My Reading Challenges

Current Reading Challenges

2010-12-31T23:43:00.000-08:00

This is a sticky post to hold all my current reading challenges.
When challenge is completed, I'll remove it from this list and copy the wrap up post below this Current Challenges post

The Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

~~1. Dead Until Dark~~
~~2. Living Dead in Dallas~~
~~3. Club Dead~~
~~4. Dead to the World~~
~~5. Dead as a Doornail~~
~~6. Definitely Dead~~
~~7. All Together Dead~~
~~8. From Dead to Worse~~
~~9. Dead and Gone~~

The Harry Potter Reading Challenge

~~1. Sorcerer’s Stone~~
~~2. Chamber of Secrets~~
~~3. Prisoner of Azkaban~~
~~4. Goblet of Fire~~
~~5. Order of the Phoenix~~
~~6. Half-Blood Prince~~ finished after end of challenge
~~7. Deathly Hallows~~

The 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge

1. Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks
2. The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
3. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
4. Genesis
5. Twenty Wishes
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
7. The Queen's Secret
8. The Woman in Black
9. The Maze Runner
10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
11. Beautiful Creatures
12. Chile Death
13. Blood Orange Brewing
14. Pretties
15. We Have Always Lived in the Castle
16. Secondhand Smoke
17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
18. Splintered Bones
19. The Sinner
20. Lake of Sorrows
21. Messenger of Truth
22. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
23. Twelve Sharp
24. The Wife's Tale
25. A Touch of Dead
26. Ghosts of Everest
27. Sorrow's Anthem
28. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
29. Pray for Silence
30. Lavender Lies
31. Body Double
32. Death of Riley
33. 92 Pacific Boulevard
34. Summer on Blossom Street
35. 31 Bond Street
36. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
37. 5th Horseman
38. Harm's Way
39. Still Missing
40. The House on Tradd Street
41. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
42. The Report
43. Darkness Be My Friend
44. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
45. Last Night in Montreal
46. Chains
47. Sleepyhead
48. The Double Comfort Safari Club
49. A Welcome Grave
50.

The What's in a Name? 3 Challenge

1. A book with a food in the title - ~~Blood Orange Brewing~~

2. A book with a body of water in the title ~~Lake of Sorrows~~

3. A book with a title in the title - ~~The Queen's Secret by Jean Plaidy~~

4. A book with a plant in the title - ~~Chile Death~~

5. A book with a place name in the title - ~~Ghosts of Everest~~

6. A book with a music term in the title - ~~Lullaby Town by Robert Crais~~

2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge Wrap-Up

2009-12-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

I technically completed this challenge last week, but I’m going to continue to add books to my list so I’m calling this one "completed but still tracking".

J-Kaye created the perfect challenge for me in 2009 - The Support Your Local Library Challenge. I love my libraries and use them extensively. Hardly a week goes by without a stop at one of them. I’m lucky enough to live in one county and work in another and both counties have wonderful library systems.

When I signed up for this challenge last year, I hesitated about what level of participation to set as a goal. I decided to try for 50 and see how it went. Well I easily met the 50 books goal without even counting my audiobooks. This was after taking off a couple of months from the library for the Clear Your Shelves Challenge. This challenge worked well with my goal to try to rein in a bit of my spending on books. I still bought plenty of books this year. I don’t even want to start counting those up. I did focus my book buying on the books that I knew I wanted to keep or those that I knew The Hubster would also read. That left plenty of books at the library just waiting to jump off the shelves and come home with me for a visit.

These are the books I read this year from the library (alphabetical order by author). As I said, this does not include my audiobooks which are all from the library). I will continue to update this list until the end of the year just to continue tracking my library books for 2009. Links are to my reviews.

Love Lies Bleeding by Susan Wittig Albert
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton
Aunt Dimity's Christmas by Nancy Atherton
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
Coyote by Linda Barnes
Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers by Troy Cook
Stalking the Angel by Robert Crais
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
The Bookman's Wake by John Dunning
Delusion by G.H. Ephron
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Murder on a Girls' Night Out by Anne George
The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen
Buried Bones by Carolyn Haines
The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart
Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer
The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand
Eli the Good by Silas House
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
The Lost Boy by Brent Jeffs
A World I Never Made by James LePore
Susannah's Garden by Debbie Macomber
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
The Dead of Night by John Marsden
A Killing Frost by John Marsden
Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti
Ruined by Paula Morris
Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs
Cold is the Grave by Peter Robinson
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR's Polio Haven by Susan Richards Shreve
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Higher Authority by Stephen White
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian

I was actually surprised that I met the goal of 50 without counting my audiobooks. I’m planning on joining the 2010 version of this challenge. It’s an easy one for me since I have such great libraries and can easily take advantage of them.

Thanks again to J-Kaye for a useful and fun challenge.

The Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge Wrap-Up

2009-12-01T06:45:00.000-08:00

My Goal: 70%
Actually read: 73%

Yesterday was the last day for the Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge hosted at S.Krishna’s Books

The point of the challenge was to read books that were already on my bookshelves. Participants had to set a goal of a percentage of books that they’d read between October 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.

