Monday, November 29, 2010

It's Monday! what are you reading?


MizB from Should Be Reading has discontinued her weekly WWW Wednesday so I'm joining Sheila's ( from One Persons' Journey Through A World of Books) weekly Monday event!

This week I'm reading:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (halfway through this one; last book for the Take Another chance challenge)
A Christmas Carol by Charles dickens (for a read-along)
Safe Haven by Nicholas sparks (I am loving this audio book; by far my favorite of all his books!!!)

Books waiting in the wings:

The Giver by Lois Lowry (audio book for December's Children's' Award-Winning Classics)
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelley ( also for the Classics event)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

WWW Wednesdays

MizB from Should Be Reading sponsors this weekly meme so we can all share what we're reading!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (he's one of those authors that I have to read his new books as soon as they come out or I can't keep track of what I've read!)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (for a read-along; really looking forward to this!)

Recently Finished:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (still not sure how I feel about this one--I enjoyed the parts about the characters' relationships but really didn't get it, I guess. It's about a girl who can taste how others feel in the food that they make.)

Coming Up:

The Giver by Lois Lowry (for December's Children's Award-winning classics)
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelley (Also for December's Children's award winning classics)
The Short Second Life of Bree Turner by Stephanie Meyer

Sunday, November 21, 2010

A Christmas Carol Read-along


Cyndi of Dog-Eared and Bookmarked is sponsoring A Christmas Carol Read-Along just in time for December. I was thinking of reading this book this year and thought this would be the perfect opportunity!

The first section is "due" this week; I better get going!!!

Back to the Classic Challenge 2011


Sarah from Sarah Reads Too Much is sponsoring the Back to the Classics Challenge 2011. This appealed to me beacause I have been trying to focus more on reading those classics that I missed along the way.

The challenge runs January 1, 2011-June 30, 2011.

The goals to complete:
  1. A Banned Book
  2. A Book with a Wartime Setting (can be any war)
  3. A Pulitzer Prize (Fiction) Winner or Runner Up: a list can be found here
  4. A Children's/Young Adult Classic
  5. 19th Century Classic
  6. 20th Century Classic
  7. A Book you think should be considered a 21st Century Classic
  8. Re-Read a book from your High School/College Classes
Here are my choices:

1. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
2. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
3. One of Ours by Willa Cather
4. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (I know I have started this at various times in my life but I will finish it this time!)
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
7 Not sure yet
8. The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Century Challenge

BA's Century Challenge

Bookish Ardour is sponsoring The Century Challenge, which will run from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.

The books selected will be decided by publication year and have to be read in order from the time period chosen.

I've decided to participate at the Decade level which means I will read 10 books from one decade.

Here are my choices:

1970: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
1971: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien
1972: Watership Down by Richard Adams
1973: Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
1974: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
1975: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
1976: Roots by Alex Haley
1977: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
1978: The World According to Garp by John Irving
1979: The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

For more info or to participate, please click on above image.


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

WWW Wednesdays

MizB from Should Be Reading sponsors this weekly meme so we can all share what we're reading!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:


The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


Recently Finished:



Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This book was better than I could have ever hoped! I'm just sorry I waited so long to read it! If you haven't read it, you need to!!!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
This book did finally pick up a bit and I found myself enjoying it though I must admit I skimmed over the financial details in some parts. I ended up liking it a lot and will be reading the second book but it's not something I need to read immediately.

Coming Up:


The Short Second Life of Bree Turner by Stephanie Meyer
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (I'm reading this one for December's Children's Award-Winning Classics Carnival)
Emma by Jane Austen

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

WWW Wednesdays

MizB from Should Be Reading sponsors this weekly meme so we can all share what we're reading!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?


Currently Reading:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
Yes I am still coming along with this one...I'm about 1/2 way through now and the story is starting to pick up a little

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
I've been wanting to read this for awhile and had the opportunity to get it on Audio. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's one of those books that I wouldn't be able to put down if I was reading the actual book.

Recently Finished:



The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
I thought this would be fun to read for Halloween and put it on hold at the library (I guess everyone else had the same idea!) I ended up listening to it the week after Halloween and absolutely loved it. I was surprised (and disappointed) at how short it was!

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodwin
This book ended up being so much more than an exploration of two sisters and their relationship and I was sorry to see it end.

Coming Up:



Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
This is the last book I need to read for the Take Another Chance Challenge and I am excited to be so close to finishing a challenge!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Children's Award-Winning Classics


Sponsored by 5 Minutes for Mom, this carnival highlights great award-winning classics! My computer was down for a couple of months and I missed last month so...I'm doing a catch-up post!


The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (National Book Award Winner)

I have been wanting to read this one for awhile and this challenge gave me the perfect excuse! This was defeinitely a light-read, a fun-read, and I found myself completely absorbed in the tale of these four sisters, their widowed dad, and their summer adventure!








Johnny Tremaine by Esther Forbes (Newberry Award)

We got this book for free as part of the Summer Reading Challenge at Borders. I started reading it with Tucker but he was too overwhelmed by all the detail at the beginning and told me "save it, though, I will read it it in a few years" and I think he will. I really enjoyed it and couldn't read it fast enough. I haven't read too much about the Boston Tea Party-era and think I may have to now! My interest has been piqued!








Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry (Newberry Award)

Another one that's been on my TBR list for awhile. I enjoyed the closeness that the two girls share and their friendship that endures anything. this was another quick read for me (I couldn't put it down) and was sorry to see it end!