Dewey's Read-A-Thon

Yes, I'm joining Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon

The timing isn't optimal for me - it runs from 2pm Saturday - 2pm Sunday, meaning that I'm going to miss out on quite a number of hours because of sleeping and a family birthday. Still, it's a read-a-thon, so I'm sure I'm going to have a blast no matter what!

The idea is that I pick a list of books to read, and then spend the day alternatively reading and updating here on my progress. I'll probably just have the one post and then update as I go along. Cheering would be lovely - or join in the fun yourself!

Past readers suggest reading shortish and light books in order not to get bogged down and stay motivated, so here's a list of the books I'm contemplating. Mind you, I'm a very erratic reader, so chances are quite high that I might end up picking up something else altogether ;)
Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson, 400p
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, 215p
Gifts by Ursula Le Guin, 288p
Tre piger i en bil by Estrid Ott, 200p (estimate)
Evermore by Alyson Noel, 301p
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede, 336p

No, I am NOT expecting to be able to read almost 2000 pages in just 24 hours, but at least this gives me a nice selection to choose from. It'll be fun! And slightly insane ;)

T-4 (10:00) This will be my blogpost for the Read-a-Thon Challenge. I'll be updating it throughout the day, so those interested can bookmark it, and those not can just skip this post and forget all about it ;-) Right now I'm about to read out to run my weekend errands, so I'll be ready for the non-stop reading to commence once the clock strikes 2pm. see you then :)

Hour 0 (13:55): Ready to start with a glass of water and my first book Lærkeunger by Helene Hørluck.

Hour 2 (16:00): Okay, Lærkeunger was no fun. I wanted to start with a trip down memory lane, but I've obviously outgrown the book. I read the first 10 pages and by then I'd had enough. Instead I picked up Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry and am already half way! :-) Have exchanged the glass of water for a bag of chips and a Pear Somersby.

Hour 3 (17:10): Finished Gathering Blue. It's not quite as good as The Giver but I still really enjoyed it. I wish I'd known I'd like it so much, and I'd have bought The Messenger while in NYC. I'll have to see if the library has it. Next up: Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson.

Hour 4 (18:30): Progress on Who Do I Talk To? - 78 pages. I'm taking a break from that now to go make dinner and listen to The Angel's Game by Carlos Zufon on my audiobook :) I'm glad audiobooks count as well!

Hour 7 (21:00): Got about half an hour's worth of listening done while making dinner. Had to take a break while eating though, as Lars has a night shift, and I wanted to socialise with him during the meal. He's left now, so I'm all by myself until 8am tomorrow morning... which is really 12 hours from now since we're falling back tonight. I probably won't be able to read through the night, but I'll give it my best shot! :-D Progress on Who Do I Talk To? - 120 pages.

I cannot write the title of that book without thinking of I Go To The Rock sung by Breeze of Gospel. Go listen to it, it's excellent!

Hour 8 (22:00): Progress on Who Do I Talk To? - 202 pages. That's 80 pages in 45 minutes, not too shabby, eh? I've got another 193 pages to go, so if I don't take too many breaks, I may just make that by midnight. We'll see.

Remember to go cheer the others on as well! :)

Hour 10 (23:50): Made it with 10 minutes to spare! :-) And it was EXCELLENT. After my disappointed reaction to Where Do I Go?, Neta Jackson more than redeemed herself in this one, and had me alternatively laughing and crying. Alas, the next book doesn't come out until June next year - go figure!

Next up... haven't quite decided yet. Either Gifts or Evermore. Since it's getting late, I'll be going for whichever has the biggest chance of keeping me awake for a couple of more hours.

Hour 11 (01:14): Gotta admit, staying awake is getting harder! It's at times like these I wish caffeine helped me stay awake. I ended up picking Evermore and have read 68 pages. It's interesting enough to keep me awake so far, but I keep shaking my head at how much of a Twilight-wannebe it is. I'll try to finish it, but it's another 230 pages, so I may have to admit defeat sometime before then.

Hour 12 (02:00): Still reading, but am going to turn off the computer now. Expect the next update in 7-9 hours. Progress on Evermore - 130 pages.

Hour 21 (10:00): No, my maths isn't off, we fell back ;) Once again awake, once again reading. Progress on Evermore - 217 pages.

Hour 22 (11:00): Just finished Evermore. Wow... people who think Edward was a creepy stalker SO shouldn't read this one. I have no qualms with Twilight, but Evermore reminded me a bit too much of Hush, Hush (which made me feel dirty by reading) for comfort.

This will probably be my last update until the Read-a-Thon is over. I'm going out shortly and won't be back until after the 24 hours are up. I'll still be reading though :)

Running Totals
Number of books completed: 3
Total number of pages read: 909
Number of hours reading: 12 hours out of 22

My reviews will be up at bogormen sometime after the Read-A-Thon has finished.

