RIP Challenge VI

What the heck? Where did the time go? Wasn't I just doing my very first challenge ever, RIP III, like, ten minutes ago? My goodness!

So, I'm feeling old. Let's replace that with feeling spooked! The rules are the same as ever:

"The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not."

Listen to that Carl. What a hippie! I think what he means is that this challenge is about reading ALL THE BOOKS.

In that spirit, I will be going balls-out this year, because I can. I'm hopping on board with Peril the First, which involves reading four books. Four! I could (not) do that in my sleep (because I would be sleeping). I'm also going to watch some more Hitchcock for Peril on the Screen, and try to do reviews again like I did last year. New to me this year will be Peril of the Short Story, for which I will nom some Poe because it has been waaaay too long, and that will cross over with Peril of the Group Read, for which I will be reading along with many others through Fragile Things (a set of Gaiman short stories) and The Lantern.

What? Don't look at me like that.

Anyway, here's what I'm looking forward to imbibing this year; as always, if you want to recommend any awesome items (or things that you want me to read so you don't have to), leave such recommendations in the comments!

Giant pile o' books (* means things I added to the pile during the challenge):
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (Someday I will actually read this.)
A Fine and Private Place, by Peter S. Beagle
Raising Stony Mayhall, by Daryl Gregory
The Edinburgh Dead, by Brian Ruckey
The Postmortal, by Drew Magary
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson (on audio) (Review)
The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James (on audio) (Review)
Overture to Death, by Ngaio Marsh (on audio) (Review)
The Lantern, by Deborah Lawrenson (readalong — Part 1.Part 2.Part 3.Summary)
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (for my book club)
*Death Note Vol. 8, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
*Thinner, by Richard Bachman (Review)
*The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern (Review)
*Black Plumes, by Margery Allingham (Review)
*The Unwritten Vol. 1, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Review)
*The Unwritten Vol. 2, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Review)
*The Unwritten Vol. 3, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Review)

Medium-sized pile of short stories:
All things Poe
Zombies vs. Unicorns, ed. Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (already started)
These Children Who Come at You With Knives, by Jim Knipfel
Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman (readalong — Part 1.Part 2.Part 3.Part 4.Part 5.Part 6.Part 7.Part 8, Summary)
Full Dark, No Stars, by Stephen King (also for my book club) (Review)

Tiny pile of movies:
Um, Hitchcock?
*North by Northwest (Review)

What's in a Name Challenge

This here What's in a Name Challenge just looks adorable. I have to sign up!

Here's How It Works

Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, read one book in each of the following categories:
1. A book with a number in the title: First to Die, Seven Up, Thirteen Reasons Why
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: Diamond Ruby, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Opal Deception
3. A book with a size in the title: Wide Sargasso Sea, Small Wars, Little Bee
4. A book with travel or movement in the title: Dead Witch Walking, Crawling with Zombies, Time Traveler's Wife
5. A book with evil in the title: Bad Marie, Fallen, Wicked Lovely
6. A book with a life stage in the title: No Country for Old Men, Brideshead Revisited, Bog Child

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.


Interesting, right? Well, I think so, anyway, and that's what counts! I have noooooo idea what I'll pick for this, but if you've got ideas, send them my way!

Number: Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy Sayers (Review)
Jewelry: The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (Review)
Size: Thinner, by Richard Bachman (Review)
Travel: Packing for Mars, by Mary Roach (Review)
Evil: In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote (Review)
Life: Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, by Mary Roach (Review)

TBR Challenge

I think the TBR Challenge is going to be really good for me — I am constantly making lists of books to read for other challenges and then NEVER READING THEM. Which is not useful for, you know, getting books read, though I do often end up finding new books to love. But I do have way too many books that I've been meaning to read for years (but not On the Road anymore!), so I think I'm going to throw them up here and finally get 'em done.

The rules:

* the challenge is to read 12 TBR books in 12 months — you can read those all in one month if you want, or one a month, or however you wanna do it.
* you should have a list posted somewhere for others to see
* you CANNOT change your list after January 1st, of the current year!!!
* you can create an Alternates list of MAXIMUM 12 books, if you want, in order to have options to choose from (you can read these in place of books on your original list).
* audiobooks and e-books ARE allowed
* re-reads are NOT allowed, as they aren’t TRUE “TBRs”
* you CAN overlap with other challenges
* OPTIONAL: you can join the Yahoo! Group created for participants of the TBR Challenge, if you want to have a place to keep your list, or just to share with others about how you’re doing!


