Pretty, isn’t it?

It’s been snowing lightly since before dawn – and it’s slippery out there!

COMPLETED

I love books that involve time-travel – always have, probably always will – so The Time Travel Reading Challenge appeals greatly to me. And because at least one book on my 2012 reading list “takes me back”, and I’d like to add another in this genre if I can fit it in, I’m taking it on.

Books from other challenges count as long as they are about time travel and they can be children’s, middle-grade, YA or adult fiction. If this intrigues you, there’s a list of suggested titles on the sign-up page.

I’m entering at the Surprise Trip level that requires me to read 1 – 3 time travel books. Thanks to Laura at Library of Clean Reads for hosting this.

1. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

2. A Dog’s Journey by W. Bruce Cameron

I seem to read a lot of memoirs (I think it’s the most popular form of non-fiction going right now, which is why the non-fiction, non-memoir challenge is a reach for me) so The Memorable Memoirs 2012 Reading Challenge hosted by Melissa at The Betty and Boo Chronicles seems like such a natural fit.

Melissa is defining a memoir as a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation. Published letters, diaries, journals, autobiographies, nonfiction books on the craft of writing memoirs … in her book, they all count as Memorable Memoirs for this challenge. And for those of you looking for challenges that permit e-books and audiobooks, this is one you might want to consider.

Since I already have at least one memoir on other challenge reading lists, I’m entering this at the Diarist level of 1 – 4 books.

1. A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek

2. Chickens, Mules, & Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead

3. A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler

4. Notes to My Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law

5. Heading Home: On Starting a New Life in a Country Place by Lawrence Scanlan

6. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau

COMPLETED

Collections of short stories aren’t eligible for a lot of reading challenges so even though I have a large one on my 2012 Bucket List and another in mind for a prize-winners challenge, I can’t count them for anything else. When I saw The 2012 Short Story Reading Challenge, hosted by Laura over at Library of Clean Reads, I knew I was in.

I’m entering at the Tell Me a Story level of 1 – 3 books. That will be another notch on my Challenge Addict belt.

1. My Financial Career & Other Follies by Stephen Leacock

2. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

3. African Love Stories edited by Ama Ata Aidoo

4. QBI: Queen’s Bureau of Investigation by Ellery Queen

5. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

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

7. The Beggar’s Garden by Michael Christie

8. Bush Studies by Barbara Baynton

COMPLETED

I’ve been anxiously waiting for The Chunkster reading Challenge to be set up for 2012. A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature, whether non-fiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge. No audio or e-books are allowed but this year for the first time, essay, poetry, and short story collections will be permitted. (Collections have to be read in their entirety to count.)

I’m going in at the Chubby Chunkster level, requiring me to read four books. I’d like to commit to more, but I have to remember about that 150 book overall goal I have!

YEAR-END UPDATE

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth 1488 pages

2. 11/22/63 by Stephen King 849 pages

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

4. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams 608 pages

5. Midnight’s Children
552 pages

Lindsey over at Babies, Books & Signs is hosting this fun challenge. The object of the A-Z Reading Challenge (that’s ‘eh’ to ‘zed’ for us Canucks!) is to read a book starting with each letter of the alphabet.

Since most letters were already covered in my existing 2012 reading list, this seemed like a good fit. I had to find books for ‘G’ (of all letters!), ‘Q’, ‘Y’, and ‘Z’. I think I’ll just update this post as I complete each book.

A Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, The by Mordecai Richler
B Beggar’s Garden, The by Michael Christie
C Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
D Divine Ryans, The by Wayne Johnston
E Elegy for Eddieby Jacqueline Winspear
F Firmin by Sam Savage
G Gillespie & I by Jane Harris
H Heading Home:On Starting a New Life in a Country Place by Lawrence Scanlan
I I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
J Jest of God, A by Margaret Laurence
K Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud Montgomery
L Lonesome Hero by Fred Stenson
M My Financial Career & Other Follies
N Notes to my Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law
O One Winter Night by Jennifer Lloyd & Lynn Ray
P Practical Jean by Trevor Cole
Q QBI: Queen’s Bureau of Investigation by Ellery Queen
R Recipe for Bees, A by Gail Anderson-Dergatz
S Sister Brothers, The by Patrick DeWitt
T Twenty-Six by Leo McKay Jr.
U Underpainter, The by Jane Urquhart read Dec 2012
V Virgin Cure, The by Ami McKay
W Winnie & Gurley: The Best Kept Family Secret by Robert G. Hewitt
X oXford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman
Y Yellowthread Street by William Marshall
Z Tragedy of Z by Ellery Queen

COMPLETED

I haven’t made it a practice to read picture books since my daughter was young, over 35 years ago. But now that our three-year-old grandson and his mom are living with us, I’m back at them. (In fact, I’m determined that I will never be too busy to read a book to Steven if he asks.) Besides – I have to read 150 books in 2012 and anything with an ISBN qualifies.

So when I saw that An Abundance of Books was hosting The Illustrated Year: A Picture Book Reading Challenge, I jumped at it. And why not? Sometimes it’s the story, sometimes the illustrations, and a lot of the time it’s the fun of reading them out loud to kids that makes picture books so enjoyable. Picture books are a great way to share stories and the experience of reading with children. I’m going to include Steven’s opinion of the book along with mine.

