Wednesday, December 23, 2009

100+ Reading Challenge

100_Reading_Challenge
The crowning jewel of reading challenges.  The mother of all challenges….read 100 books in a year!
Back in 2007 my friend Susan read 100 books! While that didn’t inspire me to immediately jump in an attempt to read 100 myself, it did inspire me to at least keep track of how many books I read each year.  I’d never set a goal, but 100 was kinda the unspoken goal.   Good Reads definitely helped because I could make a shelf just for my 2008 books and easily keep track!  In 2008 I read 74 books.  Not too shabby, but 24 away from the unspoken goal.  My goal for 2009 was simple – to read more than I’d read in 2008.  This year I have read 66 books with plans to finish off 2 more before the end of the year so 68 total.  Again, a pretty high number, but falling short of both goals.  So, I would LOVE to make it to 100, but if I don’t, no big deal.  
I figured it up and in order to reach the goal of 100 you have to average at least 2 books a week.  My starting out strategy is to bulk up at the beginning of the year – try and it get 10-12 books for January and February and be ahead of the game in case reading time gets away from me later in the year. 
I’m sure that all the other challenges will help me, if I complete them then I’ll be well on my way to the elusive 100! :-)
1. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen - by Susan Gregg Gilmore
2. Angels – Marian Keyes
3. Leave the Grave Green – Deborah Crombie
4. The Double Bind – Chris Bohjalian
5. Last Chance Saloon – Marian Keyes
6. Blind Courage – Bill Irwin
7. Family Tree – Barbara Delinsky
8. The Tooth of Time – Sue Henry
9. Blessings – Anna Quindlen
10.  Hey Ranger!: True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from America’s National Parks – Jim Burnett
11. A Northern Light – Jennifer Donnelly
12. Time Bandit: Two Brothers, The Bering Sea, & The World’s Deadliest Job – Andy & Jonathan Hillstrand
13. Viola in Reel Life – Adriana Trigiani
14.  The Girl Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson
15.  The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder – Rebecca Wells
16.  Encore, Valentine – Adriani Trigiani
17.  Secrets of Eden – Chris Bohjalian
18.  Someday My Prince Will Come: True Adventures of a Wannabe Princess – Jerramy Fine
19. Murder on the Iditarod Trail – Sue Henry
20.  The Friday Night Knitting Club – Kate Jacobs
21.  The Moving Finger – Agatha Christie
22.  Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States – Pete Jordan
23. Stealing Buddha’s Dinner – Bich Minh Nugyen
24. Green Witch – Alice Hoffman
25.  Flush – Carl Hiaasen
26.  How Reading Changed My Life – Anna Quindlen
27.  Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie
28.  The Queen’s Fool – Philippa Gregory
29. The Nanny Diaries – Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
30.  Sushi for Beginners – Marian Keyes
31. Shanghai Girls – Lisa See
32.  Somewhere off the Coast of Maine – Ann Hood
33.  North by Northwestern – Capitan Sig Hansen
34.  Sleeping Lady – Sue Henry
35. Those Who Save Us – Jenna Blum
36.  Miss Julia Renews Her Vows – Ann B. Ross
37.  Knit Two – Kate Jacobs
38.  In Beauty May She Walk – Leslie Mass
39.  Mourn Not Your Dead – Debbie Crombie
40.  The Girl Who Stopped Swimming – Joshilyn Jackson
41.  Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man – Fannie Flagg
42.  The Dive From Clausen’s Pier – Ann Packer
43. Valley of the Dolls – Jacqueline Susann
44.  A Year in the Maine Woods – Bernd Heinrich
45.  Solving Thorny Behavior Problems – Caltha Crowe
46.  Termination Dust – Sue Henry
47.  Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 
48.   Hooked on Murder – Betty Hechtman
49. Death Takes Passage – Sue Henry 
50. Sizzling Sixteen – Janet Evanovich
51.  Hey Ranger 2 – Jim Burnett
52. The Painter from Shangai – Jennifer Cody Epstein 
53. Dead Men Don’t Crochet – Betty Hechtman
54. Tall Pine Polka – Lorna Landvik
55. A Stitch in Crime – Betty Hechtman
56.  Patty Jane’s House of Curl – Lorna Landvik
57. Parents & Teachers Working Together – Carol David & Alice Yang
58.  Moloka’i – Alan Brennert
59.  The Sugar Queen – Sarah Addison Allen
60.   Park Ranger - Nancy Eileen Muleady-Mecham
61.  The Knitting Circle – Ann Hood
62.  Fire & Ice – Dana Stabenow
63.  My Most Excellent Year – Steve Kluger
64.  Burn – Nevada Barr
65. Garden Spells – Sarah Addison Allen
66. The Ornithologist's Guide to Life – Ann Hood 
67.  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake – Aimee Bender
68. Rise and Shine – Anna Quindlen
69. Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making it Work – Tim Gunn
70. Black and Blue – Anna Quindlen
71.  The Opposite of Me – Sarah Pekkanen
72. Comfort Food – Kate Jacobs
73.  Knit the Season – Kate Jacobs
74.  Deadfall – Sue Henry
75.  By Hook or By Crook – Betty Hechtman
76. The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman’s Fight to Save Two Orphans – Hala Jaber
77. You Better Knot Die – Betty Hechtman
78. Christmas Eve in Friday Harbor – Lisa Kleypas
79. You Better Not Cry – Augusten Burroughs
80.  Wishin’ and Hopin’ – Wally Lamb
81. Journey North: One Woman’s Story of Hiking The Appalachian Trail – Adrienne Hall
82.  RV There Yet? – Julia Roberts
83.  Sick Puppy – Carl Hiaasen
84.  Holidays on Ice – David Sedaris
85.  Smoky Mountain Magic – Horace Kephart
86.  The Mighty Queens of Freeville – Amy Dickerson
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

