***A resounding success! I finished on time and even read more than I needed to!***
Dates: September 1st through October 31st of 2008
Host: Carl
For details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Several options available. I'm going with Peril the First, which means reading 4 books of the dark/creepy/scary variety.
My pool of possibles:
*The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason (yes, maybe this will be the time that I actually give this well-loved book a go)
*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
*Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
*Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo
*The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
*We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
*Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
*Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
*The Thirteen Tale by Diane Setterfield
*Witch-Hunt by Marc Aronson
*Dracula by Bram Stoker
*Lost Boy, Lost Girl by Peter Straub
*The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
*The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
*Daphne du Maurier's Classics of the Macabre
*Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
*From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
*Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest by Matt Haig
*The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury
*Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
*Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub
*The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
*The Witches by Roald Dahl
*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Floods: Good Neighbors by Colin Thompson
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Japanese Literature Challenge 2
Dates: July 30th, 2008 through January 30, 2009
Host: Bellezza
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read at least 3 works of Japanese literature.
My list:
*The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
*Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
*Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino
Thursday, June 26, 2008
July Book Blowout
Dates: July 1st through July 31st
Host: Mrs. S
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read as many books as you can during the month of July.
My list (to be filled in as I go):
1. Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them by Mark Jerome Walters
2. Becoming a Superhero by William D. Smith (counts as half a book)
3. How did I get to be 40 & other atrocities by Judith Viorst
4. Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman
5. Stuart Little by E.B. White
Host: Mrs. S
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read as many books as you can during the month of July.
My list (to be filled in as I go):
1. Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them by Mark Jerome Walters
2. Becoming a Superhero by William D. Smith (counts as half a book)
3. How did I get to be 40 & other atrocities by Judith Viorst
4. Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman
5. Stuart Little by E.B. White
Monday, June 2, 2008
Classics Challenge
Dates: July 1st through December 31st
Host: Trish
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read 5 classics, and then one bonus book from the list that the participants put together of should be/will be classics.
My list:
*Dracula by Bram Stoker
*Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
*Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
*Walden by Henry David Thoreau
*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
*Bonus book: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Friday, May 16, 2008
It's the End of the World...challenge
Dates: May 15th through September 15th
Host: Becky
For details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read at least three apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic books.
My list:
*The Stand by Stephen King (for the 7th or 8th time)
*The Road by Cormac McCarthy
*Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Southern Reading Challenge
***Oh man...I can't believe I blew it again this year. In fact, I did even worse than last year. Yikes!***
Dates: May 15th through August 15th
Host: Maggie
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read 3 books both set in the South and written by Southern authors.
My list:
*A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
*Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (O.k., o.k., I know he's not from the South, but Maggie said I could use this book last year because the book gives such a good feel for Savannah, so I'm hoping she won't mind if I use it this year. I had it as a bonus read last year, but never got to it.)
*A Painted House by John Grisham (I didn't really want to read another John Grisham book for this year's challenge, but since I already owned it and since it sounds a bit different from others of his I've read, I decided it would have to do.)
Alternates:
*The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
*Sonny's House of Spies by George Ella Lyon
Dates: May 15th through August 15th
Host: Maggie
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read 3 books both set in the South and written by Southern authors.
My list:
*A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
*Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (O.k., o.k., I know he's not from the South, but Maggie said I could use this book last year because the book gives such a good feel for Savannah, so I'm hoping she won't mind if I use it this year. I had it as a bonus read last year, but never got to it.)
*A Painted House by John Grisham (I didn't really want to read another John Grisham book for this year's challenge, but since I already owned it and since it sounds a bit different from others of his I've read, I decided it would have to do.)
Alternates:
*The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
*Sonny's House of Spies by George Ella Lyon
Sunday, May 4, 2008
%1 Well Read Challenge
Dates: May 1st '08 through February 28th, '09
Host: 3M
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read 10 books from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
My list (with a few extras for wiggle room):
*Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
*The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
*The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
*The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
*Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
*Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
*The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
*Dracula by Bram Stoker
*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
*The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
*Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
*Walden by Henry David Thoreau
*Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Medical Mystery Madness '08
Dates: June 1st through November 1st
Host: Debi
For details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read at least three medical thrillers.
My list:
*Vanish, by Tess Gerritson
*The Sisterhood, by Michael Palmer
*Shock, by Robin Cook
Afraid I'm not spreading my wings here...three authors I'm already well acquainted with. But if I can manage it (yeah right, who am I kidding?!!), I'd like add a few extras as well. I counted, and in addition to the ones on my list, I have 12 more medical thrillers in my TBR pile.
