A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

I'm glad to say that A Thousand Splendid Suns is MILES better than The Kite Runner and has restored my faith in Khaled Hosseini's writing abilities. I highly recommend it - even if you didn't like KR.

Knife Edge - Malorie Blackman

Unfortunately Knife Edge doesn't quite live up to the first book in the series. It's a lot darker, more slow-moving and ends with a bigger cliff-hanger. I'd already ordered the last book in the trilogy before reading this one, or I'm not sure I'd have bothered.

Wild Mountain Thyme - Rosamunde Pilcher

Wild Mountain Thyme isn't Rosamunde Pilcher's best, but it definitely isn't her worst either. A good read, if you've got nothing better to do.

Whitethorn Woods - Maeve Binchy

Whitethorn Woods is unfortunately not Maeve Binchy's finest work. Not that she could ever write something decidedly boring, but since it's constructed as a bunch of short stories with a common theme, I never got as interested in the characters as I would in one of her other novels. A shame, as I usually consider her among my favourite authors.

Summer Reading Challenge - DONE

Since I just finished the Spring Reading Thing, I do of course have to join the Summer Reading Challenge. The challenge runs from June 1st (so I'm a bit late, but I'll manage) to August 31st. There's no specific number of books to be read, but the purpose is to encourage "intentional" reading - i.e. change the list as little as possible after the challenge has started!

I'm going to be quite busy the next wee while, so I won't stick to my usual 1 book per week, but give myself a bit of leeway and say 1 book per fortnight, so a total of 7 books (rounding up, of course ;) ) However, to add a bit of challenge to the ... ehh... challenge I'm going to set two other rules for myself: 1) the books cannot be used for any other existing challenge except my personal reading challenge (should I add other challenges later, I can use them). 2) the books must all come from my TBR pile (which is why I had to include the personal reading challenge, or I'd have no books at all to choose from! ;) )

• The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down - Neta Jackson
  
• The Amateur Marriage - Anne Tyler
  
• The Yada-Yada Prayer Group - Neta Jackson
  
• Knife Edge - Malorie Blackman
  
• The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
  
• Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult
  
• Let Me Call You Sweetheart - Mary Higgins Clark
  

On the other hand the rules for the Summer Reading Thing clearly states that the list may be identical to that of another challenge, so I'm killing two birds with one stone and doing that one as well here :-)

The Hunted - Mike Dellosso

By finishing The Hunted I've completed the Pub 2008 challenge. The Hunted read a lot like The Oath by Frank Peretti, and I enjoyed it greatly.

Spring Reading Thing - Wrap-up

I finished the Spring Reading Thing today and am actually very satisfied with the books I chose for it. It's a lot more varied than what I usually read, with a nice selection of new reads and rereads, non-fiction and fiction and books based in several different countries and eras.

The books were:

• 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
  

My favourite book was Water for Elephants, the best surprise was Wild Swans, the biggest disappointment a toss between The Poisonwood Bible and The Red Tent as I'd expected a lot from both, but just didn't think they could deliver. Unfortunately.

I don't think the challenge made me read more than I would've otherwise, but it definitely helped me get through some of those books I've wanted to read for awhile, but just never got around to. I'd definitely be interested in another "Fall Into Reading" challenge this fall.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith

After a slow start, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency turned out to be a very enjoyable read. Not great literature, but entertaining and with sympathetic characters.

Book Binge Challenge - Done!

Here’s how it goes: For the month of May, participants keep track of each and every book you read. At the end of the month, everyone will blog their list of books. Simple, no?

I read a lot of really good books this month :)

Alcott, Louisa May: Eight Cousins, 10/10
Alcott, Louisa May: Rose In Bloom, 9/10
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi: Infidel, 9/10

Chang, Jung: Wild Swans, 9/10
Chapman, Gary: The Five Love Languages, 10/10

Green, Melody: No Compromise, 8/10
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants, 9/10

Henderson, Dee: The Truth Seeker, 7/10

Kaye, M.M.: The Ordinary Princess, 9/10
Kingsolver, Barbara: The Poisonwood Bible, 7/10

Martel, Yann: Life of Pi, 10/10
Meyer, Stephenie: The Host, 10/10
Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Across the Miles, 9/10

Nesbit, Edith: Nine Unlikely Tales for Children, 9/10

Pierce, Tamora: Shatterglass (Circle Opens #4), 8/10

Stewart, Mariah: Mercy Street, 8/10

Winfield, Jess: My Name is Will, 8/10

My favourites were Life of Pi and The Host.

Across the Miles - L.M. Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery is one of my favourite authors, and one of the only ones where I actually enjoy her short stories. Across the Miles is my very favourite short story collection, and I'm always glad for a chance to reread it.

Classics Challenge - DONE

Classics: We love them, we hate them, now we are going to challenge ourselves to reading more of them. Because there are so many different types of classics, different genres are acceptable and encouraged--for example, novels, short story collections, non-fiction, poetry, essays--I'm open for other suggestions!

Read 5 classics between July 1st and January 1st
Read 1 book that may not considered classics but that people think should be or will be a classic one day - list of suggestions can be found at http://classics2008.blogspot.com/.

My list
5 old:
* The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay
* Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T.S. Eliot
* The Alpine Path - L.M. Montgomery
* Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling
* Little Women - L.M. Alcott
1 new:
* A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

Herding Cats - DONE

Recommendation lists are always great, but how often do we actually get to read any of the books on those lists? Renay wants to change that, so for this challenge, you post a list of 10 books you love (my list can be found here), and pick 3 books to read from the master list.

