. Elizabeth Hickey
The World to Come: A Novel. Dara Horn

Art-Related Nonfiction

Brunelleschi's Dome. Ross King
Sargent's Daughters: A Biography of a Painting. Erica S. Hirshler
Strapless. Deborah Davis
The Judgment of Paris. Ross King
The Lost Painting. Jonathan Harr
The Story of the Armory Show. Milton W. Brown

The Series Challenge Season Four

2009-12-06T12:57:00.015-05:00

***Challenge ended. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 December 2009 to 30 November 2010
Hosted by: Kathrin of Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic

Guidelines:

Pick a couple series you already started and now want to finish (meaning, you'll be all up to date with the series when it ends).
Read at least 4 books, more are also okay, of course!
Crossovers with other challenges are always okay.
Post your reviews on your blog or in the comments section of the challenge page, no matter how long. If you post the review on your blog, post a link to the review in the comments section so everyone else can check out your review.
Have fun!

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

I'll be working on these series in 2010:

The Cliff Janeway series by John Dunning (2 books left to read)
The Mrs. Malory series by Hazel Holt (6 books left to read)
The Needlework (Betsy Devonshire) series by Monica Ferris (9 books left to read)
The Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (7 books left to read)

MY READING LIST:

Crewel Yule (Needlework/Betsy Devonshire series). Monica Ferris [see review]
Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death (Mrs. Malory series). Hazel Holt [Review to come]
A Stitch in Time (Needlework/Betsy Devonshire series). Monica Ferris [Review to come]

New Authors Challenge 2010

2009-11-22T15:34:00.052-05:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January through 31 December, 2010
Hosted by: Jackie at Literary Escapism

Guidelines:

Choose 15, 25, or 50 new-to-you authors.
No limit on genres.
Anthologies are allowed; however, only a third of your choices can be from anthologies.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
You don't need a blog to participate.
There will be a Mr. Linky for reviews.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

I'm committing to 15 new authors, and hope to do a little better than that.

MY READING LIST:

The Anthologist. Nicholson Baker [See Review]
The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears [See Review]
Venom. Joan Brady [See Review]
Quattrocento. James McKean [See Review]
People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks [Review to come]
The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson [See Review]
Heresy. S.J. Parris [Review to come]
Before the Throne. Naguib Mahfouz [Review to come]
The Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw [See Review]
An American Type. Henry Roth [See Review]
A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters [See Review]
Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner [See Review]
Tinkers. Paul Harding [See Review]
The Last Child. John Hart [Review to come]
The Hypnotist. M.J. Rose [See Review]
The Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton [See Review]
The Spider Bites. Medora Sale [Review to come]
The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Cathleen Schine [Review to come]
The Good Psychologist. Noam Shpancer [See Review]
Damaged. Alex Kava [See Review]
The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder [See Review]
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley [Review to come]
Think of a Number. John Verdon [Review to come]
All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost. Lan Samantha Chang [See Review]
The Convent. Panos Karnezis [See Review]
The Inheritance. Simon Tolkien [See Review]
The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons [See Review]
Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff [Review to come]
After Claude. Iris Owens [See Review]
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant [Review to come]
Juliet. Anne Fortier [See Review]
The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown [See Review]
The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan [See Review]

The Thriller-Suspense Challenge 2010

2009-11-21T17:00:00.032-05:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2010
Hosted by: Book Chick City

Guidelines:

Read twelve (12) thriller-suspense novels in 2010. You can make your choices from any of the many sub-genres.
No list necessary; if you want to list your books ahead of time, that's OK, but not required.
Lists can change during the course of the challenge.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
There will be a page to list your reviews, although reviews are optional.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the list of sub-genres here.
See the review page here.

MY READING LIST (books read):

The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears [See Review]
~ (I'm putting this one in the Drama Thriller category.)
Venom. Joan Brady [See Review]
~ (This one would fit in either the Disaster or Eco-Thriller categories.)
Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death. Hazel Holt [Review to come]
~ (Cozy Mystery category. Would also fit the Amateur Detective Mystery category)
Heresy. S.J. Parris [Review to come]
~ (Historical thriller category.)
A Stitch in Time. Monica Ferris [Review to come]
~ (Cozy Mystery category; but it would also fit into the Amateur Detective category, too.)
A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters [See Review]
~ (Historical Mystery/Thriller category.)
Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner [See Review]
~ (This would fit in the Drama Thriller and/or Serial Killer Thriller categories)
The Last Child. John Hart [Review to come]
~ (Drama Thriller category; with a little bit of Amateur Detective Mystery thrown in.)
Innocent. Scott Turow [See Review]
~ (Legal Thriller category)
The Hypnotist. M.J. Rose [See Review]
~ (Drama Thriller category)
Damaged. Alex Kava [See Review]
~ (Serial Killer Thriller category)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley [Review to come]
~(Haven't figured out a category for this one yet)
Think of a Number. John Verdon [Review to come]
~ (Serial Killer or Drama Thriller categories)
The Inheritance. Simon Tolkien [See Review]
~ (Legal Thriller category)
Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie [See Review]
~ (Locked Room Mystery category)
Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff [Review to come]
~ (Supernatural Thriller category)
The Dark Half. Stephen King [Review to come]
~ (Horror Thriller category)

The Christmas Reading Challenge

2009-11-20T15:41:00.010-05:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.***

Dates: November 26 through December 31, 2009
Hosted by: Michelle of The True Book Addict

Guidelines:

Read one or more books with Christmas themes, during the time period of the challenge.
The books have to be Christmas books – either novels with a Christmas theme, or books of Christmas short stories, or nonfiction books about the holiday.
No children's books, but YA books are allowed.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my challenge wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge review page here.

