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)

Stars: ****1/2

This book was read for the Jewish Literature Challenge and the Christmas Theme Challenge because I couldn't get a hold of the books I originally chose.

Stars: ****

This is a novel for ages 8-12, mostly for girls. It’s the story of the daughters of Rabbi Levin after they move to Lorain, Ohio in 1923.

There are good things and bad things that happen, just like in real life. This is a good book for non-Jewish kids to learn what it’s like to be Jewish. Many aspects of Judaism are explained. How the Shabbos is celebrated (like the Christian Sabbath), what Rosh Hashanah is all about, the special preparations for Passover and how the Jewish wedding works.

These are the books I finished March 2008 along with some stats.
Note: I only include picture books read if they are for a challenge.

eg. Title/Author (Challenge) (Pages)

Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn (Jewish Literature) (194)
Matrimony by Joshua Henkin (Review Book) (291)
Willie's Dad by Stanley Williams (Review Book) (PB)
Astro Socks by Leigh M. Le Creux (Review Book) (75)
Sacred Fire Poetry and Prose by Nancy Wood, Paintings by Frank Howell (73)
Charlie Bird: The Best Bird Ever by Linda Bird (Review Book) (PB)
It's All in the Cards: Tarot Reading Made Easy by John Mangiapane (222)
Burn: The Life Story of Fire by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (Planet Earth 2008 and Review Book)(135)
Parenting Your Toddler by Patricia Henderson Shimm and Kate Ballen (221)
Whale Song by Cheryl Kaye Tardif (Review Book) (199)
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends and Fascinating Facts by
David Colbert (214)
William Shakespeare by Dorothy Turner (Great Lives) (Shakespeare) (32)
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss (Celebrate the Author) (PB)
The 500 Hats of Bartholmew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss (Celebrate the Author) (PB)
The Boy on Fairfield Street:How Ted Geisel Became Dr. Suess by Kathleen Krull (Celebrate the Author) (48)

For my own notes (thanks to ABookGeek for the idea)

Need to Read for Challenges:
Through a Brief Darkness by Richard Peck (by Dec. 1)
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (by Dec. 1)
Strays Like Us by Richard Peck (by Dec. 1)
Baby Be Mine by Diane Fanning
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Merry Christmas Babies by Tara Taylor Quinn
Eve's Christmas by Janet Dailey
Booked to Die by John Dunning
Bookman's Wake by John Dunning
Bookseller of Kabul by Anne Seiersted
Red Rage by Rachel Ward
Leaving Simplicity by Claire Carmichael

Need to Finish for Review Books:
Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh
For Parents Only
Last two in above list as well

Hope to Finish for Group Reads:
Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

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.

These are the books I finished January 2008 along with some stats.

Persian Girls by Nahid Rachlin
The Rabbi's Girls by Johanna Hurwitz
Julia's Mending by Kathy Lynn Emerson
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
The Fab Girls Guide to Friendship Hardship
The Daring Game by Kit Pearson
Misfit McCabe by L.K. Gardner-Griffie
Anastasia At Your Service by Lois Lowry
The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
Smart-opedia by Maple Tree Press

Total Books: 10
Total Pages: 1822

Fav Book: Smart-opedia
Least Fav: Julia's Mending

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

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

* 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?

"Literature" means classics, in most cases. Those books which are timeless and are full of substance. Most tend to think of literature as heavy reading. Not necessarily so. Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland qualifies as a classic and IS a great piece of literature. And no one can call it as serious! I do not think classics are difficult to read unless one gets the gist of those. They do tell us about an era otherwise forgotten. Isn't that what literature is supposed to do?

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.

On January 14 the American Library Association is set to announce their prestigious 2008 awards for children's literature--the Newbery Award for authors and the Caldecott Award for illustrators, the primary American awards for achievment in children's and young adult literature.

Stars: **** This book was read for the Jewish Literature Challenge.
Basic storyline is a child who has a well-loved blue blankie. It gets so worn out that the mom says it has to go but Grandpa makes it into a coat. Then it wears out and mom says it has to go and Grandpa saves it once again by making it into a vest. This continues all the way to a button. Although I’ve seen this idea before (can't find the name of the book. This one was read and I think a bathrobe first,) this one is nicely written with beautiful illustrations. Also if you look closely, at the bottom of the page mice are shown in the space below the house and they are using the scraps cut off the blankie/coat/vest etc… to make their own clothes. By the end of the book. All the mice are clothed in blue.

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.

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

Stars: ****

I received this book for review from Tundra Books.

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.

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

Photography by John Uher
Stars: *****
I received this cookbook for review. It was also read for the Soup's On Book Challenge. My dad’s family is Jewish and so we go to a Passover dinner, although it’s quite reformed. I’ve never brought a dish myself because I’m still a beginner cook and I wouldn’t have known where to begin to make a good Passover dish.

That’s where this cookbook comes in. The author has other books called Kosher by Design and so 130 recipes from these books have been adjusted for Passover and presented here along with 30 brand-new recipes and a few décor ideas.

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

I was doing this Sept 2007 to Sept 2008 because I missed sign ups but now since it's starting again in 2008 and I've only read two books out of my whole list, I'm going to change those two books and make this a 2008 challenge. This also means I have to come up with an author list.

A - A Dog So Small by Phillipa Pearce
B - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (re-read)
C - Critical Conditions by Stephen White (also for 888 challenge)
D - Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor
E - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (also for In Her Shoes Challenge)

I finished the Non-Fiction Five Challenge. Given the crazy kind of month it has been at my house and my very limited reading time, I consider this quite an accomplishment. Here's what I read:

• Left To Tell - Imaculee Ilibagiza
• The Children's Blizzard - David Laskin
• Evidence Not Seen - Darlene Deibler Rose
• I Dared to Call Him Father - Bilquis Sheikh
• First They Killed My Father - Loung Ung

I had thought of joining this challenge. However, I am not much familiar with southern authors. As an Indian, I go by country or continents. However, on Maggie's insistence, I am giving it a go.

Here is my list:

(1) Roots by Alex Haley
(2) Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
(3) In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
(4) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

As I have already read the first two, that too in May, those may be counted for the challenge. I only need read one more. The last two are very much with me and so reading those won't be a problem!

And now for a Southern haiku:

your very own greed

This is one of those challenges that I wanted to join but I wasn't sure if I would be in the mood for Christmas reading. While out shopping with my family this weekend I ran across a couple of titles that got me interested so I am going indulge my inner whim-reader and join this one after all.

Here are my titles:

Holidays are Hell - Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie Lui, and Vicki Pettersson. I picked up this one for a little Urban Fantasy escapism.

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

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)