I know that not all of my readers are looking for this genre, so I’ll keep my reviews of picture books short & sweet and, to keep them few and far-between, I’m entering only at Level 1 which requires me to read just 12 books over the course of the year. But I’ll be toting them up for this challenge!

1. Giraffe & Bird written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender
2. I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
3. Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? written & illustrated by Susan A. Shen
4. Madeline written & illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans
5. Fuddles written & illustrated by Frans Vischer
6. A Few Blocks written & illustrated by Cybele Young
7. Horton Hears a Who written & illustrated by Theodore Seuss (aka Dr. Seuss)
8. Gimme Jimmy written & illustrated by Sherrill S. Cannon
9. Dog in Boots written by Greg Gormley; illustrated by Robert Angaramo
10. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom written by Bill Martin Jr; illustrated by John Archambault
11. Harry, the Dirty Dog written by Gene Zion; illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
12. There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen written by Sheree Fitch; illustrated by Sydney Smith
13. The Market Square Dog written by James Herriot; illustrated by Ruth Brown
14. One Winter Night written by Jennifer Lloyd; illustrated by Lynn Ray
15. Curious George written by Margaret Ray; illustrated by H.A. Rey
16. Eloise written by Kay Thompson; illustrated by Hilary Knight
17. Coyote Sings to the Moon written by Thomas King; illustrated by Johnny Wales

And some non-children’s picture books:
18. Griffin & Sabine written and illustrated by Nick Bantock
19. Sabine’s Notebook written and illustrated by Nick Bantock
20. The Golden Mean written and illustrated by Nick Bantock

FAILED TO COMPLETE

On the heels of the Picture Book Challenge and my goal never to say “no” to the request from my three-year-old grandson for a story, comes The 3660 Minute Reading Challenge, hosted by Mommy Wants To Read.

What is this Challenge? “To spend 10 minutes every single day reading to our children. Since this year is a leap year there are 366 days hence 3660 minutes. The goal is to promote reading, increase imagination, foster a love of words, bolster comprehension skills, and spend quality time with the children in our lives.”

Sounds good to me!

YEAR-END UPDATE:
Unfortunately, Steven & his mom moved unexpectedly to Vancouver at the end of January and our reading time was curtailed. For the first couple of weeks, I tried reading to him on the phone but there were always too many distractions for him.

For the year, I recorded an abysmal 380 minutes spent reading to him.

COMPLETED

The Awards referred to are the Newbery Medal for children’s literature and the Printz Award for Young Adult lit. I don’t usually pick up YA or children’s literature on purpose but every time I’ve read an award winner on these lists, I’ve been impressed.

So I thought I’d “challenge” myself in 2012 by entering The Awards Winning Reads Challenge hosted by Ashley at Basically Amazing Books and Jacinda at The Reading Housewives. I can choose my own commitment – so I’m pledging to read 4 of these great books.

YEAR-END UPDATE:

All of these are Newbery Medal winners, and three of the four were delightful!

1. Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright 1939 (read in Dec 2012)
2. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George 1973
3. Holes by Louis Sachar 1999
4. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpoole 2011

NOT COMPLETED

I’m trying to read more non-fiction books and have several on my 2012 reading list. The idea of seeing how these relate to novels is a fun idea, so I was intrigued by The Truth in Fiction Challenge, hosted by Amanda over at The Fig and Thistle.

The goal of the challenge is to read a specified number of book pairs that are comprised of one fiction book and one related non-fiction book. Amanda encourages us to think outside of the box; the non-fiction book could also be journals, letters, memoirs, etc…. The pairs needn’t be exact matches, although there should be an easily detectable common thread.

The catch: Instead of individual reviews, after each book pair I must write a joint review. For example, if I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and then The Journals of Sylvia Plath then my review post will be focused on both books.

I’m unsure of exactly how many pairs I’ll be able to put together, but I’m committing to the Junior level of 3 pairs. Watch me have fun!

1. The Secret River and Searching for the Secret River, both by Kate Grenville

NOT COMPLETED

Since I’ve entered several Classics challenges for 2012, I thought it wold be fun to try the Classic Double Challenge, hosted by Melissa at One Librarian’s Book Reviews.

Essentially, the challenge will encourage me to read one older book (classic) and a newer book that relates to the older one in some way. (The newer book can be any reading level from Middle Grade to Adult.)

I’m opting in at the Medium level, which requires me to read two sets of related books.

YEAR-END UPDATE: Unless I’ve missed a connection somewhere, I managed to get in only one set of doubles:

JANE EYRE and
THE FLIGHT OF GEMMA HARDY

COMPLETED

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

COMPLETED

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

Look how gray the sky is!

But for a few glorious minutes just before noon, the sun burst out from the clouds at the back of the house and made everything glow. You can see the shadow of the roof peak in the bottom right.

I’m so glad I captured this moment – have a wonderful weekend!

Even 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

Yvonne 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

I was out doing some volunteer work yesterday morning and came across what I at first thought was a large dog on the front lawn of a house.

When I realized that it was a cow, I thought for sure it was a lawn ornament – until said bovine raised her head to look at me.

Another “we never saw this in the city” moment!

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.

I’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.

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.

The 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

Gilion 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