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