Stars ***

This book was read for the Reading the Author challenge and the Fall Into Reading 2007 Challenge.

Strays Like Us is the story of Molly who is temporarily living with her great-aunt until her mother gets out of the hospital. She’s moved all over; all her life. Molly meets Will who’s staying next door with his grandparents. The town seems to be fully of strays.

It was a cute book with an interesting storyline but there was one part in it that played to a stereotype that doesn’t need any fueling. If it weren’t for that this book would have gotten 4 stars.

Stars: *****

This book was read for the Reading the Author challenge.

I had major Deja Vu when reading this book. I think I may have read it before but I couldn't remember what happened before it happened so if I did, it was many years ago. This is the first Richard Peck I've ever read and I loved it.

Stars: ****

This book was read for the Reading the Author challenge.

This one was better although I still think I liked A Brief Darkness better. It’s hard to say, they are so different. This one is actually a Newbery Honor book, National Book Award finalist and an ALA Notable Book.

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

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

I decided that I wanted to log the number of pages read too since I read short books too and it will seem like I read more than I did. My review lists also don't include all the picture books I read.

The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz (thumbed through, not cover to cover)
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (192)
Booked to Die by John Dunning (317)
The Biography of Bananas by Rachel Eagen(32)
Bananas! by Jacqueline Farmer (32)
Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh (388)
Death in Kingsport by Curtis Parkinson (315)
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (272)
Through a Brief Darkness by Richard Peck (142)
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (192)
For Parents Only by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa Rice (179)
A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck(148)
Strays Like Us by Richard Peck (155)
The Bookman's Wake by John Dunning (362)

Total: 14 Books
Fiction: 10

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)

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

Nov 1/07 - Jan. 30/08
For this challenge I'll be reading three books from my TBR pile.
Looking for Juliette by Janet Taylor LisleThe Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (also for Newbery)Death in Kingsport by Curtis Parkinson

My third challenge done (second posted about.)

I managed to finish Black Creek Crossing and the Ghost-Hunter's Handbook before Oct. 31, I just haven't posted the reviews yet.

The internet isn't working right here at my parents house so I haven't gotten much done even when I do get over here. It's very frustrating. So expect a bunch of reviews as soon as the internet starts working right!

Now back to the RIP challenge. I enjoyed doing it, Black Creek Crossing by John Saul and The Ghost-Hunter's Handbook by Herbie Brennan were the best. It was a good challenge as I read books I normally wouldn't and I even got a new author out of it! I'll be reading more John Saul.

I look forward to it next year.

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)

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)

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)

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.

I wonder what one it was?

So, are you planning on eating, I mean, reading anything good this weekend? I'm not as behind in my reading as I usually am. I think it's my plan on not joining too many challenges. So far, so good. Anyway, what's new?:

Good or bad news, depending on how you look at it. Books-A-Million moves into Nebraska.

Kindle and Cook Books? It's funny I used the internet to look for a recipe last night.
I was too lazy to look in my cook books.

Stars: *****

I read this book for the Bibliography challenge.

I'm glad I found and read this book. Dunning is a great author and I thoroughly enjoyed his writing. Reading about buying and reselling books was very interesting and makes me want to learn more about it so I can make some money finding good deals. There is some really good information on the hobby too, not just a passing mention. The way the book is written, it could almost pass as a memoir. It all sounds so real, I kept having to remind myself it wasn't.

The story was very intriguing. The plot was well thought out. I had trouble stopping reading for the night

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

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

Okay so I meant to sign up for this challenge back in February. Oh well. I should be able to read 5 nonfiction books about health and wellness by Nov. 14.

1. The Hidden Dangers of Soy by Diane Gregg
2. Nourishing Your Daughter by Carol Beck
3. Stick Figure: A Diary of a Former Self by Lori Gottlieb
4.
5.

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)

I'll be reading 1-3 books by this author before March 2008. I don't know which ones yet. I wasn't going to make a list.

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.

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.

Stars: ****1/2I read this book for the Celebrate the Author challenge and the Reading My Name challenge.

Celebrate the Author Note:
Dr. Seuss is one of my favourite children’s authors so I didn’t want to cheat and just re-read some of his books that I’ve read a million times. So I decided I’d read a few of this books I haven’t read yet as well as a book about his life.

This book is a Children’s Non-Fiction book about he early life of Dr. Seuss, before he was known as that. It explains who he was as a boy and how he came to be an author and artist. The story itself is written like a picture book and ends when he is 22 and his writing life is taking off. After that is an explanation of how he came up with the idea for some of his books as well as information on his life after 22 such as when he was married and how The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham were the result of bets by his publisher.

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

Three Little Kittens by Marilyn Janovitz

Stars: ****
Remember the song about the Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens? This is the story version. More lyrics have been added to make the story longer. The illustrations are adorable. My daughter loved this.

Becky from Becky's Book Reviews is hosting the Inklings Mini-Challenge. The Challenge involves reading either 2 books by C.S. Lewis and 2 by J.R.R. Tolkein or 4 by either author. I have 3 books by Lewis slated for reading in 2008 anyway and I only need to add 1 more to be eligible for this challenge.

I have owned these books for several years and they have been highly recommended by several people close to me but for some reason, I haven't gotten around to them. Here are my choices:

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