Friday, December 31, 2010

Challenge Completed: Support Your Local Library Challenge

I aimed to read 50 books for this challenge, hosted by Home Girl's Book Blog, but I fell short at 42 titles. Luckily, this still fits into the category of The Mini with 25 titles. I probably did check out way more than 50 titles from my library in 2010 if I include my daughters' books, plus non-fiction titles that I skimmed through without reading cover-to-cover, such as potty-training books, etc. Here are the books I completed for this challenge:

1. Hunted by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
2. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
4. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
5. Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
6. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
7. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
8. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
9. Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine
10. The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
11. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
12. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
13. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
14. Tempted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
15. The Season by Sarah MacLean
16. Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
17. Ash by Malinda Lo
18. Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
19. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
20. Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine
21. Hannah by Kathryn Lasky
22. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
23. The Proper Care & Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger
24. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
25. Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison
26. Urban Shaman by C. E. Murphy
27. Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine
28. Burned by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
29. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
30. Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine
31. Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey
32. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
33. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
34. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
35. In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger
36. Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
37. Thunderbird Falls by C. E. Murphy
38. Quatrain by Sharon Shinn
39. Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop
40. The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey
41. Winter Moon by Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee, and C. E. Murphy
42. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Challenge Completed: Speculative Fiction Challenge

I aimed to read the maximum level for the Speculative Fiction Challenge, hosted by Book Chick City, but I didn't quite make it to 24 titles. Instead, I managed 18 titles, which falls at the Addicted level of 12 books. Here are the books I read for this challenge:

1. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
2. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
3. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
4. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
5. Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
6. Tempted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
7. Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
8. Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison
9. Burned by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
10. The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey
11. Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine
12. Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey
13. Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
14. Quatrain by Sharon Shinn
15. Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop
16. The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey
17. Winter Moon by Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee, and C. E. Murphy
18. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Review: Winter Moon Anthology

Winter Moon: Moontide\The Heart of the Moon\Banshee CriesBook Details:
Winter Moon: Moontide\The Heart of the Moon\Banshee Cries
By Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee, and C. E. Murphy
Genre: Fantasy
Published November 2005, LUNA Books
Paperback, 393 pages
ISBN: 0373802390


Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Mercedes Lackey
In an isolated land where the lure of the "Moontide" leads to shipwrecks, a woman is torn between obeying her father or her king. When she chooses to follow a Fool, she discovers magic she'd never expected… at a price that might be too high….

World Fantasy award winner Tanith Lee
Struggling under the curse of a dead comrade, Clirando, a warrior priestess unready to face the powers trapped within her, must face "The Heart of the Moon" to reveal what has been hidden….

C.E. Murphy
In "Banshee Cries," ritual murders under a full moon lead Jo Walker to confront a Harbinger of Death. Maybe this "gift" she has is one she shouldn't ignore— because the next life she has to save might be her own!
The first story by Mercedes Lackey is meant to take place in her world of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, minus the power of The Tradition to force things a certain way. The only clue the I found that could indicate that this story would fit in the Five Hundred Kingdoms is the presence of the Fool. Other than that, it simply read as a good fantasy plotline, with equal parts romance, intrigue, and adventure. The story wrapped up nicely, with no loose ends, but I would love to read a full novel about the Grey Ladies - not much information is given on this group of women and they certainly have much potential for a good full-length story.
The second story is by Tanith Lee, whom I have never read before now. I rather enjoyed the world development, despite the length she had to work in, and the imagery was both mysterious and beautiful. After I read the story, I went looking online to see if this world fit into any other novels, but I could not find any information on this. Still, I plan to check out more of her work now.
The third story by C. E. Murphy takes place in her Walker Papers series, specifically between the first and second book. Since I have only read the first two books in the series, I thoroughly appreciated how this story filled in a few blanks for me about what is happening in the series. In this story, Joanne learns about her deceased mother, who turns out to be quite a fascinating character. I think I may even prefer her to Joanne. It can't be easy for the author to translate a thick Scottish accent onto paper, either. Now I am anxious to read more of the Walker Papers series.