This challenge was perfect for me because I’d been neglecting the books on my bookshelves in favor of library books. Part of the reason for that has been the Support Your Local Library Challenge but with that nearing completion I was glad to have an incentive to read books I already owned.

I set a pretty ambitious goal of 70% for myself for this challenge. I didn’t have any pending review commitments so I really just needed to browse on my bookshelves instead of the library for a few weeks. Of the 15 books and audiobooks I read in October and November, 11 of them were books I owned so I met my goal with 73%

These are the books I read for this challenge:

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Honeymoon by James Patterson

The Ruins by Scott Smith

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston

Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain

The list is heavy on mysteries and thrillers because those are the books I tend to buy. I’m more likely to buy books that are something both The Hubster and I will both read. Books I know he’d have no interest in; I’m more likely to get from the library.

The trade off for my success in this challenge is that for the past two months I’ve been adding books like crazy to my wishlist at the library to start reading once this challenge was over. Looks like December will be library catch up month for me. Look for lots of YA and Dystopian stuff, one Christmas book, and a couple of other books I want to read but will not likely pass along to The Hubster.

Big thanks to Swapna for hosting this challenge. It was a lot of fun.

2009 TBR Challenge Completed

2009-10-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

This was my third year in a row of doing this challenge. This year I went into the 2009 TBR Challenge with some specific goals in mind.

These were the rules:

* the challenge is to read 12 TBR books in 12 months -- you can read those all in one month if you want, or one a month, or however you wanna do it.
* you need to have a list posted somewhere for others to see
* you CANNOT change your list after January 1st, 2009!!!
* you can create an Alternates list of MAXIMUM 12 books, if you want, in order to have options to choose from (you can read these in place of books on your original list).
* audiobooks and e-books ARE allowed
* re-reads are NOT allowed, as they aren't TRUE "TBRs"
* you CAN overlap with other challenges

I decided several months ahead of time that for the 2009 version of this challenge I was only going to list books that are ‘the next book’ in the many many series that I’m in the process of reading. So all 24 of the books that I listed were part of some series I’ve started but not completed or caught up to the current release.

I’m listed 12 primary and 12 alternates. My not so secret plan was to read all 24 and I’ve now officially completed that. The lists are here with links to my reviews.

Primary List

Love Lies Bleeding by Susan Wittig Albert
Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton
Coyote by Linda Barnes
Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs
Hammerhead Ranch Motel by Tim Dorsey
The Bookman’s Wake by John Dunning
Delusion by G.H. Ephron
4th of July by James Patterson
Buried Bones by Carolyn Haines
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

Alternate List
Stalking the Angel by Robert Crais
The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen
Lost City by Clive Cussler
Mary, Mary by James Patterson
Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs
Reunion in Death by J.D. Robb
Cold is the Grave by Peter Robinson
Play Dead by David Rosenfelt
Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter
To Darkness and Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming
A Body to Die For by Kate White
Higher Authority by Stephen White

Thanks to Jenn for hosting this one again. I was very glad to have a reason to focus on some of my in-progress series.

Southern Reading Challenge Completed

2009-07-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

I’d been holding off on calling this challenge complete just in case I managed to read another qualifying book before the end date. It looks like that’s not going to happen. I’ve read the 3 books required by the challenge so I’m moving this one to the completed column.

I look forward to The Southern Reading Challenge every year and I’m very happy that Maggie brought it back for round 3 this year.

The rules were simple – 3 Southern books between May 15th and August 15th. I had listed five possibilities and I’ve read these three:

1. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson – I thought it was good, but I think I prefer the author’s first two books.

2. Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR’s Polio Haven by Susan Richards Shreve – this was a fascinating story about growing up in extremely unique circumstances.

3. Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs – another in the Tea Shop cozy mystery series that I return to on a regular basis for a chance to slow down a bit and revisit Charleston, SC.

Thanks again to Maggie. The two possibilities I haven’t read yet are already on my list for next years challenge!!

What's in a Name? 2 Challenge Completed

2009-04-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

I’m only participating in a few challenges this year and I’ve completed the first of them. It’s the What’s in a Name 2 Challenge, hosted by Annie.

Last year Annie came up with a clever idea for a challenge that ended up being a lot of fun for me. This year she tweaked it just a bit to keep the same format, but different categories.

For this year’s challenge readers were required to read 6 books. The books had to be chosen based on words their titles matching up wth the six categories. I easily found books that fit the challenge from my TBR list.

The books I read for each category were:

A book with a "profession" in its title: The Bookman’s Wake by John Dunning – in the second in the series Cliff Janeway takes a job that leads him to rainy Seattle and lots of mystery in a story that reads like an old black and white movie.

A book with a "time of day" in its title: Murder on a Girls’ Night Out by Anne George - The first in a cozy series featuring Alabama sisters who find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation .

A book with a "relative" in its title: Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton – the fourth book in a charming cozy mystery series featuring a helpful ghost.

A book with a "body part" in its title: Buried Bones by Carolyn Haines – another cozy series with a ghost, but this one has an attitude along with a bunch of southern charm.

