Once Upon a Time X

Spring is here! Finally! I know that's true because bluebonnets are popping up all along the highways here in Texas. The hubby has already done the "first mow" of the yard for this year. And my allergies are giving me fits! Soooo, it must be SPRING!

And if spring is here, it must also be time for another edition of Carl's Once Upon a Time reading event/challenge, the wonderful annual spring fling of reading, over at Stainless Steel Droppings. This is its tenth year, and I've been looking forward to it for months now. One of my favorite bookish events every year, it gives me a reason to give myself permission to read some of the fantasy literature (both adult and children's/YA) I love. (Second childhood -- or by now, I guess more like third or fourth.)

I usually opt for the easiest "quest" (the Journey) and commit to one book. But this year I'm throwing caution out the window and signing up for

Quest the First (read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy, and Mythology). I might not make it, but the try will do me loads of good. I might also join in on the Screen Quest and Short Story Quest, if I can.

I don't have a definite list of books I'll be reading, although more than likely they'll all be from the fantasy genre. I do have a few I'm thinking about:

• After Alice, by Gregory Maguire.
  Published last year, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's classic children's tale. I'm intrigued by the publisher's note: "When Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, she found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice's disappearance? "
• Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke.
  I've been trying to read this one for several years now. I'm such a slow reader, and at nearly 600 pages, it would require a major investment of time. So, we'll see....
• The Magic City, by E. Nesbit.
  I've never read anything by Edith Nesbit. Well, not actually true -- I've started a couple of her books, but never finished any of them. I've always loved the sound of this one. 
• The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende.
  I'm a little surprised that I've never read this one. Loved the movie.
• Silver on the Tree, by Susan Cooper.
  The final book in her Dark Is Rising sequence of novels. I've read the other four books for various other OUaT challenges, so this would be the perfect time to finish off the series.
• Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll.
  This would be a re-read, as I've read both Alice books many times over the years. This year is something of an anniversary for this one -- it first appeared 145 years ago, in 1871.

Or maybe none of the above. Whatever I do read, I'll be tracking my progress over on my challenge blog (HERE). Now, I'm off to browse my shelves.

(To sign up: Once Upon a Time X announcement page.)