Fall Into Reading 2009 - DONE

Okay, I'm back. Fall Into Reading over at Callapidder Days was my first and is still my favourite challenge, so I'm going to have to join in on this one. Of course it helps that the criteria are really, really easy to fulfill :)

Simple: List any number of books you want to read (or finish) between now (or September 22nd rather, but I forgot all about it and thus am late) and December 20th. No book limit at all. Easy, right?

I figure listing books I've read since September 22nd would be A) cheating, B) defeating the purpose, so I'll make a brand new list of books I want to read from now on. One book per week left comes to 11 books.

• Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
  
• The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society - Beth Pattillo
  
• While My Sister Sleeps - Barbara Delinsky
  
• Bloody Good - Georgia Evans
  
• Gifts - Ursula Le Guin
  
• Dune - Frank Herbert
  
• Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry
  
• Royal Exile - Fiona McIntosh
  
• The City of Dreaming Books - Walter Moers
  
• Evermore - Alyson Noel
  
• The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Hmm... looks I have a bit of a fantasy/paranormal/goth theme going ;)

5 Year Reading Plan

I'm not returning to my earlier level of challenge commitment yet, but the 100project on LiveJournal sounded like a suitable compromise. The idea is to pick 100 books you've been wanting to read for awhile, and commit yourself to reading those within the next 5 years, posting regularly with progress reports. I like the idea that it's a 5 year plan, as that makes it a lot more realistic challenge. I easily read more than 100 books in a year (am at 64 so far this year alone), but with my various jobs I can't have that many books from a reading list. I wouldn't have time to read anything else, and I'd get bored. There HAS to be some room for spontaneity. But 5 years is perfect - that's just 20 books from the list each year or one every second'ish week.

The books I've chosen are a random selection of my GoodReads 'to-read-owned' and 'to-read-not-owned' lists - I've limited myself to books I know are available at the libraries, as I don't want to be hindered by the difficulty of finding the books.

*The Lost Diary of Don Juan - Douglas Carlton Abrams
*If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern
The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Alborn
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mich Alborn
*Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
A Gentle Madness - Nicholas A. Basbanes
Library: An Unquiet History - Matthew Battles
*Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernières
Libri di Luca - Mikkel Birkegaard
Daughter of the Blood - Anne Bishop
Valiant - Holly Black
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne
In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson
Ill Wind - Rachel Caine
*Xenocide - Orson Scott Card
The Rape of Nankin - Iris Chang
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
About the Author - John Colapinto
A Home at the End of the World - Michael Cunningham
Limes Billede - Leif Davidsen
*Blink - Ted Dekker
Slammerkin - Emma Donoghue
The Stolen Child - Keith Donohue
*The Last Concubine - Lesley Downer
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
Middlemarch - George Eliot
The Cromson Petal and the White - Michelle Sagara Faber
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader - Anne Fadiman
Cathedral of the Sea - Ildefonso Falcones
Time and Again - Jack Finney
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
World Without End - Ken Follett
Inkdeath - Cornelia Funke
*The Last Gospel - David Gibbins
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
*And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
*Pompeii - Robert Harris
The Observations - Jane Harris
Dune - Frank Herbert
*Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs
*A Very Long Engagement - Sébastien Japrisot
*The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
Ironweed - William Kennedy
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Oceans Apart - Karen Kingsbury
Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
*Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson
Beggars in Spain - Nancy Kress
Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Laihiri
Gone, Baby, Gone - Dennis Lehane
*Boys from Brazil - Ira Levin
What the Dead Know - Laura Lippman
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
*A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
Bella Tuscany - Frances Mayes
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Birth House - Ami McKay
Firethorn - Sarah Micklem
*Sabriel - Garth Nix
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Emmuska Orczy
Here be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce
*September - Rosamunde Pilcher
The Perilous Gard - Elizabeth Marie Pope
My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett
*Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
The Cross-Legged Knight - Candace M Robb
*Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Contact - Carl Sagan
Idlewild - Nick Sagan
*Border Wedding - Amanda Scott
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Peony in Love - Lisa See
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
The Shape-Changer's Wife - Sharon Shinn
*The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
Outer Banks - Anne Rivers Siddons
The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons
Animal's People - Indra Sinha
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
The Amulet of Samarkand - Jonathan Safran Stroud
Sophie's Choice - William Styron
The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan
The Hundred Secret Senses - Amy Tan
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
*Vienna Prelude - Bodie Thoene
*The End of Mr. Y - Scarlett Thomas
City of Pearl - Karen Traviss
*Reunion - Fred Uhlman
Rabbit Angstrom - John Updike
*Ben Hur - Lew Wallace
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
Cast in Shadow - Michelle Sagara West
The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton

Abandoned for the time being...

