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Get your October links in down below!

*ALSO! THERE WILL BE A PRIZE DRAWING AT THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER!*
I picked up some prizes when I was in London last month, so I'll be drawing for those! There will be 4 prizes, two of which will be drawn from all reviews since the challenge opened, and two of which will be drawn from reviews posted since the last prize draw (so May-October). Every review you post gets you an entry, so get reading!

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Add your October Reviews to Mr. Linky below!

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Now comes the monthly post where I list all the reading challenges I'm participating in and how I'm doing...

TBR challenge, where I make a list of 12 books (and 12 backup) and read at least 12 by the end of the year. I've done 3.2:

Octavian Nothing II, Kingdom on the Waves
Frog Princess
High Fidelity

The .2 is part of Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out

For the 1% challenge, I need to read 13 books by March 31. I've done 2:

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

For the Buy Books Challenge, I need to buy and read 12 books by the end of the year.

I've purchased 39, read 12, and reviewed 7!

Turning Pages
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Forever Princess
Frog Princess
Gold
Dead is So Last Year
Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover
Living Dead Girl
Diamond Secret
Harry Potter Should Have Died
Fables: Dark Ages
Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?

Also, I purchased a copy of Mao's Last Revolution but I read and reviewed that last year, so does it count? Does it not? I'm going to say no, just because I've purchased so many other things...

Along the same lines, I purchased Lonely Planet: Paris but I'm not going to review that.

For the Chunkster Challenge, I have to read 6 adult books of 450+ pages by November 15, 2009. I've done 1.4

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

That .4 is part of Atlas Shrugged and part of Life and Death are Wearing Me Out

There's the Fill in the Gaps challenge, where I came up with a list of 100 books and commit to finishing 75 of them within 5 years. 4.5 years in, I've done 7.2!

Speak
Julie of the Wolves
Whale Talk
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
The Dark is Rising
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Golden Compass

Once again, that .2 is Atlas Shrugged.

And then there's my own Guardian Challenge, which has me reading 10 books by February 1. I've done 3.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (which is filed under "comedy")
The Golden Compass (which is filed under "scifi/fantasy")
The Bottle Factory Outing (which is filed under "comedy" AND is a book I had never heard of before coming across it on this list.)


There's also my goal to read at least 50 of the books I owned but hadn't read as of January 1 by next January 1. I've done 15.4

Octavian Nothing II
Crazy Lady
Frog Princess
A Girl, A Boy, and a Monster Cat
A Girl, A Boy, and Three Robbers
Glass Castle
High Fidelity
North of Beautiful
Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies
Rapunzel's Revenge
Revolution is Not a Dinner Party
Rouge of the North
Story of Sushi
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Whale Talk

Once again, .4 is part of Atlas Shrugged and part of Life and Death are Wearing Me Out.

Then there is me trying to finish Anita Silvey's 100 Best Books for Children, of which I had 26 left. I've read 4!

Millions of Cats
Julie of the Wolves
The Dark is Rising
Snowflake Bentley

There's the

Japanese Literature Challenge so I have to read one book of Japanese literature by January 30.

Nothing yet.

The Random Reading Challenge has me taking my TBR pile (or a segment thereof) assigning a number to each book, and then using a random number generator to pick my next book. I have to read 12 this way by July 31. I've read 2! Both were chosen from a list that had all by TBR books that were ON HAND (so books that I own, review copies, and books that were currently checked out from the library.)

A Girl, a Boy, and Three Robbers
Rouge of the North

And there is my own China Challenge. I'm going to read 12 books and do 3 China-related activities between now and September 1, 2010.

Well... there's that .2 of Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out.

New since last month are Callapidder Day's Fall Into Reading Challenge, where I make a list of books I want to read before the end of the year. I've read 2.4!

Al Capone Shines my Shoes
Snowflake Bentley

We all know what that .4 is by now, right?

And, S. Krishna's Clear off Your Shelves Challenge, which sees me reading 38 books I own by the end of November. Cross your fingers for me.

Nothing yet, but it just started on Thursday.

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Rosh Hashanah was last weekend and Yom Kippur starts tonight. School started (but not for me! Huzzah!) at the beginning of the month. With the beginning of this new year, I start thinking about what my goals are and what I want to do in the next year. I won't finalize them until the January, when the calendar year begins anew, but I start thinking in broad plans now.

