It's me!

This is just a general post... I am feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. I think all the stress of the last few months is catching up with me. I tend to get quiet in December anyways, but if I am really quiet I am still alive! I just have too many thoughts running through my mind and blogging is not coming naturally. I also haven't been reading and commenting on blogs. I am just going to hibernate until January. Think of this as an unofficial hiatus. If I post, I post! If I don't post, it would probably be a good thing. I will likely do best of lists and there are still a couple more challenges I want to sign up for; plus there is always the Virtual Advent!

Anyway, don't forget about me! I seem to think that if I don't post a lot I will come back to silence, but that is silly. I hardly posted at all in 2008 and people still read my blog! lol

Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto

Today is a buddy review with Amanda from The Zen Leaf. I needed another read for the Japanese Reading Challenge and she owned this book, so seemed a good a choice as any! I have the first part and then you can read the second part on her blog.

Banana Yoshimoto's novels have established her as one of Japan's finest and most popular writers, and an acclaimed and best-selling literary star all over the world. Now she delivers three novellas that develop her , sophisticated, resonant, and artfully simple vision, in Asleep, a book that is already an international best-seller and may be her most charming since Kitchen.

Banana Yoshimoto has a nuanced and magical ability to animate the lives of her young characters, and here she spins the stories of three women, all bewitched into a spiritual sleep. One, mourning for a lost lover, finds herself sleepwalking at night. Another, who has embarked on a relationship with a man whose wife is in a coma, finds herself suddenly unable to stay awake. A third finds her sleep haunted by another woman whom she was once pitted against in a love triangle. Sly and mystical as a ghost story, with a touch of Kafkaesque surrealism, Asleep is an enchanting new book from one of the best writers of contemporary international fiction.

Amanda: Hi Kelly! Well I suppose I'll just start this thing by asking what your overall thoughts are on the whole book before we split into talking about individual stories.

Kelly: Hi! I have to say that I wanted to love this book. There was just something about it that made me think I would, but then I finished it earlier today (Tuesday) and promptly the stories have left my head. I honestly will have to have the book close by to remember what happened, which is really bad! The third story probably stuck with me the best. There were aspects of the stories that I really enjoyed, but otherwise I probably will forget I have even read this book in the future. There was just nothing about it that was so amazing that it will stick with me forever. How about you?

Amanda: Well...let me just say, first, that I rescued this book from the throwaway pile at Half Price Books not long ago. I'd heard other people talking about Banana Yoshimoto in the past, but had never been interested in trying her books. I've not read a lot of Japanese literature. After reading The Housekeeper and the Professor, though, which I loved to pieces, I was really looking forward to trying more Japanese authors. This seemed short and quick, easy to read, and I'd heard it was simple and good. I wanted to like it. I expected to like it. But then I started reading, and was just bored. Sometimes almost offended by some of the things in the stories. By the end, I admit, I was skimming. I doubt I'll remember anything from these stories. I don't even remember anyone's names at this point, and I just read them.

I suppose we ought to break into sections for the individual stories? Or would you like to add anything else about the book in general?

Kelly: I have to be honest and admit that I saw you were going to be reading this book soon, so I added it to my library pile because I am in the Japanese reading challenge and am having a hard time finding books to read for it!

The first story is called 'Night and Night's Travelers'. I found this story a bit random. I think she was trying for some suspense by not telling everything right away, but I was just uninterested by it all. What did you think about it?

Amanda: Okay. Night and Night's Travelers. First let me say - since I'm not sure we have the same edition - that the back of my book was very misleading. What it said was that all three stories were about women who were bewitched into spiritual sleep. What it said about this story in particular was that a woman mourning for a lost lover starts sleepwalking. Maybe I just completely misunderstood the story, but I don't remember any sleepwalking at all! I mean, the narrator's cousin stays awake a lot at night, but she's not sleepwalking!

Because that was the first story in the book, it was the one I paid the most attention to. At this point, I still was assuming it was automatic that I'd like the book. I'm not sure why I just assumed that, but I did. It was a quick read, but in the end, I didn't feel like anything happened. The story didn't go anywhere, and I had no emotional response to it at all. And again, there was no betwitching, no "spiritual sleep," no "Kafkaesque surrealism" (which the back of the book also misleadingly said). I was disappointed. I wanted those things, especially the surrealism. I wonder if my disappointment was greater because of the misleading blurb? How about you? Did you have conflict with the back of your version?

