R.I.P. IX Challenge Wrap-Up

November 2, 2014Leave a comment

I’m a couple days late on this, but with the end of October came the end of the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings.

The “challenge” was simply to read books that fit within the genres of mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and/or supernatural. Peril the First had a goal of four books, but I ended up reading ten:

1.) Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
2.) Lauren Willig, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla
3.) Ashley Weaver, Murder at the Brightwell
4.) Seanan McGuire, The Winter Long
5.) Sylvia Izzo Hunter, The Midnight Queen
6.) Roberto Ampuero, The Neruda Case
7.) Ethel Lina White, The Lady Vanishes
8.) Diane Setterfield, Bellman & Black
9.) Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens
10.) Maggie Stiefvater, Blue Lily, Lily Blue

To be fair, some of these books are a bit of a stretch…for example, while Good Omens has angels and demons and the Apocalypse, its tone is far from dark. The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla includes vampires and a murder, but it’s really a delightful Regency romp. But I’m counting them anyway, dangit! This non-challenge is supposed to be fun! 🙂

I did enjoy most of the books I read for this challenge, but my standout favorites were Good Omens and Blue Lily, Lily Blue. My least favorites were The Shadow of the Wind and The Neruda Case, both of which dragged for me. What books did you read for R.I.P.? Did any of them scare you?

What’s in a Name 2014 Challenge Wrap-Up

October 27, 2014Leave a comment

I’ve officially completed the 2014 What’s in a Name challenge, hosted this year by The Worm Hole!

Participants were asked to read books whose titles fit within six different categories. Here’s what I read:

1.) A title with a reference to time: LATE NIGHTS on Air by Elizabeth Hay
2.) A title with a position of royalty: The Midnight QUEEN by Sylvia Izzo Hunter
3.) A title with a number written in letters: The TWO Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson
4.) A title with a forename or names: The Letters of NANCY Mitford and EVELYN Waugh
5.) A title with a type or element of weather: The SUNNE in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
6.) A title with a school subject: The Beauty CHORUS by Kate Lord Brown

I enjoyed almost every book I read for this challenge…I don’t even think I can pick a clear favorite. But The Beauty Chorus was definitely my least favorite! So this was a fun challenge for me, and while I probably won’t be doing it next year (I’m really cutting back on challenges in 2015!), I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get a little creative about choosing books!

Vintage Mystery Bingo Wrap-up

October 17, 2014October 17, 2014Leave a comment

I officially call BINGO for the 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge!

Participants were invited to play Bingo on either the Golden Age card (mysteries written pre-1960), the Silver Age card (mysteries written between 1960 and 1989), or both. Because of my other challenge commitments, I only attempted one straight-line Bingo, and I chose to use the Golden Age card:

G1: A book with a color in the title — A.A. Milne, The Red House Mystery
O1: A book published under more than one title — Michael Innes, Death at the President’s Lodging — also published as Seven Suspects
L1: A book with a “spooky” title — Christopher Morley, The Haunted Bookshop
D1: A book by an author you’ve read before — Georgette Heyer, A Blunt Instrument
E1: A book with a detective “team” >> FREE SPACE >> An author you’ve never read before — Ethel Lina White, The Lady Vanishes
N1: A book with an animal in the title — Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance — a type of snake

As always, I really enjoyed this challenge! My favorite books were probably A Blunt Instrument and The Lady Vanishes, while my least favorite was Death at the President’s Lodging (great solution, but what a slog to get there!). I’m already looking forward to the 2015 challenge…I’ve got lots of new (old) books that will work!

Bout of Books 11 Goals and Progress

August 17, 2014August 26, 201413 Comments

I’ve been MIA the past month or so, but it’s not because I’m tired of blogging! I’ve just had a crazy busy month, and it’s been all too easy to neglect certain areas of my life, including this one. So Bout of Books 11 couldn’t have come at a more perfect time! Here’s the official description of the event:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Since I have yet another busy week ahead, my goal will be a small one: Finish two books. I’m currently reading Farthing by Jo Walton, so I’d like to complete it and one more — most likely Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson. Hopefully I won’t have too much trouble achieving my goal! I’ll be updating this post throughout the week with my progress. Good luck to all the other BoB participants, and happy reading!