The list:
1. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien (Review)
2. Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk
3. World Without End, by Ken Follett (Review)
4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (Review)
5. Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann
6. To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis (Review)
7. The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux (Review)
8. The Shining, by Stephen King (Review)
9. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (Review)
10. A Fine and Private Place, by Peter S. Beagle
11. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach (Review)
12. Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones

I'm not going to list any alternates, because I will read these books, darn it! I hope.

A to Z Challenge 2011

I think it's pretty safe to say that I failed last year's A to Z Challenge — there are four days left in the year, I've got six books to go, and I don't foresee finishing the one I've got that quickly! But I am certainly willing to give this challenge another go!

This year's A to Z is quite the same as last year's, but in case you don't remember the rules...

"How does this reading challenge work? Choose the option that works best for you...

Authors -- Read alphabetically by author. Commit to 26 books.
Titles -- Read alphabetically by title. Commit to 26 books.
Authors & Titles -- Commit to reading 52 books

How strict is the 26 or 52? I know it isn't always easy to find those difficult letters. The thought of finding the X's (for example) might scare folks away. It shouldn't! I'm a merciful host! (Ask anyone!)

If you want to give the X's a go... For authors, try to find an X in the first name, middle name, or last name. For titles, it doesn't have to be the starting word. Try to find an X somewhere in a title, and it'd count in my book.

Still can't find a book for the letter you need? I'll take your word for it. I've been there. I know. If your library doesn't see the need to order books just because it starts with an X, then I don't blame you for not wanting to special order a book that you may or may not enjoy. You gave it your best, don't feel bad. You can still make this challenge work for you."

Oh, I will! Prepare to be astonished! I'm going to try for all 52 again this year, since I came so close, but I think I'll try starting with those hard letters this time.

Authors (21/26)
A — Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (Review)
B — Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie (Review)
C — Dead Man's Folly, by Agatha Christie (Review)
D — The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi (Review)
E — A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan (Review)
F — The Sea of Trolls, by Nancy Farmer (Review)
G — Still Alice, by Lisa Genova (Review)
H — Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill (Review)
I —
J — 13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson (Review)
K — Please Ignore Vera Dietz, by A.S. King (Review)
L — The Willoughbys, by Lois Lowry (Review)
M — Regarding Ducks and Universes, by Neve Maslakovic (Review)
N —
O — Death Note Vol. 7, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
P — The Book of Awesome, by Neil Pasricha (Review)
Q —
R — The Dark and Hollow Places, by Carrie Ryan (Review)
S — The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud (Review)
T — The Secret History, by Donna Tartt (Review)
U —
V — The Partly Cloudy Patriot, by Sarah Vowell (Review)
W — I Saw You..., edited by Julia Wertz (Review)
X —
Y — How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu (Review)
Z — The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Review)


Titles (22/26)
A — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (Review)
B — Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach (Review)
C —
D — The Disappearing Spoon, by Sam Kean (Review)
E — The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fford (Review)
F — Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy Sayers (Review)
G — The Golem's Eye, by Jonathan Stroud (Review)
H — The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (Review)
I — In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote (Review)
J — Juniper Berry, by M.P. Kozlowsky (Review)
K —
L — The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor (Review)
M — The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart (Review)
N — The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern (Review)
O — One of Our Thursdays is Missing, by Jasper Fforde (Review)
P — The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux (Review)
Q —
R — The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (Review)
S — Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, by Mary Roach (Review)
T — Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, by John Grisham (Review)
U — The Unwritten Vol. 1, by Mike Carey (Review)
V — V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore (Review)
W — Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan (Review)
X —
Y — The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion (Review)
Z — Zombie, Ohio, by Scott Kenemore (Review)

2011 Global Reading Challenge

I've done the Orbis Terrarum Challenge for the past two years, but I always end up using English-speaking countries to fill it up, and I can never convince myself to do otherwise. But! I saw this similar challenge making the rounds, and it looks like the best chance I'll have of breaking out of my Anglophone rut. But, because I know that I am lame, I am going to stick to the "easy" version of the challenge, and just hope I do better. :)

The rules!