Al Capone Shines my Shoes
All the Broken Pieces
The Kind of Friends We Used to Be
Peace, Locomotion
Shadowland
Wintersmith
City of Bones
Claudette Colvin: twice toward justice
The Eternal Smile
Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
Keena Ford and the Field Trip Mix-Up
Marcelo in the Real World
Piper Reed Gets a Job
The Princess Plot
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Stage Fright
Senator Joe McCarthy
Graceling
Street Love
Chop Suey
Confetti Girl
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
How to be Popular
Life as We Knew it
Locomotion
Lucy Long Ago
39 Clues: Maze of Bones
Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Queen of Babble
Nature of Jade
Queen of Babble in the Big City
Queen of Babble Gets Hitched
Ready or Not
The Roar
Written in Bone
Atlas Shrugged
Life and Death are Wearing me Out
The Host
Book of Lost Things
Life and Death in Shanghai
Asleep
Hardboiled and Hardluck
Ballet Shoes
Cold Comfort Farm
Brideshead Revisited
Midnight Pearls
Adoration of Jenna Fox
Anatomy of a Boyfriend
Aurelie
Ballet Family
Ballet Family Again
Cathy's Key
A Certain Chemistry
Cybele's Secret
Everyday Life
Explosions
Fire in the Blood
General Winston's Daughter
Girl From Golden Horn
Babe
Betsy-Tacy
Snow
Clockwork Orange
Possession
Oliver Twist
The Sound and the Fury
Brave New World
1 Judge Dee Mystery
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Color Purple
Mr. Grumpy's Outing
Swamp Angel
John Henry
Snowflake Bentley
Tuesday
Seven Blind Mice
Morning Girl
Stone Fox
Misty of Chincoteague
Grandfather's Journey
The Incredible Journey
Humbug Mountain
The People Could Fly
Rabbit Hill
The Great Fire
Rascal
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Cricket in Times Square
Behind the Attic Wall
Out of the Dust
Johnny Tremain

I've also been putting some more work into The Reading Challenge Clearinghouse. There's now a twitter feed, and you can become a fan on Facebook, so I hope you'll fan us and follow us and get your challenge on...

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So, in my Challenge Update post, I mentioned I'm reading Atlas Shrugged.

Essentially, on Sunday, Dan dared me to do it. He said that if I read it and talked about it with him, he'd take me to one of my favorite restaurants. I think he was pretty surprised that I agreed right away!

You can follow our adventures as the aptly titled Dan and Jennie's Randian Adventure.

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So, I've been cooped up in the house the last few days with PINK EYE. Blargh. It's pretty sucktastic.

But, I have gotten a bunch of reading done.

I did some decided to use the random number generator and have a book picked for me for the Random Reading Challenge. My number was 263, which happened to be...

The Rouge of the North Eileen Chang

At the end of the Qing dynasty, Yindi lives with her brother and sister-in-law above their sesame oil shop until she's married off to the second son of a wealthy, but fading, family. He's an invalid and she finds herself attracted to her husband's younger brother. Yindi is not satisfied with her lot in life, but not strong enough to break out of the mold. Instead, she scandalizes the family by talking about taboo subjects without discretion and turns to opium. She becomes more and more controlling and demented, turning her household into the same place she always hated, but with her in charge.

Yes, the plot is the same as Chang's novella, "The Golden Cangue" which can be found in her Love in a Fallen City, which I reviewed here (and loved). After reading The Rouge of the North, I reread "The Golden Cangue" (so, I've read it three times now.)

In her short stories and novellas, Chang is the queen of the understatement. I often have to reread scenes so I can figure out what happened (let's not talk a bout how many times I had to read the ending of Lust, Caution because I figured out what had gone down.)

The Rouge of the North lacks this understatement. The full length novel (written in English, while "The Golden Cangue" was written in Chinese) explores things more fully and gives more explanations and motivations to Yindi's behavior. Here, we see a woman who is dissatisfied with her female role in society, but trapped by it. In "Cangue" Qiqiao was just crazy insane. It wasn't all opium, but you're unsure as to why she is the way she is. I didn't like Yindi, but I understood her more.

