Friday, December 31, 2010

Books Read in 2011

Cumulative Reading List for 2011.

JANUARY 2011
1. The Anatomy of Ghosts. Andrew Taylor (2011; 472 pages ARC; fiction)
2. Smart Dog. Vivian Vande Velde (1998; 146 pages; fiction)
3. Homer Price. Robert McCloskey (1943; 150 pages; fiction)
4. Knight's Castle. Edward Eager (1956; 198 pages; fiction)
5. The Time Garden. Edward Eager (1958; 193 pages; fiction)

FEBRUARY 2011
6. Bad Boy. Peter Robinson (2010; 341 pages ARC; fiction)

MARCH 2011
7. Henrietta Sees It Through. Joyce Dennys (1986/2010; 183 pages; fiction)

APRIL 2011
8. The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead. Paul Elwork (2011; 308 pages ARC; fiction)
9. The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady. Elizabeth Stuckey-French (2011; 334 pages ARC; fiction)
10. Cynthia's Attic: The Missing Locket. Mary Cunningham (2005; 151 pages; fiction)

MAY 2011
11. A Shilling for Candles. Josephine Tey (1936; 238 pages; fiction)
12. Art and Madness. Anne Roiphe (2011; 220 pages; nonfiction)
13. A Visit from the Goon Squad. Jennifer Egan (2010; 274 pages; fiction)
14. Tassy Morgan's Bluff. Jim Stinson (2011; 225 pages ARC; fiction)

JUNE 2011
15. Picnic at Hanging Rock. Joan Lindsay (1967; 212 pages; fiction)
16. Mr. Chartwell. Rebecca Hunt (2011; 242 pages ARC; fiction)

JULY 2011
17. Shut Your Eyes Tight. John Verdon (2011; 549 pages ARC; fiction)
18. Whisker of Evil. Rita Mae Brown (2004; 346 pages; fiction)
19. Nat Tate. William Boyd
20. The Brothers of Baker Street. Michael Robertson (2011; 274 pages; fiction)

AUGUST 2011
21. Along Came a Spider. James Patterson (1992; 502 pages paperback; fiction)
22. Malice in Miniature. Jeanne M. Dams (1998; 228 pages; fiction)
23. The Fatal Touch. Conor Fitzgerald (2011; 372 pages; fiction)
24. Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy. Hazel Holt (1999; 246 pages; fiction)

SEPTEMBER 2011
25. The Winter Ghosts. Kate Mosse (2011; 253 pages; fiction)
26. Quiet As a Nun. Antonia Fraser (1977; 176 pages; fiction)

OCTOBER 2011
27. Mrs. Malory and a Time to Die. Hazel Holt (2008; 246 pages; fiction)
28. The Man in Lower Ten. Mary Roberts Rinehart (1906; e-book; fiction)
29. Episode of the Wandering Knife. Mary Roberts Rinehart (1943; 114 pages; fiction)
30. The Killings at Badger's Drift. Caroline Graham (1987; 252 pages; fiction)
31. Third Girl. Agatha Christie (1966; 248 pages; fiction)
32. Hallowe'en Party. Agatha Christie (1969; e-book; fiction)

NOVEMBER 2011
33. Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie (1952; e-book; fiction)
34. Literary Brooklyn: The Writers of Brooklyn and the Story of American City Life. Evan Hughes (2011; 325 pages ARC; nonfiction)
35. The Seance. John Harwood (2008; 328 pages; fiction)

DECEMBER 2011
36. My Brilliant Career. Miles Franklin (1901; e-book; fiction)
37. Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life. Martin Meredith (2011; 288 pages; nonfiction)
38. The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes (2011; 167 pages; fiction)
39. Bid Time Return (aka: Somewhere in Time). Richard Matheson (1974; e-book; fiction)
40. Staying On. Paul Scott (1977; 216 pages; fiction)
41. Alice I Have Been. Melanie Benjamin (2009; 345 pages; fiction)
42. Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II. Philip Eade (ARC; nonfiction)






********************

Click here to see my list of interesting books scheduled to be published in 2011.

2010: The Wrap-Up


So here we are at the end of another year of reading, reviewing and indulging in bookish things in general. Doesn't seem possible that 2010 is already on its way outta here, does it? I've been blog-hopping yesterday and today, enjoying all the year-end wrap-ups everyone is posting. And it's inspired me to do a little end-of-year summing up of my own. I'd like to write a nice comprehensive and informative piece, on the order of the one my husband recently posted. But I don't see that coming from me, I'm afraid. Well, he's the one with the Ph.D.

