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ExUrbanis

Urban Leaving to Country Living

I Want More 2012 Reading Challenge

December17

PhotobucketCOMPLETED

There are so many amazing authors out there but sometimes I get caught up in reading all the debut novels – or a continuing series – I forget about the authors that have impressed or excited me with a stand alone book. The I Want More 2012 Reading Challenge, hosted by Tea Time with Marce, is to show all the authors that have pleased me already how thankful I am by reading more of their literary works.

This challenge does not include series – only stand-alones, and is limited to just ‘seconds’. I’m going in at the “Never Too Late” level of 2 – 4 books.

YEAR-END UPDATE
I did better than I anticipated on this one, much as I did in the Seconds Challenge.

1. Grenville, Kate: Searching for the Secret River

2. Norman, Dave: White River Junctions

3. Collins, Wilkie: The Moonstone

4. Richler, Mordecai: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

5. King, Stephen: 11/22/63

6. Johnston, Wayne: The Divine Ryans

7. Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Kilmeny of the Orchard

8. Oates, Joyce Carol: The Museum of Dr. Moses

9. McKay, Ami: The Birth House


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2nds Reading Challenge

December17

seconds challenge 2012COMPLETED

Have you read a book by an author that you really enjoyed and felt moved to read another of the author’s works? So have I – and the Seconds Reading Challenge 2012, hosted by Katy of A Few More Pages is going to encourage me to go back for seconds of authors that I’ve read only once.

The great thing about this challenge is that it’s not just for my second in a series books, but the second time I’ve read an author as well. That is, I can include series and stand-alone novels. But – it is only for seconds, not thirds and so on. For that reason, I’m entering at the Just a Spoonful level and promising to read just 3 books that are 2nd in a series or the second time I’ve read the author.

YEAR-END UPDATE
I did better than I anticipated. Some of these authors are also on the New Authors Challenge.

1. Bantock, Nick: Sabine’s Notebook (2nd in the Griffin & Sabine trilogy)

2. Grenville, Kate: Searching for the Secret River

3. Norman, Dave: White River Junctions

4. Collins, Wilkie: The Moonstone

5. Cameron, W. Bruce: A Dog’s Journey

6. Taylor, Phoebe Atwood: The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern

7. Richler, Mordecai: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

8. King, Stephen: 11/22/63

9. Johnston, Wayne: The Divine Ryans

10. Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Kilmeny of the Orchard

11. Oates, Joyce Carol: The Museum of Dr. Moses

12. McKay, Ami: The Birth House


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First in a Series Reading Challenge

December15

first in a series challenge 2012Even though I’m going to try this year to complete some series that I’ve already started, I’m always starting new ones (there are just so many out there – especially in the mystery genre). So it doesn’t seem to make sense to ignore the First in a Series Reading Challenge, hosted by Katy at Pages Worth Remembering.

I’m entering at the most basic level and committing to read just 3 books that are first in any series.

1. The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller Completed Mar 2012
Set in post-WWI England and featuring Laurence Bartram, this is the only series I started this year that I will continue.

2. The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe Completed Mar 2012
I was hopeful for this series starring Hazel Micallef, chief of Port Dundas, Ontario police. It was solidly plotted but, ultimately, a little dark for me.

3. Yellowthread Street by William Marshall 1975 Completed Sep 2012

4. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham 1929 Completed Jun 2012
The first in the famed Albert Campion series.

5. Death at the President’s Lodging by Michael Innes 1936 Completed Nov 2012
Inspector Appleby’s debut


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Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

December15

PhotobucketYvonne over at Socrates’ Book Reviews has the same problem I do: starting a new series and reading the first book, then getting distracted with other books and never getting back to the series. So: she’s hosting the 2012 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge, and I’m entering it.

It doesn’t matter if I have 1 or 10 books in a series to complete it, it qualifies. The goal is to complete a series from wherever I am in it to until the last published book. I’m going in at level 3 and am going to finish the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, the newest Flavia de Luce mystery by Alan Bradley, and the most recent in the delightful Chet & Bernie series by Spencer Quinn.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
The Mapping of Love and Death Completed Apr 2012
A Lesson in Secrets Completed Aug 2012
Elegy for Eddie Completed Aug 2012

Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows Completed Jan 2012

Chet & Bernie by Spencer Quinn
The Dog Who Knew Too Much Completed Aug 2012
A Fistful of Collars Completed Oct 2012

And I also completed this series:
Bess Crawford by Charles Todd
An Unmarked Grave Completed Jul 2012


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Read Canadian Award Winners Challenge

December9

Note:
TO ADD YOUR WRAP-UP POST
, visit this page.

