Fall Into Reading 2012

Yikes! I almost missed it. But it's still the 22nd, so I'm not too late yet.

As usual, Fall Into reading is being hosted at Callapidder Days. It's become a tradition by now, so of course I'm in :-) The challenge is to make a list of books to read between September 22nd and December 21st. There is no requirements as to the length of the list, but I usually do a book per week. With the business of moving coming up, I think I'll go a bit easier on myself this year though, and just take 10 books rather than the usual 13.

So far this year I've read 130 books. That's a bit less than my usual, so I doubt I'll make it to 200 like I have on previous years. However, my sub-goal was to read 50 books from my to-read shelves, and there I'm at 40, so finishing that should be very doable.

For the same reason, all 10 books on my Fall Into Reading list come from my to-be-read shelves.

Happier at Home - Gretchen Rubin Can't wait to read this!

The Yarn Harlot - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee I loved her other book, so this should be good :)

Meet Me At The Cupcake Café - Jenny Colgan The other book I've read by Jenny Colgan was a wonderful comfort read, so I have high hopes for this as well :)

Giants of the Fall - Ken Follett Okay, perhaps it is a bit ambitious to add SUCH a chunkster to my list, but Ken Follett usually writes very readable books, and I'm really looking forward to reading this :)

Call the Midwife - Jennifer Worth Independently of each other, Nina and I both bought this book on our last trip to London. She's already read it and liked it, so I figured I'd better catch up with her.

Somebody Else's Kids - Torey Hayden I've yet to read a book by Torey Hayden that wasn't WELL worth reading.

Border Wedding - Amanda Scott This has been on my shelves longer than I care to admit. I have NO clue why I haven't gotten around to reading it yet!

September - Rosamunde Pilcher Pilcher is usually good for a comfort read :)

Lightning - Dean Koontz I went on a Koontz/King kick several years back thanks to Carina. She had two copies of Lightning so kindly gave me one of them. For some reason I've just never gotten around to reading it.

The Magician's Apprentice - Trudi Canavan Another book that I do NOT understand has been standing untouched on my shelves for so long. I absolutely loved the Black Magician Trilogy, so why haven't I read this prequel yet? About time!

Spring Reading Thing 2012 - Wrap-up

Callapidder Days has once again kindly hosted Spring Reading Thing. And of course, as always, I joined up.

Unfortunately for once I didn't quite manage to complete it. As usual, I had listed 13 books (one book per month), and raced through the first 10... then I'd read all the books I owned myself, and before I could get out and borrow the last three, I hit a reading slump (made worse by gaining a knitting addiction) and am still 130 pages shy of the last book.

Ah well, fortunately the goal of the challange isn't to finish but to have fun, and that I managed in spades! :)

Did you finish reading all the books on your spring reading list? If not, why not? As mentioned above, I'm still 130 pages shy of the last book. I could have finished yesterday if I'd worked for it, but I'd made the mistake of starting a reread of a book I'd MUCH rather use my time on.

Oh, there was one other book I also didn't finish, but that was a matter of giving up on it because it was just TOO DULL! so I don't think that counts.

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along? I stuck to my original goals.

What was your favorite book that you read this spring? Least favorite? Why?
Favourite: Den hundredårige der kravlede ud ad vinduet og forsvandt - probably best described as a Swedish version of "Big Fish". I loved it!
Least favourite: Bella Tusca - this was the book I abandoned. Just far too pretentious for words. Which is a shame, as I loved Under the Tuscan Sun

What was your favorite thing about the challenge? The fact that it turns a solitary hobby into a social event - the same thing I love about the readathons :)

My list with comments
*One Child - Torey Hayden This is my fourth Torey Hayden book. So far I've loved everything I've read by her, even if the books always leave me heartsore and wanting to reach out to those poor kids! I love how Torey's love for them shines through.

*Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson I've gotten rather addicted to Bill Bryson's books. His travelogues are terrific! Unfortunately this wasn't nearly as good as the others I've read :( It almost sounded like he was getting tired of travelling himself, and therefore spent more time complaining than enthusing.

*Stay By Me - Neta Jackson A new series in the Yada Yada universe to get hooked on! It didn't let me down :-)

*Den hundredårige der kravlede ud ad vinduet og forsvandt - Jonas Jonasson "The Hundred Year Old Who Crawled Out the Window and Disappeared" - I don't know, I'm just taken with the title and need to know what it's all about.

*The Masterharper of Pern - Anne McCaffrey I've always loved the Harper's Hall trilogy best of all of Anne McCaffrey's books, so when I heard about this book about Master Robinton I knew I had to read it.

*Kingmaker's Sword - Ann Marston A Christmas present from the Christmas Bookish Giveaway. I'd never heard of it before, but it looked intriguing and fortunately turned out to be a really good read too.

*Bella Tuscany - Frances Mayes I loved "Under the Tuscan Sun", so when I found this follow-up, I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately as it ended up, I had to give it up half way through. The writing that had seemed charming in the first book just came across as pretentious in this one. After 150 pages of hoping it would improve soon, I couldn't do it any longer.

*The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh I'd seen this in bookstores and thought it looked interesting, but wasn't certain. However, last week Nina sent me a text message telling me that I HAD to read it... and who am I not to do what she tells me to? ;) Fortunately I ended up loving it.

*Under the Duvet - Marian Keyes I've read and enjoyed almost all of Marian Keyes' novels, so I figured it was about time I read some of her non-fiction.

*Paganini kontrakten - Lars Kelper Second book in a series where I greatly enjoyed the first one. Turns out, the sequel's even better! Love it when that happens :-)

*Shamran - Bjarne Reuter Danish YA fantasy. Apparently a MUST but somehow I'd just never gotten around to reading it before now. Would probably have liked it more if I had been the right age for it.

*Little House on Rocky Ridge - Roger Lea MacBride I absolutely adore Laura's "Little House" series, so I figured it was about time I gave this one a try. It was adorable :) I'll have to find more of the books now.

Dawn's Early Light - Elswyth Thane One of Mum's favourite books, also recommended to me by a friend. As I tend to share taste with both, I figured it was a safe bet :) Unfortunately I didn't quite manage to finish this one. It's good, but a tad too easy to put down for other things.

Spring Reading Thing 2012

As per usual, Callapidder Days is hosting the Spring Reading Thing. STR runs from March 20th to June 20th for a total of 13 weeks.

... which means, that I have chosen 13 books for my list.

• One Child - Torey Hayden
  
• Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson
  
• Stay By Me - Neta Jackson
  
• Den hundredårige der kravlede ud ad vinduet og forsvandt - Jonas Jonasson
  
• The Masterharper of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
  
• Kingmaker's Sword - Ann Marston
  
• Bella Tuscany - Frances Mayes
  
• The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
  
• Under the Duvet - Marian Keyes
  
• Paganini kontrakten - Lars Kelper
  
• Shamran - Bjarne Reuter
  
• Dawn's Early Light - Elswyth Thane
  
• Little House on Rocky Ridge - Roger Lea MacBride

Happy reading, everybody! :)