What’s in a Name 3

WhatsInName3

This one looks like fun, although somehow I think that finding titles might be more of a challenge than I think it will be!

A book with a food in the title:  Sushi for Beginners: A Novel – Marian Keyes  See my review here

A book with a body of water in the title: Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea and One of the World’s Deadliest Jobs – Andy Hillstrand     See my Review Here

A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: The Queen’s Fool – Philippa Gregory   See my review here.

A book with a plant in the title: The Crowning of Calla Lilly Ponder: A Novel – Rebecca Wells     See my review here

A book with a place name (city, country) in the title:  Shanghai Girls – Lisa See   See my review here

A book with a music term in the title: The Girl Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson      See My Review Here

Twenty Ten Reading Challenge

twentyten_sml This challenge looked interesting  - I liked how you had to read 2 from each category! I was a bit disappointed by the categories though, seems like there is a big emphasis on where the books come from – I’d rather see a challenge with more of an emphasis on genre or theme, but I’ll give this one a go! 


Young Adult
1.  Viola in Reel Life – Adriana Trigiani  See my review here.
2.  Green Witch – Alice Hoffman   See my review here.


T.B.R.
1. Blessings – Anna Quindlen See my review here.
2. Family Tree – Barbara Delinsky See my review here.


Shiny & New
Buying “adult” books is a rare treat for me, no idea what books I’ll buy new this year.

I read this one in my Kindle App, it kinda counts….
1. Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States – Pete Jordan   See my review here.

But then I had to buy this one for book club, it’s more legit: 

1a. Those Who Save Us – Jenna Blum   See my review here
2.  In Beauty May She Walk – Leslie Mass  See my review here.


Bad Blogger’s
1. Someday My Prince Will Come: True Adventures of a Wannabe Princess – Jerramy Fine   See Lesley’s Review Here    See my review here
2. Stealing Buddha’s Dinner – Bich Minh Nguyn   See Lesley’s Review Here  See my review here.


Charity
I’m stretching this one a bit and picking books for this category that I purchased at a small family owned used book store – not exactly “charity” but every little bit helps these great stores stay in business.
1. The Friday Night Knitting Club – Kate Jacobs See my Review here
2. Daisy Fay and The Miracle Man – Fannie Flagg  See my review here.


New in 2010
1.  Secrets of Eden – Chris Bohjalian  See my review
2. Encore, Valentine – Adriana Trigiani  See My Review Here

Older Than You
1.  The Moving Finger – Agatha Christie See my review here

2.  Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie   See my review here 

Win! Win!
I will fill in these books with books I am reading for the 100+ book challenge.
1.  Mourn Not Your Dead – Debbie Crombie  See my review here
2.  Valley of the Dolls – Jacqueline Susann See my review here 

Who Are You Again?
1. The Dive From Claussen’s Pier – Ann Packer  See my review here.
2. A Year in the Maine Woods – Bernd Heinrich  See my review here

Up to You!
My topic for this one is: Single Women.  As a perpetually single gal I HATE it when books start out with a strong single female character but then ends “happily ever after” with her getting married – I want to read more about women who are single and live “happily ever after” by deciding that single is a ok.  These books are little like Chuck Norris – I don’t find them, they find me – so I’ll fill these in as I find them this year. 
1. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen - Susan Gregg Gilmore - see my review here
2. A Northern Light – Jennifer Donnelly See my review here