In general, I think 2010 was a pretty good year for me, as far as reading goes. My one goal for the year was to read more books than I read in 2009. Well, I didn't quite manage to do that. Once again, my total count was forty-nine books. Don't seem to be able to hit that fifty mark, no matter how hard I try. But at least I keep trying.

My list of books read during the year has its own little blog spot right here. For now I'll just list my favorites of 2010. I was trying for a Top Ten List, but my Library Thing account shows that I gave four-star-ratings to twelve books, so those are the ones listed here. Didn't give anything five stars in 2010, so I guess this wasn't quite as stellar a year as some others (OK - no more lame puns). Here's the list, in alphabetical order by title:
The Anthologist. Nicholson Baker
Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff
Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie
The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The (First) Griffin and Sabine Trilogy. Nick Bantock
Innocent. Scott Turow
The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells
The Last Child. John Hart
Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner
Noah's Compass. Anne Tyler
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley
The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Cathleen Schine
It would be hard to pick one favorite from that group. Several of the authors are new finds for me, and two or three of them are writers I know I'll be seeing more of in the months to come. Of all the books on the list, I think Noah's Compass is the one I'd choose if I were going to reread any of them - I was extremely impressed with the story and with Anne Tyler's writing.


For the new year I have the same goal - to read more books than I read this year - so maybe I'll manage to jump that barrier and make it to fifty books. And I'm adding one more goal for 2011: I'm going to try to be a little more faithful about writing reviews of everything I read - even if it's just to say "I liked this" or "I didn't like this." I started this blog to function as a record of my reading and I think I've been letting that slide a little too much recently. Must do better.

But then tomorrow is another day (yes, Miss Scarlet) and another year, too. Here's wishing you and yours a happy, safe, and healthy 2011, with lots of good books to read and lots of time for reading them.

Challenge Wrap-Up: RYOB (Read Your Own Books) 2010

This was the second time I've participated in MizB's RYOB (Read Your Own Books) Challenge. I planned to read twenty of my own books, and actually read thirty. So I'd say it was mostly a success. My only problem was that many of the books I read were ARCs, which means I didn't really clear as many books off my long-term TBR stack as I'd hoped. Still, it was a fun challenge, and kept me reading - which is the main reason I sign up for all these challenges anyway.

Here's my list of books read (in roughly the order I read them), with links to reviews:
  1. Venom. Joan Brady
  2. People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks
  3. Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death. Hazel Holt
  4. The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson
  5. Heresy. S.J. Parris
  6. A Stitch in Time. Monica Ferris
  7. The Swimming Pool. Holly LeCraw
  8. An American Type. Henry Roth
  9. A River in the Sky. Elizabeth Peters
  10. Live To Tell. Lisa Gardner
  11. The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry
  12. Innocent. Scott Turow
  13. The Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton
  14. The Spider Bites. Medora Sale
  15. The Good Psychologist. Noam Shpancer
  16. Damaged. Alex Kava
  17. The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  18. Think of a Number. John Verdon
  19. All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost. Lan Samantha Chang
  20. The Convent. Panos Karnezis
  21. The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons
  22. Animal Farm. George Orwell
  23. After Claude. Iris Owens
  24. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson
  25. The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant
  26. The Distant Hours. Kate Morton
  27. Juliet. Anne Fortier
  28. The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown
  29. The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan
  30. Operation Terror. Murray Leinster

Challenge Wrap-Up: New Authors Challenge 2010

The New Authors Challenge is definitely one of my favorite challenges. In fact, I've already signed up for the 2011 edition. Hosted by Jackie of Literary Escapism, it's a really great way to introduce yourself to authors you've never read before, and even genres you've never explored.

When I signed up I said I'd commit to reading fifteen new authors, but I had a feeling I'd do a lot better than that. And I was right: I actually read thirty-three books by authors I'd never read before. As usual, I didn't do quite as well with the reviewing as I did with the reading. Hope to do better with that next year. But for now, here's my list of books read, with links to existing reviews:

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

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Challenge Wrap-Up: Fall Into Reading 2010


The 2010 edition of the Fall Into Reading Challenge, hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days, ended with the season, on December 20th. Once again, I read a dozen books during the challenge. Also once again, most of the books I read weren't on my list of possible reads when I started the challenge. But that's OK – I had fun, discovered a few new authors, revisited several old favorites, and polished off a number of books that had been on my TBR list for decades.