Read one novel from each of these continents in the course of 2011:

Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)

The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it).

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.


I'm hoping I can handle that -- if you have any good suggestions, let me have them! I'm putting, oh look, my entire pool of books from the last Orbis Terrarum back on this list, because I never read what I think I'm going to.

Africa:
Asia: Death Note Vol. 7, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review) Japan
Australasia: Death of a Fool, by Ngaio Marsh (Review) New Zealand
Europe: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Review) Sweden
North America: A Red Herring Without Mustard, by Alan Bradley (Review) Canada
South America:
Seventh Continent:

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge

This here is an excellent challenge for me, as I have been greatly neglecting the vintage mysteries as of late, except that one time that my book club read Gaudy Night and it was awesome. Definitely absolutely have to read more of these!

Here are the important rules:

*All books must have been written before 1960 and be from the mystery category.

*Challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. Sign up any time between now and November 30, 2011.

*No matter what level you choose, please try at least two different vintage authors.

*The best part? A prize for everyone who completes their challenge. Once you declare your challenge level...you are locked in for that number of books. But you may change your list of books at any time. Let me know when you have met your challenge goal and I will send you a list of prizes (books) to choose from. Of course, the earlier you finish, the longer the list of books will be.

Challenge Levels:

In a Murderous Mood: 4-6 Books
Get a Clue: 7-9 Books
Hot on the Trail: 10-12 Books
Capture the Criminal: 13-15 Books
Take 'Em to Trial: 16+ Books

OR

The Golden Age Girls*: Read 5-7 books from female authors from the vintage years
Cherchez Le Homme: Read 5-7 books from male authors from the vintage years


Oh my! Okay, so. I really need to read more vintage mysteries, but considering how many challenges I am planning on participating in (no, really, prepare to see many more of these posts in the soon-time) and how I failed two already this year and am about to fail a third, I am going to stick with the "Murderous Mood" level, and it will probably also be a "Golden Age Girls" challenge, as my plan is to bust out the Christie and Sayers, whom I adore.

I am really excited about this! Must hit up the local used books store!

1. Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy Sayers (Review)
2. Dead Man's Folly, by Agatha Christie (Review)
3. Whose Body?, by Dorothy Sayers (Review)
4. Death of a Fool, by Ngaio Marsh (Review)
5. Overture to Death, by Ngaio Marsh (on audio) (Review)
6. Black Plumes, by Margery Allingham (Review)

RIP Challenge V

Oooh, the RIP Challenge! This challenge holds a special place in my heart, as my first challenge ever, and is also super fun because I get to read scary things in time for Hallowe'en. Wonderful!

As Carl writes... "There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril V Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others."

Cannot go wrong!

I will again be going with Peril the First, which involves reading four books of the mystery/suspense/thriller/dark fantasy/gothic/horror/supernatural variety... so limiting, right? I may also try the Peril on the Screen, which means watching creepy movies, but I'm way out of the loop on those so I'll need your advice!

For this year, I'll start with these books in my pool, unless you have others to tempt me with?

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Shining, by Stephen King
Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

Books:

1. Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie (Review)
2. The Black Minutes, by Martín Solares (Review)
3. The Dead-Tossed Waves, by Carrie Ryan (Review)
4. The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain (Review)
5. Double Indemnity, by James M. Cain (Review)
6. The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (Review)

Movies:
1. Murder on the Orient Express (Review)
2. Halloween (Review)
3. Interview with the Vampire (Review)
4. Psycho

Orbis Terrarum Challenge

Orbis Terrarum! I did it last year with awesome results, so here I go again!

The rules, if you want to play along at home:
*For the challenge each reader is to choose 8 books (for the 8 months of the challenge).
*Each book must from a different country, I have decided to go by the country of origin of the author, or the country he/she lives in is fine as well-meaning NOT the country the book is set in!!
*You don’t have to have a list, that means you can change your mind at any time. As long as there are 8 books you have completed the challenge.