A book with a "building" in its title: Hammerhead Ranch Motel by Tim Dorsey – the second in the Serge Storms series has Serge off his meds and as insane as ever.

A book with a "medical condition" in its title: Delusion by G.H. Ephron – second book featuring forensic psychologist Dr. Peter Zaks.

This is a great challenge because the books end up being such a variety. Annie – if you’re reading this, I hope you do this again next year!!

2nds Challenge Completed

2008-12-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

This was one of my favorite challenges last year, so I was happy to see Joy hosting this again for 2008 and didn’t hesitate to join again.

WHO: Anybody
WHAT: Read 4 books by authors that you have only read one other
WHERE: "Thoughts of Joy..."
WHEN: September, October, November and December, 2008WHY: Because we love to read...why else?

When scanning my TBR list for books for this challenge I found the same thing as last year – it took me all of about 3 minutes to find plenty of authors with book #1 marked as read and book #2 as not read.

These are the books I read for this year’s challenge:

The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel – her first novel is quite different from her memoir A Girl Named Zippy, but I really enjoyed it.
Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs – an interesting medical mystery series that can be a bit detail heavy at times, but the mystery is interesting.
The Treatment by Mo Hayder – Hayder’s books are not for the faint of heart, but if you survived Birdman, read this.
Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George – I’m wishing I started reading this series years ago, but it gives me lots to look forward to.

I had fun with this challenge and enjoyed all of the books I read. Thanks for hosting this one again, Joy.

A to Z Challenge Completed

2008-12-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Joy sucked me into this one. In 2006, way back before I started my blog and joined my first reading challenge, I did my own alphabetical challenge. I read (in order) an A to Z by title list of books, followed by an A to Z by Author list. It was fun and I said I probably wouldn’t do it again. Then last year, Joy posted that she was hosting an A to Z reading challenge for 2009. I wavered back and forth for a while and finally decided to give it a shot. I liked the idea of not limiting myself to reading the 52 books in order, but just filling in my list as I finished the books. The requirements really weren’t that strict.

~ align the author's last name or the title of a book (excluding "the", "a", etc.) with its corresponding letter in the alphabet
~ enter a different book for each author and title (total of 52 books)
~ complete the alphabet lists anyway that suits your fancy (i.e.: complete each list separately in alphabetical order, read both "A" entries, then "B" entries, fit whatever you're reading into either list, etc.)
~ complete the challenge in the year 2008
~ enjoy the experience!

Doing this for a second time was a fun experience. I enjoyed most of the books I read. I was able to include many books I was reading for other challenges and only had to really search for a few authors or titles to fill in the blanks.

My list of completed books is here (links are to the reviews on this blog)

Author List

Atkins, Ace - Leavin’ Trunk Blues
Barnes, Linda - The Snake Tattoo
Cussler, Clive - White Death
Dorsey, Tim - Florida Roadkill
Ephron, G.H. - Amnesia
Forster, E.M. - A Room with a View
Gruen, Sarah - Water for Elephants
Hammett, Dashiell - The Maltese Falcon
Ishiguro, Kazuo - The Remains of the Day
Jordan, Hillary - Mudbound
Koryta, Michael - Tonight I Said Goodbye
Levin, Ira - Rosemary’s Baby
Macomber, Debbie - 74 Seaside Avenue
Notaro, Laurie - The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club
O’Farrell, Maggie - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Pasternak, Boris - Doctor Zhivago
Quinlan, Patrick - Smoked
Rosenfelt, David - Dead Center
Schein, Elyse - Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited
Tarkington, Booth - The Magnificent Ambersons
Uruburu, Paula - American Eve
Van Ryn, Don and Susie - Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
Wood, Patricia - Lottery
Xi, Xu - The Unwalled City
Yarbrough, Steve - The End of California
Zellnik, M.J. - Murder at the Portland Variety

Title List

Aunt Dimity’s Good Deed by Nancy Atherton
Black Wind by Clive and Dirk Cussler
City Boy by Herman Wouk
The Diamond by Julie Baumgold
Echo Burning by Lee Child
Faithless by Karin Slaughter
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
The Jasmine Moon Murder by Laura Childs
The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander
London Bridges by James Patterson
The Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie
Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert
Rueful Death by Susan Wittig Albert
Smonk by Tom Franklin
Them Bones by Carolyn Haines
Undercurrents by Ridley Pearson
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin
X-Treme Dating by Cathy McDavid
The Yellow Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

It was enjoyable to do this alphabetical challenge a second time. I probably won’t do it again any time soon since I’ve now done it in slightly different formats twice within 3 years. For those who haven’t tried this yet, I’d encourage you to give it a shot at least once. You’d be surprised how many you’d get just by random selection of your normal reading and you never know when you’ll discover a very good title or author you wouldn’t have read without needing “that letter”.