So I'm declaring this another challenge successfully completed. The one thing I haven't been too successful at is writing reviews of the books I read. Sorry about that. I still intend to post a few more of those in the next few days, and I'll add links as I do it.

Here's my list of books read, with links to the reviews that do exist:
  1. Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie
  2. The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons
  3. Book of Shadows. Alexandra Sokoloff
  4. Animal Farm. George Orwell
  5. The Dark Half. Stephen King
  6. After Claude. Iris Owens
  7. The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant
  8. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson
  9. The Distant Hours. Kate Morton
  10. Juliet. Anne Fortier
  11. The Weird Sisters. Eleanor Brown
  12. The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan
It would be really hard to choose a favorite from among those titles. I believe I was most pleasantly surprised by Book of Shadows by Alexandra Sokoloff – a new discovery for me. And I especially enjoyed Cards on the Table, as it featured my favorite Agatha Christie character, Ariadne Oliver. But I enjoyed all the other books too – not one of them was really awful!

Challenge Wrap-Up: Decades Challenge 2010


The Decades 2010 Challenge was hosted by Michelle at 1morechapter. I think this is a terrific idea for a reading challenge, and even though I didn't manage to read books from all ten decades of the 20th Century, I had a lot of fun with it. Here's my list of books read, with links to reviews, if any:
  1. 1900-1909:
  2. 1910-1919: The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan
  3. 1920-1929:
  4. 1930-1939: The Brontes Went to Woolworths. Rachel Ferguson
  5. 1940-1949: Animal Farm. George Orwell
  6. 1950-1959:
  7. 1960-1969: The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  8. 1970-1979: The House Next Door. Anne Rivers Siddons
  9. 1980-1989: Contact. Carl Sagan
  10. 1990-1999: The Raphael Affair. Iain Pears

Challenge Wrap-Up: Art History Reading Challenge


The Art History Reading Challenge was hosted by Carrie at nomadreader (thanks, Carrie!). I'm really surprised I didn't do better with this, since it was one of my favorites of all the challenges I signed up for in 2010. I ended up only reading four of the six books I committed to. Even so, I'm going to consider this challenge a success because it nudged me into (finally) reading Nick Bantock's wonderful Griffin and Sabine books.

Here are the books I read, with links to reviews:

The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy. Nick Bantock
The Raphael Affair
. Iain Pears
Quattrocento
. James McKean
The Hypnotist
. M.J. Rose

Challenge Wrap-Up: A to Z Challenge 2010

First, I want to say thanks to Becky of Becky's Book Review Blog, for hosting the A to Z Challenge. It was great fun, and I'm thinking very seriously about signing up for next year.

I read twenty-one of twenty-six books (A-Z by title). Not a great record, but better than I expected to do. Here's the list (with links to reviews if any):

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

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: Back When We Were Grownups

This week my teaser lines come from Back When We Were Grownups, Anne Tyler's novel from 2001. I've only just started reading this one, but I'm enjoying it a lot so far. It's taken me a while to discover her, but I think Anne Tyler is becoming one of my favorite writers.

This snippet is from the book's opening paragraph:
Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person. She was fifty-three years old by then . . . . lines at the corners of her eyes. A loose and colorful style of dress edging dangerously close to Bag Lady.
Yes, I recognize the style. Of course, I drifted way beyond Bag Lady long ago!


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in a comment here.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Challenges for 2011, Part 3

Well, here we are - nearly at the end of December; and I'm still several books away from my fifty-book goal for the year. I should be reading, right? But instead, I've been cruising around, looking at all the new reading challenges in the works for 2011. And, lo and behold, I managed to find a few more that are just too interesting to pass up. I really should have a keeper looking after me.

ARC Reading Challenge 2011

1 January - 31 December 2011
Four reading levels: 12 or fewer books, 24, 25, 30 or more
Host: Teddy Rose of So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
See the announcement/sign-up page here.
This is an extremely useful challenge, and I'm so glad it's being offered again in 2011. I'm still working through my list for the 2010 edition of the challenge, but I'm definitely signing up for this one.


Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2011

1 January - 31 December 2011
Three levels: 1-6, 7-12, 13 or more books
Host: Yvonne of Socrates' Book Review Blog
See the announcement/sign-up page here.
I love cozy mysteries, so this one should be no problem at all. Even so, I think I'll probably be signing up at the first level (1-6 books).


Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011

1 January - 31 December 2011
Five levels: 2, 5, 10, 15, or 20 books
Host: Historical Tapestry
See the announcement/sign-up page here.
I had to think about this one for a while. I always maintain that I don't read much historical fiction (even though I do enjoy it), but when I got to looking at my list of books for this year, I realized that several of them would qualify in that category. Any kind of historical fiction is acceptable, so I'm signing up, and I think I'll probably go for the "Daring & Curious" level (5 books).


TBR Lite Challenge 2011

1 January - 31 December 2011
Three different reading options; and you should have a list of possible books posted (see mine here).
Host: Miz B
See the announcement/sign-up page here.
Another highly useful challenge. I like this "lite" version because I'm really bad about sticking to plans and schedules when it comes to reading. TBR Lite allows me to change my mind and move things around as needed. There's also a Yahoo group for the challenge (here), where participants can chat about their reading. I'm going to be signing up for Option B (read six books in twelve months). I don't have a specific list for this challenge yet, but I've got "to-be-read" lists posted at Good Reads (here) and Shelfari (here), and I'll be taking my books for the challenge from those.

OK, those are definitely the last challenges I'll be signing up for in 2011. That is, until I find another tempting possibility. (You knew that was coming, right?) During the year, I'll be updating my progress on my challenge blog, here.

Happy Holidays!

42 Challenge 2010: The Wrap-Up

The 2010 edition of the 42 (Sci-Fi) Challenge, hosted by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews, ended back on December 3. This is a fun challenge and even though I didn't do quite as well with this one as I did with the 2009 challenge, I still think it's one of my favorites. This is my list of sci-fi "experiences" for the year. Didn't read as much as I should have - I did a lot more viewing than reading. Still, I'm going to consider it a success, and I want to say a big thank you to Becky for hosting again. Now I just have to decide if I want to try it a third time in 2011.

Here's the list. I didn't do many reviews, but where reviews do exist, I've added a link.
  1. Avatar (2009; film)
  2. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953; film)
  3. Contact. Carl Sagan (1985; novel; 432 pages)
  4. Deja Vu (2006; film)
  5. Doctor Who (David Tennant): "Planet of the Ood" (2008; TV series)
  6. Doctor Who (David Tennant): "Partners in Crime" (2008; TV series)
  7. Eureka: "Founder's Day" (2010; TV series)
  8. Eureka: "A New World" (2010; TV series)
  9. Eureka: "All the Rage" (2010; TV series)
  10. Eureka: "Crossing Over" (2010; TV series)
  11. Eureka: "Momstrosity" (2010; TV series)
  12. Eureka: "Stoned" (2010; TV series)
  13. Eureka: "The Ex-Files" (2010; TV series)
  14. Eureka: "I'll Be Seeing You" (2010; TV series)
  15. Eureka: "O Little Town" (2010; TV series)
  16. Five Million Miles to Earth (1967; film)
  17. Forbidden Planet (1956; film)
  18. The Forgotten (2004; film)
  19. Operation Terror (1962; novel)
  20. Panic in Year Zero! (1962; film)
  21. Star Trek (2009; film)
  22. Star Trek: Generations (1994; film)
  23. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Family" (1990; TV series)
  24. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Future Imperfect" (1990; TV series)
  25. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Reunion" (1990; TV series)
  26. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "I Borg" (1992; TV series)
  27. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "The Inner Light" (1992; TV series)
  28. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Relics" (1992; TV series)
  29. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Homeward" (1993; TV series)
  30. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Sub Rosa" (1993-94; TV series)
  31. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Emergence" (1994; TV series)
  32. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Eye of the Beholder" (1994; TV series)
  33. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "First Born" (1994; TV series)
  34. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Genesis" (1994; TV series)
  35. Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Journey's End" (1994; TV series)
  36. Space Cowboys (2000; film)
  37. The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells (1895; novel; 245 pages)
  38. X the Unknown (1956; film)
  39. These Are the Damned (1962; film)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Booking Through Thursday: Life-Changing

This week, BTT asks "Which Book Changed Your Life?" and at first I thought "that's easy – none of them." Many books have affected me in one way or another, but I really couldn't think of any that were noticeably life-changing.