English was Chang's second language and while she writes in it very well, it lacks some of the poetry of her translated works.

Take this passage from "The Golden Cangue":

A gust of wind came in the window and blew against the long mirror in the scrollwork lacquered frame until it rattled against the wall. Qiqiao pressed the mirror down with her hands. The green bamboo curtain and a green and gold landscape scroll reflected in the mirror went on swinging back and forth in the wind--one could get dizzy watching it for long. When she looked again the green bamboo curtain had faded, the green and gold landscape was replaced by a photograph of her deceased husband, and the woman in the mirror was also ten years older.

Compare it to the same transition in The Rouge of the North:

[this is preceded by a chapter where she attempts to hang herself. This is how the next chapter starts]

The green bamboo blind kept moving in the summer breeze coming in the window. Sunlight tiger-striped the room and swayed back and forth. A large black-framed photograph of Second Master knocked on the wall. That time it had been he who called out and she was let down in time. She had never worn mourning white for him because Old Mistress was still alive. Heavy mourning would have been a bad omen pointing to the head of the house. Now she worse mourning for Old Mistress.

Not my favorite one of her works, but Chang remains one of my favorite authors and I did very much enjoy reading this.

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Oh, and I signed up for 2 more reading challenges.

The Japanese Literature Challenge (so, I have to read a book of Japanese origin by Jan. 30)

AND!

The Random Reading Challenge. I'm going to go whole hog and do Level III. So, by July 30 I have to read 12 books chosen randomly. And chosen REALLY randomly-- get out your TBR list (or a permeation thereof) assign a number to every book, and then go to Random.org do get a random number off your list and there you go! Luckily, I live my life off spreadsheets. All my TBR books, lists for different challenges, library books, etc. etc. I've already started this one by combining three spreadsheets: books checked out from the library, review copies I haven't gotten to yet, books I've purchased this year, and the list o' doom. The spreadsheet is nice because it assigns numbers for me! Ha!

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We hear about China all the time in the news. It has one of the richest and longest literary histories in the world. It's a huge and changing country, and there are a million books out there to enjoy. In order to help us understand China, join the China Challenge!

The challenge will last a year and a day, from September 1, 2009-September 1, 2010. Feel free to snag a button and sign up in the comments!

Audio books are fine, as are books for all age levels. If you want ideas of things to read, just click on the "China" tag at the end of this post to see a bunch of my previous reviews of all sorts of books about China.

There are several levels to choose from:

Armchair Traveler:

Read 1 book about China. I'm defining this pretty loosely, but the majority of the action should take place in China. For the sake of ease, places such as Hong Kong, Macau, Tibet, and Taiwan count.

Fast Train to Shanghai:

Read 5 books about China

1 should be a translated work of fiction by a Chinese author (or not translated if you have the language skills.) I will make exceptions for Chinese authors that also write in English-- their English works are fine.

1 should be nonfiction

Hiking the Great Wall:

Read 10 books about China

1 should be a work of translated fiction

1 should be nonfiction.

Here you can read 1 book (but only 1) about Chinese immigration. So, stories of Chinese people abroad, or nonfiction about overseas Chinese communities.

Silk Road Trek:

Same as "Hiking the Great Wall," but you also have to do (and blog about!) at least 3 of these other China-Related activities:

1. Listen to a lesson or two on Chinese Pod (the Newbie lessons are free for all) and learn some Mandarin

2. Check out a Chinese cookbook and make a dish that's new to you

3. Go out for Chinese food. If you can, dim sum brunch!

4. Read a blog about China (my daily China reads are: Shanghaiist, Danwei, China Beat, and Laura & Tony. Don't worry, they're all in English!)

5. Listen to some Chinese music! Peking Opera might not be your cup of tea, but try Shanghai Lounge Divas or listen to some current Indie music from China here or the phenomenal Afterquake.

6. Watch a Chinese film

7. Check out a travel guide and plan a vacation to China-- it's a huge country--what cities do you want to go to and what do you want to see while there?

8. Actually take that vacation! Or a different trip to China.


9. Attend a Chinese cultural event or art exhibit in your area.

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I started a new project that I'm really excited about, but I need your help.