Kelly: First I should say that I am weird and never read the back of the book. I was totally not sure what this book was about at all. I had heard of the author, so that was really all my criteria was for reading this book. I watched the first part of your response show up on my screen, though, so while you were typing I read my own back of the book. It says the exact same thing! So, yes, that is very misleading because if there was sleepwalking going on I entirely missed it. Unless it was a metaphor. Otherwise, that description makes no sense. So, I went into this book not really knowing what to expect and I was still disappointed.

Like you, since this was the first story in the book, I paid a lot of attention to what was going on. I knew we were going to be reviewing it, so I wanted it to be clear in my mind. Also, like you, I was less than enthused. I didn't feel like there was really anything going on and I couldn't sympathize with the characters at all. I just didn't care... It was just there and I read it and that is really all there is for me to say about it. It isn't even as if I can say I hated the story. I just didn't care enough to like it or hate it.

Amanda: I know what you mean. I didn't hate it either. I just didn't care. Which is strange, because many of the characters in it ought to have been interesting. I skimmed back through for their names - I'm bad with Japanese names, plus the characters just didn't stand out for me - and really, Mari, Yoshihiro, and Sarah were all interesting characters. Or they could have been. The problem, I think, was Shibami - the narrator. She was completely uninteresting, and since this was all told from her point of view, the other characters just kind of died out. For me, at least. I wonder if maybe this had been told from Mari or Sarah's point of view, would it have been more interesting? Maybe. I don't know. But as it was, it's already fading from my mind.

However - if it's okay to move on to the second story, "Love Songs," - I didn't find "Night and Night's Travelers" offensive. It was just there. "Love Songs," on the other hand, was plain awful to me. What did you think?

Head on over to The Zen Leaf to see the second half of the review!

The Changing Face of Book Blogging

In a few days I will have been blogging for 4 years! It is really hard to believe. I was supposedly doing my blog reading either, though, and I got to thinking about how blogging is a lot different now than it was four years ago. For starters, there are a lot more bloggers now than there were when I started! I just read the blogs in my blog roll on my sidebar. I didn't need fancy programs to keep up with everything. Now, I could probably read about twice the amount of blogs that I do now and would still not visit everyone. I am going through a period now where I am marking all as read more than doing any blog reading. It's a bit sad, really.

Then, there are the bloggers that don't blog anymore. It's sad.

When I started blogging there were really no review copies of books. Now, there is a feature called Mailbox Monday and I see people receive like 20 books in the mail and a lot of them are review copies. I remember how excited I was when publishing companies started contacting me to review for them. I still very rarely contact them. (Although, I did contact Penguin Canada, but that was an exception!) Reviewing books is a nice aspect of book blogging. I read a lot and my finances are not really of the type where I can afford to buy everything I read... So, it has helped me a great deal! This year I re-added the library to the mix, too. Review copies of books are a lot of fun, though. I get so excited when I get books in the mail. It is like Christmas!

It does bother me when new blogs either start up just to receive review books or they have been blogging for about a month and expect large quantities of review books. I honestly think reviewing books should be earned. That is my personal opinion, though.

On the review copy theme, there are now things like Blog Tours and companies that set up blogging tours. That is a very new thing. I do admit that sometimes I find Blog Tours tedious. I don't mind if it is spread out over a month, but one book being reviewed on several blogs all on the same day drives me crazy! If it is spread out over a period of time I will read the various reviews, but if you slam me with same review over and over again on one day I can pretty much guarantee that I stop reading after a while! There are exceptions. There is new thing called the Classics Circuit (I don't have the URL handy) and I think it is so cool! I mean, blog tours for dead authors is a fun idea, really.

Another thing that brings to mind is Reading Challenges. I remember when there were only a couple reading challenges. I remember me and my blogging friends at the time having unofficial ones every so often and Carl's challenges have been around as long as I have, but now, now it is just insane! I join them, yes, but I am starting to get a bit afraid of them. There are so many it is a bit over-whelming. I join too many, but there are still so many I could join... Just as scary is the amount that some of you join. I think I have too many, but I am small potatoes compared to other people!

