Century Challenge

For this challenge, I had to chose a decade and read through the years! I decided to pick the 70s and ended up enjoying the books I read. (All except one actually, my original choice for 1972 was Watership Down and I just could not get through it which is rare for me!)

1970:The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
1971: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
1972:Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
1973:Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
1974: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
1975: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
1976: Roots by Alex Haley
1977: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
1978:The World According to Garp by John Irving

1979: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Back to the Classics Challenge: COMPLETED!

Sarah from Sarah Reads too Much spoonsored this challenge with themes to chose from to endourage us to read some classics!


Banned Book: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Wartime (Civil War): Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Pulitzer Prize: One of Ours by Willa Cather
Children's/Young Adult: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
19th Century: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
20th Century: Lord of the Flies by William H. Golding
21st Century: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
ReRead:The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

100+ Read challenge

Whew! I just made this one! And only because I noticed that I had misnumbered did I make it!


1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
3. The Girl who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allan
4. Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curits
5. Small Island by Andrea Levy
6. The Outsiders by S.E.Hinton
7. The Girl Who Kicked the Dragon's Nest by Steig Larsson
8. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
10. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
11. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lundgren
12. GingerBread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
13. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
14. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
15. One of Ours by Willa Cather
16. Room by Emma Donoghue
17. The Kite Runner
18. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
19. Messenger by Lois Lowry
20. The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok
21. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
23. Freedom by Jonathan Frazen
22. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
24. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynold Naylor
25. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
26. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kinsgsolver
27. Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
28. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
29. Shiloh Season by Phyllis Reynold Naylor
30. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
31. While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
32. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
33. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
34. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
34 Secrets of Eden by Chris Bojhalian
36. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
37. The Nobodies Album by Caolyn Parkhurst
38. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
39. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
40. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
41. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
42. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
43. Dirty Secret by Jessie Sholl
44.Saving Shiloh by Phyllis Reynold Naylor
45. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
46. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
47. If you Ask Me (which of course, you won't) by Betty White
48. Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh
49. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy chevilar
50. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
51. The Reader by Bernhard Schilink
52. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
53. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
54. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
55. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
56. We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg
57. Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
58. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

59. The Lost Hours by Karen White
60. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
61. The Virgin's Lover by Phillipa Gregory
62. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
63. Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Greene
64. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
65. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

66. The Minpins by roald Dahl
67. The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl

68. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
69. The BFG by Roald Dahl
70. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kassey
71. Matilda by Roald Dahl
72. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
73. Boy by Roald Dahl
74. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
75. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Roadl Dahl
76. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
77. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
78. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
79. Dracula by Bram Stoker

80. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
81. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
82. Matched by Ally Condle
83. Roots by Alex Haley
84. The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
85. The Wind in the Willows by Graheme Greene
86. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
87. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
88. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
89. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
90.. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
91. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
92. I Know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
93. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
94. The Jungle Book I by Rudyard Kipling
95. The World According to Garp by John Irving
96. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
97. The Autobiography of Santa Claus

98. The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
99. Uglies by Scott Westerfield

100. The Silver Boat by Luanne Rice
101. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

2011 Audiobook Challenge

For this challenge, I committed to Listening to 20 books and ended up listening to 37 books!


1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allan
3. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lundgren
4. Gingerbread Cookie Mystery by Joanne Fluke
5. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
7. Freedom by Jonathan Frazer
8. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
9. Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
10. Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
11. While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
12. Every Last One by Anna Quindlan
13. Secrets of Eden by Chris Bojhalian
14. The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst
15. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
16. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
17. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
18. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
19. We are all Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg
20. The Silver Boat by Luanne Rice



21. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
22. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
23. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
24. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
25. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

26. A Clockwork Orange by anthony Burgess
27. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

28. Dracula by Bram Stoker
29. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
30. The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
31. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
32. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
33. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
34. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
35. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
36. Jungle Book I by Rudyard Kipling

37. The Autobiography of Santa Claus

What's in A Name 4

Since I'm all about themes, this one was a good one for me and I have to say that I enjoyed all the books a I read-it got some TBRs off my list! I will definitely be participating again in 2012

Number: The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Jewel or Gem: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Size: Small Island by Andrea Levy
Travel or Movement: While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
Evil: Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Life Stage: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge

For this challenge, I committed to reading 16+ books and actually ended up reading 24 books! I plan to participate in this challenge again and continue to read some more of these great books!

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
4. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
5. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
6. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
8. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
10. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
11. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
12. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
13. The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
14. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
15. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
16. One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kassey

17. Dracula by Bram Stoker
18. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
19. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
20. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
21. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
22. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
23. The World According to Garp by John Irving
24. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lundgren

Wordsworth Classics Reading Challenge-Completed

Lynossa from Deranged Book Lovers sponsored the Wordsworth Classics Challenge in which we read novels that are Wordsworth classics. I commotted to reading 5-8 books and actually read 11! Yeah me!

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
3. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
5. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
7. Dracula by Bram Stoker
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

9. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
10. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graheme
11.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Memorable Memoirs Challenge-COMPLETED (somewhat)

Melissa from The Betty and Boo Chronicles hosted the Memorable Memoirs Challenge this year. I committed to reading 10 and actually ended up reading 9!