I've chosen the following three books (but may come back to add more):
A Wrinkle In Time - Madeleine L'Engle
Wild Swans - Jung Chang
Life of Pi - Yann Martel

No Compromise - Keith Green

Keith Green was (I think) my introduction to Christian contemporary music, and still one of my favourite artist. His life as described in No Compromise is absolutely amazing - how incredible it must be to meet somebody THAT on fire for God. It makes me wonder what I'm missing out on.

Wild Swans - Jung Chang

Wild Swans is a book that's far too often overlooked. While people study WW2 in order to prevent the atrocities to repeat themselves, few people are aware that Mao caused more deaths than Hitler and Stalin put together. Reading this book really opened my eyes.

Catch-up post - Challenges

Unfortunately I haven't been too good at listing new challenges here, and one part of that is my perfectionism as all posts have to be just so with links, pictures, lists etc. That's no good, as it keeps me from posting at all when I don't have the time to do it right and update my template as well, so this is a catch-up post with some of the challenges I haven't listed here yet. I'll list the finished ones in a different post to try not to make this FAR too long.

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100+ Reading Challenge - DONE!
Read 100 books in 2008. I've currently read 78 so I'm well on my way here :-)
Read book #100 in June :)

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I Heard it Through the Grapevine - DONE
Read 3 books recommended by others from May-Nov. So far I'm not doing too well with this one, because people aren't recommending me enough books! Get to it, people! ;) The list:
* Wild Swans - Jung Chang
* Me and Mr. Darcy - Alexandra Potter
* Obernewtyn - Isobelle Carmody

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Jane Austen Mini-Challenge - DONE
Read or watch two books/movies related to Jane Austen in 2008.
Read: Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Diana Birchall
Read: Me and Mr. Darcy - Alexandra Potter

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Short Story Challenge - DONE
Read 5 short story collections by 5 different authors.
* Down to a Sunless Sea - Mathias Freese
* Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling
* Across the Miles - L.M. Mongtomery
* Nine Unlikely Tales for Children - E. Nesbit.
* Sorry, The Stork Takes No Returns - Claire Bowen

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Nineteenth Century Women Writers - DONE!
Read 6 books in 2008 written by Nineteenth Century Woman Writers.
* Eight Cousins - L.M. Alcott
* Rose In Bloom - L.M. Alcott
* The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay
* Vilette - Charlotte Bronte
* Nine Unlikely Tales - E. Nesbit
* Heidi Johanna Spyri

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Soups On!
I love cooking and though I seldom have time to experiment much, I always enjoy reading cookbooks and trying new recipes. I now have more than 11 months (until March 31st, 2009) to read through 6 cookbooks and make at least one recipe from each. The cookbooks can be old or new, official or homemade - the important thing is to try out some new recipes.
* Saving Dinner - Leanne Ely
* ??? - Jamie Oliver
* Smoothies - ???
* Asian Cookbook - ???
* Mum's Cookbook - my mum :)
* Frk. Jensens kogebog - Frk. Jensen

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Wind-up challenge - DONE!
Read 1-3 books you've read more than 50 pages of before May 1st and then abandoned. Timeframe: May 1st-Nov 15th.
I'll pick between the following: Possession, Dune, Gone With the Wind, House of the Spirits, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Life of Pi, Couple's Comfort Book.

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Pub 2008 - DONE!
This year, read 8 books published in 2008. The books cannot be childrens/YA as we're 'at the pub'.
* My Name Is Will - Jess Winfield
* Between the Sheets - Rebekka Wells
* Hollywood Crows - Joseph Wambaugh
* Seduced by a Spy - Andrea Pickens
* Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Diana Birchall
* Mercy Street - Mariah Stewart
* The Host - Stephenie Meyer
* The Hunted - Mike Delloroso

All enjoyable books, but my favourite was without a doubt The Host. It stood head and shoulders above the rest.

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Chick-lit - DONE!
Read 3 chick-lit books between June 1st and September 1st.
* Where Rainbows End - Cecelia Ahern
* When She Was Bad - Louise Bagshawe
* The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay

10 books that I love

Time for a new challenge! But first of all, a preparation for a challenge, as the challenge requires me to make a list of 10 books that I love to share with other participants of the challenge.

In no particular order, the books are:

• Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
  
• The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay
  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
  
• Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind
  
• Scarlet Feather - Maeve Binchy
  
• Alanna - Tamora Pierce
  
• Crystal Singer - Anne McCaffrey
  
• Pope Joan - Donna W. Cross
  
• The Blue Castle - L.M. Montgomery
  
• Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
  

The Ordinary Princess - M.M. Kaye

In honour of the gorgeous weather we're having this weekend, I wasted away half an hour on the lawn enjoying the sun reading The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye. Very enjoyable reading :)

The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman

I read The Five Love Languages before I got married, and really liked it. Now that I've been married 5 years I decided to read it again, and appreciated it a LOT more. Being in love, you never think you'll feel in need of getting your 'love bucket' filled more than it already is, but once marriage becomes more 'routine', it's more obvious how important it is to speak each other's love language.

Nine Unlikely Tales for Children - Edith Nesbit

I'm not usually one for short stories, but Nine Unlikely Tales for Children is a collection of extremely sweet fairy tales, that I couldn't help but be charmed by.

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants is a gorgeous book which I'd recommend to anybody, but especially those who (like me) are fascinated by the circus life.