All this really is leading up to me hating the fact that blogging is not always fun. There have been big... debates... this year about various issues. I feel like an outsider because I really don't care and very rarely say things, but I do hate that the issues have to be there. I think I will leave it at that. The last thing I want to do is stir up trouble.

Part of me really hates the fact that blogging sometimes seems like a popularity contest. I despise the Followers function on Blogger, for example. I love that people read my blog, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel the need to broadcast to everyone how many people read my blog. It's just not my thing. I also don't check blog stats or freak out about the amount of comments that I receive. The charming comedian is often telling me I am very laid back, and I guess I take that approach to blogging. That does not mean that I am oblivious, though. Just because I am quiet does not mean I am not paying attention! Sometimes I do get sad when my commenting is down, but not enough that I really seem to do much about it... That is just me hoping that I am not blogging for myself. That gets a bit dull!

I could go on and on. I notice a lot of changes in just the last year; let alone the last four! And, I was trying not to insult anyone. I hope I accomplished that! This is mainly just observations on things. I do know for sure that I am very grateful to everyone that reads my blog and I am happy to have met all the wonderful people I have met through book blogging. Thanks for making book blogging a mostly fantastic experience! I am going to shut up and go read now...

Week In Review

Random Thoughts

I am posting today after all! I was cleaning up my sidebars to get ready for next year and decided to wrap-up a couple of challenges. So, this post was born!

It snowed last night. Our first significant snowfall of the year, actually. Well, actually, it snowed in January, February, and March; but you know what I mean. I am both happy about the snow and not. At least it wasn't enough to shovel, but soon shoveling will start and I was so sick of shoveling last year! It was never-ending! I am not anymore excited about it this year. They are saying there is not going to be a lot of snow, but you really never know. I hope it doesn't snow on New Years this year. We had a snowstorm last year and I want to do something this year.

Challenge Wrap-Up

I am getting my sidebar ready for 2010, but first I wasn't sure if I have wrapped up all the challenges that end up on December 31. Many I finished a long time ago and stopped keeping track of, but I still have the 2009 Pub Challenge and Herding Cats on my sidebar. I have also finished The Arthurian Reading Challenge. I might keep it on the sidebar, though, because it doesn't wrap-up until March and I might read a few more books that count for it.

2009 Pub Challenge - The object was to read 9 books published in 2009. Young adult were not allowed because it is a Pub. My list:
1. Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong 01/27/09
2. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs02/03/09
3. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin 02/17/09
4. Storm Glass by Maria Snyder 05/01/09
5. The City and The City by China Mieville 5/26/09
6. I Met the Walrus by Jerry Levitan 05/04/09
7. The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine 07/07/09
8. The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman 06/02/09
9. Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear 02/17/09

I enjoyed all the books I read for this challenge. The Armstrong, Briggs, Franklin, Snyder, and Winspear were books in series that I really enjoy. The only two authors that were new to me were Jerry Levitan and James A. Levine. The rest I have read other books by. I don't know if I can pick a favourite because several of those books will probably make my best of list for the year.

Herding Cats Challenge - This challenge ran from April 1st to December 31st. The challenge asked for 5 books, but I read 9 that would count.
1. One Piece: Romance Dawn by Eiichiro Oda
2. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
3. Nation by Terry Pratchett
4. Skellig by David Almond
5. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
6. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
7. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
8. Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
9. Marcelo In the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Another list of books that I really enjoyed! They all had something about them that I enjoyed, so I am glad that I read them. I didn't not like any of them, which is always good. As opposed to the list above, there were more new-to-me authors than ones I had read before. The only authors I had read before were Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones.

Printz Project

The Printz Project is an on-going project. So far for it I have read 17 books. I hope to read a lot more next year. I had more out from the library, but ended up returning them unread. For those interested in what I have read so far my list is as follows:

Jellicoe Road by Melinda Marchetta - 2009 winner
Nation by Terry Pratchett - 2009 nominee
Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins - 2008 nominee
Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill - 2008 nominee
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yung - 2007 winner
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; Volume 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson - 2007 nominee
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - 2007 nominee
Looking for Alaska by John Green - 2006 winner
how i live now by Meg Rosoff - 2005 winner
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson - 2004 winner
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly - 2004 nominee
A Step From Heaven by An Na - 2002 winner
Kit's Wilderness by David Almond - 2001 winner
Monster by Walter Dean Myers - 2000 winner
Skellig by David Almond - 2000 nominee
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - 2000 nominee
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger - 2000 nominee

Advent Calendar

Don't forget about the Virtual Advent! It started December 1st, but it is not too late to join up for days that haven't happened yet. Be sure and follow along even if you are not planning to post anything.