I’ve been trying to incorporate more Canadian writing into my 2012 reading list so I’ve decided to spotlight winners of Canadian literary prizes.

Read Canadian Award Winners 2012 ChallengeI’ve chosen what I think are the most heralded of Canadian book honours: the Governor-General’s Award for Literature and the Giller Prize. Because the Giller hasn’t been around all that long, I’ve added in the prestigious Canadian Authors’ Association Literary Award. I’ve picked the main fiction category in all of those.

In addition, the Amazon.ca (formerly Books in Canada) First Novel Award is widely-known and, over the years, has brought to the forefront many who have become major players in Canadian literature.

Finally, I can’t host this challenge and not promote my adopted home, Nova Scotia, so I’m also drawing attention to the Atlantic Book Awards’ Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize.

Here’s the scoop on the ways you can enter:
Toe-dipper: one book from the list of award winners of each of “main” prizes: the Governor-General’s Award, the Giller Prize, and the CAA Prize. (Total 3 books)
Chance-taker: one book from each of the “main” lists plus one from the Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners. (Total 4 books)
Bluenoser: One book from each of the “main” lists plus one from the Atlantic Book Award winners. (Total 4 books)
CanLit Lover: one book from each of the five lists. (Total 5 books)

Here’s a list of the prize winners:
Governor-General’s Award for Literature
Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction
Giller Prize
Amazon.ca First Novel Award
Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize

And here’s MY reading list for 2012 (I’m a CANLIT LOVER):
Governor-General’s Award: A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence (1966) Completed Sep 2012
Canadian Authors Association Award:The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston (1999) Completed May 2012
Giller Prize: Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (2011) Completed Mar 2012
First Novel Award: Crow Lake by Mary Lawson (2002) Completed Sep 2012
Atlantic Fiction Prize: The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston (1991) Completed Oct 2012

To sign up & get the code for the button, please go to the sign-up page. I’m looking forward to reading with you next year!

TO ADD YOUR WRAP-UP POST
, visit this page.


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Battle of the Prizes – American (2012 Reading Challenge)

December7

Gilion at Rose City Reader loves to read prize winners, so for the fourth year, she’s hosting The Battle of the Prizes. I took part in these challenges in 2010 and read some really good books, so I’m in again.

Battle of the prizes American 175The American version requires me to read one book that won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Literature; a book that won the National, and another that has won the Pulitzer. That’s a total of three books.

There is an option for those of us who have already read all six of the double-dippers, or otherwise do not want to read one of those six, to pick two Pulitzer winners and two National winners for a total of four books. Since I’ve read half the double dipper list and none of the others appeals to me at the moment, I’m choosing the option on this challenge.

Pulitzer Prize winners
(both of these are already on my reading list for other challenges):

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilde
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

National Book Award winners (both new to my list):

The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
Three Junes by Julia Glass


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Battle of the Prizes – British (2012 Reading Challenge)

December7

Battle of the prizes BritishGilion of Rose City Reader also hosts the British version of The Battle of the Prizes. This challenge pits winners of the English Man Booker Prize against winners of the Scottish James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

To meet the goal, I need to read one book that won both of those awards; a book that won the Booker Prize, and another that has won the James Tait Black Prize. That’s a total of three books.

There are only three books that have won both prizes, and I have already read one when I participated in 2010. But I’m very interested in India’s history, so I’m going to tackle Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, which was a double winner in 1981.

Man Booker Prize winner:
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner:
Man at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

The Non-Fiction Non-Memoir 2012 Reading Challenge

December6

Non-fiction non-memoir Reading Challenge

Julie over at My Book Retreat is hosting a Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge that I thought might actually be a challenge. She excludes memoirs and autobiographies, which seem to be the most read type of nonfiction among the book blogs she follows (and of which I I have several on my 2012 reading list). Julie also has eliminated reference books, cookbooks and instruction manuals that are not meant to be read cover to cover, as well as children’s books and re-reads. How-to, self-help and travel books are permitted, as long as I actually read them cover to cover. (Whew!)

Since I’ve read eight books in 2011 that would have qualified, I’m going to stretch myself and go for a Diploma which requires me to read ten qualifying non-fiction books in 2012. Yes, you can call me crazy, anytime now.

1. Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker

2. Searching for the Secret River by Kate Grenville

3. Seeing Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo & Robert Llewellyn

4. Walden by Henry David Thoreau

5. White River Junctions by Dave Norman

6. Winnie & Gurley by Robert G. Hewitt

7. Manners for Women by Mrs. Humphrey

8. The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

9. UContent by Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo

10. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

11. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

12. The Canadian Food Guide by Pierre & Janet Berton

13. Mordecai: the Life and Times by Charles Foran


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Reading Shakespeare: A Play a Month Challenge 2012

December6

DID NOT COMPLETE

Risa over at Breadcrumb Reads figured that the best way to read the Shakespeare plays that she hadn’t studied in school would be to read the with others, and to have a read-along. Hence Reading Shakespeare: A Play a Month in 2012 was born. A poll held from 01 November 2011 till 01 December 2011 determined the 12 plays we would be reading in 2012.

reading shakespeare 2012

Since I really enjoy reading Shakespeare (since I have The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, with copious footnotes to explain the old guy), I’m going to join in. I don’t think many of the plays I voted for made it into the final list, but no matter – I want to read all of Shakespeare eventually anyway.

Here’s our schedule:
January — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
February — Macbeth
March — Henry V
April — Much Ado About Nothing
May — Antony and Cleopatra
June — Richard III
July — As You Like It
August — King Lear
September — Cymbeline
October — Twelfth Night
November — Othello
December — Pericles


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European Reading Challenge 2012

December5

European Reading Challenge 2012

Gilion at Rose City Reader is broadening our horizons by challenging to take the European Grand Reading Tour in 2012.

The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything—novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry or any other genre. Each book must be a different author and set in a different country – after all, it is a tour!

Gilion has a list of the 50 qualifying sovereign states in Europe on the challenge page, as well as several fun ways to approach things, such as being an Agritourist or a Culture Vulture.

Since I’m planning to read a lot of Canadian literature next year, I think I can only go as a Business Traveler, committing to three books. Maybe next year I’ll make the grand tour. But even so, it’ll be good to travel a little bit away from home.

Germany: Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyen Completed Mar 2012
Spain: Chickens, Mules, & Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead Completed Feb 2012
France: The Absolutist by John Boyne Completed Aug 2012
Iceland: The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesay Completed Jul 2012
United Kingdom (Wales): How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn Completed Oct 2012
United Kingdom (Scotland): Gillespie & I by Jane Harris Completed Apr 2012
United Kingdom (England): The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins Completed May 2012
United Kingdom (England): Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Completed Jul 2012
United Kingdom (England): Oxford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman Completed May 2012
United Kingdom (England): The Return of Captain Emmett by Elizabeth Speller >Completed Feb 2012


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Southern Literature Reading Challenge 2012

December5

Southern Literature  Reading ChallengeI’ve only occasionally read literature set in the southern USA, but I have enjoyed it just about every time I did. So I couldn’t resist the chance to improve myself a little by entering The Introverted Reader’s Southern Literature Reading Challenge.

(Isn’t this just the purtiest little button you’ve seen?)

To qualify, books must be non-fiction or fiction of any genre, adult or young adult, written by an author from the South and set mostly in the South. The southern states that Jen will allow to qualify for this challenge are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia. West Virginia and Florida–as long as I find a book by a Florida author and/or set in Florida that feels Southern.

I’m entering at the “Have a glass of sweet iced tea, honey” level (3 books), just because I can’t commit to much more at this point but I do hope to exceed that goal.

1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Kentucky and Louisiana) Completed January 2012

2. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield (Arkansas) Completed January 2012

3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King (Texas) Completed September 2012


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TBR Pile Reading Challenge

December5

Bookish TBR pile Reading Challange 2012Another TBR Pile Reading Challenge, you say? How can it possibly be a challenge to read what I’m already reading for other TBR events? Well…Evie at Bookish is requiring that I post a review for every book I count – and those who follow my monthly reading summaries know that I am very bad at that.

That encouragement to post reviews (and the fact that Evie and her co-hosts are giving away prizes!) is making this challenge worthwhile to enter. Shall I be brave and go in at the Married with Children level (41-50 books)? Sure, why not – you’re already thinking I’m insane!

1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

2. Walden by Henry David Thoreau

3. My Financial Career and Other Follies by Stephen Leacock

4. A Jest of God by Maragaret Laurence

5. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler

6. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau

7. The Canadian Food Guise by Pierre & Janet Berton

8. Heading Home: On Starting a New Life in a Country Place by Laurence Scanlan

9. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

10. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

11. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

12. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

13. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

14. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

15. The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Oates

16. The Mapping of Love & Death by Jacqueline Winspear

17. Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie

18. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie

19. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie

20. Halfway House by Ellery Queen Read December 2012

21. QBI (Queen’s Bureau of Investigation) by Ellery Queen

22. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wolder

23. A Place for Johnny Bill by Ruth Juline Bishop

24. A Prairie Boy’s Winter by Willima Kurelek

25. The Market Square Dog by James Herriott

26. Coyote Sings to the Moon by Thomas King

27. One Winter Night

FAILED TO COMPLETE


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The Wish List Reading Challenge 2012

November27

Wishlist Challenge 2012I’ve joined several TBR (To Be Read) challenges for 2012 that require me to read books I already own. I really do need to make a dent in that stack!