I've recently landed a new job as book reviewer and book consultant for a Danish publisher. Very sweet job and they absolutely shower me with new books to read. Unfortunately this means that I no longer have as much time to read books of my own choosing, so I've decided to leave the challenges be for the time being.

I'm still hosting the LMM Mini Challenge and the Whitcoulls challenge, and am not planning on giving those hostings up, but I'll probably not actively participate in either.

That doesn't mean I've abandoned my reading though! My reviews can always be found at Bogormen. I still update that a couple of times a week on average.

I hope you will join me there.

Christian Readers 09 - DONE

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the Christian Readers challenge. Since the challenge runs for 4 months, I'll challenge myself to read 4 books.

1) Jamen, bad jeg da for lidt? - Leif Andersen (The title translates: But... Then Didn't I Pray Enough?)
2) The Way of the Heart - Henry Nouwen
3) The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
4) Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott

LMM Mini Challenge - DONE

Since I created this challenge I figured I'd better take part of it as well ;) Here are my 4 books:
1) The Doctor's Sweetheart (Short story collection)
2) The Blue Castle (novel)
3) Chronicles of Avonlea (short story collection)
4) Further Chronicles of Avonlea (short story collection)

I've chosen these four because they're all available as free audiobooks at librivox, so I can listen to them when I bike to and from work :)

What's In A Name - Take 2 - DONE

I had so much fun with this one last year, so here goes again. The What's In A Name challenge. This year the categories are as follows:

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Stepford Wives - Ira Levin

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye - Kaza Kingsley

5. A book with a "building" in its title. The Tea House on Mulberry Street - Sharon Owen

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Insomnia - Stephen King

Books in 2008

This is a sticky-post. Scroll down for the newest posts.

Below are the books I've committed to read for different challenges in 2008. Considering I usually read at least 100 books/year and typically more it should be very doable and even give me time to spare! Excellent :-)

Underlined means I'm currently reading it. * means it's a reread. I delete books from the list once they're read.

DONE! :D

Completed Challenges 2008

These are only the ones I've blogged about here. In addition to these I've completed another 20 challenges either on other blogs or on the ANovelChallenge YahooGroup.

• Medical Madness Challenge
• Unread Author Challenge
• Speculative Fiction Challenge
• Winter Reading Challenge
• Jewish Literature Challenge
• The Eponymous Challenge
• 2 New 2 U Challenge
• Themed Reading Challenge
• Numbers Challenge
• Spiritual Reading Challenge
• Spring Reading Thing 2008
• Book Binge
• Pub 2008
• Another Blooming Challenge
• Jane Austen Mini-Challenge
• 100+ Reading Challenge
• Short Story Challenge
• Herding Cats
• What an Animal
• I Heard it Through the Grapevine
• July Book Blowout
• The ARC Challenge
• In Their Shoes
• Nineteenth Century Women
• Non-fiction Five
• Orbis Terrarum
• The Whitcoulls Challenge
• Chick-Lit
• Summer Reading Challenge
• Casual Reading Challenge
• Romantic Reading Challenge
• Initials Reading Challenge
• First In a Series
• Reading Through The Decades
• Wind-Up Challenge
• Young Adult Challenge
• Chunkster Challenge
• Classics Challenge
• The 2nds Challenge - 2008
• Young Adult Romance Challenge
• Back To History
• TBR Challenge 2008
• Celebrate the Authors
• What's In A Name
• Fall Into Reading 2008
• The 888 Challenge

Montgomery Mini-Challenge 2009

There are so many wonderful books by Lucy Maud Montgomery that get overlooked because most readers only know about the Anne-series, and aren't aware that she wrote more than 20 novels as well as several short-stories and poems. I think that's a shame, so therefore this challenge to introduce people to the rest of her work.

So, by November 30th, 2009 (her would-be 135th birthday) read books of LMM that aren't part of the Anne series.

How many books should you read? Well, up to you really, but I'd say at least four, in order to get a proper variety of her work. If you really want to be thorough, you can pick a novel, a short-story collection, a poetry collection and one of her journals! (I recommend the first as being the most interesting) but just reading four of her novels is fine as well :)

Audiobooks are allowed, and books can be used for other challenges as well.

Most of her books are available through Gutenberg or Librivox (so they can be used for e-book and audiobook challenges as well!) - I've found links to all her novels here. For a complete list of her works (including short-stories, poetry and non-fiction) go here.

Sign up by leaving a comment on this post linking to your challenge post. If you don't have a blog, just post the list in the comments :)

Winter Reading Challenge 2009 - DONE

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the Winter Reading Challenge. The challenge runs from December 21st - March 20th.