MY READING LIST:

Crewel Yule. Monica Ferris (see review)
Santa Clawed. Rita Mae Brown (see review)
Christmas Card Magic. Margaret Perry (see review)

The Awesome Author Challenge 2010

2009-11-11T17:32:00.031-05:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: Throughout 2010
Hosted by: Alyce of At Home With Books

Guidelines:

"The idea behind this challenge is to read works by authors who have been recommended to you time and again, yet somehow you haven't managed to read any books by those authors. These are the authors that everyone else tells you are awesome, thus the 'Awesome Author Challenge' title."

The challenge starts January 1, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
Choose the level at which you would like to participate, post about it and then visit Alyce's blog to sign up and leave your link.
Titles and authors do not have to be predetermined, and your list of choices can be changed at any time.
Books can come from any genre or reading level. The only requirement is that you have heard great things about the authors, but haven't yet read any of their works.

Levels of Participation:

Easy: Choose three authors and read at least one title from each author.
Moderate: Choose six authors and read at least one title from each author.
Challenging: Choose ten authors and read at least one title from each author.
Over-achieving: Anything over ten authors.

See my original post about the Challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the Challenge announcement page here.
See the Challenge wrap-up page here.

I'm going to try the Challenging Level, and choose ten awesome authors who are new to me.

MY READING LIST:

Nick Bantock: The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy [See Review]
Nicholson Baker: The Anthologist [See Review]
Iain Pears: The Raphael Affair [See Review]
Henry Roth: An American Type [See Review]
Elizabeth Peters: A River in the Sky [See Review]
Lisa Gardner: Live To Tell [See Review]
Kate Morton: The Forgotten Garden [See Review]
Alex Kava: Damaged [See Review]
Zilpha Keatley Snyder: The Egypt Game [See Review]
Anne Rivers Siddons: The House Next Door [See Review]

The November Novella Challenge

2009-11-02T22:17:00.013-05:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: Through November 30, 2009
Hosted by: Bibliofreak

Guidelines:

". . . there aren’t any rules. . .just some suggestions for cheating: Cross-overs with other challenges are fine, audiobooks are fine. . . . I do ask you to make a list in advance, but swapping out books on your list as you go is no problem. If you don’t have a blog, that’s O.K.! You can still participate by writing a short review in the comments section of the review page. . . ."

Levels of Participation:

Level I: Read one (just one!) novella by November 30, 2009
Level II: Read four novellas (one each week, mayhaps?) by November 30, 2009
Level III: Read eight novellas (two a week?) by November 30, 2009
Level IV: AKA, the As Many As You Freakin’ Can level: Read as many novellas as you freakin’ can by November 30, 2009

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge review page here.

I'm playing it safe and signing up for Level I.

MY READING LIST (completed works):

The Lair of the White Worm. Bram Stoker [see review]
The Uncommon Reader. Alan Bennett [review to come]
The Lesson of the Master. Henry James [review to come]
The Lover. Marguerite Duras [review to come]

Fall Into Reading 2009

2009-09-24T10:48:00.021-04:00

***Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post.***

Dates: September 22 to December 20, 2009
Hosted by: Callapidder Days

Guidelines:

Make a list of the books you think you'd like to read during the period of the challenge, and post the list on your blog.
Go to the sign-up page and add the link to your post using Mister Linky.
Participants can read any number of books.
Lists can be changed or added to over the course of the challenge.
Reviews are optional.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the challenge sign-up page here.
See the challenge review page here.
See the challenge wrap-up page here.

MY BOOK LIST (books read):

New Year's Eve. Lisa Grunwald [see review]
The Man in the Picture. Susan Hill [see review]
The Woman in Black. Susan Hill [see review]
From Doon with Death. Ruth Rendell [see review]
The Friend of Madame Maigret. Georges Simenon [see review]
The Lair of the White Worm. Bram Stoker [see review]
Homer & Langley. E.L. Doctorow [review to come]
The Uncommon Reader. Alan Bennett [review to come]
Stardust. Joseph Kanon [review to come]
The Lover. Marguerite Duras [review to come]
Santa Clawed. Rita Mae Brown [see review]
Christmas Card Magic. Margaret Perry [see review]

R.I.P. IV Challenge

2009-09-02T12:53:00.018-04:00

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: September 1 through October 31, 2009
Hosted by: Carl V. of Stainless Steel Droppings

Guidelines:

There are several different levels of participation:

Peril the First: Read four books of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Peril the Second: Read two books of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Peril the Third: Read one book of any length, from any subgenre you choose.
Short Story Peril: An extra option, for those who want to participate in Short Story Sundays.

Choose your books from the following subgenres:

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic
Horror
Supernatural

See my original post about the Challenge here.
See my wrap-up post here.
See the Challenge announcement page here.
See the Challenge review page here.

I'm going to try Peril the First (four books), although if all goes well I might be able to do a little better than that.

MY BOOK LIST (books read):

The Man in the Picture. Susan Hill [see review]
The Woman in Black. Susan Hill [see review]
New Year's Eve. Lisa Grunwald [see review]
From Doon with Death. Ruth Rendell [see review]
The Friend of Madame Maigret. Georges Simenon [see review]
The Lair of the White Worm. Bram Stoker [see review]