Beginnings

Welcome friends! I have started this entry in the global technosphere because I have been in love with books since the age of 2. Among the busy business of being a new teacher, this is my outlet for sharing thoughts on a love of reading a wide variety of books. My inspiration can be summed up with a yearbook quote from a teacher written when I was 8: "To the only girl at recess I see reading a book. Good for you!"
My blog title is quoted from a classmate who asked me this once. Believe it or not, I've also heard it as a teacher :D

Friday, December 3, 2010

2011 Challenges Summary

I'm all challenged out...5 is my limit for my first year doing these!  I think this will be a good test of my stamina & ability to set & achieve goals for myself.

As for the Back to the Classics Challenge polls, sorry I'm cutting it short, but despite posting earlier that they'll be open until the 21st, I'm closing them now because I haven't seen much activity on them recently & I have adequate leads on most of them.  Plus, I'm likely going bulk book shopping on Monday & should get my challenge books together!  There was just one tie for the 19th century classic, so I decided to choose the tiebreaker.  Thanks to all who voted :)

So, here is a summary of challenges I've officially joined & the books I intend to read for them:

Total Challenge Books:  23, including 2 re-reads (2 books also overlap)--should not be a problem :)


Banned Book:  Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Wartime Book:  Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Pulitzer (Fiction) Winner/Runner-Up:  Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Children's/YA Classic:  The Giver by Lois Lowry
19th Century Classic:  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (tiebreaker)
20th Century Classic:  On the Road by Jack Kerouac
21st Century Classic?:  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Book Reread From H.S./College:  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee



Book With a Number:  Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (overlap with Back to the Classics)
Book With Jewelry or a Gem:  The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
Book With a Size:  A Short Guide to Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Book With Travel or Movement:  This Time Together by Carol Burnett
Book With Evil:  A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving
Book With a Life Stage:  Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne



My Current Level:  Series Lover (6 books)

1)  The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum (Jason Bourne series)
2)  The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia series)
3)  Rabbit, Run by John Updike (Rabbit series)
4)  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's series)
5)  The Gunslinger by Stephen King (Dark Tower series) (overlaps with Stephen King challenge)
6)  A is For Alibi by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone series) (re-read)




Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge


My Current Level:  Breaking a Sweat (11-15 more books)

I'm sitting in the 30s for the year and have only been blogging since August, so I can almost guarantee that I'll do better in 2011 :D






My Current Level:  6 books

1)  The Stand
2)  Full Dark, No Stars
3)  Cujo
4)  Night Shift
5)  Misery
6)  Dark Tower series- I'll start with book 1 & see how many I can get through (there are 7 so far) (overlaps with 1st in a Series challenge)

3 comments:

  1. Wow! A busy year of reading. I like the variety. Good luck!

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  2. Looks like an awesome variety there! I'm doing a few challenges for 2011, too, but just ones that I've chosen for myself. :)

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  3. That's a lot of challenges! I can't wait to hear what you think of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I love that series.

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