Monday 8/18

Due to Bout of Books, I actually carved out some time to read today! I haven’t finished any books yet, but I did make some headway in Farthing, so I’m counting today as a win. I did end up finishing Farthing, so today was definitely a win! 🙂 Also, below are my entries for today’s challenges!

For the scavenger hunt hosted by The Book Monsters, here’s what I grabbed from my shelves:

1. A Book that begins with “B” (for Bout of Books!) — Beauty by Robin McKinley. A lovely book by one of my favorite authors!

2. A book that has been made into a movie/tv show — The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais. The movie actually caught my eye first (although I still haven’t seen it), and then my aunt gave me her copy of the book when she finished reading it.

3. A series you love — The Julian Kestrel series by Kate Ross! It’s about a Regency dandy who solves murder mysteries, which basically pushes every single one of my happy buttons. Cut to the Quick is the first book (sadly, there are only 4 total).

4. An anthology of poems or short stories — The Robert Frost Reader: Poetry and Prose, edited by Edward Connery Lathem and Lawrance Thompson. I’ve owned this book since college, when I took a class on modern British and American poetry. It’s almost a cliché to like Robert Frost since he’s so popular, but it’s because he’s just that good!

5. A book on your TBR shelf, or your full TBR shelves — I don’t separate my TBR books from my already-read books, so I just included one of the many TBR books I own. I really liked Rachel Bach’s Eli Monpress series (written under the name Rachel Aaron), so I’m looking forward to trying her science fiction series, which begins with Fortune’s Pawn.

And for LuLoFanGirl’s playlist challenge, here’s the playlist I made for Jo Walton’s Farthing:

1. The Ramones, “Blitzkrieg Bop” — The book is set in an alternate reality in which England made a separate peace with Hitler during World War II, so this song is a no-brainer!

2. Emerson Lake & Palmer, “Jerusalem” — The group of politicians who brokered the peace were upper-class aristocrats who wanted to preserve their “green and pleasant land”…but at what cost?

3. Staind, “Outside” — When one of the prominent “Farthing set” is murdered, suspicion automatically falls on David Kahn because he is Jewish. The Scotland Yard inspector who investigates the case is also an outsider, though for a different reason, so this song seems apt.

4. The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” — When England makes peace with the Third Reich, the Farthing set has an unprecedented opportunity to gain power. “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” indeed.

5. Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” — Because of the book’s focus on Jewish persecution and anti-Semitism, it seems only right to include a Jewish artist on this list! The lyrics are also quite relevant, as the characters in the book hope for a better future, even when it seems unlikely.

Tuesday 8/19

After finishing Farthing last night, I’ve moved on to Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson, which I’ve been wanting to read this month for the centennial of World War I. Is anyone else reading a WWI-related book for BoB (or in August generally)?

I have to say, I’m somewhat at a loss regarding the One True Pairing (OTP) challenge at Infinite Ink. I don’t have one specific couple that I can automatically point to and say, “OMG these two, they HAVE to get together!” That said, right now I’m kind of shipping Crake and Jez from the Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding. I’ve only read the first two books in this series so far (so please don’t spoil me if you happen to know how it ends!), and I may be wrong, but I think they would work really well as a couple! As fellow crew members on a disreputable airship, they both have pretty big secrets about their pasts, and they’ve entrusted their stories to each other. Though they come from very different backgrounds, they seem to be able to understand and support one another. Don’t want to get more detailed for fear of spoilers (because y’all, if you love “Firefly,” you should read this series!), but I’ll definitely be thrilled if they get together — and somewhat disappointed if they don’t!

And here’s my entry for one of my favorite recurring challenges, Book Spine Poetry hosted by My Little Pocketbooks:

Since you’ve been gone,
[I am] Cut to the quick.
By love possessed, [I am]
Waiting on you,
Left drowning,
Stitching snow.
My one and only,
You don’t have to say you love me:
I’ll give you the sun.

