From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

The From the Stacks Challenge was hosted by Michelle at Overdue Books. This was my first repeat challenge. I participated last year as my very first challenge, so was excited to participate again this year.

The rules were the same as last year. Between November 1st and January 30th read 5 books that you have already purchased have been meaning to get to, have been sitting on the nightstand and haven't read before.

The books I chose for this challenge were:

• Running Blind by Lee Child
• Wives and Sisters by Natalie Collins
• Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler
• Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
• I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

The best book: Wow! It’s hard to choose between I Am the Messenger and Heartsick because they are so completely different styles. I’d have to say it was a tie between these two

What book could I have done without? All were enjoyable for what they were – some for a thrill ride, some for pure escapism. Wives and Sisters was probably the one I’d that was just OK.

Any new authors? Yes, Natalie Collins and Chelsea Cain were new-to-me authors. I haven’t decided whether or not to read more of Collins’ books, but I’ll be eagerly awaiting Chelsea Cain’s next book.

Books I did not finish: finished all I started

What did I learn? That if I can use books I’ve already got on my TBR list, I can usually find a way to participate in a challenge. I wasn’t going to do any more this year, but when it’s books I already have or want to read anyway and I can overlap with other challenges, I’m probably going to sign up.

This was a fun challenge and I hope to participate again if it’s available next year.

2nds Challenge Wrap-Up

The 2nds Challenge was hosted by my friend Joy who challenged us to:

Between October 1st and December 31st read 3 books by authors that you have only read one other.

I selected three books for this challenge:

• Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
• Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson
• I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

The best book: I Am the Messenger was by far my favorite, although I did enjoy Birds of a Feather.

What book could I have done without? Human Croquet was a huge disappointment. I’ve read two of Kate Atkinson’s books now and have felt let down by both

Any new authors? No, all were second reads by definition of the challenge

Books I did not finish: finished all I started

What did I learn? In Birds of a Feather I learned quite a bit about life in England after World War 1. I haven’t read much about that location and time frame so the economic hardships and the troubles the veterans went through was fairly new to me.

Thanks Joy! This was a fun challenge

Unread Authors Challenge Wrap-Up

The Unread Authors Challenge was sponsored at Sycorax Pine. Between September 1, 2007 through February 28, 2008. Participants needed to read six books by authors they had never read before.

This was my original list:
· Tess Gerritsen - The Surgeon
· Erica Spindler – Forbidden Fruit
· Linda Barnes – A Trouble of Fools
· Chris Bohjalain – Buffalo Soldier
· Cory McFayden – Shadow Man
· Robert Crais – The Monkey’s Raincoat

But I ended up substituting the two Hometown Challenge books for the last two on the list so I could wrap up this challenge this month – so these two were included instead.
· April Henry - Circles of Confusion
· Chelsea Cain – Heartsick

The best book: Hard to choose because the genre differences make them hard to compare

What book could I have done without? Forbidden Fruit was my least favorite.

Any new authors? All were new authors by definition of the challenge

Books I did not finish: Finished them all. Even though I changed my original list, I still plan to read both of those books soon.

What did I learn? That I’m enjoying the fact that these challenges are making me actually pick up and read some of those books that have been languishing on my TBR list for far too long. A Trouble of Fools, The Buffalo Soldier and The Surgeon have all been on my list for a long time and I was glad to finally read all three of them.

Thanks to Por of Tor for the kick in the TBR

Hometown Challenge Wrap-Up

The Hometown Challenge was hosted by Callista over at S.M.S. Book Reviews.

Your challenge if you choose to accept it is to read at least ONE book from November 1, 2007 to March 1, 2008 that either takes place in your hometown or is written by an author who lives in your hometown. It can be the place you were born or where you live now, whichever.

I selected two books for this challenge:

• Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
• Circles of Confusion by April Henry
  

The best book: Heartsick was a page turner and a thrill ride. Circles of Confusion was enjoyable too, but more of a cozy mystery. I thought Circles of Confusion was a bit too local-focused in that some of the references would be confusing for readers not from this area. Chelsea Cain did a better job of capturing the local flavor, but retaining the broad appeal of her book.

What book could I have done without? They were both enjoyable.

Any new authors? Both were new authors for me (although I had read Chelsea Cain’s newspaper columns).

Books I did not finish: finished and enjoyed them both

What did I learn? That there was a fun series by a local author that I’d missed (The Claire Montrose series by April Henry) and that Chelsea Cain can write a heck of a thriller. I can’t wait till she writes another one.

Thanks to Callista for hosting this one and inspiring me to check out a couple of local authors I’d missed!

TBR Challenge Wrap-Up

The 2007 TBR Challenge was hosted by MizBooks, who challenged us to:
** Pick 12 books - one for each month of 2007 - that you've been wanting to read (have been on your "To Be Read" list) for 6 months or longer, but haven't gotten around to.** Then, starting January 1, 2007, read one of these books from your list each month, ending December 31, 2007. :o)
These are the 12 books I chose for this challenge (with links to my blog posts):
January - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
February - The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
March - Aunt Dimity and the Duke by Nancy Atherton
April - Total Control by David Baldacci
May - Isle of Palms by Dorothea Benton Frank
June - Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
July - Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
August - The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch by Marsha Moyer
September - A Piece of Heaven by Barbara Samuel
October - Forbidden Fruit by Erica Spindler
November - Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson
December - The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian


The best book: A tie between Les Miserables and The Three Musketeers – both originally written in French, so the choice of which translation was a concern. I loved the translations I read of both of these, and would recommend them.

• Les Miserables: the Signet Classics edition translated by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee
• The Three Musketeers: the 2006 translation by Richard Pevear (which is now out in trade paperback with a truly unfortunate cover – the hardcover dust jacket pictured in the link was so much better it’s ridiculous)

What book could I have done without? None of them were complete duds, but I’d say that Human Croquet was the one I liked the least. A few others were just so-so (Aunt Dimity and the Duke, Enemy Women, The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch).

Any new authors? Yes, Hugo, Dumas, Jiles, Lamott, Moyer, Spindler, and Bohjalian were all new authors for me.

Books I did not finish: I finished read all that I planned

What did I learn? I learned that planning my reading 12 months in advance can be frustrating. I found myself not wanting to wait till the next month to read one of the books on my list quite often. I also learned that for a year-long challenge like this I really need to have some alternates available. A few of the books I really wasn’t in the mood for at the time, but went ahead and finished them because of the challenge. I’m definitely planning on participating in the 2008 TBR Challenge, but I’m going to make some changes based on my experience this year. First of all – I’m not planning to stick with the one book per month plan. I’ll select 12 and read them when I darn well please. I don’t care about challenge prizes, I care about reading books. I’ll also list a bunch of alternates – that way if I start one of the challenge books and find that I’m just not in the mood for it, I’ll have a list of alternates to choose from.