Chunkster Challenge 2008 Completed

2008-12-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

This challenge was pretty much a no-brainer for me. I love big fat chunky books. I remember when I was a kid I’d go to the library and browse the shelves for the fat books. I think that’s what helped develop my liking for biographies and historical fiction

Dana hosted this year’s version of THE CHUNKSTER CHALLENGE 2008

These were the guidelines:
To qualify the book must be 450 pps regular type OR 750 pps large text.
You must read FOUR chunksters (one each quarter), you OBVIOUSLY may read more
The Challenge will run Jan 7th, 2008 - Dec 20th, 2008 . . . BUT any chunkster started after Jan 1 qualifies.

I listed 6 books to read for this challenge. I’ve actually read 12 books so far this year that were longer than 450 pages, (and have at least one and maybe two more before the year is out) but I’ll post the ones I had specified to read for the challenge here.

Faithless by Karin Slaughter – book # 5 in her Grant County series. It’s a brutal but well written series that I continue to enjoy despite the cringeworthy aspects and one character that I really don’t like at all.
Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak - a classic that I’d never read (nor have I seen any movie version). I thoroughly enjoyed it. A great wintertime read.
Peter the Great by Robert Massie - a huge sweeping biography of a fascinating man.
Black Wind by Clive and Dirk Cussler – another one of my brain candy series.
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone - Biographical fiction about Michelangelo and his work.
Trinity by Leon Uris - big fat chunky historical fiction about Ireland in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s

Thanks Dana – this was an easy challenge for me to complete. I appreciate you taking it on and hosting it this yearl

Decades 08 Challenge Completed

2008-12-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

3M hosted another Decades Challenge this year – appropriately named Decades 08. I didn’t participate in the 2007 version of this, but the rules for the 2008 version made it just too hard to pass up:
The rules were simple:

1. Read a minimum of 8 books in 8 consecutive decades in ‘08.

2. Books published in the 2000’s do not count.

3. Titles could be cross-posted with any other challenge.

4. You could change your list at any time.

I started with a list of 11 books from the 1880’s through the 1980’s. I knew that somewhere along the way I’d read a 1990’s book to round out a dozen decades.

These are the books I read for this challenge:

1880’s -

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson – a fun classic.

1890’s - The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells - A Science Fiction Classic that I’m very glad I finally read.

1900’s - A Room With a View by E.M Forster - I really enjoyed this book and the movie too.

1910’s - The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington - an American classic about changing times.

1920’s - The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse - lighthearted humor that has withstood the test of time.

1930’s - The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - a classic of noir detective fiction that I should have read ages ago.

1940’s - City Boy by Herman Wouk - a charming tale of growing up with a bit of humor tossed in with the heartwarming stuff and nostalgia.

1950’s - Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak - a classic that I’d never read (nor have I seen any movie version). I thoroughly enjoyed it. A great wintertime read.

1960’s - The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone - Biographical fiction about Michelangelo and his work.

1970’s - Trinity by Leon Uris - big fat chunky historical fiction about Ireland in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.

1980’s - Peter the Great by Robert Massie - a huge sweeping biography of a fascinating man.

1990’s - Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey - Pulp Fiction takes Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride through Florida – only for those with a twisted sense of humor

Many, many thanks to 3M for a wonderfully organized challenge and challenge blog. I had a great time. If you haven’t done a Decades challenge yet, I strongly encourage you to give it a try with Decades 09.

Medical Mystery Challenge Completed

2008-10-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

I was happy to do this challenge again this year. Last year’s challenge was a lot of fun and introduced me to several new authors. This year’s challenge gave me incentive to read more of their books.

WHAT: Pick anywhere from 3 or more medical mysteries/thrillers to read and discuss with fellow medical thriller fans. (Last year was 2 - this year I'm upping it to 3 :-)
WHEN: June 1 to November 1WHO: AnyoneWHERE: Hosted by Twiga
WHY: Seeing others' lists would give us more ideas of other medical thrillers out there that we might not be aware of yet. Those that want to read the same books can do buddy reads if they'd like.
HOW: Post the list of medical thrillers that you plan to read on your blog and then sign up in the comments to this post.

These are the books I read for this challenge:

Private Practices by Stephen White – The second in a series featuring psychologist Dr. Alan Gregory. I enjoy both the characters and the Colorado setting.
Addiction by G.H. Ephron – another second in a series featuring a psychologist (looks like a trend). This one is Dr. Peter Zaks and is set in the Boston area.
Side Effects by Michael Palmer – not the best nor the worst medical thriller I’ve read, but OK for a vacation book.
Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs – yet another second in a series, this time around it’s a forensic anthropologist. Scientifically detailed, but a series I’ll definitely continue.

The only disappointment was Side Effects. All the others were second in series books and I’ll be continuing with all three of those series. If this challenge shows up again next year, that will be the perfect opportunity.

2008 TBR Challenge Completed

2008-09-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

For the second year I’ve joined and completed MiizBooks’ TBR Challenge. This is one I enjoy and one of the few I plan on doing again next year.

The rules were:

** Pick 12 books - one for each month of 2008 - that you've been wanting to read (that have been on your "To Be Read" list) for 6 months or longer, but haven't gotten around to.

