2013 Pre-1960 Classic Children's Books Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Kimberly @ Turning the Pages
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2013
See the challenge announcement / sign-up page HERE

The goal here is to read classic children's books: any number, but only participants who read/review at least one book per month will be eligible for the challenge giveaway.

Some of the guidelines:

• All books must have an original publication date of 1960 or earlier.
• All formats are allowed
• Books must be at least 60 pages in length
• Re-reads are OK

I love kiddie lit!  There's a massive amount of children's literature I've always intended to read, and this sounds like a great way to nudge myself into doing something about it.  There's no rule about making advance lists, but here are some titles I'm thinking of (subject to change, of course):

The 13 Clocks. James Thurber (1950)
Anne of Green Gables. L.M. Montgomery (1908)
Beezus and Ramona. Beverly Cleary (1955)
Black Fox of Lorne. Marguerite de Angeli (1957)
Five Children and It. E. Nesbit (1902)
Half Magic. Edward Eager (1954)
Hitty Her First Hundred Years. Rachel Field (1929)
The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Dodie Smith (1956)
Magic by the Lake. Edward Eager (1957)
Magic or Not? Edward Eager (1959)
Miss Hickory. Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (1946)
Mistress Masham's Repose. T.H. White (1946)
Stuart Little. E.B. White (1945)
Tom Sawyer, Detective. Mark Twain (1896)
The Well-Wishers. Edward Eager (1960)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum (1900)

...and the list could go on and on.  Now I just need to get reading.  During the year, I'll be tracking my progress on my challenge blog HERE.

2013 European Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Rose City Reader
Dates: 1 January 2013 - 31 January 2014
See the challenge announcement / sign-up page HERE

Read books by European authors, or books set in European countries.  There are five levels of participation:

• Five Star (Deluxe Entourage): Read at least five books by different European authors or five books set in different European countries. 
• Four Star (Honeymooner): Read four qualifying books. 
• Three Star (Business Traveler): Read three qualifying books. 
• Two Star (Adventurer): Read two qualifying books. 
• One Star (Pensione Weekender): Read just one qualifying book.

I'm gonna go all out here, and sign up at the Five Star "Deluxe Entourage" level.  I don't have a firm idea of what I'll read, but these are a few books I'm considering:

A Death in Vienna. Frank Tallis (Austria)
Ignorance. Milan Kundera (Czech Republic)
Istanbul Passage. Joseph Kanon (Turkey)
The Old Devils. Kingsley Amis (Wales)
Stone Virgin. Barry Unsworth (Italy)

Whatever I read, I'll be tracking my progress on my challenge blog (HERE).

2013 Middle East Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Maphead
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2013
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here

The goal here is to read as many books as you like, related to the Greater Middle East area (or MENA--Middle East/North Africa).  Books can be fiction or nonfiction, and there are four levels of participation:

1. Tourist (1-5 books)
2. Diplomat (5-10 books)
3. Foreign Policy Specialist (10-15 books)
4. Scholar (15 books or more)

Books can be written by Middle Eastern authors, take place in the Middle East, or be concerned with the Greater Middle East; and they can deal with either contemporary or historical Middle Eastern issues.

This challenge sounds like a good way to expand my reading horizons a bit.  I'll be signing up at the Tourist level -- I should be able to manage at least one to five books.  Some possibilities I'm thinking about:

• Clea. Lawrence Durrell (I've read the first three books of the Alexandria Quartet, but somehow never got around to this one)
• Martyrs' Crossing. Amy Wilentz
• A Woman in Jerusalem. Abraham Yehoshua
• Reading Lolita in Tehran. Azar Nafisi

Of course, that list is subject to change. Whatever I do end up reading, I'll be tracking my progress on my challenge blog (HERE).

New Reading Challenges for a New Year

Yes, I know I really didn't do all that well with the reading challenges I signed up for in 2012 (you can see the sad assessment here).  But that hasn't discouraged me.  A new year is on its way and it's bringing lots and lots of absolutely irresistible challenges to play with.  And since I'm such an addict, I'm not even gonna TRY to resist.  These are the ones I'm signing up for right now.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2013

Hosted by: Historical Tapestry

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2013

See the announcement/sign-up page here

This is always one of my favorite challenges, and one I might actually do pretty well with.  I'm signing up for Level 2 ("Victorian Reader"), so I'll be reading five books.  And I'll be tracking my progress throughout the year on my challenge blog HERE.

2013 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Hosted by: The Book Vixen

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2013

See the announcement/sign-up page here

I really need this challenge, since my reading record for 2012 was so dismal.  Hoping this will help get me back on track.  Signing up at Level 2 again ("Out of Breath"), so I should be reading 6-10 more books than I read this year -- that would put me back at the 50 books per year rate I usually aim at.  I'll be tracking my progress on my challenge blog HERE.

 What's in a Name 6

Hosted by: Beth Fish Reads

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2013

See the announcement/sign-up page here

Another one of my favorites from 2012, so I'm really happy to see this offered again.  Tracking my progress on my challenge blog, HERE.

That's the lot, so far. More to come.... But you knew that!

2012 Reading Challenges: The Wrap-Ups

OK, I think it’s probably best that I just accept defeat (a certain amount, anyway), and admit I’m very unlikely to finish any more books in 2012. Or get any more reviews written. So I suppose it’s also time to go ahead and zero out all the reading challenges I had going this year.