* The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
* The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
* The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
* Saving Faith - Patrick Garry
* The Time Paradox - Eoin Colfer
* Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
* In Search of the Castaways / The Children of Captain Grant - Jules Verne

Chick-Lit Challenge 2009 - 9/10

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge which runs from January 1st to December 31st, 2009.

1. Legs - Angela Lam Turpin
2. While My Sister Sleeps - Barbara Delinsky
3. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever - Julia Quinn
4. Grand Avenue - Joy Fielding
5. And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
6. The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
7. Border Wedding - Amanda Scott
8. By the Time You Read This - Lola Jaye
9. Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson
10. If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern

2009 Audiobook Challenge - DONE

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 2009 Audiobook Challenge. The goal is to listen to 12 audiobooks in 2009. I have no list yet, but am counting on getting lots of inspiration from Librivox. The challenge runs for all of 2009.



1. In Search of the Castaways / The Children of Captain Grant - Jules Verne
2. Chronicles of Avonlea - LMM
3. Further Chronicles of Avonlea - L.M. Montgomery
4. A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass
5. Enchantment - Orson Scott Card
6. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
7. Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
8. The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis
9. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis
10. The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis
11. The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis
12. The Story of the Treasure Seekers - E. Nesbit

Fall Into Reading 2008 - Wrap Up

The Fall Into Reading 2008 officially ends today, so it's time to do my wrap-up post. I only read half the books for the challenge that I did last year, but you have to remember that last year I wasn't quite as addicted yet, so there weren't as many different challenges to read books for ;)

Anyway, to remind you, the books I read were:

• The Wrath of the Empress - Tamora Pierce
  
• The Spellcoats - Diana Wynne Jones
  
• A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
  
• Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
  
• The Death Committee - Noah Gordon
  
• The Magicians' Guild - Trudi Canavan
  
• Dragonfly - Julia Golding
  

Out of those the best surprise was Last Chance Saloon. I expected a simple chick-lit and while it definitely belongs in that genre, Marian Keyes managed to add an extra something to it, making it a "deeper" book than I had expected.

My two favourites on the list were The Magician's Guild and Dragonfly - both of which blew me away though I hadn't expected them to.

The biggest disappointment was The Death Committee. I usually love Noah Gordon's books, but this one just wasn't up to snuff and I basically had to force myself to get through it.

My favourite thing about the Fall Into Reading challenge is the flexibility of it - I can make it as easy or as demanding as I'm motivated for. So I'll definitely be signing up for the Spring Reading Challenge once March rolls around! :-)

999 Challenge - DONE

The 999 challenge is even more daunting than the 888 challenge seeing as there are now 9 categories with 9 books in each. But I assume that also means 9 overlaps allowed? The challenge runs from Jan 1st - Dec 31st, 2009. I haven't decided on the books yet, but here are the categories:

• Fantasy / Sci-Fi: 9/9
  
  1. Kushiel's Dart - Jacqueline Carey
     
  2. Knife - R.J. Anderson
     
  3. Storm Front - Jim Butcher
     
  4. The Fledging of Az Gabrielson - Jay Amory
     
  5. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
     
  6. A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
     
  7. Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce
     
  8. Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta
     
  9. The Innocent Mage - Karen Miller
     
• Historical fiction: 9/9
  
  1. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
     
  2. Atonement - Ian McEwan
     
  3. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
     
  4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer
     
  5. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
     
  6. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
     
  7. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever - Julia Quinn
     
  8. Mr. Allbones' Ferrets - Fiona Farrell
     
  9. The Cross-Legged Knight - Candace Robb
     
• Non-fiction: 9/9
  1. The Powers of a Praying Wife - Stormie Omartian
  2. Ghost Girl - Torey Hayden
     
  3. Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings - Mary Henley Rubio
     
  4. The Way of the Heart - Henry Nouwen
     
  5. Bibelen fortalt for store og små - Ingrid Schrøder-Hansen
     
  6. The Coffee Mom's Devotional - Celeste Palermo
     
  7. Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott
     
  8. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading - Maureen Corrigan
     
  9. Bounderies - Henry Cloud
     
• ARC: 9/9
  1. Marcelo in the Real World - Fransisco X. Stork
     
  2. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards
     
  3. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
     
  4. The Allure of the Curse - Patrick Vaughn
     
  5. A Deadly Habit - Andrea Sisco
     
  6. The Music Teacher - Barbara Hall
     
  7. The Thirteen Treasures - Michelle Harrison
     
  8. My Swordhand is Singing - Marcus Sedgwick
     
  9. Melting Stones - Tamora Pierce
     
• Books (originally) in Danish: 9/9
  1. Jamen, bad jeg da for lidt? - Leif Andersen
     