The Cover: The cover is generic enough to loosely fit all three stories easily, without really dictating what any of the three stories are actually about. But hey, this is what you gotta do with an anthology.

First Line: "Lady Reanna watched with interest as Moira na Ferson took her chain-main shirt, pooled it like glittery liquid on the bed, and slipped it into a grey velvet bag lined with chamois."
The opening line to the first short story is beautifully written, plus there is enough happening in this first sentence to peak my interest to learn more.

Favorite Quote: "...but that's the price of Gaelic blood, my Siobhan. For all their wars are merry."
"And all their songs are sad," I whispered.



Read For: Speculative Fiction Challenge, Support Your Local Library Challenge

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A Rachel Vincent Contest

My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers, Book 4)While I have yet to delve into the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent - it's on my TBR List - I could not resist taking part in this little contest that she is having on her blog, the prize is too tempting to resist! The newest book in the series is My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers, Book 4), which hit the bookshelves December 21, 2010. Here's the tantalizing blurb:


          YOU WANT MY SOUL AND MY BOYFRIEND?
Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.
See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.
And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.
I DON'T THINK SO.



Teaser Tuesday: Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites ...and Other Lies You've Been Told

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page.
3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!).
5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My Teaser:
Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites...and Other Lies You've Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media
In writing this, I realize that I may have made a strategic error in discussing why I have written this book: I have neglected to add a fear appeal. So maybe no one will read it. But it's not too late, so here it goes. You should read this book because "there is a deeply disturbing trend of bad statistics that is sabotaging American Christianity and destroying the American way of life, and if you ignore it your entire body will soon be covered with boils. The good news, however, is that if you buy this book and read it carefully, you will avoid this calamity; plus you'll live longer, have fresh breath, and your kitchen knives will always stay sharp. - pg. 24, Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites...and Other Lies You've Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media by Bradley R. E. Wright, Ph.D

What are you reading this week?

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Survey of 2010

I discovered a great survey over at The Perpetual Page Turner that covers what I've read and blogged about in the past year. This is a nice way to review what I've accomplished on this blog and draw it all together in a pretty package!

1. Best Book of 2010? Oh, this is a tough one. My knee jerk response to the question is Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. As many books as I've read that follow the plot line of innocent girl falls in love with supernatural being, I still was a total sucker for this one.

2. Worst Book of 2010? Well, this one is an easy choice. I was asked to review a self-published title, The Dead Rise First: Rapture Countdown by Alton Ragan and Robert D. McLaughlin, and oh how I regret it. No more self-published titles for me.

3. Most Disappointing Book of 2010? This would have to be Ash by Melinda Lo. I reviewed it for an event, and I specifically requested this one since I usually love fairy tales retellings. This book fell way below what I was expecting, especially since I had read more than one good review on the book beforehand.

4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010? I received the book Not a Sparrow Falls by Linda Nichols to review and was immediately intimated by the heavy drug-themed content, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading it. Even though it does not fall until the typical style of literature I prefer, I am glad I was given the opportunity to read it.

5. Book you recommended to people most in 2010? Well, I don't usually have the opportunity to recommend books to many people, but I consider myself to be very good at picking books for others, even if I have not read the books myself. This means that I rarely recommend the same titles to different people. That said, my best friend likes just about every book that I like, so she bears the brunt of many of my recommendations.

6. Best series you discovered in 2010? This is definitely the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine. The series reminds me of my beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with it's quirkiness and humor in the face of extreme stress and danger, and I fly through them as quickly as eating through a bowl of popcorn!

7. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2010? It's hard for me to pick just one, but I think Melissa Marr is a good choice for this question. I found her Wicked Lovely series well-written in its unpredictability, and I think her abilities and imagination leave room for lots of potential.

