My reading has fallen off the last week of this month for several reasons. Still, I am ok with February's reading:

1. Ill Wind - Rachel Caine (4/5)(Finished 2-1-08)
2. Dream When You're Feeling Blue - Elizabeth Berg (4/5)(Finished 2-5-08)
3. The Chatham School Affair - Thomas H. Cook (3.5/5)(Finished 2-8-08)
4. The Poet - Michael Connelly (4.5/5) (Finished 2-14-08)
5. The Translator : A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur - Daoud Hari (4.5/5)(Finished 2-17-08)
6. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen - Susan Gregg Gilmore (4/5)(Finished 2-20-08)
7. We Just Want to Live Here - Amal Rifa'i and Odelia Ainbinder(3.5/5)(Finished 2-24-08)

Since we are entering the last quarter of the year, I thought it might be a good time to look back over what I have read so far and take a look at the books that I have loved the most in 2007.

It appears I have had a pretty good reading year. I hope I find more to add to this list.

Here they are in the order that I read them this year:(click for reviews)

I have been trying hard to resist joining any new challenges. I have my work pretty much cut out for me for 2008. But when Michelle at 1morechapter.com announced her Pub'08 challenge to read at least 8 books published in 2008, I couldn't resist. Here is what I am planning to start with:

I finished the 2nds Challenge hosted by Joy. This challenge was a lot of fun and gave me an excuse to read a 2nd book by authors I really enjoyed. Thanks for hosting Joy! Here's what I read:

• A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

This Sunday morning has been a little more hectic than most but this afternoon promises to be a quiet one for reading.

I only managed to finish one title this week. I had been looking forward to reading it for quite a while since I enjoy the urban fantasy genre from time to time for a little fun & light reading.

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.

My blog's birthday was this month. It was actually January 7th. I meant to celebrate it in a more timely fashion but I actually thought it was later in the month than it is. Still, I decided that even though I missed it, we can still celebrate.

It has been a pretty good reading week at my house. Because the weather has been bitterly cold, we have limited our activities to only those that are absolutely necessary.

I was able to finish and review two books for challenges. I read People of the Book and The Septembers of Shiraz. Hopefully, this puts me in a pretty good spot for my January reading goals.

Today, everyone was feeling under the weather so we decided to stay home from church so as not to share our bug. That means it should be a pretty good day for reading for me.

Last week we talked about the books you liked best from 2007. So this week, what with it being a new year, and all, we’re looking forward….

What new books are you looking forward to most in 2008?

Ummm.....all of them. See the picture below. Seriously? Okay....read on.

Something new being published this year?

Top o' the Heap(Best of the Best)
Silas Marner by George Eliot

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)

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.

I am already committed to reading from a large list of banned books so I just picked 4 for this challenge which is Feb 24 to June 30.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

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

Colleen Gleason
334 pages
On my Bookshelves

This is my second title for the 2nds Challenge hosted by Thoughts of Joy

Ok...since the end of the year is quickly approaching, I decided to head over to A Novel Challenge and see if there were any challenges that I could add to my list without adding any more books to my schedule. Sort of a challenge within a challenge. I wanted to join this challenge and it worked out perfectly:

hosted by Annie from Words by Annie

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)

MizBooks has posted the Mr.Linky for the 2008 TBR Challenge! I participated last year and had a lot of fun but I didn't clear my TBR shelf much. This year, I am trying to seriously clear the shelves. So, I made my list for the 2008 Challenge weeks ago but I will probably be tweaking it right up until the 31st.

Susan Gregg Gilmore
293 pages

Reason for Reading: ARC, Pub '08 Challenge

Catherine Grace Cline was 6 years old on the hot summer day that her mama went to pick berries, fell into the river, and died. The indelible influence of growing up in a small town without a mother makes Catherine long for the day that she can leave Ringgold, Georgia behind her.

When I received the ARC of this book I thought I was in for a fun, light-hearted read. It was that. It was charming, humorous and fun but it was also touching. The evolution of Catherine's relationship to her sister, father, Sunday School teacher, and next door neighbor, Gloria Jean made reading the whole book worthwhile. However, I enjoyed getting to know the residents of Ringgold, warts and all, and I enjoyed the way that the author drew the story to a close. (4/5)

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.

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.

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

This challenge was created by Wendy and is done by members of the A Novel Challenge group. I will be making notes here on progress and for the books that need to be reviewed, they will have the tag: A Novel Challenge

In the year 2008 I need to:

1. Read a short story and review it
2. Read a children's book and review it
3. Read a poem and review it
4. Read a banned book and review it
5. Give a book away - gave my copy of The Fab Girl's Guide to Friendship Hardships by Discovery Girls to a teen I know.
6. read 2 articles from any one magazine and tell about them.
7. Read a classic and review it Read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, review here.
8. Got to a book event and tell about your experience
9. Read an essay and tell about it
10. Read something inspirational and tell why it inspired you

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.

Michelle from 1 More Chapter was kind enough to add my name to a drawing that she was having for a book giveaway. I won Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather. Since I am participating in the 2008 A-Z Challenge this year, I will use this book for my "X" author. Now, to find my "X" title.

Thanks so much, Michelle!

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