Monday, April 21, 2008
I Heard It Through the Grapevine Challenge
Dates: June 1st through November 30th
Host: Lynne
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read three books recommended by others.
My list:
*Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See (Kara's doing)
*The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright (Eva's doing)
*Larklight, by Philip Reeve (Annie's doing)
Host: Lynne
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read three books recommended by others.
My list:
*Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See (Kara's doing)
*The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright (Eva's doing)
*Larklight, by Philip Reeve (Annie's doing)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Novella Challenge
Dates: April 1st through September 30th
Host: Trish
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read 6 novellas (definition for challenge--a book of 100 to 250 pages, or thereabouts).
My list:
*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
*Wolves of the Crescent Moon by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
*The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
*Gossamer by Lois Lowry
*The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Monday, March 31, 2008
Initials Reading Challenge
***I just realized that I actually finished this one a while back. WooHoo for me!***
Dates: April 1st through November 30th
Host: Becky.
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read at least 5 books by authors who go by their initials.
My list of possibles:
*100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
*The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
*Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
*Stuart Little by E.B. White
*The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
*As Deep as the Marrow by F. Paul Wilson
*Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
*Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
*The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E.L. Konigsburg
*Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft
*A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez
*The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
*Pendragon: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale
--This way, way, way more books than I'll actually read, but I just couldn't narrow down my choices at this point. :)
Dates: April 1st through November 30th
Host: Becky.
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read at least 5 books by authors who go by their initials.
My list of possibles:
*100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
*The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
*Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
*Stuart Little by E.B. White
*The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
*As Deep as the Marrow by F. Paul Wilson
*Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
*Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
*The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E.L. Konigsburg
*Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft
*A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez
*The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
*Pendragon: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale
--This way, way, way more books than I'll actually read, but I just couldn't narrow down my choices at this point. :)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Spring Reading Thing '08
***I believe this is what they mean by going down in flames. I did not read one single book from my list. Pathetic.***
Dates: March 20th through June 19th
Host: Katrina
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Make a list of books and read them.
My list:
*Zodiac by Robert Graysmith
*The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
*The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Boockmeier
*The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
---Special Note:
I realize my list is pretty short. I'm already so over-committed with other challenges, but there was no way I could pass this one up. Katrina's Spring Reading Thing 2007 was the very first reading challenge I ever joined. It started my obsession, and thus remains very close to my heart :-)
Dates: March 20th through June 19th
Host: Katrina
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Make a list of books and read them.
My list:
*Zodiac by Robert Graysmith
*The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
*The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Boockmeier
*The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
---Special Note:
I realize my list is pretty short. I'm already so over-committed with other challenges, but there was no way I could pass this one up. Katrina's Spring Reading Thing 2007 was the very first reading challenge I ever joined. It started my obsession, and thus remains very close to my heart :-)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Once Upon A Time II Reading Challenge
***Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! I did it! All five books, plus A Midsummer Night's Dream!***
Dates: March 21st through June 20th
Host: Carl.
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Actually, there are a few different options. I am choosing Quest 3, which involves reading 5 books from the world of fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology, and finishing up with a June reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
My list of possibles (because I'm having a really hard time committing to a specific five):
*Runemarks by Joanne Harris
*What-the-Dickens by Gregory Maguire
*Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
*Horns & Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson
*The Book without Words by Avi
*The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
*The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
*The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu
*The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
*100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
*Beauty by Robin McKinley
*The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
*Wicked by Gregory Maguire
*Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
*The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley
*A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson
*The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Dates: March 21st through June 20th
Host: Carl.
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Actually, there are a few different options. I am choosing Quest 3, which involves reading 5 books from the world of fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology, and finishing up with a June reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
My list of possibles (because I'm having a really hard time committing to a specific five):
*Runemarks by Joanne Harris
*What-the-Dickens by Gregory Maguire
*Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
*Horns & Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson
*The Book without Words by Avi
*The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
*The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
*The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu
*The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
*100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
*Beauty by Robin McKinley
*The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
*Wicked by Gregory Maguire
*Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
*The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley
*A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson
*The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Friday, March 14, 2008
Twisted Fairy Tales Reading Challenge
***Failure...in the sense that I didn't complete my books in time. Success...in the sense that I did get two books read.***
Date: March 5th through May 5th
Host: Enna Isilee
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read at least four fairly tale retellings, adaptations, or in the tradition of a fairy tale books.