8. Most hilarious read of 2010? While I don't normally reach for a memoir or biography, My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster had me laughing out loud on nearly every page! There were several times I was in tears from laughing and had to put the book down to gain control of myself. Both my husband and my best friend got annoyed with me for my behavior while I was reading this book!

9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010? How is this different from best book of 2010? Okay, I'll put some thought into this and try for a different answer. Well, I read through the entire Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead at lightning speeds thanks to a little contest I won through Penguin Canada. The most enticing book in this series for me was probably Blood Promise, as Rose and Dimitri finally got to be together, even if the circumstances were less than perfect for them.

10. Book you most anticipated in 2010? My favorite all-time author is Jacqueline Carey, so of course, I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on the next book in the Kushiel's Legacy series, Naamah's Curse. This series is just delicious, and I could read the books over and over again.

She Walks in Beauty11. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2010? I picked the book She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell from Bethany House for reviewing purely for the beauty of the cover. I'm a sucker for those old-fashioned gowns, and it immediately made me think of Belle's yellow gown from Disney's Beauty and the Beast (my favorite - she gets a library!). I have my eye on the Luxe series by Anna Godberson for the same reason. I also loved the title!


12. Most memorable character of 2010? This would have to be Mercy Thompson from the series by Patricia Briggs. I really grew to love this character and her inner strength, especially after reading the third book in the series, Iron Kissed. In this book, Mercy is raped by magical means, and it really took me by surprise that Briggs would address such a difficult topic, but the way that this ultimately impacts Mercy made me both want to be a friend to her and admire her for how she eventually recovers from this traumatic event.

13. Most beautifully written book in 2010? Reading Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee was like being allowed to sample gourmet food everyday. The beauty of Lee's skill with words felt like I was reading poetry, even though it was prose. Her descriptions of scenery and the emotion she poured into the character of Eve was breath-taking, and I felt like I was overdosing on literature everytime I picked it up. This one goes on my list of favorite books of all time.

14. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2010? Everything I read impacts me in some way, whether it be good or bad, big or small. The book that probably impacted me the most widely in my day-to-day life was In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. As a stay-at-home mom myself, this book gave the self-esteem boost I needed to change my perspective about what I do everyday so that I stopped focusing on what I can't do to what I can do - be a mother to my children and a wife to my husband.

15. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2010 to finally read? This would have to be Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I saw the movie long before I read the book, and several people recommended Gaiman to me long before I attempted to read anything by him. After reading it, I have to wonder what took me so long.


Book Blogging in 2010
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2010? This is definitely the toughest question for me to answer. I follow quite a number of book blogs, and I like different things about most of them, such as a catchy title, eye-pleasing colors, attractive design, nicely-developed book reviews, unique features, great advice, etc. But my favorite blog would have to be Wicked Lil Pixie (Natasha) at Writings of a Wicked Book Addict. She has attitude to spare, and everything she writes has me laughing, sometimes to tears. I was even able to share some of what I've read there with hubby, who usually doesn't "get it."

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2010? I think one of my best reviews for 2010 was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I had quite a bit to say about the book, and I find that it's easier for me to write longer reviews when I don't like everything about a book. When I rate a book as five roses, there are only so many ways to say that the book is great, fantastic, and incredible. I have also discovered that I review non-fiction books differently from fiction ones.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog? One of my more emotional blog posts was in regards to an unnamed publishing house that first requested I review a book, then butchered my review to post on its site when the owner did not like everything I had to say in my review. Needless to say, I was incredibly offended that they did not even bother to ask me before they did this. I only just resisted the urge to publicize the name of the house because they did remove the review when I asked them to. Amazingly, I still get emails from the publishing house to participate in other blog tours - which all promptly get deleted.