Weekly Reads

I missed last week. In the last two weeks I have only managed to read the following:

Obasan by Joy Kogawa - For the Japanese and Canadian Reading Challenge. It is about the Japanese treatment in Canada during World War II. I both liked it and didn't... I was interested in the subject matter, but I wasn't crazy about Kogawa's writing method.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - Loved this book!

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt - I am so happy that I read this book. It took me FOREVER! I just can't read chunksters from the library. It was my first Byatt and I both loved it and didn't.

Nova Scotia Book of Musts: The 101 Places Every Nova Scotian MUST See by Allan Lynch - I have been to a lot of the places mentioned, but I still have places to see! It was a very interesting book. I think I might buy my own copy.

Bone - Volume 3: Eyes of the Storm by Jeff Smith - The third book in the Bone series. I really enjoy this series! I think it is going to be next year before I read book 4. There is only one copy of that one and the list is rather long.

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay - Okay, didn't like this book, but I have read Guy Gavriel Kay now! I discovered I was reading it but I was not retaining anything. I doubt I will read the sequels, but I do plan to try something else by him in 2010.

Truckers by Terry Pratchett - My first read for the Terry Pratchett 2010 Reading Challenge. I liked other books by him better, but I do plan to read the rest of the trilogy.

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron - I was actually looking for a graphic novel by her, but this won the Newbery and I had been meaning to read it for a while. It was pretty good, actually!

My reading has slowed down! It's rather depressing...

Library Loot

Where I skipped a week this is a bit messed up. I will organize and post one next week, though! I think I might post a list of all the books I have out from the library.

Sunday Book Coveting

Next week I plan to start brain-storming what I am going to buy with Christmas gift cards. I get the same amount every year, so that means I can start choosing now!

Canada Reads 2010

I had all my posts for this week planned out and then I didn't actually post them! I don't know what is with me lately. I am hardly reading, I am hardly reading blogs, and I have hardly any interest in my own blog. So, I guess all my plans for this week will have to move until next week! I am not sure if I am going to do one of my Sunday posts tomorrow or not. My slowed down reading is kind of depressing me... I am just stressed period, I imagine!

The Canada Reads books for 2010 were announced, though. I have a little goal that I don't make official to eventually read all of these books eventually. This year I have all ready read three. Yay! I also have those Giller-a-thon aspirations... I have a lot of the books, but I need to actually read them! For some reason my reading always slows down at this time of the year. Anyway, the books up for the Canada Reads are:

Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald - Yay! Nova Scotia representation is always a good thing. Plus, this is a really good book. I still have to read her other book. I read her play earlier this year, though, and enjoyed it!

The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy - I actually read this book this year, but I didn't like it... I just couldn't connect with it. It wasn't terrible, but I expected better I guess.

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland - I love Douglas Coupland. I am not sure about this book. I often think I need to reread it because I don't know if I entirely got it the first time I read it. I think he has better books, but I am happy to see Coupland on here period!

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott - Requested this book from the library.

Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner, translated by Lazer Lederhendler - I wanted to read this when it came out, but didn't get to it. Requested it from the library!

Thoughts on the books? I have until I think March to read those other two books... That might be doable!

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Time for another buddy review! I am thinking of making these more of a regular feature in 2010. Do you like them? I like them because they are interactive. If anyone wants to do a buddy review with me in 2010, just let me know. If I still owe you a buddy review in 2009 it is nothing against you, it is my reading is suffering the last couple months of this year. I am hoping that January will see a rebirth and less stress, so cross your fingers for me!

This is a buddy review with Aarti from BookLust. We have been supposed to review together forever, but things always seemed to happen. I am glad we have finally had the chance to! We have more planned for 2010. (And I am sure I will review with Ana, Chris, and Heather. They were my most common buddy review co-hosts of 2009).