So between 1 April and 31 November, I will be reading delightful books from around the world! I think this is a good idea. I didn't do too well with last year's list, though I did read a lot of good non-list books, so I'm going to put the ones I missed back in the pot for this year:
Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones (New Zealand)
Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia)
The Story of the Cannibal Woman, by Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe)
The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco (Italy)
One More Year, by Sana Krasikov (Ukraine)
Let Me In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Sweden)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera (Czech Republic)
From Sleep Unbound, by Andree Chedid (Egypt)

If you've got any other recommendations, let me know!

The list, as I read them:
1. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, by Alan Bradley (Canada) (Review)
2. Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan (Australia) (Review)
3. Death Note, Vol. 1, by Tsugumi Ohba (Japan) (Review)
4. Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers (England) (Review)
5. The Chalk Circle Man, by Fred Vargas (France) (Review)
6. The Black Minutes, by Martín Solares (Mexico) (Review)
7. The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist (Sweden) (Review)
8. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho (Brazil) (Review)

Chunkster Challenge 2010

I'm not sure how I missed this one earlier, but I am so in! This year's Chunkster Challenge is much like last year's, in that participants read humongous books and then wonder why they don't have any free time. Ahem.

I managed it last year, so I'm going to sign up for the "Mor-book-ly Obese" challenge, which means I'll read either six books longer than 450 pages or three books longer than 750 pages, all of the grown-up variety (no Harry Potter!). I didn't read any of the books I intended to last year, so I'm going to put World Without End and the Wheel of Time series back on the list and hope for the best!

Books eaten (om nom nom)
1. A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson (Review)
2. In the Woods, by Tana French (Review)
3. Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers (Review)
4. Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters (Review)
5. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss (Review)
6. The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters (Review)
7. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt (Review)

Support Your Local Library Challenge 2010

One more challenge, and then I think I'm done for a while (famous last words?). But
this one is practically not a challenge, as it simply requires me to check out books from the library, which I do, like, all the time. :) I am going to super-size myself and commit to checking out 100 library books next year — I probably have already done that this year, so no prob!

