Saturday, January 28, 2012

Back to the Classics Challenge January Writing Prompt

Katherine at November's Autumn has created writing prompts for each month of the challenge. This month's focus will be on: The Author.

The classic that I read this month was Emma by Jane Austen.

Who is the author? Jane Austen

What do they look like?


When were they born? December 16, 1775 in Hampshire, England

Where did they live? Jane lived until the age of 28 at the Steventon Rectory in Hampshire where her father was a clergyman. After he retired from the clergy, she lived the remainder of her life with her family in Bath.

What are some of the other novels they've written? Sense and Sensibility (1811); Pride and Prejudice (1813); Mansfield Park (1814); Northanger Abbey (1817, posthumously); Persuasion (1817, posthumously)

What is an interesting and random fact about their life? The seventh of eight children of the Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra, she was educated mainly at home and never lived apart from her family. To amuse themselves, the Jane and her siblings wrote and performed plays and charades, and even as a little girl Jane was encouraged to write. The reading that she did of the books in her father's library provided material for the short stories she wrote as a girl.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

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?





Currently Reading:

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
Emma by Jane Austen

Recently Finished:
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

Coming up:
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Beloved by Toni Morrison

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



I'm continuing my way through the Twilight series and am now on the 3rd book, Eclipse, so that's where my quote is from this week:

"There was no friction in the space between us. The stillness was peaceful-not like the calm before the tempest, but like a clear night untouched by even the dream of a storm."

Monday, January 9, 2012

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?



Currently Reading:

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
Emma by Jane Austen


Recently Finished:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer


Coming Up:

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Beloved by Toni Morrison

Sunday, January 8, 2012

2012 Mammouth Book Challenge

Darlene's Book Nook is hosting The Mammoth Book Challenge this year. To meet the requirement, the books must be 450+ pages; audio books must be unabridged and the bound version must meet the same page requirement. For this challenge, I am commiting to reading 8 or more!

2012 What's In A Name 5 challenge

I'm all about a good theme so I enjoy the What's in a Name challenge every year!

This year's themes and my choices:

Land Formation: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Sky: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Creepy Crawly: Spider Kiss by Amy Tan
Type of House: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Item you can carry in your pocket: The Last Letter from you Lover by Jojo Moyes
Calendar: Friday Night Knitting club by Kate Jacobs

2012 1001 Books You Must Read Challenge

I had a great time with this challenge in 2011 and so have decided to particiapte again! This time around I'm participating at the Silver level of 16-20 books.

2012 Historical Fiction Challenge

Due to my self-admitted obsession with the Tudor Court, particularly Anne Boleyn, I have decided to participate in Historical Tapestry's Historical Fiction Reading Challenge this year. I am participating at the 2nd level of Undoubtedly Obsessed and will read 15 books.

2012 Twilight Series Challenge

I had planned on re-reading this series and in fact, am already on the 3rd book (I started Twilight New Year's Day) so I figured this would be a challenge I could complete easily!

2012 Support Your Local Library Challenge


Since we try to go to the library at least twice a month, I have decided to participate in Support Your Local Library Challenge sponsored by The Eclectic Bookshelf at the 4th level of reading 37 + books from the library!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

2012 Back to the Classics Challenge


I had a good time with this challenge last year so I have decided to aprticpate in it again!

The categories for this year are listed below, along with my choices:

  • 19th Century Classic: Emma by Jane Austen
  • 20th Century Classic: The Hobbitt by J.R. R Tolkien
  • Classic Reread: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • Classic Play: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
  • Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime Fiction: Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
  • Classic Romance: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  • Translated Classic: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
  • Classic Award Winner: Beloved by Toni Morrison
  • Classic Setting: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

2012 Audio Book Reading Challenge


I am once again participating in the Audio Book Reading Challenge! Since I commute 1 1/2 hours to work every day, I spend the time listening to audio books and love it!

These are the levels this year:
  • Flirting-Listen to 6 Audio Books
  • Going Steady- Listen to 12 Audio Books
  • Lover- Listen to 25 Audio Books
  • Married-Listen to +++ Audio Books

I will be participating at the 'Married' level!

2012 Harry Potter Reading Challenge

I have been wanting to re-read this series and this is the year!

The challenge:

Read all seven books in the Harry Potter series during 2012.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2012 Read Your Own Books Challenge


Tales from the Crypt is sponsoring this year's Read Your Own Books Challenge to encourage us to read all those books that we've collected on our shelves that haven't been read!

I have decided to participate at the 3rd level and will read 11-20 of my own books.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


I have decided to re-read the Twilight series this year. Having finished Twilight in 2 days, I'm now onto New Moon.

"Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm-into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires"

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Books I Read in 2011

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

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?






Currently Reading:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

Recently Finished:

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
The Autobiography of Santa Claus
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
Uglies by Scott Westenfield
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Coming Up:
Pretties by Scott Westenfield
Emma by Jane Austen