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Definitely not for meArchive for October, 2007
« Previous Entries Wednesday, October 31st, 2007“What’s in a Name?” Challenge
Lasts all of 2008
Host: Words by Annie
6 titles with 1 title each in the following categories:
- a color in the title
- an animal in the title
- a first name in the title
- a place in the title
- a weather event in the title
- a plant in the title
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (read my review)
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Haddon (read my review)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (read my review)
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (read my review)
Snow by Maxence Fermine (read my review)
Purple Hibiscus by Adichie
Popularity: 6% [?]
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007R.I.P. II Challenge Completed!
Hosted by Carl.
Here are the 4 books I read:
1. Lisey’s Story by Stephen King
2. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
3. Gossamer by Lois Lowry
4. Evenings on a Farm in Dikanka by Nikolai Gogol
The best by far was Gossamer, and I really enjoyed the Gogol stories as well. I’m already planning on what to read for next year.
Thanks, Carl, for a wonderful challenge!
Popularity: 4% [?]
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Online book groups, anyone?
I’m now running three yahoo book groups if anyone is interested and wants to join in on the discussions. Here they are:
- October 31: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2005 Hugo and 2005 World Fantasy Award)
- December 1: The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1999 Pulitzer and 1999 PEN/Faulkner)
- January 15: The Giver by Lois Lowry (1994 Newbery)
- February 15: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (2003 Whitbread)
- March 15: Life and Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee (1983 Booker Prize)
- November 1: Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho (Portuguese, 240 pp.)
- February 1: Independent People by Halldor Laxness (Icelandic, 512 pp.)
Classic Lit (just took over as ‘owner’ today)
- November 1: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- December 1: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- January 1: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
- February 1: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Popularity: 7% [?]
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Books read in October ‘07
70. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (529 pp.)
71. Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright (280 pp.)
72. Half of a Yellow Sun by Adichie (541 pp.)
73. Gossamer by Lois Lowry (140 pp.)
74. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (227 pp.)
75. Lisey’s Story by Stephen King (502 pp.)
76. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury (145 pp.)
77. Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho (210 pp.)
78. The Complete Tales of Nikolai Gogol, Vol. 1 (259 pp.)
Pages read in October: 2833
Pages read in 2007: 22,031
Have you reviewed any of the above titles at your own blog? If you wish, enter them into Mr. Linky below.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Lisey’s Story
It had been over 20 years since I had read a Stephen King book. I used to love horror and love his books. I really, really did. That changed and I don’t like horror at all now. I like scary, suspenseful stories-just not horror. I think I had convinced myself that surely there wouldn’t be that much horror because he put so much of his wife/marriage into the story. I guess there probably wasn’t as much as in his other books, but it was still too much for me.
Stephen King had said that he wrote this after considering what could happen to his wife if he had died in the car accident that he had. I do think he put quite a bit of himself and her into this story. I liked the beginning of the book very much, but then in the middle there was a little too much of the horror element for me. Lisey’s husband Scott flashes back to a horror-full childhood. There were some crazy things that happen to Lisey as well that bothered me because I kept thinking, “How can he think of these things happening to his wife?”
Anyway, it was a good book for the R.I.P Challenge, but I don’t think I’ll be reading another King book for awhile. If you know of one that is very tame, I might try it. Otherwise, there’s just too much horror in King for this wimpy woman.
2006, 509 pp.
Rating: 3.5
Also reviewed by The Bookworm
Popularity: 14% [?]
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007The Halloween Tree
I didn’t really care for this book, although I loved Fahrenheit 451. I read this one for the R.I.P. Challenge because I knew I wouldn’t get to The Picture of Dorian Gray. Probably the main reason I didn’t like it was because I don’t like Halloween. I don’t even celebrate it at all. Autumn is my favorite season, and I do love everything about it. . . except Halloween. (I’m not a scrooge, though; I still hand out candy if we’re home.)
So why did I read it then? Well, the storyline was quite a bit different from what I expected. I just expected a scary Halloween night story, and it was that, but it was also a celebration of Halloween. Similar to A Christmas Carol, a ‘ghost’ (with a Marley knocker) takes the boys through the celebration of Halloween through the ages. Anyway, if you enjoy the holiday, then you’ll like this story quite a bit.
I’m still glad I read the book, though, because it is Ray Bradbury, and I do want to read more of his work.
1972, 145 pp.
Rating: 3
Popularity: 18% [?]
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007The Travels of Marco Polo
1559, 345 pp.
Rating: 4
Popularity: 17% [?]
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007From the Stacks Challenge
November 1, 2007 through January 30, 2008
Click on the button for more info.
Last year’s From the Stacks Challenge was my very first challenge ever, so of course I have to participate again this year. It felt really great completing that first challenge!
The rules for this challenge are:
To read 5 books that we have already purchased, have been meaning to get to, have been sitting on the nightstand, and haven’t read before.
My choices:
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Mr. Ives’ Christmas by Hijuelos
Independent People by Laxness
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Haddon
Popularity: 4% [?]
Monday, October 29th, 2007Cardathon Challenge
This is an ongoing challenge that includes not only works that Orson Scott Card has written, but also works that he has edited, introduced, and recommended. Officially begins January 1, 2008. For more info, go here.
My working list:
Asimov, Isaac (any)
Austen, Jane (any)
Barry, Dave and Ridley Pearson. Peter and the Starcatchers. Peter and the Shadow Thieves
Bradbury, Ray (any)
Bronte sisters (any)
Card, Orson Scott (any)
Christie, Agatha (any)
Dickens, Charles (any)
Evanovich, Janet (any)
Gaiman, Neil (any)
Koontz, Dean (any)
Lewis, C.S. (any)
McCrumb, Sharyn (any)
Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With The Wind
Rowling, J.K. All of the Harry Potter series
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Smith, Alexander McCall (any)
Tolkien, J.R.R. (any)
Twain, Mark (any)
Tyler, Anne (any)
Wells, H.G. (any)
White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web
White, T.H. The Once and Future King
Winspear, Jacqueline (any)
Popularity: 4% [?]
Monday, October 29th, 2007Whitcoulls Challenge
November 1, 2007 through November 1, 2008
12 books from the Whitcoulls Lists
More info on the challenge can be found here.
I’ll select 12 books from the following.
- The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx ‘98, ‘02, ‘06
- Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ‘06
- Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery ‘98
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - J.K. Rowling ‘02, ‘06
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling ‘02
- The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-time - Mark Haddon ‘06
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling ‘02, ‘06
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling ‘02
- Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling ‘06
- Life of Pi - Yann Martel ‘06
- Sophie’s World - Jostein Gaarder ‘98
- The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver ‘02, ‘06
Extras/Alternates:
The Red Tent - Anita Diamant ‘06
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden ‘98, ‘02, ‘06
Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne ‘98, ‘02
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje ‘98
The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillippa Gregory ‘02, ‘06
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman ‘02, ‘06
The Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult ‘02
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ‘06
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier ‘98
Popularity: 5% [?]
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