My favorite thing about the blogging community are the fun and games-- mainly, reading challenges. Because of this, one of my biggest disappointments is when I find out about a cool challenge when I stumble across everyone's wrap-up posts.

In light of this, I started my new project, The Reading Challenges Clearinghouse. This blog will post (and link) to all the reading challenges out there for all types of book blogs. The long ones, the short ones, the serious, and the silly. I'm only blogging about challenges that start August 1, 2009 or after, but the blog has lists of all the challenges going on, and I'll add challenges that started before this month but are still going to those lists.

BUT, I NEED YOUR HELP.

Please, let me know about all your challenges--the ones you're hosting, the ones you're participating in, the ones you've seen in your daily surfing.

Thanks! I hope this new project will serve as a useful tool for all of us who love our challenges!

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It's a new month, so let's see how I'm doing on my various reading challenges (hint: NOT GOOD.)

Yes, I did just copy and past that sentence from last month.

Well, there's the TBR challenge, where I make a list of 12 books (and 12 backup) and read at least 12 by the end of the year. I'm still holding steady at 3.

Octavian Nothing II, Kingdom on the Waves
Frog Princess
High Fidelity

For the 1% challenge, I need to read 13 books by the end of the year. I've done 1.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

For the Buy Books Challenge, I need to buy and read 12 books by the end of the year.

I've purchased 23 and read 10!

Turning Pages
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Forever Princess
Frog Princess
Gold
Dead is So Last Year
Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover
Living Dead Girl
Diamond Secret
Harry Potter Should Have Died

For the Chunkster Challenge, I have to read 6 adult books of 450+ pages by the end of the year. I've done 1.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

There's the filling in the gaps challenge, where I came up with a list of 100 books and commit to finishing 75 of them within 5 years. 4.5 years in, I've done 4.5!

Speak
Julie of the Wolves
Whale Talk
We Have Always Lived in the Castle

.5 because I'm in the middle of listening to The Dark is Rising

And then there's my own Guardian Challenge, which has me reading 10 books by February 1.

None so far, but we're going to fix that by next month. Promise.

There's also my goal to read at least 50 of the books I owned but hadn't read as of January 1 by next January 1. I've done 11.

Then there is me trying to finish Anita Silvey's 100 Best Books for Children, of which I had 26 left. I've read 2.5!

Millions of Cats
Julie of the Wolves

The .5 is once again The Dark is Rising

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It's a new month, so let's see how I'm doing on my various reading challenges (hint: NOT GOOD.)

Well, there's the TBR challenge and I've read 3 books! Just 9 more before the end of December!

Octavian Nothing II, Kingdom on the Waves
Frog Princess
High Fidelity

Then there's the banned book challenge. I said I'd read 10 by June 30th. I ended up reading 8.

Speak
Born Too Short
Crazy Lady
ttyl
Whale Talk
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Flashcards of my Life
Julie of the Wolves

For the 1% challenge, I need to read 13 books by the end of the year. I've done 1.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

For the Buy Books Challenge, I need to buy and read 12 books by the end of the year.

I've purchased 22 and read 9!

Turning Pages
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Forever Princess
Frog Princess
Gold
Dead is So Last Year
Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover
Living Dead Girl
Diamond Secret

For the Chunkster Challenge, I have to read 6 adult books of 450+ pages by the end of the year. I've done 1.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

And then there's my own Guardian Challenge, which has me reading 10 books by February 1.

Yeah, I've got nothing on that.

There's also my goal to read at least 50 of the books I owned but hadn't read as of January 1 by next January 1. I've done 11.

AND! Then there was the June-only challenges:

The Summer Reading Blitz, where I attempted to read 30 books this month. I did 26.

Ah well. Off to do more reading!

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Story of my life: Last night, I finally broke down and purchased Thriller so I could dance around in my kitchen to real music instead of me just singing the bits and pieces I remembered. (Also, that album is AWESOME. It was the best "time to mop the store" music EVER when I worked at the co-op grocery store.) Anyway, I was going back and forth because it's the end of the month and so I had already spent all of my "fun money" budget with a few too many trips to the bookstore this month. And, of course, today I get a gift certificate to Amazon. Face, meet palm.