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else's blog? There was a scandal not too long ago in which a certain Missouri State University professor sought to have several YA books banned from the public schools in his district, and the complaints he had published regarding these books made the news big-time in the booking community. I believe I first read about this scandal from Natalie at Mindful Musings, who lives in the same area, so of course I had to blog my own thoughts on the topic. I don't think people will forget that travesty for quite some time.

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? The event that I enjoyed participating in the most was the YA Bloggers Debut Book Battle. I got to partner with another blogger to judge between two titles and I made a new blogging friend in the process, The Book Vixen. Judging between Ash by Malinda Lo and The Season by Sarah MacLean with her also helped me write better book reviews on my own.

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2010? That would have to be when I found out that I had won the first five books in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead from Penguin Canada. While this does not necessarily have to do with book blogging, I never would have entered the drawing had I not been accepting books from Penguin Canada to review on my blog.

7. Best bookist discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? This is a tie between Goodreads and LibraryThing. Both sites are for keeping record of a person's book collection, whether that be in the form of to-be-read book lists, owned books, books currently being read, book wishlists, etc. You can also post reviews of books on the site, keep track of favorite authors and other book bloggers, recommend books to others, and enter giveaways for ARCs - on LibraryThing Early Reviewers and Goodreads First Reads. The main difference between the two is that LibraryThing requires you to pay to record more than 100 books in your personal book collection. I like LibraryThing specifically for the giveaways and for participating in SantaThing. I use Goodreads as my main book collection, and I have been working on transferring all of my current book reviews to the site. Eventually I plan to do the same for LibraryThing, but it's a slow process.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Challenge Completed: Celebrate the Author Challenge

This challenge was hosted by Becky's Book Reviews. The purpose of the challenge was to celebrate author birthdays by reading a book for each month of the year to represent the birthday of the author of each book, totaling 12 books for the year. I just barely scraped through the finish line with this challenge, I almost did not find an author for the month of March, but luckily my library got in a YA James Patterson book that I was interested in reading, and I finished it with maybe a week left in the year. Here is my list of books for the year:

January: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
February: The Centurion's Wife by Janette Oke
March: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
April: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
May: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
June: Hannah by Kathryn Lasky
July: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
August: Ash by Malinda Lo
September: Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison
October: She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell
November: Stardust by Neil Gaiman
December: The Season by Sarah MacLean


Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Review: The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

The Sleeping Beauty (Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms)Book Details:
The Sleeping Beauty (Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms)
By Mercedes Lackey
Genre: Fantasy
Published 2010, LUNA Books
Hardback, 345 pages
ISBN: 9780373803156


Synopsis:

          Heavy is the head—and the eyelids—of the princess who wears the crown…
In Rosamund's realm, happiness hinges on a few simple beliefs:
For every princess there's a prince.
The king has ultimate power.
Stepmothers should never be trusted.
And bad things come to those who break with Tradition….
But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the guinea pig in one of her stepmother's risky incantations—thus falling into a deep, deep sleep.
When awakened by a touchy-feely stranger, Rosa must choose between Tradition and her future…between a host of eligible princes and a handsome, fair-haired outsider. And learn the difference between being a princess and ruling as a queen.
The moral of the story? Sometimes a princess has to create her own happy endings….
I found this book to be quite engrossing and entertaining as a retelling of a mixture of common fairy tales, namely Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Other tales are also given some attention, such as the Frog Prince, as a source of humor and explanation of random occurences. The lengths to which Rosa and her Fairy Godmother must go to escapes the clutches of The Tradition are both ingenious and exhausting, and it makes me appreciate that my own life is not dictated by some non-conscious "force."
I especially enjoyed the many different challenges that the two women conceived to test the many Princes vying for Rosa's hand in marriage, and I even tried to answer a few myself before I read ahead. The novel takes the modernized approach that the Damsel in Distress does not always need a man to save her from Doom - but having a few handy just in case certainly don't hurt!
I enjoyed how unique each of the characters are, even minor characters, such as some of the Princes who were eliminated early or the different Brownies in the service of the Fairy Godmother. Seigfried and Leopold are opposites in many ways, and yet they work very well together. Seigfried's bird is also great entertainment and quite convenient as a source of knowledge and backstory. The way that Leopold resolves the force of the The Tradition that has been plaguing Seigfried is rather perfect, too. The mirror spirit, Jimson, who serves the Fairy Godmother, Lily, is also quite endearing, and I found his resolution somewhat predictable, but still enjoyable.
What I like most about the Five Hundred Kingdom series is that even though each of the books in the series could qualify as a stand-alone novel, each book still sneaks in elements to connect it to the backstory of previous books, such as when Lily contacts Elena regarding dragons. The fairy tales are reimagined in the light of modern values while still favoring core elements, and even an adult such as myself can appreciate them!

