End of the Year....

I did a horrible job this year keeping up with my reading challenges/reviews. On the plus side, I did read 55 books as of tonight. And some of them are reviewed on goodreads. On the minus side, almost none of them are reviewed on the blog, and I didn't finish any of my challenges to speak of. Pa.The.Tic.



So I'm going to try to catch up with what I've done, and pick some new challenges, and maybe eventually even catch up on reviews. It's a new year, right? I'll at least do a best of 2010 list next week sometime.



On to 2011!

RIP Challenge V

I have sort of dropped the ball on my reading challenges this year, but if I am going to pick it back up, it's for this one. I love Halloween, and I love reading, so I super-love Carl at Stainless Steel Dropping's RIP Challenge. I have been doing this challenge since RIP II, and I almost missed it this year, but jumped in in the nick of time. Since I am joining late, I am going to do Peril the Second, which only requires the reading of two books sufficiently Halloween-ie. And, coincidentally, they are also written by a father and son.

1. Horns--Joe Hill--10/25/10
2. Under the Dome--Stephen King--11/6/10 (better late than never)

If I have time, I would like to read a book of short stories by each of these authors as well, which would be

3. Just After Sunset--Stephen King--12/8/10
4. 20th Century Ghosts--Joe Hill

but that is unlikely, given that it is already October 25.

Boo!

Decades 2010--1/1/10-12/31/10

DID NOT FINISH

One of my favorite challenges is the Decades Challenge. This is the third year that I will be participating. The goal is to read one book from ten consecutive decades, 1990s and earlier. My list follows:

1990s: The Robber Bride--Margaret Atwood1/23/10

1980s: Love in the Time of Cholera--Gabriel Garcia Marquez

1970s: Song of Solomon--Toni Morrison

1960s: The Bell Jar--Sylvia Plath

1950s: A Town Like Alice--Nevil Shute

1940s: I, Robot--Issac Asimov

1930s: Gone With the Wind--Margaret Mitchell

1920s: Women in Love--D.H. Lawrence

1910s: Of Human Bondage--W. Somerset Maugham

1900s: The Railway Children--Edith Nesbit

Gregor the Overlander--Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Year Published: 2003
Pages: 320
Rating: 3.5/5

"Gregor had pressed his face against the screen for so long, he could feel a pattern of tiny checks above his eyebrows."

I read this book on my son's recommendation, and it was really quite enjoyable. Gregor is an 11 year old boy with much weight on his shoulders--his father has disappeared, and he has to help his mother and grandmother tend to his 2 year old sister so she can try to make enough money to support the struggling family. But he is also a warrior, foretold in a prophecy in the underland. Of course Gregor doesn't know this, until he follows his little sister into an airvent in his basement and falls into the underland, where bugs, bats, and rats are huge, and a tribe of people survive under the ground. Upon learning he might be able to rescue his father, Gregor takes the quest--though he is dubious that he is the fabled warrior.

The story moves fast, and Gregor's little sister, Boots, is delightful. I am going to try to read the rest of the series when I get a chance.

Book a Week # 1
Challenge/s: Young Adult, TBR
Date Read: 1/1/10

Queen Bees and Wannabes--Rosalind Wiseman

Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help
Year Published: 2002
Pages: 336
Rating: 3/5

This was a very well-written book about dealing with "Girl World". I like Wiseman's style--she cuts to the chase and calls it like it is. A lot of this is common sense, but stuff we don't really pay much attention to. It did get a little redundant by the end, but I still think it's worth reading. There is a chapter on raising boys that I enjoyed a lot as well, and my son and I already had a talk about our culture's expectations of men and women.

Book a week # 64
Challenge: A-Z
Date Read: 12/31/09

Best Books of 2009!

I read so many great books this year! It was hard to pick ten, so I chose ten honorable mentions as well. I wrote a brief description of each book, but I also linked to my original review, which says a lot more. Toni Morrison was my most-read author this year, and all three of her books that I read this year made the honorable mentions. Read Neil Gaiman for the first time, and plan on reading more in the future.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Told by death itself, this is the story of a brave and thoughtful little girl living in Nazi Germany during WWII. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. A great piece of young adult dystopian fiction, involving cloning, drug lords, and the disappearance of the whales.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White. A whimsical and enjoyable retelling of the King Arthur saga.