  2. Tonni på tourné - Estrid Ott
     
  3. Dødens mange facetter - Dennis Jürgensen
     
  4. Libri di Luca - Mikkel Birkegaard
     
  5. Dronningeofret - Hanne-Vibeke Holst
     
  6. De to komtesser - Valborg Dahl
     
  7. Ateistisk andagtsbog - Leif Andersen
     
  8. Drager over Kabul - Morten Hesseldahl
     
  9. Mission: drømmeprins - Pernille Eybye
     
• TBR: 9/9
  1. The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
     
  2. By the Time You Read This - Lola Jaye
     
  3. If You Could See Me Now
     
  4. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
     
  5. Dune - Frank Herbert
     
  6. And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
     
  7. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
     
  8. Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
     
  9. The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society - Beth Pattillo
     
• Chick-Lit: 9/9
  1. Legs - Angela Lam Turpin
     
  2. Everything Is Fine - Anne Dee Ellis
     
  3. Grand Avenue - Joy Fielding
     
  4. Addition - Tori Jordan
     
  5. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
     
  6. The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson
     
  7. The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs
     
  8. Hello, Darkness - Sandra Brown
     
  9. The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love - Beth Patillo
     
• Books in a series: 9/9
  1. The Conch Bearer - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
     
  2. Marked - P.C. & Kristin Cast
     
  3. Betrayed - P.C. & Kristian Cast
     
  4. Stolen - Kelly Armstrong
     
  5. Pirates of the Relentless Desert - Jay Amory
     
  6. The Treasure Seekers - Edith Nesbit
     
  7. Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye - Kaza Kingsley
     
  8. The Tea House on Mulberry Street - Sharon Owen
     
  9. Priestess of the White - Trudi Canavan
     
• New to me authors: 9/9
  1. Farthing - Jo Walton
     
  2. A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass
     
  3. Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie
     
  4. The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano
     
  5. The Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale
     
  6. Odalisque - Fiona McIntosh
     
  7. The Shack - William Paul Young
     
  8. The Reader - Bernhard Schlink
     
  9. Testimony - Anita Shreve
     

TBR Lite 2009 - DONE

It doesn't look like the "usual" TBR challenge is being repeated for 2009, but instead I found this TBR - Lite challenge. I'll be doing option A, meaning I have to read 6 of the following 12 books. Challenge runs from Jan 1st - Dec 31st, 2009.


1) Little Earthquakes - Jennifer Weiner
2) The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
3) The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
4) Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
5) If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern
6) And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
7) Monday's Child - Louise Bagshawe
8) The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
9) Sabriel - Garth Nix
10) Farthing - Jo Walton
11) By the Time You Read This - Lola Jaye
12) Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson

2009 ARC Reading Challenge - DONE

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 2009 ARC Reading Challenge. I don't currently have 12 ARCs, but fully expect to receive that many (at least) in 2009. The challenge starts now and ends on December 31st, 2009. Some of these are older books, but as they're only now being translated into Danish, and I'm receiving them as Danish ARCs, I'm counting them anyway :-)




1. Saving Faith - Patrick Garry
2. Marcelo in the Real World - Fransisco X. Stork
3. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards
4. Run For Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
5. Legs - Angela Lam Turpin
6. The Allure of the Curse - Patrick Vaughn
7. The Fledging of Az Gabrielson - Jay Amory
8. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
9. The Conch Bearer - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
10. Storm Front - Jim Butcher
11. Priestess of the White - Trudi Canavan
12. The Girl She Used To Be - David Cristofano

9 For 09 - DONE

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 9 for 09 challenge that runs from Dec 27th, 2008 to Dec 27th, 2009 (the person hosting it hates starting anything on January 1st ;) ) For definitions of the different categories, see challenge website.

Long: The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett (more than 1000 pages)
Free: A Deadly Habit - Andrea Sisco (received for free as an ARC)
Dusty: Dune - Frank Herbert (has been standing on my shelves for AGES)
Used: Atonement - Ian McEwan (received via Bookmooch)
Letter: A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass (the letter 'M' is both in my real name, the title and the author's name).
Strange: Farthing - Jo Walton (alternative history - not something I typically read)
Distance: Everything in Fine - Anne Dee Ellis (Any book placed in the US would fit this description, as there are more than 6000km from Denmark to the US.)
Alive or Not: The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis (Died in 1963)
Cover:

100+ Reading Challenge - DONE!

This will be my post for the 100+ Reading Challenge. January 1st, 2009 - December 31st, 2009

A progress report can be found here

The Countdown Challenge - DONE

Read 9 books published in 2009, 8 in 2008, 7 in 2007 etc.