The Cover: This is perfect for a fairy tale-retelling, all pink with a splash of pink roses, a beautiful princess, and the dashing prince in shining armor - fantastic!

First Line: "Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who's the fairest in the land?"
Now this is a classic fairy tale line that also gives a hint of one of the main focal points of the novel - the mirror. I am eager to keep going with this opening line.

Favorite Quote: "If that is another weapon you threw at me, Princess," he said carefully, "it is most effective."



Read For: Support Your Local Library Challenge, Speculative Fiction Challenge, Once Upon a Time Challenge

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Teaser Tuesday: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page.
3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!).
5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My Teaser:
The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1)
          Call me crazy, but there's just something cheering about seeing huge raptors tear into Eraser flesh.
Just as Ari, ignoring the latch in his murderous rage, finally succeeded in ripping it open, he was dive-bombed by a hawk with razor-sharp talons and a huge grudge against wolves. As I popped out, I saw him swatting at it, screaming like a big weenie as the bird sliced into the back of his neck.
'Angel! Get out of here!' I yelled, racing to her.
Two whitecoats were chasing her, but I got there first. I elbowed one out of the way, grabbed Angel's waist, and threw her up into the sky. - pg. 203, The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1) by James Patterson

What are you reading this week?

Monday, December 20, 2010

Failed Reading Challenges 2010

I am lumping all of my failed challenges into one post, as this is not exactly something to be thrilled about. I did give each of them a good try, but my reading interests went a different direction this year than I predicted. Namely, I received many more book review requests than I expected, and I really got into reading books from the Young Adult genre. Unfortunately for my reading challenges, these books did not fit into the required categories all that well. Here is the list of abandoned challenges:

451 Challenge: I loved the idea of this challenge, which was created in the spirit of the iconic book Fahreinheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I chose to start off this challenge with the much-beloved classic, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - and then stalled on it. I know this book is incredibly popular, especially for those who love a good romance, but I just didn't get it. I made it halfway through the book before I pretty much gave up. I may try to finish it in the new year for the sake of the upcoming movie release, but don't hold your breath. That book killed this challenge for me.

Biblical Fiction Challenge: I did get three books read for this challenge, which is halfway. I simply had so many books I wanted to read that I lost track of time. I normally love Biblical fiction, as it gives me new insight into stories that I am already familiar with, so I am a bit disappointed in myself for not finishing this one. Here are the titles I did complete for this one:
1. The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
2. The Hidden Flame by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
3. Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee

Once Upon a Time Challenge: I also read three books in this challenge, but I was supposed to read five books, so I did not make it. I orginally picked this challenge because I have read quite a number of books that fit the description of "fairy-tales retold". The flip side is that since I have already read lots of this kind of book, I might find it difficult to locate books of this style that I have not read in time. Soooo.... yea. I didn't make it. Oh, well. Here are the books I did read in time:
1. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
2. Ash by Malinda Lo
3. The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey


