Books

Today is December 20 and I can proudy say that I have accomplished my first reading challenge with 11 days to spare.  Waa-hoo!  I am going to attempt some reading challenges next year and here are my goals.  I will be continuing the Book Awards II Challenge begun in 2008 and finishing 1 June 2009, and then starting 5 new ones.  I think I can do it.  Once again, these are books I currently own in my to-be-read pile, because that pile is large and I have so many books in it that I’ve been wanting to read for ages.

Numbers Challenge runs 1 Jan-1 Aug 2009

5 books whose titles have a number in them

• Thousand Pieces of Gold, Ruthanne Lum McCunn
• A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
• One More River to Cross, Margaret Blair Young
• Five Quarters of the Orange, Joanne Harris
• Songs of the Humpback Whale: A Novel in Five Voices, Jodi Picoult

Themed Reading Challenge runs 1 Feb-31 July 2009

4 books with the same theme; from your TBR pile; my theme is books with a musical instrument as a major plot device

• The Soloist, Mark Salzman (cello)
• The Piano Tuner, Daniel Mason (piano)
• Bel Canto, Ann Patchett (voice)
• Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres (mandolin)

 War Through the Generations runs 1 Jan-31 Dec 2009

at least 5 books about WWII, fiction or non-fiction

• Home again At Last, Jerry Borrowman
• Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson
• The Rising Tide, Jeff Shaara
• Resistance, Anita Shreve
• The Remains of the Day, Kauzo Ishiguro
• Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen, Bob Greene
• Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres (crossover)
• Night of Many Dreams, Gail Tsukiyama (crossover)

What’s in a Name-2? runs 1 Jan-31 Dec 2009

6 books that require something specific in the title

• profession: Captain’s Glory, William Shatner
• time of day: Night of Many Dreams, Gail Tsukiyama
• relative: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Kim Edwards
• body part: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
• building: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Anne Tyler
• medical condition: Born in Fire, Nora Roberts

Read Your Name Challenge runs 1 Jan-31 Dec 2009

Using your name or any name you like, read books with first title letters that spell out your name; I’m using SCOTT so I can read some fun books that I want to be sure and get to this year.

• Snakewater Affair, Liz Adair
• Captain’s Blood, William Shatner
• Onion John, John Krumgold (Newbery Award)
• The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
• The Quilter’s Apprentice, Jennifer Chiaverini

I wrote recently that I had been introduced to reading challenges but was nervous to sign up for one so I created my own.  I’ve had so much fun working on it, that I have decided to go for it and sign on for a real challenge.  Some of the books in my own challenge will cross over, so I feel confident that I can do it.  It’s called Book Awards II and here are the rules.

1. Read 10 award winners from August 1, 2008 through June 1, 2009.
2. You must have at least FIVE different awards in your ten titles.
3. Overlaps with other challenges are permitted.
4. You don’t have to post your choices right away, and your list can change at any time.
5. ‘Award winners’ is loosely defined; make the challenge fit your needs, keeping in mind Rule #2.
6. SIGN UP using Mr. Linky below.
7. Have fun reading!

Sue’s list (these are all books I own in my to-be-read pile)  

• Stones for Ibarra, by Harriet Doerr, National Book Award
• 1776, David McCullough, American Compass Best Book of 2005
• The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde, Alex Award
• My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult, Alex Award
• The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler, National Book Critics’ Circle Award
• Rifles for Watie, Harold Keith, Newbery Award
• Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse, Newbery Award
• The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg, Newbery Award
• Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, Newbery Award
• The Giver, Lois Lowry, Newbery Award

I finally subscribed to my friend’s book blog, and was introduced to the wonderful world of reading challenges. I was too late to sign up for a bunch of the interesting year-long ones and I’m actually a little nervous about signing up for any of them, so I devised my own reading challenge and thought I would post the challenge and my progress so far. It is based on the Triple 8 Challenge, which is to read 8 books in 8 different categories in 2008. Since I started in May, and have never attempted a reading challenge before, I am going to do Sue’s 4 of 8 in 2008. Here are my categories and books and we’ll see where I end up on December 31. Maybe I’ll be brave enough to sign up for one in 2009!

Back to History
Sisters: The Lives of America’s Suffragettes
Dearest Friend
1776
The Nazi Officer’s Wife

Continuing Series
The Horse and his Boy
After Goliath
Dear America: Where Have all the Flowers Gone?
Back on Blossom Street

Newbery Award winners
Rifles for Watie
Rabbit Hill
Invincible Louisa
Out of the Dust

Sci Fi/Fantasy
Enna Burning
River Secrets
Allegiance
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Leslie’s Recommendations
The Eyre Affair
Pride and Prejudice
Princess Academy
Stones for Ibarra

Convention Speakers
The Goose Girl
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Gather Together in My Name
Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas

Southern Women
Miss Julia Strikes Back
Peaches
The Widow of the South
Girl from the South

Owned for more than 2 years
Ahab’s Wife
Little City by the Lake
Captain’s Peril
A Fresh Start in Fairhaven

I have recently read all 9 books in the series by Jan Karon, along with the first title in her new series, The Father Tim Novels.  I have some friends that I share books with and one of them highly recommended this series, while another said they put her to sleep.  So I was curious about the wide range of opinion and decided to try one out.  I enjoyed it so much that it led me to stop at Deseret Industries stores along the Wasatch Front whenever possible to try to obtain the next volumes.  I even went so far as asking a neighbor to get one volume from the library for me because I hadn't been able to purchase one second-hand.  This turned out to be a large-print edition and I don't recommend reading those until you absolutely have to.  For one thing, they weigh a ton.

But I digress.  The novels are sweet and funny and full of quirky characters.  They reminded me why it's fun to live in a small town and also made me realize that I probably don't rely on the Lord as often as I should.  The main character is an Episcopalian priest who has never married and finds romance late in life with the artist next door.  His pithy comments describing the other denizens of their small town and his continuing adventures made for lots of fun reading.  I will admit that they are not fast-paced novels moving along at a great clip, but I think the point is to enjoy the journey.  And I surely did.  Can't wait for the next one in the new series.