This challenge runs from 08-08-08 until 09-09-09

2009
1. The Vampire's Revenge - Raven Hart
2. Marcelo in the Real World - Fransisco X. Stork
3. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards
4. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
5. Knife - R.J. Anderson
6. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
7. Dødens mange facetter - Dennis Jürgensen
8. The Coffee Mom's Devotional - Celeste Palermo
9. The Music Teacher - Barbara Hall
2008
1. Hvor skyggen falder - Teddy Vork
2. Sagen om den brændende klovn - Dennis Jürgensen
3. Spiral Hunt - Margaret Ronald
4. Immortal Warrior - Lisa Hendrix
5. The Scarlet Spy - Andrea Pickens
6. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
7. Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer
8. Shadowmagic - John Lenahan
2007
1. Extras - Scott Westerfeld
2. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
4. The Spy Wore Silk - Andrea Pickens
5. A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
6. Demon - Tosca Lee
7. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out - Neta Jackson
2006
1. Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult
2. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught - Neta Jackson
3. Peaches - Jodi Lynn Anderson
4. Does My Head Look Big In This? - Randa Abdel-Fattah
5. Farthing - Jo Walton
6. A Perfect Mess - Eric Abrahamsen
2005
1. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real - Neta Jackson
2. The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
3. The Death Committee - Noah Gordon
4. Avalon High - Meg Cabot
5. Where Rainbows End - Cecelia Ahern
2004
1. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down - Neta Jackson
2. The Novice - Trudi Canavan
3. Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
4. The High Lord - Trudi Canavan
2003
1. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
2. A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
3. The Conch Bearer - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
2002
1. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
2. Atonement - Ian McEwan
2001
1. The Farseekers - Isobelle Carmody

1% Well Read - DONE

The goal of this challenge is to read 10 books in 10 months from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. For you non-math people, 10 out of 1001 is approximately 1%, hence the title. The challenge will run from May 1, 2008 through February 28, 2009.

You may change your list at any time and cross-posting to other challenges is permitted. The only requirement is that your ten book choices must be on the ‘1001 List‘.
1) Life of Pi – Yann Martel
2) The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
3) A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
4) Wild Swans – Jung Chang
5) The Color Purple – Alice Walker
6) Animal Farm – George Orwell
7) Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne
8) Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
9) Villette – Charlotte Brontë
10) The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

Genre Challenge - DONE

This challenge runs from November 1 2008 - November 1 2009 and sounds like lots of fun.

The goal:
To read one book in at least 10 of the following genres: crime fiction, detective fiction, mystery fiction, horror fiction, thriller fiction, romance fiction, science fiction, action/adventure fiction, fantasy fiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, and western fiction. Specific definitions of these genres can be found in this post.

The rules can be found at the sign-up post.

Crime Fiction: A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
Detective Fiction: Farthing - Jo Walton
Mystery Fiction: Atonement - Ian McEwan
Horror Fiction: Pet Semetary - Stephen King
Thriller Fiction: My Swordhand is Singing - Marcus Sedgwick
Romance Fiction: Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
Science Fiction: The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson
Action/Adventure Fiction: Enchantment - Orson Scott Card
Fantasy Fiction: The Novice - Trudi Canavan
Realistic Fiction: The Tea House on Mulberry Street - Sharon Owen
Historical Fiction: The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
Western Fiction: Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk

Fortunately I may change the list at any time :)

Whitcoulls Challenge - Take 2 - DONE

I had so much fun last year, so of course I'll be doing the Whitcoulls challenge again :)

The rules this year are a bit different - you only have to read a minimum of 4 books, but they all have to be new reads (i.e. no rereads) and all from the same list!

I've chosen the following from the 2008 list.

1. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
2. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
3. Dune - Frank Herbert
4. Atonement - Ian McEwan

Extra credit / Alternatives:
5. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
6. Santaram - Gregory David Roberts

The challenge runs from November 15th, 2008 to November 15th, 2009

The 2009 Pub Challenge - DONE

Of course I had to join this challenge! How could I not :-D

The Rules:
# Read 9 books published for the first time in 2009 in your own country (i.e. translations are okay - Hardcover to paperback is not).
# No children's/YA titles allowed, since we're at the 'pub.'
# At least 5 titles must be fiction.
# Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
# You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.
# Books must be read between Jan 1st, 2009 and Dec 31st, 2009

I'm not going to make a list ahead of time, as I never knew which books my consultant and reviewing jobs will bring me next (the last one was a book due to be published in 2010!!!!), so I will just update this post as the books arrive.