The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan. I linked to my review of the first book, The Lightning Thief, but all five were excellent. A brilliant way to bring classical mythology to life, and to envision it coexisting with today's modern life.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. I'm glad I gave Faulkner another shot, because I loved this bit of dark comedy.

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. A tragic and beautiful story about people too caught up in themselves to understand one another.

Animal Farm by George Orwell. Perhaps the perfect allegory, this famous work shows beautifully what happens when socialism goes awry.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. A riveting account of an expedition to climb Mount Everest gone horribly wrong.

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. This book could be the model for today's "Mean Girls" phenomenon. A great story that examines girls'--and womens'--relationships with one another.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Told in one of the most unique voices, this book chronicles a brilliant but autistic teen's attempt to solve a mystery.

And the honorable mentions:

Beloved by Toni Morrison.

Paradise by Toni Morrison.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides.

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards.

Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill.

Duma Key by Stephen King.

Finish That Series--1/1/10-12/31/10

Hosted here at the very alliterative site, Royal Reviews, this challenge provides the opportunity to finish the series you've begun. I am going to sign up on the "fascinated" level, meaning I must complete three series this year. Some of the series I am hoping to finish are:

The Twilight Saga 4/19/10
The Murdoc Jern series
The Foundation series
The Border Trilogy
The Hunger Games 9/12/10

Series I want to reread include:

The Chronicles of Narnia
Dragonlance: Legends
The Prydain Series
The Dark Tower series 8/25/10

Young Adult Through the Decades Challenge (1/1/09-12/31/09)

DID NOT FINISH
Hosted here at Youth Services Corner, this challenge has you read young adult books written in different decades, starting with the 1930s or before and ending with the 2000s. Rereads are allowed (yay!!!).

1930s or before: Little Women
1940s: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1950s: Fahrenheit 451 --1/13/10
1960s: I Am David --11/19/10
1970s: Rumble Fish
1980s: Four's Crossing
1990s: Push
2000s: The Hunger Games--2/9/10

The Great Fire--Jim Murphy

Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 1995
Pages: 144
Rating: 4/5

I use this book in my classroom occasionally. It is a really interesting and informative account of the Great Chicago Fire, with drawings, photographs, and true-life accounts written by survivors of the fire. Definately worth reading.

Book a week # 60

Eclipse--Stephanie Meyer

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Year Published: 2007
Pages: 629
Rating: 2/5

"All our attempts at subterfuge had been in vain."

Why oh why do I keep reading these books? It isn't the writing, which is awkward and flowery, and seems to deteriorate even more with each subsequent book. It isn't Bella, the main character, who may very well be the WORST female heroine ever--she's spineless, moronic, and an utter doormat. It isn't Edward or Jacob, both of whom behave very badly when it comes to matters of love. I'm completely over the romance between Edward and Bella, so it isn't that (although I will admit the tension between Bella and Jacob got me a little bit). So what is it that keeps me coming back for more nauseating twaddle?

Well, I like the supernatural. I like the mythology behind the vampires and werewolves in the novels--especially the Native American shapeshifting stories. And I feel like I've invested myself in it this far so I sort of have to go all the way. (I thought Eclipse was the last book, however, and was very annoyed that I'm going to have to subject myself to this again). And I guess the story isn't that horrible...although our anti-heroine really truly is.

What happens in this book? More of the same, really: Victoria is still after Bella, Jacob is still in love with her, she still feels torn between him and Edward even though she will never even consider life without Edward because without him she would surely die, her father is still a bumbling fool, she still wants to be a vampire but Edward is still holding out for--gasp--marriage, the werewolves and vampires still hate each other, and Bella still manages to do stupid things and get herself into trouble so that her strong and supernatural lovers can save her. New stuff? Bella graduates, we get the whole story behind the tribe of werewolves, the werewolves and vampires come together to save her, and she makes a choice between the boys and a big decision that will affect her future. Oh, and there's a big party at the vampires' house.

What really disgusts me about these books is the same as I wrote in my last review--Bella is a horrible example for young women. The message here is that it is OK to act like an idiot because a boy will come and rescue you from danger. And that nothing is more important than your love for said boy. And if the boy leaves you life is no longer worth living and you will walk around like an empty shell. Oh--and Bella's revulsion to marriage hardly fits with her as a character. Ditto for the fact that she's supposed to be an honor's student but she's a complete idiot. I could document all of Bella's "Duh!" moments--you know, when the light bulb goes on and she suddenly realizes what the reader figured out ages ago--but why put anyone through that?