2012 was not a bad year for me in most areas -- in fact, it was generally satisfying and even exciting. But all that excitement meant that my reading definitely took a hit. Didn’t get anywhere near my 50-book goal, and actually read even fewer books than I read in 2011. But, looking at my challenge blog, I realize that I actually came pretty close with some challenges -- and did manage to finish the reading goals I’d set myself in a few of them.

But reviews -- that’s a whole ‘nother problem. Around mid-year, I sort of stopped posting reviews -- just didn’t have time for them. For a while there, I thought I might be able to play catch-up in December. Yeah, right. That is definitely not gonna happen. So... here come the wrap-ups, in alphabetical order.

1st in a Series Challenge

Signed up at the "Series Novice" level (3 books)
Actually read 2 books; no reviews.

1. A Man Lay Dead. Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn series) 
2. The Warden. Anthony Trollope (Chronicles of Barsetshire)

Books in Translation Challenge

Signed up at the "Conversationalist" level (4-6 books)
Actually read 2 books; no reviews.

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Stieg Larsson 
2. The Trial. Franz Kafka 

Fall Into Reading Challenge

Books read, 7; no reviews. See my list of books read HERE.

Finishing the Series Challenge

Trying to finish the Mrs. Malory mystery series by Hazel Holt; needed to read 3 books to finish the series; only read one, no review. 

1. Mrs. Malory and No Cure for Death 

Historical Fiction Challenge

I did a little better with this one. Signed up at the “Daring and Curious” level (5 books), actually finished the required number of books, and even posted a few reviews!  See my list of books read (with links to reviews) HERE.

Mount TBR Challenge

Signed up at the “Pike’s Peak” level (12 books); read 12 books. See my list of books read (with links to reviews) HERE.

Mystery & Suspense Challenge

Signed up at the first level (12 books); read 12 books. See my list of books read (with links to reviews) HERE

New Authors Challenge

Committed to read 15 new authors; read 10. See my list of books read (with links to reviews) HERE.

Off the Shelf Challenge

Signed up at the second level (“Trying” -- 15 books); read 15.  See my list of books read (with links to reviews) HERE.

Once Upon a Time VI Challenge

Signed up for “The Journey” (at least one book); read one book. No review.

1. Seven-Day Magic. Edward Eager 

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (RIP) VII

Signed up at the Peril the Second level (two books), combined with Peril on the Screen.
Read 5 books.  Also watched a hefty batch of TV shows/movies.  See my lists HERE.

The Victorian Challenge

The goal was to read at least two books, and watch or listen to any number of Victorian-themed shows, music, etc. Read 2 books:

1. The Solitary House. Lynn Shepherd (novel set in the Victorian Era) 
2. The Warden. Anthony Trollope (written during the Victorian Era; first published 1855) 

Watched 3 movies/TV shows:

1. The Prestige (2006; film; based on the novel by Christopher Priest) 
2. Queen Victoria's Empire (2001; PBS; 4-hour documentary series) 
3. My Brilliant Career (1979; film; based on the novel by Miles Franklin) 

What’s in a Name 5

Goal was 6 books from 6 categories. Read 6 books.  See my list of books read (with links to reviews) HERE.



I also had a couple of challenges going at LibraryThing (see my 2012 Fifty Book Challenge, and my 12 in 12 Challenge), and one at Good Reads, none of which I actually completed. (Sigh.)

And that’s a wrap!

Just one final thought. Even though I didn’t do as well as I’d have liked in 2012, that hasn’t put me off reading challenges. No sir-ee! I’m hoping the coming year will be a much more normal reading year for me, and I’m already checking out the new reading challenges for 2013!

Booking Through Thursday: Contemplation

This week, BTT asks:

So … you’ve just finished reading a book. For the sake of the discussion, we’ll say it was everything a book should be—engaging, entertaining, interesting, thought-provoking. The kind you want to gush over. The question is—do you immediately move on to your next book? Or do you take time to contemplate this writerly masterpiece and all its associated thoughts/emotions/ideas for a while first?  

I guess I'm not very contemplative. At least, when it comes to reading matter. Since I've usually got two or three (or more) books going at any given time, I don't generally spend a lot of time contemplating each one as I finish it.

Not that I don't give some thought to the books I read, or discuss them with my husband and friends, or research other books by the same author.  I do.  But once I come to the end of a book, no matter how much I've enjoyed it -- I move on.

Teaser Tuesdays: Santa Clawed

This week my teaser lines come from a book I read a few years ago -- Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown, part of her Mrs. Murphy mystery series. I've been looking for something with a Christmas theme, and realized I didn't remember "whodunnit" in this one, so I gave it a quick reread.

In case you're not familiar with the books, you need to know that Mrs. Murphy is a cat belonging to Mary Minor ("Harry") Haristeen, postmistress in the tiny village of Crozet, Virginia.  Harry has a talent for solving mysteries -- and a habit of getting herself involved in dangerous situations requiring the aid of Mrs. Murphy and Harry's other pets, Tucker (a Corgi) and Pewter (another pussycat). In this snippet, the critters have once again come to the rescue by attacking the villain:

"Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, let...go," Harry commanded....
Mrs. Murphy ripped out her claws. Pewter, knowing she had to as well, did, but not without the satisfaction of noticing some tiny bits of flesh dangling from them. (p.229)

Oooh, nice kitty! Guess you just can't take the jungle out of the cat.

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 your comment here.