But….. like Judith over at Leeswammes’ Blog, I also have a wishlist. This is a virtual pile of books, that I would like to own or at least read. I keep my list on an Excel spreadsheet and add to it faster than I’ll ever be able to read from it: currently it has 662 titles on it.

So I need Judith’s Wishlist Challenge! It requires me to read 12 books (one for every month of the year) that I’d like to read, but don’t already have on my shelves. The title MUST be on my wish list before January 1, 2012, so I’ve decided to commit to 12 titles right now. And, as a bonus to myself, all of the titles (but one) are fiction and all are by Canadian authors.

1. Mordecai: The Life & Times by Charles Foran small maple leaf - Canadian

2. Twenty-Six by Leo McKay Jr. small maple leaf - Canadian

3. Practical Jean by Trevor Cole small maple leaf - Canadian

4. Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan small maple leaf - Canadian

5. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt small maple leaf - Canadian

6. The Beggar’s Garden by Michael Christie small maple leaf - Canadian

7. Mister Sandman by Barbara Gowdy small maple leaf - Canadian

8. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston small maple leaf - Canadian

9. A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz small maple leaf - Canadian

10. The Birth House by Ami McKay small maple leaf - Canadian

11. Joyner’s Dream by Sylvia Tyson small maple leaf - Canadian

12. The Calling: A Hazel Micallef Mystery by Inger Ash Wolfe small maple leaf - Canadian


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Tea and Books Reading Challenge 2012

November27

tea and books reading challenge 2012COMPLETED

Birgit at The Book Garden is hosting the Tea and Books Reading Challenge for 2012, inspired by C.S. Lewis’ words: “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

To honour the spirit of those words, Birgit has thrown down the gauntlet: to settle in with a large cup of tea, because in this challenge I must read … wait for it … books with more than 700 pages.

Since both A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (1474 pages) and London: The Novel by Edward Rutherford (829 pages) are on my reading list for next year, I’m going to enter this one at the Chamomile Lover level and commit to those two books.

YEAR-END UPDATE
Although I didn’t read London, I completed this challenge with the following books:

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth 1488 pages

2. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 764 pages

3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King 849 pages

4. Mordecai: His Life & Times by Charles Foran 717 pages (in progress)

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Reading the Award Winners 2012 Book Challenge

November26

Reading the Award Winners ChallengeCOMPLETED

I’ve been looking for a challenge like this one to get me back on track to reading more literary fiction. Books can be winners of any major book award and I’m allowed to read books from different categories of the same award.

Only catch: they must be the prize-winners in 2011. Because of that, and because I’m thinking of really challenging my self and reading only Canadian award winners, I think I’m going to enter at only the Silver lever, requiring me to get 6 to 9 2011 champs under my belt.

The Reading the Award Winners Book Challenge is being hosted by Girl XoXo

I managed to make four of the six Canadian award winners:

1. Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyen: 2011 winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize
The Giller Prize is an annual literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English.

2. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes: 2011 winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
The Man Booker Prize is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe.

3. Practical Jean by Trevor Cole: winner of the 2011 Stepehen Leacock Medal for Humour
The Stephen Leacock Award is an annual literary award presented to the best work of humorous literature in English by a Canadian writer.

4. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpoole: winner of the 2011 John Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal is awarded each year to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

5. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt: winner of the 2011 Governor-General’s Literary Award for Fiction
The Governor-General’s Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields.

6. Mordecai: The Life & Times by Charles Foran: winner of the 2011 Governor-General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction
The Governor-General’s Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields.


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What’s In a Name Reading Challenge 2012

November26

what's in a name reading challenge 2012This is a fun challenge hosted by BethFishReads.

Here’s how it works: I have to read a book from each of the following categories and I don’t have to make up my list of books now, but can fit them in as I go through the year. YAY!

What’s in a Name Challenge 2012

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llwellyn Completed Oct 2012

2. A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title: Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpoole Completed Oct 2012

3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title: A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dergatz Completed Aug 2012

4. A book with a type of house in the title: Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Completed Jan 2012

5. A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sabine’s Notebook by Nick Bantock Completed Jan 2012

6. A book with a something you’d find on a calendar in the title: The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright Completed Mar 2012


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The Mixing It Up 2012 Reading Challenge

November26

Mixing It Up 2012 Reading ChallengeCOMPLETED

Ellie over at Musings of a Book Shop Girl is hosting a Mixing It Up 2012 Reading Challenge. This is sort of like the 12 in ’12 Challenge, but Ellie defines the categories in this one. She’s described 16 categories of books and participants can choose any number of categories in which to read at least one book.

