I wasn’t going to do anymore challenges, but…everyone else is doing them! And they seem like fun (she says now.)

The first of my new challenges is the 2nds Challenge: 3 books by authors you’ve only read once before, October-December 2007:

1. Rebel Angels » Libba Bray: This is the sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty, which is a very impressive YA novel.
2. Skybreaker » Kenneth Oppel: The sequel to Airborn, an exciting YA fantasy adventure set in an alternate Victorian age where blimps are the primary means of long-distance travel.
3. Death of a Stranger » Anne Perry: I read A Breach of Promise many, many years ago, and I’ve never quite forgotten it, so when I was looking for something absorbing and undemanding at my aunt’s house, I was immediately drawn to her shelf of Anne Perry’s Victorian mysteries.

A few other ideas (in case I can’t wait and end up reading one the three before the challenge begins):

• Post Captain » Patrick O’Brian: I read Master and Commander some time ago, and this has been sitting in my TBR pile ever since.
• Thomas the Rhymer » Ellen Kushner: I love Swordspoint a great deal, but haven’t got around to reading any of her other books yet.
• A Thousand Splendid Suns » Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner is one of my favourite books, so I may read this if I can get my hands on a copy from the library.
• Such a Long Journey » Rohinton Mistry: I love his book of short stories, Tales from Firozsha Baag, a great deal, and many people have pushed me to read some of his novels.
• He Drown She in the Sea » Shani Mootoo: Cereus Blooms at Night was one of my favourite assigned novels in high school, so I’m interested to read another novel by Mootoo.
• The Wars » Timothy Findley: Not Wanted on the Voyage was the other assigned novel that I loved in high school.
• Who Do You Think You Are? » Alice Munro: I wasn’t thrilled with Lives of Girls and Women, but it wasn’t bad, and Who Do You Think You Are? is such a quintessentially Canadian thing to say that I absolutely have to read the book.
• Half of a Yellow Sun » Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I loved Purple Hibiscus, and my dad owns this one, so I could easily read it for the challenge.
• Mollie Peer » Van Reid: The first novel in this series, Cordelia Underwood, was quite funny and charming, so I’m excited to read this second novel.
• Palace of Desire » Naguib Mahfouz: The second novel in his Cairo trilogy. I read Palace Walk and loved it, so now I’m back for seconds.

Tags: 2nds Challenge, Book Lists