Sunday, December 19, 2010

Challenge Completed: Twenty-Ten Challenge

This challenge was hosted by Bart's Bookshelf. I did not quite read through all twenty titles that I had planned for myself. I read 17 of the 20 I was supposed to read before the end of the year. Ironically, the books I did not get to I actually own, and so I can't blame it on the library not getting the books in on time, or something like that. Still, I think 17 out of 20 is still pretty good for this challenge, and I am planning on giving this challenge another shot in the coming year. Here is what I did manage to read:

1. Young Adult

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
3. Shiny and New
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Colleen Coble
4. Bad Blogger’s
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
5. Charity
The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

6. New in 2010
The Hidden Flame by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee

7. Older Than You
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

8. Win! Win!
Ash by Malinda Lo
Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

9. Who Are You Again?
The Season by Sarah Maclean
Between Two Kingdoms by Joe Boyd

10. Up to You!
My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster
The Proper Care & Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger


Challenge Completed: Take Another Chance Challenge

This challenge was hosted by Life...With Books. There were 12 categories, and I managed to complete 8 of them, which qualifies me for "A Moderate Gamble." This was a very interesting challenge as it required me to be creative with my book choices and write unique book reviews. I'm glad I participated! Here are the books I read for this challenge:

1. Read Your Doppelganger (same first name) - Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

2. Blogroll Roulette - (11, Dark Faerie Tales) - Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
3. 100 Best Book - (100 Best Romance Novels of the 20th Century) - Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
4. Title Word Count - (2) - Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
5. Genre Switch-Up - The Season by Sarah MacLean
6. Break a Prejudice - The Dead Rise First: Rapture Countdown by Alton Ragan and Robert D. McLaughlin
7. Same Word, Different Book - (Blood) - Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs, Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
8. Become a Character - Stardust by Neil Gaiman

2011 Reading Challenge: Twenty-Eleven

I partipated in this challenge for 2010, and even though I didn't quite make it to the finish line, I liked it so much, I want to give it another shot. This challenge is hosted by Bart's Bookshelf. For 2011, we are supposed to read twenty books in eleven categories, which means that I only have to read 1 book in 2 of the categories, and the rest of the categories I need to read 2 books to make the twenty book total. ...And if that doesn't make sense, just keep reading until all the bases are covered!
I have a few ideas of what to read for some of these categories, but I'm going to leave them blank until I have actually read the books, then fill them in as I go along.

Now on to the categories...

1. To YA or not YA…
Beastly by Alex Flinn
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

2. …With a Twist.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Redemption by Laurel Dewey

3. Hot off the Presses.
River Marked by Patricia Briggs
The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer

4. It Wasn’t Me! (aka Bad Bloggers*)
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Kathleen's Story by Lurlene McDaniel

5. Show it Who is Boss!
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ravens of Avalon by Diana L. Paxson

6. Bablefish.
Lion's Honey by David Grossman (Translated by Stuart Schoffman)
The Lost Angel by Javier Sierra (Translated by Carlos Frias)

7. Will-Power? What Will-Power? (aka: The Henry Ward Beecher Memorial.)
Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione
Just One Taste by Louisa Edwards

8. Mind the Gap.
Coyote Dreams by C. E. Murphy
Awakened by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast


9. Back in the Day.
Chocolat by Joanne Harris

10. Way Back When.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

11. Slim-Pickings
On The Prowl by Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Sunny
Harvest Moon by Mercedes Lackey, Michelle Sagara, and Cameron Haley


Saturday, December 18, 2010

For Jacqueline Carey Fans...

My favorite author, Jacqueline Carey, pointed out on FaceBook a very creative use of her first book in the Kushiel's Legacy series, Kushiel's Dart. She received a box from Greenman Apothecary of seven soaps based on characters from the book: Phedre no Delauney, Hyacinthe, Anafiel Delauney, Joscelin Verreuil, Waldemir Selig, Melisande Shahrizai, and Ysandre de la Courcel. Based on the descriptions shown on each soap, these products look intelligently conceived and very unique in design. I would love to have my own set (could I afford it), but I would probably need two sets - one for displaying and one for personal use!



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