Checking it twice. Okay, I'm making my book lists for 2 future challenges:

The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge hosted at The Book Mine Set. I'm picking The Free Spirit approach. I don't like being boxed in. Well, mostly it's because I still have a bunch of books I haven't finished for the last challenge. I will do better this time. Here's my list:

If you've read all 6 Jane Austen novels, you might think you've read all there is to read from the author, but you'd be wrong. Jane started writing when she was a wide eyed youngster and unlike juvenilia from us mortals (like my own magical cats) it's worth reading. Lesley Castle is 3 unfinished works written to entertain her family when Jane was 16.

Lesley Castle: In epistolary* form, the vanities and jealousies of gentrified women are told. Margaret Lesley is bored of her castle in Scotland. She writes to her friend Charlotte who worries include what to do with all the food she prepared for her sister's wedding after the groom dies. The nastiness is not as refined and subtle as her later works but the groundwork is there.

I remember trying to read Mansfield Park years ago and not finishing it. I wondered why. I wonder no more.

As I get ready to watch Persuasion, the first of the Jane Austen marathon on PBS, I had a couple of things to bring to your attention:

*1st Becky's Mini-Austen Challenge is underway. Hope you have your books picked out for that.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to not take on more than I can handle, especially when it comes to challenges. In 2007, I discovered Reading Challenges and signed up for everything and completed very little. I still have a few books to finish for the TBR Challenge and The Something About Me Challenge. I really hate not finishing things.

Now the new run of challenges is starting and I find myself being drawn in. They're just so tempting. Why is that? Is it the camaraderie of people working towards the same goals? The cute buttons?

Anyway, I'm sticking to a few rules before I join:

To be so bent on marriage – to pursue a man merely for the sake of situation – is a sort of thing that shocks me; I cannot understand it. Poverty is a great evil, but to a woman of education and feeling it ought not, it cannot be the greatest. I would rather be a teacher at school (and I can think of nothing worse) than marry a man I did not like.
-- Emma, in Jane Austen’s, The Watsons –

Have a great Monday!

Hurray! I finished a book! I had to take a break from Mansfield Park. I'm finding this Austen tough. I have a theory, but I'll save it for when I finish it. Anyway, I read Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis in two days. A nice change of pace and an easy read.

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?

I can name many authors. I used to read a lot of Ludlums. But I have not done it for a long time now. His latter books seems boring and repetitive. Same is the case with Alistair Maclean. Grisham too I cannot read now. In classics, I cannot read Jane Austen now. I fall asleep although I have committed to read at least two Austens for a challenge!

Instead of authors, I would say I can't read certain genres like run of the mills mysteries bore me. Romances without stories too cannot hold my interest. I cannot read too much of sex scenes with vampires, werewolves, monsters. That puts me off completely.

I thing it depends a lot on mood and time too. What we loved in our younger days might bore us to death now. And vice versa. In a way , one can suppose that our reading changes with age.

Booking Through Thursday

1. How did you come across your favorite author(s)? Recommended by a friend? Stumbled across at a bookstore? A book given to you as a gift?
2. Was it love at first sight? Or did the love affair evolve over a long acquaintance?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

I've seen Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire Chronicles raved about by all my blogger buddies. I've even been to Colleen's blog but until now I haven't read any of the series. Why? I have no idea. The Rest Falls Away has been on my TBR list for a long time. I just never got to it until now.

Victoria Gardella has just come out in society. Her mother's eager to find her a suitable husband. However, not only is Victoria hunting for a husband but for vampires as well. The Gardella Legacy has been passed to her. It is her destiny to keep the world safe from vampires. At her side in the fight is her reluctant partner Max Pesaro, her aunt Eustacia and her maid Verbena.

I finally decided on my picks for the Novella Challenge. If you don't remember, the rules are read 6 novellas (100-250 pgs) between April and September 2008.

1. Lesley Castle: Jane Austen
2. Stardust: Neil Gaiman
3. Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's: Truman Capote
5. The Lifted Veil: George Eliot
6. Summer: Edith Wharton

I've been looking forward to reading these for awhile and now I have the perfect reason to take them off the TBR list.

What’s your favorite book that nobody else has heard of? You know, not Little Women or Huckleberry Finn, not the latest best-seller . . . whether they’ve read them or not, everybody “knows” those books. I’m talking about the best book that, when you tell people that you love it, they go, “Huh? Never heard of it?”

And, folks–Becca was nice enough to nominate Booking Through Thursday for a Blogger’s Choice Award–while you’re here, why don’t you head over and vote for us, too. Because, a vote for BTT is a vote for all of us who play each week!

Booking Through Thursday

• When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)
• Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Lit-Ra-Chur. I can just imagine a gray haired man writing 'literature' on a chalkboard when I read that. It's funny the first thing I think of isn't Tolstoy or Dickens but the CBC. I think of on-air interviews with Margaret Atwood or someone of that type. Books written by Tolstoy or Dickens don't make me think 'literature'. They make me think 'classic'. Dickens wrote most of his stuff as a serial for the newspaper. He needed the money. At the same time, he brought to the public an awareness of important societal problems, like poverty. I don't know if he was aware he was creating literature.