In other news, I have AWESOME "problems." Really, life is pretty good right now. The sun's even out. Now all I have to do is decide what to eat for dinner tonight.

So, tomorrow I'm finishing up the Banned Book Challenge. Hopefully. There is some mad-dash-to-the-finish-line reading going on over here.

Anyway, in light of that, I thought I'd review some of the banned books I've read for the challenge this week. Sound good? Good.

I already reviewed Speak which is banned because apparently we can't talk about rape in books, even when it never gets described.

Also, for this challenge, I reread Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, because I haven't really been getting into anything I've read lately, so I thought I'd go to something I knew I'd love. Also, this time, I actually read Harry Potter in the Philosopher's Stone. Anyway, it's banned, because Harry and his friends do magic, which is considered by some to be Satanic.

I also read ttyl Lauren Myracle

This book is told entirely in Instant Message, entirely in chat speak. If you're not used to talking to teenage girls online, gird your loins.

Maddie, Angela, and Zoe are best friends as they head into their sophomore year of high school. Maddie's preoccupied with getting the popular girls to like her, Angela falls too hard and too fast for the wrong guy, and something is just not right with Zoe's relationship to her English teacher.

This one gets banned because there is talk about sex, drinking, and shaving your pubes when wearing a bathing suit. Also, I suspect there is issue with the fact that the icky teacher uses church as an excuse to get icky with Zoe. I have also seen a few complaints (mainly in online reviews) that the chat speak is destroying the English language.

Chat speak annoys the hell out of me, but it did lend authenticity to the character's voices. Although, I kinda got the feeling that Zoe was the type of girl to spell her words out and use capitalization, but she didn't.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book. The friendship of the three girls is real and zapped me right back to high school. Many of the decisions they make were STOOOOOOOPID, but guess what kids-- teens aren't know for their awesome decision making skills. It was funny and a quick read. I don't have an overwhelming desire to read the rest of the series (mainly because of the chat speak) but I can see why teens love this one. They should.

Also, at one point, Zoe (I think) mentions thumbprint cookies. I thought about those for the rest of the book (I read it in one sitting) and then had to go make some. But now they're gone.

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Hmmm... how am I doing on those challenges?

Well, there's the TBR challenge and I've read 3 books! Just 9 more before the end of December!

Octavian Nothing II, Kingdom on the Waves
Frog Princess
High Fidelity

Then there's the banned book challenge. I said I'd read 10 by June 30th. So far, I've read 1.

Speak

For the 1% challenge, I need to read 13 books by the end of the year. I've done 1.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

For the Buy Books Challenge, I need to buy and read 12 books by the end of the year.

I've purchased 11 and read 5!

Turning Pages
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Forever Princess
Frog Princess
Gold

For the Chunkster Challenge, I have to read 6 adult books of 450+ pages by the end of the year. I've done 1.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

And then there's my own Guardian Challenge, which has me reading 10 books by February 1.

Yeah, I've got nothing on that.

AND! Then there are two June-only challenges:

MotherReader's 48 Hour Challenge, where I read as much as possible in 48 hours this weekend.

And now there's the Summer Reading Blitz, where I attempt to read 30 books this month. So far, I've done 1:

Forest of Hands and Teeth

Lots of reading to do!

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Today's reviews have very little in common, except these two points:

1. They are both awesome
2. They are both on my "Fill in the Gaps" list.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson

Merricat said Constance, would you like a cup of tea?

I always knew that I was missing something with all of Lemony Snicket's references to the Sugar Bowl. Here is is.

Fantastically wonderful and creepy, this is a character study into Mary Katherine Blackwood (not a reliable narrator) who, along with her sister and uncle, survived when someone in the family put arsenic and sugar bowl at dinner several years ago. Merricat had been sent to bed without dinner and Constance didn't take sugar on her blackberries. Uncle Julian also survived, but was now confined to a wheelchair and developed some mental issues as a result of the poisoning.

The Blackwoods live locked away in their house, hiding from the prying eyes of the townfolk who hate them. (Even though we get the sense the town was never fond of the family, living up on the hill with all their money and the murder that Constance was cleared of only adds fuel to that fire.)