The list, as it happens:
1. First Lord's Fury, by Jim Butcher (Review)
2. The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness (Review)
3. The Secret of the Old Clock, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
4. Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde (Review)
5. The Secret Hour, by Scott Westerfeld (Review)
6. Schrödinger's Ball, by Adam Felber (Review)
7. The Hidden Staircase, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
8. The Bungalow Mystery, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
9. Cake Wrecks, by Jen Yates (Review)
10. Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley (Review)
11. The Mystery at Lilac Inn, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
12. The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (Review)
13. How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer (Review)
14. The Secret of Shadow Ranch, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
15. Wife of the Gods, by Kwei Quartey (Review)
16. Across the Nightingale Floor, by Lian Hearn (Review)
17. The Secret of Red Gate Farm, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
18. The Clue in the Diary, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
19. The Wide Window, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
20. The Miserable Mill, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
21. Cat Breaking Free, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (Review)
22. The Austere Academy, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
23. The Ersatz Elevator, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
24. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, by Alan Bradley (Review)
25. This World We Live In, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review)
26. Nancy's Mysterious Letter, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
27. Meanwhile, by Jason Shiga (Review)
28. Déjà Dead, by Kathy Reichs (Review)
29. Lord Sunday, by Garth Nix (Review)
30. The Summer Before, by Ann M. Martin (Review)
31. Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn (Review)
32. The Pox Party, by M.T. Anderson (Review)
33. American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang (Review)
34. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner (Review)
35. The Sign of the Twisted Candles, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
36. Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan (Review)
37. The Monstrumologist, by Rick Yancey (Review)
38. Going Bovine, by Libba Bray (Review)
39. The Compound, by S.A. Bodeen (Review)
40. The Word Snoop, by Ursula Dubosarsky (Review)
41. The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (Review)
42. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher (Review)
43. How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff (Review)
44. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler (Review)
45. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman (Review)
46. I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President, by Josh Lieb (Review)
47. Death Note Vol. 1, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
48. A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson (Review)
49. Last Exit to Normal, by Michael Harmon (Review)
50. Catalyst, by Laurie Halse Anderson (Review)
51. The Death of Jayson Porter, by Jaime Adoff (Review)
52. Death Note Vol. 2, by Tsugumi Ohba
53. Janes in Love, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (Review)
54. Almost Astronauts, by Tanya Lee Stone (Review)
55. I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This, by Jacqueline Woodson (Review)
56. Hold Still, by Nina LaCour (Review)
57. Password to Larkspur Lane, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
58. Death Note Vol. 3, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
59. In the Woods, by Tana French (Review)
60. The Clue of the Broken Locket, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
61. The Likeness, by Tana French (Review)
62. Faithful Place, by Tana French (Review)
63. The Chalk Circle Man, by Fred Vargas (Review)
64. Tell-All, by Chuck Palahniuk (Review)
65. The Physics of the Buffyverse, by Jennifer Ouellette (Review)
66. The Invisible Gorilla, by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons (Review)
67. Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go, by Dale E. Basye (Review)
68. The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan (Review)
69. Foiled, by Jane Yolen (Review)
70. Death Note Vol. 4, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
71. Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters (Review)
72. The House of Tomorrow, by Peter Bognanni (Review)
73. The Black Minutes, by Martín Solares (Review)
74. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss (Review)
75. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (Review)
76. Biting the Wax Tadpole, by Elizabeth Little (Review)
77. Mildred Pierce, by James M. Cain (Review)
78. The Quickening Maze, by Adam Foulds (Review)
79. High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby (Review)
80. Death Note Vol. 5, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
81. Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles, by Kira Henehan (Review)
82. Word Freak, by Stefan Fatsis (Review)
83. The Dead-Tossed Waves, by Carrie Ryan (Review)
84. The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain (Review)
85. Double Indemnity, by James M. Cain (Review)
86. Y: The Last Man Book 1, by Brian K. Vaughan (Review)
87. The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (Review)
88. When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead (Review)
89. The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist (Review)
90. Y: The Last Man Book 2, by Brian K. Vaughan (Review)
91. The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters (Review)
92. Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Review)
93. Y: The Last Man Book 3, by Brian K. Vaughan (Review)
94. Y: The Last Man Book 4, by Brian K. Vaughan (Review)
95. One For the Money, by Janet Evanovich (Review)
96. Mr. Peanut, by Adam Ross (Review)
97. The Night Bookmobile, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review)
98. The Vile Village, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
99. Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld
100. The Hostile Hospital, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
101. The Carnivorous Carnival, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
102. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho (Review)
103. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Review)
104. Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Review)
105. The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, by Eleanor Davis (Review)
106. How to Be Alone, by Jonathan Franzen (Review)
107. Death Note Vol. 6, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
108. The Caretaker of Lorne Field, by Dave Zeltserman (Review)

Nancy Drew Challenge

I don't know about you, but I was once obsessed with a certain girl sleuth. I have definitely read all of the books for this challenge already, but they are totally worth reading again (and they're short, so it shouldn't be too hard)!

The goal here is to read all 56 yellow hardcover versions of the Nancy Drew stories by the end of 2010. I'll plop them here in this post as I read them!

1. The Secret of the Old Clock (Review)
2. The Hidden Staircase (Review)
3. The Bungalow Mystery (Review)
4. The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Review)
5. The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Review)
6. The Secret of Red Gate Farm (Review)
7. The Clue in the Diary (Review)
8. Nancy's Mysterious Letter (Review)
9. The Sign of the Twisted Candles (Review)
10. Password to Larkspur Lane (Review)
11. The Clue of the Broken Locket (Review)

Flashback Challenge

So, as we might recall from the Summer Lovin' Challenge, I am not much of a book re-reader.
Even when I love a book so much that I purchase it, it tends to take me a while (if ever) to get around to reading it again. This is a sad thing.

And now that I'm on GoodReads, I find myself marking down books I've read long ago but that I could not for the life of me tell you what they're about. Even the ones that I remember enjoying as a kid! No idea! Crazy! !!!