Wednesday 8/20

All right, guys, I’ll level with you: I did NOTHING related to Bout of Books today! I didn’t do the mini-challenge, and I didn’t even crack open my book! However, I’m hopeful that the rest of the week will be better. Flailing, not failing! 🙂

Thursday 8/21

Another slow day for me…I did manage to do some reading, and I’m now about halfway through Somewhere in France. Oh well, at least I’ll definitely be able to participate more on the weekend!

Friday 8/22

Heyyy, another day of no reading! This week has been insane. But I WILL finish Somewhere in France by the end of tomorrow, dammit!

Saturday 8/23

Finally I have time to sit down and do a mini-challenge! Here’s my entry for the Spell It Out challenge at Kimberly Faye Reads:

C – Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
H – Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda
R – [A] Room with a View by E.M. Forster
I – In the Woods by Tana French
S – Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
T – To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
I – Indiscretion by Jude Morgan
N – Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A – Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Also, I finished Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson today! I have now officially achieved my Bout of Books goal (finish 2 books), but I’ll definitely continue reading until the end! I’ve just started The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee.

Sunday 8/24

I didn’t do much reading on the last day of Bout of Books, but I did make some headway in The Gaslight Dogs, which started off slowly but definitely became more compelling as it went along. I’m really happy that I achieved my goal (albeit a small one) and participated in some mini-challenges! Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog, and I hope you all had a successful Bout of Books as well — however you define “success”!

Once Upon a Time VIII Challenge Wrap-up

June 22, 2014June 26, 2014Leave a comment

Yesterday marked both the first day of summer and the last day of Carl’s Once Upon a Time VIII challenge.

Participants were encouraged to read books that fit within the genres of fantasy, fairy tales, mythology, and/or folklore. Here’s what I read:

My favorite book in the bunch was either Jackaby (think BBC “Sherlock” plus paranormal beasties for a YA audience) or Mortal Heart (final book in a trilogy about lady assassins in medieval Brittany). My least favorite book was The Grimm Legacy, which had a cool premise but just felt too juvenile for me. If you participated in this event, what were your favorite books? Did you read as much fantasy as you wanted to?

Edited to add: I have now reviewed all the books I read for this challenge; see the links above!

Bout of Books 9.0 Wrap-up

January 13, 20149 Comments

Well, the ninth Bout of Books read-a-thon has officially come to an end. My goals were to read 1500 pages, do some reading every day, and participate in at least 3 mini-challenges. I definitely achieved the last two goals (and ended up doing 8 mini-challenges!). But I fell short of my first goal, reading a grand total of 1061 pages. I’m pleased with my progress, though; I definitely read a lot more than I would have without Bout of Books! Overall, I read three books from beginning to end: Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay, Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay, and Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout. (I also began Lexicon by Max Barry but haven’t finished it yet.) For me, Dear Mr. Knightley was the weak link, but I more or less enjoyed everything I read for this read-a-thon. Looking forward to Bout of Books 10.0, which will take place in May!

Historical Fiction 2013 Challenge Wrap-up

December 27, 20137 Comments

The 2013 Historical Fiction Challenge at Historical Tapestry isn’t officially over until December 31, but since I know I won’t be reading any more historical fiction this year, I’m doing my wrap-up post a little early.

I chose to complete the Ancient History level of this challenge, which required me to read 25 or more books of historical fiction. Any subgenre of HF was welcome, including YA, fantasy, mystery, and romance. Here’s what I read:

Since historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, it was easy for me to complete this challenge. I read books whose settings ranged from the 12th century to the 1980s, and I really enjoyed most of them! Perhaps next year I’ll aim for 40 works of historical fiction. 🙂

Around the World in 12 Books Challenge Wrap-up

December 20, 20132 Comments

With less than two weeks to spare, I have completed the Around the World in 12 Books Challenge at Giraffe Days!