But then I remembered a sunny spring day, many centuries ago on a planet far, far away. I was a senior in high school. It was lunchtime. And this tall skinny kid with long, Beatlesque hair, who I'd had my eye on for weeks, spent an entire half hour telling me the plot of a novel he'd read recently.

The book was How Awful About Allan, a fairly forgettable potboiler by Henry Farrell, the same writer who produced Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? I remember almost nothing at all about the plot of the book, but I certainly remember the young man who told it to me. Two years later I married him, and he's sitting in the next room right now drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

So I guess my life really was changed by a book. And one I never even read!


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: The Weird Sisters

This week my teaser lines come from Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters. The quote is taken from page 23 of the ARC, so please remember that the published version (due out in February) might differ a bit. In this snippet, the sisters are explaining about their family's two vices - disorder and literature:
We were never organized readers who would see a book through to its end in any sort of logical order. We weave in and out of words like tourists on a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. Put a book down in the kitchen to go to the bathroom and you might return to find it gone, replaced by another of equal interest.
They put their books down to go to the bathroom? And they call themselves dedicated book people?


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in a comment here.

Monday, December 20, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I didn't finish any books last week, but I did make some progress with two that I'm reading right now. Also didn't get any reviews posted, but I've got several in process, and hope to get them done and on my blog later this week. Also need to write wrap-ups for a few of the reading challenges that are ending this month. But all the Christmas shopping and card-sending is done now, so I should be able to devote most of this week to bookish activities.
  • Finished last week:
    Nothing. That's: nothing, nada, zip.

  • Reading this week:
    The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown. (This is an Early Reviewer book from Library Thing, and I really need to finish it up pretty quick. I'm having a little trouble staying with it, which doesn't really bode well.)


    The Thirty-Nine Steps
    , by John Buchan; and Operation Terror by Murray Leinster. Reading these on my iPad. They're both fairly short books, so I really should be able to zip right through them now that I've got some free time.


    First edition, 1962. Berkley Original; cover by Richard Powers.
    Cover image from Amazon.com.



  • Up Next:
    I've got a number of ARCs that I really want to get to, including The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor, and A Widow's Story the new memoir by Joyce Carol Oates. But those will have to wait until after Christmas and probably until the first of the new year - think I've already got enough to keep me busy for the rest of 2010.




It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Challenges for 2011, Part 2

I should not be doing this. I'm really, truly trying to limit the number of reading challenges I'm signing up for in 2011. I've got myself involved in eight already, and that's definitely enough. But I've found two more that I really just can't resist, so here come numbers nine and ten:

New Authors Challenge 2011

1 January - 31 December 2011
Read a set number of books by authors who are new to you.
Three Levels: 15, 25, or 50 new authors
Host: Jackie of Literary Escapism
See the announcement/sign-up page here.
The 2010 version of this challenge was one of my favorites from this past year. I signed up to read fifteen new authors, and ended up doing much better than that. It was lots of fun and hardly any work - which I love. Even so, I'm playing it safe again this year and committing to fifteen new authors.


Young Readers Challenge 2011

January - December 2011
Read twelve children's books. These will be books from the "easy reading" or "junior/juvenile" sections of the library.
Host: Becky of Becky's Book Reviews
See the announcement/sign-up page here.
Becky's Book Reviews hosts this challenge annually. I tried it a couple of years ago, and didn't do very well with it. But I love reading kiddie lit, and didn't read any this past year. So maybe I can get a little nudge from the 2011 challenge.

So that's that. There are actually a couple more really tempting challenges out there calling my name, but for the moment I'm trying to exercise some restraint. For the moment. Tomorrow is another day, of course. Anyway, during the year I'll be updating my progress with these two, and all the others, on my challenge blog, here.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: The Thirty-Nine Steps

This week my teaser lines come from John Buchan's classic adventure tale, The Thirty-Nine Steps. It's one of the books I'm reading for a couple of the challenges I still have to finish up this year, but it's also been on my TBR list for decades now.

