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)

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.

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.

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 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

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.

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 would call this a fruitful week in the sense that I finished two difficult books. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, which took me a long time to finish. However, when I finally completed, I felt it is worthwhile. I have a good mind to re-read it again and I know I will savour it.

I also finished The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. This I read, while travelling to and fro for my seminar being conducted in another part of Delhi. I liked this very much. This is Eco's first book and he has done a great job of it. I look forward to read more from him. I will check out his other works. What I loved about this book is that it is entirely based on a library and revolves in and around it. By the description one can almost feel as if one is inside that mysterious library.

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

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?

My totals are low this month again. Life got in the way. I keep hoping for better but we'll see. :)

Here's what I managed to read in September:

Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -(4/5)(Finished 9-2-07)
Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen (4.5/5) (Finished 9-12-07)
First They Killed My Father - Loung Ung - (3/5)(Finished 9-20-07)

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

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

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.

I was spending time catching up on some of my favorite blogs today and I realized that I hadn't posted my summary of books that I read in October.

• A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - (5/5)(Finished 10-2-07)
• The Total Money Makeover - Dave Ramsey - (5/5)(Finished 10-11-07)
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma - Michael Pollan - (4.5/5)(Finished 10-28-07)

It wasn't a great month for quantity but it was a terrific month for quality. I hope to improve the amount I am able to read in November but if I am only able to read three books then I hope they are winners! ;)

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

Colleen Gleason
334 pages
On my Bookshelves

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

I have finally come up with my list of Notables to read for 2008. I didn't finish my selections from 2007 so I hope I can do better this year.

I will definitely be reading these:

Stars: *****

I recieved this book for review from Random House.
Wow. Received for review and I’m so glad. This is similar to A Far Cry From Home but mostly the story of one girl instead of many. I have not read Girlbomb which is the author’s story of herself homeless.

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.

Title: Yellowknife
Author: Steve Zipp
ISBN: 9780973632118
Publisher: Res Telluris, Canada/2007
Pages: 286

I had requested this book from Steve Zipp for The Canadian Book Challenge, way back in Nov 2007. He had posted it to me in November itself. However, I received it in April 2008. It took six months to reach me. I had assumed that it had been lost in the mail. I read it while travelling to work and back. It took me two days to finish it.

We had friends over to ring in the new year and I actually managed to stay up until 1:30am! Of course I am totally wore out today though : ) I finished my hypnobirthing book that I got for Christmas and really enjoyed it. I started it yesterday and just reading it totally relaxed me so that when our first guest showed up I felt even a little hazy like I had just woken up from a mid-afternoon nap. I start my classes January 22nd and I can't wait!! Baby is doing well. He is as active as ever, with his kicks and punches just having a lot more force behind them. I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year!

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 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.

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