'We were all more or less thieves at Lant Street. But we were that kind of thief that rather eased the dodgy deed along, than did it . We could pass anything, anything at all, at speeds which would astonish you. There was only one thing, in fact, that had come and got stuck - one thing that had somehow withstood the tremendous pull of that passage - one thing that never had a price put to it. I mean of course, Me.' Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, is born among petty thieves - fingersmiths - in London's Borough. From the moment she draws breath, her fate is linked to another orphan, growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away ...A modern day Dickens, Sarah Waters is one of Britain's rising stars.

Aarti is in green and I am in white. This is the first part of the review, to read the continuation you have to go to her blog.

This was only the second Waters book I read, and I really enjoyed it! It is my first book for the Women Unbound Challenge and I think it's a great start for that one as you can really see how bound the two main characters- both young ladies- are by society and its strictures and laws. They really are at the mercy of men and of people more wealthy and powerful than they are. I always think I would love to travel to the past, particularly England. But always with the caveat of being a self-supporting, wealthy gentlewoman! Otherwise, I don't think it would be a very good life! And Waters really made it clear that even when a woman does have money, she loses all control of it when she marries. She also showed just how isolating life could be for girls. I think she did an excellent job.

That said, for some reason, I think I liked Affinity better than Fingersmith! I'm not sure if that is just a product of me having read Affinity first, but I thought the two main characters in that one were somehow more compelling to me. But the same themes resonate- that of lonely, isolated women seeking comfort in each other.

I haven't read Affinity yet, so I can't really say anything about which is the better of the two. The other book I have read by her is The Night Watch. I bought it randomly when it first came out; even though I didn't really know anything about Waters or her books. I found my first read by her a bit different. It was set during WWII, and instead of being told in order the book started at the end and moved to the beginning. Fingersmith is told like a 'regular' story, so it is almost hard to compare the two of them. All I know is that when I was reading Fingersmith I kept wondering why it was that I let about 2 years go by before reading another Waters. There are so many twists and turns in her novels. Sometimes I would expect what was about to happen, but other times I was surprised. This is very much an edge-of-your-seat read. You never know what is going to happen with every flip of the page.

I agree this is perfect for the Unbound Challenge. I haven't decided if I will count it or not because I originally planned to only read non-fiction for the challenge. This book could really said to be about the restrictions put on women and how different their lives were from men. How different their lives were depending on their class structure, even. I thought Waters did a really good job writing a story that addresses these issues. We have one woman that lives with her uncle in what looks like the upper class structure, but then we have another woman that is raised by thieves. It was an interesting look at Victorian Society. Which of the main characters was your favourite?

I was trying to think of my favorite and I'm not sure! I thought Gentleman was fascinating in many ways. He had a cruel streak, but he also seemed to have some redeeming traits. I am not sure if I knew him well enough to say whether I liked him as a person or not, but I really enjoyed him as a character. I liked both Susan and Maud. They were drawn very well and really came to life for me. I thought Waters did so well to show the hypocrisy of Victorian society, showing Maud as this upstanding and very shy Victorian girl, but then having her work with her uncle on really disturbing and dirty reading topics. And Susan, who was raised on the streets and should have been really hard, was actually pretty idealistic and sweet.

There were a few twists that I expected, but a lot caught me off guard. I think one has to get used to that with Waters!

I enjoyed the way Waters portrayed the lesbian relationship as well- natural and based in trust. What did you think of that aspect? I don't think I can call it the romantic aspect, really, as the two weren't "together" for a good portion of the book, but it was certainly the central relationship.

Head over to Aarti's blog to read the rest!

And, don't forget that the Virtual Advent is in full-swing! Today is day two. Head over to the dedicated blog to see who to visit and follow on with the rest of the tour!

TwentyTen Reading Challenge and Dewey's Mini-Challenge

I wasn't going to join anymore challenges until 2010 was started, but then I remembered I meant to join Darren's challenge and hadn't yet, so first I should do that! (Also, I plan to join a graphic novel challenge and an essay challenge, so I suppose that will be before January, too.)