The quote comes from Chapter One, and I'm not sure of the page number since I'm reading it on my iPad (it's Location 43-55 of the Kindle edition). At this point in the story, we've been introduced to the protagonist (and narrator of the story) Richard Hannay and he's being visited by an upstairs neighbor who seems in need of his help (I know this is more than two lines, but I didn't want to break up the passage):
There was a tray of drinks on a table beside him, from which he filled himself a stiff whisky-and-soda. He drank it off in three gulps, and cracked the glass as he set it down.

'Pardon,' he said, 'I'm a bit rattled tonight. You see, I happen at this moment to be dead.'
Okey-dokey. Well, I can tell you that the neighbor is definitely NOT a vampire, ghost or zombie, but beyond that my lips are sealed.

Cover of the Penguin edition.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in a comment here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I spent most of last week slogging through the last half of Anne Fortier's Juliet. Finished it over the weekend. Seems like I've been reading that book forever. Haven't done a review yet – I'm still gathering my thoughts.

I've got a few more reading challenges to finish up before the end of the year, so I'm hoping to get a lot of reading done in the next couple of weeks. Also want to get several reviews posted – I'd like to say at least a few words about the books I read this year, but never got around to reviewing. I'll get to those just as soon as I get all these Christmas cards addressed and outta here!

So here's how things look at the moment:
  • Finished last week:

    Juliet, by Anne Fortier. (Sorry to say I found this largely disappointing, especially after all the early hype. More on that later.)


  • Reading this week:

    The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown. (This is an Early Reviewer book from Library Thing, so I want to get it finished up asap. I have high hopes, although the first fifty pages aren't setting me a-tingle.)


  • Up next:

    I've started reading two books on my iPad: John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps, and Murray Leinster's Operation Terror. Both were free downloads from Amazon, and both should be pretty fast reads so I'll probably finish them up before moving on to something else. Probably should get back to those ARCs that are sitting there on my shelf, radiating guilt vibes.


    First edition, 1962. Berkley Original; cover by Richard Powers.
    Cover image from Amazon.com.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Booking Through Thursday: Crappy?

This week BTT asks this question: Do you ever crave reading crappy books? And I had to think a while to come up with my answer.

Which is: No, I don't think I do.

Of course, one reader's crappy is another reader's thrilling entertainment. I indulge in all sorts of reading. If I really considered any of it "crappy," I wouldn't waste my time on it.

Would you?

I'm going to enjoy seeing how others answer this.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: Operation Terror

This week my teaser lines come from Murray Leinster's sci-fi novel, Operation Terror (my "O" book for the A-Z Challenge). I'm not sure of the exact page number because I'm reading this on my iPad, but it's from the third paragraph of Chapter 6 (Kindle location 897-909).

This snippet is describing the mysterious "something" that has come out of Boulder Lake National Park, causing all humans to flee the area:
No human being could endure being within seven miles of whatever it was. . . . because it swung terror beams before it, and terror beams on either side, and when it was clear of the Park it played terror beams behind it, too. Men who suffered the lightest touch of those sweeping beams of terror and anguish moved frantically to avoid having the experience again.
Sounds pretty awful. Reminds me of my old place of employment in Washington DC.

First edition, 1962. Berkley Original; cover by Richard Powers.
Cover image from Amazon.com.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in a comment here.

Monday, December 06, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Last week wasn't a great reading week for me. I really need to kick it up a notch if I'm going to reach my goal of fifty books for this year. I know that seems like a ridiculously low number of books for some of you out there, but for me (the World's Slowest Reader) it would be a real achievement.

Anyway, last week I did manage to finish one book, and make a little progress on another. But I spent a great deal of time (time I should have been using for actual reading) planning my reading challenges for next year (see the list here). Also posted a couple of wrap-ups for 2010 challenges - the Awesome Authors Challenge and the Bibliophilic Books Challenge (here and here). I'm going to try to cut back on challenges a little in 2011; I had about two dozen going this year, and while I enjoyed the reading, I think that was really a few too many.

So, here's my Monday list:
  • Finished last week:

    The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. Overall, I enjoyed this one quite a bit, and hope to get a review posted in a day or two.


  • Reading this week:

    Juliet by Anne Fortier. I've had this one going for several months now (!), and really do want to get it finished this week. I'm enjoying it, but it doesn't seem to be grabbing my attention as completely as I was expecting it would.


  • Planned for December:

    The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham. My "K" book for the A-Z Challenge.


    Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark. My "Z" book for same challenge.


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.