My list:
*The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
*The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (finished late)
*Beauty by Robin McKinley
*The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Alternates:
*A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
*The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block (finished late)
Date: March 5th through May 5th
Host: Enna Isilee
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read at least four fairly tale retellings, adaptations, or in the tradition of a fairy tale books.
My list:
*The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
*The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (finished late)
*Beauty by Robin McKinley
*The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Alternates:
*A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
*The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block (finished late)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Non-Fiction Five Reading Challenge '08
Date: May 1st through September 30
Host: Joy
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read 5 non-fiction books. Try to mix it up at least a little bit.
My list:
*Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan
*The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
*New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz
*Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule
*The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
*All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Yes, I realize that was 6 books...I just couldn't decide which one to leave out.
Substitutes:
*Six Modern Plagues and How We are Causing Them by Mark Jerome Walters
Host: Joy
For details: Click here.
The challenge (put simply): Read 5 non-fiction books. Try to mix it up at least a little bit.
My list:
*Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan
*The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
*New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz
*Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule
*The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
*All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Yes, I realize that was 6 books...I just couldn't decide which one to leave out.
Substitutes:
*Six Modern Plagues and How We are Causing Them by Mark Jerome Walters
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Banned Books Challenge
***Blew it. Only 2 out of my 4 were completed on time. Oh well.***
Dates: February 24th through June 30th, 2008
Host: Pelham Public Library
For details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read banned books, you choose how many.
My list: (It was really hard to narrow this down!)
*The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (although I've read it a bazillion times, I never tire of it)
*Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
*Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut (this will also be a reread...a needed one because I can't remember any of the stories)
*The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Dates: February 24th through June 30th, 2008
Host: Pelham Public Library
For details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read banned books, you choose how many.
My list: (It was really hard to narrow this down!)
*The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (although I've read it a bazillion times, I never tire of it)
*Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
*Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut (this will also be a reread...a needed one because I can't remember any of the stories)
*The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Heart of a Child Reading Challenge
***Well, better late than never, as they say.***
Dates: February 1st through July 14, 2008
Host: Becky
For Details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read 3-6 books that you loved in childhood (childhood being broadly defined as birth to age 18).
My list: (though no list is required)
*The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (favorite book as a little tyke)
*Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (favorite book as a preteen)
*The Stand by Stephen King (during middle school, Stephen King took over as my favorite author...read The Stand when it first came out and it immediately became my all-time favorite book)
Dates: February 1st through July 14, 2008
Host: Becky
For Details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read 3-6 books that you loved in childhood (childhood being broadly defined as birth to age 18).
My list: (though no list is required)
*The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (favorite book as a little tyke)
*Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (favorite book as a preteen)
*The Stand by Stephen King (during middle school, Stephen King took over as my favorite author...read The Stand when it first came out and it immediately became my all-time favorite book)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Margaret A. Edwards Reading Challenge
***WooHoo! Pulled this one off. Finished up with my last review on June 1st. Hey, I made the deadline.***
Dates: February 1 through June 1, 2008
Host: Becky
For Details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read 3-5 books by any Margaret A. Edwards award winner. All one author or mix it up.
My list:
*Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
*I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson
Alternatives, or hopeful additions:
*The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block
*Voices by Ursula Le Guin
Dates: February 1 through June 1, 2008
Host: Becky
For Details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read 3-5 books by any Margaret A. Edwards award winner. All one author or mix it up.
My list:
*Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
*I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson
Alternatives, or hopeful additions:
*The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block
*Voices by Ursula Le Guin
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Chunkster Challenge (2008)
Dates: January 7th through December 20th, 2008
Host: Dana
For Details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read at least 4 books of 450+ pages.
My list:
*Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King --522 pages--
*Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi --490 pages--
*The Stand: Complete and Uncut by Stephen King --1153 pages--
*Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke --782 pages--
Alternates:
*The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien --458 pages--
*The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova --642 pages--
Host: Dana
For Details: Click here.
The Challenge (put simply): Read at least 4 books of 450+ pages.
My list:
*Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King --522 pages--
*Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi --490 pages--
*The Stand: Complete and Uncut by Stephen King --1153 pages--
*Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke --782 pages--
Alternates:
*The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien --458 pages--
*The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova --642 pages--
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