So I'm going to enter this challenge on the "Literati" level, which is the level in which I read more than six books... I'm going to try to read one per month, but I think "more than six" is a good goal. :)

A list of books that I should probably re-read:
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
Matilda, by Roald Dahl
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
...um, that's not 12, but I'm sure I'll think of more as I go. :)

The re-reads:
1. The Secret of the Old Clock, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
2. The Wide Window, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
3. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (Review)
4. The Giver, by Lois Lowry (Review)
5. In the Woods, by Tana French (Review)
6. Matilda, by Roald Dahl (Review)
7. Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh (Review)

A to Z Challenge

Right, so, we've already established that I'm a masochist, yes? Good. Then you won't be surprised to hear that I'm going to take on the equally ridiculous A to Z Challenge, in which I will read not 1, not 2, not 26, but 52 books throughout 2010. Oh boy.

The official options are these:
Authors -- Read alphabetically by author. Commit to 26 books.
Titles -- Read alphabetically by title. Commit to 26 books.
Authors & Titles -- Commit to reading 52 books.

So... yes. I'm going to need some help from you, dear readers, to let me know what authors are out there whose last (or first, if it gets desperate) names begin with Q or what books you've heard of whose titles start with an X. Because dude, I have trouble finding those on street signs while road-tripping; I don't expect to fare better at the library. :)

And... the list of completed books! (Or, you know, there'll be some here starting in January.)

Authors (23/26):
A — The Pox Party, by M.T. Anderson (Review)
B — First Lord's Fury, by Jim Butcher (Review)
C — Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Review)
D — Makers, by Cory Doctorow (Review)
E — One For the Money, by Janet Evanovich (Review)
F — Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde (Review)
G — The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert (Review)
H — Across the Nightingale Floor, by Lian Hearn (Review)
I — Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Review)
J — The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (Review)
K — The Secret of the Old Clock, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
L — How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer (Review)
M — Cat Breaking Free, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (Review)
N — The Night Bookmobile, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review)
O — Death Note, by Tsugumi Ohba (Review)
P — This World We Live In, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review)
Q — Wife of the Gods, by Kwei Quartey (Review)
R — The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (Review)
S — The Miserable Mill, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
T —
U —
V — The Game On! Diet, by Krista Vernoff (Review)
W — The Secret Hour, by Scott Westerfeld (Review)
X —
Y — Cake Wrecks, by Jen Yates (Review)
Z — The Caretaker of Lorne Field, by Dave Zeltserman (Review)

Titles (23/26):
A — Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll (Review)
B — The Bungalow Mystery, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
C — Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl (Review)
D — Déjà Dead, by Kathy Reichs (Review)
E — The Ersatz Elevator, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
F — Faithful Place, by Tana French (Review)
G — Going Bovine, by Libba Bray (Review)
H — The Hidden Staircase, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
I — If I Stay, by Gayle Forman (Review)
J — Janes in Love, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (Review)
K — The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness (Review)
L — Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (Review)
M — The Mystery at Lilac Inn, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
N — Nancy's Mysterious Letter, by Carolyn Keene (Review)
O — Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles, by Kira Henehan (Review)
P — The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (Review)
Q — The Quickening Maze, by Adam Foulds (Review)
R —
S — Schrödinger's Ball, by Adam Felber (Review)
T — Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan (Review)
U — The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist (Review)
V — The Vile Village, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
W — The Wide Window, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
X —
Y — Y: The Last Man Book 1, by Brian K. Vaughan (Review)
Z —

The Countdown Challenge 2010

Whoo! Time to take the old Countdown Challenge off the sidebar and add in my new friend, Countdown Challenge 2010! Oh, what a good day. The rules:

1. The goal of this challenge is to read the number of books first published in a given year that corresponds to the last digit of each year in the 2000s — 10 books from 2010, 9 books from 2009, 8 books from 2008, etc. The total number of books required, therefore, is 55.
2. This challenge lasts from 9/9/09 through 10/10/10.
3. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and your lists may change at any time.
4. Sign up using Mr. Linky.
5. Have fun reading!

Woohoo! I'm not even going to pretend to know what I'm going to read, but here's the chart for the 55 books I'll have read by thirteen months from now.