1. Dødens mange facetter - Dennis Jürgensen
2. The Coffee Mom's Devotional - Celeste Palermo
3. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
4. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
5. The Music Teacher - Barbara Hall
6. A Deadly Habit - Andrea Sisco
7. The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano
8. Homegrown: The Terror Within - Cialan Haasnic
9. Good Things I Wish You - A. Manette Ansay

The Whitcoulls Challenge - Take 2!

I had so much fun with the Whitcoulls challenge this year, that I decided to repeat it for next year! Whitcoulls was my favourite bookstore in NZ. Every now and again they made a survey asking all their customers for their 3 favourite books. The top 100 made it into this list. So it's not a list of what people ought to read, or topsellers, but what people actually did read and love.

Read Your Way Through The Whitcoulls Top 100 List.

Time:
* From November 15th, 2008 to November 15th, 2009.

The Rules:
* Pick one of the 4 "Top 100" lists linked below and decide how many books (at least 4) you want to read from that list.
* The initial 4 have to be 'new' reads (new to you, that is).
* Books beyond the initial 4 may be rereads.
* All books may be cross-overs for other challenges.
* Audio-books are A-OK :)
* You may change your list at any time.
* If you read enough books to actually complete one of the "Top 100" lists, I'll make a post in your honour!

The Lists:
1998, 2002, 2006, 2008

Leave a comment here with the link to your list :)

Fall Into Reading 2008 - DONE

Fall Into Reading 2007 was the first official challenge I signed up for, so of course I have to do that again this year, now that Callapidder Days is hosting it again.

The rules are very simple: make a list of books you want to read between September 22nd and December 20th - there's no list too short and no list too long :)

As I really want to whittle down my TBR pile (I own FAR too many books I haven't read yet) I'm going to only take books from that pile, and as I'm likely to get a LOT of ARCs over the fall (I usually get one every second week or so), I'll limit myself to 7 books as to not overwhelm myself completely.

So... the list:

• The Wrath of the Empress - Tamora Pierce
  
• The Spellcoats - Diana Wynne Jones
  
• A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
  
• Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
  
• The Death Committee - Noah Gordon
  
• The Magicians' Guild - Trudi Canavan
  
• Dragonfly - Julia Golding
  

Second Unread Author Challenge and Bang Bang Challenge - DONE

I'll more or less be reusing the same list for these two challenges, so it goes in the same post:

The Second Unread Authors Challenge

Rules:
1. The challenge will run from August 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009. You may join at any time before or during those six months.
2. During those six months, read at least SIX books by an author whose work you have never read before.
3. You may choose six different "unread" authors to introduce yourself to, or you may choose just one or two and explore their work in greater depth.
4. Authors may be drawn from any genre of literature. The only requirement is that they be authors whose work you substantially regret not having read yet.
5. Your choices may overlap with other challenges you have underway.

My books:
1) Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
2) Atonement - Ian McEwan
3) The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillippa Gregory
4) Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
5) Kushiel's Dart - Jacqueline Carey
6) A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

All except #4 are reused for the BangBang Book Challenge for which the rules are to read 5 fiction books set during a war between September 1st and February 28th (the challenge said that wars are defined loosely, so I hope that means fictional wars count too ;) ).

2nds Challenge - 2008 - DONE!

Have you recently (or not so recently) read a book by a "new-to-you" author and can't wait to dive into another one of his/her books? If so, please join us in the second 2nds Challenge!

Read 4 books by authors that you have only read one other between September 1st and December 31st, 2008

My list:
* The Scarlet Spy - Andrea Pickens
* Ashling - Isobelle Carmody
* The Novice - Trudi Canavan
* Avalon High - Meg Cabot

Lit Flick Challenge

RULES
1. Challenge runs from September 1, 2008 to February 28, 2009.
2. Read 5 books/pieces of literature that have been made into movies.
3. Then watch at least 2 of the movie adaptations of the works you read.
4. Your list may change at any time and may include overlaps with other challenges.

My list:
1) The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
2) Atonement - Ian McEwan
3) The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Fowler (Saw the movie and thought the movie was loads better than the book - that's unusual!)
4) The Cider House Rules - John Irving
5) Kramer vs. Kramer - Avery Corman

I haven't yet decided which two to watch, but probably 1) and 3).

(These books will also double for the Book to movie challenge)

Naming Conventions Challenge - Read books dictated by your name - DONE!

Graphic kindly provided by Jaime!

My aim with making this challenge is to have as random a challenge as possible but still having some sort of guideline to work from. Yes, I'm weird, I know.

Even the length of the challenge is random! Well, it starts on September 1st, but how long it lasts depends on how long your name is.

Confused yet? No reason to be, just hang on, and I'll explain it all.