** OPTIONAL: Create a list of "Alternates" (books you could substitute for your challenge books, given that a particular one doesn't grab you at the time)

** Then, starting January 1, 2008, read one of these books from your list each month, ending December 31, 2008. :o)

Obviously I opted to ignore the one a month part. I did that the first year and it bugged me to want to read a book but have to wait. So this time I picked 12 books for my primary list and 12 alternates. I managed to read 4 of my alternates before finishing the primary list. Now that I’ve read all the books on my primary list I’m calling this one completed.

These are the books I read for this challenge.
The Primary 12:

Faithless by Karin Slaughter – this is a series that can be pretty brutal, but I really like it
The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander – enjoyable speculative historical fiction about the last Russian Tsar and his family
Peter the Great by Robert Massie – a huge sweeping biography of a fascinating man
Smonk by Tom Franklin – skip it and read Hell at the Breech instead
The Diamond by Julie Baumgold – I expected more from this one and felt that it dragged a lot
Jasmine Moon Murder by Laura Childs – this is a cozy mystery series about a teashop owner/ amateur sleuth in Charleston, SC
London Bridges by James Patterson – when I want a fast read with lots of action I turn to James Patterson
Black Wind by Clive Cussler – The Dirk Pitt series is being handed off to the second generation both in characters and authors
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington – an American classic about changing times
Tonight I Said Goodbye by Michael Koryta – a new author for me that I enjoyed
Diana Lively is Falling Down by Sheila Curran – funny and entertaining in parts, puzzling in others
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson – a fun classic

Alternates:

Aunt Dimity's Good Deed by Nancy Atherton – another cozy series, this one with a ghost
Rueful Death by Susan Wittig Albert – more cozy mystery with an interesting main character who is a former lawyer turned herb shop owner
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult – she consistently manages to make me consider alternative viewpoints
Pawley's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank – summer reading that makes me feel the sand in my toes and smell the ocean.

Several of these were the next book in one of the many series I’m reading. Others were just books I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. Most of them were either good or very good. None of them were excellent, which is probably why they’d been on the TBR list for a while.

The only read disappointments were The Diamond which didn’t live up to my expectations and Smonk which was awful and a huge let down from an author I really like.

I’ve already decided that for next years TBR challenge, I’m going to ignore the one a month rule

Initials Challenge Completed

2008-09-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

Another Challenge in the ‘done’ column. The Initials Challenge was hosted by Becky, who routinely manages to come up with interesting and fun challenge ideas. The Rules were simple and flexible – I like that in a challenge (in fact it’s not too late to join in if you want):
April 1, 2008 - November 30, 2008
Read five to eight books by authors who publish under their initials.
No lists are necessary.Sign up at any time between now and November 1, 2008.
Read as many books as you like, as long as you meet the minimum requirement of five books.

I had no trouble finding 5 books on my TBR and current challenge lists.

These are the five books I read:

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster – I had a bit of a hard time getting into it at first, but ended up really liking it.
War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells – loved it. Wells was a genius.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling – I know I’m way behind the rest of the world on this series, but it doesn’t keep me from enjoying the heck out of it.
Seduction in Death by J.D. Robb – “Brain Candy” or “Mental Popcorn” but at the same time a fun mix of romance, light science fiction and crime procedural. Besides, it’s got Roarke.
Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse – Thanks so much to all the book bloggers (AKA “enablers”) who convinced me that I needed to read Wodehouse.

Thanks Becky! It was another fun challenge.

Herding Cats Challenge Complete

2008-09-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

342,745 Ways to Herd Cats, or tl;dr was the official name, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I found a great list of recommended books that I find myself referring to over and over again.

The post announcing this challenge was so darn entertaining that I just had to join in. Trust me and just go here to read it. Besides, I had to have that adorable button on my sidebar.

Renay at Bottle of Shine hosted this challenge in which the reading list to choose from was made up of books submitted by the participants. Everyone had to submit 10 recommendations and read at least 3 books recommended by other participants.

Here are the details:
1. Make a list of ten books you love. That's the only qualification; you had to love (or at least like it) the books on the list.
2. Share the list
3. Browse the lists created by other participants (Reading lists by participant or Master Reading List)
4. Between May 1st and November 30th read at least 3 books recommended by other participants.
5. Write reviews of the books you read.
6. Share the links to your reviews.

This is the list of books I recommended:

Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd (I’m actually planning on re-reading this one myself soon)
One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash
Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I know a bunch of folks have already listed it but I can’t not include it)
Homestead by Rosina Lippi
The Girls by Lori Lansens
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (but only if you read the Richard Pevear Translation)
Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
Centennial by James Michener

These are the 3 I chose to read:
Cats Eye by Margaret Atwood (recommended by 3M). This was my second Atwood book and won’t be my last.
A Room With a View by E.M Forster (recommended by Corinne). I really enjoyed this book and the movie too.
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (recommended by Becky). A Science Fiction Classic that I’m very glad I finally read.

What a fun challenge. Thanks Renay!

Southern Reading Challenge Completed

2008-08-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row I joined and had a great time with Maggie’s Southern Reading Challenge. (and Maggie, I would have said that even if I hadn’t won one of the weekly tins of pecans.)