My list (55/55)

2010 (10/10)
1. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, by Alan Bradley (Review)
2. This World We Live In, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review)
3. Meanwhile, by Jason Shiga (Review)
4. Lord Sunday, by Garth Nix (Review)
5. The Summer Before, by Ann M. Martin (Review)
6. Faithful Place, by Tana French (Review)
7. Tell-All, by Chuck Palahniuk (Review)
8. The Invisible Gorilla, by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons (Review)
9. Foiled, by Jane Yolen (Review)
10. The House of Tomorrow, by Peter Bognanni (Review)

2009 (9/9)
1. The Enthusiast, by Charlie Haas (Review)
2. The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa (Review)
3. Liar, by Justine Larbalestier (Review)
4. Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review)
5. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley (Review)
6. Mischief Maker's Manual, by Sir John Hargrave (Review)
7. Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld (Review)
8. Top Producer, by Norb Vonnegut (Review)
9. Invisible I, by Stella Lennon (Review)

2008 (8/8)
1. The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan (Review)
2. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart (Review)
3. The Dead and the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Review)
4. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, by Lenore Look (Review)
5. Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher (Review)
6. Let it Snow, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle (Review)
7. The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness (Review)
8. Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan (Review)

2007 (7/7)
1. The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon (Review)
2. Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley (Review)
3. The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (Review)
4. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher (Review)
5. In the Woods, by Tana French (Review)
6. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss (Review)
7. Biting the Wax Tadpole, by Elizabeth Little (Review)

2006 (6/6)
1. The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean (Review)
2. Schrödinger's Ball, by Adam Felber (Review)
3. Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn (Review)
4. The Pox Party, by M.T. Anderson (Review)
5. American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang (Review)
6. The Physics of the Buffyverse, by Jennifer Ouellette (Review)

2005 (5/5)
1. The Case of the Missing Books, by Ian Sansom (Review)
2. Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman (Review)
3. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar (Review)
4. The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (Review)
5. Cat Breaking Free, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (Review)

2004 (4/4)
1. A Midsummer Night's Dork, by Carol Gorman (Review)
2. Measle and the Wrathmonk, by Ian Ogilvy (Review)
3. The Bermudez Triangle, by Maureen Johnson (Review)
4. The Secret Hour, by Scott Westerfeld (Review)

2003 (3/3)
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon (Review)
2. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (Review)
3. Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane (Review)

2002 (2/2)
1. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold (Review)
2. The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert (Review)

2001 (1/1)
1. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (Review)

Back to School Challenge

I was never a big fan of required reading in school (nor are some teachers, it seems), but I did read some excellent books that way, like The Giver and To Kill a Mockingbird and Invisible Man and okay, maybe I did like required reading. But not Return of the Native. I hated that book.

Anyway. All this is to say that now I'm older and wiser and like common reading, and also that now there is a whole challenge devoted to it! You know I'm a sucker for challenges.



The "Back to School" Challenge asks of its participants the following:

1. Choose! Any four reading-list books [ones you never got around to reading or ones you want to re-read].
2. Sign up! Sign the Mr. Linky, grab a button, and write a post detailing the books you have chosen for this challenge. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment here!
3. Read! Between September 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009 [only one book a month!].
4. Post! Your comments/reviews on your blog or in the comment section of this post.
5. Check back! Read other blogs and discover what others have to say.

Right, so, totally easy!

Because I could, I found my high school's current summer reading list on the internets and I'm going to read from there. The books on this list that I haven't read are...

1. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar (9th grade)
2. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (9th grade)
3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon (11th grade)
4. On Writing, by Stephen King (11th grade AP)
5. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (12th grade)
6. Atonement, by Ian McEwan (12th grade honors)
7. The Face of Battle, by John Keegan (12th grade honors)
8. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe (12th grade AP)

That looks like a good list to me!

Books read:
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon (Review)
2. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar (Review)
3. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (Review)
4. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe (Review)

RIP Challenge IV

Oh, hooray, it's time for the RIP Challenge again! -does a little dance- This was the first challenge I ever participated in, and I am excited to do it again!

I will be taking on Peril the First again, which is to read four books that fall into the genres of mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and supernatural. It will be a good time.

Book pool:
Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson
and... then I draw a blank. Give me suggestions!