I’m going to skip the horror, romance & manga, and enter at the Two-Tier Cake level: getting ambitious with 13 categories. Although I don’t think I have to choose my books now, this will give structure to my reading in the new year. (Although I may make substitutions.)

YEAR-END UPDATE:

1. Classics: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

2. Biography: Mordecai: The Life and Times by Charles Foran

3. Cookery, Food & Wine: Canadian Food Guide by Pierre & Janet Berton

4. History: Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker

5. Modern Fiction: 419 by Will Ferguson

6. Crime & Mystery: Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie

7. Science Fiction & Fantasy: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

8. Travel: Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

9. Poetry & Drama: A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare

10. Journalism & Humour: Notes to My Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law

11. Science & Natural History: Seeing Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo & Robert Llewellyn

12. Children & Young Adult: A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek

13. Social Sciences & Philosophy: Walden by Henry David Thoreau


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War through the Generations Reading Challenge

November26

War through the Generations WWI challengeCOMPLETED

Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit and Anna of Diary of an Eccentric have been co-hosting the War Through the Generations Reading Challenge for the past three years.

They’ve delved into WWII, the Vietnam War and the American Civil War. For 2012, they’ve chosen to focus on WWI (1914-1918), also known as The Great War and The War to End All Wars.

I have a real interest in the time period around this war, which permanently changed the world, and seem to read a lot of literature centered on that era, so I thought this would be a snap. Then I looked at my TBR list for 2012 and realized that none of the books I’ve put on it thus far qualify. AAACK!

But I did find some after all:

So I’m entering at only the WADE level which requires me to read 4-10 books in any genre with WWI as a primary or secondary theme and occurring before, during, or after the war.

1. Blizzard of Glass by Sally M. Walker – non-fiction, middle-school

2. The Absolutist by John Boyne – fiction

3. The Underpainter Read in December 2012 by Jane Urquart – literary fiction

4. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpoole – fiction, YA, Newbery Medal winner

5. The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller – fiction, mystery

6. An Unmarked Grave: A Bess Crawford mystery by Charles Todd – fiction, mystery

7. The Mapping of Love and Death: a Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear – fiction, mystery

8. Broken Music by Marjorie Eccles – fiction, mystery, romance


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12 in ’12 Reading Challenge

November18

12 in '12 Reading ChallengeCOMPLETED

This challenge, by The Library Thing 12 in ’12 group, requires me to choose any 12 categories of books and read as many books as I like in each.

For now, I’ll commit to just one in each category.

1. Non-Fiction, Food & Cooking: Pierre & Janet Berton’s Canadian Food Guide

2. Non-Fiction, Memoir: Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau

3. Non-Fiction, Travel: Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

4. Non-Fiction, History: Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker

5. Non-Fiction, Social Sciences: Walden by Henry David Thoreau

6. Fiction, Short Stories: African Love Stories edited by Ama Ata Aidoo

7. Fiction, Young Adult: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

8. Fiction, Children: A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek

9. Fiction, Sci-Fi: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

10. Fiction, Romance: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

11. Fiction, Historical Fiction/ Plays: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

12. Fiction, Vintage Mystery: Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie


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TBR Pile Challenge 2012

November18

TBR pile challenge 2012The challenges to read my TBR pile just keep, well – ‘piling’ up! This TBR Pile Challenge, hosted by Adam at Roof Beam Reader requires me to list in advance the 12 books from my shelves that I pledge to read.

Each of these 12 books must have been on my bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2010 or later.

You’ll no doubt recognize some of these titles as crossovers from other challenges I’ve entered, but I’m assuming that’s okay with Adam.

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth Completed Apr 2012

2. London: The Novel by Edward Rutherford

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Completed Jul 2012

4. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler Completed Sep 2012

5. A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence Completed Sep 2012

6. My Financial Career and Other Follies by Stephen Leacock Completed Feb 2012

7. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau Completed Nov 2012

8. The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881 by Pierre Berton

9. Walden by Henry David Thoreau Completed Mar 2012

10. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck Completed Sep 2012

11. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury Completed Sep 2012

12. The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Oates Completed Oct 2012

Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile. I’m choosing two super-easy ones, just in case.

1. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie Completed Jun 2012

2. Halfway House by Ellery Queen Completed Dec 2012


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