Support Your Local Library Book Challenge

library-rc
This should be a very easy challenge for me as I get most of my books from my local library! This year over 60% of the books I read came from my library! Another good chunk of the books I read came from friends I mooched them off of! I buy a ridiculous amount of Children’s Books so I try not to buy book for myself to read since I usually just read them once. 
So, with that in mind I’m going for the “Just My Size” Level and will plan to read 50 library books this year – in 2009 I read 44, so 50 shouldn’t be too hard!
1. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen - Susan Gregg Gilmore
2. Angels – Marian Keyes
3. The Double Bind – Chris Bohjalian
4. Last Chance Saloon – Marian Keyes
5. Time Bandit: Two Brothers, The Bering Sea, & The World’s Deadliest Job – Andy & Jonathan Hillstrand
6. Viola in Reel Life – Adriana Trigiani
7.  The Girl Who Played With Fire – Stieg Larsson
8.  The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder – Rebecca Wells
9. Encore, Valentine – Adriani Trigiani
10.  Secrets of Eden – Chris Bohjalian
11. Murder on the Iditarod Trail – Sue Henry
12.  The Moving Finger – Agatha Christie
13.  Stealing Buddha’s Dinner – Bich Minh Nguyen
14. Green Witch – Alice Hoffman
15. Flush – Carl Hiaasen
16. How Reading Changed My Life – Anna Quindlen
17.  Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie
18.  The Queen’s Fool – Philippa Gregory
19. Sushi for Beginners – Marian Keyes
20.  Shanghai Girls – Lisa See
21. North by Northwestern – Captain Sig Hansen
22.  Sleeping Lady – Sue Henry
23.  Miss Julia Renews Her Vows – Ann B. Ross
24.  Knit Two – Kate Jacobs
25.  The Girl Who Stopped Swimming – Joshilyn Jackson
26.  Termination Dust – Sue Henry
27.  Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
28.  Hooked on Murder – Betty Hechtman
29.  Death Takes Passage – Sue Henry
30.  Sizzling Sixteen – Janet Evanovich
31. The Painter from Shangai – Jennifer Cody Epstein
32.  Dead Men Don’t Crochet – Betty Hechtman
33. Tall Pine Polka – Lorna Landvik
34. A Stitch in Crime – Betty Hechtman
35.  Patty Jane’s House of Curl – Lorna Landvik
36.  Moloka’i – Alan Brennert 
37. The Sugar Queen – Sarah Addison Allen
38. The Knitting Circle – Ann Hood
39.  Fire & Ice – Dana Stabenow
40. My Most Excellent Year – Steve Kluger 
41.  Burn – Nevada Barr
42.  Garden Spells – Sarah Addison Allen
43.  The Ornithologist's Guide to Life – Ann Hood
44.  Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making it Work – Tim Gunn
45. Black and Blue – Anna Quindlen
46.  Comfort Food – Kate Jacobs
47.  Knit the Season – Kate Jacobs
48. Deadfall – Sue Henry
49.  By Hook or By Crook – Betty Hechtman
50.  The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman’s Fight to Save Two Orphans – Hala Jaber

Extra:

51. You Better Knot Die – Betty Hechtman

2010 Bibliophilic Books Challenge

BBClg The challenge that started it all!  Lesley said that I can count books about teaching reading as well as books about reading for pleasure so I’m excited about clearing out some of my teaching TBR books from my Good Reads list!

My Current Plan for this challenge is:

1. The Most Wonderful Books - edited by Michael Dorris & Emilie Buchwald   I found this book at Riverby’s this afternoon – it was on a shelf of books about books! It was the only one that was appealing though – it’s a collection of short essays by a number of authors, none of whom I have heard of, so maybe I’ll discover a new author!

2. How Reading Changed My Life – Anna Quindlen  See my review here

3. Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume – Jennifer O’Connell  I wasn’t sure about this one at 1st but I saw it on Susan’s “Books about Books” Shelf so it must be! :-)

4. The Fluent Reader – Timothy Rasinski 

5. The Words Came Down: English Language Learners Read, Write, and Talk Across the Curriculum – Emelie Parker

6. ?

Since I have already identified 5 books to read for this challenge, I’m shooting for the LitLover level, I’m sure I’ll find 1 more book from someone’s list to fill in! :-)


BTW: If you want to join this challenge click the picture, it will take you right to the sign up page!

Welcome!

Thanks (?) to my friend Lesley I have decided to undertake several reading challenges in 2010 and I needed a place to keep track of my progress and share with the other people who are participating in the challenges so decided to resurrect this blog!  I started this blog over a year ago for a book club I was in, the book club has since disbanded but the blog was still hanging out on my blogger account so I have cleaned it up and changed up the links and stuff! Be sure to check back soon, I’ll be adding posts as I sign up and get started on the challenges! :-)