Now that I'm done ranting, I must sheepishly admit that I AM going to read the final book in the series.

Book a week # 61
Date Read: 12/21/09

Take Another Chance Challenge (1/1/10-12/31/10)

The Take Another Chance Challenge allows you to find books to read by chance--how fun!! You can find all the guidelines here. There are twelve categories of participation; I am going to try to participate in all twelve (Gambling it All, as they say on the site!). I will list the categories, and the books I plan on reading, below.

1. Read Your Doppelganger: Since no one has the same exact name for me, I am going to read an author with the same initials--Lois Lowry's Number the Stars.

2. Blogroll Roulette: Twilight Children by Torey Hayden

3. 100 Best Book (I chose from the 2009 Best Books for Young Adults List): Debbie Harry Sings in Frency by Meagan Brothers

4. Prize Book Winner: 2666 by Roberto Bolano

5. Title Word Count: Jazz by Toni Morrison

6. Genre Switch Up: Graphic Novel--From Hell by Alan Moore

7. Break a Prejudice: Oh boy. Maybe I'll read The Bourne Identity for this one.

8. Real and Inspired:

9. Same Word, Different Book: Breaking Dawn; Breaking Her Fall

10. Become a Character:

11. All in the Family: 20th Century Ghosts (Joe Hill); Just After Sunset (Stephen King)

12. Author Anthology Pick:

Flashback Challenge (1/1/10-12/31/10)

I love re-reading books. I have been keeping track of my re-reads with the ongoing Read it Again Challenge, but this new one--the Flashback Challenge--caught my eye. It is a little more structured, with categories for how many books you read (I am going for Literati, which means I will reread six books) and the following mini-challenge categories:

1. Re-read a favorite book from your childhood
2. Re-read a book assigned to you in high school
3. Re-read a book you loved as an adult

I am going to read two from each category. This challenge crosses over with my Revisit Childhood Favorites as well.

Childhood: Ballet Shoes, Four's Crossing

High School: Catcher in the Rye, The Crucible

Adult: The Stand, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Fantasy Reading Challenge (1/1/10-12/31/10)

I love fantasy, and this challenge crosses over with my Arthurian Reading challenge, so it seemed a waste not to join. Guidelines can be found here. I think I will opt for the "fascinated" category, meaning I will read six fantasy fiction novels, but I might up that to "addicted" and read twelve. I will post my list soon!

2010 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge (1/1/10-12/31/10)

"Reading With Tequila" has compiled a list of books recommended by bloggers. Of the 234 books on this list, I have read 35. For this challenge, I plan on reading another ten. Here is a tentative list of books I might read:

1. City of Bones--Cassandra Clare
2. The Alchemist--Paulo Coelho
3. Eragon-_Christopher Paolini
4. The Host--Stephanie Meyer
5. Gone With the Wind--Margaret Mitchell
6. Push--Sapphire
7. A Thousand Splendid Suns--Khaled Hosseini
8. The Prisoner's Wife--Asha Bandele
9. Artemis Fowl--Eoin Colfer
10. The Bell Jar--Sylvia Plath
11. Alas Babylon--Pat Frank
12. The Looking Glass Wars--Frank Beddor
13. Neverwhere--Neil Gaiman
14. My Sister's Keeper--Jodi Picoult
15. Fight Club--Chris Pahlaniak

451 Challenge (1/1/10-11/30/10)

This challenge is hard to explain, so I am going to just copy and paste from the 451 Challenge site:

"451 Fridays is based on an idea from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In his novel, a group of people (Bradbury calls them Book People) are trying to keep the ideas found in books alive. Instead of actually saving the books, the Book People each "become" a book - memorizing it, word for word, and passing it down to the next generation.

451 Fridays asks what books you feel passionate about. What book do you think is so important that you would be willing to take on the challenge of "becoming"?

We have compiled an amazing list of books this year in our weekly 451 Fridays posts, and it's time to start reading them! So, the 451 Challenge was born."

I am going to do the "Blaze" level,which means I will be reading at least seven books from the list. Here is my tentative list of books:

A Thousand Splendid Suns--Khaled Hosseini

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn--Betty Smith

Gone With the Wind--Margaret Mitchell

A Solitary Blue--Cynthia Voigt

Fahrenheit 451--Ray Bradbury

I Am David--Ann Holm

Shantaram--Gregory David Roberts

The Haunting of Hill House--Shirley Jackson