Stephanie tagged me for this meme, an invention of Eva (A Striped Armchair). She asks some really interesting questions:

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

The Book Thief. I know it's good but it scares me.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Booking Through Thursday

Suggested by: Superfastreader:

Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

__________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.

I finished six books for RIP II Autumn Challenge.

Here are my reviews:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowlings

Title: Twelve Read Herrings
Author: Jeffrey Archer
ISBN: 0006490484
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers/1994
Pages: 324

At one time, I used to read Jeffrey Archer like crazy. I do like the way he writes. I won't call those masterpieces, nonetheless, his books hold interest.

From May 1 - Feb 28/09, read 10 books from the 1001 list (which would be about 1%) for this challenge. I'm already planning to read 15 books from this list before Dec. 21/08 so this challenge shouldn't be a problem. Below are the 15 books. Life of Pi by Yann MartelThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyMemoirs of a Geisha by Arthur GoldenThe Stone Diaries by Carol ShieldsWild Swans by Jung ChangThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerNineteen Eighty-Four by George OrwellOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken KeseyTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeJourney to the Center of the Earth by Jules VerneEmma by Jane AustenThe Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia MarquesThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverSlaughter House-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Stars: ****1/2

I watch the cartoon every year and thought it was about time I read the book. I counted this as a R.I.P. II Challenge book. I actually read it a few days before Halloween just forgot to review it till now. Oops.

I enjoyed the book although I enjoyed the cartoon more. There were a few parts that were a little wordy for me, (apparently Bradbury's style.)

It's a great Halloween book for those 12 and up to learn about the history and customs of Halloween. Where trick-or-treating and costumes come from. Very educational.

The Winter Rose is the book everyone is buzzing about. I've seen it on several blogs and it even got itself a spot on Estella's Revenge this month. Donnelly's publishers should work for Stephane Dion; they run an aggressive campaign. I'm not complaining though. I wasn't saying no when they offered it to me to review.

This was begun by Simon at Stuck-in-a-book, but I saw it first at A Work in Progress. Upon a bit of research, I see that many others have given this a go; Juxtabook, LizzySiddal, Kirsty, Iliana, and Litlove, among others.

The goal of this is to list favourite authors according to last name (with a representative fave book as well). Here's mine, though with the caveat that it was really difficult to fit everyone in. I kept thinking of more authors with names beginning with the letters I'd already filled, and how can a decision be made between two or four or eight favourites? But I finally chose a few, and have included some of the children's books I've loved for a long time. This meme provided much entertaining rumination over the past couple of days, so thanks Simon!

Austen, Jane / Pride and Prejudice

This week’s theme was suggested by Renay. She says, “I thought it would be cool to ask people to talk about other forms of story-telling.”

This week’s theme is once again one you could approach several ways. You might want to tell about the forms of storytelling (aside from books) you love. Maybe you enjoy TV shows, movies, music, narrative poetry, or Renay’s favorite, fanfiction. You could give us an overview of a type of storytelling, such as listing your favorite movies. Or you might pick a more specific story, one particular favorite. I just finished watching an episode of Lost, for example, so I could tell why I enjoy that series, or I could get more specific and focus on one character’s personal story. Some people might post youtubes of the songs whose stories they find brilliant, or some might share family bedtime stories.

Booking Through Thursday

• Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves

I do have a few books on writing and grammar:

The Grammar Bible: I haven't read it through but it's definitely more entertaining than the average grammar book. The writer worked for a grammar hotline, if you can imagine such a thing, and the book is peppered with anecdotes from that time.

I'm not a poetry reader, but I wanted to get out of my reading box this year. So when Becky decided to host 19th Century Women Writers Challenge I chose Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese and Other Love Poems as one of my picks.

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover is a paranormal romance, so leave your disbelief at the door. It's pure escapist fun. Jazz is a 700 year old witch who wears her clothes tight and drives her classic, haunted car fast. Jazz is just an ordinary working girl. She drives 'special' clients for a car service and is paid well. Still, she always seems to be broke and looking for a quick way to make cash. After a successful curse elimination job, she runs into her old flame, vampire Nick Gregory. Words, and fire balls, are exchanged but not before Nick reveals that vampires are disappearing and fears a Dorian Gray-ish character named Clive Reeves is behind it. Jazz finds herself facing an old nemesis and a situation that requires all her power and more.

This week’s theme comes from Samantha, who suggested that one week we all write about our fond memories of childhood books.

You could approach this several ways. I’ll probably list my favorite childhood books with maybe a paragraph about each book: why I loved it, how old I was when I read it, where I got the book, etc. You could also just pick one childhood favorite and review it as you would any other book. Or, if you’re fast, you could make up a meme other weekly geeks might like to use. It’ll be interesting to see how everyone personalizes this theme. Don’t forget to come back and leave a link to the post in your comment once you’ve written your post. No wrap-up post this week; just the one childhood books post.