The aim is to read a total 20 books, over ten categories, in 2010. (Was this challenge based solely around the name? I’ll let you decide!)

Rules:

• Read 2 books from each category, making a requirement of 20 books total.
• The categories are intended to be loose guidelines only, if you decide it fits, then it fits. (Apart from those marked **)
• Categories marked with ** have tighter rules, and these must be followed.
• Each book can only qualify for one category.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Books read from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2010 are eligible.

Young Adult
1.
2.

T.B.R. **
1.
2.

Shiny & New
1.
2.

Bad Blogger’s ***
1.
2.

Charity
1.
2.
(This is the only one I am not sure of. We don't have a charity shop here that sells books... Have to figure something out.)

New in 2010
1.
2.

Older Than You
1.
2.

Win! Win!Who Are You Again?
1.
2.

Up to You! - Books in On-Going Series
1.
2.

To get an explanation for each category, just head to Darren's blog!

Don't forget that the Virtual Advent starts today! Very exciting!

Also, here is the linky for the Dewey Reading Challenge Mini-Challenge. (Click on the link for the details.)

Tomorrow is December First!!!

I got a bit quiet on here. I didn't even do my Sunday post! Mainly because I had a quiet week reading-wise and have too much on my mind life-wise. I am currently reading too many books, but I am hoping to read more in December than I have the last couple months. We will have to see what happens. I am still looking for a job and it is all a bit discouraging at the moment. Also, I think I am going to have a bit of a library-overload today because I haven't been there in a week. I wish some of my ILLs would start coming in, though. If I take the time to fill out the form it usually means I really want those particular books, but the wait is forever.

Anyway, just a reminder that the Virtual Advent starts tomorrow! There is still plenty of time to sign-up, so please do so. Otherwise, I look forward to reading all the posts. For those that are reading along you just go to the main website for the tour and it will share with you the links for each day. It is so much fun!

Also starting tomorrow is the mini-challenge I am hosting for the Dewey Reading Challenge. I am going to count the Virtual Advent as my contribution. It brings the community together, right? Plus, Dewey participated in a previous year. Another example is Chris and Nymeth are hosting a Graphic Novel Challenge for 2010. Once they have their post up they are going to include it for the challenge. (I hope they don't mind I used it asn an example...) These are just two examples. There are many ways in which you can honour Dewey's memory. Tomorrow I will post a Mr. Linky so that you can share with others. I hope people will join in!

Challenges for 2010

I have been toying around with the idea of joining the GLBT reading challenge next year, but hadn't really made any sort of committment. Then, I was reading Eva's list and discovered that I owned several of those books! I read several GLBT books this year just for fun, so I don't think I will have any trouble with the challenge. A couple of the books I am reading right now could count for the challenge, actually!

The basic idea of this challenge is to read books about GLBT topics and/or by GLBT authors.

The challenge runs year-round, and there will be three levels of participation:

• Lambda Level: Read 4 books.
• Pink Triangle Level: Read 8 books.
• Rainbow Level: Read 12 or more books.

You don't need to choose your books right away, and they can change at any time. Overlaps with other challenges are fine.

In January, I will put up a post for you to leave links to your reviews, if you like. Those links can help serve as a reference for others. That will also be how I track participants for prize drawings.

Prizes! There will be prizes, both for this main challenge and for various mini-challenges throughout the year. Keep an eye on the blog for details.

My Pool of Potential Reads:

Some books I own:

Melusine by Sarah Monette
Life Mask by Emma Donoghue
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn
Regeneration by Pat Barker
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (for the author, not the book...)
The Wars by Timothy Findley (for the author, not the book...)
Naked by David Sedaris
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jacqueline Winspear
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey
Inda by Sherwood Smith
Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane Yolen

I want to read some non-fiction, too, but the library has a terrible selection. So far nothing I have wanted to read is available!

Then, I know for sure that I am going to join the Flashback Challenge. The goal is to reread books. I plan to do that every year, but I am really quite bad at it!

The Flashback Challenge will run from January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010. If you're super-excited and want to reread a book before that, feel free, and let me know. If many people do so, then I'll do a December challenge linky post and you can all link to it here. Otherwise, we can hold them over to January.