Then their cousin shows up, trying to gain the Blackwood fortune, something the reader sees but poor Constance does not.

This is not a plot driven novel. The ending revelation was not a surprise, nor was it meant to be. This is rather the story of one messed up mind and how she sees the world. Part of the fun is discerning how much is real and how much is in her head.

I highly recommend.

Speak Laurie Halse Anderson

HA! I finally read it!

Something happened to Melinda at the end-of-summer party and she called the cops. Now, everyone in her high school hates her. Melinda is fracturing as she fails classes (except art) and stops speaking.

I was worried about this because I *knew* what had happened at the party. I've known for awhile. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy the book because the "big reveal" was ruined. So not true. I think even if you didn't know, Anderson has enough clues in the text that the reveal won't be a surprise.

I was also worried because Anderson and especially this book, get praised to the rafters on a regular basis. I've read Twisted by her and while I liked it, it didn't blow me away by any means.

This did.

Melinda's voice, the short paragraphs, how she sees the world, the style of occasionally putting conversation in script form sucked me in. It was everything I had hoped it could be, plus some.

I can't wait to read Wintergirls, which I think will appeal to me in a similar way.

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Hi all! Well, the Guardian Novels Challenge has started!

If you read and review something this month, leave your link below!

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Well, you know, I have company coming in 1.5 hours and I think I should just say I'm not going to finish the New Classics Challenge. Ah well. I did end up reading 4 books, 2 of which were off the scary list of doom, 1 of which fit the bill for the Chunkster Challenge and 1 of which was on my list for the TBR challenge (um, ok, so maybe I cheated because I knew it was next on the pile to read and that's why I put it on the list... but I hadn't started it yet when I made my list!)

Anyway, so here is the 4th and final New Classics Challenge book (although I am going to read Sandman really soon, because it IS already checked out from the library and everything.)

High Fidelity: A Novel Nick Hornby

I haven't read any Hornby before and I was hesitant to read this because I really liked the movie. You know how the book is always better than the movie? What if that isn't true? What if really, whatever story you have immersed yourself in first is better, because that's why you know, and deviation is what makes it worse, no matter what the original was.

That, however, is not the case. While I still like the movie, I can say that the book is better. It has more wit. Also, it takes place in London, which just seems like a better setting for it somehow.

Anyway, if you haven't seen the movie, Rob is a bit of a sadsack. He's reached his mid-30s, runs a failing record shop, he finds his friends lame, and his long-time, serious, live-in girlfriend has just left him for the guy who used to live upstairs.

Rob's not the most reliable narrator in that he's a very authentic voice and so believable. He never understood why Laura liked him in the first place, because he has some depression and self-esteem issues, so the reader isn't entirely sure either. But, Hornby is an author that treats the modern male well. He explores issues of masculinity and relationships from the male point of view, while not turning me off in the same way that Brent Easton Ellis, and Chuck Palahniuk all seem to do with male protagonists that I hope I never actually meet (which is an opinion based solely on reading the jacket copy of their novels and seeing some movies based on them--not a great way to form an opinion of an authors work, I know, but I really don't have much desire to read any of their stuff. I really don't read enough stuff about guys. I do really read girly books. Hmmmm.)

Anyway, Rob is funny, the story is good, and all the music snobbery is great--make sure you have some most excellent music playing while you read.

I now want to go read everything Hornby has ever written.

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Well, here I am, hosting my very first challenge!

The British paper, The Guardian, has come up with a list of 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read Before They Die. (In case they take that link down, I've also posted the list here.)

So, the challenge is to read 10 and review read and review 10 books off the list (that's 1%) between February 1st of 2009 and February 1st of 2010.

Of these 10, you must read 1 from each category and, if possible, 1 should be a book you have never heard of until you saw it on this list.

Feel free to complain about certain books being included or not included.

Also, they have broken the list into smaller sections, with annotations, so you can see what a book is about before you check it out.

I'll have a post every month rounding up your reviews and it'll be lots of fun, so sign up below!

UPDATE There will be prizes! I'm not sure what yet, but at the end, there will be a prize drawing for everyone who finishes, and probably a drawing or two along the way...

Also, feel free to use these buttons!

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I have 3 reading goals this month.