The rules were easy:
3 Southern Setting Books by Southern Authors in 3 Months beginning May 15 through August 15!

These are the books I read for this year’s challenge:
Pawley’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank because her novels are nice light summer brain candy [and it was]
The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips because Eleanor said I had to so I know it’ll be good [and it was].
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip Into the Heart of Fan Mania by Warren St. John because it’s halfway between the end of last year’s football season and the opening kickoff and I need a football related fix. [it helped and now The Hubster is reading it to get himself in football mode for the opening game on August 30th – and he’s giggling in many of the same places I was]

I also threw in a bonus Southern book with Them Bones by Carolyn Haines – first in what looks like it’s a fun cozy mystery series.

I enjoyed all the books I read for different reasons, but I do have to say that The Well and the Mine is joining Mudbound in the ‘Best of 2008’ category. If you haven't read them both, you need to.

Thanks for hosting this challenge again Maggie! Although I plan to participate in less challenges next year, I’ll be joining this one if you host it again.

Non-Fiction Five Challenge Completed

2008-07-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

Now that I’ve finished Queen Victoria, I can move another challenge to the completed category. My friend Joy hosted the Non-Fiction Five challenge for 2008 and once again I had almost as much fun making the list as I did reading the books.

The rules were simple:
1. Read 5 non-fiction books during the months of May - September, 2008
2. Read at least one non-fiction book that is different from your other choices (i.e.: 4 memoirs and 1 self-help)

I opted to ignore rule #2 because I hate self help books, and my initial list of 6 (one extra in case of a dud) was:

Then Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR’s Polio Haven by Susan Richards Shreve
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Don Van Ryn

The list of books I actually ended up reading for this challenge was slightly different due to a couple of library holds that became available during the challenge time frame and a non-fiction book I decided to read for the Southern Reading Challenge. Here is the list of what I really did read – and yes I ended up reading 6 after all (links are to my blog posts).

Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Don and Susie Van Ryn, et al. – this one was a fascinating story and an interesting, but not great book.
Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein – this could have and should have been a fascinating story, but the book turned out to be a disappointment.
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania by Warren St. John – I needed a middle of the off-season football fix and this provided it. It was a fun look at college football fandom.
Then Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson – I laughed my way through this one and then passed it on to The Hubster, who did the exact same thing.
American Eve by Paula Uruburu – Celebrity obsession is not a new phenomenon. This story was fascinating and sad all at the same time.
Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert – a very interesting book about a very interesting person.

I enjoyed the last four much more than the first two and liked the combination of humor and biography that I ended up with in those. As for the three that were on my initial list that I didn’t read, well, they’re still on my TBR list for someday.

Thanks Joy – once again I had fun with this challenge.

Heart of a Child Challenge Completed

2008-05-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

After finishing Harriet the Spy I was able to check off another challenge as completed. The Heart of a Child Challenge was hosted by Becky (watch out she’s a prolific challenge creator and once you get sucked into the Vortex, she finds a way to keep you coming back for more and more challenges!!

I loved the idea of this challenge and it was an easy one:

How many? Read 3 to 6 books
When? from February 1, 2008 to July 14, 2008
What? Books and authors that you discovered, loved, or adored as a child.
How am I defining "child" --I'll be generous. Anything and everything that you read through the age of 18 would qualify.
Why? Because sometimes it's fun to reread books and see if they still hold the same "magic."

These are the books I read for this challenge:

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Tree Wagon by Evelyn Sibley Lampman

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

All of these were enjoyable trips into my memory and still held up over the years. They reminded me of people and places from my childhood and I was pleased to find that I still thought all of these books were fun reads even as an adult.

Themed Reading Challenge Completed

2008-05-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

Now that I’ve finished Harvest, I have another challenge to move to the completed list. The Themed Reading Challenge was the brainchild of Wendy of Caribousmom. The great thing about this one was it was kind of a build your own challenge opportunity. Participants had to choose at least 4 books that shared a theme. It didn’t matter what the theme was, it was our choice.

I confess I lacked the creativity of many of the participants when it came to the theme I chose, but what the heck – it was my choice.

My theme was “Books with One Word Titles”. These are the books I read for this challenge:

Faithless by Karin Slaughter – book # 5 in her Grant County series. It’s a brutal but well written series that I continue to enjoy despite the cringeworthy aspects and one character that I really don’t like at all.

Amnesia by G.H. Ephron – a new series for me. Good enough that I’m planning #2 for the Medical Mystery Challenge.

Undercurrents by Ridley Pearson – another new series for me. This is the first in his Lou Boldt / Daphne Matthews series and I really enjoyed it.

Lottery by Patricia Wood – A utterly charming book with an utterly charming hero. I’d love to meet Perry L. Crandall.

Harvest by Tess Gerritsen - A well done medical mystery. I may add another one by Gerritsen to my Medical Mystery Challenge list.

What’s in a Name? Challenge Completed

2008-05-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

I completed another challenge this week. Hosted by Annie, The What’s in a Name? Challenge had such a fun premise that I couldn’t resist. We had to choose our books based on words in the titles, and read one book from each category. It was surprisingly easy to find books to fit most of the categories and surprisingly difficult to find books for all six.