1. The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok
2. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
3. Dirty Secret by Jessie Sholl
4. If You Ask Me (which of course, you won't) by Betty White
5. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
6. Boy: Tales from Childhood by Roald Dahl
7. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
8. Roots by Alex Haley
9. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

2nd Annual Book Survey

I've seen this on many book blogs and like the way it sums up the years' reading!

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?

I couldn't chose just one! I would have to say: Room by Emma Donoghue, The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown and The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins


2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?

Because I so loved the Traveling Pants series, I had high hopes for Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares but it did not live up to my expectations


3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?

I was mildly interested in reading it and it turned out to be great: Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe


4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?

Without a doubt, Room and The Hunger Games series. Also Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua for my mom friends.


5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

Obviously The Hunger Games!


6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?

I read a lot of classics for the first time; the "new" authors I discovered were: Willa Cather, Toni Morrison, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I enjoyed Willa Cather so much that I'm planning to participate in a reading challenge that features reading one of her books each month in 2012!


7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed 20,000 leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne


8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?

Room and The Hunger Games series


9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

I had heard so much about these two: Room and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother


10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?


There are two:




11. Most memorable character in 2011?

There were a few: Jack from Room; Griet from Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Katniss from The Hunger Games


12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke


13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua


14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?

Because I read a lot of classics for the first time this year, the list includes: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.


15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?

I don't keep track...

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?

The Hunger Games series, without a doubt. I';d also like to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with my son.


17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother almost got thrown across the room multiple times and Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult had some moments that made me crazy! Both were great though!

Celebrate the Author challenge-COMPLETED

Lu from Lu's Rants and Raves sponsored the Celebrate the Author Challenge, in which we read a book each month by an author born in that particular month.

Here's what I read:

January: Edgar Allan Poe: The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Tales
Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

March: Lois Lowry: Gathering Blue; Messenger

April: Washington Irving: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; Rip Van Winkle

May: Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

June: Harriett Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom's Cabin

July: Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter; The House of Seven Gables
E.B. White: Trumpet of the Swan
Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea

August: Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

September: Roald Dahl: Revolting Rhymes; The Minpins; The Enormous Crocodile; BFG; Matilda; Boy; The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

October: Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray; The Selfish Giant

November: Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

December: Rudyard Kipling: The Jungle Book

Fall Into Reading Challenge-(somewhat) completed

Katrina from Callapidder Days sponsored the Fall into Reading Challenge that ran from September 23, 2011 through December 21, 2011 for all of us to list the books we were planning to read through the fall.

Obviously, I'm a little late posting the wrap-up post!

My plan in participating in this was to complete the rest of the challenges I had signed up for.

The Century Challenge

I completed the 4 books I wanted to finish to complete this challenge: Roots, Song of Solomon, The World According to Garp, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Wordsworth Classics Challenge
I read The Wind in the Willows and Gulliver's Travels but not Moll Flanders. thankfully I did read Dracula for a read-along and it turned out to be a Wordsworth Classic so I did finish this challnege.

Celebrate the Author Challenge
I finsihed the three needed to complete this challenge, also: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Jungle Book

Memorable Memoirs Challenge
I committed to reading 10 and of the three I planned to read, I only read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

A-Z challenge
I had high hopes of finishing this one, too! Alas, I only read the "Q" selection but not "X", "Y", "Z". If I were to do this one again, I think I would start with those letters so I wouldn't be scrambling so much at the end!

As I already said, I did Read Dracula for A Literary Odyssey's October Read-A-Long.

I didn't get to any of the "extras" I had listed but I plan to read them next year.

A to Z Challenge

I tried to read my way through the alphabet by Title and ran out of time for "X", "Y" and "Z". If I were to do this again, I think I start with those letters.

A: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
B: Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
C: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
D: Dirty Secret by Jessie Sholl
E: Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
F: Freedom by Jonathan Frazen
G: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allan
H: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I: If you ask me (which of course, you won't) by Betty White
J: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
K: The Kite Runner
L: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
M: Messenger by Lois Lowry
N: The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst
O: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
P: The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Q: The Quiet American by Graham Greene
R: Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
S: Small Island by Andrea Levy
T: Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
U: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
V: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
W: While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
X:
Y:
Z:

WWW Wednesday

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?

*don't be too impressed when you see how much I've read; this covers three weeks!

Currently Reading:

The Autobiography of Santa Claus
I've read mixed reviews about this one but wanted to read something Christmas-y. I'm really enjoying it and even Tucker 's enjoyed the parts he's listened to with me, as well!

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
I put this "on-hold" while I read about Santa. It's my second book by her and I think I'm liking it more than the first one I read!

I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
I read this every year...one of my very favorite books!


Recently finished:

The World According to Garp by John Irving
This was my last book for The Century Challenge and also counted for the 1001 Books You Must Read challenge. This is the first time I've read anything by Irving and I really liked it! I'm just sorry I waited so long this year to finally read it!

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
this was a nice easy listen....

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

this was my last book for the Memorable Memoirs challenge. It was okay, nothing really spectacular, though, which was disappointing.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Another easy read that I really enjoyed...maybe one of my favorite books for the year!

The Jungle Books, Part I by Rudyard Kipling

I listened to this for the Celebrate the Author challenge and honestly, other than the stories that actually pertained to The Jungle Book and of course, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (one of my favorites), this book didn't really do much for me.

Coming Up:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Uglies by Scott Westenfield