1. I totally forgot about the New Classics Challenge. It ends on the 31st and I haven't done any reading for it. I've been debating just failing on it, but 4 of my unread classics are also on the scary list of doom, so I'm going to at least try. This means I am trying to read and review the following books by the end of the month:

1. Wind up Bird Chronicle
2. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
3. Possession
4. Glass Castle
5. Bonfire of the Vanities
6. High Fidelity

2. I have to read all the MG/YA Non-fiction Cybils finalists. I have a stack already! (Technically, this isn't due at the end of the month, but we have to pick a winner by the 14th of February, so I want to have most, if not all read by the end of the month, so I have 2 weeks to ponder and discuss)

3. One of my goals this year is to have no more than 5 pleasure reading books checked out at a time. I won't tell you how many I have checked out right now, but let's just say it is WAY more than 5. I will give myself to the end of the month to read as many as possible. After that, all but 5 are going back to the library. (Ok, this goes until February 4th though, because I have the first few days of the month off and won't be at the library until the 4th to return my books. Ha!)

And... I've joined another challenge. This is an easy challenge.

My Friend Amy is challenging people to buy 1 book a month and read it. 3 books can be ones you've already owned. This is something that was going to happen anyway, so it's not really a "challenge" but it will be fun! You should join, too.

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I did not participate in the first challenge. But I was excited to see it being offered again for this year. Beginning July 1, 2008, and ending July 1, 2009. The challenge is to read 13 books by or about Canadians. I'll be focusing on L.M. Montgomery. I don't know which thirteen. But I've included (for my own sanity) a list of all her works. I'd like to get to them all eventually. But probably won't have time to squeeze them all in. It's being hosted by John of The Book Mine Set.

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These are the books written by L.M. Montgomery, categorized and ordered chronologically.© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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July 1 - December 31, 2008

Trish from Trish's Reading Nook is hosting The 2008 Classics Challenge. She has created a challenge with various options, offering readers an opportunity to individualize the challenge to their own needs.

• OPTION 1: Read FIVE classics.
  
• OPTION 2: Read FIVE classics from at least THREE different countries
  
• OPTION 3: Read FIVE classics with any combination of at least THREE different countries and THREE different genres (refer to the challenge post to read more about genres).

Cross posting with other challenges is allowed and encouraged; audiobooks are okay; re-reads are accepted. Participants may change their lists at any time and do not need to have a blog. AND there will be prizes! Trish has added a little twist...participants must read five books (as defined in the options above), and a sixth title which will be a "modern classic" chosen from a participant's list of suggestions.

1) Evelina by Fanny Burney
2) Cecilia by Fanny Burney
3) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
4) David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
5) North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Modern should be/will be classic

6) American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Alternates:
1) The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
2) A Connecticut in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
3) A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
4) The Awakening by Kate Chopin
5) Howard's End by E.M. Forster
6) Dune by Frank Herbert
7) Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Clarke
8) Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
9) Life of Pi by Martel
10) Possession by Byatt
11) The Time Traveler's Wife by Niffenegger

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Book Awards Challenge Round 2

10 Months. 10 Award Winners.
August 1, 2008 - June 1, 2009
5 different awards represented (minimum)
List subject to change (and that's OK)
Overlaps with Other Challenges Allowed

Becky's 10

1) Dune by Frank Herbert (Hugo, 1966)(Nebula 1965)
2) American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Hugo, 2002)(Nebula, 2002)(Bram Stoker Award, 2001)
3) Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Man Booker Prize, 2002)
4) Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt (Man Booker Prize, 1990)
5) March by Geraldine Brooks (Pulitzer, 2006)
6) Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright (Newbery, 1939)
7) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Costa/Whitbread, 2003)
8) Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis (Newbery, 1933)
9) Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (Newbery, 1995)
10) Holes by Louis Sachar (Newbery, 1999)

Alternates
1) Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (Hugo, 1960)
2) Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally (Man Booker Prize, 1982)
3) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Pulitzer, 2003)
4) Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener (Pulitzer, 1948)
5) The World According to Garp by John Irving (National Book Award, 1980)
6) Monster by Walter Dean Myers (Printz, 2000)
7) The First Part Last by Angela Johnson (Printz, 2004)
8) Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Newbery, 2000)
9) Beowulf by Seamus Heaney (Costa/Whitbread, 1999)
10) A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (Pulitzer, 1981)
11) I, Juan de Parajea by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Newbery, 1966)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Name: It's The End of The World (As We Know It) Challenge
Host: Me, Becky (of Becky's Book Reviews)
Dates: May 2008 - September 15, 2008
Books Required: at least three