The books I read for each category were:

A book with a color in its title: Leavin’ Trunk Blues by Ace Atkins – a moody nourish mystery with a blues soundtrack to the writing style.

A book with an animal in its title: The Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais – my first Crais and his first Elvis Cole book – lots of fun.

A book with a first name in its title: Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie – A complex biography of both the man and the world of his time.

A book with a place in its title: London Bridges by James Patterson – typical Alex Cross mystery.

A book with a weather event in its title: Black Wind by Clive and Dirk Cussler – another one of my brain candy series.

A book with a plant in its title: Jasmine Moon Murder – a cozy mystery set in one of my favorite cities (Charleston, SC)

This challenge led me to choose quite a variety of genres and I had a great time. I need to keep an eye out for what Annie’s got up her sleeve next.

Russian Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2008-04-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

I’ve completed another challenge. Hosted by Sharon at ExLibris, The Russian Reading Challenge caught my attention as soon as it was announced way back in August or September. For this one, we had to read 4 books but the rules were quite flexible.

Both fiction and non-fiction are acceptable here, as well as short stories and poetry. Authors read should either be authors who wrote (write) in Russian or authors who wrote (write) about Russia and Russians.

I read these 4 books:

Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak because it’s a classic that I’d never read (nor have I seen any movie version). I thoroughly enjoyed it. A great wintertime read.
Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie because it’s been on my shelf for years unread. It’s a huge book, but he was a huge man (both literally and figuratively). A fascinating story not only of Peter, but also of the world at the time he ruled
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin because I wanted to read a contemporary Russian author. It was different, but yet had a definite classic Russian writing feel to it. I might read more by this author
The Eternal Husband by Fyodor Dostoevsky because I wanted to read some short stories for the challenge. This was a novella and 4 short stories. Worth the effort it took to read, even though short stories are not my favorite genre.

They were all quite different and so it’s really hard to say what I liked best. They all had their merits and I’m glad I read all of them.

Big thanks to Sharon for giving me a reason to read a couple that have been on my bookshelf or TBR shelf for years (Peter the Great and Dr. Zhivago) and to also expand my horizons a bit with Akunin and Dostoevsky’s short works.

The Eponymous Challenge Completed

2008-03-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

I’ve completed another challenge. Hosted by Coversgirl, The Eponymous Challenge was another one that fit in well with books I was already reading for other challenges.

For this one, we had to read 4 books whose titles were the name of one or more of the characters, or a description of one or more of the characters

I read these 4 books:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl was originally on my list as a re-read for the Heart of a Child Challenge. It was wonderful to read this book all on one rainy Sunday. A perfect way to relive the thoroughly enjoyable experience of this book.
Smonk by Tom Franklin was a disappointment after his so very excellent Hell at the Breech. I still love his writing and will read his short story collection.
City Boy by Herman Wouk was just a charming tale of growing up with a bit of humor tossed in with the heartwarming stuff and nostalgia.
The Sisterhood by Michael Palmer was an excellent first novel and an introduction to an author whose books I’ve added to my TBR list

The only one I didn’t like was Smonk. The other three were from 3 very distinct genres and I enjoyed them all.

Another challenge moved to the completed column for me. If you’re interested, the challenge doesn’t end until May 31, 2008. There’s plenty of time. I’d be willing to guess that you could still join in the fun.

Royalty Rules Challenge Completed

2008-03-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve completed my first challenge for 2008. Hosted by The Magic of Ink, The Royalty Rules Reading Challenge was an easy one for me to add since all the books I chose were already on other challenge lists.
The rules for this one were to read 2, 3, or 4 books of any genre that were about a royal personage (whether or not that person was the main character).

I read these 3 books:

Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie was a chunkster of a biography about a man who changed the course of his country’s history. It was a fascinating biography of a fascinating man.
The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander was a fictionalized account of the final days of the last Tsar of Russia and his family. The speculative twist at the end was a surprise.
The Diamond by Julie Baumgold was a fictionalized story of a famous diamond that touched the lives of much of the royalty of France in the 17th and 18th centuries.

My favorites were The Kitchen Boy and Peter the Great.

I’ve got a couple of other challenges that I’ll be wrapping up in the next few weeks. This is a good thing, because there are some upcoming ones that I’ve got my eye on and I’m already making tentative lists.

From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2007-12-14T18:26:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-10T19:06:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

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.

RIP II Challenge Wrap-up

2007-10-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

The RIP II Challenge, hosted by Carl, was one that I’d had to pass up last year and had been looking forward to for months. I’d been marking books as possibilities for this one all year.

Carl made this challenge quite flexible with several options for participants. I’m opted to take on “Peril the First” which was to read four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

I chose 4 books for this challenge:

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Five Mile House by Karen Novak
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The best book: The Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I’m not sure why I’ve never read this one, but I’m really glad I finally did.

What book could I have done without? Five Mile House was just OK – not bad, but the weakest of the four I read for the challenge

Any new authors? All were new authors for me.