Read:
1. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Review)
2. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson (Review)
3. Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review)
4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley (Review)

Critical Monkey Challenge

A new challenge! Hoorah! This one I'm doing a) because it has a funny name, and b) because the premise is just excellent.

"I, as I assume most people who read this blog are, am somewhat of a book snob. I don't pretend to read only the 'classics' of the Western canon, but there's a lot of crap out there I go out of my way to avoid. See? Right there, snobbery. Bad monkey! Bad!

So I have decided to launch Critical Monkey, a little contest designed to make us confront our fears, and read those we otherwise actively ignore. These do not have to be authors who are typically derided in literary publications; choices can be books you simply have never wanted to read for whatever reason. Never read a Charles Dickens, but always felt bad? Now's your chance to try him on for size. Have you avoided Margaret Laurence because a lousy teacher force-fed you The Stone Angel and squeezed everything good out of it (guilty!)? Time to make her acquaintance. Anything you like. Even Harlequin romance novels. I double-dog dare you to try."

There are several levels of participation to choose from, from shock to denial all the way up to acceptance. I think I'm going to pick the aptly-named Depression and read six of my avoided books over the next year-ish. And hope I like some of them.

Probable challenge list:
The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Benjamin Franklin, by Walter Isaacson
On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Actually read:
1. On the Road, by Jack Kerouac (Review)
2. Cat Breaking Free, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (Review)

Summer Lovin' Challenge

I'm a week late on starting this, but that's cool, right? The Summer Lovin' Challenge asks participants to re-read some favorite novels over the summer (21 June — 21 September). Considering I haven't re-read a book since... a long time ago, I think this is the perfect challenge for me. I'm going to try to re-read 10 books in the next three months out of the list below.

Book pool:
Harry Potter books 1-7, by J.K. Rowling
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
In the Woods, by Tana French
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy", by Douglas Adams
Wicked and Son of a Witch, by Gregory Maguire

Actually read:
1. Zoe's Tale, by John Scalzi (Review)
2. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (Review)
3. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, by J.K. Rowling (Review)
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling (Review)
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling (Review)
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling (Review)
7. The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket (Review)
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams (Review)
9. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (Review)
10. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle (Review)

Orbis Terrarum Challenge

I'm adding on another challenge for the year because it has an awesome name: Orbis Terrarum. The idea behind this one is to read ten books by ten authors from ten different countries. I have a few of these foreign books on my reading list already, so why not use this as an excuse to read them, right? :)

Ideas:
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Australia)
Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones (New Zealand)
The Angel's Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Spain)
Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia)
The Story of the Cannibal Woman, by Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe)
The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco (Italy)
One More Year, by Sana Krasikov (Ukraine)
Let Me In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Sweden)
The Fourth Bear, by Jasper Fforde (Wales)

If you have suggestions, send them my way! I'm trying to stay away from American authors because I certainly read enough of those, but other than that I'm pretty much open to anything.

Books read:
1. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Australia). (Review)
2. Christine Falls, by Benjamin Black (Ireland). (Review)
3. The Fourth Bear, by Jasper Fforde (Wales). (Review)
4. La Bête Humaine, by Émile Zola (France). (Review)
5. The Book of Murder, by Guillermo Martínez (Argentina). (Review)
6. Who Slashed Celanire's Throat?, by Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe). (Review)
7. Woman With Birthmark, by Håkan Nesser (Sweden). (Review)
8. The Angel's Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Spain). (Review)
9. The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa (Japan). (Review)
10. The Case of the Missing Books, by Ian Sansom (Northern Ireland). (Review)

The Baker Street Challenge

I realized the other day that I've had The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes sitting on my bookshelf for two years now. Then I noticed The Baker Street Challenge and obviously had to sign up.

Since I gave up on the aforementioned book two summers ago, I'm not thinking I'll do terribly well with this challenge (though I loved the two novellas I read for my mysteries class!), so I'm just going to sign up for the Three Pipe Problem, reading 3 books by, about, or related to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes.

Ideas:
The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Something... else.

Actually read:
1. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Review)
2. Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong, by Pierre Bayard (Review)
3. The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Review)