Read at least three books about "the end of the world." This includes both apocalyptic fiction and post-apocalyptic fiction. There is some overlap with dystopic fiction as well. The point being something--be it coming from within or without, natural or unnatural--has changed civilization, society, humanity to such a degree that it radically differs from "life as we know it." (Aliens, evil governments, war, plague, natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes, depletion of resources, genetic manipulation, etc.) Here is a wikipedia article on the subject. Also see here.

• Books can be adult, young adult, or children's. (Though obviously, most will be YA on up.)
• Graphic novels can count.
• Audio books can count.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Rereads can count. But try to read at least one new-to-you book.
• Books read earlier in the year (January to April) can count in part for the challenge. (But not all three, please.)
• No lists are required, but you may post one if you like. I'd be curious to see what people want to read...

To sign up, please leave a comment on this post.

To share your thoughts and reviews, I'll be posting a monthly update on the 15th of each month. (June 15, July 15, August 15, September 15). If (or should I say when) I forget to post that update--please email me (laney_po AT yahoo DOT com) and remind me!!! I would welcome the nudge :) Though give me the benefit of the doubt and wait until the afternoon! I don't get up early. And sometimes it's hard to post before ten or twelve.

Suggested reads:

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (and sequels)
The Sky Inside by Clare Dunkle
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
the dead and the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
the shadow series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
the uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

Feel free to post suggestions in the comments as well if you like.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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MotherReader has announced plans for the THIRD ANNUAL 48 HOUR BOOK CHALLENGE. The challenge that asks you to give your all for 48 hours (during the weekend of June 6th through June 8th) in the hopes of besting the competition and winning a few prizes.

To sign up, you'll need to visit her blog and leave a comment. While you're there you're probably going to want to make a note of all the rules and guidelines.

1. The weekend is June 6–8, 2008. Read and blog for any 48-hour period within the Friday-to-Monday-morning window. Start no sooner than 7:00 a.m. on Friday the sixth and end no later than 7:00 a.m. Monday. So, go from 7:00 p.m. Friday to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday... or maybe 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 7:00 a.m. Monday works better for you. But the 48 hours do need to be in a row.


2. The books should be about fifth-grade level and up. Adult books are fine, especially if any adult book bloggers want to play. If you are generally a picture book blogger, consider this a good time to get caught up on all those wonderful books you’ve been hearing about. No graphic novels. I’m not trying to discriminate, I’m just trying to make sure that the number of books and page counts mean the same thing to everyone.
   
3. For promotion/solidarity purposes, let your readers know when you are starting the challenge with a specific entry on that day. Write your final summary on Monday, and for one day, we’ll all be on the same page, so to speak.
4. Your final summary needs to clearly include the number of books read, the approximate hours you spent reading/reviewing, and any other comments you want to make on the experience. It needs to be posted no later than noon on Monday, June 9th.

There are three other rules on her post. I'm just copying the ones relevant to me. That is the ones I'll need to refer back on when the big weekend comes.

It's time to start thinking strategy. Last year, my first twenty-four hours went great, but the second day I made some huge tactical errors when it came to book selection.

It's really too bad we can't do this challenge as a team. Imagine. A reading challenge like a relay race.

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Spring Reading Thing 2008 March 20-June 19th

Maybe other challenge-holics can sympathize. I'm having the hardest time coming up with a list. There are simply too many books out there. And by 'out there' I mean sitting around in piles at my house. Of course, 'out there' can also be the library. I'm just a girl who can't say no to books. I'm hoping to read 8-10 of these.

Evelina by Fanny Burney
Camilla by Fanny Burney
Cecilia by Fanny Burney
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
Christy by Catherine Marshall
Julie by Catherine Marshall
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien
LOTR: The Two Towers by Tolkien
LOTR: Return of the King by Tolkien
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary
Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary

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