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

What did I learn? I loved reading other participants reviews and have several books already listed as possibilities for next years RIP challenge

Thanks Carl! This was fun and I’m looking forward to next year.

Medical Mystery Madness Challenge

2007-09-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Medical Mystery Madness Challenge was a fun one hosted by Twiga that I just couldn’t resist. I love mysteries and I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few medical mysteries. Twiga made this one simple – 2 or more medical mystery thrillers between June 1 and November 1. I decided that this would be a good opportunity to read some new authors.
I chose 4 books for this challenge:

Privileged Information by Stephen White
Final Diagnosis by Gary Birken
Isolation Ward by Joshua Spanogle
The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

The best book: The Surgeon by Tess Gerritson. I can’t wait to read more of her books. I’ll also be reading more by Stephen White and possibly Joshua Spanogle

What book could I have done without? Final Diagnosis was just not good enough to make me seek out any more books by the author.

Any new authors? All were new authors for me.

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

What did I learn? I learned that I should have started reading Tess Gerritsen several years ago. I also learned from reading other challenge participants blogs that I need to read something by Michael Palmer soon.

All in all, I enjoyed the majority of the books I read for this challenge. Thanks to Twiga for hosting this one – It was fun.

Non-Fiction Five

2007-09-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Okay - for some of us it was the Non-Fiction Nine . . .

The Non-Fiction Five Challenge sponsored by my friend Joy was one that I wasn’t sure about, but finally decided to make a list and join. The goal was to to read five Non-Fiction books in five months (May through September). When I started looking for five books to read for this challenge, I ended up listing at least 11 that I wanted to read. I broke that list down to five that I would read and an additional five potential bonus reads.

I kind of overachieved on this one and ended up reading 9 of my original list of 11.

My completed challenge books are:

The Original Five -

Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
The Colony by John Tayman
Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural by Ronald C. White
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts

Bonus Reads -

Refuge Denied: The St. Louis Passengers and the Holocaust by Sarah Olgivie and Scott Miller
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr
The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins by Dean Jensen

The best book: Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado

What book could I have done without? No Shortcuts to the Top was the biggest disappointment.

Any new authors? All but Edmund Morris were new authors for me.

Books I did not finish: I finished reading all that I started, but No Shortcuts to the Top was almost a DNF.

What did I learn? The books were on such a variety of subjects that I learned a lot along the way. The biographies of Teddy Roosevelt and the Hilton Twins were both biographies but such very different subjects that it didn’t feel like they were the same genre. Two of the books were very much about the research process as part of the story (Refuge Denied and The Lost Painting). Lansing’s story of the Shackleton expedition was a story I hadn’t encountered before. Although the book wasn’t fabulous, it did make me want to learn more about this expedition.

All in all, I enjoyed the majority of the books I read for this challenge. Thanks to my friend, Joy for inspiring me to read these.

2007-08-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Summer Mystery Reading Challenge, sponsored by Reviewed by Liz was another fun challenge. The goal was to to read six mysteries by authors whose works you haven’t read before between June 1st and August 31st. 3 of my 6 books were also read for the Medical Mysteries Challenge and the remaining 3 were selected from my TBR list. Thanks to Liz and Bob for hosting this one.

My completed challenge books are;

Privileged Information by Stephen White
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
Final Diagnosis by Gary Birken
Kiss Mommy Goodbye by Joy Fielding
Isolation Ward by Joshua Spanogle
Crossroad Blues by Ace Atkins

The best book? Crossroad Blues is a moody, southern noir book with a fun new hero.

What book could I have done without? Kiss Mommy Goodbye was the biggest disappointment.

Any new authors? By definition all six challenge books were new authors for me.

Books I did not finish: I finished them all, but Kiss Mommy Goodbye was a struggle.

What did I learn? I learned I have at least 4 new authors to add to my TBR list (Stephen White, Kathy Reichs, Joshua Spanogle, and Ace Atkins) .

2007-08-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Southern Reading Challenge
Sponsored by Maggie Reads
Between June 1st and August 31st read three "Southern" books. The books must contain a Southern setting by a Southern author.

Southern Reading Challenge Wrap-up
I've finished my final book for The Southern Reading Challenge. This was an easy challenge for me. I've read lots of books by Southern writers for years. The 3 I read for this challenge were all very different from each other and I enjoyed them all.

Shem Creek by Dorothea Benton Frank
SWAG: Southern Women Aging Gracefully by Melinda Rainey Thompson
A Garden of Vipers by Jack Kerley

Thanks Maggie for sponsoring this one. It's been fun.

The Chunkster Challenge

2007-05-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

The Chunkster Challenge
Sponsored by Bookfool

Any number of books over 400 pages that you choose to read between January1, 2007 and June 30, 2007

Books read:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Wanderers Eastward, Wanderers West by Kathleen Winsor
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
Total Control by David Baldacci

Winter Classics Challenge

2007-02-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

Winter Classics Challenge
Sponsored by A Reader’s Journal
5 Classics between January1, 2007 and February 28, 2007

Books read:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott