It's February, the longest 28 (29) days of the year. It will snow. It will freeze. I'll wonder if it will ever end. Yeah, I look forward to February. At least I'll have an excuse to stay inside and read. It's too darn cold!

In March, the oldest bookstore in Canada is closing. The Book Room in Halifax, Nova Scotia has been open for 169 years. I've been in that store. It's small and cozy. It's a shame that independent bookstores have such a hard time. There hasn't been one in my area for years, except for the used bookstore. We have Coles which is a division of Chapters, the big box store in Canada. I'd love to open my own bookstore but I'd have to be independently wealthy for that. Bookstores aren't huge money makers. It's more a matter of love.

In 2008 I'll be participating in Becky's Young Reader's Challenge. I need to read 12 books aimed at the 12 and under crowd. I read a lot of these anyways so I figured why not! I'll stay away from picture books since I'm doing that for the Celebrate the Author Challenge.

List to come

The first Book Awards challenge is coming to a close and the second one will be starting soon. The rules are slightly different this time. From August 1, 2008 - June 1, 2009 I need to read 10 books that represent 5 different awards (in other words, they can't all be from the same award) This list can be made as we go and changed at any time. I'll post some tentative reads after I give it some thought.

Words for Annie is hosting her first challenge.

For all of 2008 I must read at least one book from each category below.

1. A book with a color in its title. - The Color Purple by Alice Walker (also for 888 and Book Awards)
2. A book with an animal in its title. - Elephant in the Playroom by Denise Brodey (also for 888)
3. A book with a first name in its title. - Lessons from Jacob by Ellen Schwarts (also for In Their Shoes)

From February 1 to July 14, 2008 I'll be re-reading some books I loved as a child. I'll be reading the first 3 for sure and the last 3 are extras. My list is as follows:

Ramona The Pest by Beverly Cleary
Babysitter's Club: Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever by Ann M. Martin
The Overnight by R.L. Stine
Good Work, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
A Light in the Attic by Dennis Lee
Encylopedia Brown by Donald Sobal

Kathleen is hosting the Winter Reading Challenge.

This is a list of books I'll be reading in December, January and February.

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Season of the Witch Natasha Mostert
Looking for Juliette by Janet Taylor LisleThe Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
Nim's Island by Wendy Orr
Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen
Dog Years by Mark Doty

I finished this challenge on time. I challenged myself to read 12 books and I finished them all.

I did make a goal to catch up on my reviews which I did but I'm behind again unfortunately. I had fun and hope to participate again next year.

You can see my list of books read here.

Booknut is hosting this great challenge to read 4 books by authors that are not Caucasian. More details here.

I'm definitely participating as the majority of the authors I read are white. I don't have a list of books yet but I'll work on them. I'm going to do her second choice and read one from each of the categories listed (that's 6 books, but 4 minimum to finish this challenge) This challenges is from January-April 2008

Once again Katrina at Callapidder Days is hosting a reading challenge. Come join the Spring Reading Thing 2008.

The challenge is for all of Spring: March 20 - June 19.

Here's what I will be reading:
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (also for Shakespeare)
The Girls by Lori Lansens (Also for Themed Reading)
Hatching Magic by Ann Downer (Also for Here Be Dragons)
Jackfish, The Vanishing Village by Sarah Felix Burns (Also for Canadian Book)
Yellowknife by Steve Zipp (Also for Canadian Book)

With my completion of "Till Morning is Nigh" I have completed the Christmas Themed Book Challenge. Here's what I read:

• Holidays are Hell - Harrison, Sands, Liu, Pettersson
• Till Morning is Nigh - Leisha Kelly

I still have one more book that I plan on reading with a Christmas theme but it was not a title that I had originally named for the challenge. This was a fun one. Thanks to Susan at My Reading Adventures for hosting.

Becky is like me, she can't stop making challenges!

This one is to read 3-5 books by authors who have won the Margaret A. Edwards Award.

For this challenge, I just need to read 3 medical mysteries or thrillers between June 1 and November 1/08

I have 8 picked out already for the 888 challenge so as long as I read three of them during that period.

So, At least 3 of:
Isolation Ward by Joshua Spangole
Manner of Death by Stephen White
Fatal by Michael Palmer
Life Support by Tess Gerritson
With a Vengence by Eileen Dreyer
Instensive Scare Unit by J.S. Borthwick
Critical Conditions by Stephen White

I finally decided what I'll be reading for my Jewish Literature Challenge from Dec. 4, 2007 to April 26, 2008

The Christmas Revolution by Barbara Cohen
The Rabbi's Girls by Johanna Hurwitz
A Woman in Jerusalem by A.B. Yehoshua
Emil and Karl by Jacob Glatstein
Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
The Illuminated Soul by Aryeh Lev Stollman

Plus I'll be reading Picture books and Children's Non-fiction on Hannukah and Passover that I just pick from the library at the time.

From April 1 - November 30, 2008 I'll be reading 5-8 books by authors who go by their intials. (e.g C.S. Lewis, R.L. Stine, T.S. Eliot....)

I only have a few set out for now. No lists are necessary so I can add to this as I see a book I want to read that fits.

1. The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
2. A Woman in Jerusalem by A.B. Yehoshua (Also for Jewish Literature and Spiritual Book Challenge)

Joy at Thoughts of Joy is hosting the Non-Fiction Five challenge again. I missed it the first time. It's supposed to encourage people to read more non-fiction but that's not really a problem for me as I read LOTS of non-fiction. I still want to participate though!

My list:
I Sleep At Red Lights: A True Story of Life after Triplets by Bruce StocklerSiblings Without Rilvary by Adele Faber and Elaine MazlishNibbles and Me by Elizabeth TaylorStolen Lives : Twenty years in a desert jail by Malika Oufkir and Michèle Fitoussi ; translated by RosSchwartz.Stick figure : a diary of my former self by Lori Gottlieb

It's here! The 2008 TBR challenge!

I didn't get to participate last year so I'm excited. I just need to finalize my list. I already have a lot of books to read so I can't choose all new books but I don't want them all to overlap either.

So the list is to come, very soon of course since I have to have it done by Dec. 31/08

When I first saw this I thought it said Enormous Challenge LOL. Then I read it again and I was like, Epony what? I'll be reading 4 books from March 1 to May 31 whose titles contain at least one of the characters names (like Oliver Twist) or a description of a character (like Merchant of Venice)

So here's my list:

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (Also Book Awards)
Waiting For Sarah by Bruce McBay (Also Canadian Book)
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan (Also Whitecoulls List)
When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton (Also 888)

Dewey is hosting the Printz Award Challenge. The challenge is to read 6 Printz Award winner or honor books in 2008. My list:The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak (Also 888 and Book Around the World)
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen YangLooking for Alaska, by John GreenA Step From Heaven, by An Na

Ok...I have been over-committed for the 2007 challenges. I admit it. That's why I have been avoiding all of the new ones that have been popping up, even though some of them look really interesting and fun. But, Melissa over at Book Nut is hosting a challenge that fits right in with my reading plans for 2008.

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.

Now here's an interesting challenge! In 2008 I'll be reading some books about planet earth. See the challenge page for more information. List to come.

This is a challenge to read 1 out of every 10 books in the first 100 books of the 1001 list. Wow that wasn't any clearer was it? LOL. I have from May 1 - Oct 31. The sections left blank haven't been decided yet. 1-1011-20 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime21-3031-40 - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides41-50 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel51-6061-70 - The Human Stain by Philip Roth71-8081-90 - The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver or The hours by Michael Cunningham91-100 - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy or Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Dana is hosting The Chunkster Challenge this year. I didn't get to participate in last year's challenge because it had already started by the time I found the book-blogging community.

This fits right in to the books I have already planned for 2008 so I am going to play along.

The rules are that you must read 4 books that are at least 450 pages(750 large print) between January 7th and December 20th, 2008.

This is a new challenge from me. From February to May 2008, read at least two books by authors who share the same name as you. More info here.

My list:
Don't Call them Ghosts: the spirit children of Fontaine Manse: a true story by Kathleen McConnell
The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson (Also 888 and Young Adult)
Looking at the Moon by Kit Pearson (Also 888 and Young Adult)
Awake and Dreaming by Kit Pearson

I'm reading lots of Katherine's and Kathy's already too but I only need to read two so this list is enough.

Collected by Zora Neale Hurston, Adapted and Illustrated by Christopher Myers
Stars: **

This book was read for the Zora Neale Hurston Challenge.

Perhaps I just don’t understand the point of this book but I didn’t like it at all. It is very weird. I don’t mind the whole tall tales part (“I once knew a man so big….”) but the text is written like they spoke way back when, with improper English. I understand keeping it that way for historical fiction but reading this book just hurt my head. For example:

“That drives over me. I know a man so big that when he went to whip his boy, the boy runned under his stomach and stayed hid under there six months.”

“That man was so black till he could spit ink.”

There were one or two that didn’t even make sense to me. NOT Recommended

For this challenge I'll be reading 3 books that were recommended to me by November 30/08. The rules didn't say if they had to be personally recommended to me or recommended to all readers in general but I'll be doing books personally recommended to me. Or at least I'll try.

1. A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (recommended to me after I read Midwives by Chris Bohjalian but I can't remember from who and can't find the recommendation! If it was you, let me know!)
2.
3.

For the Title Master Reading Challenge, you read at least 4 books where the words in the title all start with the same letter. (Note, The is not counted but A is)

Here is a list of books that I'm already reading that fit the theme. In brackets is the challenge(s) they also fall under. I will read at least four of them between March 1 and July 1/08.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (Whitecoulls)
X-traordinary X-tremes by Mary Packard (A to Z extra)
Criss Cross by Lynee Rae Perkins (888, Newbery)
Midnight Magic by Avi (Young Adult extra)
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (Young Readers)
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Newbery)
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Newbery)
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Newbery)

This is a good idea. It will help me read from my other challenges. From July 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 I need to read one book from six challenges I'm signed up for or will sign up for before then. Find out more here.

A tentative list is coming.