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

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

Stars: **** This book was read for the Young Adult Challenge and the Reading My Name Challenge

Summary: At first Eliza is happy with her new life at boarding school. But a bond begins to develop between Eliza and Helen, a mischievous, unpopular girl, who defies authority, plays practical jokes and doesn’t seem to care what others think of her. It is Helen who starts the daring game among the five girls in the Yellow Dorm…

I really enjoyed this book. It was nice to get a taste of boarding school other than Harry Potter. Many things were the same though, such as the strict rules and dress code and collecting house points. This school (Ashdown Academy) is also open to day students and takes students from Grade 1- Grade 12. Eliza and her friends are in Grade 7 which I think is quite young to board. I could never do it at age 12.

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.

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

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)

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.

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

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

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)

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)

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

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

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

Your English teacher was right! Reading is good for you!

An NEA paper, "To Read or Not to Read," surveying 40 studies of child and adult reading, reports that reading for pleasure and personal interest has declined drastically over the past few years. Unlike the 2004 report, this study included literature, informational reading, periodicals, and internet reading and still found that the average adult spends only seven minutes reading anything by choice per day.

From May 1 - Feb 28/09, read 10 books from the 1001 list (which would be about 1%) for this challenge. I'm already planning to read 15 books from this list before Dec. 21/08 so this challenge shouldn't be a problem. Below are the 15 books. Life of Pi by Yann MartelThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyMemoirs of a Geisha by Arthur GoldenThe Stone Diaries by Carol ShieldsWild Swans by Jung ChangThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerNineteen Eighty-Four by George OrwellOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken KeseyTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeJourney to the Center of the Earth by Jules VerneEmma by Jane AustenThe Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia MarquesThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverSlaughter House-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting this challenge to read books that are part of these categories: Fantasy, Folklore, Fairy Tales and Mythology. This is a Spring challenge and takes place from March 21 to June 20. He has three journeys, I'll be taking this one:

Quest the First

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time II criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

So without futhur ado, here is my list of choices:

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

Okay so this wrap-up is only 28 days late. :) I just barely finished this challenge on time although I still haven't posted the reviews for the last two. I ended up changing my chosen author near the end to Richard Peck. I read Strays Like Us, Through a Brief Darkness and A Long Way From Chicago. I enjoyed them all and will be reading more Peck for sure.

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.

Stars: ***1/2

This book was read as part of the R.I.P. II challenge. It was an extra book.

I'm glad I got to this book. It was a good book, but I rated it 3 1/2 stars because it wasn't what I would want in a ghost-hunting manual. Most of it was about different kinds of ghosts and lots of case stories. Although I imagine you would need to know about types of ghosts to be a ghost-hunter I do think more information would be needed on actually looking for ghosts. There was a section on making and using some tools to find ghosts but there should have been much more. This book was more of a guide to types of ghosts.

There are too many books piled up on my book shelves waiting to be read. Hence I joined From the Stakes Winter Reading Challenge. That way I can read atleast 5 books from that pile from Nov 1, 2007 to Jan 30, 2008.

My tentative list:

Roots by Alex Haily

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

Deep Freeze by Lisa Jackson