You can sign up for the following levels:
Bookworm - Up to three books
Scholar - Four to six books
Literati - Over six books

Within these levels, we have mini-challenges! These are:

1. Re-read a favorite book from your childhood

2. Re-read a book assigned to you in high school

3. Re-read a book you loved as an adult

I'm not sure how much I will manage to read. Like I said, I am rather bad at rereads, so we will see what happens! I would say a Bookworm (at least) if I want to participate in my own challenge for next year...

Some potentials:

Phantom by Susan Kay (Read as adult)
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Read as adult)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Read in high school)

A series from my childhood:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle

These books are for the read-along I am doing with Nymeth, Amanda, Shannon, and now several other people!
Then, there is the LOTR read-along. I am really up in the air about it, to be honest! It's a huge committment for someone that doesn't reread a lot, but I love these books... I don't think I will reread The Hobbit, but there is a good chance I will read the main trilogy. The good thing is that you don't have to read them in the months they are being discussed. I might have to stretch them out a bit. I used to read trilogies all in a row, and I have done that a bit this year, but generally the last few years I have a hard time doing that.

Then, there is the Woolf in Winter Challenge. It is basically to read four novels by Virginia Woolf in January and February. Instead, I am going to read one each in November, December, January, and February so I don't get burned out on her! The books are Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and The Waves. I have a very hard time with Woolf, but I am determined to read her! I have read Mrs. Dalloway before, though!

Oh, and there is also The Classic Reads Book Club! The first book is East of Eden and then the second book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I have been meaning to read more Steinbeck forever! Then, I can read Betty Smith for the Flashback Challenge. It is win-win!

In my Sunday post the other day I mentioned joining The Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge. I thought I would put it on here, too, so it is a bit more official!

The challenge will start from 1 December 2009 and run through to 30 November 2010. There are several different levels of participation for you to choose from:

1-3 books - Cashier at Ankh-Morpork Mint
4-5 books - Guard of the City Watch
6-8 books - Academic at the Unseen University
9-10 books - Member of Granny Weatherwax's Coven
10-12 books - Death's Apprentice

You can either be reading the books for the first time, rereading, or even watching the TV adaptations if you like! As long as everyone has fun I will be happy! Please also do not feel limited to only reading the Discworld books as any books by Terry Pratchett will count for this challenge.

I will say I am aiming for Cashier at Ankh-Morpork Mint, but I am hoping to make it to Death's Apprentice! We will have to see what happens!

I am going to have to update my sidebar to keep this all straight!

A Year Gone By...

Dear Dewey,

It is hard to believe that a year has come and gone. I am left thinking: What do you say at a moment like this? I wasn't even sure if I should say anything because we didn't really know each other very well. I don't want to take any shine away from those that knew you well, but at the same time, several people have commented on these letters and how much they appreciate them. So, I am bowing to the masses and here I am again. This is a different conversation, though. In the past I was responding to your reviews, so it was almost like a conversation. There were a few times I used a letter to explain something, but this is really the first time I am writing a letter into the silence. It's a sad moment.

I think, in the back of our minds, everyone wants to have their five minutes of fame or to do something lasting. Not everyone will admit it, but it is there. I wonder if you knew just how lasting your voice was? Here it is a year later and in some ways it is like you never even left. You were gifted with wonderful blogging friends who continue to show their love for you through keeping the community alive. Did you think for a moment you would have that much impact on the world? It might be the virtual one, but it is just as important as the outside world. I doubt you did, because you struck me as very modest, but I hope you had a small inkling of just how lasting your voice would be and how many lives you touched just in the few years you were blogging. You had the heart and mind that people should aspire to.

It is a wonderful feeling to know that years from now, if there is a still a book-blogging community the things that you started will probably still be happening. It's a wonderful thought because things are a lot different now than they were when I started blogging. The blogging community is huge! Even those that never even read your blog will know who you are because you live on in the hearts of those that knew you well and the events that are done in your memory. It is a pleasure to be able to say I knew you, even if it was not as well as some. I believe you will always be missed.

Until next time... And, I promise, there will be a next time!

Not to take away from this post, but if you are interested in the rest of my letters here are the links:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Looking for Alaska by John Green
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Paper Towns by John Green
Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters by Courtney E. Martin (Part Two)
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot
So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

That's a lot of posts!