Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

I've read Diary of a Young Girl several times before, but for some reason it made me really depressed and restless this time. I think it's time for me to read something not ww2 related.

Spring Reading Thing - Done!

It will probably come as no surprise that I'm signing up for a Spring Reading Challenge.

Who: Anyone! Everyone! If you read, you can join :)

What: Spring Reading Thing 2008 is a casual, low-pressure challenge. There is no required number of reads to 'reach'. Just make a list of books you'd like to read (or books you'd like to finish!) this spring.

When: I bet you can guess: Spring 2008. The official dates are March 20th through June 19th.

As per usual the challenge runs for 13 weeks, so I'm picking 13 books to read for it:

• The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
  
• The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
  
• Pope Joan - Donna W. Cross
  
• Mathilda - Roald Dahl
  
• Seven For A Secret - Victoria Holt
  
• Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Diana Birchall
  
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
  
• Wild Swans - Jung Chang
  
• No Compromise - Melody Green
  
• The No 1. Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
  
• The Clan of the Cave Bears - Jean M. Auel
  
• Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
  
• The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
  

The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom

The Hiding Place was one of the first books I ever read about World War 2, and it still stands to me as one of the most important books to read on the subject, in order to remember that God is present - even when we cannot see Him.

Evacuation Plan - Joe M. O'Connell

Unfortunately Evacuation Plan was quite a disappointment, so it'll be going straight up on my bookmooch list. But at least it still counts for a book read :-D

Helvedet - og en kærlig Gud - Claus Tondering

Helvedet - og en kærlig Gud (Hell - and a Loving God) is an amazing book of how to unite the belief in God's love with the reality of Hell. I've learned a LOT from it.

Spiritual Reading Challenge - DONE

Yeah, I figured it was time to sign up for another challenge ;) The Spiritual Reading Challenge runs from March 1st to June 1st. The goal is to read three books with a spiritual theme in that timeframe.

My books are:
* Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster
* No Compromise, The Life Story of Keith Green - Melody Green
* Hell and a Loving God - Claus Tondering

The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald

The Princess and the Goblin is a sweet fairytale, but I would probably have enjoyed it more, had I read it when I was the target age.

The Enchanted Castle - Edith Nesbit

I finished The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit yesterday on my way home from work. Very sweet and charming novel :)

Seduced by a Spy - Andrea Pickens

It's been some time since I posted last. Not because I haven't been reading, but because I've been reading non-challenge stuff. Yes, there's time for that as well :-D However, now I'm back on track with Seduced by a Spy - a wonderful regency novel I read for the 888 challenge.

Sweet Valley High 2: Secrets

The first SVH of the year read and snarked at 1Bruce1. Probably only interesting to read if you already know the Sweet Valley universe.

The Emerald City of Oz - L. Frank Baum

The Emerald City of Oz is the last 'real' book of Oz... or at least the one L. Frank Baum himself intended to be the last, so I'll end my foray into Oz here as well. They were charming books, but not entertaining enough that I feel any need to continue my visits there.

Anybody Out There? - Marian Keyes

I always enjoy reading about the Walsh-sisters, and fortunately Anybody Out There? was no exception. Highly recommendable.

Anatomy of a Boyfriend - Daria Snadowsky

I finished Anatomy of a Boyfriend over the weekend - would have liked it a LOT more if it hadn't been aimed at teenagers. I'm not usually a prude, but this book handled sex much too casually to be appropriate for somebody that age.

The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper

I think my expectations had probably been raised too much about The Dark is Rising, because unfortunately I ended up quite disappointed. It's okay, but not as amazing as I'd been lead to believe.

Stolen Lives - Malika Oufkir

Stolen Lives absolutely blew me away. I highly recommend it, even if it is disturbing reading. See my review for details.

The Eponymous Challenge - DONE

I finish one challenge and immediately sign up for the next.

The Eponymous challenge runs from 1 March to 31 May, 2008.

During that time the mission is to read 4 books whose titles are the name of one or more of the characters (e.g. Evelina, Oscar and Lucinda); or a description of one or more of the characters (e.g. The Merchant of Venice, Sylvia's Lovers).

Non-fiction books and overlaps with other challenges are welcome, as are books named after four-legged characters.

I've chosen:

• The Diary of Anne Frank (so called in the translation I'm reading, so I'd say it counts)
  
• The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald
  
• Mathilda - Roald Dahl
  
• Pope Joan - Donna W. Cross

Possible books for extra credit/alternatives: Robin Hood, Meeting the Malones, The Swiss Family Robinson, Hollywood Husbands, Victorias År, The Woman in White,

Nothing Lasts Forever - Sidney Sheldon

It happened sooner than I thought it would... by finishing Nothing Lasts Forever this afternoon, I've finished my first challenge of 2008: Medical Madness :-D

Those Who Trespass Against Us - Karolina Lanckoronska

After reading it on and off for a month, I finally finished Those Who Trespass Against Us this morning. An interesting subject, but unfortunately a dull book (writing, not plot).

Between the Sheets - Robin Wells

It's chick-lit with a capital C and absolutely delightful. I highly recommend Between the Sheets as a very pleasant escape from reality.

Cross-Stitch (Outlander) - Diana Gabaldon

I finished my first chunkster way ahead of time. I was supposed to just read 3 chapters a week, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down and read 600 pages over the weekend ;) This is the first time I've read Cross-Stitch (UK version) rather than Outlander (US version) and though the changes were small and insignificant, they were still large enough for me to notice. I might just pick up Outlander soon and read the scenes I know were changed.