The goal was to read a book for each of the 12 selected countries, one per month, and here’s what I read:

January (France) — Anna Gavalda, Hunting and Gathering
February (Sudan) — Tayeb Salih, The Wedding of Zein
March (Wales) — Peter Ho Davies, The Welsh Girl
April (South Pacific Islands) — Jill Shalvis, The Trouble with Paradise
May (Belgium) — Dorothy Dunnett, Niccolò Rising
June (South Korea) — Samuel Park, This Burns My Heart
July (Israel) — Etgar Keret, Suddenly, a Knock on the Door
August (Palestine) — Matt Beynon Rees, The Collaborator of Bethlehem
September (Brazil) — Luis Fernando Verissimo, The Club of Angels
October (China) — Dai Sijie, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
November (Egypt) — Mary Doria Russell, Dreamers of the Day
December (Argentina) — Adolfo Bioy Casares, Asleep in the Sun

This was a really interesting challenge for me, since I normally stick to British and American authors. I enjoyed reading outside my geographical comfort zone and will make an effort to read more globally in the future.

My favorite books from the challenge were Hunting and Gathering, a charming love story with depth; The Wedding of Zein, which seemed both specific to Sudan and yet also universal; and The Club of Angels, which was bizarre and sinister and philosophical — but funny! On the other hand, I didn’t particularly enjoy The Welsh Girl, and I HATED Niccolò Rising!

Anyway, I won’t be participating in this challenge next year — I think I’ve already overcommitted myself! — but if you’re interested in broadening your literary horizons, the sign-up post for 2014 is here (and there are some format changes, so take note!).

What’s in a Name 6 Challenge Wrap-up

November 10, 20132 Comments

I’ve completed the What’s in a Name 6 Challenge at Beth Fish Reads!

The goal was to read 6 books, one in each of the categories below. Here’s what I read:

Up or down (or equivalent): Niccolò RISING by Dorothy Dunnett
Something you’d find in your kitchen: The CRYSTAL Cave by Mary Stewart — I was thinking fancy crystal glassware here
Party or celebration: The WEDDING of Zein by Tayeb Salih
Fire (or equivalent): FIRE and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
Emotion: LONESOME Dove by Larry McMurtry
Lost or found (or equivalent): They FOUND Him Dead by Georgette Heyer

My favorite read for this challenge was probably Fire and Hemlock, although Lonesome Dove and The Wedding of Zein were also very good. On the other hand, I couldn’t stand Niccolò Rising! But I like this challenge because it’s completely based on titles rather than content, which is pretty unique among reading challenges. Hopefully it will continue next year, in which case I’ll most likely sign up!

2013 Vintage Mysteries Challenge Wrap-up

November 10, 20132 Comments

I recently completed the annual Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge at My Reader’s Block! The general goal is to read mysteries published before 1960, and this year’s twist was to fit them within certain pre-arranged categories, à la Scattergories.

Here’s what I read, along with a brief explanation of why each book fits within its specified category:

World Traveler: Patricia Moyes, Dead Men Don’t Ski — Set in the Italian Alps.
Repeat Offenders: Georgette Heyer, Death in the Stocks — Because I love me some Heyer!
Murderous Methods: Anthony Berkeley, The Poisoned Chocolates Case — Makes me think twice about eating food I get in the mail…
Staging the Crime: Michael Innes, Hamlet, Revenge! — An amateur performance of Hamlet turns deadly.
Country House Criminals: Georgette Heyer, Behold, Here’s Poison — I love a good English country house murder!
Murder Is Academic: Isaac Asimov, A Whiff of Death — Chemistry professors and their murderous impulses.
Yankee Doodle Dandy: Ellery Queen, The Roman Hat Mystery — New York, New York, it’s a hell of a town.
Malicious Men: Georgette Heyer, They Found Him Dead — Only male victims in this one!

I really enjoyed my reading for this challenge! The Roman Hat Mystery was probably my least favorite read, but I still liked it — and The Poisoned Chocolates Case in particular was absolutely wonderful! Can’t wait to sign up for the 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge…you’ll probably be seeing that post in the next day or two! 🙂

You Book Me All Night Long

Tag: wrap-up