Instructions
1) Write down your first name (or whatever name you usually go by)
2) Do any or all of the following (i.e. do 2a and/or 2b and/or 2c):
2a) For each letter, pick an author whose last name starts with that letter.
2b) For each letter, pick an author whose first name starts with that letter.
2c) For each letter, pick a book that starts with that letter.
3) Books can be cross-overs from other challenges, but each book can only be used once in this challenge. Authors may be repeated though.
4) The challenge lasts one month per letter of your name
5) Sign up by commenting to this post.

The books can be read in any order and the list changed at any time during the challenge.

So for me, my name being Maria, the list could look something like this.

2a	2b	2c
Meyer, Stephenie Applegate, K.A. Rosenthal, Amy Krouse Irving, John Armstrong, Kelley	Marian Keyes Anne McCaffrey R.J. Anderson Ian McEwan Angela Lam Turpin	Magicians' Guild And Then He Kissed Her Reunion I Do Again Avalon High

All books
Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse
K.A. Applegate: Animorphs 35: The Proposal
Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
John Irving: The Cider House Rules
Kelley Armstrong: Bitten

Marian Keyes: Last Chance Saloon
Anne McCaffrey: Dragonflight
R.J. Anderson: Knife
Ian McEwan: Atonement
Angela Lam Turpin: Legs

Trudi Canavan: Magicians' Guild, The
Laura Lee Guhrke: And Then He Kissed Her
Fred Uhlman: Reunion
Scruggs: I Do Again
Meg Cabot: Avalon High

Alternatives:
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi (for book 'R')
A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass (for book 'A')
Since my name is 5 letters, the challenge ends on February 1st, 2009.

Finished 2b and 2c

What An Animal - Wrap up

I finished "What An Animal" over the weekend. Even with 12 books instead of 6 it was a quick challenge as they were short books ;) I'll continue reading the series though, so who knows - I may make it through all 64 books before the challenge is out :D

So far my two favourites were #13 The Change and #19 The Departure as I found those the two most poignant and thought-provoking so far. Yes, I know they're children's books, and crappy ones at that, but still.

The Change showed the Hork Bajir(sp?) for what they are when not infested with Yeerks, and gave Tobias another chance.
The Departure finally touched upon the moral dilemma of the Animorphs and the fact that not all Yeerks are intently evil.

Good books both of them.

YA Romance Challenge - DONE

* Read six YA romance novels between July 1, 2008 and February 28, 2009.
* Romance should be a strong element within the story. But it doesn't have to be the only element. Realistic fiction (contemporary). Historical. Fantasy. Science Fiction. Retold Fairy Tales. All genres are allowed.
* They can be part of a series, or stand-alones.
* They can be long or short.
* Happy books are NOT a requirement
* Audio books are allowed.
* Up to three movies can be substituted for books. So you could watch 3 movies, read 3 books if you prefer.

My books:
* Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
* Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
* Avalon High - Meg Cabot
* Checkmate - Malorie Blackman
* Haunted Sister - Lael Littke
* Tell Me How The Wind Sounds - Leslie Davis Guccione

Alternatives:
Dragonfly - Julia Golding

The ARC challenge - DONE

The challenge will run from June 21, 2008-September 21, 2008. It will be to help those of us with ARC's to get in gear and read and review them.

Here are the rules:

1. Make a list of all of the ARC's that you currently have and/or are on their way to you.

2. If you have:
1-3 ARC's then pick at least one to read and review for this challenge.
4-6 ARC's then pick at least two to read and review for this challenge.
7-9 ARC's then pick at least three to read and review for this challenge.
10 or more Arc's then pick at least 4 to read and review for this challenge.

I'm going to just stick with the ARCs I already have, as living in Denmark I can never be 100% sure that the books allegedly on their way here actually arrive (some publishers pull the book when realising the costs of shipping here.

So I'm going to read and review the following:
"The Millionaire's Proposal" by Trish Wylie
"The Hidden Man" by Anthony Flacco
"The Scrapbook" by Peggy B. Baker

...adding more to the list as they come.

What An Animal - DONE

The rules are simple:
1. Read at least 6 books that have any of these requirements:
a. an animal in the title of the book
b. an animal on the cover of the book
c. an animal that plays a major role in the book
d. a main character that is or turns into an animal.

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragons, mermaids, centaurs, fairies, vampires...you get the idea...

3. Challenge runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

This is almost too easy as I want to read the Animorphs series. Every book in this series has an animal on the cover of the book and main characters turning into animals. So since the Animorph books are so short (only around 150 pages each) I'm going to extend the challenge and say I have to read 12 books.
* #7 - The Stranger
* #11 - The Forgotten
* #12 - The Reaction
* #13 - The Change
* #14 - The Unknown
* #15 - The Escape
* #16 - The Warning
* #17 - The Underground
* #18 - The Decision
* #19 - The Departure
* #20 - The Discovery
* #21 - The Threat